Back from the BSD

My first two weeks in October were spent recovering from a Trojan horse and (as if that was not enough), a bad hard drive which forced me to replace my entire system. After five years it was time to upgrade anyway, but the time involved to do so took a lot out of my schedule. Thus the virtual silence.

Luckily I didn't lose any data, only time and sanity. In between my strains of profanity and re-installs of Win XP, Audra would see me emerge from the studio, bug-eyed and hair-mangled from crawling under my desk. Yeah, I know, perfect time to go Mac, right? Not necessarily. There are horror stories on both sides of the fence, and with nearly 20 years invested in the PC world, it is very hard to let go. Neither platform is perfect. The bottom line is that if we're going to rely on machines we have to be prepared for them to fail the week a paper is due.

Thanks to some legacy recording gear that I keep on hand (and Audra's laptop, which remained functional during my crisis), I managed to record a couple new commercials for Greenwood Friends School. Sometimes being a packrat comes in handy.

On the brighter side, a new website is on the way with artwork by Adam Lunger, who also did the Catch the Squirrel album art. For technical assistance I am pulling in Argraff Design, and we're using a content management system that will allow much more dynamic presentation and updates. It's helping me put some of the fun back into the task of managing a web presence, something that has become increasingly grueling. The best thing is, the new site can be maintained remotely, giving me some added flexibility while on the road.

Last week I attended a workshop on Hip-Hop music at the University of Scranton, hosted by NEPDEC. The group was small, but it allowed for some good discussion about the history, development and perception of this style.
The workshop brought back some fond memories of listening to Power 99 FM from Philly, and artists like Run DMC and the Beastie Boys who became a part of my own musical journey growing up in the 80s. Check my site for future workshops that are open to the public.

On Thursday, November 13, I'll be attending the "The President's Conversation on Diversity" at Bloomsburg University. The event is sponsored by the Office of Social Equity and the Committee on Protected Class Issues.
I'm looking forward to seeing what students and area residents have to say about the state of diversity in our area.

As for performances, I'll be hosting Greenwood's next Guitar Night at Phillips' Emporium on Saturday November 15, from 7:00 - 9:00. Cover will be
$6 and proceeds benefit the school's drama program. Audra, who is taking the reigns of the program this year, will be producing Peter Pan as her inaugural production.

No other shows are planned at this point. Right now I am concentrating on school which currently involves an analysis of the Dorje Shugden controversy in Tibetan Buddhism. I chose the topic after seeing protesters at Lehigh University during our visit to see the Dalai Lama's talk earlier this summer (see my YouTube site for a clip).

Otherwise, I'm bracing for the winter, which is usually my most productive writing/recording season. I'm expanding my knowledge of audio production through some self-guided study. The studio upgrades have been inspiring. Two albums are currently in production - one derived from socio-political ideas from the last several years, and another that ventures into more experimental, instrumental territory. Stay tuned for samples.


PS: BSD = Blue Screen of Death, an expression for the error screens one sees on PCs.