star diary

02005-07-26 | Uncategorized

Flickr slideshow created by a woman in Porto in Portugal.

Matthew Herbert

02005-07-25 | Uncategorized

Matthew Herbert has a new CD called Plat Du Jour. You can check the msuic out HERE. What follows is some info he has about one of the tracks, called These Branded Waters

THESE BRANDED WATERS – studio recordings are of different bottled waters:

dasani: water magnesium sulphate, potassium chloride, salt, ozone. (picked up on plane from canada). owned by coca cola.
thames water tap water.
highland spring (owned by a consortium based in lichtenstein)
evian (bought at sainsburys local) distributed by coca cola in north america
san pelllegrino in glass bottle (found in fridge) owned by nestle
perrier owned by nestle
vittel owned by nestle
aqua pura 2 litre official bottled water of jaguar uk athletics great britain athletics team

my recent french water bottle said recently: ‘your hydration partner’
www.bottledwaterweb.com has more details about these waters and their corporate owner
in india, 69 per cent of the people do not have access to sanitary services
the track is 182 bpm because it takes 182,000 litres of water to make one ton of steel
sanitation coverage is 53% in bangladesh, so the track is 5’30’ long
www.rainwaterharvesting.org
how about we turn off public ornamental fountains until the rest of the world has clean drinking water and sanitation?

That’s a song with a serious story.

Making (New) Music

02005-07-25 | Uncategorized

A Feedster search delivered this insightful post on the new digital music distribution. Please click on the title-link to read the whole post (recommended!), but here are three snippets:

It wasn’t the RIAA suing everything in pants (or shorts, skorts or skirts) that pushed up sales, it was the fact that it is suddenly easy to do and cheap. And that’s largely down to Apple and not the recording industry. The iPod presented the platform; Apple set the price (99 cents a track and a whole CD for under 10 bucks) and provided the mechanism for delivery.

I agree, I think the RIAA is claiming a success that is entirely due to the efforts of non-big-music-biz, namely Apple and other like-minded companies and small new internet record labels and independent musicians.

The second item shows what can be done with online music delivery and, again, the innovation isn’t coming from the recording industry. This weekend nouveau flamenco star Ottmar Liebert went live with this Listening Lounge, an online music story with some unique additions. Among the innovations: music is released under a Creative Commons licence that allows sampling and remixing, you can browse music by tags (you have to see it to truly appreciate it), and a podcast from the site delivers free music to your favourite player. When you click on the ‘Listen’ button, you get to listen to the full song and not just a 30-second clip. For musicians, there are a couple of great features: the site sells cheap, copyright-free loops, and it sells parts of songs: the rhythm guitar tracks or bass track for the song Alhambra are currently being offered for $1 each, under a CC Sampling Plus licence.

And I do like this paragraph:

This really is an amazing site, and obviously the product of someone who has thought long and hard about distributing music in a way that gives fans a range of choices and an enjoyable experience. In short, it treats those who visit as music lovers, not consumers, And, again, this is not the product of music industry thinking.
From Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media (feed)

Now that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! Thanks!

All about EARS!

02005-07-25 | Uncategorized

Interesting Monday! I have learned a lot. Went to my Santa Fe audiologist to get new ear-impressions. I have had my IEMs (In Ear Monitors) since 1994 and since ears continue to grow throughout our lives these don’t seal off sound well enough anymore… therefore I have to get new ear-impressions so that new IEM molds can be made.

My audiologist tells me I have a little wax build-up in my right ear. Not enough to influence my hearing, but enough to make a good ear impression impossible. She sets me up with an appointment at Southwest Ear, Nose and Throat to remove the wax.

Here is where it gets really interesting. A very nice doctor finds wax in both ears and removes it with suction and a microsope, a little loud but not at all uncomfortable. I ask him about the kits one can buy for wax removal. He tells me that they can work in some cases, but that Santa Fe with its dry climate tends to be a little more difficult in that respect. Some of the kits use Hydrogen Peroxide‘s bubbling action to losen the wax… but Hydrogen Peroxide also drys out the skin and the wax and can make it therefore harder to remove the wax. This doctor suggests putting a drop or two of olive oil in your ear every week. It keeps the skin lubricated and also moisturizes the wax which when soft can easily be disposed off by the ear – naturally.

But wait, I learned even more. The doctor asks me whether I have Tinnitus. I tell him that I have a very small amount in my left ear, stemming from a 15% hearing loss probably due to standing to the right of the drummer during my Eighties rockband days… He explains to me that Tinnitus is actually my brain trying to fill in the blank that the ear doesn’t seem to deliver. In other words, let’s say you have hearing damage in the upper register – the brain detects that there are some high frequencies missing and apparently fills in that spectrum with noise. The doctor explains that Tinnitus is a little bit like an amputee feeling an itch in their missing toe or leg… it’s only in the mind/nervous system.

In a few minutes I have to leave to go back to my audiologist to get the ear impressions made. But first let me make these suggestions:

••• Use hearing protection! Buy noise filters, not plugs. This is what you want, especially if you are a musician! They are molded to your ear and reduce the sound across the spectrum – so you don’t lose only the highs! I have used ER 25s for about 10 years and they are great. Very useful on the plane, on the bus, at concerts etc…
••• If you live in a dry climate, lubricate your ears with a weekly drop of oil.
••• Have a doctor remove any wax build-up in your ears. They know what they are doing and with the equipment they have it is fast and painless…

But wait, there is more! OTOSCOPE is an instrument for examining the interior of the ear, consisting essentially of a magnifying lens and a light. HERE is a picture. Oto– or ot- are prefixes for things to do with the ear. Ear: otology. From the Greek ous, ōt-, ear. So, doesn’t that mean that OTO means SOUND in Japanese and EAR in Greek. Interesting, yes? Hey, OTOSCOPE would be a great name for a band or a studio, meaning EarScope OR SoundScope… Feel free to use it as I will stick with OTO-MARE. Back for more ear fun!!!