Well I figured I'd do a semi year in review, semi year ahead.... With a few side tangets about the ebb and flow of the life and times through my lense...

This could be continued so to speak... so if you're attention span is short, this survey of the land may not be for you... ;D

Where to begin... Where to begin... Maybe with the end... 4 days until the end of 2006, and one highlight I've taken away from this holiday season is getting a chance to see my sister and mom in Vancouver. Our best asset is our ability to laugh for hours at and with each other, bask in the glory of our own imperfections that make our family distinctly ours. We're recruiting JYD (my pops) out to the west coast, but something tells me he's needed out there in the middle as well...

Christmas has always provoked deep admissions from me, and filled me with hope for everyone, known and unknown. It's meaning and significance ever changing as my path has been, it's still ultimately a time of love and sharing, regardless religion, race, recipes, right, left, canadian or cambodian... hence the name of our next gathering KWAHANABOXIMAS .... translation ::: KWAnza, HANAkah, BOXIng Day, ChristMAS.

That's not a plug by the way, just explaining where that came from one morning whilst in the shower ( yes, my best thoughts happen in the shower or late late at night ); go figure.

As the GODS would have it, all can not be roses, and surely all of us know this... Oddly enough as I slept last night, my final wishes and prayers were directed if even slightly to an odd game played on the 'gridiron' with an oblong ball. I digress from the meaningful, to the somewhat emotionally meaningful in the male kingdom, and certain females' kingdoms.

BOTH the Seahawks and Bengals are 8-7 and as painful as it might be I am forced to root for the Raiders, 49ers and Chiefs!!!! FOR THE LOVE. I mean come on... an extra point is going to send me into an early winter if these guys don't give the Bengals and Ocho some help.

Far more important overall, but maybe less evident, this year in music, for me, has been positive, for the most part. It's had some great moments and some new opportunities, and also has had it's dissapointments and shortcomings... I've been dissapointed I haven't made music my absolute priority, but I've been excited about my gigs and playing some really fun shows, and experiencing some of the best vibes to date. The best realization about what music is doing , and will continue to do, is evolution and my goal this time next year is to be writing again about my first steps into making a solid solid contribution to that evolution in some way shape or form, be it my own sound or in the sound of others... It's one of those things that you have to feel first, understand second, in my opinion. It's time to take a step. Run or Trip...

I feel like music as a whole might have sparked again, it's had a bit of a jolt and there's so much out there now, more than ever it seems there are creative people popping up everywhere. The old 'record deal' just isn't the same anymore and the uncommon and undiscovered now seem to have almost an equal footing which is refreshing and motivating... For the first time in years I've also been lucky enough to get back into so many DIFFERENT genres, which I think has and will continue to help me find those little details and differences in each sound and incorporate them into what my vision has become...

Anyone that knows me beyond this Blog page, knows that I'm an emotional type of person from the outset, but this year more than ever I've rediscovered some of the raw emotions that go missing for long periods of time, and they've been brought to the surface in so many different fashions and ways... Music especially, film, and stories, written, told or witnessed about life and the challenge(s)

Every year it seems there is so much pain and suffering, sometimes it's hard to know where to focus or what to feel, if you can feel anything and yet in the same breathe there is laughter, hope and redemption. Some of the lives that have come to pass this year captured a specific part of what I think all of us can be at our core.

Steve Irwin ( the crocodile hunter ) for some reason strikes me as someone that most of us admired, for his honesty and courage. Having had a chance to watch the way his children adored him, it truly was sad to see him go, but as the GODS have it, he went doing what he loved the most, and something tells me he's still here, be it in a swamp or the woods, spiritual or physical. His daughter carries a great legacy.

Earl Woods ( Tiger's Dad )... For anyone that can understand the bond between a Dad and Son, this one was emotional. In a era when athletes can seem as full of themselves as the 80's was full of bad hair, Tiger Woods stands for class, calm, integrity and guts. And the person that he credited with his every understanding and lesson of life passed on this spring. And for once Tiger failed as a Pro to make a 'cut' in a tournament, the man with ice water in his veins regrouped to have what some would say his finest year, and if you've followed the story of Tiger, you know it's pretty incredible. The Father - Son bond runs deep and I've been lucky enough to have mine around through thick and thin, tried and true, so for me it rang home. R.I.P. Earl Woods.

The last two people I'll mention before moving on, were integral parts of what has made up the fabric of the last 50 years of this country. The first can be credited with laying the ground work for what we all call hip hop, funk and r&b. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown. What an incredible musician and what an incredible sound he helped create. The last is is Correta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. I can without a doubt say this country and the world would be NOTHING like it is, nor have become as diverse, in regards to race and equality, was it not for Martin Luther & his familys' ultimate sacrifice. I think sometimes we can take for granted the great sacrifices others made on behalf of a better life and a way forward for all of our children. The entire King family fills me with hope for this generation and many to come, that one day the world will be what they so wisely and selflessly sought so many years ago!!!

As it goes people pass on and the world is changed, events take place and it's rearranged. If you've never been to Coachella in Indio, California, I'd advise that you make it an annual trek. It was the best 3 days of music I've ever been around. 60, 000 people from all over the country and world in a common area, with 8 stages or so... Crazy heat, and some rediculously good acts. I met strangers and made friends, danced like I haven't danced ever, and got the chills in 95 degree heat. I'll be making this a regular event, April 27, 28, 29th in 2007.

So many of the people that I've met this year have made an impact on me, it'd be very hard to summarize it all here, but a friend of mine that traveled to India this summer made a rather large impact, and it's the type of person that she is that made it so effortless. Giving up the everyday lifestyle in the States, she spent 3 months in one of India's poorest cities and environments, tending to those with very few days left to live and others who've never known the luxury of running water or solid shelter. Let's just say her grace and humility have helped me to persue contributing in ways I may have not otherwise. Super good stuff!!

Many others have started there own families, started new careers, gone back to school, taken huge chances, and blazed new trails. It's always refreshing to be around the energy that comes through change. One of my younger cousins started college... Me writing in a blog is a change, and technology is speeding ahead like me on the highway(that's another topic :o ) text messaging is out of control, I used to look forward to calls now I am left to interpret words for myself. I hope it all leads to a revolution in our social fabric, but I'm affraid it's isolating us from the real conversations we miss when we're walking down the street... For me I'll take the person to person everyday of the week.

I won't even write more than one sentence in regards to how I feel about the Mariners' effort this past summer.

But that does lead me to the year ahead and beyond.... Travel being center to alot of what I'll try to accomplish, for personal and professional reasons. Chicago is 100% this summer, b/c the Mariners play the Cubs @ Wrigley Field. It's definitely in top 5 places in the world, and a bunch of us have made plans to go this summer, it'll be a rad trip...
NYC is in that leg as well T.L.C. ;)

I'm hoping to make the beginning of 2008 when I start to get around the world a bit, and one of my best friends will hopefully be in full stride in S.E. Asia, and I plan to make that my first stop. It's taken me along time to try and become a bit of a planner, but it's about time!!! ;D

I've started to take more and more pictures, and like the caveman that I am, I don't use a digital, so I never know what I'll get till I get them back... I've written less and read more, but overall I'd say my creativity is just getting warmed up...

As up and down as it's been this year, personally, professionally and as a person in this world, I feel more myself than I've ever been. I hope that everyone of you reading this has a chance to dig deeper into 'you' in 2007 and beyond, to find that fire burning for that something that will make you happy and alive in this world. With this end, we are again ready to begin. Again.

CARPE DIEM !!!

Cheers, Cory D. aka Johnny Fever