I finally finished the update for thesailing.org. Now the Sailblog page has a bit more functionality - recently update blogs are marked with the World of Warcraft 'server up' icon, and dusty blogs with the appropriate flashing 'server down' icon. This way, instead of just a big page with 4 hyperlinks on it, the Sailblog page will help keep you informed when your favorite member has updated their blog! There's still more I'd like to do with the page, possibly imbedding the last post using the blogger API, or at least throwing in some RSS feed buttons next to each blog.
A news update for the Infinite Sound Tour was added, as well as all of our confirmed show dates up to this point. I'm thinking about changing the way the Shows page works too, maybe having the nav bar link directly to the shows archive, displaying less images and more information. I'll have to tool around with it a little bit.
In other news, I decided against the PvP ring in WoW. I was so close to having enough honor for the Vindicator's Dreadweave Stalkers (feet equip) that I just ground out the 40 Eye of the Storm tokens needed to purchase it. Another off-piece slot epic'd out! Now all I need are 2x Vindicator's Band of Dominance, the Vindicator's Pendant of Dominance , the Vindicator's Dreadweave Belt , the Vengeful Gladiator's Touch of Defeat (stat-loaded wand), and finally the trinket. After that, I should be preeeetttty fucking leet. I would have an epic in every slot. Then maybe I could play more FFXI!
I've also been writing and recording some music - a few pieces from the new NIN album, Ghosts I-IV, I found inspiring in the same way a lot of the FFXI soundtrack was. The trick is expanding the moments of burst-inspiration into a practically recorded song. I'm sick to death of the drum options in logic. I can only bitcrush a pre-built drumkit so much before the songs start sounding 'samey.' What I need to do i drag my compy over to our new practice space, mic up Gus' drums, and start recording loops and samples. Some songs on POWERPLANT (the follow-up to my still-unreleased 'somethingambient') require actual drum parts performed all the way through. Others have drum tracks already programmed, and are just waiting for good samples to be dropped into Logic's drum machine.
Lack of good portable recording equipment is also holding me back. My once-awesome minidisc recorder no longer turns on, and without it I don't really have any options. Tape won't sound good enough, tiny digital recorders won't sound good enough, and laptops are too big and fragile to take to the places I want to gather samples from (abandoned factories around my home and such). One thing at a time I suppose. These are the things that swirl around me all day long, while I'm stuck at work from 10-5. Then I have from about 6pm-3am to get as much done as possible before passing out once again. I think when I'm old and dying I'll look back on these days fondly.
Oh, and don't forget to download the NEW FUCKING NINE INCH NAILS SINGLE! The same freaking month that Trent 'drops' Ghosts I-IV he releases Discipline, the new single, and hints at a new album on May 5th. WTF?! Making up for all of those 5-year album gaps I guess. Anyway, if you haven't heard it yet you can download it for free from the official NIN site. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
'Trails' and Tribulation
It finally happened. After over half a decade of practicing on Schrubb Drive, we had the cops called on us. It couldn't have happened on a worse day too, as we had special guests on site to witness our majesty. But it was all interrupted when, after a stirring rendition of "Ghost Train," there came a knock on the door by a local 'boy in blue.'
The copper gave us some rigamarole about "pissing contests" (his words), feeding us basically the "I'm cool, but I'm a big prickly cock too" line which is pretty standard from quiet suburban area 5-0 bronze. And that was that. With a single republican swipe, the fat assed old sow diagonal-neighbor murdered The Sailing after 7 or so years of space rocking.
Of course, it should be noted that our practices have been a little bit... louder as of late, this due to the fact that we had to move from the stanky basement to the wide-open living room upstairs for medical reasons. So yes, it probably was louder than usual, but there's no reason the old whore couldn't have at least left a note or tried to talk to us about it, without wasting some poor dickhead cop's time.
Even when the brass was standing right there she refused to talk to us, like we were all going to start bleeding acid on her like a Xenomorph or something (see below).
So what now? Well, until we can make that stanky basement livable once again (and possibly sound proof it as much as we can) we can't practice at that house anymore. Luckily The Sailing are blessed with some of the greatest friends and colleagues any band from any town could ask for. Specifically the boys of Captain of Industry, who with absolutely zero notice were able to reserve a room for us in their secret practice space downtown.
On Saturday, Kirkland, Gus, and I assisted "The Coop" and Nathan of Captain (damn, that's a lot of capitalization) in clearing out the long-unused room in the practice space that The Sailing will be utilizing. While down there we discovered a cat who had given birth to a litter of 4 or 5 tiny kittehs. Knowing first hand what unattended cats in a practice space can do to the living conditions there, we successfully removed them from the space. To accomplish this, we employed the abilities of Gus' gal Rachel in putting the kittehs in a box, and then the the abilities of Michael Kirkland in frightening the mama cat out the door. The kittehs were taken to an appropriate caregiving facility, and the space was once again reclaimed for humanity.
So now it's Monday, and we hope to move in all of our shit tonight. This is weird, since for the last 7 or so years Tuesday and Thursday have been ingrained in my skull as 'fâtum days.' There was a stint in 2003 that had us practicing on Wednesdays - but never before have I had a 3 day block of no practice in the middle of the week. It will be interesting to be certain. But the important thing here is that we can now get to serious practice grinding for the summer tour. Oh! That reminds me! I need to write up a big update for thesailing.org's front page ;)
STAY TUNED SAILSMITHZ!
p.s. - Got my Vindicator's Dreadweave Cuffs, and by the end of tonight I (by all means) SHOULD have my Vindicator's Band of Dominance.
In FFXI I'm very very close to hitting 17 with Scholar, which means that I'm 2 levels from getting it out of the forsaken hell hole that is the Valkurm Dunes (aka teh n00bocaust).
The copper gave us some rigamarole about "pissing contests" (his words), feeding us basically the "I'm cool, but I'm a big prickly cock too" line which is pretty standard from quiet suburban area 5-0 bronze. And that was that. With a single republican swipe, the fat assed old sow diagonal-neighbor murdered The Sailing after 7 or so years of space rocking.
Of course, it should be noted that our practices have been a little bit... louder as of late, this due to the fact that we had to move from the stanky basement to the wide-open living room upstairs for medical reasons. So yes, it probably was louder than usual, but there's no reason the old whore couldn't have at least left a note or tried to talk to us about it, without wasting some poor dickhead cop's time.
Even when the brass was standing right there she refused to talk to us, like we were all going to start bleeding acid on her like a Xenomorph or something (see below).
So what now? Well, until we can make that stanky basement livable once again (and possibly sound proof it as much as we can) we can't practice at that house anymore. Luckily The Sailing are blessed with some of the greatest friends and colleagues any band from any town could ask for. Specifically the boys of Captain of Industry, who with absolutely zero notice were able to reserve a room for us in their secret practice space downtown.
On Saturday, Kirkland, Gus, and I assisted "The Coop" and Nathan of Captain (damn, that's a lot of capitalization) in clearing out the long-unused room in the practice space that The Sailing will be utilizing. While down there we discovered a cat who had given birth to a litter of 4 or 5 tiny kittehs. Knowing first hand what unattended cats in a practice space can do to the living conditions there, we successfully removed them from the space. To accomplish this, we employed the abilities of Gus' gal Rachel in putting the kittehs in a box, and then the the abilities of Michael Kirkland in frightening the mama cat out the door. The kittehs were taken to an appropriate caregiving facility, and the space was once again reclaimed for humanity.
So now it's Monday, and we hope to move in all of our shit tonight. This is weird, since for the last 7 or so years Tuesday and Thursday have been ingrained in my skull as 'fâtum days.' There was a stint in 2003 that had us practicing on Wednesdays - but never before have I had a 3 day block of no practice in the middle of the week. It will be interesting to be certain. But the important thing here is that we can now get to serious practice grinding for the summer tour. Oh! That reminds me! I need to write up a big update for thesailing.org's front page ;)
STAY TUNED SAILSMITHZ!
p.s. - Got my Vindicator's Dreadweave Cuffs, and by the end of tonight I (by all means) SHOULD have my Vindicator's Band of Dominance.
In FFXI I'm very very close to hitting 17 with Scholar, which means that I'm 2 levels from getting it out of the forsaken hell hole that is the Valkurm Dunes (aka teh n00bocaust).
Monday, April 7, 2008
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