Cookies, films, and analog effects

I have so many things I want to blog about, so I will do so now as my cookies are baking. Yes, I am baking oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies (don't worry Matthew, I would never consider making raisin cookies) because I finally found the recipe after searching for it all week. Ok, let's get down to business. I will leave my guitar/pedals writing stuff until my last paragraph so that those of you who hate that stuff can stop reading before getting that far.

First, let's talk about the film I rented a few nights ago. (I know, I am really living it up, and blowing all my money; but it was worth it on this one). I rented "Stranger Than Fiction" and I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable and original in some ways while still seeming humble. Do you know what I mean? Like, some movies (like "The Illusionist") act like they are some sort of brilliant film that is supposed to blow you away, while you can see through the whole story the whole time. Ya, the Illusionist was a crap movie and nothing even close to as good as "The Prestige". I don't know why I mentioned that film except for the fact that some people might go trying to rent "The Prestige and end up with the all time worst case scenario of walking home with "The Illusionist" instead. (Man! what was Edward Norton even thinking?) (Man! what was I thinking? Never give a film a chance based on the actors in it. Am I being too cruel? I just think you can choose a film to view based on a director, but never an actor. Why do I get so mean and mouthy when I blog? I feel bad now.
So, I just realized that "Stranger Than Fiction" is probably what inspired me to bake cookies this week; because of that scene where he enjoys the same kind so immensely. I guess I can also relate to his excitement with his Fender guitar. What I really grabbed me in this film was the (probably unintentional) allusion to the Garden of Gethsemane. This probably makes me an obsessed religious nut for even pointing this out, but isn't all of the true beauty in this film directly due to the story's similarity to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The decision/obedience/actions of Jesus are duplicated in this story to a lesser degree. Even though this story isn't as brilliant and poetic as that of Jesus', it resonates with me because of its similarities.
Ok, so it's now Pedaltalk time again so Anh, you can stop reading now. It's time for an update. I bought a Behringer Expression/Volume pedal last time I was in Calgary. It seemed to work fine with my digital Zoom pedal, even though I didn't quite get the right chord to connect it. (I got a Y chord from TRS to two TS ends but it should have TRS to TRS. Anyways, after goofing with it for about a week, I have officially decided to return it. I'm not sick of wah effects yet but rather, I am sick of digital effects. Yes, that's right; I've decided to go analog. I have reached that point now. I used my guitar amp last night with just my Telecaster for the first time and I was rather impressed at the tones. Now, you should know that my amp is a VERY old Traynor 200Watt tube amp with no sorts of distortion really available. It has some reverb and a tremolo though. However, by cranking the volume for the channel and then just turning down the Master volume I could get a slight distortion that I rather enjoyed. It seems like the perfect amount of distortion for most of the stuff that we play so far in church, with much better tone than my digital pedal. So, I've decided to build from there. I will return last week's purchase. I already won an auction on eBay this afternoon for a used Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal for quite a deal. Then, I will slowly add some analog pedals. I would like the option of some more distortion (a bit heavier sound) and so my first pedal may be something along those lines. I've considered the Boss DS-1 but I will consult some expert guitar store guys desperately trying to earn commission. Maybe I will get a footswitch for my amp's tremolo. I still greatly revere Tom Morello and his creative sounds so I will likely continue to try emulating some of his tones. Maybe down the road I will even consider the Digitech Whammy Pedal, if I could find one for cheap. Maybe a delay pedal first, (although that might be one use for my digital pedal). So, my analog journey begins.