paulnet

early March

March 26 - small pike

 Spring is here and the wildlife are on the move again.  There are many deer here.

Yes I was this close

March break has come and gone. I’ve been meaning to write about it but haven’t.  I went home, enjoyed my time, went to a Raptors game, a Leafs game, and the sportsman’s show.  I have photo albums to tell the story -

Downtown Toronto  slideshow  gallery

Raptors vs Hawks  slideshow  gallery

Leafs vs Devils  slideshow  gallery

As usual, when I left, I got the feeling that I should have spent more time with my parents.  I spent as much time as I could with my nephews and niece.

I purchased an Ipod.  I use it daily, although I only have 68 songs on it so far.  I listen to music on the way to and from work.  I also use it to listen to podcasts as I fall asleep.  Its a nice alternative to having my laptop take up half of my bed.

One thing that has changed in the last couple of years is my access to new music.  I used to drive a lot, and when I drove, I would listen to the radio.  Listening to the radio allows you to listen to the newest and greatest chart toppers. 

I don’t drive on a daily basis any more and the local radio station here keeps up to date on pop, but not a lot of rock.  CFNY, my old favourite radio station, I no longer listen to any more.  I used to listen to them online, but after they fired two of their best personalities last spring, I really lost interest.  I guess I was listening for the people as much as the music.

So I felt my life was lacking in rock.  I’ve already discovered a lot of the classics (although I’m sure there’s lots of classic rock I haven’t heard.)  When I would go to sites like grooveshark or even using limewire, so often it was the same 50 or 100 songs I would download, over and over. 

It’s funny where inspiration (or influence) can come from.  For example, while watching the fairly humorous South Park episode Die Hippie Die.  There is a phishesque music festival that takes over the town of south park, and Cartman breaks up the festival by playing Raining Blood by Slayer.

“It was good to see the song being put to good use. If we can horrify some hippies, we’ve done our job.” – Kerry King, Slayers lead guitarist

I’m not turning into a death-metal head, but I guess I’m a little curious as to how a band like Slayer can be appreciated by so many people and be so synonomous with death metal, while having virtually zero airplay.  I like the hard guitar riffs, the double bass, I’m listening to a little more and more every chance I can get.  Listening to Slayer makes almost all other music just seem soft.  So far on my playlist are Raining Blood, Seasons in the Abyss, Mandatory Suicide, Serenity in Murder, Eyes of the Insane, Hate Worldwide.  Any other suggestions?  Please send them in comments!  I love the song titles. 

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind.  Two weeks ago, I was in Mattawa, when I got home from Mattawa, I quickly got a full body sickness.  My symptoms included a crushing headache, night sweats, night chills, random dizzy events, general fatigue, followed by a cough with the production of a fair amount of sputum.  Not knowing what was wrong exactly, I waited 5 days before going to the hospital.  I had pneumonia.  It was the sickest I’ve been in a long time, I’m mostly over it now with the exception of a somewhat stubborn cough.

My basketball coaching season wrapped up with a win and a loss on the championship day, which gave us a silver medal on the year.  There’s a lot of work to do there.  My basketball priorities have changed slightly in that I would like to become certified as a referee before I get certified as a coach.  That’s just me.  Hopefully in the next couple of years.

And now, some metal.. Yes!!!

Slayer/ Raining Blood

Metallica/ Leper Messiah

Disturbed/ Stupify  ( I know, this isn’t really hard metal but still good enough for me.)

I am open to more suggestions!