No Fear

and I don't mean the formerly popular line of t-shirts...

Pirate Motivational Poster

It also works for criminal organizations with spiffy t-shirts ;)

An unusual gift

Well, I've had a great Christmas, but before I retire to the couch to pass out watching TV I'd like to share with everyone the most unexpected gift I received this year... a ship's wheel! Most of you know I have always been fond of all things nautical (in terms of the age of sail). Well apparently my parents tried to get me one for my college graduation but the local antique store wanted a considerable amount for it. Well, apparently, the store had a few different ones this year and reduced the asking price considerably (actually, I think the first one they saw was considerably larger). But without further ramblings, here it is:
Now I just need a house so that I can hang it properly (my apt only allows me to hang stuff with finishing nails)... or a ship for it ;)

A New Fav TV Show?

...time will tell, but so far so good ;)

Epic Conditions

Upcoming episodes on The Weather Channel (times in Mnt)

Cobloggeration

Well, I owe someone an ode to cobloggeration ;)

New Hobby

Well, I have just started on a new hobby. I am starting to get into home roasting coffee. I am very near the stage of coffee connoisseur as my friend, Cutler. A video of my roaster in action:

I could have gone the way of roasting with a hot air popcorn popper but the company I ordered this from through in 10 pounds of "green" coffee beans for free.

A couple of roasts I have already done:
I roasted some beans from Java to what I believe is a Full City Plus and some Ethiopian beans to what I believe is City.I know most of you aren't coffee drinkers but everyone is welcome to come over for a cup :)

The Past Month

I have hit an all time low! It has been over a month since I last blogged :( I could easily blame a friend from discontinuing his blog, but I will take it upon myself.

What have I been up to that kept me from blogging? I am not even sure, but I am going to do my best to recall it.

I went to see American Gangster. As with every Russel Crowe movie I have seen, which is nearly all Russel Crowe movies, it was great. Afterwards I concluded that Crowe and Denzel Washington are two of the best, if not THE BEST, actors. When I watch them, I am not reminded of any of their previous characters. There are many actors that I cannot say that about. I'll give it a rating of DOMINATING.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I tried to get a few friends to stop by Pierre to hang, but three of the four couldn't make it. So I revealed the greatness of The Big Bang Theory to my friend from Cedar Rapids, IA.

This last weekend I saw The Golden Compass. I suspect that some of the statements made by the author of the novel were for publicity purposes. As I have heard stated before, 'there is no such ting as bad publicity.' After watching the movie (and note that it is supposed to be 'toned down' from the novel), I got the impression that it is about free will. The title characters are fighting a totalitarian government. From what I understand, the novel has them fighting a false church... much like Breath of Fire 2! Either way, it topped the American and British box offices. Though, if I want to know how the story ends, MTV says I'll have to read the books. I'm catholic, but I in no way feel that I am strong in my faith. I go to church regularly and I believe in most Christian preachings, but I fail to see the problem with this story. But enough of that. You would think that I might rate this as godlike, but it wasn't quite that good. I'll have to give it a DOMINATING as well.

In music news, the alluring Andrea Lewis of The Clumsy Lovers has left the band to have her baby. I wish her a great and wonderful life... and maybe not so clumsy love ;) The fans will certainly miss her. And from the newsletter email:

PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW

It's with sadness and excitement that we announce Andrea, our long-time (try
forever) fiddler, is pregnant and has stopped touring. Sadness, because we
have played with her so long, and because she is the most consistently
dynamic performer I've ever seen, and because we all have so much shared
history and so much admiration and respect, and because she's irreplaceable,
professionally and personally.

But excitement, cause we are so happy for her and excited for her coming
arrival, and cause it feels like the right thing for her. Change is scary,
but it's inevitable, and ultimately good. It is gonna be strange, tho.

MEET THE NEW KIDS

So, then, what now? We are thrilled to be joined by not one, but two,
fiddlers. Rebecca Smith and Trent Freeman are both amazing talents. In the
course of the audition process we just couldn't force ourselves to choose
between the two of them, so we decided to try both. That first moment in
the rehearsal room when we heard those twin fiddles cranking we knew we'd
hit paydirt (and that it was a brilliant decision, of course, not a happy
accident). They've been working hard to learn the repertoire (we never
realize how many songs we have until we try to teach them to somebody ­ it's
a truly ridiculous number), and been doing a great job. But the real
excitement is in new material we're working on, and in the new sounds that
come out of the twin fiddles (Trent also plays mandolin and guitar, and
we'll undoubtedly get to utilizing that, but right now we're having too fun
much hearing them both fiddle). It's truly a very high point in band
history in terms of excitement to jam and develop new material and see where
the music heads. We are beyond optimistic.

Of course, there's still gonna be a transition period, and again looking at
the sheer amount of material to be learned we know there'll be some rough
spots. But even that can be kind of fun (even if it makes you sweat, like,
a lot). Overall, we just simply cannot wait to see where things go. Make
sure you come out to the shows, say hello to the newbies, and watch the band
grow right before your eyes.

We'll have more info about the new fiddlers in the next newsletter, when
after a month on the road we'll know a lot more about them (like, say,
whether they can survive a month on the road!)

From the Gaelic Storm newsletter I learned of great news:

Yes, it's true...Gaelic Storm has been hard at work writing new songs and will begin recording tracks for a new album this month!

A release date has not been set yet, but stay tuned and we should have more details in the new year. All we know at this point is the band is incredibly excited about the new material and can't wait to start playing some of the new songs on the road.

So, listen for new songs at shows beginning in 2008!

I do have a new CD that most of you should find enjoyable. Rootstomp Volume 1. It calls itself "a cross-section of contemporary celtic music." If future volumes contain the likes of Gaelic Storm, Great Big Sea, and Natalie MacMaster, then there is no doubt that it is a correct statement. Either way it is a great CD.

This coming weekend I plan on seeing I Am Legend... seems like a page out of The Twilight Zone ;)

I think that is enough for tonight... hopefully I can continue it more regularly.