Tag Archives: economy

Brakes & Accelerator

Posted on April 25, 2009 by midiguru

News and commentary lately are devoting a lot of ink and air time to two topics — the global economy and climate change. What’s odd is that we’re talking out of both sides of our collective mouths at once, saying … Continue reading →

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Move along, folks. Nothin’ to see.

Posted on April 19, 2009 by midiguru

The human brain is not good at absorbing, understanding, and acting on the basis of abstract information that arrives from distant places. There’s no reason why evolution should have equipped our ancestors with that ability. In sub-Saharan Africa, where our … Continue reading →

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Economic Recovery (anecdotal evidence)

Posted on April 16, 2009 by midiguru

The economy is starting to turn around. You know how I can tell? Three months ago my student roster had fallen from 22 students to 15. The students who weren’t serious about it had mostly dropped out, leaving only the … Continue reading →

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Newspapers

Posted on March 20, 2009 by midiguru

Newspapers across the country are in big trouble. And let’s face it, a democracy needs reliable sources of news. Which means newspapers and news magazines. Bloggers are bullshit. Television is hyperactive fluff. Not that anybody is paying the slightest attention to … Continue reading →

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The Meat Grinder

Posted on March 18, 2009 by midiguru

Conservative commentators (not that I listen to them, but their blather is hard to avoid) have been accusing Obama of rushing the U.S. down the road to socialism. Would that be such a bad thing? Why, exactly? Conservatives view the … Continue reading →

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The Future of Keyboard Magazine

Posted on January 22, 2009 by midiguru

Email arrived tonight from Ernie Rideout tonight saying he has been laid off as editor-in-chief of Keyboard. Without disparaging in any way the awesome talents and unflagging energy of Steve Fortner, Michael Gallant, and Debbie Greenberg, it’s not easy for me … Continue reading →

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Steady As She Goes

Posted on December 24, 2008 by midiguru

The shrinking of the global economy has a lot of people feeling gloomy. Today we learned that auto sales are down worldwide by 20%. But you know what? That’s not bad news; that’s good news. Automobiles are a dreadful waste … Continue reading →

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The Internet Changes the Rules

Posted on November 21, 2008 by midiguru

Late Friday afternoon a rumor surfaced in the music magazine community that Remix is shutting its doors. Whether or not this particular factoid turns out to be true, it’s been pretty obvious all year that the music magazines are not … Continue reading →

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Money & Community Service

Posted on October 8, 2008 by midiguru

I can think of lots of wonderful things I could do to enhance (if only a little) the lives of people in my community. I could give free concerts. I could teach stuff to kids at the library after school. … Continue reading →

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Freelance Blues

Posted on September 19, 2008 by midiguru

For the last six years, I’ve been freelancing. The income isn’t great, but my expenses have been very modest. So I’ve been able to manage. But this too shall pass, as they say. I took the plunge and rented a … Continue reading →

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