Greetings to all of you lovely people on what is a beautiful morning here at HQ World Wide Woozle.
Yesterday I went for a remedial massage. It's all part of my not so cunning plan to keep my back working properly. Let's call it preventative maintenance. I was worried that an hour would be a long time to lie still for and guess what, I was right. I enjoyed the experience for the most part and I had expected the therapist to find all the sore spots (he did). Next time I think I'll ask if I can get up and walk around about half way through. I now know all about my piriformis and QL joints. Ouch.
Since I last wrote I've been back on the bike once more. I rode to and from work on Friday. The ride there was great; about twenty-five minutes, gently downhill, and my whole outlook on life improved immeasurably. The ride home was gently uphill into a 35 km/h headwind and probably not quite as much fun. Still, it's a start. Being able to walk five or six kilometres is great but nothing beats maxing out your heart rate on a decent climb either cycling or bushwalking. That's the feeling that both my body and mind are yearning for. I know that I'll be able to train hard again, I'm just impatient and a bit frustrated.
Triple J's annual Hottest 100 countdown is coming. I must admit that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Js. I know that I am no longer in the target age group but I do like to think that I have a fairly broad musical appetite. JJJ used to be the place I went to hear cool new stuff but more and more it's the same kind of music over and over. Maybe music got bland whilst I wasn't looking. Or maybe I just need to look a bit harder. I've put my votes in this year and listened to a lot of their suggestions along the way. Here are two of my selections. Neither of these should be a shock to regular listeners.
Last time I spoke about my new rock project. Some of you will have seen it on Instagram by now. The backstory is that I was out walking a few weeks ago and spotted a small painted rock that someone had left out to be found. The idea is that I could keep the rock ,or photograph it and post a pic to a FB group and then put it somewhere else. I knew about this but I'd never thought about having a go myself. So, armed with some paint pens and a few rocks I've given it a go. My first batch is almost finished and ready to leave around the neighbourhood. If I'm ever doodling then I usually draw band logos and other symbols that mean something to me, so I've kept that theme going on the rocks.
I buy very few LPs these days. I love albums on vinyl but the cost is just crazy. So, when I plonk down some hard earned spondoolies it has to be a special record. Last week I opened my wallet (moths flew out) and, with a deep breath, paid for The Lion's Roar by the Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. I've listened to this album a lot since it came out and, although I have it on CD, the LP is a treat. AND it's on purple vinyl which was a nice surprise. Johanna and Klara started out posting videos of them singing and playing on YouTube and it took off. In a world of manufactured Idols and X-Factors, these two are the real deal.
In that video you'll see a fella playing a pedal steel guitar (he's sitting down). Last weekend my good friends Sam and Danielle invited me out to see a band (who turned out to be pretty good) and they had a pedal steel guitar as well. I'm not sure I've ever seen one at a local show. So I did some investigation into how they work. Good grief, strings, a whole lot of pedals to bend notes and more levers that you move with your knees. Nope, that is way too complicated for a simple man like me. They do sound wonderful though. You can see Bucky Baxter from Steve Earle's band playing one in this clip.
I don't use Farcebook all that much anymore but yesterday I reflected on the 35th anniversary of me joining the Army. I had good times and I had bad ones too, we all did. Last year I went through the process of writing a submission to the Royal Commission. A couple of people had done it and encouraged me to do so. They must have known something I didn't because I thought I had nothing to say...until I started writing. Things that had happened many, many years ago that I had locked away in corners of my mind came spilling out, things I'd never told anyone. And quite frankly most of them are things I didn't want to remember. The process was cathartic however and it helped me come to terms with stuff I'd never addressed. I don't regret joining, the Army gave me a lot of opportunities and to my suprise, later in life something to identify with. Still, I genuinely hope that the Defence Academy is a better place these days. If you want decent leadership in the Defence Force then emotional and physical abuse has no place in training anyone.
Wrapping up for this time, I've been using energetic live music to keep me motivated with my rehab exercises. It would be too easy to put them off day after day. A decent soundtrack or crossfit competition videos seem to do the trick though (and I'm not about to join the Crossfit cult, it's just cool to watch and impressive). Here's a track that comes from the first live rock VHS I ever bought. Even if Van Halen isn't your thing, there's no denying that they are having a lot of fun here.
Keep smiling everyone and ROCK ON!
The Woozle
"Bought me a box of french cigars
Bought me a black beret
Get my french from a girl next door
Teaching me night and day
Got me thinking 'bout the south of France
Vis-a-vis a-vous
Pack my suitcase, take a chance
Got nothing to lose...."
