Drawing Bobby Kimball on the stage
Originally uploaded by stromo.
Drawing Bobby Kimball with chalk on stage in Korea
Apr 30, 2008
Apr 29, 2008
High Speed Rail in California
CA High-Speed Rail
This would be great. After taking the bullet train in Japan vs. dealing with airports, I'm completely sold.
This would be great. After taking the bullet train in Japan vs. dealing with airports, I'm completely sold.
Apr 27, 2008
Stevo's crazy games
Stevo's crazy game
Originally uploaded by stromo.
Why not make your own game? Well, that is if you have some extra time on your hands. It's always good to be creative in different ways. For me, I have to be creating something whether it be music, drawing cartoons, or making something.
I made this game about a year ago or so. It's designed to drive anyone completely crazy and tonight it did just that. It's virtually impossible to win although I actually won the game for the first time tonight. It took a few hours to play although if you get a lucky card, it could be won in seconds. Always nice to have friends over, some wine and attempt this game and watch the reactions. It's the only game I've ever played where everyone is thrilled when someone wins(because the game is finally over).
A "tour" game is in the works to take out on the road this summer. I'll keep you posted on it's progress.
Apr 25, 2008
This Week
IMG_4405
Originally uploaded by stromo.
It's been a busy week after getting back from over seas. The traveling has finally come to an end out by San Francisco as we relocated to the Bay Area over the weekend. Love the new location and this is the view from the path right down the way from our place. It's great to be able to walk down to the water and look across the bay. Looking forward to getting the music gear set up so I can start writing, have the itch again. Been coming up with ideas here and there over the past year but I feel refreshed in a new way. I'm ready to get working on a new album between touring this summer with Ottmar and also spending time promoting Thira. It will be a joy to walk down to the water when taking a quick 10 min. break from writing. Great vibe here already.
Apr 24, 2008
Apr 12, 2008
A morning with production
IMG_3215.JPG
Originally uploaded by stromo.
Photos of what a typical morning was like on the Japan run of the TOTO tour.
Apr 11, 2008
Today
Had breakfast with Jon this morning. It was good to catch up a bit after being gone on the road for a while. I had my usual breakfast burrito with green chile.
Yesterday I was up at 5am again from the Jet Lag. A great time to sit down and listen to Ottmar's new mastered album while the morning light came through the window. Wow, Beautiful album. I love the depth in the music. It was great to hear the final product after following his works in progress. I had it on loop this morning discovering new sounds and melodies in the music. Looking forward to playing the new material this summer with the band. Mark your calenders!!
Yesterday I was up at 5am again from the Jet Lag. A great time to sit down and listen to Ottmar's new mastered album while the morning light came through the window. Wow, Beautiful album. I love the depth in the music. It was great to hear the final product after following his works in progress. I had it on loop this morning discovering new sounds and melodies in the music. Looking forward to playing the new material this summer with the band. Mark your calenders!!
Cherry Blossom Trees
IMG_4008.JPG
Originally uploaded by stromo.
Took this picture in Korea last week. Great timing to be over there and see them bloom. They only bloom for two weeks out of the year.
Apr 9, 2008
Random thoughts of the day
Nothing like a little jet lag to make your week interesting. Last few nights I've woken up around 4am. Not much thought process going on at that point, if anything, I've been having some really vivid out there dreams.
I had this one dream that the entire hotel staff was in the lavatory on the airplane asking me if I needed assistance. I think that stems from the last hotel I stayed at in Korea. It was a "W" hotel. First time staying at one and really dug the vibe, great hotel. The only thing that got a bit tiresome was the staff being so over accommodating. Don't get me wrong, they are a great staff and work very hard. But after awhile it made you want to run away from them when they walked up. They would appear out of no where and try to assist you with anything. It's all nice and good at first but after awhile It got to the point where they were trying to grab and tug on my bags from my hand with a huge smile saying
"Sir, let me get those, no really sir, I have it, sir please, sir, sir!!!
I'm the type of person that likes to carry my own luggage and push the button on the elevator and so on. I'll say "no thank you, I'm ok, I've got it" but after having to say that 3 or 4 times in a row, makes me think, maybe in the staff training, they should be taught to not only help the client but to also listen and respect their wishes. Maybe an "are you sure" and then give up after that. I wasn't even allowed to make my own toast at the breakfast buffet. The person stood there and looked at me and kept saying, "sir, please, I'll get it" I said, "It's ok, I'll wait" (because I like my toast slightly burnt), but after a few more "sir, please, sir please" I walked away to my seat feeling annoyed. The same thing happened when I went to get some fruit. I respect that they want to help but ultimately it makes you feel helpless.
Happy to be home. It took about 27 hours door to door. The travel day home went very smoothly with no delays, makes all the difference in the world when things work out well during such a long day. I still haven't posted the rest of the photos on flickr but will soon. Feels weird to be back in reality.
I had this one dream that the entire hotel staff was in the lavatory on the airplane asking me if I needed assistance. I think that stems from the last hotel I stayed at in Korea. It was a "W" hotel. First time staying at one and really dug the vibe, great hotel. The only thing that got a bit tiresome was the staff being so over accommodating. Don't get me wrong, they are a great staff and work very hard. But after awhile it made you want to run away from them when they walked up. They would appear out of no where and try to assist you with anything. It's all nice and good at first but after awhile It got to the point where they were trying to grab and tug on my bags from my hand with a huge smile saying
"Sir, let me get those, no really sir, I have it, sir please, sir, sir!!!
I'm the type of person that likes to carry my own luggage and push the button on the elevator and so on. I'll say "no thank you, I'm ok, I've got it" but after having to say that 3 or 4 times in a row, makes me think, maybe in the staff training, they should be taught to not only help the client but to also listen and respect their wishes. Maybe an "are you sure" and then give up after that. I wasn't even allowed to make my own toast at the breakfast buffet. The person stood there and looked at me and kept saying, "sir, please, I'll get it" I said, "It's ok, I'll wait" (because I like my toast slightly burnt), but after a few more "sir, please, sir please" I walked away to my seat feeling annoyed. The same thing happened when I went to get some fruit. I respect that they want to help but ultimately it makes you feel helpless.
Happy to be home. It took about 27 hours door to door. The travel day home went very smoothly with no delays, makes all the difference in the world when things work out well during such a long day. I still haven't posted the rest of the photos on flickr but will soon. Feels weird to be back in reality.
Apr 5, 2008
Today
In Seoul, Korea -
Went to bed at 3am and was up at 7:30am to grab something to eat for breakfast. Not a big breakfast person but with long travel days like this, I thought it would be best to start out with something to eat before the hour and 1/2 drive to the apt. You never know if there will be a chance to get something before the flight.
At the airport now about to board the flight home. Have to connect flights in Japan for LAX then connect to ABQ. A lovely 29 hour travel day. About 3 hours in.
Looking forward to getting home, more pictures to upload when I get settled. Just heard the call for the flight...
Went to bed at 3am and was up at 7:30am to grab something to eat for breakfast. Not a big breakfast person but with long travel days like this, I thought it would be best to start out with something to eat before the hour and 1/2 drive to the apt. You never know if there will be a chance to get something before the flight.
At the airport now about to board the flight home. Have to connect flights in Japan for LAX then connect to ABQ. A lovely 29 hour travel day. About 3 hours in.
Looking forward to getting home, more pictures to upload when I get settled. Just heard the call for the flight...
Apr 1, 2008
Thoughts of the day:
Writing this on the airplane -
Nothing much else going on so I thought I’d write a bit. On a flight from Tokyo to the Philippines. Five weeks has passed since I left for New Zealand. Feels like a long time ago now. I always seem to loose complete perspective with which day it is when traveling this much. I really enjoy the not knowing part. Days come and go and are just days - nothing more, nothing less. No weekend to look forward to, no holidays, just living one day at a time. Besides, most of the time weekends aren’t days off anyway.
I’m getting to that point in the tour where I’m starting to laugh at a lot of things that I normally wouldn’t laugh at. Could be the constant on the go part and the lack of good consistent sleep or maybe I’m loosing my mind. Probably a bit of both. I did have a great time in Japan. Night before last a bunch of us went out for Korean BBQ and then to the bowling alley. Wow, great food. My first time having that, really enjoyed it. As far as bowling goes, my arm is still pretty sore. I don't think I was bowling correctly or something and I noticed that my technique was a bit different then the others too. The thing is, I never go bowling but I do the best I can. I grab the ball and start running towards the lane really fast with the ball in both of my hands and then throw it has hard as I can at the lane. It travels in the air about a third of the way down then smashes into the lane and balances on the edge of the gutter but then curves back towards the pins (I put this huge spin on it as I throw it, pretty good eeh?). To my surprise I actually got a few strikes. I must admit, I got all cocky and made sure the entire bowling alley knew it. I guess I never get out and do much sporting. Besides, I'm an artist, I don't know many artists that are good at sports. I went skiing a few years back with some friends. When I got out on the snow with my skies and ski poles for the first time, my friend told me that I looked like a baby deer trying to stand for the first time. I like to leave that stuff to the pro's.
Right now I’m sitting on the plane in almost total darkness as everyone is watching a movie. Yes, It all started earlier when the flight attendants made the announcement to shut the window shades. They seem to take the movie time very seriously on Philippine Airlines. I thought, ok, here we go again. (I refer you to what I wrote HERE last time I went through this). This time they were out in full force making sure those windows were shut for movie time. They were reaching over the people and slamming them shut them selves! I tried to defend my window at all costs but they eventually got to me and I had to surrender my window up to the rest of the passengers who couldn’t wait to see the movie. I have a great idea for Boeing and Airbus. Why don’t they build planes with no windows at all!! Finally, an idea that would make everyone so happy and filled with little bubbly feelings of joy. Anyway, so I sat there in the dark waiting to see what movie would come up. Oh great, a movie with some stupid lizard creature with flippers. And I'm not even kidding. It’s supposed to be one of those movies that’s really touching. You know, great for kids of all ages and adults to see! I could tell already where the story was going -
Boy meets lizard creature with flippers
Boy makes friends with lizard creature with flippers
Parents don’t allow boy to be friends with lizard creature with flippers
Boy is in danger and lizard creature with flippers saves boy
Parents approve of lizard creature with flippers
Lizard creature with flippers gets in grave danger by the bad guys
Boy crys along with the audience watching the movie, but wait!
Lizard creature with flippers is OK and swims off into the sunset and does a little flip in the air and then the “THE END” will appear on the screen.
Hm, after suffering through it with out sound, I was pretty much dead on. The barf bag in the seat pocket in front of me had a whole new meaning. By the time the movie was over the plane had started to descend and I was there waiting to open my window shade like a smoker waiting for the “No Smoking” sign to go off after take off. So I got the shade open and saw that I had just missed the sunset. It looked like it would have been a good one too, lots of colors left over after the sun went down. That’s OK, at least I knew that the lizard with the flippers was safe and is in no harms way.
I’ve been enjoying drawing my cartoons a lot lately. I think I will be drawing more in the future. I never thought of taking it that seriously, it was just always good therapy for me. I’ve also been practicing a few things with a set of drum sticks Simon gave me. Been learning a few things from him and been practicing a bit. I love the drums, I started taking drum lessons when I was 8 for a few years. I’d like to pick up where I’ve left off sometime. I’ve played them from time to time over the years. Maybe I’ll get into that more down the road, who knows. Looking forward to practicing guitar again, it has been a while and I don’t like to go this long with out practicing. A friends of mine has a friend who is getting married in May. Apparently they dig my music a lot and will be flying me to St. John in the Caribbean to play at their wedding. So by the time I get back and practiced up for a few weeks, I'll be ready.
SD
Nothing much else going on so I thought I’d write a bit. On a flight from Tokyo to the Philippines. Five weeks has passed since I left for New Zealand. Feels like a long time ago now. I always seem to loose complete perspective with which day it is when traveling this much. I really enjoy the not knowing part. Days come and go and are just days - nothing more, nothing less. No weekend to look forward to, no holidays, just living one day at a time. Besides, most of the time weekends aren’t days off anyway.
I’m getting to that point in the tour where I’m starting to laugh at a lot of things that I normally wouldn’t laugh at. Could be the constant on the go part and the lack of good consistent sleep or maybe I’m loosing my mind. Probably a bit of both. I did have a great time in Japan. Night before last a bunch of us went out for Korean BBQ and then to the bowling alley. Wow, great food. My first time having that, really enjoyed it. As far as bowling goes, my arm is still pretty sore. I don't think I was bowling correctly or something and I noticed that my technique was a bit different then the others too. The thing is, I never go bowling but I do the best I can. I grab the ball and start running towards the lane really fast with the ball in both of my hands and then throw it has hard as I can at the lane. It travels in the air about a third of the way down then smashes into the lane and balances on the edge of the gutter but then curves back towards the pins (I put this huge spin on it as I throw it, pretty good eeh?). To my surprise I actually got a few strikes. I must admit, I got all cocky and made sure the entire bowling alley knew it. I guess I never get out and do much sporting. Besides, I'm an artist, I don't know many artists that are good at sports. I went skiing a few years back with some friends. When I got out on the snow with my skies and ski poles for the first time, my friend told me that I looked like a baby deer trying to stand for the first time. I like to leave that stuff to the pro's.
Right now I’m sitting on the plane in almost total darkness as everyone is watching a movie. Yes, It all started earlier when the flight attendants made the announcement to shut the window shades. They seem to take the movie time very seriously on Philippine Airlines. I thought, ok, here we go again. (I refer you to what I wrote HERE last time I went through this). This time they were out in full force making sure those windows were shut for movie time. They were reaching over the people and slamming them shut them selves! I tried to defend my window at all costs but they eventually got to me and I had to surrender my window up to the rest of the passengers who couldn’t wait to see the movie. I have a great idea for Boeing and Airbus. Why don’t they build planes with no windows at all!! Finally, an idea that would make everyone so happy and filled with little bubbly feelings of joy. Anyway, so I sat there in the dark waiting to see what movie would come up. Oh great, a movie with some stupid lizard creature with flippers. And I'm not even kidding. It’s supposed to be one of those movies that’s really touching. You know, great for kids of all ages and adults to see! I could tell already where the story was going -
Boy meets lizard creature with flippers
Boy makes friends with lizard creature with flippers
Parents don’t allow boy to be friends with lizard creature with flippers
Boy is in danger and lizard creature with flippers saves boy
Parents approve of lizard creature with flippers
Lizard creature with flippers gets in grave danger by the bad guys
Boy crys along with the audience watching the movie, but wait!
Lizard creature with flippers is OK and swims off into the sunset and does a little flip in the air and then the “THE END” will appear on the screen.
Hm, after suffering through it with out sound, I was pretty much dead on. The barf bag in the seat pocket in front of me had a whole new meaning. By the time the movie was over the plane had started to descend and I was there waiting to open my window shade like a smoker waiting for the “No Smoking” sign to go off after take off. So I got the shade open and saw that I had just missed the sunset. It looked like it would have been a good one too, lots of colors left over after the sun went down. That’s OK, at least I knew that the lizard with the flippers was safe and is in no harms way.
I’ve been enjoying drawing my cartoons a lot lately. I think I will be drawing more in the future. I never thought of taking it that seriously, it was just always good therapy for me. I’ve also been practicing a few things with a set of drum sticks Simon gave me. Been learning a few things from him and been practicing a bit. I love the drums, I started taking drum lessons when I was 8 for a few years. I’d like to pick up where I’ve left off sometime. I’ve played them from time to time over the years. Maybe I’ll get into that more down the road, who knows. Looking forward to practicing guitar again, it has been a while and I don’t like to go this long with out practicing. A friends of mine has a friend who is getting married in May. Apparently they dig my music a lot and will be flying me to St. John in the Caribbean to play at their wedding. So by the time I get back and practiced up for a few weeks, I'll be ready.
SD
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