Friday, April 30, 2010

High-on-life metal

Stoner metal without the aid of marijuana.

Feel free to use this term.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Yes, captain.

You know, I have this curious memory of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation late at night with my grandma as a little kid and wondering why everyone was calling each other "captain". Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Also, the series introduced me to the concept of acting. My mom tells me that I looked at LeVar Burton playing Geordi La Forge and asked, "Mom, why is the Reading Rainbow guy on a spaceship?"

Saturday, April 10, 2010

How to cut and paste in Mac OS X

Two words: Adobe Bridge.

It's got all the advantages of Windows Explorer without the instability!

Friday, April 9, 2010

ART!

You guys don't look at the links on the About page, do you?


Commission: Smartass
by ~tymime on deviantART

Dollars of Delight for a Dime
by ~tymime on deviantART

Bloody Groundhog Day poster
by ~tymime on deviantART

Vintage Chuckola Cola Ad
by ~tymime on deviantART

Alvaro of the Sea - Alvaro WIP
by ~tymime on deviantART

Viridian the Rat
by ~tymime on deviantART

They're Coming
by ~tymime on deviantART

More stuff about pedals ...and pedalboards

After doing some research, I can see that there was a lot I didn't know about the order in which I wanted all the effects I want to be connected. I'm still gonna have to look up each and every pedal to make sure of the sort of power supply I need (it actually didn't occur to me that I would need one at all), but I think I've cleaned up my plans a bit now.

Thing is, it's also pretty darn confusing sometimes. The article I used as reference said I needed a buffer- and gave me very good reasons why- but I was saying to myself, "Okay, I know what a buffer does, but what in God's name does one LOOK like?? Who makes them, anyway?"
I looked it up and immediately found what I believe I'm looking for. Not only that, it seems like I've taken care of finding a buffer, a clean boost, and a treble booster all in one fell swoop! (Although I realize now that if I really want to just merely boost my guitar's treble frequencies, I'd have to get an EQ pedal, which is not something I really want.)

Now if only I could figure out where to put it in the signal chain and whether or not I still need the clean boost I had found earlier...

My problem is that I'm not actually going to be able to put all these effects together for years, perhaps, because of my budget. I'm just trying to plan ahead, that's all- I'm finally deciding what I want to sound like!

On a related note, I'm not really sure why anyone would want to diminish the effects of their fuzz by putting a buffer in between your wah and your fuzz, or even putting those Foxrox Wah Retrofit things in. It sounds very strange to me. But I guess since I'm such a huge Hendrix fan, an untouched wah/fuzz combo is exactly what I want!

Also, I still don't know what the f$%^ an "effects loop" is. No one's explained it to me. When I think of "loops" in relation to music, I think of "Tomorrow Never Knows" and stuff like that- so the term confuses me. So far no one's given me any reason at all for wanting to use one, so quite frankly I don't care if I never find out.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Rolling Stones = the fathers of punk?

Here's how I see it:

The Rolling Stones come out as an alternative to The Beatles, with a bad boy image and a simpler, more blues-oriented sound.

Just about every garage band in existence, from approximately 1965 to 1967, tries to imitate them. Just try to find one whose lead singer doesn't sound at least vaguely like Mick Jagger!

Most of these bands wind up on the Nuggets compilation.

Most first-wave punk bands take inspiration from this compilation. (This of course excludes bands that are inspired by MC5, Iggy and the Stooges, and the New York Dolls.)

And there you go!

Actually, it would seem that The Ramones are an exception to this, clearly taking inspiration from more poppy groups like The Beatles, the 1910 Fruitgum Company, and girl groups produced by Phil Spector. But that's one reason I like them- ultimately I prefer catchy tunes over ranting and raving.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Drone doom

Meditative AND creepy!

The trouble with modern rock music, from a Christian's point of view

It's very annoying trying to find an awesome rock band of some punk, metal or alternative genre- basically, anything that isn't AM pop music from the late '70s onward- and not being able to understand the lyrics.

See, I generally have a relatively high tolerance of what I see or hear when it comes to pop culture. These are my limitations:

  • Sex: Innuendo is okay by me, but getting explicit is going too far and I don't like anything violent, overly aggressive, or homosexual. Thing is, most classic rock is either about partying or mutual fornication so it's kinda hard to avoid that- but if it glorifies lust and the objectifying of women, then I don't like it.

  • Drugs: Meh. Drugs don't interest me, so I doubt anyone can really say anything about it that will offend me. It frequently results in immoral behavior, though.

  • Violence: Jackie Chan movies are ideal. No gore, please!

  • Politics: As long as you're not a right-wing or left-wing lunatic- I usually prefer slightly left- and don't scream in rage and swear all the time, I can tolerate it. Crass is about as much as I can stand.

  • Religion: I wouldn't be caught dead listening to a Satanic and/or anti-Christian band. I have no interest in other religions besides Christianity.

  • Swearing: Don't overdo it.

  • Horror: See everything above.


Coffee

Coffee is an acquired taste.

Why do I say that?

Well, over the years I've taken a liking to coffee more and more. At first, as a young teenager, I only liked things like coffee-flavored candy and ice cream, and I certainly like coffee cake (although those don't necessarily have coffee in them). Soon after, I took to having coffee with lots and lots of cream and sugar to emulate those desserts- which I'm sure a lot of younger people do- and I certainly had no qualms about those fancy-schmancy coffees served at Starbucks and such with all that whipped cream and chocolate and vanilla and cinnamon and nutmeg and other miscellaneous flavorings normally associated with Christmas. I certainly do like mochas.
Thing is, over the years I've gotten used to the flavor of coffee, and have gradually lessened the amount of cream and sugar that I put in it. As of now I put at the very least three half-and-half creamers and about two small scoops of sugar in it- the minimum amount to cool the temperature to something that won't burn my tastebuds, and to disguise the bitter flavor of black coffee. I seriously doubt that I'll ever switch to pure black coffee.

I've even come to know what sort of coffee I like- anything that doesn't say "dark" or "french" in the name. Those taste burnt. From what I've had at the free samples at Trader Joe's, I like anything from exotic places like South America or some island that hovers around the equator, or something domestic, but not generic like Folger's. For some reason the latter tends to be Southwestern. Curiously enough, Trader Joe's Diner Blend seems to make what would normally be crummy, generic big-name-brand coffee and makes it actually taste good.
I've also taken a liking to iced coffee. I don't think there are any brands out there that don't have milk and sugar in them already, so I don't really have any preference. They have a ton of them in the local Japanese markets, so it would seem that the Japanese are crazy about it- I almost never see so many different brands of the same product in the same place!
There's also this brand of coffee soda called Java Pop, which is nice.

I don't think coffee affects my wakefulness at all- at least not noticeably so. The only time I ever feel hyper is after having large amounts of cane sugar- cane sugar, mind you, not corn syrup- especially cane sugar soda in glass bottles.
Although recently I made the mistake of having my own homemade iced coffee (I stuck a cup of it in the freezer) sometime in the late evening, and that gave me some pretty bad jitters.

Ultimately coffee isn't my first choice when it comes to sweet drinks, but I will have it at every opportunity. I certainly don't rely on it to wake myself up, because I definitely don't want to become an addict... I've got my own methods of waking myself up, and I feel fine once I do it.

UPDATE: Having taken note of my newfound interest in coffee, my mom recently bought me a small Mr. Coffee machine for me to use. We bought some "Smooth and Mellow" blend from Trader Joe's to grind, which has been very satisfactory. I've taken to having at least two cups per week, which I'm sure is WAY under the average amount...

UPDATE2: Chicory coffee is pretty nice. Not the best, since its darker and needs more sugar to suit my taste than usual, but still.
Actually, it seems that coffee makes me relaxed more than anything. I dunno if it's a placebo effect due to this story Criswell told me about a guy who gets sleepy when he has caffeine- he would be out like a light if he had an energy drink- but it's rather nice, and certainly better than being made jittery.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Curtis is psychic



I haven't been reading the comics much lately, so I dunno, maybe I'm missing something, but that's what it looks like.