Monthly Archives: October 2021

Atlas Shirked

Let’s start with the bottom line: Getting vaccinated and wearing a mask is what you do in order to be a responsible adult. It’s not difficult, it’s not complicated, and it’s not about you. It’s about taking a couple of … Continue reading

Posted in random musings, society & culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grace Notes

I’m going to be reviewing Band-in-a-Box for the Synth & Software website. That review won’t be written or uploaded for a couple of weeks, and I’m not going to spoil it by giving you a lot of inside information in … Continue reading

Posted in cello, music, technology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Painful Truths

Recently a friend posted a story about how, in an English class somewhere, the teacher was reading aloud from To Kill a Mockingbird, and how the use of the word “nigger” in a passage in the novel was painful for … Continue reading

Posted in random musings, society & culture | 1 Comment

Are Good Intentions Enough?

If you aspire to be a writer, you will need to learn correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and word usage. There, I said it. A surprising number of people consider this proposition outrageous. “You can hire an editor!” they shout. (On … Continue reading

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Imperfections

Synthesizers will spoil you. That’s one of the possible answers to today’s pressing question. There are other possible answers. I love microtonal music. There are many, many interesting tuning systems, and my piano, as lovely as it is, only does … Continue reading

Posted in music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Not Yer Grandma’s Minimoog

If you’ve been around electronic music for a couple of decades, as I have, you may perhaps be forgiven for thinking you know what synthesizers do, and how to use them. But the world keeps on turning. This week I … Continue reading

Posted in music, synthesizers, technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sound in Motion

Music is a much nicer thing to write about than religion, so let’s get back to it without delay, shall we? I try to avoid buying new bits of music software, because I already have too many great devices, but … Continue reading

Posted in music, synthesizers, technology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dreams of Destiny

The trouble with religion is that it’s backwards. If you’re religiously inclined, you start with a pre-ordained set of answers and then try earnestly to distort whatever you’re seeing so that it will lead you to the answers you’ve already … Continue reading

Posted in evolution, random musings, religion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Delusions Great & Small

Richard Dawkins is a magnet to whom polarized opinions are irresistibly drawn. For those who are spiritually inclined (whatever that means), Dawkins’s unstinting attacks on religion can be deeply disturbing. Such people seem, in many cases, to feel a need … Continue reading

Posted in evolution, random musings | Tagged , | 2 Comments