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Is There Gas In The Car?

27-Jun-08

.: Since returning from Madison, I’ve been on the road two more times. From 14-19 June, I was in Seattle attending another Special Libraries Association Annual Conference. I had a good time, saw many old friends, made a few new ones, and documented for the record, Librarians Gone Wild.

A day after returning from Seattle and washing clother and repacking, I flew to NYC to see two Steely Dan concerts at the Beacon Theatre on Broadway. I arrived at LaGuardia around 17:00 hrs, took the usual two hours to get to The Leo House, and hopped the subway to The Beacon Theatre in time to see the show. Afterwards, I ran into a number of the loyal Danfen who follow proceedings via the Dandom site and discussion lists, most of whom flew in from other parts of NA for the show. A dedicated and motley crew of misfits and ne’er-do-wells, I hung out with them until 01:00 or so, and made my way back to the Leo House. On Saturday, >20 of us met at Blondies’ for a pre-show dinner and Danfest, at which the humble Doc showed us his collection of Dan-related Pennsylvania licence plates:

After the sixth and final Beacon show, we hopped over to The Bitter End for an amazing Steely Dan After-Party, organized by the master himself, Mr Pete Fogel of Razor Boy Music. The entire rhythm section of the SD Band played on one song, which I recorded using my Flip video camera:

After the jam, which featured Jon Herington’s band followed by Jeff Young’s band, I was fortunate to finally meet Jon, who has performed live with Steely Dan since 2000, and has appeared on their last two albums, as well as the two recent solo albums by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. I had a nice conversation with him, and was able to tell him how much I admire his playing and how inspirational he is to me as a fellow guitarist and musician.

It was a whirlwind trip. I also had another amazing dinner and visit with my friends, Leo and Diane Dillon. They autographed more of their books for me, and showed me the next two projects on which they have been working. One is called Mama Says, written by Rob D Walker, and the other is called The Night Goblin, written by Mem Fox. I can’t wait to get copies when they are published. It is such a privilege to know both of them, and to be able to see the amazing work they are doing before it hits the bookshelves. I love them both dearly and am incredibly blessed to have them in my life.

Thank you to everyone who has sent along words of love and encouragement regarding my Mother. She will be having surgery on 18 July 2008, and I promise to keep everyone informed on her progress. Right now it’s looking good, and we are feeling positive and upbeat about all of it.

Well, in 15 minutes I turn 55, and it is the moment I am eligible to retire at full pension. All I can say is, “Freedom 55″ is a myth, people! :-)

Yes, there’s gas in the car.

Filed in Miscellaneous, NYC, Steely Dan | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3) »

Various

31-May-08

.: I was in Madison WI for a week recently, and had a very nice time. Madison is the capital of Wisconsin, and home to the University of Wisconsin’s main campus. I divided my five day stay between the homes of two friends, Jude and Lenny. Both visits were relaxed and low-key, which was just was I needed. Madison is a beautiful, seemingly gentle-paced city of about 225,000 people or so, with the campus population around 45,000 during fall and winter session.

While in Madison, I made good on my desire to buy a Flip Ultra, a little camcorder that has a good chunk of the US camcorder market, and has been getting good reviews. For unknown reasons, it is not sold in Canada (like the iPhone, the Kindle, and many other products), and those who sell it online only, like Amazon.com, will not ship it to Canadian addresses. I first heard about the Flip when I was in San Francisco in March, and wasn’t able to find one at the Best Buy store there, because it was sold out. While in Wisconsin, Lenny and I made a pilgrimage to find one, and we went to the four locations that sell it in-store. The first stop was Target. We went in, and approached the woman at the electronics service desk. I told her I wanted to buy a Flip, and her reaction suggested to me that I might as well have been staring into the eyes of a chicken - she had not a clue what I had just said to her.

We left the store, and went to Best Buy. The staff member there did know the Flip, they had one on display, but when she went to check for inventory, she reported that there wasn’t a single Flip Ultra at any Best Buy store in Wisconsin, never mind just in Madison. At Toys ‘R’ Us and OfficeMax, we found the basic Flip Video camera, but not the Ultra. As we were leaving, Lenny suggested we try Sears. I mentioned that the Flip web site lists Sears as an online retailer only, but we figured why not check anyway, as it the store was across the huge parking lot from OfficeMax. We walked in, and at the electronics counter were greeted by a large Flip display. Pleased to see that, we inquired about an Ultra, and the staff member produced one for us. Even better, it was the black model, the one I wanted. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Later that night, I checked in with a colleague was interested in getting one as well, and she said yes, so the next day we went back, and I bought a second unit, in the process learning that I had in fact purchased the last two models in stock, perhaps in the city!

When I returned on Friday, 23 March, I drove home from the airport, and straight to the guitar shop to retrieve my RainSong, as I had a gig that night with Carrie Hryniw. Carrie and I are planning a mini-tour in the first week of July, that will see us perform in Winnipeg on Thursday 03 July, and hopefully Friday 04 July as well.

I will continue my travels in two weeks when I fly to Seattle to attend SLA, and upon my return, fly to NYC to see Steely Dan and hang out with friends.

My most heartfelt thanks to Keith, who recently helped me considerably with the purchase and installation of a new desktop computer. In the process I gave Keith my old Dell Dimension 4400, which I had purchased in March 2002. It had slowed considerably, and was probably about 150 years old in computer years. Keith cleaned it up, gave it a new hard drive and whatever else it needed, and passed it on to a teenager eager to run iTunes. Reports indicate this young person has adopted the Dell and apparently the old machine loves its new home very much. Thanks, Keith.

Finally, on a more serious note, I learned this week that my Mom has breast cancer. We are hoping that an early diagnosis, combined with her age, will result in successful treatment and cure. I’m looking forward to a visit from my parents on June 5th for a few days before they head back to Winnipeg. Please keep my Mom in your thoughts and prayers.

Filed in Flip Ultra, Madison WI, Miscellaneous | Tagged , | Comments (6) »

A Steely Summer

15-May-08

.: Today was the warmest day of the year so far in Edmonton, and it felt like summer has finally arrived. I have a number of trips upcoming, beginning with one to Madison WI on Sunday, to visit a couple good friends. I’ll first spend some time with Jude, and then another friend, Lenny. I’ve never been to Madison before, but have it on good authority from a friend who studied at U Wisconsin at Madison that it is a great city. I may also take a quick side with Jude to see a band in Milwaukee. And while in Wisconsin, I hope to pick up one of these and bring it home to Canada, where like HBO, the Amazon Kindle, and the iPhone, it is not available for purchase.

Following my return, my parents will be visiting for a few days in early June. I’ll be in Seattle from 14-19 June for my annual library conference. I return to Edmonton on the 19th, and the next day on the 20th, fly to NYC for five days to see one, and perhaps two of the shows on the 2008 Steely Dan tour. I already have a ticket for the show on the 21st at the Beacon Theatre, and will follow that by attending an after-party at The Bitter End, featuring some of the SD Band musicians (Jon Herington, Jeff Young).

I’m planning to do a mini-tour with a local singer, Carrie Hryniw. I’ve played three shows with her already, and we are planning to hook up to play shows in Regina, Brandon and Winnipeg before I drive back to Edmonton afterwards.

Then the Steely Dan summer continues. I fly to Chicago on 15 July to see them perform at The Chicago Theatre, and return on the 17th. My friend in Madison, Jude, will meet me in Chicago to see the show there. Finally, I’ll return to Seattle to see two more SD shows on 30/31 July, when they perform at the Chateau Ste Michelle Winery in Woodinville WA.

Why so many Steely Dan shows? Why spend all that money? Well, first of all, life is short, and Steely Dan wil always be my favorite band of all-time, after The Beatles. So with each year they tour, and this is the third year in a row they have decided to tour, one never knows if it will be their last tour. I’ve seen five shows this decade, in 2000, 2003, 2006, and two shows last year at The Beacon in NYC, and have enjoyed them all. It’s such a treat to see a band perform as good as this one, knowing in advance I wil be familiar with all the tunes.

Since the early 90s, I’ve subscribed to a Steely Dan fandom newsletter, called the Dandom Digest. As a result, I’ve become familiar with and made friends with a number of fellow Dandom subscribers, and met many of them at the previous shows. So when I attend the shows in NYC and Seattle, I will see many of them again, and because I am a known quantity among the Danfen, so to speak, I am assured entrance to the after-party at the Bitter End. Sweet. :-)

What are your plans for the summer?

Filed in NYC, Seattle, Steely Dan | | Comments (4) »

2001: Happy 40th Birthday

05-Apr-08

.: Taras forwarded me a link to a post by Tim Lucas, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the release date (06 April 1968) of 2001: A Space Odyssey, my all-time favorite film. I didn’t see it when it was released in April 1968, it wasn’t on my radar for some reason. I did see it in December that year, at the King’s Theatre on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, with my friend Alan Dyer. In his post, Lucas captures the brilliance of this ground-breaking movie, why it is and will remain Kubrick’s masterpiece, and one of the most important motion pictures of all time. Arthur C Clarke, who wrote the novel and co-authored the screenplay with Kubrick, passed away in March, just before the 40th anniversary of 2001’s release. 2001 introduced me to Clarke’s writing, which I have read and enjoyed for many decades.

As Lucas says about 2001, “It is what it is.”

Filed in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick | | Comments (2) »

West Coast Visit

30-Mar-08

.: I’m finishing a trip that saw me fly to San Francisco on Saturday, 23 March 2008, and then to Victoria on Thursday, 27 March 2008. The trip to San Fran involved attending a couple of committee meetings at the Materials Research Society symposium, but also allowed me to see, for the first time ever, Bob Mould perform a heavy electric show with a full band. He played tunes from his solo records, from Sugar, and from Hüsker Dü. I loved every minute of it, totally worth it to stay an extra day to see one of my musical heroes.

This was the second time I made the trip to San Fran to participate in the MRS meeting, and after the event in 2007, I flew to Victoria to visit some old friends from Winnipeg who now live here. I’ve followed the same agenda this time, visiting one friend for two nights, and the other friends for the remaining two nights. I’ll be back in Edmonton tomorrow.

Filed in Bob Mould, On The Road | | Comments (0) »

Why Reading and Books Matter

21-Feb-08

.: Recently Steve Jobs was quoted saying that most people don’t read anymore:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Timothy Egan responded to Jobs today in his 21 Febuary 2008 NYTimes blog, Outposts, in a most eloquent and humourous fashion, reminding us (yet again) how important the act of reading is:

Reading is something else, an engagement of the imagination with life experience. It’s fad-resistant, precisely because human beings are hard-wired for story, and intrinsically curious. Reading is not about product.

Exactly right, Mr Egan, thank you. I am not a fast reader, and at times in years past have gone months without reading a book. This does not mean I wasn’t reading during those times, it just wasn’t books, more likely magazines, newspapers, journals. More recently, I’ve found myself reading fiction again, after a 5-7 year period where I had read but two novels. But my reading of books has been ongoing and steady, and very enjoyable. I use Library Thing to keep track of my reading habits.

Reading is mind exercise, be it fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novel, whatever. When I am immersed in a good book, I not only take great satisfaction and enjoyment from the experience, I also marvel at the creativity and originality of the author, wondering how much time and effort it took to do the research as well as simply being amazed at such an imagination.  Indeed - stretching one’s imagination and expanding the boundaries of one’s mind - what can be better?

Filed in Books, Reading | | Comments (3) »
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