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Burning Witches in the Sky

Re: That NoMeansNo show I posted about earlier…I know you want details so here’s what happened. Mario called me up at 8:30pm informing me that they were playing at the ANZA club. I tried to find out how much tickets were and in doing so I got conflicting information. It turned out to be an unadvertised “super secret show” featuring Removal and a band called Small Parts. Small Parts is NMN under an assumed name, no doubt because they are playing the Commodore later this month and as part of that contract probably aren’t allowed to play in town within 6 weeks of that show (or something). Well, for a super secret show, it seems that the Georgia Straight blabbed and as a result the tickets sold out. So I walked down to the ANZA club and hung around outside the club chatting with Chris Eng and his lovely new wife, Shane and Rae. Then I toddled on home.  I’ve been having this weird problem with my recording setup. I listen to the new Thickets songs through the headphones coming from my computer, and sing along through the mic going into the line in. In CuBase (the program I’m using to record and edit) there seems to be a slight delay – so that the lyrics don’t line up with the song. I’m not sure if it’s a consistent delay or if it gets worse as it goes. I just need to figure out how to nudge the track a bit before I figure that out. Hopefully this won’t be a problem I’m going to have to throw more money at. 

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Inspiration

I had a really interesting idea this morning.

So, if you live in Canada and you want a little special something in the (snail) mail from your pal Toren, email me at thickets@uniserve.com with your mailing address and watch your mailbox for something fun but…unusual.

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Wow!

I just learned NoMeansNo is having a show tonight at the ANZA club. See you there!

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Slackademics Update

Getting a few responses, and I’ve added still more stuff to the list below (and will continue). Keep commenting or emailing about what you’re interested in and I’ll try to get the first class sorted. May be drawing or guitar. Additionally, Lin had a great idea – I will quote her directly:

I think you should also have a travel component so people can talk about countries they’ve visited and give people who want to go there tips on what to see, what’s cheap, where to visit.

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Slackademics: The Makening

I’ve really been mulling the Slackademics thing over. I’ve emailed Joe to see whether he’d be interested in putting together an official website, with forums, mailing list options, database, etc. Maybe, just maybe, this will catch on, and I can help make it happen outside of just Vancouver. I’ve already got some interest from some friends that I’ve emailed and who’ve read the blog.

OFFERED:

Vegetarian Cooking *
Vegan Cooking *
Wedding Planning
Basic Feminism/Feminist Film Theory
Horror/SciFi Film Theory
Search Engine Optimization *
Photoshop/Digital Graphics Manipulation *
Web Design/HTML tips *
Drawing **
Scrabble Strategy
Origami (possible) **
Accordian Orientation
Music Theory
Singing
Acoustic Guitar *
Method Acting
D&D
Miniature Painting (**)
Kitchen Safety
Algebra, Fractions
Unarmed Combat
Yoga
Swimming ****
Crisis Intervention and Suicide Awareness/Response
Basics of Safe Facilitation for Youth
Thirty Years of Text Adventuring, From Advent to Zork to Today
Voice Acting
Cooking (Savory or Desserts) & Chocolate Making. *
Jewelry Making **
Lantern Making **
Biology/Microbiology/Genetics
Psychology (ADHD/Autism)(Creativity)
IQ Assessment
Chinese Culture, Religion & History
History of Christianity & the Church
Latin
Greek
Buy/Sell Stuff on eBay
Run an Online Business
Grow Plants from Seeds
Beeswax Candles
Cheap Spa Treatments at Home
Make Brochures
Play Drums
Mechanic
Currey Dishes

So if you’re interested in any of those – let me know and I’ll mark it, dude.

A little incentive for teachers, I thought, would be free dinner. Maybe everyone who comes to the class brings an hors ‘douevre or just puts in a fiver for pizza or something. It could be worked out easily.

* – requires equipment
** – requires supplies
*** – requires specific location
**** – gymastics and crappy animation don’t mix

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Weirdness

I don’t know why my blog suddenly changes font sizes and boldnesses. I also don’t know why when you click NEXT PAGE at the very bottom you’re greeted with a 404 message. I wish I did. Maybe Joe can tell me.

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Slackademics – The Ball Will Roll

I’m going to send this email out later today, but here’s a head start for my blog readers. Feel free to comment.

Yeah, school is okay, but there’s another way to learn things. People I know have lots of skills. They are willing to share them, and they want to learn new ones, and nobody has to spend any money–just a little time. So I am putting together Slackademics Vancouver. Every week or two, a few of us get together. Someone is designated the “teacher” for the evening/day. Whatever is in demand and is available. In trying to get the first session off the ground, I’d like to find out: Who’s interested in participating
Who’s willing to teach
What your skills are
What you want to learn

To kickstart the procedure, I’ve compiled a list of some skills and spheres of knowledge. If you are interested in participating, please indicate what skills you are willing to teach, and what skills you are interested in learning. Note that this is for people in and around Vancouver BC.

Guitar, piano, other instrument; read music; drawing; painting; knitting; language (Mandarin, Cantonese, German…); tennis; culture jamming; screen printing; art history; writing; grammar; cooking; hairdressing; bike repair; miniature painting; nutrition; optimizing computer; exercise/personal training; building a web site; flash; photoshop/other programs; first aid; investing/finances; yoga; tai chi; gardening; woodworking; plumbing; job hunting; acting; vocal training; mediation; marine biology; running a business; counseling; photography; animation; dance; filmmaking; origami; stained glass; jewelry making; sculpting; airbrushing; astronomy; tattoo; time management; auto mechanics; floristry; electronics; graphic design; wiring; health; sound engineering; poetry/songwriting; art history; music history; other (describe!)

Additionally, if you’ve taken any college/university courses, please consider sharing your knowledge on the subjects.

I’m trying to figure out how best to manage this, so please let me know if you have a preference as to how you’d like to be contacted/not contacted. Do you prefer email only? A yahoogroup? LiveJournal community? Myspace forums? Google group?

For now, you can just email me at thickets@uniserve.com

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Ghost Trailer

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/ghostrider/high.html

How come nobody told me that Nicolas Cage would be playing Ghost Rider? It’s a good thing I’m not a GR fan, or I’d have an opinion.

There’s a new Superman Returns trailer as of a few days ago. It’s been a long time since I’ve cared enough about a movie that I don’t want to be “spoiled.” Star Wars 2 — and look where that got me. You can’t tell apricot 1 about a movie based on a trailer, these days. Scratch that, actually: trailers try to make bad movies look good, and when a trailer makes a movie look bad you know it’s gotta be awful. However, before X-Men The Last Stand they played a trailer for a movie which was refreshing. Instead of showing tiny cuts interspersed with 3 seconds of mood music and records scratching, they showed a scene from the film. You got a good sense of the characters and the story. It doesn’t really look like my kind of movie (something about being a fashion editor for a magazine) but I really admire the choice to present a trailer that way. I have an idea about what the movie’s going to be like! Wow! Who would have thought? Anyway, the more I see of the Superman Returns trailer, the more interested I am to see it. But now I must go and watch Big Fish for the very first time.

PS – June is birthday month!