Chris Cooke

I got my yellow belt tonight. Another step up the ladder.

“Loftiness”. Available at http://macidol.com/song/24143

Just completed:
The Sword and the Mind, Hiroaki Sato (Translator)

1. The Advent of Divine Justice, Shogi Effendi
2. The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense, Suzette Haden Elgin
3. The Eudaemonic Pie, Thomas A. Bass
4. The Expert Witness Handbook, Dan Poynter
5. A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar
6. Year’s Best SF 12, David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor)
7. Pragmatic Ajax, Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, Dion Almaer
8. Eric Meyer on CSS, Eric Meyer
9. The Sword and the Mind, Hiroaki Sato (Translator)
10. Crypto, Stephen Levy
11. Patent Pending in 24 Hours, Richard Stim, David Pressman
12. Data Mining, Ian H. Witten, Eibe Frank

“Beauty” second completed, track 3, http://macidol.com/song/24054
“Questions”, third completed, track 15, http://macidol.com/song/24087
“Splendor”, fourth completed, track 1, http://macidol.com/song/24095

Need another hour to polish. Then on to the other 17 songs. Don’t know if I’ll finish the cycle this month. Might just have 10 of the 19.

Tonight I finished sketching out piece #2, “Beauty”, which will be the third in sequence on the album. Now I need to score it for orchestra.

Just completed:
The Advent of Divine Justice, Shogi Effendi

1. The Advent of Divine Justice, Shogi Effendi
2. The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense, Suzette Haden Elgin
3. The Eudaemonic Pie, Thomas A. Bass
4. The Expert Witness Handbook, Dan Poynter
5. A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar
6. Year’s Best SF 12, David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor)
7. Pragmatic Ajax, Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, Dion Almaer
8. Eric Meyer on CSS, Eric Meyer
9. The Sword and the Mind, Hiroaki Sato (Translator)
10. Crypto, Stephen Levy
11. Patent Pending in 24 Hours, Richard Stim, David Pressman
12. Data Mining, Ian H. Witten, Eibe Frank

are a good first step. Combined with carrot sticks and chips, and some fruit for snacks the rest of the day, it fills me up well.

Now I’m going to figure out how to do essentially the same thing without paying more to get it all prepackaged. The trick is getting the variety in small quantities without paying too much.

My daughter played it in the car, and we both had it down at tempo.

Posted at http://www.macidol.com/song/24028

I’ve already got the video log started: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9A52C644424A9C00

I might do something completely different—a series of sacred classical compositions. Can I do that in a month?

I’m not going to have the living room completely clean, mostly because of dependencies on other projects in the house before I can move certain items out of the room. Still, I realized while working on it tonight that I can actually get the corner with the acoustic piano and other acoustic instruments camera friendly, and set up the studio in that corner. That in itself is a worthy achievement, considering this was a room that, until a month ago, we hid behind a curtain as being completely unpresentable!

So after moving a few more things around, I'll be able to set up the studio.  I should finish on Saturday.

So, as of tonight I officially have a white belt. Not much a guess, but it’s a start. It may be the first rung on the ladder, but both feet are off the ground.

This will be be third year participating in the RPM Challenge. I’ve found it to be fun and rewarding both years. (Obviously, else I would not continue doing it!)

It can take a lot of time in February, so I’m trying to coordinate with my family to reduce the impact. I probably won’t do so much video this year, since that just got crazy. Maybe a weekly update instead of each session, plus a few topical episodes (bio, studio, etc.)

February

This is the RPM Challenge: record an album in 28 days, just because you can.

That’s 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material recorded during the month of February. Go ahead… put it to tape.

RPM is not a contest; it’s a creative challenge. What if every musician you knew put their music first for 28 days? What if every living being who could pick up an instrument spent February exploring their music? What if you recorded the best song of your life? What if you put aside the traditional expectations – that your record has to be a product that can be sold, that it has to be recorded in a studio with all the bells and whistles? What if you could do whatever you wanted? What if you recorded a solo record for the first time? What if you tried a new genre? What if you collaborated with someone you’d never met?

Write some instrumentals, split up the songwriting duties amongst band members, form an RPM side project, write songs on the piano or clarinet instead of your primary instrument, make that metal album you’ve always wanted to – buy a ukulele! Just do your best to make the best album you can. Be unafraid.

What’s stopping us? Nothing. February is Record Production Month. You have no reason to say no, and nothing to lose.

Learn more and sign up at www.rpmchallenge.com. Read the band journals, visit the discussion baord, and look at the map to see who’s particpating near you.

Sign up now at www.rpmchallenge.com!

Just completed:
The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense – Suzette Haden Elgin

Interesting book. My biggest concern is its age. Has research in the last 20 years undermined the theory in the book? I guess if I care enough, I can look into it. For now I think I’ll just glean a few tips from it that seem reasonable.

1. The Advent of Divine Justice, Shogi Effendi
2. The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense, Suzette Haden Elgin
3. The Eudaemonic Pie, Thomas A. Bass
4. The Expert Witness Handbook, Dan Poynter
5. A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar
6. Year’s Best SF 12, David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor)
7. Pragmatic Ajax, Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, Dion Almaer
8. Eric Meyer on CSS, Eric Meyer
9. The Sword and the Mind, Hiroaki Sato (Translator)
10. Crypto, Stephen Levy
11. Patent Pending in 24 Hours, Richard Stim, David Pressman
12. Data Mining, Ian H. Witten, Eibe Frank

This is my next barrier to tackle in living a healthier lifestyle. Lunch right now is far too much McD and BK. I’ll work on gathering my thoughts on this, what seems to work and what doesn’t, over the next few entries.

I’ve found the Tricord resistance band kit from GAIAM (I got it at Target) to be pretty effective. It’s fairly cheap, doesn’t take a lot of room to use or store, does not take a lot of time, and is adaptable to different fitness levels in two different ways. You have a choice of three difficulties of band, and the DVD with the workout has three simultaneous difficulty levels.

I hadn’t realized how much Kung Fu would contribute toward getting me in shape, but it seems to be working. I’m glad I had been working out for over a year before I started, though!