Do or Die

Do you ever just realize that this is it?  THIS is it?  Do or die?  Right effing now?

Working Late

Working Late covering the other guys shift at my day job always gets me pissed off cause I have to deal with clients.  And I don't even have to directly deal with clients, but I have to jump through 50 different hoops for each frigging invoice I deal with.

Keep in mind they've already received the product.  I had to knock down their price cause they forgot to use their discount code.  Then, I swear to god, I had to PDF the invoice to one person in the company, mail a hard copy to their A/P, attach a purchase order, walk their dog, feed their cat, deliver them a pizza, go f**k myself & e-mail the rep when it was all done.  We aren't even in the dog/cat/pizza/effing industry.

- Angry Army

Double Snakes

Yesterday I caught two snakes in one hole.  Check it out!

Trailers

Before Super 8 on tuesday, I saw a couple of trailers.  One was for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which looks absolutely awesome.  It looks to be a killer preview to Planet of the Apes, I am sooooooo pumped for that movie.

I also saw the trailer for transformers 3, which looked good.  But so did the trailer for transformers 2, and that movie was shit.  I imaging Michael Bay has put even more goofing around bits into transformers 3 and it's going to suck just like 2, only worse cause there's no Megan Fox to drool over.

And lastly, today on the internet I saw the trailer for Moneyball.  I've read the book, I loved the book and this trailer looked damn good.  Can't wait to see it either.

Super 8

I went & saw Super 8 today.  Relax, no spoilers here.  Elle Fanning, the younger sister of Dakota Fanning gives an effing awesome performance in this movie.  She HAS to be nominated for Oscar for this crap.

Also, I don't know what it is about Kyle Chandler but he looks like he belongs in period pieces.  I couldn't place him from King Kong until I checked the Internet Movie Database, but man, he totally fits in as the deputy sheriff in this film.  100% perfect casting.  I have never seen Friday Night lights but I can't picture this guy in modern day at all.

I loved this film.

I Shot Some Baby Canadian Geese Yesterday

Return of the Snakes

In the summer the snakes always say hi to me on my way to work. I named this one Jose.

Laughgasm

I was at work earlier today, and I heard one of my co-workers talking to the woman in HR.  Our HR woman was laughing so hard she was basically having a Laughgasm (a laugh-orgasm).  Now, I sit near the co-worker she was talking to - and I thought to myself - 'he's not that funny' and it turns out I was right.  The co-worker comes back to his desk and says "I just told HR about what you said to T-Bone earlier".  In order for you to understand what I said to T-Bone you need a little backstory:

I went away this weekend to Niagara Falls to see Al Pacino.  While I was away, I had some friends look after my pug.  Little did any of us realize that their two year old son would grow so attached to my little girl, that he would be crying for her as they dropped her off, and at least once a day ever since.  Earlier today, T-Bone was giving me a bit of flack for wrecking her 2 year old boy, and I said "Hey, I taught him a valuable lesson: bitches leave".

Alright, so the payoff probably wasn't as good as it should have been...I gotta admit I just wanted to work "Laughgasm" into a post.

- Rusty

Kirk Hammet & Joe Satriani album?

I just read an interview over at blabbermouth (below) about Kirk Hammett (Metallica) getting lessons from Joe Satriani and how Satch would spend extra time with Kirk cause he liked his style. Which got me thinking: how cool would a Satch/Hammett solo album be? Let‘s hope they get it together in some of Metallica‘s down time and record an album. How bout it boys?

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=159153

Magnum P.I. Movie?

Today at work I brought up the fact that the Duke of Hazzard & the A-Team were recently brought to the big screen - how long before there's a Magnum P.I. movie?

We started talking about our ideal cast, and we felt Rampage could pull off TC, just as he did B.A. in the A-Team, which naturally lead us to Bradley Cooper for Magnum. Since this discussion, I've come up with several other ideas for Magnum: Vince Vaughn, or Edward Burns if he put on a couple pounds, Chris Pine or Chris Hemsworth would work ten years from now, I would go with Christian Bale if I didn't think he's a total dick, my number two is Jason O'Mara (from Life on Mars), cause Gerard Butler has to be the guy tailor made to reprise this role. He's gotta be your #1 pick to play Magnum if it were made tomorrow.

To fill out the rest of the cast: Rick is a tough one. I could see Scott Caan doing it because of his height (or maybe that's just cause he's on Hawaii 5-0). Since we're somewhat on the Entourage cast: Jeremy Piven would probably make a good Rick, or even a good Higgins. But I would probably stick Piven to Rick and have Paul Giamatti or maybe Philip Seymour Hoffman as Higgins. And definitely Daniel Dae Kim (aka Jin from Lost) would be a shoe in for Ice Pick.

That is the dream team as I see it: Butler, Rampage, Piven, Giamatti & Kim. Work your magic Hollywood. Pay me in a trip to Hawaii for a couple weeks to watch the filming. You are welcome.

- Rusty

Pacino

Saw "An Evening with Al Pacino" at Niagara Fallsview casino on Friday. It was a pretty awesome time. Al was pretty much as you'd expect Al to be: charismatic, funny, loud. He rambled a bit but I didn't mind. The interviewer kinda sucked he kept saying "what do you want to talk about"? Great question interview guy, especially since you did this the night before. Al did give us some pearls of wisdom (to paraphrase):

You have to surround yourself with good people, you make four or five bad movies it could kill your career. You have to have people you can rely on to help you make good choices. But more than that, in life - no matter what you do - you could be an artist, painter, office worker, but you have to surround yourself with good people to do good work.

He had a fantastic story about Scent of a Woman, about where he got WooHaa from. He also talked about the fact that Francis Ford Coppola was only 30 when he directed The Godfather. Al recalled turning down the role of Lenny Bruce in "Lenny", and when he decided he wanted to do it he went back to get it but Dustin Hoffman already had it. I totally have to check that movie out.

-Rusty

The Return of the 12 String

Oh Jesus about 4 days ago I got my Ovation 12-string back from "The Pigeon Man" and GOOD GOD how I missed it. I tuned the whole thing down a half step so the singing is a bit better and I can't wait to record with this puppy again. We've got about three songs that need to hit the board soon, but I'm not going to get into any song titles here cause that would ruin the surprise.

All Quiet on the Rusty Front

Things have been kinda quiet here and over at 23Morrow for a bit cause I've been busy & wrapped up in superstition. I assure you all is well on all fronts and the band is making leaps & bounds forward. No, we haven't come up with a real name yet, but we've been writing. Stu & I just finished composing a masterpiece called Menage a Quatre on the weekend. I hope to take some much needed time off work soon to record that, Bouncing Summertime Boobs as well as Kourtney & Kim Take New York cause the world needs to hear this shit! Yeah baby.

I'm going to branch Tessa out onto her own blog cause she deserves it - and I hope to do that soon. As well, I intend to bring you pictures of her friends & possibly enemies! I'm just kidding, she doesn't have enemies but I sure as hell do! Yeah baby again!

Vote for Jose Bautista on the All-Star ballots over on mlb.com if you have not already. If you don't vote for Jose you are obviously:
1. not a Canadian
2. not a baseball fan
3. a Red Sox, or Yankees fan
4. or a traitor

So get to it! Vote JOSE!

- RUSTY

Al Pacino

I'm going to see Al Pacino next Friday in Niagara Falls. It's supposed to be an "Inside the Actor's Studio" type thing with a question & answer period afterwards.

I've been debating a good question to ask Al. I was thinking about asking him if he was star struck at all while filming The Godfather. Or how it was to be in that coffee shop in Heat with DeNiro and Michael Mann.

But I think I'm gonna ask him about Star Wars. Al Pacino was cast as Han Solo in Star Wars but he turned it down. And thank God for that because filming Empire would've probably conflicted with Scarface. What were his reasons for turning down Han Solo, and could he say "Punch it Chewie" for us once?

Yep, I think that's the way to go.

Rusty

Motorcycle Ride #1

We took my Dad's new bike (below) to a parking lot so I could learn how to ride it.

I dumped the bike in the first turn! It wasn't even turned on, it was being pushed by my dad! 5 mph can be seem really fucking fast on a bike for the first time. 600 pounds of bike to the ground, sweet. I survived and the bike survived, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Is Tessa going somewhere?

I am not positive but it looks to me like Tessa is planning some kind of a trip today.

End of the World

Does anyone know what time the world is supposed to end tomorrow? I really want to ride motorcycles in the morning so I'm hoping it can hold off until noon at least.

nectar of the new gods

I totally have a crush on the bestest girl in the world! Yer jealous!

Walking The Dog

I hate when I'm in a hurry walking my dog and she see's a couple other dogs on the side of the street being walked by a cute girl. I'm always forced to say "Tessa, believe me, I'd like to play with those puppies just as much as you"

TTC Tonight

I was on the TTC tonight and I encountered a couple of celebrates, so here we go: first on the bus was Young Elton John, and two passengers later was Canadian Bridget Jones Diary. Yep, that is how crazy my bus ride became after just one stop.

Later in the evening I ran into Super Short Neil Fallon from Clutch smoking a joint outside PayLess Shoes in Scarborough. Course, as soon as he saw my Clutch hat he took off with his joint and headed towards the EB Games & pet store a bit further on Eglinton. I like 2 believe he did not want to share and was mostly interested in procuring Elephant food from the pet store, likely for whatever elephant they named after their genius 1998 release titled: The Elephant Riders, but hey, I really have no idea...

So that is my night aside from issuing a well overdue apology.

For the love of God, please, Rock On.

Rusty

One Wheel Spinning - Bought Broken

Alright I had some trouble uploading the next video to YouTube due to some serious human error.  Regardless, I figured out to embed a video finally so you can check out the barn burner called BOUGHT BROKEN right here on my blog.  Enjoy.

Tessa vs the Don Valley

I can't say I'm entirely thrilled at the prospect of having a dog puking tonight, however, Tessa (pictured above) apparently just jumped in the Don Valley river today while she was out with a neighbour & her dog.  It' a bit odd cause she usually stays out of water & pools, but I guess it was hot enough today she decided to cool off.      

One Wheel Spinning - AM Sunday - Single Release & Some Background

One Wheel Spinning is the name of my recording project. 90% of the time it's just me & a drum machine. Occasionally somebody lends a hand with vocals or guitars but it's been a while since any of that happened. Embedded below is a song called "AM Sunday" which is the first single off an album I finished recording back in December 2010 called "Three Chord Coffin". AM Sunday is one of those mid-paced gems that hovers near the end of a solid album. I will release a barn burner early next week that will get you going.

After the album was done I created some artwork I wasn't happy with so I sat on it for a bit. A couple weeks ago I created some new artwork, removed a couple of songs and the result is a tight, solid album that is almost ready to be released.

When I give the full album a listen I know it is one of those sad-tastic albums. I guess a lot of crap-shit happened since the last time I released an album. It is definitely one of those albums you need to listen to in the dark on your bed with the headphones on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxdEjOoHf9U

Tripped by a Great Dane

Tessa & I hit the park after work today and we ran into one of the new additions on our block a great dane named Atticus. Tessa started to play with him, wrapped her leash around me and while I was trying step out of it I got smacked by the huge great dane and I fell down in slow motion trying not to land on either of the dogs. The giant culprit is pictured here:

Luthier Shots

Alright, well, it's about time I make good on some of the promises I made in the "About Me" section of this blog cause some of you could be out there going "Hey, Rusty Army, you claim you're a Luthier well where's the proof? WTF?" Well here you go, here's the freakin' proof.

To the left, is the first stringed instrument I ever made. It's a bass, the model name is the "SIC SIX SIX" cause it's a metal bass. With no training and no experience, only a book on how to build an electric guitar we set out on a mission; we didn't even know if this thing would make a sound at the end. It turned out pretty damn sweet for a first go round. I have used it to record bass and couldn't be happier with it.

Left of this, is a hollow body electric which I made. I've nick named it "La Fleur". It's basically my attempt at one of those double cut-away old school Gretsch Penguin models from the 50's. I gotta admit this SOB is pretty heavy, but it sounds freaking great when you're playing unplugged and watching TV - you never get drowned out. It's the prefect couch guitar and that Bigsby tailpiece gives me chills every time I fire up some full chord vibrato action on it. I haven't recorded with it yet cause it's got about 5% left to be completed (needs a new nut, fret levelling & the middle pick up has yet to work).

None of this would be possible without the assistance of my father who is one of those old school tool guys who knows how to use every tool, fix anything & woodwork everything. Anytime either of us hit a wall, we picked each other up. He is a 50-50 partner in all this work even though he has no musical desire or talent. Thanks POPS! Armstrong Guitars Rules!

Downtown

My British barber had a couple nuggets of wisdom for me today:

1. Women are like Kinder Eggs - you never know what you're going to get.

2. You aren't going to have hair for much longer.

I had a couple observations about downtown while I was down there:

1. Downtown is cruel.

2. I need to get back there.

Canadian Elections

I don't get political all that often but apparently we had a historic Canadian election last night. My dog Tessa tried to get me to vote for Harper's majority cause she said it looks like he eats bacon three times a day and that's the kind of platform she can get behind.

I did vote, but it turned out to be pretty inconsequential because the guys I didn't vote for took my riding. Sure the party I voted for got a dollar but what can you buy with a dollar these days anyways?

Candian Elections Today

We have elections in Canada today.  I've decided to vote for the only party I want to get fucked by: the Lingerie Party.

Art vs Art

 I painted the owl above sometime in the summer around 5th or 6th grade.

I drew this guy above at a Jack Astor's earlier this month.

What the hell happened?

Sci-Fi Sunday

I'm having a bit of a Sci-Fi Sunday thus far in the house today.  I'll start off by saying "What the FRINGE"?  That latest episode was awesome.  Spoiler Alert: I thought that Peter went into a third universe when I first saw the episode, but after reading some other stuff on-line they think he's 15 years in the future.  I gotta be honest I didn't get a good look at that plaque he read so I'm guessing the future thing was there.  Still, TOTALLY friggin pumped for the season finale.

On to Doctor Who.  I got caught up on season six by watching the first two episodes back to back and they were pretty damn cool too.  Spoiler alert again: I heard Matt Smith is leaving at the end of this season so I gotta wonder if we're going to revisit that scene when he gets killed down the line.  I am aware that they could have altered the time line....but ya never know, one of "the silence" could survive by hiding in that lake maybe.

Also, I'm guessing we have to get somewhat involved with that storyline again because of the female "doctor" which we can only guess is the child of Amy & the Doctor.  Very interesting, but I'm not sure killing the series would survive with only a female doctor in existence in the future, although, I had wondered if they were going to go that route at some point.  Could be a bit of a shark jumper.  I almost would rather they spin that character off into her own series.  Very interesting stuff ahead but the preview for the next episode looked a bit boring.

GSP fight

GSP wins again! sweet but I hope his eye damage is only temporary.  Good fight but no Jill in this fight.  Feel better GSP.

UFC 129

Holy crap!  Did you see the hematoma on the head of Mark Hominick?  That thing was so freaking huge we gave it the name "Jill".  I kinda hoped that Joe Rogan was gonna direct a post fight question to the Hematoma.  That is the sickest thing I have seen in a UFC fight yet.

Go GSP!!!

Take Yer Time

Why does Tessa (my dog - pictured here) only take the scenic route to do her business when I'm running late? If I wake up early she goes pee quick & i hafta kill 10 or 15 minutes before I take off for work.  However, if I hit snooze four times she wants to do a tour of the neighbourhood and make 57 circles on the same patch of grass before she takes a piss.  WHY GOD WHY?

working on a new song

I wrote a song a couple days ago, and I wrote it from perspective of Katy Perry's shoe.  However, when I went to name it I didn't like the sound of "Perry's Heel" so I named it after Megan Fox and called it "Foxes Heel".

Then I started thinking, this is kinda like I'm cheating on Megan Fox with Katy Perry.  That's one hell of a situation I could get into.

Will & Kate

The Royal Wedding was earlier today.  Didn't Kate look beautiful in her dress?  I can see myself in one just like it on my wedding day.

catchphrase

I think my new catchphrase is going to be: what am I, Jesus?