| Saturday, March 7th, 2009 |
| 12:48 am |
I got this one homework assignment for my Michigan History class to write a short paper about how my family got to Michigan. I found out some really interesting things about my father's side of the family. The family originated in East Prussia and came over to Canada and the Detroit sometime before 1870 or so. The records available are not that explicit and it does not say how they got here are exactly when, but the fact that they were from East Prussia is significant. There were not many Prussians in the United States around 1860-1870. Another significant thing is that the name "Peschke" wasn't always Peschke. The official name when my family came from East Prussia was "Pischke" and each male family member spelled it differently like "Peske" or "Pichke." But the name Peschke stuck. And members of my family were Lumber barons in the 1870's. This has been very interesting so far. |
| Saturday, February 28th, 2009 |
| 12:28 pm |
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| Thursday, February 19th, 2009 |
| 2:56 am |
"Destiny is created by us, not for us." Barack Obama |
| Monday, February 16th, 2009 |
| 11:07 pm |
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| Thursday, February 12th, 2009 |
| 1:52 am |
Well, I hung up some posters that I had sitting around forever in my basement. I got a power strip for another lamp and i had to move my drums back about 6 inches due to some unknown object jutting out of the wall blocking where I wanted to re-position my hi-hat. I have one ductape poster I made composed of pictures of a few of my favorite drummers with a poster-frame containing tickets to concerts I've been to next to it with a poster of Rob Zombie next to that over the heating oil tank. On the wall behind my drums are posters of Metallica, Slipknot a Russian Circles tour poster and a Rammstein logo I cut out of a bag that i got at the concert in Berlin. I'm pretty happy with how it looks so far. Pictures are at the bottom. I got new Hi-hat cymbals and I am replacing my 16" 2002 series crash for an 18" Rude series crash. Pictures of the cymbals will ensue once I have the new Crash. Also, I have a port-hole in the resonant side of the base drum to create a better sound. I'm really starting to refine my sound and I'm almost there. I just need to replace my ride cymbal and I'll be set. The cymbals I have now are great cymbals, but they don't do what I want them to. I have a very Led Zeppelin sound right now and that's not quite what I'm going for. I don't know what is going to replace my 20" Giant Beat ride just yet. I still have yet to explore a few other cymbals.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/COLUMBINE1818/Basementsetup001.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/COLUMBINE1818/Basementsetup003.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/COLUMBINE1818/Basementsetup004.jpg Current Music: Marilyn Manson |
| Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 |
| 1:51 am |
I love the reprieve the weather has decided to give us. Temporary spring motherfuckers! I love the Spring/Summer at night. It's still comfortable at 50-60 degrees so you can just grab a hoody and still be comfortable. I can't wait for the summer. |
| Monday, February 2nd, 2009 |
| 8:35 pm |
I had a guy come over and jam last week and it was a good learning experience. He kinda mislead me on his playing style. he said he played a lot like James Hetfield from Metallica, so I thought great I can stick my simplistic driving style as Lars does, but no. He wanted me to mimic his riffs like Meshuggah. Well, what he was playing was really polyrhythmic. When I asked him what time signature it was in he said "I have no idea." So, it was pretty impossible for me to really follow what he was playing especially when he couldn't tell me what time signature he was using. Some things I did he liked, but it wasn't enough. I just said flat out, after struggling with one of his riffs, "I'm getting the feeling that this isn't gonna work." he agreed and just added that we were "worlds apart" in terms of style. He was playing some really cool stuff, he was really virtuosic and he sounded great, but it's beyond me in terms of style and technical ability. He was a nice guy though. He was really cool about the whole scenario, but it wouls become so much like work. I would be working for him and playing what he wanted me to play and listening to him tell me how to play along to a riff. Yeah, screw that. That was another deciding factor, but I didn't tell him that. So, after this I told my Drum teacher, Demarcus, about it and we started go over music theory and are going into polyrhythms and I'm also working on everything else. Time, speed, and everything in between. But, I'm still drawn to a layed back style of drumming that provides a foundation and drives the song in a dancey kind of way. That way a guitar player can do anything with it and soar over top of it or be as crushing as the beat is. In any event it was a humbling experience and I think I'm just going to retreat back a bit and just work on my playing for about 6 months to a year before I go ahead and give a band another shot. |
| Saturday, January 31st, 2009 |
| 1:41 am |
Have any of you gone back and listened to something you listened to when you were in high school or earlier? It's kind of an odd thing for me, because I have a deep attachment to to the stuff I listened to when I was 15,16 and 17. When I listen to KoRn's old stuff or Marilyn Manson's Anti-Christ Superstar or Nirvana's In Utero I just experience a certain mentality that I had at that age when I was having all kinds of problems. It's really odd to me. it also just shows me how far I've come from that time. I was a weird guy at that age and looking back I realize how fucked up I really was. I think I had an awareness that I had my issues, but I don't think I realized how strange I was at times. It's also strange when people talk to you about those times and they don't realize that you're a different person. or someone tells a story to someone you know and you have to put it into a context in order for it to make sense. I guess I'm kinda glad in a way that I haven't kept in touch with a few people. There are people that just can't help, but think of you as someone you were. That must be why i can't stand most of my extended family, because they still see me as a 5 year old kid who doesn't know anything about the "real world" because he's not a conservative. I don't know I've written some stuff here that i'm going to look at tomorrow and go "where the fuck did that come from?" It wouldn't surprise me if I read this 2 or 3 days from now and decide to delete it. Anyway, do any of you have a deep personal connection with the music you used to listen to? Current Music: KoRn/Bottled Up Inside |
| Friday, January 30th, 2009 |
| 8:20 pm |
Music theory is hard. Current Music: Meshuggah/ObZen |
| Monday, January 19th, 2009 |
| 6:28 pm |
A friend of mine has informed me of a possible career option. if I go into criminology/criminal profiling the University of Detroit Mercy has a program where I could get an internship with the Detroit police department. If I go into criminology this would be an attractive option. Now, I'm not too keen on working in Detroit. However, it will probably be a desk job and I won't have to be out on the streets like a normal Detroit cop. As of now, it's only an option. What do you guys think? If I like criminology should I go for this or keep looking for other options? |
| Saturday, January 17th, 2009 |
| 2:55 am |
Unfortunately, I have bad news on the music front. I was trying to find time to audition for a band, and e-mailed the guy on a fairly regular basis to inform him of when I could do it and after our 2nd e-mail I got no responses. Due to a full schedule at the time I had to wait for a day to open up and when it finally opened up he responds with "Sorry, the spot has already been filled. Thanks for your interest." I'd like to thank Westborn market for filling my schedule with 5 days a week at exactly the wrong time. I still have yet to hear back from one guitar player who said he wanted to jam. School has started again and I'm taking Analysis of Social Problems and Michigan History. Those two subjects seemed to intertwine, so I figured they would be good to take together.
I'm thinking about going into criminal profiling. So after my social problems class I'm going to sign up for Criminology in the fall and see if I like it. If I like it then I'll probably continue on from there into that field. As to what I'm going to do with that degree, I don't know yet. But, It's nice to be able to analyze people and behavior. It comes in handy during poker games. Current Music: Shelter Red/The Whole Truth |
| Thursday, January 15th, 2009 |
| 12:37 am |
Metallica was amazing. The lights were awesome and they sounded better than the live recording I've seen on youtube and their website. James Hetfield was on top of his game and sounded very much like he did in the late 80's early 90's. It's goes into the top 3 concerts of the ones I've seen. You could definitely tell that they could (and wanted) to play all night and day. You could feel that they just love to play. The setlist was pretty sweet aside from the song Breadfan. I don't know why they still play that song. After the show the departure from Joe Louis Arena sucked ass. It's not often that one sees blatant disregard for rules of the road and pure impatience at it's worst. We nearly got hit several times within 10 minutes and saw one guy do a turn around in the middle of the road stopping 2 lanes of traffic. Saw someone run a red light in a bus. Saw a limo stop traffic to let people out in front of the entrance to JLA in front of a Detroit police cruiser and saw the two Detroit cops in that cruiser get out and yell and push people around to get traffic moving again. This may be the norm for Detroit traffic, but this is the first time I've ever seen it this bad and it was frightening at times with so many near misses in a short span of time. I don't travel to Detroit very often unless there is a concert there, but this is the worst I've ever seen it. Some may think Detroit has gotten better over the years, but the population going from 1.07 million in the 2000 census to a little over 800,000 in 2008 seems to be indicative of a downward trend. |
| Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 |
| 12:45 am |
METALLICA!Joe Louis Arena TONIGHT! So Fucking excited! |
| Monday, January 12th, 2009 |
| 12:43 pm |
I just watched the movie I Am Legend. It's a good movie and I do reccomend it. Check it out for yourself. |
| Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 |
| 2:06 am |
Alright I have news to report. I've gotten to the point where I decided to post an ad on Craig's list to find a band. Well, I have already gotten several offers. I had to turn down a few because of musical incompatibility or distance in one case. However, I do have two promising offers. I have yet to audition for them, but I will post after I do. Also, as a side note... I received a complaint about the content of my Live Journal. Well all I can say is this.. If you don't like it go fuck yourself and delete me from your friends list. This is for my own personal usage and I will post whatever I wish, so I do not care if anyone approves of the entries I post. If you wish to discuss or simply comment go ahead, but if questions, comments and points of discussion are rude innapropriate or insulting in any way I will delete them at my discretion. If you have a problem with that I do not care. If I see repeat offenders they will be banned from commenting on my Live Journal. If you wish to discuss anything that I have said in detail, please contact me in private. |
| Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 |
| 3:26 pm |
Just to elaborate further, here is some more information on these Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs or CFLs. If you don't believe me when I say they are Hazardous read the instructions from the Enviromental Protection Agencey or EPAregarding the cleanup of these products. http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htmIt all seems a little too much when the LED lightbulbs use less energy than the CFLs and are not toxic. |
| Sunday, January 4th, 2009 |
| 11:49 pm |
Ok to start off 2009 there are two things bugging me, but they fall under the same generic category. First, by February we will only be able to receive a Digital TV signal. I have a problem with this because the Analog works fine. Never had a problem with it, the picture is fine and I don't want the extra garbage channels Digital TV offers. After dealing with Digital TV I don't find it to be superior in any way. If the reception is less than stellar the Analog signal will just show a fuzzy picture, but you can still watch your show without major problems. With Digital the picture get pixilated and the sound stops or the signal cuts out all together. It's hard to watch the latest WWII documentary when the sound isn't always available. Now because of "LAW" Digital will be the only signal availible. I have a problem with this, because the Digital signal is not better and the Government is telling me what signal I should receive. Just like with the compact florescent bulbs, or CFL bulbs, that the Government is requiring everyone to use by 2014 instead of the Incandescent bulbs. Once again the Government is telling us what product to use. Well these CFL bulbs contain Mercury and are hazardous if one breaks. The EPA requires extensive measures to be taken to clean up this hazardous material, so not only do they pose a danger to us, but they are ONLY MADE IN CHINA. The same country that poisoned our pet food, and painted Lead onto toys. So, here is my resonse to that... I'm not going to by these Toxic CFL bulbs. I'm going to buy L.E.D. lightbulbs. They use even less energy that the florescent, they don't contain toxic chemicals and they last much longer. I don't like being told what TV signal to receive or what kind of lightbulb to buy and that pisses me off. |
| Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 |
| 1:09 am |
I got my Thesis paper back. I got an A- or 270 out of 300. That helps when it worth ONE THIRD OF THE TOTAL. I did well on everything else so I'm expecting a good final grade. How were your classes? |
| Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 |
| 11:41 pm |
One thing has been on my mind. Ever notice what comprises your grade for a class? Does he/she just use 5 test scores? Or is there more to it than that? My History professor did an interesting thing by grading students on 3 main things Test scores, attendance, participation and completion of assignments and a Thesis paper. By grading in thirds you could completely bomb on one third and still pull a C. If you just did mediocre in one third you still have a chance at completing the course with a reasonable grade. Not only does this increase the chance of success in the classroom, but it also relieves pressure on the student. Now, A Math professor I had only graded 5 tests and dropped the lowest score. So a student's grade is entirely made up of 4 test scores and nothing else. No attendance, participation, or any other form of involvement in the class. So, by design a tremendous amount of pressure is put on the student for these tests. While this is good for some it is not for others. Especially if the Math class is not essential to the Student's major. This type of grading bothers me not just because I don't do well at Math, but because there is little opportunity to do more than the tests to make an effort to redeem yourself if you do not test well. I realize most Math professors teach this way, but it's not unreasonable to expect more opportunities to get involved in the class at the Community College level. It's not graduate school and these are lower level classes that are not essential to everyone's degree. If a student is a Math major then it can only benefit the student to have more opportunity to get involved in the class anyway, so the question is why is it so terrible to grade more than just 4 tests? And before someone mentions it, the job title of professor entails teaching and grading student's work, so just having 4 tests comprise a class grade for a whole semester to reduce the amount of grading is simply avoiding work they are being paid to do. This practice is an example of laziness by definition. Nothing worth doing is easy and finding ways to avoid work to the detriment of a person's education is wrong and should be corrected. Current Music: Rammstein/Du Riechts So Gut |
| Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 |
| 2:34 am |
Well I changed the way my drums are set-up. Mounted my toms on a stand instead of the bass-drum, so I could move my Ride cymbal over to a more comfortable position. I added a stand out of necessity for my 18 inch Crash and now it feels pretty good.  Current Music: White Zombie/Electric Head The Agony Pt.1 |
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