Well, those of you keeping score at home will remember my article from the 25th about the song I sent in to CityTV’s Breakfast Television on a whim (Ask Kevin and Dina Cue - MP3, 0:24, 754KB). Well, I’ll be damned if they didn’t actually like it, and now they want to use it.

The song is the result of about an hour tinkering around in my new studio one morning. In retrospect, I could likely do a much more polished job if I spent a few more hours redoing a few elements, but it looks like I’m committed to it as is and will have to get used to the fact that thousands of people will be waking up to my squeaky little voice once in a while.

Details are sketchy at best right now, but they want me to be at their studios on Queen West next Wednesday morning (July 23) at 7 AM so they can officially launch the new tune.

That’s all I know for now. More details as they develop. And if anyone knows how to capture video and all that jazz, I’d love to embed a vid of occasion in this blog, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

It was my daughter’s eighth birthday on Tuesday, so we decided to spend the day at the zoo. All told, it was me, my wife, our daughter and three year old son, my father-in-law Larry, an ark-load of biodiversity and some rather extreme weather.

Once in the gate, we hopped on the infamous Zoomobile for a quick jaunt out to the African Savannah, as good a starting place as any. Along the way we got up close and personal with the elephants, a pleasant surprise that got us motivated for what would eventually turn out to be a fair bit of legwork.
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I’ve had the worst music stuck in my head for days, so I thought I’d share it:

 
Yup, “Rock and Roll Crazy Nights” by Japanese hair-metal band Loudness. I watched the PowerHour on MuchMusic way too much in the 80s - chalk it up to the mountain-sized crush I used to have on VJ Teresa Roncon - and as a result I have all this cheese in my subconscious. Grrr.
 
Oh well, I can’t purge the chorus from my head, so I’m using the internet to spread it like a virus. Watch if you dare (suckers).
 

So, where are they all now?

 
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I was lucky enough to be in the pit for R.E.M.’s show at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto last night (#remtoronto). Nice job if you can get it; you get to stand in a narrow trough in front of the stage for the first three songs, legendary musicians sweating on you. I’m digging it.

Anyway, right before the lights go down, I noticed that Peter Buck’s guitar rig had this incredible display of dinosaur figures on it. [See photo above]

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Trial & Tribulations of Freelance Writing: Vol. 1

Sometimes, the story going on behind the story is almost as interesting, even though it has nothing to do with the story itself.

I started writing late last year after I’d been home looking after my son for a year or so. I’d come to the conclusion that my prior career, maintaining websites for other people, was not going to bring me any lasting happiness, so I started writing to see if it would go anywhere. It’s definitely more interesting than managing code for others, but I think the most interesting aspect of my current position is the constant juggling act between writing and stay-at-home fatherhood, especially since my youngest is still too young to go to school.

Right now, I’ve got two big things going on in my life; I’m getting ready for music festival season (I write a lot about music) and I’m trying to potty train the little guy. While I’m trying to line up as many interviews as possible with musicians playing the big Toronto-area events this summer (North By North East, Toronto Jazz Festival), I’m trying to get my mini me to clue in that his time in diapers is rapidly coming to an end. Fortunately for me, he’s starting to clue in, and this week we’re have our first measurable success.

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Holy crap, I can’t get started. Seriously, it’s just like that.

I haven’t written a single creative word in over a week and it’s driving me batty.

Although I’ve never really considered myself a “writer” before, people have recently been indicating that maybe I have a way with words and perhaps I could do something with my writing and have I ever thought of taking a chance on becoming a real writer, so much so that I think I’ve let it go to my head to the point where I’m over-thinking everything and can’t do anything.

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Holy crap, I’m having a hard time trying to find time. I’ve neglected this blog for four weeks. Oh my. The nature of working freelance just isn’t working out for me, especially when you consider that what I’d really like to do is work on my writing with blogTO and gitpop and anyone else who’ll publish me. That and make some music. I haven’t done anything about that in months, and I’ve got one dilly of a plan I’d like to launch someday soon.

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So, I basically look like I haven’t done much if you use this blog to keep score of my personal life. Fortunately for me, that’s not the case. I’ve actually been quite busy trying to sell our house and setting up a new site.

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It’s a fairly common scenario: young folks reproduce, and then they start to wonder how having a little one crawling around at their feet will affect their carbon footprint. My wife and I went through this when our youngest popped out seven and a half years ago. At that time, it took a boatload of research for us to figure out where we could track down things that mattered to our newfound sense of environmentalism, like cloth diapers, green cleaning products and organic foods. If only there had been an online website with a local focus that told us everything we needed to know.

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First up - happy birthday, Meg!

Next, I’ll make a half-hearted apology for keeping a relatively low profile lately. I’ve been too busy to blog. Oh well, I’m sure you’ve been getting by.

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