Ender Speaks

Last Days

2011-12-31T18:23:00.001-05:00

Here we are again, one more last day, December 31. I've seen so many of these particularly happy last days.

And peculiar.

We fear the future, because it's that great unknown, that huge uncertainty, the undiscovered country from whose bourne no man returns. We tremble along our particular paths of silent desperation, casting a quivering fearful glance toward the idea of the future, and we shiver. That's the normal. We fear the latter days.

And yet, on December 31 we cast away doubt, cast off fear, and leap toward the light, the dawning sun of the new year.

Weird, because while we wait for the ball to drop, it's like we forget that it's still that same random future that awaits us when the orb rises. It's like we forget.

Against our better nature and our coffee-stained, peach-pitted days; amidst the confetti and the kissing and the singing and the whatever-happens-when-the-countdown-reaches-zero, we dare to hope!

And then we forget again, and we eat another peach.

How much we could teach ourselves if we were to live out our lives as a series of last days, one bright leaping into the future after the next!

Peaches? We don't need no stinking peaches!

Happy day to you.

Thumbs Up!!!

2011-12-25T08:16:00.001-05:00

It's Christmas, y'all. and for that reason, I'm reposting my favorite YouTube video of 2011, Thumbs Up For Rock and Roll. Here, our hero has accomplished a great victory, and he has some words of wisdom for those who follow in his footsteps.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

12 Days:

2011-12-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.

I saw where this was headed, so later that night I called my true love and broke it off.

On the third day of Christmas I unfriended my true love on Facebook. She was a stalker.

Stephen King's The Long Walk

2011-12-19T22:45:00.000-05:00

Today I'm casting my mind back to the stories of Stephen King, my author-crush. I read my first King novel, The Shining, when I was 9, I think, which in hindsight was probably not a healthy thing (heh heh heh). It was the first time I'd seen the 'F-word' written down. Over the years I've read every King story I could get my hands, moving from crazy Jack to crazy dog, to crazy fire-girl, and on and on.

I discovered the Bachman books, I think, in the mid 80s. The Long Walk (first Ed. 1979) was one in the series. A story about a group of boys who compete in a deadly race, one with a starting line but not ending line - the race is over when there's one walker left, and he's the winner.

Interestingly, though The Long Walk is published well after Carrie (which put King's name on the map) the Walk was actually his first story. The Walk is a study in suspense - 100 boys enter, one boy is left at the end (a structure similar to that of The Running Man, which starts at Chapter 100 and ends at Chapter 1). What happens to the other 99, you ask? Well, it's Stephen King. They fall by the wayside. Apparently, that's always been the lot of the 99, I suppose. The more important question is, what happens to the 1?

I find this story weirdly timely if you're willing to consider metaphors and imagery and symbols and stuff, and I hope that more people decide to give this one a read.
Creepy, but still timely.

Schemer: Watch Castaway on the Moon (2009)

2011-12-13T21:25:00.004-05:00

This is the best of the castaway genre, I think. And definitely something you should plan to see. This beautiful movie is a story about hope. Hope, and a man who initially loses it, then struggles with it, then finally embraces it again.

This is a tricky movie to describe, except to say, as a movie in the castaway genre it's absolutely unique. Every moment of this film is a tight symbol - some permutation of the central theme of hope. You cringe a bit, you sigh a lot, you giggle at times.

This YouTube preview omits the English subtitles, which is perhaps not a bad thing:

Learn more about this film at IMDB.

Bamboozled: The Right's New Millennial Minstrel Show

2011-12-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the film Bamboozled, by Spike Lee? Here's the premise. The uptight and disenchanted black protagonist decides to get himself fired from his job at a television station. His ploy is to create a TV show that is SO BAD - so offensive - that he would be fired.

He created Mantan: The New Minellial Minstrel Show, featuring black actors in blackface, extreme stereotypes, offensive language. It is, in our hero's mind, the perfect storm of offense.

But his boss loves it. In fact, so do audiences. Mantan becomes a super hit, which begins the unravelling of our hero's equilibrium.

That's it for Bamboozled, but that's where the fun begins. As I read the news and opinions among the political punditry, I can't shake the impression the the American political right is caught up in an extended episode of Mantan, where it seems like the political players reach for the most extreme, most egregious, most 'blackface' type of political behavior. To the guy on the other side of the fourth wall, such behavior is face-palmingly shocking. But in the Bamboozled world, the audiences are lapping it up.

Still Traumatized

2011-09-11T22:55:00.001-04:00

I have one image burned in my memory - a man, falling down the side of one of the WTC towers, his tie flapping. The image, printed in Time Magazine's special edition from the weekend after the event, is obviously taken within moments of his jumping from the tower, as the attitude of his body is of someone who has _jumped,_ not fallen. Arms slightly bent and slightly raised - for balance? - knees slightly bent, face pointed down to the ground below. Tie pointing straight up.

It's that flapping tie that gets to me - pointing as it does to the banality of this guy's everyday life - he wore a tie. And, let's say 20 minutes before he made the decision to jump from the burning building, that tie was a normal part of his every day.

In a moment - in the twinkling of an eye - normal changed, and then he suddenly found himself in a world where it made sense to jump.

What manner of _extremis_ makes this the new normal?

And how do we, we the people left behind, contemplate this young man's apocalypse without weeping? Without that threat of panic - of madness - lurking at the edges of normality?

Anyway, gotta go. _The Simpsons_ is on.

Finally! A Blogger iPhone App!

2011-09-09T07:24:00.001-04:00

Well, it's about time they came out with a Blogger app.

Pat Bishop dies in Trinidad

2011-08-20T22:36:00.003-04:00

I'm very sad to have learned of the passing of my friend Pat Bishop in Trinidad today. The Trinidad and Tobago music community has been blessed in the remarkable passion and talent of this great soul and wonderful musician, and this loss to our family is a loss to the nation and the world. Our hearts are filled with grief at this great shock, and we extend our condolences to Pat's family, the Lydians, and to all the musicians and artists who were touched by this mighty spirit.
The story is reported here.

New Reading Project: Incognito

2011-07-24T21:14:00.000-04:00

I'm reading Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. I'll be blogging my progress in a post in Google Plus, available here.

Bill Maher is Wrong, Too!

2011-07-10T07:56:00.002-04:00

In a previous post I complained for a second time about Marcia Clark and her unfair blame-the-jury attitude to the Casey Anthony verdict. Now Bill Maher is weighing in, weirdly equating the 'not-guilty' finding with people who vote republican. I understand that in America, everything is viewed through a hyper-partisan lens, but this is crazy talk.

I'm waiting for Maher to chime in on the job that the prosecution did. I continue to maintain, in my own piss-into-the-wind fashion, that you cannot blame the jury for the fact that the prosecution didn't PROVE their case. No cause of death, not true motive. How does that prove guilt? True, Casey Anthony's actions in connection with this event are highly irregular and, some might say, despicable. But despicable does not equate to a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which of course is the standard set for criminal conviction in the American criminal justice system. The prosecution did not meet that standard, and the verdict is the natural reasonable consequence of this.

Well, Bill, what do you say? Reason, or Rhetoric?

Chatting Up in Video Chat

2011-07-09T11:58:00.001-04:00

I'm not talking about ChatRoulette here, so if that's what you're looking for, stop reading now and go away (nice to meet you, though). If you plan on using the Google+ Hangouts feature, though, step right up.

Graphic by Lisa Miller

I've had some interesting conversations with my friend Alfredo about video chat. He was the first to point out that in video chats with 3 or more people there's a lot of cross-talk and interruption; folks don't have (or observe) simple conversational cues. In Hangouts, this is specially obvious because the main screen cuts to whomever is speaking (or speaking loudest) at the moment; so when there's a lot of cross-talk it gets visually noisy and confusing. And, this is fairly common in hangouts of more than two people. Alfredo is in a position to make this kind of observation - I think he's going for the record for most amount of time spent in Hangouts, EVAR.

An interesting exception is the Wave Watchers group. I fell in with the Wave Watchers soon after getting in to Google Wave. They're an active collaborative community that started life fighting trolls in Google Wave, then shifted focus to educating people about Wave. When G+ came along, the group of us (for some reason heh heh heh) "mysteriously" got early invites, and since then we've been getting to know each other a little better through the Hangouts. a lot of us use G+ the same way we used Wave (that's another story). For Alfredo, there's a difference in the way the Wave Watchers interact in Hangouts, which stems from the unique way that Google Wave worked.

Google Wave debuted the real-time collaborative editing that was later incorporated into Google docs. This is the feature that Alfredo thinks has affected the way the Wave Watchers behave in Hangouts.

The great thing about real-time collaborative editing is that you can see, instantaneously, what someone else is typing - heck you could finish someone's sentence for them, or correct (grammar-Nazi style) their misspellings while they were typing the word. The challenge in this was the problem of interruption; folks would be stepping all over other people's replies in their eagerness to enter the conversation. Very confusing to watch. As time passed, though, people became more restrained and we developed rhythms for when and how we would reply, even in real time. This behavior has carried over into Google Plus.

When the Wave Watchers hang out, even though there is some cross-talk and interruption (to be expected in any conversation, of course), it's more restrained - less dizzying and confusing - therefore easier to follow, and easier to participate in.

The moral of this story is...

Heck - who do I look like, Aesop?

Goodbye to Cursive!

2011-07-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

I’m responding – and seeking responses - to the recent Indiana Department of Education memo that says teachers can now abandon the teaching of cursive writing in favor of keyboarding skills.

This exemplifies a view proposed by William Fielding Ogburn on how technology affects social change; that it is somewhat inevitable that societies will adapt to major changes in technology, but after a period of cultural lag. Walter Ong’s work on the influence of literacy as a new technology on purely oral cultures provides further perspective and historical precedent.

In short, purely oral cultures devise strategies and competencies for retaining and advancing knowledge, based on memory and mnemonic formulas that set the structure of purely oral discourse. Literacy represents a new mode (new strategies and competencies) for storing that knowledge, obviating the absolute necessity of memory and mnemonic formulas. For a sustained period, the two modes exist on a somewhat parallel trajectory, in a somewhat antagonistic relationship to each other: Plato for instance dismissed writing as being destructive to memory. During this sustained period, written discourse depended upon the established, familiar structures of oral discourse – parallelism, rhyme, meter, recursive structures, etc. But after a while these structures were abandoned, and new structures, idiomatic to writing, emerged.

I have studied this phenomenon in relation to the effect that computer technologies have had on music (instruments, notation, and composition), as well as the manner in which the advent of social media have begun to affect the ways the audiences behave in public performances (to the consternation of many, I admit).

I believe that this recent move away from cursive to keyboarding is a textbook case of Ogburn’s theory: we’ve been in a long sustained period where cursive and keyboarding have existed in antagonistic relationship for several decades, and we’re moving into a period where keyboarding seems to be coming into its own.

Marcia Clark is Wrong, Part II

2011-07-08T08:49:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I railed against the 'blame-the-jury' approach of people who should know better, like Marcia Clark. The saga continues. Continuing her unfair attack on the Casey Anthony trial jury, Marcia Clark posts this opinion in The Daily Beast, in which she says that the jury fell prey to idiotic groupthink because they were sequestered together.

Photo and caption from The Daily Beast article: Casey Anthony (C) sits with her attorneys Cheney Mason (L) and Dorothy Clay Sims (R) before the start of her sentencing hearing on charges of lying to a law enforcement officer at the Orange County Courthouse July 7, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. Anthony was acquitted of murder charges on July 5, 2011 but will serve four, one-year sentences on her conviction of lying to a law enforcement officer. She will be credited for the nearly three-years of time served and good behavior and will be released July 13. , Joe Burbank-Pool / Getty Images

Marcia - what about the prosecution's case that didn't add up anddidn't meet the standard of Reasonable Doubt (thank you, Alex Dobuzinskis)? What about their risky decision to overcharge the case (thank you, Scott Bonn) in the first place? I can understand your myopia on this subject, given your history with the O.J. Simpson case, so I don't judge you too harshly. Still, I wish you'd write at least one column in which you explore the problems with the prosecution's case.

Marcia Clarke is Wrong!

2011-07-06T11:01:00.000-04:00

The Casey Anthony verdict is in: not guilty. The whole world, it seems, is reacting. Nancy Grace says the devil is dancing because, I suppose, Casey Anthony got away with murder. Marcia Clark says this verdict is worse than OJ! Both Grace and Clark have reacted as if the jury killed their momma.

But they're wrong, and they should know better. The American criminal justice system applies Reasonable Doubt as the marker that determines whether a person is deemed guilty of a crime. And, the burden of establishing the guilt of the accused, beyond that marker of Reasonable Doubt, falls to the prosecution. Where the prosecution fails to meet that marker, that standard, there can be no conviction of guilt.

In this setup, truth is irrelevant. It may be true that Casey Anthony killed her child. But that's not relevant here. One might firmly believe that Casey Anthony killed her child. But that's not relevant either. The only thing that matters is the extent to which the prosecution is able to present convincing evidence of guilt that rises goes beyond the reasonable doubts of the jury. In this case, the prosecution failed to do this.

You can't now turn around and condemn the jury as if they had somehow gotten befuddled, gotten it wrong, gotten confused, as to what their duty was here. That's so disrespectful to common sense. The jury's duty was clear - listen to the case, and determine whether the prosecution's case overwhelmed any reasonable doubt they might have as to Casey Anthony's guilt. This obviously wasn't the case.

End of story. Get over it.

Google Plus

2011-06-29T21:09:00.000-04:00

Today I got access to Google Plus, the latest social offering from the people who brought you Orkut, Wave, and Buzz.

Right off the bat, I like that they didn't hype this up the way they did with previous products. The problem with impossibly high expectations is that they're impossible to live up to. With Google Plus, there's no talk of 'Facebook killer,' or 'Twitter killer' or any kind of killing.

Google Plus is a neat and tidy social platform that let's you share what you want, with whomever you choose. A strength is that it makes it very easy to create groups (called circles) and share stuff with them. In this, it's easier to use than Facebook. And more personal.

One cool feature is the video chat, called Hangout. I played with this for a few minutes, alone, and was strangely satisfied. The problem with most chat rooms is that, if you're in there alone, there's nothing to do. So people get freaky. With Google Plus's Hangout, you can watch a YouTube video while you wait, or with any other friends (or circles) who answer your invite to the hangout session.
When you're not watching vids, you're in regular video-conference mode. The main viewer cuts to whomever is talking (talking loudest), and the other folks in the room show on a small strip across the bottom. Feels very natural.
You can mute your camera and/or mic for a little extra privacy or to pick your nose, and use the text chat pod (one-handed, if you're able) to communicate as needed.
This is video chat done right. Look out, Skype!

There are a couple of other neat features, nothing earth-shattering. I see lots of tiny lessons learned from Buzz and Wave; nothing like learning lessons, I say.

I predict that, as G+ slowly catches on, Google will roll out more of the real-time collaboration and communication features that worked so well in Wave (and that we're already seeing in Docs).

I'm cautiously optimistic on this. We'll see how things unfold.

Hello World

2011-06-10T08:50:00.000-04:00

Through the door again.

Hey there.
After a long drought, I'm back and ready to resume.

Listening to Pan Music

2011-01-15T14:04:00.002-05:00

A pan arrangement of a calypso tune is one of the remarkable forms of art music in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a very basic primer on what to expect when you listen to pan music for the first time, and how to make sense of it.

Like any orchestra, a pan side (or steel orchestra if you need the fancy) is basically made up of different 'voices': the high voices represented by the tenor, double-tenor and double-second pans; the low voices represented by the guitar, cello, and bass pans. Variations exist - see the Wikipedia article on the pan family. In crafting their work for the pan, musical arrangers capitalize on the rhythmic capacity of the pan as a drum, as well as its melodic abilities.

A pan arrangement has much in common with the Western-tradition symphonic first movement. There are three parts: exposition, development, recapitulation. In the exposition, the basic melody of the verse and refrain of the calypso are laid out. The development explores aspects of the melody by presenting permutations, or variations, using different melodic, rhythmic, and other processes. The recapitulation is the return of the original melodic material.

Since the arrangement is based a calypso which usually has text, the best arrangers are able to build some type of rhetorical connection between the text and the musical elements of the arrangement. For instance, if the original calypso talked about being attacked by a swarm of bees, the arranger might include a passage that tries to mimic the sound of bees. This is precisely the case in Jit Samaroo's arrangement of the classic The Bees' Melody, by Aldwyn Roberts, the Lord Kitchener.

In his calypso, Kitchener tells a story about climbing a mountain and disturbing a hive of killer bees. They swarm and attack him, but he (being an artist) hears a melody in the furious buzzing. This creates a dilemma: should he stay and listen to the bees' melody, and possibly die, or should he run away? It's both dramatic and funny in a classic 'Kitch' sort of way, which makes for great calypso.

The climactic element of the Jit Samaroo's arrangement is his musical evocation of the bees' attack, a rhetorical triumph.

In my next posting I'll lay out my thoughts on what makes this arrangement great. In the meantime you can check out both the original calypso and the pan arrangment, and start to formulate your own thoughts on the matter. You can find the text of the calypso here.

The Mas - The MasMan, Minshall

2011-01-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

This is a short tribute to Peter Minshall, the MasMan of Trinidad. Believe me when I tell you that in this world there is no other art than the art of Minshall, and no other artist like him. Minshall's art is the art of masquerade; which we in Trinidad and Tobago call mas, but which for Minshall has always been the mas.

A quick linguistic note. if you're in Port of Spain, or in parts of the country where people wish to sound formal, the word sounds like moss; just about everywhere else, it sounds like mass. In Trinidad there's no difference in meaning, but foreigners should always opt for the latter pronunciation. Trust me, okay?

Now, getting back to Minshall - which really means getting back to Trinidad mas. First check out the Wikipedia article on Trinidad Carnival, which has a workable description.

People often ask me what mas in Trinidad is like. "Is it like Rio? Is it like Bourbon Street?" The answer is no. In essence, these carnivals are similar in that, like french and italian, they share the same language root. But, like french is different from italian, Trinidad mas is a distinctly unique beast. Especially the way Minshall plays it.

Imagine a vast epic tale, with a rich story, lush landscape, powerful characters, and gripping rhetoric. Now imagine that epic tale itself as a mighty living entity that moves in the streets in colorful, sinuous majesty. Imagine that this sinuous thing has a heartbeat, chip chip chip chip, and that as passes by, you can't help but chip along too. Imagine that it has ten thousand waving arms and five thousand beating hearts. Now you're close to Minshall's mas.

I know that sounds fanciful. But if you once went to Trinidad and saw it for yourself, I'm not sure you'd put it any differently.

In the meantime, check out what other folks have said and done about Minshall.

Explosion of Trini Music

2011-01-08T12:33:00.001-05:00

Trinidad carnival, held the two days before Ash Wednesday, is the greatest show on earth. There are basically three elements to this grand explosion of artistry: masquerade, or mas as we say; calypso; and pan. No matter what you've heard, no matter what you've seen, there is absolutely nothing in the world like the carnival of Trinidad. You really have to go and see it for yourself. Yes, I mean go to Trinidad.

Calypso is the music that is indigenous to Trinidad. If you wander around Port of Spain (the capital) you'll hear folks refer to kaiso, the original art form developed early on, characterized by simple folk-type instrumentation, lush melodies, and clever rapid-fire lyrics, loaded with double entendre. You might also hear folks talk about soca, at first a fusion of kaiso with disco, then with any club style (though some purists might argue - meh!). It's all calypso, though.
Here's a sweet early recording by Roaring Lion, the kaiso man who composed Ugly Woman (1934).You will recognize bits of it.

The indigenous musical instrument of Trinidad is pan (not to be confused with Pan, the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, etc.). When the colonial British government outlawed drumming, folks got creative and used empty oil drums with mallets. Very quickly they realized that you could fashion the bottom of the drum (or the pan, as we call any metal container) to get tones, and voila, the steel drum was born. It's now our national instrument. During the carnival season, pan bands (or sides) take an existing calypso of the season and create a steel drum arrangement which the play in a grand competition we call Panorama.
Check out these two videos: the first is a tribute song to the pan by the Grand Master of Calypso, Kitchener; the second is the masterful pan arrangement by a hero of the artform, Jit Samaroo.

Pan in A Minor by Aldwin Roberts, the 'Lord Kitchener'

Pan in A Minor - Pan Arrangement by Jit Samaroo for the Renegades steel drum orchestra

In my next post I'll talk about Trinidad Masquerade.

The Widening Gyre

2011-01-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

W.B. Yeats famously wrote, in 1919, a poem titled The Second Coming, which begins as follows:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

This in the aftermath of World War I.

I first read these lines in 1990. At the time I was struck by those last two lines of the stanza, The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ are full of passionate intensity. I couldn't, and still can't, find words that more directly, accurately, and appropriately fit the tenor of public discourse in the world around me. Recent events brought this passage back to my mind.

Which brings another passage to mind, this time from Ecclesiastes (Chapter 1, Verse 9):

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Yeah - that last line is, again, the kicker. There is nothing new under the sun.

More tea, anyone?

Lagrime di San Juan

2010-12-16T16:45:00.002-05:00

You'd have to be a choral music geek like me to get the allusion in the the title of this post to one of the seminal works - the last, in fact - by the late-Renaissance composer Orlando di Lasso, called Lagrime di San Pietro (The Tears of Saint Peter). This is a collection of 20 guilt-wracked madrigals and one motet of condemnation, contemplating in profound depth the tears shed by Saint Peter in reaction to his own realization that he has, as prophesied, betrayed Christ.

Of course, the title of this post refers to John Boehner (San Juan), who has made a name for himself as someone who is not too big or too manly to cry. You have to be really comfortable in your own skin to be able to let go and let the tears flow so readily in public. And I have to say I find it admirable that Mr. Boehner is mature enough to cry.

Still, I'm unmoved by his tears. I'm not saying that they're crocodile tears, just that I'm not convinced that they're anything but self-absorbed. I've noted that Mr. Boehner's weeping fits all seem to be triggered by ego events. Ego Event is a term I just made up; it refers to any event that touches your personal story. Seeing the kids in the schools, Mr. Boehner says, touches him because he wants them to have the same American Dream that he has. Ego event. Remembering his personal history of pulling himself up by his bootstraps is another trigger for the weeping. Ego event.

I'd be less inclined to be cynical if just once Mr. Boehner would tear up at a situation that in no way touches his personal history, as this would count as true empathy, not self-pity. Like... I dunno... a guy gets convicted of murder and sentenced to death and executed, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence after the fact. Or, say, a bunch of elderly people who have to make a choice between food and medicine. Or, say, a girl joins the Peace Corps to serve her country, gets raped in a foreign country, then is unable to get health insurance coverage because rape - or, to be fair, the PTSD that follows the act - is a pre-existing condition. Or, some firefighter rushes to ground zero to help in the rescue, gets ill as a result, and then gets denied health assistance. These things, I could weep about. I don't know about Mr. Boehner.

Yes, I get it - maybe I'm being tough on old John.

Still, it's nothing to cry about.

Related Articles and Opinion
The Crying Game by Gail Collins. New York Times, 12/15/2010
Hypocrisy in Mocking Boehner's Tears by Ruben Navarrette Jr. CNN, 12/16/2010
John Boehner: Weeper of the House by Joanne Bamberger. Politics Daily, 12/14/2010
John Boehner's Crying Game by Jonathan Capehart. Washington Post, 12/13/2010

Playing Dead to Ketch Corbeau Alive

2010-12-14T14:56:00.001-05:00

This Trinidadian expression is explained thus: a wily creature, such as a fox, might pretend to be dead, hoping that the corbeau (vulture-type carrion bird) will hop close, so that he can catch (ketch) the bird and eat it up.

It's also a metaphor about political shrewdness, describing a particular tactic once used by Eric Williams, Trinidad and Tobago's first Prime Minister. Legend has it that Williams once announced that he'd had it with the bruising political game in his party, and was tired of the ingratitude of the country, and was planning to retire as political leader and Prime Minister. With this, several of the hopeful leaders-in-waiting in Williams' party put themselves forward as potential successors. This played out for a few weeks, at which time Williams famously announced that he'd changed his mind, was more invigorated than ever, and wasn't going anywhere; he then systematically pushed out of the government (out of the party, out of politics) the folks who had presumed to fill his shoes. So he got rid of any potential threats to his leadership within the party. Playing dead to ketch corbeau alive.

It's a sneaky trick that's been played over and over in the politics of Trinidad and Tobago. Always with surprisingly consistent success because folks don't learn from history anymore. Ah well.

It looks to me like Michael Steele, current Chairman of the GOP, recently played dead to ketch corbeau alive. For the past few months he kept a low and somewhat lame-duck-like profile, let it seem that he knew he was finished, and that he was prepared to not run for re-election as GOP party chairman. He waited just long enough everybody to get comfortable, for his would-be successors to make themselves known. Then, without warning, he announced that he wasn't going anywhere, and in fact was more invigorated than ever, and he was ready to rumble, Steele-style.

Is it shrewd? Dunno yet. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

RockMelt

2010-11-11T10:36:00.000-05:00

I read about RockMelt in Mashable and decided to check it out. I went to the RockMelt website and signed up - requested an account - by allowing access through Facebook. They promised they'd get back to me in a couple of days. And they did. I got a nice email with the download link, and we were off.

RockMelt is Chrome with social media stuffing. Watch the video and we'll talk some more.

I like the easy integration of my Facebook peeps (on the left side) with my twitter and RSS stuff (on the right), all in one browser. Oh - and RockMelt imported all of my Chrome bookmarks and settings, maintaining my full profile in the cloud so that when I install the browser on another computer I have less setup to do. They made that bit really easy - I shouldn't have to set an option to sync my bookmarks, right? They should just sync.

I really like the Share button. When I'm on a web page I feel to share with my peeps, I can just hit Share and push to FB or Twitter (wish I had the option to choose both). Are they going to open up the Share feature to other services like Flickr, Buzz, etz? Dunno. Would be nice.

Everything else looks and feels just like Chrome, which has been my default browser since it came out. One day in, it's been a good experience. If you do a lot of Facebooking, Tweeting, that kind of stuff, I'd say it's worth checking out RockMelt.

THAT-IS-ALL

Musicophiliaphobia

2010-11-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of reading 'Musicophilia' by Oliver Sacks. This book is simply amazing! But, I have so say, for musicians it's a book to stoke immolating terror in your bones.

By way of anecdote, when mentioned to one of my conducting colleagues that I have been reading this book, her response to me was, "oh, that's a very popular book around here - I often see it lying abandoned around the music building, as if someone had started reading it, but didn't finish."

At the time I thought this a weird response, but as I've continued to read this phenomenal book about the physiological basis for all sorts of auditory peculiarities, I think I understand. For musicians, certainly practicing musicians and definitely musicians-in-training, the prospect of encountering some form of amusia - some peculiar inability to correctly perceive musical sounds, must be horrifying.

Too horrifying to consider.

The book is subtitled "Tales of Music and the Brain," which for me is the more significant attribute. Here I'm finding out some of the truths regarding popular myths about music and the brain, like the famous Mozart Effect, which does exist, but not as it is described in the popular culture.

Sacks writes in compelling fashion about, yes, the horror stories of loss of musical perception, but also the physiological truths about how music affects the development of the brain: listening to music, playing music, thinking about music, and learning about music. These ideas are important, especially for musicians, but also for you, Average Joe or JoAnne. Because it raises the question of why music IS, and what it means to our humanity that humans make and enjoy music, as an instinct.

We don't need to answer that question, but I think it is important that we have the discussion. Which is why this is an important book.

I just wish it wasn't so scary.

The Perfect Prep

2010-10-05T17:49:00.000-04:00

In conducting, the prep is everything, and everything is the prep. Everything about how a performance unfolds boils down to the quality of the preparatory gesture the conductor makes in the silence before the music begins.

Tempo, character, articulation, dynamic: all telegraphed by a single motion that tells the musicians to play. And it's an all-important moment, too, with serious implications. The prep sets the tempo; set the wrong tempo, and what should have been a jaunty walk through the meadow becomes a headlong gallop, or a turgid dirge, with no joy in the offing. And if you've grown up next to the sea like I have, you know that the offing is a long, long way away.

The prep sets the character of the starting moment. Set the wrong character, and what should be angry declamation becomes petulant; soaring lyricism becomes the screech of banshees; majestic triumphalism seems trite and flippant. And nobody likes it when majesty turns flip - so much can go wrong.

In my first semester at IU I was at the start of my studies in the craft of conducting. I attended the recital of one of my colleagues, Roland Schwark. He was conducting J.S. Bach's 'Magnificat', a glorious work for choir and orchestra in D Major. The first movement sets the opening phrase of the Magnificat text, which for the moment is not central to this story. The movement begins with what some people call a hammerstroke - all the instruments basically 'strike' a chord in the starting key, in this case, D Major. THUM-PUM - just like that.

Magnificent beginning: which is the point, I suppose, of a piece whose first word is 'magnificat.' and the point of this story.

The night of the recital, the choir filed onstage in somber formal black. Amid applause, Roland stepped to the podium and picked up his baton from the music stand. He raised it, and the assembled musicians raised their folders, or their bows, depending. After a moment of utter stillness, it happened. As the baton began its backward swish, I could see everyone drawing breath. The bows of the stringed instruments lifted in unison. As the baton flicked firmly forward and down, there it was - THUM-PUM - majestic D Major. In perfect tempo, just perfectly loud enough. A Goldilocks moment.

The perfect prep.

I suppose I should rave about the performance here, but I won't. What's more important is for me to relate that, until that moment, I hadn't realised that you could - I could - learn so much in such a short, short moment.

Hello, October - Or, Goodness Me! Huckleberry Finn is NOT Racist

2010-10-01T14:54:00.000-04:00

Is it too early in October to be ticked off about people calling racism on Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn?
All because of the following statement:

"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger."

Jeez, what a racist! Right?

The folks who are saying that Huckleberry Finn is racist because of this statement in the mouth of the first person narrator, Huck Finn, are abusing themselves with a profound emptiness of comprehension. Huck is inherently good.

Fact is, the moment at which Huck comes to this realization is one of the most beautifully un-racist things about him, which I'm certain was Mark Twain's intention. Everything Twain does in this wonderful story serves the purpose of demonstrating the bigotry in the southern society around Huck, and the extent to which he had, in ignorance, internalized the attitudes of his society through the mere fact of being white, even though an outcast himself. Not through any overt expression of bigotry on his part.

It is indeed the central conflict for Huck to realize that his natural inclinations toward goodness move him to accepting the brotherhood, the kinship of humanity that he shares with the character Nigger Jim. The moment that he has to go humble himself to Jim is the point of greatest conflict in Huck's life so far, where his upbringing is presented in stark conflict with his innate goodness. His innate goodness trumps the bigotry of his weaning, and he does in fact go and humble himself. This is the moral victory at the very heart of the book.

It's an obvious thing, if you'd only read for comprehension instead of agenda.

Goodbye, September - or, Thank You, Charlie Murphy

2010-09-30T19:44:00.000-04:00

It's not as if nothing at all happened this month. It has in fact been eventful, what with the thing, and the other thing, not to mention that important thing from the other day.
I guess it's just been so busy that I haven't had the time to update my blog. Actually I think it's just procrastination. And I've really been enjoying life, which is something to be said!
Listened to a lot of fun bands around town, met some good new peeps - and tweeps - read a couple of good books.
What else? hmmm.

I really hate (hate? really?) when people ask themselves "what else." It's like they've given up on having anything to say and they're just mentally marking time till the next idea strikes.

I suppose today I'm in a whimsical mood.
Although, I must say, whimsy is a heck of a word (thank you, Charlie Murphy).

Undocumented Foreigners Need Not Assist.

2010-08-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

It finally made sense this morning as I was watching TV.

Last week, Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner blasted his colleagues on the other side for tying down some legislation in the weeds of congressional procedure. The legislation was about extending health benefits to the 'first responders' at ground zero after 9/11. Perhaps you saw this tirade:

Histrionics aside, here is what the issue boils down to.

After 9/11, a bunch of people rushed to ground zero to help with the rescue and recovery effort. These people are heroes. Some of them were undocumented foreigners.
Now, nine years later, many of these selfless individuals who rushed to ground zero to help with the rescue and recovery effort are suffering health defects and need assistance.
The Republican position is that if you were an undocumented foreigner, we'll accept your selfless, heroic sacrifice of your own health and well being on behalf of the effort at ground zero, but you get no help from us in return. This is why the Republicans voted no on the legislation.

So, if you're an undocumented foreigner in the United States of America, look out! Whether you stay or whether you leave is a debate for another time. But whatever you do while you're actually within US borders, don't make the mistake of being selfless. Don't be a hero. Don't help. Don't have a heart. Don't be a good Samaritan.

What's the use?

How Copyright Stifles Creativity

2010-07-31T22:12:00.000-04:00

Picture it: on Monday morning, audio of a drunk actor's racist rant at an ex-girlfriend shows up on the Internet. By Monday afternoon, there's a remix/mashup of the audio on YouTube, where the audio is not part of a parody featuring a biting baby and his 'foul-mouthed older brother,' or an animal shelter spokesman 'reacting badly' as Pinky the cat claws his way up his leg. My examples are lame. The stuff you find on YouTube is much more creative.

A real example is the slew of "Hitler Reacts" videos on YouTube. If you've never seen one, it involves taking a scene from the movie Downfall - where Hitler reacts (deliciously) explosively to bad news from his generals - and remixing it with new subtitles, treating any current topic. These videos became so numerous that Constantin Films, the distributor of Downfall, at one point demanded that they all be taken down. This prompted a protest and backlash that caused Constantin to relent, with the inevitable result of a 'Hitler Reacts' video on the whole affair. Very meta.

Here's my point: human creativity is reinforced by the ability to copy and repurpose existing cultural artifacts. Copyright tends to stifle this natural human process. As 'the internet' enables, emboldens, and democratizes the creative urges of individuals, we see greater efforts by copyright holders (usually corporations) to 'protect their lawful interests,' AKA 'protect their financial interests by preventing any use of their material that is not controlled and monetized by them,' AKA 'clamp down on creativity.'

Historical precedent: in the sixteenth century, composers created new stuff by finding an appropriate (pre-existing) bit of chant and adding layers of voices around the chant. Lots of short religious pieces - motets - were created using this process. Other composers might take an existing motet, change the words and a couple of notes, and BAM, new piece. Interestingly, modern musicologists term this process - using an extant work as the basis for something new - parody. In the development of music in the western tradition, parody is a core process that drives the genius of such heavyweights as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg F. Handel, and Ludwig van Beethoven. In today's copyright culture, somebody would have sued the pants off these guys, quick. And BAM! No B Minor Mass, no Messiah (and so no Hallelujah Chorus), and no ninth symphony (ode to joy). Could you live with that? I call harrumph!

One fresh hopeful sign is the rebirth of comedy at such websites as Funny or Die. As this article by Jeff Minton in Time magazine explains, this 3-year-old web operation is breathing new life into comedy, as a genre, in modern American culture. Minton explains the success of Funny Or Die this way:

FOD’s success is also emblematic of a sea change in comedy. Stand-ups still whine about bad dates; sitcom plots keep getting rehashed; sketch comedy continues to limp along on Saturday Night Live. But the real cutting edge has shifted to a new form: short Web videos. Many of these are simply home-movie inanities — cats acting like people or toddlers dancing to Beyoncé. But the Web has also spawned a new generation of comedy creators and an array of distinctive styles, ranging from SNL-type skits like “The Landlord” to parodies, mashups and assorted other goofs on familiar media formats — TV promos, movie trailers, music videos, iPhone commercials, viral videos. They show up on YouTube (and on sites like Barely Political, College Humor and the Onion), circulate via blogs and social-networking sites, spawn fresh variations.

It's the spawning of fresh variations that I think holds the most promise for the future of creativity.

iVocale i: Notes on Thomas Tallis

2010-07-27T08:50:00.001-04:00

At tonight's iVocale event, I'll be conducting two settings by Thomas Tallis (1505 - 1585) of the text Salvator Mundi, Salva Nos (Savior of the world, save us).

Here's some stuff you might find interesting about Tallis's setting.

On the occasion of being granted a royal monopoly in the printing of music, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis published a collection titled Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur (Songs, which from their texts are called sacred). This was a grand undertaking, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, and featuring 17 motets by each composer, one for each year of Elizabeth's reign. It is in this publication that these two settings of the antiphon Salvator Mundi, by Tallis, are found.

The two settings have the same configuration of vocal forces. Otherwise they're vastly different. In listening to them back to back, what's most obvious is the modal difference between the two: the first setting sounds dark; the second sounds bright. It's easy to conclude that the composer was aiming for a contrast of affects, or moods: where the first is plaintive, the second is satisfied and content. Tallis extends this supposition in the use of musical devices. Consider the difference in the opening statements.

Salvator Mundi 1 begins with a desperate-sounding cry in the highest voice, imitated by the other voices as they individually enter. This sets up the pervasive imitation that drives the music forward, to be interrupted only at the text auxiliare nobis (hear us, please!), when for the first time the voices sing the same rhythm as a block of sound. The prevailing mood is one of sadness, of desperation, of unrest and disquiet.

Salvator Mundi 2 opens with a placid, mostly homophonic statement anticipated by a long note in one of the tenor voices. The polyphony in this setting relies less on imitation and more on the artful placement of tones in relation to one another. Cadences are less obvious since Tallis overlaps them or hides them in the weaving counterpoint. The motet seems to slowly unfold as the music proceeds, like a flower opening at dawn.

Here's some video of the group rehearsing Salvator Mundi 1.

iVocale i: July 27, 2010

2010-07-26T11:04:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow night I'll be conducting at an event titled iVocale i: Introducing Audience 2.0, Featuring the Music of William Byrd, and others.
Yes, it's a long sub title.

iVocale is a group of vocal musicians interested in exploring the ramifications of being a choral ensemble in the internet age. In each of a numbered series beginning tomorrow night (Tuesday July 27, 2010), we will experiment with a different facet, opportunity, or challenge related to the performance of ‘classical’ music in this evolving social landscape. Our name, iVocale, is deliberately, ironically, shamelessly chosen because of the easy association of the letter 'i' with all things internet. Also, jokingly, all things individual. But conveniently 'i' also is the Roman numeral for one; in that sense our name is 'one vocale,' expressing part of our artistic aim that we always sing with one voice.

iVocale i mashes together two very disparate elements: the singing of a program of music from the sixteenth century, and social media. We take on the issue of what audiences are expected to do during a performance like this; normally, this involves silently suppressing all natural responses until the appropriate place for applause. Enter Audience 2.0, the bloggers, the Facebookers, the Tweeps of the internet age; the folks for whom the act of consuming culture includes the ability to immediately post an update somewhere.

I've chosen to bookend the musical program with two motets by William Byrd, Sing Joyfully Unto God (1590) and Behold How Good a Thing (1589).

I chose these two motets as the bookends because of how apt they are to both the content and the concept of iVocale’s singing mission: Sing Joyfully Unto God exhorts us, for various reasons, to take joy even in the act of singing; Behold How good a Thing reminds us of the power that flows when folks pull together and act as one.

Beyond this, the motets teach us a fair bit about how to listen, not just to Byrd’s music, but music generally in the renaissance style. The music is polyphonic, with several different musical lines weaving around one another. The polyphony tends to be imitative, but is not universally so; sometimes, the voices sing independent themes in layered textures.

The structure of the music is derived from the structure of the text; the composer deliberately applies a hierarchy of clear musical cadences which mirror the stops and pauses of oratory. Just as important, the composer seeks to augment the rhetoric of the text by creating musical gestures, features, and textures that seek to reinforce an image.

One obvious example occurs in Sing Joyfully, at the text, “Blow the trumpet in the new moon.” At this point in the music, the polyphony suddenly disappears, and the first word is set as a sonorous block, like a trumpet blast indeed! And like a trumpet blast, the phrase echoes and reverberates through the chamber.

Another example comes at the end of Behold, where the text speaks of life eternal. The rhetoric of the text is augmented in the music by a simple device, the repetition of the phrase “and life eternal give.” Byrd varies the articulations, rhythms, and vocal configurations of voices in order to extend this phrase, seemingly to eternity.

Technical considerations aside, this is music that makes your heart soar. That’s the best thing about it. Composers made an art of connecting musical gestures to the deep pools of human meaning, thinking, and feeling, using imaginative, powerful texts as their rhetorical springboard. Though the music is hundreds of years old, this is what makes it meaningful, still.

Tweckling Through the B Minor Mass

2010-07-02T16:16:00.000-04:00

We don't consume culture the way our parents did. Half of my father's lifetime ago, when he was my age, consuming culture meant being in the audience, and being in the audience meant behaving a certain way. That expectation of how the audience behaves hasn't changed much in my lifetime either, except for the last couple of years or so. But the way we consume culture has changed completely.
The advent of the internet age has brought with it new learned behaviors governing how we interact with culture, specifically, culture as mediated by Internet devices like iPhones and iPads and, in an older world, computers. Among the new behaviors is a new expectation of what we DO while we're, say, listening to music or watching a movie. These days, while watching an episode of my favorite TV show, I can tweet my running commentary out to the world, or jump onto Facebook and post a quick response for my friends. I can pull up a blog editor and start tapping out my response, and post my review before the episode is done. All without leaving my sofa.
How does this new normal intersect with the world of live performance? I suppose it depends on wht type of live performance. If we're talking about a rock concert or a sports event, we're in the clear. But what about a performance of the city symphony orchestra? Or the elite choral ensemble in the neighborhood? What's the etiquette connected to tweeting your way through Bach's Mass in B Minor? Is it bad manners? Should it be, in this Internet age?
What a concept! Tweckling through the B Minor Mass! What's the hapless conductor to do? Despite the stern pre-concert injunction against cell phones and pagers at the start of the concert, some neanderthal millennial sat there making snarky Twitter comments like, "eeeww - he's not observing the hemiolas," or "MAN that Laudamus Te was rough! U mean u couldn't find a proper soprano?" To make things worse, someone else at the back of the hall joined in with, "yeah, and couldn't she find a dress that fit? Jeez!" And to top it all off, someone from the CHORUS comes back with, "think u hav it ruff? 3 months rehearsal & I still cant fnd this guys beat." And the poor conductor was clueless till he read about it in the paper next morning.

Wachet auf, conductors! This isn't your father's audience.

Time and Death

2010-06-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

When someone you love dies it's never the right time. There's that thing you were doing when you got the news. There's that thing you were going to do tomorrow, that important thing in a string of important things that get swept away into inconsequence.
It's the rudest interruption of all; it pre-empts everything. There's that extra birthday they'll never see, that anniversary coming up which never comes. There's the one last Christmas you can't face and couldn't hold on to. There's the 'one more day' you wish you could bank, and dole out in precious, tiny increments.
With death, it's always too soon, no matter how late death waits.
Time is the thing. That's the thing that hurts - that there wasn't more time. Time. Time for one, just one more laugh. For one, just one hug; just a single warm touch; for only one, one word of love. Time at least to say goodbye.
Death comes, not so much with a call as with a poke, and time is up. It's too late for so much.
Too late to apologize for that thing you did, that thing you said, just yesterday, just last week, last month, that little thing, so inconsequential at the time. Too late for the words sitting dusty at the back of your throat. Too late to say I love you.
My advice - redeem the time. Do it now. Clear your throat. Say the thing you meant to say. Make what you can of the time you have - the time you have left.

Good Morning, Madam PM

2010-05-26T03:41:00.000-04:00

Trinidad and Tobago faces a historic moment - the election, this past Monday, of its first woman Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Mrs. Persad-Bissessar led a five-party coalition, the People's Partnership, in a landslide victory over the incumbent People's National Movement led by Mr. Patrick Manning. Political experts in the twin-island republic have expressed deep surprise at the extent of Mrs. Persad-Bissessar's victory. The result was a sign of a sweeping discontent with (antipathy towards) the incumbent government, which was widely viewed as corrupt and ineffective under Mr. Manning's leadership. It was time for a change, a sweeping-clean of the halls of Government, and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar has become the agent of that change.

I'm happy to congratulate the new Prime Minister and wish her well. I'm naturally cynical about the cancerous effect of power on even the most altruistic of folk, so my hope and prayer is that Mrs. Persad-Bissessar will successfully resist, for as long as possible (hopefully throughout her term), the insinuating and seductive corruptions of the power she now wields.

Review - The Genesis Secret

2010-05-25T14:52:00.000-04:00

I spent the past couple of days reading 'The Genesis Secret' by Tom Knox, published by Plume Books.

If you've read Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, you might want to give this one a pass. (Or not.) It starts with the murder of an old man in a museum, and involves an intrepid journalist who romances a gifted anthropologist as they work together to solve the ancient secret which, if revealed, would lead to the downfall of the major religions. There's a secretive religious order, a psycopathic murderer on the loose, and oodles of enigma.

In this work, Knox is to Brown as, say, Mahler is to Beethoven. For his symphonic work, Beethoven surpassed the length, scale, and intensity of the symphonic compositions of his time. Composers after Beethoven dealt with his gigantic legacy in numerous ways; in Mahler's case by a tendency to drastically expand on Beerhoven's techniques. Where Beethoven was long, Mahler was interminable; where Beethoven was loud, Mahler was frikkin loud.

So with Knox. Where Dan Brown contented himself with raw descriptions of the couple of murder victims in his tale, Knox provides exhaustive expositions of a notebook of barbaric sacrificial rituals, including the disembowelment of a living victim by spilling her entrails into a pot of boiling water. It all makes sense of course, because it's neatly tied into the plot - no worries there. But still. That's a lot of grue, if you like gruesome.

I have to admit that I had no trouble moving through the narrative, which was smooth, tight, and deftly paced, even if fairly predictable. Knox drops in a couple of sexy head-fakes, a la 24, perhaps, which made for a decent turn of the plot at the climax, but nothing we haven't seen before. Near the end, though, I couldn't help sighing to myself, "oh boy, another debunk-religious-magic/mythology-with-the-almost-truthiness-of-scientific/logical-discovery storyline." That's a genre now, apparently. Kudos to Dan Brown, though, on his Beethoven moment.

All in all, not a horrible book! If you want my copy, I'll give it to you.

Annoying Orange

2010-05-18T10:26:00.002-04:00

My new best friend - the Annoying Orange. You need to see this to believe it.
Visit his channel.

Impossible motion: magnet-like slopes

2010-05-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

Computing is not what we need

2010-05-09T15:29:00.002-04:00

We're at a watershed moment here, one that underscores something I've been saying for at least half-a-decade: computing is not what we need.

In 2010, the real power of the computer is that it brings the 'cloud' into easy reach. The majority of us use computers (whose real job, when you think of it, is to compute) all wrong: as a means to get on the internet to seek entertainment; read the news and browse websites; do some social networking; and, increasingly, create and manage content. We don't really need computing power - we just need internet connectivity.
That's why the iPhone has been, in my eyes, such a hit. People like to say about the iPhone, "it's a tiny computer in the palm of your hand." I say, not really. It's not a computer. Not at all. And, it's not a phone that does neat tricks, either. (Does anyone really think of the iPhone as an 'internet phone? Really?) The iPhone is an internet device. Its single most important function is that it makes the internet available.

We don't need a computer - even though computers can do so much more.

The computer has taught us workflows and interactions that depend on "the internet", and now that we've learned those behaviors, we're able to migrate to devices which facilitate those workflows and interactions without necessarily being computers. Hence the success of the iPhone and the buzz around the iPad: these are 'gateway' internet devices - the iPhone paving the way for the more robust iPad, which paves the way for device X, where X is unknown.

And this is why I believe that the Google Chrome operating system will be a success. Building on the gateway that is Google Docs, it rightly discards what I call the 'computing paradigm' - the old new-media idea that the personal computer is about computing, and adopts the 'internet paradigm,' whose first law reads as follows: turning a device on should connect me to the internet.

Evil Facebook! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!

2010-05-06T17:02:00.000-04:00

After a few weeks of not logging in, I went to Facebook, just to double-check my privacy settings. Lo and behold, right off the bat I was presented with a page that said, based on your profile information we have linked you to the following pages: if you accept the link to these pages all that information becomes public, and will probably generate links to other pages; if you do not accept the link, then certain profile content "will be empty".

I was like, FINE. No links please. And it's great! All of my private information - Current City, Hometown, Work and Education, Likes and Interests - is blank. Not like I'd filled out much of that information anyway, or like I'd made that information available to anyone but myself and my closest friends and family anyway - as if they don't already have this information, right?

But here's the kicker. It looks as if that content still sits somewhere on Facebook's servers, even though it's not visible to me anymore. If I click Page Suggestions (as if I'm ready to allow Facebook to link my profile info to pages again), it offers me the same page links as before.

What's up with that, Facebook?

Coolest YouTube Video Ever - Happiness, it's simple

2010-05-05T13:02:00.008-04:00

Apple App Store - App Fail

2010-05-02T09:52:00.000-04:00

In the Apple iPhone App Store, you can find an app from Dworld Services called Mirror! The description says the following, in part:

Turn your device into a handy pocket mirror ! What could be more useful than a small mirror in your pocket or bag ?

Yet, when you pay the 99 cents for the app, you find that, far from being an actual mirror, what you get is a mirror frame, and you're supposed to take a picture of yourself with the iPhone's camera. The app shows you the picture in the mirror frame.

Full disclosure: I haven't actually downloaded the app, but I have read the reviews; they are quite telling:

- Junk can do same with camera on iPhone waste of money not a mirror

- This works just like your camera, it is not a mirror!

- I can't believe someone is making money off of this application. It just has you take a picture of yourself on the camera that's already on your phone.

And on, and on, and on.

Now, one reason Apple gives for banning Flash from the iPhone is that it leads to substandard apps.

Okay then, I see it - yeah. Thanks for clearing that up.

Lemonade, that cool refreshing 'drink'

2010-03-30T16:38:00.001-04:00

Notice anything wrong with this soda fountain thingy? I was about to have some 'juice', until I realized the thing that made me take this picture. I suppose they weren't trying to be hilarious. But there you go.

Revulsion

2010-03-18T00:42:00.007-04:00

I just saw the video of the health reform demonstration, where this guy with Parkinsons disease sat on the sidewalk in opposition to the anti-healthcare demonstrations. Two obviously healthy, angry guys stood over him, screaming at him, mocking him. "No more hand-outs over here," shouted one. "I can pay for this guy," the other chimed in as he tossed some random bills at the quiet Parkinsons patient, who just sat there with his sign.

Here's the video:

What appalls me is the utter meanness, the complete, even sociopathic lack of the most elemental human compassion.

It doesn't surprise me that such meanness exists in the world; or even in this country. But it still makes me sad to see people treated that way.

That's all I have to say about that.

Reverse Engineering Autotuning

2010-03-02T10:02:00.004-05:00

I'm hot to know what Steve Reich thinks of autotuning. I'm talking about the man who singlehandedly created the concept, not through the manipulation of the human voice, but through recognition that the spoken word has a music of its own.

If you've lived under a rock for the past few years, you don't already know that auto tuning is a technology that corrects for errors in singers' pitch. Needless to say, it's a technology that's become a key part of the music recording industry, to such an extent that I suppose it could be argued that it's become a part of the pop music aesthetic. A recent development has been to find some bit of random speech, run a music track behind it, and auto tune the speakers utterances so that they seem to be singing.

Here's a great example: Symphony of Science - The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)

Now, on to Steve Reich, my favorite living composer.

Way, way back in 1988, Steve Reich created a piece called Different Trains, introducing a novel musical technique. Reich used recordings of speaking voices as the foundation of melodies for the piece, literally morphing the melodic contours of the speaker's normal utterance into tones played as a melody on an instrument. He built the musical composition around these melodies, so that when brought together with the spoken original, it takes on a new, musical context. For this work, Reich won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 1989. It's now 2010, and if were were to listen to this piece today, it would sound like auto tuning.

Reich reprises this technique in a tour de force work called Three Tales (2002), a collaboration with his wife, the film maker Beryl Korot.

Here is the third movement: Three Tales: Dolly

Aside: I was tickled to note the presence of Richard Dawkins in both of the video clips presented in this blog post.

As I said at the outset, I'm really hot to hear what Steve Reich has to say about auto tuning. I hope he chimes in one day.

Earthquake Scale FAIL

2010-03-01T10:59:00.001-05:00

I took this picture on Saturday as MSNBC was reporting on the earthquake in Chile.

I think they were trying to be helpful.
My inner stickler went on an internal rampage, however, because of a couple of tiny inanities.
Spot them, Please!

No? Well, with condescension let me point them out:

The first line of the magnitude column actually says, "...is greater than 3.5";
The last line of the column says, "...8.0 or is greater than"

Now, I kid MSNBC (or The Weather Channel) - Somebody just messed up, I suppose. Not like I'd love some smarmy know-it-all to be pointing out all of my mistakes, especially when I'm trying to be helpful. To be honest, the only reason I went ahead with this post is that I couldn't resist a title like "earthquake scale fail". It rhymes!

But it seems to beautifully capture the notion that nobody vets the news anymore. They just slap it up there.
Ah Well... Happy March, everybody!

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

2010-02-17T21:54:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I read Shades of Grey, the latest novel from Jasper Fforde. I've been eagerly following Fforde since I read his Nursery Crimes novel The Big Over Easy. I fell into the Thursday Next series, relishing Fforde's clever, quick wit and literary inventiveness.

So I came to Shades expecting something amazingly clever, quirky-imaginative, and above all funny. It wasn't quite what I expected; in many ways it was a richer, more fulfilling experience than I've ever had with a Fforde novel. I highly recommend this book.

There were some themes that reminded me of John Wyndham's The Chrysalids - and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Fforde had at least read this book. Both books feature a central character with a hidden special ability who finds himself at odds with the status quo, and the friction which inevitably arises as a result. Both characters uncover a disturbing existential threat, to which they awaken by degrees over the course of the story. And of course, both stories occur in a world that's like our own, but not at all the same (spot the Muppet Show reference/tribute, if you're up for it).

Fforde's world in Shades of Grey is one where society is tightly stratified according to the extent of each individual's ability to perceive color. Color is a tangible entity - citizens scavenge the objects left behind by a previous civilization to render them for their color.

History plays a heavy hand throughout this novel; a sense of the lostness of history, and the consequences of that loss, become a key complicator in the narrative. I really liked Fforde's use of Apocrypha to pull into stark relief the Orwellian self-defeating self-blindness that is the status quo in the po-dunk town of East Carmine.

So, what's it about? You might have noticed that I've been short on plot points; I suppose it's easy enough to find a plot summary online, if you really want one.But I think that would ruin everything. The main character's name is Eddie. Nothing else I could tell you would really make sense.

This is one of the most uniquely original type of story you'll read, ever. And you'll read it till it ends, because it's so delicious. I read it in one sitting, sitting at Starbucks, drinking decaf lattes. And I'm gonna read it again.

The Crazies, Again

2010-02-15T11:32:00.003-05:00

First, see this disturbing article from John Avalon in the Daily Beast.

Praying for Obama's Death
John Avalon is author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America

The article points to the practice of some fringe elements in American society, who pray for the death of their President, and who create T-shirts saying 'Pray for Obama,' but having a reference to Psalm 109 verse 8, which says, "May his days be few; may another take his place in leadership". Welcome to the world of imprecatory prayer, coming soon to a wingnut cult near you.

I want to make one small point.
Hatred is unchristian.

Pastor Wiley Drake of the First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, California, tells Avalon that that;

"Imprecatory prayer in Psalms 109, for example, says if you have an evil leader above you, you pray that Satan will stand by his side and you ask God to make his children fatherless and his wife a widow and that his time in office be short."

I just want to stop for a moment to point out that Drake is WRONG. In the words of Vice President Biden, "He is either misinformed, or he is misinforming." Psalm 109 has 31 verses. For the sake of context, here are the first 8, from the New International Version;

(1) O God whom I praise, do not remain silent, (2) for wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. (3) With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. (4) In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. (5) They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship. (6) Appoint an evil man to oppose him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. (7) When he is tried, may he be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. (8) May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.

There's no mention of 'if you have an evil leader above you you must pray this.' It takes no special training in theology to interpret this, just common sense. In this psalm there is a man (let's say) who is being treated unfairly. There are evil people who lie about the man, who slap his outstretched hand, who return hatred for his friendship. It is those people to whom the curse applies. And the curse is not that the wronged man will somehow avenge himself, but that the man's enemies will consume themselves with their own antics.

To me it's fairly obvious how this applies to Barack Obama; common sense alone shows the stark opposition to what Wiley Drake and others are implying. And it would seem to put him and others like him in some jeopardy.

For those who would claim Christianity as their faith, and who have disagreements with their President or any other figure, I would point to the words of Christ himself (for whom the faith is named, after all), who said in Matthew 5 verses 43 to 48;

"(43) You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (46) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (48) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

And Christ, he was one who walked his talk. He prayed for the folks who were putting him to death, not an imprecatory prayer, but a prayer of forgiveness.
I suppose it's a tough act to follow, but that's what being a Christian is all about, right?

My advice to Obama: bless those who curse you.

(By the way, it is extremely instructive to read through to the last 11 verses of Psalm 109, where the man extolls God for his deliverance, love and salvation. It seems to culminate in the exclamation, "they may curse, but you (God) will bless." Amen.)

We Are the World

2010-02-13T20:48:00.000-05:00

Then and now. You decide which you prefer.

1985

2010

E-Pook

2010-02-11T18:50:00.002-05:00

I'm reading an article in the New York Times about the kerfluffle surrounding the prices of e-books. The article itself is not that important; at issue for me is the right-or-wrong in the decision by publishers to force a hike in the prices of e-books, from around $9.99 to around $13.99.
One argument from someone in the publishing industry goes like, "There's more to publishing a book than the print; there's the work of the author, the editor(s), the publishers, etc; and that work has value and it should be reflected in the cost of the book to the consumer."
I'm fine with that. I just have three things to say in response.

First of all, youse guys did happily get by with the $9.99 price for - I suppose - the entire time e-books have been available. Now that e-readers are gaining market share, you suddenly 'realize' that there are all these people who need to be paid? That's hogwash.

Second, I'm no printing and binding expert, but I'm willing to guess that all that printing and binding and shipping of all those thousands of copies, not to mention physical plant costs, salaries of managers and of salesfolk in bookstores, is expensive stuff, accounting for a significant protion of the unit cost of a book. And we haven't discussed retail markup yet. Seems to me that you're saving a ton in overhead and other costs by delivering books electronically. Which makes it look like naked corporate greed when you say that you now want to charge us more for an e-book than, say, yesterday, when nothing at all was different.

Third, we've seen this play before; it's called the RIAA! My goodness, have you people learned nothing? Is there, at the very end, no common sense left? Do you not see that when you raise the prices it's going to drive up demand for pirated copies of your books? I'm no economist, and that's as clear as day to me. Don't you have someone in your organisation whose job it is to declare these truths to you, which the rest of creation hold to be self-evident?
THANK you, Will Ferrel, for providing the one utterance that makes sense in light of this boneheaded move, "I feel like I've taken crazy-pills!"

With that, I apologize for the misspelling of 'book' in the title of this post; it was a slip of the finger, which I was going to correct, but then thought better of it. Only difference between a P and a B is some extra voicing, right? 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other? And you probably didn't even notice the change - after all, it's the content of my message that's important. Get it?

Interesting Perspective:
Do School Libraries Need Books? NYT Editors

Fade to Write

2010-02-10T20:50:00.001-05:00

I have an issue with this Op-Ed by Ishmael Reed in the New York Times, titled "Fade to White." You should read the original so as to make up your own mind: Read it here.
The opinion piece is the writer's response to public response to the film "Precious," which I should tell you I have not yet seen. Reed very early announces his contention that the film really isn't for black audiences, but for white ones.
Here's an extended passage that cuts to his point:

Black films looking to attract white audiences flatter them with another kind of stereotype: the merciful slave master. In guilt-free bits of merchandise like “Precious,” white characters are always portrayed as caring. There to help. Never shown as contributing to the oppression of African-Americans. Problems that members of the black underclass encounter are a result of their culture, their lack of personal responsibility. It’s no surprise either that white critics — eight out of the nine comments used on the publicity Web site for “Precious” were from white men and women — maintain that the movie is worthwhile because, through the efforts of a teacher, this girl begins her first awkward efforts at writing. Redemption through learning the ways of white culture is an old Hollywood theme.

There's the rub, "learning the ways of white culture." Said 'ways', I presume, to include in this case the mysterious act or art... of writing. Cue bitter irony. That's a rather high horse you just overvaulted. Not that I don't see Reed's point; I just disagree with the premise that because the person who teaches Precious to read and write is white, that this is a de facto instance of 'redemption at the hands of the merciful slave master,' yet another case of that old trope, where black folk need the shining light of the white man's learnin to ascend from the ignorant abyss. It's writing! Writing is not white.

And, honestly, given the ugly social realities the film kicks up, realities that know no class, race, sex, or age, is it really Precious's writing you want to focus on? Barbara and Oprah are right - Precious is everyone.

Amazing Testimony

2010-02-10T14:00:00.001-05:00

I loved the passion and the poetry of Jason Shams' testimonial on the simmering revolution taking place in Iran.

Read and be inspired.

in reference to: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-10/the-revolt-about-to-rock-iran/?cid=hp:mainpromo3 (view on Google Sidewiki)

The big hairy deal about salty language.

2010-02-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

At Windsor High School in Connecticut, students are being ticketed for uttering curse words at another student or teacher. Read more here.

What's the big hairy deal about salty language, by the way? Why are we wasting so much light and heat trying to police what comes out of people's mouths? Do you really think we solve the problem by making them say 'heck' instead of 'hell'? Words matter, of course, but what do the words really tell us.

The problem starts before a word is uttered; and it exists as a frame of mind more than anything else. The utterance - whenever it comes, whatever form it takes - is only a symptom.

Forgot he was black, did you?

2010-01-28T00:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, I heard it live on TV after Barack Obama's State of the Union speech to Congress. Chris Matthews said, about Obama, "blah blah blah I forgot he was black. I immediately tweeted to express my dismay at such a weird statement. I'm certain it wasn't a 'racist statement', just an incredibly inappropriate one.

Of course the Twitterverse has erupted in almost universal condemnation; @tayari said,

Uh, Chris Matthews, saying that you forgot Obama is black is not a compliment. I know you think it is, but it's not.

My favorite was from @TheJoeMcMahon, who said,

Oh, and Chris Matthews called Obama's speech "seductive." Will he just come out and say he's gay for the President already?

Funny.

I don't believe Chris Matthews is racist, but he like everybody else has a deep awareness of race that affects, on a subconscious level, the way we interact in a plural society. That's not racism.
Might be ignorant, and there are ignorant racists, but ignorance does not equal racism.

Trinidad Day

2010-01-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

I'm declaring today Trinidad Day. Just a personal decision brought about by Mel Gibson and John McCain. I watched Mel on Jay Leno last night (sorry, Conan - I feel like I've betrayed you).

Mel Gibson is australian, but you couldn't tell it from his speaking accent, which was 95% american. This set me thinking about the relationship between your language and your ethnicity, your cultural heritage, your sense of identity and nationalism. You lose a bit of yourself when you give up your native speech, even if it is such a simple matter as accent.

An unlikely intensifier for my nationalist awakening was the news that 7 republican senators, including John McCain, had co-sponsored legislation to set up a commission to look into the deficit, then had voted against the legislation, causing it to fail. I thought, "How stupid and petty! That's practically Trinidadian!" American politics has now fallen - in tone, in substance, in ideas, in partisanship - to the level where it's on par with the petty politics of a third-world island nation. Naturally my feelings of nationalistic pride were awakened with this realization.

So, today is Ender's Trinidad Day! and with that, I'm sharing one cool thing about my homeland:

When you go to Trinidad, the first thing you have to do is go "Round de Savannah for a medium-jelly coconut." If your guide is a map, good luck; if your guide is a local, (s)he'll know what to do.

You get to the Savannah (Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain, if you must know), and pull up next to a truck whose tray is overflowing with uncut coconuts. You'll walk to the vendor and say, "I'll take a medium-jelly." Don't try to sound like a Trini - that's condescending; we know you're a tooris', act like one! With his cutlass (which you yankees call a machete) in one hand and your coconut in the other, the vendor will proceed to trim the husk around the top of your coconut, before lopping off the top with one deft swish (thank you, Zorro). There will be a dainty hole now for you to drink from.

The vendor will probably offer you a straw. WASTE OF TIME! Put the coconut to your face and drink!
After you're done, give the empty shell back to the vendor, and he will proceed to cut it into thirds so that you can get at the soft jelly lining the inside of the shell. He'll also cut a sliver of husk away, which you'll use as a spoon to scrape the jelly out.
Don't try to be dainty, just do it - it'll change your life.

Enjoy Trinidad Day, everyone.

Jennifer Hudson - Let It Be - Hope For Haiti Now (live on Telethom 2010) HD / HQ

2010-01-25T11:28:00.001-05:00

For the first time in a long time goosebumps flashed up and down my cynical skin.

Thank you, Jimmy!

2010-01-20T12:30:00.002-05:00

Yesssssssssss!

I'm Not Appalled by Clay Shirky

2010-01-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

So, you might have read Clay Shirky's rant about women. I did, in response to @jennamcjenna's tweet in which she expressed that she was appalled by some of the ideas in his rant. Jenna and I then had a neat twitter exchange about gender politics and the cultural associations of gender, and about Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton. Subsequent to that, Jenna posted a rant of her own on her blog. You'll need to read these two important posts for my own rant to make sense.

Now, I'm a musician by training, so I lay no claim to specialized learning when it comes to these issues. But I've lived in the US now for about twelve years, in a tiny cultural space: a foreigner; black in a white culture; and black in an African-American culture.

I see Shirky's rant as an expression of a symptom of a deeper cultural marker; that there are cultural perceptions of manhood and womanhood which do no justice to market requirements. And I think it's okay for him to point that out.

At the same time, I can appreciate the cultural danger for Shirky. During my initial culture-shocked transition to American life back in the '90s, I sometimes found myself having to defend my comments on the black experience in America, explaining to friends and colleagues that, while I am black, I'm not African American. For some of my African American friends, this meant it therefore wasn't appropriate for me to comment on the black experience in America, which struck me as chauvinistic. For me, it's always been a cultural issue: there are truisms about cultural practices that bear commentary, no matter the source, and my being 'not African-American' doesn't disqualify my comments. Shirky will face a similar opposition to the cultural practices he's observing, because he's not a woman.

Here is the portion of Shirky's rant that I think contains the root of his argument:

"Citizens of the developed world have an unprecedented amount of freedom to choose how we live, which means we experience life as a giant distributed discovery problem: What should I do? Where should I work? Who should I spend my time with? In most cases, there is no right answer, just tradeoffs. Many of these tradeoffs happen in the market; for everything from what you should eat to where you should live, there is a menu of options, and between your preferences and your budget, you’ll make a choice.

Some markets, though, are two-sided — while you are weighing your options, those options are also weighing you. People fortunate enough to have those options quickly discover that it’s not enough to decide you want to go to Swarthmore, or get money out of Kleiner Perkins. Those institutions must also decide if they will have you.

Some of the most important opportunities we have are in two-sided markets: education and employment, contracts and loans, grants and prizes. And the institutions that offer these opportunities operate in an environment where accurate information is hard to come by. One of their main sources of judgment is asking the candidate directly: Tell us why we should admit you. Tell us why we should hire you. Tell us why we should give you a grant. Tell us why we should promote you.

In these circumstances, people who don’t raise their hands don’t get called on, and people who raise their hands timidly get called on less. Some of this is because assertive people get noticed more easily, but some of it is because raising your hand is itself a high-cost signal that you are willing to risk public failure in order to try something.

That in turn correlates with many of the skills the candidate will need to actually do the work — to recruit colleagues and raise money, to motivate participants and convince skeptics, to persevere in the face of both obstacles and ridicule. Institutions assessing the fitness of candidates, in other words, often select self-promoters because self-promotion is tied to other characteristics needed for success."

He seems to be saying that the market requires particular types of behavior from the people who interact with it. It turns out that in 'developed' (read American) societies, those particular types of behavior carry the gender association of 'male'. He points out that many women do not 'naturally' present these types of behavior. Some women agree with him. To me, there's nothing appalling in making that observation.

Beautiful cases in point:

Hillary Clinton, who during her campaign for the Democratic nomination for President had to fight perceptions that she was 'too mannish'. Why? Because she was demanding, aggressive, forthright, and self-promoting. And she wore those pant suits. That's an expression of a cultural clash: the maket (politics) requires a set of behaviors that the society associates with 'not woman'.
Harry Reid, who commented that Barack Obama could win because he was light skinned, and didn't have a 'negro' accent. Reid's comment recognized that the market (politics) required a set of behaviors that society associates with 'not negro'.

I'm not arguing whether such things should be true: but I do recognize that there are deep cultural factors of which the above cases of Clinton, Reid, and Shirky are symptoms. And I believe that it's okay for people (yea, even outsiders) to observe these symptoms and comment on them, even at the risk of inflaming unhealthy passions on either side of the ensuing debate.

iPhone and Google Wave

2010-01-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

Two things. One, the iPhone rawks. Two, Google Wave rawks!

So, I've been playing around with Google Wave recently, getting into the gadgets, trying them out and stuff. I discovered this amazing gadget called Paginator, which allows you to embed a neat little text-reader into a wave. It paginates the text and allows the viewer to jump from page to page or from word to word (in an update to this post I will add the URL if you need to find it).
Anyway, I had a little bug trouble with the gadget and reported that to the developer, Dan. Then I settled in for a long wait.
I was checking my email not two hours later and saw that Dan had responded. Not being at a desktop, I took the chance to open up Wave on the iPhone and take a second look.
The fun part is that Dan had added me to a troubleshooting wave, and was online at the same time. As he typed I was able to see his cursor dance across my little iPhone screen. Wonder!

The iPhone rawks because it was able to show me the cursor-dance. Google Wave rawks because it is light enough on its feet for me to use it on my iPhone.

There. That sound. The sound of geek-satisfaction.

Haiti Again

2010-01-13T15:56:00.002-05:00

This Haiti situation is really distressing; I find that I can't get my mind off it. In 1990 the calypso bard David Rudder sang Haiti I'm Sorry, a song of regret for all the uncounted lost chances in that seemingly benighted country. In the 20 years since, there's been been no let up for the millions who live in desperate squalor.

Now with the prospect of thousands of people dead, silently filling the streets in motionless stacks of crushed bone and flesh, I find myself on the verge of asking questions, vague questions, unreachable questions that have no impetus.

Why... ?

How... ?

Schools collapsed, hospitals collapsed, churches collapsed, the presidential palace collapsed. Rich, squalid, good, evil, black, white and indifferent, all crushed under indifferent calamity.

They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; They have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning? Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?

J.R.R. Tolkein

GIVE

Haiti's Presidential Palace, Before and After.

2010-01-13T13:54:00.000-05:00

This has to be devastating to a nation's psyche, even without the crushing poverty, crime, floods, and landslides. It makes you wonder what the last straw for a nation could look like. On top of everything else, a 7.6 mag. earthquake.

Really, Library, Really?

2010-01-11T11:09:00.003-05:00

Really? Really?

Okay, before I snark on this, let me say that I like this shot. I like the weird imposition of the reflection of rows of lights and study tables on the main subject, the students sitting around to register.

Having said that, who wrote that caption, and how many levels of editing did it have to slip through to end up on the wall of the Wells library?

It's not like a blog, where Joe Schmoe can jump up on a Monday morning, whip up some words with relevantly random (or vice versa) punctuation marks and hit publish. It's a library, and somebody, we assume, took great care in choosing the pictures that would appear on the walls of the study hall. We're celebrating IU's long illustrious (not to mention diverse) history, after all. Is it too much to ask that you use good English grammar in setting the captions?

Or maybe its just me - maybe it's ironic. You know... "student's waiting" - like maybe something is up with the waiting - but just the one student. But which? Do we have to guess? Oh I dunno. You tell me.

Also weird how the corner of one of the reflected lighting panels looks like an arrowhead. I totally didn't see that when I framed the shot.

011110

2010-01-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

Palindromic date.
Also the binary code for 30.

Couldn't resist the juiciness of this date and topic being my first for 2010.
I think 2010 is going to be a great year if for no other reason than this:
Decades ago I was part of a carpool with my neighbors to get to school. My neighbor's daughter - let's call her Gina - was very young, and just learning to count. So one day, she said, "look, I can count to one hundred." Okay, we said, go ahead.
So she started, and was fine till she got to the twenties. "Twenty-one, twenty-two... twenty-nine..."
A pause...
"twenty-nine..."

We all waited.

"twenty-ten..."

I don't remember much of what followed, but that twenty-ten thing has always stuck with me. And for some reason which I can't pin down, it's sticking with me today.
Come to think of it, it might have been as many as 30 years ago. And since 011110 is (they tell me) the binary code for 30, then maybe that's it. I dunno. You tell me.

God/Not God

2009-12-19T19:50:00.005-05:00

There are those who believe in God, and there are those who believe in not God.

One of those groups is right. Only one.

If you're in the group that's right, then you get, as they say, the last laugh. If you're in the group that's wrong, you're in for a really, really bad let-down, in the end.

I think that, if you're in the group that's right, then you owe the folks in the unfortunate wrong group - at very least - your empathy and compassion, not your condemnation and hatred. It's bad enough they're in for such a horrible disappointment, must they also put up with your mean-spirited and bitter condescension too?

As someone who falls passionately, completely, and unreservedly into one of the above groups, I think we'd all be better off showing the other side some love.

Green Brownies?

2009-12-19T10:38:00.002-05:00

Does she get it, or doesn't she?

Surprised Kitty Cat cutest ever :))

2009-12-03T13:38:00.001-05:00

I'm not a cat person, but this is cute.

Pocono Trees

2009-11-28T16:02:00.001-05:00

Got enough wires?

2009-11-28T14:44:00.000-05:00

Well, do ya?

9/11 Mother Confronts Holder

2009-11-19T14:19:00.002-05:00

I can't help but feel impressed at this exchange.

Under the Dome

2009-11-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Stephen King's latest offering is a 1074-page tome called Under The Dome.

The small Maine town of Chester's Mill is suddenly and inexplicably enclosed by an invisible, impenetrable force field. Air gets through, barely, and water, but that's it. All efforts by beast, man, and machine to break through the dome amount to zero.

Shenanigans don't ensue. Instead we see an exacting case-study of what happens when folks get the idea that their actions have no consequences.

King of course is a master storyteller - he really has a gift for character and motivation. He likes a large cast, and is good at filling out the back story of 'minor' characters in quick bold strokes that make us care.

Enemies are always easy to find and easy to hate in King's stories. Part of his genius is his knack for exposition of his villains' motivations and intents. We never love them, frequently dread them, and are always happy when they get 'it' in or near the end.

The great strength of this book is it's creeping, unrelenting claustrophobia; by the end, as certain characters sit struggling for air, you have to remind yourself to breathe.

The weakness in Under the Dome is the general weakness of many of Kings horror stories; here as in other stories, something or someone is the ultimate cause of the basic problem (the dome had to come from somewhere, right?), and at some point King has to reveal the 'monster'; this always seems to fall flat, to me (think 'It', 'Dreamcatcher', 'The Tommyknockers').

By the end of 'Dome', King has screwed our psychological pegs really tight - he's plucking our strings, and we're quivering with the thrill of fear. But what to do with all that delicious angst? I keep feeling that King has been struggling with this dilemma for most of his career, and that he's never quite resolved it. In fact, looking at his most successful stories (think 'Shawshank', 'Stand by Me', 'Green Mile'), you can't miss the fact that in these stories, there's no monster to be unveiled; the stories have a high hopeful core, and King's superb craftsmanship makes them shine.
Revealing the monster remains a discordant note in King's storytelling, and though in 'Dome' King's craftsmanship saves the day - I'm still not quite satisfied with the resolution.

But as a whole, Under the Dome is a great read. At base, it's a good story, masterfully told. 4 stars!

lip sync

2009-11-09T08:18:00.000-05:00

What's up with ads where you hear one person singing, but you see 4 or 5 folks doing the lip sync?
Am I the only one who finds their inner stickler rising up in umbrage over this? I know - I know, there's got to be a better way to start a Monday. And if that's the case, they shouldn't play those ads on a Monday morning. Right?

Cool Fall Colors

2009-11-08T09:57:00.001-05:00

Really,Credit Card Companies? Really?

2009-10-29T12:03:00.003-04:00

So here is my Thursday grouse.

For the past week or so, I've had to pay cash only when I go to our food court to buy anything to eat (more about the fiscal irresponsibility of not cooking at home later). It was annoying at first - I thought it was some problem with the machines... you know, something fixable. Then it got aggravating, as everyone who likes to walk around cashless would know. I'd keep forgetting: get my food, get to the register, see the stupid "sorry, cash only" sign, get pissed off, walk down the hall to the ATM, get money, walk back, get in line, pay! That's no way to enjoy a midday meal.

So, when they still had the sign up today, I had to ask - what's going on?

The guy at the register told me - and of course he only heard this - that the credit card companies had jacked up the price of access to the lines forcing the food court folks to pay more just to run credit cards, so they said sayonara to running credit cards.

I don't know if this is true - really don't understand how these things are set up - but if it is true, goodness gracious, credit card companies. GG! That is not cool.

It really looks like, in anticipation of the new credit card regulations signed into law this past spring (Info Here), the credit card companies are looking to gouge their customers any way they can.

Let's Squish Our Fruits Together

2009-10-27T12:23:00.002-04:00

Okay - this appeals (get it? a-peels) to the musician (and Scrubs watcher) in me!

A+ for ingenuity; applause for making musical theatre relevant again!

Amazingly Unfunny!

2009-10-22T23:39:00.003-04:00

What a world we live in, where it makes sense to play a prank on someone where he is made to think that everyone in the room around him has been gunned down; where a gunman bursts in and fires shots, threatening him, grabbing and dragging him across the room.

It's worse when you capture all this on hidden camera, and present it for the laughing pleasure of a television audience. Just so they can laugh at his terrified face. That people would laugh at the situation I described above is unthinkable to me - an abomination, I would say.

I've been subject to gunmen bursting in, ordering people to the floor, firing shots indiscriminately. I've seen the faces of people who've had to endure the experience of a someone pointing a gun at the faces of their children. There's nothing remotely funny about it, even in hindsight.

Please help me report this YouTube video as violent and inappropriate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWuc4dihqQ&feature=topvideos

A Trinidad Love Story

2009-10-21T11:16:00.003-04:00

Okay. They said that film making in Trinidad was dead.

How wrong could an entire culture be?

I came across this GEM in Facebook, and tracked it to it's source on YouTube. It's a serialized tale of undying love, told with Lego's.

I don't want to say you'll die laughing; that would be selling it short! Work your way through the episodes, and try not to split.

First Alternate Reality Game

2009-10-20T21:52:00.003-04:00

I'm working on my first alternate reality game for a colleague in the choral department! Very cool. It's Choral Assassins! Imagine rugged choral conductors, running round a round building, chasing their hapless victims with squirt guns, just so they can eliminate their target and claim their booty! And by 'booty' I mean clues to the puzzle waiting at the end! Solve the puzzle and win a prize. Naturally the puzzle has to do with some aspect of choral music, which for obvious reasons I can't divulge here. But I will keep you posted on the progress.

Practically Trini

2009-10-16T12:37:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I think I got my inner stickler all riled up by the unnecessary quotation marks deal, and now there's no stopping it. As a tribute to how far an obsessive inner stickler can go, consider this picture, which I snapped this morning in the food court of the building where I work.

Is it me, or do those two yellow 'wet floor' cones look like unnecessary "quotation marks" to you?

HA! I bet you were wondering how I'd fit those in, right? I'm a genius, I tell you... "gen... - eaghh why bother.

More to the point, and I know this is going to make me sound like a (insert choice of adjective + noun sequence), but can somebody tell me what the decision process was on this?

- We have a spill on the floor - somebody get that!

- I got it! (muttering under breath, now where did I put those 'wet floor' cones?)

I'm so glad irony didn't die with the great market crash of aught-eight.

Not to put my homeland in a bad light, but this type of thing is practically Trini! Sometimes it seems like, confronted with a problem, bump, or issue, my countrymen (and countrywomen too - don't panic) analyse things in terms of the least pragmatic or practical way forward, then do that. How else do you explain all those yellow lines that swerve neatly and dutifully around minor potholes? (Yeah - I get it... better to swerve around the pothole than to have someone drive into the pothole... yes... gottit.)

In the case of this picture though, there's nothing "Trini" about it. I took this picture in good ole (Midwestern Town) in (Midwestern State), USA. That was this morning, as I was about to pay US $3.10 for a cup of coffee that I could have made in my apartment.

I dunno - I guess it just makes me miss home.

But WHY?

2009-10-15T16:13:00.003-04:00

How to begin? Well, a couple of months ago I came across this hilarious picture on the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks:

I've been unable to get this picture out of my mind.

Not for the first time, it occurs to me that quotation marks, when used for anything other than indicating direct speech, are all about passive aggression. Juicy juicy passive aggression. This blog posting "isn't."

It's no fun if ya have to spell it out, but did you get that? I put quotes around "isn't" (there I did it again!), and thoroughly undermined the meaning of my sentence, though not in an overt way - just in an insinuatey annoying way. Is it me, or am I hyper-analysing things as usual? Is it coincidence that the first part of "analyse" is "anal"? I'd really like to know. "Really."
In the case of this picture, I'm not sure what the message is. If this alarm goes off, is there a fire or isn't there? Or is it some sick elaborate joke that the building architects and maintenance staff are playing? Is somebody snickering in a corner while everybody runs around to escape the "fire"?

If I were Mellisa, how would I feel to see this message, emblazoned on a congratulatory cake, no less ("congratulatory"?)?

Huh?

Are you really very proud, or is there something you think I should have done better, and you're just too embarrassed to say? Truly say?
I suppose it could be worse - the message could have read...
We're very "proud" of you!

I suppose.
But why?

Jacobs School Fountain

2009-10-14T06:54:00.001-04:00

Photoshop Dot Com

2009-10-11T10:21:00.001-04:00

I edited and uploaded this picture with the free Photoshop iPhone app. Very easy to use. You get a very basic set of editing tools, which are quite enough to do the job. This app is coupled with a more fully-featured, free Photoshop dot com online account.

Most Embarrassing Melt-Down Ever

2009-10-07T16:50:00.002-04:00

Apparently this guy, Brian Collins, stood in at the last moment because the regular sportscaster was sick. He *thought* perhaps, "what could be so hard? Read some text from the teleprompter, home by 9!" Right? Well, the newbie at the teleprompter messed up, and sent the script through too fast; the result, mayhem. Bust out the pop corn, kick back, and enjoy. But be prepared for 4 minutes of non-stop cringing.

in reference to: YouTube - Boom Goes the Dynamite (view on Google Sidewiki)

Google Wave Day

2009-09-30T14:55:00.001-04:00

So today is September 30, 2009. Today, the world changes, shifts on its axis, because today, Google launches its new communication and collaboration platform, called Google Wave. The developers of Google Wave have said that they tried to imagine how email would look if it had been invented today, instead of 40 years ago. What they've come up with is a device that combines IM, email, and GoogleDocs into one. There's a neat introductory video from its creators, available below. You can also read this very neat lifehacker blog post that lays the whole thing out in easy-to-follow non-developer-speak.

Tempus Fugit

2009-09-18T16:49:00.001-04:00

What Carter has to Say on Racism in the Current Discourse

2009-09-15T21:55:00.001-04:00

Interesting Vid.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

weird weird

2009-09-04T20:46:00.000-04:00

I'm in Bryan Park with some friends, about to watch a free outdoor movie, Bringing up Baby. They have a huge screen set up, and while we wait for the start of the film, we're watching some kids play wii Golf.
Ironic to watch virtual golf in a place where we could play the real thing.
Weird.

Crane for Roofing Work Outside Library

2009-09-04T16:25:00.001-04:00

Outside the Library

2009-09-04T08:17:00.001-04:00

40!

2009-08-31T08:18:00.001-04:00

Hello, 40! How's it going? I've been looking forward to meeting you, with some degree of uncertainty, and a fair amount of excitement. Today I put aside a long-held misconception - I had thought you were a year, but it turns out you're just a day. And, it turns out, what a beautiful day! Blue sky, green trees, the brown earth, joy in my heart, and love all around! Psalm 118: 24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Ground Shot

2009-08-17T01:06:00.000-04:00

Here's my foot as I walk along the sidewalk in front of M's house. I really like pictures of feet walking along. Why? Well.

Progress

2009-08-12T21:02:00.001-04:00

Found a great article today - not much use to anybody but me, but it helped me put some ideas in my paper into perspective. I'm certain that this is not what Carmen expected when she told me to talk about the tension between the conservative text and the liberal setting in the oratorio I'm studying. I now don't see any such tension. Her own darn fault, I suppose. The Article

Back in Gear

2009-08-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

So, after a long delay during which I didn't feel very chatty, here's an update.
I'm back at my apartment, into the swing at work, chipping away at chunks of my 'paper'.
I'm eager to get that sucker done so that I can move on to some projects that have been spinning around in my head for months and years.
Carmen says that I'm afraid to graduate, to move beyond the warm cocoon of school, to be pushed out of the nest. Maybe she has a point - I chose her as my research director for a reason.
But I'm going to get that sucker DONE!

Oh, The Crazies Among Us

2009-07-24T09:39:00.007-04:00

First, read what Nestor Sullivan had to say in his opinion piece, No Room for Philharmonic Orchestra.

My Response:
The Editor,Trinidad Express
Dear Sir/Madam,

Please allow me a few words to respond to Nestor Sullivan's broadside against the establishment of a national philharmonic orchestra in Trinidad and Tobago. In his opinion, "No Room for Philharmonic Orchestra" in The Daily Express of July 24, 2009, he makes the case that Trinidad and Tobago does not need such an orchestra. He states that it amounts to the spending of "taxpayers' dollars ... to perpetuate [an] oppressive and outrageously colonial view of T&T's music and culture." In his view, the pan, our beloved national instrument, can carry the torch, not only for calypso music which is our heritage, but also for what he calls "European classical music." The man is wrong.
Trinidad music did not pop into existence with the discovery of the pan. This country is heir to an extensive, expansive heritage of music in the Western tradition, spanning the chants of the monks of Solesmes to the most modern, most esoteric constructions of living composers today. We own that tradition - we are part of it. To state the idea most basically, if you use chords, thank western music! Don't be an ingrate.
We are also lucky enough to be heir of wider musical traditions than only western music: we also have the legacies of India and of Africa, Ganges and Nile (THANK YOU, David Rudder), mixing up, dancing round, jumping up, and wining back to create a style of music that is distinctly, inexplicably, irrevocably, absolutely, and perfectly TRINI. And, as the occasion demands, we separate and celebrate those streams of influence directly. We have African heritage festival, Indian Arrival day. Again, I'm being simplistic, but only to make the point - why shun the music of the western tradition just because it's linked to our former colonial 'masters'? Don't hate the music just because you think you should! That's so post-colonial-era! It's 2009, for Heaven's sake!
To Mr. Sullivan's second point, the pan cannot carry the torch for all music. Sorry, my friend, but that's a fact. Can you imagine the Boston Pops (I bring them up only because you opened that door) performing Jit Samaroo's (a man, by the way, who understands his western music - we're not worthy, Jit) arrangement of Kitchener's 'Bees Melody'? Here's an image for you - DEATH, warmed-over. It might be cute, or even interesting, but it would still SUUUUUUUCK! Now, turn that around and tell me why you think Handel's Messiah deserves to be played on pan! It's just not the same. Pan music belongs on pan. Symphonic music belongs on a symphonic (or in this case, philharmonic) orchestra.
If we're going to even 'observe' our debt to music of the western tradition, we might as well commission the phil. If you don't want to go as far as 'celebrate', let's at least make a nod to our past. As an aside, where do you think parang came from? Still again, we haven't even discussed a unique thing about pan as yet - the fact that no major symphony has incorporated it into their orchestra. Now, why is that? Is it that the pan is not good enough to belong in a standard symphony? I say no. I think it has to do with the fact that we have not done enough to promote the pan as an instrument that 'plays well with others.' Remember W? Didn't play well with others, got shunted aside into ignominy! Does the same fate await pan? Do we dare leave it to history?
Too besides, we haven't even broached the question of the type of Trini music that CAN fit on a symphonic orhcestra! I hope Mr. Sullivan doesn't mean to say that Trinidadian composers are so limited in scope that the only instrument they can write for is the pan, when there are teenage composers aplenty, in po-dunk towns all over the world who are writing for every instrument ever created, and all at once, too! That's not very patriotic, no not at all! Can you imagine what Jit (hail to the chief) Samaroo would do with a commission to compose a mash-up arrangement or - gasp - original work for a symphonic orchestra? He might break down the place! Or, if we got Eric Whitacre (an accomplished choral composer) to compose a work specifically for the pan! Well, why the hell not?

Mr. Sullivan, YES, there's room for a philharmonic orchestra. Our National Anthem says, "Here every creed and race find an equal place." So let western music have its place, and don't be a player hater. There is room for everybody.

Regards, etc.

View From Esperanza Alta

2009-07-21T20:07:00.001-04:00

D' Lime on Sundat

2009-07-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

Blah-Day

2009-07-18T19:41:00.000-04:00

Well, today was kinda blah-y. I was really heartened by the expressions of support and concern. So thanks, yall!
The group of us who went to Mayaro last night were lethargic and worn out today, which I suppose is to be expected. I suppose there are aspects of this that, for me, haven't sunk in as yet.
Despite my temptation to use this space to vent my emotions and work myself through the event, I think it's more appropriate to do that in private.
Tonight I'm watching 'The biggest Loser' for the first time. I like the way they do the eliminations; it's so uplifting - none of the back-biting that you commonly see on some of the other team shows.
I wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring?

Robbed in Mayaro

2009-07-17T21:03:00.000-04:00

Well, if you can believe it, we were just robbed at the beach house. EVERYBODY IS SAFE. NO ONE WAS HURT.
Two gunmen with t-shirts over their faces barged in while we were unpacking the cars. Ordered us all to the floor and demanded money. They fired a shot to prove they were serious.

I hid my phone in the pool table and pulled my godson to me. They left after they got what they wanted.
The police are here, and we are currently preparing to leave tonight.

More later.

The Ohlo Story

2009-07-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

You have to understand, I was prepared to fuss at the nose-man because of the Trini-timing of the food plans. But it all made sense when he pulled up with Ohlo riding shotgun. It came out that Ohlo made the nose-man late. So I didn't fuss too much.
But Ohlo delivered the delight of the trip so far, and it happened at a gas station.
We stopped at a Quik Shop (??) and Ohlo got out to buy something. Nose and I were in deep and meaningful conversation when he returned, red, grinning, shaking his lock-less head. "I got into somebody else car!"
Pause.
The story was, after we pulled up and Ohlo got out, another station wagon pulled up next to ours. When Ohlo returned, he entered the stranger's car with a hearty "so, my long-term plans are...". Quickly he realized his blunder and beat a hasty retreat. His mistake was telling us about it. Now it's here on this blog.
Aside from the idea that he could have been shot in the face (!!), we had much hilarity. We figured he had earned the stranger's respect by being a robber with long term goals. Maybe it was the accusatory glare he gave the owner of the wrong car as he sat down, as if to say, "what are you doing in the nose-man's car!?" Maybe it was the sheepish, "sorry, Uncle," he muttered as he stumbled from the car that kept poor Ohlo safe. Ah well. I can't help but wonder what story that guy is telling his wife right now - "honey, you won't believe what happened while you were in the Quik Shop..."
Well well well.

But we had some good barbecue (lamb again). And talked about calypso and Flip cameras. And managed to blow out the speakers of the jazz club we were in by asking them to turn up the volume on Sparrow's 'Lies and Excuses'. Totally not my fault!

Ah well. Laundry tonight, beach tomorrow!

waiting for the nose-man

2009-07-16T19:35:00.000-04:00

Trini time being what it is, nose-man is not really 35 minutes late - I'm just 35 minutes hungry. Sorry - make that 37 minutes hungry.
And that equates to a temptation to cuss way the nose man when he reach.