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Things I'm thinking of doing
Thursday, 1 April 2010 10:36I've decided to post a list of things I'm thinking of doing, and I'm wondering what *you* think of them:
1) I'm thinking of getting a cat. I get along with most animals, and I love cuddling kitties, and have ample opportunity to do so at friends' houses, but for personal preference I've always favored dogs- large dogs -large intelligent dogs like huskies that I can romp with, sing with at 3am, teach fun games to like "Grab the Bush Doll by the crotch and SHAKE IT!!" and run thru the neighbourhood before dawn knocking over trashcans for fun. But now that I'm older and not so romp-y, now that I prefer my sleep, and actually *care* about what my neighbours think, I think it's time to reconsider my preferences and get a cat instead. Any recommendations?
2) I'm thinking of a new look for this festival season: Shaving my head and beard. All the cool rennies are doing it, and I figure it would just be easier that way.
3) They make midi controllers for guitars now that can be used to trigger samples of any instrument I like. Instead of actually bringing my banjo, my bouzouki, my precious 1966 Rickenbacker or other instruments to my gigs, I could just assemble a rig where if I want to *sound* like I'm playing a banjo, I just dial up the "banjo patch" and go from there. Heck, I could even pre-program some "style" sequences to compensate for the different tunings and techniques so that all I have to do is strum a chord and it will automatically sequence the notes that are produced to emulate my own banjo or bouzouki techniques- it'll still sound like ME playing a different instrument, but I wouldn't have to go thru the bother of lugging them about. Sound like a WIN to you?
4) I'm thinking of adjusting my attitude towards "Muzak". I grew up listening to alot of it (for some reason my parents really dug it- Montovani, 101 Strings, The Ray Conniff(sp) Singers, et al) and I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe, my prejudice against "background instrumental music based on contemporary hits" is just my adolescent self rebelling against an older generations' music.
I'm older now, mellower than my angry teenage years, and I came to actually find something to like in Neil Diamond (my parents' other big musical "like"), R&B from the 50's, and I even gave a 2nd listen to Disco after seeing a BeeGees reunion on TV.
So why not use this as my next musical "frontier"? Heck with a working turntable and a few bucks at a yard sale or thrift store, I can come home with a crate of this stuff on vinyl and then instead of cringing at big band/pizzicato string arrangements of my favorite songs from the 60's, I can re-listen and see if there's anything I can actually *learn* from them.
I've aleady started watching "Lawrence Welk" too. Any other recommendations?
5) I'm thinking of doing an experiment with "taste". I don't much care for apples or cinnamon, but the two (especially together) are very popular dessert flavours. I'm tired of having to be rude to hosts who are just being hospitable when they offer these things to me, by turning them down. So instead, I'm going to do an experiment to see if I can deliberately acclimate myself to these things I don't like now, by eating them every day for a couple of weeks. If I succeed, I won't have to risk any more disapproval for my quirky personal tastes. If anyone has any advice for re-training oneself wrt preferences, I would appreciate it. It would be a shame to do this to myself and only be miserable thru the process.
6) I've decided that I'm at a time in my life where what I really need is advice from other people instead of just listening to me and following only my own instincts all the time. What advice would you give me if given the chance?
1) I'm thinking of getting a cat. I get along with most animals, and I love cuddling kitties, and have ample opportunity to do so at friends' houses, but for personal preference I've always favored dogs- large dogs -large intelligent dogs like huskies that I can romp with, sing with at 3am, teach fun games to like "Grab the Bush Doll by the crotch and SHAKE IT!!" and run thru the neighbourhood before dawn knocking over trashcans for fun. But now that I'm older and not so romp-y, now that I prefer my sleep, and actually *care* about what my neighbours think, I think it's time to reconsider my preferences and get a cat instead. Any recommendations?
2) I'm thinking of a new look for this festival season: Shaving my head and beard. All the cool rennies are doing it, and I figure it would just be easier that way.
3) They make midi controllers for guitars now that can be used to trigger samples of any instrument I like. Instead of actually bringing my banjo, my bouzouki, my precious 1966 Rickenbacker or other instruments to my gigs, I could just assemble a rig where if I want to *sound* like I'm playing a banjo, I just dial up the "banjo patch" and go from there. Heck, I could even pre-program some "style" sequences to compensate for the different tunings and techniques so that all I have to do is strum a chord and it will automatically sequence the notes that are produced to emulate my own banjo or bouzouki techniques- it'll still sound like ME playing a different instrument, but I wouldn't have to go thru the bother of lugging them about. Sound like a WIN to you?
4) I'm thinking of adjusting my attitude towards "Muzak". I grew up listening to alot of it (for some reason my parents really dug it- Montovani, 101 Strings, The Ray Conniff(sp) Singers, et al) and I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe, my prejudice against "background instrumental music based on contemporary hits" is just my adolescent self rebelling against an older generations' music.
I'm older now, mellower than my angry teenage years, and I came to actually find something to like in Neil Diamond (my parents' other big musical "like"), R&B from the 50's, and I even gave a 2nd listen to Disco after seeing a BeeGees reunion on TV.
So why not use this as my next musical "frontier"? Heck with a working turntable and a few bucks at a yard sale or thrift store, I can come home with a crate of this stuff on vinyl and then instead of cringing at big band/pizzicato string arrangements of my favorite songs from the 60's, I can re-listen and see if there's anything I can actually *learn* from them.
I've aleady started watching "Lawrence Welk" too. Any other recommendations?
5) I'm thinking of doing an experiment with "taste". I don't much care for apples or cinnamon, but the two (especially together) are very popular dessert flavours. I'm tired of having to be rude to hosts who are just being hospitable when they offer these things to me, by turning them down. So instead, I'm going to do an experiment to see if I can deliberately acclimate myself to these things I don't like now, by eating them every day for a couple of weeks. If I succeed, I won't have to risk any more disapproval for my quirky personal tastes. If anyone has any advice for re-training oneself wrt preferences, I would appreciate it. It would be a shame to do this to myself and only be miserable thru the process.
6) I've decided that I'm at a time in my life where what I really need is advice from other people instead of just listening to me and following only my own instincts all the time. What advice would you give me if given the chance?
