[Updated: Thanks to Gary B. for pointing out that I had 'Oct. 29th' when it should have been 'Sept 29th']
In case any of ya's missed it, here's the link to the podcast of Saturday, September 29th Crazy Train that Larry Hall, Ian Noble and I were guests on to talk about the Oct. 13th 'Rock For Donnie' benefit.
AND! Because I know you love them as much as I do here's a brand new video from Poland's 'Behemoth':
'Bartzabel' is the second single from the bands on a verge of being released, 'I Loved You At Your Darkest'. The album comes out this week, October 5th.
(A bit of a bummer, but I got an email from the band's store saying that there's been a delay due to production of the vinyl.... So I won't get my album this week.)
I'll be returning to CHSR-FM's 'The Crazy Train' tomorrow night as a guest with local guitar legend Larry Hall and local personality and mega Dreamkick fan, Sean Callahan to talk about the 'Rock For Donnie' benefit at the 'Tribute Bar & Lounge' (Aka 'the Dock' Aka 'The Loading Dock', Aka 'The 'Bottom Part of Nikki Zzzz's' Aka 'The Lava Lounge').
The Crazy Train, hosted by Johnny James 'Dio' starts at 6PM and we'll be on at around 6:30PM.
You can tune into the show on your radio: 97.9FM or listen online at www.chsrfm.ca -Then click on the 'Pop Up' player in the upper Right Hand corner.
The benefit Saturday, Oct 13th will include: 12 hours of live music featuring band mates of Donnie...
Awake By Sunday
Sheltered (reunited for this event!)
Hero’s Last Rite
South Bound Sinnerz
Brother
Vinyl Tap
Wasteland Zombies
Shed Heads
Mad Mary
Brass Knucklehead
Run for Your Lives (Iron Maiden experience)
Appetite 4 Destruction (GnR experience)
$10 donation at the door gets you in!
Kid friendly event until 6pm!
Donate $5 for a chance to win awesome prizes... including an Epiphone Slash Les Paul guitar valued at $1100, a Yamaha electronic drum kit valued at $600, Marshall Bluetooth Speaker Systems, and much much more!
Hourly prize draws, Donnie Robichaud Memorial T-shirts for sale, and tons of great music!
All proceeds go towards the trust fund for Donnie's children.
Come celebrate Donnie's life with us while raising money for a great cause.
That was Centennial Building on September 8th.... Check it out today, September 27th
That's all that's left! Once they got the gutty works out looks like they've been ripping through it.
I mean, they've been going full out really, I was really shocked on a walk with Nancy on Saturday evening, that they were jack hammering away at like 6:30 or so. It's kinda cool, the Sun is shinning where it's not shone in a couple decades, which I imagine is nice for that neighborhood. But it won't last long, as a huge new building will no doubt be blocking out the Sun again, but maybe in a year or so down the road.
Ok, when I posted the last entry, I was just sitting down to supper and hobbling out to see where Brad was soaping to death the nests of Box Alder beetles... I did grab some pix. It's hard to tell what you're looking at here because they are reduced in size. But if you see any 'red' dots, that's the female of the bug, the males are black-ish/gray with a red 'V' that's on their backs, it kinda runs along the outside of it's wings.
I'll make 'em as big as 'Blogger' will let me so you can maybe see.
Genocide!! We've committed genocide on a massive scale with soap! Muahahaha!
When I've been out in the backyard, several times a small (I think they are all small) Black and white chickadee comes by, seems to be braver than other birds that frequent the feeder. The chickadee will land, take a couple of looks at me, then start to pick out stuff off the feeder. At first I was kinda miffed at it's behavior, it would stick it's beak into the feeding hole and pull out seed, throw it to the ground, pick out more, throw it to the ground, pick out more, throw it to the ground, Oh! it found something it liked, takes it and flies off.
I was thinking, 'What a little jerk! Throwing what it disliked to the ground!', but really, it's good for ground feeding birds and the chipmunks (not like they don't get enough food...)...
So here's some pics of the black & white chickadee:
Kinda dumb that 'Blogger' won't let one use 'tables' or attach photo's side by side to save room. Tried multiple ideas, but none worked, anyone have any clues, would love to hear 'em
Buddy!
And now! Some bonus photo's of 'Buddy' from Sept 23rd. I didn't post them then with the video because they are blurry, but they are pretty funny, looks like Buddy is making faces, but obviously he's stuffed to the gills with nuts!
Man, last Fall we had this outdoor infestation of Alder beetles... Little fuckers! Brad (my neighbour and I), had found them in the field last year and then they got the house. So THIS Fall, we were prepared, we've been watching the field since probably July, we found a big nest about a month ago and I've been dumping soapy water now and then on the sporadic nests I've found, but nothing like what we found a couple months ago and NOTHING like what we found tonight.
Brad found a MASSIVE mound, like hundreds and hundreds of these fuckers! It's a true miracle that soapy (dish soap) water instantly kills them dead! Dad says the soap gets in their 'breathing apparatus'' and well they suffocate! if anyone thinks this is cruel? Please, by all means come to our field and scoop \em up and take them home with you.
Last year we had them all over the side of the house, they don't do any harm, aside from getting inside, they emit a 'stink' when you upset them or if pets or anything else tries to eat em... But they are a pest. Our house has like shingles all over it, so they love to hide in those and winter there... Not this year!
Now I've had quite a few conversations with the jehovah witness folk, Phillip and Claire (I think).
But this evening, I initiated conversation about 'faith'. I was telling Phil that I had had a great conversation with the mormons the other night and was telling Phil that I had been to the mormon temple in Utah and he was quite surprised (as you will recall the mormons were too) and asked me what I had thought of all that.
So I pointed over his shoulder and said that I had grown up going to that anglican church behind him and that I had an appreciation of the beauty of that Gothic style cathedral, inserting not that the mormon temple is any Gothic style church. And Phillip said, "I noticed you said, 'going to that church', you don't go anymore"...
And there it was, yes, I opened this by pointing out that I went to church but Phillip saw his way in, but I don't think he was prepared for what he got.
I told him, as I told the mormons, I had moved beyond 'god' or the need for a religious belief. I told him that all of the life questions I ever had had been answered and that 'spiritually', I was fulfilled with those answers and had no desire to bow down or placate any 'deity'. I brought up the virtual world theory and that out there there is some computer nerd who's programmed all this, and I also told him that I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory, but that IF, that was the case I didn't feel that this person needed me to ritualistically worship it.
And I said all this with a big friendly smile on my face, confident in what I was saying and sure of what I believe. I was no 'lost cause', someone searching for the meaning of life that only the jehovah style 'god' could answer.
Here I kinda changed gears and quickly threw at him, 'You don't vote do you?'
And I don't know if you know this or not, but the jehovah witness are forbidden to vote. It's in the bible, lol, trust me and Philip showed me just where (On his tablet, not an actual physical bible). Because I said I knew they didn't vote, but couldn't precisely recall why that exactly was.
So basically, it's under Matthew 22:21 jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to god the things that are god's." And as Phillip was showing me a passage close to that one by Matt, I said, "Render unto Caesar..." and he said precisely and then went on about how they have "already voted" and that their allegiance was to the "kingdom of god"...
So then Phillip said, in his South African accent, "Chris, have you read the bible?"... I had thought Phillip and Claire, when I first met the couple during the Summer, that they were maybe from Australia or New Zealand, I knew the accent wasn't any British accent....
I said, 'Yes, I've read the bible three times', he said, "Oh really" 'And I continued, 'and I've read the koran 3 times, the book of mormon, I've read the version of the bible you believe...'
Years ago, I read the bible, old and new testament, three times. The first run through was to get my eyes on it, begin to absorb the information, the second time through was to really try to absorb the information and to try to mentally book-note any 'crazy, violent or contradictory, bizarre or odd' entry's and verses. The third time through I took a highlighter and highlighted all of the bloody, death, bizarre, odd and crazy parts. I also did the same with the koran. I didn't read the other tomes as thoroughly at I did the two 'big ones' because the books of mormon, jehovah witness, scientology are fuking crazy from the get go!
In the end I came back to where I started and that was that I was a satisfied person. He kinda threw that 'ol christian vs/ the atheist (which I don't call myself an 'atheist', they have their own doctrine), "Well Chris, without 'god' there's no morality".
And I said, 'Look, I've had a great life, I've been very very lucky to have had the experiences I've had. Have I had some horrible times? Have I been good all my life? Do I have regrets, sure, but everyone does. There'd be very very few people who've had a completely great, no issues, nothing bad or untoward had ever happened life.
Have I had some horrible horrible times? Sure, but all around, I've got it really great. Great relationship with my family whom I love. The best friends that anyone could ever ask for, a roof over my head, good food in my stomach, good smoke, a hilarious pet(s- if you count the chipmunks), awesome neighbors, a fantastic landlady and live in a pretty decent clean, low crime city in a democratic, free from war country.
He asked me, "why then, when we know we have to drive on the right side of the road, that there's always someone who will challenge that?"
And I replied, 'Well Phillip, you're asking me why people do bad things' and I continued, 'I obviously don't subscribe to what you believe, nor what the muslims or any other christian sect believes, but huemahns are inherently flawed, it's in our genes, there will ALWAYS be someone who will want to get ahead of someone else, there will always be someone with a different opinion and outlook on life, it's just the way we are and if I believed in 'god', then I'd have to say IT was the one who made us that way'. That huemahn 'flaw' IT gave us and there will probably never ever be real global peace on this planet.
I went on to say, 'Look, not that I haven't ever done anything bad or even broken the law (jaywalking, spitting, not wearing a seat-belt), I've never been arrested or been in jail, I have no record... I'm maybe one of the only people in my family to have retained a lawyer to pursue someone and not have them defend me.
But I don't need 'god's laws' to live by. At this point and probably much earlier in my life I knew 'right from wrong', if I didn't, things might be a lot more different for me.'
At that point, I think Phillip may have had enough and I smiled and said, 'I'm not a lost cause'.
He then said to me, 'Well Chris, it was great to talk to you this evening...' and I said, 'Likewise' and he continued, 'Next time we can maybe take some time to talk about what you think 'god's' plan for you'...
Haha, I've heard that one before... But I said, 'Sure, have a great evening Phillip'... And Claire was there this evening too, but when I rolled up on Phillip, she and another witnesser were engaged trying to con over some young family... Actually for all I know, maybe they were fellow witnessers!
I can't remember the young woman's name that was with them, but she's usually there if Phillip is not. But I bid them a great evening as well and was on my way, a grin still on my face knowing full well that if anything, I showed Phillip I'm a 'force to be reckoned with' in conversation.
Someone to Believe
Bad Religion
Dark, frozen, hibernation held at bay
As your mind, left behind, lost another day
But finally there's someone to believe
Anti-social boredom is all the rage
But the time comes when you gotta turn the page
And then finally there's someone to believe
And now you walk with confidence and ease
And there's no call to sell your soul
Or confess or drop down to your knees
Who, what, or where made you change your mind?
Doesn't matter anymore 'cause you've seen a sign
And now finally there's someone to believe
Searching for the answer's a lonely quest
But the act is liable to bring out your best
And then finally there's someone to believe
And now you have a purpose to proceed
And you find out the baggage that you discarded,
You didn't even need
No one can deny a return to form
Irrespective of the morass, shame, and scorn
But then finally there's someone to believe
Ready to emerge and direct your fate
As the self-determination radiates
Because finally there's someone to believe
And now you walk with confidence and ease
And it feels like the spring equinox after a long winter's sleep
I believe, in short what this song is saying, and it's what I live by, Believe in yourself, have great wonder and intrigue about the world around you. Find your own answers, question everything and find out for yourself from multiple sources and just trust yourself, because if you can't, who can you trust?
