5 posts tagged “me”
For my son John's birthday I ordered a Minimum Theremin kit from Harrison Instruments. I was inspired by seeing Bre Pettis make one in the Make Weekend Project Podcast. I came and over a few days we soldered and assembled it.
It is pretty neat to get a printed circuit board and a bunch of parts and solder them together to create a unique musical instrument. In order to complete the project I bought a soldering iron and I was able to get a piece of sheet metal from my dad, who also made a wooden stand for it.
The kit has all of the parts nicely sorted into plastic baggies and is clearly labelled which made it quite easy to assemble. It's not a beginners kit, but I was patient and John and it only took a few hours to assemble since we took our time.
The Theremin is an odd instrument. You've probably heard one on the soundtrack of vintage sci-fi films or in the Beach Boys song, "Good Vibrations". The Minimum Theremin doesn't have the pitch and volume controls of a full, traditional Theremin, but only has the antenna for controlling the pitch. You stand in front of it and move your hand close to the antenna. The closer you get, the higher the pitch. I need to practise with it to get better and John is a bit better than me. At the end of this post is a 47 second recording of me playing (I just plugged the Theremin into my MacBook Pro and recorded it). I want to build some more stuff now!
1. If you're out shopping and hear a baby cry, what's your first thought?
Babies. A bit of a nice sigh as I remember when my kids were babies and then it's just there.
2. Are the passengers in your car required to buckle their seat belts regardless of age?
Everyone has to buckle their seat belts. It's safer that way.
3. Do you ever feel the need to clean/straighten your loved ones? With your own spit?
I will clean them a bit, but usually I will point it out. Very rarely will I use spit to clean them.
4. Some people are described as having "a face only a mother could love." What people or things in your life do you love unconditionally?
My lovely wife, my lovely kids, my amazing mom and dad, my brother, my sister, and my dog.
5. In what ways are you like your mother? What habits, catch phrases, and tricks have you picked up from her?
I love helping people and I have lots of empathy for others.
Questions from Five on Fridays
I was at a film or media related conference at a panel discussion in the back of the room with one of my colleagues from work. The discussion was the same as usual with people either complaining about a lack of funding or promoting what they were doing. She said, "ok, I've heard enough" and left and I stayed. After it finished I went up to the front row and sat down to talk with someone. For some reason we were talking a bit too loudly, so we went outside.
While outside in a parking lot it seemed as if I was in a smaller place (like Wolfville or Fredericton, I think) and it was around this time of year, with no leaves on the trees and things starting to warm up. Then John Hodgman showed up with a large hardcover version of his book, "The Areas of My Expertise". For some reason I thought that he was going to give it to me to thank me for reading the book and listening to the audiobook. He was talking about how he found the large version of the book and we talked a bit and I said how much I liked it.
Then Jeff Bridges showed up.
Hodgman didn't give me the large version of the book, but maybe I woke up too early.
The antibiotics have done their job and I'm just about back to normal in terms of health.
Yesterday I went to a party and as I was driving there it noticed how I could take full, deep breaths and not cough which was very nice. Many times you don't realize how important things are until you miss them and while I'm not in the best shape, being a bit sick does highlight your relative health.
Last weekend I went up to Fredericton, New Brunswick to attend the Silver Wave Film Festival, which isthe 6th time that they've put it on. I haven't been able to go for a few years, but I'm very glad that I went this year. For some reason it seemed as if most of the people that I've ever met or worked with on many films over the years were there. It made me realize how long I've been working on films and helping people tell their stories and I was so happy to see how people have grown and to see that work that they've done.
But the best part was just being able to spend time with friends old and new. It makes me realize that there is are wonderful connections that you make every day and that you never know what effect a small, kind act will have down the road.
