Left knee, not the right...

I was perusing various guitar sites that I frequent (namely Guitarz) but I came across this other site called Guitar Flame. An intersting site, but that's not just all...

Looking through it, I came across Ovidiu Oprescu's post about his friend Costin. A nice write up, but I don't know the guy.

"Why the write-up Dave?", you ask. Well...

Notice the knee on which the guitar rests.

In the short time I've been playing (and the million or so articles and pictures I've viewed studying and such), I've not seen someone play with the guitar resting on the left leg (at least for a righty).

Is that strange? I've found it to be a most comfortable position to play, but everyone else I see favors the other leg.

What do you think?

As usual, your comments are welcome.

Shazam!

iPhone Woes...

Well, just in case you haven't heard about it, I've been working on a second blog, focusing on technology news, issues, and such.

The latest deals with the man who goes into a pub with the latest iPhone.

No, it's not a joke.

Check it here.

Shazam!

Decisions, Part III

The water slowly rolled down the wall, dancing in and out of the scars left from the vase.

Smoke slowly curled up from the old battered Sony tv, remnants of happier times.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod...

"You fuckin' whore. I treated you right! Why the fu... You know what? Nevermind. Jesus, why di... Argh!"

The slammed door was quickly followed by a shuffling of drawers and tossed clothings. The tell tale scraping of metal hangers on the rod indicated he was grabbing his work clothes as well.

The door flung open and it was almost comical, Don holding three suitcases, four suits in the plastic covers, and an Ogio duffel bag filled with shoes, were it not for the fact that she had just ripped apart his world.

Don was from the thriving town of Ellingera. Not too big, but big enough to blend into the background if you kept quiet. First loves, the two of them had a whirlwind romance through high school. Everyone assumed that they shared that magical moment after Senior Prom, but both were virgins on their wedding day.

Moving to the city opened Brooke's eyes to what lay beyond E-Z-Stop and City Cafe. The work blended the days and the exciting highs of city life muted the small town values that brought them there.

Jake understood Brooke. Jake showed Brooke that a wide world existed beyond just this little city. Jake was never without some excitement. Jake discussed experimenting with candy dish parties.

Don was...Don. Wasn't she beyond the simplicity that was their relationship? All they did was sit at home and watch tv. Or go to the movies. Maybe dinner at the diner around the corner. It wasn't much at all.

In for a penny, her grandmother used to always say.

The front door slammed.

In for a pound.

Nostalgiasm

Okay, consider this a prelude to an upcoming post.

What is nostalgia to you?

Is it that fuzzy warm feeling you get when you encounter something from your misplaced youth?

Perhaps a tinge of guilt over that tragically unhip song or movie that you still harbor soft feelings for?

Take a moment to think about it, and even better, take a few minutes and leave a few comments.

And in case you were wondering, the rock song from this movie is "Touch" by Stan Bush.

And it is that good...

For your viewing pleasure, as you type your comments. (Note: For your benefit, I'd recommend cueing it at 1:05 or later. Trust me on this...)

Cloud Printing

A repost from the TECHNIMertiverse.

I just got done reading an interesting article about Google's Cloud Printing project.

Definitely interesting, especially for those of you with smart phones and laptops not connected to printers and such.

Idea is pretty simple: Have an item you want to print, send it to the cloud. The cloud, in it's mightiness, connects to the established printer (secure and all, right?). Item is printed, and everyone smiles.

It's still in the works within the Chromium project, but I don't see this taking too terribly long. Security is probably the most important aspect here. Once that is clarified, it'll be a real nice and convenient aspect to cloud computing.

Shazam!

Minor Leagues aren't Minor

Last night was the first time I've ever attended an ice hockey game.

It was, most importantly, a pleasant and positive experience for me and the family.

While the game of hockey isn't something I've been excited about before (save Colorado's championship run with Patrick Roy in 1996), this is more about the whole experience of it.

See, I've been to various professional sports. Probably not as many as my friend ReShawn, but my fair share.

Of all the professional sports, I'd have to say that that the minor leagues rock. Period. I've never had a better time (playoffs notwithstanding) at a professional sporting event than at the minors.

Baseball is perhaps the best all around. I've been to AA, AAA, and MLB games. Love them all. It was simply just a great family experience, but you could still get "adult" with it, if you get what I mean.

NFL...geez...it was a bunch of hype. I had a better time staying at home and watching the game. NBA? Well, it was better, but honestly, you had to have kick ass seats to really enjoy the experience (NFL, pretty much same thing in that regard). I've not been to a NHL hockey or MLS soccer match, but I would imagine it being quite similar.

I'm sure that the company you keep plays a big part in all of this. I've been fortunate to have had great company at all of these games. It just seems that the hokey little things that happen at the minor league games (can you say Puffy Taco race at Nelson Wolff Stadium?) really make it that much of an experience.

I'm sure that you can have a great experience at a major league sporting event; I simply can't afford those kinda seats. I wish I could, but I simply can't.

Ten bucks got me thirteen rows away from the glass. My son got high fives without being elbowed or shoved down, going to the players' tunnel at the last moment.

Maybe it's just a perspective thing, but I like the minors.

Now I gotta find out when the Missions host the Hooks...

End of an Era...Forty Years Ago.

Forty years ago today...

Decisions, Part II

With the wheels in motion, Ash tucked the iPhone into her "nestling" pocket. It was a custom job sewn into the heavy terry robe, located several inches below her navel. She gave sexting a new meaning.

She couldn't help but smile as she thought about what would be when the flash of steel and flesh passed in front of her. Searing pain and the tell-tale coppery taste quickly replaced the guilt-ridden smile.

"What the hell's so damn funny?" Jake was Jake. He grew up poor white trash in a nuclear family of five with Daddy earning six figures. Jake was a bit of an anomaly: All the money in the world couldn't clean him up, nor would it ever teach him life. The money gave him a sense of entitlement where none belonged, and Jake simply took what he wanted.

"Nothing Jake..." It was amazing how fast she could reply in such an even tone. She'd never take this off of anyone else, much less an asshole like Jake. But he was her first. There was something special there. Or there was.

"I'm going out with the guys to Billy's bachelor party. I'll be back tomorrow for lunch. Pick up my dry cleaning tomorrow." He so slightly pinched her chin, turned her face to kiss her cheek, but as his lips approached her, her intoxicating smell enthralled him, and he pulled her up.

He grabbed an ass cheek firmly, pulled her close and dived into a mouthful of kiss. Ash struggled at first, then fell into that trance of automatic reciprocation. Right as she was drifting into bliss, he abruptly pulled away, smacked her ass and quipped, "Damn baby, you still hot! Sheee-it! I'll see you tomorrow. And don't forget my dry cleaning!"

Maybe it was his way of saying sorry. Jake was still a good kisser, Ash thought, but she was quite tired of his hands.

BzzzZZZzzzz!

Oh my, Ash silently quipped.

Decisions, Part I

The hot water caressed his body as Phin slowly finished lathering up.

The carnal thoughts filled his mind. What if. What might. What will. The soap slowly slid down his body, emptying into the drain below.

As he began to shampoo the hair, Phin felt the scratch upon his neck and remembered how it got there. A guilt ridden smile, one where you knew it was wrong but still did it, carved itself into the cavernous cheeks.

The water shut off and he immediately could hear the tell tale buzzing of a new message. Toweling off his hand, Phin tapped the screen to open the message.

Quid pro quo.

Always something for something. The smile left, leaving only the guilt. It would take another forty-eight hours to do everything she wanted. The bar of soap was, once again, looking quite inviting.

A Haiku

Don't you love allergies?

I've been quite fortunate to not really suffer from them, but the rest of the family does.

For all of you afflicted, this one's for you.

Spring

The emerald ooze spews,

announces the arrival

of a new season.

Clutch Shot

It's been a few years since I had to, but after getting in my second accident in two months (with another to follow in the coming month) I was faced with replacing my little Tempo.

The stars aligned and I was offered (Thanks, Dad) a nice little red S-10. The kicker? It was a 4-speed manual transmission. Standard. The truck was delivered on a Saturday, and I had classes on Monday morning at 8:30. Great.

The conclusion of this historic event for me? I learned, but not as fast as I would have liked. The truck was fun, in that shifting gears brought me, in a metaphysical way, closer to the vehicle. I was better able to understand the various moods of the truck and eventually, was quite able to get it up and running without any hurky-jerkiness or stalling out.

Why talk about this? Apparently, according to the editor of one of my car magazines, manual transmissions are slowly being phased out for auto-clutch (aka double clutch) transmissions. Honestly, technology is a working marvel, and the new trannys make shifting faster, efficient, and saves wear on the transmission due to improper or abusive driving/shifting.

I read the article again toda(and thus was prompted to go ahead and write this), but I don't think I'm worried about the standard transmission going fully away. Obviously, we'll still have "vintage" cars that utilize it. But like the record player, tried and true technology isn't necessarily going to stop.

I think that there will be a market for the vintage style of shifting. No, it's not convenient (especially when drinking your coffee on the way to work). It goes against multitasking while driving (oh wait..is that a bad thing?). But it's also takes something special away from that relationship that drivers understand.

I remember that sneer that other drivers would give me when discovering that I did not know how to drive stick. I don't think I ever gave that look, but I sure as hell felt that way a few times. I think every driver should be able to, lest they find themselves in that pinch one day.

But if things keep going the way the are, they may never.

Do you drive stick? Can you double-clutch? Do you even know what "heel-toe" means?

Comments, as always, are welcome.

Shazam!

How Rock Band Changes My Life

I'm sure somewhere someone is trying to roll over in their grave. Or their couch. But it's true.

Rock Band changed my life. In a most good way. But before I get into that, I've got to address those naysayers out there.

Perhaps the biggest gripe I hear/read about any of the rhythm games that exist out there (take your pick: Rock Band, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, etc...) is that it is by no means a replacement for playing a real instrument.

I agree with that idea. Playing a guitar/band based game is not by any means a replacement for actually getting together with some folks and actually playing real instruments. But what of the concept of playing a game?

It started mainstream with Guitar Hero. And if you actually look at the original game, it was...well...over the top. It was supposed to be; it's a video game for cripes sake. Items like Overdrive and Streak become commonplace in the following iterations. Rock Band expanded that concept with gameplay for a an entire band (lead, bass, drums, vocals). DJ Hero introduced the opportunity for dj-ing to mainstream society (it's not easy).

These are games, simple put. They offer an experience that is essentially accessible to anyone with the game console. Just like playing SOCOM or Call of Duty: Modern Ware for that thrill of team work and shooting others, playing one of these music based games offers the thrill of music based fun. It's an experience. And a fun one at that.

But back to the changing of lives...

I bought the original Rock Band because it offered the ability to play drums and sing along with the guitar, something that Guitar Hero failed to offer at that time. Honestly, I sucked at Guitar Hero so bad, I developed and presented to a number of GH fanboys the concept of a plastic add-on so that instead of sliding your hand to play the fifth key, you could keep your hand placed higher on the neck and play the green button with your thumb. But I digress...

That summer was one of Rock Band memories. Slowly, I improved my plastic guitar skills. My singing skills were improving slightly, as were my drumming skills (again, all of which on the plastic variety of instruments). Of all this, the life changing aspect was the reintroduction of music that was dear to my heart, in addition to the new music that I had yet to realize that I loved. Groups like Weezer, Kansas, Mountain, Blue Oyster Cult, and The Who mesmerized me beyond the simple primary colored bars; at one point, I had 95% of Weezer's "Say it Ain't So" memorized and would tap it out in the car on the way to work.

Life changing? At this point, more like seed planting...

What started as a gamer's addiction became a desire for something more. As much fun as mashing buttons can be, between playing Rock Band and reading my subscription of Spin magazine, the seed grew into a full out sickness. The cure? More cowbell...er, more guitar. Real guitar.

As readers of this post can attest, I started playing real deal guitar about a year and a half ago.

Now many dollars later (and into the latest iterations of music games), Rock Band reaches another level of life changing status: The Beatles. Sure this game came out in September. Sure, most everyone has heard of The Beatles. But have you experienced The Beatles?

Before you say sacrilege, just hear it out. In pure homage to the boys from Liverpool, this game plays as a tribute to one of the greatest bands ever. No stupid frills, just simply good music and incredible visuals. Good game, but how is it life changing?

The easy answer here is it's The Beatles. But that's not gonna work. Two-fold, The Beatles' catalog is just that good. Timeless, storying, and musicianship that quite honestly sets a standard that would be hard pressed to be met even today.

That segues into my second point: the musicianship. Not only does it lend itself to a more enjoyable listen, but as a budding guitarist, it gives me a greater respect for how difficult it is to actually play much of their music. Not just in real life, but even so on a five-buttoned plastic guitar.

I'm currently on a George Harrison trip to discover this Dark Horse. All I know at this point beyond his Beatles tenure and friendship with Mr. Eric Clapton. Not much, but again the road to discovery is quite a lovely one and made that much more enjoyable with friends who share the appreciation. I spent the morning practicing an early Beatles tune with my friends TurnDog and T-Dubb (Dyl was there as well, manning the camera). After an hour of that, we fired up the PS3 and rocked out to the Fab Four in their version of Rock Band. A lot of fun, bonding, friendships renewed, and father-son moments all as a result of a little endeavor called Rock Band.

Life changing? Maybe not. But altered? And how.

So my fave? Just watch and enjoy.

Or maybe you want what some consider to be the "definitive" version...

So do you play Rock Band or Guitar Hero? Did you play them? What do you think?

Comments, as always, are welcome.

Shazam!