Tick, Tick, Tick
Based on the reaction of a couple of friends yesterday, it seems that the reality of the fact that I'll be gone in around a week is just now starting to sink in.
I'm as packed as I'm going to be without tearing down the computer, dismantling my desk and bed, and packing up the selection of clothes and toiletries I've reserved to get me through the next week or two.
We had take two of the Getting Together for Drinks attempt last night, and I thought things were much more pleasant. The weather was great for hanging out on the patio at Milo's, and the band . . . well . . . they were entertaining, but not in the way they intended, anyway.
A new bit of music philosophy was uncovered — if a band is going to have a standalone lead singer, he/she needs to make some sort of presence, or be gifted enough at singing to justify it as a solo instrument, or something. The guy wasn't altogether bad, but I was surprised to turn around at one point and discover that what I'd been assuming for about 45 minutes were two guys with guitars were actually two guys with guitars, and some guy standing around singing sometimes. Oh, and he played a penny whistle on one song. So, yeah.
The guitarists were good, and maybe they chose not to sing (though I think one did backing vocals on a song or two), but Singer Guy needed a new schtick. Play the bass, or some kind of percussion instrument or assortment thereof, or sing in a way that makes him a real performer instead of just a singer, or wear a pirate shirt or . . . I don't know. I'm not paid to decide these kinds of things — but something needed to be done.
* * *
Incidentally, I didn't mean for my Hanzi/Kanji bemusement to inspire paranoia, but, for the peace of mind of those who asked, here are the two Kanji characters for the word Zen:
禪 禅
The first is the traditional form, and the second is the simplified Chinese form. Either two or three dots on top is acceptable. This is good news, I hope?
It seems about.com actually has a section on Kanji as well, including a subsection on Kanji for tattoos. I knew there had to be something easy out there for people to find, and now there is.
I'm as packed as I'm going to be without tearing down the computer, dismantling my desk and bed, and packing up the selection of clothes and toiletries I've reserved to get me through the next week or two.
We had take two of the Getting Together for Drinks attempt last night, and I thought things were much more pleasant. The weather was great for hanging out on the patio at Milo's, and the band . . . well . . . they were entertaining, but not in the way they intended, anyway.
A new bit of music philosophy was uncovered — if a band is going to have a standalone lead singer, he/she needs to make some sort of presence, or be gifted enough at singing to justify it as a solo instrument, or something. The guy wasn't altogether bad, but I was surprised to turn around at one point and discover that what I'd been assuming for about 45 minutes were two guys with guitars were actually two guys with guitars, and some guy standing around singing sometimes. Oh, and he played a penny whistle on one song. So, yeah.
The guitarists were good, and maybe they chose not to sing (though I think one did backing vocals on a song or two), but Singer Guy needed a new schtick. Play the bass, or some kind of percussion instrument or assortment thereof, or sing in a way that makes him a real performer instead of just a singer, or wear a pirate shirt or . . . I don't know. I'm not paid to decide these kinds of things — but something needed to be done.
* * *
Incidentally, I didn't mean for my Hanzi/Kanji bemusement to inspire paranoia, but, for the peace of mind of those who asked, here are the two Kanji characters for the word Zen:
禪 禅
The first is the traditional form, and the second is the simplified Chinese form. Either two or three dots on top is acceptable. This is good news, I hope?
It seems about.com actually has a section on Kanji as well, including a subsection on Kanji for tattoos. I knew there had to be something easy out there for people to find, and now there is.