Marriage

Hello all, tomorrow is my wedding day, in approximately 13 hours I will be a married man. Accordingly I will be taking some time off of the Internet, so this is a note to let you know.

Your prayers and well wishes are appreciated!

...with bells

Good evening. Things are fairly busy. Almost the end of March, in the next week I need to pack up my entire room and, along with Rach, put the finishing touches on the wedding plans. Saturday is going to be "buying suits day" for Jer and me, with Rach and Steph dutifully helping out (read: picking the suits for us).

I also need to complete a resume and portfolio for my exit conference as well as find a job. I will specifically be looking into the field of technical writing & editing, but I will also apply to "lesser positions"... because basically, I need a job to pay rent and afford to eat. Food before dignity I says!!!

And by the way, for the past seven weeks I have survived on a solid diet of Miles Davis and Underworld. Accordingly, my belated birthday present from my Dad consisted of Miles Davis' classic In A Silent Way and Underworld's latest Oblivion with Bells. As a fairly obsessed and consistent fan, I tend to look more favorably on it than many of the reviews, although I agree that some of the unadorned vocals are fairly bad. Some are good though too, and there are at least 3-4 songs to add to the regular live canon. Tis good, not great, but to a fan like myself quite nice to hear.

Also there is a rumor afoot that Underworld will be the opening act on the North American leg of Radiohead's In Rainbows tour. If that is the case it promises to be amazing. They'll be in Toronto sometime in August. Rach and I are there like shareware!

Hey look it's a video blog!

in (an abundance of) rainbows -or- how nerdy I can be

Well, how many copies of Radiohead's new album In Rainbows does a fan need to own? Most people will answer 1, but I am crazy. I now own 3 copies, all of which were officially purchased. Why? Let me tell you:

1. Original download: the original release of the album was a pay-what-you-wanna download, for which I paid around $8 because I love the band... of course this release was 160 kbps, requiring that I get the CD for high quality audio tracks later on. I still have these MP3s for nostalgic reasons.

2. Discbox: The coveted, ridiculously priced discbox containing, the CD; a bonus CD of b-sides, photos and art; two vinyl records;  and two massive booklets, all in a thick record book enclosed in a hard slipcase. Almost 7 pounds of awesome. I guess this is the holy grail for me as a Radiohead fan, sure they've done special editions in the past, but this one takes the cake. So excessive that only Radiohead could pull it off. This came to me via my amazing and loving fiancee Rachel, who, for better or worse, actually supports me in my crazy record collecting hobby. Love ya hon!

3. Regular CD edition: Why on earth would I buy the regular CD edition after receiving the discbox for Christmas? For a few reasons, actually. First, it is on a small label, and I like supporting indie labels (crazy to call Radiohead an "indie" band, but technically they are now). Second, the packaging is awesome. It comes in a box with the booklet, and stickers so you can create do-it-yourself art on a jewel case. Very cool indeed. I'm a sucker for well designed CD art, and frankly, quality graphic design is one of the main reasons I still collect CDs as opposed to getting all digital music. (That and the superior sound quality). And finally, it was only $7.99 at Future Shop, and my mom just gave me some Birthday money, so yeah, how can I pass it up being that cheap.

This concludes my rant about obsessively buying Radiohead merchandise. They're my favorite band, I'm a collector, and they package everything so well... this only translates into me doing ridiculous things, like buying their new album 3 times. I wonder how many other obsessive fans have done the same thing? Any takers? Leave a comment!

Christmas, Christmas time is here

Hello.

Christmas at the Rose's was quite nice... it was a very CD Christmas, it seems that everyone wanted a special CD and got exactly the one they wanted.... Rach liked her necklace too, but she's afraid to wear it because the chain is so fine. Rach's parents got me two poetry books including one by Charles Bukowski, a collection spanning his career, quite nice indeed.

Also, back to the CDs... Rach got me the discbox edition of Radiohead's In Rainbows!!!!!!! AHH!!

It is quite pretty. It's also massive, it weighs about 7 pounds. There is a heavy slipcase with black & white art, the case is also heavy, with one record in each side, as well as two oversized booklets, one with art and one with lyrics. The bonus disc also includes a bunch of pictures and art. The b-sides are all rather cool. The coolest part is that the vinyl records are handmade, and each one has a message scratched into the non-playing section of the vinyl. Nice touch. 

However, the best part of being here is hanging with Rach's family and friends, having fun, and sharing in the season. 

God bless everyone, hope your Christmas time is awesome.

This is the voice of the Mysterons

Oh. It has been a while since I posted anything. I've been busy, teaching, plotting, writing, and rocking. Right now I am nickin' someone's wireless at my dad's friend's apartment. We're hanging out because I can't see him before Christmas because I'll be at Rach's... it is nice to spend some time with him and have dinner and stuff, and following this I'll be heading to Rach's for some chats and study time.

He got me quite a nice Christmas gift... the remastered 2-disc version of Pulp's "This is Hardcore" imported from the UK. Quite nice, includes liner notes from Jarvis Cocker and a bunch of b-sides and rarities including 8 previously unreleased songs.

Also, this is the exciting part, I just received an e-mail from Daniel Peterson, aka Otto Nobot, aka the former lead singer of Blaster  the Rocketman, and current singer of Voice of the Mysterons. I just finished a review of VotM's first record, which is amazing. I am gonna do an e-mail interview with him which will be published on the Tollbooth sometime in February. So Excite!

The weather here is insane, we've had at least a foot of snow already and it's still falling, I have a feeling it may result in the field trip / school being cancelled tomorrow, but hopefully not. Have a merry Christmas if I don't see you.

In brief

Just finished my reviews for Radiohead's In Rainbows and Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam, expect them up on The Tollbooth within the next week or two.

Rach and Stevie are coming to K-Town tomorrow, and there promises to be a wonderful fun filled weekend for all. Rach and I have officially moved our wedding date up, it is about 99% certain that it will be on May 3rd. This is quite nice indeed.

I have fallen in love with Power Points. This is utterly ridiculous I know, but they make presentations so much more fun. And that will be all for now.

I prefer triple berry

Listenings to: The Rapture- Pieces of the People We Love This is really fun, kinda sleazy and silly, but fun...

Well, I am again at the illustrious Coffee & Company (aka the only place in Kingston that offers free wireless) and I am waiting for Rachel to make her appearance on the internets, as we are supposed to have a coffee and msn date, but perhaps she forgot. That is okay though, but I do want to talk to her, as always.

Rachel and I are almost done our wedding plans!!! And I'm only missing two of my four limbs!!! (Just kidding, love ya hon.) We should be able to get invitations out sometime in January. It's going to be a small wedding, family and close friends, however we also plan on having a post-wedding party later in the summer and a Jack 'n' Jill party sometime before the wedding, so there will be plenty of opportunity for everyone to celebrate our union with us. (Wow... "celebrate our union." For some reason that just sounds funny... am I crazy or is it actually funny?)

I now have two reviews up on The Phantom Tollbooth and that makes me happy. Though I may not get paid, I do get free cds and dvds shipped to me, and I get to say that I am a published author on my resume. That and I love writing record reviews. HM needs to hire me or something! lol, I wish.

Check out the new Animal Collective record Strawberry Jam. It is kinda weird spazzy folk pop with some psychedelic noise thrown in for fun. The video for "Peacebone" is seriously messed up, check it out. Reminds me of prime Neutral Milk Hotel...on drugs...jamming with a less ridiculous Wolf Eyes. Um... that does make sense, I promise.

a million engines in neutral

hello from the pit of Kingston!

I like Coffee & Company... it is a fun place... My review of "OK Compy" will be coming but since it is Radiohead's seminal album I am taking my time and reading up... there are lots of books about this puppy. I also intend to write a review of Thom Yorke's "The Eraser," easily my favourite album of last year. Perhaps for the Tollbooth? And speaking of that my first published review is up, David Crowder Band- Remedy. (Mine is second down, there are two reviews.) I am really happy that this particular review is published, as I seem to be one of the few people who actually questions the merits of the new Crowder record. It's not bad, but it ain't great either.

I am having fun in Kingston so far again, but I do miss Rach. However I have a lot more free time with class than with prac, a blessing and a curse.

Rach and I are getting our wedding plans into high gear now, finalizing our guest list so that we can send out the invites. We also need to do other things such as finalize our venue, make a registry, and do our pre-marital counseling, all this within the next couple months! Crazy. It is all rather difficult to plan, and it is really causing us to examine things in a good way, to get down to some of those deep issues that you only get into when family is involved. It is all rather strange and crazy. One thing is for sure. I really love Rach, and I'm really looking forward to being married and not having to leave for months at a time for school.

I also now have everybody's Christmas presents except for my dad's. He is always the hardest to shop for. While shopping for Jer's present on the wonderful Ebay I also scored a reasonably priced copy of Thom Yorke's Japanese only EP Spitting Feathers which collects all the b-sides for The Eraser. Usually it goes for around $30, which is unreasonable for only 5 songs, especially since I already own (poor quality) iTunes versions. Anyway, I got it new and sealed for $16, which is still a lot to pay for five songs that I already have, but I really want to have them on hard copy and be able to make cd quality rips.... ah, the life of an audiophile...

Anyway, I guess that is a good enough update for now

when Hollywood runs out of Indians only the Indians will know

Well, I am in Peterborough still, and yes, I do exist. I've just been keeping myself very busy. Here's a breakdown:

Work/School: Yeah, for ONE class I prep at least 2 hours a night, and that's on top of traveling time and such craziness, this eats most of my time.

Wedding: Planning a wedding / maintaining sanity within my relationship with Rachel eats up the majority of the rest of my time. It's first in importance though.

You: You being the rest of my friends. I'd like to see you / I have seen you, but it takes time!

And while doing most of those things, chances are I am listening to way, way too much Radiohead.

Anyway, back to marking and lesson planning.