All-seeing, all-knowing, all-loving infinite God has not forgotten you;
to God, you will always be beloved Children;
but to we who now have only memories, you will slowly fade away.

You are Forgotten, but you are not lost, for you have gone Home.

Unto you fell the task of returning Home unfinished.
So brightly the irony shines, that though you were taken from us by calamity, viciousness, cruelty, wretchedness;
through these awful catalysts, you are now Found by God.

God blesses us with life and freedom, and with that freedom comes at a price;
our capacity to reject freedom or deny life.

I cannot fathom the depths of sorrow I should feel, were my children to pervert such gifts.

Alas, we, the Lost, are human, and where we would show anger, hatred, frustration, retribution;
so God and the Forgotten Children show us kindness, love, compassion, grace.

I hope;
for we know not what we do;
for we are the Lost.

Tonight, as I suffer for the Forgotten, as I ache and long for Home;
as I strain under the weight of such gifts as life and freedom;
I shall dream that we, the Lost, may be Found through Great Love.

I have a TON of energy so I’m going to write to Weather.  I feel like I have something that needs to be said.

Weather, I guess you really insist on snowing.  In the past, you usually decided not to.  As a child, this was most disappointing.  Ironically, now that I’m grown up (mostly), you decide to snow far more frequently, but predictably, I’m still discontent with your decisions most of the time.

When I was young, snow was a rare and infrequent treat, and it never quite snowed enough to close school much.  Sometimes it would get out early, but only once can I remember having the whole day off due to snow.  And that time that they closed school because of the cold didn’t count.  They said on the radio that morning that people were concerned about the children who had to walk to school, not the snow.

I can remember listening to the radio, hoping, always hoping, that snow would cancel school.  And of course, being the chronic mal-content that I am, there was never enough snow.

When it really did snow, there was never any school to be cancelled.  I will admit, however, that a white Christmas can be very fun for a small child.  It’s the sort of thing that happens in a movie, and in real-life, it’s fantastic.

Now that I’m grown, snow has come to mean closed businesses, dangerous travel, planning extra time when traveling, dangerous travel, cars slipping around; did I mention dangerous travel?

I always complain when it snows, but especially about the travel.  I tell people:

“It’s not that driving in the snow is dangerous.  It’s really not, by itself.  It’s the other drivers that make it dangerous.”

(Let me put that in context.  I think nearly everyone is a poor driver in the snow, but to be fair, that’s not what worries me either.  It’s that I’m a poor driver in the snow.  It’s not because I don’t know how to drive, mind you, it’s because I don’t over-estimate my ability to account for the unknown.  I’m just as worried about hitting someone myself as I am about being hit by someone else.)

But, Weather, I’m sick of complaining.  I want to put our differences in the past.

I know it’s not entirely your fault that travel is dangerous.  It’s not entirely anyone’s fault.  It’s just the way it is.  In the winter time, you still do your thing, which is to make it rain or snow or hail or cloudy or even, on a rare occasion, part the clouds and let the glorious Sun shine through.  We could actually do with some more of that last bit, but I know you do your best.

Lately, I’ve found myself wishing I were a child again, so I can fully enjoy and appreciate the wondrous thing that is snow.  Yes, I realize wishing I were a child is a little foolish.  There’s a saying that starts “You can wish in one hand and …” and ends with “… in the other.  See which one fills up first.”  I’m an adult, and that’s just the way it is.

So, Weather, I’ve made a decision.

I’m going to let you have the best snow storm that you can, and love you for it.  Perhaps you could offer me a bit of grace in spite of my chronic mal-content?  God (not God god) knows I don’t deserve it, but thank God (God god) I don’t get what I deserve.  (And perhaps it is not so much that you “insist” on snowing, but rather that you “eat” when you’re hungry, or “sleep” when you’re tired.)

If you were Spider-Man, I’d say “Go get ‘em, Tiger!” but you’re not Spider-Man, you’re Weather, and you’re probably not British either, so I’ll just say “Oi!  Give us a good dumpin’, yah?”

The other bands are Stop Time, which you can find on Myspace, Facebook, ReverbNation or Twitter, and The Shows, of whom I cannot find a website currently.

Check them out, come see us in Oak Harbor, and check back here for updates!

Craig Ferguson hails from Glasgow, Scotland, and has a terrific accent.  If you don’t believe me, watch his show.  The first portion, the part where he roasts somebody’s behind like a marshmallow, until it’s nice and brown and crispy, kids about a celebrity’s funny antics, or just rambles on about some such pointless political thing (although, he once spoke about how he sobered up), is absolutely magnificent improv comedy.  He slyly maintains his evil laugh, in spite of executive director Peter Lassally’s attempts to do away with it.  I wonder if that robot skeleton is secretly part of Mr. Lassally’s plan to stop Craig from being funny.  Ha!  That one totally backfired!

Craig’s life almost seems like a fairy tale.  There are fantastical memories buried in his psyche.  He openly admits to “probably” lying about something, and that makes me wonder which memories are purely fabrication.  In the end though, I guess it doesn’t really matter, because he made me feel as though I’d grown up with him, laughed and cried with him (but really, I laughed and cried all alone in my room), drank and partied with him, shared a bottomless pit of self-loathing with him, contemplated suicide with him, and finally found a small bit of redemption with him.  Or maybe it was a large amount of grace.  I’m not sure, now that I think about it.

The book opens with an account doing standup comedy for President Bush and other Washington bigwigs, and what it felt like to be thrust into the world of high politics for a brief moment.  Craig advises to roast everyone, but make sure not to give anyone too much of a hard time.  This short narrative transitions into the story of his life, starting with his memories of his early childhood, ending with the circumstances in which he got to be the host of the Late Late Show, and in between, a good heap of sex (okay, not so much sex), drinking and drugging, punk rocking, showbiz, citizenry, adventuring and self-discovery.  I think there’s some cleanup of a few loose ends as well.

I was surprised to learn that Craig has also authored a few movie scripts, directed one, played in others, starred in TV shows, and even (Egads!) written standup comedy and novels, but honestly, after finishing his memoirs and seeing his skill for writing, I was no longer surprised.  His ability to be raw and real and glum, and yet, also incredibly funny and lighthearted, is, frankly, amazing.  In fact, one day, I’ll bet he’ll be the host of a REAL talk show that’s on earlier than midnight.

I devoured the book, mostly due to Craig’s sharp wit, filthy mouth, and uncanny ability to remember specific dialogue between he and people who’ve influenced him.  I can only imagine that, were I to have done all the drinking and drugging that he did, I’d hardly remember a thing!  Wait a minute, maybe that’s what I was doing in my teen years.  Come to think of it— no, wait, it’s gone.  What were we walking about?  Oh yes, Craig Ferguson and his book.

Somewhere towards the end of the book, at least in the copy I have, there are real photos of many of the people he wrote about.  One photo depicts Craig behind a drum set early in his musical career.  He looks terribly wasted, with big circles under his eyes and a decrepit-looking slouch.  Apparently, he lived through it though.  I can hardly believe he survived his last marriage ceremony too.  According to another picture, he wore a kilt to it.  I could never wear a dress— err, I mean, kilt.  I don’t think I have the gumption, but you’ll never know either way because, as I’m not ever going to wear one, you’ll never get to see underneath it!

I was touched by Craig’s undying love for his parents, to whom he dedicated the book.  They’ve both moved on now, but unless he was exaggerating, they sound like truly fantastic people with a nearly-unmatched capacity for love.  I found a few pictures of them among the rest, and gazed at them in wonder.  After all the hell he put them through, I’m glad they got to see him shape up.  I’ll bet they were glad too.

There’s plenty more, and I’m not going to read the book for you, so I encourage everyone to dash out to their nearest bookstore this instant and look for “American on Purpose.”  I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you to buy it, because there’s probably some legal hogwash about royalties, so I won’t.  But I can tell you that I thought it was a great read, and that you might agree.

I salute you, Craig Ferguson of Glasgow, creature of Scotland and America both.  It is a genuine curiosity that you survived your life at all, but survive you did, and the world is a safer place now that you’re no longer a drunk.  Until your show is earlier (it’s recorded live, of course), you’ll only be a second-class talk show host with a really long show name, but you’re a first-class citizen and a fine man too.  And know this:  in all your debauchery and glitz and glam, you taught me something.  Between safety and adventure, choose adventure.  Unless of course the idea is insane.  Choosing insanity is just stupid.

Sorry for stealing your line, by the way.  I promise to give you credit at least a few times, but after that, it’s mine!

Did I mention that the wordpress photo insertion tool is a HUGE pain?  Because it is.  I love you WP, but holy smokes, that thing really ought to be improved. I used this post to write my gallery codes in case anyone wanted to know.

Also, I didn’t post each one the series’ because, really, only the last few in each progression are the for-show versions.  However, I think watching the works evolve is neat, and you might too.  The Sata and Tree series’ are exceptions, where everything is for printing.

Mesa Series

Nova Series

Sata Series

Tree Series

Waves Series

This is the first in a series of monthly feature articles about neat people and things in and around Whatcom County that relate to the arts, education, sustainable technology, or a mix the three.  Education might go, but it might get really tacked on more than it is already.  Also, it may turn into a bi-monthly thing.  If you would like to see some of the upcoming features, check out the networking page.  Please note as well, that unless explicitly stated, I am in no way endorsing or affiliating myself with any of these acts.  I just think they’re neat and ought to be recognized.

The first item on the list is called “In Real Life.”

Patrick Kindy is the head honcho (sort of) of In Real Life, or IRL for short.  In spite of Patrick being the unofficial leader, we are an informal group of musicians, of which I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be a part, who come together from time to time to collaborate.  Because some folks may wish to remain anonymous, I will not call everyone out on their involvement with In Real Life for now, but I’ll bet that in upcoming features, it will get mentioned again.

On the roster we appear as either “IRL” or “Patrick Kindy and friends.”

So far, it’s been absolutely magnificent to collaborate with Patrick and others, and he and I plan not only to mix our talents on some of my material, but collaboratively write some new things as well.  There are a few videos up on the IRL ReverbNation site of he and I and others playing together at Three Trees Coffeehouse, but they hardly do us justice.

Patrick and I met a few years ago, and to be honest, the circumstances in which our meeting took place are hazy.  I do remember that he gave me a CD of his live work, that I promptly stuck somewhere and forgot about.  Fast forward a year or two, and Patrick invites several people from a mutual circle of friends, including me, to see him perform live at Three Trees Coffeehouse.  It sounded great, and on top of that, a large upheaval had just taken place in my life, and it seemed like the Universe wanted me to check it out.  So I did.

Spur of the moment, Patrick invited me to play with him, and I decided I would.  Remember now, that I’d completely forgotten about the CD he’d given me, so I had absolutely no idea what we were going to do.  A mutual friend of ours that I’d had my own musical encounters with told me to chill and that it would be fine, and I went with it.

I improvised my way through several of his songs, and really, now that we’ve been playing together for many months, we’re much better together, but the chemistry between us was unmistakable. We finished the set and my heart rate returned to a slower, steadier beat, and it occurred to me that I had just played my first ever live show.  I was thrilled by this, and from that point, we were collaborating.

I’ve played a number of gigs with Patrick since then at Three Trees, some with other IRL players and some just the two of us.  Since I have very little guitar material of my own finished, we play his stuff, and did I mention that it’s really amazing? Patrick possesses a passion for music that is really remarkable, and his music is raw and reaches out to people’s hearts.  It’s something really magical that I strive to have myself, but I don’t quite ever hit the mark like he does.

At one point, we both ran out of steam, and took a break from regular musical engagements, but I’ve recently been playing again myself, and I ran into Patrick by chance and we did an impromptu show.

I have to tell you, the chemistry we have is really something else.  We’ve gotten to know it in each other and now instead of performing, it feels like a relaxing break.  We can head up on stage and dink around and compliment each other half-asleep, and it sounds fantastic.

Another member I get to tell you about today is Sharalyn Sentinella.  Late one night, she explained how to pronouce her first name.  Share-uh-Lynn.  Say it like it’s really two names right next to each other.

I met Shara (I still don’t have the guts to call her Sharalyn) around the same time I met Patrick.  She looked to be my age, and she was writing a book!  She had her manuscript with her that night, and I immediately recognized her as someone with a real gift for artsy fartsy things like writing and painting and music.  It’s still hard to wrap my head around someone as young as she was and is writing an entire book.  I blog (obviously) and that takes a long time.  Writing a book seems like a monumental task compared to blogging for a bit.

Until recently, she and I were only friends, rather than fellow collaborating artists, but that changed this summer when she got mixed up with IRL.  I hang my head when I say this, but I don’t actually know a lot about what she and Patrick have done together musically.  If I had more time, I’d go listen to the many videos available on ReverbNation that were recorded of them, but there’s only 24 hours in a single day, and that will have to wait.

What I can tell you about is our own collaboration on a few songs, one of which is a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt.”  There was a banjo diddly that I’ve had in my head for close to a year now, and it finally turned into Hurt all the way, and then it hit me.  It needed a saw.  You know, the kind you cut wood with.  See, Shara plays the saw, with a hammer or a bow.  And you know what?  It sounded fantastic when we put them together.  We’ve been talking about laying down several saw and guitar tracks for Hurt and another song of mine, and when that happens, expect a fireworks show on here and my ReverbNation site.

As a musician with IRL, the saw is primarily her instrument of choice (Yikes, I think, but maybe I’m mistaken; I know she also is quite the djembe and talking drum player).  It is one of the eeriest things I’ve ever heard, and it’s a real surprise to see a saw being played for the first time.  It looks like it’s not meant to be making such noises, but she is a skilled saw-er (is that even a word?) and it is a wonderful accompanying instrument.

At a rhythm circle she and I went to, she even let me try it out, and honestly, I don’t have the arm strength to bend a saw very well for long.  I’m not nearly as good either, but it was fun and after trying it out, I’d be the first one (the first one after Shara that is) to tell anybody that a saw is absolutely a real instrument, and no, we’re not crazy, and no, it’s not easy, and no, not just anyone can play the saw.  But Shara can, and I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her, in and outside of IRL.

As I mentioned earlier, she and Patrick have done quite a lot of their own collaborating, and I do encourage everyone to head on over to www.reverbnation.com/irl and check out all the videos.

The way of things that are wonderful is transitory though (hopefully not too much with IRL) and that’s all for now about Shara, Patrick and IRL.

However, despair not, because these two are all sorts of mixed up with the art scene in Bellingham.  I think there will be plenty more of both down the road.

Happy adventuring!

A great deal of my music has gone up into the great beyond known as the Internet.  You can check it out by browsing to http://www.reverbnation.com/ianweydert.

And I am thinking of moving the blog to ianweydert.wordpress.com

Technical work has taken off a bit too, and it’s getting all mixed up in artistry. 

The first project is a band that I’ve gotten the opportunity to publish to the web.  Their reverbnation site is http://www.reverbnation.com/groovetongue.  They call it boogie metal.  I think it sounds pretty silly and fun.  (Silly in a smile-y kind of way, not silly in a dumb kind of way.)  Many of their songs make me laugh, and if you’re into metal you’ll probably really dig it.  Feel free to check out Groove Tongue by clicking on that link.

Another project is a branching-out of my own artistic inclinations.  It’s called Coral Kitty, and may just become a new web comic.  Check that out at http://okaicoral.wordpress.com.

Another blog to check out is http://lilyshijinx.wordpress.com.  It’s a place for my sister to put down her musings and stories for the whole world to see.  Be nice.  She’s young and impretionable, and has enough on her mind with school and growing up, let alone some fart who thinks they know what’s right and wrong for everyone.

Finally, there’s a project coming down the line that will change the whole world.  I swear.  I will update on that more when I can but right now it’s still in the hat, underneath a handkerchief and a bunny rabbit.  It’s going to get pulled out soon though.  Hopefully it will see the stage lights at the beginning of the New Year.

There’s lots more.  Perhaps my next hiatus will not be so long.

I am back in school though.  I am taking pre-calculus this quarter, and I’ve discovered I’m a math geek (as well as a computer geek, but anyone who knows me could have told you that).

I want to take physics and statistics and trigonometry.  There’s a whole laundry list of things I’d like to do with those skills.  I won’t ever go into them all here, but to name a few…

Quantum computing.  We are decades away from developing a practical quantum-light computer, but I want to help build the first one.  See quantum computers @ wikipedia.

Music theory?  I don’t need music theory!  What does that have to do with math or physics?  In all honesty, I don’t know exactly.  Yet.  What I can tell you is that I’ve been on a musical adventure that has witnessed me writing a few songs (which are still unfinished) with a friend.  I’ve been re-introduced to some amazing artists.  And I feel that I’m finally bursting at the seams.

(This is in the same order as my thoughts, and may not necessarily have any cohesiveness to it.)

TenString Serenade.

Kids I tell you!  I am 22.  I haven’t been able to dig up how old these two are, but they look a lot younger than me.  Their cover of Drifting, by Andy McKee, puts me to shame.  Alex plays the guitar flawlessly (as far as I can tell anyway; far better than I’ve been yet able to manage, after over a year of practice) and Karla’s violin harmony is beautiful and smacks of Tommy Gauthier’s harmony to Antoine Darfour’s Spiritual Groove.  (You will read more about those two further down.)

Their own perfect rendition of Spiritual Groove is another gem of music.  I am simply speechless.  It has helped reawaken my desire to finally produce something nice, something finished.  Something beautiful.

I have to digress here.  When I was in 10th grade, I was in a cover band with some friends I met in high school.  We weren’t the most spectacular thing around by any stretch of the imagination, but something would happen when we all came together.  It’s hard to describe in words, but the feeling of so many pieces all falling into place, all at once, was one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever been granted.  I miss that.  I feel like a piece of my soul was left behind with them.

Back to TenString Serenade.  I bought their album on iTunes, because I love it.  I never do that.  But I did.

Check out their links page for more material.

Next.

Antoine Dufour.

When I first discovered Andy McKee, my natural curiosity led me to CandyRat Records, and a whole plethora of other artists.  One was Antoine Dufour.  I wasn’t initially taken by his music.  I find that I am capable of glossing over things that don’t immediately strike me as interesting or important, and for some reason, this occurred with Antoine.  Then one day much later, I stumbled across he and Tommy Gauthier playing Spiritual Groove.  The name itself caught my eye, and like a good little self-centered human being, I judged the book by its cover.

I’m glad I did.

His music is amazing.

And I just got really tired of writing.  I am going to post this now, even though there is so much more to write.  Good day.