Rain

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.

Yes! In my watchlist on Prime. As are now many you guys have suggested and which I managed to find. For some reason, The Filth and the Fury seems to be unavailable on streaming services here. It is on YouTube though...

Reminds me of Boris Karloff who used to say that one should consider himself lucky to be typecasted and that it was an honour. Bela Lugosi and many others would have begged to differ, but I find it an interesting (and rather healthier) perspective. Back in the 90's, I used to wonder how sick and tired Metallica must have been of playing Seek and Destroy at practically every show since their early days, and stretching it to 10 minutes, with the middle section where they get the audience to sing along. That was 30 some years ago... I am wondering if you reach a point where it's actually fun to play again.

It's cheap and easy to prepare. I do not really count on it for health benefits per se. Experts disagree - but some seem to say that you will grow boobs. I believe that to be pretty much debunked at this point, but, all things in moderation... For me it's simple maths: I get more mileage out of the chicken breasts I buy every week - maybe couple of extra meals by the end of the week. I don't replace, I just add it to the recipe and save some chicken. Just a 5th or a brick or so. I got so used to it in my sautés that I actually miss it when it's not there. In this economy, that is not a bad thing. Won't buy you an extra guitar or a new computer in a month, but maybe a decent bottle of wine or tickets to a movie (I have no idea how much these would cost admittedly).

I do try not to eat too much meat as I used to but I've not found any convincing fake burgers or fake chicken or fake cheese. I can live with fake ground beef in a chili, though. I really like Trader Joe's meatless sausage. I don't consider them a substitute as such. They don't really taste like anything else, but they are amazing. With a cury couscous and chick peas. And a bit of mayo. Yummy. I like fried tofu as an appetizer when I order for my favorite Thai place. I also put a bit tofu in my salads, and I put some in my chiken sautés as well. But I can't imagine life without chiken. Other than that, lots of greens, beans, cottage, some tuna and occasionally, pastas. And pistachios. I eat TONS of those.

I used to smoke practically two packs a day. I can't even begin to think how non smokers put up and befriended people like me. At one point I sold a guitar to a friend and his girlfriend would not let him keep it in their room. Back then I thought she was being overly dramatic. Same when the people in the apartment upstairs complained about the smell. Now I know better. That being said, I guess our noses may not have been as sensitive back then, since it was everywhere - not just smoke but olfactive aggressions of every kind.

I see very little daylight and the room where I keep my guitars is very dark. But sometimes on my days off, I wake up earlier before sunset, grab a guitar and head downstairs, and play a bit while I enjoy my cup of tea. Today, I picked my beloved 2014 Les Paul Studio - the fair maiden whom the angels call The Angry B!tch. It was a shock to see her in the daylight again. Then I ran upstairs and grabbed the Epiphone LP Junior, my old travel guitar, to compare them. That one has NOT been kept in a smoke free environment (for the first few years), and not really taken care of all that much. It's also 4 years older. Just a cheaper, different type of finish. I was a huge fan of Randy Rhoads (still am) and back in the days, I always assumed that his main Les Paul was yellow-ish. I used to wonder why it was referred to as white. Now I know firsthand.

Cocaine has destroyed many careers, but this is one case where I think it might have helped. Couldn't have made things worse, at any rate.

Was listening to The Tea Party this week and remembering how much I loved to play their songs live, and this gave me the idea... Cover songs that were the most and the least fun to play live. Songs I LOVED to play live: 1 - The River, The Tea Party. (Perfect. Nothing comes remotely close). 2 - Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine (Energy and crowd reaction). 3 - Epic, Faith No More (The rapping/singing part, that was so out there for me). 4 - Tourettes, Nirvana (Cathartic). 5 - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Jimi Hendrix (Quite obvious). 6 - Roadhouse Blues, The Doors (Vocals). Songs I HATED to play live: 1: Highway Star, Deep Purple 2: Going Blind, KISS. 3: Closer to the Heart, Rush. The fun ones not necessarily personal favorites (for exemple, I am not that big a fan of RATM though I can appreciate them) and ironically, those bands on the hate list are among my favorites. I just could not sing/play those songs properly. I chose 9 because it’s my favorite number - and also because my template only takes 9 pics max. There’s also a lot of songs that I really like, and which I was glad to see on our setlist, but which weren’t particularly exciting to play - The Wizard by Black Sabbath, Mandatory Suicide by Slayer, and Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd come to mind. And I am sure I forget many that loved or hated. The only one I am 100% certain about is the top one. What are yours?