Jesse Rivest's Blog

I am fully Googlified

2009-12-04T17:00:00.002+13:00

I remember years ago, when it was becoming hugely popular, how I was attracted to Google's clean/uncluttered and simple interface for a search engine. It was fast, too. I haven't bothered with any of the old competitor search engines for years. It was November 11, 2004 when I received my invite to try GMail - I bet it was Chris at work who invited me over the separation wall between our workstations. Since then, things have really snowballed.

I quit my job about 6 months later to travel to Australia with my music - that was when I fully jumped into GMail and out of ISP hosted POP mail. I've never looked back; I've been using Gmail since. At the beginning of 2005, I signed up for AdSense, made about $5 and then left it alone until this year. I've made more money since, and who knows? I might even use AdWords sometime.

At the beginning of 2005 I also started using Blogger, which I've been reasonably active with since. In 2006 I discovered Feedburner and have been using its cool stats and widgets for all of my feeds. The funny thing is that Google bought both of these companies soon after I joined - it was inevitable that I would get sucked down Google's drain! I went willingly.

Oddly, I didn't start using Google Calendar until 2007... odd because it's so useful! Now I've got 9 different calendars, I think, including one for my performances which I feed through Feedburner - very cool and useful. If we back up a year to 2006, we'll see that I started using Google Notebook, which I've relied on quite heavily and consistently. Google no longer supports or develops this tool, but fortunately they keep it active for existing users - with it I organize all my notes on my music business and doings... sort of like a log. I hope that if they nuke it they let us know first so we can export our data!

Let's see, what else am I using (yes, there is a moral to this story, read on)... Picasa Web Albums - why try and create a web photo gallery for my site when I can use Google's? It's pretty quick and easy, and it frees me up to focus on other things. Google Webmaster Tools - great for (at least) getting your website properly indexed. And if we go way back, there's Google Groups - I haven't used a proper newsgroup reader since early 2000! Having said that, I used Google Groups for a short span and honestly haven't been on a newsgroup since 2005.

Two really cool tools are Google Alerts and Google Reader. I use the former to tell Google to "keep an eye open" for specific search terms, and to notify me of new results when found. I used to receive the alerts as emails but I've smartened up and chosen the feed route... which brings us to Google Reader. I LOVE Google Reader, I've got all my blog/news/website subscriptions consolidated in one place that I can access from any computer - great! It's fabulous for staying up-to-date with friends and family (well, the geeky ones), as well as with most of your favourite websites. If you're reading this far, have you considered putting some of my feeds into YOUR Google Reader?

Yes, it's true... I even use Google's Orkut. I have two friends that are connected to Brazil... somehow I got sucked in. For a while I was social networking with Brazilians, ha ha - oh, how I'd love to visit!

I was a bit late jumping onto YouTube; I reckon Google already owned this one by the time I signed up. Very cool, it's just a shame that video quality is lost after you upload. You get this great looking video all ready, you upload it, and poof! It's shit-ified. Fortunately Google adds an option for high quality when you're viewing... but it's never the same!

I even have a Google Wave account now. It looks cool - I wonder if it will catch on? I bet that if they can integrate it into GMail seamlessly, then it'll be almost a no-brainer.

Every day that I use an Internet-enabled computer, I use a Google product. The moral of this story is: I am a geek. And so are you, I reckon. A bit of one, at least - don't deny it.

Talking is tiring, singing is not

2009-09-01T21:21:00.005+12:00

Talking fatigues me - it often feels like it's an effort to be audible, clear and articulate. I actually do feel fatigued after talking for an hour or more - I notice a strain and exhaustion in my throat and neck, and I feel like my throat needs a lot of.. ahem... clearing. Take tonight for instance, I was in public for a few hours and did a fair amount of talking - throughout which I noticed I was getting drained.

Afterwards, on my cycle home through the night, I cleared my throat and starting singing. I let the front and top of my mouth amplify the higher notes, I supported from my stomach area and I felt my whole upper body behind my sound. It was effortless and clear - I felt like an opera singer, yet opera singer I am not. I relaxed the back of my throat and just let it be a passage to the mouth chamber. Would you believe that this recharged me?

A few minutes of singing made me feel much better. I remember days when singing was highly draining and taxing for me... so maybe the years of practicing singing have paid off? Perhaps this is what good vocal technique should feel like - effortless, clear, fluent, strong, satisfying, efficient, smooth. It just plain feels good!

Maybe I should sing more when I talk? Or find some other way of applying some of these techniques or "feelings" to my discussions?

Anyhow, speaking of singing, here's a nice clip of Martin Sexton showing us how it's done.

But you're Canadian!?

2009-06-10T13:30:00.000+12:00

Yes, I am Canadian. Yes, I should be able to handle the cold in Wellington; yes, it gets much colder in Canada. Actually, yes - I can handle the cold here in Wellington! It's really not that bad - I cycle nearly every day of the windy, rainy winter in a pair of shorts, a wool base-shirt, a tee-shirt, and a light rain shell-jacket. I warm up once I get going, and that warmth carries over into the first 30 minutes of my visit at my destination. After that, once I'm comfortable, my blood cools...

Wellington (New Zealand) is cold, but relative to Albertan cities it is an autumn day in the park. In the Canadian winter I would not be able to cycle like I do in Wellington. But still, it's cold in Wellington - the humidity and wind drag that 10 degrees Celsius down to about 1 or 2 degrees - strangely, I've often longed for a crisp, dry, -5 degrees day in Calgary. However, the real cold in Wellington isn't so much the outside temperature and moisture... it's the inside temperature and moisture.

[Commence rant on superiority of average Canadian homes over average Wellington homes, all the while quietly minding the fact that most Wellington homes are quite old. Begin with analogy of camping in the Canadian Rockies to winter mornings in a Wellington home.]

I wake up in the mornings in a tent in the Rockies (my bedroom in my house). I can see my breath (yes, in my house). There is condensation dripping at the tent seams (my windows are smothered in beads of water). If I stir a bit to the left or right, my sleeping bag (my bedding) feels like ice. When I finally muster enough ambition to dash up, I prioritize a cup of hot coffee or tea to wrap my hands around - never mind that I need to pee, I'm gonna warm up first! When I finally walk to the outhouse (washroom in the house), the toilet seat is extra cold and I am shivering (yes, in my house). I am hunched and tense; I recall that if I try to relax, with deep and measured breaths, then I might warm up. I light the campfire (the toaster oven in the kitchen) and warm myself over it while waiting for breakfast (toast). I've eaten and I've put on most of my clothes - it's now time to air things out. I open the tent flaps (house doors) and windows to let the morning air move through it. Okay, enough of my analogy.

The temperature is somewhere between 1 and 10 degrees and, every morning, the house needs to be aired out - windows and doors open. Otherwise, all that warm moist air from last night's dinner, plus all the farting (admit it, you fart, although I'm not convinced that my flatmate does) and breathing while sleeping stays condensed on the walls and windows, plus in the sneaky spots you forget about - like in your wardrobe closet, where your favorite suit is. Mold grows. If Wellington homes had insulation, combined with ventilation and heating systems, this wouldn't be an issue.

The Canadian homes that I've lived in all my life have not been like this. They were well insulated (walls, floors, ceilings) and all windows were comprised of two panes of glass, with weatherstripping to seal them. Doors had weatherstripping, too, to stop drafts. As a result, moist air was unlikely to condense on any walls, ceilings, or windows. Especially if you'd been heating the house. Heating ducts serviced each room in the house, directing rapid hot air from a central convection furnace. Thermostats in the house regulated when the furnace would fire and blow, thus keeping a near-constant temperature - and the warmth dissipated very slowly thanks to all the great insulation. To aid in ventilation, one-to-several main rooms in the house had air intake ducts. When the furnace was blowing, it was also sucking (and filtering) old air. I'm told that many cold countries have similar home standards.

I'm complaining, right? Sure, maybe a real man wouldn't complain. He'd keep warm by keeping busy - working on man things, like chopping wood, building shelves, yard work, hauling things, etc. Sure, I like chopping wood and keeping active - but I'm a writer and a musician. I prefer a warm home - my fingers don't work on my guitar when they're cold, and I can't sing when I'm coughing. My equipment suffers from condensation. I'm a real man, too - I like camping in the Rockies, with bears and moose and cougars - but when I'm at home, I want to be productive in my own way. It breaks my heart (and my wallet) every time I turn on a heater in Wellington, because the rate of heat dissipation is tragically high. For such a "green minded" country, I have to say that there is a lot of heating energy being wasted here in Wellington (kudos to those folks that just sit huddled in all the clothes they own, under blankets... but is that really living??).

If you're a Kiwi and you hear another Canadian complain about how cold it is here (in Wellington, or in many places in New Zealand), then do remember this (if I may generalize). A Canadian can handle some shocking cold weather - imagine blinking and having your eyelashes stick together; sniffing quickly and having your nostrils glue shut; apparent dead skin tissue on your cheeks and ears after a 2o minute walk; a bleeding lip after prying it from the metal zipper on the collar of your jacket; spit freezing the moment it hits the ground; cat's missing ears and tails due to frostbite; the oil in your car being so thick that the engine won't turn over; shovelling snow several times per week. A Canadian can handle some very cold weather, but a Canadian is accustomed to buildings and homes being warm and comfortable. And such general warmth and comfort make the extreme cold rather fun!

SOCAN misunderstood, again

2009-05-21T13:52:00.001+12:00

SOCAN has recently dinged i(heart)music a retrospective licensing sum that may exceed $2000 for several years' worth of promoted music concerts. I read about it and I immediately sympathised with i(heart)music's situation, however I also noticed some misunderstandings about SOCAN. I would like to address these misunderstandings as neutrally as possible - and you might keep in mind that I am a member of SOCAN.

In this post, it is mentioned that the musicians were paid all the proceeds from the promoted concerts - so why is SOCAN entitled to a fee? Because SOCAN isn't concerned with the performing musicians - it is concerned with the performances of songs. Granted, many-to-most of the songs performed at these concerts were written by the performing musicians... but not all of them. Consider the cover songs (many performing acts perform a cover or two), or the co-writes by people who do not participate in the performances (or who are not even part of the band/act). SOCAN collects this licence fee to reimburse the artists whose songs were performed at the event.

It's also suggested that songwriters might reconsider their membership with SOCAN. But, since laws are established to enable SOCAN to collect money for performances of songs (this includes radio, concerts, TV, movies, in Canada and around the world), and since many artists' songs are being used or performed in a variety of ways, it only makes sense that songwriters and composers would join SOCAN. If they don't, they are missing out on money that they are entitled to, and which is being collected whether they want it or not. It costs nothing for an artist to join SOCAN, it's simply a matter of signing up and saying "Yes, please distribute to me my share of your collections (because otherwise, where is my share going?)."

Finally, it's mentioned that promoters (who give all the proceeds of a show to the performing artists) may find it excessive to pay a fee to SOCAN in addition to paying the performers. Look at it this way - the fee to SOCAN should be regarded as payment to the songwriters/composers, and it should be part of the overhead. Just as you need to obtain a liquor licence to sell alcohol at your event, you need to obtain a SOCAN licence to have music at your event; just as you are paying the the musicians for performing, you are paying the songwriters for composing and creating.

In the original post from i(heart)music, there appears to be an understanding that an event only needs to be licensed by SOCAN if at least one member of any of the performing acts is a SOCAN member. I'm open to being corrected; I believe that every event that uses music (live or from recorded media) needs to pay a licensing fee. Even if the band performing has no SOCAN members, they may play songs that were written by SOCAN members. Also, if the band or act is from another country, they may be members of a similar association that is affiliated with SOCAN. In any case, if an event has music involved, then the creators of that music are entitled to the money that SOCAN obtains from you (the promoter or venue manager) through a licence fee, along with a submitted list all the songs that were performed during the event.

Sounds like pain in the ass, eh? Well, as a songwriter, I appreciate receiving any extra income from SOCAN, especially knowing that they're collecting it regardless of whether or not I want it. Essentially, I'm (voluntarily) participating in an in-place system that benefits me, whereas music venues and promoters need to (lawfully) participate. I bet a lot of people could suggest alternative (and perhaps better) solutions for compensating songwriters, music composers and publishers for the use of their creations.

Why are CDs so expensive "down under"?

2009-05-17T17:00:00.000+12:00

What's the deal? CDs in New Zealand and (if I recall correctly) Australia are nearly double the price of Canada and the USA. In my several years of "down under" living, I've heard countless observations and discussions among other foreigners on this matter. For reference in this article, I am a Canadian who is currently "here" in New Zealand.

In New Zealand, new music CDs are usually $25 to $35 at retail outlets. In contrast, I recall newly released CDs to typically be $15 in Canadian retail outlets, however special orders, low-stock older releases, and obscure finds could rise to over $20. Mind you, someone recently complained that prices are now $20 in HMV, but if my memory serves me correctly, HMV was always more expensive than other outlets. Since I've been away from Canada for a few years, I checked Megatunes (which doesn't represent all of Canada) and it appears that new releases are still as low as $15 and ranging to $20.

Well, I have some theories and thoughts on this; that's the kind of guy I am.

For starters, let's look at population differences and manufacturing costs. I'm going to group Canada with the USA (giving a population of about 350 million) and New Zealand with Australia (totalling to about 26 million). I'm also going to assume that manufacturing costs for CDs are higher "down under". So I'm off to a good start here... making assumptions and grouping "rivalling" nations together, ha ha. Having done that, it's obviously possible that New Zealand and Australia need higher CD prices to turn a profit - they have a smaller consumer base that will buy CDs, and they have manufacturing costs that are similar, if not higher, than in North America.

I was reading this discussion thread where it was suggested that CDs are not more expensive "down under", and that it may simply be a difference in exchange rates. It's also suggested that the higher prices are due to shipping. But what about local/national artists? Their CDs are just as expensive as international artists' are. Also, I don't believe that CDs are shipped overseas - I'm pretty sure that international record labels make licencing agreements with "down under" record labels, enabling the latter to manufacture CDs for retail. An example: I purchased In Field & Town from Hayden when he performed in Wellington last year; his CD was manufactured by Spunk Records in Australia, yet he was charging $25 to $30 (sorry I can't recall the exact price). Regarding exchange rates, I've seen the rate between New Zealand and Canada fluctuate as much as 0.3, and CD prices certainly haven't fluctuated in either country. I think that exchange rates and shipping aren't really factors - unless the ongoing rate was set by CDs that were once shipped "down under"...

Then there's the momentum of the ongoing rate - existing CDs are that price, so new releases must also be that price. Raising the price might result in less sales, and probably no record labels or artists want less CD sales - that would be anti-promotional. On the other hand, lowering the price for a new release might devalue it or somehow associate it with lesser quality. I wonder if North American entities would like to raise the prices of their CDs but feel they cannot, or maybe "down under" groups want to lower theirs? It's possible that people want to shift their prices but the momentum of the ongoing rate has the final say.

I've considered that New Zealand CD distributors, record manufacturers, or artists may want more money per unit than similar groups would in North America. On one hand, that's silly - everyone everywhere wants more money! However, perhaps North America sees a CD more as a promotional item than New Zealand does. It's possible, and I'm speculating - but I have met a fair number of music artists in Canada that sell their CDs between $10 and $20 at shows because they want to get the music "out there". I've met a fair number of artists in New Zealand that sell their CDs for $20 to $30 at shows.

Perhaps everything is just more expensive in New Zealand! Live shows are much more money here. So are CD's. So are meals. Beer is a bit more. Clothing and footwear... definitely much more expensive here. I find the real cost of living to be high in New Zealand, possibly higher than in Canada. The difference in cost of CDs (and these other consumables) may be proportionate to the difference in average wages or incomes in both countries. However, I recall the real cost of living in Australia to be much lower... maybe Australian prices have been the model for New Zealand prices!? Maybe the USA has set the bar for prices in Canada? I dunno.

I took a look at Google Insights and it appears that, for 2009 in all four countries, "free music" is the number one music related search. Actually that's not true, in Australia it appears they are more interested in "the music" (possibly for an Aussie music website), while "free music" is runner up. But these stats seem to indicate that people generally want to pay less-to-nothing for music; maybe with lower CD prices they would be more keen to pay? Maybe not - but that's a different discussion.

I've mostly avoided these higher prices in New Zealand; I've found it quite rewarding to purchase music from online outlets in Canada. I get more for my money! In one instance last year I made a bulk purchase of 6 CDs from Maple Music; with shipping to New Zealand it cost me about the same as buying 4 CDs locally (mind you the exchange rate was good then). Just the other week I made my very first digital music purchase, something that I've in the past been resistant to. It's definitely cheaper than buying a physical CD, and with Zunior you have the option of purchasing albums in FLAC format; compared to MP3 format the file size is larger and the audio quality is identical to the quality of the CD (which I can say is near impossible with MP3, but let's not get into mathematics). Plus, Zunior appears to offer PDF files containing complete album artwork.

Don't get me wrong, I prefer to have the physical CD, but these days and in my situation, I think I can slide into some FLAC and PDF files from Zunior for a while.

Swine flu brings back the word "swine"

2009-05-12T01:48:00.000+12:00

Does anyone mind if I make light of a dark situation? When I first heard tell of the recent global "swine flu" concern, I couldn't help but grin at the word "swine". In my defense, I was also lightly concerned for humanity - but it does appear that the swine flu is treatable and that some general precautions are being made to prevent a global epidemic. So, I'm going to proceed with the casual hope that we'll keep it under control.

How about the word "swine"? This word had somehow disappeared from my vocabulary; I had completely forgotten it. I don't recall any of the previous "swine flu" incidents or epidemics that the Internet and news inform me of. Was I just a child when I last knew this word? When I was retrospectively traumatized slaughtering and sticking a pig with my father and brother, was I considering this word? I've now been in New Zealand for 2.5 years, and I spent nearly a year in Australia - both places that have wild swine running rampant in the bush - and I simply don't recall hearing this word. It's always "wild boar" or "wild pigs". Has the word fallen out of fashion (was it ever in fashion)?

I suppose it's an old word... an Old English word, perhaps. I believe "swinish" is an adjective, for example: "He was acting rather swinish towards the other patrons in the bar so the barkeep removed him from his premises." I imagine that the word was associated with pigs first, and analogies to disgusting, contemptuous, or brutish people came later. I made the following search and it seems this word was common in Shakespeare's literature, and appeared in an array of classic literature, of which titles I've read none within the past 10 years.

Well, I am glad to have this word back; I've been enjoying using it. I've been brewing batches of my own Winter Recession Soup with Free Range Swine, and devouring every last ration of it. When friends mention friends that go hunting, I ask if swine are an intended target... nope, just ducks. Shucks. I think of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web and I can't bring myself to categorize him as "swine" - he was such a likable pig. I've yet to appropriately refer to any person as a swine, but I'm on my toes, waiting. The word is in my jowls; it's my word of the month; it's my wry grin.

I've been known to be itinerant

2009-05-05T13:00:00.001+12:00

I enjoy considering the meanings of words.

I recall a couple years ago an acquaintance introduced me as an "itinerant singer-songwriter". I had to ask what that meant - itinerant - although if I had applied myself a little, I would have figured it out. I mean, I knew what it meant to have an itinerary!

Also a couple years ago, Radio New Zealand referred to me as a drifter on their website (see here). I remember feeling a little defensive about it; I felt that it implied I was an aimless wanderer. Well I admitted then, and I admit now, that I have known myself to enjoy stints of aimless wandering. But what exactly is a drifter?

Today, the word "drifter" on Wikipedia - a voice of a subset of the people of Earth (that subset whose members know how to edit a wiki resource) - redirects to the word "vagabond". According to Wikipedia, a vagabond is an itinerant person, commonly referred to as a drifter, tramp, rogue, or hobo - but not a bum, because bums "are not known for travelling, preferring to stay in one location." It's fairly explicit at Wikipedia that a vagabond was historically a purposeless wanderer, and that in later years there was a shift towards associating the word with bohemian artists such as Tolstoy, or the Hungarian mathematician Erdos. It's all at the Wikipedia page, if you'd like to see.

Let's see what official sources say about drifters. Merriam-Webster tells that a drifter "travels or moves about aimlessly" (click here), while Dictionary.com indicates something similar and adds: "a wanderer who has no established residence or visible means of support" (click here). Interesting - aimlessness seems to be a common theme. I confirmed with Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com that "vagabond" has some negative connotations and synonyms, as well, including: unsettled, irresponsible, disreputable, worthless, carefree, and rogue.

So, perhaps Tolstoy and Erdos (and some other historic artists) were vagabonds. I wonder if they got up to mischief, or if they appeared aimless? Did they do a lot of loitering? Were they known to be ambivalent or lost? Townes Van Zandt was a drifter - and a drunkard - and a well-regarded contributor to music history. Who else can we name as a drifter or vagabond that left a legacy of artistic contribution? How were these people perceived during their vagrant times?

I'm just curious, really, about these terms. I have entertained romanticized thoughts of being a drifter; a vagabond. By these definitions, I've not truly been a drifter - I suppose I have been to some extent, at times, but I've also been someone who enjoys having a home and a studio space where one can focus. I've supported myself and I've had aim, purpose, and ambition. The negative aspects of these definitions ruin for me the romance of being a drifter.

I enjoy considering the meaning of words, but sometimes I am too literal. I wonder what others think of words like "drifter" and "vagabond"? What about the term "itinerant/touring singer-songwriter"?

Wind whips away good sense

2009-04-09T13:53:00.019+12:00

It's been a week or two - it's now time for our regular Antarctic wind to rip its way through Island Bay and northwards to the rest of Wellington. I'm typing now with icicle fingers.

On the walk home from the grocery store I came across an elderly lady, probably in her eighties, coming out from the side of her carport to release a "rubbish kite" into the wind. I think it was a plastic bag that probably once held some potatoes.

"It's not mine, so I'll let the wind take it," she explained to me, setting the kite free as I continued past her.

Great. Nice one! So, what you're saying is: if some rubbish blows into your yard, then you don't have/want to deal with it; you'll toss it out past the border of your yard so that the wind can blow it into the next person's yard.

Maybe one of her sons lives down the street, and this bag will land in his yard. I can imagine how he'll act when he finds it.

My fingers have warmed up a bit. I'll go make some guacamole and salsa now, with thoughts of warm Mexico.

Cheesy wake-up

2009-02-28T09:28:00.012+13:00

I am not kidding - the very first cohesive thought I had this morning, in my groggy awakening state, was the following revised chorus for the song Blinded by the Light:

I was rinded by the white; wrapped up like a Brie, another Camembert delight

How ridiculous! I believe that the word rind is normally a noun. The only verbal definition I found on dictionary.com was "to remove the rind". Yet this morning I brilliantly created a new verbal meaning: "to be enclosed in a rind".

Go ahead. Say it. It's not the first time I've said something a bit cheesy.

Out for a drink

2009-02-26T14:12:00.009+13:00

Infer whatever you fancy from this tidbit...

Last night was not surprising - it seemed familiar, really. It felt like a summarizing, if not typical, "evening out in Wellington" for me. I arrived at Bodega a bit early (music advertised for 9:00, but no one really shows up till 10:30 when the music actually starts) and sat alone with my pint for a long session of people watching. It was a young crowd and I was wearing my "IPood" tee-shirt, which garnered a bit of giggling and gazing, and the odd boyish comment. I was out to see a friend's band perform during university orientation week.

A jolly roundish girl advanced across the room towards me - she wanted a photo of her and I with my shirt. We posed and her friend captured the moment. I responded to her inquisitions; "No, when I chose this shirt, I wasn't thinking it would pick up all the girls." I was soon back to my beer.

At last, the music started. A tall Kiwi guy bopping beside me felt the urge to tell me, "You're looking really good tonight!" Thanks and a smile, and I bopped and dodged a little distance away from him. Neve and Deeps found me and we "danced it up" a bit - Neve from Italy, Deeps from New York. We became the Three Dancing Foreigners for the remainder of the first band's set.

During the band changing break I was approached by my new jolly acquaintance. Turns out she's from New York, too. We had a quick chat until I lost interest and she left to find her friends.

Ah, my friend's band started. A cute, smallish, Kiwi girl danced beside and in front of me for most of the set, which I found intriguing as there was more than sufficient surrounding space to warrant such proximity. In between songs I became friendly and asked her name. She looked at me with cinched lips and then decided to look away from me. I laughed and said, "It's just a name," to which she made ignoring efforts. So we kept dancing while I chuckled.

The attractive Kiwi girl against the wall with the table-cloth shirt made brief, smiling eye-contact with me several times, giggling with her friend each time afterwards. I regarded her as a mirage oasis; a trickle of roaming stags were drawn to her visibly fresh, watery surface, yet they all soon wandered disappointingly onwards in further pursuit of a guzzle. I chose to not adventure forward to determine if there actually was refreshing water at that location.

-- Back to http://www.jesserivest.com/

The years, their getting on

2009-02-13T14:48:00.003+13:00

Countless times over the past few years I've read my own written words and found that I've used the wrong there. I just read my note from a few days ago, "She said their probably wouldn't be enough..." and the word their made me cringe with dismay.

These wrong theres pop up for me instantly - and quite regularly - so it's clear that I am quick to know the difference between there, their, and they're. However, I'm obviously quick to use the wrong word, unconsciously, when I'm writing fast! I guess I'm getting old? Or perhaps I had a difficult time differentiating these words when I was younger? I can't remember it being a problem...

-- Back to http://www.jesserivest.com/

Strange disappointments in the shared kitchen

2008-12-07T00:25:00.004+13:00

(what I'm dealing with here)

The dish rag had transformed
once yellow and crisp
square
now brown and stretched
someone had been dragging it through
greasepools
perhaps even the cast iron pan
not washing it with hot soapy water
so I disposed of it
in the garbage
gone
and lo...
I returned home in the evening
there it was
resurrected and hanging
at the sink
ready for action.

-- Back to http://www.jesserivest.com/

It was great to be home!

2008-11-03T21:16:00.003+13:00

Back in New Zealand now, after my fantastic whirlwind visit in Canada, I must say it feels a bit weird to be here. I truly had a blast in Canada, with my family in Kelowna and friends in Calgary, and with my shows in each location. I topped the whole trip off with my good friend's wedding - what a great time, it was a reunion of friends for me, not just a celebration. Oh, and I caught the bride's garter belt... yikes.

Ah, Kelowna. My brother brought his Nintendo Wii and we bowled the entire Thanksgiving weekend, hilarious. My friend Kyle the Kiwi was able to join my family for Thanksgiving before returning to New Zealand, that was a treat. A bit of a wrinkle at The Minstrel Cafe & Bar - unfortunately I was double booked over another act, forcing me to play early during dinner. I was disappointed; although it was out of my control, I apologize to anyone who was turned away due to the capacity dinner crowd. Thanks for coming! Also, too bad that I missed performances by Nat Jay and Adrian Glynn, who had the original show that night. Finally, Ralph and George, it was great driving from Vancouver to Kelowna with you, thanks!

Calgary. My sinuses clogged, lips cracked, and face transformed into a cracked mud-bed. I drank beer every night, which didn't help my reaction to the arid climate. But I had a blast - I was overjoyed with the quantity of friends I was able to catch up with, and with the quality times we had. And I met some great new people, too, which is always exciting. Love those autumn leaves along the Bow. Oh, I was very happy with my show at the Ironwood Stage & Grill, thanks to everyone who came! Much appreciation to Shelly Groves and Kodi Hutchinson for charming everyone with their violin and bass skills, too. It was a real treat for me to experience Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few afterwards... awesome show!

So, New Zealand. It's a great place, truly. I am here, it just takes a bit to get accustomed again. A few weeks back home in Canada really made me feel... at home. I look forward to being home again. In the meantime... come visit??

p.s. Moon, don't think I'll forget you being the biggest that I've ever seen you, crawling up and out of the pink and blue over Calgary's "work stacks", near the end of another Greyhound Through the Rockies.

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Winter lightning

2008-08-17T17:32:00.002+12:00

Winter in Wellington.
Thunder and lightning, hail and rain
Crashing down tumultuously.
Never have I seen such a mid-winter spectacle.
This kind of heavenly behaviour I've only seen mid-summer.
I am, after all, from B.C. and Alberta.

I was caught in it, surprised, during my late evening
Walk out to the corner store to get some melodies.
I danced soaked with glee.
I walked through gushing icy streams that raced down streets towards the bay;
The sidewalks covered in crunch-crunchy pellets.
I giggled absurdly and took shelter next to a parked car
As the wind lashed me with it's angry kernels.

When I returned
She rolled me up on the floor.
Hot cocoa, nuzzle-snuggles,
And I was warm with wonder.

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I love movies

2008-07-23T20:58:00.000+12:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'd be writing more songs if I watched less movies... Ah, but movies are so inspiring! Books, too. But this is about movies.

In the past couple years, while living in New Zealand, I've watched a good share of movies. Some Kiwi made (like Eagle vs Shark - a goodie - and Scarfies, Out of the Blue...), and some foreign films.

I thought I'd share my top 7. Two of them are old, which I'll comment on. But they're all great movies, so if you're looking for something to watch, try one of these. Who am I kidding? You've probably seen them already.

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006, Germany)
Eden (2006, Germany)
Amadeus (1984, USA) - I was too young to appreciate this film when I first saw it... but now I love it.
Adams æbler (Adam's Apples) (2005, Denmark)
Once (2006, Ireland)
La Science des Rêves (The Science of Sleep) (2006, France)
A Beautiful Mind (2001, USA) - I've never seen it till this year - oooooh I love a good twist - plus I love anything to do with mathematics!

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Aerosmith a.k.a. The Inventures

2008-07-15T17:32:00.003+12:00

This is mystifying. There is a website called globalinventure.com and it is totally whacky. Without wasting too much of my time, I've noticed two very peculiar things.

First go here. It's the very first bio I (must have) put on CDBaby for my CD, Seventeen Oh-Two Oh-Six. Probably this site is a mirror of an old snapshot of CDBaby, as I no longer use that bio, and there are countless other similar pages for other artists/CD's. Also, who are those South-Park-looking characters at the top of the page?

Well, go here. Those South-Park-looking characters are... Aerosmith!? While you're there, click on the links at the top: Home, About Us, News, and Future. It's all about Aerosmith, except they're called "The Inventures". Very weird.

Anyways, don't waste any more time looking at it. I'm not even gonna waste any more time writing about it. We need to be very efficient - time is not to be wasted.

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Homesickness

2008-07-12T13:53:00.003+12:00

When I first left Canada to travel in 2005, I marvelled at how I seemed impervious to homesickness. Every month away seemed like a prize or a gift. I was heard to say that I was having the best time of my life. I was away about 9 months - the accumulation of which seemed a blissful eternity - and my return to Canada was for musical reasons, not from homesickness.

Once back home, I was restless and anxious to leave again. And so I did, after about 8 months. Since then, I've essentially been in one place - Wellington, New Zealand. The first year here was mostly exciting - I adjusted to the different weather and climate, and I dived into the culture and music. I felt that I'd like to stay longer, so I did.

It is now pushing two years of being away, and I've noticed a growing confusion, and a longing for Canada, and North America in general. The confusion results, in part, from setting up a home - a place to live - away from the environment that I've always known to be home. Once I did this, I grew to realize that I was no longer travelling - and the question "how long is this for?" appeared. And I haven't been able to produce an answer to that. I won't go into the various complexities involved.

I often think of my friends in Canada; I miss them. I sat down and wrote their names, their full names, and the names of their partners, and their children's names - if I could remember them. Many of these friends I've known for nearly 15 years. Some of them only a few years - yet in some cases we managed to form bonds as strong as those of longer friendships. Writing this list was bittersweet - I'm happy to remember and cherish people, and I'm sad that we are so distant - literally and figuratively.

I've grown homesick. Missing friends, growing out-of-touch with family, longing for the Canadian and North American environment - this is it - homesickness. New Zealand is a beautiful place (from the small bits I've actually seen), and Wellington is a very happening city. Yet I have to work at appreciating where I am and the things that I've accomplished. I almost daily take a walk and feel some peace from my environment - I have it pretty good here. But a great deal of the time I feel a default confusion and longing - a displacement. How long is this for?

I'll discover the answer when I'm ready. Meanwhile, I will officially (anything on my blog is official, ha ha) admit that I am homesick. I miss you Canada. I miss you, North America. Please don't reject me, for I have not rejected you.

Oh yeah, p.s. please find my podcast from my website, listen to it, like it, and tell your friends about it. Done.

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More podcast episodes, for her pleasure

2008-06-24T16:18:00.006+12:00

Lately I haven't been blogging much, instead I've been podcasting. You can find my podcast from my website. I've podcasted some live recordings from the Mussel Inn and a live video from Happy - these shows were part of my mini-tour of New Zealand in April, 2008. Songs podcasted so far are Greyhound Through the Rockies and The Romance of Kaslo.

In addition to live tracks, you'll find a poster for the mini-tour, and I may also be podcasting some photos from the gig in the near future. Yes, you can podcast posters and photos. But maybe I won't podcast the photos, maybe I'll find some other, more webulous way of bringing said photos to you. Perhaps I'll just put them up at Myspace and Facebook. All these known and unknown options make me sleepy.

I may podcast some more live tracks from these shows, so please subscribe to my podcast if that's what you're into. And if you like my podcast, please share it with your friends. I'd like that. Obviously.

By the way, there's another song I podcasted called Summer Grace. It has nothing to do with the New Zealand tour. It has everything to do with stealing fruit. Dig it.

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The world is an amusement park

2008-03-19T16:00:00.005+13:00

I was on my way to the music store today, where I had a quick, introductory listen to Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and I spotted the following:

A man wearing a tee shirt saying "New Mexico: Cleaner Than Regular Mexico". In "regular" Mexico's defense, I miss your sandy courtyards and chicken barbeques in half-barrels at roadside.
A lady busking with a 3-or-4-foot-tall harp outside in a mall courtyard. There were no jesters nearby, but I thought of joining as a bard.
A Maori fella preaching from a bible to an indifferent, bus stop audience. He kept peaking at the bible for lines, then refocusing his gaze to the bus-waiters and continuing on as if the words were his own. I wondered if his gentle accent contributed to the endearing quality of his sermon?

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0.01 "horse power" insufficient in high winds

2008-03-11T11:37:00.000+13:00

You know you're going to have a great day when you are cycling to work in the morning, and you have to pedal just as hard downhill as you did climbing uphill.

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Cigarette gold

2008-01-30T11:22:00.001+13:00

I saw an un-smoked cigarette on the ground and nearly picked it up. I don't smoke, but many people do, and people are always asking for them from friends and strangers alike. They're expensive to purchase - they're valuable. Perhaps someone dropped this one and, later realizing it, felt a loss... like the loss of a dollar.

I imagined if it was a dollar, then I would pick it up. But imagine if cigarettes were acceptable for trade... I think I'd charge 20 cigarettes for a copy of my CD, knowing that I could trade those for two meals. I could get a good shish taouk for 12 cigarettes, or fish and chips for 6, or a burger and fries for 10. Thick milkshakes are 5 or 6 cigarettes, depending upon the quality of the ice cream in them. A cheap beer might be 3 or 4 cigarettes, and then a lot of people might smoke 3 or 4 cigarettes while drinking a cheap beer.

The bank would have to reserve and store cigarettes and issue notes that were legally "backed" by cigarettes - that way we could pay rent and make major purchases without moving boxes of cartons of cigarettes. A new Subaru WRX Wagon might cost 100,000 cigarettes (probably more)! Eventually the banks would commence fractional reserve banking, and only a portion of our cigarettes would actually exist at the bank. Perhaps the missing cigarettes would have been smoked by wealthy bank owners and aristocrats.

Eventually the bank-issued notes would become legal tender (no longer backed by cigarettes) and commonly accepted for trade, instead of cigarettes. Cigarettes would become rare and coveted, and the majority of the world's cigarettes would be in the hands of the wealthy. People would be disgruntled, feeling tricked out of their wealth of cigarettes. People would pass by banks and wonder where all the cigarettes in the world are truly residing.

Cigarettes would still be traded on the global stock exchanges as a commodity. Investors and brokers would trade bank-issued notes for bond documents that prove ownership of a specified amount of cigarettes. When the market was good, people might sell their stock of cigarettes (for bank-issued notes). Ultimately, nobody would actually see the cigarettes.

Anyways... I wonder if anybody after me picked up that cigarette?

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Podcast: Welly Wonky

2008-01-28T08:21:00.002+13:00

This is a slide guitar instrumental that I wrote in late 2006 after arriving in Wellington, New Zealand. It came out (of me, if one can say such a thing about a song) around the same time that I began writing Silent. The recording is from Access Radio - we were recording a radio show in August 2007. It's a rough one-take, but it does the trick for my podcast!

download mp3

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Podcast: Down Again

2008-01-04T13:00:00.001+13:00

This song is proof that you can start a song idea and return to it years later - it remained strong in my mind for a long time. I had started with the guitar rhythm and melody line, the first verse, and a chorus that I didn't care for. One night, a couple months ago, I felt inclined to finish it; new verse, new choruses (or is it chori?), and overall cohesion.

Imagine, if you will, some streets-of-Italy-style mandolin and accordion in this song (especially the instrumental break)...

download mp3

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Dear Steven and George

2007-12-21T19:27:00.000+13:00

0h boy oh boy please oh please oh please Steven Spielberg and George Lucas when you make Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can you please make it super old school awesome like the old days with the old movies it will be so great if you do i will love you long time oh boy oh boy please oh please can you keep the computer generated graphics to a minimum or maybe even none nil nada because you know how you used to do it at ILM it was so cool you made models and special sets and with special lighting and it was real movie making and it had just the right amount of cheese and i love cheese especially aged crotonese and Indiana Jones oh boy oh boy i soooo look forward to viewing your movie the much anticipated sequel in the revered series while seated up close to a big screen just like when i was a kid pressed up to the screen in The Last Crusade oh yes i will be in the movie theater as soon as i can get there don't you worry and maybe you can do that trick again with the paramount logo in the first epic film where it morphs into the actual mountain that was cool thanks oh and Harrison Ford if i was a lady of taste and distinction i would fling myself at you

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Christmas sours summer Down Under

2007-12-20T16:33:00.001+13:00

Ah, summer... a time of kicking back, relaxing, barbeques, outdoor adventures, extended hours of beautiful daylight, swimming, camping, road trips, and general fun, and... Christmas?!?!

Christmas - a time of hustle and bustle, with people mashed together like potatoes in the big consumer pot, shopping and shopping and shopping to mangled festive music seeping out of store stereo systems. The pressure builds, anxiety flares, frustration lashes out.... until the big day pops... and then everyone shuts down for a week.

I have realized that living in the northern hemisphere has an advantage over living in the southern hemisphere. In the south, the Christmas epidemic runs rampant at the brink of summer, diminishing it (summer) for two weeks or more. In the north, Christmas occurs at the brink of winter, when the sun barely graces the land with its glamorous rays, and in no way affects our precious summer!

Christmas was meant to be in the winter. Sleigh rides loop through moon or star-lit snow and return to warm winter fires. Ovens floweth-over with baked goodies and hams and turkeys, warming homes and appetites. Santa Claus, who lives in the North Pole (where there is lots of snow) has a sleigh, and sleighs are meant to run in snow.

The other day I was baking some Christmas cookies in a friend's kitchen; it got so hot that when I was done I went outside to cool off and let the summer breeze and sunshine dry my shirt. It was weird.

I'm probably being an ignoramus... I just got off the phone with a Kiwi who says he knows it no other way - this is how Christmas is and should be. He doesn't "buy" the whole "snow and sleigh-bells deal" that the north propagates. Christmas, to him, is warm, long sunny days with barbeques... however, I did coerce him to agree that the north gets summer, *plus* a Christmas festive season - the south has the two lumped unfairly together.