One of the things that I wanted to do as a New Year’s resolution was get back to playing the piano. By “piano”, I mean, some form of keyboard; I’ve neither the money or the space for an actual piano at this stage in my life. At one point in my mid-20s I was taking piano lessons while I had a Fender Rhodes in our 650 square-foot apartment, learning simple jazz standards and trying to not be such a drummer stereotype. During December 2009, I’d been eyeing a chepo-o Casio at the local Toys R Us on while shopping for the boy’s birthday presents and the kids’ Christmas presents. At $100, I couldn’t really go wrong if it turned out that I was far too busy to stick with the notion of playing again.
During the pre-Christmas run up, I’d been walking along Queen St. West when I happened upon a fairly new storefront: The Toronto Institute for the Enjoyment of Music; music lessons offered. In the back of my mind, I was going to visit this place early in the New Year.

So, I bought the keyboard and signed up for lessons. After about six weeks now, things are starting to happen again. I’m falling back into thinking about scales, modes, fingering exercises, etc.

My other new year’s resolutions included doing one Max/MSP tutorial a day (soon, soon); reading all of the Marshall McLuhan I can mentally digest; start learning French (I say “start learning” as I’ve never been fluent past elementary school); enroll back at the University of Toronto this summer; get down to my ideal weight by June (a milestone birthday coming); WRITE!

We shall see.

So, yeah. The obligatory year end list feels a bit tedious for me after the shite year we (all) had. I know that, at this time of the year, the cliché is to be all inspired to do wonderful things well into the new year (quit smoking, lose weight, write that great American novel, etc.). However, my goals of recent months have either been attained or are getting closer to being accomplished. Keep in mind, I’m a shallow person, so stuff like finish watching Season Three of Deadwood, run xxK and call [name-goes-here] this week have counted in the past. I know that I’m not going to land the dream gig with [musician's name goes here] or win the lotto jackpot, so I’m starting with a more realistic list (which may make some of you go Huh? WTF? Srsly? and take it from there:

• Budget! Budget! (and I forget the third part). MoneyWell, I’m looking at you…
• Spend more time with Max/MSP; I’ll get there someday
• Re-visit and master the basics, like (X)HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Get reacquainted with Photoshop and Fireworks
• Take more pictures
• Write / blog more
• Finish that final installment in the Tesla series with norel pref
• Keep on running; down to 170 – 175 lbs by my b-day
• Do well with my work
• Chip away at the years of books piled up bedside (Amazon and me are taking a break for a while)
• Learn some electrical engineering fundamentals
• Eat out less
• Cook more at home
• Spend more time with my family
• Run a half-marathon
• Try not to let the PVR fill up so much
• Entertain in MY home
• Keep in touch with friends and family on a regular basis (Facebook doesn’t count!)

My favourite pithy expressions of the past year, which I will continue to use towards my personal philosophy (whatever the hell that is) have been: I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now, which was the tagline for the DDC / Coudal Joint Field Notes; the other being You can have anything that you want; just not everything that you want. I’ve no idea who coined that, but it’s a good one.

For those of you that I’ve tipped a few jars with, gigged with, IM’d and vid-chatted with, broken bread with (and by ‘bread’ I mean ‘burrito’ or ‘burger’), and reconnected with, I thank you for your friendship over the past year and wish you all the best for a happy and prosperous new year.

The first time I saw one of Toronto’s fabled albino squirrels was sometime in the mid-90s when my wife and I first started dating. She’d taken such an interest in them (how could you not?) that each time we rode our bikes past the grounds of 1001 Queen St. West (formerly 999) we were on the lookout with hopes of seeing them. One day, she hopped off her bike, camera in hand, and caught a snapshot of one. In the late 90s, we moved from Parkdale to Little Portugal (still a ways for a squirrel), where I’d happened upon a dead one on the sidewalk just north of our place. This was a sad moment, as we’d only ever seen two or three of them at one time.

A couple of months back, whilst visiting my video rental shop, I noticed that a newer side street on the far end of the 1001 block had been named for the park’s former residents. It’s been years since I’ve seen an albino squirrel, and wondered if they are still around, perhaps displaced by construction over the years. Looking at the above photo I snapped today, I can’t help but think of the old suburban axiom: the streets are named after the wildlife that used to live there.

And so marks the half-way point of the year. Yes, already. It’s off to scrounge for parking, fight the throngs, watch the fireworks, drink tea, watch some Season Three of Battlestar Galactica, listen to a podcast or two, read an article or two and call it a day.

Last week, I finally got myself a decent turntable that’s USB friendly so that I could start ripping some of my older and rarer vinyl. This morning, I came across a coverless copy of a 7″ single (okay, EP) that the first band I was in recorded back in 1987. If you like ’80s hardcore, go get some Death of Gods (15meg) and be careful not to break the furniture.

* Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: “Ramshackle Day Parade”

* Frank Zappa: “Oh No / The Orange County Lumber Truck”

* Jim O’Rourke: “Eureka”

* Tom Waits: “Dirt in the Ground”

* Sloan: “Coax Me”

* Chet Baker: “Everything Happens to Me”

* Elliott Smith: “Oh Well, OK”

* Dave Frishberg: “My Swan Song” / “I’m Hip”

* Calexico: “Crooked Road and the Briar”

* They Might Be Giants: “Kiss Me, Son of God”

* The Beatles: “In My Life”

* A tasteful version of “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”

* Fennesz: “Château Rouge”

* Tortoise: “Glass Museum”

* Robyn Hitchcock: “No, I Don’t Remember Guildford”

* Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: “Spanish Flea”

* The Kings: “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide”

More to come.