·

The Creative Power of Computing

Recent events have seen me in my mad scientist’s laboratory less, and working on projects in remote locations more and more. Not my choice, but that’s the way it is.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fancy myself an artist. Not a great artist. Not even a good one. I’m a dabbler.  Music, art, writing, whatever. I just like to make stuff. I think that that more I make, the more likely it is I might make something good, and I have fun with all of it.

I was just thinking how amazing it is that with a good laptop, some (potentially expensive) software, and internet access, you can remain creatively engaged in almost any circumstance. Add in a few tools like a point-in-shoot digital camera, a good USB microphone, an iPod, or some kind of small MIDI music controller, and you have an art/music studio in a backpack.

My mobile setup now contains:

  • MacBook Pro with Garageband, Audio HiJack Pro, iMovie, Audacity, Pixelmator, and Pages. Will be adding Adobe Creative Suite to it soon, as well as Ableton Live.
  • Audio Technica AT2020 USB microphone: for on-the-go good sounding voice work.
  • Shitty old Canon point-n-shoot digital camera. Old enough it doesn’t matter if I drop it.
  • Tascam DR-40 digital audio recorder.
  • mini tripod
  • iPod Touch.
  • Sometimes a GoPro HD Hero.
  • various cables and shit

With this I can do almost anything in the art/music/podcasting realm that I want to do. Adding Ableton Live and Adobe Creative Suite will make this a really powerful backpack setup.

But elimate all the peripherals, and the laptop, software, and internet access are enough to do some great work.

The iPad is also an incredible device for creative work, but still a bit limited. Since I normally carrry a backpack with me, it is just as easy for me to have a laptop around. But I can see the iPad eventually evolving enough to replace the laptop. It’s already great for quick and dirty creative work. In fact, so are the iPod and iPhone.

·

The Road to Europe #4

Just a few things I filmed today during some practice. Trying to get my 180 finger flips back.

I’m stoked that I got my casper tricks dialed back in. I was having trouble, because I was making a stupid mistake. My friendship with podcasting partner Tony Gale has really improved my ability to analyze what I’m doing, and has embiggened my soul with youthful energy.

·

What I Am

I’m many things. Most of us are. I’m a husband, a son, a librarian, a person, a skateboarder, an aikidoist, a nerd, a nephew, an uncle. The list goes on.

But now, mostly, I’m aware that I’m a son.

My mom is not well. Her mind is slipping. Her mind is slipping more than it should be. It’s slipping in a way I have always dreaded. I’ve dreaded that it happen to her. I dread that it might happen to me, or my wife, or anyone. But it is happening.

So beside my primary role, that of husband, I am most aware of myself, right now, as a son. And I’m aware that I will not always have that role, and it’s a strange feeling. But right now, I am, so my challenge is to be as good in that role as I can be, to do the right things, to be kind, to be smart, to be there for my mom, and try to see the beauty in this cycle and become better from the experience. Because there is beauty in this. Anywhere you find love and caring, you will find beauty. I learned that while helping care for my father during his last months. You need to find that beauty, because it gives you the strength to do what you must.

·

The Road to Europe #3

After a full week of resting my lower back, I got back on the freestyle board last night. No pressure – mostly just did some footwork, shove-its, etc. I did practice my 50/50 fingerflip, a trick I rarely do, but I feel like if done smoothly it isn’t too bad. I don’t like “pogo” tricks where you bounce around on the tail a lot.  So I don’t bounce. I get up on the truck, then right back down.  Just my personal preference. Here are just a few clips I shot with the GoPro.

·

How to respond to an web story comment.

There are at least 1000 stupid comments on every click-bait website post.

Today I was reading a story about the new Daredevil show. In the comments, some jackass was criticizing the costume. “Why would there be eye holes in the mask?” Ughhhh…maybe because he doesn’t want everyone to know that he’s BLIND?

Anyway, the first response to that comment was “Shut up stupid.”

That’s the way to do it.

·

The Road to Europe #2: A Slight Setback

Besides the fact that we’ve had a lot of rain that has made it hard to practice, this last weekend I strained my lower back pretty badly at Aikido. I was just helping someone warm up for a test, before practice even started, and I felt the lower back muscles and spine just stiffen up. Not good. So I quietly told our instructor I was going to head home. I spent the day laying around, taking lots of ibuprofin. Woke up feeling a little better on Sunday, and though the drive to Fort Worth’s Modern museum as a little rough, all the walking around helped. I continued taking 800mg of ibuprofin 3 times a day, and now it is Tuesday and I finally woke up not feeling my back aching.

So I’m going to take this week totally off from skateboarding and Aikido and just let the muscles and inflamation go away. It’s raining this week anyway.

My lower back has been a problem since I was 18, when I herniated the L4/L5 disk and required surgery. Then when I was 28 I herniated the same disk again. It was really bad that time, but they went back in and got it “fixed”. I had a better doctor that time. But once you have something like that, your muscles are never quite the same. I’m sure I have some arthritis in that part of my back. I’ve been dealing with it for 32 years now, so it’s just part of my life. It’s always part of the background noise. Normally it doesn’t hurt, but I’m always aware. I just press on and live life and do what I want. When it gets strained, like this time, I take some time and rest it and get it “well”, or at least “well” by my standards.

The truth is, you can strain your back by sleeping in a bad position. The best thing I can do for it is remain active, try to stay in shape, and not be stupid.

But it has been frustrating. In 2013 I was unable to practice for the Philly Freestyle contest because I had really jacked the lower back up pretty bad. I went anyway, but really didn’t get to give a good accounting of myself. I had fun, but I’d of course rather skate to the best of my ability and have fun. So I’ll admit, when I felt this current strain, I was very upset. I said some bad words when I got home. I was pissed that I’ll be missing some practice time. But then I realized I will still go, still have time to practice. I’ve been practicing already. I don’t suck. I’m not practicing to “win”. I’m practicing to have fun, not suck, and have a blast. So there really isn’t any pressure. There are a few tricks I’d like to learn and lock down before the contest, but I’m already prepared for my main goals. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

As of this moment, I feel like a full week of recovery time will be enough. I think that Sunday I will probably be able to get back on the board and start skating. Will probably give it another week before I start hitting the “bending over” tricks like fingerflips, and also the lower-back intensive Space Walk, but as long as I can be on the board, doing footwork and shove-its and wheelies, that’s fine.

·

Comic Opinion

DaredevilPosterOver the last 3 days I watched the entire season 1 of the new Netflix series, Daredevil. Probably the best comic book thing ever done for the small screen. I’m glad they did it on Netflix so they could make it nice, gritty, and brutal.

Generally, I think the Flash has been the best network TV superhero show ever done. Season 1 has been great so far. But I must ask a question of the people writing this stuff for the Arrow and Flash. What the hell are you doing with the Atom. If you can’t make him shrink and have it be cool looking, I understand that. That is a special effects nightmare. So if the shrinking wont’ work, don’t do the Atom! This guy in the “Atom suit” played by Superman alum Brandon Routh — this is just stupid beyond words.

 

·

Some Freestyle

OK, it’s on.

Last night I got started on my official freestyle skateboarding practice regimen.  I got some practice a week or two ago, and did alright, but couldn’t get my fingerflip (rolling, of course. No fun in doing them stationary). Frankly, I didn’t try that hard. I was just coming back from bronchitis, hadn’t done them in months, and just didn’t feel that good. So I made a few half ass attempts, mostly giving up as soon as I bent down to grab the nose.

I was tired as shit last night too, it being after work and all. But I’ve come to understand that even if I’m tired, if I just start skating, eventually I’ll loosen up. The trick is to not get frustrated early. It’s all about knowing yourself. O’Sensei, founder of Aikido, said “True victory is self victory”, and I’ve found this to be true.

So after I’d skated for about 45 minutes I started working on the fingerflip. The went for horrible attempts, to not quite so horrible attempts, to almost got my feet back on the board, to made a shitty one, to remembering how to do it right and making good ones.

I have my 360 shove-it at fast speed down. It’s good. I can throw them and catch them with ease, smoothness, and speed. 2-footed nose wheelies are good, fast, and solid. G-turn always solid. Kickflip solid. Footwork is good. Slide into Big Spin good. Need to work on my 180 caspers, rail flips, and some other things I’m tinkering with.

Overall a good practice session. It is nice to get there feeling a bit worn out and leave feeling energized. Skateboarding does that.

·

Books and Smart Friends and Bookstores

This will be kind of a rambling post, but there is the thread of a story here, so please keep with me…

I am lucky to have many talented friends. Artists, musicians, scholars, etc. Many of these friends come from the world of skateboarding, which attracts a lot of creative types (and some idiots too, but what doesn’t?).

I’m also lucky to have a really really smart wife, who’s working on a PhD in the Humanities. Because she is smart, and is involved in smart-people-stuff, I’ve met a lot of other really smart and interesting people from the wild world of academia — a world that I would otherwise not experience.

One of our friends is George Henson. George is a Spanish language instructor and is about to receive his PhD in Literary and Translation Studies. In other words, besides teaching Spanish, he’s a literary translator. Over the last few years, George has translated a number of great Spanish language authors, and recently scored massive points by being the first do to an English translation of any of the novels of Sergio Pitol, one of the most important living authors working in the Spanish language. The novel is The Art of Flight.

This is a big deal. The Dallas Observer interviewed George about his work. So cool!

Obviously I am really happy for our friend, who is finding a lot of much-deserved success and gaining a great reputation in his field.

So, a couple of weeks ago there was a book signing for this new translation at the Wild Detectives, which to my knowledge is the only independently owned bookstore in Dallas. George was there signing and speaking, as well as Dr. Ignacio Ruiz-Perez from UT-Arlington, who was a student of Pitol.

The Wild Detectives is such a great place. I wish it was closer to my neighborhood, but it is worth the trip to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. It’s a bookstore and coffee shop/bar in an old house. The book offerings are just fantastic. It’s not massive — but the book selection is well-curated, and seems to concentrate on smaller publishers. As a result, there isn’t a square foot of shelf space that doesn’t contain something fascinating to read. After the book signing event, I picked up a couple of new books. I could have filled a shopping cart. It’s not even the kind of stuff I’d normally think about reading, which is what makes it so great.

The store has a small area set aside for events like readings.

You just feel smarter walking into the place.

They also have Mexican Coca-Cola in a green glass bottle. So there you go. Case closed.

Which brings me to one final associated topic — Deep Vellum Publishing – the company that has published George’s translation of The Art of Flight. The company was started by a fellow named Will Evans. You can read about Deep Vellum’s mission here, so I won’t hack it up in this post. I’ll just say that Will started this thing from scratch, and aims to put Dallas on the literary map.

Allow me just descend to a lower rung of the intellectual ladder for a sentence, and say that these endeavors, the independent literature-loving bookstore and the small publisher, their DIY natures, their missions — are PUNK FUCKING ROCK. It takes energy to make good things like this happen. You have to get on it with damned near demonic power. Jerry Lee Lewis — young, sweating, destroying a piano’s keyboard with wild proto-rock abandon comes to mind.

So I’m looking forward to going back down there again, buying more books, drinking a Mexican Coke, and maybe consuming food with the skinny young hep-cats at one of the many eateries near the bookstore, which will all make me feel cooler and smarter for at least an afternoon.

·

Current Fave Podcast List

A list of podcasts I dig, and listen to regularly.

I find it a bit annoying that iTunes includes what are essentially recorded professional radio shows as “podcasts”.  Some of them are really great stuff, but with a few exceptions I like real podcasts – the kind done by individuals that are a bit more DIY. If I want NPR, I’ll tune in NPR. You aren’t likely to hear any music that is the least bit challenging on NPR, but you will on a privately produced podcast by people who love good inventive new music. Some of the comedians are on podcast networks, which is a little on the glitzy side, but they are good.

 

·

Feeling better

Finally, today my body is starting to feel normal after a week of bronchitis and sinus infection. I don’t feel like I’m having an out of body experience anymore. There’s something nice about that totally relaxed exhausted feeling, if you have time to just do nothing. But I have a lot to do, so I’m ready to get on it.

So one more evening of rest, and tomorrow I hit the freestyle skateboarding practice. I have a few goals I’d like to achieve in the next month, so it’s time to get about things and make them happen.