Adrian: Zero Dollar Budget Director

I don't tend to talk too much about my band on here.  I tend to reserve my blog for my oddball thoughts.  However, a few things have happened which happen to make a very good blog, so I thought I would talk about them here.

First off, my band is an Americana band called, Possum Apple.  Here's the Reverbnation link:

http://www.reverbnation.com/possumapple

So I was just recently in West Virginia for vacation.  This was my inspiration for the song, "The Road."  Basically, the short story is that I was driving to West Virginia for my Grandfather's funeral, and as I was driving around a curve in the road at two in the morning there was a beagle lying right smack in the middle of the road.

Looking back, it was kind of funny, or the look he gave me was kind of funny.  It was like, "No one comes through here at two in the morning.  I should be allowed to lie here in the middle of the road without you coming through with your high beams on."

So I decided to make a video for my song, "The Road."  I'll let you watch it, and then I will comment on it.

Here's the direct link as Youtube and Blogger are giving me crap about putting in a direct video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ipu-7MR2R0

So this is what I had to work with.

1.  A zero dollar budget.
2.  A camera that also records video.  Note:  I bought this for a good deal off Ebay.
3.  Having Dad drive around Lincoln County, West Virginia, and me shoot footage of the roads.
4.  A "borrowed" beagle.

Seriously, I was at the 4 Mile Church, and this beagle comes up to me out of nowhere.  I wanted a beagle for the video, but didn't have one.  I guess when you need something, the Goddess provides.  Anyway, she was a good beagle.  She knew a few tricks which made for awesome footage. 

For a first try for a video it came out pretty good.  I wasn't expecting anything too over the top, but I think I made it entertaining enough.

So most people tell me is the best song off of the album is, "Buffalo."  I wanted to do a video for it, but wasn't sure where I was going to get footage of buffalos in Florida.  Then it occurred to me what I should do.  A friend of mine made a video for a song of his strictly from public domain footage.  This was great for me.  Namely, I needed nature footage and old cowboy footage, and there is plenty of it in the public domain.  There was so much in fact, I really had to narrow it down since the song is only a bit over two minutes.

So I found some nature footage, but I also found some really funny old Western footage.  I'm really proud of what I came up with.

Again, the direct link to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcP8KjIjIBo

My Dad got a kick out of it since he had seen all of the scenes from those old Westerns.  It brought back some old, funny memories.

Anyhow, I hope to make a few more once inspiration comes to me.  I've only got time right?

Hunting Season 2012: Story 4, Cypress

Story 1:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/hunting-season-2012-story-1-gator.html

Story 2:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/hunting-season-2012-story-2-hoggin-it-up.html

Story 3:  http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/hunting-season-2012-story-3-mystery-at.html

On the day we were coming home from hunting, we decided to make a little detour.  Before we hooked the truck up to the trailer we went down the road to visit Bo Swindell's Sawmill.  Bo is a true old timey Florida Cracker.  I mean that in a good way, as most people have no clue what a true Florida Cracker is.  It's a term from the 1920's that referred to Floridians who raised cattle, and used a whip.  Hence, the cracker. 

But Bo is a great guy to talk to, or should I say listen to.  I gotta be honest, the man had a lot to say.  He had hurt his back, and hadn't cut any fresh wood in a while.  But he was sitting on a lot of new-old stock.  The good news about that was the wood had dried out, and was ready to go. 

We took a tour of the sawmill, and all the wood he had.  I think Bo was more interested in talking than actually selling wood.  He was 75 years old, and was concentrating on building tables and such.  As we wandered the piles of wood, Dad managed to find some persimmon. 

We then came across a pile of wood that surprised Bo.  He thought he had sold all of his cypress, but he had a giant pile of it stacked chest high.  I looked at a few boards, and picked one out.  Bo wanted all of 12 dollars for it.

The neat thing about this cypress is that it was old growth fallen cypress.  You see, over the years the cypress trees get old and when they die they fall into the water and much where they live.  These logs are then submerged in the water for many years.  The oxygen can't get to them, so they don't rot.  What's really neat is that the tree then soaks up the minerals in the mud and water. 

The tree harvesters then pull the logs out of the Florida/Georgia rivers and swamps.  The logs are then dried out, and sold as old growth fallen trees.  The good news is that they are not cutting down live trees.  These trees have been dead for many, many years.

So here is the board I bought in its rough sawn form:

Now here is a picture after I had run the boards through a planer.  Notice the golden yellow color?

Here's a picture of the growth rings.  Notice how they are black with the minerals in them.

So the main question is, "What am I going to use it for?"  Well, I'm not sure yet.  But cypress is used on acoustic guitar tops.  The most popular acoustic top wood is spruce followed by red cedar.  Cypress is a great tone wood, but is much more expensive than either spruce of cedar.  That's one reason why it is not used that much. 

I tap toned a few pieces of the cypress at the sawmill before I decided on the one I did.  But I have to admit, I liked them all.  The cypress's tone is not as bright as spruce, but not as dark as cedar.  The one thing I like about it is how loud it is.  It really surprised me at how the sound seemed to jump right off the board. 

So hopefully I will be able to write a post a year or so from now telling what magic project I have created with this cypress.  But I have to admit, I'm in no hurry.  I have more guitars than I really know what to do with.  But I guess I could always use one more. 

Hunting Season 2012: Story 3, The Mystery at Spur 4

Here are the previous stories about Hunting Season 2012:

Story 1, The Gator:
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/hunting-season-2012-story-1-gator.html

Story 2, Hoggin It Up:
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/hunting-season-2012-story-2-hoggin-it-up.html

Imagine if you will, a mystery.  A mystery where we park the truck out at hunting at Spur 4 (that's the name of the road.)  Here is the scene.

First we notice a bad smell.  It is the smell of death.  That's when we notice the skin of a hog.  Apparently, someone has skinned a hog right here.  That's when we notice a bunch of of large palm fronds cut down, and laid out on the ground.  They are laid down in a pattern to cover the ground.

We then notice two T-shirts lying on the ground about 60 yards apart.  This is disconcerting, but not as disconcerting as the ripped up underwear lying on the ground in between them.

We thought that was as bad as it could get until we notice the used tampon lying in the middle of the road.  Things had already become weird, but this just solidified the weirdness.

Sidenote:  I know a lot of people are not really believing what I am saying right now.  I usually take pictures to back up my stories.  However, I thought that this crossed the line.  It went right by the boundaries of good taste.  So I didn't take any pictures.

So as we walk back to the truck I take this picture of the creek/ditch at the corner of Spur 4 and the main road.

What you don't see is the hogs head lying in the creek being ate up by flies and other insects.  Yeah, it was pretty bad.

So basically, here's the mystery.

1.  Hog's head thrown in the river.
2.  Hog's skin in the road.
3.  Cut palm fronds on the road in the pattern of a blanket.
4.  2 old shirts 60 yards apart.
5.  Shredded undies.
6.  1 used feminine product lying in the middle of the road.

So if you were Scooby Doo and Mystery Inc. what would you like happened?

I guess is a Satanic ritual was held there sometime in the last few days.  That, and someone completely shit their pants.

Hunting Season 2012: Story 1, The Gator

Earlier this winter, we (Me, Dad, and our friend, The Weasel) didn't get to go hunting during the quota hunt season.  My Dad hurt his back and the next best time to go was this past Dec. 6th to the 10th.  Since we started hunting on the day after we got there, a Friday, there weren't too many hunters in the woods.  It was pretty quiet that day, like a lot of hunting days.  However, sometimes things take a turn for the weird.

Our hunting buddy, The Weasel, was walking down the road when he saw something in the ditch.  By golly, it was an alligator.  He said it was an 8 foot alligator, but when we looked at it, it had shrunk.  Yep, it had shrunk all the way down to 5 foot.  But that wasn't the only thing.  The alligator's left eye had been injured/destroyed.  You can see it in the pictures.

So we grabbed our cameras, and took some photos.  Note:  We were careful to only look at the gator, and not disturb the gator as that is a federal offence.

So here are the pictures:

The 80's Attack! Movie Review: The Adventures of Hercules 2

So here it is.  Late night on a Sunday.  Nothing good comes is on TV when it is technically Monday at 2:00 AM.  But then, I spot something on Showtime Family.  Something that came from the 80's.  My childhood reborn.  The Adventures of Hercules staring Lou Ferrigno.  (1985.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089271/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Hercules

Here's the funny thing.  This is not the movie that I thought I remembered.  That was "Hercules."  Also staring Lou Ferrigno.  I'm not sure if I ever saw this one.  This one is much, much worse, and a lot cheesier.

Here's the highlights.

This would make a great drinking game.

Dude, was that a chick with a codpiece?

Hey, the actors lips don't line up with their mouths.

The sets look like they were designed by high school kids in their shop class.  The same goes for the costumes.  Maybe the 3rd shift in a Korean factory.

80's hair!

80's makeup!

80's boobs!!!!!  Big but natural.

The acting is worse than 70's porn, but better than 80's porn.

I know these "special effects" are cost tens of dollars back then..... but it's just hilarious today.  They are overusing the laser lights that TRON used.  Maybe they are borrowed laser effects from the 60's studio guys who did the original "Star Trek."

Seriously reduced budget from the first movie.  The guys from GWAR have better costumes.  (Honestly)

Seriously, I've got to get this on DVD, and then get a bottle of something.  This would be a great movie to drink to.  I wouldn't recommend LSD or pot because I don't believe in doing illegal drugs.  Only the legal ones.  Therefore, I would suggest some form of pain killer that you could only get from your doctor.  Then this movie would be really great.

Oh this is interesting.  Zeus, King of all Gods, is on the moon.  Yea Moon God!

They totally ripped off the "Clash of the Titans" Medusa scene.  It just wasn't as good, and that's a bit of an understatement.

So the main point of this movie is that four Gods have stolen seven lightning bolts from Zeus, and if he doesn't get them back the Moon will crash into the Earth.  Okay.

During the final fight, King Minos turns into a giant laser beam T-Rex.  Hercules turns into a giant laser beam gorilla.  Honestly, even I can't make this up.

Ooh, I can get both from Amazon for only $9.89.  I know what a bunch of people are getting me for my birthday.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00094ARU0?tag=coldfusionvideor&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00094ARU0&adid=1WP6VJ3Q59NTAFT3K9N1&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coldfusionvideo.com%2Farchives%2Fadventures-of-hercules-the-1985%2F

Amazing Blog Post #300

That's right.  This is my 300th post.  It all started with a suggestion and then a dream.  First it was my sister who said that with all the crazy ideas I had, I should really have a blog to express those ideas.  I then had a dream to write a blog about destruction, hence the name of my blog, "Destruction for Fun and Profit." 

It all started when Myspace was the big social network to be on.  Myspace was kind of an all in one website, that's why I liked having my blog on it.  But Myspace decided to change their format multiple times, and made it more and more user unfriendly.

So I decided to move my blog over to blogger, and I couldn't be happier.  Their format allows me to easily post photos and videos, and make my blogs even more entertaining.  It was one of the best decisions for my writing and blogging. 

But I can't believe it.  300 posts.  This is a perfect time to make a 300 joke.

Back when I started my blog, I made myself a promise that I would try to post once a week.  I thought that would be a fair amount.  But once I decided that I would post about more than just destruction, I found out I had a lot more to say.  So instead of posting just once a week, I have averaged about 80 posts a year.

Today just happens to be exactly one year since I moved my blog over to Blogger.  I switched over on Saturday February 26th, 2011.  I remember it well.  It was right around the time I got really sick with my gall bladder.  After surgery, I found that I had plenty of time to blog since I was going to be out of work for a while.

Once April 4th comes around, it will be exactly four years that I have been blogging.  I am glad I expanded beyond just talking about destruction.  I have posted true life stories, odd thoughts, pranks, tall tales, picture posts, and some general mayhem. 

I am very proud of quite a number of these blogs I have written.  I always try to outdo myself, and hope that somewhere in my next 300 blogs I will be able to do that.  I always try to entertain and hope that I will continue to do so. 

The Ongoing Baritone/ Tele/ Cello Project, Part 4, Not So Baritone

The original post, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/03/baritone-cello-guitar.html

Part 1, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-cello-tele-project.html

Part 2, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-tele-cello-project.html

Part 3, http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/ongoing-baritone-tele-cello-project_29.html

So I've had a little change of heart/ design when it comes to the Tele project.  Frankly, I can't get a good baritone neck at a decent price, so I got a regular Tele neck.  I got it from the same place that Fender gets their higher end Squier series, from Hong Kong. 

I've found a nice little place where I can order things straight from the Hong Kong factories.

http://www.eyguitarmusic.com/

I have been really happy with what I have ordered.  I am getting the same stuff I would normally get from other places, I'm just cutting out two middlemen, and two trips of shipping.

Here's the pictures of the neck.

I also got the last pieces to complete the build.

You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to find an output jack.  I've been to just about every store in the bay area, and can't find one.  It's bordering on ridulousness.  But, this place has all the output jacks I want to buy.

And one other thing...

A double bladed hot rodded bridge pickup.  I have a thing for double bladed pickups, and this one is right up my alley.  And if I hate it, I have another Kent Armstrong pickup that I can replace it with.

My next step is to route out the neck.  Here's a picture for clarity.

The body is basically complete except for routing out the neck pocket.  So, I am going to do that in the near future, and post another blog when my wood work is hopefully complete.

Fuzzy Memories With Durice D. Long

Back when I was on vacation, I had a chance to talk to an older relative of mine.  His name was Durice D. Long, and he was filled with all sorts of great information.  Due to the new program I bought, I am finally able to move these videos over to an Mpeg format. 

In this video, Durice talks about farming.  You can tell he's done a lot of farming in his life.

In this one, Durice is asked about plowing.  However what he actually talks about is something a little different.

Durice has since passed away which is sad.  He was always a great person to talk to.  I'll have to see if I have any more videos of him hanging around.

Adrian's Best Blogs of 2011

I guess it's that time folks.  It's time for the new year, but before we do that, we look back at the old year.  This post is going to review the best of my personal blogs from 2011.  Now, while I did transfer the blogs from my old Myspace account to Blogspot this year, I am only going to count those blogs that I wrote in 2011.  Not the ones that were written prior to that, and transferred this year.

If I go strictly by numbers, here are the top blogs:

5.  Stacy Q Rocks.  44 Views.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/10/stacy-q-rocks.html

This one kind of surprised me, in that, I didn't think it was that good.  But a lot of other truckers are looking for info about this strange statement carved into truck stop restrooms.

4.  Bitch'in Camaro.  138 Views.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/04/bitchin-camaro.html

A lot of people are looking for pictures of vintage Cameros, and I have some good ones.  This blog was from my trip to West Virginia, and while I was there, they had a mini-car show. 

3.  Questions I Would Ask J.K. Rowling.  362 Views.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/06/questions-i-would-ask-jk-rowling.html

I wrote this one with the intention of getting a lot of blog hits.  A lot of people find this blog post looking for Harry Potter pictures.

2.  Tsunami Death Toll.  484 Views.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/tsunami-death-toll.html

This was supposed to be a funny blog about band names.  However, due to the Slayer pictures, this blog gets a lot of hits.

And finally number one, by a long shot....

1.  Chicks Dig High Profile Vehicles... Like Dragons.  6732 Views.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicks-dig-high-profile-vehicles-like.html

This blog took off due to a bunch of kids looking for pictures of Toothless the Dragon.  Every time that movie aired on HBO or Cinemax, you would see the hits spike on this blog.

Now, for my personal five favorites:

5.  The Republican Candidates Are In Fact, Underpants Gnomes.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/10/republican-candidates-are-in-fact.html

I was really proud of this one.  I did my homework, and went to the actual websites of the candidates.  I had been listening to a lot of news radio, and it just sunk into my head that the Republican candidates don't understand business.

4.  Grimm's Fairy Tales Have Nothing On My Mother.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/07/grimms-fairy-tales-have-nothing-on-my.html

Again, this is one I am really pound of.  I spent a lot of time writing it, and making sure it was perfect.  The "tales" my Mother told me at a young age stuck with me for all these years.  I'm surprised it took me this long to write a blog about it.

3.  Overpriced Couches and Insulting the Locals.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/04/overpriced-couches-and-insulting-locals.html

This is a bit of truth being stranger than fiction.  I never thought of writing a blog out of walking into an antique store.  However, that is what happened here.  When the strange gets tough, Adrian writes a blog out of it.

2.  Inside the Secret World of Adrian's Hunting Adventures, Part 2.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/12/inside-secret-world-of-adrians-hunting_28.html

I put so much hard work into this one.  This contains the videos of me after I had shot a hog out hunting, and then the hilarious aftermath.  This would easily be number one on my list except for one thing....

1.  Chicks Dig High Profile Vehicles... Like Dragons.
http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicks-dig-high-profile-vehicles-like.html

How could I not vote this number one?  I have over 280 individual blogs, and just over 10,000 individual views.  This one blog alone has 2/3's of my entire blog views.  I am also proud of the thoughts and writing of this blog.  I honestly saw one of the new Pontiac Trans Ams, and it just clicked that I should write this.

So there you have it.  Agree?  Disagree?  Can't pick a favorite?  Hate em' all?  Let me know.  Write a comment.

I do want to wish everyone a happy new year.  I will keep writing, and I hope you will keep reading them.  Happy blogging everyone.

Adrian Visits Rock City Gardens, Part 4

When I was at Rock City Gardens I took some video.

Here is video of the top of High Falls.

Here's the view of High Falls from Observation point.

Here is video of the Fairytale Caverns.  Due to the darkness it didn't come out too well.

If you have the chance to visit the Chattanooga area I would definitely suggest you visit both the Chattanooga Aquarium and Rock City Gardens.  Both run about twenty dollars per adult.  Around twelve dollars per child.

Adrian Visits Rock City Gardens, Part 3

Continued from, "Adrian Visits Rock City Gardens, Part 2."

As I kept walking I came up to Observation Point.

Obviously.  But the views from it are pretty amazing.  You can overlook the town, and then get a great view of High Falls.

Next you have to go through the Rainbow Hall to get a great view of High Falls.  I guess Rainbow Hall is the kind of place that Gnomes like.  Well maybe gay Gnomes.  Who knows.

Here's a great view of High Falls.

Then comes one of the tight squeeze places that kids love, and most Americans can't fit through.  I couldn't really take pictures in there due to the lack of light.

Then came a neat kind of formation.  The 1000 ton rock.

Well, what do know.  I found the Enchanted Trail.  It was in Georgia all along.  Woundn't have thought that.

So then it appears that Magic Valley is located right next to the Enchanted Trail... in Georgia.

Next came the Fairyland Caverns.  (No Smoking.)  I didn't expect Fairyland to have so much sea corral in it.  Kinda strange.  I would have taken more pictures, except that it was so dark in there I none of my pictures would come out.

At the very end of Rock City Gardens there was this semi-older water wheel.  You don't see too many of them these days so I took a picture of it.

More to come in, "Adrian Visits Rock City Gardens, Part 4."