30 lbs of FREE TANGERINES>…!!

.

30 lbs of free fruit !!

i do love the fruit.. but i love FREE fruit even more  ;)  my neighbor has an abundant tangerine tree, that for some reason is a nuisance for him… !!! i guess most people see fruit as something that falls of the tree, clutters the lawn, rots, then has to get raked up to be thrown away  ;(  bummer… for them, score for me!  this is my second laundry basket full of fruit this season, and there are at least 2 more full baskets on the tree. its a race now to see if i can juice them faster than they fall of the tree..

it works out best for everyone, my neighbor loves the fact that i am cleaning up his yard and getting rid of the pesky fruit. and i score 30lbs of tangerines each basket,,  at 2.99/lb organic pricing, thats $90 of free fruit today– can’t beat that!  i just juiced about 30 of the little guys, it was like drinking sweet sweet syrup ,,mmmmmm  i got all that i could grab with a small step stool,, will have to go back with a ladder next time to get the top ones.. seems the higher i got up, the bigger and juicer they got, so i am looking forward to the top pickins!!

big tangerine tree,,!!

big tangerine tree,,!!

the neighbor behind this neighbor had a beautiful tree that was in super bloom at the moment.. i thinks its a cherry tree…?? correct me if im wrong… maybe it will produce cherries that i can harvest too!!

cheery trees ar sooo purrty

please make me a cherry mr. cherry blossom

on the band side of things…. ITS TIME TO TOUR!!  we have decided to hit the road in mid-may and head up and down the west coast! i am quite excited as this will be the first brightmillion official tour. i am trying to get 15-20 shows in a 3 week period. if anyone knows of a good place to play in your area, let us know!  we are gonna go out may 14th to june 3rd give or take a few days!!  i’ve never booked a tour before, i dont know how bookers do it, ,,, so many contacts, emails, clubs, dates, etc all to keep organized and then to get all the shows on the right dates, so we are not driving all the way to san francisco one day and back to san diego the next and then back to sacramento.. etc….    what maze!! oh  yeah, if you know of any booking agents that work with independent bands,,, let me know =)

so far we got an LA date booked, but thats it! not much of a tour yet…. but it should shape up real quick once things get rolling here.. we are also looking for TOUR SPONSORS !!!  if you , your company or you know of someone,,, we’ll be hitting at least 15 cities on the tour and would love to show your banner, wear your shirt, give away your products etc, in exchange for even the most modest of tour support (some food, gas money, a place to stay one night on the tour,etc)!  also gotta get a tour vehicle lined up.. as you know, the brightmillion van is sketchy at best, i barely trust it to go 10 miles away let alone 1500 miles on a tour… so not sure about that one yet,, rent a van,, rent an rv? fix the brightmillion van? buy an old school bus? soo many options..  ideas??

we have some local los angeles shows coming up:

march 25th @ old towne pub / pasadena

apr 10th – @ tribal cafe / echo park – all ages, free

apr 24 @ kibitz room / hollywood – free!

its been rainy here in la so i’m looking forward to some sunshine! although i know the garden is appreciating all the rain. i gave away 10 more chicory plants today to a fellow gardener in the area. come and get more people!  lots and lots of seedlings started right now, a 72 tray of romaine just sprouted… tomatoes looking nice and sturdy, cucumbers growing like mad, wanting to go outside!  i am keeping the celery flats nice and moist,,, eagerly waiting to see if they actually sprout….  the tension is building… everytime we buy another celery at the store to juice, i get more and more anxious to grow our own!!!

rollo relaxing in his shirt

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March 8, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Organic Gardening, Raw Food, brightmillion band

starve a flu plant a cold

so i’ve been a bit under the weather this week… so have been TRYING to take it easy, but that is very hard for me… i dont think i know how to sit still.. so even when i am resting off a cold in bed,,, i find myself on the internet.. booking shows, browsing seed catalogs, calculating how much new soil i need for garden expansion 2.0………!!!!
today i just couldnt help it, it was sooo nice out i had to take a walk in the garden,, i told myself just a short wander to get a breath of fresh air, then back to bed,, well, that somehow turned into a few hrs of gardening chores, transplanting some lettuce and kale from inside out into the front yard beds, as well as starting to chop away at the chicory forest that has completely taken over the front yard..!!!

chicory (dandelion) FOREST !!

we eat alot of chicory, but even so, there is waaay too much for even that.. my plan is to reclaim most of the chicory beds to plant a larger variety of things.. i’ll keep maybe 1/8th of what is growing and i bet that will be plenty to have a non-stop chicory supply… (i hope!) i never realized how huge the plants would get and how fast they grow back after cutting into them. they started off slow from seed,, so i figured i’d cut some back then it would be a longer cycle of starting new plants while cutting the mature ones, etc.. but turns out, they just keep growing and growing and i dont think i’ll ever have to reseed…!

so,,, soo many options of what i COULD plant in the new space..been trying to get practical and plant more of what we use on a daily basis.. hmmmm well, i;ve pretty much ruled out fruit trees ,, cuz they take at least a few yrs to mature and give fruit, and i;m too impatient!!  sooo,,, that leaves berries and more veggies… i have been browsing the web and think i found a nursery supply place that i am going to get wholesale raspberry, boysenberry and blueberry plants from. they wont go in place of the chicory, prob more around the perimeters of the front and back yards. can’t wait for more fresh fruit- the backyard strawberry patch has just started to give a few ripe berries, with a lot of green ones and flowers on the way. i think we’ll have a good crop this year, since the plants are nice and established.  I picked up 8 grape vines from my fav home depot, on sale for 2.49 each ;) they will go along the outside of the studio, hopefully covering the studio with grapey goodness.

sooo, back to the chicory beds.. i pulled a small part of 1 bed, about 2.5′ worth and even in that small area there was sooo much chicory !!! at least 30lbs i bet ;) i tried to pull the entire plant, roots and all,, and put a post up on CL seeing if anyone wants to grow some chicory! why let the plants go to waste (or compost) ive already had one taker come over and grab about 5 plants so only like 30 more to go!

uprooted chicory ready for the taking

as you can see they have huge long carrot-esque roots if no-one comes for them, im just gonna dry the roots to make tea/ coffee with em.

chicory roots

i did get a few stragglers out of the ground to dry ,,,, i have no idea how to make it into coffee.. but thats what coffee alternatives are made of.. so i guess a google search will clear that up.

clearing room

sooo much chicory in such a small clearing!!

a new take on carrot planting

well, in that clear space i planted CARROTS. we go thru at least 24 carrots a day in our juicing, so seems right to plant a bunch ;)  we do a carrot/romaine lettuce juice every day – about 8 carrots to 1 head of lettuce juiced and it tastes almost like chocolate milk.. really, its kinda strange, but yummy. i have a few carrots going in planters in the back, but i’ve never had a big carrot crop before, so time to try for it! would be nice to have a large fresh carrot stock to pull from. the raised beds should be perfect for carrots, and we get lots of sun up there, so check and check. in the back boxes, i ran into having areal hard time evenly spreading the seeds, and then had to do a ton of thinning to get proper spacing of the carrots, even so, i think some got growing too close and got sort of out of control… i hear carrots wont develop if they are too close to one another,, lots of greens, but no actual carrots, soo…. what to do??? then, aha! i was at the old HD and saw these ‘planting strips’  … i’ve always passed them up thinking they were for gardening sissies, ,,, ;)  but for carrots it seems to make perfect sense! there are little toilet-paper type strips that have evenly spaced seeds in them,, you just dig a little trench and put the strip down. geniuous! they are a bit more expensive than a seed pack, one pack was 2.99, as opposed to 1.19 or so for a reed pack,, but that extra 1.70 is gonna be worth it im sure. and still, 570 carrots for 2.99 is pretty good  !  =)

putting on the ritz, i mean strips

i was able to plant 1.5 packs in the newly cleared space, so thats about 750 carrots woohoo! cant wait.

toilet paper carrot strips

now we wait,, i guess its store bought carrots til then.  on to step 2 of carrot/romaine juice- more romaine!!

juicin lettuce

i seeded 72 in a seed tray, so hopefully that will be enough! @ 2 per day, that will last  about a month… wow, gotta plant more already!

72 seed tray

next on the plant more stuff agenda is juicing component #3 – CELERY!! we use at least 2-4 heads of celery a day, so out with the chicory, in with the celery. its a little late to be planting celery in los angeles, they take 120 days to be ready, and do not like heat, so we’re pushing it to have enough time before it gets to toasty here… but gotta try right? even if they only get half size, we can still juice em, i dont care how big they get ;) thats a nice thing about non-commercial farming, it doesnt have to look store ready, just edible!

hmmm what else,, oh,, at the ol HD i picked up the seasons first tomato plants and a few golden bell peppers.

HD!

tomatoes and pepper,basil, spearmint and celery seeds, a little hand held seeder thingy, and a gasket to fix the bathtub!

i started 2 trays of 96 plugs each of celery seeds, so hopefully they get started quick cuz we need them yesterday for our juice.

baby lettuce =)

well, i guess i really should get some rest… since my short breath of air turned into a day’s work in the garden….   next up,, getting 8 cubic yards of soil delivered to start more raised beds… cant wait.. my dream come true, a huge mound of compost on the driveway. the neighbors will love that im sure ;)

looks like brightmillion will have shows in april – 10th and 24th – still waiting on confirmation on some march gigs. i’ll let you know as soon as i do. the new demos are coming along nicely, i am knee deep in lyric writing this past week. for all the new material.  we are also starting planning on a small west coast tour for May! so if anyone has recommendations on where to play, let us know- also if you have a couch to sleep on, we’ll need that too… !!

thanks to everyone who came out to last sat’s show at the kibitz room, we had a great time, and will be back there april 24th. we live webcast the show on our ustream channel and it was a success!  we are gonna try to stream all of our live shows in the future, so tune in to ustream.tv/channel/brightmillion anytime we have a show and watch for free =)  there is a recording of sat’s show on the ustream site right now, so go check it out. i’ll be uploading higher rez clips to our youtube channel. head over to youtube.com/brightmillion and subscribe to our channel and you’ll get emailed whenever we upload a new vid. so you dont have to wait!

ok, off to bed with me for real this time….  later!

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March 5, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Organic Gardening, brightmillion band

Summertime is here!!

It was HOT today here in la !! Don’t know what for sure nut felt like 85 -90 in the sun!!! Sweating while in the garden today …. I guess we skipped spring and went straight to summer. Sunny days make me want to plant plant plant… Gets me thinking I’m behind schedule for seedlings since it’s so nice out. But . .. Really it’s only feb so I guess I still got time before the tomatoes and zuchs should be put anyways… But, we stopped at our favorite 99 cent only store today and inwas immediately sucked into a giant brand new seed display!!!!! I never knew there were soo many seeds that I NEEDED ;)
And at .11 pwr pack, yup, 0.11 per seed pack.. How can u go wrong!!! A whole garden planted for a dollar!! I tried to keep it together and only left with 15 seed packs…. But in the sunny day spirit 12 of them got started in a seed tray already today…. 6 plugs of each seed type. I actually labeled the rows this time… How genious… To actually know what’s growing after it starts ;)
I planted tomatoes, chore, bell peppers, dill( I’m gonna try to make pickles this year) and a bunch of flowers. I didn’t grow any flowers last year and I think I missed out because of it. Less beauty and color in the garden and less beneficial insects! So I’m gonna have lots of flowers this year too. And at .11 per pack, it right in line with the budget too!!!
Ok, off to celebrate valentines day at a yet to be decided cafe!! Happy v day everyone. Make sure to love somebody today. And to love yourself as well. :)

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February 14, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Organic Gardening, brightmillion band
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Our merchant minds

I am sitting here in the garden today eating a wonderful salad with crisp fresh lettuce picked only momets ago… Perfect sunny day, my little hummingbird friend buzzing around doing his thing and I thought, do I really NEED anything more than this…. I mean we all have things we want or enjoy or whatever but it seems we lose sight of what are actually NEEDS and what are WANTS…. Seems like a simple question on the surface but, really…. Do we NEED much more than food shelter water? We spend sook much of our waking energy in persuits that weren’t even ours to begin with, things that have been passed on to us fo generations. Aquiring physical goods. To get them we trade our energy. Both our energy manifested as time but also as emotional energy. Just to buy things have things. Pay bills. Etc. … Our modern age has brought many conveniences. .. Such as the Fact that I am typing this on a telephone thaf is alwYs connected to the internet sitting in the even while sitting in the garden !! Pretty cool, yes.. But necessary??? I am not at all saying that we shouldn’t have things, not at all. I guess whAt I am thinking about is changing our perception of those things. And making them extras, pleasures , not needs. I think everything is how you perceive a situation. There is a big difference in thinking that because everyone has a cell phone that we all NEED them rather we should be constantly saying ‘wow , this is pretty cool that we All have cell phones, but if I didn’t have one tommorow, thY would be fine too’. But I’m not really sure how many of us could actully say that! And mean it!!

I think we would all have a lot less stress and more peace if we knew we would be ok without much of anything. Then everything else becomes a gift. A fun gizmo in the crazy ride of life. But that’s the point. To go for the ride. At a rollercoaster you just go for the fun of the ride. Not to get to the end. Not to get to the end faster than anyone else. Not because you will get something at the end of the ride… that is the cruel joke of most people’s lives… they got to the end and realize there was no prize they were going after.. the whole point was just to have a good time and be happy..>!!

we can all choose to be happy at every moment.. even though we have taught ourselves otherwise. when the guy on the free way cuts you off, its easy to say ” what a jerk, he’s probably not going anywhere important anyways, he just thinks he’s better than me and can take my spot” but thats a lie, because you cant possibly know what is going on i that guys world, or why he does what he does. we all go around making up lies about other peoples lives that negatively affect us, and then let those untrue stories WE made up affect OUR lives! crazy..>!! the guy cutting you off didnt make you upset, you did! so,, i propose, that the solution is to make up happy lies instead.. since anything you make up is a lie, it might as well benefit you in a positive way rather than a negative one. so instead, say” boy, i sure hope that guy gets his pregnant wife to the hospital on time to have a safe delivery of their new beautiful baby! i understand that he is probably frazzled right now and didnt see me when he merged, but hey, i’d probably be just as frazzled if i were in his shoes!”

! see, just as much of a lie as the first one, but which one makes you giggle and smile?? which one brings you from the situation in a positive, loving place instead of anger?? being angry at the guy doesnt affect him any, only you.

anyhow,.,. back to the first subject, STUFF! if you have a job and work tons and then but a bunch of stuff and are truly happy, then great! but most of us are not.. most people hate their jobs or complain about how much they have to work to make the $ to go buy all the stuff.. we are in the trap of “work more so we can buy more” but is all the working and time spent really worth the stuff>>?? i am proposing we change that game to “need less or spend less, so we can work less”
what if the thing that makes you happier than everything else is reading… what if you realized that you could read in the park everyday by simplifying your life to a point to where you could pay your bills with only a part time job, rather than having a big house, new car, stuff, insurance for the stuff, maintenance on the stuff, but in exchange you never had anytime to read./??!!
it can be done, might sound far fetched, but that is just your fear. a fear of change. a fear of going against the grain. even start with small changes, just to get used to breaking long lasting habits.. always go to the same grocery store every week? maybe try a new one this week, or been to self conscious to go in that new fangled health store down the block because you might look like you dont know what your doing in there?? well, so what, ?? give it a try!! the reason you;d look like you dont know what you are doing in there is because you dont! and how would you , youve never been in there before… so all you are doing is acting truthfully and honestly. its ok to be a newbie.. everybody had to start somewhere with everything.. who cares what people say– i read a book that suggested to save a few minutes everyday, stop wasting time getting your mail from the mailbox everyday.. its just as quick to take a look at a weeks worth of mail as a days, so spend 10min once a week going thru mail instead of 5 min 6 days a week,,- here’s 20min minimum saved every week!!! thats 17.33 hours saved EVERY YEAR!! seriously!! thats the equivalent of a half a full-time week off of work….!!! so now i take it a step further, i get my mail every 2 weeks at most! of course the mailperson may have to shove it in there more, but then get a bigger mailbox, or a cardboard box for the overflow, who cares! whats more important, an extra 17.33 hours of time or what the mailperson thinks of you because you dont collect your mail everyday.. not a hard choice for me..!!

then.. we can start to make HUGE changes or what seem like huge changes anytime we want. you could move to Hawaii tomorrow if that would make you happy… when you get there you would be just as alive and capable of happiness as you are in your current position today… since you CHOOSE to be happy, you can choose that in any circumstance or situation..
so… be happy today!!! smile, do something fun, different, exciting. and stop COLLECTING YOUR MAIL EVERYDAY!! more on this and other time saving tidbits in a future post… see, i could have been collecting the mail, instead i got this blog written instead….!! you think you dont have time everyday to start a new hobby, now you do!
i was reading carlos castaneda’s “the art of dreaming” today and that is what inspired this here rant.. he was talking about how we sacrifice freedom in exchange for our “merchant minds” that we see every situation as profit, loss, what the risk, the percentage gain on the investment, is it going to better me,,etc, rather than just letting go, relaxing, and being free. here are his words:

“The merchant mind does commerce.But freedom cannot be an investment. Freedom is an adventure with no end, in which we risk our lives and much more for a few moments of something beyond words, beyond thoughts or feelings”

we all have felt those moments, they are the best memories of our lives. but i believe we can make those moments the majority of our lives, rather than the minority. yup, its gonna take some change, a bit of work, and it might feel funny to upheave everything you do in your daily routine, but at what cost? i know i wanna get to the end filled with more of those moments than anyone ever dreamed possible. not wondering why i paid my water bill on time and worried what the mailperson thought of my mail collecting habits- in exchange for a life void of special moments, love, happiness, and freedom.
come on folks, we can do this together! lets break the chains and remember to find those moments. the easiest way to have contact reminders!! daily affirmation, email lists, calendars, and people around you who believe the same things and can help you when you resort back to the guy thats honking on the freeway! remember, the guy cut you off because he’s rushing to the airport, trying to stop the love of his life from getting on that plane, because he is sorry, and can’t imagine them not being together, finally, like they were meant to be.” !!
you dont wanna get in the way of love would you? neither would I !

just like in the movies ;) why not have everyday be a movie?

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February 10, 2010 by dan brightmillion in rant/rave
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brightmillion – sleep tight – 1-26-10 @ La Jungla, North Hills, CA

we’ve uploaded some new videos from our show on jan 26th from our show in North Hills, CA. subscribe to our YouTube channel to be updated everytime we add new videos! – subscribe @ youtube.com/brightmillion !!

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February 9, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Uncategorized

they grow up so fast,.,,

we went out to one of our favorite organic coffee houses, the coffee table, in eagle rock.. and it was a beautiful day…!! which, of course, is not unusual in los angeles…. but sometimes i forget that funny enough… our house is mostly in shade, so it doesnt always seem that sunny out there,,, even when it is!! hmmm,, well, on the short term project list is,,,,  ADD SKYLIGHTS!!  i’m gonna add some of those newfangled solar tube tube gismos– easy to install and give LOTS of light for the small surface area they take up. they are all the rage now in green living, as seen on ‘living with ed’ !

win win situation, sunny inside all day.. and energy efficient! free solar light all day and even in the night, yup skylights even let moonlight in, how romantic ;)

BUT,,, that a project for another day,, back to my original story.. which was… umm.. hmm.  oh yeah, it was a beautiful day outside… and that inspired me to plant some seeds! spring is almost here, i think,, so, lets get a jump on it! i direct seeded some wild flowers along the neighbors fence– (free water since they irrigate their lawn,, but there is always some stray grass that gets watered and goes under the fence into our driveway, that their mower cant get to…) so, why not have it be daisies peeking out under the fence rather than stray grass..?? right! also a lot of alyssum  which the beneficial insects like, both in front and back yards. – direct seeded again, no transplants for the wild flowers.

alyssum

also a few other types of flowers,,, along fences, in planter boxes, etc

inside on the vegetable front– starting some seedings for spring planting- cucumbers, zucchini, squash, basil, marigolds, and MORE kale!

the recently transplanted kale and lettuce plugs have been growing SOOO fast they’ve already outgrown their new pots!! the bigger ones got a new home today in recycled DVD spindle tops.

stock pile of recycled DVD spindles

they make great planting pots! perfect size to let the roots spread out without taking up too much room. after the plants fully grow to these  pots, they will be ready to go outside. I start the seeds with peat moss, so as to be sterile for the new little guys… i still have a large bag of peat that i bought over a year ago.. however when its gone, im gonna switch to coconut instead- since peat is a dwindling non-renewable resource! but i hear there are lots of coconut shells going to waste , now being made into planting material… but, i also hear lots of rainforest is being cleared to grow coconuts,,, because of the HUGE demand of coconut meat for cosmetics, lotions, etc… arrrrggg!!!! maybe i can find some coconut growing material that is at least from a sustainable coconut farm. sorry world for using peat moss, i was an -uninformed gardener when i bought it… but no more! i guess thats the point of it all, not to be perfect from the get go, but to at least be better today than we were yesterday!

anyhow….. the DVD pots are being filled with a standard potting mix, mostly of compost, this way the plants get some well needed food to grow even more. i am also watering the larger pots with a liquid organic fertilizer to reduce the re-potting stress.

they grow up so fast..

a green rose..... or is that lettuce ;)

russian kale ready to grow to mutant size!

everyone in their new pots, safe inside where its warm and bug free

there are LOTS more seeds to plant, but that will wait for another day….

SEEDS!!

seed starting station...

MORE SEEDS!!!

not sure if i’ve shown this before… but i found that a great way to gently water seedling inside is with a garden sprayer usually used for fertilizers, insecticides, etc… avail at any hardware store/ garden center.. they are perfect! they give a nice even yet gentle spray, and since they are portable work great for indoor use… it was either plumb a sink into the spare bedroom to water the plants or get a $10 sprayer….!!! i did seriously consider the plumbing project, but then came back to my senses!!  just fill em up in the tub and youve got a portable watering system. i have 2 , one for clean water, one for water with fertilizer. i dont fertilize small seedlings since i dont want to burn their fragile roots.. but once they get bigger in pots, i give em a little yummy juice to get goin! – all organic of course!!

portable watering system

click here to see the watering system in action:::::

click here to see the watering system in action!!

we’ve uploaded a bunch of new videos to the youtube channel-from our recent shows, so head over to YouTube.com/brightmillion and watch em! while you are there.. subscribe to our youtube channel so you will be updated when we upload new videos.

we’ve got a show coming up on feb 27 in los angeles, so if you are in the area.. .mark your calendars!

not following brightmillion twitter>>>>????   how about it- twitter.com/brightmillion

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February 8, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Organic Gardening, brightmillion band, rant/rave

Farming in the rain

It’s raining cats anddogs here in la again.,, lots of rain this year! The farm is loving it though so that’s worth the coldness I guess…my farm duties today will Bethesda indoor type as I might melt if I get wet.. Muchlike the wicked witch. Except for the wicked part. And the witch part. I suppose half of the gardening game is preparing for what you Re gonna want to plant a few months in advance. So since springtime is quickly approaching it’s time to get seedlings started and ready for planting out in a month or two. I try to grow eeryrhing from seed rather than buying plants since it’s waAay cheaper. Pre grown plants work greAt I think for something u might only have one of but when it comes to growing rows of the same thing for eating .. Gotta go with seeds!! We go thru a ton of kale in smoothies and juicing so I’m planting even more this year. Last year we had more chicory than we needed so I’m gonna pull some of that out when it comes time and uset for kale instead … Just waiting on the baby kales to be ready to go out! I have about 70 kale seedlings started now so that should be a good start !!!

I have way betterucl with my plants if I start them inside and let them mature a month or two before gettin transplanted. Otherwise they are very vulnerable to garden pests and they never make it… The kale gets taken down by cabbage moths and slugs….. The lettuce gets eaten by earwigs, etc… The larger seedlings are Far stronger protecting themselves against such thievery.. Of course, everything planted on the new fertile soil was far stronger this last year as well. I have a bunch of kale and lettuce ready to transplant this week once the rain stops. So iguess I’ll be getting a little dirty finally. It’s been pretty slow on the farm lately… Looking forward to spring!! Although I’m already behind on my spring seedling planting!!! Gotta get some tomato cucmber and zucchinis started so they are nice and strong once mid march April rolls around. This will be my first time starting tomatoes fromseed cross yur fingers!!! Gonna try seven different types of cucmber seeds I just scored from a gardening friend as well as four types of zucchini!! I’m also gonna have an entire bed of purslane this year.
Purslane is natures wonder plant…. More on that another time…
Looks like it stopped raining so going out to check my rain buckets!!! Only the craziest of us catch rain for future use I guess… But I find it so strange how in LA there is always a ‘water shortage’ yet the city sends all of this rain water down the drain to the ocean… Hmmmm waste the water we r given from nature and then pipe more in from 2 states over …??? Weird weird weird. Plus rain water is naturally cleanr and dechloronated just how the plants want it!!! I have any container I could find bigger than a coffee cup out in the yard catching rain!!! And I was tempted to put out the coffee cups too. All the buckets are full and precious water is being lost aaaahhhh!!!! Some day I hope to add rain gutters to the house and catch every drop of rain on an array of 55 gallon tanks!!! Maybe I can catch a whole years worth of watering durinthe rainy season ???? I bet I have at least the next 2 months worth between all the little buckets, jugs, andbottles out there now. Woohoo !!! Free water!!
Ok everybody have a great weekend!! Remeber to start your seedlings soon!! I’m off to build a new effects pedal board based around the line6 m13 rig I’m now using. So far I am very pleased with it. I’m just gonna add another tuner to the chain so I can check tuning in realtime during a song without muting and adding a fultone fulldrive2 for my main distortion. I’ll post picks when it’s complete !!

Ps this post has been written sloppily on my Phone while running on my eliptical machine, so I take even less responsibilty than usual for the shoddy spelling and general typos…..!!!!!

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February 6, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Organic Gardening
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animals make funny sounds

that’s right, they do.. and i’m not even talking about we human animals… i’ve spent the day working in the studio on animal Sound Effects for a new iPhone APP called Alphaspin. its a childrens educational game/tool for learning the alphabet and animals…  so, that means there’s gotta be an animal (and corresponding animal sound) for every letter.  hmmmm who can think of an animal that start with X  or… with U   or  Z,, well zebra of course, but what sound does a zebra make, i never knew but  turns out  its a funny whining sound, not nearly as majestic as they look..  and some letters are easy  to find animals for, such as I is for Iguana.. but what does an iguana sounds like???  and of course J is for Jellyfish… quick , make a jellyfish sound.!! 

and for you trivia buffs, X is for Xenops and U is for Uakari (pronounced “wah-kari”)…. xenops is a tiny bird and Uakrai is a red faced monkey….. luckily i have both roaming in my back yard ready for me to record their natural sounds…. and A is for anteater.. . which make a crazy sound and are super vicious… yet, is that really what the little kids want to hear,??  maybe i’ll take artistic license on that one and make it a fun “sucking up the  ants” sound…???

it has been fun, though, learning lots about animals most of us never get to see in real life- another reason why my plan is to travel the world, s see every red faced monkey in its true glory :)  been watching all sorts of crazy YouTube videos trying to see what the animals sound like “for real” so i can make sounds effects for them…  the only vids i could find for Yaks were of people milking them… eeeewwwwww  not sure that a squirting in the  metal bucket sound will be the right sound FX to teach our youth “yak”  ……..!!!!!

so, whats your favorite animal that starts with X?? i guess mine is Xenops cuz I dont know of any others..

xenops

 


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Bald-headed uakari feeding on fruitsBald-headed uakari feeding on fruitsBBC Natural History Unit

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February 4, 2010 by dan brightmillion in music gear, travel / adventure

Lunchtime….. Smoothies & mythbusters

Time to take a break from the studio…. Gonna watch some mythbusters and eat some food…. Here’s what I’m havin— raw chocolate mint smoothy & raw miso soup. People sometimes assume eating raw foods only means cold cold cold foods…. But, not so! U can warm things up to 118 degrees and it will be warm and soupy :) . All u need is a thermometer, heat some water and add yur raw miso!! Most miso pastes at places such as wholefoods are raw, so as long as u dont heat it over 118 degrees you have a yummy, warm, and raw soup. I add green onions and seaweed strips for tru miso style.
For the smoothy we got dates, raw cacao, agave, almonds, young cocnut juice and meat, and peppermint extract. Blend it all in the trusty vitamix and u r golden!! Now to drink up and watch the mythbusters test the movie Speed’s bus jumping a broken overpass. I don’t watch much tv… But I do TiVo mythbusters, living with Ed , the daily show, and the colbert report, the office, and Reno 911 !! I like to watch a recorded show sometimes while taking a break to eat and to clear the brain with some passive entertainment. I think it is important to laugh everyday… So a good funny show or movie a day keeps the doctor away :)

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February 3, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Raw Food
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February 1, 2010 by dan brightmillion in Uncategorized

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