Blog Post No. 571
I’ve been saying since high school that I think life should come with a soundtrack like the movies. When I got my first portable CD player, I would take it with me to school, work, and wherever I could. Then, MP3 players came out and it was even easier to bring the tiny device places. Throw in some ear buds and I got as close as I think I’ll ever get to having a real soundtrack.
Blog Post No. 562
My weeks start on Tuesday since I work Saturdays instead of Mondays. Because I’m a day behind, my Tuesdays tend to be rather hectic as I catch up with emails and phone messages from people who don’t know, forget, or don’t care that I’m not in on Monday. The past week, Tuesday was thrown completely into chaos.
Blog Post No. 557
Some time back in the mid-to-late 90s, I got my first car. It wasn’t anything special, but it was mine and the sense of freedom it gave me is something I’m still searching for to this day. (The intoxicating mix of transportation, youth, and lack of responsibility that comes with living with your parents while going to school is not something that can be easily recreated). I distinctly remember when gas jumped from 49¢ a litre to something like 58¢ a litre. I thought I would have to sell my car because there was no way I would ever be able to afford gas at that price.
Blog Post No. 531
At the end of the 2000s, I spent some time in another city for school. The city in question is a bit larger than the one I’m from, but it’s also fairly close. It takes less than two hours to get there on the highway. Personally, I like to take the back roads, which makes the trip a little closer to three hours. I did that drive a good dozen times that year, driving past small towns with a couple of stop signs (or sometimes the highway went right through them). Since the drive was leisurely and my mind wanders, I liked to imagine what my life would be like if I moved to one of those towns.
Blog Post No. 530
I’ve written about music a lot on this website. Some of the earliest posts are about music. After ten years of posts, some ideas come around again (hopefully with a new perspective or at least expressed in a better way).
Music is a big part of my life and of my writing. Not only is my brother a musician (and a good one at that) but I grew up in a house (and car, and etc.) filled with music. My father played guitar and my mother played records. With two older brothers, I was constantly introduced to cool, new music, usually on CD with a little booklet with liner notes, pictures, and sometimes lyrics. Over the last few years, I’ve really gotten back into collecting physical media. Partly because I want to be able to reliably listen to (or watch) the things I like, but also because it’s neat to have those cases with liner notes and images.
This week’s post will be a little about music and writing in my life and a little about a few new albums I’ve physically purchased last year. In reverse order, the latest CD I’ve purchased is Expert in a Dying Field by The Beths. Continue reading “At the Risk of Repeating Myself – Music and Writing”
Blog Post No. 521
It’s not officially winter, but it sure feels like it in my area. I know some places have already had some pretty heavy snowfall, but we just got our first light dusting last week. I was in the kitchen making something to eat and listening to music before heading off to the day job, occasionally looking out the window to watch the falling flurries and I had a strong sense of déjà vu. I thought back on a fond memory about the snow which led to others. Sometimes the snow and cold are a nuisance, but they don’t always have to be.
Blog Post No. 511
I work a lot of early mornings, a few later evenings, and not a lot in-between. It means having to get up extra early (mostly to avoid rushing) and dealing with the dreaded cl-open (closing one night an opening the next morning). Working any shift comes with positives and negatives (though nothing is as bad as a mid-day shift). I tend to like to get my work over as early as I can so I can have as much day as possible before bed, but evenings have a special quality of quietness (even with a building full of people dancing to loud music or sitting through a class). Continue reading “Empty Streets”
Blog Post No. 439
*Break/Interrupt has been officially released and I’ve started local distribution. If you want a copy, please leave a comment or send me a message. Thanks.*
Since I haven’t been using my vehicle very much, I’ve been going for a weekly drive in order to keep the battery from going flat (and other general benefits of not having a car sit for too long). I saved a lot in gas over the last year, but I’ve had to fill-up a few times. After my last drive, I was in need of some fuel but decided to wait until late to go to a station in an attempt to avoid people as much as possible. At about nine at night, I hopped into my vehicle and went for a drive. Continue reading “Suburbia”
Blog No. 387
I’ve now been home for more than a month and officially off of the day job for fifteen days. Since then, the third book in my Synthetic Albatross series, Broadcast Wasteland, came out. I’ve been doing other writing and layout since the release, but I wrote about that last week. You don’t need to read about it again, especially since there really is nothing new to say. What is new, is that copies of Broadcast came in, I let them sit for the requited number of days to quarantine them, and I’ve spent two days driving around the city, dropping them in people’s mailboxes. I should say, parts of days. Really, no more than three hours, but long enough that I could convince myself that I’ve done enough work for the day and I can slack off for the rest of it. Continue reading “Home Delivery”
Blog No. 189
Over the last few years (around the same time I’ve been working with Adventure Worlds) I’ve had the rare opportunity to see some of my favourite bands live. Due to my extreme age, many of them have since left whatever spotlight they may have had (some of them even haven broken up). Three of the most notable experiences have been seeing Mystery Machine at the FM lounge (now any empty space), going to Hamilton to see the Killjoys play a reunion show on New Year’s Eve, and now I get to add going to Toronto to see Limblifter. It’s no coincidence that all three bands are Canadian alternative Rock. It’s also no coincidence that I saw all three shows with my musician brother. (Not to mention how awesome all three concerts were). Continue reading “Day of Kings”
Ben Van Dongen 