In the meantime, if you are looking for Muukii's Newsblog just go HERE.
I've just given it a brand new home. Hope you like the changes. YOU MAY NOW POST RESPONSES to what I've put up, so please do!
Muukii's Newsblog (in my hopes and dreams, anyway) is dedicated to unearthing the hidden and obscure nuggets of information that question and perhaps contradict what we receive in mainstream media. Of course, it's open to adding two cents to the topic of the day as well. Sometimes I just like to say "check out this cool stuff!". Mostly, I like to talk about politics, (the building of Utopia, the obstacles in our way), science & exploration, and the paranormal (or "Forteana"). But if you want to introduce a topic, go ahead.
And rather than re-posting all the old stuff, I've created a new ARCHIVE page for the older posts.
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Rant: v.&n. -n.1.intr.use bombastic language.
2.tr. & intr. declaim, recite theatrically.3.tr. & intr.
preach noisily
n.. 1.a piece of ranting, a tirade.
2.empty, turgd talk. ranter
n.rantingly n.[Du. ranten rave]
March 29, 2004
I think it's finally safe to say this, so: it looks like spring has finally arrived. Today is the first day I can REALLY smell it. We'd better not get any more damn snow. Last year I opened my yap and we got slammed again. Here's hoping there's no repeat. Think I'll go squish some mud between my toes...
If anybody in the Newmarket area is looking for good Sunday night open jam you should check out Fitzy's Crabshack on Main. I've had a couple of fun nights there now as their 'featured' guitarist. I think Paul knows every song ever recorded.
March 14, 2004
Playing some acoustic sets down at the RED LION PUB on Jarvis in Toronto for St. Patrick's Day. Should be a hoot. If someone wants to start a pool and see how many Irish songs this Finn-boy can learn in 3 days, go right ahead.
March 11, 2004
I'm just about ready to dive back in and try to finish re-vamping around here, so again apologies to everyone if things aren't working properly from time to time.
One of the most under-reported stories of this year has to be the dissappearance and suicide of Spalding Grey, a great and under-heralded performer and writer. The very sad story is summed up here in the CNN.com obituary, "Spalding Gray found dead. Body of writer, actor found in East River". In a strange twist, one of his dear friends had written a a kind of 'pre-emptive eulogy' (which as Mr. Xerxes points out, is both absurdist and appropriate) when he disappeared. Here's the beautiful tribute to the man, "Is Spalding Gray Finally Swimming to Cambodia?".
I continue to add to my NewsBlog from time to time, but NO ONE else has chimed in yet. It may be that it's just too hard to find right now, and for that I apologise. I've yet to make a direct link button to that page. For now, go HERE.
Spring is coming soon! Only 10 days to go.
February 11, 2004
Okay, I know I'm not alone on this one, so can we all PLEASE get over the Janet Jackson titty-flash? Was anyone actually offended by it? It has me completely bored. Why are people freaking out about THIS while there's so much violence? Why are "news" programs (hello CNN!) STILL talking about it? It was a lame stunt. End of story.
Enough already!
Also, there's one more thing I'd like to add to Lake Superior State's Banished Word List: MAKEOVER. Besides being a clumsily constructed compound word, it is over-used beyond belief. TV, magazines, malls, it's just everywhere. Someone please pull the plug on this abomination of the english language!
February 9, 2004
Well, I had a good time at the Firehouse and Loplops last weekend. Crowds were a bit small, but I had a couple of good shows none the less. Looking forward to getting back into both venues; solo at Loplops this weekend (see gig schedule below), and tentatively with ATM March 13th at The Firehouse.
I continue to update and re-organize around here. I've created a new home for the weblog that used to be on this front page. You can now find it HERE at "MUUKII'S NEWSBLOG". You can now post replies to the stuff I put up, so get involved!
The above pic was taken about an hour before I hit the stage last Friday in the Soo...Kinda scary.
This update March 30, 2003
The snow has all but melted away at this point. The sun just plowed through them in a matter of 5 days. Tonight there's a few flurries falling; but it's just the last, toothless attack, before hibernation. There was ONE thunder clap this morning, then the front blew over (with some wind) and this moved in.
Anyhoo...
I talk about the weather.
Uh...there's this war going on, and I feel the need to express my opinion and spread some ideas. 'Think I might start a weblog kinda thing this week. Stay tuned!!
This update March 12, 2003
Well, it seems that at last winter is finally loosening
it's grip on this part of the world. I don't want to jinx
anything, but with the 'official' start of spring looming
only 10 days away, I think we've had quite enough of -20
to -40 C weather. And we've plenty of snow too, thank you
very much, for the entire year. The snowbanks on my street
are piled up higher than me; and I can't remember
accumulations like this since I was a kid in grade 6 (many,
MANY years ago) growing up in the Soo. Did you know that
this was the first year in over a decade that a Great Lake
froze over completely? And not just one, but 3! Huron,
Superior and Erie have all turned into giant rinks. It really
is remarkable.
Links here:
Minnesota Climatology
CBC
Today was the first day in months that I could go without my
huge skiing gloves out-of-doors, and not freeze my fingers
to the bone. What a joy! And I could start my car and
drive right away, without warming it up for 10 minutes first.
It feels a little like a reprieve. A rebirth even.
Though I pride myself on being born and bred to handle (and
even enjoy!) the cold and snow, I say: Enough is enough! I'm
ready for some warm sun and the smell of mud. I'm ready to
hear the sound of kids playing OUTside in the schoolyard
behind my house. I'm ready to wear less clothes. I'm ready
for SPRING.
My fancy waterfront digs.
DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THE FOLLOWING "UPDATE" IS ACTUALLY ALREADY 10 DAYS OLD!!
(from August 15, 2001)
Ok, I love hot weather, but it's been 6 weeks now since there's been a decent rain, and
things are now tinder dry. It's been so hot that Lake Huron is now a jump-right-in
swimmin' hole. I have not wanted to come out of that water for 2 1/2 WEEKS now.
Every now and then some false relief comes in the form of noisy but breif thunderstorms.
They never leave enough water for the plants. Usually they just make it unbearably
humid afterwards, as the sun evaporates the rain out of the ground before it can sink in.
Then it hangs in the air, poaching you alive in the sun.
This is the time of year when you start to see the end of summer coming. Suddenly it's
August... then the middle of August... I'm sure I've played enough golf, but I have not
caught nearly enough fish. I caught my first fish of the year TODAY. It was a nice
adolescent walleye, about 2 pounds or so, long and skinny. I got him by the big spring on
Miller Lake. A place where I've never had any luck, and a species I've never caught
before EVER. This beautiful animal that cunningly resisted my efforts to bring her in.
She kept diving into the bright green algae trying to get some some slack, and shaking
her head. After I brought it in I just sat there looking at the thing like it was some alien.
I wasn't thinking about how good that fish would taste (and believe me it would taste
AMAZING), my only thought was to put it back. It earned it. Only after I got home did I
regret that decision, and then only a little. I'm just outta practice, man.
Leaves on the trees are already starting to lose their green. Evenings are getting cooler,
and the air starting to get THAT smell. People discuss their fall plans in hushed voices,
trying not to let summer hear.
It's time for the annual meteor shower as we pass through the tail of a long-passed-by
comet. With the moon not rising until well into the night, it has made for some
spectacular viewing. Also, the combined International Space Station and docked Shuttle
make for a very bright celestial object to observe at night. Squeeze all you can out of the
remaining days and nights, ye summer wanderers!
UPDATES:
Mark Kuntsi's LAST APPEARANCE FOR THE SUMMER at the "Crowsnest Pub" in Tobermory, Ontario is this
Wednesday August 29. Thursday August 30th Stephen Fearing is doing his his thing. Thanks to all who have helped make it a great season!
Here's a "bonus photo" of Colin Halyk and myself making good music at the Crowsnest Pub.
(from July 12, 2001)
ahhh....
Is it only because I'm getting older that each summer seems to go by more quickly, and in
more of a blur? Or is it because I work AND play harder during the summer lately --
causing exhaustion to settle a hazy aura around events and people and places? Working
40-50 hours a week at an insane pace, fishing, golf, swimming, hooking up with old
friends, meeting plenty of new ones... Can it be just the cumulative effect? hmmm... I
can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's just the nature of the season. All that exposure
to the hot sun may simply addle the brain somehow. Perhaps there is a scientific
explanation. There usually is. Sometimes I think that it's simply an instinctual thing.
Most of us ARE sun-worshippers on some kind of primal level. Whatever your religion
may be, there's a fundamental comfort that comes from feeling the warmth of the sun on
your back. It's like a mother's caress of her newborn. No words need to be exchanged.
Have you ever closed your eyes and tilted your face toward the sun just to watch your
blood through your eyelids? Its not something you tend to think of doing in the winter.
Mostly, you just wanna get inside, or get moving down the ski slope again.
Maybe that's it: since you can just lounge around outside in comfort, you tend to pause a
little more. Literally stop and smell the roses. Feel a breeze on your face coming off a
lake. Take a moment to smell the breeze. Listen. Waves. A bird calls. Distant traffic.
Something hangs in the air all season with a kind of stored kinetic energy. Like a ball
that's reached an apex and stops to admire the view. There's no hurry - plenty of time to
fall. Later.
It's summer. Get outside.
Cats know what I'm talking about.
Just find a warm place in a ray of sunshine, and mellow slow....
(from June 26th, 2001)
Hello and welcome!! I've just recently re-attached myself to the 'net and will hopefully find time
during my busy work & gig schedule to do a lot of updates on the site this summer.
This Thursday I start my slate of regular appearances at the Crowsnest Pub in beautiful
Tobermory, Ontario. I play a blend of acoustic folk, blues, country & punk, most every Wednesday
and Thursday. Exceptions will be for concerts by Valdy, Stephen Fearing, and Carlos Del Yunco.
If you come by during any other day of the week, you may find me fetching your beer.
Let's just say I know the room pretty well.
I now have a place right at the very tip of Warner Point on the west side of the Bruce Peninsula.
Pretty cool. It's quite a mind-expanding experience to look out your back window and see
water meet the horizon. And now that Huron is (*just) warm enough to swim, it makes for an ideal
place to spend a long, hot summer.
Apologies to anyone who was geared to come to our band's show at the Vox club on the 15th.
We had too many links in the chain of communication with the club, and dates got "mislaid".
The club has graciously given us a head-lining date to make up for it on the 24th of August.
There may be an opening band, but expect us to play a full two sets at the very least. We hope to get out a
REALLY good turn-out for this one to make a good impression on the club
(from April26th, 2001)
Well, it's a bit late but Happy Easter to everyone. This is a picture of a couple of actual bunnies that I took
during Easter in the backyard of some friends of mine. Actually, it was during my stay in Fingal
at Dan and Jigger's for the annual broomball weekend! Click on the link immediately below to find out more.
Our second gig went very well at the Vox club a coupla' weeks ago. As promised we DID rock much harder.
It's a shame that less people were there to see it this time. It was cool though, 'cause a
whole different set of old friends made it out.
(This is from February 1, 2001)
Who let the dogs IN???
Whoof. Whoof-woof. Woof-woof. If someone else asks me "who let the dogs out", I'm
gonna snap, I swear. Just what the hell has been happening?!? Where did this damnable
song come from? Why am I constantly subjected to, and tortured by this inane one-line
lyric "song" with its soccer-hooligan-chant-from-the-canine-world accompaniment? I'm
deathly afraid that this may be a symptom of our society's ills. Frankly, I'm at the end of
my rope.
It gets you everywhere: at the hockey game, or any pro sporting event, T.V., radio,
shopping malls, your little brother's stereo. Nowhere is sacred or safe. While watching a
hockey game, and sucking on a beer, I wondered to myself: Whatever happened to the
arena organist? The live band? The poetry reading? It seems that these days the
entertainment experience is becoming more and more pre-packaged. The corporate urge
towards homogeneity becomes more pronounced
daily. Who decided that we want to hear "Hell's Bells" before every face-off? People
seem unwilling to provide a genuine experience. I'll admit that I'm a traditionalist, and a
ritualist, and I like the idea of being involved in something that has entertained
generations, rather than picking up on ALL the latest fads. "Up to the minute" often
means "frivolous", and "flash-in-the-pan" (remember Tiffany or New Kids on the
Block?). Hold on to what's good, y'know? Does a revolution have to start from scratch?
In an accelerated culture like our own, it's comforting that I can go to a AAA baseball
game, or a community theatre production, and have the same experience that someone 80
years ago could've had. It gives me a sense of the continuity of life. That the meaning
runs deeper than our few decades here. But sadly, as each day goes by another organist
gets "improved upon" by a DJ who spins classic rock and the latest thing we can chant
along to. Everything becomes a marketing tool. Media is everywhere (yes, in your
bedroom too), hammering you with the same ads, the same logos, the same songs. And,
now we're back to my life's latest bane, that damned "Who Let the Dogs Out". Are we
really expected to feel cool while barking along with this abomination? This song was
vexing upon the first listen, and I've heard it dozens and dozens of times since. Enough!
Car commercials, movie promos, television talk shows and entertainment magazines, on
and on and on. ARGH! When I go to the ball game, I wanna hear "Take Me Out to the
Ball Game" played by someone live. I wanna know that someone is up there in that little
booth, sweatin' and givin' it up. And most of all I wanna know who let those damned
dogs in.
(This is from January 29rd, 2001)
Here's a shot of me tuning up during the recording sessions for the Another 1000 Miles CD.
It looks like we may start gigging in earnest soon (Earnest? where the hell is Earnest??). Actually,
we seem to have some shows in the Soo near the end of February. Can you say Rock n' Roll road trip?
With mom's cookin'?
Also, we have just finished signing the contracts for the movie soundtrack,
and have also
applied to the big North by Northeast music festival in Toronto (June 7-9, 2001-my birthday kicks it off!).
Wish us luck, or even "good lucky".
(from January 9th, 2001)
Well, if you ever doubted that I was a bit of a scary sight in the morning, the photo above should confirm the horrifying truth.
But I didn't include that photo just to scare small children, no. We are at the dawn of a new millienium, and hopefully a new age of mankind. Though hopefully not a "new-agey" new age. I certainly feel the tension growing between the forces of common sense versus the forces of the fast buck. Will we ever stop our short-sighted, destructive ways? Can an economy of the spirit take hold? Will the "old boys" networks loosen their grip on the power structures of the world? Will the auto manufacturers start making more ecologically sound vehicles? Will all the editorial mumbo-jumbo on this website ever stop? Likely not. At least anytime soon. But something's gotta give. We've become too proficient at turning heaven into hell. Paradise into parking lots. This is a heavy-duty, symbolic new day for us all and, like me in the photo above, we need a shit, shower, and shave....
I hope to start overhauling this website to give a clearer idea of what I do and what I care about.
More writing ABOUT things will be showcased here. Perhaps even some fiction will show up. But besides that I would also like to open the discussion to the few who come here from time to time. Email me with your ideas and writings. I would like to make this site more than just a place where you can check in on my nomadic life. So....
A special Happy Birthday!! goes out to my brother Mike!! Happy 38th, dude!!
