Ok, so I've been busy. So have you.
To Duluth:
I was raised on a bed of rock
I have granite in my bones
And though my home's a distant thought
My heart's still made of stone
Monday, March 27, 2006
Thursday, March 2, 2006
So I'm kind of seeing this new guy
So, I'm kind of seeing this new guy. I'd forgotten how delicious the anticipation of a new relationship can be. 75% of my day is consumed by questions: "I wonder if he likes Dylan? Can he dance? Should I show him my poetry?" I've decided I want to be "the artist" in his dating memoir. I'll be his muse, or maybe he'll be mine. He'll teach me to appreciate wine and write songs about me. I'll show him how to embrace his inner hippie and write short stories about all the amazing things he says. It will be very Cusakian.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Chapter 1: I never thought I'd use
Chapter 1:
I never thought I'd use the description, but today I had an idea that struck me like lightening. As the thought bubbled like a Fresca into my brain I actually felt a physical jolt of energy shoot through my spinal column. I had really been in a fog all day, distracted at work because I had this new guy on my mind and because I had disabled too many brain cells the night before with shots of Wild Turkey. (Why?). At seven I went to my book club and guided a lackluster discussion on a book I had desperately scurried to finish as the other members waited in line at the coffee house. Afterward I stopped in at my buddy Dan's house over on campus, they call it "the castle." The whole time I was there I was paranoid I would be thought of as "that one girl who nobody really knows who comes over to hang out sometimes, and she's, like, way older than the rest of us so she probably has no life of her own, and she seems cool but she might be weird, we don't really know." I said as much and Carrie, who obviously wore the matriarch role in "this disease-infested garbage pile"(her words) gave an insincere half-laugh which furthered my suspicions. They were convinced that I was either a narc or an anthropology major because I was keeping notes. This is why:
Everyone was talking about how there's always someone new hanging around and as they described their cast of characters it was like I was watching their private sit-com:
" . . .Well, sometimes we give them nicknames. Doris, Doris the Clitoris. She was this girl that would hang out here last fall. She had her clit pierced and she kept showing it to everyone. We called her 'Doris the Clitoris' all the time and eventually no one could remember her real name."
--"Oh my god!" someone yells from the kitchen, "Are you guys talking about Doris the Clitoris? Did you know that she's a stripper now at Kings? Swear to god. Do you know a guy named Antwon?"
--"Is he black?"
--"The twitchy one? He always forgets what he's talking about in the middle of the story. And he lies all the time. He told me he makes all his own clothes with a needle and thread, he just copied the LEVIS stitching for the pattern."
Dan's roommate Ries jumps up from his perch on the arm of the couch and begins shifting rapidly back and forth on his feet. He rubs his chin and starts what I can only assume is an Antwon impression in a sorry-midwestern-white-guy "black voice", "Dem kidz kin dance up in Chicago, man. Muthafuckahs can really dance."
--"Yeah, that guy's a douche," Dan agreed. "He told me one time that if he took one more ecsatsy pill he was gonna lose his mind. Gonna?" Carrie, who has been silently absorbed in her video game for the last 15 minutes interjects with a my-story-beats-your-story: "I totally know that guy. Last year he stole my sketchbook and told people that he drew them all."
I'm telling these guys that I know Dan from his new job and one asks if it was some part of the interview process to observe him in his natural habitat. Next this Muppetty-looking guy slumped in a corner papasan chair claims he always checks "Jewish" on applications to make sure he gets the job or whatever. His roommate defends him, "You totally deserve it, though. You've proved your Jewness when you talked the rent down on this place from $625 to $450."
Then the epiphany: I should start writing some of this shit down, it's blogger gold. So I fished a pen out of the couch cushions and picked a sheet of loose paper up off the floor. On one side of the page was a memo to mall employees, a warning that the city's water treatment plant had been contaminated with E. coli so don't drink from the tap. On the other was a list of mechanics for the cards Two through Ace for the drinking game Categories written in red Sharpie.
Gold, I say.
I never thought I'd use the description, but today I had an idea that struck me like lightening. As the thought bubbled like a Fresca into my brain I actually felt a physical jolt of energy shoot through my spinal column. I had really been in a fog all day, distracted at work because I had this new guy on my mind and because I had disabled too many brain cells the night before with shots of Wild Turkey. (Why?). At seven I went to my book club and guided a lackluster discussion on a book I had desperately scurried to finish as the other members waited in line at the coffee house. Afterward I stopped in at my buddy Dan's house over on campus, they call it "the castle." The whole time I was there I was paranoid I would be thought of as "that one girl who nobody really knows who comes over to hang out sometimes, and she's, like, way older than the rest of us so she probably has no life of her own, and she seems cool but she might be weird, we don't really know." I said as much and Carrie, who obviously wore the matriarch role in "this disease-infested garbage pile"(her words) gave an insincere half-laugh which furthered my suspicions. They were convinced that I was either a narc or an anthropology major because I was keeping notes. This is why:
Everyone was talking about how there's always someone new hanging around and as they described their cast of characters it was like I was watching their private sit-com:
" . . .Well, sometimes we give them nicknames. Doris, Doris the Clitoris. She was this girl that would hang out here last fall. She had her clit pierced and she kept showing it to everyone. We called her 'Doris the Clitoris' all the time and eventually no one could remember her real name."
--"Oh my god!" someone yells from the kitchen, "Are you guys talking about Doris the Clitoris? Did you know that she's a stripper now at Kings? Swear to god. Do you know a guy named Antwon?"
--"Is he black?"
--"The twitchy one? He always forgets what he's talking about in the middle of the story. And he lies all the time. He told me he makes all his own clothes with a needle and thread, he just copied the LEVIS stitching for the pattern."
Dan's roommate Ries jumps up from his perch on the arm of the couch and begins shifting rapidly back and forth on his feet. He rubs his chin and starts what I can only assume is an Antwon impression in a sorry-midwestern-white-guy "black voice", "Dem kidz kin dance up in Chicago, man. Muthafuckahs can really dance."
--"Yeah, that guy's a douche," Dan agreed. "He told me one time that if he took one more ecsatsy pill he was gonna lose his mind. Gonna?" Carrie, who has been silently absorbed in her video game for the last 15 minutes interjects with a my-story-beats-your-story: "I totally know that guy. Last year he stole my sketchbook and told people that he drew them all."
I'm telling these guys that I know Dan from his new job and one asks if it was some part of the interview process to observe him in his natural habitat. Next this Muppetty-looking guy slumped in a corner papasan chair claims he always checks "Jewish" on applications to make sure he gets the job or whatever. His roommate defends him, "You totally deserve it, though. You've proved your Jewness when you talked the rent down on this place from $625 to $450."
Then the epiphany: I should start writing some of this shit down, it's blogger gold. So I fished a pen out of the couch cushions and picked a sheet of loose paper up off the floor. On one side of the page was a memo to mall employees, a warning that the city's water treatment plant had been contaminated with E. coli so don't drink from the tap. On the other was a list of mechanics for the cards Two through Ace for the drinking game Categories written in red Sharpie.
Gold, I say.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Last night I found myself at roller
Last night I found myself at a Roller Derby. What a riot! The Minnesota Rollergirls had an exhibition at the local staking rink. It started out kind of slow, and it took a few turns around the track to figure out the rules. Two teams of five women skate around the track in a pack(jam) while one player from each team tries to lap the pack and score points as many times as possible in two minute "jams." I think. The music was loud and the crowd got rowdy. There was a lot of falling down. Straight men and women alike can't help but find it a little bit hot. I recommend the Roller Derby for a fun night out, A good time was had by all.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Mom turned me on to this guy
Mom turned me on to John Dolan. He is an editor for the eXile, a Russian-based alternative newspaper. Much of Dolan's contributions are book reviews, including one of Frey's "memoir" titled A Million Pieces of Shit (from 2003 even). I don't pretend to associate myself with the intellectual crowd so I'll admit a lot of the subject matter is over my head, but it's plainly written, it's funny, and it's mean(my favorite combination). Though I don't know squat about war literature or the Russian economy, I can understand Dolan's critique of Anthony Swafford's Jarhead or his rant about David Satter's Darkness At Dawn. Reading these reviews makes me feel smarter, and you know me, I'm into feelings.
Sunday, February 5, 2006
Found this on amazon today
In 23 days I will turn 30. Actually, I will turn 7.5 birthdays since I don't get a real one this year, But I'm so excited! I am oficially a grownup, but I'm still so cool. It seems life just keeps getting better every year. When I think about how insane and difficult the last 10 years have been I'm elated to have learned from it all and put it all behind me. And think of all the great stuff to look forward to: my family will probably grow, I could move away or settle right here, I'll probably do some great travelling and not have to charge it, the whole sexual peak thing(really looking forward to that one), think of all the good books yet to be read, all the new music yet to be enjoyed, movies, family, friends, life! I love my job and have tons of ideas to keep it exciting for the next few years. I know there will be struggles to come. I will probably lose one or more of my grandparents, and that scares me to death. I know there will be broken hearts and emergencies, ups and downs, wrinkles and grey hairs. But I am strong, and these things will make me stronger. I'm healthy, I'm happy, and I'm in charge! Bring on the black balloons! P.S. Check out my Wish List!
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Some Easy Steps To Guitar Solo
Assortment is the zest of life. Musically, I think "zest" means a specific measure of disharmony. Disharmony is a pressure coming about because of the absence of amicability among musical notes.
In this lesson I talk about a couple of alternatives I utilize when playing over predominant 7 harmonies. I'll take you through a deliberate procedure of utilizing scales that dynamically utilize increasingly discordant notes. It will be this blending of consonant and offensive sounds that will include a considerable measure of fascinating components to your playing and give your performances the difference that will keep your group of onlookers tuning in.
So you can promptly actualize these thoughts, I'll be utilizing just some essential pentatonic and soul scales that you likely definitely know, and additionally several thoughts that may not yet be a piece of your vocabulary. We'll use A7 as our key focus in these illustrations.
Note: I exceptionally prescribe you discover a sponsorship track with an overwhelming seventh key focus to hone these thoughts over. This will most likely help you disguise how these scales sound and diverge from each other in a musical connection. YouTube has a bundle!
An A7 harmony is best portrayed as an A noteworthy triad with a minor seventh. This harmony is spelled A-C#-E-G. Generally speaking, its tonality is major, yet the minor seventh note in the harmony fits some minor methodologies also. We should delve in …
The A noteworthy pentatonic scale could be viewed as the most consonant match for this harmony, as the scale incorporates the A noteworthy triad. While somewhat vanilla for a few, it works impeccably.
To include an only a little discord, the A noteworthy soul scale can be utilized. This scale incorporates all the "right notes" from the major pentatonic scale however adds a minor third to the blend. This minor third doesn't emerge an excessive amount of when played quickly as a passing tone, however in the event that you put some emphasis on it, it will without a doubt snatch the audience's consideration before you resolve it to the following note in the scale. With a jam track, have a go at changing from the major pentatonic scale and the real soul scale.
It's this minor third note that leads us to an exceptionally basic combo: utilizing the minor pentatonic scale over the predominant 7 harmony. The minor pentatonic scale incorporates the root, fifth and minor seventh of the prevailing 7 harmony we're playing over, however the minor third is noisy when heard against the major third in the harmony. It is this cacophony that frequently drives us to twist the minor third up to the significant third pitch, giving us that gracious so soul-filled sound we adore.
I regularly consider players like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix when I hear this being played, yet since the minor pentatonic scale is one of the main scales guitar understudies learn, odds are you are as of now doing this. With a jam track, take a stab at changing from the major pentatonic to the significant soul—and now the minor pentatonic scale—and back.
On the off chance that we need to "up" the measure of discord much more, we can begin to play the minor soul scale over this harmony. Not just do we now have that discordant minor third from the minor pentatonic scale, yet now we additionally have the tritone to twist the audience's ears much more. On the off chance that you essentially regard the tritone as a passing tone, it may not be excessively recognizable, but rather on the off chance that you concentrate on that note, you'll truly begin getting the audience's ears to liven up! With a jam track, have a go at changing from the major pentatonic, to the significant soul, minor pentatonic, minor soul and back.
As though this wasn't sufficient to blend things up and make your performances all the more fascinating, I additionally get a kick out of the chance to incorporate a couple more thoughts to accomplish that "outside sound" in my performances. The first is the thing that I jump at the chance to call the "Flatted Root Minor Pentatonic Scale." This scale essentially levels the root (An) in the A minor pentatonic scale. This scale is spelled Ab-C-D-E-G. On the off chance that there was ever a note to modify to make bit of cacophony, it's the root! Look as group of onlookers individuals turn upward from their cell phones when you lay this present scale's sound on them.
Another simple method for getting a conflicting "outside" sound is to just move the minor pentatonic scale up a half stride for a brief minute. This avoiding system functions admirably amid scale runs, simply climb one worry part of the way through your expression and appreciate the discord. Simply recall to move over into key, as a tad bit of this "zest" goes far.
Jam these scales to a play-along track, blending them up in an assortment of ways. Transform it up incrementally for some delicious licks, or execute enormous differentiations for some truly strong flavors.
Are you interesting with this post? Access my website (TheBestBeginnerGuitar.Com) to read more guitar tips and tricks for beginners.
In this lesson I talk about a couple of alternatives I utilize when playing over predominant 7 harmonies. I'll take you through a deliberate procedure of utilizing scales that dynamically utilize increasingly discordant notes. It will be this blending of consonant and offensive sounds that will include a considerable measure of fascinating components to your playing and give your performances the difference that will keep your group of onlookers tuning in.
Note: I exceptionally prescribe you discover a sponsorship track with an overwhelming seventh key focus to hone these thoughts over. This will most likely help you disguise how these scales sound and diverge from each other in a musical connection. YouTube has a bundle!
An A7 harmony is best portrayed as an A noteworthy triad with a minor seventh. This harmony is spelled A-C#-E-G. Generally speaking, its tonality is major, yet the minor seventh note in the harmony fits some minor methodologies also. We should delve in …
The A noteworthy pentatonic scale could be viewed as the most consonant match for this harmony, as the scale incorporates the A noteworthy triad. While somewhat vanilla for a few, it works impeccably.
To include an only a little discord, the A noteworthy soul scale can be utilized. This scale incorporates all the "right notes" from the major pentatonic scale however adds a minor third to the blend. This minor third doesn't emerge an excessive amount of when played quickly as a passing tone, however in the event that you put some emphasis on it, it will without a doubt snatch the audience's consideration before you resolve it to the following note in the scale. With a jam track, have a go at changing from the major pentatonic scale and the real soul scale.
It's this minor third note that leads us to an exceptionally basic combo: utilizing the minor pentatonic scale over the predominant 7 harmony. The minor pentatonic scale incorporates the root, fifth and minor seventh of the prevailing 7 harmony we're playing over, however the minor third is noisy when heard against the major third in the harmony. It is this cacophony that frequently drives us to twist the minor third up to the significant third pitch, giving us that gracious so soul-filled sound we adore.
I regularly consider players like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix when I hear this being played, yet since the minor pentatonic scale is one of the main scales guitar understudies learn, odds are you are as of now doing this. With a jam track, take a stab at changing from the major pentatonic to the significant soul—and now the minor pentatonic scale—and back.
On the off chance that we need to "up" the measure of discord much more, we can begin to play the minor soul scale over this harmony. Not just do we now have that discordant minor third from the minor pentatonic scale, yet now we additionally have the tritone to twist the audience's ears much more. On the off chance that you essentially regard the tritone as a passing tone, it may not be excessively recognizable, but rather on the off chance that you concentrate on that note, you'll truly begin getting the audience's ears to liven up! With a jam track, have a go at changing from the major pentatonic, to the significant soul, minor pentatonic, minor soul and back.
As though this wasn't sufficient to blend things up and make your performances all the more fascinating, I additionally get a kick out of the chance to incorporate a couple more thoughts to accomplish that "outside sound" in my performances. The first is the thing that I jump at the chance to call the "Flatted Root Minor Pentatonic Scale." This scale essentially levels the root (An) in the A minor pentatonic scale. This scale is spelled Ab-C-D-E-G. On the off chance that there was ever a note to modify to make bit of cacophony, it's the root! Look as group of onlookers individuals turn upward from their cell phones when you lay this present scale's sound on them.
Another simple method for getting a conflicting "outside" sound is to just move the minor pentatonic scale up a half stride for a brief minute. This avoiding system functions admirably amid scale runs, simply climb one worry part of the way through your expression and appreciate the discord. Simply recall to move over into key, as a tad bit of this "zest" goes far.
Jam these scales to a play-along track, blending them up in an assortment of ways. Transform it up incrementally for some delicious licks, or execute enormous differentiations for some truly strong flavors.
Are you interesting with this post? Access my website (TheBestBeginnerGuitar.Com) to read more guitar tips and tricks for beginners.
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