No Halloween would be complete without at least one playing of Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell On You". Five bonus points to the first person who identifies the sax player in the band.  :o)

America should take a chance and make Barack Obama the next leader of the free world

IT IS impossible to forecast how important any presidency will be. Back in 2000 America stood tall as the undisputed superpower, at peace with a generally admiring world. The main argument was over what to do with the federal government’s huge budget surplus. Nobody foresaw the seismic events of the next eight years. When Americans go to the polls next week the mood will be very different. The United States is unhappy, divided and foundering both at home and abroad. Its self-belief and values are under attack.

Read more...

Please vote, and vote as early as possible. It's Halloween and the scary news is starting to be disseminated. Once again we're seeing long lines in Florida, as early voters wait up to five hours to cast their ballots. In Ohio, the State Republican Party is demanding that voters prove their eligibility with a drivers license. This isn't a bad thing except when it is used to make people stand for hours waiting to vote. What will happen on Election Day when millions turn out?

I volunteered to take my granddaughter to a father/daughter pumpkin carving party.

So I found myself at a very nice church with lots of daughters, Dads, teachers and one grandpa. Josie provided Amber and me with some really nice carving utensils, a hefty pumpkin prime for the carnage, and a plastic bowl. Oh, and there were these templates that looked good, but were impossible for me to use, let alone a four-year old girl. But, what ya gonna do?

In the picture to the left you can see the resulting masterpiece. Amber luved sticking the carving device and punch tools in the pumpkin, albeit randomly. But we were having fun and I expect the pumpkin to be a total disaster of mythic proportions. Then the nose fell out. But Amber and I just laughed and slid it back in. The paper template Amber is holding was decimated too.

Then Amber went to play with her bestest friend in the whole world, Gillian and I was left to my own devices, cleaning up the mess and dabbing the pumpkin with debris on its face as if that would help. I talked to some of the dads who were very intent for the most part on keeping the pumpkin, shall we say in classic form. I began to wonder if I should have too, but Amber was happy so then was I.

You might note in the picture to the left that Gillian came in all black which I thought was a nice touch. And Gillian and Amber spent much of the time just running around the gym until story time. Then the moment of truth came when all the pumpkins candles would be lit and the lights turned out. And me without a candle or match to my name. How embarrassing. But one of the teachers had a bag of votive candles and a lighter so I spent the next five minutes trying to get the candle in the pumpkin. None of the holes were big enough to reach through to light the candle and the top was way too small. Oh well, what's a burn or two for my sweet granddaughter. I lit the candle and dropped it in.

The lights went off and that mess of a pumpkin you see above turned out to look pretty nice in the dark (see the picture below and to the right). But then I might be biased. Amber and I agreed the cat we were trying to make looked more like a racoon, but whatta ya gonna do? Oh, did I mention there was cookies. We like cookies, do we not Amber?  :o)

Since they wanted us to stay seated, this was the best picture I could get without using a flash. But I suspect that when Amber and her mom see this tomorrow, they will be happy. Whew, another major moment in a child's life turned out alright.  ;o)

This keeps me up at night...

:o)

Hope you spend the day doing the things you enjoy with the people you love.

My sister sent this to me and now it's all over the Web.  :o)

As I walked down the busy sidewalk, knowing I was late for church, my eye fell upon one of those unfortunate, homeless vagabonds that are found in every city these days.

Some people turned to stare. Others quickly looked away as if the sight would somehow contaminate them.

Recalling my old pastor, the  very Rev. Mike, who always admonished me to 'care for the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked,' I was moved by some powerful inner urge to reach out to this unfortunate person.

Wearing what can only be described as rags, carrying every worldly possession in two plastic bags, my heart was touched by this person's condition.

Yes, where some people saw only rags, I saw a true, hidden beauty.

A small voice inside my head called out, 'Reach out, reach out and touch this person!'

So I did...

I won't be at church this week.

Ronald Lemmen found some pictures on his camera from this year's Global MVP Conference in Redmond. The first one is of my band the Dissonance:

This picture clearly shows MVP Curtis Spanburgh in his first guitar gig in the Seattle area. We now have proof! BTW, that's my lovely wife Suzy on alto sax, Gary Anderson on trumpet and Dave Franzwa on trombone.

The next shot is a CRM MVP gang shot. These guys are really close and a fun group to be associated with:

From left to right are Matt Parks,  Matt Wittemann, Mitch Milam, Michael Höhne, and the inimitable Ronald Lemmen. Prost gentlemen.  :o)

Or Gandalfe in this case...

I've been spending time with my sister visiting from Minneapolis and my brother from Austin. Yesterday and today I'm taking a very enjoyable all-day class taught by Gerry McGovern called "Creating Customer Centric Web Sites." Gerry is the author of 'Killer Web Content'.

Gerry has a keen sense of humor that makes the 8 hours a day go very fast. And I noted that one of his bad examples came from a sister team who had paid big money to have a campaign created for them by a third-party company. I was just glad my sites had not been called out as bad examples.

So here's a little music and I'll peek in later this week by a fellow whose blog I read called the Buzzing Reed. Here's David Garnet:

Enjoy the day. I know I will.

Saw this at work and it just made me laugh. There has to be a story somewhere in this...

Gordon, do you miss the musmicro alias from your last job?

From SavingAdvice.com:

"You’ve finally done it — earned that coveted diploma. You’re feeling a bit cocky. Your parents are wondering why they had to pay for your expensive education when you already knew everything.

Now it’s time to enter The Real World, the place that you have talked about for years as if it were a planet in a distant galaxy. There are definitely things you need to know about life in your new reality. Some of it may sound vaguely familiar and ho-hum. Or it may be written in the foreign language of that planet. But one thing’s for sure: you don’t want to hear about any of it. Here are 23 pieces of valuable advice, in no particular order. Ignore them at your peril."

Read more...

I love this list which ranges from number 6, Spend less than you earn to number 23, Don't sleep with your boss. I wonder how common that last one is. This is a very 'real' list that should be required reading by most college grads. Some of them, I might add could write a list like this or better!

From the Back at the Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith comes a tasty piece called "Messy Bessy". It is by no means messy. Wonder of Jimmy is up to now-a-days? I'm still luvin' this CD.

And in a total non sequitur here is the report on the Didgeridoo class that Suzy and I attended this weekend. We had to really search for the Jamtown Playspace as the building was behind another deserted building on Lake Street. There were two other students there already and we joined them.

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument traditionally made from the trunk of termite hollowed eucalyptus trees from Australia (like the one pictured below). They average about 4 to 5 feet in length, and are played by vibrating your lips into the top end of the instrument which creates a deep humming drone.

The didgeridoo is a rhythm instrument, so you play "beats" instead of melodic songs. Play at your own speed as well; quiet or loud, fast or slow, and soon you'll develop your own style. There are no "rules" or complex memorization. This makes learning the instrument very intuitive, so you don't need any musical training to enjoy playing the didgeridoo straight away. It also doesn't require "power" from your lungs like other wind instruments. The didgeridoo is played with gently vibrating lips, voice, and tongue movement, not lung power. You won't believe how quickly you can learn this and how much fun it can be.

Our instructor was Pam and she had been playing for three years. She had a number of instruments which was good because the beauty I ordered from eBay at $68 had not arrived yet. We talked about the history of the instrument, voice the drone, and rhythms. Pam recommended the Mary Youngblood CD, a native American flute player and visiting Tyler Spenser's web site at primaltones.com.

Then we spend a full twenty minutes on circular breathing, learning techniques, and uses. It was fascinating to me and appears to be really learnable given time and the passion to pursue this skill. Suzy probably won't continue to work on this but I might. Heck I have the instrument now.  :o)

Interesting side stories:

• BBC: Didgeridoo players 'sue Survivor'
• Current: No didgeridoo lessons for girls: Aborigines outraged over instruction book
• House MD: Jesse Spencer is reported to play the didgeridoo.

A friend of mine travels a lot and has been trying to figure out how to practice whilst on the road. Part of it is about getting an instrument that is small enough to be in your carry on, think soprano sax. But the other part is about finding a place that you can play and not bother the neighbors. So this article from the Sax Journal came to mind and I thought I’d share it with you.

  Using Key Clicks by Paul Haar.

Gordon adds: "Before I purchased a basement, I found the whisper mute worked well enough for this: http://www.saxophones.co.uk/acatalog/e-sax_Electronic_Whisper_Mutes.html.

Bonus: it includes an integrated microphone and chip that allows you to wear headphones/mix in your Aebersolds/apply effects/whatever…  However, it’s only for alto, and it’s not the most portable thing in the world.  Someday, I might even be talked into selling mine."

The key click thing sounds fascinating to me. Surely not as satisfying as playing but maybe a very doable solution for me to consider so that I can improve my technique and rhythm. I can see hooking up a metronome for the session.

There is so much beautiful Jazz out there. Sample it on YouTube.

And then support your local musicians by attending the events of your choice.

As I watch the candidates posture and sound bite like crazy I am so saddened by the Republicans using the same 'fear monger' strategy they have successfully used for years now. The term that comes to mind from my military days is FUD. Spread FUD aka fear, uncertainty, and doubt around like manure and you might win a race you otherwise would not have. Give your party faithful an excuse to vote for the lessor candidate because the other guy "is a terrorist."  :o(

In the last presidential race it was the "Swift boat" crowd. The sad thing is that many of the undecideds who will decide the winner tend to be (as they said on the Daily Show last week) stupid. They aren't tracking, doing the reading, listening to the news, following what the record of these candidates are and what they stand for. They hope to get 'a round to it' by time the election comes up. I bet some of them missed the need to register to be able to vote. In this state that date has come and gone. If you are not registered by now, you aren't voting. No matter how much you posture and pontificate, you are out of the story.

If today a voter can not coherently describe the basic platforms that each candidate stand for, shame on them. And, sad to say, I'm talking about family members as well as friends here too. I really wonder how many staunch Republicans, folks who basically vote for lower taxes, NO MATTER WHAT, but then bitch about the quality of our infrastructure (road, airfield, and bridges) and education system.

Okay, I've railed enough. And my views are just one of many. The Republicans are appealing to fear. But still, questions about who Obama is (see comment above about keeping up with the news, we've been hearing from the candidates for over 20 months) and calling him a terrorist... Geesh. It was funny when they were calling Obama and elitist. Me, I'd like an elitist as the president. The good ol' boys have let us down for so long now that the US has lost statue, influence, and now market share. Will this election be decided by the 'good ol' boy' network once again?

I saw Eric Samse playing drums this weekend with a pickup band and as always was very impressed. Here is a band he's in that I want hear too. Thanks for the pointer Jeff.

I've highlighted this on my Gandalfe YouTube page too. Good stuff.

Lessee, I was still in the Army, a Captain at the time, we were living in Olympia, Suzy was studying to be a registered nurse and life was good.

It's another 'name that instrument' for prizes and notoriety.

Okay, what is it?  ;o)

There are a lot of advertisements selling stuff where I don't immediately know, and truth me known really care, what a company is selling. I just enjoy the science, art, and beauty of the advertisement. So in that vein, any guesses from my blog posse as to what the ad with this young lady is for? I've removed the text but my guess is that you'll recognize the company immediately and maybe the ladies on the blog posse will correctly guess the product.

Anyway this picture got me thinking how much I luv sweater weather. I conjure up thoughts of a cozy fireplace, cup o' joe, and light jazz music in the background. Very nice. As night ascends on the Lake Sammamish hillside where I live, and the air turns brisk there is not very much nice a feeling than cuddling with the one you love and chatting the night away.

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,

And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,

And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;

But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

 

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;

The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still

A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;

The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;

The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—

O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps

Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;

And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through

With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...

I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be

As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—

I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

- James Whitcomb Riley

Great googly-moogly!, this is just flat out fun, luv these guyz. The Industrial Jazz Group performs a new tune live at Seasons in Yakima (WA) and Le Voyeur in Olympia (WA). Audio recorded at Seasons on September 6, 2008.

Featuring: Dan Rosenboom (trumpet / piccolo trumpet), Steph Richards (trumpet), Ian Carroll (bone), Nelson Bell (bone), Cory Wright (soprano sax), Lee Elderton (soprano sax), Evan Francis (alto sax), Ward Baxter (tenor sax), Mary-Sue Tobin (tenor sax), Mieke Bruggeman (bari sax), Jill Knapp (vox), Tany Ling (vox), Dan Schnelle (drums), Oliver Newell (bass), Andrew Durkin (conducting, composition).
Opening clip of a bee c/o Ivan Bridgewater and the Internet Archive.
Other footage shot c/o Tany Ling, Jill Knapp, Matt Lichtenwalner, and Andrew Durkin.

Check out the Industrial Jazz Group at www.industrialjazzgroup.com.