I spent a good hour fixing up the code for the re-organized Rap Media page. I'm pretty happy with it myself. As always, your reporting any glitches is greatly appreciated. The latest bug to be reported is that the Media site is a mess when the program Safari is used as your browser. All I can say is, "Stop trying to be cool and use Microsoft Internet Explorer like the rest of us."
The latest response for Denial has been, "What the heck does denail mean. You make no sense."
The six hours of the opera rehearsal weren't that bad until I got home and tried unwrapping my arm. I had wrapped it up in 'non-stick' gauze in order not to gross out everyone around me. The new skin from my healing wound is being an idiot and decided it would rather stick with the gauze instead of my arm. This causes me pain and a feeling of having been jilted.
There has been a surprising amount of feedback about the new song Denial. They mask their excitement with subject titles like "Bargain Deals on Rx Drugs".
So many things are happening at once that I can't keep track of them lately. I'll update again soon.
I spent the night re-recording an old song, quite possibly the second song I had ever recorded. The song, Denial, is now up on the third page of the media section.
My arm is still sore, but it's healing nicely. I still haven't gotten around to the post on Irrefragable; it took me fifteen minutes just to write the code to put up "Denial" up in Media. Tomorrow I look forward to six hours of orchestra rehearsal.
Oh, sorry to leave some of you hanging;yesterday's wounds came from a biking accident.
Excuse the lack of updates. My weekend has been eventful in so much that I decided I would destroy my right arm. This is, of course, most ideal as I play the cello and I use my right arm primarily to wave hello. I am currently in the process of writing an account of this for Irrefragable, but it's taking a while; I have made the decision, on a whim, that I will be typing the entire thing with my left hand.
For those who may be curious, it's not quite as bad as it looks and nothing is broken. Despite the fact that I always leave an impression that I'm tough as nails, the nurses at the hospital, I think, severely babied me by completely mummifying my arm.
I have half a day off and it's a beautiful day out. This is the ultimate win-win situation; I feel like I just found out eating excessive amounts of tacos prevents prostate cancer.
I was listening to several underground alternative rock bands that are a complete joke. I've come to the conclusion that, in order to start a band nowadays, it's imperative that you find yourself a very poor singer. As far as the record industry is concerned, what their artists cannot account for in talent, they more than compensate with false pathos and treacly moans. Artistic merit being marketable is a thing of the past; incapability can be doctored solely with a fresh personality these days.
Poetry.com is still at it, sending me email after email about the new trophies they'll award me if only I would send them money to make them.
Among the wittier of emails I received yesterday was one from Stewart, Vancouver, who, on the day after the photo on MSN.ca was taken down, hoped that the screenshot he had taken from MSN.ca wasn't the new-and-improved 8W and epideMIC.
Those who don't check everyday (as I didn't have time to update yesterday) have no idea what I wrote about in the last post with regards to epideMIC and I appearing on Canada's MSN homepage. I guess the ad was up for only one day; sorry for the confusion. Here's a screenshot for those who immediately took this as an opportunity to send me hate-mail with 'idiot' in the subject line, alongside summaries of how they now disbelieve everything I say, while insisting that I'm a liar.
Time for the cold hard truth: When we first made the ad, we didn't think any of it, but, just in case, we decided to plug this site -- that's why at the end of our rap verse, we say, "You can find us at adrian.. fung.. dot.. com." This little trick more than doubled the daily traffic on this site and so, all in all, I highly recommend it.
Some of you have already noticed, but the Canadian MSN is currently holding the faces of epideMIC and 8W. If you don't see us, refresh the screen a few times: It's either a a picture of an asian girl flanked by two guys, a clown in a hat, or two Chinese people. This is the Team Canada cheer I wrote about last month. (The full version in better quality is in the Media section.)
A thanks to Mac for pointing this out to me this morning. Realize that, in the full version, I'm rapping as well; my being cut from the site is due to the fact that I rapped first, we were eight seconds over the time limit, and the actual Olympic cheer of goodwill was at the end of the freestyle. Not because Ep's better than me. Really.
The concert went fine; I realize that if an event like this happens again, you can always set up lawn chairs outside the open-air tent without buying tickets, as many a passerby did. However, you cannot partake in the fingerfoods like shortbread cookies, tiny sandwiches, and tea. I'm just glad I stayed for the sandwiches. It was hot and humid today on stage and, during the performance, my cell phone fell out of my pocket; also, as we were mic'd, I whacked one of the microphones with my bow during a particularly energetic moment. It's a good thing I'm graceful.
Thanks to 5th Disciple for housing me while I was in Hamilton and for all the drives.
The concert will be at 3 pm this Sunday in Hamilton's Dundurn Castle; tickets range from $27 to $32. It's part of a High Tea series. Some of my friends tell me that High Tea means it's a posh event where you get to eat butter biscuits and drink tea like proper rich Englishmen. I don't know if food is really involved, and some of you may say that hearing me play in the Grieg quartet isn't exactly worth $27. However, I'd say cookies made of butter are worth at least thirty bucks.
In other news, check out my NAO bio and see how photogenic I'm not.
Okay, so, as far as I know, the concert this Sunday is at 3 pm in Hamilton's Dundurn Castle. It's part of a series called High Tea in the Afternoon and I believe you have to pay when you come. I'm not sure how much it costs, but I'll get the information tomorrow so that you can all not care in an informed fashion.
The person who was looking for 'girl electrodes' wrote me an email in response to yesterday's post and told me that he came by in the name of a science experiment. To which I say, with no sarcasm whatsoever, "Yea, right."
Someone came by the site searching for 'girl electrodes'. Tell me this doesn't sound like something that a, I don't know, lonely scientist might type in. But the more I make fun of the people who search for these nerdy things, the more I realize that, somehow, they end up here. Which makes me maybe the biggest nerd of all.
Talking to Ep about a new song that we might be working on, I found out Ep doesn't know what a 'grate' is. I'm not saying he's stupid, I'm just saying he's in law school. And yet, when prompted to explain 'grate', my definition, in its entirety, was "It's a, uh, metal thing."
So, as you are all clearly impressed, Ep and I showcase this special brand of intellect on our CD, now on sale.
Well, I guess the biggest shock this week was losing my -- for the lack of a better word -- purse, and then having it returned at midnight. It was really a growing time for me. After realizing I lost it, I went back to the Chinese food court fifteen minutes later and someone had taken it. My birth certificate, credit cards, driver licence, Social Insurance Number -- everything. I also left behind the digital camera my sister gave me. I'll write at length in Irrevocable in the next few days. But, not quite suffice to say, God is good.
Heads up: This Sunday, I'll be playing in the Grieg quartet for a High Tea Concert in Hamilton, at 3 pm. Though I have yet to get the full details, email me if you're interested.
I don't know what it is, but after the concert in Hamilton, it seemed everyone was intent on getting out of the city as fast as they could. Though Hamilton is admittedly one of the ugliest cities I have ever seen, as evidenced by all roads, virtually everyone in southern Ontario was intent on travelling east. I wasn't able to get to the stage in time; thankfully, Ep was more than able to handle the mic himself.
Freestyle Sunday is here. I think I'm going to stop the Freestyle Sundays at Week 10. Or maybe Week 7. As of yet undecided.
Excitement is a ten dollar CD. A few of you have expressed interest in the CD and its lowered price but don't have credit cards. Email me if this is the problem as I'm sure we can work out a cheque/cash thing to my mailing address.
If you like Tchaikovsky, come to the Dofasco Center in downtown Hamilton at 7 pm. If not, come out to the Night Market at Metro Square in North York at 11 pm. A popular event supposedly patterned after the night markets in Taiwan, Ep and I will, nonetheless, still rap in English.
Freestyle Sunday will come at real time again this week, as Ep and I will meet at the studio in the afternoon.
I did the math and today is the 100th News of the Day. In celebration, I'd like to announce that there's a CD Sale at the Store. It's now only 10 dollars a CD and I'll shoulder the shipping. So for those of you who have hesitated, or are even just curious, the CD is now a bargain deal.
Americans can also buy a CD at 8 dollars, though, for now, the shipping charges still apply (I won't be in New York til September).
If you're still undecided, come out and see Ep and I perform live at North York's Metro Square this Saturday at Toronto's annual Night Market. We'll be where the Yellow Fellow crew is, complete with break-dancers and T-Shirt sales.
Ep and I will be appearing at Metro Square Plaza, on Steeles, between Woodbine and Warden. We're performing a few sets in hopes of boosting the sales of our CD. If you've been undecided about purchasing a CD, come out to see us live. I have an orchestra concert in Hamilton the same night, so I'm planning on meeting Ep in North York sometime after 10 pm. Feel free to email for more information.
I spent some of the day in the studio trying to re-make the second song I ever recorded, called "The Seventies Again". It took two hours to record the cello parts, set the beats, and arrange the instrumental track. The song should be complete by next week. Inevitably, a quick recording always runs into unprecedented snags; namely, after taking a glance at the lyrics you wrote when you were 17, the sudden conviction to re-write the whole thing is stronger than you'd believe.
Some developments are underway. A quick heads up: epideMIC and I will appear in Toronto's Night Market this Saturday after 10 pm. Come out to hear us perform. Our CDs will be available. Exact location, time, region of city, and other unimportant details will follow.
I was attacked by a computer virus today. I thank Alex for coming over tonight and exercising his massive encephalon to the benefit of my laptop. It was very hard to keep for myself a Christian stance today, however, when I thought of how gruesome it would be if I ever ran into the jerk who created the virus.
Just two days ago I was lording my virus knowledge over my sister and, as it turns out, what happened to me was exactly what she said could happen: If you do nothing, you can still get a virus. Upon reflection, perhaps a part of my pride finds eating my own words very tasty.
Someone came by the site, from Holland, under the search: "Captivated in sexy armpits". It has a nice ring to it. I think that'll be the title for my next CD. The News Archive | Email
Today is, again, Freestyle Sunday. This one was actually recorded this afternoon which would make this one of the first Freestyle Sundays actually done on Sunday. The novelty of this excites you as much as it does me, I'm sure.
Anyway, I just got some junk mail in my inbox. It was from a girl called Anne; in the subject line: "Is your septic tank dangerously full?" Now, I'm not sure what kind of marketing ploy this is, but maybe they're assuming people with overflowing septic tanks will decide on checking their email first.
I just realized that two years ago today, I first started blogging. You can celebrate with me by buying a CD. Yay!
I'm beginning to realize the value in keeping real life and internet personalities private. It has come to my attention that the News of the Days aren't exactly impressing people who come by the site looking for a concert cellist; I suppose one would doubt a cellist's professionalism when he's preoccupied with writing about poo.
I begin work on Monday, playing in an orchestra. As the cheque is already set on a weekly basis, a quick glance at the schedule shows that they're milking us for all we're worth. Which, admittedly, is better than the time my payment was a couple of sandwiches.
The night before leaving Montreal, we all went to Orange Julep. Orange Julep is a giant fibre-glass orange that sells a concoction tasting better than it sounds. Unless you think orange juice, milk, and raw eggs gone through a blender sounds good.
I spent Wednesday walking through downtown Montreal in nostalgic mist. There's something about retrospect that makes you wonder if you had looked up from the busyness and stress long enough to enjoy everything that surrounded you.
My sister's home, so the number of humans in our family once again match the dogs. Updates will appear throughout the site in the next coming days.
The News Archive | Email
Excuse the lack of updates. My weekend has been eventful in so much that I decided I would destroy my right arm. This is, of course, most ideal as I play the cello and I use my right arm primarily to wave hello. I am currently in the process of writing an account of this for Irrefragable, but it's taking a while; I have made the decision, on a whim, that I will be typing the entire thing with my left hand.
The News Archive | Email