I just finished something of a mini-Todd Solondz film festival, watching Happiness, Storytelling, and Palindromes over the last few days. I had also recently re-watched Welcome To The Dollhouse. This is a group of bleak movies, and I can't say as I ever truly enjoy Solondz's work - but I do admire his cojones. Happiness is probably my favorite of the bunch, because much of it is truly funny, and Dylan Baker's work in the flick is fantastic - and truly disturbing. I am unnerved by how often Solondz depicts children in the middle of some pretty dark "adult" situations, and I can't decide how I feel about some of what appears in these movies, but his films make me think, and for that, I am grateful.

I also just watched this documentary about the making of Queen's fourth album, A Night At The Opera, known to the general public as "the one with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on it." As a documentary, it's really kinda light on the sort of details I would really like to see (but then, I'm a musician, and this film is made for a general audience), but the little glimpses we do get of the backing vocals soloed out, or some of Brian May's orchestrated guitar extravaganzas really fired me up. I don't know why I tend to forget about or underestimate Queen's talent, but I do. These were some ungodly talented musicians. Watching it made me feel guilty about how I never practice anymore, and made me reflect on some of my more recent difficulties in the studio (detailed excruciatingly here), which are a direct result of the non-practicing. I've been coasting a lot lately in the "performing" aspect of music, even as I feel that as a music writer I get better and better. I am inspired to spend more time working on my guitaring and singing, beyond just playing in rehearsal with Pete and Lizzy. As fun as that is, it's not really about getting to be a better guitar player/singer. It's about banging real hard on instruments and making a ruckus with your buddies, something we haven't been doing much of either, thanks to all the various out-of-town trips and copious studio sessions. We'll be getting back to that much more this week, too. I'm glad of it.

I spent some time listening through what we have of the album thus far, playing back the songs on my Pro Tools setup at home. I don't have some of the bitchin' plug-ins Darin has, so some of the "temp effects" we stick on there in the studio don't work for me, but overall, I gotta say the album is shaping up very well. I did find a few things (again, almost exclusively in the vocal department) that I'm going to have to re-cut here and there. Some of these things have to do with having sung some blatantly wrong notes, some have to do with just not having really nailed a part the way I want to. Singing is difficult for me, though rewarding. In fact, singing and playing these songs in rehearsal is among the most rewarding musical experiences I have these days, when I can manage to pull the tunes off correctly. I love writing for vocals, but I've been having not easy times in the studio lately trying to get the parts to be perfect. I think a lot of it has been the coasting I've described - I haven't been practicing what I'm supposed to be singing, I've just been walking into the studio expecting to be able to do it. If I didn't have a history of doing that very thing I guess I wouldn't expect to be able to pull it off - but I keep finding things that I thought were "finished" that just - aren't.

I am resolved to be better prepared for the studio.

I guess we should be lining up more live gigs, too, huh? For some reason, I can't get excited about the prospect right now. It's like recording and preparing for performance compete for the same "attention real estate" in my mind, and right now I really want to finish the album more than I care about trying to get/promote gigs. And then there's my desire to find a way to do a Half Zaftig tour in 2007. If we're going to play crappy bars for 10 people, wouldn't it be more fun to do it in a town we've never played in before?

I know, I'm supposed to focus. But I'm afraid that's not really how my mind works.

I'll just practice instead.

First: to all who have inquired, a Petey the Dachshund update. Short of it: he's doing great. PHEW.

The day I flew away from here, Petey went into surgery. The reason: a discovery, via ultrasound, of a blockage in his intestine. They operated as soon as they found it, while I was up, up, in the sky somewhere, fretting.

This is the third time in the nearly six years since he found us that he's had to be cut open for one reason or another. It's always terrifying.

The surgery was a success, blockage removed (we don't know what it was, exactly). It took another day or two in recovery for him to start showing an appetite, giving us all (me by phone a continent away) plenty of time to worry. He was completely stoned for all of this time on painkillers.

Then, he started showing signs of his old self, and the Betas were able to bring him home before last weekend. He's been recuperating there since, and I hear he's doing fabulously. I get to visit him tomorrow. His stitches come out on Tuesday.

I repeat: PHEW.

Petey the dachshund is sick, and we don't know why yet. He's in the hospital tonight. I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow for what was supposed to be a really happy time with family, but Pete is sick and I'm worried. He's not a young guy anymore and has had health problems since we've known him, and I get worried when he gets sick enough to need to go to the hospital. Hopefully, momma Beta Girl will be picking him up tomorrow and bringing him home, and there is no one on the planet who can take better care of him than she will - but I'm stressed because I'm travelling tomorrow and I'm not packed yet, and Pete is sick, and I'm just not dealing with this very well right now.

Shit.

My Dad is turning 60 this weekend and I'm going to be there with him when he does. I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone in the family who is gathering to help celebrate.

Not that I've been posting all that regularly lately, but obviously I'll be incommunicado until the 21st. For those following along at home with the Half Zaftig New Album Experience, I just dropped a gigantic BOMB of a new studio diary entry, wherein I chronicle the last seven straight days of studio sessions we just had.

No, we ain't done yet. It'll have to wait until I get back.

SIGH.

Jeez, Pete. Get better, little buddy. Don't go breaking my heart while I'm not here. I am not ready for that shit right now.

BWAAAAAAAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!

There, that's out of my system, now.

THANK YOU, Detroit Tigers!

It's kinda weird, because we'll be in the same place that a large amount of family members gathered to celebrate his father's 60th. I guess because my grandparents were always obviously older growing up (that's why they were called grandparents), that it's really strange to see my own parents hitting that age.

My dad is doing great. He's grown his now-white hair out into a crazy post-Einstein 'do (though when I last saw him he was pulling it into a ponytail), and, according to my sister, has also grown out a pair of mutton-chops that rival those of Matty Van Buren. I can't wait to see him.

Before I leave, though, I have the good fortune of being able to spend a good chunk of time in the recording studio with Darin. He's back from his many travels, all on the back of a motorcycle, and according to his blog, feeling re-charged and renewed.

Yesterday I finished the last little bit of writing that needed doing for the album, for a song that now looks to be titled "Our Guarantee." It's not "new", really, we recorded the basics for it back in 2005, but it was just a little thing we threw down in the studio real quick. We had been improvising it in rehearsal as a tag to get into "Right Outside", and I thought it worthy enough to get down on tape. All these many months later, I had been planning some sort of lush multi-layered vocal arrangement to sit on top of it, and I knew what it might sound like, I just hadn't sat down and hashed it out yet. Over a few nights last week I did just that, finishing up last evening. The words turned out totally cute and I think Pete and Lizzy get the jokes.

It's nice to have that last little bit of unfinished creative business handled. Now, I just gotta get it done in the studio.

But vacation is calling.