With a warning of some brief but hardly gratuitous profanity, here's what it's like to fall ( out of touch... )
The Ballad of Coyotaceous G
NOW with Coyabolical Laughter™
11 May 2008 @ 11:08 pm
An Apology
30 April 2008 @ 09:54 am
Where wolf?
There wolf. ...okay, it's actually a stunt coyote, but with a little bit of finishing in post, who'll know? Besides you, o faithful listeners.
Rule number one of handling stage lights: always wear heavy gloves.
We were a bit short-handed on the last day of filming. I wouldn't have had the chance to take any photos at all, if it weren't for Kigs doing everybody's job.
22 April 2008 @ 08:40 am
Happy Day!
Hey, it's Today, and you all know what that means...
That's right, it's the birthday of my bestest friend--drinking buddy sans pareil, artobiographer, and model being--the incredible ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
vantid!
So everybody out there raise a pint, paint your backside blue, and give whoop and holler for an occasion worth remembering and celebrating. Happy birthday, pal!
Current Location: virtual pinata party
Current Mood: celebratory
Current Music: Great Big Sea--The Old Black Rum
21 April 2008 @ 11:03 am
Here come dots
Today I realized the difference between a diaeresis and an umlaut (not to be confused with a heavy metal umlaut). Things suddenly make much more sense!
Current Location: wikipedia
Current Mood: reëducated
Current Music: Mötley Crüe--Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär
20 April 2008 @ 11:47 pm
More From The Roomie
Current Location: production office (aka the couch)
Current Mood: fullmoony
Current Music: Justin Timberlake--Kigs In A Box
19 April 2008 @ 09:07 pm
Balance Cards
Old friend of mine, haikujaguar, occasionally offers readings of the Balance Cards, a deck of her own invention which is meant to inspire thought and encourage expanded perspective. Her popular One Card Draws (see Friday's for an example)--a quick, free version of her non-free full five card reading--is the best way to get a taste of just how effective the cards and her reading are.
haikujaguar, occasionally offers readings of the Balance Cards, a deck of her own invention which is meant to inspire thought and encourage expanded perspective. Her popular One Card Draws (see Friday's for an example)--a quick, free version of her non-free full five card reading--is the best way to get a taste of just how effective the cards and her reading are. Due to my travel habits, sleep patterns and a fatal combination of sporadic industry and accidental laziness, I'm rarely around when she announces openings for the One Card Draw on her journal; however, the three readings I've been lucky enough to receive have without fail been the right words at the right time.
The draw she did for me yesterday is no exception. With deep meaning for me on several levels, the reading distills something important to its essence, and puts good words to that which has never been articulated. Though I won't expand my personal interpretation here, I've asked her permission to share her reading with you.
This card is a Cup! An empty Cup, waiting for beer.
That's the key. You're waiting for the beer. I suppose you could request or pay for a beer, but your Cup is empty so, you know... beer can appear without you having to do anything about it. If your Cup was full, no one could put any beer in it.
We fill our own cups with what we think we like. But then we never get to try the unexpected stuff people want to pour us. So keep that Cup empty, and wait for the new experience. :)
Thank you, haikujaguar, and thank you readers for sharing this moment with me.
Current Location: under a very full moon
Current Mood: balanced
Current Music: Rusted Root--Send Me On My Way
17 April 2008 @ 09:48 am
Där dig choklad. Hvår dig spruce? Here, spruce spruce spruce!
My beloved Bristlecone pines, previously thought to be the world's oldest living species at almost 5,000 years, apparently have some older cousins to look up to. This story reports that scientists in Sweden have found a spruce that may have been alive for over 9,000 years.
Än vandrar gudar över denna jord.
En av dem sitter kanske vid ditt bord.
Current Location: body: here; heart: there
Current Mood: in awe
Current Music: Lars-Erik Larsson--Förklädd Gud
17 April 2008 @ 03:39 am
The Roomie
( Day 1 and day 2 of three... )
Small production, big ambitions--back to my roots! Heap scads of fun so far, and we haven't even gotten to the werewolves yet. Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion...
05 April 2008 @ 07:27 am
HELP WANTED
Pursuant to a public art installment I'm planning for mid-May, I'm looking for three volunteers in the following disciplines: 1. financial/economic research and analysis; 2. design/layout; 3. publicity/marketing.
If you're interested in supporting this public art project, or would like more information, please comment (screened) or email Gatcat at his Gmail address; don't forget the dot com. Thanks!
Current Location: Parker Brothers Mint
Current Mood: subversive
Current Music: Michael Hurley--I Paint A Design
02 April 2008 @ 07:37 am
Where Are They Now
In 2005, UK's The Register ran a story about a Slovak man called Richard Kral, who, upon being trapped in his car under an avalanche of snow, drank the 60 liters of beer he'd packed along for vacation and peed his way free.
He's always been a bit of a folk hero to me, but when I tell friends his story, they'll occasionally question the veracity of such a feat. Once in a while, I'll search for his name to see whether he was ever debunked. No retractments yet, but I'll keep you posted.
However, my search did turn up this Richard Kral, also a Slovak. Judging from the extensive list of his social networking sites--he has more personal pages than I have bookmarks--he evidently wants to be found; however, I can find no mention of avalanches in any of his biographies (perhaps slightly complicated by my complete incomprehension of the Slovak moon language).
Even if he's not that same guy, he linked to a delightfully abrasive little piece of art which I will not repost here, for fear of riots in my streets, threats on my lives and damnations of my souls. You can ferret it out if you want and take all these risks upon yourself, as well as the danger of snorting your coffees out your noses.
Thanks to all the Richard Krals of the world for making it a more colorful place!
He's always been a bit of a folk hero to me, but when I tell friends his story, they'll occasionally question the veracity of such a feat. Once in a while, I'll search for his name to see whether he was ever debunked. No retractments yet, but I'll keep you posted.
However, my search did turn up this Richard Kral, also a Slovak. Judging from the extensive list of his social networking sites--he has more personal pages than I have bookmarks--he evidently wants to be found; however, I can find no mention of avalanches in any of his biographies (perhaps slightly complicated by my complete incomprehension of the Slovak moon language).
Even if he's not that same guy, he linked to a delightfully abrasive little piece of art which I will not repost here, for fear of riots in my streets, threats on my lives and damnations of my souls. You can ferret it out if you want and take all these risks upon yourself, as well as the danger of snorting your coffees out your noses.
Thanks to all the Richard Krals of the world for making it a more colorful place!
Current Location: edit bay 42
Current Mood: illuminated
Current Music: Neil Diamond--A Good Kind of Lonely
31 March 2008 @ 12:55 pm
These battered wings still kick up dust
Because dustmeat asked for proof that spring comes also to California...
dustmeat asked for proof that spring comes also to California...
One of a set of pictures from a hike with iisaw and kaysho through the hills outside Los Angeles, where (as the fencepost reminds us) just this last October a mighty fire laid all to blackened waste.
You can see a few more at my deviantArt page, along with expanded photo commentary and about a hundred other photos which have not all been in these pages.
Fall seems so close this year! Let's suck the marrow out of spring while we can.
Current Location: a sometimes golden state
Current Mood: vernal
Current Music: Norman Rose--Deteriorata
31 March 2008 @ 06:09 am
The Visions of St. Gat
Hey! I've finally made up answers to The Musical Gatcat Quiz from last week. Answers first; skip the drivel to see the winner way down at the bottom.
1. My music degree is in vocal performance.
FALSE. Though vocal performance constituted a large part of my long and uneven education, I never aimed for a degree and can only claim an honorary from the School of Very Hard Knocks.
2. If I'm whistling Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, I'm probably on my way to the bathroom.
I do not know why, but this is TRUE. Every time. Sometimes it pops into my head before I even realize that I need to go.
3. My advanced composition final, a lydian ballad in 3/4 time for tenor and piano based on Robert Herrick's poem "To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time," has only been performed once, for an audience of one. Though it was never turned in or performed for the professor per course requirements, the composition received an A.
TRUE. When I finished my composition, I sang it once to a young lady, who pronounced it abjectly lovely but soon left my life. I subsequently destroyed the piece. However, I had shown my professor several stages of the work in progress, and was at the top of my class in all other ways. I was so embarrassed for not turning in the composition I skipped the last two weeks of class. When I received an A on my report card, I visited my instructor to ask how he could possibly forgive my errant behavior; he said there was nothing to forgive, and that I had amply demonstrated my knowledge and ability during the semester. I wish all my teachers had been that cool.
4. Toluca Jake and the Lankershim Five started as a bluegrass band, but evolved into a big band swing orchestra before breaking up.
FALSE. Toluca Jake &c., while known to perform a wide range of material, has ALWAYS been about rock and roll.
5. I often hum quick musical cues based on what's happening around me.
TRUE. Sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing it; if I stop to wonder why a particular song is in my head, I can usually trace it back to something somebody has done or said. (Every single last man Jack of you knew this to be true!)
6. I have been flown to the UK to sing at a celebrity-studded wedding in Scotland.
TRUE. Okay, there were only three celebrities. Not one was a stud, and only one was studded.
7. If I'm whistling, I find it incredibly rude if somebody else begins whistling something else simultaneously. However, hearing whistling sometimes makes me reflexively begin myself.
TRUE. I hate this about me. I don't know why it makes me so angry; I also don't know why I find it so hard to control my own knee-jerk reaction. I guess for the same reason I have to whistle Mozart on the way to the can.
8. As a non-believer, I refuse to sing hymns or other overtly religious tunes.
FALSE. While I got no 'ligion, I kind of like some spirituals and old liturgical tunes. I practically despise Christmas carols, but I still used to sing them in a professional quartet with care and passion enough to bring listeners to tears. If you ask nicely enough, I'll also sing at your funeral.
9. My love for and study of classical music can be traced almost entirely to watching old cartoons.
TRUE. When I was growing up, my father played a wide variety of music, but heavy on classical. Later I began to seek out the music I had learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons, and from there developed a wide appreciation and knowledge of other classical music. My father recently revealed that he, as a boy, had learned to love most of HIS music from the same cartoons. Go fig.
10. I love music because it can sway human emotions beyond the power of logic.
FALSE. It is more correct to say I fear music because blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong - I do love the visceral impact music has on me personally. However, I can disassociate that reaction from the message in the music. Many cannot. (Nobody, not one of you, got this correct.)
THE WINNERS: It was a tie betweenahsavka and learnteach! I was going to use the bonus question as the tie breaker, but since it's a trick question (the answer is "all of the above"), that didn't work. Then I thought I'd choose the winner based on who made the best prize suggestion. Well, they both appealed to my sense of aesthetics, one asking for dead stuff and the other asking to share some beverages. Tough! So I flipped a coin, and it landed on its edge just before lightning struck me twice and international terrorists ate my Wheaties and a shark bit me and you get the picture.
HONORABLE MENTIONS in the prize-suggesting category go tosilverpaw who suggested I should compose a poem about the winner, and to kayotae for suggesting (and I quote) BEER.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
1. My music degree is in vocal performance.
FALSE. Though vocal performance constituted a large part of my long and uneven education, I never aimed for a degree and can only claim an honorary from the School of Very Hard Knocks.
2. If I'm whistling Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, I'm probably on my way to the bathroom.
I do not know why, but this is TRUE. Every time. Sometimes it pops into my head before I even realize that I need to go.
3. My advanced composition final, a lydian ballad in 3/4 time for tenor and piano based on Robert Herrick's poem "To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time," has only been performed once, for an audience of one. Though it was never turned in or performed for the professor per course requirements, the composition received an A.
TRUE. When I finished my composition, I sang it once to a young lady, who pronounced it abjectly lovely but soon left my life. I subsequently destroyed the piece. However, I had shown my professor several stages of the work in progress, and was at the top of my class in all other ways. I was so embarrassed for not turning in the composition I skipped the last two weeks of class. When I received an A on my report card, I visited my instructor to ask how he could possibly forgive my errant behavior; he said there was nothing to forgive, and that I had amply demonstrated my knowledge and ability during the semester. I wish all my teachers had been that cool.
4. Toluca Jake and the Lankershim Five started as a bluegrass band, but evolved into a big band swing orchestra before breaking up.
FALSE. Toluca Jake &c., while known to perform a wide range of material, has ALWAYS been about rock and roll.
5. I often hum quick musical cues based on what's happening around me.
TRUE. Sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing it; if I stop to wonder why a particular song is in my head, I can usually trace it back to something somebody has done or said. (Every single last man Jack of you knew this to be true!)
6. I have been flown to the UK to sing at a celebrity-studded wedding in Scotland.
TRUE. Okay, there were only three celebrities. Not one was a stud, and only one was studded.
7. If I'm whistling, I find it incredibly rude if somebody else begins whistling something else simultaneously. However, hearing whistling sometimes makes me reflexively begin myself.
TRUE. I hate this about me. I don't know why it makes me so angry; I also don't know why I find it so hard to control my own knee-jerk reaction. I guess for the same reason I have to whistle Mozart on the way to the can.
8. As a non-believer, I refuse to sing hymns or other overtly religious tunes.
FALSE. While I got no 'ligion, I kind of like some spirituals and old liturgical tunes. I practically despise Christmas carols, but I still used to sing them in a professional quartet with care and passion enough to bring listeners to tears. If you ask nicely enough, I'll also sing at your funeral.
9. My love for and study of classical music can be traced almost entirely to watching old cartoons.
TRUE. When I was growing up, my father played a wide variety of music, but heavy on classical. Later I began to seek out the music I had learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons, and from there developed a wide appreciation and knowledge of other classical music. My father recently revealed that he, as a boy, had learned to love most of HIS music from the same cartoons. Go fig.
10. I love music because it can sway human emotions beyond the power of logic.
FALSE. It is more correct to say I fear music because blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong - I do love the visceral impact music has on me personally. However, I can disassociate that reaction from the message in the music. Many cannot. (Nobody, not one of you, got this correct.)
THE WINNERS: It was a tie between
ahsavka and learnteach! I was going to use the bonus question as the tie breaker, but since it's a trick question (the answer is "all of the above"), that didn't work. Then I thought I'd choose the winner based on who made the best prize suggestion. Well, they both appealed to my sense of aesthetics, one asking for dead stuff and the other asking to share some beverages. Tough! So I flipped a coin, and it landed on its edge just before lightning struck me twice and international terrorists ate my Wheaties and a shark bit me and you get the picture. HONORABLE MENTIONS in the prize-suggesting category go to
silverpaw who suggested I should compose a poem about the winner, and to kayotae for suggesting (and I quote) BEER. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Current Location: The Oracle of Gat
Current Mood: revelatory
Current Music: Bugs Bunny--A Rainy Night In Rio
28 March 2008 @ 04:34 pm
Quizzes are the curse of the LJ class
Whoo! Fun gig coming up, keep me busy a few days. Slim chance I might not be around Monday, when I was going to announce the results of the Musical Gatcat quiz, so there may be an extra day before the polls close. But don't procrastinate!!
Go take a gander now. Ten questions, a bonus question, and YOU suggest a prize for the winner! Wheeeee. Won't take you but a minute: that's right kids, the Musical Gatcat quiz!
In other news, I think you're neat.
27 March 2008 @ 08:49 am
Hamilton's
Man, I wish I were a San Diego local. Hamilton's Tavern in San Diego's South Park neighborhood has a fab craft selection, decent grub (although they claim it's organic and stuff), and THEY ALLOW DOGS.
Rock and roll.
25 March 2008 @ 01:55 pm
Learning
The glue that holds us together in any community, microcosmically and macrocosmically, is the ability to disagree vehemently yet still listen. Maybe we go forward together, nu?
P.S. This is NOT directed to anybody who might be reading this, but is nugget-wisdom extrapolated from today's conversation with a friend who doesn't even HAVE a blog.
P.P.S. I'm goin' fishin' with my pa!
25 March 2008 @ 07:47 am
Play Me
Yellow Drum Machine from letsmakerobots.com. Nifty!
I clicked this link from starfallz's journal yesterday but got so tied up in work that I didn't get to watch it until this morning. And now I've watched it twice. The video's great, but take a minute to read the page as well--that little machine's got some fun tricks.
Tonight, I'll see what the rest of that site is about. (I'm guessing robots.)
Current Location: Number 21
Current Mood: tickled
Current Music: Yellow Drum Machine--Tappa tap patappa
24 March 2008 @ 08:42 am
Help the balladeer? I am the balladeer!
kaysho's recent meme-poll-contest, wherein he listed ten alleged personal quirks in a true-or-false quiz, gave me inspiration to repeat the experiment with you loyal readers (and even some not-so-loyal-but-suckers-for-a-memepoll)There are ten true-or-false questions about The Musical Gatcat. Some are true. Some are bogus. It's up to YOU to decide which is which.
Kaysho offered a prize, and so (like a good sheep) I should as well. I just haven't decided what yet. And so, as part of the poll, you should suggest one. If you don't suggest a prize and you are the winner, I will send you a small jar of jellyfish.
Contest ends Sunday the 30th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Comments are screened. Contestants may only enter once. I'll comment back during the week to tell you how you did, and announce the results on Monday the 31st.
Good luck!
TRUE OR FALSE:
1. My music degree is in vocal performance.
2. If I'm whistling Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, I'm probably on my way to the bathroom.
3. My advanced composition final, a lydian ballad in 3/4 time for tenor and piano based on Robert Herrick's poem "To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time," has only been performed once, for an audience of one. Though it was never turned in or performed for the professor per course requirements, the composition received an A.
4. Toluca Jake and the Lankershim Five started as a bluegrass band, but evolved into a big band swing orchestra before breaking up.
5. I often hum quick musical cues based on what's happening around me.
6. I have been flown to the UK to sing at a celebrity-studded wedding in Scotland.
7. If I'm whistling, I find it incredibly rude if somebody else begins whistling something else simultaneously. However, hearing whistling sometimes makes me reflexively begin myself.
8. As a non-believer, I refuse to sing hymns or other overtly religious tunes.
9. My love for and study of classical music can be traced almost entirely to watching old cartoons.
10. I love music because it can sway human emotions beyond the power of logic.
BONUS QUESTION (fill in the blank): My tinnitus is in the key of _______.
What should the prize be? ___________________
Current Location: das boot
Current Mood: memeriffic
Current Music: Your Favorite Band--Your Favorite Song
23 March 2008 @ 10:13 pm
Sorry, emailers, but...
...any email I get on Easter Sunday with "penis" in the subject line is prooooooobably not legit, and deeeeefinitely goes to the trash folder. If you are not a spammer and REALLY want to talk about penis, try again tomorrow.
22 March 2008 @ 10:15 pm
Vin (extra)ordinaire
"Hey, how'd you like that cabernet?"
"It's good wine, Gat, thanks! Really rich."
"Buttery?"
"Yeah, you could say."
"Maybe a touch of pepper?"
"On the finish. Even so, not dry at all."
"Kind of sweet?"
"For a red, it sure had legs."
"Hunh. Mine doesn't have legs."
"Isn't it the same wine?"
"Oh! Yeah. Well, it was..."
"Gat. What did you do to my wine?"
"I, uh, dropped my corn on the cob in your glass earlier."
"You bastard!"
"Can I get you another?"
"Just fill 'er up again. And Gat?"
"Yeah?"
"Give it a good stir with that corn."
"It's good wine, Gat, thanks! Really rich."
"Buttery?"
"Yeah, you could say."
"Maybe a touch of pepper?"
"On the finish. Even so, not dry at all."
"Kind of sweet?"
"For a red, it sure had legs."
"Hunh. Mine doesn't have legs."
"Isn't it the same wine?"
"Oh! Yeah. Well, it was..."
"Gat. What did you do to my wine?"
"I, uh, dropped my corn on the cob in your glass earlier."
"You bastard!"
"Can I get you another?"
"Just fill 'er up again. And Gat?"
"Yeah?"
"Give it a good stir with that corn."
21 March 2008 @ 07:07 am
Uh suh puh ring is here
Since leaving my standing stones behind in the woods last fall, I've been a little out of touch with the natural motion of things, but I'm told that yesterday was the vernal equinox. From what I hear from many friends, it's heralding change in more than just the season. A lot of personal movement out there: some indubitably toward the positive, and some where only time will tell what the tales don't seem to. It's hard to divine the true course of things when your only connection is through a computer screen.
As easy as it is to misunderstand one another in person, online it's like falling off a log. ( The very words... )
Thank you, Spring!
Coming soon: photos, backpacks, and a poll!