New Phone & Impromptu Drum Jam

A couple of interesting things in my life recently...
One. Got a new cellphone. I know, not that big a deal. But it's been over two years since I got my last one, and although there was nothing wrong with the other one, I had some kind of plan with Verizon where I got credit towards a new phone every two years. Two years was up in April. So, I figured I'd take a look online and see what was out nowadays. Turns out, that if you order online, you might qualify for -additional- credits. So... a phone that retails normally for $149.00... I got for free. Not a bad deal at all. And it's still Verizon... so I know how to upload pictures and ringtones (that I created myself, of course... I refuse to pay money for a ringtone... especially when most ringtones are just -clips- of songs... and they cost more than the entire song as an MP3. Thanks, I'll just buy the MP3 and clip it myself.)
Of course, there's the learning curve. But that's to be expected. And it's more than the usual learning curve. There are a -lot- of buttons crammed on this thing (there's a whole WYSIWIG keyboard on it... and it's not bigger than a standard RAZR phone). But, regardless, I like it. A lot. Like it enough to lay down money for a clip case and a 2GB microSD chip (love the fact that it takes the extra memory chips)... and eventually, I'll prolly lay out money for a bluetooth headset... I just don't want to get one of those clunky earpieces that seems to be so in fashion today (please, it's a status symbol... just like buying yer coffee at Starschmucks... the coffee isn't any better than say, Dunkin' Donuts... but yer paying the extra money to carry around the cup with the logo, so that you can look more important than you actually are.) I'm gonna see if I can find something that's a little more subtle and low key... tho the guy at Radio Shack did show me this headset-looking thing that makes it look more like it's for an MP3 player (which my phone also is, so that works too) than a phone... I'd just be concerned about driving with both my ears covered, ya know?

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Went to the beach today to catch the bandshell show of Lewd Buddha and Banooba. Which of course they cancelled before I got there (I checked MySpace much later, and surely, it was announced by Banooba while I was in my store meeting... and by Buddha while I was already in the truck on the way there)... due to the weather reports showing thunder showers a definate possibility. Lots of water + lightening + lots of electrical equipment = bad idea. So no, I don't blame 'em for cancelling.
Luckily tho, I wasn't the only one who didn't realised they cancelled the show. I ran into Frankie's cousin John in the parking lot (who happened to be on the phone with Frankie getting the news). John is a phenonimal percussionist who I had the pleasure of playing with once (Tony, Buddha's regular percussionist had been in the hospital, and Frankie had asked John to fill in for a show... John, knowing I also played, asked me up on stage and we jammed out together with Andy on kit. I remember having a hella lot of fun that night).
Well, John had all his equipment with him (with the hopes of joining the guys for a little bit, so long as Tony was okay with it), and basically decided that since no one was gonna be using it anyway, that we should just set up the equipment and take over the stage ourselves.
Long story, short... we screwed around musically for a good two hours to an audience of maybe 3 or 4 at most (and most of them being park employees)... and towards the end, had one kid come up and bust some capoiera/breakdancing moves to our beats. We played for the Rain Gods, and they showed us their appreciation by letting the sky open up and pour down on us (luckily the stage we were on had a bit of a roof). Hell, as it got later, the rain ended, and even the moon peeked out some to take a listen (along with a frog that happened to hop onto the concrete in front of the stage... t'was a little one, but I noticed it right away)... and the rain stopped pretty much long enough for us to finish up, pack up the gear and get it back to his truck and pack that up. It started again not 2 minutes into my trip from the beach to work.
All in all, pretty nifty, and although I ached most of the night, and was way tired from lack of sleep (store meeting had me up at 2pm, which means I had about 3 hours sleep today... which has been pretty average for the whole week)... it was worth it. In a way, I'm kinda glad the show got rained out... much as I enjoy listening/watching the boys play, I rather like playing myself even more.
And it was good warm-up for the weekend ahead. Plenty of playing to be done Saturday and Sunday. Good times. Good times.

I'm gonna sleep well today tho. Seriously, TGIF.

Render Engines and a Couple New Pieces

The sun crept further up the sky, harsh light bringing stark contrast to the outside world. From inside the confines of the keep, the soldier squinted his eyes against that light and surveyed the countryside.

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Eh, if I had a story to write about this piece, I would... but at the moment, nothing is coming to mind, despite the fact that there's something story-worthy inspiring about this particular piece (if I do say so myself). Was prolly one of the last pieces I did in Bryce, some months ago actually... tho I just recently brought it into photoshop to clean it some. I like the render engine in Bryce... but my computer doesn't like it quite as much. A image like that, set for printing on letter sized paper (merely), takes a couple of days of pure hardware grinding. Gods forbid if I wanted to actually do anything else with my computer. And during the summer time? Not even a consideration. I've burned though more graphics cards because of over-heating than I care to count.

But. I do like the quality of the render itself. It's a completely different feel than what I get when I render from Studio. The new light set system I got for Studio recently actually highlights this difference, as renders done using them tend to look less real than usual.

Case in point:

Skin quality just isn't difusing right... there's something almost... spongy about it.

Oh, yeah... and kinda off topic... it's a female figure. I know, I know... off the beaten trail for me. But there's something I want to do next year... which means I have to start forging new paths for me today, so that I have enough material.

We'll see how that goes at it goes.

Meantime, I'll try to figure out how to tweak that new lighting set and make it work for me, otherwise, it's back to the old way. At least with certain effects, I -do- like how it works. Alas tho, I'm not looking to do Sci-Fi scenes any time soon... tho with a colour shift, I could prolly use it for other types of scenes... again, will have to play. In the meantime, one past pic... to illustrate the reason why I -like- the set:

No. I haven't been a Battlestar Glactica fan since the first series. Truth told, I wasn't quite willing to give the 2nd series a try... not because of any of the changes they made. Moreso because I like my memories the way they are. For all I know, the changes they made could be wonderful ones, and I might just have missed a chance to love a wonderful series. But, like I said: I like my memories as they are. Why muck with them?

In the meantime, I may call this guy Mark... after a character a friend of mine created when we were about 5 years old and playing. Who knew back then we were roleplaying without books and papers? All I knew is that we were having fun. Maybe one of these days, I'll try to visualise my own character and see what it looks like.

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For now tho, I'm out. Back to work for me.

WomonGathering and Other Stuff

I very rarely allow my photo to be taken. It's not a self-esteem thing, so much as me just not usually liking the way I come out on film. I'm sure that if I just stopped trying so hard when there's a camera around, I'd look a lot more natural. Oh, and of course there's the simple idea that the camera (any camera) add 10 pounds. Personally, I don't buy that, cause if that were the case, all those stick-figure model/actresses out there in dire need of a sammich are even worse off than ya think!

On occasion tho, I actually like how I look in a photo (and those, especially lately, have been showing up in my albums on MySpace. But I have to watch out... people are going to start to wonder about that red bandanna, and what it's significance could possibly be.

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Anyway, this past weekend was significant to me in several ways. Firstly, it marks the first vacation I've had since I went away to Orlando with Erika back in... er... what was it? 2004? I really have no sense of time any more. Some things seem like they happened yesterday, other things, like they were a million years ago. This happens to be one of those million year instances. Whatever the case, it was a long time ago (on a happy note, whereas that trip I was confined to a wheelchair for most of it due to serious back pain/issues... this trip, I was walking under my own power. And there was a lot of walking... most of it seeming to be uphill. I got my exercise this past weekend, that's for certain!).

Secondly, it marks the first time I've been camping (even if it wasn't really roughing it) since 1994, the first time I went to GenCon (was cheaper than renting a hotel room... which was a good thing since we really had no idea how much things were going to cost... and badly underestimate. But that's a story for another time). Oddly, I survived... which I wasn't so sure was going to be a viable outcome at the beginning of the trip.

Thirdly, it marks the day that two of my closest friends became engaged (yes, to each other). That photo above was actually taken maybe 10 minutes after the proposal and subsequent "yes" answer, with the happy couple being in the center of it all. Congrats to you both, ladies... and may I once again exclaim: SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!

Lastly, it begins what will likely be a trend in my musical "career." Namely, where I feel comfortable in stepping forward and taking a lead... claiming a bit of spotlight for myself, while trying my damndest to not overshadow anyone else. In the end, that's more of a personal victory, as I doubt anyone will remember my name or face beyond those few people who knew me before... tho there may be a handful of others. I'm at least egosistical to allow for that. Hey, for the moment, I'll even settle for being "one of those trouble-making noise-makers spoiling the heartbeat drum rhythm at the end of the closing ceremony." Tho chances are, I may be more remembered as "that chick with the big-ass loud cymbals."

Truth absolutely told... it doesn't matter if I'm remembered in this instance or not. The important thing was that I had a blast playing. I loved that the dancers were dancing for me... and that, above everyone else, I was heard loud and clear. If you had told me a year ago that I'd be playing a solo djembe, I'd have laughed it off... if you had told me then that I would be playing a -lead- djembe, I'd have smiled and asked you to pass along whatever it was you were smoking. Hell, if you had told me that I'd manage to play not just one, but four seperate sessions without managing to bruise the hell out of my hand(s), I'd have outright called you a dreamer.

But a lot of things can happen in a year. A lot of things can change. No bruises (save for the slight "hickey" looking mark on my left arm from catching it between cymbals at one point... Hey! It's been almost 20 years since I've played them last!)... and no hiding behind "safe" patterns. Go figure.

Next thing ya know, I'll be thinking I'm a rock star or something, playing bass in a band somewhere, and acting like some kinda punk. Sheesh.

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Nothing else, thus far... save a new facination for Mac's GarageBand. Of course, I don't have a Mac that's less than 9 years old... so I'll have to settle for something I can run on the PC... like Sony's Music Studio. Way I figure, if I'm going to have a hand in helping mix the first PopRant CD, I should have somewhat of a clue as to how these things work. And saying "oh hey, it's like the audio version of Photoshop" doesn't quite cut it, ya know? Especially when it took me years to get as comfortable with Photoshop as I am today. And who knows what else I'll manage to come up with on my own, neh?

That, and I still have delusions of podcasting in my head. Oh! And maybe, if I get back into writing stories and stuff, I can do something along the lines of a PodioBook. (and if Billy had gone straight to the police, none of this would have ever happened!). How about one step at a time, neh, Phroge? Now -that- sounds like a plausible plan.