a lesson (hopefully) learned.

when i was in 5th grade, a neighbor kid who lived two houses away had this huge trampoline in his backyard which accounted for hours upon hours of mischief and mayhem.

his trampoline was located towards the back of his yard and almost right beside the fence that divided his yard from the main road. we would bounce on the trampoline and wave at the oncoming cars coming down the street; i could only imagine what it looked like being in the automobile when a kid’s head would suddenly pop above the 6-ft fence with a huge shit-eating grin on their face.

next to my friend’s house was an abandoned property that claimed ownership to a huge tangerine tree; it didn’t take long for one of us to come up with the fantastic idea to start throwing tangerines at the cars passing by as we bounced up and down. of course, cars would get hit and the owner would roll down the window and yell “fucking kids!” as loud as they could. that kind reaction just incensed us more to continue the practice, and besides, have you ever thrown a ripe tangerine at a wall or car? it just explodes in a wonderful rainbow of sticky juice (with all of the colors being orange, of course)

it was just a matter of time when we experienced the “you’re gonna put your eye out” moment when someone decided to chuck a tangerine at…you guessed it…a cop car.

RUN!!!

of course, the cop stopped the car and turned around to try to find us, but thank goodness for the row of houses and their high fences, he had to go about 500 feet up the block to get where we were. we high-tailed it down to my house where we saw the police officer slowly cruising, trying to find the perpetrators. we were all hiding behind a tree laughing our asses off!

the trampoline was often times used for wrestling matches with one kid pitted against the other. being a kid who simply loved to roughhouse around (i had 6 brothers), i was always welcome for a challenge. the idea was suppose to be to do a jumping body slam on the mat, which most kids did. as it would happen,  the owner of the trampoline angered me over something, so i did what my temperament allotted, i push him over the edge of the trampoline. landing on the ground from a height of 5 feet while you’re not expecting it is pretty bad. of course, my childlike mind didn’t even contemplate if he landed wrong.

did i mention that the ground was covered with huge pine cones?

needless to say, he wasn’t very happy with me and i was greeted with the familiar phrase…GET OUT OF MY YARD!!!

have i ever told you the story about when my brother and i threw two neighbor kids together while playing in the pool??

the games children play.

when i was a child, the most popular game in school was called ‘kickback’. it was something of a cousin of kickball but there was really no way of keeping score. the only rules to the game was that there had to be two teams, but you were allowed to pick the team you wanted to be on. the objective to the game was for a player of one team had to kick the ball as high as he/she could and the other team had to catch the ball. if the person catching the ball dropped it, it was a ‘point’ (even though no one was keeping score).

the great thing about the game was the dynamics; it was often encouraged to play opposite of an accomplished kickback player in order to pit your skill as a kicker or catcher. synchronized kicking (often 3 or more players at a time) was often times used, because (it was believed) it confused the team on the other side. normally, 5-6 balls were used at a time and all were going at once.

one kickback method (usually for the more skilled players) was to aim your kick towards another ball to knock it out of trajectory; very few kickback players were skilled enough to do this. players who were able to somehow kick the ball over the fence were revered as skilled as well.

the winter months proved hard on the sport of kickback because the teachers aides who chaperoned the children usually asked children not to play because of the snow, and because that’s usually where the balls ended up. in 3-feet of snow, a ball proves difficult to retrieve for an adult.

the same deep water as you.

exhibiting a little whimsy, i decided to swim into the deep end of the pool and go on a little trip in order to try to capture some photos, utilizing my newly acquired cameras. my destination was belle glade, florida; this lies to the west of palm beach county and is synonymous with being a poorer section of florida, but i heard that a trip there might turn fruitful.

as i headed west, i realized that i never ventured that far out before. until this point, lion country safari was the furthest west i had ever gone and soon all of this would be behind me. as i moved further away from civilization, i noticed that the infrastructure for the residents of palm beach county all lies here; electricity, water, etc. roughly 10 miles out, the strip-shopping malls gave way to sugarcane fields and then flat, open land.

the picture above was actually the most interesting thing i found: the electricity grid seemed to go off in the distance and disappear into eternity. i couldn’t help but be amazed how this photo came out as opposed to my naked eye; the photo is second dimensional and doesn’t give you the overwhelming feeling that actually seeing this does. when i stopped the car to take the photo, the wind was blowing strong and it was absolutely wonderful outside. the cars passing me took some getting used to since the highway turned into a 70+-mph racetrack. i snapped a few pictures and got back into my car, still far away from my destination.

i must tell you that the drive from lake worth to belle glade is the epitome of dull; the land is flat and houses miles upon miles of sugarcane fields. i came across a field that had recently been excavated and nothing but black soil lie underneath; the dark backdrop with a shiny green tractor sitting in the middle of the field would’ve made for a lovely photo but i was traveling far too fast to stop.

30 minutes into my journey, i started to notice signs for the sight-seeing tour for lake okeechobee so i knew that i was getting close. i came to a crossroads; if i went straight, i would end up traveling along the outside rim of the lake, or–if i turned–i would go north towards pahokee or south took me to belle glade. i went south.

belle glade looked exactly like i thought it would; remnants of old florida were everywhere. i saw half-baked strip malls rocked by a bad economy and evidence of stores recently shuttered. as i drove to try to find something to capture, i noticed a bunch of men in a group in front of a run-down convenience store. i thought about stopping to catch a photo but i then noticed that there was a fight in progress–i chose to move on.

after driving for a total of an hour, i came to the conclusion that there wasn’t anything to really see here. there’s a huge difference between an aging town and a city forgotten by economics. disappointed, i turned around and headed back towards the direction from which i came.

although i didn’t get what i truly wanted, i couldn’t help but feel accomplished for leaving my comfort zone for a little while and venturing out into the world. it always seems to do me a lot of good when i swim away from the edge and into the deeper part of the pool.

a review a day.

small color: in light (12k)

sometimes, i wonder if i should just dedicate this blog to covering 12k bands, because every time i hear a release, i fall in love with it.

with that being said, i just received the latest release entitled in light by japan’s small color. unlike the majority of 12k releases, this collection of songs is decidedly upbeat and would (normally) fall into the j-pop category. 12k had a sub-label called happy dedicated to those releases matching this criteria, but decided after only a few album launches, to just have everything under the collective 12k umbrella.

the songs on this release definitely have that minimalistic, microscopic edge to them, but are no where as sparse as the other releases. utilizing harmonica, banjo, bells, and a varied assortment of instruments, it’s hard not to take notice of this release. hardcore minimalists may find this release objectionable since it has less of a glitchy, sparse feel to it, but rather, it contains a number of songs that may (i said may) be considered catchy. i’m not sure if the creators intended the sound to be reminiscent of a japanese country-bumpkin, but that’s what i think of when i listen to this album; a farmer sitting on the deck of his house just staring off into the distance with his thoughts escaping him and fluttering to somewhere else.

the album begins on a j-pop note and carries on this way through the first 5 songs but slows down a little on the song ‘hideaway’ which appears mid-album. the second-to-last song entitled ‘hikari no hana’ could definitely be described what the record industry terms a single; acoustic, quite upbeat, and catchy (i hum to it since i cannot understand the lyrical content). the funny thing about the song is the little electronic droppings that remind me of the eveready battery jingle.

most album releases put their strongest songs at the beginning of the album to hook you in; in color puts them towards the back. i am quite fond of the closing track entitled ‘lemmy’.

babble #1.

i’m getting my lunch at chipotle and i notice this kid with a high school wrestling shirt (forgot the name of the school) sporting a mohawk. judging by his dress and friends, this kid sure as hell wasn’t punk, so i thought, why the hell does he have a mohawk?

i’ve noticed that a subculture of jock/meatheads have tried to co-opt our culture by covering themselves with tattoos and/or cut their hair into a mohawk (never liberty spike-style).

after my initial revulsion, it makes me ask the question…why? why mr. meathead? why must you steal from MY culture instead of wiping your ass with someone else’s? does it make you look tough? intimidating?

why does this bother me? should it? the answer is YES!

like father, like daughter.

one of the best things in my entire life was skateboarding; it helped shape who i was. i was happiest when i was on my board and nothing seemed to matter but landing that trick or skating the curbs outside of my house.

like others before me (and after), i gave up skating after i got my first car. it seemed that girls were more important than ollies, and the many years of getting from here to there by simply pushing were over.

fast forward 18 years…

my daughter and i were at a dollar tree store and we saw that they had the classic tech decks available for only $1. i was impressed with the selection they had and we purchased the models of: steve caballero, tony hawk, and christian hosoi–all of my heroes. i was surprised how adamant kela was at wanting a finger board for her own, so i got her a ray ‘bones’ rodriguez model.

ever since this purchase, my daughter became fascinated by skateboards and skateboarding. it’s an activity i’ve always enjoyed watching and the x-games are like the superbowl in my house. i would also let her watch videos on youtube of the exciting new skaters, namely: paul rodriguez, chris haslam, hyjah huston, and (the legendary) rodney mullen.

on our recent outing to universal studios in orlando, we stopped into the element skateboards store to check it out. michaelia was trying to convince me to allow her to take the $27 she saved for the trip and put it towards a skateboard. i tried explaining to her that it would only get her (barely) a deck, but she wanted one so badly. my wife saw the look of determination in her eyes and gave me the nod to purchase the board for her. needless to say, i had the thought in my head that i just sunk $100 into a door stop–but to my surprise–kela insisted on carrying her board all the way out to the car.

we told michaelia that she wouldn’t be able to ride her board until she got some safety gear, but her new step-brother allowed her to borrow his helmet that he had for his razor scooter, so she had this problem taken care of.

with skateboard in hand, michaelia begged me to come outside with her and teach her how to skate. i was proud of her for wanting to learn so badly but i was also afraid that she would fall and hurt herself. within seconds, all of my fears were subsided when she instantly got her stance (she’s regular-footed) and pushed off without a hitch.

after 30 minutes, michaelia didn’t fall once and was attempting tricks as i watched in sheer amazement. like a proud daddy, i also got it on video (http://vimeo.com/6831681)

now it’s time to groom my little skater girl!

tomorrow.

i wanted to write something that would make her realize just how much i loved her.

–words are failing me now–

how do you say thank you for being there for me for the last 21 years and [wanting] to be there for the rest of my life? how do you say thank you for being one of the best friends that i’ve ever had, unselfishly hooking me up with your friends in high school and giving me advice about how girls ‘work’. how do you say thank you for that brief moment, at age 17, when you kissed me for the first time, and i never forgot how it felt? how do you say thank you for meeting me in that parking lot, taking me to your house, and we made love for the very first time, at age 20? how do you say thank you when years pass and we don’t see one another–she went one way, and i the other–to have marriages and children, but when we see one another again, it’s like nothing changed. how do you thank someone who, at a time of crisis in your life, give you council and assures you that everything is going to be OK. How do you say thank you to someone who’s so mature that they know that the time wasn’t right but we still needed to be friends. How do you say thank you to the one who–while listening to you choke back the tears–makes you admit that THEY are the one that you long to be with even though it could end the wonderful friendship that blossomed if something went wrong. How do you say thank you to the person who tells you that they would marry you tomorrow… 

Tomorrow is almost here.

pure. natural. unspoiled. boring.

i just received a tourism package from the icelandic tourist board today that including a 40-page magazine and a DVD entitled “iceland naturally”.

i was impressed that they had a quote by the new york times that read:

while iceland’s musicians björk and sigur rós are arguably the nation’s most famous cultural exports, this country of about 300,000 people has a healthy art scene.

the magazine shows some beautiful shots of icelandic life and gives some interesting facts about the country and culture, of which is the following:

the icelanders still speak the language of the vikings (old norse). when new words are needed, they simply con words that are combinations or modifications of old words. iceland is alone in upholding another norse tradition: the custom of using patronyms rather than surnames. if, for example, einar has a son named “petur”, the son’s name is petur einarsson (peter einar’s son). if einar has a daughter whom he names “margret”, she becomes margret einarsdottir (margret einar’s daughter). members of the same family can therefore have different “last names”, which often causes confusion to foreigners. if you are looking for someone in the phone directory, you look them up by their first name.

also included with the package was a 5:35 minute DVD called “iceland naturally“, which (ironically enough) won the 2007 award for best of show by the aurora awards. i have absolutely no idea how this video won an award because it was so americanized that i thought it was an infommercial for aspen or the hamptons.

i knew i was in trouble watching this by the way they pronounced the word “iceland”, with the emphasis being on the ‘land’ part of the word. instead of a beautiful icelandic accent telling all about the wonders of the country, we had john and jane smith narrating the video with a caucasian enunciation that would even make icelanders cringe.

if the icelandic tourist board really wants to lure travelers to their country; first, sit down and watch screaming masterpiece and then give it another shot…please.

I think i’ll pass…

you know the day will be interesting when a Starbucks employee comes out of the bathroom and says to her co-worker from across the room:

“Sarah, you GOT to see this!”

(no less than three times)

support independent artists.

even though it’s so out of vogue nowday, i actually don’t mind paying for music. i recently had a pretty in-depth discussion with a friend recently and we decided that true music fans have no problem with dropping duckets in order to support the bands that they love, and if they don’t, they’re not true fans of music.

today on twitter, i got a message from taylor from 12k who expressed frustration at those leeches who are actively trading catalog items on torrent sites. i replied that (in the case of 12k) you won’t enjoy the whole experience as much unless you get the physical package. this isn’t always the case with other record labels.

tonight, i told ryan from stripmall architecture that not only did i purchase the physical CD from him, but that i also purchased the digital download because i was impatient. i was only half-joking when i said this, but i also feel that if i support the band directly, then the money that goes to them will help get them into a position to (hopefully) record another album. ryan joked and stated that paying for music was so nineties…

this shouldn’t be the case.

stripmall architecture is an independent band who records without a record label and funds all of their endeavors. what’s interesting about them is that their albums often times sound better than those bands who hire big-named producers and spend millions of dollars on making the album. not only are they very much in touch with their fan base, but they instituted the name-your-price scheme (a la Radiohead) that starts at $5 or is giving away the album at a lower bit rate (128kbps). if you’re interested, go to http://stripmallarchitecture.bandcamp.com/album/we-were-flying-kites and listen to the album–if you like it, buy it!

i’m using this medium to help people like ryan and taylor who devote many waking moments to making/promoting the music they love.