Friday Randomness

Still jazzed about Wednesday's perfect game by Felix Hernandez. I've always been a fan of dominant performances, whether in sports, music, or whatever. It's fun and inspiring to see a master of their craft at their finest. I'll have more to say about this subject later.

Just finished reading Into the Wild, the first book in the Warriors series. Very fun story, and now I have a clue about why my former cat, Mindy, used to vanish for days at a time. Recommended for readers around 8-11 years old and people like me who also enjoy that kind of stuff.

Started playing Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I'm doing these totally out of order; I finished Twilight Princess first, then Skyward Sword. I tend to be late to the party a lot (I'm halfway through The Help only now). These Zelda games are simply awesome. Although I assume you already knew that.

Favorite Quote Of The Day

From the Tor.com website:

There’s an old saying in publishing: “If you need an answer right now, the answer is no.”

Rock For Autism

Had a great time this past Saturday at Rock For Autism, a benefit concert/silent auction for the Children's Occupational Therapy Charitable Trust. One of my bands (*shameless self-promotion alert*), Second Player Score, hit the stage around 12:30, and my guitar hit the stage, literally, around 1pm. I've just got to get that strap lock fixed once and for all. Anyway, after years of constant abuse, my poor Les Paul finally decided that it had had enough and chose not to stay in tune after that. Fortunately, we had only one more song to go, our wonderfully punkish cover of The Police's Synchronicity II, made even punkier by the fact that I played the entire thing in some sort of strange F-A#-C#-A-C-D tuning.

So many people to thank: Lisa from PDX Pediatrics; the other acts that shared the stage with us (Ramble On; Butterfly Breakdown; The Lucy Hammond Band; Ethan - awesome voice, dude; and the great solo singer/guitarist whose name I missed because I was running around like crazy); all the people that bought my book and/or bid on it at the silent auction; my booth neighbors Duncan Saffir from Goddesses At Play and Courtney Freitag from Spectrums Magazine; and, of course, everyone that came out to see us play and support a great cause at the same time. You guys rock.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Reasons Why The Dambuilders Rock:

10. The bass player is the lead singer. Seems like all of the bands that have lead singer/bassists are cool (The Police, Rush, Motorhead, Primus, Slayer, local Portland band The Crash Engine, etc.)

9. Joan Wasser. Great violin lines, and the male/female vocal thing is super hot

8. The costumes for the Against the Stars album

7. A band name that is original yet simple

6. 50 songs for 50 states

5. Any band with song titles like "Slo-Mo Kikaida" and "Kill Haole Day" is automatically awesome

4. Dave and Eric are from Hawaii

3. Catchy-as-hell songs that are accessible yet still interesting

2. Face-melting live shows

1. This video

My Weekend

Just got done with the three-day Willamette Writers conference. Like always, it was a great experience - seeing old friends, making new ones, and absorbing tons of information. I highly recommend it for all authors and screenwriters. You can pitch your project to agents, attend great workshops, and network with fellow creatives. And you just might run into a celebrity or two.

It still amazes me how many people I come across whose lives are touched by the austism spectrum in some way. Either they're related to or know someone on the spectrum, they teach classes for special needs kids, or they're on the spectrum themselves. And the conference was no exception, both this year and last.

Indie Review Thursday - Wicked Scarlet

DISCLAIMER: I know these folks personally. In fact, I know them so personally that I wouldn't be afraid to post a negative review if it was warranted.

Wicked Scarlet - Frankly, My Dear (CD)

Unlike a lot of what passes for “rock” these days, this album actually does rock, in a straightforward, throwback manner that is just plain fun to listen to. Passionate dual female lead vocals (and harmonies by the other members on top of that), virtuoso guitar work, strong and solid rhythm section…Heart meets Van Halen, perhaps? Or for a different generation, maybe some Veruca Salt sprinkled over a plate of Foo Fighters…either way, Frankly, My Dear makes for ideal listening when cranked up in your car stereo as you’re cruising down the freeway, or maybe engaged in more, ahem, intimate activities. My favorite tracks include Can’t Take It, Without You, Light of Lonely (totally lighter-worthy), and Basket Boy #9. Buy this album. Now.

2012 is 7/12s Over. Commence Panicking

It's August already. How in the world did that happen?

Have you ever thought to yourself "ten years ago, I was doing (this), and the world was like (that)." It's a fun little exercise to reflect on what has changed and what hasn't. Sometimes, even short time frames provide a sense of "wow, did that really happen?" (Four months ago, I had no idea that I would be self-publishing my novel.)

If you told me three years ago that in August 2012, Matt Hasselbeck would be a Titan, Brandon Roy would be a Timberwolf, and Ichiro would be a Yankee, I would have laughed.