No really. I’m still here. I’m just here in Portuguese

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

I could try to take you down every single emotional, situational and logistical rabbit-hole that’s slightly derailed my writing, but I won’t.

Here’s the problem with being me: Me.

In fact, I named the blog something that was a subtle inference about the odd amalgam of talents that comprise my essential being; I’d like to compare myself to epic Renaissance Man, Thomas Jefferson, insofar as my interests in anything and everything are far and wide, but I won’t. I know better than that.  So did president Kennedy, when, hosting a dinner of Nobel-laureate scientists for a Whitehouse dinner, once said “There hasn’t been a greater quantity of intelligence gathered in this room since Thomas Jefferson dined here alone.”

cpsI put quotes there, but I’m too lazy to look up the actual one right now.

One of my fascinations has been language.  Many years ago, I started to learn Hungarian, because I was in the frequent company of some dear, Hungarian friends.  The problem with this is, they ALL moved away, and I was left to say cute and flowing phrases from the region Magyar by myself.

A few years later, I got it in my mind that I wanted to interpret for the deaf.  And, believe it or not, I did wind up doing this for a spell–a rather tumultuous spell, complete with the pratfalls that come with a lack of experience.

At least I am conversationally-fluent.  And that feels good, because I am legitimately bi-lingual in this one area.

So now, I’m headed down the long road to Portuguese. And by that I mean Brazilian Portuguese.  This is by and large because the heretofore-mentioned band, Oficina G3,  noticed me on Instagram, and sent some 900 mazing, awesome, and . . . wow, SPIRITED Brazilians careening my way.  I already had some dear friends over there.  Now, I might actually make it over there this next year,and I happen to LOVE the language.

So in my interactions with them–this group being almost entirely Christian, I began to discover that a raging eddy of CS Lewis fans exist in Brazil, and that his greatest works have been translated into Portuguese. And this goes double for epic-work-that-will-forever-eclipse-all-for-me:  Mere Christianity.

I was somewhat skeptical that his work could carry the same magical, preternatural descriptive wind that it does in English.  But since I started extracting key quotes from the Portuguese editions and making “Memes” with them, I see the same reactions in the hearts and minds of the Brazilian: they are stunned.

So I have desire to speak the language.  But I have  secondary desire to read the language as well.  And read it in a way that I can formulate a thought in that language.

I’ve already found an E-edition of the book and downloaded into my Nook.  But I want a hard copy.  I’m going to do this.

And the journey is now underway.

Posted in Books, CS Lewis, Faith, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

At the Crossroads of common literary decency with Acoustic Guitar Magazine

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

AG272-August-Cover-Robert-Johnson_gear_productThere is a common literary technique accompanied by a lesser-known phrase, known as the In medias res—a latin phrase for “in the middle of things.”

The tactic is used to suck a reader in to the main vortex of a story, then allowing for the author to then go back, and build a slower ramp to the ultimate meat of intrigue. We see it all the time. Jurassic Park begins with the odious movement of some genetically-modified dinosaur on an island—then takes us back to the beginning.

The point being, this technique offers fulfilled promises. In Jurassic Park, we know we are ultimately going to be encountering a trouncing Tyrannosaurus, vociferating Velociraptors, and a stagnant Stegosaurus. We came for those stinking dinosaurs, and by George, Michael Crichton is going to deliver.

I’m not sure whether or not my dopey foray into condescending pedagogy about Latin phraseology has anything to do with this; my principal complaint that the August, 2015 edition of Acoustic Guitar magazine has engaged in a malevolency. And if I didn’t just have an out-and-out subscription to them, I would have taken this issue back to the store and demanded my money back.

You can’t post a picture of Robert Johnson on the cover of a magazine, toss out an ambiguous question about the provenance of his famed Gibson L-1, and then just write an article DEFINITIVELY DESTROYING the claim made by the man who says he has it.

Many years ago, magicians Penn & Teller were on, I think—Late Night with David Letterman. Being that they are considered the “bad boys of magic,” they always have a visceral and vascular way in which they channel the pseudo-horrors of the Grand Guignol. That night I watched Penn Jillette narrate Teller’s tossing of a snow white rabbit into a motorized meat grinder. As the bloody, fur-laden pulp shot out towards the audience, the people in the studio groaned and screamed.

True to form, Penn decides to “ease the audiences mind,” along with the minds of prominent “animal rights” folks, by producing said rabbit in an unmolested condition.

And . . . right on time, Teller walks out with a brown and white rabbit, to the uncomfortable laughter of all.

That’s right. Penn & Teller have more respect for their audiences’ intellect than the editors of Acoustic Guitar magazine. They spend this entire span of paper making this big to-do about the probability of this legendary “Holy Grail” of blues guitars being in the possession of one man, only to basically announce “Naw. It’s just a brown and white rabbit. Thanks for reading.”

All they had to do was title the article, Me and the Devil Blues, A Florida businessman, learns the truth behind his claim to Johnson’s Famed Gibson L-1.

But don’t play me for a blues sucker. I’m forever fascinated by blues history, and the crucible of racism and slavery and faith out of which it was forged. So I’m easily led down the garden path whenever I see on of the only two known pictures of Johnson on the cover.

Please. Make what’s behind the cover mean something. Something I hope all my writing actually attempts to do.

 

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Wow, am I easily derailed

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

Screen Shot 2015-06-29 at 10.31.12 PMIt seems only like yesterday, I was pontificating, ruminating, cogitating, deliberating and prevaricating about wanting to write my book–complete with the breathless declaration that I had completed the first chapter.

Then, I went to McCloud on a church.family camp thingamabob.  I managed to get derailed again, when the ambient temapterature reached about 225 degrees.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit high, but needless to say, the temps put the trout into some other Narnian state of existence, because they were virtually nowhere to be found.

So instead, I started loitering around  the town of McCloud, talking to people and asking “which way to the mountain?” even though it’s visible from nearly every porch.

Then, I decided to video blog a bunch of nonsense.  It was fun.

Then, a bunch of other odd, Providential stuff happened, and I’ve been off on a cloud about that.

oldsh

These under-insulated smart alecks are DARING me to climb to the top!

At the end of the trip we went to the Sisson museum, and looked around.  This is where I saw a bunch of pictures of people standing on top of Mount Shasta.  It was right then and there I decided.  I can’t stand the fact that I live RIGHT NEAR a 14,000 foot-elevation mountaintop, and I haven’t been up there.

Yeah yeah. people die. I get it. Meh.  Only 60 deaths are recorded there. Yosemite has well over a thousand.  So apples and oranges.

And besides. I’ll be with a friend in case the dark specter of cannibalism raises its ugly head.

AG272-August-Cover-Robert-Johnson_gear_product

Too mysterious a legacy to not be messed with!

What does this have to do with my book?  Nothing.  I was nearly ready to find some ridiculous rationale for delay when my  August, 2015 edition of Acoustic Guitar magazine came in.

Call it an omen. A sign.  A harbinger.  Whatever.  I’m supposed to be circumventing–and then ultimately recusing this man’s legacy through the bald assault of my fictional molotov cocktails.

So back to it I go.

Posted in Blogging, Books, Music, Novel writing, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

This just happened

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

 

Let him that readeth understand. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Oficina G3, Petra, and getting viewed 30,000 times

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

In case the backstory here is a bit muddy, let me give you a bit of my history.

When I was a teenager, growing up in a church, and a Christian school, this was my favorite record:

51t4X-C2m3L-2Not of This World had everything: writing, soaring guitars, soaring vocals, soaring background vocals.  I’ve seen this band in many incarnations over the years, for a grand total of nine times.  Many of my guitar chops were first former trying to emulate Bob Hartman’s Stratocaster on those early records.

What’s amazing is this.  Somewhere in Brazil, a few guys from the band Oficina G3 apparently felt the same way.  And while their band sounds nothing like Petra, their attention to detail, harmonies, and at-times pyrotechnic musicianship–shines through.

I can’t tell you how many people think KISS was the one to first record God Gave Rock and Roll To You, but they were not. And they certainly weren’t the first ones to put that song on the map.  Petra did.  And if anyone doubts this, listen to the live DDG Experience recording,and se what they close with; straight up pain to their inspiration.

As a teenager, I managed to meet Petra a number of times. One of those times was in 1985, on the Beat The System tour, in which I got all their autographs.

All these years later, I accidentally ran into John Lawry at NAMM. In the lobby.  I was–STOKED!

So it’s a weird arc to how I found out about Official G3, but a friend of mine in Brazil told me about them–having no idea that there was a Petra connection. He’d never heard of them.  The odd thing was, I had just finished sending him a clip of Petra.  This is what started that whole ball rolling.

OficinaG3So Oficina G3 bases out of Brazil.  They sing in Portuguese.  I don’t know Portuguese.  But I learned real quickly that I could love the meaning and spirit behind something.  They do manage to cover People Get Ready in english, and they have double-recorded one of my favorites, Unconditional–an original.

So I started listening to them, and this whole synaptic thing in me goes crazy–like it did when I was a kid; I wanted to play and sing their stuff.  The message is wonderful, and the vocals–wow . . . I can’t say enough about Mauro Henrique . . . he is a beast–soulful, powerful, gritty when it counts and soft when it REALLY counts.

So I’ve been gliding along, talking about them occasionally to my friends, who look at me and say “yeah, but I can’t understand what they’re saying.”

“Okay,” I said to one. “I’ll leave you to navigate the clear vocal channels of Slayer.” It’s funny how understanding the lyrics matter when you realize they’re not singing in your own language. Especially from those who will immediately dismiss the lyrics as “inconsequential” when I say “I don’t like the filthy lyrics in a song.”

CLARASHIRT

The picture that started it all . . .

So the other day, I posted the video about running into the wrong cabin in McCloud–because I was excited that one of my favorite bands noticed me on Instagram. And all THIS started because I posted a picture of my kid wearing a 28-year-old shirt from the  tour. (It doesn’t fit me anymore)

Right after that, I grabbed my ukulele, and recorded the chorus to their song “Eu Sou” (I AM) and posted it to say thanks.

Imagine your favorite singer–telling YOU you sound “amazing.”

Okay, I’m 48 years old.  I get it.  But I still thought it was cool.  What I didn’t know was, the band would REPOST it on their FaceBook and Instagram, and tell people to follow me.

Now my phone’s preview screen looks like the screen ticker recording the national debt.

To the whole band–Oficina G3, and ALL my new friends: OBRIGADO!

NOTA

Para meus leitores no Brasil : Obrigado! Este artigo é uma explicação de como eu descobri Oficina G3 . Todos os meus amigos pensam que eu sou um pouco estranho 🙂

Mas todos nós sabemos que Ogicina G3 é incrível! Quero mais dos meus amigos para ouvi-los !

Posted in Entertainment, Faith, Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

VLOG: Quality fly fishing

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

I just didn’t have much in me in terms of adventurous overtones.  So it comes down to this sad video blog.

It’s hot here,and the trout are weird.  Which is a subtle way of saying “aint playin’.”

Anyway . . . if you want to see my serious, cinematic effort–which could have ben made better with the experience I have now–then see that here.  Beyond that, well . . . I don’t know what to say.

Posted in Blogging, Fly fishing, Vlogging | Tagged , | 1 Comment

VLOG: Apparently, Oficina G3 makes me run into other people’s cabins

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

If you’ve been here reading my veritable assaults against normalcy, you would well know my fascination–YEAH EVEN A FANSHIP of–the band Oficina G3.  But, for all points and purposes here, NONE of that matters.  All you need to know is–they are one of my favorite bands out of Brazil, AND both the bass player, Eduardo Tabasco and Mauro Henrique, the lead singer and ridiculously good vocalist for the band–followed ME on Instagram a couple of hours ago.

This apparently brings into relief–certain pathological issues. Or continence:

UPDATE: commenter Erick says:

“Vou traduzir:

Basicamente o cara falou que ficou tão histérico(histeria de fã) com os caras do G3 seguindo ele que ele entrou na casa errada gritando que os caras do G3 estavam seguindo ele no Instagram. Quando a pessoa da casa começou a gritar, ele percebeu que estava na casa errada. =P”

Thank you Erick! OBRIGADO!

Posted in Music, Social media, Vlogging | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

VLOG: Bluesin’ by the railhead

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

So I realize the explanatory side of this is weak.  But these trains are part of my history–I wish they were running.  But they are no longer . . .

Posted in Blogging, Guitar, Music, Vlogging | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Blues by the tracks 

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

Beautiful morning.

Posted in Blogging, Guitar, Music | 1 Comment

On the tracks

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Ron Giesecke

IMG_6243Many years ago, I used to perform card tricks on the now-defunct Sunset Dinner Train. It was based out of McCloud, and would head through the mountainous areas, and give people the “fine dining” experience.

Yesterday, sitting in the cafe looking at these tracks out the window, I couldn’t help but be a little sad. Almost bluesy . . .

So today, I thought I might head down the tracks a bit. Maybe even shoot a little video and show you the remnants of a bygone era–one that could still be resurrected if the right circumstances aligned.

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