TomFoolery

- Band members don't feel comfortable being close francophones

- Band found out Paul Martin wouldn't sign the missile defence thingy and refuse to visit either of his home towns.

A likely story BM...

Next time you get stumbling drunk I'm going to rifle through your pockets to find your Celine fan club card.

- Tour van ran outta gas / broke down / was stolen.

- Venue double booked and felt obliged to run with the original Damn Yankees tribute band

- Band members don't feel comfortable being close francophones

- Band found out Paul Martin wouldn't sign the missile defence thingy and refuse to visit either of his home towns.

- Tour dog ate the music

What I want to know is how you found that, Brad?

Are you a secret Celine fan? ;-)

:-(

I have a gig out of town on Friday night.

Enjoy it dude.

It really was a good show - just a few things about the peripheral stuff that I'd have changed...

Hmmmmm. Good question. I don't know what time the tix said and I threw out the stub.

DP hit the stage around 12:30 - 1:00am.

That kinda turned me off a bit too - I'm old and hate being bagged for work... I'm lame :-(

The music was fun. I was pretty impressed with the lyrics - super up-beat and positive. Very cool stuff and man is the lady-mc ever a babe'r!

They had a guest dj spinning tunes (their regular dude was hung up at the border or something). Then they had a band come out and play with them. Some of the beats and stuff were cool, but it wasn't musically mind-blowing or anything. Just cool grooves.

I think the show would be better with their usual dude. It seemed like the new dude wasn't comfortable spinning the DP's music - not much mixing etc during the show.

I like scratch and hip-hop dj stuff - I find it pretty interesting to see what people do with it all. It can be way more engaging and exciting than trance dj-ing although I really prefer trance music to hip-hop...

I wouldn't say the scene was bad. It was just different from what I'm used to and not necessarily what I'm into. Way more posturing and fashionistas. I guess it was mostly the show filler that was a bit off.

There was two opening acts - decent, not phenomenal. While the dj was spinning there was a 'host' mc from Carleton U doing his hip-hop thingy. I found that pretty annoying.

I was well altered so it was all good... just nothing I'm going to search out in the future :-)

So, I went to see the Digable Planets last night at Barrymores. Digable Planets is an old hip-hop act from the early 90s (I think).

What a different scene!

I hit a bunch of rock/jam type shows in a given year. I hit a bunch of electronic events in a given year. I've never been to a hip-hop event before.

While it was interesting, I don't think I'll be attending any more.

Yo yo yo.

Strange question, I guess...

I'm going to be moving back to the west coast in a few months and have been looking into stone masonry as a new direction. I am not into my current career (which brought me to Ottawa in the first place) and there are a bunch of aspects of masonry that appeal to me.

I'm going to be looking for an apprenticeship with someone. But, it would be cool not to have to cold call people. I've got a bunch of experience in other trades (framing and roofing) and figure stuff out quick, especially if there's someone there that really knows there sh!t that I can ask questions.

Anyhow, just throwing this out there to see if anyone has any ideas...

Cheers

TF

I've heard wonderful things about the opportunities open to farriers. As Timouse says - not too many people taking up the trade.

If life hands you an opportunity like that - GRAB IT!

Enjoy and best of luck with your new career.

Welcome to the fold dr. evil...

Dude,

Have a good one. Make sure you track down this Abe fella and have a double shot of the 151 ;-)

They're worth seeing. I think they're good musicians. They're a good bar band. Don't expect to have your face melt (to borrow a Del phrase).

She can no longer hide - I see her in the "online" list. And, Bacci's not at our house anymore so it must really be her.

Everyone say hi to Kayte!!!

Welcome to the board babe :-)

Asterix

4:20 or whenever

Andrew

Strip bar or Sports bar

I am really glad to hear that.

There's a part of me that's a bit sad - that means his voice can't be blamed on the drugs...

I wish the dude would take some time to get himself back together...

They know all about you and your dark back-room conniving. You are a danger to the entire intenet community and Netscape is acting in our collective best interest.

That or they let the monkeys loose again.

Polkaroo - you're on fire today!

Megs - If you're doing margaritas, do'em right.

None of this frozen canned crap.

Good tequila (hornitos, heurdero etc.) is essential.

Freshly squeezed lime juice is essential.

Quality honey is essential.

Do not blend in the ice. You serve the above mix over cubes with a salted rim.

Don't forget to shoot the neighbour's dog.

If you want a killer blender drink, try the following:

One 375 mL bottle of amber rum

One dozen fresh peaches (if you can't find them do this whenever they're in season - its worth it).

One frozen concentrate pink lemonade (don't add the water)

Blend. Drink. Enjoy.

PS - take the pits out of the peaches ;-)

I thought you were talking about something else entirely... ;-)

Fair enough. It is nice to get to know him a bit better for sure. I just find that in his previous material he SO artistically weaved his philosophy into the story that it was disappointing to see him abandon the artistry for plain brow-beating.

I don't mind him preaching so much as how he does it...

:-)

I like that other article from Esquire. I hadn't read that before. Robbins rocks.

However, I have to say that I was not a huge fan of Fierce Invalids.

This may sound really strange but I think Robbins has taken the Tom Clancy pill. Clancy used to write espionage novels that were full of cool stuff (for the espionage freak) until he got REALLY popular. If anyone read the Clancy books where the plane flew into the White House or the following one - did you notice that there was an incredible amount of neo-conservative propaganda being spewed that wasn't really part of the story. He just started using his books as a vehicle for his personal philosophy.

Well, I don't agree with Clancy's personal philosophy so I really hated reading his books. I no longer do.

Robbins, while I agree with most of his personal philosophy, has started doing the same.

A lot of Fierce Invalids seemed to be devoted to promoting Robbins' philosophy without really adding to the story.

I still love reading the guy and will continue to check out his new novels. But, I really got disappointed with his use of his novels to proselytise.

$0.02

Skinny Legs and All is definitely the best of the lot.

Still Life was my first - it'll always hold a special place...

Hey y'all,

On the heels of that Tom Robbins discussion in whatever thread that was the other day, I thought I'd post this for you.

I read this some time back. Its supposed to be a speach Robbins gave at a high school commencement in Washington State. Its not official or anything so it could all be b.s. Its still a really cool read regardless...

Its a long read...

Tom Robbins Commencement Speech Grays Harbor,WA.

I am often asked whether there is life after death. Certainly there is. There is also death afterlife, and life before death, and death before life. It goes on forever. There is just no stopping it. You will live forever, and die forever. In fact, you already have.

As for Heaven and Hell, they are right here on Earth, and it is up to each of you in which one you choose to reside. To put it simply Heaven is living in your hopes and Hell is living in your fears.

In the traditional image, where hell is down and heaven is up, one escapes from hell by digging a hole in the ceiling. Though in an age of downers and uppers down no longer makes sense, it is still possible to think of in and out. Think of hell as in and heaven as out. To get out of hell you expand your soul until it is pushing on all the walls from the inside all the way around. If you just maintain a steady pressure, your soul will gradually filter out into limitless heaven beyond.

One problem with the notion of Heaven and Hell, however, is that, although they are exact opposites, an astonishing number of people seem to be confused about which is which. For example, all over the United Sates on this very evening, commencement speakers are standing before audiences not greatly unlike yourselves, describing Hell as if they are talking about Heaven.

Their speakers are saying things such as, "Graduating seniors, you have reached the golden threshold of maturity; it is time now to go out into the world and take up the challenges of life, time to face your hallowed responsibility."

And if that isn't one Hell of a note, it's certainly one note of Hell.

When I hear the word "maturity" spoken with such solemn awe, I don't know whether to laugh or get sick. There circulates a common myth that once one becomes an adult, one suddenly and magically gets it altogether and, if I may use the vernacular, discovers, where it's at. Ha ha. The sad funny truth is, adults are nothing but tall children who have forgotten how to play.

When people tell you to "grow up," they mean approximately the same thing they mean when they tell you to "shut up". By "shut up" they mean "stop talking", by "grow up" they mean stop growing.

Because as long as you keep growing, you keep changing, and a person who is changing is unpredictable, impossible to pigeon-hole and difficult to control. The growing person is not an easy target for those guys in the slick suits who want you to turn over your soul to Christ, your heart to America, your butt to Seattle first National Bank and your armpits to new extra crispy Right Guard.

No, the growing person is not an ideal consumer, which means, in more realistic terms, he or she is not an easy slave. Worse yet, if he or she continues to grow, grows far enough and long enough, he or she may get too close to the universal mysteries, the nature of which the Navy and the Dutch Reform Church do not encourage us to ponder. The growing person is an uncomfortable reminder of the greater human potential that each of us might realize if we had the guts.

So society wants you to grow up. To reach a safe, predictable plateau and root there. To muzzle your throb, to lower the volume on the singing in your blood. Capers all cut, sky finally larked, surprises known, SETTLE DOWN -- settle, like the sand in the bottom of an hour glass, like a coffin six months in the ground. ACT YOUR AGE -- which means, act their age, and that has, from the moment they stopped growing, always been old.

Growing up is a trap.

As for responsibility, I am forced to ask, "Responsibility to what?" To our fellow humans? Two weeks ago, the newspapers reported that a federal court had ruled that when a person's brain stops functioning, that person is legally dead, even though his or her heart may continue to beat. That means that 80% of the population of Earth is legally dead. Must we he responsible to corpses?

No, you have no responsibility except to be yourself to the fullest limit of yourself, and to find out who you are. Or, perhaps I should say, to-remember who you are. Because deep down in the secret velvet of your heart, far beyond your name and your address, each of you knows who you really are. And that being, who is the true you, cannot help but behave graciously to all other beings -- because it is all other beings.

Yet, we are constantly reminded of our..." responsibility." Responsibility means obey orders without question, don't rock the boat, and for God's sake, get a job. (Get a job. sha na na na) That's the scary one. Get a job. It is said as if it were a holy and ancient and inviolable law of nature. But the fact is although cultural humanity has been on Earth for some 2 million years, the very concept of jobs is only about 500 years old. A drop in the bucket, to coin a phrase. And with advent of an electronic cybernetic automated technology, jobs are on the way out again. Jobs were just a flash in the pan, a passing fancy. There is no realistic relationship between jobs and work – work being defined as one of the more serious aspects of play – any more than there is a realistic relationship between jobs and eating. It is curious how many people believe if it weren't for jobs they couldn't eat. As if it weren't for Boeing their jaws wouldn't chew, if it weren't for the Navy their bowels wouldn't move and if it weren't for Weyerhauser that great destroyer of plants - plants wouldn't grow. Technocratic assumptions about the identity of humanity, society and nature have warped our experience at its source and obscured the basic natural sense of things. Rabbits don't have jobs. When was the last time you heard of a rabbit starving to death?

Ah, but we must be responsible, and if we are, then we are rewarded with the white man's legal equivalent of looting: a steady job, secure income, easy credit, free access to all the local emporiums and a home of your own to pile the merchandise in! And so what if there is no magic in your life, no wonder, no amazement, no playfulness, no peace of mind, no sense of unity with the universe, no giggling joy, no burning passion, no deep understanding, no overwhelming love? At least your ego has the satisfaction of knowing you are a responsible citizen.

Responsibility is a trap.

As a matter of fact, the entire System into which you were born and which now, upon the completion of high (high?) school you must perhaps face more directly, is a System designed to trap you - and manipulate you as a co-operating slave, a System designed to steep you in Hell.

Hell is living in your fears, and it is through fear, both subtle and overt, that the System traps you. fear of failure, fear of social rejection, fear of poverty, fear of punishment, fear of death.

For example, we are taught to fear something called Communism, and millions of Americans go to sleep each night wondering if Mao Tse Tung is under their bed. Conversely, on the other side of the world millions of Russians and Chinese go to sleep wondering if Henry Kissinger is under their bed. Our Totalitarian government uses the hoax of the threat of Communism to control and enslave us, just as the totalitarian Communist governments use the hoax of the threat of Capitalism to control and enslave the people. It's an extremely old and obviously effective trick.

You see, the powers behind Communism and the powers behind Capitalism are virtually the same people. We might also include the powers behind the Vatican and the powers behind Islam. Their main function is to mystify the popular mind by creating illusions of omnipotence and omniscience with which to command docility from their subjects. While at the same time creating illusions of health, happiness and fulfillment for their subjects, although it does not require much thorough investigation to discover that few of the people of the world are healthy, happy or fulfilled.

But never mind, there are ways out of the trap, ways, as I have earlier suggested, out of Hell.

The only advice I have for you tonight is not to actively resist or fight the System, because active protest and resistance merely entangle you in the System.

Instead, ignore it, walk away from it, turn your backs on it, laugh at it. Don't be outraged, be outrageous! Never be stupid enough to respect authority unless that authority first proves itself respectable. And unfortunately, there is no officially sanctioned authority today, from the President of the United States down to the cop on the beat, that has earned the right to your respect.

So, be your own authority, lead yourselves. Remember the ways and means of the Ancient yogi masters, Pied Pipers, cloud walkers, witches and medicine men. Stay in harmony with nature. Listen to the loony rhythms of your blood. Look for beauty and poetry in everything in life. Let there be no moon that does not know you, no spring that does not lick you with its tongues. Refuse to play it safe, for it is from the wavering edge of risk that the sweetest honey of freedom drips. Live dangerously, live lovingly, believe in magic. Nourish your imagination. Use your head, even if it means going out of your mind. Learn, like the lemon and the tomato learned, the laws of the sun. Become aware, like the jungle became aware, of your own perfume. Remember that life is much too serious to take seriously - so never forget how to play.

In times of doubt and chaos, it has been the duty of superior persons -- artists, poets, scientists, clowns and philosophers (certainly not statesmen or military heroes) -- to create order in the psychic vibrations of their fellow being. But in times such as ours, times that are too carefully ordered, too strictly organized, too expertly managed, thoroughly programmed and craftily planned, times in which too few control too many, it is the duty of all feeling, thinking humanitarian people to toss their favorite monkey wrenches into the machinery. On second thought, you do have some responsibility to your fellow beings. To relieve the repression of the human spirit, it is your sacred duty to screw things up royally.

Looking at you tonight, I know you're going to do just fine. Let me wrap this up with a few short questions I am often asked.

(1) Will we be eaten by bugs and Worms? A difficult question. We ought to be. We have eaten, and we ought to be eaten. This is justice, and there is no stopping it. If you have your body burned, starving the earth to glorify a memory, you are asking for trouble (I have no idea what.)

(2) Does your soul fly out of your body at the moment you die. No, this is a foolish superstition. Your soul is constantly flying out of your body in just the same way that energy is constantly flying out of the sun. At the moment your body dies, the soul stops flying out.

(3) Is Jesus coming back? Yes, all the time. And so are you. All souls echo forever throughout the universe.

I hope you have a wonderful trip.