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Well, you are probably wondering if I’ve been drinking again. Yes and No. Yes, because I get dehydrated quite easily and No because I am currently abstaining from alcohol for mostly personal reasons. No, no, no… I am not a raving drunk! Quite the opposite. I become happier the more I drink. At least until that inevitable moment where the sloshing inside my body overwhelms the very tiny red blood cells and my oxygen levels slowly deplete, then toppling head first – meet ground. (smile)

No, I am referring to another evening of playing live at this venue called “Lucky Lukes”. We all had a blast, although it was quite chilly and somewhat overcast, threatening our very lives with a torrential downpour and subsequent electrocution. What a way to end the evening, huh? (LOL) Hopefully, the ground fault outlets would perform admirably saving us from a crispy critter evening. 

Take a listen for yourself – yes, there are missed notes and flubs and grubs, equipment malfunctioning and maybe some everlasting gobstoppers! All that mattered as we played our combined axes off, was how amazing and delightful it was to be performing live for a crowd that enjoyed the music and presentation.

I hope you join us someday soon, for another evening of music, love and laughter!

cj

 

`Sooooo, I was minding my own business just working on tunes and I noticed the trash lid was a wee bit open on my computer. Just a wee bit. Not one to pass on a mysterious trash can lid (smile) I opened the can and presto chango. There was a tune I had discarded about 10 years back. Why would I do something so callus and inconsiderate as to throw away a tune without a proper burial? I proceeded to load the tune into my DAW (ardour) and began the process of channel assignments and various mixer settings, until I had a workable and somewhat listenable song. 

WOW! Brought back memories. While it’s not one of my better recordings I thought, gee, why not add it to the website? Those who know me understand that my website is not about good or bad music, but about giving a voice to quite a few tunes that would most likely never see daylight. And by golly, Fall In Love sure qualified.  First I apologized to the tune for leaving it in a trash can devoid of light. And after a few listens, figured I could do a simple remix. I added the tune to the “music orphans” page – scroll down to number 19. And I’m adding it here as well. Take a listen, hate it, love it, don’t care or whatever. Doesn’t matter, the tune lives again. (smile)

“FALL IN LOVE”

Many years ago, well decades ago, I became interested in subliminal messages, that during our daily endeavors were being processed by our subconscious. Was this something I should be worried about? Were the everyday messages I was being bombarded with doing a job on my subconscious? In todays terms this would be referred to as “Fake News” or Disinformation. In reality, it wasn’t and still isn’t. Millions of dollars have been spent by advertising companies to perform various placements for products from companies they represent to influence the average consumer. By average I mean you and me. While I usually no longer succumb to these tricksters on mind manipulation, I realize that no one is immune from basic mind functions that are universal among people.

But what if a long lost tribe of people located in say, the Amazon, have never heard of these products being marketed by clever companies? Would they also be subject to the influence suggested in the ad? Or would they be immune, having to no basic reference point to draw from? I don’t know the answer, but what  do know is I was fascinated when I bought the first book that not only had examples, but breakdowns of each ad. I was blown away.

And there are also audio subliminal selling messages. One such message was in grocery markets, hidden in the background music playing gently during your shopping experience. Messages such as “you will not steal. This is bad” and “buy cookies on aisle 4” or even “good duty to stock up on soda” etc. They were usually whispered and placed way below your conscious mind to hear them over the drone of the music. However, it was just enough to entice you as a shopper. While the exact messages are only known to a few, they were caught and no longer are allowed to place sub-audible messages in music while you are shopping. Nowadays, marketing experts rely on product placement in the store that captures your attention and just perhaps sends you down an aisle to buy potato chips etc.

Mostly, I was entranced by the visual hidden drawings/artwork contained in the images. A few decades ago, Pepsi came out with a can that celebrated a holiday with colorful images. When these six-packs were stacked on top of one another, it plainly spelled SEX. So, I bought my own six-packs and still have the cans as proof.

Here’s a pic for ya:

Marketing execs did not like the exposure and pushed back on those blowing the whistle on them. While there are still some great resources you can check for subliminal advertising and the experts that say it works and those that say it doesn’t, leaves me wanting to know more. Does it work? One way is to make a list of shopping items and see what you come home with. While it’s not proof, it’s something!

Various images below: some obvious, some not so obvious…

Skittles has “S”EXplosion, KFC and a dollar in the lettuce, Wendy’s has the word “MOM” under her neck, the Gin has the ice cubes spelling SEX, Fedex has an ARROW in the Ex and SFX magazine is covering up the “F” so you see “SEX”

In future posts I’ll add more, but for now, go figure. Is this real or not?

So, Elon, posts a note on twitter to Chuck Schumer:

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Do you want us to remove this video? https://t.co/Qaaq4lGc9B

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2023

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The video in case you haven’t seen some of the recently released J6 footage, is of people calming walking through looking at pictures, picking up items that have been knocked over, capitol police escorting various viewers, peacefully I might add and even engaging in polite conversation. After watching, if you still believe this was on the level of the BLM/Antifa riots we had where buildings were burnt to the ground, shootings were the norm, and a total disrespect to the law took place – well, that’s on you. And this is not what the post is about anyway!

The responses to Elon’s post were funny – in a toilet humor way. Yes, I chuckled at Chuck. Here is a couple of replies (smile) These are not mine of course, just posts from the web.

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“Thank you Elon !!! Chuckie Schumer, Stephen Co-Bear, Biden, Pelosi, Woopie Cushion Goldberg, main stream media, etc, etc, are so bad that I can’t even THINK OF A WORD TERRIBLE ENOUGH,,,,,TO DESCRIBE THEM !!! I know they don’t care,,, BUT JUDGMENT DAY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER !!! And the crooked judge and others holding the J6 citizens in JAIL ILLEGALLY,, you will have a judgment coming to you TOO !!! JUST AWFUL !!!”

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“You can’t think of a word terrible enough?

I can think of a few:

GIANT THREE-DECKER TOADSTOOL SANDWICHES…with ARSENIC SAUUUUUCE….
or…
BIG GIANT HALF-MELTED POOP-SICLES LAYING IN THE SUN attracting FLIES, TERMITES, and other creepy things to EAT IT ALL UP… and POOP it OUT, continuing the cycle on and on up into OBLIVION’S BUTT…and BEYOND!

What? That’s too much for you? Ok… How about.

BIG GREEN RADIOACTIVE CHUNKS OF ALIEN PLATYPUS POOP, usually ate by Martian flies, Venutian termites and other creepy things (ehh… no. that’s along the same lines as the previous idea….!)

Hornswagglers, Schnozzwangers, Raving Vermicious Knids, and Whang-dang-doodles?

Nah…..Whangdoodles… Whang-dang-doodles, are good. Whangdoodles are bad without the ‘dang’ to it…

Well…. at least trying to come up with some terrible words… it’s more fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!”

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Well, I tried to come with terrible words as well. Not easy to do!

“Cannibalistic turkey basters, Gross mealy spider splatters, and my favorite:  ”       ” yup, you guessed it!

I’ll leave you with a few thoughts:

——————————————-

Biden: “Hey Ceej. Watch me color”
Ceej: “OK”
Biden: “Outside the lines..bwahahaha”
Ceej: “NOoooo…….”

Circle Back Psaki Math:
2 + 200 = “doesn’t matter.
Because Joe is amazing and
doesn’t need a brain to be awesome!”

CircleBack Psaki Math:
0 + 0 = 2 zeros

CircleBack Psaki Math:
Solve for X:
if X= ? and Y= On it
Then ?= We’ll CircleBack to that
and X+Y= equals 0

Tshirt Saying:
One day I started cackling, uncontrollably.
And thus the insidious plan to infect America
using the VP of the U.S. to destroy it’s citizens
became known.

—————————————————

Spell SHOP 3 times, out loud in a row.
What do you do when you come to a green light?

-pysop

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Everyday I feel bombarded with reasons why we all need to ditch our combustion based vehicles for electric ones, mostly on “I said so because I know better then you” Yup. That seems to be the best reason given. Before you scream at me “we’re saving the environment you daft denier!” or even “it’s the right thing to do” let’s take a closer look at the impact electric vehicles will have on the environment. Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the environmentalist sciences or pretty much anything. So take my words below as a fairy tale.

1. Strip mining.
2. Recycling
3. Efficiency
4. Travel Distance
5. Resources

Of course the above is just a small list – let’s take the first one – Strip Mining. Just do a quick search and you will find it rapidly destroys the earth and depletes the amount of lithium available. It take tons of lithium to produce batteries for today’s EVs. Which doesn’t take into account the future replacement of those batteries when they cease to function. Any environmentalists that endorse the replacement of fossil fuels based on saving the earth are misguided and are not good role models.

environmental impact of lithium mining

Recycling: There are currently graveyards of electric vehicles, mostly because it’s hard to recycle the batteries, if it’s even possible safely. Lithium can be toxic. And disposable regulations are still being worked out for electric vehicles.

recycling lithium

Efficiency: Yea, right. A word that doesn’t belong when referring to EVs. Most EVs take a full day or more to fully recharge, for a whole 100-200 miles of travel, towing is almost impossible, compared to filling a tank with gasoline and going up to 400 miles. Not to mention safety hazards such as, catching on fire during the recharge cycle. This is why most manufacturers recommend NOT charging the car in the garage.

Travel: While they don’t go very far without being recharged, they are quiet. But get stuck on a freeway during a sig alert you should either get off the freeway soon or pull over and turn off the vehicle. Hopefully, it’s not during a blizzard as keeping warm will deplete your batteries reserves, quickly. How many tow trucks will be needed to remove all the EVs that used up their charge while waiting for the sig alert to clear? How many of those vehicles are now causing a sig alert?

Resources: Well, once again the strip mining is damaging to the earth. The recycling is almost non-existent, the labor is mostly in third world countries to keep prices down, replacement batteries are almost half the cost of the vehicle. But hey, you’re saving the environment from your gas guzzler that only emits water vapor from the exhaust thanks to your catalytic convertor. Be very proud. And what happens to our electric grid when everyone plugs in their vehicle to charge overnight, while all gas stoves have been banned along with natural gas to heat your house? Welcome to the whole house electric dream nightmare!

The list goes on! But no amount of facts will deter those that believe. They have a fervor that is religious at times, reaching a deafening crescendo of false facts, designed to sway those that refuse to do their own research.

I wonder why the push to use EVs is so overwhelming, given that lithium is dangerous to dispose of. Perhaps the plan is disposal? Why not add the waste lithium, just like fluoride , to our water supplies to increase our exposure to chemicals that destroy our brains and bodies? Maybe that is the plan all along? Lithium is used to make people more compliant, fluoride was also used in that fashion during world wars in prison camps, before the lies began about curing tooth decay.  

Please don’t get me wrong! I would gladly drive and own an EV if all the above problems were eliminated.

But until then, I would rather ride my bike.

 

Nope, nope, nope, wasn’t me that said that. When you Look at the title of the post, immediately anger at the person who wrote that wells up inside! Or not. Depends on the person. In reality however, a real company posted a banner outside their place of business with those words on it. A pizzeria in Ohio of all places. The owner said that under no circumstances was that meant to poke fun of handicapped or any group that has taken offense.  So, the woke crowd took action against them, as well as the un-woke crowd. The message above was an equal offender.

Shouldn’t any business seeking new employees be able to advertise what they’re looking for in a potential employee? Sure. Even if it’s potentially triggering? Of course. In fact, some of the fallout was hilarious such as:

“The main problem I see is this potentially lowers the available pool of prospective employees. By a lot.”

Which got me to thinking. How would you determine the applicant met your requirements of not being stupid? So, I came up with a few questions the pizzeria could ask, either with a written quiz or verbal one. Does this run a foul  of any federal hiring statutes or local equal opportunity laws? Would lawyers be able to mount a class action against them? It reminds me of the questions on some job applications I have filled out in the past, that I had no intention of answering. Like “what ethnicity are you?” with the only choices being Puerto Rican, Spanish, Danish and American Indian. I never liked answering any those type of questions. Call it personal thing of mine. The companies I liked got real answers, like “other” or “not listed” whereas the places I didn’t like after being there, got answers like “I recently left Jupiter because I was a minority Plutonian” or “Goonie”.

Here are a few of the questions I would add to a job application for the Pizza place: (please circle one)

1. True or False: chocolate syrup is given to American cows to produce Chocolate Milk
2. True or False: The four kings in a pack of cards all have mustaches.
3. True or False: Fortune cookies were invented in the USA.
4. True or False: New York is called the Big Orange
5. True or False: Candy canes were first invented at the North Pole
6. True or False: Albert is the name of the Batman’s butler
7. True or False: Chinese is the official language in Canada

The above list is just a beginning. Probably, at least 25 or more questions would be required to weed out prospective job seekers. If the applicant answers at least 75% correct, they advance to the actual interview! If they answered TRUE to question 1, that could end up being a deciding factor. Or not. Job requirements for a pizza place? Beats me. Hours? Shifts? My best guess is you won’t be able to work from home.

Until next time

ceej

So, I found another 30 year old mix of a tune that Chuck Mills and I recorded almost 30 years ago.

A lovely ballad called “Kickstart” with Chuck singing lead, me background and guitars. After I found the 8trk tape, which only had vocals and guitars on it, I searched high and low for an old midi file with the keyboards/drums and bass. I looked for a few days checking all the NAS files and old computers I have scattered about my studio.

Yep! I found an old file. Now the task was converting it to a newer format that my main recording software would understand. 

But it wasn’t going to be that easy. The original software I used called “Trax” was damaged and no longer worked. I was sure I had the original disks somewhere in storage. Fortunately, I found an old floppy disk that was working and transferred the file to my system. Loaded up “kickstart” and exported it as a standard midi file. 

With the main transfer and conversion behind me, I started the process of fixing all the notes, selecting drums and keyboards, bass and a few misc sounds to round out the tune. Also, the entire end was missing, which could mean the file I had was an unfinished version. I wasn’t going to keep looking as the tune is really a simple ballad and easy to recreate if needed. But, I had enough to work with and shortly had a working version.

After a few mixes,  I documented all my settings, saved everything and mixed a couple of takes. For now, I uploaded the second mix called remix1 which is really the second mix. Oh well, Someday I will learn how to count.

For now, you can find it here:

Blast From The Past
Scroll down to number 11.

and here:

“Kickstart”

 

I love this tune and so does Chuck. Although I haven’t been able to locate him for years now.  If you know where he is, drop me a note. 

Until then, enjoy.

ceej

 

Once again I started backing up all my gear and tunes in case of a catastrophic loss. Well, I kept going as I found some old tunes that I remembered doing and realized I could take a few hours to remix some. After finding the vocal tracks on an 8trk cassette, I loaded up the midi file, fixed some notes and the drums somewhat, remixed the tune and uploaded here! “Hard to Say” located over in Orphans. 

Chuck Mills and I are both singing and I’m playing background guitars. The mix I did 30 years ago was so bad I believe I deleted it from every tape I have from that period in time. The new mix is better, but hey, it’s a 30 year tune, I get what I get. I like it. Maybe you will too!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, my blood sugar is finally settling down a bit. The food was good, the company good, and my dogs loved the food I made for them. What more could I ask for? Watched a few movies, worked on other tunes, cut down some trees that were falling over near my house and the house next door. It’s starting to get cold here again. Around 38 degrees. While that’s suntan weather if you’re from back east, here it’s a coldpocalypse!

Hopefully, the next few weeks will be uneventful (no trees falling down!) and some more tunes get finished.

Stay warm and toasty

ceej

Well, I’ve been a very busy little carpenter bee. Adding tunes throughout the website, recording new stuff in my studio, mixing old stuff.

In fact, I found a tune (located now in “Blast From the Past”) called “Boy In Your LIfe” that was around 35 years old recorded on an 8trk cassette deck! The Tascam 688 Midistudio. Amazing machine. Way ahead of it’s time.

The recording only had vocals and guitars on it, plus some midi time code which I used to sync to Bars & Pipes running on a 1993 Amiga 3000 Tower.

The Amiga is another amazing piece of computer engineering! Way ahead of its time as well.  After adding drums/bass/keyboards, I did a quick mix. Was going to remix it again, but it’s an 80’s tune. So, I left it alone. For now…

Also reworking another tune called “Fool With Me” located in Dinosaur Rock. Have a friend doing drums remotely (Danny Loi) and they are great! Hopefully I’ll finish it this year (this month?)

Other tunes have been uploaded as well including a LIVE SET of Hologram . We were rehearsing our first complete set to play out live when personalities took over and caused the band to split up.  Such is life. Located in Dinosaur Rock as well.

Have work to do so until next time,

ceej

Should I start at the beginning? Or continue from where I left off? Decisions decisions. Such is life. I’ll start in the middle then.

A long time ago there was a group of like-minded people who loved playing music. Not just on a record player, but with musical instruments as well. They were friends from high school, various parties and a friend of a friend. Sometimes they created, other times they destroyed. Not intentionally of course. It just worked out that way. Along the way they were fortunate enough to record some of the tunes they worked on together. Not always great not always bad. They are what they are. 

So I created a page on this website to showcase these dinosaur tunes. Just for historical reference as these tunes appear no where else in the world, that I know of. Most of the musicians have moved away, a few have passed and some just moved on to other aspects of life, family, children.

You can get there from the home page or use the link below:

Dinosaur Rock!

So, fasten your seatbelts for a reverse trip into the past – 35-45 years ago.

cj