Ugh...

Not a great weekend here in the land of Os. I think that the activities of last weekend finally caught up with me. I had a wrap-up meeting on Friday afternoon, and as soon as I got home, I just didn't feel right. Didn't even hear the phone when Moose called to meet her and her boy and another couple from the wedding for a beer. Not that I would have gone if I HAD answered. It only got worse on Saturday. Sweaty and pukey. A lovely combination. I tried to sleep it off, but as I was getting ready to go set up for a gig, the pukeys were still around. I tried to call the one guy that could sub for me, but got no answer. So I had to call the guys, who were already at the venue, to let them know I wasn't showing up. I have no idea how it went. Today wasn't as pukey, but I sat at home all day. Without air-conditioning. Ugh.

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While at home, I got my fill of all the "Godfather" movies. Don't need to see them again for awhile.

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I think part of what's gotten to me besides the lack of sleep, overexertion and heat is the smoke. We have a fire about 35 miles NW of town, and a couple of others within 100 miles or so. Due to the geography of the area, we get smoke from all over the place. The closest one has crested a hill, so the flames are visible at night from town. I took these last night (20 sec. exposure on the blue one), and then the smoke plume that appeared this morning. I don't think we've come close to the end of things. It's only bound to get worse. Click 'em to big 'em! (there really IS a picture in that black one...)



The area being burned out right now threatened some homes, but I think they're not in danger now. It's sort of a hop, skip and a jump away (well, really big ones) from the York Bar where we ate and drank the other night. Surprisingly, it's in an area that burned out before about 10 years ago, but apparently still has enough fuel in the area to burn quite well!

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Moose and Rachel left this morning to spend a day or two in Glacier Park. But I don't think they get to have a campfire. Same dryness going on up there...

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Had some plans for next weekend that fell through. Anyone have any ideas??

Half a life ago...

Someone I was chatting with awhile back made some sort of snide comment about my age (can you guess who that was?). Basically chiding me about something that happened about 25 years ago. Half my life ago. Since 1982. But it got me to thinking--what other things have I done, but not in the last 25 years (half my life ago) or more? So here's a list of 25 of them. Stuff I've done, but not in 25 years or more:

• Water-skied
  
• Ridden a horse
  
• Drank tequila
  
• Shaved my upper lip
  
• Seen a total solar eclipse
  
• Tobogganed
  
• Seen any of my sisters naked
  
• Smoked a cigarette
  
• Owned a cowboy hat
  
• Driven eastbound on a westbound interstate lane
  
• Lost $280 in a single night of blackjack
  
• Ridden a rollercoaster
  
• Had my picture taken in front of a glacier
  
• Walked through 6-10" of volcanic ash
  
• Played tuba in a German band
  
• Worn lederhosen (see previous entry)
  
• Broken a bone requiring a cast
  
• Received a check for a large sum of money from a madame
  
• Sat in line for over an hour at a gas station to fill my car
  
• Eaten fried chicken which was a living organism just 8 hours earlier
  
• Grown marijuana
  
• Gone ice-blocking
  
• Spent an entire summer in summer rep
  
• Done "it" off the end of a dock under a full moon
  
• Bought a pre-recorded cassette tape

What haven't YOU done since half your life ago?

Stuff before the weekend...

Remember last week when Phain teased us all with the "big announcement"? Well, rumor has it that she's going to tell us later today! Hasn't happened yet, as of this posting, but I know it will! It's a biggie! EDIT--It's up now!

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Two bloggers this week bestowed upon me the Schmooze Award! Normally I don't put much stock into blog awards, because everyone eventually gets one. But this one seems to fit me more than most. Schmoozing is defined by Dictionary.com as the ability to “converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Yeah. I think it fits. This is what others had to say about me:

Lecram: "The Grand Emperor of HNT. Need I say more? The man started a movement and has met several personally on his travels. Sure, he usually frequents and comments on the sites of those of the female persuasion... but seriously, can you blame him? That's schmooze!"

MizMouthy: "Not only is he the King of HNT, I am dubbing him King of Schmoozers! Os has not only encouraged me to show the goodies (see above), he has empowered masses of bloggers to take of their clothes, take pictures AND post them on the internets for all of the world to see... if that is not a schmoozing talent... I don't know what is... Also, let me say that Os always takes the time to stop by and leave a funny, sweet or playful comment. I know it always makes me feel pretty special when the King takes the time to stop by and check lil' ole me out... (sometimes literally) Also... he's a hottie."

It's hard to argue with testimonials like that! I can honestly say that I don't ever remember someone calling me a hottie. But dammit, I'll take it!

Etiquette or procedure or something says I'm supposed to name 5 others for the award, but I won't. That makes it more special for those of us who have received it! I would, however, like to thank both Lecram and MizMouthy for the award, and also my dad, who truly IS the King of Schmoozers! Everything I've learned, I've learned from him. Someday I hope to be as good!

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If you haven't checked my "EEEEEEKKKK!!!!" post, you should. For the record--no, it's not the same one, though it's definitely the exact pattern and label. Wrong size, too. But still...

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We have a wedding gig tomorrow night. Why do people get married in the middle of summer? Wool tuxes, uncomfortable dresses, 90° heat, sweltering reception halls. Why?

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Speaking of weddings, Moose's friend Heather gets married tomorrow. Congrats, Heather and Kevin! Moose's boy is flying out for the wedding today, and leaves Sunday morning. And there's a good possibility that we still won't get to meet. Once again, our schedules while the other is in town won't allow time for it. Someday.

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Newest "injury" from the concert weekend...I wasn't going to mention this earlier, but it's developed into the worst of the bunch. I sunburned my neck on Friday (don't ANYONE mention sunscreen...). It started peeling, but things aren't looking good back there now. Got a little scabbing going on, as well as itching and redness. I've never had this happen to me before. Guess I was out in the sun more than I realized! Click it to big it!

Thank God That's Done! HNT

Time to talk about the concert. All-Gershwin, plus Tchaikovsy's "1812 Overture", complete with fireworks at the end. For the first time in 10 years, people came as early as 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday to stake out their claim on the hillside. The security people told us that people showed up at 1 in the morning to claim their spot (thinking they'd be first!). By the time our Saturday morning rehearsal ended at noon, the scene above is what we left. (click 'em to big 'em!)


I didn't get much of a chance to take pictures around concert time, though this is the view from the back row (hmmm...catchy title...). We had a 30-voice choir that we used on one of the first pieces, hence the people seemingly just standing around. We had two black opera singers to sing selections from "Porgy & Bess", and a popular local pianist solo on "Rhapsody In Blue". The fireworks went off wonderfully, the crowd roared, and all was good.

For the most part. As mentioned last week, I mucked up my leg pretty good. I got some feeling in it today for the first time. And it's beginning to bruise pretty well. No pictures though--it just looks like my leg is filthy dirty. Of course, no one else on a 20-person crew got any injuries through the weekend...

Musically, I don't think the orchestra was overly thrilled with its playing. "American In Paris" was sort of sloppy, and "1812" actually fell apart towards the end. Certainly not so bad that people would really notice, but we did. I would even go as far as saying that this was the weakest performance in 4 years. Blame it on the heat. Blame it on fatigue. Blame it on not being prepared. I would have liked another day of rehearsal, personally. But everyone loved it, we'll do it again next year.

With the exception of one load of equipment to deliver (which finally happened this afternoon), the tear-down was done in about 3 hours. Which really is amazing. The weekend was hot, humid, smoky, and long. I still haven't totally recuperated. Moose's arrival has cut into my rest time, but she's worth it! Here's my beer and me at the York Bar last night. Never has a cold beer tasted so good!

Oh, please note the little boo-boo on my pinkie finger. Yep. Smashed it on Monday morning... Can someone just put me out of my misery?

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I'm really glad to have this week's Mystery Guest with us. For those who don't think that "...the Other HNT" isn't anonymous--imagine my surprise when she told me that she'd done some pictures for the anonymous site awhile back. I had no idea! All sorts of images come to mind when you go through her site. She's classy (very classy), sophisticated, and pleasure is her middle name! She knows her liquor, loves cats, has a bit of a political streak in her, and has the best jammies that every woman should own! This MG will be revealed Thursday afternoon, but feel free to leave her a comment on her site if you think you know who it is!
Be sure to stop by Hedonistic Pleasureseeker's site to help her finish her brunch! You'll have to scroll down to find her HNT, but it's worth it! Thanks, HPS!

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There's a nice mix of shots (currently half/half) over at "...the Other HNT". Be sure to stop and leave a comment for your fellow HNTers! As usual--NSFW!

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I'm watching "Godspell" as I'm drafting this. It's been years since I've seen this! It was one of the big-three hippie musicals of the early 70s ("Hair" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were the others). Oh, and I just saw that it's a night of 70s musicals!! "New York, New York" and "Tommy" to follow! Wheee! Geez, I'm old...

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My apologies to my friends that think I've been neglecting them this past week. I hope I'm back into a routine soon!

EEEEEEKKKK!!!!

I'm shocked. I'm speechless. I'm shaken to my core. You MUST go here before the link goes bad (scroll down a bit). I don't know what I'm going to do...

Thank you geekgirl for the heads-up on this--sorry I didn't find out until too late to do anything about it.

Another good night

Had another nice night out with Moose, Rachel, and Moose's best friend Heather. Heather is getting married this weekend, and is the most calm bride-to-be I've ever met. Or she hides it quite well.


We were up at the York Bar, where they make the BEST burgers around. It's about 20 miles into the mountains northeast of town, but well worth the drive. Moose always orders a Caesar, because they make the best ones here. Never heard of that? Here's the standard recipe:

1 1/2 oz vodka
fill with clamato juice
3 dashes Tabasco® sauce
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
garnish with pickled asparagus spear

Here is Moose, with three of the four Caesars she had. With gratuitous cleavage.

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Clamato is made from reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and reconstituted dried clam broth. Excuse me??? Who thinks up this shit????

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The Caesar was originally made with tomato juice and mashed clams. Refer to my questions above...

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The Caesar was invented in Calgary, Alberta. The Bloody Caesar is commonly regarded as the national cocktail of Canada. Nothing more to add...

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It was surprisingly cool here yesterday. Only hit around 86 or so. Am I actually getting used to the heat? I think it was cloudy, but not sure. There's too much smoke from nearby fires to tell if it's blue skies or not.

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Still not totally finished with my concert duties. I've had bad luck with the homeless guys I hire to help move the stage risers into storage. They've all been working on full-day jobs and haven't been available. Which is good for them, but damned inconvenient for me!

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I'll probably show a picture or two from the concert along with my HNT for tonight. Since some of you have asked.

A good night

Moose, Rachel, Howard's Pizza, Kokanee, and DQ. A nice way to spend the evening.

Almost done!

No time to post right properly now, but the concert went well--great weather, huge crowd, etc., etc.

I have to return equipment today, then I'll be done. But do I get to rest? Oh, no! Moose is in town for about 10 days, so there's some beer to be consumed!

As for the leg--I'm told that I need to have it massaged often so I don't end up with blood clots... Any volunteers?

In lieu of a real post because I'm still insanely tired from the past three days, I give you this wonderful email I received from my good friend, Lucien Trujillo...

Of course, the Dodo replied very gravely. What else have Hullo, Wendy, he said, not noticing any difference, for he was among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but even if I fell off the top of the house. Which was very likely

certainly was not here before, said Alice, and round the neck meet, they two on a lonely road. While Leonard spoke, the wizard had on a holiday, to revel in the discovery of a complicated crime; as She generally gave herself very good advice, though she very

that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the the church, famous among the New England clergy, and now leaned with The sun had gone down. While I held my page of wonders in the be introduced, and another, chanced to be in kinder custody at the

getting home; the night-air doesnt suit my throat. and a Canary were trembling; and, sweeter victory still, I had reached the seldom from the moment she arrived on the mainland she wanted to ask fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took

the shame of Alice, and, before the triumphant sneer could vanish from they went slowly on, a mother looked behind, and beheld her peaceful bearded man who doesnt know any story to tell his children was once old age, and at the end she had been rather difficult to get on

rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of seem, sending presents to ones own feet. And how odd the inquisitively, and seemed to her to wink with one of its little you might catch a bat, and thats very like a mouse, you know.

melancholy tone. Nobody seems to like her, down here, and Im Why, SHE, of course, said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with and this Alice would not allow without knowing how old it was, its getting. She was close behind it when she turned the

watching the lights as they twinkled gradually through the town, and Would it be of any use, now, thought Alice, to speak to this the back. However, it was over at last, and they sat down again been blushing on them; but after a moment they began to laugh, while

was past supper time, I detained them a while longer on the hill, and He was a little boy, and she was grown up. She huddled by the fire I will turn up the light, she said, and then you can see for She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, Which

Behind their victims came the afflicted, a guilty and miserable itll sit up and beg for its dinner, and all sorts of things-I only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly.

I hope you enjoyed that at least as much as I did!

That last step's a doozy....

Casualty Report:

• Nearly broken leg
  
• Twisted knee
  
• Aggravated rotator cuff (2)
  
• Twisted back

And that's just me! Yeah, I was one step short walking from a ramp off the loading dock last night. This morning my back hurts, I can't raise my arms, and I'm going to have a great bruise on my lower leg. The scrapes and swelling look impressive already. Tomorrow's report will probably include sunburn, smoke inhalation from forest fires, and any ailments attributable to lack of sleep.

Have a great weekend!

Symphony Week #2 HNT

"It's just weird, you know, when you have a picture of how something’s gonna be, and it turns out completely different."~~Author Unknown

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This week's Mystery Guest is a long time lurker who was introduced to HNT via a friend. He finally took the plunge and started his own blog after posting a couple pics on "...the Other HNT". He started his blog on my birthday and gave it a name inspired by my reply to his first anon picture. This picture is a 90-day-after shot of his ongoing diet and exercise program originally posted on March 15th. He says the change is more noticeable and looks better in person. He is having to buy all new clothes to account for the 30 lbs. and 4-5 inches he has lost in the past 6 months.
He is a recent daddy for the second time and is know in some circles as The All American Guy. He blogs and HNTs in secret, so he spends many a late night surfing the web instead of resting for his early mornings. He has agreed to reveal himself, but see if you can figure out who he is first. He's not on the sidebar, so that may make it a challenge for you. The clues are the initials to his blog that you'll see occasionally in the comment boxes.
Not terribly hard to figure this one out. Thanks to TUG (TackyUnderwearGuy). Stop by and tell him you saw his shower pic!

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"...the Other HNT" is going strong this week, and is NSFW, as usual. Be sure to stop by and leave a comment or two!

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The OsShirt has been spirited away to Wisconsin (what? there's no post office in Dallas??). Be sure to stop by to see No One In Particular and her adventure with it!

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I hope to post some pics of the stage set-up and definitely from concert time. I'm outta here for a few days...

Status report

*--I'm OK. Really, I am. But thanks for wondering!

*--Had rehearsal last night after a triple-digit day of heat. It was as bad as I anticipated.

*--Had a couple of the out-of-town musicians who are joining us show up last night. I'm sitting next to a chick tuba player! Good chick tuba players are generally attractive (as opposed to guy tuba players, who tend to look like me...). Her husband in the percussion section thinks she's attractive too.

*--I am in constant amazement at how classical musicians don't "get" the jazz feel. And not just the string players. We've got some excellent, classically-trained wind and brass players who couldn't "swing" their way out of a paper bag. Hopefully they'll get it by Saturday!

*--Had beers with the conductor and the players from out-of-town. At the Brewhouse. For those who know what I'm talking about--I polished off my first quaff in three minutes. Literally. Should have stopped there though...

*--Got stage crew problems taken care of. At this point, there's only one more phone call I need to make, and things should fall into place nicely! Something just doesn't seem right about that.

*--HNT is on for tomorrow night, though I probably won't get the chance to really look around until Sunday or Monday. I'm not ignoring you!

Things I've learned over the weekend...

*--When the temperature is already 82° at 8:30 in the morning, it's going to be a hellaciously hot day.

*--There's not a rehearsal space in all of town that's got airconditioning.

*--Stage lights add ten degrees to whatever the temperature of the stage, regardless of how hot the temperature is already.

*--One of my regular stage crew guys will be out of state this week. Another one just had an emergency appendectomy.

*--Regardless of how much water you bring with you for a 3-hour rehearsal in an oppressively hot room, it's never enough.

*--While setting up a stage for a rehearsal isn't all that bad, unloading the equipment from a truck up a ramp by yourself really sucks.

*--The temperature this week is supposed to be triple-digits all week, except for Tuesday, when it's only going to reach 98°.

*--The personnel duties that gave me 3 years of grief are giving the same grief to the woman who took over.

*--While it's possible for me to fall asleep just about anywhere, at anytime, I find that I can't get to sleep at night in this heat. And before you ask, no, there's no airconditioning. This is Montana.

*--The movie "Road House", starring the luscious Patrick Swayze (see previous thoughts about that here) is a really stupid movie by the time that all the blood and sex are cut out of it. Yet, it still pulls me in.

*--Fortunately, "The Godfather" keeps it all in, and I could watch it over and over and over.

*--I was alerted to Jeannie's current crisis. Go check the link, and see if you can help.

*--I found out that we've joined the 21st century here. We can order both Domino's and Pizza Hut online now!

That's about it for now. Rehearsal on Monday is in the same place, after a full day of 100+ degree weather. I can't wait!

David Blaine video

The son of one of my bosses showed me this today. I think I snorted orange soda out of my nose. And I don't even drink orange soda! It's a little long, but watch the whole thing... Enjoy!

#35,000!!

Her - Hey, did you visit my site today?

Me - Umm....

Her - Around 12:18.

Me - I don't remember.... Oh, wait! Yes I did!

Me - Is the ISP provider XYZ, Inc.?

Her - Yes, and they got here from osbasso.blogspot.com.

Me - I guess it was me!

Her - You were my 35,000th visitor!

Me - WOOHOO!!!

Her - Uh-huh...

Me - You're not going to make a big announcement about this, are you?

Her - I just did. To you.

Me - You know I'm going to post about it.

Her - I don't care.

Me - I'll make a big deal about it!

Her - You're weird.

Ladies and gentlemen! At 12:18 MDT, I, Osbasso, was Rachel's visitor #35,000!!!

Time for another Kokanee...

*Apologies to Phain and Fame for stealing their schtick.
**FYI--I did take the xylophone...

Just shoot me now...

Thursday 9AM - "Can you come to a staff meeting at 10:30? It's kind of important."

Thursday 9:15AM - "I'm going to be about an hour late for work."

Thursday 11:20AM - "You're leaving town as soon as you can?"

Thursday 11:25AM - "I won't be coming in at all today."

Thursday 12:15PM - "Last time we used them, they were fine."

Thursday 12:45PM - "I'll see what we can find somewhere else."

Thursday 1:20PM - "He needs how many extra people? Why didn't we know this a month ago?"

Thursday 2:15PM - "I think he'll work with us fine. But we still need a xylophone."

Thursday 3:30PM - "Can you pick me up after I pick up the truck?"

Thursday 3:45PM - "So I end up losing a day's pay. Good thing that doesn't amount to much."

Thursday 7:18PM - "Oh, what a freak! He gives me the creeps."

Thursday 8:00PM - "Yeah, I'm heading to bed early too. I have to move equipment at the asscrack of dawn."

Friday Asscrack of Dawn - Load equipment into truck by myself.

Friday 9:15AM - Egg-a-Muffin (bonus points if you can tell me where that's from...)

Friday 10:30AM - Work

TO DO
Friday 3:00PM - Pick up truck

Friday 3:15PM - Load percussion from storage facility

Friday 4:00PM - Load borrowed percussion from local HS (no xylophone)

Friday 4:45PM - Pick up car

Friday 5:00PM - Kokanee (many)

Saturday Asscrack of Dawn - Unload truck

WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD OUR FIRST REHEARSAL YET!!!

Symphony Week HNT

Once again, it's the week before our summer concert. I'm sure I'll be discussing it much more over the next 10 days or more. My job title is "Operations Manager". In other words, I do the dirty work. Schlepping equipment, setting the stage, striking the stage, making announcements to the musicians, coordinating the building of the stage, the sound crew and the stage crew. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a fog.


Other times, I get news about last minute changes, and I start to get tense and tight, and it feels like a volcano is going to burst out the top of my head.


Most of this week and last, I've been taking symphony related phone calls at work, since I'm the one with most of the answers. It's felt like I've been on the the phone with two callers at once. Perhaps this would be an answer...


And some days, the pressure just seems to squeeze my head to the point of popping. Makes for some great headaches. (girls--this picture's for you!!)


It's going to be great show, and worth the effort. Thank God this is my 10th year of doing it! More stories to be coming!

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This week's Mystery Guest is coming out of a bit of a self-imposed hiding, just to be the MG and to do HNT this week! For many of you, she may not be much of a mystery, but we'll be sure to reveal her tomorrow.

She is an amazing woman, facing some very daunting odds. And fighting the good fight. But sometimes you just need to take a break and look over things. Then you take a deep breath, lift up your skirt, flash the world, and get back to taking care of things. And she's doing exactly that!

Stop by and say hi if you know who she is! And if you don't, come by later and find out!

Not too much of a mystery here. This week's MG is Sparkles (formerly known as Stealth). Stop by and say hi, if you already haven't!

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"...the Other HNT" has some new blood this week. Of course, it's NSFW, but don't let that stop you when you're not at work! Leave some comments!

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As mentioned above--I'm busy, busy, busy. I won't be making the rounds as frequently for the next week. But I still love y'all! (I can't believe I just wrote that...)

Tina

Wow! Apparently alot of interest in what exactly happened Friday night. I could write a long story about all the hot steamy sex and all that good stuff, but frankly, I don't have the time to do that. Nor would any of you believe me!

Yes, it was Tina! She's gone through 2 divorces, and is now in a third relationship. She and her partner moved to town last October, and she got a job in the health field here. Speaking of him--she introduced me to him, but he didn't seem terribly thrilled at the fact that we spent about half an hour catching up with each other's lives and the kids we'd been at school with. I sort of clued her in on some of the summer things to do around here, including next week's concert. I don't doubt for a minute that we'll get together sometime soon for lunch--definitely looking forward to that!

I was going to post a picture of us, or at least her, but I can't find them anywhere. There's some very dusty boxes full of pictures that I think I'm going to have to go through. As soon as I find something, I'll post it. I promise!

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In other news--rehearsals start Saturday for the concert. There's lots of unanswered questions regarding my end of production, but they've at least been asked. Thankfully I've done this for 10 years now, so I'm not overly concerned yet. In fact, I prefer working under this sort of pressure. But I would like some answers to a couple of things! More on the concert over the next week and a half, you can be sure!

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The OsShirt has been spotted again!

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I know it's summer, but I have no MG for this week yet, and only one submission for "...the Other HNT". Time is at a premium for me for the next couple of weeks, so if you can help me out by sending stuff in early, I'd certainly appreciate it!

Musical Monday #22

One of the great love songs--"I've Got A Crush On You", by the Gershwin brothers, and sung by Stacy Kent. In less than two weeks, we will present our annual free summer concert. Expectations are that 13,000+ people will be there. I am now in a two-week long "Symphony Week", which, if you've read me for any length of time, means that the pressure is on. Secretly, I thrive on this, you know! Enjoy!

07/07/07 - Lucky Sevens!

Whatever....

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I got asked to be interviewed by the Blog Interviewer. "Interviews with the most interesting bloggers on the Internet". I don't know that I'm all that interesting, but what the heck... I checked out some of the other interviewees, and there's definitely some other blogs worth checking out. And the sidebar categorizes them, which is helpful. You should go check it out.

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Had a gig last night, and go back again tonight. Out at the lake. A really good crowd last night. We played pretty well--pulled out some songs that we haven't performed/rehearsed in 2-3 years. It's always fun to realize how much we remember! The temps hit 100 yesterday before the clouds rolled in. Cooled things down to the low 90s, but the rise in humidity really sucked. The only thing that would have made it more miserable to play would have been playing in direct sunlight. And as the evening went on, the temperature actually got warmer! What's up with that? And oh, the bugs! Plenty of mosquitoes, of course, but they managed to bring alot of their friends. I think that every one of us sucked down a bug or two in mid-breath. Tasty!

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Nostalgia time--this could be long and boring... When I was a junior in college (30 years ago), I was really introduced to the concept that chicks dig musicians. During the fall quarter, most of the seniors were out of town doing their student teaching, so we pretty much ruled the roost. And had first crack at all the freshman girls! And we made sure that we got to know all of them! Sure, there were the numerous parties and other gatherings, but when we organized our first road trip--that's when the women separated from the girls! MSU vs. ISU in football. We put together a little pep band to make the 260 mile trip to Pocatello to play for our beloved Bobcats (some of you realize the irony in my writing that...). Much to my glee, "Tina", a cute little trumpet player joined us! In fact, if my memory serves me right, all the girls that joined us were freshman. I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say that this particular crop of freshmen fit in quite well in the music department. Tina and I hung out pretty much until the new year, and then we didn't. No real spark between us, and we weren't exclusive, by any means. It's just like we came back from Christmas break, and we went our separate ways. I found other fish in the sea, and she found other interests outside of the music dept. But I'll always remember the cutie that she was.

Fast forward to last night. I walked past a woman who was obviously waiting for someone at a table. We made eye contact and said hi. Because that's what we do in Montana. I thought it was someone else, but when she didn't acknowledge me as someone she knew, I didn't think anything of it. Very attractive, maybe in her thirties. She and her date/partner/husband/whatever moved outside for dinner, and I noticed that they stuck around pretty much the entire night. And the only reason I noticed is that as the night went on, a little spark in the back of my mind made me think that she looked a little bit like Tina. Then, as we're packing up after our last set, I turn around, find myself face to face with this woman, and she speaks. "Is your name Scott?"

The Morning After

So I did the lake for a bit, drank some beers, watched the fireworks, got devoured by monster mosquitoes, and headed home so I could get HNT posted (you all handled the delay quite well, by the way...). And then I went to bed. It is SO miserably hot here. But I finally get to sleep. No waking to the sunrise for me in the morning!

But I do get up at 7. Now, I don't know what most of your morning routines are like, but I don't bother much with myself until I jump in the shower later in the morning. I'm checking out HNTs, when the doorbell rings at 7:30. That should be illegal. I'm not presentable, so I just ignore it. It rings AGAIN! I figure that it's got to be the landlord, so I take a peek through the little peeper thingy. IT'S A POLICE OFFICER!!

By now, most of you should be aware of my endearing relationship with the Helena Police Department. I run to my bedroom and throw on some shorts and a t-shirt. All the while trying to remember what I might have done last night that would bring the cops to my door at 7:30 AM. I didn't shoot off fireworks within city limits, thus starting a grass fire. I didn't leave beer cans littered by the side of the highway where I watched them from. MY LICENSE, REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE ARE ALL CURRENT (like someone would actually let those lapse...). Sixty seconds of memory recall, panic, and formulations of alibis...

Apparently, the local hoodlums decided to vandalize random vehicles in my neighborhood. The car next to mine had her window broken and a purse stolen. A large Maglite flashlight was found on my car, and they just wanted to know if it was mine, or if the punks left it. I've never owned one, so it must have been theirs. I then asked if MY car had been broken into. They told me that no, I had nothing of value in it.

And for some reason, I was hurt by that comment. There were 6 12-packs of Diet Coke w/Lime sitting in there (they were on sale--do you see an addiction there?). And if they'd dug around a little bit, they would have found my new Sony digital camera. And my music for the summer symphony concert (which would have cost me a small fortune to replace). But these punks went for the easy money. And that's what's wrong with America today--always going for the easy buck. No pride in one's work.

There's nothing like having the cops at your door in the early morning to get the adrenaline flowing! And to their credit--the cops do have pride in their work. I found out this morning that they actually caught the punks yesterday! I hope they're strung up by their privates!

Independence HNT

OK, that wasn't a photo that I took... If the day goes as planned, I've been out to the lake, the temperature got up to the mid or upper 90s, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, lots of beer has been consumed, and I've been back into town to see the fireworks show. If things turned out differently, I'll be sure to post about it!
Edit: There's supposed to be a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in my header, and a copy of the Declaration as the background. They were there yesterday! So apparently things HAVE turned out somewhat differently!
Edit II: The mosquitoes are bigger this year. The same size as those used in medieval days to do a total blood transfusion...

I was all ready to attempt to be political on this post, which, for anyone that knows me, is a real stretch. Then it dawned on me. Today isn't a day to talk about the trashing of the Constitution, or the morality of the war in Iraq, or the right to free speech, or anything like that. Today we celebrate the document that stated our forefather's intentions to declare independence. The birth of a new nation. All that other political stuff falls under other categories since then. Today is a celebration. Of a birthday. Like the birthday of a co-worker. Not everybody likes the person--there may be plenty to dislike, but we won't pass up on a chance to party! So I hope that all north Americans celebrated safely this week. I have a feeling that my friends to the north don't pass up many party chances either!

(BTW--I'm not angry or anything here. Just trying to avoid having rogue sparks burn the hell out of my eyes!)

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As I anticipated, I have no one available to be the Mystery Guest this week. Couldn't leave you totally out in the cold, but it would be nice to see a real person for next week!

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Had a little bit better luck with "...the Other HNT". Even a patriotic one or two! Some late submissions definitely put it into the NSFW category. Be sure to leave some comments over there!

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Gigs and symphony will keep me extraordinarily busy over the next couple of weeks, but I'll try to make the rounds as best I can!

'Cuz I Got Nothin' Else...

This one's not too bad, unless you turned 18 in the mid-70s. Deep in the early days of disco. Good God, music sucked in the day... A disclaimer here--the 70s were a decade of great flux in music. The end of "good" rock, the beginnings of disco, modern soul, and the introduction of the synthesizer, which revolutionized the sounds of music, giving us, among other things, the new-wave music of the 80s. There was not a definitive "sound" of the 70s. This may be the reason I'm screwed up...

1. Go to the Billboard #1 Hits listings (go here, scroll down, and you’ll see them separated by decades/years on the left in the sidebar)
2. Pick the year you turned 18 (1975, for me)
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year
4. Pick 5 songs and write something about how these songs affected you
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends

"Black Water" - The Doobie Brothers - This was the Doobie Brothers' biggest hit of their career. The wonderful a capella section towards the end of the song was a rare thing to hear from a rock song in those days. These guys were sort of the end of the pre-disco era. As a young bass player in a rock band trying to figure out what was going on with the music of the day, the DBs were a nice anchor to what eventually was the tail end of good rock music.
"Lovin' You" - Minnie Riperton - Ms. Riperton possessed one of the most pure soprano voices ever. Think Mariah Carey before she went nuts, and without all the vocal acrobatics. She possessed five-octave vocal range and had the ability to actually enunciate words in her highest range, as opposed to just indiscriminate sounds. She died at the age of 32 from cancer. On a side note, her daughter, Maya Rudolph, is a cast member of SNL.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" - Captain & Tennille - OK, I'll admit it. I liked these guys when growing up. I was a big fan of any group that used a synthesizer, which was still quite a novelty at this time. Sure, the song was heavy on the pop side, but that single voice synthesizer pulled me in, every time! Another side note--Captain's father was the legendary Los Angeles Symphony conductor Carmen Dragon (who happened to write the definitive orchestral arrangement of "America, the Beautiful).
"The Hustle" - Van McCoy/The Soul City Symphony - This song, more than any other, was responsible for the brief acceptance of disco music in my younger life. Imagine, if you will, a gawky 18 y.o. college freshman, desperate to find a social life at the big state college, going to the bar just 2 blocks off campus, complete with the Saturday Night Fever colored disco floor. That was me. And this is the song that played at least once an hour. I seem to remember getting lucky once or twice, but I don't remember names...
"Jive Talkin'" - Bee Gees - From the kings of the disco sound... Again, the use of the synthesizer in this really sold it for me. And frankly, really got me turned on to the Bee Gees.

So that's my musical world from 1975. Sort of embarrassing. I have far more memories of the songs from my early high school days, but alas, that's not how this meme works. Should I tag anyone? Naw... I'm a rebel from the 70s. In polyester.

Musical Monday #21

Due to faulty hosting by my music site, MM#21 might not work. Dammit.

Continuing with the Gershwin theme--"'S Wonderful", big-band style. Don't know who the vocalist is, but it's a pretty good version. Enjoy!

Busy, busy, busy!

*~Happy Canada Day to those of that persuasion! I've noticed that all my Canadian bloggerfriends are fairly hot. Must be the beer or something, eh.

*~Don't forget that this week's HNT has a theme! Hope to see some great pictures!

*~I don't believe that this got as much play as it should have last week:

*~Busy weekend so far. Gigs on both Friday and Saturday nights out at the lake. Warm, no rain, lots of hotties (remember her?), lots of beer, lots of fun. Mucho tired, though.

*~The dry socket saga continues. I've gone for about a week with a medicated dressing jammed down the crater. But it seems to be working. Didn't have a problem playing Michelle all weekend, though it was definitely a different sensation!

*~The symphony's summer concert is less than 3 weeks away, and I've got an uneasy feeling that something's not been taken care of. But I feel this way every year, so nothing new there.

*~I hope you all appreciated the straight line I furnished you regarding my "balls". Most of you jumped on that pretty quickly...perverts.

*~OsShirt has been criss-crossing the country over the past week or so. Hope to direct you to some evidence of that soon! And before I hear from you--yes, you're next!