Saturday, October 30, 2010

pictures lakefront Cudahy 10232010 pt. 2












Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Society and Responsibility pt. ii

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. Those who have accumulated great wealth have done so because of society. Society has allowed them to achieve these goals. Now we say people should work for their money which is all well and good but the pay scale is another matter. The pay scale should be fair. The pay scale should be better regulated so that everybody gets a fair share for their labor. The owners, executives, and shareholders should not be allowed to receive unduly large quantities of money. At a certain point the money should be distributed back to employees, schools, other businesses, and society in general. That way we all may benefit from the products of society which we all contribute to.

People made their money with the coordination of society. Without society they would have nothing. Without the rules and laws that allowed them to gain great wealth they would have nothing. That is why we should change the laws so that we all may live healthy lives and prosper for if we allow a few people percentage-wise to take all the excess profit after making their payroll and what not we are leaving the rest of the population in a precarious position during crises and economic turmoil for there is nothing left for them to fall back on. In a worst case scenario only the wealthy elite would have any means for sustaining themselves while the masses were left to starvation.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Society Needs to Exhibit Personal Responsibility for its Members

Society Needs To Exhibit Responsibility for its Members

Society does need to take responsibility for its members. There are many people who believe in personal responsibility meaning that people should take responsibility for their place in life and not blame anyone else or society in general. Personal responsibility in this sense is real however it should not be used as a scapegoat for any culpability of society.

Employers create jobs for people and while this is commendable, what kind of jobs they are creating for people is important too. Are these jobs ones that pay well enough for people to live off of or are they simply jobs that will provide a substandard of living for these employees? It is lucky that many things in the United States are generally cheap so that people with modest means can still get by while others with far more money than they need hang on to it for whatever reason. Corporations instead of investing in society and infrastructure save their wealth so that they can merge with competitors and thereby increase their value to shareholders and executives alike. All the while they have armies of employees working for $10 dollars an hour or less being led by employees making $20 to $30 dollars an hour or more, depending on the position.

As a society, instead of having a profit motivated, get rich, mentality we should really be providing healthy opportunities for all and sharing in the successes and failures of our society together as one country united. There is an over-emphasis on individualism in the current political and economic climate. We could do so much better as a team working for everybody's success instead of as individual competitors working for our own success and hoping to degrade others as failures and losers. Let's lose this culture of negativity and really work together as one people united with more of a together we stand divided we fall type of ideal.

We should have a more self-less ideal where we are really pulling for and rooting for everybody to succeed and do well. We should not have this competitive dog eat dog, achieve success on the backs of others mentality. Let's not fall for it. Sure there are smart people and leadership qualities are important but let's not believe that these leaders deserve all the respect and recognition while we get very little for what we do. Let's have some personal respect and faith in ourselves and demand what we deserve from our society, the government, and employers alike.

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. We are all in this together.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tonight, the moon and the lake, outside.

Tonight. 10/21/2010. Thursday.

The moon above the lake..and all the airplanes waiting their turn to land on the runway..like stars burning bright and moving around underneath the heavens.. The moon shines brightly on the water lighting up a vast expanse from the horizon outward. Closer on the water it sparkles like a firey glitter. The tree nearby gives me a sense of security and something to hold onto while it holds the ground together around the cliff. The air is cool and I think to myself I had better get some gloves soon.

The airplanes thunder overhead one after another with gaps of a couple minutes between each flight. Mostly smaller airplanes over here because Milwaukee is a smaller airport than say a Chicago. Being in touch with nature is the greatest feeling and a must to really keep on track in life and going in the right direction. I love being outside usually even in the winter. I am glad to be back in an area where I am close to the lake and there are some nice parks around with beautiful views. A five minute drive and I am there.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Author J.S. Chancellor - Blog Book Tour

J.S. Chancellor has a new book out:


Son of Ereubus - Guardians of Legend - Book One



J.S. Chancellor




J.S. Chancellor, whose personal motto is, “woe is the writer who mounts their merit on the masses,” started writing stories when she was still in grade school, and finished her first fantasy novella at the age of 14.

She drafted chapter one of the Guardians of Legend trilogy when she was a freshman in high school, sitting on a stool in front of a piano bench, in her parents’ den.

It wasn’t until she was 25 when a resident at the apartment complex where she worked lovingly made a casual remark about her procrastination that her passion for fantasy fiction took center stage.

Since then she’s focused all of her efforts on writing, to include leaving her full time job in September 2009 and actively maintaining a blog dedicated to the art of crafting fiction (www.welcometotheasylum.net). You can find her there, or her official website, www.jschancellor.com.

She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and two beloved dogs.


J.S. Chancellor gives me the great pleasure to be able to share her work and writing with my blog viewers. I have some prepared interview questions from the author which I would like to share.


As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Well, in the second grade I announced that I was going to be a stand-up comedian. No, I’m not kidding. Then, after growing infatuated with Batman around age 12, I announced to my best friend at the time that I was going to become Catwoman. So, I suppose I sort of compromised and became an author, where I can be any number of impossible, ridiculous things.


What do you think makes a good story?

I can only answer this for myself, since “good” is subjective. But, ironically what I quantify as a good read isn’t in the genre I typically write in at all — it’s horror. I love to read horror, but dark fantasy is as close as I’ll ever come to penning it. Reading it though, I want to follow a story that has me on the edge of my seat, horrified, with a little bit of romantic tension thrown in for good measure (however slight). It has to appeal to all of my senses. I read a lot of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine as a child and never got over the need to eat books like that for dinner — all in one sitting. Love them!


What advice could you give to other authors wanting to start out?

Have fun. No, really, I mean this. Enjoy your time as an unpublished author. Revel in writing only for yourself. All of it changes when you begin to involve other people in your work; publishers, editors, reviewers, readers … it’s a good thing, I don’t mean to put you off from accomplishing your goals. But, don’t take for granted where you’re at now. Those earlier experiences are what shape you later on. Think of this time as your foundation. You’ll only build on it from here, but it will never be unimportant or wasted time.

WHolstad:

Spoken like a true writer.  As a blogger and casual writer myself I can relate to wanting to get into the field of writing for a living.  I am sure many bloggers and viewers of blogs can relate to that sentiment.  Let's hope we all get there and wish for the prompt success of Mrs. Chancellor!

jschancellor@gmail.com

Sons of Ereubus at Barnes and Noble.

Excerpt:

Since time immemorial, Man has lived in fear of losing his soul to the darkness of Saint Ereubus. For generations, the Ereubinians have wielded that power and ruled like gods. Three thousand years ago, Man irresolutely placed his faith in a mythical world. That world, Adoria, now holds Man’s final hope.

As the last stronghold of Man is threatened, the fates of three strangers become forever intertwined and everything they once believed will be irrevocably changed as they discover...

Their time has run out.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Story of my and my brother's original music.

http://www.myspace.com/mistlethistle

MistleThistle Biography

I met my brother some time after I was born. He is seven years older than me. His name is Tim and I am Walter. Tim and Walter Holstad. We started working on music together probably some time in 2007 I would estimate, maybe 2006. I was living at my mom's in Muskego at the time so we would practice in her living room on occasion or I would go over to my brother's apartment around 80th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee.

My brother is a very prolific writer and very determined. He writes a lot and makes a point to work very hard at his music. He is one of those people that were told to work hard in life and took it to heart I think. I on the other hand like to enjoy things in life and treating the music too seriously takes the fun out of it in my opinion. There is room for both. Certainly without some effort songs will not be written and polished to a decent level but if there is no heart or joy in your music it will sound lifeless and boring. I have about 15 or 20 songs that I have written. My brother has a lot but we play probably around 20 of his.

Our first show together was at my brother's wife's uncle's house in Minocqua, Wisconsin. We played out on the deck at his house on a lake. It was pretty fun and for the most part people enjoyed it. At the end we played a blues jam and people wanted us to keep playing but I was a little nervous and putting my guitar away at the time so we stopped.

I played a Battle of the Bands show in June of 2009. I played this show with my friends Ian and George and Tim did not play. Tim and I were not playing together at this time. We separated after working with a new drummer because the new mix of tension and egos was too much of a burden to continue. The battle of the bands show was at the Rave in a smaller side bar area. I had a lot of fun at that show and it went pretty well. We did about 6 songs, 5 originals and a cover of Eddie Vedder's Society.

Recently Tim, Chris ( the new drummer I spoke of ), and I got back together to play at a fashion show at Crisp bar that I had been invited to play at. The show was September 26th, 2010 and was a lot of fun. We had about 3 practices in the 2 weeks before the show and that was it so it was kind of tough. The songs were not fully polished and ready so the show had its ups and downs. It was good practice and there were some good parts for sure. I did get some applause after a guitar solo and some of the songs were pretty solid. It was definitely a learning experience and hopefully we will have more shows in the future to build on the experience of this one.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Some pictures of bluffs near Milwaukee, WI


Path to the edge.


Over the edge.






My car and fall tree.





Edge of cliff and beach below. On cliff's edge are shotgun shells I believe from trap shooting area.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Constantly Learning - Today and the Web

Constantly Learning

School mimics life
I am learning about using the web for business
Social Networking tools to increase sales
Or to make sales
My homework for one of my classes is basically to do more of what I am already doing.
Can't beat that.
I already need to stay focused and be productive. I already know that.
Now when I do so it benefits myself twofold.
Generally and specifically.
Specifically being that it is homework for class.
Generally being that it creates content on the web for people to view and increase their awareness of what I am doing and what I can offer them.

This seems to “beg the question” of what exactly it is that I can offer them. I may be able to sell them some of my music or I may be able to play at their bar with my band. I may be able to teach them guitar. I may be able to write a product review for their business or I may be able to actually come in and work at the office in some type of clerical role.

This is all possible and can be catalyzed through using the world wide web to advertise and market my product which in my case is basically myself.

Reading on the web we are constantly learning. Here is a link.

http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorial_portraits.php

As I read this entertaining article about photography I am not only entertaining myself but increasing my skill set. Therefore I may be able to take an interesting photograph that has value just by chance or I may be hired by somebody to take pictures for them for an occasion or event.

Constantly Learning

What a beautiful tool is the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A note on practicing scales.



It is more important when practicing scales to develop an ear by playing them around chords than it is to simply do wrote, technical practice of the scales by themselves. Try playing a chord and then playing the accompanying scale for that chord and you will notice how the G major scale for instance sounds if you play it directly after strumming a G major chord. You can also try playing a g minor scale over the G major chord or try playing a g minor scale over the G minor chord for that matter. Definitely play the G minor scale after strumming the G minor chord.

In this way you will learn to understand how the scales fit with the chords and how the sounds work together which is much better practice than simply running through scale diagrams although there is a place for that as well. Running through scale diagrams will increase your dexterity and comfort level with the guitar and also give you practice with alternate picking.

http://musicouch.com/music-making/guitar-lesson-three-open-chords-bar-chords-and-some-scales/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-two-the-g-major-chord-scale-and-more/

Saturday, August 28, 2010

scales - G major at 2nd fret



Here we have pictured the G major scale as it would be fingered at the second fret. The first fret, numbered at right is the fret immediately behind the second fret which is the fret we are working with. This pattern played where shown is the g major scale. The root notes for this scale are on the 1st 4th and 6th strings as numbered at top. Below I have mapped the scale with the root notes in black.



This scale can be played anywhere on the neck of the guitar and it will be the scale of whatever notes the black notes fall upon. Considering that the e minor scale has the same notes as the g major scale this would also be the pattern of the e minor scale however the root notes would be in different places. The e minor diagram with the root notes blackened is as follows.



More on this subject can be found here:

http://musicouch.com/music-making/guitar-lesson-three-open-chords-bar-chords-and-some-scales/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-two-the-g-major-chord-scale-and-more/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-one-major-and-minor-scales-and-the-fret-board/

Thank you and I hope you found this interesting and informative. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a line at walterholstad@hotmail.com.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Hosting an author on October 15th

I just wanted to give all of my viewers a taste of what is to come on October 15th, 2010. Author Breanne Braddy is doing a blog book tour that week and will be stopping by here on the 15th of October. There will be interview correspondence with Breanne about her and her book. I will also have pictures of the book, and who knows maybe an excerpt as well.

I certainly am looking forward to it and I hope all my viewers will enjoy it as well. So please check back and on October 15th expect to see fun and interesting information about Breanne Braddy and her new book!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Dreaming guitar solo blondie

A simple guitar solo sort of in the style of Blondie's Dreaming. Without the bridge or the chorus though.



http://www.archive.org/details/DreamingGuitarSoloBlondie

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

lost in trance and this wheel's on fire

lost in trance



http://www.archive.org/details/LostInTrance08032010

Wheel's On Fire



http://www.archive.org/details/WheelsOnFireWithBassSecondVocalMp3

Wheel's On Fire w bass and lead guitar.



http://www.archive.org/details/WheelsOnFireWBassLeadGuitar1Mp3

Wheel's On Fire



http://www.archive.org/details/WheelsOnFireWBassFirstVocalMp3

Minds In Chains - A Poem

Minds In Chains

I wish all the other people could see
All these things that seem so obvious to me
We are one alive and free
Generations have come across the sea
Minds in chains
People should not criticize what they do not know
Or believe all the exaggerations they see on tv
What is the motive when the stations lie?
It seems to be to create a divide
And cause many people to run and hide
It may be to create an atmosphere of fear
To keep us apart from people so dear
So we will keep buying and they will keep binding
Our minds in chains is what they are devising.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Freak Show 1991

Carnival, Freak Show, or maybe Planet #3. This is a band practice where my sister and Scott attended to see how our band was and later Jake and French student stopped by (Arneau?).



Freak Show

I ain't going to no carnival
To amuse my thoughts with a freak filled show
There's an all day freak show passing by my window

Chorus:

The tickets are free on planet number 3
It's a lifetime showing starring you and me

I've no need for a 4 fingered man
Who salted and ate his other hand
A lifetime pass I've got to see an entire freak planet.

Chorus:

I know a freak a fellow peer
I wave him hello in the bathroom mirror
I'm sure you know a freak too
Who you call you

Chorus:

Where's Our Ivanhoe?

This is a video from 1991 of my high school band with me, Ian, Reuben, and Bill. Also in the video is my sister and Scott, and Jacob and foreign exchange student whom I believe his name may have been Arneau. Very nostalgic if you know us, if not I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Milwaukee WI Lakefront Skyline




























































This is a photo of smoke plume from training this afternoon at Mitchell International airport.

Friday, May 28, 2010

North Carolina trip - Striving for the Best

North Carolina – Striving for the Best

When I was in North Carolina I was out of my element but still had my same hangups. Looking for friends and making good decisions were both very difficult especially considering old habits and anti-social behavior. In my need for friendship I made friends with the most available and friendly people I came across however these turned out not to be the most healthy people to have developed friendships with. That and also not realizing I was not committed to being in a new state, cut short my stay there by at least a week.

The Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful and fun to drive through. Daniel Boone state forest runs through there.

I was given a job down there, through the company I was working for with the temp' service, helping out in the office of an apartment community consisting of 9 buildings or so. I was doing general office work, showing apartments, making deposits, and answering the phones. This was a fun experience but like most things in life I wouldn't mind having a do-over.

I became friends with one of the landscapers who was extremely friendly at first but then began trying to take advantage of me occasionally by asking me for money and rides. I also made friends with another person who asked me to let him use the office phone and such when we were hanging out in my apartment, the model unit, where I was staying. This unit did not have a phone.

Self confidence issues kept me from searching for higher caliber friendships and I did not have my normal group of friends around in North Carolina to fall back on. This left me in an emotionally precarious situation. While I seem to be past it relatively unscathed I would say if there is a moral to this story one might be that we should always strive for the best and never settle for what is coming easiest at any point in time. And we should always try to remember to believe in ourselves and try to see the positive in life while being aware of, but not focusing on, the negative, except maybe to make it better.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Meeting People And Living Life - Over Thirty-five


Meeting People And Living Life - Over Thirty-five

It's not as easy as it used to be. Now that we've “found” ourselves and discovered and learned more of what we like and don't like it seems we are compatible with fewer and fewer people. Gone are the days of superficial beauty and no opinions to get in the way. In the mid-thirties people have developed their personalities more, experienced more, and had successes and setbacks further sculpting their personalities. Life is more complex. Yet emotions still have virility and strength.

What can we who have moved into our mid-thirties do to ease loneliness and meet new people? I guess stay close to the friends we already have and work from there. There are always the old standbys of taking classes, joining reading groups, and so on. Venture out on occasion to local taverns, but not so much that it interferes with your goals and motivation to get things done. Stay active. Exercise. Do what works best for you.

These are stressful times for a lot of people and change at this age can be very difficult since many people have achieved stability by this point which is expected of us in many ways by the tendencies of our society. I personally believe that societal norms should not hold and judge us. Let us not be bound by what the majority does. We are all unique and beautiful individuals. No matter where life takes us. Let's try to see beyond our differences and appreciate our uniqueness.