Gemma Hayes... The best kept secret

In my continuous search for new and interesting music, I'm often reaching into strange and wonderful places to find something that will ignite inspiration inside my soul. Today I came across something both beautiful and genuinely refreshing. It was almost a moment that you might think of as a memory worth archiving. The day I was introduced to Gemma Hayes is a day worth saving. Her voice is sincere, and clearly seasoned with wisdom acquired from the best and worst of life's great experiences. Not to mention that she's a talented guitarist fusing unique melodies together in a sometimes dark and ominous way. I'm an instant fan of Gemma's. I'm looking forward to hearing her next work already and have begun to venture into her past works as well. She's been publishing in the music circuit since the early 90s. She has somehow avoided the mainstream, but I believe in time she's going to hit with a bang.

One of my favorite songs thus far is a song titled "This Is What You Do". This song starts out with a mellow guitar melody and some interesting rhythmic counterparts that transport you into the peaceful thoughts that she provokes when she sings "this is what you do... to me". With a gentle whispering voice she carries over the melodies in a unique and original way evoking emotions that allow you to feel what she's conveying. These waves transform your thoughts as the musician intends. It leaves me feeling peaceful and relative. This album is definitely a must for every collection.

Found Stockwell's Scorpion Content

Parabuthus transvaalicus Purcell, 1899. Captive female from South Africa. Photo by R. David Gaban.

I used to collect scorpions long ago and have recently considered getting a new pet scorpion. They're a lot of fun to watch and learn about. I was able to spend some time with a guy by the name of Dr. Scott Stockwell who used to maintain a thorough Web site on scorpions. He has a PhD in Entomology and had collected a large amount of data about scorpions. Someone else took over his content and keeps it up and running, but unfortunately Dr. Stockwell is no longer around to update the content. I even offered to maintain his site for him, but he wasn't interested. Anyway, here's the link to some of the original content: http://www.wrbu.org/scorpions/sc_du_jour/scorpion_du_jour.html

In addition, I have found the "What's That Bug" (http://www.whatsthatbug.com/) Website to be very informative as well. Although not as detailed as Dr. Stockwell's contributions, still educational and insightful.

I'm also considering getting a tattoo of a scorpion on my right upper arm. I've got a few sketches already. More on that later...

Giant rare moth finds its way into my house...

UPDATE: I believe this is a (from the "What's That Bug" Website http://www.whatsthatbug.com/clearwing_moth.html): "Vine Sphinx, Eumorpha vitis. It is a Southern species found in Texas, Florida and points south, though it has been reported from Nebraska. Caterpillars feed on grape vine leaves." Additionally I have sent an email to the bug man to clarify this further.

There are no words to describe my elation when I discovered this creature flapping around inside my home Tuesday (5/27) night. I first mistook the giant moth (here after known as Andre) for a small bird or a bat. I wasn't able to tell that it was in fact a moth until it landed near the peak of my ceiling.

It rested there long enough for me to grab a container to capture it in. I was extra careful not to harm him and he simply flew right into the container where he sat peacefully while I continued to snap photos of him. The markings on Andre were simply stunning and difficult to describe. The patterns on his wings seem to take on a bone like appearance. I laughed to myself as I thought, perhaps this is the moth of death coming to pay me a visit. In my 33 years of living in Round Rock, Texas I have never witnessed anything like this up close. I have no idea what type of moth this is and would be very interested in finding out more about it. I'll update this post at a later date when I have time to research this critter.

After snapping a few photos of Andre, I promptly released him back into the wild. I set him free in the backyard where he proceeding to fly off into the night sky. What a lucky experience this was. I sat and stared at him for a good 20 minutes or more studying his anatomy. He seemed only happy to oblige as he simply sat there in the microwaveable dish peacefully resting while I gazed upon his incredible markings.

In Memory Of Sunny The Swissy

I miss my Sunster. He was a real pain in the neck sometimes, but I loved him to death. This is an old picture of Sunny, my son Theo and myself. Sunny was about 3 years old in this picture. He weighed about 128 lbs. at that time. His favorite thing to do was chase a stream of water being sprayed from a water hose. When he actually caught up with it, he would continuously attempt to bite the stream of water as if that were going to somehow stop the flow of water. Good times.

Sunny died about 8 months ago of old age. The average life span of a Siwssy is 8-10 years. Sunny lived to be 9. He was partial to pizza and dirty diapers (mmm yummy) as well as the occasional loaf of bread. He had a tendency to step on people's feet, which wasn't very pleasant considering his top weight was about 150lbs. He was actually a blue Swissy, hence the muted coloring. When I purchased Sunny from the breeder there were approximately 80 blue Swissy's in the US. He was stunningly beautiful and very charismatic. He was also extremely independent and wasn't much of a people pleaser. I think the word stubborn works better to describe him. Triple Crown Dog academy referred to him as being "a dud". While, not the brightest example of his breed, he was a very loving and warm hearted animal. I miss him dearly.

Farewell old buddy.

Living The Dream

It has always been my dream to be a professional musician. Over the past year I have put a great deal of energy and focus into this dream. I have devoted 2-3 hours of each day towards accomplishing my music goals. I have accumulated enough material for a demo album and will soon be putting forth an effort to publish my material. After 16 years of learning the guitar and 27 years of learning the piano, I'm finally on my way.

The hard part is not writing the material but finding good people to work with to help implement my vision. I'm now actively seeking additional musician's to work with on my projects and hope to collaborate with a few professionals to complete my work. I'm estimating another 5 months before I'll be ready to submit my completed works to the Library of Congress for copyright protection. Once that's taken care of, I'll be able to actively publish my work and pursue performance engagements in the Austin and surrounding area.

In a lifetime, we get opportunities to rise to the challenges that we so desperately seek to achieve. In those moments, we find a part of ourselves that we have always known existed, but simply never had the courage or time to become what we believe ourselves to truly be. It's liberating to know that I am facing my fears and overcoming obstacles and excuses that have prevented me from taking these steps in my life. If it is to be, it's up to me. We are all the masters of our own destiny. The choices we make defines our path. For the first time in my life, I'm living my dream.

Dark Water...

Life is Hell and then there are moments of clarity and bliss that seem to make the hell worth enduring. Trying to sum myself up in a paragraph seems impossible. I’m a bit of a jackass and I can be very needy at times. I’m extremely passionate about life and I live it with a great deal of intensity. I’m not going to waste your time with some fake smoke screen. What you see is what you get. If you’re the type of person that’s not overly sensitive and feels that you only get out of life what you put into it, then there’s a slim possibility that we might be compatible. I believe in self transparency in every sense.

The most influential person in my life was my grandfather. He was a hard working German immigrant. He supported a wife and 5 kids on a plumber's salary. He taught me many lessons about integrity, love of nature and life, hope and perseverance. His lessons have helped me to find peace in myself. I learned that the key to believing in yourself is to have a clear conscience. He taught me that we are defined by our honesty, sincerity, the good deeds that we do for others and that sometimes the risk of insult, is the price of clarity.

The most important quality that I seek in a friend and partner is self transparency and transparency with others. Let your confidence be defined by your own sense of truth. People who are overly sensitive or rude usually hate themselves. It’s very clear if you watch carefully. Either you’ve hit bottom enough times to see the truth of what you are or you haven’t. You can’t be self transparent until you’ve faced the darkest parts of yourself and overcome them.