the pod bay door

.: I’m finishing a trip that saw me fly to San Francisco on Saturday, 23 March 2008, and then to Victoria on Thursday, 27 March 2008. The trip to San Fran involved attending a couple of committee meetings at the Materials Research Society symposium, but also allowed me to see, for the first time ever, Bob Mould perform a heavy electric show with a full band. He played tunes from his solo records, from Sugar, and from Hüsker Dü. I loved every minute of it, totally worth it to stay an extra day to see one of my musical heroes.

This was the second time I made the trip to San Fran to participate in the MRS meeting, and after the event in 2007, I flew to Victoria to visit some old friends from Winnipeg who now live here. I’ve followed the same agenda this time, visiting one friend for two nights, and the other friends for the remaining two nights. I’ll be back in Edmonton tomorrow.

.: Recently Steve Jobs was quoted saying that most people don’t read anymore:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Timothy Egan responded to Jobs today in his 21 Febuary 2008 NYTimes blog, Outposts, in a most eloquent and humourous fashion, reminding us (yet again) how important the act of reading is:

Reading is something else, an engagement of the imagination with life experience. It’s fad-resistant, precisely because human beings are hard-wired for story, and intrinsically curious. Reading is not about product.

Exactly right, Mr Egan, thank you. I am not a fast reader, and at times in years past have gone months without reading a book. This does not mean I wasn’t reading during those times, it just wasn’t books, more likely magazines, newspapers, journals. More recently, I’ve found myself reading fiction again, after a 5-7 year period where I had read but two novels. But my reading of books has been ongoing and steady, and very enjoyable. I use Library Thing to keep track of my reading habits.

Reading is mind exercise, be it fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novel, whatever. When I am immersed in a good book, I not only take great satisfaction and enjoyment from the experience, I also marvel at the creativity and originality of the author, wondering how much time and effort it took to do the research as well as simply being amazed at such an imagination.  Indeed – stretching one’s imagination and expanding the boundaries of one’s mind – what can be better?

.: We are a few weeks into 2008, and I think the year could evolve into one in which I treat myself to a few new toys. Earlier this month, I began by buying myself a new guitar, specifically a RainSong OM1000. RainSongs are guitars made from graphite only, no wood involved. RainSongs have a unique sound to be sure, but are also impervious to temperature and humidity change. The creators describe the RainSong guitar as having “the crystal detail, warmth and volume of the classic carbon sound.” I’m not sure exactly what “the carbon sound” is, but I like the guitar. It is certainly lighter than the wood acoustic guitars I own, and the sound might be described as brighter than a traditional acoustic guitar. The OM1000 has a body depth of about 4.125 inches, smaller that what I am used to playing, but which was something I wanted in a new guitar. I first became aware of the RainSongs when I went to the Mandolin Bros store on Staten Island in October 2001 and played one in the shop. At the time, RainSongs were manufactured in Hawaii, but the company relocated to Woodinville WA in 2001.

I’m looking forward to playing my new guitar – it’s the first acoustic guitar I’ve purchased since 1989. I’m also looking forward to using it in upcoming live performances. I can’t explain what motivated or moved me to buy a new guitar now. I was in Avenue Guitars in early January, the chief guitar shop I have frequented for decades, where two models were on sale. I took each one home for a workout, and chose the OM1000. It felt like the right thing to do, and so far I’m happy with the decision. It’s like a late Christmas present to myself. 🙂

.: Welcome to 2008. First, a Happy Birthday to my Mom, who celebrated 75 years on Dec 31 – Happy Birthday, Mom! 🙂

On December 29th, I drove to Calgary in the afternoon to attend a showcase performance by Anita Athavale. It was a memorable show, and reinforced my thinking that she is one of the most original and inventive talents to emerge from Alberta in years. We are discussing performing together when she is able to land a gig in Edmonton. My brother Chris and his g/f attended with me, and we all thoroughly enjoyed Anita’s performance.

I have previously waxed eloquent about Anita Athavale. I discovered her first album some years ago while wandering through CJSR, the University of Alberta student radio station. Her first album is a sparse, stripped down offering with minimal instrumentation, and plays like a well constructed demo recording. In 2007, I found the video for her song, South Pacific, and was blown away by the song itself – great opening riff, a chorus with a hook that draws you in and ends with a searing vocal each time – and I knew I had to have her new album, In The Noise, as soon as possible. So I bought two copies, and have been playing it in the car for six months. We began chatting on MySpace and Facebook, and this led to my offering to be a second guitar for her when she came to Edmonton, if she needed an extra musician. When I heard she had a showcase performance in Calgary on Dec 29 (not really a concert per se, but a performance to “showcase” her talents for industry professionals), I decided that I had to go. Needless to say it was the right decision. Again I’ll say, if you are looking for original music from a great local Alberta artist, try Anita Athavale’s In The Noise.

I want to wish all who read and visit my site a very Happy New Year – all the best to all of you in 2008. I hope you have a year that is rewarding, joyous, and peaceful.

.: TiVo is finally really available in Canada, with the announcement that at least one of the TiVo DVRs is available at a number of Canadian retailers. I think it’s time to consider buying that wide-screen tv as well.

.: The Boston trip is over, ending today with two uneventful flights from Boston to Edmonton via Minneapolis. I found Boston’s Logan Airport to be very efficient, no time delays, and as is typical with Northwest Airlines, the flights were orderly and on time. I was happy to have no one sitting next to me on either flight, along with having an aisle seat both times.

I spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday with my friends Stu and Susan, who live in Brookline. Wednesday night was pizza and a movie, the extended version of Planet Terror, which I found funnier and grosser second time around. On Thursday Stu and I did an extended wine run, as Stu had to retrieve cases of wine from a wine storage facility, and take them to The Country Club for a Saturday event. This was followed with a brief tour of Harvard, which included some time in the Widener Library and a brief walk around Hah-vahd Yahd.

In the evening, the three of us had dinner at Giacomo’s Restaurant (pronounced JAW-ka-mo, so I learned). The food was incredible – I had a dish of linguini with shrimp and scallops in a scampi sauce. Ensuring Sue was able to secure a cab ride home, Stu and I walked to the TD Banknorth Garden (no longer called The Fleet Center) to watch the Celtics play the Knicks. With the Celtics ahead 82-41 by the beginning of the fourth quarter, we decided to leave to beat the traffic; I had to get up at 05:00 anyway. The game was fun, my first NBA game ever, even if it was a cakewalk for the Celtics.

I returned to -15C temperatures and snow everywhere, but it is still good to be home.