Amusing newspaper ad

One of the local liquor store chains is called ''Liquor Land''. This name always amuses me: it sounds like a seedy amusement park from a ''Simpsons'' episode. (''Ooh -- Marge!!! Liquor Land!!!'')

This advertisement was in yesterday's newspaper. Notice that it gives 20c off on gasoline -- when you buy SIX OR MORE BOTTLES OF WINE!!!

Somehow, a liquor store offering discounts on gasoline with your purchase seems... wrong. Somehow it seems like it is contributing to drunk driving.

Related to that, several ''bottle shops'', as they are called here, offer a ''drive-through'' service. Again, that seems... wrong.

But also, darkly amusing.


--TG

Gift music

Last night GG and I went out to pick up a pizza. On our way there, we re-explored the idea of writing some songs using only instruments which were received as gifts. In the past, we have considered doing this with a song or two, but upon discussion we feel we could create an album's worth of songs -- eventually.

This would be consistent with the fine tradition of artists imposing arbitrary constraints as a means of maintaining their interest, providing a challenge, and perhaps breeding innvation.

In order to maintain the quality of the songs, we would build this album parallel to our regular output. Rather than composing simply for the sake of filling up the album with songs performed with gift instruments, we would generally go about our usual musical endeavors. If a song we write seems suitable for implementing with ''gift instruments'', we would do so. Of course, we would also, on occassion, attempt to develop songs solely with gift instruments. We will have to keep a tally of which songs developed through which process.

Gye Greene keeps a list of all his musical instruments, including where and when he acquired them, and their cost. For our purposes, ''gifts'' would essenteially mean ''free''; they would not necessarily have to be acquired through birthdays or Christmas.

On this basis -- and without GG consulting his list -- we'd have access to a piano (bought with wedding gift money, plus some money from GG's sister's estate), a Chinese stringed instrument, a balalaika, a melodica, some meditation chimes, a kick drum, a rack tom, a floor tom, and a ride cymbal. Ah! -- and GG's white ''mirror ball'' guitar. And the violin, the trumpet, and the clarinet. A reasonable arsenel.

From this list, I can already see some implications: without an electric bass, the piano will have to provide the basslines. And the partial nature of the percussion equiptment will shape the sound in an interesting direction as well.

In addition, over the years GG has received two microphones, a small guitar amplifier, and two or three guitar effects pedals, that GG's received as gifts. Technically they're not ''instruments'', so they fall outside the rules of our endeavor -- guitar picks, strings, cables, and the actual recording equipment would not have to be gifts, just the actual instruments. But we can emphasize their use when choosing our signal processing and microphones.

A good title for this album might be ''Gift Music'', or ''Gifts from Around Us''.


--TG

Free CD!

There is a grassy strip in front of our house, parallel to the road, which The Lady (and family) refer to as the footpath. Annoyingly, some people who drive past throw their garbage out along this strip. Once in a while I walk along the footpath and pick up the garbage -- in particular the glass bottles, so that they do not get shattered when the city workers mow the grass.

On ocassion, however, something useful is discarded. This morning I discovered the Cher ''Believe'' album: no case, just the CD. I brought it inside and washed it with soap and water, and carefully dried it.

Although it is slightly scuffed in places, it plays reasonably well, with minimal skipping.

A free CD! :)


On a completely different note: I am looking forwards to GG and family returning this afternoon. As, I am sure, is Ralphie.


--TG

Stinky logs

GG is doing an experiment with soaking wood. As I believe he has mentioned, he is interested in woodworking. During thte week before leaving for the conference in Hobart, Tasmania -- they flew out Monday, 6 February -- he noticed that some construction workers on campus had left a small pile of logs (eight?), about 1.0m-1.3m (3-4 feet) in length, and roughly 20cm (8'') in diameter. He took the three nicest ones (i.e. no side branches) home. They are some sort of gum tree (i.e. eucalyptus).

Because they were cut during the summer, the ''sap was up'' -- which doesn't yield as good quality of wood. (It's better to harvest lumber during the winter, when the tree is dormant.) He had just read in a woodworking magazine about soaking wood in water, to get the sap and resins out, so he tried that: he filled the ''wheelie bin'' (the big plastic recycling bin, on wheels) with water, then soaked them. In the hopes of preventing mosquito larvae, he poured linseed oil across the surface.

Unfortunately, linseed oil -- being organic -- can rot. The surface was becoming rather foul smelling. Thus, when GG phoned yesterday, I asked for permission to terminate his experiment. He agreed.

I dumped out the water, including the logs: this smelled like a pile of damp sweatsocks, but after a few hours, the puddle drained and it smelled much less.

Tomorrow, after the ends of the logs have dried a bit, as per GG's instructions, I will paint the ends with boiled linseed oil, to slow the moisture loss from the ends -- thus minimizing splitting. When he returns he will use wedges to rough-split the logs into planks, to allow for further drying with minimal cracking and checking.


--TG