Sunday, July 31, 2005

Rodeo Dance, Nubile Flesh & Bugs

We played for the dance after the rodeo last night. The rodeo was held as part of what other places would call the county fair. At one time, this used to be the state fair, but now there's like 4 "state fairs". I don't quite understand. And I digress.

There wasn't anything spectacular about this dance. No fights that I'm aware of. No arrests. Just alot of nubile flesh in tank tops being ogled by old cowboys in cowboy hats and boots. Actually, being ogled by just about everyone, including each other. Now why would you hire a horn band to play a rodeo dance? Because we can easily play 4 hours of country & country-friendly rock! It's surprising how easily country music can have horns added! So between Patsy Cline and Gretchen Wilson, we throw in an occassional "Sweet Home Alabama" and even "Love Shack". Besides, once the beer flows, cowboys will dance to just about anything. And if they don't, you can absolutely count on the nubile flesh dancing the night away with each other! (click on the pics to make them bigger)










The worst part of the evening was that we were fully exposed to the elements--no canopy or tent. The elements, on this night, would be the sawdust, hay, dirt and wind. Just as bad as the last gig, but less wind. The truly distracting part were the moths. We were the only significant lights in the area, other than the large light pole illuminating the dance area. Moths all over. On the music, in our hair, up the pants, down the shirts, all over the equipment. Harmless, but disgusting. Yes, I swallowed a small one. Flew in as I took a deep breath for the last note of something. The beer washed it down quickly.










As far as bugs go, this was one of the worst gigs we've endured. I thought I'd never see anything quite like it again. Wrong, oh wise and powerful Os! You ain't seen nothin' yet! On my way home, I passed by a car dealership, and the sight was beyond words. THIS is what it was like for about 4 blocks where any business had any kind of light. I don't know where these things go during the day, and I'm not sure that I want to. But I'm weird enough that I may go down there tonight and see if they're out again!



iTunes: Hold On, En Vogue

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Answers for Yoj

Here's the answers to Yoj's questions. I'm not passing on the tag. I'm burned out by coming up with both questions and answers for these things. But it was fun while it lasted! Questions are on their way to Bek, Chuckster and Jonathan. Here we go--

Yo Osbasso- here's your questions baby!

1. What the hell does Osbasso stand for? Please explain.
    I actually did a post answering this question in January. Essentially, it's sort of an invented word (actually two words--I usually separate them: os basso) made up of two Latin words. Definitions below:
    • os n. pl. os•sa
      A bone. (think osteoporosis or osteoarthritis)
    • bas•so n. pl. bas•sos or bas•si
      An instrumental part written for a bass instrument.
    So, literally, bone bass. Those of you who have bothered to check out my profile, you'll see that I play the bass trombone, or, using hip jazz lingo, the bass bone. And keeping my 9th grade Spanish in mind, I seemed to recall that in almost every language but English, the noun comes first, then the adjective. Therefore, bone bass, or in Latin, os basso.

2. What was your favorite childhood dish, who made it and do you still eat it?
    My father's entire heritage is Czech. His mother and father were the only ones who could speak English. My grandmother made the most wicked chicken & noodles on the planet. Homemade noodles--I can still see her chopping the noodles so fast it made your head spin. Never sliced off a finger either! And the chicken stock--I don't know what she did to it, but it was perfect! Almost every Sunday night my family would go to my grandparent's for dinner. Unfortunately, my mother's culinary skills were adequate, but never a priority, so all the old recipes disappeared with my grandmother's death when I was 12. But I can still remember the taste like I'd had it yesterday.

3. If you had to chose between having your toenails ripped out by jackals, listening to Celine Dion the early years while strapped down for hours, or drinking liquid dirt mixed with grubs, what would you chose and why?
    The toenail thing is too painful, and in spite of my size, I don't eat everything put in front of me (I'd never make it on Fear Factor). That leaves Celine, the early years. The early years are far superior to the crap she's been singing over the last 10-12 years. I think I could do it. As long as I didn't have to actually look at her. Goofiest looking Canadian I've ever seen!

4. Who's one of your musical influences and what is it that's just so darn special about them?
    This one's tough. I've never really thought about it. At some point during the 4th grade, The Monkees, Simon & Garfunkel, Sister Eucharista and Sister Mary Thomas converged and my abilities and love for music came shining through. But as an influence, it would probably have to be Dr. Thomas H. Cook from the University of Montana. He was my advisor in grad school, and I was his grad assistant. My 3 years of grad school were a time of enourmous maturing for me, and he taught me a great deal about music and life. I think I actually learned more about life from him than music. As far as a "name" musician that's influenced me, I guess I don't have one. I absorb as much as I can from recordings of a variety of jazz musicians, and I'm very interested in the compositions/lives of Bernstein, Copland, Holst and Sousa. But there's no primary musical influence.

5. If you had to live out the rest of your days in one single location, never being able to leave, say a 2 mile radius- what location would you pick? Gonna tell me why? Would you bring Candy?
    There's a semi-public beach on Lake Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. It's surrounded by a mix of modern and turn-of-the-century houses, all having their own beach access. It's secluded from the bustle of town, though it's in the middle of town. There is a world class golf course down the way, and a brew pub nearby. And there is very little in northern Idaho that's not absolutely beautiful. I found this area in the summer of 1980 with Volcano Girl (see my post from May 18th), and I'll drive around when I'm in the area just to soak it in and reminisce. As for "Candy", since you've capitalized it, you must have someone in mind. Unfortunately, I don't know who that would be (do I?), but she'd be more than welcome to join me!

iTunes: Everybody's Everything, Santana

Friday, July 29, 2005

Mommy, this is what I learned at HNT

What a long day! By the time I get through with this, it'll be about 2 AM. But it's worth it! Some things that I've learned/noticed over the past couple of days---

MSN Search has directed people to my site for a couple of different searches. I'm not saying that any of you fit any of these descriptions, but here they are (I can't make this stuff up!):
  • #1 out of 76,478 for 14 year old naked pussy
  • #5 out of 2,441,808 for look at my naked pictures
  • #1 out of 28,858 for naked fat females in the woods
  • #13 out of 294,730 for woman caught naked on camera
  • #8 out of 2,892,055 for how do I get in to girl naked . com


They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, we've hit the big time! HNT has officially been spoofed! Long time (?) blogfriend Egan came up with a great post. Fully Klothed Thursday made it's debut yesterday. Complete with a whole set of "Hidelines" to follow. It's a bit ironic though, since he's half-nekkid in his profile picture! You should probably go check it out.

  • We ended with 82 Nekkid people this week.
  • We have alot of newbies this week, including one that not only jumped into the deep end the first time, but then swam laps for an hour.
  • One of us has a reader from Kuwait. HNT has hit the Middle East!
  • I got really pissed by a comment on Andi's site. She posted a response to him, which I then commented on. Anyone who wants to see the "less-than-cheery" persona of Osbasso should check it out. I rarely vent, but this really set me off!
  • There's been some concern about jumping the gun for HNT. Namely, people posting as early as Wed. afternoon. Granted, there are those who wouldn't get anything posted until late Thursday if they didn't do it early, hence missing out on almost a full day of ogling. Or there are some other situations. I post early so that others have a place to comment. Let's try to curb our excitement and wait at least until you're about to go to bed. That should help.
  • A crisis of imagination is attacking some of us (by your own admissions--far be it from ME to say that!). Feel free to help others with some ideas, if they're looking!


  • Three things on a personal note:

    I loved all the compliments on the hair. Seriously, I wasn't looking for that. However, now I'm wondering how hideous I must have looked for the better part of the past 35-40 years!

    Montana is the 4th most active geological state. Following Hawaii, Alaska and California. Last week's quake still spawned quite a few aftershocks, but nothing felt around here. Nothing major, damage-wise, other than some cracked windows, etc. Still, it was a fun ride!

    There's nothing like 6,000-7,000 people instantaneously erupting into a roar at the end of the "1812 Overture" as the final fireworks die away. Very, very cool!

    It's pushing 2:30 AM right now. Time to head to bed. Thanks to all for a great Thursday!
    iTunes: Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant

    Wednesday, July 27, 2005

    Hairy HNT


    Sort of an uninspired post for HNT this week. This is the top of my newly shorn head. No one has ever bothered to tell me that I might be getting the beginnings of a bald spot. Thanks, guys!

    It was a long week last week, and I'm still sorta winding down. I promise that I'll get something better next time. Remember, sometimes we all have a down week! Now go be nekkid!

    Visitor #10,000

    According to my counter, I've hit the 10,000 visitors mark today! Thank you to all who have contributed to this milestone! I was excited to see who the lucky person was; which one of you hit the magic number! I might even consider a prize of some sort! Would it be Lizabeth, who was my very first commenter back in January? Or Rachel, my beer drinkin' buddy here in town? Maybe it was the legendary Lightning Bug's Butt, leaving me a little bit of commentary! Perhaps it was one of the regular HNT crowd with an uber-early notification (BTW--Britni is going out of town, so she's posted already). Could it possibly have been one of Ty's girls, "accidentally" sending me a jpeg for FBF or the other thing's he's got going? My mind raced with anticipation as to who the lucky blogger might be! I check Sitemeter for the answer:

    http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=old%20ladies%20naked&first=31&FORM=PORE

    My 10,000th visitor was some pervert in the Eastern time zone using IE 6.0 on Windows2000 (comcast.net) who found me as the 32nd entry out of 3,511,870 in a search for "old ladies naked". At least I don't have to feel guilty about not having a prize!

    My Sweet Lord, What Have I Done??

    This is Moose & me about 2 weeks ago. Moose was hot, as always. I was sunburned, windburned, and generally tired. And my hair was too long in places and blown all over the place. It finally pissed me off today, so I did something about it. And now I have to live with it.


    BEFORE


    AFTER

    I told the barber (a longtime acquaintance of mine) that I wanted it so short that I'd never talk to her again. Well, she took about 5 inches off with her first cut, so there was no turning back! My hair hasn't been this short since the summer before 6th grade (that would be 1968, if anyone's counting).

    I actually think I'll like it this short. I've had a few people comment that it looks good on me. And I've had 3 separate people rub their hands on the top of my head (I feel like a freshly watered Chia Pet). Unfortunately, it's been 2 guys and 1 girl. Well, I still like the attention. I don't know if I'll grow it out again. It used to be quite a bit longer in the old days. I must be growing up. Damn.
    iTunes: I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis & the News

    Tuesday, July 26, 2005

    You Shook Me All Night Long! (and UPDATES!)

    10:10 PM Holy shit! We just had a nice earthquake!! I'll update later!

    UPDATE 10:30 PM: They just said it was a 5.6 earthquake with the epicenter halfway between Butte & Dillon (about 90 miles away from here). More later, if there's anything to tell!

    UPDATE 10:13AM: FIRST OFF--NOTHING CAN DERAIL HNT! It's now barely 12 hours later, and it seems that all is OK in Montana. No serious damage, no injuries (though I heard something about a heart attack attributed to it). The USGS said that the epicenter was only 3 miles from the surface (early reports said 25 miles), and it could be felt as far away as Billings, Great Falls and Spokane--all between 250-300 miles away. Certainly not like what Californians deal with, but this was sort of fun! This will probably be the last update, unless something else happens....

    Monday, July 25, 2005

    Answers for Grace

    Grace was kind enough to throw some interview questions my way. She resisted getting involved with HNT until the pressure on her was too great. I offered her the chance to get back at me.

    Again, here are the instructions:
      1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
      2. I will respond by asking you five questions -- each person's will be different.
      3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
      4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
      5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
    1. What's your favorite part of a woman's body?
      Trick question here. If it's just to look at, then I would say a well-toned, muscular upper arm/shoulder area, particularly if a tank top is being worn. There's something very attractive about that. Actually, the entire upper chest/shoulder/shoulder blade/collar bone/neck area will catch my attention every time.
      If it's something I'm getting to actually touch, then the line from the throat down to the belly button. The same line that a drop of sweat would trickle down. With maybe a slight detour to follow the subtle curves that begin to define the breast from the torso. Light fingertips only. I could spend all day there.

    2. What's your favorite part of a man's body?
      Laugh lines around the eyes. They best looking guys I know all have that feature.

    3. Would you rather be the height you are now and have a dick that's an inch shorter or would you rather be 4'6" in height with a dick that's an inch longer?
      Unfortunately, I can't afford to lose an inch in that area, so I could do the 4'6" thing and gain an inch. At my age I think I could deal with being that height. I don't know that I would have done well growing up and only getting that tall.

    4. Are there any people who play HNT that you wished just wouldn't??? :P
      I can honestly say that I've enjoyed everyone's posts. It seems that unwritten limits have developed for each participant. And sometimes those limits are constantly expanding. For some people, the simple photo of their leg on the internet is a huge deal. And that's great! I think people have opened themselves up to the rest of us to the best of their own expectations. Others have taken that to another level. And that's great too! I think what makes HNT work for each of us is that we're all respectful of each other. I have not seen any negative comments about anyone's pictures. THAT is what makes HNT great and such a success!
      While there's no nekkid people that I would want to ban, I DO have a problem with some of the lurkers/commenters out there. Why some of these people (I'll say it--guys) feel that they can make crude "sexual" comments on some of these is beyond my comprehension. This was not started as a meat market so that some 42-yr. old, unhappily married guy in Limp Dick, Arkansas could get his jollies by thinking that his comment to one of you lovely ladies would persuade you to join his wet dream. Sure, there's a little bit of suggestive talk amongst us, but I think that if you've posted your own HNT pics, you get to do that as an added perk. I like the idea that there are probably alot of people who sit on the sidelines and just watch. But when those people jump in and comment that you need to show the Full Monty, just to satisfy their own pathetic little lives--that's when I'd love to have a permanent delete button and wipe them off of Bloggerworld.

    5. What's the proudest moment in your life?
      I can't narrow this down to one, so I offer three:

    • 1) The day I finished my comps for my master's degree in music education. The decision to go to grad school was all mine, and I had to pay for everything myself (as opposed to undergrad). It was the first thing in my life that I really wanted and worked toward, and completing the degree was the culmination of alot of fun and hard work.
    • 2) A couple of years ago I had my first opportunity to conduct a 44-piece pit orchestra for a local production of "The Nutcracker". It was the first time that my father had ever seen me in that role. He'd seen me perform in a variety of situations, but this was totally new to him. As the only musician in my family (even through 3rd cousins!), he's never quite understood my talents or abilities. We gave great performances, which was the initial pride. But when he came down afterwards, he had a tear in his eye, no words in his mouth, and an enthusiastic handshake that morphed into a big bear hug. He never does that. I was proud--he was proud!
    • 3) I have had a number of former students get in touch with me after a number of years and tell me how my presence in their lives made some sort of a difference. Some of these have gone forward in music. Others have become doctors. In all instances, the pride that I feel is hard to beat. Teaching is the noblest of professions. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity.


    Sorry that got a little long. If you're interested in being interviewed, let me know in the comments!

    CD tag

    I was tagged by Ian for this. As you all know, I hate these things (but secretly, I really do--just don't tell anyone!), so awaaayyy we go!

    Five recent CD purchases.
      Bering Strait - Pages
      Wendy Carlos - Rediscovering Lost Scores
      Deana Carter - The Story of My Life
      Shelby Lynne - Suit Yourself
      Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Soundtrack

    Five CDs you have had for a while, and still play regularly.
      Mandy Moore - Coverage
      Katie Melua - Call Off the Search
      Tower of Power - Bump City
      Alison Krauss + Union Station - New Favorite
      Dr. Demento - 20th Anniversary Collection (Disc 2)

    Five CDs you might not admit to owning, or having owned, unless your conscience makes you fess up on a blog.
      Milla Jovavich - The Divine Comedy
      Pablo Cruise - Worlds Away
      Pat Boone - In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
      Sheila E. & the E. Train - Writes of Passage
      The Sounds of Sex - Sound Effects (I lead an embarrassing life....)

    The first music you remember purchasing, perhaps on each format.
      Vinyl LP (1972): Carpenters - A Song For You
      Vinyl 45 (1969): The 5th Dimension - Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
      Cassette (1972): Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Trilogy
      CD (1984): Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan

    Tag: Cass, Yoj, Ago-go, and anyone else who wants to join in!

    Sunday, July 24, 2005

    Pictures are up!

    A long, long couple of days has finally ended. I've neglected most of you, but it couldn't be helped! I'm tired and I'm sore, but quite exhilarated! The concert was a great success, in spite of some performance glitches on the musicians' part. Myself included. Not a perfect performance, but still, a very, very good showing! And from the production end, I was very happy with the way things went. At least, I haven't heard of any problems from last night's teardown.

    I've posted some pics on my other site, so be sure to stop by there and check things out. Hopefully I'll get caught up on my blogging tonight. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

    UPDATE: Go check Rachel's site for her pics and insights on the concert!
    iTunes: Livin' La Vida Loca, Ricky Martin

    Saturday, July 23, 2005

    Concert Day!

    I'll be brief here. Spent 16+ hours at the concert site getting ready for tonight's concert. That included re-setting the stage after a 20 minute storm blew through, basically flinging everything on stage all over the place and getting EVERYTHING totally soaked--including a grand piano, all the mics, lights and percussion equipment. 45 minutes before rehearsal. Somehow we got everything dried off and reset and started it on time. Weather is supposed to be much nicer today. I was so tired by the time I got home I just fell into bed. Should've showered first. I'm off to a dress rehearsal this morning, maybe getting some sleep this afternoon, then concert tonight. Should be pretty good. I've got some pictures from the set-up (but not the storm--too busy catching things), and I'll get some tonight.

    Just for your info--we're up to almost 80 Nekkid people this week! And that doesn't include a couple of regulars that didn't post this week! Let's break the century mark next Thursday!!!

    Thursday, July 21, 2005

    Let's Get Nekkid!

    HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD!!! It's finally happened. My multi-tasking abilities have taken a nosedive. I currently have enough time to get this written. Between getting this concert ready (tomorrow's the big load-in), rehearsing, and doing my "real" job, I've tried to get to everyone today. I don't think I've missed anyone, but I'm not sure. If you're a regular "Nekkid" person, I might have missed commenting on your pic. My main concern today has been the newbies. We're up to over 80 Nekkid people now, and I can tell I'm not going to be able to keep up as well as in the past. If you miss getting a comment from me, it's nothing personal, OK? Emily--I noticed that you did a great job of unofficially filling in for me. Thanks! Congrats to all for making HNT the success it's become! BTW--Go check out Ty tomorrow!


    I tried to come up with something different again. I think I succeeded. The original picture is the one on the powerbook on the left. It was sitting in iPhoto when I left the room, and when I came back in, it hit me. Take a picture of the picture! For an added bonus, you can see me in the reflection of the iMac! So a double "Half-Nekkid Thursday" post! Don't know why you'd want to do it, but you can click on the pic to enlarge it. Hope it doesn't offend!

    Just a heads up--Steph, AT (a newbie!) and Summer have prematurely submitted (but haven't we all, at one time or another?), so be sure to check them out!
    iTunes: Ballroom Blitz, Tia Carrere

    Monday, July 18, 2005

    Symphony Under the Stars


    The Symphony is rehearsing this week for our second annual "Symphony Under the Stars" on Saturday. It's held on a hillside at Carroll College. It's free, it's outside, and it's one of the high points of the summer for alot of people. Click on the poster on the right. The tradition was started in 1998, with the Montana Summer Symphony--an orchestra comprised of musicians from the seven orchestras in MT (didn't know there were that many, did you??). The short story--it was sponsored by Montana Power for 5 years, and at its peak, played for about 20.000 people in August of 2000 (click on the pictures below to get a sense of that!).















    Montana Power eventually went belly up (a long, disgusting story of corporate greed), and there was no concert in 2003. The Helena Symphony picked up the idea, and since I was heavily involved with the production end of things, we were able to re-establish old contacts, trim the budget by 80%, and present it last year. We had about 3500 last year, which is not bad at all, since it was not a state-wide group. This summer, we're tied in with the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial activities, which are also in town right now. Plus the fact that the word has spread around the state--we should have at least 5000 there!

    So that's what I'm doing this week. I'm triple-dipping again this year. I'll be paid big bucks as production manager (logistics of the stage, lighting, sound, etc.), as personnel manager (finding enough musicians to play--not really a tough job), and as musician! By this time next week, I'll be flush with a great deal of money! I'm excited!! But I'll have to deal with alot of shit this week as we get closer. So my blogging will be infrequent, at best. I'll get HNT started, of course, but if you guys could help the newbies feel at home, I'd appreciate it! And, by golly, so will they! Have yourselves a wonderful week!
    iTunes Here For the Party, Gretchen Wilson

    More stuff....

    Continuing with my catching up from the past week:

    "Half-Nekkid Thursday" continues its phenomenal run. We got a number of newbies, including a handful who should have been doing this from the very beginning (you know who you are!). Many thanks to everyone for embracing the concept! While there wasn't a theme planned last week, there were an awful lot of feet showing! And some artsy stuff, for those not showing their tootsies! Keep it up!!

    Real life seems to have kicked in for a few of my favorite bloggers. A couple of them opted to take a "vacation" from blogging. A couple seem to have quit altogether. And some have gone into Witness Protection and moved to a different site. To all of them--I hope things work out in whatever way they need to for you. You're going to be missed--I enjoyed each of your sites. With luck, we'll see them in the future!
      PERSONAL NOTE TO J.--(Not you, the one that doesn't go by this letter) I really hope you're reading this, and I think you are. I hope you get yourself and your situation figured out. I'm going to miss your great HNT pics! Feel free to email me if you're so inclined. I'm lousy at advice, but I listen/read pretty well!

      UPDATE: She's back and she's bad! Just can't keep a good woman down!! From everyone who reads your blog, we welcome your return!!
    On the plus side, another one re-emerged from the Canadian wilderness to let us know she was still alive. Hopefully she'll stay in touch for awhile!

    You may have noticed that I didn't mention anything about the golf tournament I played with my dad. After a great practice round, and feeling prepared going into it, we both sucked. Big hairy donkey balls. We were pathetic. And yet (for those who care), I carded a 95 on the second day. 54 front/41 back. What's up with that???

    We had a wedding gig in Dillon (2 hours south of here) on Saturday afternoon. On the bride's parent's ranch. She was cute--he wasn't. We were under a tent, but the wind was so bad ALL day that dust & dirt & grit coated virtually EVERYTHING! Even the beers coming out of the ice water were covered by grime. On the plus side, there were alot of upskirt shots! Problem with that is that you get everyone's upskirts--the old ladies and the bridesmaids included. Because of the wind, everyone pretty much stayed under the other tent where the buffet was served (excellent food!), so we didn't have much of a dance crowd. Until the end of our contracted time. The floor was packed with the drunk relatives and the wedding party for about the last 15 minutes. So the father of the bride coughed up another $400 to play for another hour. At the end of that hour, the bride's uncle added another $400 to play a second extra hour. We are such whores!! The horns physically couldn't play anymore after that (besides, it was dark, and we didn't bring our lights). So instead of a 2:30-6:30 gig, it was a 2:30-9:15 gig. And it was dirty. The wind never did die down. At least the beer and food were free!

    Still not done catching up. The upcoming week is going to be extremely busy and tense. I'll post more on that later today. Right now I have to get going. Hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep those cameras handy!!
    iTunes: Let Me Touch You For Awhile, Alison Krauss + Union Station

    Sunday, July 17, 2005

    Moose Has Left the Building....

    Man, what a long couple of weeks I've been having! Lots to write about, so no chit-chat here.

    Moose left for home this morning. It was wonderful having her here, but wish she could have stayed for a few more days. Oh, well. I don't think I'd be happy regardless of how many days she was here. A quick recap of the stuff that we got to do together (damn, I hate sharing!). Click the picture for a larger one!

    Friday--Met her at the airport with her best friend Heather. Hugged, said hello, then went home while she and Heather stayed up all night.


    Saturday--Mini Star Wars party with Rachel at her office with plasma screen, humongous bean bag chairs, greasy pizza, chips and beer. This is Rachel's dog Midget with Moose.





    Monday--Up to the York Bar (about 20 miles from town, in the midst of the mountains) for beers and burgers. Best damned burgers in the area!





    Wednesday--Alive @ Five. Very good music in an absolutely wrong venue. It was a folk trio that just didn't draw a crowd. So everyone stuck around the beer tables. With temps in the upper 90s, so there was alot of liquid consumed. Not sure what's happening here.




    Friday--Moose, just.a.girl and I went to the Mission Mountain Wood Band reunion concert. I was going to write a big post on it, but Moose beat me to it. Read it here. A fun time was had by all!



    Sunday--Heather & I were at the airport to send her off at 7:00 this morning. The two of them almost shed a tear, but not quite. All in all, it was a full week. Moose has more pics, so I'm sure she'll put some up, or send them to me to do it. There was alot of other "stuff" going on, so I'll blog about those later...
    iTunes: Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett

    Answers for Heather

    These are the questions from Heather in Canada. She's a wonderful addition to HNT! And a relative newcomer to our corner of Bloggerworld. Thanks for the interview!

    Again, here are the instructions:
      1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
      2. I will respond by asking you five questions -- each person's will be different.
      3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
      4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
      5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
    1. You are in a room of 100 people and Bill Gates walks in. He gives everyone a piece of paper and says "If you all write 1 million dollars on this paper..I will give each and every single one of you a million dollars" "BUT if one of you writes 100,000 dollars on the paper, you and everyone who write 100,000 GUARENTEED that 100,000 and all those who wrote 1 million get nothing"
    Do you write 1 million in hopes that everyone else will do the same or do you write 100,000 and get your guarenteed money? why?
      I would probably write the 1 million for three reasons. First, I tend to want to go the extra distance in things that I do. Why settle for 100K when I could get a million? Secondly, in what some may call a character flaw, I tend to trust others too much. Or give them the benefit of the doubt. I would probably assume that everyone else would blindly go for the million too. Lastly, I tend to not weigh all the options. I would not be the 99th guy who has been figuring out the tax implications, or looking for the deception, or for the loopholes.

    2. Humanity has destroyed the Earth, but NASA has new technology and you can life on any other planet in our solar system...which one do you choose to live on and why?
      Saturn. I think it would be cool to sit out on the porch with a cold beer, feet up on the rail, counting the rings and watching the moons go by.

    3. You have been given the choice to learn of how exactly the universe was started OR learn of how the universe will end..which one do you choose and why?
      I'd want to know how it started. And what existed before it started. I doubt that the universe will end in my lifetime, so why worry about it? And if it did end in my lifetime, I'd rather not know how I was going to die.

    4. Would you rather loose your ability to hear or your ability to talk? Why?
      No hesitation here--I'd rather lose my ability to talk. I'm probably close to using up my allotment of words for my life already. And I'm pretty good at playing Charades. I think I could communicate just fine without talking. I've actually aready experienced the hearing loss--it sucked. I spent about 3 weeks with almost no hearing in either ear due to a sinus infection that worked its way into the ears. It was so bad that I could be within a foot of a ringing telephone and not hear it. Fortunately, it finally cleared up, but as a musician, that was the scariest three weeks of my life!

    5. Every child has dreams...When you were a little boy...what did you dream of being when you grew up? Are you what you wanted to be?
      I was going to be an astronaut. I grew up as a young boy in the the glory days of NASA and the early space flights. I was determined to pilot the Fireball XL-5 (bonus points for anyone who catches that reference!). I could give statistics about all things space when I was in second grade. I am flabbergasted by the fact that a majority of my readers were born at some time after moon flights were curtailed!
      For the second part of the question--I'm a semi-employed, mediocre musician with no real life and no real plans for the future. I don't believe that particular dream ever surfaced in my youth!

    iTunes: Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe

    Answers for Andi

    Finally found some time to respond to some interview questions. These are the ones from one of my favorite, dearest, and longest-read bloggerfriends. Well, one of my favorite, dearest, and longest-read bloggerfriends who also lives in Texas, works in a library, and participates in HNT. I guess that sort of narrows it down quite a bit, but I still like her! These are the questions from Andi, who was a bit freaked out by my Six Flags Man post last week. So she's asked some odd questions. Thanks Andi!

    But first, here are the instructions:
      1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
      2. I will respond by asking you five questions -- each person's will be different.
      3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
      4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
      5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


    1. If you had a tattoo that covered your entire back, what would it be and why?
      The good new is that I don't have a hairy back, so that won't be a problem. I do, however, have ample room back there, so I guess I'd go for something overly pretentious and over the top. I'd like one of those tattoos that look like they're in 3D of "Amen Corner" of the Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters golf tournament. One of the holiest places in all of golf.

    2. What would your drag queen name be? Explain.
      Pussy Longslide. Pussy, because it's just a great word, and Longslide incorporates all that I do with my bone. And it sounds a little nasty!

    3. If the dancing Six Flags man showed up at your door and you could choose the song to dance to, what would it be?
      Living outside of Six Flags' reach, I don't understand why this guy upsets so many people. I have seen a commercial with him once in my life. I laughed. If I had to choose a specific song, it would probably be the "Hokey-Pokey".

    4. Choose "screw" "date" or "marry" for the following celebs:
    Hillary Clinton
    Martha Stewart
    Kathy Lee Gifford
      Hillary--date. She could get into some great places! Maybe bring along Chelsea once in awhile....
      Martha--marry. Then she could utilize her homemaking skills on me.
      Kathy Lee--screw. As long as she didn't mention her kids. Or Regis.

    5. Which would you rather take part in -- a 5 mile run or jello wrestling with Steven Segal? Discuss.
      Jello wrestling. A five mile run is a guaranteed massive heart attack with no fun. Jello wrestling with Stevie might also kill me, but I could also eat the jello as a last meal. Besides, he might slip in the jello doing one of his patented moves, and I could sneak out.

    iTunes: Jeremy, Pearl Jam

    Thursday, July 14, 2005

    Artsy-Fartsy HNT


    This is a picture of me in front of my TV, which has a feed from a video camera pointed at me in front of my TV. There's some sort of fancy name for the effect of a picture within a picture that's within a picture that's within a picture that's wi........well, you get the idea. This didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, yet turned out kind of neat. Alot of luck involved too.

    Looking forward to seeing all of yours! Don't forget to leave a note in my comments that you've posted yours! And if you're new to all of this...WELCOME!

    PROGRAMMING NOTE: My boy Ty has a wonderful tradition going on at his site called "Flat Belly Fridays". I know there's some of you who already know that!! Anyway, rumor (rumour for the Canadians) has it that he's going to shake things up in the near future. Maybe even tomorrow! I highly urge you to check him out!
    iTunes: Gloria, Shadows of Knight

    Wednesday, July 13, 2005

    HNT from MT!

    Being the incredibly nice guy that I am, I'm hosting Moose's HNT picture this week! She's having a great time here, and we're glad to have her! We were at the regular Wednesday "Alive @ Five" party downtown tonight, which is the site of her picture:
    The leg on the left belongs to Heather, Moose's best friend from college. She's been know to lurk around some of the blogs, but hasn't taken the big leap to start her own. But she's got a pic in for her first HNT!

    Any comments for Moose about this picture can be left here.

    It's Raining Men....









    This is for Andi.

    Tuesday, July 12, 2005

    Oscar Mayer

    Have you guys seen the most recent Oscar Mayer weiner commercials? Where kids sing different parts of the song? Have you noticed the incredibly cute, slightly Asian-looking little girl with pigtails on her dad's shoulders? He sings, "...cuz if I were an Oscar Mayer.." and she chimes in with this high-pitched "weeeee-nerrrr". They both look like they're having fun. It's things like this that make me wonder what kind of father I might have made....

    Moose Update


    We're having fun with Moose. It's been non-stop eating and drinking and sleeping. And it will continue. Just thought I'd throw a picture up from last night's dinner at the York Bar (best burgers in the Helena area!). Here's Moose with the 7-month old baby boy of a friend. She had her camera too, and I imagine she'll get a few pics up soon. I'll continue with updates as they are needed...
    iTunes: Panama, Van Halen

    Retirement Down the Toilet

    Be warned. The "ick" factor on this one is higher than usual....

    Due to the copious amounts of rain we've had this spring, the air is now full of pollen and things that we're not used to up in this neck of the woods. As a result, alot of people, including myself, are walking around with red, itchy eyes and stuffy noses. The allergies/hay fever are running rampant. Personally, I've been walking around with a snoot full o'snot. For days I've been blowing my nose, skinning my already sunburned nose. And for days, it seems like I haven't done a complete job at it. It feels like there's still a pencil eraser stuck way up in my sinuses (don't ask how I might know what that feels like). Well, yesterday I decided to go for it. I was going to blow that sucker out, even if I blew out every blood vessel in my face. Normally I'd try digging it out like a coal miner, but this seemed just a tad too deep. So I brace myself and go for it. My eyes go buggy. My ears want to pop. My lungs are on fire as I try to keep a good forceful column of air through my nasal cavities. I think to myself, "good thing I'm a horn player!" I grunt and groan. I might have even farted. Then it happened! The conglomeration of mucus that had been blocking my airways was expelled! I caught it in the Kleenex like Jason Varitek. And then I did what every person does (don't deny it!)--I looked at what I held in my tissue covered hand....

    Prior to this, I had just listened to "Puff, the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul & Mary on my iTunes. Don't ask why it's on there. It's a catchy tune, and I had it in my head, so to speak, until I blew my nose. I look in the Kleenex, and I find a fine specimen. About half-crusty/half-snotty. An aesthetic mix of colors--a little yellow, some greenish color, and just a little bit of red for accent. Then it hit me. IT LOOKED LIKE THE 60's FOLK SUPER-GROUP PETER, PAUL & MARY!! Swear to God! After I recovered from a little light-headedness, the idea hit me. Put it on eBay! Put it up there with the fried cheese sammie and the Lincoln look-alike french fry! Someone is going to put up big money for this! I could easily get $150,000 to $200,000 for this! I'll be set for life!!!

    I gently take my new treasure into the living room. I don't want to lose sight of it. I log onto eBay. I toil with the categories and descriptions. It comes to the point to insert a picture of the sale item. Damn! I haven't done that yet. I find my camera, and focus in on my retirement. Unfortunately, in the short amount of exposure to sunlight and air, the beautiful 2-inch booger had shriveled up into an unrecognizable bit of toxicity that you'd find on the hallways in an elementary school. I was crushed. A tear ran down my cheek. No eBay, no retirement money. I took the Kleenex, and in a fit of frustration, balled it up and tossed it in the toilet and flushed. A metaphor to my life in general. I tried to rationalize it--no one would pay that sort of mony for Peter, Paul & Mary. Not even the religious nuts. But if I could just figure out how to preserve something like that....

    The nose/head are still a bit stuffy today. I'm thinking of listening to nothing but Van Halen (DLRoth VH, thank you) for the next couple of days. I'll bet somebody would pay big bucks to see them in the Kleenex!

    Sunday, July 10, 2005

    5 Questions Interview

    This is one of "those" posts where you find out something about your host. Ago-go ran one of these, and I asked her to "interview" me (per the instructions). Little did I know that she'd ask questions that would require some thought.... They made me think; they made me cringe. Hopefully I don't offend or disgust anyone with my answers! And if I do, tough. Deal with it. Anyways, here goes, but first--

    Here are the instructions:
    1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
    2. I will respond by asking you five questions -- each person's will be different.
    3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
    4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
    5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

    1) if you could no longer be a musician or work in the 'industry' (i.e., a music store, a cd shop, the music booking/promo industry, etc.) what kind of work would you do?

    I hate to say this, but I like customer service! I've always been a little irreverent when dealing with people, either at a counter or over the phone. Sometimes to the point of excess. But I've found that most people like the change--not facing the "plastic smile and courtesy" persona. But there's no money in that. To do something that makes "real" money would require training--back to college or a technical school. I've been fortunate enough to never have a job requiring a coat & tie. I'd need something like that. I know I couldn't work at home--I'd never get anything done. And it would have to tap into my artistic side. Maybe web design. Maybe photography (primarily outdoor photography). Or maybe be a helicopter pilot. That could be a good time!

    2) you meet the perfect woman: smart, beautiful, all the good stuff, she even like golf! i mean 'the one' and you're in love. however, she's the same age as your youngest 'legal' niece. do you go for it?

    This one took alot of time to formulate an answer, and I'm not sure that it's adequate. One that doesn't make me sound like a pervert. To set the parameters--I'm 48, my oldest niece is almost 20, and we'll be talking about females here. And I'll assume that "go for it" means "get married". Age has never really been a concern to me in my friends. Most of my friends these days are in the 25-30 range. I've got some theories as to why that is, but won't bore you with them. I highly doubt that I'd find myself romantically/physically involved with (certainly not "in love" with) a 20 year old girl. Primarily because of that word--girl. They have a great deal of life to learn first. And they seem to have a great deal of drama in their lives. I firmly believe that no one should ever marry before the age of 27.

    On the other hand, I would have no problems being friends with or going out with someone that young. But don't think I go out trolling for that age group. And "going out" avoids using the term "dating", and all that is apparently implied with a "date" these days. I guess I'm old-fashioned in that respect. If the girl doesn't have a problem being out with me for dinner & beers, I've got no problem. I've gone to concerts with young ladies in their early 20s. Hell, I even took a 4-day/3-concert road trip with one. The point being--I enjoy the company, the conversation, the experience. I'm not looking to get laid, and I haven't met one who's offering. If someone of that age has no problems being out with a guy old enough to be her father, then neither do I. They don't expect anything from me, and I don't expect anything from them. And I'm too much of a gentleman to take advantage of them if they got too drunk to protest.

    Finally, like I mentioned earlier, I don't look at age as a factor in my friends, male or female. But I am choosy in who becomes my friend. If the example as you presented it in your question ever came to life, then I would say that I would probably go for it, at least as playmates, if the situation was right. If the question relates to marriage, I guess I'd say not.

    3) the Fantastic Four recruits you and you get to pick your own superpower. what is your special talent, why did you pick it, and how will you use it?

    My immediate thought was to be invisible, and all the nasty connotations that presents. But after giving it some thought, I think my superpower would be Mind Control. Just like the Jedi. "You will not go to war." "You will create an operating system that doesn't require a security upday every three days." "Britney, you will not procreate." And when I was out of my Fantastic Four uniform, I would use it to strictly for personal gain.

    4) you are forced to either lose all your body hair (including face! no beards) or have your head go totally bald. which horrible option do you choose?

    This one wasn't too tough, other than being just a little confusing. I'd have my head go bald. Even if it meant my face. I've often thought about going totally bald, but then my head would look like a bowl of lumpy mashed potatos. But that would still be better than a totally hairless body. That would just be wrong on so many levels....

    5) what's your relationship deal-breaker?

    Two things. First--abusing my trust. I am a very trusting person and generally will give people the benefit of the doubt. I will tell people things that I probably shouldn't (see #2). I've been burned by this in the past. Don't lie. If you get caught at something, admit to it. If it's a minor thing, I can forgive, but not forget. If it's a major thing, adios! Secondly--lack of communication. I hate secrets. I hate finding things out from a third party. I hate not being in the loop. If I don't catch on to something, beat me over the head with a 2 x 4. Whatever. Just communicate!!!


    So there you have it. If you want me to interview you, let me know in my comments. Later, y'all....
    iTunes: Anything For You, Gloria Estefan

    Friday, July 08, 2005

    Yay!

    SHE'S HOME!!!
    Moose touched down at the airport about 45 minutes ago! She looked a little tired, but very hot! And her leg wounds (see her site) are now oozing green. I smell a great photo op! We'll try to document the next week as best as we can! Yay!

    Thursday, July 07, 2005

    Little bits o' business

    I just need to throw in a couple of comments, since I'm away from my computer most of the rest of the weekend:
    • No comments about London. Others can express things better than I.
    • Many thanks to the regular Nekkid people who welcomed the newbies! I was able to eventually get around to them, but many of you took it upon yourselves to make them feel at home. Gosh, we're nice people! Along those lines--if I didn't make a comment on your site, I apologize. Time is at a premium for me right now...
    • Similarly, I don't have the time to respond to individual comments this week. But for those who seem concerned that the South Park Nekkid Os isn't anatomically correct, I hate to tell you that it's close. Yes, I have man boobs. Yes, my body shape is similar. Yes, you'd have a hard time seeing my wee-wee from under my gut, if I were to actually pose like that. The only positive thing--my legs are longer. Sorry, but that's the way I am. Oh, I'm also a peculiar shade of flourescent white, though this weekend's golfing will take care of that.
    • I'm not going to get into "themes" with HNT. This one lent itself well, and perhaps again at other international holidays, but I'm not going to really get into that sort of thing.
    • According to Blogrolling, I've got 49 people listed in the Nekkid roll. That doesn't count people who have dropped out (temporarily, I hope), such as Summer, Kamey, LBB and Crystal (there are others).
    • PeeMan is peeing on a car dashboard, sans stereo. Read Rachel's post to get the details.
    • In non-HNT news (and this is mostly for Corrina, and any other golfers out there), I shot an 84 in our practice round. That's with 3 double-bogeys (2 of them on par 3s). As a team, my dad and I will have to play far better to be in the money (we ended up with a net 64--there's going to be net 57s or less in this tournament).
    • By this time tomorrow night, Moose will have landed to start her week of vacation with us (me, Rachel and Kamey). We'll take lots of pics and tell lots of stories!
    Everyone have a great weekend! I'll check back when I can, but should be back in the groove by Monday!
    iTunes: Smoothie Song, Nickel Creek

    HNT (with a theme)

    OsSoParktan

    Geez, there's alot of you guys posting early! Forces me to do the same. Ah, well. At least you'll be getting the full benefit of the full Thursday!

    As was requested last Friday, this week will hopefully be a "Half-Nekkid Thursday" with a THEME!! I'll try to avoid alot of HNT's with themes. But I hope that everyone caught that request and has some sort of HNT picture from their 4th of July/Canada Day celebrations. My only request was that no one post pictures of shooting bottle rockets out of their butt. Not that I expect that anyone would, but this is a weird world we live in.

    So this is me as the sun is going down at the lake before one of our gigs, complete with an ice cold beer! Even though there's nothing to compare to, it almost looks like I've got a sunburn going! It was a gorgeous weekend all around!

    I'm going to be involved in a golf tournament with my dad from Thursday through Saturday, just in time for Moose to show up in town for a week (YAY!). In other words, I might not get to everybody's HNT post. I would hope that the regulars here keep tabs on things. There's always new people to bring into the fold. Be nice. Be supportive! If you find someone new, let me know and I'll add them to the Nekkid roll as soon as I can. I'm not sure that they know everyone should check in.

    So have at it! HNT can only get bigger and better!

    DSCF2006

    iTunes: Hanky Panky, Madonna

    Monday, July 04, 2005

    Happy 4th!

    Well, last night's gig made the previous two nights worth it. We had a great crowd from early on.

    DSCF2019

    We had fireworks over the lake. We had groupies in the window behind us.

    DSCF2016

    We performed for over two hours before playing anything we had done either of the prior two nights (damn, we know alot of music!), including some things we haven't done in over a year! All in all--a very fun evening! Unfortunately, I'm feeling a little funky today. My sinuses are stuffy--either the hay fever/allergy thing, a cold from standing around all night in a breeze, or a large amount of second-hand smoke. Or any combination of the above.

    DSCF2000

    And I've consumed more beer in the past 3 days than I have in a long time. Swear to God--while sitting down at the beach enjoying one of our local microbrews, I watched a new roll of fat form on my gut. (Sorry 'bout that.) And the drinking will continue throughout most of July, starting up again tonight.

    The only thing that I've done that's remotely productive is update my blog (pathetic, isn't it?). While surfing new places, I found a link to South Park Studio. It's not an official SP site, if that sort of thing is important to you. Anyway, you can build your own SP character. That's him in my profile pic.

    DSCF1197_1 OsSPark

    It's just a little scary how close it really is to a real life depiction! If you want to build your own, check out the site! I'll be linking it in my favorites, too.

    That's it for now. One last round of fun before the week starts up! Hope you all had a great 4th (or Canada Day, if appropriate)! I'll assume you all got some great HNT pics (remember--there's a theme this week!). Have fun!!!!
    iTunes: Run Runaway, Slade

    Saturday, July 02, 2005

    Day 1 Down, 3 To Go


    Thought I'd get a couple of pics up from last night. Surprisingly smallish crowd. Enthusiastic, but small--it should be better tonight.

    I don't know what I'm saying at this point, but if you check closely, I'm staring right at her boobs.




    I'm including this, not just to show the horns and Drummer Boy, but in the background you can see The Goddess (just.a.girl) and her roomie Melissa (in the pink). They made it out for the last set.







    Alot of beer was consumed, which is generally not something I do when I play a gig. As you can see here, I'm trying to catch a quick catnap in the midst of playing.



    Two more nights of this, plus fun in the sun at the lake. Man, I do love summer! Hope you're all having a good one too!


    iTunes: Walk Like An Egyptian, Bangles

    Friday, July 01, 2005

    HAPPY CANADA DAY!

    Here's to Ago-go, Dena, Corrina, and any of my other Canadian blogfriends I'm not aware of. Happy Canada Day! All my suggestions for pictures in my last post now officially extend to you guys too!