Monday, February 24, 2014

notmovingpictures Episode 020: Road Trips Past And Future?

Episode 19 was the reunion of the four who went to see Journey in 1983 and we didn't even talk about the concert. Tommy and Don rectify that in this episode as they try to search their fading memories for details. Then our dastardly duo go on to talk about the future of road trips as bands get older and eventually will stop touring. Just who is left to warrant a drive of four to seven hours in our ongoing quest to see the bands and know new cities? Listen and find our answers, feeble though they may be.



Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing Music: Journey - Line Of Fire

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Older episodes can also be found @ www.archive.org, just search for notmovingpictures.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

New Lyrics - Faded Past

So I've been listening to a fair amount of punk lately, a lot of the Kpunk podcast, and this one came out. I hear it set to punk music but who knows? Maybe Tommy can find a kernel of something here to use for Alloy. I guess the motivation for this is apparent. Maybe it's just me though.

Faded Past

What good is it to look back
On times when I was young
My only thoughts were of fun
You can't go home anymore
Still I like to remember when
Those times when I was thin
Didn't have a care in the world
Thought I had it all under control

             (Chorus)
So I sit alone and have another
Wasted hour wasted day
There's nowhere left to go
Wasted hour wasted day
The records stores closed anyway
Wasted hours wasted day

All my friends have come and gone
Leaving me all alone
Won't see my weep for the lost
Not at the excessive price it costs
Can't try and move forward
If I'm living in the past
Scratch the surface wash the dust
Memories fold together and fade away

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Ten For Tuesday Episode 053

This episode features a mix of new-ish, 90s and then a lot older stuff as well as bands from Germany, Peru, England and the U.S. I'm finally getting around to investigating some cool Peruvian bands that I should have looked into while I was in their home country last summer but unfortunately didn't. Sometimes the internet is a great tool even though I don't hablo mucho espanol. Of course I guess I could always call my brother-in-law and have him go get some of these for me and I probably will end up doing that. I just like being able to listen to something that strikes my interest without having to wait for weeks to do it. Finding music is so much easier than in my youth. Anyway, all of this episodes music is cool. Why? Because I say so and it is my podcast.



Street Dogs - Punk Rock And Roll
Against Me! - High Pressure Low
Sugar - Gift
The Skoidats - Saturday Skins
Dropkick Murphys - Never Alone
Asmereir - Felicidad
Male -Kontrollabschnitt
Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rock
The Quads - There Must Be Thousands
Rough Francis - Don't Look Back

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn't find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn't matter if it's a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won't hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT its all about the music...and me of course.
Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Valentines Day Redux


At my job they have passed around bags to decorate for Valentines Day for the past few years. Since I am no longer in grade school (and haven't been for a long, long time) I declined to participate but as usual after repeated queries of where my bag was I relented and gave them the bag you see above.

For some reason it was deemed to be lacking that certain Valentines Day something or other and I didn't win the contest. For the life of me I don't understand why. I guess there's no accounting for taste. In case you're curious here's a shot of the winner below. Some people have way too much time on their hands.


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

It's Valentines Day Again...............

Well Valentines Day is here once again but unlike years gone by I won't be rushing out to Walmart or some other such store desperately trying to find some flowers or a card. I've done that in the past and had to fight my past other poor saps to get the last slightly wilted bouquet of roses before making my way down the card strewn aisle to select from everybody else's leavings. The fact is I have learned a thing or two about my wife since getting married. The thing is she tends to change her mind from year to year so if I try and surprise her with something then chances are I'll get it wrong.

So instead I prepare by getting her nothing. Now before you start muttering how much of a jerk I am for not getting her something on this most holy of days that is not what I said. I said I prepare by not getting anything, not that I won't be getting her anything. In order to make sure that wife gets exactly what she wants I'll be giving her a card then taking her to lunch and after that wherever she wants to get whatever she wants. If she wants a plant this year then we'll go get the plant that she wants not the one I think she wants. If she wants flowers then we'll find the ones she wants not the ones I think she would like.

This way she gets precisely what will make her happy and I don't get in her doghouse. If you think that this isn't very romantic or some such drivel the you probably haven't been married very long. By getting what she wants she'll be happy and as a by product so will I. And that's a good thing in my book.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

notmovingpictures Episode 19: A Journey Revisted



Its been a long, long time but I have finally gotten back to my other podcast, notmovingpictures. The last episode was way back in October and actually this one was recorded before that one. The file has sat around on my laptop ever since until this past week when I got off my lazy butt and edited it. Be forewarned, it was recorded in a noisy diner so the sound quality isn't great but beggars can't be choosers.

So what is this episode about? In 1983 four guys went to see Journey with Bryan Adams opening in Norman, Oklahoma. Since that date all four had never been in the same room again at the same time. Up to three, yes but never all four again until you flash forward thirty years and they get together and talk about the old days, food, eating establishments (hey, we're old), Northeastern State University and what they've been doing in life. Strangely, about the only thing we didn't talk about was the Journey/Bryan Adams concert. I guess there's always next time, huh? 

Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing Music: Journey - Stone In Love

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

My Peruvian Summer Vacation: Up To Ticlio!


I've been meaning to write about my vacation in Peru, well, ever since I was there last summer. That never seemed to work out and ever since it's been on my mind but I've let the topic languish with a lot of other things. It finally seems like I've got a little bit of time so here we go off of the diving board and into the pool. The first thing I'll say is that while it was my summer vacation it was not summer in Peru. The seasons are directly opposite there so for instance right now there is snow on the ground in Tulsa and in Lima it's time to go to the beach. See what I mean? That of course can change depending on where you go.


My last trip before my departure was arranged by my wife and her family and it was to be to Ticlio which as I found out is not a town or city but a mountain pass. As a matter of fact it's the highest railway junction in the world clocking in at 4,818 meters above sea level. Translated into gringo talk that means it's over 15,807 feet above sea level, higher even than Pike's Peak beating it by over 1,600 feet. Our group would be comprised of me, my wife Connie and our son John, my wife's aunt Flor and her daughter (and my wife's cousin) Melissa, my wife's cousin Henry and his girlfriend Karina. Others were supposed to go but that's the thing about Peru, plans change not only from day to day but from hour to hour. Originally we were supposed to make this an overnight trip with a bit of hiking to a waterfall but that didn't end up happening. It's the way things are, you don't question it, you just go along for the ride.


In order to start our adventure we all met close to Brena in Lima to get a van to take us to Chosica The way that works is you pay a set fee and once the van is full they leave. There were quite a few people in the van and I ended up sitting next to a couple whose final destination was for Marcahuasi, a place I really wanted to go to myself but unfortunately I was in no shape to hike for several hours at extreme elevation. Once in Chosica we walked over to a bus station and had to wait for one to fill up. While we waited I decided that since I hadn't had any breakfast and our trip up was going to take several more hours I'd better get something in my belly so I had two delicious empanadas from a stand right around the corner. Some of our group didn't think it was a good idea for me to have food but I felt that enough time would go by that it wouldn't bother me too much. Eventually the combi filled up and off we went on the next leg of our journey to Matucana.
  

When we arrived in Matucana there was some sort of speech going on and a local school band was playing in the square but after a bathroom break it was over so I never even found out what was going on. We didn't stay very long in Matucana because we knew we'd be spending more time there on our way back. Instead we walked over to the next bus stop and caught another combi that would take us to the much smaller town of San Mateo. The higher we went the smaller the towns became. Our time in San Mateo was very short, we simply walked down the street a bit and the negotiations began with taxi drivers to see who would be taking us to Ticlio. Eventually we settled on two taxis for our group and off we went.


The closer we got I did feel a little sleepy and felt some sinus pressure but overall I think I handled it well, especially once we made it all the way up. We kept going higher and higher and still we found ourselves looking up at the mountains towering over us. Even though it was cold at this time of the year I still found it to be very beautiful. One thing I came to understand was why there were so many reports that I had heard about buses wrecking and crashing down ravines. After being on the road with them and seeing them pass slower moving vehicles on blind curves, sadly it became clear why it occurs so often.The taxi I was in had carburetor issues with the elevation and the engine ended up dying at least four times at which point we would slowly drift to the side of the road and hope the other drivers were paying attention. But finally we were there, our destination achieved.


The first thing I noticed out of the taxi was a dead burro lying on the side of the road with it's guts split open. Definitely strange to see but at this point not a deterrent. My son was in the other car and decided he wasn't getting out in the frigid air, the elevation had him sleeping as much as he could. The rest of us looked around at the beauty of nature at such a high height. In spite of the bitter cold temperature believe it or not there were a few people there selling snacks, one lady even had a baby wrapped up in her sling. They were happy to take pictures for us..............so long as we bought a few of those snacks. Heck of a way to make a living.

  
After about twenty or thirty minutes we had seen enough, okay it was just too cold and we were hungry so it was time to go. We clambered back into the taxis and started our descent. The trip down of course seemed to take less time as we reversed the process and caught a comb in San Mateo and made our way back to Matucana. Now it was time to eat and Melissa led us on a short search for a restaurant she had been to before that she promised would be good. After a few minutes she found it and we stepped inside a modest and unassuming building, in other words my kind of place. After consuming a cup of Mata de Coca tea (to help combat the elevation sickness) I was ready for the large plate of Bistec a la Pobre that almost everybody in our group had. As you can see Peruvians do not scrimp on portions. The food was delicious and filling.


 After eating we made the short walk to the bus stop to wait for the next combi. The walk was good for our full bellies and then we had to wait at the stop as there was a long line of people wanting to return to Lima. After a bit our turn came and we were off to Chosica and then Lima. Once there our group began to split up and go their respective ways. Melissa and Flor were first and then Karina, leaving Henry, Connie, John and me to make our way back to San Juan de Miraflores and the family home. With that our trip was over and sadly in a few short days I would be  leaving to come back to Tulsa. If I had the means I would happily return to Peru today and live there with no reservations. There is so many different things to see and do. I guess I can always dream, can't I?


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Ten For Tuesday Episode 052



I was very tired last night when I started assembling this episode. To my ear the Plimsoul's song sounds a bit slow but at this point there is nothing I can do about that, the show has to be uploaded before I have to get to work. My hands are pretty tied. Since I was so tired I had to do a lot more editing than usual. There were a lot of awkward pauses, lip smacks and sniffling going on that really made it sound annoying. One thing I couldn't work around was my bad pronunciation. Oh well, it is what it is and that is some really cool music from all over the world. Hope you enjoy it.

National Wake - International news
Gang Of Four - Damaged Goods
The Plimsouls - Oldest Story In The World
Drowners - Luv, Hold Me Down
Dum Dum Girls - Rimbaud Eyes
Pixies - Greens And Blues
Survey Team - RBD
Stop Four - Pessoas E Solidao
Senor Flavio - Mexican Princess
The Rudimentals - Radio Skaweto

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn't find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn't matter if it's a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won't hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT its all about the music...and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Writing Scraps

Here are some scraps of things that came to me but were never developed further. Not sure if they're any good. There's something there, just not sure what it is.

I'm the center of all that is wrong in your universe
The eye that has been poked out by your hurricane
The maelstrom at the end of your regret

My patience is as thin and worn out as the socks on my feet

You asked if what I was writing was good or bad
I just shrugged my shoulders and said what is bad
You replied something negative or sad
I returned with for me there is no good there is no bad
A poem is just a poem the words what they were meant to be
Perhaps an exercise in learning patience or to prevent frustration
Maybe just words on paper and nothing more

Tired of being second best everywhere
That's all I've got

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Ken Bruen And My Reading Obsession

My writing hasn't been as consistent as I would like it to be as far as production goes and I think two reasons are clear. Ever since I came back from my Peruvian vacation last year I've been reading a great deal and watching movies. Now you could make the case that I've always read a lot and that would be true but lately I've been reading the books from three specific writers and one in particular, that being Irish author Ken Bruen. While in Peru my brother-in-law Gary got my wife and I hooked on Game Of Thrones and after I returned I found that one of the actors in that series (Iain Glen) was in five television movies based on the Jack Taylor series of books by Bruen.

After watching the movies I started reading the books and then an almost obsession was born for his crime noir style. To date there have been ten Jack Taylor books published and I have read them in order rather quickly. Afterwards I started on the Tom Brant series and finished all seven of them as well. Interestingly I found the that fourth book (Blitz) had been made into a movie starring Jason Statham that I had already seen. After that I started on the Max Fisher and Angela Petrakos series and have finished two of the three books. Why not the third you may ask? My library doesn't have it, that's why.

Now I am devouring his other one off books as well as some of his novellas and short stories. His writing style features a lot of short chapters which draws me in and makes me want to read more, I have a hard time putting the books down. His style just meshes with me, I like the stories he tells of extremely flawed human beings who don't quit no matter what they come up against. Clearly they are not good people but most of them end up doing good things in a bad way if that makes any kind of sense. Probably not, I tend to have a hard time putting into words why I like things.

Keep in mind Bruen's books are not the only ones I've been reading in all this time. I also am reading the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson, almost everything written by Jonathan Maberry as well as other individual writers as they pop up. Bruen gives me the crime noir I like so much, with Johnson I get the western police chief and with Maberry I get all kinds of zombie stories and more bizarre things, all told in a manner that makes me think "Yeah, that could happen in real life." Plus Scott Sigler just had his new book Pandemic come out that I've got to get. He's another favorite of mine.

One thing all of these authors have in common is that I have a hard time putting down their books. They are written in a style that makes me want to read just a few pages more. I know I need to get control of my reading habit and get busy writing my own stories and ideas but they make it so easy for the procrastinator in me to put it off. All I can say is if they keep writing them I'll keep reading them and that's the highest praise I can offer. Later I'll write more about how my movie watching habits have changed so that I can bore you with that stunning information.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.