Still All Over, Still Pulling Left, But Grouping Better!

Ouch.

Turns out my right ring finger is still quite, well…”annoyed.” I talked with my soon-to-be instructor about it and he recommended the “tab” (archers use “tabs” or “gloves” to pull back the bow string, it’s much easier on the flesh, since we’re all not superheros nor nineteenth century woodspeople…) I use should be at least two, preferably three layers in thickness. I believe mine is considered “two,” with one felt and one plastic layer. But my concern with the numb finger is to get the most “twang for my buck (heh-heh, like that!), come instruction time. I don’t want to be focusing on pain and improper physical ability if I’m paying money to learn how to do this right, and I can’t do “the right” if my body ain’t cooperatin’. I can muscle through it, sure, did so for an hour yesterday and through half of my first session, Monday (and you can see how well those went…), but I don’t want to waste my time and money, nor my instructor’s time, if my body isn’t “working right” to properly follow instruction. So, no more range until I see him late next week, and I’ll be looking at a thicker tab.

So…went out to the range yesterday to see if I could do any better with the replaced arrow rest (see comments from Day 1), and I kinda did, though it may not look all that different from my first target, but around 4 or 5 “ends” in (Lune, a commenter, was kind enough to point out [pardon the pun] that a “sessions with arrows,” when you run out and put down the bow to retrieve them, is called an “end”–thanks, again, Lune!), among a couple other groupings, I actually had a grouping of THREE arrows in the center yellow (the inverted “L” at the bottom center of the yellow). I must have been doing something right. And, BTW, I never once hit the backstop, this go-around.

Overall, I felt much more confident and feel I did a heckuva a lot better shooting this time—and I was actually grouping arrows, though am still somewhat pulling to the left.

I really have to say, I love the feeling of the bow.

It has been so long, but I love the feel of it all—nocking arrows, drawing the string, targeting. Watching the arrows as they fly through the air and head for the target. That thump! as they strike the target.

Nothing like it.

A Return to the Straight and Arrow–Day 1.

A Return to the Straight and Arrow–Day 3.

Our international audience cannot understand how Americans present activities, put on a show, invite the public to attend and then treat the public in a poor manner.  These readers see a major breakdown between the public and the promotion of this show. They question the professional nature of those assigned to put this show on at all.

Those in the US who have expressed their opinions have stated that they are frustrated and angry about the show’s location, its time of year, and its failure to accommodate the general public’s wishes and desires and the lack of knowledge of what bottles and categories are going to be at the show, and obviously no way to find out.  Is there going to a lot of redundancy?  What price ranges are going to be or are the items going to be overpriced to cover the cost of the show for the vendor and the show itself?  Is the show really worth the cost of attending?

Due to the failure of the Federation and/or a representative of the Federation to respond in any fashion to the comments made in several blog postings about the show and the Federation in general, the Federation deserves to have criticisms, a poor showing at their bottle show or a lack of participation, and a declining membership.

In today’s world, what with the accessibility of the internet and the advancements of technology, a collector has numerous avenues, aside from attending a bottle show, from which to procure items for his collection. A collector generally finds more opportunities there than at a bottle show.  For example, in the last few days, a gentleman sold 18 Nevada medicines on EBay.  Many of these bottles were hard to find or rare for a collector.  As a collector of Nevada medicine bottles I was happy to see them on EBay, all of which were available to bid on.  I was then not required to travel to a bottle show, spend additional monies and yet not know what would be at the show and more than likely not to find anything or maybe one or two items.  I would return home annoyed and frustrated having spent monies and coming home empty handed.  I was able to shop from my house and did not have to fight travel arrangements or the hustle and bustle of a bottle show.  I am able to bid at my level or at a comfortable level, not a level devised by some vendor who is trying to get as much as he can from the sale, whether the value is true or not.  Through this process I was able to pick up 2 examples for my collection at a price that I was comfortable with.  The Federation again chooses to ignore these changes in the society that benefits the hobby, the collector, and yes, even the Federation.  Why is this the case?  Ask them!

Suggest you bloggers take into consideration alternate methods of increasing your collections other than bottle shows.  No one has to remain in the past just because someone or some organization cannot or will not change with technology and society.  Such actions are akin to the “Buffalo syndrome” or the saga of the “Bow and Arrow”. Years ago the Native American plains people require the buffalo to survive.  With only bows and arrows they could not kill enough buffalo to satisfy the needs of their tribes.  To resolve this dilemma they devised the system of driving the buffalo over the cliffs thereby killing the buffalo and then they could obtain the meat and skins. The advent of the White man into the plains with their guns and rifles, the entire situation changed.  The buffalo was killed indiscriminately and eventually disappeared.  The Native American plains people also disappeared or were put onto reservations.  This way of life changed forever.

Today, the bottle-collecting hobby is at a crossroads just like the buffalo of years ago.  Do we want to continue in the past using methods that are no longer the best possible, with a leadership that functions from the 1970’s rather than 2012?    Do we want to continue with shows that continue to benefit the few at the expense of the many?  If we continue down this road we will lead the bottle hobby in the wrong direction and it will end up the same way as the buffalo – total extinction.

As you read these last several blog postings on the Federation, its leadership, its history, its goals and directions for 2012 and beyond, consider whether this is what you are looking for and what you want in a bottle show.

The blog has presented this series on the Federation because our readers have expressed to us their frustrations and lack of understanding on how the Federation functions, its leadership, and its history, etc.  We have tried to explain these issues so that the audience would have a clearer picture of the Federation.  In this way the reader could make an intelligent decision on whether they should attend the July Federation bottle show.  There is a lot to consider for attendance given the realities of today, tight monies, the cost to attend, the location, and the weather.

We at the blog hope this series helps the reader to decide on attending or not attending.  Please let the blog know your thoughts on the matter either way.  We at the blog always appreciate feedback both positive and negative about major events dealing with the bottle hobby.

DISCLAIMER:  All information contained within this blog is copyrighted and the sole property of the Owl Drug Collectors Blog.  Reprinting or reproducing any of the information must receive prior permission from the Owl Drug Collectors Blog.

First Target Shoot –all OVER the place….

Yesterday I decided to do something I haven’t done in nearly 30 years: target shoot with my 50-pound Bear recurve bow.

What fun!

What I was doing is called “traditional” archery…using a bow with no gadgets attached, no pulleys, no sights. Select the “traditional” link above, for a more complete description. But like the article says, I do like the nostalgia and the ”history of it,” and one guy did comment “nice bow” when I was out there. I was the only one on the range using a recurve (my recurve has no gadgets attached, like stabilizers or sites, and is made totally out of wood).

I started at 10 yards (or the lady who set me up on the range put me at 10 yards–she likes “success” she told me) to get the feel back, then after a few ”rounds” (don’t know what each ”session of arrows” is called) moved the target out to 20 for the rest of my time there. As you can see, I’m kinda all over the place…pulling a little to the left, actually. According to what I’ve read, that could be any of a couple of things, like “plucking” the string (probably; right ring finger is pretty sore, making this fun to type), “pulling” the bow, et cetera.

I had such a blast, I wished I’d kept up on this all these years. Of course, after a good hour and a half, though, my bow arm was getting a bit “used” (and, as I mentioned above, my right ring finger is a bit numb), and I shot two arrows into the wall behind and above the target, literally missing the entire target sheet (I’d actually shot a total of three into the backstop [left an arrow point there, even with the help of an arrow puller...], but two at the end, in my last round, when I was getting tired, so figured it was time to call it quits).

I’ve always been interested in bow and arrow use, always preferring the recurve to any other. I don’t know why–I just like it, and like that mine is made of wood. I’m a “wood” kinda guy. Love the smell, feel, and heft of it. Love working it, the couple of times I’ve worked with it (only so many hours in a day, you know!). I’ve never shot compound bows (but have drawn them) or any other versions of bows (not counting the kid-version of the bow and their suction-cup-tipped arrows…), but would love to someday, but I really love shooting the recurve. It’s all you, baby.

Over all these years I’ve been looking to my bow and its case my Dad hand tooled out of leather, and kept trying to find time to use it, and well, “life” got in the way, I guess. Maybe reading The Hunger Games re-ignited my passion, don’t know, but I know I’d always promised myself one day I’d again take it out and shoot some arrows, and yesterday was that day.

And I liked it.

Liked it a lot.

If you’ve never tried this before, I highly recommend it. There’s something primal about it, especially after sitting behind technology all day, to go out and do something like this. To pull back that string and sight a target 20 yards out and let loose a projectile to see where it strikes. I’m not a hunter, so have zero plans in doing that, but I loved the fun of target shooting, and I seem to do so little just for the “fun” of it.

I’ve never had formal instruction, but next week, I have my first lesson. I’ll post that target and see if things got any better.  That near-perfect bull’s-eye was from 20 yards and toward the end of my range time, as I was finally really “getting” how to target the, uh…target, but my bow arm and ring finger both about had it. I think I had about 7 or so in the yellow, and about half each were from 10 and 20 yards.

But, damn, that was so cool.

A Return to the Straight and Arrow–Day 2.

A Return to the Straight and Arrow–Day 3.

Related articles

• Archery Is Booming Because Of Movies, Olympics (foxcharlotte.com)

Taylor Lord Photography via Style Me Pretty | Florals by Bows and Arrows

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Heading down to San Diego with a few friends to partake in all the Comic-Con fun! See you next week!

♥,

Kris

Amazon Watch is one of the groups that I use to keep informed of what is happening on the South American Resource War Front. Dr. Myra Vivares-Waddington (my wife) whose doctoral is in Peace and Development is also impressed with the quality of their reporting and of the injustice of the Belo Monte Dam project.

My wife and I are peace activists. We live in the Philippines but are involved in many areas around the world. You can be too. The genocide and ecocide that the rich of our world perpetrate on the 99% to maintain their privileged position must stop. They have no right to steal our children’s future. They have no right to poison us so they can live in luxury.

We have the duty and the responsibility to stop their reign of terror. I urge all of you to watch the video, to educate yourselves and then to get involved in ways that make sense to you. 

City Slickers: Escape From Witch Hunt Mountain is by far the most exciting film to hit the summer cinema screens since Kevin Costner splashed his way into theaters with Water Wars. Take that Marvel action heroes and a big up yours to those extremely shrill Hungry Twilight fans. This film has more action than a Sandusky shower. I guarantee it. 

Most know him as the horse riding, cigar chewing, chap wearing, card cheating, cattle wrangling, chuck wagon towing, chain smoking, cheap whiskey drinking, Choctaw slaying, campfire singing, Colt-45 slinging cowboy of the great American west, but to me he is just Billy Crystal. 

When Mitch Robbins, played ruggedly by the always-dashing Mr. Crystal, decides to return to the desert on horseback to hunt for a tattered notebook containing the intimate diary of an elusive cycling legend, under the posthumous guidance of the freshly deceased Mr. Curly “Totem Pole” Palance of course, the real adventure begins. 

Trouble soon arrives in the form of notorious peddling doper, Lance “Swollen Muscle” Armstrong, keeper of Witch Hunt Mountain. As the Wild West treasure hunters push their wagon train deeper into scandal country, Armstrong violently takes aim at Mitch and his outfit, declaring them trespassers and vowing to run them back to the suburbs they so casually trotted from.

After an aggressive exchange of rubber bullet fire from the mounted Mitch and his gossip-seeking outfit, “Swollen Muscle” deploys his trusty Nerf bow and arrow shooting squad to discourage the charging city cowboys. For a few moments it looks as if Mitch is a whipped warrior. His horses have all fled the potentially bloody skirmish, but Mitch makes one last valiant effort to suppress the master of the mountain by launching a risky assault on foot.

Shielding himself with only a clipboard and a laser pointer, Mitch makes his way into the heart of Witch Hunt Mountain with his sights set on the unnaturally strong Armstrong. After a rigorous game of cat and mouse amid the various hidden inner caves of the rocky fortress Mitch takes a bold chance, provoking “Swollen Muscles” with his extremely piercing laser pointer pen.

SPOILER ALERT!

When all is said and done, “Swollen Muscles” is contained and his private business is sold to the highest bidder, making Mitch and his men rich bastards. Curly gives a big approving thumbs up from the clouds as the authorities haul Lance “Swollen Muscles” Armstrong and his secretive force to the local ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’.

I have said too much already. If you are in the mood for action, suspense, slap stick, and high voltage drama than I highly recommend City Slickers: Escape From Witch Hunt Mountain. Five stars. No thumbs down.             

So after much anticipation by all parties in my family including myself, we finally went out and saw Brave.  We missed it on the opening weekend due to my daughter being sick, but I am kind of glad we did.  Even with some heavy hitting films coming out this past weekend, Brave was still packed.  We found some good seats, bought some popcorn, pulled out the candy and enjoyed a family friendly film.

Overall I liked the film.  I don’t think it was Disney/Pixar’s strongest film, but it has heart.  There was a decent story to be told and the film played it out well.  I expected the story to be more deep and complex but I had to remind myself that this was not intended for me, but for my 4 year old daughter.

One thing that I do have to commend is the intensity of beautiful colors that are in the film.  The hair, the backdrops, and scenes are filled with immensely bright colors that fill the big screen.  This is definitely a film that must be seen in the movie theaters with the loud speakers and dim environment.

My daughter, wife and I enjoyed the film.  There was a lot of humor in it for both adults and kids to laugh at.  Merida ( the princess and main character ) is like every girl growing up and wanting to be independent and make her own choices.  Her dad King Fergus is a jolly man with a heart of gold, while her mom the queen only wants what she thinks is best for her.

Great family fun and I definitely recommend taking the kids and calling it a movie day or night!

Here’s a little more about that.

On Wednesday night, it was Sketchbomb

Black Widow Rodeo

Then, on Thursday, it was Pompsicle featuring Rae Wright

Rae Wright

after school club presentation

I  tried the idea of fairy tributes with my younger group (P1-P3). I sat them down and told them a story about the fairies who looked after the forest and helped things grow.I created a fairy tribute circle which we all sat around.

I asked the children how we could thank the fairies and immediately all hands went up. The children were prepared! They were ready to build houses for them to live in….

They were all going to join in to make bridges across the trees to make tree walkways for the fairies. This was a big project requiring team effort by all.

This enthusiasm gave me confidence to make the fairy Pavillion with my older group.

A friend who works for another conservation organisation  came to visit  my workshop.

As I feared immediately all the children said they didn’t believe in fairies but as soon as we started building, they became totally absorbed. They collected flowers, they discussed decoration. They even discussed toilet facilities for the fairies and whether they should dig a hole! It was a fantastic  learning experience for me.

They may be my older group…..but whatever your age, you are never too old to believe in fairies…..

Drew and Amber were super sweet and we had a nice chat as we enjoyed our flat white and coffee before heading over to the ferry. Primarily a coffee roaster, their space is currently a work in progress as they have plans to install a standing rail and some outdoor seating. Definitely check it out next time you are in Victoria (looking at you Lesley and Tan)!

Bows and Arrows
483 Garbally Road, Victoria British Columbia
web | twitter

Happy hump day! I always feel a little dirty saying that, but I really do mean “Happy day that is in the middle of the week and if you just get over this hump, the weekend will be here before you know it!” But, saying “Happy hump day” is a little easier.

So, I have pretty crazy dreams; so involved that when I wake up, lately, I’ve still felt that I am in them. Imagine waking up thinking that you are the Queen of the the clouds. Apparently, that’s where my mind goes when I sleep. It might be even sadder that I am a tiny bit disappointed that when I realize that I am not the Cloud Queen.

Enough about dreams. Let’s talk reality. So, you know those days when you just need to go chill in a field? Yeah, me too.

*Shirt: Bows & Arrows. *Pants: Urban Outfitters (clearance rack for $10, what, what!). *Hat: Forever 21.

Even I look confused as to why I am in this field. Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery. And there are only so many dirty alleyways in this city.

Back to dreams. Sometimes I do have those dreams that make me want to sleep forever. Like when I ran into Hanson at the park and they offered me the job of their tour manager. It also may have ended with the wedding of Taylor and I as well. Most of my best dreams involve Hanson in some way. I may or may not have an obsession with boy bands.

What have been your weirdest dreams?

And then I decided that standing was overrated and that I wanted to sit in dirt with bugs crawling up my pants, because honestly, wouldn’t anyone?

These pictures are probably making you itchy right about now. If they weren’t, now they are!

I will be posting a giveaway from Francesca’s Collections later this week! Also, remember that using the promo code “JENNIFER” will get you 25% off through the end of May!

All photos credit of Ugly Mug Photography

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Everybody wanted to look at the blog on getting-ready-for-lag-bomer-2012-meron-on-lag-bomer-defies-description etc…

and enjoyed this year in Jerusalem with the Tolna Rebbe and more!

Watch our videos and enjoy the pics, share the inspiration!

Rebbe Rav Tzvi Meir Silberberg lights up Jerusalem lag B’omer 2012!

Mazel Tov on his Bar Mitzvah of Hatzaddick Rebbe Simcha Bunim shlita a future leader of our holy people and light unto the world!

13 in 2013-bar-mitzvah-celebrations-is-in-your-hands!

Also in the news update today, clients can now choose to dress Dolly with personalized floral embellishments by our friends, Bows and Arrows.

Floral pieces starting at just $100

Hickory Street Annex, vintage weddings, bows and arrows, couture events by lottie, bowtie vintage classics

Despite knowing it was the cover for an ambush, Robin Hood accepted an invitation to an archery competition. These situations are few and far between, basically the stuff of legends.

… do not question the motives of invitations, especially when they are delivered in envelopes, because only Machiavelli would go through such trouble if he did not truly desire the attendance of modern gentlemen.

BOWS + ARROWS

Alicia is the bows

Adam is the arrows

The hip Dallas floral design studio

We recently sat down with Alicia Rico of Bows + Arrows for an interview and photo shoot for our new vendor spotlight feature. Bows + Arrows is located inside The Bell Jar (a community of wedding and event pros) and has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, D Weddings and Paper City Mag to name just a few. We are excited to share some of the thoughtful answers Alicia gave us about her industry!

Q:  What is your favorite aspect of the floral industry?

A:  I love seeing everything come together! We sit down with brides and help them decide their color, style, decor and a lot of times we even design and come up with new concepts for them. So seeing everything come together in their location with their colors is my favorite part.

Q:  What is the best advice for brides who don’t even know where to start when choosing flowers?

A:  I think Pinterest is a great place! A lot of brides have told me that they learn a lot about themselves and discover their style on that site. Pinterest has so many visuals and you can see what you are attracted to, what images grab your attention and pin them on a pinboard. Those images often come together and make up what your style is and what you want for your big day.

Q:  What’s your favorite wedding trend?

A:  I actually like certain color palettes especially those that aren’t used very often. Peach and salmon are big right now and pairing those with navy is gorgeous. Also, unexpected color palettes that brides come up with on their own are very interesting.

Q:  Where do you draw your inspiration from?

A:  I draw inspiration from art museums, galleries, music, nature, interior design, fashion, everywhere!

Q:  What is the most unique request you’ve gotten?

A:  We are lucky enough to get a lot of unique brides. We did a fountain installation at The Crescent where we covered the entire fountain with flowers. I love to do those kinds of installations. We even did a floral chandelier before.  All my weddings are kind of unique.

Q:  What’s the biggest advantage to working with your spouse from a bride’s perspective?

A:  We read each other’s minds, we work so well together but also we complement each other really well. I am super girly and feminine and he brings that masculine, organic touch to things.

Q:  What are you most known for among brides?

A:  I like to consider us as the hip florist. We are really in tune with what is going on the world artistically and stay on top of the game with new ideas. We like to create our own vessels and create floral sculptures. Not just your typical arrangement but a true work of art.

The Light within and with out in Jerusalem to be revealed

13 in 2013-bar-mitzvah-celebrations-is-in-your-hands!

R’ Mottel Zilber – Pre-Lag Ba’Omer Hisorerus - Rav Moshe Weinberger

www.ravmosheweinberger.com<-

Rav Zilber spoke in English about Sefirah and Lag Ba’Omer. The importance of purifying ourselves in preparation for receiving the Torah. Changing

Rebbe Rav Tzvi Meir Silberberg lights up Jerusalem lag B’omer 2013!

 And Rebbe Shimon’s light with all of us shinning too!Last years pics<- click here! and this years coming soon!

!!! From Jerusalem people like myself including hundreds of thousands of Jews, are making their way to the Galilean city of Meron Saturday night April 27th, Sunday April 28th, 2013, Lag B’Omer, participating in the annual celebration of Lag Ba’Omer. Well truth is last year i didn’t end up going for family reasons so click here -> in how we lit up Jerusalem 2012! Police in the quiet town situated just one mountain away from the mystical city of Tzfat are expecting half a million Jews to arrive, traveling in busses, private cars, and some even on foot.  As of 7:30pm Wednesday night, its expected for 20,000 people to have already arrived. Lag Ba’Omer is the 33rd day of the 50 day count between the holiday of Pesach (Passover), at which time the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, and the holiday of Shavuot, at which time they received the Torah at Mount Sinai.  However, it is also the day of the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (sometimes known by the acronym Rashbi), was a rabbi in the time of the Mishna, after the destruction of the Second Temple.  The pre-eminent disciple of the great Rabbi Akiva, he was – like his predecessor – a vocal opponent of the Roman occupation of the Land of Israel, and was forced to go into hiding for 13 years with his son, Rabbi Eliezer, in order to avoid imprisonment by the Romans. However, Rabbi Shimon’s foremost legacy is the Zohar, the fundamental work of the Kabbalah, the teachings of Jewish mysticism.  It is primarily for this reason that the day of his passing is celebrated by the Jewish people.  Tradition records that on the day of his death, Rabbi Shimon revealed to his students the deepest secrets of mysticism, causing a day which would have been sorrowful and bitter to become a day of celebration and rejoicing Looking forward to an even higher deeper and happier Lag B’Omer this year please G-d! Check out last years pics (<-click here) and vids (see below) for a glimpse of a day which is beyond words! This year  is 2012, 5772 Taf shin ayin beis = spells the word Bshas = in the time, the gemarra says ” in the time of emergency be reliant on Rebbe Shimon’s merit, he reveals the truth that we are all intrinsically good, lets reveal this this year now…. The Talmud states that during the time of Rabbi Akiva, 24,000 of his students died from a divinely-sent plague during the counting of the Omer. The Talmud then goes on to say that this was because they did not show proper respect to one another, befitting their level; they begrudged each other the spiritual levels attained by their comrades. Jews celebrate Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the count, as the traditional day that this plague ended. This is the view recorded in the legal code of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, 120:1–10. After the death of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students, he taught just five students, among them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The latter went on to become the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation. The day of Lag BaOmer is also celebrated as the hillula or yahrtzeit of bar Yochai, who is purported to have authored the Zohar, a landmark text of Jewish mysticism. According to tradition, on the day of bar Yochai’s death, he revealed the deepest secrets of the Kabbalah. This day is seen as a celebration of the giving of the hidden, mystical Torah through Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, as a parallel to Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the revealed Torah through Moses. On the day of his death, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai instructed his students to celebrate this day as a holiday to commemorate the vast amount of mystical teachings which he revealed at that time.

Kabbalistic significance

Lag BaOmer has another significance based on the Kabbalistic custom of assigning a Sefirah to each day and week of the Omer count. The first week corresponds to Chesed, the second week to Gevurah, etc., and similarly, the first day of each week corresponds to Chesed, the second day to Gevurah, etc. Thus, the 33rd day, which is the fifth day of the fifth week, corresponds to Hod she-be-Hod (Splendor within [the week of] Splendor). As such, Lag BaOmer represents the level of spiritual manifestation or Hod that would precede the more physical manifestation of the 49th day (Malkhut she-be-Malkhut, Kingship within [the week of] Kingship), which immediately precedes the holiday of  Shavuos! I don’t remember if it was Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra (maybe both?) that sang, “I left my heart in San Francisco”. I can safely say that I left mine in Meron. Meron on Lag B’Omer defies description. This year, I won’t be able to be in Meron for Lag B’Omer, because I’ll be on a plane to Singapore; my first task is to spread emuna around the globe. But, if you can imagine a Woodstock of complete holiness, with the spirit of one of our people’s greatest tzaddikim of all time – Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai – walking around in your midst, where the tears of elation mix with the tears of a broken heart, dancing on air in perfect unity with people you might not speak to all year long, while on-the-house food and drink flow out of trees and stones, that’s Meron – a little place of heaven on earth. Here’s a small taste from a few years ago (takes a few seconds to load).  From Lazer Brody with thanks! ההדלקה במירון על ידי האדמו”ר מתולדות אהרון משהו מיוחד

Mercifully, The Avengers comes out on May 4th. LESS THAN 2 WEEKS TO GO!!!!

For those of you interested in seeing some behind the scenes antics from the film, you can see them here at Collider.com.

The Avengers will be released in theaters on Friday May 4th, 2012

The Avengers Assemble on May 4th 2012!

Olympia, WA’s Arrington de Dionyso has been making uncompromising music for years with bands like Old Time Relijun, and more recently, Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa.  The latter is a throbbing, noisy group in which he delivers his vocals using throat singing in Indonesian.  But of course!  A few months back, he had the opportunity to tour in Indonesia.  The following is an interview I did with Arrington about his trip. 

Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa plays with San Kazakgascar and Carson McWhirter at Bows & Arrows in Sacramento on April 7.  8pm, only $5   Facebook Invite here.

So why Indonesian throat singing?

Throat singing is awesome! I think it deserves to be heard in every country and in every language. I thought people in Indonesia might appreciate hearing some good throat singing in their own language.

How long were you in Indonesia for?  Were all of your collaborations and performances pre-booked, or did some of them come about once you arrived?

I was there for a month and a half, really not long enough but I was able to travel and perform concerts in about ten different cities. Yes, most of the concerts were booked ahead of time but I jumped into a number of spontaneous situations, including getting kicked off stage at a really shitty tourist bar in Bali. Did you see the video for that one, it’s kind of funny… but there are better clips of actual concerts with the Malaikat dan Singa band…

Even with already having some knowledge of Indonesian music, can I assume you were exposed to a lot of new ideas?

That’s why I went!

How were you received by the other musicians and listeners at the shows?

There is a huge fan base out there that I was able to tap into, I found a lot of support among the various rock and experimental scenes in various cities. Many people who came to our concerts had been waiting a long time for Malaikat dan Singa to finally come to Indonesia, so it was a great moment for all of us. I also played in situations, such as that shitty tourist bar I mentioned before, where we blew some minds but were essentially kicked offstage by the jock idiot who was running the show there.

I played a number of shows that weren’t really “Malaikat dan Singa” at all, just me doing different kinds of collaborations with traditional musicians…in almost all of those situations people were really surprised to see a foreigner playing with traditional musicians. Most younger people look to the West for ideas about what is “cool”, you know? They don’t often think of traditional Indonesian music as fitting into what is “cool” and “hip” at all, so it makes a very big impact on them when they see a Westerner kind of validating their traditional heritage and pointing a way for people to think of traditional music in revitalized ways.

What were the most interesting things about Indonesian culture in general?

I don’t know if I am in a position to comment on the culture as a whole in any general way. Indonesia is massively huge, there is so much going on there. You know, I have been researching Indonesian music on my own since I was in high school, I had always wanted to go there and experience the music in person. I think it is pretty important to read up on a place and spend some time trying to learn a language before going, it definitely makes for a more enriching experience.

What new things did you learn from the musicians you jammed with?

I kind of feel like a lot of the things I might say in answering this
question come across as a little cliche, I mean, “I learned that we
aren’t so different from each other at the end of the day” you know,
that kind of thing. There are always lots of differences when reaching
across cultures, languages and different traditions, but everyone I
performed with was very open to me and excited to try something
completely new, musically speaking. There were a few situations in
playing with more traditional style musicians that could have been
awkward but really weren’t at all. You have to go into situations like
that remembering to be humble in some regards but also not to be shy.
If you believe that music is a universal language you just have to put
your money where your mouth is, and just jump right in!

What were some favorite food discoveries?

Indonesian street food is always an adventure. Just like eating
anywhere else in the world, there is a wide range of different options
of varying quality. You find many places offering variations of the
standard “fried up bits of stuff” and after a while I had to try and
avoid those kinds of places even though they are sometimes the most
popular places to go according to the people hosting me and showing me
around. My favorite kind of place to go is a cuisine called “Padang”,
that means a Sumatran-style buffet restaurant. There are always lots
of different dishes to choose from at a Padang restaurant, big bowls
with stews of meat, or fish, or different vegetables. There is a curry
made from jack fruit, which is a really great savory fruit that almost
has more of meat-like texture to it, it’s chewy and quite filling.

I also love how popular avocado smoothies are, kind of like in
Vietnamese food but in Indonesia they always put chocolate sauce in
with the avocado!

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Parasitic Ego and the Illusion of Self
Equal Through Substance
Fabric of Society
What is Money in the World?
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