Interesting fact: The nail was invented AFTER the hammer. Nails were made by blacksmiths (by hand), and on a good day one blacksmith could only pump out a mere few hundred.

It’s been an interesting week thus far, there wasn’t too much of a backlash from non-winners of the SWllc photo contest, but I’m glad to say they’ve opened up a thread on the forums to show off their still-great photos for the world to see. I was going to put them up myself, but they beat me to it (plus I’m lazy)! To clarify what made a winning photo, they were judged in two main categories:

1. Composition- how the shot was set up, clarity/color depth of the shot, angling, etc.

2. Creativity- how the CD case was used, humor, eye-catchiness, profanity…

So that’s enough about that. Also in band-related news, the boys are still on the road in full force and doing a great job blogging. Dave & I didn’t have a chance to meet up when he was in town, but our super-secret project is still in the works and should be rolling out as soon as we find the right recording equipment…have I said too much? Muh hahahah…

(photo by Paulami Naik)

Things We’ve Learned On The Road
Volume I : Air Travel

In keeping with our theme of being America’s foremost singing educators, I’ve begun compiling a list of Things We’ve Learned On The Road. It is my hope that somebody somewhere will be saved some degree of heartache and/or humiliation by the knowledge I am about to share with you.

Today’s theme is: AIR TRAVEL.

– Whenever possible, try to reserve a window seat toward the back of the plane. Window seat because you can sleep without having to get up for anyone, back of the plane because (a) you board first and have a better chance of finding space for your luggage in the overhead compartment, and (b) your odds of surviving a crash jump from .000000001% to .000000002% relative to the kids riding shotgun.

– If you’re going to be flying with a guitar, check with the specific airline to see what their carry-on policy is. Southwest and jetBlue are generally pretty good about letting you take them on, while we’ve had some knock-down, drag-out awfulness with the people at Delta. If you aren’t able to take your guitar on the plane, at least try to “gate check” it – this is where you bring it through security to the actual gate, then give it to a flight attendant to be hand-stowed along with the strollers, wheelchairs, and other things just inside the door to the luggage compartment. It’s still going to get cold and depressurized, but at least this saves it a trip through baggage handling. Either way, make ABSOLUTELY SURE you loosen the strings. People told me this before, and I kind of half-loosened them down to where they jangled, and it wasn’t enough. Metal shrinks a lot relative to wood and plastic when it gets cold, and if you don’t want the tuning pegs and bridge getting ripped out at 30,000 feet, your best bet is to take the strings out entirely and then either reattach them or change them once you land.

– Chew gum during takeoff and landing for a happier, healthier ride. Most people know that chewing gum helps pop your ears during the altitude change, but fewer people know that the relatively rapid changes in cabin pressure force gallons of recycled air into the mouths and noses of everyone on the plane, and that a mouthful of freshly flowing saliva creates a surprisingly effective filter for the entire plane’s worth of germs you’ll be inhaling by just sitting there.

– If you’ve got a long layover and are seriously on a budget, bring a granola bar, a packet of ramen, and an orange, then ask for a cup of hot water and a spoon from the friendliest looking barista at the in-terminal Starbucks. Voila, instant meal.

And that just about covers it for air travel. Stay tuned for more road science in our next installation, where we’ll cover: CAR TRAVEL.

i miss my electric toothbrush.. it’s a braun, i think, and it makes my teeth and gums feel happy..

i left it behind because i decided that the extra space it would take in my bathroom bag would cripple my ability to pack a good day pack, and by extension, be a good houseguest. on the road, such measures of success are meted out in cubic centimeters.

today, like yesterday and the day before it, i woke up and cleaned my mouth with an old-fashioned, soft-bristled tooth brush. it was like solving a quadratic equation with an abacus.

it’s funny how proud and/or ashamed we are of genetic legacies. i am illogically vain about my teeth (never a cavity or braces), even though i haven’t been more dentally responsible than anyone else i know. conversely, i’ve always envied the fact that dave can wash his face with hotel soap and wake up so pretty.

why is natural talent so sexy (at least to me?) why have i always preferred kobe bryant to mark madsen (at least before the legal stuff).. maddog is such a hard-working scrapper, and kobe is just plain physically gifted.. why do i disdain hardwork?

but is the propensity to work hard equally genetic? was mark madsen born with a scrapper’s mentality? is it all the same?

these are some of the confusing thoughts that enter one’s mind while spending 26 hours in a van.