Ukulele Video

Untitled from Jannie Funster on Vimeo.

There I am!   With Kalyani, a.k.a. the fuzzy pants lady and Ryan, a.k.a. incredibly musically gifted.  Three Ananda Pandas.

Didn’t realize I should name the video, thus Untitled.   I would’ve called it “Ukulele Crazy.”

Is this my best song of the show? I think not. It’s a brand new tune and still needs a lot more “settling in.” But, my Wonderful Peeps… it is the tune YOU sent me the love and energy to create. Remember?  It’s very special to me and you deserve to see its world premiere!

(The flyer for the show that wuz.  Ended up playing for about 90 minutes, we wuz havin’ so much fun.)

Technical woes

Parrott Tracks Studio, 2006

Yesterday wasn’t the first time a computer made me cry.  No indeed. In January 2005 I wailed on and off for two days until two nice computer boys came right here to our house and in less than ten minutes correctly hooked up my interface cables, plugged my microphone and speakers into the right jacks, downloaded updated drivers, fiddled with some Input / Output settings, clapped their hands while clicking their heels twice and voila — instant home-recording studio!

Then, yesterday when the zipped files wouldn’t unzip no matter what I tried (and neither the free WinZip nor Stuffit downloads are actually free,) tears flowed again because I need those unzipped files to get my CD artwork finished.

But guess what?  The CD maker guy e-mailed the templates unzipped.  Yay-freaking-hoo!

Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s cried over technical woes?

(P.S.  I know I haven’t been around to y’alls’ blogs so much lately but after our show today I’m sure I’ll once again lovingly immerse myself in every nuance of your posts.  Thanks for your continued patience and support!)

Sofa buttocks et al

Response

“it seems so incredible to me that I actually interact with people like you and Rachel who are actual professional musicians,”

the new commenter writes

while I’m thinking,

it seems so incredible to me that I interact with people who actually return to this den of funiquity. (And deem a post worthy of a comment!)

The Bench

We sat on the bench

outside the cafe

crossed legged

facing each other,

knees touching –

a diamond of

mother-daughter.

She was five.

I took her small

hands in mine

to tell her that

her ”best friend”

had not invited her

to the sleepover party.

Overall, she took that

first heartbreak

much better than I.

Error Reports

Banks love you – they are only interested in serving,

couldn’t give a hoot if they ever made a penny or not.

Yes, and somewhere in a room with 1000 computers

Microsoft employees not only reading, but are joyfully

getting to the root of all those Error Reports we send.

Now I Have To Leave This Sofa

Now I have to leave this sofa

where I’d gladly remain  until

the end of my earthly days.

I must get in my car and drive

where many other cars will be,

my standard transmission

making it even harder to be

the lazy one I so love to be.

And the sofa will miss me,

will remember and keep the

indentation of my buttocks 

until I return. (If I return.)

But I should return, as

there is a thick fog and

traffic will be slow — no

spectacular crashes today.

Bumper to bumper, I’ll

push that freaking clutch in

500 times until I’m back here.

But I shouldn’t complain.

I am heartily loved and someday

The Child will be a teen, driving

herself to my hell and back

and no doubt I’ll be missing

these simple days when all I

had to do was pick her up and

drop her off places I’d planned

for her to be, not sitting at home

worrying where she is and if she’s

okay, while this or another fine sofa

will have all my buttocks it can handle.

After May 10th

photo credit: my Aunt Sue in 1970!

After May 10th there are gonna be some major changes around Funstertown!

I’ll finally organize ALL my old pictures, pre-digital camera and put up a Fabulous Pictorial Post about my penpals I visited in Europe in 1999.  I’ve been writing back and forth since 1994 — yes, snailmail letters, with seven gals around my age.  And two more in Brisbane, Australia.  But I owe them All letters now ’cause I’ve turned my fancy to this blogging thang.  (Any pals reading this – please forgive me yet again – I promise I’ll write soon.  I really will.  This blog post will be my witness and my readers will hopefully hold me accountable.  xo)

After May 10th I’ll scan some photos of Younger Jannie too.  I was a baby once!  Hey, I’ll put up a photo I did scan for my old blog a while back. That was me at 6 and my brother Patrick at 5.  Sadly, Pat was killed in a car crash when he was 16.  Heart-breaking, yes, but what can you do?  Life and love go on.  I also had a sister die when she was hit by a car in front of our home.  She was 6 and I was 12 at the time.  Her name was Louanne.

Long deep breath.

Another deep breath.

Okay.

After May 10th Kelly’s rooom will be completely redecorated and rearranged.  It’s gotten so overloaded with things that need to be culled through.  eBay, here we come.

I’ll file papers.

I’ll plant flowers.

I’ll start that vegetable garden.

I’ll pick up a hammer and saw, or at least a paintbrush and vacuum cleaner.  (Reminds me of that joke my landlord likes to tell…  You hear about the blind carpenter?  He picked up his hammer and saw!) 

After May 10th will be a general Spring Clean for this May Queen.  (As I mentioned in a recent comment to The Wonderful & Wise Blogger Talon, I used to think that Led Zeplin lyric was “a sprinkling” for the May Queen.)

What I’m trying to say is….. I’ve been so fixated on that date and preparation for my big-little CD release show that I haven’t really looked beyond it or imagined the possibility of life after May 10th, 2009.  And I’m not so sure if that’s healthy or not.  It’s not really that I’m out of balance, but I am putting a ton of things on hold.  You know what I mean?  Do you ever get like that?

The “Seriously Weird” Winners

photo credit: Six Until Me

Friends, you had some seriously great tagline ideas for me, thanks!!  In fact, there are over 20 I’ll be using in as many upcoming weeks.   And now that I can make a widget link “button” – holy cow – I gonna link you winners up!

To celebrate this Tagline Kick-Off today, I’m leaving Robin’s inadvertant “seriously weird” one up for another week with her widget link directly under my bog eye — yes, that’s she in the photo as a child!  Robin, the seriously wonderful gal of the Let’s Live Forever! blog and her partner Frank run a recording studio called The Sound Sculptor and Frank’s favorite fish is the Humphead Maori Wrasse at the Melbourne Aquarium!

And now, without further ado,  drum-roll please, the deservant tagline winners are…

• Belle of FAWTY
• Paige of Paradise Valley 2 Hell’s Mountain
• Glenn (multiple times!) of Feel Free To Read
• Jewel of Pink Ink
• Dot of Deeper Issues
• Sheila of Ma Vie Folle
• Patricia of Patricia’s Wisdom
• Liara Covert of Dreambuilders Australia
• Lance of The Jungle Of Life
• Stacey of Create A Balance
• Mattew Dryden
• Heather Happymaker
• Robbi of Ink Marks On A Blank Page
• J.D. Meier of Sources Of Insight
• Snaggletooth of Exit Stage Right
• Mia of General Hysteria

I’ll be putting all the taglines in my codfishing boot and drawing randomly to post the new taglines and widget links on Mondays.

For those of you who did not “win” this fame and glory contest, you’re ALL winners to me and will remain so.  Forever and ever.  xo  And EVER!!  I love you all.