Omg[osh] I haven’t been here for awhile
July 27, 2008 | Self-Kudos | No Comments
ok even though most of you saw me last night I am making an update of video’s, Pictures, and such that I have told call about here is a list.
Animation I made:
Baily had the idea for the video I just played along XD I feel so stupid lol
the music video I made for my father:
my music site: http://www.myspace.com/ortha
and I have a TON of new pictures on my art page which you can find on the side bar thing under categories,
WOOH! lol see yall Thursday!
Yay
May 3, 2008 | Self-Kudos | Comments [19]
Since the FABULOUS Jordan posted her comment about her WONDERFUL writings… My father has suggested for me to post my books webpage up so Jordan can see it.. And the rest of you can to… I am sure she is a FAR better writer then I am.
Ehh sure why not
April 19, 2008 | Self-Kudos | Comments [4]
Well, I have never mentioned my friend Desiree before… But I thought I WOULD drop off this video I made of her and me. Its a silly little thing, but I made it mostly for her since she is going through something terribly tough. Its encouragement to be patient and work for your dreams and just keep going.
A Song I Recorded - Genesis’ “Blood On The Rooftops”
March 15, 2008 | Self-Kudos | Comments [7]
I’ve been fooling around with my home studio a bit (i.e. mostly spending money to little actual effect). I did figure out how to make a sort of “one-man band” arrangement of THIS OLD SONG BY GENESIS. ALL of the instruments are done using the computer and a program called “Live”; the vocals, such as they are, are by me. I’m actually pleased despite the rough nature, because I was able to get everything synchronized pretty well. Also, the “vocal harmony” was just ad lib
Funzies!
Music
February 11, 2008 | Nostalgia, Self-Kudos | Comments [5]
After a L-O-O-O-N-G hiatus, I’ve started getting serious about music again.
Mom can tell you the stories. I got my first “electric bass guitar,” a Fender Mustang short-scale, when I was 15. My bio-Dad made the down payment for me and Mom and Dad arranged for the credit. I paid them by babysitting for the kids next door when we lived on 27th Street, whose single mother worked until the wee hours of the morning as a cocktail waitress.
I had that bass until my Freshman year in college when it was stolen from my dormitory. Wish I still had it; I think we bought it for something like $350 in 1973, and it’s now worth about $1,200 on eBay!
I didn’t have an amplifier at first so I bought an adapter cable at Radio Shack and plugged it into the amp in the cabinet-style stereo we had in the dining room (used to drive “Papa Luis” crazy because I’d forget to plug the turntable back in and they couldn’t figure out why the record player didn’t work!)
I went on from there to learn to play the acoustic guitar, then took classical guitar lessons at Alabama School of Fine Arts and majored in Music for a couple of years in college. While in college, I played bass ALL the time, upright bass in the college symphony, in a bluegrass group (”The Mud Acres String Band”), and in a Jazz trio. Played electric bass in a sort of “prog rock” band as well.
But after I dropped out of school for while in ‘77, I sort of lost my zeal for it, always thought I was just “not good enough,” really had low self-esteem in that regard, I guess. I got married to Lynda, and we immediately made Seay, and that was about it.
Of course, since then Seay has been trying to establish a music career of his own, and I’m proud of him.
I’ve always had a guitar or two lying around and from time to time I’d play a bit, then lose interest again. About three years ago I started getting VERY interested in playing again and got together a small group of guys in an “acoustic guitar” band, but that fizzled out pretty soon, too, with everyone too busy with other stuff.
My guitar (and bass) collection kept growing, however. I now have several acoustic guitars, three basses, a nice “jazz” guitar and a bunch of amps and other odds and ends. But lately, since I turned 50 I guess, instead of going for a sportscar and maybe a “blonde” accessory, I started really obsessing about playing music. I hunted around for some guys to play the stuff that I like - “jazz-rock” for want of a better name - and even have begun taking lessons in Jazz theory from a local professor of music.
Saturday I had my first “full-fledged” band rehearsal with some guys I found via the internet. One is a keyboardist about my age, has a music degree from University of Houston, very accomplished; another is a transplanted Englishman who’s an engineer at TI and does a lot with “programming” synthesizers, and the drummer is a young kid who doesn’t like the stuff most kids his age play.
The keyboard guy, Rick, already had some charts written down of some things he’d composed, and we just went at it, and really sounded pretty good by the end of the three hours we spent. I can still read music just well enough to get along, and then we just explained things to the drummer, who quickly “got it.”
I don’t know where it’ll lead - things like this usually fizzle out soon after they start for one reason or other - but it was just FUN to play again! I just missed it so much.
Anyway, when and if we record anything (which we plan to do very soon) I’ll be sure to post it up here.
(Gosh, I need to dredge up some old memories about Mom’s interesting reactions to some of my music “projects” when I was a teenager! Remember, the first kid is always a BIG revelation to the parents!)
Pushup-A-Looza
January 1, 2008 | Self-Kudos | Comments [2]
Okay, THIS is going to need some explaining.
I like to participate on the sports-related blogs hosted on the Houston Chronicle (Houston’s major newspaper) website, particularly that of John McClain, the Chronicle’s veteran NFL beat-writer who is himself a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, so he’s a big deal in pro football journalism.
Several weeks ago, before the game between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints, I commented that I thought our hometown team would beat the Saints here at home, by at least six points .
The fellow seen doing the pushups in the video, Robert Coward, called me “nuts” and bet me 25 pushups that the Saints would win (note that Mr. Coward is not so much a Saints fan as an “anti-fan” of the Texans).
You can read the original conversation HERE; I go by the screen-name of “fool”. My prediction is at November 7, 2007 08:49 AM. Robert Coward’s challenge to me is at November 9, 2007 01:51 AM
Well, the Texans not only won, they won big, defeating New Orleans by 13 points. So this video is a record of Mr. Coward paying up on our bet. I guess that constitutes my 15 minutes of fame.
(P.S. I can only HOPE the camera adds ten pounds! In fact, I’m guessing it added about 25 for me! There’s NO WAY I’m that heavy. I don’t care what the scales say).
More Web Publishing in the Family
September 18, 2007 | Self-Kudos | No Comments
Okay, so Ben draws first blood, but I thought you guys ought to know that I, too, am famed far and wide for being published on obscure websites concerned with meaningless entertainment activities!
As of today, I am the latest “guest blogger” on the Houston Texans fanblog hosted by the Houston Chronicle (the only big-city newspaper left in Houston).
Here is my current masterpiece: “Houston Texans By The Numbers” .