It's finally freakin' here!  The first-ever official promo for the first-ever official 1st Anniversary Craptacular Show!  Oooooh, shivers.


Thanks to many, many problems, some self-inflicted, some natural, some unnatural, and waaaaay too many due to purchasing a new computer that ran Windows Vista (I know, I know, I can hear all you Sieve-illians yelling "Steve, why didn't you get a Mac?!?)  Well, you guys want to take up a collection to buy me one?  I'll give you my paypal info.  Truth is, it was a lot easier to round up $500 for an HP Windows machine then shelling out the $1200 or so for a new Mac.  But oh, how'd I love to.....heck, it was hard enough spending the $100 for a new mic and headphones.  That reminds me, hopefully at least a few of you will notice the huge difference in quality (the sound, not the humour or writing) over previous attempts, since I finally got a studio condenser mic.  An Apex to be exact, and it's shiny, very shiny.

What does all this mean?  Well, it means I can start recording the 1st Anniversary Craptacular now.  It also means that I can lay down the vocals for some of my songs, and put em up in forthcoming shows.  It also means that the Loverly Michelle has another reason to bitch at me for spending more money.  Ah, life is good.

Peace, Love and Pickering!

Stevie Z

Ladies, gentlemen, and people from Sudbury, the countdown has begun!  On November 22, The Sieve will publish it's 1st Year Anniversary Craptacular !!  I'm giving you this advance notice so that you may make preparations, cancel elective (and non-elective) surgeries, change vacation dates,  purchase emergency rations, plywood and tinfoil, and otherwise prepare for that date.  At 10:36 PM (Eastern Time) The Sieve will publish Episode 15, otherwise known as the 1st Year Anniversary Craptacular !!
I'm not going to give too much away.....suffice it to say that it'll be unlike any episode of The Sieve so far.  Not necessarily great, but just different.  "But Stevie Z, we want, nay, we need to know, how different ?"  Well, how different it is will depend on if I lose 10 pounds in the next 2 weeks.  Doesn't make any sense?  I know, welcome to my world.

I can tell you this though......stubbing your toe on the coffee table in the living room hurts like hell.  That has nothing to do with the podcast, but damn, it sure is painful.

Be on the lookout (listenout??) for not one, not seventeen, but 2 new promos in the near future, featuring special guests The Luverly Michelle(TM) and fellow Little Jerry member Ignacio.  Who, or what, or whom is Little Jerry.  Check it out here.

So until November 22....uh.....bye.

Stevie Z

PS - This is where a really cool countdown timer would have gone if I had been able to figure out how the 'freak to do it.....just mark it on your calendar!

Hey, funny thing.  I had about 5 paragraphs here, with links and everything....and it all disappeared except for the last 2 lines.  Neat, huh?  Thank you, Oh Wonderful and Mysterious Computer and Internet gods...

Out, but not Down.

Yeah well, I know it happens to the best of us.

Show Notes to Follow.....no, really this time.   While you're waiting though, please enjoy this early photo of the tree stump that I'm digging out of my back yard.

Peace, Love and Pines,
Stevie Z

PS - Sorry, looks like no photo for now either, thanks to the INCREDIBLY CRAPPY  HP Image software that my wife (The Luverly Michelle) installed to run our scanner - it takes a half hour to edit a photo that used to take me 5 minutes, and seizes up the computer....and it's late and I want to go to bed now.

My Cat Sake (that's pronounced SAK-ay, like the Japanese rice wine) has a very expressive tail.  I've noticed this before, but never so much as tonight.  "Why tonight?" I can hear you ask.   Well, tonight she played the guitar.  Oh, it's not like she fretted the notes and played an AC-DC riff or Smoke on the Water or anything....I mean c'mon, she's a freaking cat.  But she did play the opening chord from "Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles.  Do you realize that means that she can play more guitar then most people on the planet!?

That's some heavy stuff, I'll tell you what.

She also uses her tail in other ways as well.   When she's really hyped up about something (usually she gets excited about chasing Sushi (um, my other cat, not the Japanese dish) around the house, or running after dust specks and such, not as it getting hyped about my latest song or anything) she'll go blazing by like 10 cats on fire and her tail will be puffed out to freaking here and sticking straight up in the air.  Oh yeah, that's another thing, I've read somewhere that when cats are proud and stuff, they stick their tails up in the air as if to say "Yo, look at me, I'm the shiz."  I've noticed that Sake walks around like that all the time.  She must really think her poop don't stink.  Well, I can assure you that it very much does stink.  A lot. 

Also, when I'm petting her and she's really digging it, and she goes into what I call "prancing" mode I've noticed that her tail will slooooooowly start to puff up.  It's really quite funny/slash/comical.

I guess that's about it for my cat's tail.  Oh yeah, it's really furry too, but I assumed that would go without saying.  But now I've said it.  Thanks for making me do that.  I'm basically a very lazy person and would prefer to type as little as possible, you know, and when you make me state the obvious like "my cat has a fuzzy tail" then that's a whole lot of extra typing that I shouldn't have to bother with.   Haeiou.  <-----That's me sighing from all the effort of all the extra typing you're making me do.  LOOK, I'M STILL TYPING!!

Well, that's it for this post.  No podcast yet.  It's basically written, and I'm going to be recording and posting it this weekend.  Oooh, feel the excitement.  I can feel it, can you feel it?  I knew ya could.

In case you're curious, besides publishing another episode of my podcast this weekend, I'm also doing a whole wack of digging in my backyard, taking a truck full of debris to the landfill, hitting the farmer's market to do  my shopping for the week (I suggest you do the same - support your local farmers and local growers!) and keeping an eye on my cat's tail to see what other fascinating tricks it's capable of.

Peace, Love and Passionate (tails)
Stevie Z

Oh wow, look at that, no links this time.....damn.

Show Notes to follow.  In the meantime, please enjoy this awesome photo of awesome Michelle in her awesome belly dancing outfit taken during one of her recitals.  Meeee-OW  ! 

 

Z

It's here! It's here! Grab yerself a Beer!

Well, my fellow Sieve-illians, you can finally get on with your life again, the next episode of The Sieve! is here!

I'll keep this brief (yeah, right) because I know that you're itching to download it and listen.  Or maybe you're just itching.  You know, emu oil is really good for itches, rashes, insect bites, and other skin issues.  You can get the good pure stuff here.   But, ummmm, I guess that really doesn't have anything to do with what we're talking about.

In this Episode I'm featuring a hot-out-of-the-oven, fresh-off-the-presses (damn, it's hard to type with all those hyphens!) rockin little ditty from Pandamonia called "Rock Steady".  Pandamonia hails from Mississauga, Ontario, and you have to check out this song. If you only listen to one song this week....well, I feel sorry for you because music should be constant, but if you do only listen to one, make it this one.  Speaking of great music, I have another great ambient tune from Vancouver musician and songwriter Derek K. Miller.  Thanks again Derek, our thoughts and prayers are with you. 

If you absolutely despise "magazines" that are thinly disguised platforms for advertisers, then check out my revue of Inside Fitness Canada - the crudiest piece of crudly crud that ever rolled off a printing press (in my personal, humble, and accurate opinion, of course).  Free or not, I want my money back......

Don't forget to check out the promo for Steve's Mid Life Crisis at the end of the show (hey Steve, how about a new promo for my listeners!) and as a special bonus, because I love each and every one of you - except for maybe that guy in Hamilton) I've saved some of my many, many, many outtakes and screwups from the show and slipped em in at the end.  Happy Chortling. 

You'll probably notice I didn't do a "Juxtaposed Holiday" episode for Easter.  Well, since the only feedback I got on my  "Valloween" show was negative (not that I don't mind negative feedback, it's just that no one seemed to like the concept) I decided to scrap that idea, unless of course you'd rather have it back.  Let me know at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca.  In fact, fire me off an email anyways and let me know what you thought of this show, and the show in general.  Be nice, or be nasty, but at least be relevant.

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering why this episode is late....blame Ignacio.

Peace, Love, and Pectorals,

Stevie Z

Well, here it is  - you can all resume your normally scheduled lives now that Part 2 of Tales From a Hospital is here.  I'll bet that you've been huddled around the watercooler at work, discussing with baited breath what would happen.  Would Stevie Z finally snap due to the waiting room conditions?  Would the stairs finish him off?  Would The Luverly Michelle (TM) factor into the story much more, or would Stevie Z just keep rambling on and on and on and on about himself and his pathetic little problems *ahem*. 

Well, now you can find out.  So please stop emailing me begging to post the second half of the story because you were all a-tremble with anticipation.  Hey, it could happen.

Thanks for the great ambient music go out once again to Derek K. Miller - musician and songwriter extraordinaire, and also to The Root Doctor Band for the great song Me and My Wife.  Again a great thanks to the staff at St. Mary's General Hospital as well for the great work they did (putting up with me as well as the good job cuttin' up my wife).  Check out the promo for Steve's Mid Life Crisis, a podcast I enjoy every week....unless it's late, and we all know how much we hate that, right ? 

The next episode is already underway, so keep yer ears tuned or peeled or something....especially since I'm still tweaking the sound and trying to get it to sound like I know what I'm doing...if you think I'm going in the right direction, or not, drop me a line at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca.  You can also drop Michelle a "get well" email there as well.

Peace, Love and Percocet!

Stevie Z

FINA-FREAKIN'-LY!

Okay, fellow Sieve-illians, here, after much, much, much work is the dawn of a new era in podcasting!  Okay, so maybe not so much.  But, I will say that this podcast may just be better then any to come so far.  Yes, even better then the Valloween episode.  I know, I know, it couldn't possibly be.....but it is!

This episode is the first part of a Two Parter that follows my trials and tribulations on the day that The Luverly Michelle (TM) went into St. Mary's General Hospital to have her gallbladder yanked out cuz it was being naughty.  I promise to post part B in the next few days.....wouldn't want to leave you hangin!

Special thanks to St. Mary's General Hospital for the great care, and to Derek K. Miller, whose music I used as ambient throughout. 

Bonus points if you can identify the show where about 90% of my "doctor" clips came from.....

Peace, Love, and Part 1,

Stevie Z

Happy St. Patrick's Day !

Well, okay, actually I'm Ukrainian.  And apparently a little bit Welsh.  But alllllll awesome!  *cough*  Okay.

Just wanted to give a shout out to my Irish Peeps....and don't give me that "on St. Paddy's day everyone is Irish" crap.....if I were actually Irish I'd be kind of peeved at that sentiment.   If you want more information about St. Patrick's day itself, check out the Wikipedia entry here. 

As far as my activities today, I'm going to the farmer's market to do the grocery shopping for the week, then to a bellydancing recital.  Pretty Irish, eh?  Yeah, well, maybe not, but I've got a few pints of 'the black stuff' that I'll be quaffing down tonight, so that oughta count for something.  Oh yeah, and I have this for ya too:

The presidents from all the major breweries in the world met for a conference.  After the conference, a few of them went to the bar for a drink.  The president from Corona says "I'd like a Corona please, the world's finest cerveza."  The bartender gives him one.  The president from Anheuser-Busch says "I'd like a Budweiser, the King of Beers"  The bartender opens one for him.  The man from Coors says "I'd like a Coors please, the Silver Bullet".  The bartender shakes his head and passes him one.  The president of Molson likewise orders an Export.

Then the president from Guinness sits down and says "give me a Coke."  The bartender is a little taken aback, but gives him what he ordered.  The other presidents look over at him and ask, "Why aren't you drinking a Guinness?"

The Guinness president replies, "Well, if you guys aren't drinking beer, neither will I."

Tee hee.

Oh yeah, about that whole "podcasting thing" I'm supposed to be doing - the episode about Michelle and I in the hospital is getting longer and longer, so I'm going to break it into 2 episodes.  Look for the first installment tonight.  I know, I know.....I'm excited too!

Peace, Love and Pee,  (Get it?  When you drink a lot of beer......)

Stevie Z

Hello all my little Sieve-illians! Okay, I know this episode is late.  At least there's something to be said for consistancy!  And, at least this week I have a fairly good excuse.  I've been playing Nurse to The Luverly Michelle (TM) for the last four days.  She had her wonky gallbladder taken out (as in taken out of her body, not as in taken out to dinner) on Thursday, and I've been looking after her since.  Damn she's lucky to have me.  I'm lucky to have her too, but shhhhh - don't tell her that. 

All of which means that I haven't had time to record the 'cast.  I've had time to write it, of course - 8 hours in a hospital is a great place to write....and also a great source of material.  Hopefully, I'll get to record Monday.  Tuesday at the latest.  Promise. 

Oh yeah, and by the way, this beautiful photo that accompanies this post?  Apparently you can get jewellery made from gallstones.  Oh no, I'm not kidding.  In fact, if you want to see something really disturbing, just type "gallstones" into Google Images.  Excuse me, I have to go now, wife is ringing her bell.

Peace, Love and Protractors,

Stevie Z

 

Well, just a quick little blawg post to let everyone know that my wife, The Luverly Michelle (TM) is going under the knife tomorrow.  Turns out she's got a wonky gallbladder.  I'll go into a little more detail on the next episode, as there are a couple of interesting stories about 8 hour stays in hospital waiting rooms, calling ambulances from hospital parking lots, and the kind of stories that can only really come from a country with socialized medicine.

So, wish her luck (heck, wish me luck too - I'm the poor bastard who has to sit there in the waiting room for who knows how long....just kidding)

Peace, Love and Patients (see what I did there ?? Well, didja?)

Stevie Z

 

Aha, we meet again Dear Listener.  Here for your perusal is the latest, greatest, steaming-hot-off-the-presses episode of The Sieve.  Surprisingly, it's a short one.....the show I mean.

Today we've got a rockin' tune called "Rollin' Penny" by an awesome band out of Calgary, Alberta called Bluessmyth.  You can find their website here, and their garageband site here.

I was supposed to have an interview with my luverly wife Michelle, but since she has bronchitis she's even harder to understand then normal.  Ow!  Hey!  Stop it, that hurts!

Maybe next week.

Instead we have an international language lesson regarding shower curtains, what not to put on your face, we ruin an Elton John song for ya (you're welcome!) and a promo for Steve's Mid Life Crisis.  Oh yeah, and a really really really really bad pun-type thingy....which I'm already apologizing profusely for.

Till next time,

Peace, Love, and Park Rangers,

Stevie Z

 

.......that it takes 20 episodes of a podcast to "get there".  Apparently the first 10 are just figuring out "what the ?!?!" , the second 10 are finding "your stride" and then it's smooth sailing.  In order to power through to the point where I actually want to be, I'm going to do 12 very brief 1 minute episodes over the next 2 days.  Just kidding.   I would appreciate as much listener feedback as possible, however, because I've got some tweaks planned over the next couple of episodes, and I'd like as much input as possible.  So get off yer bums and fire me off an email or audio comment.   Hmmm, come to think of it, since most people type sitting down, I guess get on your bums and fire me off that email.

My email address is (and I'm typing this carefully) badlybentpub@yahoo.ca  Most helpful suggestions win a prize.  Oh, nothing that spectacular, and I haven't figured out what it is yet, but it'll be really expensive.  Or weird.  Or just lame and pointless.   But, you may get kudos on the podcast...and really...that would just be the highlight of your life, wouldn't it now ?

Oh yeah, filed under "Better Late Then Never" would be a shout-out to Steve at Steve's Midlife Crisis Podcast.  He's up for a Newbie Award at the Podcast Peer Awards.  Find em here.  Do it soon, the competition is almost over.  Oh yeah, you have to be a podcaster to vote.  (Hence the term "peer". )And check out his podcast here.  It's worth the listen. Would I lie to you ?  Well, actually I would, but not about this....only if it would profit me somehow, and as far as I know, there are no cheques in the mail. (hint hint Steve.......)

Anyhoo,

Peace, Love, and Pickles

Stevie Z

Hello once again, dear listeners!  Unfortunately I didn't make it to Podcamp Toronto, despite my best efforts.  Indoor plumbing sure is nice....when it works....and pretty damn expensive when it don't.

Another tale for another time.

On this episode we get a little more back to normal after the Valloween episode.  Look for a really awesome tune from the Billy Bauer Band that will help take those winter blues away (assuming you live somewhere where it is cold and snowing and crappy out, like I do).  Check out their website for more info on them and to pick up their music, and also check em out at garageband as well.

I also feature a segment from another podcast that I really really enjoy called Decoder Ring Theatre.  They do a couple of different series there, both of them fan-freakin-tastic.  Whether you like the old-syle radio drama or not, they're definitely worth the listen.  Find em here.

Other then that, there's a Booze Review of a shooter that you definitely don't want to try, being attacked by pizza, a shout out to my peeps in China, and the usually meandering, babbling and pointless chatter that we've all come to know and love.  Okay, know at least.

Check out the promos for Steve's Mid Life Crisis, and blubrry.com as well.

Peace, Love and Paprika

Stevie Z

 

Hey all !   If you live in the Greater Toronto Area, and are in or thinking of getting into podcasting (which I don't recommend if you have Bengal Cats, by the way) then come on down to Podcamp Toronto this weekend.  There will be all sorts of seminars and such on an amazingly wide variety of topics.

If you're going to go, let me know and I'll keep an eye out for ya.

Here's a link to the website.

 

Peace, Love and Podcamps,

Stevie Z

Okay kiddies, here it is.  I think I'm going to change the motto of the show to "30 Minutes of Irrelevance and Irreverence.....and about a week late"

Better late then never though, eh?  Well, you be the judge of that.  This one's so twisted that maybe "never' would have been a better choice.  Listen to the podcast for details, but in a nutshell here's my concept:  because everyone and their hamster does the appropriate holiday podcast on said holiday I figured you'd be bored of Valentine's Day podcasts by now. That, and I hate Valentine's Day.  So, I decided to do a Halloween episode instead.  I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait until Halloween to hear my Valentine's Day show.

The only tune on this show to speak of is Bandages by Fred Eaglesmith.   Check out his website here to pick up some awesome music.  Yeah, I know, I know. I already played a bunch of his stuff not too long ago.  Truth is, I had this song pegged for this episode before I even had my first show recorded.  So there.   Blpblpblpblpblpblpblp!

Also, check out the 2 promos at the very very end of the show - one for a great podcast called "Steve's Midlife Crisis" (different Steve, entirely unrelated to yours truly) and one for blubrry.com  Steve (the other one) has my promo on his, and I'm more then happy to return the favour, as I enjoy his show.  In fact, I'm willing to bet that if you like my show then you'll like his.  In fact, even if you don't like my show, you'll probably still really enjoy his. Stevie Z (that would be me) threw together the promo for blubrry.com.  Let me know what you think of each.  Also, check out blubrry.com for a list of other great podcasts available....but...um...keep listening to mine too, of course.

I'm going to be shortening my shows down to 15-20 mins each, and see how that goes over.  Lemme know what you think of that idea.

So, sit back with your chocolate hearts etc, and check out the show.

Oh yeah, you can blame my cat, Sake, for the long delay in the release of this particular show.  I've been in catsitter mode for most of the week.  Long story, for another day.

If you want you can drop me an email at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca, or just leave a comment below.  I'm actually working on getting a voice mail line so you can leave me an audio comment that way.  Neato, huh?  Of course, if you want, you can just email me an audio comment as well.

 

Peace, Love, and Puppies!

Stevie Z

Okay, here's the thing.  I normally record these podcasts over a 2-4 day period.  What can I say - Stevie Z is an in-demand kind of guy.  Actually, I'm just really busy doing stuff.  Between earning an income, working on my house, working around my house, working on my music and trying to be a doting husband (what the heck does "doting" mean anyways?) my dance card is pretty much full.  So, I work on my podcast when I can.  I know that all you kids out there salivate with anticipation over every new episode.  *cough cough*

Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining, and I do have a point.  Okay, maybe I'm whining just a little too.  But the reason that I'm going into all this is - I once again promised a couple of things in the intro that didn't end up in the podcast.  This time, though, I've got a really good reason.  The second day of recording this puppy I got a letter in the mail.  A letter that ticked me off so frickin' much that I had to bring it up in the Episode.  So I did.  For quite a while, as it turns out.  So, if you want to skip an "extended mix" of meandering rant, just press the "STOP" button at about the 15 minute mark.  You've been warned.....

Besides becoming unhinged in this episode, though, I also have an awesome tune from The Muckland Crooners.  you can check them out here, and I highly suggest that you do.

I also give my opinion (surprise!) on people that can't dress themselves,  FINALLY go into the recipe for El Pollo Z - also knows as Mexican-Texican-Canadexican chicken breasts, and give perhaps what is the worlds worst French accent.  Ever.  No, seriously.

I also apologize in advance for the audio quality on this podcast - it's not up to my usual (high?) standards.  I was trying some new settings, and I have too many damn buttons knobs switches and levers on my software.  That, and I need a new mic.  A nice shiny new condenser mic.  Please email my wife Michelle c/o me at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca and tell her that I need a new one and that she should let me buy it. 

Of course, and per usual, if you have anything else that you think I should know, or just want to say "howdy" please feel free to drop me a line at that above address as well, or you can leave a comment below.  If you do email or leave a comment though, please be sure to let me know where the piece of real estate you live on is located.  I'm always curious to know where my esteemed listeners call home.

Peace, Love, and Pigeons!

Stevie Z

 

"Oh, Canada, my Home and Native Land"

That's the opening line from the Canadian National Anthem.  Damn I love irony.

Today's show is all about this country which I call home.  Before I continue, just lemme say that I had some really great show notes typed out already.  They were staggeringly amazing.  They were frickin' awesome! Then Rogers dropped my internet connection and I lost em while I was publishing the podcast.  Then, Libsyn timed me out while I was uploading my podcast.....twice!!  So, third time was not a charm, and fourth time sucks.  So, here are the abbreviated (and less awesome and staggeringly amazing) show notes for Episode 5:

First of all, the music is provided by my favourite (note Canadian spelling) singer/songwriter, Canadian or otherwise, Fred Eaglesmith.  Check out his website at fredeaglesmith.com for more info, and to pick up some great music and unique merchandise.  (I'm still waiting to get my black Cumberland County Snowplow Toque.)

I've also covered a couple of uniquely Canadian things in this podcast - first of all, France has it's Escargot, Scotland has it's Haggis, and Canada?  Well, Canada has it's poutine.  Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it.  I also talk about Tim Horton's Donuts and Coffee.  Yeah, well, you know I kind of had to. And of course, what feature on this great country would be complete without some beaver noises?   I also give out a few fast and cold facts about the Great White North as well.

So, drop me a line and let me know what you think, what you thought, and if you have any more ideas for Canadiana as well.  I've already got a few lined up, but am always open for suggestions about things that are distinctly Canadian.  By the way, don't say "winter", because winter happens in a lot of places.  Canadians do, however, seem to have an apparently inherent way of complaining about winter, but refuse to do anything about it.  Also, why are so many people in this country so surprised when it gets really cold every year ???

You can contact me at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca or leave a comment on the bottom of this blawg.  (another Canadian spelling....no, seriously...that's how we spell it in Canada -Webbblawg.)

I Stand on Guard for Thee,

Stevie Z

HAPPY NUDE YEAR!!

You know, it's hard to squeeze 30 minutes of irrelevance and irreverence into less then 26 minutes, but I did it.  A great big Stevie Z thank you goes out to Bob and Mark at Canadian Podcast Buffet for their listing and their mention.  Good to see people who take an interest in the Canadian Podcasting community and want to build it.  Speaking of which, look for the next episode to be an All-Canadian affair, featuring music from my favourite singer-songwriter, whom just happens to be a fellow Canuck.

On Today's Show:

A funky shakin' number from The Thing in Itself called The Thing That Can't be Taken Away

A brief-as-possible, un-geeky-as-possible rundown of the equipment and software that I use to record this mess....errrr....podcast.  The Main Brain behind the outfit (equipment-wise, of course) is the TonePort UX2.  Here's where you can find out more info about it.

An explanation as to why what I SAID I was going to put in Episode 002 wasn't actually all in there.

A really, really, really, REALLY bad song.  With a couple of questions as to "What the hey"? Hey, if you really like it, you can probably get it here.

What's the connection with Celine Dion, hot dogs, and Grover from Sesame Street ??

FYI, that photo is my other cat, Sushi.  She too, is sometimes a little intense....

Oh yeah, PS, and by the way, no interview with CBC Potentate Shelagh Rogers.  Yet.

Take Luck!

Stevie Z

Remember - you can contact me at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca, or you can leave a comment below regarding this or any other episodes, or posts, or whatever you wish.

The attached podcast contains no msg.  BUT, it is high in glucofunomine.  Sorry it took so long to get this one out....it was a little like giving birth this time.  Trust me, you do NOT want to have to clean up the mess at Sieve HQ.  Not to toot my own horn however (put your own joke in there, I'm too tired) but I do believe that this may be one of the best intros in the history of podcasting.  Well, okay, the history of my show, anyways.  Hooray for Digital Audio Editing, or DAE as I like to call it (pronounced "DUH").

There were 2 glaring errors in this weeks podcast.....first one that spots em gets a cookie.  Sorry, but that's what happens when you start recording a podcast and don't finish until 3 days later. 

Definitely on the show, however, are a couple of fantastic songs from Nashville Singer / Songwriter Kim Mclean.  You can check out her stuff at her website.  The first song of hers is called Pearl, and the second one is Angels and Eagles.  Check out the lady doing backup vocals on that one. 

Also, another great high-energy gem from Jonathan Coulton.  He can still be found at his website.  This one's called (and it's one of the greatest song titles EVER!)  "Dance, Soterius Johnson Dance"

No interviews with Shelagh Rogers this time though.  Maybe next time, we'll have to wait and see.

Here's a couple of time-wasters to check out while you listen to the merriment and music that is The Sieve:

This guys makes some of the coolest looking guitars and amps.  Ever.

Are you sure the Chinese Characters on your tattoo are correct ?

And that'll about wrap this one up.  Don't worry though, I'm already working on number 004.   Shhhh......it's okay little one.....rest your weary head......shhhhhhh......

Can Ya Smell it??  Can Ya See it?  Can Ya Feel it?

It's a new podcast...bein' brewed up right now.  In fact, I'm about half done as we speak.  Another couple of hours it'll be finished and posted.  Heck, if I wasn't wasting so much time right now doing this blog post to let you know I was doing it, it'd be done by now.

Hey, wait a minute.......

 

Well, here it is!  Happy Holidays from Thunder Bay Ontario Canada!  Population, 113,000.  I"m here to tell you that the whole Santa Clause thing is a fraud - I was pretty naughty all year, and still got the best present ever - time with my family, some of whom I hadn't seen in 15 years.  Nothing like finding out that your cousin, whom you used to babysit, now has a son of his own to make you feel old!  The last couple of nights have been a blast - I actually went out carolling.  Playing guitar when it's 15 below zero (Celsius, which equals 5 Degrees Farenheit) gets a little tough on the fingers, but it was a lot of fun - and apparently it's a tradition around here to give out booze as payment!  After that I headed off to another party where I met relatives I haven't seen for 15 years.  Let me tell you something I've learned - don't let anybody tell you family isn't important.  I spent many years thinking just that, and last night was a real eye-opener.  I had no idea I'd missed out on so much over the years not being in contact with them for so long.  So hey - call your family and say hi.

The drive up was interesting.  Worked till 4:30 pm, then went home, loaded up the Family Truckster and bolted.  Had some nasty-ish weather in Northern Michigan - driving rain and some wild winds, and pulled into Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario at 4 am.  We tried to convince the clerk to only charge us half the normal room rate because we were only going to be staying for 5 hours, but no go.  Headed out of "The Soo" at 9 am, and drove through about 4 hours of nasty slushy snow and reduced visibility.  Hey, how come just about every car in the ditch was a 4x4 ??  We pulled into town about 6:30 pm, met up with my brother, headed out to a pub for a pint or 2 and some dinner, ran into some friends of his, and ended up jamming at my brother's place until about 3 am.  I haven't been to bed before 3:30 am in about 3 days now.  Woo. 

I'll get into some more details on the next podcast, which might be sooner then later if I can find a cheap little USB mic around somewhere.

Just for the heck of it, here's a couple of links for ya's:

Ice Racing Club in Thunder Bay

Painting of Thunder Bay in the Winter

PS - Love ya Mom!

You can thank Lennon for those words of wisdom (John LENNON, not Vladimir LENIN - Shut the heck up,  Donny)

Granted, it's not THAT close to Christmas yet - only December 20th as I'm writing this, but I'm leaving for my home town on Friday.  Yessiree, loadin' up the ole war wagon and driving 18 or so hours north.  For those curious, Thunder Bay is at Latitude 48 Degrees, 25' North, and Longitude 89 Degrees, 14' West.  That's roughly the same Latitude as Volograd, Russia, Ulan Bator, Mongolia, and Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.  Neato.  It also has the world's highest concentration of Finnish People outside of Finland.  I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I think it's significant.

So, I've been spending the last week packing, and getting ready, and giving the truck a look-over, and getting presents together (but not getting my presence together) and trying to get caught up on Christmas-y things.  My brother and I are going to be the musical accompaniment for some Christmas Carols, so I had to do a lot of lookin' up stuff online for that.  Sometime I'll get into detail about the problem with Internet Guitar Tablature.  I've also had to see to the health and well-being of my cats, planning my route, gathering supplies, etc....oh yeah, and trying to calm my wife down.  I've spent a LOT of time trying to calm my wife down.  She's not a great winter driver, and a hell of a lot WORSE winter passenger.  I plan on giving her some sleeping pills just before we pull out of the driveway.  Enough to knock her out at least until Sault Ste. Marie.  Yes, that's the actual name of a place - it's pronounced "Soo Saint Maree" if you're curious.  It's about the halfway mark of the drive - 8 hours from here.  That's where most people stop for the night.  That's where I'll stop for gas on my marathon 18 hour drive.  Woo Hoo. 

Anyhoo, the entire above rambling isn't meant to garner sympathy.  I don't expect that in this day and age.  It's hard enough to get consideration, never mind sympathy.  The entire above rambling is meant to excuse the fact that I still don't have a new podcast out.  Oh, it's being worked on.  The elves are diligently hammering away on one.  And it's awesome.  Freakin' amazing really. Okay, maybe not THAT amazing, but better then some, worse then others.

At any rate, it's after midnight here, and I have to be up early to do 2 people's jobs tomorrow.  Good thing I'm so amazing-super-neato-cool-fantastic.  Yeah.

Look for a new podcast tomorrow-ish.  Or, this weekend - live from Thunder Bay! WoooooHoooooo!

And so, to bed.

Stevie Z

PS - I almost forgot a link or 2.

Link to my Home Town

Some Great, Weird, Last-Minute Gift Ideas

I read a book about podcasting.  It said that you should put your promo up for RSS download.  Okay.  Here it is.  This will make me rich and famous now, cuz the book said to do it, right ??  Right??

Just because I feel inadequate if I don't put up a link or two with each post:

Air Sickness Bag Collection

and something completely different:

Artist who makes some REALLY cool stuff out of, well, junk and garbage

I'll probably make mention of both of these in some future podcast, so check em out now, and you'll know what I'm talking about before I even talk about it!

Peace, Love, and Pez Dispensers,

Stevie Z

Well, it's comin' on Christmas, as Joni Mitchell once said (by the way, check out Holly Cole's version of that song - awesome.  Her Website

My wife, the luverly Michelle (check out her guest appearance on the 002 Trivia Challenge) builds these kickass little ornament-thingys.

They'd look great hanging on trees, mantles, or anywhere you need that festive touch.  This one's made of Red, Czech Fired Glass beads with clear multi-faceted accent beads.  There's a whole lot more technical stuff too that I'm sure bead-geeks would get, but I don't.  It's woven with braided fishing line too, so it'll can be handed down for generations.....or of course you could buy those crappy Sprawl-Mart ones and throw them out every year....

It even comes with it's own 2 1/2 " ball too, and Silver Ribbon, ready for hanging - you can throw out those cheap crappy little wire hangers.  They're also available in other colours too for monochromatic colour schemes, etc.

If you want one, let me know asap at badlybentpub@yahoo.ca - she's only got time to make so many of em, and each one is loving hand-crafted etc. etc.  Plus, if she can sell a few thanks to me, maybe she'll put in a good word for Santa and he can bring her something lacey and/or frilly......

Speaking of Christmas, I'm going to limit my festive podcasts - thought ya'll should know now - I'm not a huge fan of what Christmas has become over the years, so I keep it on the down-lo.  I'll feature a couple of Christmas tunes that have become near and dear to my heart over the years, and you can bet that Winter Wonderland ain't one of em!

So, Peace, Love, Joy and Understanding.....and as long as we're hallucinating, Tooth Fairys, Santa Clauses and drummers who can keep time........

Stevie Z