What things did you want to do that you will probably never do?

[Signe]

You know what, Ironwood? You and I... we can't give our blood in America.  They don't want our blood.   

[Trippy]

You know what, Ironwood? You and I... we can't give our blood in America.  They don't want our blood.   

That's true, though someday they will have a test to check for prions in blood and you'll be able to donate in the US again.

[Trippy]

Add me to the list of people who dream of going into space but almost certainly never will. Almost all of my other dreams are either unobtainable because of genetics (e.g. sports stuff) or lack of certain talents (e.g. music stuff) or are obtainable if only I would get off my lazy ass. Going into space, though, even if I had tons of money would be tough to fulfill.

[Ironwood]

You know what, Ironwood? You and I... we can't give our blood in America.  They don't want our blood.   

I didn't know that.  Do they still want our oil ?

 :-D

[Signe]

Sure, they'll take anything but your blood and organs.  They think we all have Mad Cow Disease, you know.   They could be right, too.  What do we know?  I think they actually have a date as to when they might start accepting our blood again, but by then I'll probably need every drop.  Anyway, here's a blurb:

In December 2003, the first case of BSE in the United States was detected in a dairy cow in the state of Washington. Before that, a devastating, major outbreak occurred in the United Kingdom (England and Ireland) in the 1980s. BSE and resulting cases of vCJD in humans have been diagnosed in the UK and in European countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Norway, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. Because there is no way to detect BSE in blood, people who have lived in these areas from 1980 to the present are not allowed to donate blood in the US, under January 2002 guidelines from the US Food and Drug Administration.

I think, but I'm not sure, that I can donate to a relative if they sign a release.  Or I could just lie and say I've nver been to any of those countries.  Of course, if I saved my sister's life with my blood and then she got Mad Cow Disease, she'd never let me hear the end of it.

[Hanzii]

You know what, Ironwood? You and I... we can't give our blood in America.  They don't want our blood.   

It's not just them, we don't want it either.
I was nearly scrapped from the list just because I lived in East Sussex in 1991.

[Strazos]

1) Take a college-level Anatomy and Physiology course

2) Perform some messy surgury

3) Sit in the driver's seat of a supercar. For the record, I ALMOST did at London-Heathrow. They had a Aston Martin DB9 at the airport. They had no problem with me opening the door and looking inside and taking pictures....but they snagged me as I went to take a seat at the helm. Some of the best leather I have ever felt....

4) Fly a jet fighter. There's still an outside chance I may do this if I end up doing a spat in the Air Force...but I'm only going in if I can actually be a pilot.

5) Be in a Decent feature film. In my mind, I can act...it just doesn't come out very well.

6) Play in a NHL game as a Flyer. Not going to happen.

7) Play running back in HS. I most likely could have done this, but I despised the idea of having to stay so late after school for practice, and then tale a bus home. Also,
group showers don't go over well with me.

8) Actually have a date in high school. Durka Dur.

9) Play some heavy bass in a band. My friend tried to teach me guitar at some point. Not. Gonna. Happen.

10) Slug some of those bastards from high school. Hehehe.

[Sky]

Should have learned to sing at much earlier age. I've never been much into singing except in the past 5 years. My songwriting would have been a lot more realized if that wasn't the case. Plus, I wouldn't have to depend on a stinkin' band every time I wanted to play out.

Yeah, that's one more for my list, but a bit of a twist, since I can sing (ok): I wish I could sing and play at the same time. I can't for the same reason I can't seperate my right hand and foot when playing drums:

But drums are a bitch. It's a "pat your head, rub your stomach" kind of thing. I can program synths and drum machines, so it's not my lack of rhythm. It's the multitasking that's a barrier for me.

Which is exactly my problem. And I'm actually pretty good on the drums, I tend to focus on the musically (playing bass professionally helped that, too), and I also used to room with our drummers, so every morning I would work through rudiments on the snare pads with them (we went through a few drummers).

I think I want to find one of those wacky 'percussionists' to jam with. I'd play traditional drums, but with a catch: they'd play the cymbal beats :) And bongos and cowbell and whatnot.

lack of certain talents (e.g. music stuff)

You don't need talent to have a great time playing music and you'll still get laid. Hell, I've seen drop-tune bands that can't even finger a friggin' chord or play a solo. It's all one-finger three-string power chords, the most basic and easy thing you could play. A little palm muting and a decent drummer and it's actually not too bad.

[Strazos]

I think I want to find one of those wacky 'percussionists' to jam with. I'd play traditional drums, but with a catch: they'd play the cymbal beats Smiley And bongos and cowbell and whatnot.

[Yegolev]

You know what, Ironwood? You and I... we can't give our blood in America.  They don't want our blood.   

I didn't know that.  Do they still want our oil ?

 :-D

Yup!  BP FTW

[Krakrok]

Add me to the list of people who dream of going into space but almost certainly never will.

Virgin Galactic will have suborbitals for $200k come ~2007. Better get cracking. Or the cheap route is the vomit comit ride at $3k a pop for 7 low-to-no-g parabolas.

[Samwise]

If it's just going to be SUBorbital, why even bother?

[Miasma]

Add me to the list of people who dream of going into space but almost certainly never will.

Virgin Galactic will have suborbitals for $200k come ~2007. Better get cracking. Or the cheap route is the vomit comit ride at $3k a pop for 7 low-to-no-g parabolas.

I'm still waiting for Pan-Am to come out of bankruptcy so that they can honor my ticket to the moon.  Bastards are already five years late.

Circa 1971:

[Sky]

Is that case he's holding for all the urine and feces? The reality of space travel isn't really that nice...

[Yegolev]

I suppose I should have been honest about my desire to travel into space.  What I really want to do is have my freshly-minted turds launched into orbit.  I'll be playing the 2001 theme on my mini boombox as I eject my cargo.

[Sky]

We could make a man-made comet of urine and feces!

    

[WayAbvPar]

EDIT: I put it in the wrong place

Is this one of your things you want to do? 

[Furiously]

EDIT: I put it in the wrong place

Is this one of your things you want to do? 

In the back of a Volkswagon?

[Trippy]

lack of certain talents (e.g. music stuff)

You don't need talent to have a great time playing music and you'll still get laid. Hell, I've seen drop-tune bands that can't even finger a friggin' chord or play a solo. It's all one-finger three-string power chords, the most basic and easy thing you could play. A little palm muting and a decent drummer and it's actually not too bad.

Oh I can play an instrument decently if I wanted to (played the cello for 9 years or so and noodled around on the guitar in college so I have some musical aptitude) but fantasy-wise I'm talking like being able to play the guitar like Alex de Grassi or even somebody like Paul Simon or Stephen Stills or being able to sing like Bono and that would take real talent and the right kind of genetics.

[stray]

Well, comparing yourself to anyone probably isn't going to help. You can only be you. The best artists bank on that. Maybe genetics has something to do with it, but I think it's just more about finding one's voice. The rest is just luck.

You mentioned Bono, and he's a good example of that (actually, it applies to early U2 as a whole). I remember reading the Edge talking about when they first started out. How they were completely pathetic, couldn't play their instruments, couldn't play anybody's songs, etc.. He could barely get a grasp of chords, couldn't play catchy leads --- But he did have a knack for messing with an echo pedal. He made it an instrument in and of itself. So they decided to just do whatever it was that they did.

Eventually, if you just roll with an idea, things start to click.
 
With your musical experience, you're probably better than you think. I hear people all the time who are good, but many of them just beat themselves up or let the truly good ideas pass them buy. Some guy, for example, may be jamming Dylan, then bust into something else real quick --- but then stop himself. Because it didn't sound like Dylan. "Oh, sorry, got a little distracted there..." To which I say, "Fuck me! That was great. That was better than Dylan. Let's do that instead."

Anyways....That's how I see it. A great musical idea comes out of thin air, and you've got to snatch it for yourself. Because it's gone in a flash. And the more preconceptions and ideals about it (or any art for that matter) one has, the harder it's going to be to recognize the good stuff when it hits. In that state of mind, you're only looking for Dylan, or Hendrix, or Lennon, or Ozzy, or Neil Young, or Petula Clark.  Whoever. Everyone except yourself.

[EDIT] Hmm, does any of that make sense? I've got a splitting headache, so my apologies if I didn't articulate well enough.

[Ironwood]

You mentioned Bono, and he's a good example of that (actually, it applies to early U2 as a whole). I remember reading the Edge talking about when they first started out. How they were completely pathetic, couldn't play their instruments, couldn't play anybody's songs, etc.. He could barely get a grasp of chords, couldn't play catchy leads ---

Can I avoid the obvious joke ?   I think I can.

[penfold]

Get a tattoo.
Try Heroin.
Enter a cagefight.
Kill someone (legally)

[Signe]

You might want to try the heroin just before the tattoo.  If you like it, it's probably not a bad idea to do it just before your other two thingies.

[stray]

She speaks the truth.

[Sky]

I'm with Stray on that one. Trying to emulate other players never really works, I get so tired of trying to learn the exact notes of a solo when I can simply improv one that has the same feel as the original, using touchstone phrases to keep it tied to the song. A good example of that is "Since I've Been Loving You", on of my favorite jams, because that's how Pagey plays it himself. Listen to a few live recordings and compare it to the album and you can see what I mean by touchstone phrasing.

One reason I don't play out much (at all for the last couple months) is that everyone seems to expect you to play album cuts. I hardly know any songs in their entirity, I just like to jam along with. Hell, I was watching a Sun Records special last night and played for a couple hours along with some of that great rock and roll stuff. Goddamned small town thinking.

One exception to this idea of simply being yourself, for me, is while I don't want to sound like the greats, whether it be Page or Scotty Moore, I want to be at that level of competence. To me, I will suck until I can clearly play the music I hear in my head rather than just playing licks strung together, and be able to play any song I know the melody to, not by memorization but by sheer competency on the instrument.

I need to practice more, heh. But that's the kick: I don't know any guitarists who are satisfied with the way they play.

[schild]

Kill someone (legally)

Oh, I forgot about that one. I've been saying I want to do that to all my friends irl and whatnot, but I keep forgetting that sort of shit online.

I mean, how do you know you're alive?

*quiet rimshot*

[Trippy]

I'm with Stray on that one. Trying to emulate other players never really works, I get so tired of trying to learn the exact notes of a solo when I can simply improv one that has the same feel as the original, using touchstone phrases to keep it tied to the song. A good example of that is "Since I've Been Loving You", on of my favorite jams, because that's how Pagey plays it himself. Listen to a few live recordings and compare it to the album and you can see what I mean by touchstone phrasing.

Whoosh! It's nice you two are trying to be all encouraging but you are missing my point. It might be more clear I gave an example of a sports fantasy that'll never happen: winning the Tour de France. That's the kind of grandiose, farfetched dream I put into the "unobtainable" category because of a lack of certain genetics and/or talent and my "music stuff" reference is along those same lines. I'm not talking about, say, learning the rhythm guitar well enough to play in a local band -- that's the kind of thing that falls into my "obtainable if I would only get off my lazy ass" category. But something like relearning the cello well enough to play the Bach Cello Suites at a sold out concert in Carnegie Hall? Ain't going to happen.

[stray]

Ain't going to happen.

Probably not. But, there are many who could qualify to play that gig -- and still never will get the chance. Carnegie Hall is out of your control, but playing like you could play at Carnegie Hall isn't. 

[EDIT] All of the sudden I have a strange urge a buy a Journey album. We could all use a little more Journey.

[EDIT] Jesus, what the hell am I saying?

[Signe]

[EDIT] All of the sudden I have a strange urge a buy a Journey album. We could all use a little more Journey.

[EDIT] Jesus, what the hell am I saying?

Obviously, you've run out of heroin.  Please remedy that asap.

[Paelos]

[EDIT] All of the sudden I have a strange urge a buy a Journey album. We could all use a little more Journey.

[EDIT] Jesus, what the hell am I saying?

Obviously, you've run out of heroin.  Please remedy that asap.

Doooon't Stop Belieeeeevin'!

[stray]

[EDIT] All of the sudden I have a strange urge a buy a Journey album. We could all use a little more Journey.

[EDIT] Jesus, what the hell am I saying?

Obviously, you've run out of heroin.  Please remedy that asap.

Doooon't Stop Belieeeeevin'!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Oh wait 

Steve Perry = Guilty pleasure. I'm allowed at least one, aren't I?

[Trippy]

Doooon't Stop Belieeeeevin'!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Oh wait 

Steve Perry = Guilty pleasure. I'm allowed at least one, aren't I?

Ah Journey...my favorite band in high school. Missed them on their Frontiers tour but I got to see them on their Raised on Radio one. They were awesome live -- Neal was totally rocking out (on his new personal line of guitars) and he took extended solos on what felt like half the songs. That was the tour where Randy Jackson was playing bass (Ross and Steve weren't on that tour), for those of you who watch American Idol. Man if only I could sing as well as Steve or play guitar as well as Neal

[Murgos]

I liked thier arcade game...

[stray]

I liked thier arcade game...

http://www.jmpc.com/Starcade/games/jouneyBally3.htm

Relive the memories

[EDIT] In stunning 160x120 video.

[Sky]

I think I mentioned that I was at a punk show (well...the 'new' punk...pop stuff more like it) a couple weeks ago that had Journey's greatest hits looped over the PA before they went on. I serenaded my girl pretty loudly (and not too bad, heh). Now I make a point of singing her Journey stuff regularly, in addition to a ton of cheesy tunes. She asked me last night if I knew any 'good' songs...apparently I don't :)

Sooo now I cooooome to yoooou....with ooooopen aaaaarms!