wacko1138 has kindly posted a link to my first "techno" piece on his website.

From there you can either download it or click on the file and listen to it in your web browser.

There are no popups, but it will take a little while to load; it's about 40Mb.

So, in my Electro-acoustic class, I've had to do a couple of self-directed projects: one I meant to mention here, but did not.

Instead, I'm focusing on the one I just finished. There are still a few tweaks I'd like to do, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to them.

It's me writing an electronica piece. I don't know if it's house, trance, or what, but I hope you like it.

Sinewave. It's a download from Mediafire, so I'm sorry for the popups, and I hope you don't have to register beforehand.

I'll do my best to figure out another way of posting it soon.

Tomorrow I get to play with a Theremin!

I apologize to the rest of the world, in advance.

First the frightening.

The Westboro Baptist Church is visiting my current city. They are leading a protest this Wednesday in front of New Brunswick High School from 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM, and the Rutgers Hillel Center from 8:45 - 9:15 AM.

I might beg off school that day to join in the counter protest. Not sure yet. Hopefully, they'll decide it's too cold or they've attracted too much of the wrong kind of attention and will stay home.

The full schedule is found on their website, but other locations included are: the Anti-Defamation League of New Jersey in West Orange, Elizabeth High School, Hoboken City Hall, United Synagogue of
Hoboken, Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, Jewish Community Center in Paramus, United Jewish Appeal Federation of Northern New Jersey in Paramus, the New Jersey Jewish Standard in Teaneck, and Dickinson High School in Jersey City.

As a potential antidote to the distastefulness above, you can vote (or if you don't want to vote, just look at who's running) for The Cutest Dog.

The winner receives $1 Million dollars, and I'm backing Commissioner James Gordon Hastings, because 1) he's cute, and 2) I like Dr. McNinja, his owner's webcomic.

Not to let that influence you though . . . .

You guys remember that chili recipe I made a couple of weeks ago?

I made it again, added a couple of star anise, and threw it in the crock pot. The last batch burned on the bottom, and I didn't want to pay attention to the latest one, so I figured the crock pot would be a good idea.

While it was a good idea, and made a decent batch of chili, it wasn't as good as the previous batch. Sure enough burning the bottom and scraping off the burned bits when you stir it is the secret to the amazing first batch I made.

Figured that out today by taking the thing and put it in the stockpot. Anything above a low flame was enough to burn it. No idea why it has such a low burning point, but there you have it.

Now onto work.

This week I hit a wall of blah.

I could barely think, and due to self-imposed sleep dep, I was falling asleep all day on Thursday. Mind you, this is the same day that I drive to Pennsylvania for my church job. The rain didn't help matters any.

On the other hand, Autumn is upon New Jersey, and we have lovely fall colors. Driving to school isn't necessarily horrendous when you have a captivating backdrop for it.

I've been pretty jazzed about the two big projects I'm working on composing, one which I've had permissions for the sole author, and the latter which includes a piece written by Wendell Berry (just got permissions). This piece also includes a "poem" which I finally have all of the verses of and is in the public domain. Now the only texts I need to get are the ones I haven't finished writing yet. Be very afraid: I'm writing rhyming, metered poetry. This usually doesn't end well.

Now to see if I can get any more done on my song cycle before I get started on the day's shenanigans.

A brilliant recipe tonight, even if I did make it myself.

East meets West Chili

    Ingredients:

1x can cooking spray

1x small onion chopped (alternately, 1/2 cup chopped frozen onions)

2-4x cloves garlic minced

3 tbsp red wine

1x 1 lb., 13 oz. can of tomatoes

1x 14.5 oz. can of tomatoes

1x 1 lb., 13 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1x 1 lb., 13 oz. can of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1x 16 oz. bag of shelled edamame

1 cup sliced baby portabello mushrooms

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1-1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

2 dried, whole ancho chiles, ground

2-4 dried, whole small red chiles, ground

1 tbsp whole szechuan peppers, ground

1 tbsp whole coriander seeds, ground

1-1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tbsp ground allspice

1/3 tbsp ground black pepper

salt to taste

    Optional ingredients

grated sharp cheddar cheese for garnish

1 small apple, sliced

fat-free greek yogurt

    Directions:

Spray pan lightly with cooking oil, sautée onions and garlic until toasty and tender.

While this is going on, take all your peppers, and whole spices, put them in your spice grinder and give everything a whirl. You can hum if you like.

If you've already done all the other prep work, just deglaze the pan with the wine, let the alcohol burn off for a couple seconds, throw all the other ingredients in and let simmer for 30-90 minutes. The longer the better, obviously.

I made this tonight, and the cheddar made it completely badass. I mean, it was tasty before, but damn, that made it heavenly.

Try it some time.

Oh, and an interesting idea: hold the anchos by the stem, cut them up with kitchen shears directly into the spice grinder, and use the kitchen shears (or better yet, chopsticks or tongs) to put the small chiles into the spice grinder at the same time.

I've got magic on the brain. Eating good food while listening to the beginning of Bartok's made me think of Semuta music.

I need to delve deeper into this wondrous world that I'm studying at school, but for some reason tend to leave there.

I mean, I'm trying to make a living writing music, but I'm hardly putting any notes on a page.

The second comic here galvanized me to actually do something today instead of just reading more webcomics.

And while this is more pointed at wolven, all others are welcome to listen in.

Have you read Damiano or its sequels? They talk of magic, music, and deities; all things I believe you have an interest in.

I highly recommend this bit of what I have termed "historical fantasy fiction," since it is thoroughly researched, and assumes a working system of magic during the Avignon papacy and a plague. It also runs generationally, focusing on a different main character in each of the three books, while maintaining a cast of main characters who pass through all three.

The knowledge of renaissance music is impressive too. I have not played a lute, but a guitar was some similarity. I can almost feel one under my fingers as I read the prose.

And have you heard of Aleksandr Scriabin?

Most notably, his last work (unfinished) was to end the world upon its completion and performance. Although, apparently, this would be a happy end, not a terrible one.

Anyway, a few more thoughts on the power of music later. Now I have to compose love songs.

Discovered Gun Street Girl. Wow. It reminds me of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman and Kaja and Phil Foglio.

Herbie (my cat) opened a yellow watermelon.

Introduced my mother to the joys of Kate Beaton.

Had my car inspected. Subsequently had to buy a new gas cap.

Quasi-rough night at work, but it will all be over in two more nights.

theatreannie is having berry beer and peanut butter on rice cakes. "It makes a pbj in my mouth = D"

Managed to get tipsy on a free Bud Light tonight.

Audition for a new church job tomorrow afternoon. I should probably be more anxious than I am. See previous deed.

So, two Saturdays ago, emboldened by tscheese's food blogging of her own huevos rancheros, I set out to chronicle my own culinary capers. (Sadly, no capers were involved, but the consonance was worth it.) So, armed with my trusty camera phone, I shot first and never asked questions.

ETA: I apologize for the weird picture formatting in advance. Perhaps after spending most of yesterday writing and formatting this post, I should've worked it out better. I have stuff to do today, and will probably not get around to editing the picture format. So sorry.

( Click to read more about food. WARNING: image intensive. )

The biggest bit would be to tell myself to do some damn chores and not complain. Maybe "lighten up" too; I could've used that when I was a kid.

"Take piano lessons" would've been frickin' gold though . . . .

I gave mine today at work. When I start back to school in a month, I will only have two part-time jobs and full-time school. Also, evenings will be "free."

It's more than a little scary to be quitting a job in this economic climate, but I'm giving plenty of notice and will be given a "positive re-hire" status if I ever want to join the company again. It's also a very nice shiny bullet point on my resumé.

And now I am committed to finding a higher-paying church job for the fall. One of the places I still need to audition for suggested the opportunity of solos/ chamber ensembles, and I have been telling myself that I need to do more such work.

On an unrelated note, I received the permissions for four poems by E. E. Cummings; and will soon begin to write my latest song cycle. I'll be sure to share them soon; no worries.

Today I began watching Last Exile, and am enjoying it thoroughly.

I also went shopping. Two farmer's markets near my house, one which is only open on Fridays (mmm, Jersey Fresh mushrooms, blueberries, nectarines, blueberry honey, cantaloupe, and more!) the other which is open on both Tuesday and Friday (lovely watermelons and grape tomatoes are the only things I left with). At the latter, a balloon was lost, floating up into the sky like a flying version of the afore-mentioned grape tomatoes.

At the Supermarket, I discovered Morton & Bassett whole allspice. And it was a hell of a deal too; $6 for about three or four times the amount of $4.19 McCormick ground allspice. (There was ground by the same brand for a dollar cheaper, but I figured I'd try it the old-fashioned way.)

And now I am relaxing, post-work, with a juicy, delicious, Jersey Fresh® peach.

Just for kicks, I guess.

I'd like to be able to get to various conventions . . . Dragon*Con (friends & guests), Connecticon (guests), and What the Hell Con (friends).

European vacations would be nice too: Germany (music tourism; why yes, I am a music nut, what makes you ask?), Republic of Georgia (music tourism, as well as being able to tell them I'm from there), Italy (music tourism, food, and ITALY), France (see previous), Ireland (a place where everyone knows how to both pronounce AND spell my name, whiskey tourism), and England (Quaker tourism).

Then there's places in the states I haven't been, or wouldn't mind visiting again: Puerto Rico (Caribbean beaches without a passport), Alaska (no sweating! Annie has expressed interest), Yellowstone Park, California (San Fran, Santa Cruz and so much more), Maine (don't really know why), Texas (family, friends), Washington D.C. (family, never been), and North Carolina (separate from the convention, family, friends).

I've also kind of wanted to visit Brazil with my dad. I know he misses the places and foods he grew up with, and I hear it's a lovely country. Musical tourism also applies here.

I would like to visit Japan at some point, and I wouldn't mind taking a vacation to China, India, Tunisia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Hawaii, Egypt, or a host of other countries, but I haven't thought about a real vacation in a while either. That has a lot to do with my persistent lack of money.

Today I have worked on composition, talked to my brother about his upcomming trip (see below), made up another quote sheet for my desk, and taken many of my wife's old shoes to Goodwill. I am also currently kittylapped. And yes, I know that I lead a charming life.

Cold damn! Sorry, I got Mother's a/c fixed yesterday, and the result is glorious. I am now able to bask in the conflict between the sun and my overworked engine and condenser. Speaking of overworked engine, about two weeks ago, I hit 250,000 miles. Way to go, Mother.

Last week, I activated my new phone. I'm no stranger to Palm products, but this whole "smart phone" thing is a bit odd. I like having a camera though, no matter how strange and small the resulting photos are. Later this week, I'll probably share some more of them. Really, the only issue I'm currently having is that my typing is a bit messy. And I kind of miss Graffiti.

Next week I have my brother coming to visit. My smart, younger, cuter-than-me, and much different sibling will be in town for six days. Whatever should I do with him, aside from the usual constant torment? I'm still operating under the assumption that he doesn't drink, so the bars are out.

Anyway, having whiled away the past hour, I suppose I should get back to being a professional composer and all that.

Today has done its best to piss me off.

Got up early to take the car into the shop: I was informed that my car is too old to have its a/c recharged by the auto shop in my back yard. They didn't even look it over to double-check: they simply have a policy not to work on any cars older than 1995 models.

Now, I have a check-up scheduled for Friday.

The maintenance staff finally showed up to fix the leak in the bathroom ceiling. And though this is wonderful, I felt obligated to stay; I've always been a little weirded out by having people in my house when I'm not there, and there's no one else there I trust. It probably has something to do with all the break-ins we had when I was younger.

So with my self-imposed obligation to stick around, I got very little composing done. Especially since I spent at least half an hour searching for wonderful, magnificent, heart-wrenching, and slightly impossible movies.

Once the gentlemen finished up their job in the bathroom, I had to go in and clean up what mess was left. Having looked at what was involved beforehand, I'm quite happy that I had to do as little as I did. Now both our kitchen and bathroom floors are mopped!

I now have a not-quite brand-new red Palm Centro. I even got my phone service transferred over.

And work was . . . well, trying is a good word. Driving home coworkers who I can commiserate about work with is fabulous: I cannot put a price on the amount of good they're doing for my marriage.

Lastly, I need to get to bed; I have an audition tomorrow for a new church job in Newtown, PA.

This post was brought to you by the "colon" family of punctuation.

While on my latest research into Quakerism, I found a link to an online Nontheist Quaker Community.

This includes people who have the view that "God's" existence doesn't matter to their religious beliefs, as well as atheists who consider themselves Quakers. Or you could look to their own definition of what "nontheism" means.

Having first heard about this something less than a year ago, it's interesting to run across it again.

The lapis heavens
hung with one large pearl, turn to
diamond-studded jet.

I really don't remember my dreams usually. This is an odd spate for me.

Anyway, dreamed that I was visiting my folks, and when I arrived at their place, my mom and brother were watching an animated feature film of Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. It was in the proper style, just very sleek and professional. Seems that it had gone straight to DVD but was doing quite well, sales-wise.

The sad part was waking up and realizing that it wasn't real.