I am CuTRis

I watched “The Grizzly Man” last night. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/ It is about Timothy Treadwell (and Amie Huguenard), who were mauled to death by Grizzly Bears in Alaska in October of 2003. Having spent a week camping on Admiralty Island (back in 1987) with my friend John, and some estimated 1,500 coastal brown bears, I was in awe of both the footage this man got of these animals, and also the reckless arrogance that eventually led to he and his girlfriend being dismantled by the claws and teeth of one of the world’s most powerful animals. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/admiralty/ Treadwell filled his videos with his disdain for the government, the National Park Service, and humanity in general. I fully understand his feelings, since I am also of the opinion that more must be done to protect our natural environment and the animals therein. It is also true that Treadwell obviously wasn’t as wonderfully wise as he gave himself credit for being. The federal rules he...

My upstairs neighbor has a "party house," which is truly annoying. Saturday night I called the police after I heard glass shattering in the parking lot. The cops had a hard time getting in. I bet there were 40 people in that 1-bedroom condo. By morning, it was also apparent that they were playing a game of, "try to hit the concrete pool apron (from the deck) with a glass beer bottle." My friend who is on the homeowner's association board, assured me that the owner of this condo will be billed for cleanup. The party-girl (tenant) is also likely to be forced out, since she has done this repeatedly now.

When I look back at the last three years of my life, it sometimes amazes me to think of all that has happened to me. I left all of my security and tried to follow a dream. I must admit, I hurt so badly in my heart, that I felt real physical pain -both from leaving my friends and family, and then later when I left the broken dream on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. So many things have happened since then, that may never have happened if I hadn't taken that chance. I've experienced a lot of things because of it. My choices, right or wrong, have led me to this “place” in life. Very recently, something wonderful happened to me that would never have occurred if I was still living in Minneapolis and working for the county. I don't think I'm "done" yet. As my American Indian Spirit Brother would point out, it is all about "the journey." I have become a very strong person, both mentally and physically. A couple of years ago I was severely emotionally injure...

My friend Jen says I never put her picture on my blog, so here she is at her birthday party!

My friend Jen says I never put her picture on my blog, so here are some pictures from her birthday party... No produce was injured in the process, and Dean's "smoke" was only a prop. Jackie was just there to make things look good, and Mark's pictures were too scandalous to make the blog... Thanks to Dave for his produce farming skills.

I've had some exploding beer lately. Me and Dave make our own, and some of his Red-Tail Ale got a bit too carbonated, and exploded. It ruined the labels on some of my Gorock Lager, so I had to make some more. Today I put a couple of canned beers in my music equipment bag when I went ot Dave's to do some recording. One of them punctured, and I had another 'sploding beer mess! I guess I shouldn't transport them that way anymore. It was a convenient way to do it, until the puncture incident...

The band recorded another song yesterday, and I am very happy with the result! We did my song, “All I Need.” The recording process is still a lot of work, but we seem to be getting better at it. We have found that we need to put the basic song down in the first track, which meant lead vocals, guitar and drums. I think completing one song in each (afternoon) session is doing pretty well.

I met an angel, and she showed me how to eat leaves and vines. She was kind of silly, and she tossed aside the fruit and preferred to eat the twigs and flowers instead. She was very beautiful, and very sweet, and I couldn’t resist her. Soon I found that eating leaves and sticks wasn’t so bad, even though I still preferred the pods and the fruits. At first she only showed herself briefly, and then she would fly off again to her own land. I missed her when she was gone. Gradually, she began to stay longer each time she would visit. We shared secrets, and I showed her the places I traveled and we ate the fruits we found along the way. She liked my music, and watching me cook. The angel isn’t here right now, but I know she’ll come back. I miss her when she’s gone, but I think I’ll be seeing more of her…

Yesterday was another work session for the band. We recorded Dave's song, "Swamp Gas." It is kind of a Bayou sounding song, and it was fun to put in all the little enhancement parts! It was still a lot of work to get the levels and sound just right. Perhaps in a couple of years we'll finish a CD. I have suggested that we call it, "The Great Album." Dave wants to spell it "Grayt," for some reason and Pete just said, "FINE!"

Happy 4th of July! Isn't it ironic that after achieving independence from Britain, that Britain is now one of the USA's strongest allies just a couple hundred years later? Isn't it also ironic, that our current government leadership is comprised of an elitist, wealthy group of people that no longer represents the bulk of the American population? That's why I'd like to take this opportunity, to ask you to invite a couple hundred of your closest friends to join in supporting my run for the office of United States President, in 2008. Why not have some guy with no money in the White House for a change? Is anybody really happy that we have two wars going on (that we know of for sure), a crippled economy and a continually widening gap between the rich and the poor? Soon, there will be no "middle-class," and then who will pay for the astronomical National Debt??? When will we worry about the environment? How much cancer-causing toxin can we afford to live in? If ...

The other day as I was mixing up my frozen, concentrated apple juice from Cub Foods, I noticed that the can said, “China” on it. Upon further investigation, the (Cub Brand) can said that the contents came from apples that were from Germany and/or Argentina and/or China. I stared at it, wondering why when a butt-load of apples are grown in the USA, that these apples came from “one or more” of these other countries? Yesterday, I decided to make a raspberry wine, using wild, Minnesota-grown raspberries. I will tell you, up front, that this is not a cost-effective way to get wine. The benefit is in the artistic creation, the satisfaction of making a fine wine, and using local fruit! My first step was to drive to Rapids Lake (about a 48 mile round-trip), where I know there are a lot of plants and a lot of berries. I was fortunate to find mulberries too! I was dressed in denim pants and a denim jacket to protect against the many thorns. I also wore a hat and a mosquito net over my head. I wa...

Our recording session yesterday, may have gotten us one song (i.e. "Roadmap"). We also recorded a live version of a song I wrote called, "Freeman." I wrote the song years ago, and when I first played it for the guys they said they would never be able to do it. I change time in a couple of places. I've been told that I "can't do that!" My response is "of course I can!" and "Don't you oppress me!" The guys can play it well now, though they claim it took "three years." I doubt it took over one... My point to them was, that time changes, when everyone knows where they are, actually sound great... and of course... I'm right -they do! Freeman probably needs more work in the recording "studio." I must admit that after several hours, I was running out of steam. Recording is hard work!

Even though things went well with my initial tracks, Dave and Pete had trouble following it. We tried again with me on acoustic guitar and Pete on drums. Then it was a little tricky at the end with my vocal track. In short, we're use to playing off each other live. We may have to try recording a live version with the whole band together. Today is all about seeing what works. No doubt about it, recording is a work session. Some of the joy of a spontaneous jam session is gone. Still, it's time we put some of our 160+ original songs down on CD...

After a beautiful morning, we're getting some much needed rain. The band is at Dave's house and I can hear Pete recording his drum part right now. I used my acoustic guitar and put down the rhythm part of my song, "Road Map." The first take was all that was needed, and then I put down my vocal track in one take. So far it sounds good...

On Friday, June 9th I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina. My friend Alison picked me up at the airport, and after beer and BBQ at Mac's Bar, we went to her beautiful home in Waxhaw, NC where I had my own room (with Internet access) and bathroom! Such opulence... sigh... On Saturday we went to Linville Falls, and hiked up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first photo shows the view from the top, which was more than worth the hike -even in 9o degree (F) heat! That evening we grilled out, and I enjoyed a local beer, Carolina Blonde. On Sunday, Alison had work to do (she is a freelance journalist and marketing maven), so I ventured off into the woods in Waxhaw. Later, we toured Waxhaw and Charlotte. We also visited Lake Norman. In the evening, we attended a Tony Awards party given by the North Carolina, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, in the Booth Playhouse. We watched the Tony Awards, and instead of commercials, two actors cracked jokes and gave away prizes -including theater tickets...

Thanks to Alison for this picture of me discussing the philosophy of life with a stone eagle in a garden in Charleston, SC. This photo pretty well captures the humor that permeated the trip, amidst some pretty enlightening conversation.

I just got back from my trip to the Carolinas. More about that will come later. It was a very nice trip, and Carolinians are very nice. Last night was my first night back, and I needed sleep! So, the large, tattooed woman who lives above me had a loud party that started at 10:00PM, and continued until after 5:00AM. This puts me in a bad position, as I don't want to fight with my neighbors, yet I bought into a community where loud, late, midweek parties are not allowed. If it becomes a trend, I will need to do something about it.

I made it through the last day of school (for the kids)! There were fights and rowdiness. My job for the last two days was to patrol the school with a two-way radio. Today is my last day. We have to go through the lockers and empty any leftovers. Then summer vacation begins!

Last night I played my guitar Jade. She had been stolen, pawned, and then found and returned by police. She was in good condition, though my tools and a few other things were missing. The guitar, strap, cord, case and whammy bar were there. That was what was important if you were pawning it. We jammed with the band, and came up with a spontaneous song called, “Sudden Urge to Strangle,” which was inspired by the whole ordeal. It’s nice to have my guitar back.

I send my kudos to Rhode Island, for once again, winning the title of worst drivers in the United States. After having lived there for a short time, and having driven there, I know personally that they are most deserving of this "honor." From their own paper, The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060527_driver27.3199ad0.html