A scary thought for Halloween.
Think about the last election. One party fielded the oldest man ever to run for president, whose cancer is in remission. His running mate was someone with such radically right-wing beliefs that she refused to reveal what magazines she read.
What's scary is that many people took them for serious candidates. Fortunately, the powers in control of these things gave us a reasonable option.
Politics in America is fucked up because we live in a world of lies. I do believe people can make good decisions if they are well informed. That is why the people who run things spend a lot of money to keep us deluded.
Here's a clue. If you have strong emotional reasons for choosing one candidate or the other, please don't vote. You've been duped, fooled, manipulated, and I don't care how many catch phrases you have absorbed to justify your feelings. If you vote your gut you are failing in your duty as a responsible adult to make an informed choice. Just fume at home, throw things at the TV, shake your fist at the sky.
This isn't some game.
10/29/2010
10/26/2010
10/25/2010
10/16/2010
10/03/2010
9/08/2010
Working on the very dynamic song Sparrows. and listening closely to the mix leads me to be disgusted with mp3 compression.
Of course it's always been there with mp3 files, but we tend to say "oh, at 256K they aren't so bad" and get over it. Well, they really are so bad, especially if you've got a clean 24 bit .wav file to compare them to.
I don't know, I've read that some people prefer that sound, and it doesn't surprise me. I used to "like" the sound of cassette tapes...
Of course it's always been there with mp3 files, but we tend to say "oh, at 256K they aren't so bad" and get over it. Well, they really are so bad, especially if you've got a clean 24 bit .wav file to compare them to.
I don't know, I've read that some people prefer that sound, and it doesn't surprise me. I used to "like" the sound of cassette tapes...
8/22/2010
This has been the Steam Powered recording schedule for August so far-
That's 13 nights in the studio recording, mixing, backing up songs or repairing equipment.
My daughter asked me if I'm getting paid for this. Like it's a job or something.
Income is a convenient yardstick for success. That's a problem, because some very lame activities (brokerage) pay very well, and some very worthy activities (teaching) pay very little.
In America it seems that all work must turn a profit. I believe this is a trap.
I'll do the work because I like doing it. We'll see what sort of material profit, if any, comes from it.
My daughter asked me if I'm getting paid for this. Like it's a job or something.
Income is a convenient yardstick for success. That's a problem, because some very lame activities (brokerage) pay very well, and some very worthy activities (teaching) pay very little.
In America it seems that all work must turn a profit. I believe this is a trap.
I'll do the work because I like doing it. We'll see what sort of material profit, if any, comes from it.
7/12/2010
This is pretty weird. I spend a lot of my time reading progressive blogs and I check Google news several times a day, yet I didn't hear about the formation of a group called One Nation until I read about it in my local dead tree Sunday afternoon.
That article was a reprint of an article that had appeared in the Washington Post last Friday. Now, Fridays are notorious as news dump day, when things hit the papers that folks hope will not be noticed. Sort of like the old joke "and your cat died".
Added to this the fact that the Wash Post is one of the most active sources of disinformation/corporate propaganda on the planet, and I suspect that this was an attempt by them to set the tone for the discussion of this organization. That "tone" being that this is a group like the bizarre, reactionary Tea Baggers.
The lack of response by progressive bloggers is a bit puzzling, but I suppose they all have better things to do in the summertime on a Friday. Sadly, most of these guys are beyond bitter about the actions taken by the Obama administration so far. Expectations for the possibility of change are quite low.
What they forget is that they don't represent ordinary folks. Ordinary folks aren't quite so hooked into all the battles and maneuverings in Washington that progressives follow like the plot of some suspense novel. Sure, ordinary folks are disappointed, but they still believe in the process.
The timing of this call for change seems good to me. Organizing a march on Washington in October seems like a good idea to me. The call for unity among the majority who voted this man into office seems good to me. I want more, but this is a good start.
(later)
Still remarkable net silence about this. I found a piece by George Gresham on the Majority Agenda(?) website.
That article was a reprint of an article that had appeared in the Washington Post last Friday. Now, Fridays are notorious as news dump day, when things hit the papers that folks hope will not be noticed. Sort of like the old joke "and your cat died".
Added to this the fact that the Wash Post is one of the most active sources of disinformation/corporate propaganda on the planet, and I suspect that this was an attempt by them to set the tone for the discussion of this organization. That "tone" being that this is a group like the bizarre, reactionary Tea Baggers.
The lack of response by progressive bloggers is a bit puzzling, but I suppose they all have better things to do in the summertime on a Friday. Sadly, most of these guys are beyond bitter about the actions taken by the Obama administration so far. Expectations for the possibility of change are quite low.
What they forget is that they don't represent ordinary folks. Ordinary folks aren't quite so hooked into all the battles and maneuverings in Washington that progressives follow like the plot of some suspense novel. Sure, ordinary folks are disappointed, but they still believe in the process.
The timing of this call for change seems good to me. Organizing a march on Washington in October seems like a good idea to me. The call for unity among the majority who voted this man into office seems good to me. I want more, but this is a good start.
(later)
Still remarkable net silence about this. I found a piece by George Gresham on the Majority Agenda(?) website.
7/10/2010
Looking for a longish read on a wet afternoon?
Here's an evaluation of the current state of the union by Eric Alterman. Hits it just about right, I think.
Here's an evaluation of the current state of the union by Eric Alterman. Hits it just about right, I think.
7/09/2010
Endless War.
There's always a precedent. I've just rediscovered the Hundred Years' War. It was basically the French versus the English (although back in those days the English elite were French). They "engaged in hostilities" for a period of more than 100 years, off and on.
They did this while the Black Plague was raging. It was a war over territory, control of resources, and partly a pissing match. It was a war between the elite classes, fought by the peasants. It wasn't the peasants' fight- the peasants had nothing in particular to gain or lose by who they worked for.
We still fight their wars, only the elite aren't titled "kings" and "dukes" anymore. The wars are still about territory, control of resources, and who has the bigger dick.
plus ça change...
There's always a precedent. I've just rediscovered the Hundred Years' War. It was basically the French versus the English (although back in those days the English elite were French). They "engaged in hostilities" for a period of more than 100 years, off and on.
They did this while the Black Plague was raging. It was a war over territory, control of resources, and partly a pissing match. It was a war between the elite classes, fought by the peasants. It wasn't the peasants' fight- the peasants had nothing in particular to gain or lose by who they worked for.
We still fight their wars, only the elite aren't titled "kings" and "dukes" anymore. The wars are still about territory, control of resources, and who has the bigger dick.
plus ça change...
7/07/2010
Zombie economics is easy to understand. Someone profits from this.
The American Dream isn't dead. It's very much in practice today. But what used to be implied by the American Dream- that anyone can achieve it- has been stripped down to something simpler.
We all know that not "everyone" can achieve it. Only the select few who are smart enough, resourceful enough, tough enough to deserve it. And these select few have no obligation whatsoever to anyone else.
But the myth is kept alive, because, well, if yins stopped working so hard, the select few would have a bit more trouble staying on top.
The American Dream isn't dead. It's very much in practice today. But what used to be implied by the American Dream- that anyone can achieve it- has been stripped down to something simpler.
We all know that not "everyone" can achieve it. Only the select few who are smart enough, resourceful enough, tough enough to deserve it. And these select few have no obligation whatsoever to anyone else.
But the myth is kept alive, because, well, if yins stopped working so hard, the select few would have a bit more trouble staying on top.
7/06/2010
I had a dream...
Like I'm watching a movie, there are scenes from a girl's life. In one of them, there are kids on a playground in winter. It is dark. The kids stand around in bunches, talking together, until some break off and run around. Eventually a teacher summons them back to class. They form up a double file line, and the rear most pair of girls withdraw cigarettes from string purses and somehow light up and have a few drags during the march back to school.
The incident is related in a book- a slim, beige hardbound book that covers a year in the life of its subject. There is a woman with a stack of these books in her home telling the stories behind them. Her husband is here with her- she is young middle aged. She explains how the books worked. "It really is a club," she says at one point. She and her friend were both members. She divides the stack of volumes according to the towns she lived in- at one point explaining that she moved away for a while, but then moved back. She seems to want to sort the books by the town rather than follow the order of years, so the stack is not in order from newest to oldest. She opens a volume.
The paper is odd, like the old encyclopedias, sort of yellowish, but smooth. On each page is a series of dated paragraphs, either describing general events in history or specific instances in the woman's life. This column takes up the central third of the page- there's plenty of room in the margins for hand-written notes. A typical entry was like- "August 14, 1969. Begin two weeks of camp at Nabobiskybobie. Mom cried."
So it's like a diary, but one with permanence, meant to be shared with others in the club.
Like I'm watching a movie, there are scenes from a girl's life. In one of them, there are kids on a playground in winter. It is dark. The kids stand around in bunches, talking together, until some break off and run around. Eventually a teacher summons them back to class. They form up a double file line, and the rear most pair of girls withdraw cigarettes from string purses and somehow light up and have a few drags during the march back to school.
The incident is related in a book- a slim, beige hardbound book that covers a year in the life of its subject. There is a woman with a stack of these books in her home telling the stories behind them. Her husband is here with her- she is young middle aged. She explains how the books worked. "It really is a club," she says at one point. She and her friend were both members. She divides the stack of volumes according to the towns she lived in- at one point explaining that she moved away for a while, but then moved back. She seems to want to sort the books by the town rather than follow the order of years, so the stack is not in order from newest to oldest. She opens a volume.
The paper is odd, like the old encyclopedias, sort of yellowish, but smooth. On each page is a series of dated paragraphs, either describing general events in history or specific instances in the woman's life. This column takes up the central third of the page- there's plenty of room in the margins for hand-written notes. A typical entry was like- "August 14, 1969. Begin two weeks of camp at Nabobiskybobie. Mom cried."
So it's like a diary, but one with permanence, meant to be shared with others in the club.
7/01/2010
Concerning this 1984-style renaming of torture, it's something that we all know happened. It happened as we watched. Should there be more outrage about this?
I think we're pretty outraged as it is. But our outrage has no outlet.
We have a couple of options here. Number one: ignore it. This is a very popular option.
Number two: accept the change. This is also a popular option. We convince ourselves that what the world and we ourselves used to call torture is no longer torture. Or is OK as long as the "good guys" are doing it. Just go along with our leaders, they know what they're doing.
Number three: express outrage. This certainly works for some people- it can be a source of strength. Still, it's hard to express this feeling when there are so many outrageous things going on.
Number four: refuse to accept the change. Makes it difficult to maintain a positive view of the country when you face the fact that our leaders are war criminals. There is a whole chain of logical conclusions that follow from this. See Chomsky, etc.
I think we're pretty outraged as it is. But our outrage has no outlet.
We have a couple of options here. Number one: ignore it. This is a very popular option.
Number two: accept the change. This is also a popular option. We convince ourselves that what the world and we ourselves used to call torture is no longer torture. Or is OK as long as the "good guys" are doing it. Just go along with our leaders, they know what they're doing.
Number three: express outrage. This certainly works for some people- it can be a source of strength. Still, it's hard to express this feeling when there are so many outrageous things going on.
Number four: refuse to accept the change. Makes it difficult to maintain a positive view of the country when you face the fact that our leaders are war criminals. There is a whole chain of logical conclusions that follow from this. See Chomsky, etc.
6/27/2010
Speaking of peace, I just listened to Virginia Astley's "Hope in a Darkened Heart".
I always liked the track called "The Tree-Top Club", but never could find out where it was from. Long story, but now, after 30 years, I've heard the entire album, and it's remarkable.
I always liked the track called "The Tree-Top Club", but never could find out where it was from. Long story, but now, after 30 years, I've heard the entire album, and it's remarkable.
5/26/2010
Many of you already know this, but I just want to explain a few things about the whole Steam Powered thing.
It isn't a sales site. You can't buy anything there. If you carry that thought out a ways then what you see there may make better sense.
It's a web site about work done in a recording studio. What I think makes it interesting is that the studio isn't about making money. The studio is about recording stuff.
The studio is in many ways my little play toy, but it's a play toy that I take very seriously. I believe that removing the need to make recordings for money has an effect on the nature of the recordings.
(more later)
It isn't a sales site. You can't buy anything there. If you carry that thought out a ways then what you see there may make better sense.
It's a web site about work done in a recording studio. What I think makes it interesting is that the studio isn't about making money. The studio is about recording stuff.
The studio is in many ways my little play toy, but it's a play toy that I take very seriously. I believe that removing the need to make recordings for money has an effect on the nature of the recordings.
(more later)
5/24/2010
5/05/2010
4/28/2010
4/25/2010
Today is Diva day at Rosa Rosa. I'll be recording the live show starting this afternoon around 3:00.
Stop on by and help the cause!
Stop on by and help the cause!
4/15/2010
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