Here is a link to the book Aunt Syd is talking about, just click on preview book unfortunately they don't allow you to look at the whole book because they want you to buy it. Fortunately for you if you decide you want to buy I didn't mark the price up.
Raising Sand
Sydney took me to the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss "Raising Sand" tour concert last Tuesday at the Greek Theater and I want to thank her for a great experience. She also gave me the CD and typically I've been playing it over and over again to hear the words and stories and get it stuck in my head.
I had heard they had collaborated on an album and I remember thinking what a strange pairing this is; the Christian, country singer and one of the bad boys of rock and roll. But time has mellowed Robert somewhat and the blend is like Chocolate and Cherry, just flat good. Alison seemed a little shy on stage. I've seen her several times on Austin City Nights and she seems to be happy to let the band have more of the spotlight. She was the same way here, but her voice and fiddle smoked and Robert just puts on a great show. He is the master of the stage.
T Bone Burnett produced the album and played in the band. He also did several numbers in the middle of the show to give Alison and Robert a break. Besides the album tunes T Bone put together a blend of older songs with a new twist. If you saw "That Thing You Do" you remember how Jonathon Schaech's character wrote the title song as a slow ballad, but when the drummer Guy Patterson, played by Tom Everett Scott, got flustered on stage and increased the tempo the song took on a completely different flavor. Well they did this in reverse. They played Led Zepplin's "Black Dog" at about 1/8th the speed and "I'm In The Mood" about 1/2 speed. Only the hard core Zep fans recognized them early in the song. I didn't know what they were singing till the lyrics started. It was like a rediscovery for me. I hope they put them in an album.
The opening act was Sharon Little and if you've never heard of her it's because she just put out her first CD. I recommend you sample her stuff on the web. She has a smokey blues voice that reminded me of Janice Jopplin, but smoother - less raw. Check her out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD4bESDYj2g.
Before the show and after dinner at the new and trendy Kitchen 24 on Cahuenga (Syd knows all the hot spots)we had an unexpected treat when we went to Amoeba Records and the Watson Twins were performing live. Coincidentally, they were the backup for Jenny Lewis who was a member of Rilo Kiley. Dave Ford from Syd's video below was also part or Rilo Kiley. One more example of the six degrees of separation I guess.
Anyway, thanks little sis. It was a great evening.
A Wonderful and Very Cool Gift
Well, another Santa Monica Fireworks show has passed and it was very fun. I have some pictures to post which I'll do later when I have a bit more time. In the meantime, I had to tell you all about a very special gift that Jenni sent me and I was able to show off at the gathering yesterday (it was a big hit!). Jenni turned the first year of the Risser Chronicles Blog into a book documenting many of the entries (including comments). She also included a DVD of the video of Jett boxing the Dog in his Tigger costume- makes me laugh everytime!
She did it off of blurb.com. If you have any interest of doing the same (you know, sending me a book and all :-) you can ask Jenni about it. She also made one of her blog documenting Aaron and their families adventures. Great idea.
David Ford
Aunt Syd asked me to post this video of David Ford sampling sounds only to loop them live, i.e. at that moment, to create to create the effect that an entire band is playing for him while he sings.
Q. How do I embed videos on my website or blog?
A. To embed a video, just copy the code from the "Embed" box—you can find it in the "About This Video" box when you're watching the video.
Once you've copied the code, just paste it into your website or blog to embed it.
Check it out...
... I finally got my video to download. Check it out in the last posting. He's added even more fish kites and another scuba diver. I'll see if I can get another updated version.
Santa Monica Fireworks- June 28th
Yes campers, it's that time of year again... the 4th of July (but never ON the 4th of July) Fireworks Show in Santa Monica. The date is rapidly coming and is Saturday, June 28th. Santa Monica always has there fireworks on the Saturday BEFORE the 4th of July and they're shot off from the school across the street from my apartment. Doesn't get more convenient than that! The above is a picture of Sade and Jeremy at last years show. The top picture kept downloading sideways and I gave up trying to correct it. Turn you head :-)
I know some of Toni's clan had expressed interest but I think the trip for Stephen Randall's wedding might have superseded this one.
Regardless, I would LOVE to have whoever can make it join us. An earlier beach trip is the norm and we can shuttle people so we don't have to deal with too many parking issues. We picnic around 5:00 p.m. then stroll and play games. Fireworks are at sunset (~8:30). Afterwards it's flagcake at my apartment, kids are changed into p.j.'s for the drive home and by the time you're out the door for home all the traffic is gone and it's smooth sailing home. Have I convinced you? I hope so.
Below is a video I took in Santa Monica (provided I set it up correctly... I ain't no Eddie!). This man sets up his kites every Sunday. This was from a few weeks ago. This past Sunday he had even more up. It was so fun... like watching an underwater adventure in the sky.
I'm Sorry, Stevie Schmitt, Where-ever You Are!
Soooo... in talking about time flying by and new puppies in the house, it made me think of a story of Me, Sydney, Stevie Schmitt and Pansy The Wonder Dog. Back in the days of our childhood (60's) we owned a little dog named Pansy. I'm sure you young-ins have heard of her and / or seen her picture. Anyway... we used to give her 'dirt baths' because we thought it made her coat shinier (after we brushed all the dirt off, of course). This required us burying that poor, brave, tortured dog in dirt up to her ears. She was such a cooperative soul. Well, one day Sydney and I (around 7 & 4 years of age - give or take) were in our side yard giving Pansy one of her dirt baths, when down the street walks Stevie Schmitt (he was around 5 or 6). We had Pansy halfway buried. He had never witnessed the dirt bath ritual and inquired (with concern) as to what we were doing to Pansy. I immediately piped up (with a voice of disgust) that "we're tired of Pansy so we're going to bury her alive!" Syd obediently followed my cue and kept silent. Horrified, Stevie responded, "don't do that! I like Pansy! I'll take her!" I responded, "you have to ask your mother first and we're not going to wait so you better hurry". Stevie quickly turns to run home (about 4 houses away) calling out, "just wait! I'll be right back!" As soon as he was off and running Syd & I quickly brushed off Pansy and put her in the house. We then ran back to the dirt and piled it up. Soon Stevie was running back yelling, "My mom said I could have her! My mom said I could have her!" The two of us sat there patting that mound of dirt with our little shovels as I looked up and said, "You're too late!" Stevie ran home crying.
Yeah, it was a rotten thing to do... but what a clever trick for one so young. Scary!
New Puppy!!!
Ever since Kook died last January our pug Buster has been so lonely that his health has gone downhill, so we figured it was time for another dog to keep him company. Cherryl's birthday is this Tuesday so my mom and the kids all pitched in with me to get her a new dog.
This is Buddy. He's a Papillon. He's a miniature and will probably never get any bigger than 8" high at the shoulders and about 6-8 pounds. They're supposed to be in the top 20% for intelligence (which puts him WAY beyond Buster even as a puppy _ no nose, no brain as we say here). We all came up with names, Binky, Binkley, Berkley, Napolean, Cocoa Puff (?), Gizmo, Furball, etc. No one could agree. Then someone said lets call him Buddy cuz he's Buster's buddy and it seemed to stick. Buster is acting younger again, playing with him, so it seems to have worked.
He turned 8 weeks old yesterday and it's like they say, we have a new baby in the house. So now we get the joys of cleaning up after him when he has an accident, potty training, waking up two or three times a night when he does, special food, teething, the whole nine yards.
You Make Me Smile:)
So it's late Friday night (actually early Saturday morning) and I'm alone again:( John is at a Stake Father and Son's campout (we have a major storm going through - fun fun) and Chelsea and Emma went back to Utah. The house is very quiet. Just me, the dog and cat. They're happy:) I've been hoping that after bonding so much with Emma, grandpa John will be so miserable that he will maybe, hopefully, wishfully think about heading out west. I can dream can't I????? At any rate, Rheanna's wedding is quickly approaching and I will be flying out in a month. A few weeks ago Chelsea, Emma and I went down to see Paul & Anita and their new baby girl, Charlotte (she's adorable and Anita looks fantastic). Added bonus of seeing Toni & Stephen at the same time. Stephen made the comment about how much he loved his grandchildren and it made him wonder , "Did I love my kids enough?". John and I talked about it later and wondered the same thing about our children. Life comes rolling at you so fast and you're working so hard to earn a living, start a career, support a family and just survive the hectic pace of day to day living that the years go by so fast it makes your head spin. It's like John's mother, Maria, says, "I feel so young and then look in the mirror and say, 'who is that old lady?'" So on that note.....
I want all my family, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, etc., (and especially you mom) to know how much I love you all and am soooooo grateful to have you in my life (how ever far the distance may be). So despite my lack of communication (call, write, etc.), I think of all of you far more often than you'll ever know... and smile:)
When I first stumbled across this web browser in a email newsletter, I didn't think much about it and skipped over it. A day later, I started to think about it for some reason and though maybe Aunt Toni and Nathan would be interested in it, not to mention, it is also a good resource for little ones that want to venture online but you want it to be safe for them.
The ZAC (Zone for Autistic Children) browser is stripped down and focuses on the strengths and weakness of Autistic children. There are about a dozen child friendly sites that can be accessed but also directs them toward activities suited for Autistic children.
You can read more about it at Kim Komando's website, or you can go directly to the download here.
