- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.ZOSg03mN.dpuf Katie Nugent Photography: May 2009

5/14/09

Choices...

There is a man who lives a few doors down from us. Every day I drive down our alleyway, coming and going and buzzing around, and there is the little man sitting on his back porch drinking beer from sun-up to sun down. He has the saddest eyes I've ever seen. I always wave or shout hello in that blink of an eye when I cruise by and he tips his can toward me in salute. I don't know why I never stop or take him a little treat, because I can't help feel sad for my little friend, sitting out there drinking his moments away. I can't help wonder what got him to that place, with those sad eyes and a suitcase of beer to help him get through it.

It makes me think about all the moments in my life when big choices I made, impacted this very moment I live. When I chose to stay instead of go. To turn left, not right. To speak and in hopes of being understood, or stayed quiet to make it all blow over. Our paths dip and dive, criss-cross with others and swerve away, run parallel for awhile or forever and for whatever reason I've ended up here with the people in my life, with the passions and wants and needs and frustrations and loves and hates I have, wondering if I'm where I should be or, if left was suppose to be right.

I think about all this as I drive down our dirty alleyway, past the house with dandelions and junk for a backyard, past the kids on bikes with nothing better to do than spin around the neighbourhood, past the cat hunting, to the sweet green house at the end of the alleyway where our dog comes running for pets and kisses, a hubby leans against the back door waiting to unload the groceries, and I know I'm where I should be.


5/11/09

mixed tapes


Have you seen "The Wackness"? It's a movie set in the summer of '94 about a stoner/pot dealer kid from Brooklyn who just graduates from high school. I loved the story line and this cute little confused pot head boy who struggles with all the things a 17-year old struggles with, but what I really liked about it was how he made mixed-tapes for all the people he cared about and it brought me back to the days of creating the perfect mixed-tape.

Forgive me if I am not speaking your language, but one can only ever know the true art of mixing a tape if they have logged the tortured hours of deciding, rejecting, creating and finally recording every single song in perfect playing order, dedicated to the ultimate listening pleasure of the lucky recipient. Everyone who has ever created a mixed-tape for their biggest crush knows,behind every song recorded there is a deeper subliminal message. Therefore the recorded songs must speak for the mix-maker, whispering the secrets of her tortured heart in hopes of quietly revealing the truth to the mix-receiver.

Please don't confuse the making of a mix with the making of a CD or playlist, as these are not comparable at all. To start with, a tape-maker must first decide and hunt down each individual song from various sources in order to begin recording. Once at the recording stage, each song must be individually recorded onto the tape, listening to each and every song all the way through in order to pause the recording at the PRECISE end of the song, to avoid any clumsy sound blips between songs. When making a CD/playlist the maker need only drag and click the songs, press a button and burn. They can download as many songs as is needed to have a plethora to choose from. There is no craft, no passion, no thought. No, the art of the mixed-tape has long been forgotten so I felt it necessary to remind you of all the hours you may have spent recording for friends and crushes.


I even know the final recipient of a KT mixed-tape. He was an english boy I desperately loved. The tape was a birthday gift I spent hours recording and editing, creating a list of songs I hoped spelled out exactly how I felt. I have long forgotten what was on that tape, except for one song I hear occasionally by one of his then-favourite bands. When I hear it I can't help laugh at how quickly my mind goes back to the making of the tape I was certain would seal our fate. A fate which was intervened by another boy I met a few months later who eventually placed a ring on my finger, and never needed a mixed-tape to decipher the love buzzing around my heart. If I were to make Hubby a mixed tape here's the top 10 songs I would choose:
Wild Horses-- Rolling Stones, I'm a sucker for this one
Juicy-- Notorious BIG, he's a sucker for this one
Golddigger-- Kanye West, this song played everywhere we went in California on our honeymoon
I hope-- Dixie Chicks, I play this song when I need a pick-me-up & it makes him laugh
Bobcaygeon-- Tragically Hip, we saw them live last summer
Can I kick it?-- Tribe called Quest, classic mixed-tape song
Welcome Home-- Metallica, because he likes metal
Ruby Soho-- Rancid, another classic
My doorbell-- White Stripes, I don't know why
Quality Control-- Jurassic Five, come on what's a mixed-tape without this one!

What's on your tape?




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