This week I am not on dog walking duty in the morning. This, of course, means a few more minutes in bed but it gives the day a different tone when you don’t start it with pooches.
Not that they say much when you walk them, or for that matter you don’t see them much - they just run about in the distance.
But it does make the whole day different.
Lesson for the morning - dog days are different.
We watched the video of a film called Chopper on the weekend. I am a bit squeemish so I wondered about the R rating as I had heard it was hard hitting.
Christ I was bored.
I am not sure what the fuss was about. I read reviews that it had gotten overseas and they were saying all sorts of wonderful things. I am not sure why.
It was not badly made and all aspects of the production were competent but it just was a bit dull. Far from glorifying this characters life is just made him look delusional and frightfully boring. What can you do?
Lesson- two people seem to be able to see the same film completely differently, especially when one of them is me.
I am not a musician but since owning a guitar I have become quite interested in certain types of music (especially girl-with-guitar type music).
I think that people who are not at all musical regard me as being a musician or at the least a bit musical. I suspect, although no-one has said as much to me directly, that actual musicians regard me as some tuneless beginner (which sounds harsh but is probably quite accurate).
For one reason and other I had believed for pretty much most of my life that even basic music production was beyond me and hence I am as surprised as anyone else when I manage to be tuneful.
As I have mentioned in earlier blogs I react poorly to being described as a comedian. The reason for this is pretty straight forward, I am not one. But I am a reasonably funny story teller and a half funny songwriter.
I also twist and turn when people describe me as a musician, again because I am not. But I suppose to the people saying it I look like one.
I am not sure if it is something particular to the Australian personality or just mine to avoid overselling myself or claiming to be something that might get me cut down to size.
Lesson - I should really just get the fuck over it and accept that most people are trying to be sweet.
Now here’s something quasi-interesting. Can you be friends with someone mainly on the basis of them reading your blog and you reading theirs?
I think you can.
It’s funny, I have this friend from work who I have lunch with every couple of weeks and provoke as a kind of mindless pastime. She was recounting a conversation she had had with someone else and referred to me as “a colleague”. I pulled her up on this and suggested that perhaps it was safe to refer to me as a friend.
I just think it’s odd how reluctant people are to say they are someone’s friend. I don’t have heaps of friends but I have a few (and many of them come to see me play, bless their cotton socks, which is good because no punters do) and I have scads of people that I am friendly with.
Mostly the friendly-with people are work people and a few around the music scene. I suppose the question I am dancing around is when do you start regarding someone as a friend.
My simple take on this is as follows. If you see someone outside the setting you met them in (such as work) then they might well be a friend. They might not, you might just be humouring them, they might well be humouring you, but all things being equal (which is a silly expression as they are not, just ask a mathematician) you could regard this person as a friend.
Mostly thought the litmus test is do you get genuine pleasure from interacting with this person. And are they getting more or less the same from you. Not super fucking philosophical but there you have it.
Lesson - Friends are people you like to see, and who like to see you.
Nothing makes me thing of Australian more than the image of a giant burning discus choofing down a waterfall.
Lesson - A koala would have been better.
I took my new guitar to the Open Slather last night. I had this kind of feeling that it was probably not such a bright idea given that I hadn’t actually played it before.
I tuned it at home but thought that I would have time for a quick practice while setting up. This all would have been fine except a few regulars went “ooh” and “aah” because it was new and wanted to have a quick play.
So when I stepped up for my set I had actually played it for about 2 minutes beforehand.
Given all the ingredients for disaster things went pretty well. the guitar actually sounded quite good and was easy to play.
For the record I played
Dolly (Don’t Be a Sheep)
It’s Not You (It’s Me)
Slow Motion
Pretty and White
I did not tell the Frankston Dwarf story, I just wasn’t getting the right vibe.
A couple of people commented that they thought it sounded better than my acoustic. I was not sure how to react to this as I am very attached to my acoustic (not least of all because it was quite expensive).
Lesson - the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes work out ok.
I bought a new guitar today. It is a solid bodied electric by a crowd called Ashton. Admittedly I have never heard of them but it’s not a bad guitar and was dead cheap (for this sort of thing.)
It is solid wood and it stained rather than painted or any other schmick finish. It is a fender copy and while I would have preferred a Gibson (or Gibson copy for that matter) price was very much an issue.
I am planning to play it tonight at the Yak which I am happy to state for the record is quite a foolish decision. Just as new songs should not be played publicly the day they are written, new guitars should not be played before you’ve had a chance to get used to them.
Lesson - recognising something as foolish doesn’t have to mean you don’t do it.
What the hell am I going to play tonight at the Open Slather? I can usually fit a few minutes of spare thought into any work day.
Actually I was just in an especially gripping presentation (for an hour and a half) wishing I was dead. I should have used that time to work it out.
ok, this will have to do
It’s Not You (it’s Me)
Slogans for coroners (spoken)
Pretty and White
The Frankston Dwarf (spoken)
Slow Motion
Lesson - There are better ways to use your time than wish you were dead.
I can see Deidre now Lorraine is gone (say it out loud if that helps)
One of the positives is that there is now a chance in hell of my getting some washing dry. I am considering putting one of those fold up clothes lines in the garage. It’s not super classy but it might save us from a winter of many clothes horses.
Another positives is that taking pooches for a walk is not like taking your life in your hands.
Lesson - You can’t stop the rain but sooner or later it will stop.
Speaking of tapes (I was just a few entries ago) my friend Alana made me a great tape. It had heaps of Dar Williams on it and I have since bought quite a bit of other albums because it was such a good tape.
When I make tape I only hope that people will like them as much as I like this tape that Alana made me two years ago.
Lesson - it’s hard to keep up with anyone who had Jedi as part of their name.
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