Welcome to Mike's News Corner
29 January 2002
Nothing much to report. I helped my sister sand and scrape some shelves, so it got me motivated to get the crappy, cracked paint off the door to my bedroom. All I have at home for such stuff is a chisel, so it's been slow going. I let my car go an extra four months without being inspected. I just didn't notice that I hadn't gone to get the sticker. Hopefully I won't get a ticket today (since I'm getting it inspected tomorrow). Ok, I'm off to work...
20 January 2002
I just had a rehearsal with Cid and Sean. It was cool. I took my guitar, since I'm much better at it than any other instrument. But it looks like I'll be playing mandolin and bouzouki as well. I managed to get out of playing bass, I think. For some of the songs I just had vague recollections of bass lines, so I found standard tuning guitar chords to match the open tuning guitar parts. I'm looking forward to us gigging and writing stuff. I haven't played with these people (whom I love dearly) in probably a year and a half.
I made a New Year's resolution that I won't buy any more guitars until I play out live again. I thought that meant I wouldn't buy any more instruments this year, but it looks like I might play as early as St. Patrick's Day. Hmm.
I am, however, building a guitar. I finished the design Friday. I have most of the parts I need (pickups, wires, tuners, knobs, chunk of wood, power tools). If I had more time to work on it, I'd finish it this lifetime. We'll see. I hope to only take a few months of days off to make it. Part of the time, though, will be used learning how to control the router and the dremel. Ok. Enough of that.
9 January 2002
Wow. It's been a long time since I've written here. I've been quite busy, yet quite lazy. First off, happy new year! Here's my review of the last year. I bought a router, and now have my block of alder. When a few final decisions are made (and some practicing is done on some cheaper wood), I'll start the guitar that I've been meaning to make for many moons.
I have this week off, well, Monday thru Friday. It's been great. It feels great not dealing with dumb ass people. I had an adventure in Beaumont yesterday. I also played a good deal of Grand Theft Auto 3. I don't play many games (except our work tournaments of Soul Caliber), but this game kicks butt.
Well, back to laundry and planning. Later...
21 November 2001
Hello. It's the day before, so Happy Scrappy Thanksgiving to everyone! Let's see. I'm about to load up some guitars and head to LaMarque to hang with the fam. We'll be cooking, chowing down, and watching the Buffy marathon on FX. Hoorah.
Family news: My uncle, Stefan Monych, passed away on Friday. I was a pallbearer. I hadn't seen most of the family I saw there since the last funeral in February when my Grandmother died.
I've been spending tons of money at Musician's Friend. Hmm...a new amp, 2 pedals, strings, 2 cases, 2 stands, oh, another pedal, patch cables, a tuner. Maybe that's it. For now.
Ok...off to the food and stuff.
7 November 2001
Ok. I've just finished watching Buffy:the Musical for the 4th time. It is fucking brilliant. Fuck fuckity fucking brilliant. Over and out.
5-6 November 2001
I haven't written here in a while, so I have a good bit to say. First, tomorrow is the musical episode of Buffy!! I'm super hyped. I've been waiting for it, listening to and watching clips on the net, being a total goober fanboy.
Also, tomorrow Flickerstick's CD hit's the shelves. They're the band that won VH1's Bands on the Run contest. It's a very good Cd. But, Britney Spears' new CD also comes out tomorrow. She tried to cover "I Love Rock N Roll." It's the worst thing ever. Ever.
I found out today that an old friend is doing well and living in New York. I haven't seen her in about 2 years. It really brightened my day to hear she's ok.
On a sad note, an old friend and long-time neighbor died over the weekend. And, my newborn cousin is in the hospital for viral pneumonia. Blah...
Well, I have the amp I've wanted. I just bought some new pedals to play with, and I've been rockin' out. Why did I ignore electric guitars for so long. I'm able to find all sorts of sounds and express tons of new ideas that I couldn't do on acoustic guitar. Yea.
Here's a pic of me dressed as a woman on Halloween.
Here's a pic of me, Gretchen and Jimmy at that evil place where I spend most of my days.
19-20 October 2001
Wow. I haven't written in quite some time. Much is happening in the world. I have more Kenshin on DVD.
I finally ordered the amp I've wanted forever! It should be here Monday or Tuesday. No thanks to you punks that didn't contribute to the "buy Mike a new amp fund." A pox on you all. Yeah.
Derek has a new digital camera. Here's a pic of me playing on Erin's new left-handed guitar (but I am playing it upside down).
I'll write more tomorrow when I'm not so tired and worn down
1 October 2001
Ooh. It's the first of the month. That means I have more spending money added to my charge account at work. Yea.
Last night we had an all store meeting to discuss customer service, sales, and payroll. I had to lead the music staff in sales training. Talk about fun. It seemed like the excitement would never end.
Well, I've seen the season premieres for Angel, Dark Angel, Alias, and Enterprise. Tomorrow is Buffy night!!!
I noticed that Dream Theater is changing the cover of their new album "Live Scenes from New York". It released the very day NY was attacked and the cover was a view of the NY sky line on fire. Hmm. Ok, I'm off to work...
26 September 2001
I've been renting movies like crazy. The Claim is very well done, and it interesting. Since I love stupid teen movies, I rented Get Over It, and it was much fun. Head Over Heels, however, pretty much sucked. Freddie Prinze, Jr. let me down. Monica Potter even sucked in it.
Sunday night I went out with some coworkers after work. I meant to stay a few minutes, since I had a lot of driving ahead of me and a very early morning the next day. Of course, the evening rolled by, and we closed down the bar at 2:00. It was great. I hadn't hung out with most of them before. I hope to do it again (and to have most of the drinks bought for me again -- that part ruled).
19 September 2001
I went to Albertson's tonight. Their commercials make it sound like they are the best store ever. I must disagree. The staff members I dealt with were incredibly fucking stupid. They didn't have their stuff together at all. Blah...
Well, I watched Memento tonight. I know I was supposed to wait and watch it with someone. But, the opportunity presented itself, and since I have no self control, I watched it. Pretty trippy. Certainly worth seeing. I might even buy the DVD.
I slept almost all day. I woke up late, made lunch and showered. I watched half of the Boondock Saints, and then I slept until 5:00 pm. What a day. I've needed to be a bum like that for a while.
14 September 2001
I watched the Goonies on DVD tonight with the commentary on. I didn't mean to. I was sucked in. And...it totally ruled. But, what happened to Sean Astin during it? He disappeared halfway through the commentary. If anyone knows why, please tell me. I'm curious.
Go to Jim's Big Ego's site. Watch the videos. They are pretty cool.
Sometimes, I see people gather together and act wonderfully, like right now in this country. But then I'm reminded that tons of people are rude dicks. Working in retail can really suck. That's because a lot of people suck. No matter how nice you are to some people, they are still uppity, annoying, impatient, and rude. (I write this because today put many of these people in my path. I wanted to leave work early to escape.) I should probably get a new job someday.
Tomorrow I get to have my car overhauled and tuned up. It's about time.
I started playing with Flash 5 tonight. I made a super short movie of a stick figure moving across a blue and green field. It sucked, but it was only about 10 minutes of playing around. In a month, maybe the stick figure will swing a sword while running across the field. :)
12 September 2001
Watched the Seven Samurai tonight. It seemed kind of fitting, considering all the crazy stuff happening in the world right now. It has people who are invaded by bandits, they team together, and with the help of some samurai, they wipe out the bad guys. Of course, like in any battle, there are tons of casualties on both sides.
I finally got to see a chiropractor. I've been whining about my neck for a long time, and not it's feeling much better. Since my insurance now covers chiropractor visits, I got to go for free. Hoorah.
I've been thinking that pilots should carry guns. If I were a pilot, I'd be packing heat, and knives, and probably a wakizachi. But, I'll never be a pilot, so it doesn't really matter.
I've started listening to Jim's Big Ego again. Go to their site, and check out the animated videos. They rule. I want to do stuff like that.
Oh, yeah. The movie Almost Famous rules. I watched some of it again today. I love it.
Look at this. Derek sucks for making it.
9 September 2001
Here's what I was called at work for making sexy sounding pages: "Velvet-tongued devil." I kind of like that.
The whole household plus guests just watched "Rumble in the Bronx." It's the greatest. Jackie Chan is so the man.
Ok, so I saw the worst marketing idea ever! It an album called Bach for Barbecue. Now, I love Bach. His fugues turn me on. But, damn, who wants to listen to harpsichord while burgers are sizzling on the grill? It just isn't right.
Well, my new stratocaster neck has finally arrived. I can start focusing on my project again. Woo hoo.
Oh, yeah. I've mentioned Neil, the super, amazing guitar tech I go to. Well, I just found a poem I wrote about a visit to his shop years ago, right after his divorce. The quotes are pretty much verbatim.
7 September 2001
Yesterday was Derek's birthday. Happy Birthday, Derek. I'm finally planning some new content and layout for this stupid page. Keep watching. It'll be up soon. I even bought a camera to help me out with it.
I got to work a 12 hour day on Wednesday because someone at work forgot to pass out a music return sheet. I got to show up at 6:00 am (and you know I'm not a morning person). I pulled product, unkeepered it, scanned it out, boxed it up, and then coreected the inventor in the computer. I did that for 12 hours straight. Doesn't that sound suckariffic?
I don't know why, but I watched "Son of Lassie" this morning. I was transfixed -- I simply couldn't stop watching. I feel so manipulated.
30-31 August 2001
Stories about today: Ok, I work in a book store. So, this morning, I walk up to the front counter where the registers are to chat with some coworkers. Well, I'm standing there for about 30 seconds when I start to feel a sharp pain in my left arm. I look down and there's the biggest, ugliest beetle I have ever seen in my whole life, right there, attached to my arm with its pinchers. I shake and jump and swat and the damn thing won't come off of my arm. In the heat of the moment, you know, from feeling the pain from the pinchers and realizing that a huge bug is attached to me, I yell, "FUCK!" very loudly. Keep in mind that I work at a store where tons of yuppies and old people shop. It was funny and interesting to see their expressions. Well, it was pointed out that all of my actions were recorded on the security cameras, so I think we all get to watch me dance around like an idiot during the next store meeting. Yea.
Story 2: Wolf made me an awesome CD of covers from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. I'm super excited. It's full of great stuff.
Well, I was supposed to interview someone today for the music department, but she wussed out. Do you know anyone that wants to work at Borders? I'll be their boss. Won't that be great fun? Ok, later...
27 August 2001
Today is my mom's birthday. We had a cookout for her yesterday. The night before that, we had a housewarming party at my new(ish) house. I can't believe how many people came. It was much more fun than I expected (since I'm not the most social person in the world).
I've been meaning to write more lately, but I've been in a pissy mood for a few weeks. There's so much stupid BS going on that it's not getting much better. Well, until this moment. I'm about to meditate and breathe. Then I'll play guitar for a while and watch some Kenshin. Then I'll say goodbye to the stupid shit that life dishes out. Tomorrow will be better. Perhaps some leftover bar-b-q and some nice red wine left over from the party will help as well. Hmm. (Last bitch...some people are fucking stupid, crazy and/or ridiculously annoying, and it's best to just look past all that.)
On the plus side, I should have enough money in a few weeks to get the amp I've been craving for over a year now. I'm tanked up on guitars, so I shouldn't buy any more for a long while. If any of you see me attempting to buy another guitar, beat me with a big stick (preferably something as soft as a plush doll so I'm not killed). Speaking of plush dolls, you can buy Cthulhu dolls on ebay. They kick ass.
"I know I've seen better days, walking through life like a maze."
9 August 2001
Had a great night tonight. Hung out at Jacob's with him and Todd. We saw the Bolier Room, which rocked. Go rent it. Tomorrow I start working on a strat body -- I have to sand it and see what the wood is like to see if I'm gonna stain it or paint it. I'm thinking I want to make it plaid.
Go check out Todd's site. It's getting pretty good.
Oh, you have to buy Jimmy Eat World's New CD "Bleed American". I'm completely enjoying it -- well produced and performed. I heartily recommend it.
1-2 August 2001
Tonight I mourn for Wolfwood. It's a sad thing. To make myself happier, I played Samurai Asshole. You must play it. This demo game is the greatest. Flash at its best.
On a bright note, Todd has offered to help me build a guitar from scratch. I already have some great ideas and have been reading tons of info online on how to build electric guitars. Derek and I have been discussing some strange ideas on putting electronics from effects pedals in a guitar. If we could wire it right, we could route out some spots to put in a distortion or a delay pedal right in the guitar. It's crazy, but we might be able to make it work. We should probably rip open a $20 Danelectro pedal first to see what makes 'em tick.
If anyone has power tools or wants to help us, please email me.
25 July 2001
Where to begin. So much has been going on. I'm now moved into my new house. It kicks ass. I should have a cable modem hooked up by the weekend. Yea. Both my room and the TV room are wired for surround sound. It's nice here.
Added pics to the photo gallery.
I finally finished the guitar I've been working on with my parents. It looks great. I'll have pics soon. Thanks to Derek for the headstock "aku" design. Here's a pic of the guitar during the sanding process.
I've become somewhat addicted to ebay. I've purchased 2 guitars from there, and I have a strat body on the way. I'll be building a new guitar soon. I have some great ideas for it, though some will remain a secret for a while. I'm super hyped about guitar work right now. I just need some good power tools.
I'm getting my dad's old Gibson reworked and refinished as a surprise gift. I should have it back in a while. He's gonna freak when he sees it.
Picked up the new Joydrop CD. It's great great great. You should get it. Nice rock sound with great female vocals.
8 July 2001
I started moving today. Thanks to Todd and Jacob I got a lot done -- cd's, dvd's, books, bed, dresser, bookcase, desk, instruments, and tons of other random stuff. Hopefully, I'll get most stuff moved by Tuesday and I can wire up the TV room and my bedroom for surround sound and such. Yea. I'm sore, though. And tired.
Today's song quote:
"The years are unforgiving, and the hardest part of life shouldn't be the living." -- remember that...
6 July 2001
Haven't written in a while. Let's see. Last weekend, Derek and Erin were married. It was beautiful. Mary and I played some music for the wedding...something Mary wrote, Pachelbel's Canon in D, "Sweet Avenue" by Jets to Brazil, and "Minty Fresh" by Scooter. Great fun.
I start the big move in 2 days. If anyone wants to help me move, please let me know. I'm pretty excited. My current neighbors suck ass. It'll be nice to have a little more quiet surrounding me. And a porch. And a garage.
My project guitar is ready to be stained and finished. It's been on hold for a few weeks because I've been busy and I hurt my arm, but things are slowing down now, so it should be done in a week or two. Speaking of guitars, I just bought an acoustic on ebay. I think it'll be a gift for someone, but I'm not sure who yet. If I totally love it and can't part with it, I think I might stain it blue. It has a solid cedar top and cherry back and sides, so I'm not sure what kind of stain colors it'll take. It has a walnut fingerboard which kind of weirds me out. But, it was really cheap, so when I get it in a few weeks, I'll let everyone know how it is.
I was going to put up a bunch of new pics, but angelfire is screwing up right now -- so, it'll just have to wait.
23 June 2001
Tonight I went to see one of the best folk bands in the world: Eddie from Ohio. It kicked ass. I enjoyed every moment of it. I don't go see live music that often these days, so seeing a group that uses harmony so well and that's full of energy and talent just makes me happy...it reminds me of the good parts of being in a folk band.
I'm listening to "Let Me Be Your Song" from Fraggle Rock. Didn't that show rock?
Song quote of the day: "I'll be alright in the ocean of your mind."
15 June 2001
Saw Tomb Raider tonight. Read my thoughts on the movie.
So, my car didn't escape the flood totally unharmed. Part of the electrical system and the battery died. There went $200 from my amp fund. That sucks. At least I had the money and hadn't already purchased my amp.
10-11 June 2001
Survived the huge flood that destroyed so much of Houston. Read what happened to me during the flood.
Haven't been able to get to my parents' house to work on my guitar because of the weather. I'm still hyped about it. But, I found a catalog that I'd tucked away for Stewart MacDonald, a guitar parts company. I found some amazing things in there -- so, after I move and take care of a few other things (new amp, saving for recording sessions), I'm going to buy a bunch of parts and build my own guitar. It's going to be a hollow body Telecaster kind of thing. I'm strangely confident that I'll do a great job with it even though most of the process will be new territory for me.
As always, feel free to send cash, money orders, or personal checks to any of the following causes.
Look at the wonderful and numerous things I found in my locker at work.Attn: Mike B.
- The New Amp for MNB fund
- The Recording Sessions for All Charity
- The Guitar Builders Union
9633-A Westheimer Rd.
Houston, TX 77063
5 June 2001
Just added sound clips to the music page. I'm about to waste my day off watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (again) and sleeping on the couch. Yea.
Received the Co-Pilot picks. If anyone wants one, tell me where to send it.
4-5 June 2001
It's official. Amy and I are moving into a big house in July with our friend Heather. It should be pretty sweet. I get to turn the garage into a wood shop and martial arts center. If anyone wants to help me move, please do so. I would completely love the help. But, I think everyone I know has decided not to help anyone else move ever again (I've reached that point as well), so I'm sure I won't get any help. So, go to hell. Yeah, you heard me...
1 June 2001
Added lyrics to my band info page. Amy and I were going to record sound clips last night, but she spent the entire night on the internet looking at antique purses (while I fell asleep on the couch watching Chasing Amy).
Spent the afternoon hanging out with the local bad-ass guitar tech, the amazing Neil Sargent. He taught me a lot about instrument making and the coolness of different types of wood. He also fixed up three of my guitars. Yea.
28 May 2001
We have a winning phrase for the guitar picks. "Otaku No Co-Pilot". I'm going to order them tomorrow.
Closed the store (Borders) for the first time by myself. How exciting. It's Memorial Day, so people should have been home bar-b-q-ing, but they all decided to buy books instead. I had to chase people away with a big stick, waving my fist and screaming. Well, not exactly, but close.
27 May 2001
Started a big project today. I took my first electric guitar, an old, beat-up, scratched, dinged, poorly-painted Washburn, and I decided to make it beautiful. I took it completely apart, and my dad and I started sanding and stripping it. I found out that the people who had the guitar before me did some awful things to the instrument. I hadn't used the guitar in a long time, but it suddenly started calling to me. I've wanted to rebuild and refinish a guitar for some time. It turns out that this guitar is made from very nice wood. I think that in about a month I'll have something beautiful. I'm glad I finally saw the potential beauty of my guitar. There's a lot to do. A lot. I took some pictures, so I'll post them soon.
24 May 2001
Went to a listening party at Southwest Wholesale tonight for Radiohead's new album which comes out next month. Had a blast. Free pizza and beer. The CD is good. Keep a look out for track 5 -- it was far and away the best song on the album. Thanks to Jimmy.
22 May 2001
Season Finales for my three weekly hours of TV: Buffy, Angel, and Dark Angel.
My comment: What the fuck?! I mean, what the fucking fuck?!! Everthing ended in a freaky, fucked up downer way. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. But, wow...
In the moments after watching my 3 depressing hours of TV, I flipped to a channel that was just added to our cable, the I-channel. It's the best. I saw a Chinese kung fu movie dubbed in Hindi (or something like that). However, the company that dubbed it obviously didn't have the technology to just dub the voices, so they redubbed all the sounds for the movie. It sounded like three or four guys were in a sound booth with a few props and their voices. These few guys did every voice. Listening to them trying to do crowd scenes was hilarious. And to top it off, sitar music was added to some of the scenes. It was so cool. I love this channel.
19 May 2001
A Tai Chi group did a demonstration at work today. It was great. They did a combination of hard and soft style forms, and showed off some weapons. They even let me handle the swords. Apparently, I was beaming the entire time. Their website is www.chengjincai.com. It's not the greatest site, but they were nice people. Very talented. I'm thinking of taking a kung fu or Tai Chi class. We'll see how my schedule and finances treat me in the next few months. I'm still saving up for my new amp, so that will absorb most of my money. Blah.
18 May 2001
(Initial content censored)
Tonight is a party at the house used in the movie Reality Bites. Banana Blender Surprise is also playing tonight. Decisions decisions...
I'm about to add new pictures, so check out the photo gallery. Amy's been too lazy to give me lyrics, and Derek won't record anything, so who knows when the band info page will be updated.
I'm designing guitar picks for Co-Pilot. Help me design them.
12 May 2001
I have been promoted at my goofy retail job. I am now the "Multimedia Supervisor" for Borders Books and Music #70. That means I now run the Music/DVD department. Bow down before my authority. Do my bidding.
Please.
I just started rehearsals with a new band. We're called "Co-Pilot." The eventual goal is to mix Mazzy Star with Hum and to let Derek add "nightmarish" sounds with his many pedals. I secretly call us the "River Bottom Nightmare Band." We were originally "All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl."
To learn more, click here.
I bought my first item on ebay. Yes, I bought another guitar. It's a cheap copy of a Telecaster, but it's very pretty, has a good sound, and plays remarkably well. I'm pleased.