Listen to the pilot episode here
For those, who don't use Spotify, I am going to be adding the podcast episodes to be available directly via this website.
Starting with the pilot episode A Poet Outside.
I tell stories about writing when I'm not home, read poetry and laugh. Give it a listen and let me know what you think :)
The following episodes will be made available here soon! As well as new recordings.
Well, the latter will be recorded when I regain my voice which is currently a bit misplaced in my midsummer +30 C common cold situation.
Be brave, talk to me :)
Add a commentDomains and knees
Yesterday I bought a new domain. I had to specifically select just the domain option, no hosting plans. Then I had to explicitly confirm my understanding that buying a domain without adding hosting means that I won't be able to have a website on it.
I wish there was some setting on my user profile level to switch on that I already have a hosting plan elsewhere thankyouverymuch.
As for the knee rehab, that's still going on. These days I seem to be scheduled for my procedure on the same weekdays at the same time as a rather polite older punk dude. We are both usually a bit early. He has a convoluted last name.
Next week is my last week for this electro therapy thing. I am both relieved to be moving on to the next set of physiotherapy, but I'm also going to miss these 25 minutes twice a week being quiet with the punk guy listening to the hum on the clinic.
Today's battle was real
Things to realise on November the 10th - I have forgotten how to put my duvet in the cover.
I mean, I did win in the end, for a result, all that. However, I'm not entirely sure if this counts as remembering how to do this.
Only so many words per day
I know I've been a lazy blogger recently. But my excuse is that I've been writing lots of new stuff in my notebook.
But I'll tell you one thing though - knee rehab is exactly what I didn't imagine knee rehab to be. But as long as it helps
There are no ghosts
In regards to the local restaurant reopening, late last week the sign stated that it'll keep the previous name. Which feels like a weird choice to me personally, but I ain't no restauranteur.
But the more exhilarating news is that this evening I walked past there and I saw an actual human being inside. About 10 minutes later I walked past again (one needs the shops from time to time) and then there were two people in there! **gasp**
Also, I wonder how long it will take them to realise that for a nowhere near central neighbourhood restaurant opening hours until 5 PM on Sundays is just not going to work. (If they last that long, that is.)
The update you have all been waiting for
In the saga of the local restaurant that closed down, there is now Chapter 2.
At some point after the closing down of the establishment, it was noticeable that there are things happening in there. But never during a time when I'd walk past. At first this was just packing the place up. Which would be the expected behaviour.
During July, there were a couple of nights where the owner of the restaurant had parties with friends. Clearly as a thank you for helping to pack up, as stuff kept being in boxes and those boxes disappearing after these parties. (Nobody invited me to them!)
But then, end of August / start of September I started noticing new things placed in there. Which made me both suspicious and hopeful.
However I never saw anyone there. For a while there were no other observable changes. I decided that being hopeful was probably a waste of my energy.
Until early October, when I saw that the walls had been repainted and new pictures hang up. At this point, I was just suspicious.
Then a red carpet roll appeared.
Other bits and bobs looked different than before.
Once I saw the lights on in the restaurant, but I still didn't see any people in there.
Yesterday I saw the outdoor advert board being inside, near the door.
Today I walked past there, and the outdoor board was put outside, in front of the door stating: We will open on the 1st of November. We are looking forward to your visit! :)
I still don't really know what exactly is opening on the 1st, but I guess we'll find out next week. It's all just minor details, right :D
Additional note: I am now convinced that all the refurb was done by invisible people.
Tink tink pum tink
Kae: Soo, here we go. I haven't even finished the first composition, I already have an idea for another one!
Neighbour: Well, what did you think that you were going to be a one hit wonder?
Kae: It's not even a hit, it's an unfinished mess.
Neighbour: OK, one mess wonder?
Kae: But I'm not even close to finishing it. And now I have this idea that wouldn't be triad based. It would be la note based and go like tink, tink, tunk, then pumpum, tink.
Neighbour: Yeah, that's how I make my idea notes as well :D In my email or Bitwig or wherever :D
Phone shortcut to DND mode
Today's voice recording session.
I often enough practice sitting down, especially whilst figuring out what am I doing here with my voice. Kitto had just woken up, doing her afternoon little tasks. She likes to wake up, eat a bit, and do some kitto stuff, before going back to sleep before the evening.
As I stood up to record, kitto went under the bed.
When I stopped recording, she came back out. She's sitting here next to me and demanding attention. So, I'm going to do that now.
Perceptions
Kae: I cleaned the bathtub today! That's how I found I'm low on the cleaning product.
Neighbour: **looks at me for a bit** I presume there's a story there. It's not like you just wanted a cleaner bathtub.
Kae: Actually, it is just that, I just wanted a clean bathtub.
Neighbour: Oh. I thought you had showered one of your plants, or did something messy and chaotic again in the bathroom.
Kae: Nop, not this time!
This is more of a casual battle than sound
One thing that I keep coming back to in my mind during the past week, is the thought about how much I love working on concepts. Hands on, head first, dive in.
And when the concept is done, it has become a Real Thing, in a lot of situations I will immediately lose interest. This applies to my interest in technology, and a few other subjects I would generally refer to as things I like.
It is not the case with my writing. But it does explain in part why poetry, hehe. Poems, especially mine, can be seen as concepts of life situations with the "I" and the "you" as stand in examples of any humans. However, I never lose interest to keep working on them, writing new ones, stealing my own ideas from old shit poems to be turned into a shiny new poem (hopefully a better one).
As it happens, this week I have fallen ill. Which I find extremely frustrating, btw. And this time around, for reasons (yet) unknown to me, I can't seem to be able to sleep much. For reasons that are pretty clear, I am also not able to do much. This leads me to a lot of awake time I wasn't entirely sure what to do with.
Until, in between the moments when kitto has decided to be Helpful To Hooman by demanding my full attention, I went on a weird quest: Browsing Music Theory Videos on youtube.
My today's favourite is Why Ben Shapiro Is Wrong About Rap.
The 'Interesting Only Whilst Concept' thing seems to not apply to my fascination with music either. Even if I am not really going the music producer route, but instead focusing on playing my MIDI keyboard as a piano. Not too bothered about perfecting my ability to play other people's music, rather than trying out chords, melodies, progression, etc., all whilst mostly sticking to the instrument that Bitwig calls Grand Piano.
I don't know if I will ever want to produce whatever I might compose eventually (or not). All I know now, is that I can do my hobby lying down on the sofa, struggling with the health hazards of my flesh prison, and finding music more fascinating by each fact.
(If anyone out there reads my blog and for some reason happens to know good music theory youtube educators, please let me know in comments. I'm definitely interested.)
I need a holiday to spend with my piano
As a long time music listener, first time composer, I find myself going through stages of:
Ooohh, there's something there, fuck wtf was I thinking, ah, I'll just record this as a note to self, hmm, there's really something, but not it there, arrgh, no, just no, well, I'll give this idea a go.
All nicely balanced with the stubbornness that all I have to do is practice, practice, practice.
I knew I needed a new tag
Designer:
!
Do you still have your mic on 'n you're taking requests?
I need the sound of crumpling of paper, that's what I need here!
Something slow, well, not too slow, but not crumple and done. :D
Kae:
Yeah, sure. Do you want a process of this, or crumpling for a result.
Also, what kind of paper?
D:
Process that leads to a result, I guess? :D
And not too sure, maybe a newspaper could do.
K:
OK, let me try.
[10 mins later]
Will this do? Or should I adjust the mic settings to make it louder?
I need a new tag for the blog now
Because I got myself a new MIDI keyboard.
This event is not entirely unexpected, nor it is really a beginning of me being interested in sound. As some might know, I've been recording my voice for a while now. Which lead me to learning voice support breathing, which then lead me to watching some music theory explanation videos and such. I have also found the most convenient metronome app on my phone.
And when my designer got his MIDI keyboard, which is actually a mini one, I was increasingly consumed with the thoughts of how much fun it could be to play the piano again.
I don't have the space (nor the budget, including upkeep) for a piano. I quickly realised that MIDI keyboard vs synth is an obvious choice, and after weeks and weeks of drowning in research I ordered a Nektar MIDI keyboard.
The challenges of the delivery of this item are a separate story.
I have found a tremendous amount of joy playing it. Obviously, as I hadn't played anything for over 20 years, I am now immersing in playing exercises designed to get the key layout in the muscle memory of my fingers, and also some free sheets of traditional kids' songs.
And I think I am ready to attempt playing an exercise or two whilst having the metronome app.
However, this has lead me to a conclusion that 3 speaker setup, is just inconvenient. Things sound wrong, sound feels a bit displaced at times. Especially Re chords, btw. Even the Re major triads.
Before all of this, I would have gotten Edifier music speakers. Those are good. But I currently have Edifier headphones. And the (once a tester always a..) tester in me says that I should diversify and get a different brand. Which makes me think of the next weeks and weeks of research.
Anyway. I'm going to have some coffee, and then I'm going to see if I can record a poem today (just voice, no piano). Or, at least some sound samples for my Designer.
Be brave, spiral into your hobbies.
Happy second birthday, my dear
Another year, another The Book I Owed to Myself birthday.
Be well, darling.
And a poem from the book for anyone reading.
***/retail
introductory offer on kisses today
life seems to be flashing in colours
but I’m not epileptic, ha
don’t you dare shout at me
either way, she didn’t do it
or is that the issue here
chilling with sunglasses and songs
running away is anyway towards
are they watching them smile
here are the souls on sale
if you just need a cheap one
for short term usage
Battles indeed
There's a new cat in the building. How do I know this?
The new beast has very loud cold wars with the older cats at odd hours in the morning.
Upd.: also during the day.
A timeline of a restaurant
At some point in the past (facebook implies November 2017) a restaurant gets opened, and for some reason gets named Cik Cak.
October 2018 I move in a flat in the same building.
Later on I try out the restaurant and find that it serves Únětické pivo 10,7°.
And quite nice food.
The restaurant becomes a place where I would go quite often. It's a nice change after the local pizzeria. I'd even have dates there. Invite friends to meet up there.
I over time learn the menu by heart and have a strong set of favourite dishes. Their vegan dish choices are nicer than a lot of other non specialised Prague restaurants.
They change their ribs recipe to a less nice one.
I'm not too sure now, but I remember it being closed only on Mondays.
They move the creepy painting from the wall just by one of the tables, to hanging in the corridor to the bathrooms.
After a while, they change the ribs recipe back to the previous one.
A rather stalker-ey woman who fancies me waits for me at Cik Cak, hoping to catch me when I exit of the building. As it happened, by some coincidence I was down by the river by that time already.
The opening hours change, and the restaurant is now closed on Sundays and Mondays. As a consequence, I happen to go there a bit less. Turns out, I prefer to dine out on Sundays.
During the lockdowns, the restaurant operates as a take away.
I find out that they make marvellous kebabs.
When possible, the restaurant gets reopened as a dine in again.
The rib recipe is still good.
But the restaurant now is open only Tuesday - Friday.
I still some times go to dine there, but more often I would just get a takeaway.
They serve kebabs only during certain weeks and solely as a part of lunch menu. You can't get them at dinner time any more. Which I strongly disapprove of.
If there are additional public holidays during the week, I come to expect that the restaurant will be closed until the next week.
A friend from the UK visits Prague and I make him go all the way here. We share a meal, some quesadillas and beers, and he tells me how surprised he is to discover that I do actually live on a hill. I am surprised in return, as I have mentioned this a few times. He says he never imagined it to be an actual hill.
They have a TV and are showing the ice hockey championship. The place gets very busy on those days.
Summer comes and they put seating outside.
A sign appears that they are looking for a new chef.
When some friends from abroad come to visit, that day the chef is not there. Only certain basic dishes are available. However I was absolutely starving. The list includes quesadillas. Those are still good.
They are still looking for a new chef.
The Euro 2024 football hype comes. They now show those games.
Still looking for a new chef.
One Thursday night I'm passing by the restaurant on my way home. It's late, but there are some people inside still. Why not have a party on a Thursday, I nod approvingly.
The sign about looking for a new chef is still there.
Friday, the 28th of June 2024: there's a sign in the restaurant door that it is permanently closed, thank you for understanding.
