Happy Holidays

Here's Smokey the Reindeer, wishing you and yours (and them and theirs) a holly, jolly hot tamale of a holiday season.

A Toddler Opus

My son Carter turned 2 on Sunday, and his passion for the arts continues to impress me. The pen-and-watercolor piece seen here is titled "Dear Santa, Dinos say Roahhhhhrrrr!"

Insight on History

The following blurb I picked up from a great writing site called The Paragraph of the Day, which showcases excellent writing in bite-sized helpings:

    The Middle Ages is an unfortunate term. It was not invented until the age was long past. The dwellers in the Middle Ages would not have recognized it. They did not know that they were living in the middle; they thought, quite rightly, that they were time's latest achievement. The term implies that the Middle Ages were a mere interim between ancient greatness and our modern greatness. Who knows what the future will call it? As our Modern Age ceases to be modern and becomes an episode of history, our times may well be classed as the later Middle Ages. For while we say time marches forward, all things in time move backward toward the middle and eventually to the beginnings of history. We are too vain; we think we are the summit of history.

 
--  Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages (1970)

 

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

I haven't been blogging much this fall, what with my thesis project taking up so much time and energy. I've decided to continue the work into next semester, which means I won't be graduating until May (as opposed to two weeks from now). This is a bit of a morale damper, but I think the end result will be a stronger collection of stories and a more thoughtfully composed critical essay. Lots of folks have been asking whether they can read the works-in-progress, but I'd prefer to keep them to myself (and to my expert collaborators) until I'm satisfied they they are as strong as can be.
Stay tuned; I hope to be finished in January. I appreciate everyone's support.

The Bard Rocks

My friend Roland Vinyard has a brand-spankin' new website. He calls his one-man act "The Bard Rocks," which is explained on the site. Check it out at www.thebardrocks.com

Unlinke the musician I mentioned in my previous post on this blog, Mr. Vinyard is a non-fictional character.

Uncle Jim Jugson

Did I ever mention that I have a great, great uncle from West Virginia named Jim Jugson? He dusted off his old fiddle a while back and played along with me on a recording of "Coffee Blues." We had such a great time that I was able to convince him to create a page for himself on Myspace. He's pretty sure that the Internet is an invention of the devil, but that sort of thing never stopped him from trying new things. Check him out at the link below:

http://www.myspace.com/unclejimjugson

 

Two Geniuses At Odds

Most of the people who read this blog probably know James Joyce is one of my favorite writers. Strange coincidence that one of my favorite modern comics, Patton Oswalt, recently wrote an alternative ending to Joyce's acclaimed story "The Dead."

If you like Joyce, or if you like Patton Oswalt, or if you like midgets, you must read:

http://www.pattonoswalt.com/ht/spew10.html#100506

The horror!

For your macabre pleasure on this Friday the 13th, I offer the following x-ray of my collarbone. The broken part (where it's sticking up under my skin) is circled, and the arrow points to what I believe to be a bone fragment. And this was taken a month after the injury ...

A Literary Question

My fiction writing is progressing nicely this fall, but I've been wrestling with the question of whether to set my stories in real places or fictional ones. That is to say, should I use the real names for the places I'm writing about ( in and around Fulton County, N.Y.), or should I make up names to stand in for those actual places?

I've already made my decision, but I'm curious about one thing: Can you think of any cases in which an author has made up a name for a large city, instead of setting his tale in New York or London or Paris or Dublin, etc. I can't think of a single made-up metropolis, other than the Gotham of the DC comic books, and the otherworldly cities of fantasy and science fiction. If you can think of any such made up cities in realistic/naturalistic fiction, please let me know ... smokinbill@aol.com

A Couple of Songs

I've recorded a couple of songs this week, covers of Mississippi John Hurt's "Coffee Blues" and the Carter Family classic "Keep on the Sunny Side." These are no-frills productions, with just a couple of acoustic instruments in the mix. Have a listen:

CoffeeBlues.mp3

KeepOnTheSunnySide.mp3

Recovering from another injury

I had an extremely short fall season with the Saratoga rugby club. Five minutes into my first match, a tackle went badly and I broke my collarbone. (I was the one doing the tackling, hence the "badly.") So I may well be hanging up my spikes and retiring for good. We'll see how I feel about it in the spring after I've mended.

My blogging will be somewhat limited this fall as I work on my thesis, but I seem to be wasting plenty of time over at myspace. Click the image below to see what nonsense I've been up to there:

 

The Boss Goes All Folky Again

Anyone who's heard me perform in the last two or three years has probably heard me sing "Pay Me My Money Down," a tradtional song from the Georgia Sea Islands that I learned from a Dan Zanes CD.

Bruce Springsteen's new album, a Pete Seeger tribute disc, includes of version of that song that's pretty sweet. He adds a verse about Bill Gates, which was cheeky of him.

There's are audio and video files of the Springsteen performance at the following site:

Springsteen Clips

 

Moon & River Gig Photos

A few pictures that Jen shot at the Moon & River Cafe last week. Thanks to Sandy (at left) and Roland (center) for sitting in with me, and megathanks to those who showed up to listen.

P.S. I now have some .mp3s available for free downloading (free is always good!) at www.nowhereradio.com/smokinbill

Cape Cod Trip Pics, and a Song

I've been neglecting my blogging duties lately. The photo gallery at left has some shots from our Cape Cod vacation.

And for your multimedia enjoyment, I've posted a new recording below. It's the old blues favorite "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," on which I play an old nylon string guitar and sing in a slightly nasal voice because I did the recording right in the middle of an allergy attack. 'Tis the season. I recorded it using my wife's iriver .mp3 player, which is pretty cool because it has a built-in microphone and it's smaller than a Zippo lighter.

NobodyKnowsYou.mp3

Old-Fashioned Porch Pickin'

Anne Marie (accordion); Roland (guitar, banjo, autoharp, jew's harp); Bill (guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica)

I had a great time tonight playing music with Roland and Anne Marie on the front porch at Wemple & Edick's ice cream shop in Sammonsville. It was great to be able to play the fiddle as much as I did; God knows I need more practice playing it in group situations. My bum finger is still healing, and by the time we finished playing tonight, it was beet-red and swollen, but the good news is that it more or less works. Roland and Anne Marie had never met before tonight, so it was cool that we were able to play some songs pretty well (there were a few false starts, but who's counting?) I think the highlight was "Pay Me My Money Down," which seemed to have folks tapping their toes.

The owners said we're welcome to do it again, so perhaps we'll be there on the porch once more before the end of the summer. Stay tuned for details on that.

My next gig will be at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at the Moon & River Cafe, 115 S. Ferry St., Schenectady.

Spending Too Much Time Online!

I've posted a couple of songs over at Folk Alley, a major online folk radio site. You can help me out by listening to my tunes there, posting comments about them and whatnot. Here's where to go:

Bill Ackerbauer on Folk Alley

I guess I should also mention that I've been spending way too much time surfing around on myspace.com lately. If you're into that kind of thing, check out my page at http://www.myspace.com/billackerbauer . And if you're a myspacer yourself, be sure to "friend" me.

My Comeback Gig

Put it on your calendar: My "comeback" gig (after two months of nursing a fractured pinky finger) will be at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at the Moon & River Cafe in Schenectady. The place is at 115 N. Ferry St. in the Stockade. There's no cover charge to get in, but come to have dinner or coffee and dessert, and save a buck or two for my tip jar. I'm a starving graduate student!

The cafe has a website at http://moonandrivercafe.com/

Old-time folk fans, note I've also just found out that Americana songstress Diana Jones will be performing at the Moon & River on Aug. 17. Don't miss this show. She's the real deal! Her website is: http://www.dianajonesmusic.com/

An Experiment in Microcommerce

I decided to put up a little of my artwork and photography for sale on Cafe Press, a Web site that lets folks market their designs on tacky T-shirts and whatnot. I haven't ordered any of this stuff myself, but it looks like they put them together quite professionally. Here's the link, in case you're just dying to get your hands on a "Viking Funeral" T-shirt, etc.:

http://www.cafepress.com/smokinbill

 (This mug features a brand new watercolor of an old-time fiddler.)

History in Rust

Early Blues on Video

I've been surfing through videos over at YouTube today, and I've found a lot of great DIY music video, even clips of great old acoustic stuff. For example, there is this guy from Montreal doing an excellent job with an old Charley Patton song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEM24NPQt4

And here's one that's even more impressive. It's Mance Lipscomb playing on a 1960s TV program (with a broken finger in a cast, no less):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXCE7-Xb60g

A Not-So-Tough Nut

Last summer at the Farmers Market, my banjo suffered a serious injury -- a cracked nut. (The nut is the slotted thing at the end of the neck, near the tuners, that holds the strings in place.) The nut held together for almost a year, but finally about a week ago, it succumbed, and the first string fell out of place. I thought about buying a new one from www.elderly.com, but instead of shelling out 55 cents, I decided to make a new one out of a small piece of hardwood. I think what I found was either oak or maple (I'm good at identifying live trees, but not types of cut wood.) It took some cutting, shaving and sanding, but I made a passable nut in less than an hour.

In the picture, I'm holding the old, cracked nut next to the new one in place on the banjo neck.

Here's a sample of what it sounds like now (it's a traditional fiddle tune on which I'm a little rusty):

Over_the_Waterfall.mp3

Regarding that Woody Guthrie T-Shirt

Adam Miller sent this photo of himself pickin' an grinnin' down at the Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival in Okemah, Okla. I'm glad someone got a chance to put my artwork to good use.

Back From the Trail

I emerged from the wilderness muddy, blistered and exhausted yesterday, having hiked the first 22 miles of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail. The trip was difficult due to the effects of all our recent wet and windy weather: All the streams and bogs were higher than normal, mud was abundant, and fallen trees blocked the trail in many, many locations.

Check out the photos in the gallery at left, and be sure to read the captions for details.

Heading to Okemah (in Spirit)

Well, there's a big Woody Guthrie festival this weekend in his home town of Okemah, Oklahoma. No, I won't be going. Instead I'll be hiking and camping with my sister and brother-in-law as they set out on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail. I will be represented at the festival, though, by a guy named Adam Miller. He was nice enough to send me the following message today:

Hi Bill, 
I was looking for a picture of Woody to put on an iron-on T-shirt I'm making for myself to wear at the Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma this weekend and I saw your painting of the trio. Would you mind sending me a bigger version? I like the painting and hope you don't mind. I'll represent for us both in Woody's home town. 
 
See more about the festival at http://www.woodyguthrie.com 
 
Thanks, 
Adam Miller 

I'm flattered that he liked my painting enough to put it on a T-shirt, so of course I gave him the go-ahead to make one. (If I can find the time, I might offer T-shirts with that design for sale online. It could be a fund-raiser for a worthy charity such as the Put Bill Through Grad School Society. Stay tuned for details on that project.)

Anyway, my body will be trudging over the Adirondack Mountains this weekend, but my painting of The Corncob Trio (and my thoughts) will be in the hot, dusty plains of Oklahoma.

Genre Jumping

I suppose you've heard that Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett died the other day. What an interesting character. I've never been a huge Floyd fan, but when I was a senior in high school, my father bought me a copy of "The Wall" on cassette tape. (Thanks, Dad, you wacky psychedelic animal, you!) And when I was in college, two decades after the album was released, "Dark Side of the Moon" was still required listening.

These days, as readers of this blog know, I'm a hardcore traditional/folk/acoustic music aficionado, and Pink Floyd is pretty far off my current aesthetic radar. One can always find connections, though -- or create them, I suppose -- from genre to genre. For example, the band was named after two American blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. I'm a big fan of the former, whose version of "Every Day of the Week" is often on my set lists.

And here's another folk-psych/rock link: The Be Good Tanyas, my favorite "hobo-erotic" female roots group from Vancouver, recorded a folk-pop song onto which they grafted a verse that was written by none other than Syd Barrett. The song is "The Littlest Birds." Here are the lyrics (the last verse is Syd's):

The Littlest Birds

Well I feel like an old hobo,
I'm sad lonesome and blue
I was fair as a summer day
Now the summer days are through
You pass through places
And places pass through you
But you carry 'em with you
On the souls of your travellin' shoes

Well I love you so dearly I love you so clearly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And i'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways one of
these days soon
And I'll sing

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

Well it's times like these
I feel so small and wild
Like the ramblin' footsteps of a wanderin' child
And I'm lonesome as a lonesome whippoorwill
Singin these blues with a warble and a trill
But I'm not too blue to fly
No I'm not too blue to fly cause

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

Well I love you so dearly
I love you so fearlessly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell youI got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And I don't wanna leave you
I love you through and through

Oh I left my baby on a pretty blue train
And I sang my songs to the cold and the rain
I had the wanderin' blues
And I sang those wanderin' blues
And I'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways
One of these days soon
And I'll sing...

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs....

I don't care if the sun don't shine
I don't care if nothin' is mine
I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my lovin' in the wintertime

Ontario Troubador

My Canadian friend Pat Johnson has recorded a new CD, "Pitchin' Days." The title track is about playing horseshoes. Samples of his roots-rock music can be heard at http://www.patjohnson.ca

He's one of the superlative musicians who taught classes at a guitar workshop that I attended several years ago. Check out some of his online guitar lessons at http://www.workshoplive.com/music-lessons/
pat-johnson.html

The Great Johnstown (N.Y.) Flood

We had some serious flooding today in Johnstown. Several streets were made impassable by the overflowing Cayadutta Creek. I took this photo of some folks stranded on the porch of their house:

    

It sucks to be the owner of that red car, huh? I wonder if there's any danger of contamination because of the many industrial sites that were affected by flooding. The former Karg Bros. tannery site (which is right behind the house in the photo) has been cleaned up, but how many other, smaller, as-yet-unremediated toxic sites got a rinsing today?

Teaching in Cyberspace (and in Albany)

The Intro to Journalism course that I'm teaching at UAlbany had its first meeting tonight. I'm going to incorporate blogging into the course, so each student will be posting writing assignments online. The blogs will be linked to create a virtual classroom discussion, and I think it will at the very least prove a noble experiment. Check out this link to see the blog I've created to serve as the hub for the course blogs:

http://introtoj.blogspot.com

Liam and Carter's Summer Vacation

I just wanted to post some cutesy photos of the boys. Some are from our recent vacation in the Berkshires, and some are from a hike to the old fish hatchery pond near Green Lake, but mostly they're just candid moments around the house.

The only bit of news I have is that I've decided to record a new CD of kid-friendly songs. This one will be done in time for Carter's second birthday, in late November. The disc I made for Liam's second birthday was a big hit (Click to hear a sample: They're Red Hot.mp3), and after two years I have lots of new tunes ready to record. I'll be asking all of my musical friends to contribute, so it should be a blast. Leave a comment here on the blog to suggest songs I should record and/or potential titles for the CD.

Unfortunate News

Bad news from the orthopedic doctor today: My fractured pinky finger needs to be put in a splint for at least six weeks. Looks like my guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle playing will be severely curtailed for most of the summer. Damn. It's going to be a harmonica-tootin' and a capella-singin' season, I guess.

The condition is called "mallet finger," and apparently it's a fairly common sports injury. I found a helpful (though quite technical) article on the web: http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic413.htm

Season's End

The Stampede wrapped up its spring season with an unfortunate loss against the Mountaineers on Saturday. I somehow dislocated and fractured the little finger on my left hand (I'd call it my "pinky," but now it's more black-and-bluey.) Looks like I won't be playing much guitar for a few weeks .. maybe a good time to work out some tunes on harmonica.

Disclaimer for the benefit of my mom and other squeamish persons: The last two photos in the gallery at left are fake ... I photoshopped them for entertainment purposes. Photo No. 7 is real.

Our First Victory

The Stampede finally has a 'W' in its record, having defeated the Saranac Mountaineers 22-17 in a tough match on Saturday. We have one more match left in our inaugural season; it will be on Saturday, June 10, at the North Side Rec field in Saratoga Springs.

www.saratogarugby.com

A Tough Match

Well, the Stampede got its hide tanned yesterday by the New London, Conn., RFC. I don't know the final score, but it was in the neighborhood of six tries to two. Matt Volke scored both of ours.

Here are some short video clips of the match:

vs. NEW LONDON (1)

vs. NEW LONDON (2)

vs. NEW LONDON (3)

vs. NEW LONDON (4)

vs. NEW LONDON (5)

vs. NEW LONDON (6)

vs. NEW LONDON (7)

 

Lawn Gnomes and other Small People

I took the boys to Knox Field today for a walk around the grounds and some quality time on the swingsets. We brought along a camera and the new lawn gnome that Jen bought for me recently. Enjoy the pics.

New visitors to the blog who aren't familiar with my gnome fetish may wish to listen to the following tune:

Ballad of a Lawn Gnome

A Thought

 

Writing is ninety-nine percent constipation and one percent prune juice.

Next time, I'll wear a snorkel

The Saratoga Stampede Rugby Club tied in its match Sunday against the Albany Law School club, and impressive result for the Stampede's second-ever match. The weather was nasty: 40-degree cold and a constant torrent of rain for the entire 80 minutes of play. There was a lot of hydroplaning and dropping of the ball, and at one point I got water in my ears and couldn't hear for a few minutes... great fun.

We have a series of home games coming up on the next few Saturdays, so come out and cheer us on. Who knows, you might get to see me crushed under a pile of 300-pound forwards (which happened Sunday).

Check out our schedule at www.saratogarugby.com

 

Upward

The family tried rock climbing for the first time recently. We had a blast at the Electric City Climbing Gym in Schenectady. My arms were sore for days afterward ...

 

Out of the Gate

The new Saratoga Stampede Rugby Football Club put in a good showing on Saturday for its inaugural match. We lost by a respectable 12-0 to the much-longer established Rutland RFC.

The gallery at left shows a few shots from the match. Below is a great photo that ran Friday in Saratoga Today, a new tabloid newspaper serving Saratoga County. Pete Mody was the giver of the stiff-arm in this choice moment from last weekend's scrimmage.

So Long, Pa

My grandfather, Bill Bennett, died last night. I have a lot to say (and write) about him, but I'm not sure I'll do it here on the blog. In this photo, he's showing off the deer he shot a few years ago at the age of 80. I'll miss him.

Ready to Ruck

Well, the brand-spankin' new Saratoga Stampede will have its first live-action scrimmage tomorrow, Saturday, April 1 (no foolin'), at the East Side Rec Field in Ballston Spa. Kick-off will be at 1 p.m. This will be in preparation for our first opposed match, which will be next Saturday in Rutland, Vt.

Here's a photo of me tearin' it up at practice yesterday. (Credit: Chis Tomchik) Notice there are no other players near me. That's not because I'm "ahead of the pack," but well behind it. A few more weeks of this, and I'll either be in shape or in intensive care. Cross your fingers.

For more information on the club and directions to the pitch, check out www.saratogarugby.com.

Writerly Wisdom

"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain."

- James Baldwin

Fine Art (or, as the French say, F'Art)

Liam wanted to do some painting today, so we broke out the arts & crafts box and put on our smocks. A crimson, winged visitor to our back yard (and a recent viewing of a certain Hitchcock film) inspired me to work in an ornithological vein, but after I painted the bird, the canvas still seemed empty, so I improvised a bit.

I call this piece "Giant Cardinal with Nude." Feel free to download it for use as an attractive wallpaper for your PC desktop.

The Pogues Live and Back from the Dead

 

So last night I drove out to Boston to see the Pogues reunion concert with my cronies Josh and Bird. I'm still recovering from the experience ... watch this space for more details about the show. 

Shane MacGowan, the lead drinker ... er, singer:

Terry Woods, mandolin virtuoso and a fine singer to boot (he did a stirring "Young Ned of the Hill" last night):

Some Lite Lit Crit on Critters in Lit

Here's an academic paper I just completed. Might be of interest to other Faulkner fans:

Barking up the Family Tree: Animals in "Was" from Faulkner's Go Down, Moses

Propheteering

This is a response to a recent essay by my friend Hank Fox, on the subject of the cartoons mocking the prophet Mohammed and their aftermath. Read his essay over at www.hankfox.com, and then proceed below (or don't, it's your call):    

Hank,  

I'm well aware of your thoughts on fundamentalism and organized religion, and many of your readers probably are, too. However, I'm not sure I'm with you 100% in your essay on the Mohammed cartoons, etc. My basic beef is that you seem to be lumping all Muslims together as violent and dangerous based on the reactions of the crazy ones. I'll grant that there seems to be a higher percentage of violent psychos in Islam than in, say, Quakerism, but Islam also has its share of fairly well-adjusted followers (in the sense that they're not violent, not that they're right about other things). You've attacked the whole religion based on the antics of the fundamentalist jihadists -- and though the less-violent Muslims might have beliefs/values you abhor, such as the subjugation of women, etc., those issues differ in type and degree from the problems of the jihadists.

The essay doesn't make enough of a connection between your reasons for attacking violent fundamentalism and your reasons for attacking organized religion in general. They're related issues, but the relationship is complex enough to warrant a complex critique.  

To say "we can't live" with Muslims might be misconstrued as sounding like a call for genocide -- I understand you're simply following through with the crazy boyfriend analogy, but the analogy doesn't work because we non-Muslims can't opt to "kick the Muslims out and change the locks" as if they were a crazy boyfriend. We can't even "call the cops" -- because the "cops" in this case are busy shooting their friends in the face with birdshot. ;)  

Just a few thoughts from a devil's advocate point of view.  

Bill

Franklin and Fiction

Yikes, it's been more than a week since my last post. I've been busy, tutoring at the Writing Center 20 hours per week, and reading, reading, reading: Franklin, Anne Bradstreet, Thoreau, Emerson, Dickinson, Faulkner, Melville and others, as well as some dense works of literary theory and criticism, just in the first three weeks of the semester.

The Benjamin Franklin autobiography was quite revealing, and it changed my impression of that founding father quite drastically. He was a vegetarian for a while but caved in at the smell of fried cod, he had several "intrigues with low women" and he did some fairly dirty journalism (making himself wealthy in the process) as publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Yet his reputation remains that of a pillar of American virtue and values. Hmmm ... maybe that's not ironic after all. But I digress.  

The greatest challenge so far has been writing fiction for the workshop I'm taking. This week I finished my first short story -- the first bit of fiction I've completed since the seventh grade. I've decided not to post it on the blog, but anyone who wants to read it can e-mail me at smokinbill@aol.com, and I'll send you a copy of the text, with my compliments.

 

Passing a Poem Along

I just stumbled upon this fine music-inspired poem by Hayden Carruth. Check it out over at poets.org:

Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey

Learning to Write ... and Duck

My parents, teachers, editors and colleagues have all made contributions to my development as a writer. I’m grateful for the guidance I’ve received, and I hold no one but myself responsible for any bad writing habits that may have rubbed off in addition to skills and wisdom. In deed, there will be a long list of people to thank when I accept the awards for this dazzling essay, written in a moment of inspiration after twelve hours at school and an hourlong commute on slick roads – from Mrs. Wilson, who praised my second-grade poem about an avocado plant, to Professor Barlow, who found nice things to say last semester about a ten-page, dead-end meditation on the (almost entirely imagined) connections between the American Primitive guitar music of John Fahey and the dive bars of Oneonta.

One jerk who won’t make the list is Jim H. He was my first boss, the supervising editor at a small Upstate New York paper that hired me as a reporter fresh out of college. With Jim screaming for copy and literally breathing down my neck on deadline, I learned some critical lessons about writing in the world of daily newspaper journalism, many of which apply to writing in other contexts:

1. When you’re trying to convey information to your readers, substance is always more important than style, and simplicity will often serve the message better than complexity.

2. You have to know the rules of grammar and usage in order to break those rules in effective (i.e., forgivable) ways.

3. Nothing you write can be absolutely perfect or complete, whether your deadline is ten minutes or ten hours away. But that’s okay, because there’s always a chance to follow up in the next edition.

These tidbits have stayed with me over the years, but not because Jim was a positive role model or sagacious mentor. He hurled advice at reporters across a busy newsroom, sometimes accompanied by insults and the occasional paperweight.

Another thing that I learned from Jim was that a person should never attempt to simultaneously kick three serious addictions (booze, caffeine and cigarettes) while going through a nasty divorce, and a supervisor should never verbally abuse an employee at close range when that supervisor has recently fallen off one or more of his proverbial wagons, even with the precaution of a curiously strong breath mint.

He taught me a little about writing and a lot about how not to manage a newsroom. I brought the experience with me a few years later, when I took over the job that he had lost because of his foul temper and conduct.

So thanks for the advice, Jim, but you can kiss my ass. I’ve still got a paperweight with your name on it.

I just stumbled across this site, of interest to fans of pre-WWII acoustic blues ...

Honey, Where You Been So Long?

Getting Jiggy

Last Friday, I took part in a traditional jam session at "The Green House" on the campus of my alma mater, Union College. Here's an .mp3 of the group playing a set of two Irish jigs:

Swallowtail Jig/Tobin's Favorite

I was one of three or four guitar players strumming and picking away under the strains of fiddles, mandolins, piano and pipes. I played rhythm behind the first tune and tried to pick out the melody of "Tobin's," but I couldn't hear over the din to tell if I was even in the same key, let alone playing the right notes. But that's one of the joys of large sessions -- plenty of room for experimentation and clams.

Onward and Upward? Or Just Elsewhere?

Sunday was my last shift as an editor on the copy desk at The Daily Gazette. I'm officially unemployed -- for a week. On Monday, I'll start courses and my tutoring job at UAlbany. I've signed up for three courses (Faulkner, "The Literary Reputation," and a workshop in short fiction), which should provide enough intellectual labor to keep my brain smoking and popping for the length of the semester. 

I will have the summer off from school, though I will be teaching a section of Intro to Journalism. In the fall, I'll write my thesis, which I'm hoping will be a creative one -- in the form of a collection of short stories or a novella -- rather than a traditional academic research-and-analysis paper. People have been asking what it's going to be about, and I try to put it in a nutshell for them, but it simply won't fit. So sometime this semester, I'll write up a prospectus for the thesis, and I will of course paste a copy on this blog for my loyal readers to ponder.

Yesterday, Jen and I took the boys to the state museum in Albany. They had a great time on the carousel, though sitting in the spinning tea cup made me want to hurl. Here are a couple of shots:

 

Saratoga Stampede: The Herd Multiplies

Well, the Saratoga Stampede Rugby Football Club had its first gathering for prospective members/players last night. We were hoping to have a turnout of about 20 people, and we got 34, so it was a big success. If you missed the meeting but are interested in participating (either athletically or socially or both), check out the website and get on the e-mail list. Check it out: www.saratogarugby.com

Correspondence from Abroad

Yesterday I received the following dispatch from my friend Duncan, who's an Air Force radar/computer warlock stationed in Germany. He agreed to keep my blog readers posted on his travels:  

 

I was in the UK for seven days.  This was a work trip so there were two jets and crews out there.  I almost didn't go since I came down with a head cold the day before we left.  I probably shouldn't have gone since I got almost no flying done on that trip.  We flew out on Friday, without turning on the systems on the jet, had the next three days off.  Tuesday we canceled for weather, and the next two days my cold came back with a vengeance.  So feeling like crap I got on the jet again the following Friday to fly back and get a bit of training done.  Lincoln is a college town, so there were no shortage of clubs and pubs.  The only issue was that the hotel, cathedral, and castle were on top of the hill and the clubs were at the bottom.  This may not sound that bad, but the walk was about a klick and all of it was up or down a 70 degree slope.  "Steep Hill Rd"  The coolness factor of wearing my black leather chucks and seeing the trenchcoat blowing behind me, was destroyed by panting for breath in the cold air.  After the first bar, where I was hit on by women in their 40s (who were all married to officers in the Royal Air Force) we ended up at a dance club.  This just wasn't my scene so I just ended up drinking lots of Guiness and blending into the walls.  I probably should have tried to find another place since everyone seemed to love my American accent.  I think the cold walk and smoke filled clubs was what brought my cold back.  The Lincoln Cathedral <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Cathedral> was originally built in 1072, but was much smaller than the current incarnation.  Fires and earthquake had pretty much destroyed it.  The Lincoln castle, not really much of a castle anymore, started out as a Roman fort.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Castle>  William the Conqueror had a castle built inside of it.  In victorian times it was home to a jail and courthouse.  The courthouse is still used today.  Also on display there was one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.  I didn't realize that over 40 copies were created, one for each baron.  Only four survive today.  This one was amazingly well preserved, only King John's seal was lost.  Also this historical turn of power was only in effect for nine weeks before the king had the pope annul it.  It was brought back with a few changes after King John's death.  I just got back on friday and have spent the weekend trying to get over this damn cold. 

View photos from Duncan's trip here: DUNCAN'S TRIP

Sights and sounds from First Night

My dad took a couple of photos at the Drumm House on New Year's Eve. The lighting was dim, which is great for rootsy atmosphere but not great for photography. It looks like his flash compensated nicely, however. I'm pretty certain that the bottom picture was taken while I played "France Blues." (Hence the contorted expression and bad posture.)

Here's one more song in .mp3 format from that performance. The lyrics are original, and the melody is that of the old-timey classic "East Virginia Blues." I recently submitted the lyrics to Sing Out! magazine for use in Faith Petric's "The Folk Process" column. I'll surely toot my own horn here on the blog if they print it. Enjoy.

Percolation Blues

(Lyrics Ackerbauer Copyright 2004)

Feeling confidant? Probably not

Here's something I needed to clarify for myself at work last night. I wasn't confident about how to spell the word confidant, and I was sure that I'd seen it spelled confidante a few times. Which spelling is which?

I looked them up in Webster's. Here are the distinctions: Confident is an adjective meaning sure or certain. A confidant is a person held in confidence (e.g., a trusted friend). A confidante is a female confidant.

That last spelling reminds me that people often stumble over the words fiance and fiancée, the former being the man and the latter the woman in a state of betrothal.

So keep in mind that you can't have a fiance as a confidante, even in a state that allows gay marriage!

Toward a More Useful Blog

I haven't been the most prolific blogger of late, mostly because on break from school I've been enjoying a slightly slower pace of life and resting.

It occurred to me yesterday that more people might be drawn to my blog if it offered something besides gig updates, personal stories and tidbits about how cute my kids are. Indeed, the most popular blogs in cyberspace are generally focused on single subjects about which the author has some expertise. Maybe I should use this forum to inform and enlighten as well as entertain. So from now on I will try to add occasional items on two subjects in which I have some knowledge: writing and music. They're certainly themes I've touched on previously, but I want to make the blog more useful by posting entries that contain functional nuggets of information.

Keep in mind that this is not a change of format per se, merely a decision to provide more useful content. My next post will be one of these sorts of entries. I will still use the blog as a journal and depository for goofy tales, amusing links and bar-stool philosophy. I'll be adding some short fiction in the months to come, and posting links to .mp3s of my recordings, etc. For example, here are some more tunes from my First Night gig:

Down South Blues

The Crayfish

And I'll keep posting non-sequitirs and miscellaneous nonsense like the image below, a sketch that I found tucked between the pages of a book. I'm not sure why I wanted to sketch a fiddling robot, but I'm sure the subconsious motivation would be revealed with the appropriate amount of psychoanalysis.

New Year's Decompression

Happy 2006, one and all. I'm ringing in the new year with some visual changes to the blog and to my Web site, Smokin' Bill's Digital Depot.

My end-of-the-year gigs went well, and I am grateful to all those stalwarts who turned out to show support and hear my wailings and frailings.

On Thursday, I had fun playing to a small audience at the Moon & River Cafe in Schenectady. I'll probably try to get back there sometime this summer, after I've wrapped up my Spring term academic work.

The First Night performance at The Drumm House was a blast. Noel Levee of the Johnstown Historical Society (my gracious hosts) told me after the gig that they had 188 visitors over the course of my three sets, which was more than twice the turnout last year. Noel and the gang took pains to set the place up for the show, and I can't thank them enough. My only complaint was that a tempermental furnace kept me off balance with constant background noise and sudden changes in temperature that made the instruments difficult to keep in tune. But I've performed in worse conditions ...

Stay tuned to this blog for some photos from First Night. My father took some sweet snapshots that I'll post shortly (thanks, Dad). I also managed to record the gig, so I'll be posting some .mp3s. I may have finally accumulated enough solid live material to put together a CD. More on that idea later. Here are three songs you can put on that new iPod that Santa left in your stocking this Chistmas:

Greenland Whale (a traditional Irish sea song)

France Blues (a country blues stomp, on mandolin and harmonica)

The Mayor Got Arrested (an original, relating a bit of local history and personal commentary) Lyrics Ackerbauer copyright 2003

More to come!