THOUGHTS: Importance of Random Appreciation

Today, I grabbed a random picture of the old power pole outside my house. It definitely has a direlect feel to it. I can appreciate that. You should, too.

RADIO: The Valentine

The playlist:

Myst Soundtrack "The Last Message (Forechamber Theme)"

God Is An Astronaut "No Return"

Tori Amos "Baker Baker"

The American Dollar "Starscapes"

Gifts from Enola "Screaming At Anything That Moves"

Frou Frou "Shh"

Explosions in the Sky "Trembling Hands"

Amberhaze "The C.P.R."

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert "The Sound of Titans"

Saxon Shore "Marked With a Knowledge"

Ulrich Schnauss "Crazy For You"

Dashboard Confessional "Carry This Picture"

This Will Destroy You "I Believe In Your Victory"

Maybeshewill "He Films The Clouds Part 2"

Massive Attack "Teardrop"

Sigur Ros "Milano"

If These Trees Could Talk "The Friscalating Dusklight"

Mountaintops "RedBlue = Violet. You"

Tristeza "Opiate Slopes"

I'm gonna slip in a special Valentine's Day somewhere in there for Lyss.  Stay tuned!  Thanks for listening!

www.krbd.org

105.3 FM, Ketchikan

THOUGHTS: What does it all mean?

I had a very vivid dream last night. I dreamed that I was at a Walgreens right next to where I lived in downtown Denver. This Walgreens had an escalator inside. I was riding down the escalator with a good friend of mine since childhood, noticing the line up ahead was pretty long. We waited in line and checked out, and walked around the parking lot. As we were walking, the parking lot and the city vanished, and we were suddenly in a very recognizable place caught in a crossfire with some ver unrecognizable military forces. I jumped into an abandoned tank while my friend ran into an old camping trailer, our destination. I turned the tanks guns on both sides battling on this little swath of land, and, once I drew their fire, abandoned it and ran toward the caper myself. Once inside, it was dark. My friend was playing with some toys, and my son was running around in there, getting into stuff, totally oblivious to the loud explosions going on just outside. I knew we had to go, but I had no idea where. I didn't want to get killed in this damn camper...

Then I woke up. I have no idea what the brain is doing. Is it trying to tel me something, or is it just flexing it's creativity muscles in a thrilling and exciting way?

Wow.

RADIO: Happiness: We're All In It Together

Tonight I read an exerpt from a blog I posted a little while back. Since it's difficult for me to post everything on Facebook via text messaging, I figure i'd just skip the middleman and post a playlist on the blog itself. Here's what I'm playing tonight:

Interpol "Take You On A Cruise"
We vs. Death "Mother and Father and Me"
The Helium Arch "Countdown"
Ulrich Schnauss "A Letter from Home"
The American Dollar "Shadows"
Dashboard Confessional "The End of an Anchor (UK Bonus)"
Caspian "Of Foam and Wave"
El Ten Eleven "Bye Mom"
Cloudkicker "Everthing's Mirrors"
Explosions in the Sky "Last Known Surroundings"
Death Cab For Cutie "Stable Song"
Maserati "There Will Always Be Someone Behind You"
The Mercury Program "The Church of Cause and Effect"
This Will Destroy You "Happiness: We're All In It Together"
Incubus "Echo"
Mogwai "Killing All The Files"
Ratatat "Nostrand"
Sasha "Requiem"
Saxon Shore "How We Conquered The Western World on Horseback"
Band of Horses "For Annabelle"
Tickles "Today The Sky Is Blue And Has A Spectacular View"
Tired Tape Machine "Like Glass"
Pinback "Bloods On Fire"
Tortoise "Monica"
Tristeza "Macrame"

That rounds out the show tonight. I'm looking to start interviews with post-rock/ambient artists on the show soon. Keep listening and enjoy he awesomeness!

CHRONICLES: The BattleWagon Chronicles on KRBD Ketchikan/THOUGHTS: We're Not Ready for Socialism

As you're probably aware, I've been blogging about doing a radio show of this same name on the air, www.krbd.org, and, if you're in the Ketchikan area 105.3, 107.1, 101.7, 90.7, and 90.1 (depending on if you're on Revillagigedo Island or Prince of Wales Island). Tonight, I'm going to go purely instrumental post-rock, featuring (but not limited to) Explosions in the Sky, Caspian, Maserati, Cloudkicker, Saxon Shore, Red Sparrowes, Tristeza, The Mercury Program, The American Dollar, and The Helium Arch.

It should be a good show. I'm going to try to talk a little bit about the background of some of the bands I play, but hopefully, it winds up being very chill and helps people unwind after the rigors of a hard Monday. I sometimes feel like Mondays are shockers, days that catch us off guard after a relaxing or productive weekend. We find ourself on Mondays at work, taking orders from bosses or customers or both, a humble reminder that we are dependent and enslaved in a way to this capitalist system.

The real shocker for me, though, is that, given our society's current level of sociological maturity, capitalism is probably our best bet. I can understand the utopian aspect of socialism, but that requires complete consensus amongst the population, something that we humans will likely never have. We are selfish creatures. We want to protect outselves, to keep the wealth and the food and the medicine for us and ours, and let everyone else figure it out.

Wow. What began as a shameless plug for some good music turned into a philosophical/political rant. Umm... yeah, The BattleWagon Chronicles on www.krbd.org. Tune in!

CHRONICLES:

Today, I've been taking it easy. Yesterday I came down with this horrible tomach bug. I feel a lot better today, but I think it was largely due to the fact that I fell asleep on my recliner around 7 last night. I only got up to hit the lights and go upstairs at midnight. I slept until 7 this morning. So now I'm rested, and the bug seems to have passed.

All of the glorious snow we had over the past couple of weeks is all but gone. It's been raining since Friday, and that rain has washed all of the small, un-piled snow away. There are a couple of tall piles of dirty slush around town, but that's about it.  In a way, it's very disappointing. I love the snow. However, I really missed the rain. The rain I what makes Ketchikan so inviting. I feel as if it's back to normal, and there's something to be said for normal. It's comfortable, inspirational to productivity, both of which are good.

This week will be an interesting one. I'm going to experiment with making a maple-bacon topped pastry as a "welcome home" gift for Lyss and Malcolm. Hopefully, Alaskan and Proud will be carrying the pastries I desire for optimal bacon usage. They're the long-John types (I've also heard them called Bismarcks, but I think those have cream inside, whereas long-Johns do not). The maple-bacon has bee an accidental blessing to so many of my recipes, including a take of a Fiery Habañero Red Chili that is extra delicious.

The sad part is that on Tuesday, I'll get to do February's budget, and I'm actually excited to do it. Bizzare, to be sure, but I get an odd sense of control from crunching numbers like that. I believe at some point it would make me an excellent business owner.

Sigh... here goes. Bring it on, February.

CHRONICLES: Just Keep Snowing, Snowing, Snowing...

I've lived in Colorado for virtually all my life. With the exception of my time here and a brief, three-month stint in San Antonio (thank God the Air Force and I didn't get along), Colorado has been my home.

The times I seemed to look forward to the most were snow days. I loved when we'd get a big snow storm, and as the sun set, the whole world lit up with a dull, pink light. I loved how the world seemed quiet, that when a car came up the street, you could only hear it when it was right by you. As soon as it drove away, it could have vanished. I loved the spring snows especially, with the big, wet flakes that would just cover everything like a monster. One time, I remember walking the streets of downtown Denver in an evening snowstorm, seeing the clouds light up and hearing thunder as I walked back to my quaint, cozy studio apartment.

But I can't remember a time where I've lived in a place where it's just snowed like it is here this year. I hear from the locals that this isn't normal. Normally, it snows, and then it rains and washes it all away. Well, we got a huge snow last week. It was plowed and shovelled, and then we got another snow. And another. Currently, with about a foot still left on untouched ground and feet in piles at the ends of driveways, we're in a Winter Weather Advisory. My boss, Steve, just got done plowing my driveway. When it warms up enough to rain, it just makes everything slushy. Then it snows again.

This... is... awesome!