Can You See the Sunset? » family http://www.canyouseethesunset.com Music & More Since 2005 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:02:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Przepraszam http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/przepraszam/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/przepraszam/#comments Sat, 22 May 2010 13:00:37 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=3682 (Read more...)]]> Back when I was a kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old, one of my 2nd cousins (his name was Grzegorz but we called him Greg) from my father’s side of the family came over to the United States from Poland and lived with us for a few weeks. He was a year younger than I was and I distinctly remember (at the time) him being a little odd, which is unsurprising considering the cultural differences between the United States and (then) communist Poland in the late 80’s. This cousin visited the US again a few years later but I really don’t remember much about that visit as he didn’t spend much time with us.

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago when I was doing some genealogy research and did a Google search for my distant relative Greg and found out he was the vocalist in a band called Przepraszam from Warsaw. How cool is that? Since then we’ve exchanged some messages and I’m genuinely excited to have gotten in touch with him. His band has a different sound; a sound that is equal parts folk, goth, and indie rock. While it isn’t the type of music I’d normally listen to I kinda like some of the stuff I’ve downloaded from their website. Have a listen.

MP3:
Przepraszam - Czarownica
Przepraszam - Wakacje

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]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/przepraszam/feed/ 3 Just a few things http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/just-a-few-things/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/just-a-few-things/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:11:20 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=3606 (Read more...)]]> Attention everyone, you’ve gotta check out the latest edition of the Rocket Fuel Podcast! Jeff interviews Tim from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and plays (as always) a shitload of great songs. Plus he’s giving away some killer Paper + Plastick merch from Spanish Gamble and We Are The Union. The contest runs through midnight tonight, so enter now.

Additionally my 8 month old little girl is teething, miserable, congested, and has an ear infection. My 4 year old just learned how to whistle over the weekend and now loves what she calls “crazy rock and roll music.” Specific examples include Rise Against and The Suicide Machines. Moments like that are part of what makes being a parent awesome!

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/just-a-few-things/feed/ 0 The Many Faces of My Baby http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-many-faces-of-my-baby/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-many-faces-of-my-baby/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:31:04 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=3488 (Read more...)]]>
Howdy, folks. Things have been a little sporadic around here lately, but will return to normal right about now. Anyhow, I thought I’d share some new pictures of Teagan the baby who is now 7 months old and damn near 20 lbs. She’s also got a tooth and is a slobbering mess most of the time. Between Teagan and her sister, there’s never a dull moment here at casa de CYSTSFTS. I mean, how could things not be busy with two kids? Thanks for hanging in there.

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-many-faces-of-my-baby/feed/ 2 A bit of a whimper and a few tears http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/a-bit-of-a-whimper-and-a-few-tears/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/a-bit-of-a-whimper-and-a-few-tears/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:50:46 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2791
She’s impossible to deal with when she screams in the car… every single time we put her in the car. Really, it’s a shrill-ear-piercing bombast of baby cry, but still, how could anyone not love this face?

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/a-bit-of-a-whimper-and-a-few-tears/feed/ 2 The Nicest Guy in the World? http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-nicest-guy-in-the-world/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-nicest-guy-in-the-world/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:14:20 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2694 (Read more...)]]> Okay. I just have to say that Jim from the band Kid, You’ll Move Mountains has got to be one of the nicest people ever on the face of the earth (and I’m not just saying this because his band is great even though they are). Let me explain… I’ve seen KYMM live and met Jim in person exactly once. That’s it. We’ve exchanged all sorts of electronic communications (email, Twitter, Facebook, etc…) but have only met in person once despite both living in Chicago’s Western suburban wasteland. Considering that I’m floored that he has offered White Sox tickets, an invitation to his 4th of July party, and now (get your kleenex ready) “replacement” cats.

For those of you who actually read this blog, you know that lost both of our cats (Indie and Ollie) in the last month or so and it hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world for us. I got a message from Jim the other day saying that Nate and Nina (from KYMM) had a kitten (or maybe two) that they would be willing to give away and that he mentioned to them that we might be interested. Seriously, the cats are adorable and (especially after seeing the pictures) it was hard to pass but we aren’t ready yet. But really, I didn’t know that there were people this thoughtful and nice. So this is just “Thanks Jim,” for being such a nice guy… and for having a great band. Check out this post and their album Loomings for some seriously good music.

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/the-nicest-guy-in-the-world/feed/ 1 My Daughter Hailey vs. Scott Murphy http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/my-daughter-hailey-vs-scott-murphy/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/my-daughter-hailey-vs-scott-murphy/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:10:08 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2630 (Read more...)]]> Out of the blue a few months ago I got a call from my former Allister band mate Scott Murphy about the possibility of having our oldest daughter Hailey model for the cover of his upcoming CD Guilty Pleasures Love. Scott is (for those of you who don’t know) somewhat of a pop star in Japan, where this CD was just released. Since the breakup of Allister in 2007, Scott has released a bunch of EP’s featuring Japanese language cover songs (Guilty Pleasures II, Guilty Pleasures III, Battleground, and now Guilty Pleasures Love) along with an English language full-length featuring all original material called Balance.










Anyhow, the photo shoot was a ton of fun and it was nice to sorta catch up with Scott over a few Old Speckled Hen’s. Hailey had a blast getting her makeup outlandishly done and posing for the camera as if she was the rock star. This leads me to the package that arrived on our doorstep last week. It contained a poster of the cover, a store display, and a copy of the CD. Have a listen to some of Scott’s stuff below. It’s still hard for me to believe that he’s got this successful solo career in Japan but is virtually unknown here in the United States. Really, a few of the songs below could (or should) be radio hits here. All Scott’s CD’s are available through Universal Records Japan.

MP3:
Scott Murphy - What If from Balance
Scott Murphy - 未来予想図 from Guilty Pleasures Love
Scott Murphy - 1５の夜 from Battleground
Scott Murphy - Falling Apart from Guilty Pleasures III
Scott Murphy - 僕のあやまち (Falling Apart) from Balance

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/my-daughter-hailey-vs-scott-murphy/feed/ 2 Oliver http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/oliver/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/oliver/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:08:07 +0000 Eric http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2606 (Read more...)]]> I can’t believe I’m writing another post like this only a month after I wrote this one. It just hasn’t sunken in quite yet because it happened so fast. Now about a month ago we made the decision to put down one of our two cats, Indie, because she was pretty sick and not getting any better. One of the things that made that easier was that we still had Oliver, the big fat cat that my daughter loved so much. Well, after we got home from the Halloween festivities of last last night and put the girls to bed, we sat down to relax a little when we heard Oliver, from the dining room, make a strange vocalization. Amy went to see what was going on and saw him basically scooting across the floor and dragging his rear left leg. We watched him for a minute or two more as he dragged himself around and continued to meow and started panting very heavily. We quickly made the decision to rush him to the closest animal hospital with emergency hours, but by the time we got him in his carrier as best we could, both his hind legs and tail seemed to have gone totally limp. I put Oliver in the car and even though I was petting him and trying to reassure him, he continued panting and meowing; he sounded scared. Not even 10 minutes into the drive, Oliver started struggling and began making low-pitched guttural sounding noises that were uncharacteristic of him but he soon stopped and everything was quiet. I knew. I pulled over to the side of the road and checked him for a pulse or to see if he was breathing and he wasn’t. When I arrived at the animal hospital, the vet tech checked him over and confirmed he had indeed passed in the car on our way there. Most likely he had a stroke or released a blood clot that just started affecting him. It all happened so fucking quickly that it really doesn’t seem real just yet. I sobbed like a baby when I just saw him laying lifelessly in his carrier. Oliver was a good and friendly cat; a cat that we knew and loved for the past 10 years. After Indie left us a month ago, he was noticeably around more. He was more tolerant of Hailey and let her snuggle with him… a lot. It makes us feel better about losing Oliver if we think that he just missed his sister, Indie, and needed to be with her. This loss, unlike with Indie, was totally unexpected and something we had no time to prepare for, and it’s different but still difficult and still very sad. Oliver will most certainly be missed around here.

R.I.P Oliver (3/17/99 – 10/31/09)

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/oliver/feed/ 15 Indie http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/indie/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/indie/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:59:06 +0000 Eric http://beta.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2479 (Read more...)]]> Yesterday I did the most difficult thing I have ever done. I walked into the vet’s office with my cat, Indie, and walked out crying with an empty cage in my hands. Amy and I got Indie from Uncle Bill’s Pet Store on the South side of Indianapolis a few months after we moved in together in 1998 and she was such a sweet little mischievous kitten back then. The reason we picked her instead of any other cat was because she licked my finger as I poked it through a hole in the cage. She really was always such a friendly, good natured, and affectionate cat. She was always just hanging around. Indie was our first baby and made friends with some of the bands that crashed at our place back then; bands like Midtown, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, At The Drive-In, Boxer, Lounge, Supermarket All-Stars, River City High, Allister, RX Bandits, No On 15, and probably more. If Amy and I were sitting on the couch, she would find a comfy spot between us. She would race around the house as if chasing some invisible prey. It must have been about five years ago that she developed a colon condition. At first we took her to the vet numerous times, gave her medication, and tried different home treatments. They worked for a little while, but she kept having episodes. Eventually she would just work the problem out and be fine for a period of time, but over the past few years, the times she was sick began to outnumber the times she resembled the happy cat we knew her to be. She would vomit around the house, sometimes miss her litter box (if she could go at all), and just withdraw away from everyone until she felt better. Towards the end it was obviously painful and difficult to her and her weight dropped from about 11 lbs. a few years ago to 6 lbs. last week. That cat had a such presence and a personality. When she was really happy she would drool so much that she’d leave we spots on our clothes. Once she got used to Hailey she would sometimes jump on her Hailey’s bed for story time at night and meow. She loved to snuggle and loved to be loved. So yesterday after work I took Indie from the arms of my tearful wife and took her to the vet. She always hated riding in the car. When we got to the vet I just held her and waited. When we got called into the room I just held her as he explained the procedure and everything else. To be honest, I wasn’t really listening. I held Indie as he gave her the injection that knocked her out. I held her limp body when the vet injected the euthanasia solution. A minute later he checked for a heartbeat and said she had passed. I spent another few minutes holding her, petting her, and crying before I said goodbye and walked out of the room. I can’t help but wonder if there was anything else we could have done and if we made the right decision. If she would have died naturally and not because we chose this for her might have made it easier. Actually, knowing that we made the right decision doesn’t make it any easier. It still sucks really bad. I could be all tough and macho about it, but I’m man enough to admit that I cried like a little girl. Fuck it. Even though we have two kids under the age of 4 and another cat, our house still seems empty. We loved her like the pain in the ass family member that she was and we will miss her very much. R.I.P. Indie (7/19/1998 – 9/28/2009)

MP3 | The Weakerthans – Plea From A Cat Named Virtute
MP3 | The Weakerthans – Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure

]]> http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/indie/feed/ 3 My Two Girls http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/my-two-girls/ http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/my-two-girls/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:58:47 +0000 Eric http://beta.canyouseethesunset.com/?p=2476 (Read more...)]]>
Posts have been pretty non-existent as of late, but with good reason. I’m working towards moving this beast of a blog to WordPress, so stay tuned. As for the picture above, yeah, I think they’re pretty cute. Plus, this song is exactly what I can imagine one of them writing about the other.

MP3 | Juliana Hatfield – My Sister (Live)


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Paramore		 Slow Poison Lyrics
Bravery
Strange Lyrics
Ne-Yo		 Somebody to Love Lyrics
Glee Cast
Three Love Lyrics
Britney Spears		 Can’t Shake Loose Lyrics
Ne-Yo
Toolbox Lyrics
Logan Chapman		 Just Say Yes Lyrics
Snow Patrol
Back To The Crib Lyrics
Juelz Santana		 Need You Know Lyrics
Lady Antebellum

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