FLYblog

2011-12-24T07:55:00.005-05:00

End of the year thoughts, stimulated by an email from Sly Devil on boxing, of all things ... responding, I closed by mentioning my recent tech news, e.g. the death of some older PCs, and the philosophical response I found myself having:

And on a geekier note, two of my oldest PCs hard drives just crapped out, taking
with them a large chunk of MixMeister history in the form of unbacked-up mmp
files. I'm taking the position that, although we archive furiously, in fact we have no time to go back, we're in shark mode now, continually moving forward ... hard drives full of history crumble beneath us and we don't even blink, we just keep pushing on into the unknown, knowing it for a moment and then pushing on again ...

Happy New Year!

2011-02-12T13:21:00.005-05:00

Valentine's Day is coming up fast ... and as you might expect, Mixcloud is sponsoring a lovemix event, to which I have contributed a BeatConscious effort on behalf of all the uncertain lovers -- our name is legion. Click on over to http://www.mixcloud.com/beatconscious/mamihlapinatapei-daydream/so that you can listen and leave a comment if the music moves you ... or if you're impatient (impatient AND uncertain? Now there's an inconvenient combo...) by all means, just click right here:

Mamihlapinatapei Daydream by Mmefly On Beatconscious on Mixcloud

2011-01-24T13:28:00.002-05:00

Oh so sweet, that Mixcloud embed experiment in the previous post worked well enough for me to consider doing the same for all future sets here, as well as on the main site (http://www.beatconscious.org/) especially since that site may soon be repurposed for the BeatConscious Project (shhhhhh!)

Well, so anyway, here's the second 2011 mix to hit the cloud:

Short Memory by Mmefly On Beatconscious on Mixcloud

Comments always welcome ...

2011-01-24T13:23:00.002-05:00

Thought it might be worth trying out the embed feature for Mixcloud uploads here in the blog ... thus, this test:

Time Will Tell by Mmefly On Beatconscious on Mixcloud

2010-10-29T12:08:00.003-04:00

Freeze watch! Yes, that's right ... my mini-vacation to the hometown and participation in the Rally will include the thrill of seeing the frost that forms overnight and feeling the wind work its fingers under my scarf and down into my coat. With any luck, once I'm back home, I won't face this again until late December/early January ...

Uh, not too sure about the advisability of biking it down to the Mall ... we'll see how that plays out.

2010-10-16T07:43:00.002-04:00

A friend sent me a link to an article on a foreclosure in Maine that started the current examination of lender foreclosure practices--it provided an interesting review of the collateral issues ... you know, these are extraordinary times in the questioning of the basics of capitalism ... I mean that it works fine when everything is on the uptick, but the basic cohesion of society is called into question when there's a serious downturn ... if it was the best way, it should work well for the people whether things are trending up or down ... but we're seeing that it does not. GMAC is totally wrong in its practices, but it is fundamentally right that the debt hasn't been paid and there should be a penalty for that ... but then, who gave this person a 100% PLUS loan in the first place -- they did, and they did it because they made money off the deal even though the deal was rotten on the fundamentals ... under capitalism, the first principal was to make that money and devil take the hindmost (and anyway, there's money to be made in the foreclosure process also, so who cares about the human pain and social disruption that the whole thing results in.)

Obviously, this is a subject that comes up a lot at work, because growth management is focused on development which is supported by lending and depends on the overall economy ... and we're awash in people looking to make that dollar regardless of the social outcome ... there's no morality inherent in money, just in its generation and its collateral uses ... or, as the New Yorker's James Surowiecki says in the 9/27 column on inflation: "...the economy doesn't exist, in the end, to reward virtue and punish vice. It exists to maximize our well-being [as measured in dollars, obviously, not social cohesion], and currently, doing that may require helping the undeserving and irresponsible, if only because there are so many of them [and the undeserving means BOTH the banks and the debtors]."

There are people where I work, who make two or three times more than I do, who are walking away from their mortgages because they are under water ... or they are going into short sales (and, I suppose, looking to elude a deficiency judgment). I can remember when Jaron used to talk about us buying Mt. Mildew and I would point out that an asking price of $200,000 meant paying actually closer to $600,000 total over time, and how did he think non-career oriented ppl like us could make that kind of commitment and, oh by the way, did you realize that if you come up short at any point, you lose everything? I was having this same discussion with a friend a work, Matt, who is from PA where he owned a house that he sold in order to come down here to work ... we were talking about renting vs. owning, a conversation that is colored these days by the dimensions of the financial mess. You'd wonder why anyone would want to make that mortgage commitment now, when jobs are uncertain for so many people, even degreed professionals ... and you see how those considerations tear at the fabric of society.

Oh, and I have my absentee ballot in hand and will probably spend part of this day figuring out who / what to vote for ... Weird times.

2010-10-10T19:56:00.001-04:00

Wouldn't want to miss posting on 10/10/10 ... also a weekend for the worldwide observation of John Lennon's birthday (he'd have been 70 this year.) It made me remember Jaron, Chi-Sing and I returning home from Norfolk in a daze of sorrow on December 9, 1980, and the interview with John and Yoko being broadcast on the rapidly-fading station as we drove away from town ... the last interview he gave before being murdered on his doorstep ... thanks to the internet, Google and Youtube, I'm taking the opportunity to listen once again, to see if it strikes me at all the same way today as it did then ...

The part that I remember so much were their remarks about (what I would now call) the biochemistry of thought and how all thought has a biochemical aspect and thus an organic presence in the world which might manifest as an electrical wave or what have you ... and that therefore, if the world is full of people thinking predominantly ugly, violent, warlike or hurtful thoughts, that comes to have a physical presence in the world and a measurable effect in the physical world ... and so, logically, if the majority of people in the world were thinking mostly loving, peace-filled, harmonious thoughts, then that, too, would manifest physically in the world ... it's a bit like these people today who believe you can get what you want by visualizing it ... combined with TM ...

By Part 11, we're getting there, to the talk of being positive, to having survived the bad stuff of the 60s and 70s ... then veers off a bit ... I've worked my way up to Pt. 13 and still haven't heard the bit I'm after ... but there's more ...

2010-06-18T06:30:00.003-04:00

Getting ready for a short trip to visit with Tepmix and take in the Chicago scene ... so I'm taking in a little House music on the run-up, getting my headspace prepped ... I've been using MixCloud for this purpose since, surprisingly (to me), a number of tech house people have started following me ... maybe it's the "BeatConscious" name and if so, I hope no one is disappointed to find I'm spinning downtempo ... anyhow, I have a platter of prime House sets of all varieties to sample and I'm appreciating the slick mixing that's on offer.

Here's a great thing about MixCloud from my point of view ... pretty much everyone on there who is following is also uploading their own mixes ... so when I get a follow, a comment or a favorite, I have the option to listen in return to whatever the commentor has posted. There's that extra level involved when you can appreciate someone's judgment based on knowing something about their own aptitudes and tastes, as revealed in the sets they've created. Like anyone putting mixes out there for consideration, I value all my listeners, but I can't often know anything about you ... MixCloud offers me the chance to learn that extra little bit about my audience and thereby creates a feedback loop of epic possibilities.

I don't who these MixCloud makers are, but mad respect to them for this excellent resource! And if you stop by MixCloud to check out the latest on BeatConscious, please do leave a comment.

2010-05-04T05:41:00.003-04:00

Friend, IT guru and House Music DJ Tepmix of Chicago has a monthly residency at the city's Joie de Vine venue for the VerveSalon nights, where they offer music, fine arts and feeling good ...

For the May 1st show, Tepmix graciously added a couple of BeatConscious sets to the evening's program as a bit of a warm-up to the rest of the evening's musical offerings and I'm told that the reception was warm. Of course, I'm pleased to hear it and to know a few new ears have been baptized in the waters of SW FLA style downtempo. I'm eagerly anticipating my own visit to the Windy City in June to enjoy an evening at this plush venue myself ... I won't be spinning, but before the evening is over, I'm sure my senses will be reeling ... If you're in the neighborhood, please join us.

In the meantime, new shows have been posted for your listening pleasure on my MixCloud station -- use the link at the right to check those out ... and don't be shy: leave your comments.

2010-04-24T09:54:00.004-04:00

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of my move to FLA ... how better than with a new show -- Spring Breaks 420.2010 ... featuring a raft of tracks that hover around the 128 BPM mark, for putting some pep in your step, some glide in your stride ... bringing music from The Eurythmics, Kelis, Kraak & Smaak, Parov Stelar, Afternoons in Stereo, Felix da Housecat remixing Nina Simone, Banzai Republic, Gui Borato from the City of God soundtrack and, of course, Sade. Among the listening options, my station on MixCloud now offers listen-on-demand for selected BeatConscious shows ... go to MixCloud to see what's up ... and hey! If you listen, leave a comment.

2010-04-18T08:45:00.003-04:00

Ah now there's a new thing ... BeatConscious on MixCloud ... starting off with the April 2010 mix and I'll be adding other mixes as and when time permits. Of course, mmRadio is still the primary outlet for the show, but MixCloud offers the ability to find and stream a specific mix, an easy-to-appreciate feature for the busy listener. Check it out ...

2010-04-11T09:16:00.005-04:00

From the insinuations of the lead track title ("What does your soul look like?") to the probing poetry of "Breathe" towards the end of the mix, April's BeatConscious show, (In this life) It All Comes Back 2 U, comes with more than just the music this time, although the music would be plenty on its own. Use the link in the right-side panel to visit beatmixing.com and stream the mix on mmRadio to hear DJ Shadow, Bliss, Outside, Dzihan & Kamien remixing Billie Holiday, Sade, Bugge Wesseltoft, Alex Cortiz, Tryad, Subatomic Sound System and more. Another one for the Muse....

2010-03-28T09:56:00.004-04:00

Let's have one more show for March, shall we? This set is for all those in search of a Soft Landing and features smooth sweet grooves from Afternoons in Stereo, Kush, Govinda, Minus 8, Ancient Astronauts, Projections, Shrift and the Dean & Britta remix of Come On Come On from Scott Hardkiss, courtesy of the Giant Step DJ service. This set also includes a Sade track, as will all shows in 2010 -- this one is from her latest release, Soldier of Love. As always, you can use the mmRadio link you'll find in the Links panel on the right to access the station launch page.

2010-03-15T05:47:00.007-04:00

The Devil I Know, the latest BeatConscious show on mmRadio (click HiFi in the radio panel to hear it) was posted over the weekend, and though slightly in advance of the moment, I dubbed it the Ides of March show. Use the BeatConscious home link there in the right-side panel to have a look at the write-up on this show which kicks off with a track from the 2010 career restart of Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to the Giant Step DJ Service for populating this show with some exceptional music.

2010-03-12T18:55:00.004-05:00

Remember the skate rink? Roller skates, I mean ... Well, that was then, this is now You'll be looking at the skaters, but think about the camera work ...

2010-03-07T07:05:00.003-05:00

In the process of spiffing up the blog, I've created a couple of links there on your right ... one to the mothership, BeatConscious.org, and another to the main station page for the BeatConscious stream on mmRadio. This radio offering is sponsored by the good folks of Numark/MixMeister via Beatmixing.com, which is also the home of the community forum for MixMeister users.

The BeatConscious stream station page lets you see information about the DJ and mix currently on air, including the track and artist info for whatever is playing at the moment ... and there's a couple of buttons for listening -- one for Hi-Fi and another for a version of the stream suitable for dial-up (is there still dial-up? We hope not, but we assume someone somewhere still needs this...)

The stream tilts heavily toward my own sets and you can read up on those if you visit the mothership using the link to BeatConscious.org. You'll also hear mixes from all the contributing DJs in the MixMeister community who venture into downtempo territory ... a lot of musical variety, excellent tunage and tight mixing. Join us any time you feel the need to cool down your temper....

2010-03-06T09:27:00.003-05:00

Identity crisis? BeatConscious as FLYblog or FLYblog representing for BeatConscious?

As I work to get this blog updated, choosing a new home, a new name and a new look, I find some elements need a bit of negotiating. FLYblog, as a URL here at blogspot hosting, was apparently taken, tho' not by someone who seems intent on keeping current (you could've said the same thing about the blog I started in 2002, and you'd be right, but that was down to some technical issues I wasn't able to resolve.)

In any event, I don't mind that there's a bit of brand consistency in having the URL for this blog clearly connected to the BeatConscious.org website, which is how you're most likely to know me in any event ... But, yes, the blog title is FLYblog, because it is after all the work of MadameFLY and wants that identity as well. Hopefully this all comes across less as an identity crisis and more like me just trying to have it both ways, which is far closer to the truth.

2010-03-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

There are two kinds of testing, this is one.

2010-03-06T06:51:00.002-05:00

Redirecting of the blog in progress today and with the new set-up, perhaps more comment and activity ... time will tell. But first, ensuring functionality.

This blog has moved

2010-03-06T06:38:00.001-05:00

This blog is now located at http://beatconscious.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://beatconscious.blogspot.com/atom.xml.

2010-01-29T06:48:00.000-05:00

Testing out the publishing

2010-01-27T11:44:00.004-05:00

Checking in with a first post, this one about how it sounds when someone is thinking something through instead of accepting the received wisdom (this was a reader contribution in response to a post on The Daily Dish):

I doubt I'm the first one to write in about this, but the database you posted here doesn't contain any data that would help meaningfully answer the question about whether government workers are overpaid. It's true that in nearly every county Federal, State, and Local workers ON AVERAGE make more than non-government employees, but we have no way to know whether these are equivalent groups of workers.

It's entirely possible that government workers appear to make more because they, disproportionately, hold jobs that require high school or college degrees (or even post-graduate degrees) while the private-sector employees disproportionally work service and manual labor jobs that require little education or training. If salary isn't broken down by profession, education level, etc., then comparing public to private workers is comparing apples to oranges. It doesn't tell you anything to know (in a county where, for example, the biggest government employers are a VA and the public school system) that a pool of doctors, teachers, and clerks makes more than a pool of mostly small business owners, service workers, and agricultural laborers. What you need to know instead is whether a doctor or teacher or secretary would make more working inside the government or outside of it.

2002-04-25T09:51:00.000-04:00

To: MadameFLY Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 5:57 AM Subject: Re: Thanks and question...

Sounds good ..........
Go ahead.....ask me !!!
Regarding my www - i got kicked off freeserve so i lost the site.....
in the midst of fixing up my new site at the minute...
......Brighton is about 300 miles away from Stockpor.....t by the way
Jon

Alright, Jon! My first question would naturally be: will this be yr first trip to the US?

BTW, I'm going to try and get this interview set up as a blog on BeatConscious (just a few techie matters to sort out in that regard....) That way, either one of us should be able to post something to the interview thread as long as we've got internet access, whether we can access our email or not (that might be useful for you while yr on this trip to San Fran....) I have used blogger.com in the past, to post to thedownbeat.org, so I'm thinking that's an option. I'll let you know if/when I get the OK from my domain host to go ahead.
cya,
G/>

To: MadameFLY
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: Thanks and question...

You mean for work purposes ?? - Yes !
If you mean generally - No !
I've had many a holiday in the US with my family.......
I lived in Vancouver (not , strictly speaking, the US) for 8 months in 1997....
I Love it......it's the scale of the place really........you can jog from one end of Britain to the other in an afternoon............if you get up early enough......
But America is 'kin huge.......you have different time zones and speak all funny ; )

From : Jon Kennedy
Date : Wed, 24 Apr 2002 10:57:58 +0100
Subject : Re: Thanks and question...
To: "MadameFLY"

NEENA

>>BTW, what's the date of your May gig in SF?

MAY 31st

>>Well, so ... yeah, the scale of the place ... huge is right. Part of what that means for the American psyche, I think, is the sense that if things are not going well for you where you are, you can drive somewhere far away (but still be in yr native country, speaking yr native language, however strange you may sound when you do so....) and start all over again ... I wonder if there's any equivalent to that notion of starting over fresh for Brits?

Yeah.......depends what u've done.........like done an album and it's available in all shops all round the country.......

>>What's it take to get away from that "everybody knows me and everything silly thing I've ever done" feeling?

A BUS JOURNEY FOR AN HOUR

>>I've been to SF myself, but ages ago ... I'll be very interested in your impressions of the place and how the people treat you. I've heard good things about Vancouver, as far as physical beauty, but that there's a pretty big rich people / poor people divide ... whaddya think, is it worth a visit?

MOS DEF.......ITS THE COOLEST PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN.............
I AIM TO LIVE THERE EVENTUALLY..........

>>Ever been to Washington DC?

NO

>>OK, off to get started on that weblog set-up businezz .... carry on...
G/>

From: MadameFLY To: Jon Kennedy
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 11:16 AM Subject: Re: Thanks and question...

Jon, I put the intended target page for this interview on the BeatConscious site last night ... you can get to it from the link on the updated FLYpaper page
Sometime today, I should get the permissions and other info from my host which will enable me to set up the weblog ... once I get that established and can test it, I'll send you the invite and we can segue into the next part of our interview....

'til then, tell me something about the performance coming up in SF -- What's the venue? What's the lineup for your show ... that kind of thing.
G/>

From: Jon Kennedy
To: MadameFLY
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 7:20 AM Subject: Re: Thanks and question...

The line up is ME and a box of RECORDS.........
I play hip hop, funk, bit of rock, bit of a melting pot of anything that grooves at base level.
I think i'm supporting "Spiritualized"......
It's all still pretty hazey.....and it's not too far away..........shit !
jon