The Voice Of Reason

Pretty good workout with 20 minutes on the treadmill. Gotta say, though, one of the songs on my iPod, Motion by Swarf, really *really* gets me motivated! I love it! The electronic beat and the phenomonally soaring tones of liz_lowlife put a spring in my step, so much so that i'm almost tempted to do a swirly leap off the back of the treadmill like a music video. I don't but i feel like it. Instead, i find myself walking with a bit more bounce. I also like Fall and Subtext but Motion is Da Bizness! Another great treadmill song is Music Makes Me Happy by the Australian trio Oka. I don't think they're together anymore because when the Buskerfest came last year, one of the guys from Oka was there in a different band. I don't have a lot of use for the Busker Festival since so many of the acts not only nag the audience for a cash donation, they even have the nerve to suggest an amount! I donate if i enjoy the show but not if i'm being pressured to. Oka was great. They'd play, then say they appreciate any donations but if not, enjoy the show. That's the kind of act i'd give a few dollars to. I've even bought some of their cds.

Anyway, that's beside the point.

I generally use a techno type playlist for cardio or another playlist that has good walking tunes. For the weights, it's generally a lot harder, edgy, metal, rock, goth, industrial type stuff. It'll have a heavy, more powerful beat that's slower than the dancey trancey type electronica or faster rock. This is where you'll hear AC/DC, Nine inch Nails, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Stevie Ray Vaughn, (yeah blues rock is good to do the weight machines too, as well!). There's other stuff too, Fad Gadget, David Bowie, Doug and the Slugs, Grand Funk Railroad, Queen... Anyway you get the idea. I do like my iPod for the gym! I don't use it if i'm with the trainer, though, because we chat then. Talking keeps me distracted and i don't realize i'm done my reps until she says so. Anything that gets me through the hour!

Back to the beginning, Thanks liz_lowlife, just thought you might like to know you're music is still appreciated, even way over the pond!

Allegedly, there are rumours floating about that Rush will be playing on the Halifax Commons this summer. There's a countdown on their website, possibly to an announcement of a tour and locally, an announcement is going to be made tomorrow about a gig on the Commons. Also rumoured is a Commons gig by the Black Eyed Peas. Wonder if they'd be on the same ticket? I know they're very different but then that never stopped anyone, did it? Concerts outdoors make for a long day because they generally book 3 or 4 acts and you end up standing for most of it. That's what happened with the Stones and man, were my legs and back tired! Then of course, there is always the rain. Am I willing to brave the possibility of rain to see Rush? It's tempting. There aren't many acts i'd pay to see under those conditions (outside/possibility of rain) but Rush just *might* be one of them.

That Megadeath/Slayer gig we were supposed to go to in November that got rescheduled because of a band member's surgery was set for February and then rescheduled again for July apparently. If this keeps up, it might end up scheduled for October when Graham is here again! He'd love that but I'd have to go since, of course, i still owe him. He went to the hockey game with me in Montreal and i was going to that concert with him.

I've got an irritated eye today. Looks like a little spot on the edge of my eyelid, probably an ingrown lash or else the mascara i had on the other day might have irritated it. It's been watery and itchy but it doesn't look like pink eye. I'll have to dose it with polysporin when i get home.

Gym after work today, not been since Saturday. She's doing the whole hour in the trainer's room rather than some of the time on the machines today. God knows what methods of torture she's got in store for me!

Every year, gramie_dee and i open our presents with the webcams on so we can see each other opening, and of course, we generally do it a few days before Christmas. He also always writes a song for me and this year's was inspired by ZZ Top, only he calls it GG Top! The song is called Lovin' Long Distance and if you click here you can hear it. Another brilliant tune!! xoxxoxo

He also gave me a dvd, a book and some chocolate and a lovely silver celtic knotwork necklace that sits right at my collarbone
( And of course the cd art goes with it! )

Facebook here (32) or Flickr here (19, my faves)

I'd definitely go see them again in a heartbeat!

Before the show we had a lovely dinner at Trapeze which is in the Casino. It's Italian but has other as well and the food was very good, more than plentiful and we had good service. Yesterday was spent doing a few errands in the shops and we took coffee up to Mom's for a visit. Gotta do a bit of laundry today and might try to get together with my friend Tracey if she's free. Going to Mom's tonight to do door duty with the Trick or Treaters.
( a few Blondie photos through the cut )

I might have to do my face up all Rawk on Nov. 9. I'll probably bust out the eyeliner if nothing else ;) I was looking to see what concerts or gigs were going to be on in the area for when gramie_dee is here (arriving tomorrow WOOt!) and came across two that seemed likely to interest him. One i felt duty bound to tell him about, mind you, in return for dragging him to a hockey game in Montreal next week. (!) It's a four band lineup, two i've never heard of but two i have. Megadeth and Slayer (Halifax Metro Centre). The man, he say "O...M....G...!!!!" I take it you want to go, then? lol The other was Blondie (at Casino Nova Scotia) and i knew he liked her/them. He generously contained his excitement (barely) and said i could choose which one to go to. Um, yes, thinks I, but i *do* owe him one for the hockey game, right? I called him from work to discuss the matter further and how could i not get the tickets to the metal gig? I mean, really? But, as i am wont to do, when i went over to the Metro Centre, i decided to get tickets for both!

The metal gig can be an early birthday pressie for him! I'll make sure to have earplugs to take the edge off the decibels and i may like some of it though probably not the Slayer bits. Got excellent seats for Blondie, three rows back from the stage! And if anyone local wants to go, apparently Saturday night is 2 for 1 but we're busy that night.

well that was fun!
I went to the waterfront festival tent yesterday afternoon. For non-Canadians, it's a bank holiday Monday across most of the country and in Halifax, it's the weekend we celebrate the founding of the city so there's concerts and activities for a four day weekend. Yesterday was the "Tribute" band concert, all local talent, all very good. I got there early and got a good seat to watch, camera in hand. First band up was a tribute to the blues with local talent Joe Murphy and the Water Street Blues Band. They are very popular and are a fixture at one of the local pubs on a Saturday, Your Father's Moustache. They played a lot of really traditional blues by greats like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson etc. and a couple of more modern guys, like (i forget his name) used to be in J. Geils' Band and Stevie Ray Vaughn as well. There was one older man in a blue and white shirt that was up for the first 5 or 6 tunes, each song dancing with a different woman! The man was well into his 70s and is apparently a regular at Joe Murphy's gigs.

The next band up was a Fleetwood Mac tribute. The lead singer, aka "Stevie Nicks" had the look just about right and a similar voice but her vocals were a bit harsher. For all i know, she could sound just like Stevie does before the studio magic is applied, I suppose but it was a bit off for me. Having said that, the band themselves were musically very good.

Next we have Abbey Road, a Beatles cover band. They had the wigs and the suits and the John and Paul guys even had some of the gestures down pretty well. The John guy was a bit incongruous in that he did have glasses, they weren't the little round ones but the period they were representing was before John wore specs on stage. No matter. He was singing with his eyes closed a lot but it didn't look like he was chewing gum like John usually did. Maybe that was more in his later years. The band were really good and sounded a lot like the originals though "Paul" didn't really have the high "Oooooo" bit happenin'. They had a lot of the crowd up on their feet.

Up to this point i was taking pics but other than the blues set, the pics aren't all that good because i was still a bit too far away. When the next band came on, i went up to stand by the stage and quite a few others did too so a lot of those pics are better. They weren't really as dancy. That's Love Gun, the KISS tribute. Ok, no massive amps and no explosive stage show that i saw but they had the costumes and the boots and the makeup and looked the part really well. They cloned the original KISS lineup with Ace and Peter Kriss on drums. Gene's makeup was running down his face after about 5 songs! Apparently after their break, they returned without makeup, Eighties KISS style. I was gone by then to make my bus connections but i really enjoyed what i saw of it. The last band that i missed altogether was an AC/DC tribute. That would have been good, too. I wish they wouldn't take the concerts so late (this one was on until 1 a.m.) on the last night of the long weekend, with most people having to be to work the next day. Pics are here on Flickr and they're on Facebook as well

First time wearing my new black shoes. They're tight on one spot on my left foot which is nearly a half size larger than my right one. I'm hoping that wearing them a little at a time will stretch them out. If i'm sitting at my desk most of the time, they won't rub too much and i've brought my sport sandals to wear home if they rub too much. I hate my feet. They've always been wide and always had one larger which made buying shoes a pain but now having a bunion only makes getting cute shoes and sandals even more difficult. I will wear skirts sometimes in summer but you can't wear socks and sneakers with them. Well i suppose you can but it looks dreadful unless you're just commuting on the bus. That's ok as long as you change into shoes or something when you get where you're going. If i ever get rich (*snork*) i'm going to have custom made shoes and sandals. And bras.

God. I went into a fancy bra shop a few weeks ago just to see if they had specialty sizes and what the prices were. They did. The ones that were on sale half off were still 100 dollars! They offered to properly size me. Ok. Why not? But... not a measuring tape in sight. They started with a bra the size i thought i was and went from there, trying various ones on. I don't know who makes their bras but i had three different band sizes on, the largest of which still didn't feel any looser around than the smallest and by the time they had me holstered into the largest size, the cups were like sails on the Bluenose! Practically up to my neck, with the sides up into my armpits. If you're working in a fancy bra shop that purports to be able to sell you any size or order any size, don't you think they should be trained in how to size you the right way? They really didn't seem to know what they were doing, that's for sure. I doubt i'd ever be shopping there anyway, not with the prices of some of the stuff i had on. One was nearly $300! Yes, the material felt really nice but it wasn't any more comfortable on otherwise than the normal ones i wear, which i try to get from Marks and Spencers when i'm away.

The sun is up. That's news, it really is. We haven't woken up to the sun in weeks and even then it's only deigned to show it's face on rare occasions later in the day. It's going to be nice right to the weekend though clouding over again on Sunday. Saturday is the Paul McCartney outdoor concert and also the Highland Games and Scottish Festival. I am not going to the concert, i saw Paul in 2003 at the MEN in Manchester. Good show but i won't spend the $120 again. Seen him once, that's enough. Some people, however, are at the height of excite! AC/DC is playing Moncton. If they'd come to Halifax, i'd have spent the money on that ticket even if i'd seen them before which i haven't. Moncton is 3 hours away and the outdoor venue is outside the city. They do have shuttle busses I believe, to ferry people from the city centre to the venue. It's just a pain. You either have to book a hotel and stay overnight or make the three hour drive back in the wee hours. KISS is playing Halifax next weekend i think but i didn't bother getting tickets for that either though i'm sure it would be a fun show. I like them but i was never a major fan. If someone called and wanted me to go with them or if it was in indoor stadium concert, i might have bothered. I did the outdoor thing for the Stones and while it was great, standing for 5 hours was hard on my back and it rained. I suppose i could spend even more money and buy a ticket for the bleacher seats which is maybe what i would do if it was a band i *really* wanted to see like AC/DC. I"m sure if i was all that bothered, i'd go over to the neighbourhood by the Commons and listen, because you will be able to hear it just fine even if you aren't close enough to see anything.

My niece apparently has the swine flu. She wasn't feeling well and the doctor said she had bronchitis but tested her for H1N1 anyway. She got the word two days later by which time she was already starting to feel better. This whole Swine Flu hype really is over the top. Yes people have died from it, people that have had underlying health problems to start with. Just as many or more probably die from other flu strains. It is a worry, though, because we were at my aunt and uncle's cottage on the weekend and my uncle does have heath problems so they'll be keeing a close eye on him in case he does catch it. His immune system is shot to hell.

God i don't half go on sometimes.

I'm just going to finish my cuppa and read the paper.

Another big outdoor concert on the Halifax Commons this summer, headlined by KISS! I don't know if i'll go mainly because of the outdoor venue. The Stones were great but it rained and was very soggy. don't know who else will be on the ticket either. THey're saying there will be four other "major" acts. How much you wanna bet Sloan is one of them? They always seem to open for these things. I suppose i'll wait to see who else is going before i decide, and if i can find someone to go with me as well. I'm sure the show will be good but it's a long day standing. Let's face it, after the bands start, nobody's going to be sitting down when there's moshing and dancing to be done. Maybe i'm just getting too old for this lol

I'm also annoyed. When i got home from work yesterday our walkway to the building wasn't shovelled. It snowed all day and there was lots of time to at least do it once. This morning? Still not shovelled and there is a layer of freezing rain over top of it now. There was a guy on crutches waiting in the lobby for a ride. Heaven knows how he made out. It's not the first time either, that snow removal was late or lacking in promptness. One older man takes care of both buildings. I've complained before. Doesn't seem to do any good.

Yes, i have my Christmas song! Apparently it was inspired after we watched O Brother Where Are Thou earlier this fall. He's had his good friend Malc contribute mandolin and banjo and backing vocals and the result had me in fits! IT's really really good, mind you, but i never thought i'd live to see the day when he'd write a country type song! And the band? Howlin Gram Coyote and Cactus Mal! Howlin Gram was the brewer upper and Cactus Mal was the random button presser. If you want to hear it, go to my web page and play the first tune on the little red flash juke a little way down the page. It's called Travellin' Wings

( And check out the cd cover front and back, and the lyrics )

grammardog posted this and it made me feel good. It's a light pop song by Mika called Big Girls (You are Beautiful) and we don't get songs like this too often. It shall be added to my favourite list along with Fat Bottom Girls by Queen :)

In other news, the sun is out but it doesn't look like it's going to stay around. Still. First glimpse this whole weekend and today's a holiday Monday here. The city is celebrating its birthday and the fireworks have been put off two nights already. Not that I'll probably go. Fireworks here only last about 10 minutes. Hardly seems worth it. What is kind of cool, though, is they set up a fireworks "waterfall" off the bridge over the harbour.