Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

Note to all who wonder; when your girlfriend is waxing the odd hairy spot on your back, it's actually better if "Eye of the Tiger" is playing in the background, because then you can think, "Stallone and Lundgren must have waxed. Nobody's that smooth. Well maybe Lundgren, but not Stallone - the guy's Italian." Anyway, music also masks my pitiful cries of pain and Rosemary's giggles of malicious glee. A curse upon Brad Pitt for changing what kind of physical shape is "in" this summer. I had my money on Jack Black setting the tone... P.S. Spell checker wants to replace "Stallone" with "stallion". Coincidence? Or an attempt to resurrect a flagging career? posted by Steve @ 8:16 PM	5.19.2004
Thursday last week was the seventh year since Michael passed away in Malaysia. As it seems to be for me, it crept by on little cat's paws, and I didn't realize it until Sunday. I suppose I put more of an emphasis on remembering his birthday. It's strange that even now I will find myself daydreaming that it was a mistake. Walking outside, hiking up the stairs at work, making dinner - at any time the thought can pop up into my head, like a scenario out of a movie, that he will show up smiling, a bit vague and unforthcoming as to what he's been doing, but otherwise alright. The strange part is that sometimes it seems plausible, and for a brief moment I get excited that he really isn't gone. That we can catch up on all the things he's missed. But reality comes back with a harsh fluidity and I know that it's a just my imagination. I'm a firm believer that life is a culminating thing, that your choices and your experiences, both good or bad, result in where you are now. I think that to wish away events in your past would be to change who you are now and what you have in your life, so it's a waste of energy to have regrets. I think that to have regrets means that you will never feel that your life is complete, becasue there will always be something you will never be able to resolve. But in the moment after, when my daydream is replaced with images of the dark shorts beneath a fold of newspaper, or the fire stretching skyward from the pyre, I know a part will always be missing from my life. posted by Steve @ 9:20 AM	5.17.2004
Changed the strings on the Gallagher and it always strikes me that as you apply the tension to the strings, it exerts anywhere from 180 to 250 pounds of tension across the top and neck. And it's all held in check by the bracing, glues and wood used in the manufacture of the guitar. Enough to make you squint and look away as you turn the tuning peg those last couple of cranks. Every time I change strings and clean the guitar up I think about the enjoyment I get from the music and the sounds of my guitar; its character. It's a unique guitar, one that hums and resonates in its own particular way. Some chords and notes just sound better than others on it - it likes the key of "D" for instance. I marvel at the fact that even though I have an electronic tuner, when a string enters into its proper tuning the whole guitar hums because the other strings suddenly come alive, vibrating in sync with this string when its motion delivers the proper wave length - the right energy. It's amazing to consider that as "unmusical" as the strings sound on a guitar when they're played open, on a sonic level they really do fit together. I put heavier strings on my guitar than "normal", mediums rather than lights, mainly because the guitar is "bassy", and it carries the volume. What I lose in twangy sounds I pick up in tones. And these tones carry me through countless songs that I love to play and sing, songs that take me through moods or emotions, that reflect a sunny day or a cloudy one. That bring friends together around a campfire, or lift everyone in a room into song. John Denver wrote a song called "This Old Guitar" which sums up the affection he had for his guitar, and which I think sums up how I feel as well. All this because my Dad thought it would be a good gift for a 17-year-old boy graduating from high school. Thanks Dad. posted by Steve @ 12:25 PM	5.16.2004
Well, the G string finally broke on my guitar (damn open 'D' tuning), but the Elixrs have held up strong since August 1 last year. Not too shabby! I'll buy another set methinks. Of course, it means going into Tom Lee Music on Granville Street, which threatens to send me reeling into 80's glam rock hell thrashing on a Kramer flying-V guitar. But then that's the price for nanoweb technology... posted by Steve @ 11:53 PM	5.14.2004