Okay so this is my second full day back in Chicago, so I figured it was a good day to blog a bit. I spent the last week in Orlando, FL with my family. That is right, the big trip to Walt Disney World. Now I have been there probably 10 times so there was no big surprise with the park. Although in thinking about it more I find my impression of it a bit surprising.

For the record I am a bit of a Disney freak....I mean not all completely freaky in a Star Trek kinda way. BUt I have always been a fan of Disney in general. I remember and still have my first stuffed Mickey Mouse. Infact for a long period in time I was contemplating getting a Mickey Mouse tattoo...well still am a bit.

So anyway, there I was at the gates of the Magic Kingdom. Now being completely honest there are a ton of negatives about the Disney theme parks. First off they are outrageously expensive. I mean the cost for a family to enter the park for 2 days is enough to buy a stellar guitar. But that isn't the end of it. Parking, not cheap, food again not cheap. Souvenirs everywhere you look that are so outrageously overpriced it is sickening. Then there are the parks themselves. Huge and spread out. Literally you need a week to fully explore the parks and that is by yourself, not with kids. The waiting sucks. You wait for everything from getting from the parking lot to the park to every ride, to buying a bottle of water. People everywhere who for some godforsaken reason walk so incredible slow.

Yet despite all this, it is an amazing place that truly does overpower you. The rides that I have ridden countless times that still impress me in an amazing way. The staff everywhere is absolutely top-notch. The parades are impressive and flawless. The roaming people dressed up like Disney characters that despite the fact that they have smiled at 10,000 people already that day still pay attention to you....an honest attention. The parks are immaculate, never do you see an ounce of chipped paint or a burned out light bulb. There is never garbage laying around.

But it is more then that. I mean what I have said describes a well run theme park. This is something more...something dare I say magical. There is something in the air, a feeling an aura, I don't know what it is, but it is there. It takes the toughest guy out there and still makes them in awe of the Princesses and at the same time will take the girliest of girls and have them dueling like the mightiest of pirates. It is imagination without boundaries. It is a chance for a kid to be a kid and let there imaginations run wild while it is a chance for the adult to become a kid again.

Disney is a world to it's own. It is an amazing experience.

You know, for a long time I believed and still do that the Disney company is the absolute best at propoganda. I mean they do such a phenomenal job at marketing themselves without ever really marketing. It is subtle but at the same time overbearing. It is very easy to be swept up into the world of Disney. Is it genius marketing and calculation, without a doubt. I know this and still succumb to it with a smile on my face. Why? Because while my wallet may be thinner and my legs tired of walking, etc. In the end they deliver. So many things, places, and people will sell themselves to you under false pretenses...maybe even not intially, but yet when you reach the end you are disappointed in some way. Whether it is buying a guitar and realizing that the pickups are not exactly what you wanted. Or buying a house that just doesn't seem to be all it was when you looked at it. We are all accustomed to disappointment. Everywhere we look there is disappointment be it small and forgettable to major life-changing disappointment. Here it the thing, Disney does not disappoint. In life I am sure you have come across a person that doesn't disappoint you. You hold on to them in your heart and never let go of them. That is the true genius of Disney, they do not disappoint. The world would be a much happier place if everyone strove for such excellence in themselves and in every aspect of their world. Although, if that were the world then the things that don't disappoint would never be as special to us.

So to Disney, I tip my hat to you for you do exceed every expectation. May we all live our lives in that same fashion.

Currently listening to: Pirates of the Caribbean III Soundtrack

Talk Hard! Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Hey look, I am blogging again...ahaha. Yeah Pipes has been busy to say the least as of late.

Anyway, I am here now so I shall talk.

So for whatever reason, lately I have found myself alive in relation to guitar. Maybe it is the cool fall air, I don't know. But I do know I am motivated. Movitavted to do something other then casually play. Don't get me wrong, there is something very cool about just casually picking up a guitar and playing. But that is what I have done for years. I think it is time to push myself and see what comes out.

What does that mean? Well for me I think it is about choosing a direction. In the past weeks I have come up with two very different goals I would like to pursue. Neither easy, but both something I would like to do. I could join a band, find some local band in need of an old guy that can play a mean rhythm guitar. Or I could get in touch with my creative soul and create, eventually trying to put together an album of my solo works. I am not talking anything much, but at leaste a start in this world of music.

The band thing. I have been there, done that. I have played in a few bands, some serious, some not. I played with PT for a long time, recorded with him, and even played quite a few live shows. I played with some other guys here and there, nothing to serious, but still fun and very educational. I have always found that playing with others pushes my playing to a whole new level. One thing though that all of my band expiriences have had in common though is that they were all freinds of mine first. It was very easy to walk into a room of friends and play. Now though it would be strangers walking in hoping that there are some things aside from music that we have in common. It is really important to me to play with people I like to hang out with.

So last week I went on craigslist and browsed the postings from bands looking for members. Hey look I found one. It was not a couple high-school kids either. I look into it a bit and listen to the audio clips on myspace. Not completely my cup of tea, but not off either. Something I would be able to do certainly. I look at the musical influences...sex pistols, ramones, guns n roses, misfits....the list goes on. Okay, that sold me. I sent off an email and an mp3 of the last song I recorded.

So I got no response. Thats cool, at least I made an attempt, and in all honesty that is a huge step for me.

Now the solo side of things. I have always wanted to write songs. I mean in all honesty they are in me. I have just never been able to intirpret them to both words and music together well. Although I think I have never really tried either. This is definitly something I really want to do. The question is am I really ready for this? I suppose there is only one way to find out right? So lets comit and create something.

Here is the tricky part. I have limited time as you all know. So while I would love to do both join a band and work at writing my own stuff I only have time to comit to one of them. So which one? There are pros and cons of each.

All I know is that my guitars are calling for me to take a step. So here I stand at a crossroads, not knowing which direction to choose.

Well, I'll figure it out. and whatever I do I will love so I guess it really doesn't matter much either way.

Currently listening to: I Wanna Come - Turbonegro

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!