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Alex, Neil, and Geddy at the Canadian Songwriter's Hall Of Fame Gala, March 28, 2010. I'm kvelling!
April 4, 2010
Just when you thought it was safe to leave Photoshop open....:O)
April 2, 2010
Forget the happy dance from the last blog: I found something way better. I went to my doctor on Wednesday morning and got a prescription antihistamine called Xyzal plus a bottle of nose spray called Veramyst. I have two weeks' worth of medication to get through before I can pronounce myself cured but I'm on the fast track already. Are four boxes of Kleenex in as many days fast enough? Of course I always use Kleenex with lotion because my tender little nose chafes easily. Awwww, isn't that sweet? :OP
At the butt crack of dawn this morning I watched a cool CBC interview with Alex and Geddy. It's almost an hour long but well worth sitting through, especially the part where Geddy says "Y-Y-Zed." That's how Canadians pronounce the letter Z but that's the first time I've heard a Rush band member say it, particularly in reference to a Rush song.
Today the movie Strange Brew arrived from Netflix. It was exactly what I expected it would be: a fun, silly, cheeseball, 90 minute trip to Hoser Town. First of all, the McKenzie brothers had fuzzy dice on the rear view mirror of their van. They ROCK! (I have fuzzy dice in my car, too; does that mean I'm a hoser?). Even better were the location scenes filmed in downtown Toronto. My "money shot" was
the van flying past the CN Tower before plummeting into Toronto Harbor.
I felt bad for the McKenzie Brothers because they were in the van at the time but it was still frickin AWESOME!! The theatrical movie trailer included on the DVD has a clip of Geddy's vocals from the song Take Off, although the song does not appear in the movie. And I'm afraid to ask how they hired Mel Blanc, king of the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner cartoon voice work, to provide the voice of Bob and Doug's father. After the movie I took off to the backyard and fed the squirrels, where I got some great video footage of the sand hill cranes.
My day is now officially complete so I'm settling in for a relaxing night at home. I have Saturday off from work so I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet weekend recuperating from my allergies, celebrating the end of the winter term at school, and taking a break from the exhausting daily ritual of over-the-top housecleaning to impress potential buyers. I had fun staging Casa de Shiksa from a realtor's point of view but now I have to maintain that staging every day while still living here and it's a major pain in the ass. What aggravates me more is that I didn't have any input into making the decision to sell the house. As a former real estate agent, I assumed my experience in that profession would have at least a smidge of value. I assumed wrong. Hell, I didn't even get a vote as someone who lives here. **insert tired sigh**
Anyhoo, here's my video of the sand hill cranes: "wildlife photography at its finest." :O)
March 28, 2010
After a 6-day run at work I'm taking advantage of my day (and night) off relaxing at home, doing laundry and recuperating from allergies. I took Day Quil yesterday but it didn't provide much relief, so on the way home I stopped at Walgreens and got Advil Allergy Sinus. (Cue happy dance). I knew I'd found the good stuff when I had to show photo ID and sign for it. That's what you have to do now for any over the counter medication containing pseudoephederine. Drug dealers buy such medication in large quantities to use for illegal manufacturing purposes, so pharmacies are required to document all sales with photo ID's and signatures. Uggghhh.
While I was at the pharmacy signing my life away, the pharmacist noticed the photo of Geddy on the front of my ID pouch. He asked who that was, and after I told him, he and the pharmacy technician remarked that Geddy bore a striking resemblance to one of their regular customers. Really now....hmmmm.....
Work and school consume most of my time these days. I work part time as a receptionist in a tax office but it feels like a full time job. I'm looking forward to the break between semesters where I'll only have work to worry about. The term starts on April 13 and the gig ends on April 15 but I have to miss the first three classes because they were only offered in the daytime and I'm already scheduled to work during the day. My daytime school schedule will take priority on April 19th, and I am soooo ready.
The other big event at Casa de Shiksa is my recent discovery of a fabulous hair product called Wen. I saw it on an infomercial and was intrigued, so I ordered a 3-bottle sample pack to try out different "flavors" (Sweet Almond Mint is the best). After the first use I noticed an immediate, dramatic improvement in how my hair looked and felt. I've been using it almost a month and I'm totally hooked! As God as my witness I will never use regular shampoo again! Click here to find out more about Wen.
March 16, 2010
Here's the 2010 version of the Casa de Shiksa video highlighting recent cosmetic improvements for the real estate market, and how my Rush stuff fits into the new, improved, more absorbent design scheme.
83.4 megabyte .mp4 file, run time 32 minutes, 5 seconds.
March 5, 2010
***SPOILER ALERT***
While other Rush fans were sweating over whether or not the guys would perform at the Olympics, I was watching Trailer Park Boys: The Movie and Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day to see Alex's cameos, which I've posted here for your viewing enjoyment. There are extra Rush goodies in the first one, but he's on screen longer in the second one, plus you get to see him in makeup and spike heels tackling intoxicated man whore Randy to the ground. That's the money shot in my book! ***wink to Alex***
P.S. I watched both movies from start to finish, thank you very much. The TPB's kind of grow on you after a while! :O)
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie |
Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day |
Make sure you spend lots of snuggle time with the one you love today. :O)
"The Geddy Bear" (Adobe Photoshop)
February 8, 2010
I froze my ass off in 42 degree weather standing in my front yard at 4:30 a.m. to get this footage. Enjoy!
Front yard...brrrr! |
TV broadcast 2 minutes later |
February 6, 2010
I was a busy monkey yesterday. I did laundry, took my household trash to the county landfill, fed the backyard critters, and did website work for one of my freelance clients. But The Big Project was de-personalizing Casa de Shiksa for the real estate market, meaning that I removed most of my personal photos and tchatzhahs. We're not showing the house until March but I want to get as much done as possible before my work schedule kicks into overdrive. I've worked as a realtor so I know what buyers are looking for when they tour homes. The goal should be to create the illusion of as much square footage as possible, particularly in small living spaces like Casa de Shiksa. The best way to make that happen is to clear out clutter and personal decor. You want buyers to be able to visualize their stuff in the house. The other selling strategy is staging the house for showing appointments and open houses. That's when I use the good place settings at the dining room table and make the bed with the fancy shmancy bedspread, among other things.
Today was slightly less busy. I went to the bank, bought a shipping carton, and boxed up the crap I removed from the walls and shelves during de-personalizing. More cleaning, boxing, painting, and minor home repairs await over the next few weeks. P.S. Our realtor stopped by this afternoon to take pictures of the outside of the house and she liked what I'd done! :-) Once we get all the upgrades finished I'll post before and after videos.
January 19, 2010
So I went over to mom and dad's house a couple of weeks ago to get this photo....
...and returned to Casa de Shiksa with way more than I bargained for. My mom had saved a bunch of my old Ronnie Milsap swag from the late 1970's. Fan club newsletters, an autographed tour program, a personal letter from Ronnie in response to a fan letter I had written, sheet music, a promotional poster for his 1977 album It Was Almost Like A Song, magazine covers with Ronnie, the tour shirt I was wearing the night I met him. I recognized many items immediately. Others I didn't remember at all. For instance, my mom saved ticket stubs and tour programs from a show in West Virginia in July 1978 and an April 1979 show at Walt Disney World. I organized all my treasures into a scrapbook using a 3 ring binder and plastic page protectors. I put my tour shirt in a Ziploc bag and put it in the back of the scrapbook.
Being a member of Ronnie's official fan club was a pleasurable, fun activity, something that gave me fond memories and positive assocations. Back then there were no personal computers and no internet. I didn't exchange letters or phone calls with other club members and I didn't seek out fans in my hometown.
My parents supported my interest in Ronnie but gave me the privacy to be a fan on my terms. My #1 favorite past time was writing fan fiction, an interest I still indulge to this day. The only criticism I faced was from big mouthed bullies at school, particularly when I wore my tour shirt to school, but I learned to ignore them. For me, at the end of the day, what kept me going was how Ronnie's music made me feel. Just like with Rush, I was allowed to do my own thing and nobody hassled me. I thrived and flourished in my solitude. I didn't fare quite so well when I became an REO Speedwagon fan in 1981 and set Ronnie Milsap on the back burner.
I had never felt the need to associate with other Ronnie fans, yet I broke with tradition and got involved with REO fans in the fall of 1995, an oversight I paid dearly for and am fully correcting as a Rush fan. I want to believe that my current efforts will yield a much happier outcome.
January 9, 2010...My copy of Guitar Aficionado magazine featuring Alex's golf article arrived today, and those pages have now been added to my third Rush scrapbook. It's not a very long article but it's awesome, and the photos are spectacular! Some Rush stuff is mentioned, as well as how Geddy and Neil fare on the golf course. The article also revealed that Alex has a 1,200 bottle wine collection that he keeps in storage facilities in Toronto. Geddy, meanwhile, is the hardcore collector with a 5,000 bottle home wine cellar (per Entertainment Weekly article from March 2009).
Here's my favorite photo of Lerxst from the article. Yes, there is one of him sitting in the golf clubhouse holding his white Gibson ES-355, but I've seen him posed like that a bazillion times. This is my first opportunity to see him in action as a golfer! He has the biggest backswing I've ever seen in my life!
***wink to Alex***
The caption says, "Lifeson teeing off from Coppinwood's 11th hole, October 13, 2009".
January 8, 2010....Weather update: It's still cold as shit outside but the good news first is I never froze, so I didn't have to worry about thawing out. Although I did hear a rumor that we might see snow flurries today or tonight. Not enough to accumulate on the ground, mind you, but snow nonetheless. :-P If I can get video footage of this historic event I will most certainly post it here.
Now, on to more pressing matters. Referencing my other topic from the last blog: yesterday afternoon while listening to the 2007 tour CD I found another moment when Geddy spoke French to the audience in Montreal, between Entre Nous and Mission. His greeting once again started with simple phrases: "Bonsoir, Montreal! Ca va?" (Good evening Montreal! How are you!); "Bonsoir, mes amis!" (good evening, my friends). Then came the mystery phrase, capped off by the only two words I recognized: "beaucoup c'est soire" (much this evening).
In the last blog I left him a message of my own in French, which is too easy. This time he's going to have to work for it. :O)
BERICHT AAN GEDDY: Buitenlandse tongue, inderdaad! Ik weet wat niet u aan Quebecois zei maar ik houd van de manier u het zeggen van het klonk. Dank U zeer! **knipoog**
January 6, 2010....It's early morning as I type this and it's COLD AS SHIT outside! By Florida standards this means a bone-shattering,
oh-crap-I-can't-feel-my-face 30 degrees Farenheit (those of you living in single digit or negative digit climes under a thousand inches of snow can stop laughing any time). By the end of the week we expect the temperature to go back up to a balmy 60 degrees. I have to risk certain frostbite this morning leaving my apartment to take my last exam of the fall term at school. The new term begins next Monday, January 11th. After my test today I have to go clothes shopping for my new receptionist job. I'm in training this week, then the office opens up for clients at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, in Rush news: yesterday afternoon I was listening to the 2007 tour CD from my Secret Santa collection. The show was in Montreal, Quebec, so Geddy spoke French to the audience between songs. Most of the time he kept it simple, i.e. "Merci beaucoup"(thank you very much) and "Bonsoir Montreal" (good evening Montreal). Between Subdivisions and Natural Science, however, he threw down the serious French when he recruited the audience's help to make his home movie of the tour. As a point of reference, on the Snakes And Arrows Live DVD he brought out his personal camcorder and filmed the audience in Rotterdam, Holland shouting "Hello Canada" on the count of three, all in English.
Relying on my command of college French circa 1987, I think he referred to the Montreal audience as je femme filles (beautiful young women) then on the count of un, deux, trois (one, two, three) he had them say something to the effect of vive les avetant or vive les evetant. Vive means live and les indicates more than one person, place, or thing, but I have no clue what that last word was supposed to be. The closest translation I've come up with is eventer which means fan, as in the kind you use to cool off in hot weather. He could have been using that word colloquially, as in "Live the {Rush} fans!" Like I said, it's been a few years since I was un étudiant de langue française.
MESSAGE À GEDDY: Vous, monsieur, êtes un exercice dans l'anéantissement! Je ne suis pas Quebecois; je parle très peu français!
Uh oh. 7:30 a.m. Time to make the donuts. I'll update the blog again in a few days after I thaw out.
January 2, 2010.... Happy New Year, NOT!! Alex was included in VH-1's 100 Most Shocking Rock and Roll Moments countdown at spot #62, for his New Year's Eve 2003 encounter with Collier County, Florida sheriff's deputies. Of course they had to show the news photo of him wearing his bloody tux talking to reporters as he was released from jail. Panelist commentary portrayed him as a "closet bad-ass" in contrast to Rush's public image as intellectual prog rock nice guys and promoted the rumor that Alex attacked the cops first. The narrator closed the segment by clarifying that all charges against Alex were dropped, but then added a snarky comment about him being guilty of tarnishing Rush's squeaky clean image. I guess a protective father being brutally assaulted by enraged, psychotic cops doesn't make compelling enough copy.
In much happier Alex news, I have ordered the new copy of Guitar Aficionado magazine featuring a golf course interview with Alex. The article will be added to my third Rush scrapbook. :O)
December 30, 2009...This segment from Extreme Wild Parties on The Travel Channel gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "L'chaim!" :O)
I wonder if Moyle's Delight operates along the same lines as drinking the worm from a bottle of tequila....
P.S. Goyim who appreciate Jewish humor are welcome at this event! I have finally found my niche!
Meanwhile, in recognition of the impending New Year, I have done some minor redecorating at Casa de Shiksa.
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The wall next to my desk |
My Rush DVD "cubicle" next to the TV |
With that back-breaking, time-consuming project completed, I have one more week on holiday before I take my two finals at school, then I start the new term on January 11th. ***heavy sigh*** I won't be completely bored, though; my Chuckle Buddy will keep me entertained!
December 24, 2009....Merry Christmas Eve!!
SERENDIPITOUS RUSH MOMENT #1092: Just now I was driving back home from my favorite coffee shop listening to one of my live Rush CD's sent by my Secret Santa. As I pulled up to a stoplight I was giggling at Geddy's spot-on Southern accent talking about "the new direction the band is taking" as they played a country & western riff. Then I looked at the letters on the license plate of the car in front of me and I couldn't believe it! YYZ!! There were no Rush bumper stickers on the car and the plate was Space Shuttle themed but c'mon! How else could you explain it? Unless the owner of the car is a commerical airport geek from Toronto and they were thinking about the FAA transmitter code for Pearson airport. Who the hell knows. At any rate, it was a fun coincidence, jamming to a Rush CD and then pulling up behind a car with a YYZ license plate. It's not a YYZ luggage tag from Pearson but it's a start!
December 23, 2009 .....This nifty little project was drying last night when I blogged about my Backstage Secrets DVD, but now it's ready for unveiling. I needed a new ID wallet on a lanyard with a clear photo pocket on the front. I had the lanyard (such as you would use for a laminated backstage pass), clear plastic badge holder, and the Velcro carrying case for my digital camera.
I used fabric glue to attach the clear plastic badge holder to the front flap of the camera case, then I used a rubber band to connect the lanyard to the hand strap on the back of the camera case. The fabric glue was fully dried this morning around 11 a.m., then I printed out this photo of Geddy from my computer to put in the badge holder. Speaking of whom....he would call this a Rube Goldberg job. The fabric glue and rubber band are what qualifies it as such.
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December 22, 2009....I just finished watching the Backstage Secrets With Rush DVD, and.....OH-MY-FUCKING-GOD!!
WOW!! It starts out with the same exact footage as the 6-part video series on YouTube, but the DVD picks up where the YouTube leaves off....4 hours' worth, to be exact, spread out over 2 DVD's. A Rush concert is only 3.5 hours! Every aspect of production is shown: lighting, rigging, instrument technicians, stage managing, production managing, sound, video projection (i.e., "What's THAT Smell" from intermission), merchandising, etc. They even show the band's tour chef Frenchie spreading the culinary love. Alex, Geddy, and Neil appear in both DVD's, talking about their relationships with their individual instrument techs, as well as footage of soundcheck, the Bubba Gump room, etc. My favorite scene is when head rigger John Fletcher bends over chalking the floor for points. Hey Fletch! Nice toochis! **wink**
My only criticism is that the roadies' profanities are still bleeped out on the DVD like they are on YouTube. I'm a grown up and my ears will not crack if they hear bad words. Honest! I swear! :OP
Christmas has come a few days early to Casa de Shiksa! :O)
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December 18, 2009....My Secret Santa from the Counterparts Message board sent me a Snakes & Arrows 2007 tour shirt
and a DVD of rare live Rush concerts from 1973 to 2004. Unfortunately the shirt was too small so I re-purposed it as wall art next to my
Moving Pictures jigsaw puzzle. I tacked it up with plastic push pins.
On the back of the shirt is a band photo and 2007 tour dates. However, this wall faces my bed and I decided I didn't want the guys "staring" at me while I slept. So I opted to display the front of the shirt instead.
Airplane! sound file downloaded from Sound America
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