I'm not running for president, but you can still vote for me (please)

I am not gonna hide it, this is an unashamed plea for votes.....



Last month I made a remix for an online competition. Glen Phillips, the lead singer for Toad The Wet Sprocket, released the studio tracks of a song off of his new solo album. The purpose is to get people to "remix" them in creative ways and submit them as contest entries. I have made such an entry. Except I, among a few others, have chosen to rerecord tracks completely, making a completely new arrangement. I wouldn't be asking for your vote if I didn't think that I had a legitimate chance at winning. I have been hovering in the top 10 for a while but I need you to push me over the edge.

Here is how it works. To judge entries, you have to register at OurStage.... I know, registering, yuck!!! Then you will want to go to the Music competition. From there you will need to select Kompoz/Glen Phillips. Then you will need to click "judge." You will then be presented with two songs. You will have to listen to both of them and judge. You don't have to listen the whole song, just 15 seconds of each. Here is where it gets a little annoying. My song may not cue up first. So you may have to through 10 rounds before you get to my song. So judging could take you 30 seconds or 10 minutes all depending on when my song comes up.

Helpful hints: To help my standings here are some things you can do. It will not take you long to figure out which songs are really good and others that are not. If you find one that is above average.....you will want to vote for the other one. Unless that is you really really like it and you can vote for it as better. But when you come to my song , you will want to vote "best by far." That's it. Vote as much and as often as you can from now until the end of June. Here is the song if you want a preview.

Once again you need to go to OurStage to vote. I thank you very much!!!

Calling Central Illinois Musicians

I just jammed the blues in E with some dude in New Mexico. I was here in Peoria and he was in his home in New Mexico. How did we do it you ask? With eJamming software, that's how. (for some reason I can't get the link to work) It was a small step into the future of music. It was clunky and slow at times but still fun. I have read that the closer you are to one another the better it works. So that is where you come in. If you are a musician, or know of a musician, who wants to jam with people without leaving the comfort of their home, tell them about eJamming. And then tell them to drop me a line. I want to play. Who knows we may form the next Beatles....or n'Sync. Hope to hear from you soon.

Evan Knoblauch

When I was in high school my speech teacher was pregnant. She had a son. Years passed and in the course of life, things like a pregnant speech teacher rarely made its' way back to the forefront of memory. But there is something about good teachers that is special. They make impressions that last. My speech teacher was a good teacher.

My wife and I were watching the news Saturday when the very first thing reported was the death of Evan Knoblauch. Immediately my wife was struck with shock and disbelief. The last year and a half, Evan had been a student in my wife’s History and Sociology classes. I knew of Evan before his death even though I had never met him. My wife rarely comments on her students but she used to tell me how sweet and nice Evan was. She said that he was always in a good mood and made a positive impact when he was in the classroom. She said that he had a rare and healthy dose of respect for his teachers. I never knew him but I think it would be safe to say that he would make any parent proud.

I know my wife was kept up that night thinking about what had happened. Since I had no real connection to Evan, I was preoccupied with what his parents were going through. I did not know who they were but I just imagined the way my mother and father were when my brother died. Then I replaced them with stranger’s faces.

My wife went to the service at the high school they had for Evan last night. When she came back we talked. She told me that it was sad but relatively short. Among the details it was discovered that Evan's mother was my high school speech teacher. I could not believe it. When you are in high school sometimes you get the impression that your teachers do not lead lives outside of school. That they arrive at school, collect your homework and then retreat to their homes where they do weird things like build Civil War Reenactment scenes in their basement. But you forget that they are people too. All I could think about was her sobbing uncontrollably.

This teacher, Mrs. Knoblauch, who was pregnant when I took her speech class in 1989 had a son. His name was Evan. For the last year and a half my wife had a fine young man in her class. His name was Evan.

During this painful time, may God's peace be of some comfort to you and your family Mrs. Knoblauch.



Thank you Chance for putting this tribute together. God bless.

I'm a Believer

Today, like most days, I had a narration session. The client was a manufacturer of big yellow industrial earth moving machines. They also make some cool work boots. Anyway, the narration kept dealing with "power ratings" and "peak torque." Which got me thinking about Peter Tork. You know....the bass player for The Monkees. Growing up I could not wait for The Monkees to to come on. But I am wondering what you think. Do you think The Monkees are worthy of induction to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame? If so sign the petition.

Behold, The Glory of God ....... part II

Last Wednesday November 7th, 2007, our daughter Victoria (Tori) Grace Aberle was brought into this world. As of late, skeptics who are on the watch for miracles from God seem to be missing this one. Our daughter is healthy and beautiful weighing 8lbs. 2ozs. My wife, on the other hand, did not fare so well. She lost alot of blood and had to be taken into emergency surgery after the birth. She is home but is confined to limited activity for at least 4 weeks. For those of you who read this blog and pray, please keep my wife and our new daughter in yours. I am home taking care of two people. Thankfully, work has been more than understanding and is allowing me to be/work at home and there is plenty of family to help lessen the load. Blogging will really, really be slow. Here are some pics.

Luke......I am your DAD.

I love misquoting famous movie lines just to see the reaction.

For work last Friday I got to go up to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to film footage of the opening of the Star Wars exhibit. We also "had" to record interviews with Anthony Daniels (c-3po) and George Lucas. It was great experience and I am glad that I could be part of this project.

Before I go on, this was also the same night as my wife's birthday. So the following is bittersweet.

I don't get star struck much anymore, but I think George Lucas is more than just a famous person. He is an artist, inventor and visionary. His art has shaped a segment of the culture in which I grew up. And his pursuit of advanced technology in cinematography has yielded things like THX Sound and the Avid nonlinear video editing system. For those who do not know what an Avid is, it has been the flagship video editing system for the last 15 years. It revolutionized the way content was and is created for film and TV. I believe that when history writes about George Lucas he will be lauded with the likes of Da Vinci and Michelangelo. I'm serious. Not just because of Star Wars but because of what his passion for art has done to influence art and technology. If you recall Da Vinci and Michelangelo we doing the same things just with cruder instruments. So to keep me humble, the only pics of me the whole day came out blurry and show me milking Mr. Lucas.



This is me getting "friendly" with Mr. Lucas. I believe he actually winked at me.




This is Anthony Daniels (c-3po) and me. Honestly, the company I work for takes video and pictures professionaly. Seriously, how hard is it to point and shoot a camera.......sheeesh, you're fired you imbecile. There are more pics on the imbecile's blog.

Thank You Starbucks

Throughout this month Starbucks is giving out free songs from iTunes. I guess after years of charging us out the yin-yang for coffee, this is the least they could do. But I want to honestly thank them for the song I just downloaded. It is "Jokerman" from Bob Dylan's Infidel record. This song is great. In fact I will probably download the whole album. Hmmmm just from buying a cup of coffee, they have sold a record as well. Brilliant.