this lossy codec

I have a longstanding tradition of recording a sampling of the soundscape each year on Independence Day. It originated years ago when I was recording all the time with a little handheld recorder. For years my dad ran a fireworks stand and I often helped out. Recording the sounds of all the whizz BANGS! Snaps! & Shreeee-POPs! seemed like a natural fit for my phonological hobby. As for what has happened to all those recordings I do not know. They are spread over various mediums – cassette, minidisk, dv tape (who knows, maybe even an 8track). Perhaps this post will help motivate me to log some old recordings and post them for the world. Perhaps…

Anyway, this recording is very different form the rest. As has often been the case in recent years I didn’t remember my annual recording until the last minute. So late last Saturday night I grabbed my little MicroTrack 24/96 and walked down the street (current domestic activities keep me from straying far from home). There were only a few fireworks going off in our quiet little neighborhood. In the distance could be heard the big display(s) from closer into town. The keynote sound though, quite surprising in a desert, were these unbelievably loud frogs. We are in the monsoon season and had indeed received some heavy rains recently. I hadn’t noticed but the rains had collected in a small drainage area at the end of the block. As I got closer and closer to the small pond (pool really) the sounds of the frogs grew deafening. Every once in a while some firecrackers could be heard or else a larger mortar would explode and illuminate the sky above me. The frogs seemed hardly bothered, although they’re syncopation did alter a bit after each one. As I stood there listening I noticed how much louder and more relevent the frogs sounds were compared to all the incendiary hoopla of the fourth of july celebrations.

The most curious thing though is that these frogs exist at all. I’m told they can live underground for long periods of time (as long as 7 months). before coming up when they sense a rain storm. Amazing. This also reminded me of another fortean phenomena related to frogs that I had read about in an old issue of Fortean Times Magazine. I’m referring to quarymen who had found live frogs inside of rocks they had just broken open. Frogs falling from the skies and now coming up from the earth. What next?

Recording of July 4th, 2009 in Santa Fe, NM

Ok, things are getting weird. Actually, more likely they have always been weird and the weirdness is just becoming too common to ignore. Last week it rained tadpoles in Japan over course of several days. Being the fortean that I am, I love this stuff. Check out links here (pics too), here & here.

The common explanation is water spouts sucking up the poor creations and delivering them wherever the wind sets them down. It seems to me probable that this is sometimes the case. Still, Fort was inspired to write books that flaunted damned data in the face of the scientific establishment. It is easy and comforting to accept the most obvious solution. But (if you read the articles) it appears even the scientific authorities in the area are unwilling to accept the water spout explanation. Well then, what other explanations are there? A bunch of birds dropped them? Should we accept Fort’s theory of a super-sea hovering in the sky above our terrestrial waters? What about teleportation? Fort did coin the word in an attempt to theorize how these strange rains could be a form of migration! But even he himself did not believe such silliness. Still, what the hell is going on here?

If you need further proof(?) that there is more to the story than unseen water spouts & vomiting birds then check out this story about a place in Honduras that has been having rains of fish annually for over 100 years. As the story of the Father Subirana miracle goes, while visiting Honduras the Spanish Catholic missionary prayed for a miracle to feed all the poor people he had experienced there. The Rain of Fish (or Lluvia de Peces) has occurred ever since. Now, I’d be interested to hear anyone’s explanation for that! Sounds like an excuse for a trip to Honduras to me. If you want to dig a little deeper into the Honduran mystery check out this article. It’s auto-translated using babelfish so you may have to read between the lines to catch the meaning.

For a list of other oddities not normally associated with ‘things falling from the sky’ check out this link.

Apparently, someone has finally (after hundreds or thousands of years of mysterious rains..come on!!!) named these freak showers, “fafrotskies.” Figure that out yourself.

I’m back in the KC area for anyone local who is reading. Drop me a line.

I found these strange formations growing out of the ice cube tray over the weekend. Kind of freaked us out at first. Still blows my mind a bit. A quick search of the googlewebs for “ice cube odd growth formation” didn’t fail me. In fact, there’s a plethora of info out there on this strange formations. Best place to start is here, a site dedicated to ‘ice spikes’ (as they are called) with a collection of links on the subject. Pretty cool stuff. My favorite is the An account of a walk across a frozen Lake Erie in 1963 with a description of ice spikes as tall as telephone polls!
The last pic is from earlier in the winter back at the Farm in Kansas. Perhaps this ice covered rock can be explained the same way…?

Finally some down time so I can write for a while. And considering the amount of coffee I have ingested this should be a doozy. Let’s reflect on what’s new:

For one, I have finally published my Top 100 Photos from the Winter Holiday. Narrowing them down was a tough job and I apologize to those who didn’t make the cut. Just remember, there is always next year (and pay attention here, you can learn a lot about cuteness from these kids). I just noticed many of these are already posted via by other folks…oh well.

Let’s see, what else? Oh, yeah, we have decided to move from our little oasis in the desert to a location closer in to town (Santa Fe). You can see some pix of the inside (w/o our furnishings) here. The neighborhood is called Rancho Viejo. Follow the link to read about the area if interested. Needless to say, it will be quite a shift from our current lifestyle. You see, it has what is called a low environmental impact which means the houses are crammed in together. Also, I guess there are some restrictions about decorating the outside of your house or something because all of them looked very similar when we were there. In the past I have always shied away from environments that enforce uniformity suggest a cookie cutter existence. Perhaps it is the herald of a life shift as the imminent return of baby-dom crests on the horizon. Regardless, there are enough amenities to make the place inviting (like radiant floor heating, curbside trash pickup & potable water out of the tap).

And in case I had any doubts about it, the ECCO (Earth Coincidence Control Office) settled it all by arranging that the owners of the house actually met 30 years ago at Daniél I my alma mater (FairhavenCollege). Pretty wild. So, anyway, it’s like I said to Daniél, “at least when you follow the suggestions of Fate then what happens is fated and not just by chance.”

Also, I been hired for another movie gig that starts the first week of February. It’s called B.O.E.(click link to see real name). It is being billed as a “post apocalyptic western” and it has a pretty big budget. I’m expecting some explosions and such. Just found out yesterday we’ll be recording analogue (as in tape) so that sounds exciting. Expect lots of news from the field posted soon.

One last note, if anyone has been putting off coming to visit our ghost town existence you’d better come soon. I’ll be filming all through Feb. and we’ll move at the beginning of March. Come visit soon!

Back in ‘the Q’ after a lovely break visiting the fam back in ‘the K’. I put aside the blog while there to focus on the beingness rather than being the observer. This is an experience I am well familiar with and I suppose I have developed an awareness of when to withdraw behind the veil of my perceptive mechanism and make conscious commentary on events around me and when to surrender myself unto the waters of life and allow them to wash over me. To this point it has pretty much been an either or situation. Perhaps someday I’ll develop the ability to exist in the world while simultaneously scripting a narrative about it. Unfortunately, my time has grown short and now I must dive back in.

Currently cruising down HW-54 in southeastern Kansas en route to KC for the holidaze. WordPress (& it’s companion iPhone app) is awesomely handy. Now, I’m not driving, mind you. That was last night for the first leg if the journey. Our start was later than hoped (a noonish departure turned out to be 6:30pm). Around midnight, eyelids heavy, we pulled into the El Rancho Motel in Elkhart, KS. At least we made it out of NM. The El Rancho Allowed pets and was decently cheap ($60). Looked like a popular place for hunters.

Another 6 hours over gradually rolling hills and plowing (ha) through golden colored fields and the sun sets behind us. The landscape of Kansas has a calming (some might say somnombaliatic) quality. So much open land, like a boat on the ocean. Of course, the land is very different from the water. For one, while the land can be built upon the surface of the water is more tenuous. The give and take relationship of a sailor with the sea is an everpresent necessity. Not so with those who walk the plains.

“Plains”. What of this word? A cursery glance at etymonline.com reveals that the history of this word is long and mysterious. Simple, undecorated?

Ahhh. 4 whole says off in a row. Refreshed. Back on set today but in a novel environment. ‘Inside.’ Specifically, inside the Masonic Hall in downtown Santa Fe. Very comfortable (ie. Not freezing). That, combined with the fact that the script for the day seems to reflect a complete lack of any dialogue whatsoever and the fact that only 4 more days of this picture remain, takes the edge off of the whole “waking up at 4am on the Monday following a holiday weekend” thing. As today will, most likely, be uneventful, I’ll unload my Thanksgiving for you.
The Playlist
What defines Thanksgiving music? To some it never goes further than ‘Alice’s Resaraunt’. To me it is some kind of Amercana aesthetic combined with the autumnal folk vibe of those gathered around the fire. The basic progression was something like this:
1. Incredible String Band – ‘Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter’. What can I say about ISB? Everything sounds too trite. Let me just say that I will play the song ‘A Very Cellular Song’ on occasions that warrant an uplifting of the spiritual in the tones of youthful, innocent, worldly folk songs.
2. John Fahey – ‘the Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death’
3. ‘Last Kind Words’ – various artists. A collection of blues songs from the 20s & 30s.
4. Pentangle – self titled first record. Folk rock at it’s best.
5. Sandy Bull – ‘Phantasies for Guitar & Banjo’. While possibly classifiable as a ‘folk guitarist’ in the most broad sense, Bull’s ‘Blend’ (as well as ‘Blend 2′ & ‘Electric Blend’) takes the style of folk guitar and applies it to the driving tempo of the middle eastern oud. The piece is long and meditative, stretching to the entire length of an albumside. Not sure how it applies to the theme, aside from being an American playing a guitar. Just an excuse to play one if my favorites I suppose.
6. Harry Partch – ‘The World of…’. A shift into the avant garde. Still, Partch’s independent thinking, whether in inventing homemade instruments or his passion for hobo life exemplify the american pioneering archetype. Plus, for avant garde music it is pretty ‘folky’.
7. David Hykes ‘Hearing Solar Wind’. In case you missed my blog about it, I met Hykes a couple weeks ago and so he has been on my mind. Solar Wind is a masterpiece of acapella chant. Indescribable in it’s novelty. An amazing, moving and inspiring work of sound.
8. Nick Drake ‘Pink Moon’. Brooding but beautiful songs by a guy who makes the soundtrack to sadness, loss an lonliness so beautiful its almost appealing.
9. Vashti Bunyan ‘Just Another Diamond Day’. Whispering, breathy psych folk from the late 60s. Like Drake, Bunyan was also missed in her own time, leaving her records to be rediscovered in 2000. Nowadays we can listen back to and be glad we never had these songs drilled into our heads by popular radio.
10. Terry Riley ‘Shri Camel’. Like icing on the cake or a night cap to settle the mind, Riley’s rolling reputations of ‘just intoned’ organ are a kind of massage on the brain, bringing about a meditative state convulsively.

(In the midst of these were brief cameos of Neil Young’s ‘Tonights the Night’ & an obscure Folkways lp of songs by Allen Ginsburg (recorded by Harry Smith!).

What else? Hmmm. Thanksgiving sandwiches the day after. Mmm good. Thanksgiving shake anyone? Anyway, it was good. And today wasn’t too bad either. Ended up wrapped by 2:30! An 8 hour day? Whoa! Apparently, the next 3 days won’t be so easy…

Another week begins, now with call time even earlier (thanks to daylight savings). Hit the alarm snooze at 4:30 and finall make it to set around 6:30 (after an hour long drive listening to more of Neal Stephenson’s ‘Anathem’ – incredible!). We’re at Rancho de las Golondrinas which seems to be a relic of New Mexico’s past. As we worked outside the first part of the day the golden yellow leaves began to fall. Today was the day. There were no leaves on the ground when the we arrived but they covered everything by midday. Later, while we shot inside some of us took a break and watched the multicolored sunset behind the golden leaves. It looked like a movie set.

Another night in the can. My body is adapting somewhat but 3am is still 3am.

Here is a pic from my hotel bathroom featuring one of my three telephones. This is the only one that is red. I guess it is some kind of emergency line that either goes to the front desk or… a plumber(?). It has my room number printed on it so maybe it could be to call one of the other phones in the room (??). I don’t know. Still, I should probably create a new tag for this post (and the one of the paper towel dispenser in the cactus) called ‘bathroom oddities’.
If anyone has a clue to the purpose of the ‘bat(h) phone’ please lmk.

Thanks to AAA my car was taken to a tire shop and thanks to fairy mother-in-law Barb, Orson got picked up from a friend’s and I was able to borrow Barb’s car for the night to drive back down to Golden.
Today started way too early after last night but it started anyway. Before the 10am call time I was able to find 2 saab rims and a replacement spare at a salvage yard (grand total=$32) and drop them off at the tire shop to be fit with some rubber. Since my tires were under warranty that only cost me $26. Grand total of only $58. Not too much damage for something initially caused by fiddling with the ipod while cruising down a dark hiway. I’ll take it as a warning shot from on high.

Recently (as recent as 2 hours ago) I have been waxing philosophic tobithers about the good luck I seem to have inherited in this life. Well, the Universe is always listening and just waiting for this kind of hubris. As of right now I am sitting in my car with a damp seat (I left the sunroof open, forgetting we are in the monsoon season here and it rains almost every afternoon) on the side of the hiway with the 2nd flat tire this week. Due to the circumstances of my first flat I have still not fixed it because I need a new rim as well and these European cars require special rims that must be ordered and take several days. In fact I was planning to go to the salvage yard tomorrow morning to find one. Meanwhile, I’ve been driving on a little donut that just wasn’t prepared to handle the 50 mile commute from Golden. And tonite it proved it at a most inopportune moment. Funny how that happens. Oh well, here is the tow truck.

This is actually from before the previous post but here it is anyway. The day after Orson arrived I fulfilled an overdue promise of taking him to Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque. Boy did I not know what I was doing. In hindsight I can safely say that this may be my last “amusement” park experience. Orson had fun though. In fact, I think we both enjoyed ourselves for a bit. This picture may be a glyph of my day (and my stomach) turning around. Perhaps it was something about trying to focus on the camera display while (apparently) spinning at a rate faster than the shutter speed. Just the thought of it make me weak in the knees. By the end of the day I could hardly drag Orson off the roller coaster while I could hardly keep my lunch down on the log ride and tilt-a-wirl. Ooo boy. Ugh.

Around noon we made it down the road to Madrid for the annual Independence Day parade. It lasted all of about 15 minites with about as Manu vehicles (maybe less). In the picture you see a ‘people powered’ truck being pushed down the road (wonder if they just forgot to get gas? – no gas stations in madrid) followed by the Easter Bunny on a bicycle. Candy was thrown and water was sprayed for he fire truck hose. As this is New Mexico the water was more appreciated by everyone.

overheard in Madrid, nm: “not so much brain damage as brain change…

Last week my son & I went to the zoo in Abluquerque. By far the most impressive animals were the polar bears. The intelligence and consciousness of these beings was undeniable. One of them seemed to be performing tricks for the crowdl, making me think maybe it had been trained in the circus(?). Then again, maybe it was just having fun. While we watched, it picked this barrel thing up and threw it into the water and then dove onto it over and over again, each time picking it up and throwing it back onto land afterward.

Took a drive up to Denver to meet with D. who had come up over the weekend with some folks she car pooled with. The benefit of being unemployed, I suppose. Sold the miata the morning before I left so that certainly helps offset the price of gas, etc. Threw the dogs in the back of the honda and away I went. Felt nice to excape the higher temps by moving northward. Migration of sorts. Meanwhile, I received a call offering me an actual working gig in the movie industry (actually it is for sci-fi channel – its called Murder in Sin City). Good news except that to do it I must reschedule Orson’s visit for the summer. Real bummer. He’ll still come down next week for about a week or so… Hopefully I will make enough money so that I can take some time after the flick is done to go see him or have him come down.

So back in Denver; I got dropped off at Twist and Shout Records and diddled the hours away brousing vinyl (something I haven’t done in a real record store in a looong time). Anyway, ended up with some nice scores: JOMF’s new album,
America Mystica and a couple of vinyl reissues of the great 60′s era Ethiopian psychedelic afro-latin jazz leader Mulatu Astatke. Really nice stuff. If you are unfamiliar with Astatke’s stuff I highly recommend giving it a listen. He’s got some tracks in the iTunes store (make sure you listen to the OLD stuff).

Later on while browsing in a cool used book store I found an original Cosmic Trigger, one of the greatest books I have ever read. Only $3. I’ve had one of these before. I usually give them away to people that are ‘ready’ to read it. It is quite a trip and not for the feint of heart.

Today, Dani and the dogs and I are heading south to browse the thrift on the way back home. Should be fun. If I find anything noteworthy I will take a pix and post from the field.

Feel good today. The massively severe headache of yesterday (5.6.8) and minor one of a few days ago (5.4.8) have left me with such an appreciation of those moments when I am without pain that I can now refer to what were formerly regarded as ‘normal’ days as ‘ecstasy’ days. Such experiences certainly help appreciate life. (I might add that currently I am of the belief that the 10mg dosage of mellatonin before bed seems to be staving off the fits. Helps me sleep at night as well.)

In other news, last week I lost my telescoping space pen that I got for my birthday last summer. I carried it with me everywhere and it fit nicely in my pant pocket. Leave it to cargo pants to vent precious cargo into the atmosphere. While not totally certain where I lost it I had an inkling it was at the Satellite coffee on Louisiana (in Albuquerque). I called them to inquire if they had found one – they had not. I decided to make the trip down as I needed to use the internet anyway..(of course it crashed repeatedly when I got there, but that is another story).

When I arrived I ordered and sat down in one of the chairs I had used and began discretely digging through the seat cushion. Nada. A fairly well dressed businessman was sitting on the couch where I had also sat, so I waited for him to leave. When he did leave I noticed something silverish sticking out of the seat cushion. Could it be? Well, no, but kind of. Turns out it was his pen, which had apparently fallen out of his pocket. I sat there holding his pen, writing this entry and struggling with the internet for a couple hours. He never returned and so, I kept it.

I’m sure you will relate to my bewilderment of this strange coincidence. Looking back I have a couple hypothesizes;

1. The couch eats pens.

2. The focus of my attention on the couch and pen somehow drew the pen out of his pocket (a la magic or hypnotism).

3. The space pen, having disappeared created a vacuum which sucked his pen into it.

4. (And for the skeptics) It is a coincidence.

There are, perhaps more possibilities. Feel free to offer up suggestions.

The pen I found is perhaps the exact opposite of my precious telescoping space pen. While my pen was thinner than my pinky this pen is thicker than my thumb. While my pen was a discrete silver, this pen has a flamboyant amber / orange base with a cap covered in little airplanes. The name on the clip says “Breitling.” A little googling leads to more curiosities. I Found only one ebay entry and no other price listings anywhere. Odd. The ebay entry lists it as ‘Super rare’. Well, you know ebay but still, the fact that they are asking $244.69 must mean that someone would pay that much. A little further digging reveals that Breitling is in fact a watch manufacturer and only gave these pens out as a promotion to ‘Top Gun customers’ (whatever that means).

Anyway, here it is:

So. Now I have something I do not really want and do not have something I do really want. Such is the mystery of life…

While all of this is going on (and the web is crashing) I notice someone I know but haven’t seen since Daniél and I lived in Albuquerque a couple years ago. It’s Dr. Blue! He’s part of the Abq burning man contingency. We went over to his house one evening for a little soire and ended up blowing on some Peruvian whistling vessels. Cool guy with an incredible sound system. The whistling vessels, THAT is an interesting story…

I had been reading a book called “Animated Earth” about the guy who fist discovered that these little pots, which anthropologists just thought were for carrying water (they are the size of a fist) were actually psycho-acoustic whistles. Anyway, when I first met Dr. Blue I told him that I was into all sorts of interesting sound stuff. He said, “oh, then you’d be interested in these little Peruvian whistles.” Unreal. I was in the middle of the book about them. Too much. Anyway…

As I’m leaving the coffee shop I say hi to Dr. Blue and remind him I was their for the 2 hour whistle off. Turns out that with him is Aum Rak, the Mayan shaman who we also met at his house that day and who Daniél interviewed for her dissertation. They had all just returned from a trip to Guatemala. It was really a synchronistic reunion. They invited Daniél and I to some upcoming events at their space, The 3 Sided Whole. So, we’ll see what comes of that.

The rest of the day in Abq was fairly uneventful. I had some nice thrift scores, including this tiki:

Later on, when Dani got home I realized today was her last day at Whole Foods. Woo-hoo!. Unfortunately, any celebrating was subtle as she is not feeling very well right now and I am too afraid of headaches to indulge in much frivolity. Still, interesting day.

This past week Daniél and I took a road trip down around New Mexico. We made it down to Truth or Consequences and found out the ‘consequences’ are that they will turn you into meatballs (which apparently a staple food item). We also found a nice motel (thanks iPhone) – the Bel Air – A Retro 50′s Motel with 21st Century Amenities. Cable and clean sheets for under $60.

The pinnacle of the trip came the next day as we found ourselves along Highway 180 near the border of Arizona. We had been looking for a place to hike and it was getting late in the day. We were in the middle of the Gila National Forest but there tweren’t any trees to speak of. It was looking to be HOT and dusty hike (ugh). So when we came across a park visitors center we were ready for some guidance. Turns out that just a few miles more down the road is The Catwalk National Recreation Trail. I knew from the pictures it was the right place for us. And boy was it cool.
Took quite a few pictures and did some recording to. Both coming soon.