Thursday, September 5, 2013

Petitioning

For The Common Good

Zinnia Circus

Over the past couple of weeks I have been signing online petitions, writing letters, and watching how the financial, military, industrial juggernaut has turned our hope and change leader into a frothing proponent of attacking countries that have not attacked us.

2 Little birds

Syria is one more in a series of ill advised, costly, wars to protect the interests of semi-American industries throughout the world. The only victors in these actions are oil companies, defense contractors, and Wall Street banksters. The American people are going to be paying for more destruction, disruption, and murderous acts in other countries so tax sheltered businesses can profit.

Pink inside bush

So, I have been petitioning, pleading, beseeching, and demanding that our representatives act in accordance with the overwhelming will of their constituency to vote against an attack on Syria. I am sending healing thoughts toward the East coast in the hopes that will help eradicate the insanity that has infected the president and others in positions of leadership.

Eagle fishes for stainless steelheads

On the center divide of highway 44 near Turtle Bay, there are stainless steel sculptures of leaping fish with eagles in pursuit. I have seen them flashing brilliantly in the sunlight as I am hurtling along the highway. I tell myself that one day I will come back and capture their shining magnificence with a camera, and oh what a wonderful picture that will be.

Yellow now, white tomorrow rose

The September days remain in the pleasant 90’s with nights in the 70’s, here at the Treehouse. My path has led me to this place that fits my present incarnation to a T. (A tiny mark in writing called a tittle, like dotting an i, that later became T, though meaning the same thing) That was a somewhat ambiguous explanation of the origin of the phrase,  but fit to a tittle shows up in the 1600’s. A ‘tittle’ being a tiny and precise mark in writing.

Happy to be me

One of my next music projects is to get some CD quality recordings of John Harrison and myself playing the songs we play as a duo. This is to satisfy some people who, having heard the 2 of us play without the benefit of the full band, have said they want a CD of what they heard. (A similar circumstance heralded the beginning of the LMP Trio).

Blue Jay, (California scrub jay)

Today, I began experimenting with close mic techniques to get clean recordings in John’s violin shop, where we generally rehearse and write songs using two guitars. To eliminate traffic sounds and the drone of the air conditioner, I placed microphones as close to the amplifier speakers as possible. I used an SM58 proximity effect mic for the vocals.

Red Zin

The close mic’s kept the tracks clean, but there are a few quirks in the Presonus interface to sort out before our next attempt. Once I have the cabling routine and input/record settings saved, it will just be a matter of bringing the equipment and turning it on when I go to the shop to play with John. Sooner or later we will have recorded enough takes of different songs to put the good ones together on a CD.

Pedaling Today’s Video;

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Spoke In The Wheel

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