GEISTZITE

Stuff . . .

2009-06-15T08:44:00.002-05:00

Had a great weekend. Looking forward to this and looking for Norwegian language courses in the area. Also, I considering putting WordPress into play and getting away from the static page stuff. No more static pages. Must by an iPhone and a new laptop . . . stuff for research, etc.

jg

Oh, come on!

2009-06-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

Apparently the Grammys have dropped the polka music category.

BBC, Brock Broadcasting Company

2009-05-29T15:54:00.005-05:00

My buddy Brock and his Brockenspiel were featured on the Beeb this week. In this episode, the Arduino.

Grow up.

2009-05-27T07:58:00.003-05:00

As graduation has just completed and all have matriculated along to bigger and better things, I wanted to leave you with this . . . and also use this to gear up for the next semester. I wish someone would have sat me down and delivered this direct sermon to me when I was 25, alas . . .

Excerpted from Tomato Nation, do read the entire post, it gets better and better:

If you have reached the age of 25, I have a bit of bad news for you, to wit: it is time, if you have not already done so, for you to emerge from your cocoon of post-adolescent dithering and self-absorption and join the rest of us in the world. Past the quarter-century mark, you see, certain actions, attitudes, and behaviors will simply no longer do, and while it might seem unpleasant to feign a maturity and solicitousness towards others that you may not genuinely feel, it is not only appreciated by others but necessary for your continued survival. Continuing to insist past that point that good manners, thoughtfulness, and grooming oppress you in some way is inappropriate and irritating.
Grow up.

And when I instruct you to grow up, I do not mean that you must read up on mortgage rates, put aside candy necklaces, or desist from substituting the word "poo" for crucial syllables of movie titles. Silliness is not only still permitted but actively encouraged. You must, however, stop viewing carelessness, tardiness, helplessness, or any other quality better suited to a child as either charming or somehow beyond your control. A certain grace period for the development of basic consideration and self-sufficiency is assumed, but once you have turned 25, the grace period is over, and starring in a film in your head in which you walk the earth alone is no longer considered a valid lifestyle choice, but rather grounds for exclusion from social occasions.
And now, for those of you who might have misplaced them, marching orders for everyone born before 1980.

Good stuff for kids of any age.

Cube Project 2009

2009-03-08T16:17:00.015-05:00

Hey, what can I say, some days you wake up with a silly idea and then all of a sudden you realize that you are going to have to buy all the components and make the damn thing. Ah, prototyping by fire. I present, Cube Project 2009, to show up May 15th at Columbia College Chicago . . . bite . . . chewing . . . too much!

With students Laura Thompson (I want to build things . . .) and Gary Krupcek (I am really wanting to look into this Pure Data thing) we are building 3 to 6 three-dimensional objects, presently mainly cubes, roughly 5 x 5 x 5 inches . . . or about the size of a CD case, but cubed . . . get it. The cubes are equipped with tilt switches and an on-board PIC microcontroller (very small computer), so the cube 'knows' what side it is on at any given time. For this project we are using the Arduino model of chip (specifically, the Arduino Pro).

The switch information (the orientation of the cube) is being sent via wireless (XBee Radio) to a computer running Pure Data. In turn, Pure Data orchestrates an ever-changing sound design enveloping a table where these cubes sit.

As 'interactors' change the orientation of the cubes, the sound design changes. Also, the cubes provide a visual feedback by glowing and pulsing at different rates and colors (in tandem with the sound design) as they are being manipulated. Right?

Here are some pictures of the third prototype (this one done in pizza box cardboard, it's free):

First, we take a side of the cube and secure four tilt switches. The switches are placed at 45° angles so they are forced to be either tilted ON or OFF. If they were lying flat, the little bearing inside might just get stuck in a horizontal position and not read correctly (especially if all four are oriented on the bottom. So the little pitch forces an either ON or OFF orientation.

Next, we put in a ground loop for all four sensors.

In that little section of cardboard are four resistors, attached to the incoming +5 volt, uh . . . voltage. The resistors are needed to control the voltage, so the microcontroller can read it as either ON (+5, High) or OFF (+0, Low).

Here, the resistors have been hooked up to the other lead of the sensors, and then a separate wire will come off the sensors and go into the digital input pins of the microcontroller. Why did we not take a photo of this last step, I have no idea.

And here is the final Protoype #3. See, we have two sensor arrays, and I have just realized, we only need one sensor array to make this work. Yippie, less fabrication!

So, next week, wireless modem programming and PCB etching. Look, I made a smaller (2 x 2 inch board) for the sensors.

We will make them this week . . . etching copper with acid, fun. We will let you know how things work out. Thanks to Laura for the photos.

jg

Happy Birthday FUTURISM!!!

2009-02-20T10:33:00.002-06:00

100 Years ago today, F T Marinetti published a copy of his Futurist Manifesto on the front page of Le Figaro in Italy, kicking off a frantic wave of manifesto production which has yet to let up to this day where we find ourselves awash in a sea of -isms: Futurism, Surrealism, Cubism, Dadaism, etc.-ism.

Happy Birthday, comrades.

jg

James "Jim" Murphy RIP

2009-01-10T11:24:00.006-06:00

I received an email from his wife that Jim Murphy passed away on December 16th, 2008. Jim was probably one of my oldest friends in Chicago. He worked in the finance department at Lyric Opera Chicago (he started there as an Assistant Stage Manager) and ended up putting his business savvy to good use monitoring stocks for the Opera's endowment. Over the years we had formed a strong bond, and we kept in contact. When Angela and I returned from Ireland/France, he was the first person I contacted. He and I go way back.

Jim was a great saxophone player and he used to bring over his Music-Minus-One CD's and hand me the trombone part to play on my euphonium. I was not a jazzer, but Jim was. Jim was also a Band-In-The-Box fanatic, using this software to recreate charts and record himself playing along. Eventually he moved over to the tin whistle (he said he was getting tired of carry the alto around . . . "It's a hell of alot lighter!" he'd say and then flash that cheezy grin.) He was a brother, a buddy, a friend. He encouraged me and I will never forget that.

He always drank Lite beer (he never wanted anything too fancy . . . OK, maybe a Guinness once or twice). In 98 to 99 we hung around alot (more after I left Lyric). He used to come over to my apartment and we would record and goof around. He contributed a great deal to the score for the Anatomical Theatre's swing-inspired work "Jack Black and Bessie Blue," providing the alto sax samples and pushing me in the right direction.

One of my fondest memories was walking down Chicago Avenue on a warm summer night looking for a bar to have a few beers. The windowless Star Lounge beckoned for some reason. A Puerto Rican bar we assumed. (You had to buzz to get in!) We were the only fair-skinned people in the place, but Jim didn't seem to mind. I remember how he commented on how clean the place was . . . from the outside it looked quite dodgy . . . but inside a family bar with children, soccer on the televisions, and not a word of English spoken . . . except to us, of course. If it is still there, I am going to go back and have a few Lites in his memory.

There are more stories and I will tell them later. Ask me about the performance piece we did with Steve Dumbacher in 1996-97. We dressed up as a lounge act and did amorphic music. Silly, very silly.

He loved his wife Ro deeply and always was sure to get home and not make it too long a night. Jim exhibited a type of sarcasm and dead-end humor that made him so dear to us all. He was unassuming and pure, always true to himself and to those around him.

He was a friend.

Obituary follows:

BROOKFIELD - James Patrick Murphy, 49, of Brookfield, formerly of Springfield, passed away suddenly of cardiac arrest on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, at Adventist Hospital. He was affectionately known as "Jim" to his friends and family.
Jim was born on May 8, 1959, in Decatur, the son of R. Richard Murphy and Eleanor Edith Rimini Murphy. He married Rosemary Lynch of Oak Park in 1996.
He graduated from Quincy College (now Quincy University) with a bachelor's degree in music business. He graduated from Griffin High School in Springfield in 1977.
He was employed as an accountant for the Lyric Opera Company of Chicago where he had worked for more than 20 years and where he found and met his loving wife, Rosemary.
Jim was an accomplished jazz musician who played saxophone with various ensembles in Chicago and in his early career was part of a band that recorded with a major studio in New York. He had also recently begun an exploration of his Celtic roots playing the Irish whistle in several traditional Celtic bands in the Chicago area.
He was an avid cross country skier and had recently taken up the sport of bowhunting. This latter activity allowed for frequent return trips to central Illinois and was just beginning to provide the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends in his hometown.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemary Lynch of Brookfield; a brother, Michael (wife, Jean) Murphy and a sister, Michelle (husband, Mark) McHenry of Springfield; and numerous nieces and nephews who hold him in fond regard.
Family will receive friends for a visitation on Friday, Dec. 19, 2008, from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, at 10 a.m. until time of prayer service at 11 a.m. at Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home, 203 S. Marion St., Oak Park. Information at (708) 383-3191. Internment services at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
A memorial fund is being established in his name at the Lyric Opera Company of Chicago.

December

2008-12-24T09:27:00.003-06:00

The flakes are probably the size of quarters. It's snowing again. It has been a crazy time here in the Windy City. Angela slipped on the ice last Wednesday and broke her lower leg in two places . . . clean through. She was a trooper, however, and we got her in the hospital and into surgery the next day. She is now part human, part robot. Well, at any rate, there are few extra titanium pieces holding her together now. She is not too mobile, but gets around the apartment pretty well . . . stairs are exhausting and the snow-on-ice-on-snow weather patterns, which started this whole thing, makes crutches quite interesting. She won't be leaving the house with much frequency.

This will be my first Christmas in Chicago, usually I travel down to Texas for the event. Well, I am going down to the butcher's this afternoon for the Christmas beast. Oh, and the water was out yesterday due to a bad water pipe. What a week! Maybe today things will calm down a bit.

jason

Radio good, television (meh)

2008-12-11T15:05:00.003-06:00

What is it about radio that really cuts through to the story so succinctly? Probably the acousmatic nature of the exchange. You have to visualize it. Radio, and all sound art, by default . . . interactive. You need to bring something to the table. Television, it just sits there . . . puking its audio-visual content. Case in point . . . some really good public radio from NPR/PRI. First, for my father, per your question a few weeks back concerning the economy, a really good explanation in two parts from This American Life, which when it isn't desperately trying to be 'ironic and hip' actually delivers the goods:

Giant Pool of Money

A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR News. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall Street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.

with the followup:

Another Frightening Show About the Economy

Alex Blumberg and NPR's Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of Money episode—are back, in collaboration with the Planet Money podcast. They'll explain what happened this week, including what regulators could've done to prevent this financial crisis from happening in the first place.

And finally, this wonderful bit of radio about Texas and the aftermath of Rita for the family in Galveston. Really good radio from The Story.

Christmas After Ike

It's been three months since Hurricane Ike - one of the most destructive hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S. Like most of her neighbors on the coast near Galveston, Texas, Dana Bethune will be spending this holiday season camped out in someone else's home. Her home was destroyed, and has yet to be rebuilt.

Happy listening . . .

jg

Lawrence Lessig

2008-11-21T23:35:00.002-06:00

I know nothing of Lawrence Lessig, but he seems incredibly interesting and 'motivated'. Here is an interview with Charlie Rose that will probably keep me coming back to Lessig's website for more ideas.

jg

CTA Beeps . . .

2008-11-19T13:42:00.004-06:00

Normally I try to get in the last car of the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) 'L' train when I get on at the Addison Station, the one next to my house as I come into work. Today, for some reason, I opted to get in the first car, which means I walk down to the 'other' end of the platform. Since I usually go to the end of the platform where the last car would land, I normally don't here what I heard today.

As the train was just about to pull up to the platform, way at the far end, I (standing at the top end) hear this beeping . . . kinda like a 1980's beeper with a low amplitude, slow whine (beeeep, beeeep, beeeep, beeeep . . .) I thought, what the hell is that, a time bomb? So I walked up and down the track as the train pulled in, the beep was everywhere . . . weird, I thought. When I backed away from the tracks, the beep went away. I finally realized, the train tracks were beeping . . . at just a level that, if you happened to be attuned to using your ears a lot, you would here it. Ohhhhh . . .

It is a warning for the visually impaired . . . it says, with it's little beeps, the train is approaching. Sure enough, after the train pulled up, the beeping stopped.

Or, I could be just hearing things.

jason

Pure Data

2008-11-13T09:21:00.002-06:00

I have been working through the "pure data is not max/msp" meme these past few weeks. As part of my Sound for Interaction course we are connecting with the Beat Generation theme of the semester and doing a Burroughs cut-up method on recordings of Burroughs talking about Burroughs. The sound installation will be comprised of about 450 files (created by the class) that will freely remix themselves, creating new Burroughs themes. The process continues though the author is dead. Neat, huh?

I lectured a class in game audio the other day. I mentioned that in preparing for my class I had come across an article stating that sound in gaming (as well as in most pop music) is louder and louder. The result being that there is no nuance. In the 'aracade' days, machines had to compete with each other as they were all crammed together in one room. The machine with the loudest sounds usually received the most attention, and thus the most coinage.

Last week I walked into the game lab and saw a student watching a movie, surfing the net, and playing a game . . . all at the same time. I asked him how he could do all those things at once. He told me he was multi-tasking . . . hmmmm. So, now games and commercials and radio stations and web sites must be louder . . . simply to blow all that other concurrently running media out of the attention zone.

In class, one of the visiting students offered an explanation. He says that the world is already too loud and that the only way for young people to escape these days is to find something even louder. That's right, it must all get louder . . . and it will.

Jason

A new day . . .

2008-11-05T08:34:00.002-06:00

You could feel the win yesterday morning. We were just waiting for America to vote. The country needed a new direction, and it looks like we have it. The world is changing, too. Thanks to all the well wishers who sent emails from abroad. I gotta teach tonight . . . I'd rather sleep and take in the television and radio news all day. Soak it all in.

Chicago had a good night. We watched the returns from Brad's place . . . the party downstairs would periodically erupt and we would run to the television to see what had happened. After Pennsylvania, you pretty much could have called the race. It was electorally a landslide. Now we need to put the partisan stuff behind us and move forward as a single country. It is a new direction and a new energy.

Let's get to work.

Jason

It's on . . .

2008-11-03T19:04:00.001-06:00

Be here now.

2008-10-26T11:31:00.005-05:00

Brooks' article is spot on. Though he does not invoke Nixon (or Rove for that matter), Brooks points out that the conservative party (which has had the presidency for every year of my life, less the 12 years of Clinton/Carter) has finally come to an end (which is, in fact, a new beginning) . . . and I hope he is right.

I am not rejoicing that conservative thought has come to an end, because there are conservative ideals I agree with (such as a strong national defense), but I am happy to see that conservative social dogma is no longer resonating with the majority of the electorate. The issues of religion, race, and nationality (again, all issue of otherness that stoke the fears of so many) are being reconsidered . . . and, I believe, rejected, or at least, redefined.

When I look at this election I see a country that has held onto its past for far too long. I think, as a people, we don't want to let go of our history because we feel that our history defines who we are. But, the past merely defines who we were. In truth, we are defined by our current action, by what we are doing right now.

The Cold War is over, though some insist we continue framing the world in terms of Superpowers that are either (wholly) Good or Evil. We are no longer a Superpower, primarily because the world does not need a unilaterally acting Superpower. We were a Superpower when we had to be . . . let's move forward and become something the world really needs now.

Though the Civil War is long over, we continue political 'discourse' that posits the cultures and practices of those in the South against those in the East . . . thinly veiled references to not only food and music, but racism and religion as well. We need to put the War Between the States behind us, we are one country now. Religious intolerance and racial distrust anchors us to the past. How do we expect to move forward?

Come together, right now. This is neither a liberal or a conservative diatribe. It is prudent, practical, and necessary.

jg

Conservatives for Obama

2008-10-26T09:35:00.005-05:00

Here's an interesting editorial from a former editor of the National Review, Wick Allison, who points out why he is supporting Barack Obama, who he infers is the true conservative candidate. Though his definition of a liberal is trite and cliché (obviously, he has no notion of current progressive thought), the editorial points out why conservative factions find themselves in an all-out civil war: it is the realists versus the fantasists. Here is a representative passage:

Liberalism always seemed to me to be a system of “oughts.” We ought to do this or that because it’s the right thing to do, regardless of whether it works or not. It is a doctrine based on intentions, not results, on feeling good rather than doing good.

But today it is so-called conservatives who are cemented to political programs when they clearly don’t work. The Bush tax cuts—a solution for which there was no real problem and which he refused to end even when the nation went to war—led to huge deficit spending and a $3 trillion growth in the federal debt. Facing this, John McCain pumps his “conservative” credentials by proposing even bigger tax cuts. Meanwhile, a movement that once fought for limited government has presided over the greatest growth of government in our history. That is not conservatism; it is profligacy using conservatism as a mask.

As Wick points out in closing:

“Every great cause,” Eric Hoffer wrote, “begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” As a cause, conservatism may be dead. But as a stance, as a way of making judgments in a complex and difficult world, I believe it is very much alive in the instincts and predispositions of a liberal named Barack Obama.

So, when you do go to vote this November (or you choose to vote early as we did yesterday), try to get out of the trough that the political parties have slopped up for us. Get out of the the conservative vs. liberal morass, put you head above the muck and look around. Breathe deep, relax, and truly consider which candidate will make us safer, reconnect our country to the rest of the world, and provide a strong foundation for moving forward into the next century.

Happy voting.

jg

Update: Hell, why not just title it Americans for Obama?

Saturday morning . . .

2008-10-25T08:53:00.003-05:00

Back at Sweet Thang (the new hipster coffee shop that can't spell . . . hey, slang is kewl!) Today I am working out a way to teach digital audio via Pure Data to the 'dents. It's a two-shot latte morning (hey maybe there is a dried out croissant I can gnaw on).

It's grey out there.

What's brewing . . .

2008-10-23T10:10:00.002-05:00

If you are curious, we have a Grand Cru in the primary fermenter which is a Belgian Ale in the style of Hoegaarden or Ommegang with a good deal of orange peel and coriander. It smells great and continues to actively churn as the yeasts work through the additional honey the recipe required. Gurgle, gurgle, glump.

In the scondary we have an Oatmeal Stout which has cleared nicely and should probably be bottled this weekend, though with our schedules, who knows how long that will condition.

Beer.

jg

Fear, et. al.

2008-10-22T10:32:00.004-05:00

I have put this in my journal and thought I would share with you. It is one of the daily devotions/thoughts/passages from Everyday Mind, a book of 366 'reflections on the Buddhist path.' The entry for June 14th (I never read them in order) is this:

Intelligent practice always deals with just one thing: the fear at the base of human existence, the fear that I am not. And of course I am not, but the last thing I want to know is that. I am impermanence itself in a rapidly changing human form that appears solid. I fear to see what I am: an ever-changing energy field. I don't want to be that. So good practice is about fear. Fear takes the form of constantly thinking, speculating, analyzing, fantasizing. With all that activity we create a cloud cover to keep ourselves safe in make-believe practice. True practice is not safe; it's anything but safe. But we don't like that, so we obsess with our feverish efforts to achieve our version of the personal dream. Such obsessive practice is itself just another cloud between ourselves and reality. The only thing that matters is seeing with an impersonal searchlight: seeing things as they are. When the personal barrier drops away, why do we have to call it anything? We just live our lives. And we we die, we just die. No problem anywhere.

The bold type is my emphasis.

This is a constant reminder that I just need to live, not try to be anything. That might seem antithetical to a 'successful' life, but I see that it all comes together when we let go. What does this mean? The answer is different for everyone. It may not seem exciting to let go, but I think all that excitement is really just the energy of fear employed as 'cloud cover.'

So, if and when I write music, I am writing music. If I am not writing music, I am not writing music. It is so much easier this way.

jason

UPDATE: I always reread my posts for formatting, typos, etc., and noticed a strange turn of phrase in the beginning of the passage. 'I fear to see what I am: an ever changing energy field.' Should that be 'I fail to see who I am . . .' ? I checked the quote in my anthology . . . that's what it says, 'I fear to see who I am.'

The quote is attributed to Charlotte Joko Beck in a book titled Everyday Zen. Typo, Freudian manifestation, whatever . . . what a beautiful thing.

E tu McCarthy?

2008-10-20T20:52:00.006-05:00

Congressman Jane Bachmann (R-MN) says all congressmen and women should be investigated to ascertain whether they have anti-American views or not. And Gov. Sarah Palin says Obama may not even be a capitalist.

Well, finally, . . . it comes to this. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Joe McCarthy, uh . . . John McCain.

McCain calls Obama a Socialist

Better dead than red!

jg

Considering dynamic range

2008-10-18T09:16:00.003-05:00

I thought I would post this out there for a little more information re dynamic range in the music coming from the 'music industry' . . . chung, chink, clunk, fvoooooz . . . chung, chink , clunk, fvooooz . . . and, no, I don't mean industrial music.

jg

ps. as Sam points out not our music, but we still have to live in this world and the haunts I haunt have it KRANKT to max levels at all points. So, this becomes the norm . . . now to fight this . . . maybe a reactionary work is in the works?

Homebrew Radio

2008-10-18T09:09:00.001-05:00

This is fun and sounds so AM. I am listening to the sour mash episode.

jg

This is not part of my vision for America

2008-10-16T15:29:00.007-05:00

This is depressing.

I have to ask, what are their real fears and who put these fears into their psyche? Acrid, writhing in fear.

jg

(originally spotted on Crooks and Liars)

The return of change . . .

2008-10-16T10:25:00.006-05:00

Ah, he tentatively returns to the blogosphere where things have been going on without him for months. That's ok, I consider this blog to be somewhat on the fringe o' the sphere. I wonder what this blogging is all about really. It can be an aggregate of links, a forum for trial-running thoughts, a way to purge the demons, or a platform for simply being clever. Hmmm . . . I do think there are times when I play the organizationalist and put my focus on one issue, towards one purpose. This is what was so enlightening about graduate school and the PhD. The focus was so obvious, specifically, get this thing done, do the work, etc. This focus provided a pretty good crucible for many wonderful things that happened. That's what is so great about independent research with support and time, no distractions. Of course, once outside of academia (the cave), everything gets big and distracting again, as it has been for the last few years. I think the academy is easier than real life (if I was a stock broker or a chef I might say the same thing about the board room or the kitchen).

Fall has arrived this week, all of a sudden the leaves are dropping, the temperatures, too. The colors are scrumtrilliescent and I want to bring about some new change this October, some more focus. Some more doing. I am all about making art.

I was having an interesting discussion with one of my students the other day concerning whether the school should be preparing students for A JOB or for A LIFE. I think we both agreed on the latter. He expressed his concern for his own field, audio engineering, an area which was awash in bodies. Too many recording engineers and not enough recording work. Why do we keep churning out composers? Is this really a viable JOB. Well, no it isn't.

Considering the present situation in the economics industry, I don't think we can support all the wealth and personal energy that is necessary to put up the GUARANTEE of a changeless world in which I get this degree and this job with this salary and these expectations will issue forth. (Behold his mighty hand!) No, that is over, nada, quit, fine.

We need to overturn the system, we need to come to a new flexibility with who we think we are and what we believe we need to be doing. We are not defined by what we ARE, but by what we are BECOMING. I change therefore I am?

So, just a few issues that are important to me that I am concerned with at this time:

We need to end poverty NOW. We must provide a life support system for every human being. This must be an organized, group effort. We will have to rethink who we are as humans in order to do this. This is a revolutionary action. We will need to reform capitalism and return security to our planet. This will require a redistribution of resources. They are our resources.
We need to return a true dynamic range to our music. Music is simply too loud and, rather than being dynamic, is numbing. We must recapture the ritual of music and it ability to take us to another level of thought and enlightenment. Square wave distortion in the name of louder and louder music is a real problem. Personal is not intimate. Music is not a drug.
We need more experimentation in artistic work, expecially at the undergraduate level. Honestly, the level of sameness and mediocrity is getting a bit annoying. I have no argument here yet, I just think we are putting ourselves into so many boxes.
Media is distracting. We need to put an end to the distractions that are rendering us incapable of creative thought. By media, I mean those that deliver information in ever increasing small bits. As the bits get smaller (16 to 8 to 4 to 2), we know there is less resolution, less information. We in the media saturated world are slowly becoming more and more confused as we loose resolution. We have to provide information to fill in the blanks and this is how rumors get started. Cue the conspiracy.
We are distracted, unable to handle the instricate details, preferring bolder and bolder strokes.
We need to end the strangle hold of Christianity and the other mono-theistic religions on our governments and social structures. I thought competition was good?
I need to perform more and put out a couple of CDs.

Ok, so that's a start. Things will start changing around here. I guess they never stopped . . . never began either. Put your foot in the river, Siddhartha.

jg

Finally, a political group I can get behind . . .

2008-09-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

Thereminist for Obama.

Globalizaton comes to Hasbro

2008-09-14T20:21:00.003-05:00

Yes, here it is, the World Edition of Monopoly with world cities where the original properties used to be. Now you, too, can participate in the march toward total world dominance. Empire building was never this fun . . .

New media art . . .

2008-09-12T15:19:00.001-05:00

How to define Interactive or New Media Art . . . this is rich.

jg

The baldness gap . . .

2008-09-10T08:40:00.002-05:00

NPR points out some interesting points about the hairy/bald pattern of modern Russian leaders since Lenin. Intriguing as this might be, it is the Bald/Hairy song that makes this story standout. Give it 2 minutes of your life, you'll be dancing in the streets.

JG

Oops, forgot I had a blog . . .

2008-08-19T18:21:00.001-05:00

It's just been busy here.

Classes start in two weeks.

jg

Reeeeeealy good uke . . .

2008-06-29T14:02:00.002-05:00

As my fingers bleed, I keep watching these guys . . . this is good uke.

Also, a great Kate Bush cover . . .

And, a wonderfully atmospheric version of The Good and the Bad and the Ugly.

They are mad!

Of grills, block parties, and ukuleles

2008-06-29T07:53:00.003-05:00

Well, summer has arrived, has it not? I thought I would let you know what's up and what's down. We are continuing with our 'no oven' policy. That's right, it's so warm up here that we have forsaken the oven as well as the stove top (aka, the hob). In lieu of our gas bill we have taken on the charcoal allowance. That's right, every meal is being prepared by outdoor grill. We can grill anything. Besides the normal meats (the brats, the whole chickens, and Angela's favorite rib eye steak -- boneless), we also grill whole onions, heads of garlic, asparagus, potatoes (a personal favorite), and eggplant. Other 'experiments' also include kohlrabi, turnips, and kale. I do not recommend the kale on the grill . . . rubbery.

Another harbinger of the summer season is the 'block party.' Not an original institution, but I believe one that really reaches its fullest expression in Chicago. Only here, in this large metropolis, may neighbors come together, and for the low fee of about $100.00, have their block completely shut down, taken off the grid, for an entire weekend. Throughout this summer, drivers will grumble as they are vexed, their normal drive home (or to market) blocked by barricades stating: NO PARKING/BLOCK PARTY. But it ain't just any block party, this is America after all. There will be bouncy castles, kegs of beer, face painting, a stage with lighting and amplification, and the requisite cover band, whose output allows the passerby to guess, with amazing accuracy, the median age of the block's residents. These 'events' will keep building in intensity until the dreaded Village Block Party. These weekend long bacchanals take up five to six blocks. They are mini Lollapaloozas, two to three bands playing a variety of Top Forty hits. These begin in about a month and last until October . . . there is some type of Halloween costume parade for the kiddies . . . by this time everyone is sick of it and the 'fun' is a bit constructed. But, it is early, and we shall, for now, eat corn on the cob, drink warmish beer, avoid August's Guinness and Oyster Fest (warm beer/warm oysters) . . . who thought this was a good idea? So it goes.

Oh, I bought a ukulele. It's fantastic. I've had it one day and I already know three chords . . . that's all I need. Next, hook it up to the computer.

Today the outdoor markets are open, fresh fruit and veg, organic cheese and meats. We will purchase today and grill for the week. A beautiful thing.

Peace.

jg

Birds . . .

2008-06-27T06:04:00.003-05:00

I awoke early this morning to the urban dawn chorus of birds. I went out with the deck and pulled some recordings which I am cleaning up over coffee. As I walked around I began to slowly realize that these birds were everywhere. Probably 100 birds to every person living in the city. Who knows? There was an interesting hierarchy to their movements and their songs. Then I began to notice the air conditioning units. Each unit turning on and off. There was an interesting hierarchy to their movements and songs. Two species, one ecology.

jg

Let's get physical . . .

2008-06-25T09:57:00.003-05:00

This is a programming kind of time for me. I am using Cyrille Henry's PMPD (Physical Modeling for Pure Data) and its Max/MSP incarnation developed by Mathieu Chemagne (known as mc.pmpd) to develop more natural sounding gestures and behaviors for acousmatic improvisation. It's working out pretty well and I will post some experiments to this blog when I figure out how all that control information will influence the sound of the improvisational 'world' I am developing. It is basically the following formula: [field recordings (edited)] * [sample playback processes] * [physical models(constraints)]. Somehow, that makes an hour of music.

jg

Don't fear the dead cat . . .

2008-06-16T11:22:00.017-05:00

Well, since we are getting into production with the Sound for Interaction kids (ahem . . . students), I though I might as well start a little project aimed at reducing the wind noise in my field recordings. So, I made what they call in the business a dead cat, le chat mort?

The basic install is a foam cone over the microphone, creating an air pocket around the XY-configured condenser microphones. This pocket shields the microphones from unwanted fluctuations in air pressure and the faux long-hair fur (this style, your Grizzly Black) channels the air around the cone, thus attenuating the sound of the air grazing the outside of the cone.

Voila, dead cat to reduce wind noise for your Zoom H4! It actually works pretty well. I think it looks a bit like Ernie, or maybe it's Bert?

I have enough material left over to make a toupee as well.

The write stuff . . .

2008-06-10T11:12:00.003-05:00

I would like to share a brief observation that drives my teaching methodology at the tertiary level. The mantra goes like this: If you write it three times, you will probably retain it. When I teach I use a white board. (I have eschewed the PowerPoint-in-the-classroom paradigm, realizing that PowerPoint is for presentations -- to be observed and not absorbed.)

With dry-erase marker in hand, I write out an outline of every lecture on the board prior to beginning. I encourage my students to copy this down in their notes as I put it up. (Note: First writing.) Next, as I present each point (the narrative) of the lecture, I write key phrases, definitions, and illustrations on the board. I encourage my students to write along with me. (Second writing.) Finally, students are encouraged to recopy their notes into a complete form. (Third writing.)

In my classroom, all exams take the written form: essay, short answer, and the so-called 'fill-in-the-blank.' (Fourth writing?)

Students who write retain.

Reincarnation . . .

2008-05-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm ready.

More coming soon.

jg

I am the Phlegm-man, Ku, Ku, Achoo . . .

2008-05-16T19:58:00.002-05:00

I am ill. It is allergy season here in Chicago. I subsist on Campbell's Tomato Soup and Thera-flu Lemon (the American equivalent to Limsip). I have convinced myself to finally learn SuperCollider. I am sick of all those Max/MSP patchchords . . . and all those crazy updates! Besides, it's Open Source . . . my new friend. My head is a basketball.

jason

The cool weather . . .

2008-05-10T07:35:00.002-05:00

Ok, here's the rub, the weather is cold, cold, cold, . . . it's the middle of May for crying out loud and it is close to freezing in the evening . . . very strange. We aren't supposed to break 80 degrees (F) until June. Let me put it to you this way . . . we are running the heat in May . . . May, I tell you.

jg

Beer and Nazis

2008-05-03T16:21:00.002-05:00

We just finished bottling out first attempt at a Duvel clone. We used a recipe we found in the BYO clone recipe edition . . . alas, it has come out at rocket fuel. Completely undrinkable. We estimate about 90% attenuation. The stuff is about 10% alcohol by volume. Which is great, if it weren't for the problem with the overbearing skunky smell and the bitter aftertaste. We blame the recipe, the ingredients, and the temperature fluctuations during our recent chilly winter. But, we did get a few lessons from this . . . first we did a partial mash brew and second, as we left the secondary fermentation in the carboy for so long, well . . . the beer was relatively clear. I assume the finished product will be undrinkable . . . but will be crystal clear.

The best find was the Argentinian all-German content radio station we tuned in over the net. They play beer drinking songs, Lutheran hymns, and even songs from the kinder corps (yikes!) . . . The funny part is all the announcers speak Spanish. Every now and then an announcement is made in German . . . very strange . . . have a listen . . . Treffpunkt Deutschland - Meeting Point: Germany (From Argentina) the URL is . . . http://190.92.166.165:8170.

jg

1000 Fans . . .

2008-04-28T15:34:00.002-05:00

An interesting article that buoys the premise that one artist with 1,000 true fans, each willing to dish out a days salary for your work once a year, should be able to support himself. Just how possible is this and how would I go about doing it? I think the problem with the premise is that one needs to take a considerable amount of time building up this base of True Fans . . . possibly decades.

Well, no time like the present, eh?

jg

Will work for space . . .

2008-04-28T15:16:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in getting around to posting. I don't why, but there are not always things to say. I have been working in the slightly lucrative world of temporary employment, purportedly supply a solution to 'your temporary staffing needs.' On the long end of things, I have been applying for jobs in the US, University of Alabama and (yes, wait for it . . .) Yale. No one seems to want to talk to me . . . (though the folks at Alabama did conduct a Skype interview) There's another topic for career counselors to write about . . . the grainy, latency infested, Skype interview. Pshew.

As for me, I am beginning to write some music again. Which is a great thing . . . it has been too long since I took the time to concentrate on the work. To many distractions in the big city. I have been looking for a way out of this place. Maybe soon. On a good note I have a possibility of working part-time at an artists retreat this winter . . . in exchange for a studio. I hope this comes through, I certainly could use the time.

I think what is really troubling me is that I am having great success with my class at Columbia and getting these interviews . . . but no real breaks here. Which, I really don't understand, because I have worked so hard to get to this point. And now, it's as if I am starting all over again. Will we ever get back to Europe?

In Chicago it is snowing tonight . . . it is April 28th . . . Pshew.

jg

The American Dream . . .

2008-01-27T14:56:00.000-06:00

This left me speechless . . . the Guardian reports on the status of the invisible poor, and the American Dream, in the United States.

Update: You might want to also check out the interesting articles/videos available in the Guardian dealineUSA section.

jg

Weather or not . . .

2008-01-24T07:59:00.001-06:00

Look, I don't want you all to think that this thing is only about the weather in Chicago, but this morning is -4 °F (that's -20 °C) and the wind chill is -24 °F (-31 °C). We aren't used to this American Midwest weather.

On another note, today is Oral Roberts' birthday . . . he's 90. He once said that God™ would 'take him home' if he could not raise a million dollars . . . I guess he raised the money.

As an aside, I would like to take this time to say that I, too, will be 'going home' unless someone sends me a million dollars . Mom, dad? You may make deposits to my general account.

jason

-6 °F (-20 °C)

2008-01-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

Cold, very cold this morning . . . The forecast says we won't get above the freezing mark for the next week. The sun just crested over the horizon . . .

This is Hell . . .

2008-01-19T10:52:00.000-06:00

If you get the chance and you happen to be free on Saturday mornings (around 10 to 12:00 US Central Time -- that's +6 GMT), do yourself a favor and listen to the best damn radio discussion politics-current affairs show I have ever heard: THIS IS HELL, with host Chuck Mertz and the boys. It's definitely more gritty than NPR and more irreverent then FOX . . . this is good work . . . logical, intelligent, strong . . . brilliant stuff.

jg

UPDATE: FWIW, I added some new stuff to the Link roll on the right. Also, Mertz and company are on beginning at 9:00 AM (that's 15:00 in the UK) and continue for four hours.

Beer . . .

2008-01-17T14:48:00.000-06:00

There have been requests for photos of the brewing process; thus, I offer forth the following with commentary:

1) That's the yeast there (of Noble Trappist Belgian Ale origin) that came in liquid form. It was necessary to 'propagate' the yeast in a mini-beer . . . that is, feed it and keep it warm while it multiplies . . . this takes a few days.

2) Later in the week we move over to the boil . . . here the boil bag filled with grains is steeping in the water as it comes to boil. Later we added the malt and boiled for an hour . . .

3) At about halfway into the boil we add the first of two hop sachets which add bitterness, balancing out the sweetness of the malt. Here I interrogate the hops prior to incorporation into the boil . . .

4) After the boil, the wort is placed into a fermentation device. Here a food grade bucket . . . cleverly dubbed the Ale Pail . . . holds our liquid. After we pour in the yeast slurry, we can officially call this a beer . . . Over a week the liquor begins to ferment and a head of gunk (dead yeast cells, hop oils, etc) called krausen rises to the top. Yes, just like G. Heileman's Old Style, "our beer is fully krausened."

5) Then we rack the liquor into a five gallon carboy, minding not to siphon the krausen or the yeast pit at the bottom of the Pail into the carboy.

6) The carboy sits in the corner of the kitchen conducting secondary fermentation. It's alive!

I guess the bottling photos will come next . . . some time this weekend.

65 degrees Fahrenheit

2008-01-07T16:30:00.000-06:00

That's right folks. It is January 7, 2008, in Chicago, the cold, windy city. It's freakin' 65 degrees. Global warming . . . nah.

jg

2008, here we go . . .

2008-01-07T07:51:00.001-06:00

Well, the year officially begins for me today. That holiday time is over. I am slated for two courses (as far as I understand it now) at Columbia College in the Interactive Media Department: Sound for Interactive Multimedia and Linear Sound for Gaming. They should both be quite interesting courses, the first being an acoustics and studio techniques course with many practical projects and the latter pertaining to the use of creative, judicious, and computationally prudent sound in video gaming. So, I am getting together the syllabi and familiarizing myself with the required texts. I am just getting into preparing my acoustics lecture now.

So, that's it for the morning. On a related note I have successfully installed Parallels on the MacBook, so I can run Windows now . . . a necessity due to the PC nature of the software I will be teaching (Sony's Sound Forge and Acid Loops alongside other things which make game programming possible . . . so now I can roll with the rest of them).

I am truly looking forward to the sound for gaming course, especially as it may serve as a launching pad for my work in live improvisation and electronics. I have always imagined that game engines somehow might hold a key to musical interactivity and performance. We shall see!

jason

End 2007 . . .

2007-12-31T17:49:00.000-06:00

So, happy that this one is over. Looking forward to a busy, productive, exploration of 2008 . . . teaching at Columbia, working out at the Gym (gettin' buff), making beer, writing lots more music.

Rock on.

Happy New Year.

jason

Tex-mas . . .

2007-12-16T19:04:00.001-06:00

A few snaps from the trip down to Texas for Christmas and things along the way:

1) De-Iceman cometh:

2) Strange sign on the way to the runway:

3) Wiiiiiiiii . . . Dad bowls into the virtual reality alley:

4) Deer . . . oh, deer . . .

5) Longhorn cattle . . .

6) While taking photos I heard a 'thud' . . . looked over and saw this little guy who flew right into a parked car window. After about ten minutes he got his senses back and flew away . . .

7) A large specimen . . .

8) Dad surveying his spread . . .

Happy holidays . . .

To Texas . . .

2007-12-10T17:48:00.000-06:00

This morning I left for Texas to visit family for the holidays. What has become of air travel? Yes, I am aware that fuel is expensive and that there are security concerns; however, it seems to me that airports are actually less secure, less efficient, and all the more so, confusing.

Upon my arrival at O'Hare International I got in line for the 'kiosk' . . . that's right, there is no longer a human to check you in, that went out years ago, and identity verification . . . it's all done using A) a credit card (yeah, those things are secure . . . nobody could get a hold of that information) and 2) verification of my destination.

The kiosk efficiently printed out my boarding pass at which point I was meant to somehow _know_ to migrate over to another desk where an attendant would check my identity and affix a tag to my baggage. Afterwards, I was instructed to walk my own bag over to the X-ray machine. After many attempts at finding the correct X-ray machine that would accepts my bag, a bedraggled skycap asked me to "just put your bags over there" next to all the other bags that had piled up at the security station. Was TSA around? Why of course not; rather, two exhausted looking skycaps were loading bags into the machine . . . at any point I could have grabbed a few of the bags and taken off with them, or perhaps put something inside of them. Sadly, no one was minding the store.

The entire process was terribly inefficient . . . no one knew where to go, there were no signs to assist the process, the hall was incredibly dirty and unorganized . . . and after I disrobed and passed security I realized that no one, at any time, had asked me the typical security questions: 1) have your bags been in your possession the entire time (uh, no . . . I left them over there in the middle of the hall with those two skycaps), and 2) did anyone ask you to carry anything for them on board (uh, no, but my bag is over there just sitting in the hall with no security around it, so I guess anyone could simply put anything in there if they wanted to do so.)

This process is unorganized, confusing, inefficient . . . and, consequently, insecure.

Morning thoughts . . .

2007-12-09T10:25:00.000-06:00

I am faithfully attempting to integrate the GTD (Getting Things Done) into my lifestyle. GTD was/is a regimen for organizing one's doings, or rather a methodology for action management. It comes from David Allen who has become the new guru of the 'knowledge worker' set. I have sort of adopted his general idea to create two files, PROJECTS and TODO. The first being a list of everything I want to get done (sort of a landscape of what I want to do) from which I produce a daily TODO list. It's really something that has become necessary in the past few months as my brainstorming has gone all over the place, resulting in notes on napkins, back of receipts, and sketches scribbled throughout three different notebooks. So, now do I bring it all together, well maybe this GTD-esque approach will help. For me, lists have always been a great assist.

I've been reading the Stockhausen obituaries out there; there are a few. I think what was really amazing/provocative was his singular vision, his singular purpose. He had his ideas about what/where/who he was and he expressed it through his music and his life. This is what resonates to us as his personality, a personality which he said was, in itself, "a universal statement." Some of the obituaries I have read reflect on this statement as a demonstration of his grandiose/pompous personality. But, I don't see this as being so . . . rather I feel this probably was how he saw the world, how he approached it . . . singular vision. If only we all could be so resolutely focused . . . instead of just going through the motions, as it were.

jg

A few snaps . . .

2007-12-07T22:46:00.000-06:00

I thought I would show you some images of what has been going on around the neighborhood, in the studio, and out the back window this evening . . . huzzah!

On the way down Roscoe Avenue . . .

Approaching the coffee shop on the next block . . .

My desk, this ones for John Bowers . . .

My view for contemplation out the back window, eerie . . .

jg

Stockhausen dead at 79

2007-12-07T17:04:00.000-06:00

Karlheinz Stockhausen dead at 79.

Television Nation: the news . . .

2007-12-06T21:35:00.001-06:00

I thought it might be interesting to isolate a few of the things that are flying through the idiot box. Tonight, from Chicago's CBS affiliate, the WBBM Channel 2 News:

Bold text: headline printed on the screen during story.
Italics: actual quotes from the news presenter.

Lead In:

The sounds of terror from a mall in Nebraska where one man went on a shootout;
A local soldier dies in Iraq while his brother shares the pain;
The third snowfall of the season is upon us.

First segment:

Flakes Falling: Steve Baskerville with information concerning the storm that will arrive tonight.

There is a snow advisory in effect.
We will wake to cold conditions, slick roads, and a couple of inches of snow.

Snow Plows Wiped Out: Snow plows were wiped out in a fire in Grundy county.

This making it difficult in lieu of the storms which arrived earlier this week and will arrive tonight.
Other counties are stepping up to brace for the storm.

A live location shot from downtown along the Chicago river looking back toward the Wrigley building with the on-camera talent confirming that snow is falling.

This early December snow is good for business, a sales woman in high street store says she has sold 14 pairs of boots today.
A gentleman with a rather large Christmas tree strapped to his station wagon says that he enjoys the current weather, adding that we do better when it's cold.

Soldier Killed: One son (Dwayne White) was recently killed in Iraq. His younger brother (Shawn White) was about to leave for his second tour of duty. Shawn's tour of duty has been deferred and he will not be returning to Iraq. The family says Dwayne will be buried with full military honors this Saturday.
The missing woman (Dana Peterson) investigation is continuing.

Dr. Phil is slated to talk tomorrow with people who know the husband. [The husband is a suspect in the woman's disappearance.]

A recap of yesterday's Omaha, NE 'mall' shooting including video-game-esque re-enaction of the shooters path through the shopping center in which the avatar, in full camouflage fatigues, emerges from an elevator and moves around a bit pointing a gun at other avatars moving up an escalator.
Tracking Your Security: CBS 2 News undercover investigators tested security dogs assigned to train stations by walking past the animals with bags marked with the sent of explosives. A hastily identified state representative says CBS 2 News did an invaluable service bringing this situation to light.

There will be an investigation in to canine training practices.
There will be new training practices put into place.

Lead Out:

Is America ready for a Mormon president?
Ford is recalling over a million vehicles, could your's be one of them?
Some local school say stay away from new movie.

Second Segment:

Services for Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, who died last week, were held today. An attendee at the service stated Hyde was a great man who enjoyed helping others and enjoyed the Constitution . . . the morality . . . the rule of law.
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says that, if elected, his religion will not guide his presidency. Romney, who is a Mormon, is currently in a close race with Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, in the Iowa Caucus.

Lead Out:

Some local schools warn the movie, The Golden Compass, sends the wrong message to children about God.
The Internet . . . is it safe?

Third Segment:

20 people are linked to a drug smuggling ring in Chicago. Police seized high grade marijuana and 1000 tabs of XTC which came from Toronto and ended up in China Town.
The State is cracking down on illegal video gambling. In the segment illegal video poker machines are destroyed.
Offensive message? The Golden Compass, a new movie staring Nicole Kidman, has an atheist agenda warns local schools (these are Catholic schools).

Various religious groups have called for a boycott of the original book and the new movie.
The Catholic League has published a pamphlet asking parent to boycott movie so children will not be enticed to read the books. The final summary is given by on-air talent, live from the control room.

Holiday Lights: a montage of holiday lights across the suburbs.
Weather Track: With Steve Baskerville.

The snow will end overnight with possible flurries still at sunrise.
It is presently 23 at O'Hare International Airport.
This mornings low of 0 degrees F tied a record low for this time of year.
This storm is apparently a 1-2 punch.
Prepare for 2-3 inches of sleet and rain Saturday evening which will last into Sunday.
It's gonna be cold, so give yourself time to get going tomorrow.

Lead Out:

The Bears have problems tonight, and;
Ford recalls vehicles, We'll tell you what you need to know before you get behind the wheel.

Fourth Segment:

Sports: In the game between the Chicago Bear and the Washington Redskins, both quarterbacks were knocked out of the game early.

It is presently 24-13 (Redskins/Bears) with 3 minutes left to go in Washington, DC.

The New England Patriots still have a perfect season going into this week. Patriot players say they will put an end that perfect record this weekend. Patriot Quarterback Tom Brady, says We do our talking on Sundays.
NCAA recognized athletes by handing out awards for best quarterback, linebacker, and tight end.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison wins over Milwaukee including this great shot from way down town.
Barry Bonds vows to play baseball next season even after his obstruction of justice charges in the baseball steroid scandal.

Lead Out:

Is online shopping safe?

Fifth Segment:

The Federal government is moving in to help those caught up in the sub-prime lending, mortgage problem. The accompanying file tape shows very high-end gray stone walk-ups in the near north area of the city. [As an aside, the people who live in these properties are NOT those who were taken in by the sub-prime scandal. Is the government stepping in to help the loan recipients, or to bail out the loan holders (ie, the banks, the investors . . . the people who live in these homes? It's just an interesting juxtaposition of image and story.]
Ford Motor Company has recalled vehicles because of a malfunctioning engine sensor which could cause the vehicle to stall or even crash!
Be careful where you click. Phony copy-cat sites which look like Amazon.com, along with other online retailers, are out there preying on consumers, phishing for credit card and other personal information.
And finally: President Bush leads the countdown to light the National Christmas Tree at the White House. This is the first year the lights are LEDs, which means they will save energy.

Goodnight!

Snow . . .

2007-12-05T08:05:00.000-06:00

Wow, and a good deal of it. I need to go out and take some photos. Snowy and windy. I am reorganizing my project list for the new year so I can get off to a good start when this holiday season comes to an end. This is that middle-season when things just sort of fall off the table. It's 28 degrees F (-2 C) and it is going down to -1 F this afternoon (that's -18 C). Yikes. I think it was warmer in Helsinki this time last year. The wind is producing snow dunes in the street below.

jg

Arghh . . .

2007-12-03T08:48:00.000-06:00

I am trying to write about being and it is very difficult. It is a dilemma asking three basic, yet related, questions: a) what am I, b) what am I doing, and c) what do I think I am? These are not easy questions, but these are perhaps the key questions that need to be answered in order for me to move forward. I would like to give a nod to how it is that we have organized such thoughts in the past: namely, religion. That is the core set of beliefs in which we have traditionally wrapped ourselves. As one raised in the judeo-christian tradition I have been given a set of tools for answering life's aforementioned questions - there is a hierarchy (heaven/earth/hell), there are rules (10 main ones and many inferred), and there are lessons along with many pieces of advice (some sensible/some not so sensible). Additionally, there are other belief systems out there that I have, at one time or another, ascribed to: spiritualism, philosophy, buddhism, academia, etc. Pick your poison.

What I have come away with at this point is that religion is, obviously, a man made thing. Religion doesn't come from the outside (there is no there there); rather religion (and I use the term very loosely) is a reflection of how we see ourselves. In Christianity adherents see themselves as children, buddhists have a belief system in which they see themselves as sufferers, scientists are Cartesian - machines adhering to the laws of the universe, and capitalists self-identify as consumers of goods. Of course, along with these identifications come a bit of guidance about what adherents should pursue: Christians follow teachings and honor the father, buddhists meditate on suffering and seek enlightenment, scientists isolate and identify, and capitalists consume and grow.

So, how does one identify what is important? Why does one person pursue academia and another chakras? Worse yet, which one is right? I ask these questions not so much for others, but rather for me. So, how do I see the world? Well, first I do not ascribe to any type of divinity: there is no god. Thus, I have denied myself any set of assurances that someone is watching out for me and that there is a place beyond this. Further, I know that the planet Earth is going to come to an end . . . there is a meteor out there or something coming . . . it's happened before, it will happen again. But not to worry, disease will probably get humans in the next few centuries anyway. It's going to happen. So, how do I live with this knowledge. What does an artist pursue when he is confident that the work he does, the people he comes into contact with, his family, the culture and the species to which he is a part . . . is coming to an end?

This all to say that the classical reasons for creation are no longer valid: there is no god to glorify/appease, there is no high-culture to emulate, no future to try to influence . . . the thought of contributing to a dying planet makes any effort irrelevant. Besides, one is hurtling toward non-existence . . . so one's life is meaningless anyway. Inherently meaningless, that is to say. I, for some odd reason, hold out there is possibly some way to create meaning . . . invent a reasoning that one is seeking. This is basically what I see the spiritualism movement to be all about - and all belief movements. We need a reason to occupy our shells and so we invent one . . . again, typically reflective/indicative of how we see ourselves in the world.

In the end, we are all essentially powerless against death. We only get one chance at sentience and it is an interesting, but not miraculous, mistake of the universe that I am here at all. So, it comes down to living and what living is all about. How do we modulate the mortal coil. I think in the world today, we are replacing our outmoded/archaic belief systems with fantasy: television, film, Internet, etc. And creativity - the ability to envision, establish, and communicate an alternative reality - is where the real issue is. We want a god, a reason, we don't want to feel that we are simply a collection of coordinated cellular data flying through the ether. We desire security and assurances that simply do not exist. We network through our religion and we identify ourselves by our network.

So, I think I have put forth, for now, my answer to the first question: what am I ? I am a thing existing on this planet, breathing in O2 and consuming vegetable and flesh. I sleep, I shit, etc. There is little beyond this and though some might see me as partner, or lecturer, or unshaven guy on the bus, it is irrelevant to who I am internally. I guess that I could say that I am not a null set and that I am part of other's realities, that is that I hold a position is someone else's pantheon - I might be a son, a friend, the guy next in line. People have a place for me in their system. Out of empathy, I typically ascribe to this. And in return, they can be part of my network and I can ascribe all the meaning I want to them. But, this does not, at present, assist in applying any meaning to myself. It does not answer, to my satisfaction, who I am internally.

Which is why I think that I, along with others I have known, tend to define themselves and seek a lifestyle that has been presented beforehand. We are emulators. We live, more or less, the lives of other people, we compare ourselves to those we think are more beautiful, wealthier, happier, complete, etc., and try to align our lives with these rubrics. Where is the inner voice and what would it say. What does it sound like? Do I have the patience to wait for it to arise again. Is this the endgame? So, what am I doing? I am waiting for the inner voice. Patience. I think somewhere along the way I have been ignoring this inner voice and allowing external voices to drown it out (media, institutions, friends, etc.). So, I am waiting.

Alas, it becomes more complex than this. And I want to let this stew for a bit.

jg

I am working on it . . .

2007-12-02T21:01:00.000-06:00

Hey guys, I got off to a late start on today's post. I have a good deal of it written and I will probably post it tomorrow morning. I just need to get all the thoughts down and get it right. On another note, still can't get the shift registers to work. But, Google is working pretty fast, when I search for shift register HEF4594 (the chip I am trying to program) I get yesterday's blog post. Ah, immediate gratification.

jg

Still life . . .

2007-12-01T14:42:00.001-06:00

Well, it started a few hours ago, and they say it's not gonna let up until tomorrow. We were lucky to run our errands early. Barely made it back . . . black ice, ladies and gentleman, black ice. No, it is not a new drink from Bacardi, rather, a slippery substance that engages the anti-lock brakes.

So, it is cold, officially, the cold and dark have set in . . . I play the radio, stare into the gray, begin to think . . . it's that evaluative period brought about by short days, visits with family (that return to one's roots . . .) and slow cooking beasts in the oven. Nobody moves, a true still life . . . observe.

I have this recurring dream which revisited this morning . . . in this dream I awake in bed very slowly, opening my eyes to see an open window in front of me, I can see the sky which is blue, strewn with a few, nice, fluffy clouds . . . it's warm out there. And then I realize what is up, where I am, I am in Europe again. All is well . . . but then I wake up, and yes, I am in Chicago, not Europe. Oh well . . . you can tell where my heart is. It was this time last year that we were leaving France, the UK, Ireland, and Europe altogether, after a five year reprieve from America. Somehow we will get back, in some way or another.

So, I will kick off with a new commitment to blogging, talking, sharing, engaging . . . things which have been hard to do this past year. Check back regularly, I am going to put an entry in at least three times a week. It's important that I work in this community of one . . . seeking out other communities of one. Whatever that means. So, I will put forth some ideas over the next few entries we can chat about . . . etc.

This evening we are sitting in, making a Mexican tomatillo/chicken stew of sorts. On the food front we have been (literally) making bacon. We go down to Peoria Meat Packers where they have all these slabs of meat just out on these big tables in a store which is, itself, a large walk in refrigerator. We buy cheap pork bellies with ribs, save back the ribs, salt the bacon for a week, then dry it in the oven (low heat cooking) and then it's ready. And this bacon is better than any crap you could find in the shoppes. (Note: I can here the landlord outside shoveling the snow . . . crunch, swoosh, grate, grate, grate.)

We are ready to do our home brew, but schedules have moved the actual brew date back until after the holidays. We are starting with a Belgian Ale (high alcohol, yeasty, delicious). I will take pictures and post for all to see.

As for me, I am hovering over a HEF4794 bit shift register, trying to get it to 'work'. I am trying to ascertain what specific binary mysticism is required to program it (send data bit, send clock high, clock low, shift bits, whatever . . .) Maybe I can get it to light an LED by the end of the night? The idea is to eventually get the Arduino microprocessor to run larger and larger matrices of LEDs. It is Christmas, right. Maybe I can have some cool lights for the tree by next Christmas. This is all part of my investigations into physical computing. Eventually, it will all tie into music/art/expression.

Alas, always the same problem, how to get past the technology.

Til tomorrow.

jg

This blog is being updated . . .

2007-11-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

Updated! I have failed to keep this blog current. Why, oh, why? I shall endeavor to do better.

jg

Temporary in a coalmine . . .

2007-10-10T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well, as we get our feet back on the ground we have to do all sorts of things to get by while waiting for destiny to pan out. In the mean time, I have been documenting all sorts of things, both sound and image. I wake up at 6:00 AM to get to the office by 8:00. From the 44th floor I survey the buildings, my domain.

The task is to keep condominiums afloat while their normal managerial staff take a vacation -- pay the bills, walk the building, evict tenants, whatever they want me to do, I do it.

That's me, (the) Man for hire, adeptly juggling the conflicting concerns of various parties. It is a very different world, here back in the the City of Big Shoulders, this urban jungle of steel and concrete. All I can do is laugh, observe, marvel, and document it.

And this little sound file captured at the Chicago/State red line CTA station, Chicago, Illinois. September 28, 2007. I have entitled it Customer Assitance. Would someone please help this guy?

jg

Storms and Stuff

2007-08-24T11:09:00.001-05:00

Just returned from a round of interviews in Scotland and came back to probably the worst thunderstorms Chicago has seen in a long time. Here is the photographic evidence. We are without power and it looks like it might be this way for a few days. Hopefully, they will get it all together by the end of the day . . . we shall see.

The house is our across-street neighbors (oops!) and the street shots are the rest of our block.

The tree which was ripped from its base (80 to 90 mile per hour winds at 4:00 PM yesterday) is one block over.

Funny (hmmm) that a similar tree 10 feet away was unscathed. Of course, the mushrooms blossoming around the carnage prove that nature, ah nature, always wins.

Shadow play . . .

2007-07-29T06:24:00.001-05:00

The apartment gets some nice light in the morning. We are at the top of the tallest building on the block. So, we catch the morning light as it comes over Lake Michigan. I was up early and played around a bit. I thought about adjusting the hue to make these even more yellow, but that is the color of the natural light, as is.

Everyt'ing in moderation . . .

2007-07-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry guys, I turned on moderation last month, thus your messages/ comments would not post until I approved them . . . I have since turned off this function to allow for immediate posting, and hence, immediate gratification.

Where do we go from here . . .

2007-07-15T11:01:00.001-05:00

Just wondering . . .

Get Real . . .

2007-07-10T22:50:00.000-05:00

It's a strange world. I have forgotten that Charles Duke lived behind us when I was growing up in New Braunfels, TX. I would like to speak to him now. I was six at the time, or maybe seven. Here is some more info. I was born very close to Apollo 11. We have forgotten them, haven't we? Why, USA, why? We are all balled up in crap; people like Charlie, well, they made a difference.

jason

A Quinn Martin Production . . .

2007-06-25T23:48:00.000-05:00

While job searching in the Loop, I took the opportunity to use the MacBook Pro's on-board web-cam to do a little low-res portraiture. After a bit of Seashore (open source software for mid-depth photo manipulation), I ended up with the 70's TV show theme. I guess the next thing is to add some music (I hear The Streets of San Francisco, how about you? or this, or maybe this jewel?), with a little iMovie play, I think we will have a show . . . If I get to that point, well, . . . let's hope I find something better to do with my time by then.

Update: What hell happened at the end of the 70's . . . this is such a departure from earlier thematics . . .

jg

On listening . . .

2007-06-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

I have had time (perhaps too much) to think about what it is I am doing. Re-evaluating . . . what is sound?

Norwich bound . . .

2007-06-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

Some of you might be aware that I am in the UK interviewing for 'positions' and such. Well the interview process of the trip is over and now off to UEA and Norwich to catch up with my colleague Jason Dixon. We shall take photos and place them upon this site when time allows . . . I suggest it won't be pretty.

Gotta catch a train, interview went well.

Later,

jason

The Avant Garde Project

2007-05-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

Some of you might find The Avant Garde Project interesting. From their own blurb:

The Avant Garde Project is a series of recordings of 20th-century classical-experimental-electroacoustic music digitized from LPs whose music has in most cases never been released on CD, and so is effectively inaccessible to the vast majority of music listeners today.

They also have the archive available as individual torrents here and here. This whole thing is somehow affiliated with the I Hate Music forum. Well, I know how I will be spending my day.

jason

GTD: Taking the plunge . . .

2007-04-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

Well I've been looking it over and it seems like a good idea. GTD (Getting Things Done) is the new self-organization, productivity, lifehacking killer app de celeb. It is actually a very simple system of To Do Lists, Action Items, Folders, Projects, and Brain Storming Repositories . . . all linked up to a calendar. So, I am going to install a PHP version to run on the server, a little program called GTD-PHP. I've already been using TaskFreak!, a PHP To Do List that has really helped me organize and see the productivity landscape, as it were.

I also came upon this little list of 9 Ways to Be More Positive, it's a good read right now, and probably a good read everyday.

It is a beautiful Sunday morning here. Angela has the day off and I think we are going to go play in the sun this afternoon. As for me, many things to do this morning.

jg

My local . . .

2007-04-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

I am watching a rerun of the Democratic Presidential Debates. Sen. Gravel gets my vote . . . a free thinker. Unfortunately, free thinkers rarely get elected. Arghh, going to my local.

jg

Kurt Vonnegut

2007-04-12T18:17:00.000-05:00

In in the late 1990s, 98-99 or thereabouts, key members of the Anatomical Theatre (a dance/theatre company I had been, and still am, associated with) found ourselves at a party of choreographers, dancers, and others in the scene here in Chicago. Eventually the discussion turned to what the Company should concentrate its efforts on next. I had recalled Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, a story that my 7th grade literature teacher, Sue Hayworth, had assigned so many years ago. It's twisted tale of government imposed equality gone mad always stuck with me. I mentioned this to a young dancer, Robbie Cook, over a few drinks. He recalled the story and, before we knew it, we found ourselves pitching the idea to Robynne Gravenhorst, the Theatre's artistic director. I guess we sold the idea and eventually she read the story. The rest is history. We decided that this tale, with its physicality and bizarre systems/contraptions for regulating physical talent, was an excellent subject for the company to pursue. I believe this would have been the first time the Anatomical Theatre would set a living author's work. We began to wonder about getting the rights from Vonnegut's publishers to move ahead on the project.

About a month later, a good friend, Dr. John Grover invited me to attend a talk given by Vonnegut up on the northern shore, Wilmette, Winnetka, someplace like that. It was a wonderful evening, Vonnegut was in great form, biting, funny, sarcastic, etc. After the talk, the author gave freely of his time to chat with those in attendance at an after-talk reception. I sat down at a far table and when the man entered the room he came right over to my table and sat down next to me. I said hello and he shot me a glance I will never forget. The look said, "What the hell do you want?" and then he said, "Hiya," in a brisk voice and turned away toward the evening's hosts. OK, I thought, that was great, now what? A line was beginning to form on the other side of the table, across of him. This was the receiving line. So there was Vonnegut, being very generous with his time to everyone. I got up and got in line with Dr. Grover (who I always think of as Dr. John Grover or just Dr. John . . .) Dr. John was in front of me and had a little chat with Vonnegut and then turned to me and introduced me to Vonnegut saying something to the affect of 'this young man is a great musician and blah, blah, blah . . .' -- thanks for the introduction John, a bit over the top, but thanks.

I don't remember much of what we talked about, but I mentioned to Vonnegut that I was with the Anatomical Theatre and we wished to set Harrison Bergeron . . . he was thrilled, mentioning that it had been done once before. He asked if I had a pen and paper (which I did, even though it was made perfectly clear that "Mr. Vonnegut will not be giving autographs this evening." Anyway, to cut to the chase, Vonnegut wrote in my little book the name and address of this publisher with a phone number. And that was it. What a neat guy.

So this weekend I am sitting down with a snifter of 16 year old Bushmills which I brought back from the recent Ireland trip and reading a well worn copy of Slaughterhouse 5 which I pulled out of the Chicago library. He was something very special and I am happy to have had my few moment with him . . . but in print he will always be with all of us.

jg

Additions to the list . . .

2007-03-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok, those are some pretty good ideas. Here are some URLs linked to your selections:

Tatie Bread
Soda Bread
Bushmills

along with the famous HP Sauce which apparently they don't make here anymore. We are weeping . . .

Oh, almost forgot this one.

Enjoying it here.

jason

#23, Swim Across the Atlantic Ocean (3,462 mi)

2007-03-29T14:31:00.000-05:00

This is a slight modification of an original post put up on Boing Boing. It has been a long day. I am so grateful for my friends who have been so helpful by putting me up for the next week.

I've begun a list of all things Belfesian to take back to America:

Tunnuck's caramel wafers
Various flavours of Tayto
Ulster rugby jersey
hmm . . . what else?

It's great to be back.

jg

To Ireland . . .

2007-03-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

Hey, off to Ireland for a week to record and do a few other things. Chat when we get back.

HO HO HEE HEE HA HA!

jason

More Jonathan Letham . . .

2007-03-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

Over at Salon's site Amy Benfer interviews Jonathan Lethem, the novelist who wrote the article in Harper's Weekly which I posted last week. The interview is here, but you might have to navigate some adverts in order to get to it. I like his idea of creativity being a gift, and how can one copyright a gift?

jg

Discovering Electronic Music::Old School

2007-03-20T13:57:00.006-05:00

Part I

This is entertaining and dated, yet we still learn all these things when we begin. An interesting primer . . . I love the opening montage and the fetishism of the old ways (patch cords).

Part II

The second part is all about synthesis and specifically imitation of acoustic instruments and sampling. The narrator refers to the guy in front of the synthesizer as 'the operator.' This is odd -- perhaps musician? I like the interface at the end of this section. Very kewl and practical. The ability to play the Bach backwards and forwards, in different keys, upside down, etc., however is not very earth shattering -- afterall, this is how Bach earned his bread and better throughout his career.

Part III

Continuing this thread, the last section ends in the Utopian tone of the technocrat and a mildly amusing demonstration of what this new technology can do. The narrator says, "A whole new world of creative possibilities has been opened to the musician through electronic music." Really, are those punch cards, the light pen, and the looped sounds new possibilities or simply artifacts of a new technology that must be circumnavigated and overcome in order to realize music?

I think we need to question these things. For it is technology that changes society, our tools directly impact the way we conceive reality, and, thus, the way we make art. I have come to understand that music technology (these new creative tools) are not simply helping us produce music more 'efficiently,' but changing what music is.

The ecstasy of influence . . .

2007-03-17T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article by Jonathan Lethem which appeared in a recent issue of Harpers. In the article, entitled The Ecstasy of Influence, Lethem discusses subjects such as copyright, plagiarism, and the creative commons -- offering comments about the creative process and its function in society. I especially was struck by this paragraph:

Most artists are brought to their vocation when their own nascent gifts are awakened by the work of a master. That is to say, most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one's voice isn't just an emptying and purifying oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses. Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos. Any artist knows these truths, no matter how deeply he or she submerges that knowing.

It's a really good read, affirming that we are part of a continuum of creative thought, word, and deed.

jason

A reply . . .

2007-03-13T23:13:00.000-05:00

[Note: This is a reply to the comment made regarding the immediately preceding post. It simply was to long to be a mere 'comment'.]

Hmmm . . . well, yes there is a compositional voice, in fact, this might be all there is . . .

Consider Punk and its aesthetic, where the whole issue is anarchy: we don't know how to play our instruments and we don't care how we play our instruments . . . f**k you. It's a nice idea, but a bit of a misnomer/red herring/Dick Cheney, because musicians are concerned about their sound, their technique, their message, their look, whatever . . . so, yeah music is more than just music. After all, why do musicians do it? It's an attitude, a feeling, an addiction, and, in a more evangelical sense, a calling. It's simply a desire to do it. I am drawn to it; it keeps me up at night. Even when things are not going so well, I always return to it and it is always there for me. So yes, to para/re-phrase, music becomes ancillary to the desire of creating music, individual expression as you say. Music is just the outcome, not the goal: which is making music, a process.

It is a process here, and every one has a different tact. I can teach technique, I can teach ideas, historical precedence, etc. Teaching individuality, well, let's just say I leave that up to the advertisers, the fascists, and Walt Disney. I don't think you teach 'composition', 'painting', 'writing', or 'insert latest medium here.' We are seeking a process that has to be discovered. Which is funny, because now there are programs in 'multi-media', 'design', and 'interactivity.' I think we have the same problems here with these developing arts (which actually are media, as is 'writing', 'composition', 'dance', etc.) We can teach proficiency, but not necessarily aesthetic innovation. In fact, we are not teaching, we are leading others towards self-discovery. This I can agree upon.

To extend the argument, I believe that, in the above context, we could argue that technology is irrelevant when it comes to music . . . the tools are irrelevant to the act of music-making -- though they may be completely relevant to the music being made. Cage's 4'33', the so-called silent piece, was originally performed at the piano, from a pianistic (technological) standpoint, the instrument was irrelevant -- made even more so if you listen to one of the many recordings of the work. (Of course there are performance aspects to which the piano is vital, but leave that for another discussion.) This is all rolling towards the statement that music (art) is an event, a process, and a performance. Which relates to this education thing, formal or otherwise.

The problem with the standard, formal education, is that it can only give so much . . . certainly music is more than just the Groves Music encyclopedia, a set of recordings and sonata-allegro form. Sure it is, however, it was this externalized approach to music (the analysis, the theory, the history) which was the gist of my formal education. (It took me years to realize that music theory was irrelevant as well). Play the notes, ignore the music . . . Was it Schaeffer who argued for the 'primacy of the ear.' Is reading, studying about music a valid musical experience, and if not, why are our students paying good money (either directly, or through taxes) to not have a valid aesthetic experience (music, drama, writing, dance, etc.) . . . you could pull this across into all disciplines for this matter . . . chemistry, astrophysics, sport, etc. But we don't teach students how to learn, we teach students how to get the right answer. We stuff all this information into their heads and think, hey, that's knowledge. Well, it isn't. Knowledge is a process, an outcome, an innovative moment . . . not those damn dots on a page, not this formula, not that line of code. It is live, not Memorex.

Onto your question, if a structured system of musical education is even relevant anymore . . . well, perhaps we need to ask if the formal paradigm of education is relevant anymore. This gets into deeper waters and I will have to sleep on it; perhaps a new discussion tomorrow.

jg

I woke up this morning . . .

2007-03-13T10:20:00.000-05:00

thinking about music. Thinking about how it is we go about teaching music. I find myself wondering what we are teaching? Are we teaching music? To do so would require that we define music. I don't recall any time during my early education that there was a serious discussion about what music is, which is a bit troubling. We just sort of jumped into organum and four years later we find ourselves at Stravinsky, surreptitiously eyeing that strange addendum in the back of the book where they discuss, the afro/black music, jazz -- feel free to read that if you want to . . . WHAT? Well, is this music? This is, in my opinion, not the way to go about teaching music. This is a listing of musical works, this is a listing of musical practitioners . . . this is music history, which is not so concerned about what music is, rather more concerned with what music was. To put it into focus, some music teachers are concerned with teaching music, some are concerned with teaching culture. Is there a difference? Well, I do think so.

For instance, is it possible to teach music as if it resided in a vacuum, outside of culture? Which is not to say, "Hey, remove culture from the equation," but rather,"Bring all cultures into the equation and look for a preponderance of similarities." Ergo, what are the cultural, political, sexual, psychological, physical, . . . etc., elements in music that are universal? That old adage states that music is the universal language (not true, really, if one defines language . . . music fails the semantic test, but that's another entry for a later time). If we hang on to the theory that music is universal (as it is found in all cultures) then how does it work? What makes it do its thing? What is its purpose and where do we go from here?

I should cut this short this morning, but consider this, we teach technique (chords, voice leading, synthesis, Fourier transforms, etc.) These are the building blocks of music, per se. So, if we wanted to create music we just need to employ these techniques . . . Dr. David Cope can teach the techniques to a computer. His machine is a brilliant copyist of Bach (and others) -- it's great, interesting research. Is it music? Well, on the outside is certainly appears so. But how does it function? What is it's reason for existing. Well, Dr. Cope has brought his analytical techniques (that WORD again) together to answer/approach a question. Certainly his research asks questions . . . what is the value of computer crafted music, how does the musical mind think, what, again, is the place for music in society, etc. etc. etc. All great questions . . . but, I guess the computer is not the composer here, really. The composer is Cope himself. The computer is merely a tool, an extension of his mind. So, why does society feel the need to create automatons to replicate human behaviors? Can of worms here.

Kalimbatronics MARK II

2007-03-08T17:57:00.000-06:00

Here is a cleaned up version of the earlier thumb-actuated project. Now, the goal is to develop the software which will make the interface relevant. More info on that soon. For now, enjoy the picture. That is an Arduino board there mounted under the breadboard -- the USB serial connection is peaking out.

On another topic, our local NPR station is having its PLEDGE DRIVE this week. If you don't know what this is then you must be in a more civilized part of the world where the populace actually considers non-profit, informative, non-commercial, public radio a 'good thing.' Anyway, one of the talking heads (mouths?) was blabbing about how great is was that one could go back and 'listen again' to shows that may have been missed during the week, this all being done via the INTERNET website. She then said something that caught my ear. "Radio isn't ephemeral anymore, you can always go back and listen to it again." Radio, no longer ephemeral, kinda cheapens it to me.

Just a thought.

jg

Electronic stuff . . .

2007-02-28T12:47:00.000-06:00

I have finally broken into the Arduino boards I ferried back from Europe. Here is the micro-switch Kalmiba with four thumb-activated switches (to trigger samples, or whatever) and an index finger switch on the right side, currently acting as a register switch to transpose the triggered samples up an octave, or whatever you wish. I need to expand this to include a few more thumb switches, some accelerameters and a few vibrating solenoids. Eventually it will look something like this artist's rendering (below right).
This is all fallout from my Camargo Foundation Fellowship -- moving to the next stage actually. Perhaps I can produce a working prototype in the next six weeks? This way I can schedule a performance soon, which I really need to do before I go nuts -- glitchy stuff perhaps? Then I need to work out all the wireless stuff: bluetooth, wifi, or perhaps some other proprietary spectrum? Here are a few thoughts for a paper I plan to write in the next month or so:

What is a performance system? What does it do and how does it correspond to the artists' intentions? Is the system a constraint, curtailing the performer's improvisations; or, perhaps, is the system the creative force, molded by the actions of the performing artist. Is it, and at what point does/might it become, a collaboration . . . how do we establish this? Finally, what are our requirements for collaboration?

What are our limitations and how do we deploy/employ these limitations? (Stravinsky). How do we attain the 'dichotomy' that Earle Brown speaks of, a point where, as creators, we are both in control as well as out of control. Who, or what, is guiding this journey?

Grid.

Microphone Porn

2007-02-25T12:22:00.001-06:00

Here are some recent electronics projects. Simple things really, but one should always improve one's arsenal, no? The upper configuration is the generic contact microphone -- all good for plastering to the window or onto a creaky floor. New sounds, new works, etc. The lower configuration is your standard 'air' mic, plans ripped from Nic Collins' Hardware Hacking handouts (taken from a workshop I attended before the book.) Last night I planted one of these babies outside the window as the snow began to fall. It had enough resolution to pull in the train which is at least half a mile away. It is actually quite sensitive -- not bad for a Radio Shack (it's a Tandy Company) afternoon. If anyone in the Chicago are is interested in playing with various microphone placements, creations, etc., feel free to contact me. I believe this post also shows the need for proper lighting and documentation of one's electronic outings. You never know when you may need to have the perfect 'look'. Unfortunately, I have been ill the past few days. It's that Chicago illness that I get every year (which I have been luckily free of for the past five years.) I had forgotten the Chicago grunge which arrives every year during the February thaw. Or, perhaps I've been breathing too much solder? Feeling much better today though . . .

jg

Interim Statement

2007-02-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

Whether working in an acoustic or electroacoustic medium, each composition begins with vocalization. This process, these quirky mouth sounds, have apparently evolved into the single most indespensible part of my creative behavior -- an act which I perform with an amazing unconsciousness. [1] This step -- perhaps the unifying factor amongst my works -- again sits at the core of my present activities, an electroacoustic composition. But why the voice? A few observations:

First, the voice is the so-called 'natural' instrument, the first instrument we master: with some exceptions, we all have one and know how to use it. [2] For myself, vocalization helps me to get a handle on my initial intentions. I can sort of make that sound that I am attempting to create. It is a verbal shorthand for what could happen, an aural brainstorming. This is why I always ask my students, "Do you sing to yourself?" If not, I encourage they begin immediately.

Secondly, vocalization is an empathic act: both physically and emotionally. Communally, there is an understanding of what it feels like to utter "shoo-bop-a-re-bop", whether one reads it on the page or actually hears the phrase. We can visualize how the tongue moves, the constrictions of the vocal chords, the movement of the lips differentiating between the "P" and the "B". In a similar fashion, certain vocalizations make us feel in other ways. Utterances are capable of touching off reactions which are hard wired into our consciousness. A baby crying or a similar sound might cause a myriad of emotions to arise. [3]

Thirdly, the voice, by its nature and use, implies a communication, thus a dialogue. [4] I would posit that the listener, the observer, becomes more involved and more attentive when listening to such an evocative stream of vocalizations. All one needs to do is find a foreign language talk station on the radio or internet to confirm that, even though the utternaces are incomprehesible, there is a steam of intent coming from the speaker that can, in a sense, be understood. [5] So, there is a liguistic element in play here . . .

So, I will leave this here for now and add more later. Though, this line of thought is eventually going to move into gesture, a subject close to my thoughts as of late.

[1] Many times I am brought back to reality when during an impassioned act of vocalise I catch myself in the gaze of others on the city bus, walking down the street, in the elevator, at the urinal, etc. [2] Some more than others. [3] Trevor Wishart and others have gone into this in much greater detail. See Wishart, T. On sonic art. [4] Though a monologue or decalogue (any N-alogue) is equally valid. [5] This is how I passed most nights during the first year of my doctoral studies.

Winter in Texas

2007-01-17T14:23:00.000-06:00

As some of you might be aware, Texas has been hit by a bit of a snow storm. Angela and I have been holding out here on Dad's ranch in Mason, Texas, frozen roads delaying our efforts to return to Chicago. It is the third day in the house and we are all getting a bit buggy: Dad, his wife Debbie, Angela, myself, and the two dogs, Duke and Theresa. One big happy family!

At best, we probably will not hit Chicago until early next week. It has been below freezing for the past three days, the roads are impassable, you can guess the rest So, we are trying to take it easy and make our own fun. We just returned from breaking water troughs (frozen over) so the cattle could drink. We almost got stuck several times, the pickup spinning out on the frozen ground (read: tundra). Oh, the excitement of almost being stranded in the pasture; luckily we were not too far from home if one had to walk.

As for me, I am filling out job applications, updating my resume, fashioning cover letters, playing with Max patches, trying to get Ardour up and running, drinking beer, eating, drinking beer . . . you get the idea -- avoiding the out of doors . . . it is cold out there!

If anyone out there has any idea about what might be going on in the Chicago laptop performance scene, please let me know. I am anxious to hit the ground running when we arrive.

Dr. Geistweidt

2006-12-16T05:52:00.000-06:00

Today's the day . . .

2006-12-15T03:06:00.000-06:00

At 2:30ish GMT I will receive my PhD.

jg

Ahh, what a year!

2006-11-24T06:19:00.000-06:00

After to much food and red wine at the Camargo Thanksgiving Gathering (perhaps, Blowout) we slept well. So, this morning Angela and I were reflecting (as one does when making coffee at 12 noon and dragging out of bed . . .); it has been an amazing year.

In January of this year I was putting the finishing touches on Combine (after Rauschenberg) -- the 8-channel work -- and beginning in desperation to quickly finish Fuinnega -- for Uilleann pipes and electronics. All the while coordinating the Intensive Music Course (a great success), tutoring/mentoring on that course, coaching the COMA ensemble as well as team-teaching Performance Workshop 2. I was also writing the first few chapters of my dissertation at this time. March, April and May were filled with writing, not to mention the minor administrative duties we all get handed in the course of the semester. Then viva voce in July with Pedro and Simon (a great experience, if not nerve-wracking).

Then in August, off to Barcelona, where after two weeks our apartment was raided, laptops stolen, my instrument ripped from me. Then to France (my beautiful Cassis), the unceremonious wait for the new computers to arrive. The drive to begin working once they arrived in October. Then the performance of meditation in Helsinki with Lily-Marlene two weeks ago, the presentation of a paper and my work in Aix at the Locus Sonus Symposium, the concert here with Juan Felipe here at Camargo that was such a wonderful evening of meeting people and networking and sharing ideas and, well, everything. What a year! Then graduation December 15th -- the Dr. will be in the house.

So, today I will reflect for a bit and then complete some more job applications.

Thank you all,

jg

Muchas idomas . . .

2006-11-10T05:24:00.000-06:00

Well,

It's nice to see the comments are flowing in. To answer a few questions. I will return to Belfast on the 13th to pick up some papers from the registrar (my diploma). Then off to the US to hang with the family. Note to JD, will have to check out the new Xenakis edition . . . BTW, began my talk by playing Concrete PH as the other people walked into the room. Spoooookey! Good to hear you went into the studio to do some work . . . if you need any help, just give me a shout. : - ) Uh, Hilda is about an hour (hour an a half if pulling a trailer) from Fredericksburg, Texas. Find Gillespie County, almost the geographic middle of the state, Fredericksburg is the county seat.

See you all next week.

jason

Another beautiful day in Cassis . . .

2006-11-10T05:10:00.000-06:00

Yes, it is still beautiful. The Mediterraean is like glass. It is November 10th and we can seriously contemplate swimming in the sea today. Might just have to do it.

This past Tuesday I had a wonderful time giving a talk to the other Fellows here at the Camargo. I spoke for over an hour on Futurism, Schaeffer, my music, John Oswald, Earle Brown . . . it was just fantastic. We listened to a good deal of music too. Wonderful stuff! Since then it has been pretty quiet, trying to recoup from the late evening out in addition to staying up all night watching the US returns come in over the internet. Here's hoping the Democrats can do better than the Republicans. What a mess the US administration has made of the world.

Angela and I leave for Helsinki tomorrow afternoon (via Frankfurt) to do a concert at the Sibelius Academy. Really looking forward to seeing Helsinki. That being said, we are horribly prepared for the sub-freezing temperatures. It should be a cold one! We can wear socks on our hands or something -- it should be a great time.

Upon my return to France next Wednesday I am going to particpate in the Locusonus Symposium in Aix en Provence. I am looking forward to seeing what it going on in Aix and hearing the speakers. I will be presenting some of my own work along with work of my colleagues at SARC. Should be a good time.

We will let you know how things are going next week. Maybe we will still be able to eek out a little swim then.

jason

Must . . . update . . . blog . . . .

2006-10-30T08:54:00.000-06:00

Greetings:

Still enjoying Cassis. Special note to anonymous (mediocre euphonium player from a small Texas town) . . . identify theyself. Hope you are doing well.

On other notes: Heading off to Helsinki at the end of next week to perform Meditation at the Sibelius Academy with, well . . . a harpist. Yet another note, I will be giving my fellow's talk next week, so I am trying to get things together for that. Peter Sinclair has been kind enough to invite me to present at Locus Sonus upon my return from Helsinki to talk about SARC and what I am doing here at Camargo. Which we come to next . . .

I am working right now on trying to model a musical metaphor, that of the composer-as-explorer, navigating through compositional space. Compositional space could be thought of as a multi-dimensional area where music resides, defined by details such as timbre, frequency, event, etc. So, there are limits to what the composer can realize in each composition, defined by the limits (or the contents) of this compositional space. For example, if you are going to write a composition for alto flute and congas, well, you can only do those things and work within a range of possibilities that are defined by the characteristics of the alto flute and congas (range, timbre, envelope, etc). Thus, one of the most important questions a composer faces is, how will he/she populate the compositional space. What will he use. Of course, in electroacoustic music this becomes very important, especially if one subscribes to the Schaefferian sounding object idea where a composer collects, creates, delineates a set of sounds, a collection of discreet events with which he/she intends to play. So, the early explorations of this idea are based around improvisatory practice upon a two dimensional grid.

I am currently working with five collections of sounds. For example, I have five folders on my desktop here that contain an assortment of 25 sounds each . . . 25 samples, 25 little recordings, 25 sound objects . . . however you want to identify them. Inside a Max/MSP patch (a configurable software environment for controlling sound) I have created a simple 5x5 grid, kinda like a mini-checkerboard. This grid represents a collection of 25 (5 x 5 = 25) sound objects. So, this grid becomes a subset within compositional space . . . a very basic subset along a 2-dimensional x/y axis. As you run your cursor over the grid, the corresponding sound object will 'play'. So, this is 'event' space, or perhaps, 'timbre' space. (I think eventually 'event' space will become more of a 'meta' space as the definition of event changes . . . this is a note to me, not necessarily anything the present reader needs to follow in order to trace this idea.) With timbre space defined, the composer can begin navigating in search of sound combinations . . . of course, at present the system only allows one to move through space linearly. This is to say, that a composer/performer/whatever has to move from one grid space, one grid block, to an adjacent grid block on his/her way to another grid block . . . kinda, you can't move from your front porch to the sidewalk without walking through the front lawn/garden. Thus, there should be ways to move from grid A to C without going through B. Here I start blabbering/imagining musical worm holes, alternate dimensions, timbral hyperspace, and string theory . . . it's beyond my comprehension now, but once I work with a few theoretical physicists on this project, maybe we can do it. But, I digress, for now the project runs in two dimensions . . . cartesian, linear, predictable for the most part. (ie, I need to mention that musical spaces, compositions, should be developed that are basically relative, that is, they are different depending on what dimension you are viewing them from . . . thus, the composition is forever changing as your perspective on it changes . . . wow.)

So, all this say that I'm not THERE yet. So, I have five of thes 5x5 grids being played/performed/activated simultaneously. I developed a mixer that crossfades between these musical sets, kinda like having 5 stereos going and turning them up and down simultaneously . . . well, then we start to get crossfades between set A and set B, somewhere in between these sets is a subset which is part set A and part set B. It is a combination, we could call it A.5, A-and-a-half or A+B/B (I don't want to go there, but it intuitively seems correct, maybe). Anyway, I am trying to create space (subspaces, rather) between these sets.

This all being said there are other spaces besides 'timbre' space, there is probably a 'gesture' space with subsets of 'onset' and 'sustain' space; there are probably 'processing' or 'transformative' spaces where events are processed/transformed into other entities (kinda like a machine extruding raw material into alternative shapes). Spaces are also performed, that is they are interfaced by performers, someone actuates the space; thus, there is a 'performance' space. I think you can begin to fill in the ideas.

So, eventually, we build a giant three dimensional virtual reality representation of this system, have a few beers and take it out for a test drive. In in end, it's just for music -- any large institution care to get on board with this one? I will teach for you, do research, write papers, make music . . . etc.

Thanks for letting me get this all out in an open forum.

jason

Get a job . . .

2006-10-01T11:20:00.000-05:00

Today I have spent the day doing the pasttime that accounts for the other 50% of the efforts we Fellows exert, the job application. Everyone is looking for someting to do . . . Oh, the painstaking formatting and the work that goes into cramming as much as possible, legibly, into those completely inadequate online forms. It's not pretty . . .

jason

Return to regularity . . .

2006-09-30T04:38:00.000-05:00

Hello:

It has been a while since my last missive. As some of you might know it has been a trying time with the thefts in Barcelona, the draconian carry-on baggage regulations, and the on-again-off-again quality of the internet here at Camargo. But, here I am . . . almost back to normal. Funny how life throws you for a loop and then you kinda have to ride the loop until one comes rightround again and ascertains his bearings. Well, things are beginning to look up. So, a story you say? Yes, let me fill you in on my doings here at THE FOUNDATION.

First of all, Cassis is beautiful. The word beautiful is trivial . . . it cannot describe it, does it no justice; idyllic, perhaps. Angela and I have been assigned a small cottage on a hill overlooking the harbor of this quaint fishing village. Now, some of us here, we fellows, have been given rustic rooms (rustic in a good way) which are perched out and over the bay. Some of our colleagues wake (as well as work and play) to a full-screen view of the Mediterranean. I am in the library now following the blue curve of the Sea's horizon with my eye. The light lends a hand as well, it never looks the same way twice.

THE FOUNDATION is a wonderful place filled with artists and researchers following their own personal whims . . . highly intelligent people they all be. We fellows rise early, swim in the sea, return to our desks, check email (when it's functioning), poke around, read a book, perhaps . . . dare I say research . . . then, return to sea-gazing. Oh, is that a small gaggle of fellows on the Chinese Terrace having a bottle of wine, perhaps some foie gras? They must be addressing personal matters of state, the modification of some thematic corralary to their Table of Contents. . . perhaps . . . ? So, Jason, what have you been doing?

Well, I just finished a fine collection of articles by that cheeky Brit Mr. Stephen Fry which is why I am writing like him. I can't seem to get this upper crust Oxford style out of my head. Witty!
So, I have been reading while I wait for that damn replacement computer to arrive. I began with Nabakov's Lolita which I had never read before . . . it is suprisingly good and a spooky examination of a very disturbed, yet highly intelligent, mind. Oh, I had seen the film adaptations of the book, but really, the book is fantastic! Then I spent a while reading Roads', The Computer Music Tutorial. . . riveting . . . I was specifically working over the FFT and its applications to the transformation of sound . . . I could go on, but that would give away the ending.

But, to get serious, after three weeks here I am finally beginning to settle in at the Camargo Foundation. It has taken awhile, but everyone reaches their point at different times. Now that I have completed the PhD (thus allowing me to, sonically, operate on people) I have come to the conclusion that this journey which began five years ago to simply escape the United States and obtain a Master's degree has really taken me a long way. So much has happened, and as I now embark on a career in investigative research, I find that I am beginning to define myself . . . putting forth the ideas which are important to me. It's a good thing.

I'm looking for a junior research post . . . should anyone come across anything in my area, let me know.

Next time: What is my area?

Til then, I remain,

jason

Update . . .

2006-09-08T03:47:00.000-05:00

I thought for some of you reading an update would be appreciated. It's been a long three weeks. If you aren't aware, Angela and I had our Barcelona apartment broken into about three weeks ago. They took the computers and the cell phones -- these people are jerks. For me, losing the computer was not only losing a machine but data and my instrument as well. Though we've ordered replacements, the backlog at Apple will ensure that I recieve the new machine sometime in October. It's a problem . . . I can't work. I could go into the long list of how this simple theft has impacted and probably changed the course of the rest of the year for me, but I don't want to winge and whine about such stuff . . . let's just say that things are moderately fucked.

On another note, after the theft we immediately left Barcelona and ended up in Belfast again. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and places again. Thanks to the friends who offered to put us up, had us over for dinner and stored stuff for us, etc. . . . we are in your debt. Luckily I was able to print and bind my dissertation (the corrected copy sent to my examiner just days before the theft) and place it in the library, etc. So, it's all in . . . the PhD is over, call me Doctor.

Now, Angela and I are at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France (just southeast of Marseilles). It's beautiful here . . . I am looking forward to working when, and if, my computer ever arrives. I feel like I am just sitting around doing nothing . . . which is somewhat the case. For now, I have become a theoretical composer . . . . it's rather awful . . . Apple estimates they will get the machines to us by October . . . so we wait.

I am sure things will look up . . . I might be able to get a loaner in the meantime . . . we shall see.

I'll keep you updated.

jason

Asuncion . . .

2006-08-15T05:46:00.000-05:00

Today is Assumption, you know, when Mary was sucked up into heaven, body and soul intact -- bit of a Catholic holiday. We were wondering why the normal carousing we have become accustomed to awakening to was all but silent this morning. Guess everyone was as Mass this morning . . . that being said, here at the middle of the day, the party is only just beginning.

We had a great day at the market (La Boqueria, the largest outdoor market in Europe) and walking around the Gothic Quarter. Here are some great photos from Angela's great little camera that I have left at full size for possible screen saver/wallpaper utilization. Enjoy.

Actually, these might be a little under rez. I am more than happy to send original photos for your use -- non-commercial of course.

jason

Barcelona . . .

2006-08-12T08:38:00.000-05:00

We've been here six days and are finally getting accustomed to the neighborhood. Barcelonetta is a lively area with spotty internet, so the posts have slowed down. The apartment complex WIFI is up and running again -- but for how long? The good news is that I have an interview in Huddersfield for a teaching position. I am spending the weekend getting things together for a short presentation. It looks to be an all day affair. Ah interviews, love 'em. So I will have to leave Barcelona and Angela behind for a few days while I revist the UK. I let you know how things go.

We went to the Parc Güell yesterday. It is a long walk up a steep hill but certainly worth it. The park was designed by Gaudi and is, as Angela calls it, marshmallow land (this picture is of the gatehouse). It is really a interesting place and includes a peak (with three crosses) that is probably one of the higher points in the city. I took a multi-photo panoramic of the city. We will see if I have time to Photochop it all together.

Tonight we might go out to eat at the Olympic Village which, since the games have gone, has been converted into a row of restaurants and bars along the coast. There is yet another Buddha Bar knock off that we are going to check out -- mainly because they have sushi and we like to try sushi in different locales.

It's corrections . . .

2006-07-27T01:36:00.000-05:00

Just in case you're curious. I am finishing corrections to the dissertation this week. Hopefully have it off to the internal in a few days.

jg

A portfolio of original photos with commentary . . .

2006-07-22T03:46:00.000-05:00

The binding process entails six copies of the following: one dissertation (120 pages), five scores (@ 100 pages), five CDs of software, 2 CDs of recordings and 2 DVDs of multi-channel files and video work.

It looks a little something like this (none-too-glamorous):

A short walk across Belfast brings us to filling in the submission forms:

Yes, the registrar's office will actually look through your dissertation to make sure the dates are all correct and you have not inadvertantly misspelled the title. If they findy anything wrong they won't accept it.

It appears all is well. Our friend Paul, the poet and recent PhD initiate, generously agrees to take us on a trip to the coast. A seafood lunch and an after-coffee chat on the back porch ensues:

Afterwards we headed off to the coast, where the mountains meet the sea:

Next we were off to Dingle to visit friend and colleague Rachel Holstead:

Then from Dingle to Dublin to Holyhead (Wales) to London in one day, via car, train, ferry and bus. This is Angela on the train somwhere in Wales:

Results . . . etc.

2006-07-21T03:02:00.000-05:00

The viva went well and everyone was very positive. The hour and a half progressed quite quickly. I was told the portfolio was very good and that there were only minor corrections. This is a good result and the most usual one. Everyone does corrections.

Angela and I have been on the road for the past week. Leaving Belfast, we traveled to Dingle, calling on my friend Rachel Holstead and then up to Limerick to see my friend Riana. We are now in London visiting my good buddy Brock.

Angela and I got out British Library cards yesterday: she is going to research cooking, I am going to handle a minor corrections to my dissertation which I hope to resubmit in about 10 days. (The library card is a good move as London is very hot right now and the British Library is very air conditioned.) After resubmission, the internal examiner will hopefully check off the corrections and I become Doctor. All is good.

On another note, we have been trying to use the camera more; so I have photos of our travels from Dingle -> Limerick -> Dublin -> Irish Ferries -> Holyhead (Whales) -> London. I will post the montage once it is all put together. Give me a day or so. I intend to make these postings daily so check back more often.

Off to the library,

jeg