kevztunz's World of Words

2011-07-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

Get ready for the ∞+1 Prairie Tour 2011!

Kevin Armstrong performs "Opera for Heathens" with special guest opener dOUG nORMAL!

Wednesday, August 3rd, 8PM
The Spadina Freehouse
608 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon, SK
No cover

Thursday, August 4th, 8PM
Cathedral Freehouse
2062 Albert Street
Regina, SK
No cover

Saturday, August 6th 8PM
The Loonie House
90 Grove Street
Winnipeg, MAN
204-589-3440
Tickets $15

Tuesday, August 9th, 8PM
The Creative Centre
1843 Hamilton Street
Regina, SK
Tickets $10

Edmonton International Fringe Festival
Yardbird Suite
11 Tommy Banks Way
Saturday, August 13 (6:30 PM)
Sunday, August 14 (10:45 PM)
Monday, August 15 (4:45 PM)
Tuesday, August 16 (9:00 PM)
Wednesday, August 17 (12:30 PM)
Thursday, August 18 (2:30 PM)
Saturday, August 20 (10:00 PM)
Tickets $12/$10

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Kevin

Music of the Night

2010-11-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

2010-09-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Why Mike Portnoy Leaving Dream Theater Could be a Good Thing

After rocking my world for the past 16 years, and the rest of the world for 25, Dream Theater is about to undergo arguably its most important line-up change: Mike Portnoy is no longer with Dream Theater. Okay, stop sobbing, blow your nose, wipe away the tears, and listen to why you may have reason to celebrate.

1. Every line-up change has resulted in a surge of creative energy.

Going all the way back to Dominici's departure, upheavals in the line-up have immediately resulted in a classic album... LaBrie's entrance brought us Images and Words. Sherinian's contributions led to the amazing recording of A Change of Season. When Rudess joined, he brought with him the wizard's magic, and out came Scenes from a Memory. However, once each new lineup settled it, it has often then resulted in creative stagnation. A new drummer, and a new perspective, should break DT out of the rut they've fallen into the past couple of disks. (Is it just me, or do they keep re-recording Octavarium?)

2. Portnoy is a control-freak.

Perhaps this shake-up will lead to a more even distribution of duties within the band. I'd be curious to hear James singing more of his own texts. I'd love to see Myung's step more to the forefront (his skills have been on the back-burner since WDADU), and I would love to see Rudess play a larger role in the band than playing the harmony lines to Petrucci's leads No disrespect to Portnoy's massive contributions, but he himself has said that he has had a hand in EVERY ASPECT of the band. Perhaps it's time for a new vision.

3. A new production style

My biggest personal criticism of the band has been that since Portnoy and Petrucci took over production duties, every disk sounds like a guitar-and-drum spectacle, with a few special guest musicians thrown in. As much as I can understand any musician wanting his/her performance to be at the fore-front, it shouldn't be at the expense of the other musicians (see the Myung comment above).

4. Portnoy's no longer the "property" of DT

Mike Portnoy is certainly one of the most talented and skilled musicians in the world. Now, without the huge time commitment to DT, he can dedicate himself to other projects more definitely. Dream Theater will stay Dream Theater, and from the sounds of it, they aren't planning to let this development slow them down in the slightest. So why not look forward to all of the other spectacular music Portnoy will be involved with, and no longer on a part-time basis? With more time to commit to other interests, he is helping enrich the music scene exponentially with every project he commits himself to. And if he finds the one project he can commit to to the extent of DT, perhaps we will all have some new favourite bands.

5. Give the poor guy a break.

I believe if ANYONE were to commit as much time and energy as Portnoy has to DT, numerous side projects, raising a family, touring, performing, writing, producing, editing, filming, etc, they'd have been burned out before Beverly Hills 90210 was canceled. If he has the sac to define his limits, and stick to them, despite pressure from the other members, then all the more power to him. As we know, DT has a history of reunions, and maintaining strong ties with ex-members. I KNOW FOR A FACT that we have not seen the end of Portnoy's collaboration with DT.

2009-02-06T00:40:00.000-08:00

Poor Micheal Phelps. The guy goes to a party, and the next thing you know, the always-right American people cut him off at the legs (though this brings him down to normal height. That guy is tall! He just has to jump in the water, and before his feet are wet, his hands are touching the other end of the pool), and throw him to the sharks for being a normal college student. But I guess it's impossible to reconcile in the tiny minds of most, that one can be a hard-working, successful, talented athlete, and still partake in leisure activities.

Are there no pictures of him drinking a beer? A shot? Falling down drunk, puking all over the street, passing out on a bus bench? Perhaps, but that is of little interest to anyone because it fall under the category "acceptable behaviour", since it's not illegal, or against "God's will" (whatever that is). But take one hit of the devil's lettuce, and YOU'LL NEVER WORK IN THIS TOWN AGAIN, BOY! His endorsement deal with Kellogg's won't be renewed, which I find ironic, considering the increased consumption of their product that would be caused by the hoards of millions of muncheid-out kids who will obviously be inspired to become pot junkies since Mr. Phelps was photographed holding a bong.

Is he a bad "role model"? NO! This guy accomplished more in his early 20's than most people will accomplish, or even aspire to accomplish in 6 lifetimes. He works hard, is disciplined, trains his ass of, sets goals, achieves them, sets new goals, achieves them too, and should serve as an inspiration for generations to come. Why should ONE PICTURE end that? I think the "bad role models" are the ones who profit in other people's pain and mistakes: the guy who sold the picture (I'm sure he didn't just give it away with the intention of making the world a better place), the newspapers who published it, and all of the narrow-minded people who are quick to judge, and not so quick to forgive.

SO WHAT if he got (gets) high? It's certainly not performance-enhancing. He's not in competition (a point the IOC brought up when they chose not to punish him), and he would probably pass any drug test administered right now, and at any point in-season. About the only people I can see him really having let down are the ones like me who wish he would just own up to it and tell every one to screw off, since it's none of their business anyways. If more people would do that, perhaps we could make some headway into dispersing the myths that using marajuana leads to a dismal life of failure, amotivation, addiction and abuse. There are other drugs that fit that bill very well, and they are legal, acceptable, and even encouraged by our society. They have done wonders to raise the mortality rate and health costs, not to mention tear families apart, something grass has never (as far as I've read, and I've read a lot) been proven to do. Alcohol anyone? Cigarettes? Unnecessary prescription drugs? Or perhaps we just need a marajuana lobby, with good role models like Michael Phelps showing that most people's half-formed ideas on the subject are false.

2008-03-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Big Brother is listening. Really, he is. Or she is. I couldn't hear the gender of the person who cut the line. Or perhaps it was a sexless computer (if there is still such a thing these days).

(Telephone Conversation. Party one is in Canada. Party two, Germany. March 23, 2008 Approx. 19h (7PM) CET)

P1: "...when he was STONED."

P2: "Whoops. Now you've triggered the listening devices." (giggle)

P1: "No. In order to do that, you'd have to say TERRORIST!"

P2" "Shhhhh!! Now they're going to come to your house!" (maniacal, uncontrollable giggling)

P1: "I wonder if the listening devices are tuned to listen to pick up on words like BOMB, TERRORIST, WEAPON in Arabic, since that's the Lingua Franca of Terrorism. It would only make sense... Hello?"

(Silence)

P1: "Hello?"

(Dead silence, followed by the beeping of a severed connection.)

An attempt to call back yields the following results:

1. One ring, then the phone picks up.

"Hello?" (followed by an echo of my own voice. No response, just the sound of breathing on the the other end, then a button being pushed).

"Hello?" (another echo, another empty moment)

A third attempt re-establishes contact.

I'm still feel freaked out.

If you don't hear from me for a while, please write letters on my behalf:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

RE: Unlawful detainment at Guantanamo Bay

Love,

Kevin

2008-01-26T05:39:00.001-08:00

I just Googled "Road Stories", my musical play that we performed in Montreal, and came across this review:

http://www.blork.org/blog/fringe99/

Road Stories

Rating: Huh?
The program for this performance states "this isn't high art", which caused me to breathe a sigh of relief considering the overall "Huh?" level I've been experiencing throughout the festival. Road Stories is good old fashioned storytelling, somewhat embellished with the occational song and a bevy of enthusiastic although not professional actors playing out the story of a six-week cross-county road trip.

The main characters are a loosely tossed together handfull of musicians in search of cheap adventure on their way to a gig in Halifax. This is supposedly based on a real-life road trip, which makes it even more fun.

There is no big theme, and not all of the anecdotal skits really come together, but there is continuity running through the show, along with recurring characters and ideas. Something some of the "high art" people should take note of.

I liked it. It was straight-up and not pretentious. I would not want the whole Fringe to be like this, but I like the fact that the Fringe is (at least in theory) open and full of variety. Frankly, I think the festival could use a few more shows like this one.

2008-01-26T05:04:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

First of all, happy 2008. One of my resolutions is to keep this damn blog more up-to-date. The other resolution is that I will create (or go out and find) lots of exciting projects to post here about.

I'm sitting in my room in Zürich right now, enjoying the wonders of wi-fi, and grooving to old Toad the Wet Sprocket songs on MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/toadthewetsprocket

In my opinion, one of the best bands of the 90's. They got me through my first love, my first heartbreak, my first cross-country trip, and served as a model for my own burgeoning songwriting projects. Their cassettes played incessantly on my walkman. Fear was one of the first cd's I bought when I started to switch from cassettes. (I have a collection of about 2-300 at home, mostly of guitar gods and hair-metal. Or combinations of both, like Yngwie.) Cool stuff, check it out.

American politics are sure fun to watch! It's like a rhetorical wrestling match, body-slamming personal records, clothes-lining morals, and the finishing move: the scandal! 1-2-3-you're out! See you later, Giuliani.

I'm going for Hillary. Obama is cool, but Hillary is HOT! I wonder if when she's elected, I could get a job as an inter-boy. Hmmm...

I love you all,
Kevin

2007-11-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a Christmas video that will change the world!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Meinem Profil hinzufügen | Mehr Videos

We actually sold a CD over the internet on CD Baby. I can't wait until the day when that isn't such a kick anymore, since I will be selling sooooo many!! :)

Kevin

2007-11-17T07:32:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I guess it's been a while since the last post. Sorry I wasn't keeping you "posted". Sorry about that last joke too.

Looking at the calender tells me we're entering into the time of year where we exchange hard-earned money for things we'll never use. Did anyone ever actually try the Ab-master? It had a spring which pulled the wrong way while doing sit-ups, thus forcing you to strain your back while getting help from the spring on the upward part of the movement. I guess it was good for those who had not done a situp for more than a decade, but they probably weren't inspired to continue after one or two days of extreme back pain.

If you'd like to buy a gift that will actually be used, or want to see our newest homepage, please click the banner below.

We are almost up to a million plays on our MySpace page!

I am building a page dedicated to my opera singing. I'll keep you "posted".

Until then,

Kevin

2007-04-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

My fellow (North) Americans,

When the FUCK are you going to wake up and realise that you are being manipulated by government propaganda through the media in order to support a war that should have NEVER happened?

From http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-04-25/

Reports About Soldiers' Heroism Were Propaganda, Panel Told

Jessica Lynch, who was depicted in the press and on a U.S. TV docudrama as a female Rambo during the early days of the Iraq war, told a Congressional hearing Tuesday that much of what was reported about her never occurred. She did not, however, fault the news media for the fabrication but suggested instead that the U.S. Army had contrived the account to promote its mission in Iraq. "The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes and they don't need to be told elaborate tales," she told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Likewise, the brother of former NFL star Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, also accused the Army of covering up the fact that his brother had been killed by friendly fire and had created an elaborate scenario depicting him as a hero who died in the face of a fierce enemy attack. Kevin Tillman, who was himself riding in a convoy behind his brother at the time of the incident, told the panel that he believes the Army used his brother to counter bad publicity about Abu Ghraib that was released at about the same time. "It shifted the focus from the grotesque torture at Abu Ghraib and a downward spiral of an illegal act of aggression to a great American who died a hero's death." Tillman, too, did not criticize the news media for its failure to question the military's account. The testimony of Lynch and Tillman came as PBS prepared to broadcast what some critics have called a "devastating" Bill Moyers Journal tonight (Wednesday) charging that following the 9/11 attacks the U.S. news media abandoned their traditional role of government overseer and became an agent of American policy instead.

I wonder how high up on the hotlist I am now. Black suited men should be knocking on my door soon. See you in Guantanamo,

Kevin

2007-04-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Here is a sample from our upcoming project: Maria's Callous!

We are an opera/metal/progressive rock band doing rock arrangements of opera and classical music, plus opera arrangements of rock music, plus some original sounding originals. Take a peek right here:

Enjoy,

Kevin

2007-03-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Day Aaron Spelling was my Boss

A few years ago, I got called by an agency who had my headshot on file from my less-than-successful audition for the cinematic masterpiece "Battlefield Earth". They liked my beard (I've had it a while now), and asked me to come down to the set for a pilot for an "exciting, supernatural hospital drama" series called "All Souls".

I arrived for my 6:30 AM call early, and discovered coffee and bagels. And I didn't even have to pay for them! That's why films are getting more and more expensive to shoot. They blow the budget on bagels (I could have easily eaten $100 000 000 worth on a six-week shoot). Not only did I get bagels, but as a "featured extra", I'd receive standard union pay (but alas, no union membership, as I had to sign a waiver for the credit. That golden egg had to wait.) That came to a whopping $365 to eat bagels and stand around.

There were lots of talented, expensive people on the shoot. The director, sound guys, camera guys, guys that help the sound and camera guys, wardrobe people and continuity people with Polaroid cameras (in cast that blood stain on my shirt moved between shots), lighting people, guy to operate the spinning camera crane, caterers (I'll get to that later), second assistant director, third assistant director, rat wrangler, and actors getting paid even more than me to do even less than me. In a few more years, even home videos will have to be financed by dentists and the mob.

Everyone knows that filming a TV show or movie is mostly dead time. And thank God for the unions who make sure that you get paid 5 times what a teacher or policeman make in a day to sit around and eat bagels. Oh, and since everyone on the outside is fooled into thinking that film making is glamorous work, the people involved also tend to think of themselves as being something special, like they are curing a blood disease or stopping global warming. But I digress.

The morning went smoothly enough. I ate a bagel, got made up, put into costume, and started to wait. After waiting for a while, I ate another bagel, and took a break from waiting by taking a walk. But not too far, in case they might need you. They need you to wait. Then, I got led from what resembled a holding pen for deranged criminals, I was let to the set. It was hot, cramped, and looked like a dungeon made of Styrofoam. This was apparently the set for a TV movie filmed a week previous. I guess they have to cut corners somewhere.

Then I met the director. I very sweet guy who immediately recognised me as the one cast as "Huge Orderly", and proceeded to direct me. He told me I'd be grabbing a guy from behind a chloroforming him with a rag. Sounds pretty damn cool. After waiting for a while, it was time to shoot. The "wounded Civil War soldier" on the table I recognised as Jennifer Love Hewitt's gay friend from the Audry Hepburn mini-series they had shot recently in Montreal. He had to audition and do two callbacks in order to lay on a table and thrash about while we put a rat inside his prosthetic gut. Mmmmm. The latex was well done, so I didn't need to act disgusted. The director even complimented me on my performance. "I'm ready for the lead in your next series" is what I should have responded. "Ummm, thanks." is what came out. I need to work on that.

Then came the big chloroform scene. But wait, who is that skinny dude with bad teeth doing that part? I though the role was "Huge Orderly", not "Bad-toothed Orderly". It turns out the director was mistaken. If he had cast the show himself, he would have picked me. But God forbid should a unionised actor with bad teeth go without work. So the director had to make do with the skinny dude.

At lunch, I pulled up a tray and made myself comfy among the "artistes". I don't remember what we ate, I just remember it was delicious. And thank God no one relised I was but an extra (though a featured one on a union voucher), or else I would have had to eat the processed cheese sandwiches my colleagues were eating on the other side of the fence (Yes, talent and extras don't mix. Union rules). But for a brief moment, I got to convince myself I was amongst the elite. The "Chosen Ones" of the entertainment industry, with a talent so huge, it's as if the Gods themselves pulled them from the womb and bestowed the golden chalice upon them.

Actually, this was a series that lasted a total of six episodes, and barely even got shown in America before dissolving into the mire. The actors were either very pretty, (and lucky to be having the career they are having, considering that talent and skill are not prerequisites), or highly-trained theatre actors working waaaay below their level, who are lucky to scratch out a living with one-liners (with leading actors who often can't even remember their one-liners).

I finally got to see the final result (thank God for YouTube!).

Click above and scan to the 6:41 mark, and you will see me, 7 years ago, stuffed full of Bagels.

Ironically enough, the "huge orderly" only got his hand in the shot, whereas I got my face on network TV. See, I DO have talent! I can stand around and do nothing with the best of them.

I went home that night with bagels in my backpack, and a cheque rubber-stamped with the name of none other than Aaron Spelling. Oh the glory, the drama. The horror. The horror...

2007-03-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

May I do a marathon in your pants?

This harmless question, which makes complete sense in the proper context, did send me into one of those giggle-fits I like so much, as it led me to the wealth of double-entendres to do with track-and-field and sex. (Which the Germans, by the way, have on tracks and in fields).

Can I put my javelin?

Wanna toss my discus?

Where do you want the shot put?

And one could go on about relays, sprints, urine testing, but I'll cut it short there, as this will someday become a song, and I want to keep a few of these juicy thought-wads to myself.

BTW: Lucie bought a pair of tight running pants that I took over. First marathon of the season is in two weeks, and since it's still a bit nippy out, I asked her "May I do a marathon in your pants?"

On the singing front: I just got back from four days of audition hell. I made the finals of the auditions for "Les Jeunes Voix du Rhin" in Colmar. Quite an honour, but that means I had to go back to Colmar; not something I was looking forward to after my first trip. But a gig, is a gig, so I racked up my credit card bill like a good little solder for the second trip in 3 days (complicated by a terrible train connection that, thanks to one small suicide, put me over 3 hours behind schedule. God, suicidal people are selfish! Why don't they go kill someone else insead. Always about "me me me". )

So they put us through the ringer for the whole day, only to tell us at the end that NONE OF US were taken. I guess Colmar is such a rockin' place that every young opera singer is just dying to spend hundreds to go and sing for them. Well, they can rock without me. I'm gonna go put my javelin.

Love,
Kevin

2007-02-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

Britney's New Do.

Or more of a don't. Acually, very accurately it's a can't, since there is nothing left to do with. Unless the absence of a do is a do unto itself.

I love it! I think she looks like a real tough-ass, "Don't fuck with me or Paris and I'll kick your ass!" kind of look. Perhaps the new Sigourney Weaver (the last famous woman who sported a can't and made it work. See "Alien 3". Perhaps she's going to team up with Marilyn Manson and make a new CD. I suggest they title it "Metal Twins".

What does it say about me that I come out of Blog silence in order to comment on Mrs. Federline's hair? Has nothing else interesting happened since February 8th? And for several months before that? I guess you get numb to it all after a while.

Thanks, Internet, for letting me share myself,

Kevin

http://www.britneyspears.com/

2007-02-09T01:34:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Long time, no write. Sorry about that. I'll try to do better.

Happy New Year 2007! I hope you're all settling in with your new calender motifs. Out with the Monet, in with the Picasso!

A few news items...

Our Christmas A Cappella CD was a great success, and our MySpace page even bigger... 730 000 plays of our songs and almost 400 000 profile views made us the #1 Classical artist on MySpace through the holiday season!

I'm now officially a tenor, as I got my first job at the theatre in Osnabrück. I won't be moving there full-time, as it's only an hour from Bremen, but I'm looking for a groovy little bachelor pad over there. I'll live like a student again!

All kevztunz-Produced CDs are now available online, thanks to the good folks at CD Baby and iTunes. Click here to look at my new order page:

http://www.kevinarmstrong.de/kevztunz/order.html

Killer Clothes is finally done and posted! Thanks to all that worked on it (for a no-budjet DV thing, it was quite a huge project.) You can check it out right here:

There are a few little updates to the webpage. Poke around and see if you can find them.

Ciao for now,
Kevin

2006-10-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

„Christmas A Cappella“ is the first release by Canadian opera singers Lucie Mayer and Kevin Armstrong. A varied and colourful recording, „Christmas A Cappella“ offers a selection of well-loved traditional Christmas carols and songs in the „a cappella“ fashion, with no instruments to accompany the rich and impressive voices of Mayer and Armstrong.

Please enjoy a few samples here on our Myspace page, and if you enjoy it, please buy the cd from CD Baby:

CLICK HERE-->

Or download it from iTunes!

Lucie Mayer comes originally from Montréal, Québec. During her university music studies, she began her career as an early and sacred music specialist, appearing on numerous recordings with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, and other Canadian groups. An opera career followed, after an impressive debut in the Vancouver Opera production of Wagner‘s „Flying Dutchman“. She has since performed with opera companies in Québec, Vermont, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Most notably, Lucie was a featured soloist on the Grammy-award winning recording of „Les Troyens“, conducted by Charles Dutoit.

Kevin Armstrong was born in British Columbia, Canada. After studying classical guitar and singing in numerous choruses, he discovered the operatic voice inside him. He pursued his studies at McGill University, obtaining a B.Mus and M.Mus. and was a resident artist numerous times at the Banff Centre for the Arts. In 2002, Kevin moved to Zürich, Switzerland, where he was a member of the studio ensemble of Opernhaus Zürich. He has since performed at opera houses and festivals in Germany and Switzerland with such notable artists as Sir John Eliot Gardner, Nello Santi, Thomas Hampson, Jose Cura, Ruggiero Raimondi, Leo Nucci, Charles Dutoit and others.

Lucie and Kevin now direct their own opera company, „The Handheld Opera“ in Bremen, Germany. The Handheld Opera specialises in presenting opera in unconventional spaces.

The lovely knits featured in our photo section provided by

Knit Wit Wear

2006-09-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

3 in a month!

I've been running my butt off lately. Over 100 km this month alone! I just competed in my third (3rd) half-marathon this MONTH. Yes, you read that correctly. After the Greifenseelauf last weekend, I had run 3, 21 km runs in less than 30 days. You can view my results here: http://www.datasport.com/myds/index.cfm?myds=Yes〈=DE&db=e&p=1.1&fid=2&fRefNr=917059&fName=Armstrong&fOrt=

I've been placing generally near the bottom of the pack, but around the middle of the bottom. There are many slimmer, prettier people with little 6-pack abs who I am leaving in the dust! And ten there are the 60-year-old women whizzing by me and slapping me on the ego. I can only hope that with 32 I will be as fit as they are at 60. And my boobs won't hang as much.

I have, however, shaved 15 minutes off my time from the first one I did to the last one. I think once I get the run down to under 2 hours, I'll be ready for the full marathon. Hamburg, I'm coming to get you in April!!

Dr. Faust is a blast. Thomas Hampson blew a gasket and gave me our quote of the day for yesterday (I'm still thinking of one for today): "Fuck the computer!" The computer responsible for opening the curtain couldn't seem to agree with Mr. Hampson as to when it should open. He did have a point: We have done opera for over 250 years without computers. Since when did we hand over all the responsibility to them? Do I have to worry about being replaced by robot singers? Their acting would probably be no stiffer than the average opera singers, and they would always hit the high c. They wouldn't complain then rehearsal goes 2 minutes over. She wouldn't gossip about the other robots behind their back, thus ruining the group dynamic. They wouldn't be bitter that they never had the career as a solo robots that they thought they should have had. They won't come to work drunk.. Hey, I think we should replace all opera singers with robots! If you agree , please share your opinion on the matter in my guest book.

Oh, the quote of the day for today...

Never trust a horse with an erection.

Kevin

2006-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Guess what I did last weekend!!!

On the spur of the moment, I signed up for a half-marathon (that's 22km folks) here in Bremen, thinking that it would be a good warm-up for the big one in Basel. I figured if I didn't finish, it was not the end of the world, since I just saw it as prep. Not only did I finish, but I finished 27 minutes faster than I thought I would! I gave myself 3 hours (the time limit) to run, walk or crawl to the finish, and I finished in 2 hours and 33 minutes. I probably would have finished in an even 2h30, but I took a couple of wrong turns along the way. Beginner's luck.

Thanks to Lucie for being there to support me. Thanks to Linda for the tips about Vaseline on the feet. And thanks to my feet for not failing me. I've never run that long in my life, and I only had to walk about 10 minutes of the entire ordeal. After the first lap (8.5 km), I was still going strong. It was about half way through the second lap that I "hit the wall" so to speak, and the legs started to burn a bit. But I pressed through, and after the second lap, I discovered the joys of carbohydrate gels. I downed one of those puppies, and within 5 minutes, my legs were pumping once again! I felt tingling sensations all over my body, and could even feel the blood flowing in and out of my hands as I was getting close to the end.

Running is meditation. You find a rhythm, and it hypnotizes you. The steady beat of the breath in unison with the sound of the feet hitting the ground. It's music for the soul, and the circulation. I think I added 3 years to my life span last weekend. My legs still hurt, but I've never been so happy to be in so much pain. I didn't walk far the next day, but why walk when you can recover?

I must tip my hat to those who kept pushing on for 2 more laps to finish the whole marathon. I wouldn't have made it (yet), and I sure wouldn't have made 3 marathons in ONE DAY, like some of the crazies who were running with me. Imagine, they got up at 4 AM, and within 20 hours had run 3 marathons in a row! This is not just a hobby, or even a sport, but a passion for these people. Some of them do nothing but run 1-4 marathons PER WEEK! I think it will take me a week to get my legs back in working order. And that gives me one week to prepare for the Basel marathon on September 3rd. Keep posted here, and I'll tell you how it went. Pics and video are to come.

2006-08-16T02:00:00.002-07:00

I just signed up to run a half-marathon in Basel in September! I am scared shiteless.

Running was always something I dreaded and deplored as a child. In gym class, they would make us run and run for what seemed like ages (though was probably only about 800 meters). I was a rather corpulent child, and was under pressure from the twigs around me to keep up, or I would be ridiculed. I was ridiculed anyway, but I still somehow felt obliged to prove myself, at all costs. After about two laps around the school-sanctioned torture chamber, the room would start spinning, my then-undiagnosed asthma caused me to wheeze and gasp for air, and I had to stop running, thus increasing the humiliation as the two-legged slicks breezed by, thinking they were something special.

Well, guess what? I've faced my fears, and decided my 30th birthday present to myself would be to start running. I've worked up to 10km with gas to spare, but I've never attempted a 21km run before. Ever. And I'll bet that most of the stick kids I went to school with have done that either. If only I could go back in time and tell myself how the world really is, and how one can excel without the ability to sprint laps like an automaton around that stinky hell room where I had to spend 90 minutes a week feeling like less of a person than I already did in the school hallway.

Now when I go back to Nelson (when I have time off from performing with world-class artists in international opera houses), I can see those little twig people I went to school with. Their bark has gotten thinker over the years, and their heads aren't doing much better. (Side note: these are the same wankers who didn't invite me to my own class reunion. They said they couldn't find me. Since my mother's address and telephone number haven't changed since I was 5, I can only assume they didn't look too hard.) I wish I could challenge them to a few laps around the LVR gym. Let's see who's the fat ass now!

Kevin

2006-08-07T02:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Thanks for giving my blog a look. I'll do my best to keep you entertained and up-to-date with my thoughts and actions.

kevztunz's current projects:
1. Recording an a-capella Christmas CD that must be finished before:
2. Going to Zürich for 6 weeks to sing in a production of Busoni's Dr. Faust. While I'm there, I'll be working on the laptop editing:
3. KILLER CLOTHES! Yes, our little, low-budget sci-fi parody is almost in the can. Just a few more small scenes to film, then I can put that aside and focus on finally finishing:
4. Personal Artifacts, my CD-in-the-works for the past 3 years. Funny how life keeps getting in the way.
5. I'm also currently trying to convince Mr. Gian Carlo Menotti to let us use his wonderful Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" without having to pay the oodles of money the publisher wants for the rights. It will be a fundraiser for children in Africa, so only a cold, cold heart would refuse us. Unfortunately, Germany is full of them. When it all works out, I'll let you know.

Stay tuned, stay loose, and most of all, stay cool,

Kevin