U.S. tax system is an embarrassment!

We all know how unfair the U.S. tax system is.  Here is a great little article on the subject with a chart that says it all.

Follow up on audio production

My first Willy Nilly production concerned military snare drum work in pop and rock tunes.  My old friend Michael Lally responded to the post by pulling my coat to the opening credits of “Blackboard Jungle,” which commence with outstanding solo military drum rolls and flourishes, and the make a brilliant segue into Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock.”  I found these opening credits on YouTube.  Check it out here.

Thanks Michael…

My latest audio production

I have been wanting to to get back into putting together some audio productions for some of the things that bounce around in my head.  I decided to set up a digital audio workstation (DAW) on my very fast Sony Vaio laptop so that I would not be tied down to my desktop computer and its M-Audio sound board.  I already have a very good condenser mic.  So what I needed was to buy a digital audio interface to bridge between the mic and my laptop running Mixcraft 6 software.  I decided on a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which I now have in operation.  In the picture below, it is the red  doo-dad on the right – laptop and mic also evident.

I finished my first project on a subject that has been rattling around in my brain.  You can listen to it here.  Let me know what you think.  I hope to produce more of these in the coming months.

So sick of Benghazi

I have just about had it with the right wing pumping up the Benghazi incident to fanciful, paranoid proportions.  Day in and day out it’s one nut-case after another demanding an investigation, calling for the president’s impeachment, or seeing vast conspiracies under every rock.  Of course the real purpose in this whole charade is an attempt to diminish Hillary Clinton’s competence and popularity – 2016, you know!  And, it’s going to get worse this week. 

In the midst of all this right-wing bullshit, we have our usual hero and savior, Jon Stewart, laying down the truth.  His monologue last Wednesday was spot on.  Too bad more people are not listening to him.  

Pete Seeger–94 and still here with us

Friday was Pete Seeger’s 94th birthday.  Check it out here, which includes a performance of Jacob’s Ladder on his 90th.  Pete is one of the most authentic cats I can thinks of.  He can be forgiven for his condemnation of Dylan’s electric performance at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival – hey he was just being his authentic self, right.  Oh, and so was Bob!

A salute to Justin Sandercoe

“Birth of the Cool” is dedicated to turning you on to cool things.  To that end, I’m introducing you all to Justin Sandercoe, who is a wonderful, cool person if ever there was one.  I ran across him when I was looking for a guitar lesson on how to play a certain song.  I just love his Tasmanian accent and the joy he brings to his work.  You can read all about him here, but what you really  should do is check out one of his guitar lessons, which I think you will enjoy even if you are not a guitar player.  There are many, many lessons and songs on his website, but here is one that I am working on these days.  The section on strumming is a great example of what a terrific teacher he is.  I just get a smile on my face every time I tune in to Justin’s world.  As I said, he is a cool dude.

Charlie Pierce calls out Maureen Dowd

Of late I have been not liking many of Maureen Dowd’s columns – I used to like a lot more of them.  Her column over the weekend was pretty ridiculous when you measure it against stark reality.  So, I loved it when Charlie Pierce called her out, as only he can do.