Into The Blue

Trips into the unknown depth of human perception ...and other overcrowded voids of blissful ignorance.

Apr 19, 2010

Autopsy of a Rock Band

Posted by chris

Playing in a rock band starts out to be the most fun you
could possibly have. After a while you end up hating each
other with such a passion that you'd rather get on a
tour bus with Oprah or share the back seat of this beaten up
ford with a VD-infested junkie than sit next to these
arrogant, pizza-faced band members.
Nevertheless, Bands never dissolve, they split up. Ten
years later they regret splitting up and play together
again,which tends to be as exciting as three times reheated
scrambled eggs or dating that ex-girlfriend...

Playing in a rock band can be anything from romantic to
deadly boring. But most of all it means waiting.
Charlie Watts,the Rolling Stones' drummer, said once:
"I've been playing with the Stones for 30 years now, 28 of
which I spent waiting."
Drummers and Bass players wait the most. They're usually
dependable characters, that are content with staying in the
background and pulling the strings. Drummers and Bass
players wait for Guitarists and Singers.

The differences between Singers and Guitar players are
almost negligible: Both seem to have a few screws loose,
where Singers try to present their handicap to as big a
crowd as they can. Guitar Players only need their amp.

Drummers are, as mentioned, reliable guys that like to hang
 out with musicians.
There are two kinds of rock drummers, The first category
obviously never took his Ritalin as a child, while the
other likes to drink large amounts of alcohol and eats the
animals who's skins he keeps hitting.
Even if bands like to joke about drummers, musicians know
that without a good drummer a band sounds like a bunch of
raging morons.

Non-musicians rarely understand the vitally important role a
drummer plays in a band. That makes drummers sad. And since
the only method of anger-management they have learned is
hitting things with sticks, they hit bigger and bigger
things with bigger and bigger sticks and are drawn to
monster-sized bass drums and Cymbals the size of Chicago,
that will rupture your brain and cause blood to squirt out
of your ears at the slightest hit.
Drummers are the only band members that rarely or never
play air-guitar and seem to be pretty sensible in general.
Guitarists couldn't survive without their 6-string
phallus. Anyone that has ever watched guitar players in a
music store, trying out new instruments, will immediately be
reminded of a 4-year old who just discovered his penis and
is proudly showing it to anyone present. (Apparently with a
guitar this is still fun even if you are older than 4)
Guitar players aren't just egomaniacs with a
phallus-fixation, but they are also world champion tech
talkers. Nobody else can spend so much time talking about
essentially useless details of Guitars, amps and effects.
No one else would spend shitloads of money to buy a useless
luxury item just because it was built by a specific company
in a specific country in a specific year, with a specific
serial number. Guitar players do that sort of thing all the
time.

Now being endowed with such a massive penis-complex, Guitar
players always fear somebody else could have a bigger one.
That's why they're always buying new guitars and, more
important,bigger amps and speakers.
The common wet dream among them is playing a 7-neck guitar in front of a Chinese
wall made from speakers. Who's listening to them is
secondary, Guitar players are fine by themselves, as long
as they have a guitar.

Guitar players are defined by these 4 so called
guitar-legends:


1. I can't hear myself!
2. I'll turn myself down.
3. I've practiced.
4. Next time I'll know the song.

Bass players frequently are former guitar players that
never returned after their first lesson. This is sufficient
to play in almost any rock band. Their lethargy is usually
mistaken for "laid-backness" and they overcompensate their
lack of talent with big and voluminous speakers. Over the
years, however they do acquire some skills and want to do
more than always play badly timed eighths on the E-
string.
Now they have two choices: Either they start playing Jazz
or they leave the band. Since bass players usually don't
have the energy to do this on their own, they end up buying
a bigger amp or a devise a 5 minute solo on an 8-string
bass.
Now lets talk about singers.
Singers are actually bass players that missed the bus to
the first guitar-lesson. They are lazy-ass egomaniacs that
think carrying a microphone is a lot of work. They suffer
from delusions of grandeur and sometimes,for no reason
whatsoever, manage to convince the audience of their
superiority. We call this charisma.
Charisma could be a crazy haircut, embarrassing
clothes,spitting at the crowd,shooting up heroin, the lead
role in a Snoop-Dog porno or something as harmless as
biting the heads off bats. - Things that would get anyone
else locked up in a closed ward.
Outsiders, or better yet, fans usually overestimate the
importance of the singer, because he stands in the front
row and appears to be commanding the stage with a wave of
his hand.
In reality there is a silent concord among the rest of the
band to make that fool in front look good. That's why
singers (with very few exceptions) without their band are
helpless children that, when faced with decisions like
choosing pizza toppings or picking a tv station, will have
a nervous breakdown, start crying and call for their
manager.
And then, when they're really depressed, they'll write
sobby, heartwrenching songs about how bad life is treating them. If that
doesn't help, they reach for a guitar - like everyone else
-except for drummers.

Apr 8, 2010

A really cool short film.

Posted by chris
Apr 4, 2010
Posted by chris

I really like this clip.

Apr 3, 2010

The tlp paradox revisited

Posted by chris


OK, I admit it, I'm spoiled. I grew up in Germany.
I was a geeky kid that could write software before I knew that girls are good for more than dumping itching-powder down their T-shirts.
I could set up and operate a PA system before I even was a teenager. While other kids were playing soccer, I was trying to get my Commodore 64 to do 3d graphics or building a lightshow for a friends band.
With puberty came Rock 'n' Roll. And then touring. But that is another story...
Anyway it's no surprise I ended up beeing an Audio and Video engineer, even if it was a long and winding road.

As a young, aspiring musician (well not really aspiring – to busy living for that), I had many different jobs and therefor aquired many different skills to complement what I had learned at engineering school and on the road as a Soundtech and roadie. From construction to demolition, from driving a truck to driving a forklift, from factory work to computer tech, from barkeeping to Dj-ing, whatever I was doing, there was always something to learn from the experience.

Anyway, to get back to the point,
I'm spoiled. I grew up in Germany.
I grew up in a place where powerlines run underground, trains run on time, roads are built (and maintained) for speeds over 200 km/h and Cars are built that much better.
Actually, now that I think about it, pretty much everything is built a little better..
Which brings me to todays topic:
The three little pigs
or a comparison of building things
I've been living in Canada for a little more than two years now and still my attention stumbles over little things on a daily basis. And, since I am a techie, a lot of those things are related to how things are built. Now,many of you will say that, when it comes to engineering, comparing anyone with German engineers is not a fair match. But I'll do it anyway! After all, Germany is my base of reference. (I'm spoiled – remember?)
So, one of the most obvious things that caught my attention, was the way houses are built.
Now I'm well aware of the fact that wood is much more plentyful in Canada than pretty much anywhere else in the world and therefor a cheap material for building.
However at some level logic must kick in. Does it really make sense to build a house in a way that needs major renovations every 20 years or so, that will completly burn down in any fire and be flattened by every storm, just because its cheaper? Won't you end up paying twice?
This is what I call the "three little pig paradox"
Now I have written about this before, but this time I'd like to take a closer look.
Now this is the way houses are built here. The main structure is made entirly of wood framing and plywood or fibreboard panels.
Note that not a single wall is standing, yet the roof is up. The walls are made of above mentioned panels and drywall on the inside with insulation and vapor barriers inbetween. Everything you see in this picture will burn to ashes..
Ok, this is the way its done in Germany. The walls are made of brick and the floors are steel reinforced concrete. The roof is built when the top floor walls are completed.
Nothing in this picture will burn.
(except for the trees)

Look familiar...?

...and what happens next?
Okay, I can't get over the three little pigs thing. But come on, it's a nursery rhyme and every child gets the message.
Everybody? Really? So why the hell are there scenes like this:

 "I'll huff and I'll puff ..."

Note that the trees are still standing, but the house is flattened.
Makes me wonder how many times this will occur when you live in the tornado-belt...?
Building insurance must be hell.





...I told you so...


Yes, I know there are no tornados in Germany.
But there are storms with windspeeds that are right up there. (Of course their cars are even faster)
I actually had a really hard time finding pictures of storm damage in Germany.
Most of the pictures I found were ads for roofing companies and looked something like this:

Note that in this before/after pic the trees are trashed (and needed to be cut up for removal) while the house only had minor damage to the roof.
Alegedly this was taken after a record breaking, hurrican-like storm in Germany.
All of the pictures I found in my pain staking research (funny what an empty google search box and a joint will reveal) had one thing in common:
Usually, only the roof was damaged and the structure stayed unharmed.
Once again I'm aware that a Tornado will do significantly more damage due to its aerodynamics, but I dare to say that this type of building would still be habitable if you dont mind broken windows and a slight draft in the upper floors..
But I guess that's what you could call home builders poker:
"I'll build a house for 350000 and maybe, just maybe, if no Tornado comes by and flattens it or no fire burns it to the ground because of a faulty toaster, it'll last for about 15 years before I have to invest another 150000...."

Or you could build it storm-proof and fire-retardant for 500000 and sleep easy because it'll be at least 30 years before you start to think a new paintjob wouldn't hurt... and your grandkids might at some point want to redo the wiring...

Go figure.

Talking about wiring, that's another favourite subject of mine...

Just have a look at these pictures:
North America: Germany:
Hmm. I wonder which version is more likely to catch fire...?
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
I often wonder why there is such a difference in what I'd call 'quality of work' between two countries that both rightfully belong to the big league of nations. It can't be about wealth or knowledge, so what is it? In todays interconnected world anyone can benefit from the mistakes of others (...if they're not to busy laughing about them).
Product availability also can't be the issue on this global market, nor can it be the level of education in those countries.
So, in a brave effort to solve this dilemma, I've developed a theory.
I believe it comes down to mentality, to an attitude, to the deeply endoctrinated understanding what is good enough, to the summed up influence of your surroundings.
If you grow up in an environment where good enough means 110%, where there is no such thing as close enough (no wonder they don't play horseshoes) ,where being on time means being 5 minutes early, where one minute late is to late, well, I'd say that will have some kind of effect on the way you set your standards.
So where in one country it's drilled in your head to be exact, punktual and thorough, in the other country the dominating doctrines could be to be polite, considerate and friendly. So what you get are two groups of people with two different sets of priorities, views, skills and attitudes. And this is the point where my theory comes full circle. (Kinda nice how that worked out.)
So where in Germany people protest because the national railways has an average delay of 3 minutes, the train schedule in Canada only reads: "frequent service"
Where the Canadian patiently waits in line, the German will use his elbows to get a better position.
One country has better engineers, the other better hockey players. One is efficiant, the other friendly.
Both like to drink beer and travel to other countries.
Cheers!




My Generation

Posted by chris

Warning:Don't read if you were born after 1980!
Children today are being pampered way to much. Looking back to our childhood it's hard to believe we even survived. As kids we sat in cars without safety belts and airbags. Our cribs were painted with colors full of led and cadmium. The bottles from the drugstore were as easy to open for us as they were for our parents. We skated and rode our bikes without ever wearing a helmet! We built soap box racers only to discover halfway down the hill that brakes would have been a good idea.After a few crashes we came to terms with that. We left the house in the morning and didn't have to be home until the street lights came on. No one knew where we were and we didn't even have a cell phone!
We cut ourselves, broke bones and teeth and nobody  got sued for it. It was simply everyday accidents with no one to blame but ourselves.We fought each other until we were black and blue - and we had to deal with it ourselves - adults didn't care to get involved. ("You kids figure this out by yourselves.")
We ate sweets, bread with loads of Nutella, we drank plenty of coke. We'd never seen bottled water and we'd share our food and drink with our friends without having to fear somebody getting sick or dying from this.
We didn't have:Playstations, Nintendo64, X-Box, MP3, 100 channels of TV, Sourround Sound, our own TV, Cell phones, Laptops, Internet, Chatrooms.
We had Friends!
We just went outside and met them on the street, or we went over to their house and rang the door bell. Sometimes we didn't even have to ring or knock - we just walked inside. And this without our parents knowledge or the need to arrange play-dates.
We invented games with sticks and tennis balls without putting out each others eyes. If you wanted to be on a team of street soccer you had to be good. If you weren't, you'd learn to live with disappointment.
Some students weren't  as smart as others, they failed tests and repeated school years. This didn't lead to emotional PTA-meetings or ever adjustment of scoring grades.
What we did sometimes had consequences. We knew that and no one could hide. If we got in trouble with the law, we knew that our parents wouldn't automatically get us out - quite often they agreed with the police.
We played in the dirt and there were plenty of germs everywhere, and we actually developed an immune system that would allow us to fight off colds and flues with nothing but chicken soup.
We climbed trees, jumped our BMX bikes over ramps and listened to heavy metal without shooting anyone or commiting suicide. We didn't need metal detectors or security forces in our schools and we'd walk or ride to school alone in second grade.
TV's were black and white and we actually had to get up and walk to the set to change to one of the other 3 channels that went off the air around midnight..
We made mixed tapes with songs recorded from the radio. CDs weren't invented yet and our Rockstars actually had to sing and play live for years before they became famous.


We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibility. We learned to think for ourselves and to take responsibility for our actions.
We were Heroes!

Apr 2, 2010

Bottled Water.

Posted by chris

Finally somebody says it like it is...

http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

Mar 31, 2010
Posted by chris

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

~ Dennis Wholey


Sigmund FreudThe first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.



John F. KennedyMankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.


Katherine MansfieldRisk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.