Rain

Mentioned I bought a guitar for my birthday. I am on a tight budget but turning 50 and my one week of vacation is this week, so I figured it there ever was any excuse to spoil myself... Well, I discovered an issue with the guitar so I'll have to send it back, and it's a Holiday week so I'll never get a replacement in time, meaning that my only real plans for the week are off. I'm not sure I would have bought the darn thing if I didn't have that week off ahead to beging with. Oh well, I guess at least I have something to look forward to. Monthly payments... I live in Vegas. I should have known better. I'm too old for new guitars, anyway. John Entwistle knew that. Hookers and Blow, my friend... EDIT: Just in case anyone takes the above seriously (in this day and age where some people always manage to find the worst possible interpretation for anything you say and convince themselves that that's what you meant), I was being facetious. If you were offended, please accept this complimentary apology. I am Canadian. I have endless supplies.

A favorite of mine.

I'm not kidding... Now, to try and find another song (not just a version) with the word Manalishi in the title...

Judas Priest: White Heat, Red Hot. (Yeah, I've been listening to Priest a lot again, lately...)

Thanks, Tim. I appreciate. Glad to hear that it all turned out for the better for you too. My green card is valid until 2025. I believe it's easier to renew them it and to get it for the first time, so at the moment, I am thinking that I will likely apply for that. It would make sense to buy the house too if I can. I guess I'll always be Canadian but after 10 years in the US, I'm probably a bit American too by Canadian standards. 10 years in Vegas, 9 in this house - I've not spent as much time in any city in my adult life, and never as much time in any building in my entire life. Of course I miss Quebec, but I would miss Vegas just as much if I were to leave. ’ll never be 100% home anywhere because I have 2 homes. Which is a blessing, as odd as it sounds. Yep, a bearded dragon. Here you see her and Astrid the dog, quite perplexed. I did not expect a bearded dragon to be so aware of her surroundings and to interact as much with me as she did. They are surprsing little creatures.

Judas Priest - Turning Circles.

After years of going from bad job to worse job, in November 20, I finally found the best gig I've had since moving to the US 10 years ago. Not quite as lucrative as my last job in Canada, but adequate. And I work nightshifts, from home. Can't ask for better than that... A month later, my mariage ended (this had been coming for a while). We are on good terms, so we shared the house for the next 10 months, but I've essentially been living here alone since the beginning of 21, and officially since December. So that gig really happened at the right time. Not sure where I would have ended up otherwise. And the subsequent promotion also came in at just the right time, as it allowed me to keep the house alone. It's a big house, too much for my needs, but, after 9 years living here, it provides me with a sense that I have some roots in this city and country. Plus, this neighborhood is the best. The landlord is a friend and considering the market, I get an extraordinary deal. I would have a tough time finding a 2 bedrooms apartment for this price around here. That being said, I am on an extraordinarily tight budget. I know, I know - I just bought a guitar. I'd been working OT and saving for that. And I am aware that I may have to sell one of the others that I don't use as much if things get too tight, too. Also said farewell to my dog, my dragon, and all of my cats but one. But I am good, really.

I’ve been on Facebook since 2007. In my humble opinion, it’s nowhere near as bad as Instagram or Twitter, where everything you post is public. Young people and influencers (ewww) often think of it as a boring platform for old people. That's for a reason... You can select what you share with whom on FB - in terms of privacy, that’s actually better than most online forums. You can hide your profile and make it undiscoverable by search engines and even by people who know your email address, and configure it so that strangers cannot see your profile or send you requests. I have 174 “friends” (I have deleted hundreds of them in successive purges these last few years) and the way I set up my account and posts, most of what I share can only be seen by a fraction of them. It allows me to stay in touch with friends back home on an ongoing basis, and share the little things with them without having to send emails every time. It makes for a very superficial form of communication, much like this forum in a sense, but one that I appreciate and makes me feel that I am somehow always in touch. And of course, you can always unfollow people if their posts annoy you. Of the 174 contacts I have, I see posts from maybe 20-30, tops. IMHO it is not that bad, if you know how and why you want to use it. But that's just me.

One of my favorite mugs, ever. Purchased it when we attended The Addams Family on Broadway. Too bad it was broken.

According to my Facebook memories, 10 years ago, to the day, I went to Sam Ash in NY to buy an inexpensive Strat with a humbucker as an ealy brirthday gift but walked out with an Epiphone les Paul. I'd been playing strats ever since I had bought a replacement for my first guitar, a uber cheap LP knock off. I didn't want to hear about Les Paul's anymore because I had dislike that first guitar so much. The Epiphone made me realize how much I liked actually Les Paul's and how awesome they could be, and I ended up buying and playing mostly LPs and SGs for the next 10 years, including my main guitar, a white Gibson LP Studio. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Hendrix, Gilmour, SRV, and the likes, and I felt I really needed a new strat. The old 1996 would need new frets and a lot of TLC, and, a this time, it just seemed simpler to retire it, at least temporarily, and to get a new one. And today, well, Mr. Fedex delivered this one. Just what the doctor ordered. Plays like a dream. And so I finally got my early birthday strat, only 10 years later.

I am up...stairs, sleeping. Usually 10am to 6pm.

Alright, you guys showed yours, I'll show mine. I call her Domina Mortem. I knew the finish looked good (this is my first quilted finish guitar) but I was even more surprised when I woke up early a few weeks ago and decided to spend some time downstairs where there's daylight...

Congrats - and happy birthday! I had my doubts about Schecter and it's not a brand I was attracted to, but the minute I picked up the Hellraiser I was sold. A thing of beauty, with incredible features and surprising workmanship. I am looking forward to getting a 6 string version of it. If you enjoy yours even only half as much as I do mine, you'll still be delighted.

Incidentally, I did order the white + maple neck Fender Player yesterday morning. For a few hours I hesitated between that and a black one to replace my old US (at least until I get it fixed), mostly because I have such a long history with black strats and also because I'd been listening to Pink Floyd, and Gilmour is one of the reasons I got my first black strat back in the days. Next time, maybe...

Maybe it's wishfull thinking. but I seem to notice that the fretboard on my Les Paul studio is noticeably darker than it was when I first got it. Taken the day I got it in 2015 (poor quality pic, I know): This pro shot gives a good idea of the color: And that's a few weeks ago:

My anxiety level jumps up just seeing pictures of planes or seeing them in the sky, so hard pass on the tickets. $250, 000? I would upgrade my Mac. ? Or... Use some of the money to buy enough medication to numb me down and allow me to make the trip to Japan. And potentially never come back. I am a huge fan of traditionnal Japanese music, so that works.

Thick and unruly, uh? That was 25 years ago. Not quite as thick nowadays, but the unruly part still is in effect, so I rarely let my hair loose.

I beg to differ. I wore my hair short at various times in my life. I used to shave the sides of my head for a while - talk about high maintenance! Right now my hair is long because I grew tired of cutting/trimming. I actually shaved my head in 2020 and decided after that that I was done messing with scissors and trimmers. I don't like poneytails but that's the most efficient way to solve the hair question for me. Musically, I suck just as much either way.

I don't drive - and I am so perfectly happy living a recluse life. lol There is a Guitar Center not too ridiculously far - there used to be, anyway. I don't think I've been there since 2016.

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Still haven't completely made up my mind, although I do tend to be partial to maple because, well, it's what I am used to. Ordering online makes the whole process a bit more complicated, as you can't really try (well, there's always returns, but it's a pain). I might take a chance, though. I've always had good luck ordering from Sweetwater. I don't think I've ever returned a guitar. Got a Gibson SGJ, a tele, a strat and a Schecter Hellraiser from them, all keepers - I only adjusted the action a bit. I've also ordered a few from AMS - including my beloved Les Paul Studio and my SG - but had to return at least 3 guitars to them. Unless I really can't find the guitar I am looking for at Sweetwater, I stick with them. With the others, it's a gamble.

Bought one of these (MIM Player series) a few years ago, but ended up having to sell it because, budget… I really liked it though, so I am trying to budget a new one. Celebrating the big 5-0 in a few weeks and I have been wanting to add a Strat to my collection - and getting one of these would be more cost-effective than getting my 96 US re-fretted and all fixed up. I’ve always played maple fretboards on Strats, but this time I was considering maybe trying rosewood - which, as it turns out is not an option at this time. Pau Ferro is the alternative. I hear purists cringe. Anyone’s worked with a Pau Ferro fretboard? Thoughts? Unless it’s been some kind of revelation, I’ll most likely stick with maple, but who knows… My 2 other contenders were a Jimmie Vaughan signature and a Hendrix signature - although, as cool as the reveresed headstock looks, I find it less comfortbale for tuning. I am not much for signature guitars, but these two are quite nice.

Watched thses last night. I was a HUGE fan of SRV back in the days. And now, I feel like buying a Strat...

Watched one about Brian Jones last week, but it didn't really make as much of an impression as I'd have hoped. I'm not a die hard Stones fan in any way and I know little about them, but even so, I seem to have learned very little. Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Jones it was called, IIRC.

Belive it or not, I am not too familiar with his work. I am however a HUGE fan of his father's soundtrack for Jesus of Nazareth, which they had us watch in school every year for Easter. Some haunting pieces of music in there.