dynamic becomes static over and over again!
Ariel Shibolet
nAriel is one of the pillars of a small (but growing) group of improvisation musicians in Israel. He is the organizer of a monthly Meeting in Tel-Aviv (where I have also performed with Shahar) and is an inspiring musician whom I have also had the pleasure (and sometimes frustration – he likes very low light and the clicks of the camera are to him like an additional instrument in the space) of photographing numerous times. If you’ve never heard this kind of music (and I am guessing you probably haven’t) then free your mind. I invite you to listen, to really listen. Stop whatever it is you are doing, make a space in your heart, turn up the volume (though not too much) and then hit play.
Appreciation
nAppreciation came to my mind this morning. I realized that appreciation turns my attention to quality in my experiences. It is seeking out goodness. It makes me soft. It makes me smile. It makes me welcoming, and then experience welcomes me. It colors my experience of the world around me. It negates negativity. It shouts out when it experiences low quality. It makes me attentive and sensitive. I was resting in the hammock this morning thinking of my hands. When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a beautiful blue-blue sky.
Tomasz Stanko
nDuring one of my first sessions with Shahar, more then two years ago, we were working in his mother’s apartment (!) and he played a CD called “From the Green Hill” by Tomasz Stanko. It just came to me as I was searching for something to listen to. This music is etched in me due to the powerful context of the work in which I encountered it. Here is live set with Tomasz Stanko (the trumpet player).
My only problem with this clip it that it is too short and ends abruptly.
Fatherland Raped Motherhood
nFrente’s Marvin the Album album is one of the most surprising, amusing and original albums I encountered (many years ago). To the best of my knowledge the band were together long enough to publish 2 cd’s then they disappeared. ‘Cuscutlan’ is one of my favorite songs on the album. The video is not officially related to the song, but it did bring a smile to my face. Listen for the lyrics:
Homemaid RAID (Part4) – Drives, Partitions & Devices
nNow that we have the Ubuntu server installed and a graphic interface to feel comfortable we can get on with preparing the hard-drives for setting up the RAID.
Devices
I will be addressing devices numerous times, but for now suffice to say that Ubuntu (and Linux in general) seems to have a very straightforward approach for representing devices in the operating system. You will find a directory in the root file-system called ‘DEV’ and in it many files. These files all represent devices. Hard drives are devices, partitions are devices and even the RAID we will create is a device. More on this as we move along. Read More
Study Study Study
nI haven’t developed much in my technological career – because I don’t really have the patience for it. The reality of SweetClarity is drawing me back in – it seems like, for now, I need to get my hands back into development. I have solid foundations in software development, databases, methodology, etc. I have no practical experience developing web applications (though I did head a bold organizational .ASP project when the technology was questionable – this started sometime in 1999).
I’ve subscribed to Lynda – an online training service… Read More
All Along the Watchtower
nBob Dylan wrote it, Jimi Hendrix did it and Dave Mathews Band blew it away. Though I did get to see them live in Lisbon-Portugal about a year ago, they didn’t perform this. They did go on and on exploding all over the stage for over 3 hours. That crowd must have been waiting for the band for years. The guys on stage, though well practiced in appearing before vastly larger audiences, were blown away by teh energy of the audience. The clip is 9 minutes (some of their live songs can go on for 15 minutes and more).
Sound Textures
nI am writing to share some more of my Shakuhachi playing experience thanks to Jon at Shingtesu Shakuhachi who was kind of to bring to my attention that other people may actually take an interest in this. So here goes… my playing around with the Shakuhachi continues and interesthing things are appearing. I am realizing different qualities and different aspects of the instrument and my relationship with it.
I can feel the air pressing against my finger tips. Sometimes it feels like this pressure and my response to it is where melodies are born. Read More
Crazy Train
nI first heard the Waifs over Pandora (that is before it was prevented from streaming outside the USA – so much fro that globalization thing). Thought to share them – so for the first time I looked them up on YouTube and for the first time I saw them in concert.
Homemade RAID (Part 3) – Ubuntu Server Installation
nAfter all the searching and reading I ended up choosing Ubuntu Server as the operating system for my RAID server. I am not technically savvy enough to compare the nuances of the different Linux distributions (I can’t even name them all – there are quite a few). The runner up was a solution called FreeNAS. This is a distribution that includes a minimal operating system which includes the software components required to setting up a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device on a minimal PC. FreeNAS is probably an overall simpler solution but I decided to go with Ubuntu because:
- It was bundled with everything I needed in one installation package.
- I wanted an operational machine that I could use as a Server for a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) development environment.
- I wanted to experience the Ubuntu office-user desktop.
- I really liked the spirit behind the Ubuntu organization. I have made numerous technological choices over the years that in the end were decided by the personal qualities of the people behind the technologies. I have yet to regret such a decision. As of this writing, Ubuntu seems to be delivering a similar experience.
Lilac Wine
nThis song came to mind. Couldn’t find an official video so you may as well just click play and close your eyes. Jeff Buckley – Lilac Wine:
And if you want to listen to the original that inspired it – then here is Nina Simone’s rendition of it. Again there isn’t much video to see – so do what you gotta do:
A Love Story
n“For the first time the house is in silence. Towards me there is a small tree,
which gives me as present all its small orange gladness. It has also extended one branch for me. It could be a love story with the orange tree.
I found out that this love story with the orange tree was just the reflection of the love story with the work we made. It was the love story with the Orchard Lab, with the Art. That is the reason to create a space in which we could bring our time and leave a piece of our soul, and words, movement, earth, past-memory-recollection, night, light, presence, music, oranges, wind, absence, I and We, and tumble exhausted. Open the space, fall down together into the night, drink a wine made of oranges, and walk on the earth that keeps us together and in distance.”
Ana Sanchez Couso
Halleluja II
nDamien rice also did a cover of Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s. Hallelujah. It’s delivered with simplicity and honesty – which I admire greatly about Damien Rice:
Two other things I admire greatly in Damien Rice. One is the amazing range and space he can create with an acoustic guitar. The other is Lisa Hannigan. Both are powerfully displayed in this clip – so many amazing meetings and transformations in 10 minutes: