The neighbors kracked UP! The mailman fell outta' his TRUCK... & when I got home & saw THIS, I rolled 'round on th' lawn for at least a half-hour... what do YOU think about this sign that kulturs are "melding together"?
My dad (recently passed) had a pretty sizeable & well-conditioned set of ANALOG magazines, dating WAY back to th' stone ages. If there are any collectors (you know) out there who might be interested in paying a fair price for individual issues, or year sets, please steer them to me at rotcod@comcast.net It would go a long way towards making sure my mom stays out of debt!
We're off fer' a nite o' dancin' at the Oyster House, one of our fave Olympia hangouts. Prolly dance right on into 2004 (since Andy is havin' a "house party" & don't wanna' be disturbed).
This has certainly been an interesting year... signed up for combat duty, mom's 90th B-day & last rites for my pop... I've no doubt that '04 will RAWK, people. Make SURE you continue to support INDIE music... it's th' BEST on th' planet. Oh, & while you're there, please NOTE that 2 brand-new CD's have been posted... "SKINLESS HE", a re-master of a tape with poets John M. Bennett & Ficus Strangulensis... and "ALIEN TONGUES", featuring the poetry & guitars of Alabama poet Jake Berry!
Well, what a "long, strange trip" it was! Traveled to the icy winterland of Vermont for my dad's funeral on Friday through Monday. The sadness of seeing him "in the box" was quite well counterbalanced by the love that could clearly be felt from so many folks in the communities near there that he worked with (for about 12 years or so). The service was held in the East Charleston "Community Church", an outfit that he had hooked up with as soon as he & my mom arrived there. It was clear that he had touched the lives of many in the area, & that they loved him greatly for his giving spirit. There was a great community potluck afterwards, & I got to meet (or "re-meet") cousins I hadn't seen for over 30 years. The kicker was that because of state law in Vermont, he won't be able to be buried until mid-to-late May... so, there will be yet another service for him then.
My mom was very gracious (& at 90 years of age, that's HARD to accomplish), but empty of stress... even though she will miss Henry (my dad), she will be much more relaxed, I've no doubt. She will go to live with my sister Ruth, in Columbus, Ohio (& we are all SO grateful for Ruth's stepping up to the plate)!
I stayed (along with my sister Geri & her husband Greg) at cousin(s) Rod & Irene Ames house. It was great to be welcomed back (after such a long absence), & to see how well they've done up there. Rod owns an electrical installation business, & his wife runs a "basket" business (home-made basket weaving). We (all) appreciated your taking care of us, folks!
I drove up to Burlington on Sunday & crashed in a motel overnite... despite the "comfortable" situation of the funeral, I needed some time away from the family to get in touch with my own feelings about Henry's passage. Well rested & partially refreshed, I caught the plane on Monday morning & made the
(L-O-N-G) trek back across the country to the Left Coast.
& now, I'll be back to other pursuits... as you all know, "life must go on". Quite a bit of musical adventure coming up in the short term, projects with Eric Wallack & others that (I think) will be KILLAH's! Got a couple of older tapes with poets John M. Bennett & Jake Berry re-mastered (they'll soon be up in my CATALOG). I'll keep you all posted on progress there as it develops.
Gotta' run... thanks to all who have expressed their condolences!
Ciao fer' now!
Well, we opened our presents last nite.... could not BELIEVE how many gifts were 'round th' little store-bought tree that Kim put up! We had LOTS of fun together!
Had a GREAT holidaze conversation with CRG III - you need to visit his site, QUIK... he has a KRACK-UP set of versions of "Auld Lang Syne"... KRA-zee stuph, to be sure!
Wow - Mad Cow - if we were in cave-man days, some o' th' witch doctors might be postulating that this is th' PUNISHMENT on th' nation fer' th' sinz of their SHRUBS! 'course, we live in mo' MODERN times... it'll get progressively less (or more) coverage, depending on how many people get infected. Maybe THIS is why "Archer-Daniels-Midland" touts themselves as th' "future of what's to come"? Takin' it to a
F-A-R stretch... are there any ties between the current administration & ADM?
As we move closer to '04, I wonder - WHO will "lift the wool from the eyes" of the American populace, & let them see that they ARE being ROBBED!
If you go to my COUSIN'S page, you will see the "official" family announcement about my father's passage. Many thanks, cousin Paul, for the speedy posting!
Henry & I had our share of differences through the years, but one thing that I never doubted was that he loved me (even when I was pretty much "un-loveable"). He never "stepped in" on my decisions (many times, because his financial waywardness would have never permitted such, anyway), & he never hesitated to remind me of his love.
So many youth of today don't have solid roots like that to look back to, & as any sane person can see, that's what is at the root of so many of society's ills today... for that, I can say (& did many times) to my dad - I love you!
I'm not inclined to a lot of teary-eyed rememberances... the moments that are emotionally strongest will be when I am singing (or playing) something that reminds me of a particular nuance in HIS playing/singing... then it will hit like a TON OF BRICKS! I've no doubt that the next week or so will be a real emotional drain, as relatives gather to pay tribute to my dad. I'll be flying up to Vermont on Friday for the burial, so don't expect to hear a lot from me during the next week or so.
What my strongest impression (right now, at this moment in time) of Henry is, actually, is that (despite our disagreements & foibles through the years) he was a man of PRINCIPLE... not afraid to speak out, even if someone didn't like it. He was far more diplomatic than I ever was or will be, to his credit... but he STUCK BY HIS GUNS! There IS no better gift that a father can give his son!
So, albeit in absentia - THANKS, Hank! & goodbye til' the next go-round!
HILARIOUS! Pertinent! Sad as all GET OUT. The commercials are ready for you to VIEW.... ANTI-SHRUB campaign ads. Head over HERE in a HURRY (before Ashcroft knocks 'em off the air)!
Projects GALORE are beginning to shape up.... early 2004 will result in a DELUGE of Zzaj-related CD's.... we'll keep ya' posted.
Gonna' laze 'round tonite & make SURE I've kicked this flu-bug straight inna' TEETH!
C' ya'!
Got all 4 o' my "klunkers" joined to th' network today.... gourd, what a PAIN it is to load all those updates, AV, & all th' rest of th' junk needed to keep up (on a daily basis, it seems) with changes/holes in th' MS OS/Packages.... what a MESS! Guess I just come from too "simple" an age, where you heard about a virus (maybe) once-in-a-blue-moon!
If you're in to helping music venues that NEED help, please visit HERE as soon as you can!
If you've got music to be aired, visit the following PAGE! (tell 'em Zzaj sent'cha)
We found some very interesting reading about "out" music at this SITE!
Beginning to recover from this nasty flu I've had. This was the worst case I've had in (about) 20 years, volkz'. Is it "terror", or the "AMA"?
Got to run.... mo' as it develops.
& a HAPPY B-Day party it appears to have BEEN... called my MOM tonite... couldn't HEAR her for all that rock&roll inna' church basement par-tee room, ya' know? Heh! Heh! Naw, not MY mom... healthy living & upward-looking is what's kept her healthy & sane... of course, it was ME that was doin' th' R&R ('mongst udder things) inna' churches... stealin' buses, stealin' trains, down HERE.... ...seems so many years ago! What amazes me most is how my mom got thru THOSE years & came out of it with a smile?
Ah, be sure you WATCH where you "place your plants"... 'specially in THIS CITY!
If you've never before believed in the adage that you should "never trust a lawyer"... you'd better READ this!
Spent a pretty relaxing day rebuilding klunker computers today... I can't BELIEVE how FINICKY WIN XP is... I've decided I'm gonna' stick with WIN 2k for another 100 years or so... the XP thing basically zuggz!
Guess that's about it for now... be seein' ya' on th' other side!
p.s. My son Art noted (on his blog) that I'm not a very big fan of George W. Shrub.... & he's right about that... I certainly DO support the capture of tyrants like Sadaam Hussein, though I don't believe the manner in which it was "played/aired" will make any better an impression in Iraq than with any other folks in the world. As you watched the Shrub yesterday, I've no doubt that many of you saw that COLD and SMUG expression... that said (to many, including me), "I need your approval, dad". The American presidency is NOT (supposed to be) a stage for family "one-upsmanship" & "kudo games". &, I've no DOUBT (in my military mind) that the same smug expression will be displayed when he's rallied the Christian Coalition (& other religious zealots) 'round him to push him back into the dictator's seat once again, on a campaign of "taking back the country for the churches".... how is his kind of attitude towards the marraige of church and state (rather than the separation of it) so hard for people to see through? It is DANGEROUS!
Well, we JUST finished one of the DAMPEST war games I've ever been on! (seems not quite thee right prep for a desert trek? Maybe we're goin' to th' RAIN FORESTS?). What with th' flu bug catchin' up with me, & extra shifts, I'm TIRED!
We got some really uplifting reviews yesterday, from our (long-term) friends at SPLENDID EZINE, & Andrew (from down-under-way), at THE TAPED CRUSADERS 'zine. Our sincere thanks to the reviewers; believe it or not, these reviews mean a lot to us!
Not a lot more news tonite, but I'm sure there'll be more by the weekend.
One quik note before I leave... do NOT think that the capture of S.H. will (in any way) decrease the violence levels... the only thing that will do that is to speed-up the turnover & PACK OUT!
There were a whole slew of tapes I made with JOHN M. BENNETTin the late '80's. I'm just finishing up a re-master of one of our best (including a guest shot by Ficus Strangulensis, oka Forrest Richey), "SKINLESS HE". The catalog page (over HERE) will have samples of it up in the next week or so, so be sure'n visit there, eh? (& while yer' there, click on the BUY NOW button for any of our other fantastic CD's, pleez).
That our folks would get killed by a sniper in Iraq is kind of a given... but that they would die from a SLIDE is even MORE scary, methinkz!
WhatEVER U do, don't get caught up in assisted suidide(s) for GOATS, eh?
& be SURE yer' SIZZLER ain't nowhere near any o' those blind-as-a-bat SENIORS, 'k?
Goat 2 RUN, mon'.... c' ya'!
Just got word yesterday that a collab with THIS DRUMMER is starting to move into "final stages"... it's not a "wrap" yet, but soon will be (with some surprises, even for me, I s'pose)... keep tuned to this station for more info!
Th' Zzaj "Voices" project is movin' along nicely, too... I can't give you more than that right now, as I don't know what th' final mix/title will be.
We just got word that our friend KRAMTONES is getting ready to load his "official" site up... we'll let you know when it's ready!
I was just scanning some files my cousin loaded up on my mom's 90th B-day site... for a pretty good flick of my "brood" (& wherre it came from), click HERE, plz!
Well, as indicated yesterday, I prob'ly won't be posting for a week or so... long (10-12 hour) shifts will have me pretty well "racked out" by th' time I get home... reckon that's what that job last year was REALLY all about.. getting me prepared for THIS one... strange how stuph happens, ain't it?
Well, as you can see, LOTZA' entires were lost. Thee blog-meister is working on retrieval, but it's hard to say what'll (actually) "come back".
Gettin' red-eye for a "long shift" week-&-a-half, starting Monday. Zo, don't hex-pect too much outta' me until after the 17th (when the war game ends...
Finished up a CD that (I think) is gonna' be a KICKER, peoplez! All vocals by Zzaj.... more on it as th' collaboration kontinues.
If you haven't been there lately, think about visiting HERE... LOTS of "Zzaj-bands" there.
Gotta' run... c' ya' later, gator.
