bloggin’ my noggin’

Mark Wood and his fretted fiddles are at it again! This time they are bringin’ on the bad a$$ mobile cello! How does this guy sing and play at the same time? Fasciniating.

Mark Wood is a total Rockstar! But I can’t look at this picture with out cracking up.

“Ah! Don’t let the bows powers cross…the universe will blow up!”

Ok, realizing two things:

1. I probably should have taken a photo of Augie’s violin before dropping it off at “the man” today. Augie = my great great grandpa. Before/After picture of the restoration would have been cool.
2. It might not actually be Augie’s violin. Upon closer inspection by “the man*” it appears to be from the 1910’s, but the case looks older than that (?) There was this violin my Mom bought at the thrift store that had a really good bow we had re-haired in Berkeley. It’s basically good for firewood or butchering into a homemade hardingfele someday. I might have switched the good violin to the good case at some point in my youth. I don’t remember. So who knows? I guess I’m just going to still call it Augie’s, because I have for all these years…and the only people who know are looking down on me right now.

It’s still going to be wonderful when it’s done…got a new bow, new case, brass mute, new bridge, pegs, tail piece with built in fine tuners, nice strings, end button, ergonomic shoulder rest (very groovy), and a new chin rest. “The man” let me buy it all wholesale and he’ll just charge me to put it on and do some work to the body. He’s is going to dress the fingerboard…he said “your grandpa really loved the fiddle” and held it up to the sunlight to reveal the long worn grooves in the ebony fingerboard from playing it so much! It’s got to be Augie’s fiddle! Poo on me for thinking otherwise!

I promise I’ll play you all a song when it’s back.

And What prompted me to finally get off my butt and get it restored after owning it for 22 years? Last night Bob reminded me of the unfortunate man who saved all of his riches and longed for retirement….and then died. Enjoying none of it.

It was time.

*if you are a long time reader, you’ll remember “the man”. He’s the amazing fella that works on my fiddles…he a character that needs a book, and I spend an hour chatting in his packrat shop everytime I go there.

This rockin’ photoshopped picture of me as Shaun White ended up on a the Shaun White Fanpage. The first link doesn’t work, but if you scroll down…it’s there.

Thanks to my co-worker for making the photo happen, and thanks to google for permanently stashing the file (even though I had hoped to delete it with the old blog). And thanks to the Shaun White fan that stumbled across it and posted it.

I just spent 15 minutes in FETCH deleting photos that I thought were gone. Interesting to see where they all end up. Star Wars foreign language websites, Buddhist sites, hippiebus is used a lot and in some people’s myspace profiles… Cleaned up the ones of the kids and other irrelevant junque.

We’re officially snowed in. YAY! Finally! Well, it’s really only about 4 inches, but Bob said that even in 4WD, the roads were bad…so we decided to stay in tonight. I’m hoping the weather report is true and we get another foot!
We spent the day playing outside, sledding, drinking hot cocoa and visiting with neighbors. I overhauled my 10 year old UGGS. I redyed them black and ignored all of the warnings not to use mink oil on them. The suede was all flat anyway. So, now I have a pair of luscious black UGGS with a smooth finish. Thanks again Grandma! Since I’m rambling…My grandma bought me some white UGGS 10 years ago. I took one look at them and thought “Yikes! These are gonna get really dirty!” plus I was in a “black” phase. So I went down to Nordstrom at the Mall of Embarrassment (one of the few places in the state that sold them at the time) without a receipt, and asked them if I could exchange them for black ones. They not only exchanged them, they totally upgraded me about $100 for the high boots for free since they didn’t have my size of the shorties in black.

To this day, I tell people that Nordstrom has the best freaking return policy…ever!

And I have a one of a kind pair of UGGS now…I kind of had to tell myself that after I realized that I had ruined a pair of $180 suede boots with mink oil.

I have to go eat my homemade chili and cornbread and sit under a blanket and a fireplace full of candles now. Since I can’t have a fire due to safety concerns…I actually looked on craigslist for electric fireplaces today.

Could this post be more random?

*Update: 12:28am

Bob just measured 6-8″ of snowfall and 12″ drifts, and he saw lightening! Yeee-Haw! Going to have to go skiing…at least sledding! The weather report said that this is the biggest storm to hit MN in 8 years. Bob and I just looked at eachother, like, ‘what’? Seems like a foot of snow has plopped on us more recently than that. Several of our friends here have never seen this much snow at once…this will be a storm of a lifetime for them. Ok, maybe not.
Here’s my bit of advice, if it is snowing and you hear thunder. Put a log on the fire…or a whole bunch of candles if you are me, chill out and cancel all of your plans for at least 36 hours. That happened to us once…TONS of wet snow! The plows didn’t even bother with our street, and who wants to shovel that heavy stuff?!?

It’s been 700 days since my captivity…my teeth have been beaten into submission and finally learned to march in a straight line (4 were extricated and eventually executed) the remaining 24 will be released on good behavior. They will, however, be on parole for the rest of their life (ie: the retainer).

They come off 1 day short of 2 years since they went on! Amazing! 700 down, 29 to go. Whoo Hoo!

James 4:14

whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

I’m a beep, I’m a vapor
I’m just a blinking light
I’m a beep, I’m a vapor
I’m a vapor

-skillet 
Better than the lyrics to dust in the wind,  which Anna and I nailed the other night.  You just don’t come by viola solos like that everyday…um, or…like, ever.  And Henry’s tube amplifier made it sound so much better…no pedal, just warm plain violaness.
Here’s to hoping we never act our age and never forget our beepy vaporness…

Here’s a good ol’ fashioned head noise post for olde tymes sake:

• Global warming: If global warming continues, the maps of the world will need to be re-drawn. The ice melting and sea level rising will completely change the face of this planet as we know it. Imagine Manhattan and the bottom coasts of India and Florida underwater. Just letting you know… sorry if that’s depressing or if you don’t believe in global warming.
• “God is able to reduce our needs and wants to level out our income so we can lead rich lives.” “God is generous, we should be like Him” (Thanks Ren)
• My e-string is squeaky, so much so, that I don’t even really play it in public…got some Ernie Ball custom gauge 9’s from the new gee-tar center. This is the problem with trying to make a viola be a BIG violin (they don’t make e-strings long enough, so I have to buy guitar strings). I prefer the little local shoppe by my house, but had to see what the hub-bub was about at the supa center on opening weekend. Going to call the violin man to see why my bridge keeps going north and BGV keeps falling out of tune all the time. He’ll probably just tell me it’s because it’s a cheap chinese-made 5 string viola. (and that’s why I love her).
• Played at Bluer again on Saturday. I’m about 10% closer to getting over myself. Still having a little issue with hearing myself once church is full (so I start out quiet and timid).
• Had a dream on Sunday night about the mystical hardingfele…specifically this one after seeing it on the internet with Anna.

In my dream, I was getting ready to play it, the head became evil and it slowly turned to look at me. Then I woke up. More on odd violins. I’ve got to stop sleeping with earplugs, it brings weird dreams.

(wikipedia trail for the evening)
math rock (itunes has a station that plays math rock. I’m listening to it right now)
mute math

low
Found out I waited too long on buying those dang shins tix. I was seriously going to do it tomorrow and Anna called to tell me it sold out!

I’ve learned enough for one day.

Great photos Kandi. See the rest here

movie

It was an amazing experience…and Bob gifted us all with his singing! Here we are. I’m joining the band again this Saturday. One of the songs sounds like a Pink Floyd song and I’ve got about 5 effects planned for the 8 songs we are playing. I find myself wanting to somehow make weird little electronic beeps with my viola. I used to tap the strings with the wooden side of my bow to make this little chime-like sound…but I don’t want to screw up my new good bow. But there’s this mute math song we are doing that might be fun to make some chimey sounds in (You are mine). Perhaps I will bring my crappy bow or find some other device to tap on the strings.

I wish you all could see Bob right now. He’s being super stud and plugging in his red electric guitar into the amp I stole from him. Man, I wish he would learn to play that! Hey, now he’s stealing my bass modulator! Ooh! He just used the whammy bar! He had better watch it, or I’ll steal his gee-tar too! Rockstar! Go get a haircut.

I wish I had the day off tomorrow…

Caution…bad words in Gizoogle, but laughing that hurts is fo’ shizzle!.  I almost peed my pants (or I had ta go wizzy tha infamous dizzle kit fo shizzle..).   Here’s and excerpt of what happened when I Gizoogled myself:

Bloggin? Mah Noggin?
Mr if you gots a paper stack. Theisen has off tha hook pipes! It warmed mah heart ta stand N-to-tha-izzext ta him n hear his satin voice if you gots a paper stack. It is now 11:29. I had ta go wizzy tha infamous dizzle kit fo shizzle. …

(normal Google)

bloggin’ my noggin’

Mr. Theisen has awesome pipes! It warmed my heart to stand next to him and hear his satin voice. It is now 11:29. I had to go wrap the infamous drum kit. …

Ah…still catching my breath.  You should see my artist statement!

I’m going to resist the urge to make up a bunch of entertaining pretend resolutions…

1. Be healthier without refusing juicy kisses and hugs from my children. I bought some raw apple cider vinegar today and some probiotics because the guy at the health food store said that the gut is the center of your health… Sure. Why not. So, here’s to a healthy gut and the rest of me. And hey, it tastes like crap, but if it works for Tom Hanks, JC Penney and Dr. Scholls…then why not give it a shot!

Actually, I think I’ll just work on that one resolution for now.

Braved the slippery roads and bought my Black-eyed Peas to eat tomorrow. It’s a New Year’s day tradition I remember my stepmom talking about, but I always hated them as a kid. My Dad told me that they would put hair on my chest, which made me avoid them for another 20 years. But now I like to make them, even if I eat them myself. I know they don’t hold any magical powers for bringing luck or riches, but it’s fun anyway!

Happy New Year!!!

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep,
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

-The Navy Hymn 

Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

I am I and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still ……

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you for an interval.

Somewhere very near, just around the corner.

All is well.

-’Death is nothing at all’ by Canon Henry Scott-Holland

“What I have been doing on my Christmas break”

Not in particular order:

• Been eating close to a dozen cookies a day. I may have aquired TFTCFE (temporary fatness that comes from eating).
• Staying in my PJ’s until whenever we come up with a good reason to leave the house, and then not putting any make-up on or even brushing my hair!
• Watched Bible-man about 200x, Batman begins (covering Jack’s eyes a bunch of times during that freaky-scarecrow-insanity-mask-thing) and Transformers.
• Played viola some…dug out Augie’s fiddle that doesn’t even have strings and tried to imagine/pretend what it would be like to play a teeny fiddle again (it’s almost 6″ shorter and felt like a feather!). I need $300 to restore it and be the first one to fire it up in a good 30-40 years. All donations gratefully accepted.
• Played ‘don’t break the ice’ and Thomas the choo-choo for hours, while Sam went on a 3-day “pants strike”. By the way, the game should be called ‘break the ice’ because Sam smashes it all and declares victory!
• Played the screaming damsel in distress as this thing chased me and fired rockets. Jack scored it on clearance with this gift card from grandpa. I didn’t really realize how dang scary and militaristic it was. Sam and I avoid Bob and Jack when they are in charge if it. I predict a future blog post about this toy and how it gained artificial intellegence and turned on us…like any good robot horror movie.
• Confirmed our suspicion that Sam has motion sickness midway from Grandma’s…you don’t want to know the details, but it involved a hefty bag, a truck stop bathroom bubble bath and a lot of improvising.
• I’m supposed to to on a date..but my date is not feeling well. So, I may just stay in with N.S.E.C.T. and see what havoc we can wreak on the house.

Happy New Year!!!