Archive for April, 2009

30 Days in April: Day 10

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Just a bit more noodling in Garageband.

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30 Days in April: Day 9

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

“Loss” (2009)

Write a song.

Record it.

Copy it to some sort of recordable media.

Put this address on it:
Hard Like Algebra, PO Box 40161, Portland, OR 97240-0161

Lose the item.

30 Days in April: Day 8

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

image via http://yacht.tumblr.com

I can’t believe that it’s seriously been 15 years since Cobain shot himself.
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30 Days in April: Day 7

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

I was cleaning the kitchen tonight, which all good Buddhist writers will tell you really helps you focus on being mindful, opens ideas up in a way quite similar to meditation, and a whole bunch of other great things (which probably include repairing that ouchy hangnail and finally figuring out a cheap way to hang those art posters you have had in tubes for years, left hiding for no one to see).

Growing up in the Midwest–and maybe elsewhere, though I feel like this is part of being Midwestern–a lot of “Clean Plate Club” style rules are commonly ingrained into belief systems. A good example of these was something I learned from my mom–essentially, if you’re doing the dishes, you’re also cleaning the kitchen, so don’t just start it, finish it up.

Sound logic, really. It meant that the kitchen counters were always clean enough that you wouldn’t have to think twice about setting food directly on the counter, and it also means that I practically have the entire meal prep cleaned up by the time i am done cooking a scramble or other simple meals.

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30 Days in April: Day 6

Monday, April 6th, 2009

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30 Days in April: Day 5

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Working with digital loops to create music is a really odd form of creativity. Odd because it feels a bit like cheating, and a bit like MAN THIS IS SO AWESOME I MADE A SONG.

Anyway, enjoy some more Garageband tuneage.  I might do something odd involving weird Keynote presentations next. 

Yes, seriously.

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30 Days in April: Day 4

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

I really like trying to take good photos with camera phones. I feel like it’s just another way of dealing with the shortcomings of the tech you have at hand, like taking Holga photos or using children’s instruments.

Portland was so gorgeous today.

30 Days in April: Day 3

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

We had a party on day three.  Well, it was taco night.  Essentially a party, yes?

And parties can be art right? I’m going to write five reasons why this works, and have that qualify as the day three project, okay? Okay.

1. The Act of Drinking Beer With Friends is the Highest Form of Art.
2. Like any performance, you have to prepare, know your audience, and essentially design sound, lighting, and even your “character” for the night.
3. Performance art is art in which the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work.
4. I am thinking of how creating something daily is an act of creating meaningful experiences.  This was a great one! 
5. Happenings. ‘Nuff said.

Thanks to all the people who helped create this project for Day 3!  :-)

30 Days in April: Day 2

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

The fountain cascaded with promise. She focused her attention on the water, only glancing at him long enough to say, “It’s all too much.”

And then she was gone.

30 Days in April: Day 1

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

For the first 30 days post, I started learning just how much Garageband has changed since the first version.

It’s me running my guitar through my new iMac and making something.

It’s got two built-in loops tweaked in there, too.

It’s rough around the edges.

It’s  a start.

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