Here is a song I did primarily with the software Reason. The main spine of the track was programmed with no external keyboard, i.e all mouse clicks. Pretty amazing software if you ask me. As far as the song itself, I was feeling nostalgic for a time when pop had a sense of humor, as in, the lyrics could be sort of funny, but also have a meaning behind them. John Deadrick played some nice keyboard and Jason Lehning mixed. Enjoy (or not)
Leslie and I took the Meyers-Briggs personality test. “School has changed me so much!” she said. We haven’t recieved the results, but I was suprised by how few dillemas it created for me. There were very few questions I needed to hesitate to answer. One that I DID hesitate on was:
The routine portion of your day is- A:Restful or B:Boring.
Maybe i’m more of a certain pre-classified personality type than I previously expected. I thought I would be “harder to classify” and certain questions would geek my brain, because of the unique way that it functions, or the original way in which I view the world.
Nope.
Straight up human being, I guess.
Supposedly, one of the keys to an accurate profile is to trust your gut, not think about the answers so much, which is always a concious effort for me.
Here is a little song that I recorded on the Roland 1680 (borrowed from Jason Lehning). I played most of the instruments, and John Deaderick played the nice bits of Vocoder Keyboard, and Hillary Lindsey sang the background vocals. Some people who heard it thought that it was mocking hip-hop culture, but that wasn’t the intention at all. I wanted to express a sentiment that I find pervasive in all aspects of american pop culture, and do it with a sort of Todd Rundgren/New Radicals type of sound. I hope you enjoy it.
Finding that old melancholy feeling returning, along with a bank of dark clouds, which caused nightfall at about 4:30, I began to wonder about the nature of happiness.
Webster’s defines it as “being favored by circumstances, lucky, fortunate.”
Is it possible to know you are lucky, and still be unhappy? Of course it is! So this definition left something to be desired. I think I would descibe happiness as a sort of strength of spirit, which, despite the obvious setbacks and misfortunes, shines nevertheless, and reveals itself mostly in a cheerful countenance in the present, and an optimistic view of the future.
Niether of which I happen to possess today. Ho Hum.
The great genius of comedy had this to say about his formal education:
“If only someone had used salesmanship, had read a stimulating preface to each study that could have titilated my mind, infused me with fancy instead of facts, amused and intrigued me with the legerdemain of numbers, romanticized maps, given me a point of view about history and taught me the music of poetry, I might have become a scholar.”
But then, we wouldn’t have had the Chaplin we know and love.
For those not frightened by the recent Mad Cow scare, I came across a good Pot Roast recipe in the October 2001 issue of Martha Stewart’s Living. I will attempt to describe it.
(a good approximation)
Preheat Oven to 450
Cut up 3 or 4 large peeled and washed potatoes (mix in a few turnips if you wish) until they are quartered, then in a bowl, put a couple Tblsp. of Olive oil and some salt, then mix the Taters around until they are covered. Then into the oven with them (on a baking sheet) for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. When these guys are done cooking, reduce oven temp to 350, and set the taters aside. Cut and peel a few carrots, and get your roast out. Martha suggests a 3lb chuck roast. She says expensive meat is not good for pot roast. Then coat the roast with flour and salt and pepper, then get your pan hot, with another tblsp of Olive oil, but not smoking. Toss the roast into the pot and sear it (about 2 minutes a side) the take it out and remove. at this point, you will need some red wine (1/2 cup) and some Beef Stock(6 cups) (low sodium if available.) After you sear the roast, remove it from the pan and set aside. Cut up a couple onions, a couple cloves of garlic (some leeks if you have any) and toss them into the pan with some oil. After they cook for a while, add the wine and maybe two cups of stock, and scrape any bits of the bottom of the pan (deglazing). When the alchohol has evaporated a bit, add the rest of the stock. Then put the roast in the stock, cover, and into the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the roast over, then cook another 30. Do this two more times, flipping the roast every 30 minutes for 2 hrs. After 2 hours, add the potatoes and carrots, then cook for another hour with the top on, then, for the final 30/ 45 minutes, remove the cover to let some liquid evaporate. The final result is an amazing flavor! Martha’s recipe has a few extra bells and whistles but this is the basic concept!
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