BloG #8: Where navel lint finally gains acknowlegement...

See below for our BloG #8 Indie Artist Pick!

Yikes! This BloG thing seems to be developing a sort of rhythm to it.

Upon initial consideration, I was pretty sure I'd have nothing to say and no idea how to say it. I still feel that way, as I really haven't said anything of value yet, but this idea of a forced journal is, in a way, a good mental exercise that may pay off somehow later. How? I have no clue. In the meantime, no one seems to be getting seriously hurt in the process and more cyber firestarter is increasing bandwidth on a server at some remote location. All is indeed quiet on the Western Front.

Summer break has officially started for my family and myself (I am a teacher by profession) today, which opens up a plethora of time for various possibilities. This, I think, is the best time of year. To look forward into the immediate future and see multiple weeks with no commitment to the timeclock just makes me giddy with goosebumps all over. Don't get me wrong. I love to work. But, I think I love to not work even more! Just as long as the paycheck still finds it's way over.

So, in this exercise of forcing myself to come up w/ something to say on a regular basis, I am becoming increasingly aware of a couple points. First, there is always an opportunity to write. Even with an acute awareness that there is nothing to write about, the exercise of setting aside a few moments to sit down & begin typing eventually leads to a few forced thoughts to drip out, however benign they may seem. Even this drivel that is currently posted right here isn't appearing in my thought process until the fingers tap the keyboard. I suppose you could call this a practiced lesson in creativity.

Secondly, defining a purpose for the creation of ponderences is not entirely a bad thing. I can't say that that has been done here yet, and as I write this sentence I am considering the methods for which I might begin that search for a purpose. Check back with me later for the results on that one...

Maybe after a period of posting various descriptions of my observances surrounding the proverbial lint in my navel, something will eventually rear it's head as a meaningful thought. This is just speculation and may have absolutely no basis in projected reality. The lint in my navel rarely has time to gather dust, so pondering such nominal factors is never really an option at this point.

As you read these non-descript postings, you are always welcome to post a comment by clicking on the 'Comment' link at the lower right of these pages. You never know, a comment just might trigger an avalanche of ideas to post about. "Let the floodgates open!" he proclaimed.

That's just about enough for this posting. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. I will be gone for about a week. In the meantime, feel free to have a look around the premesis and leave no stone unturned!


JavaMusiK - Piano-Based Instrumentals from Western Slope, CO

Starting NEW with BloG #7 and continuing here on #8, we'll be featuring an independent artist who we feel deserves our recommended attention.

This BloG issue's Indie Artist Pick is Glenn Thompson from Australia.

Glenn Thompson is working in a variety of forms to subvert existing paradigms and re work neural pathways. Described variously as "excellently strange" and "retro pop" he considers music the life blood of the soul and capable of the most enigmatic transformations.

Glenn occupies a special presence on the FuNEnD3R.com boards. His warm and supportive nature combined with his unique blend of music with it's wonderful sense of melancholy and an early 80's retro quality gives us at JavaMusiK a renewed enthusiasm for creativity. We highly recommend giving 'We Can Fly From Here' & 'Some of Us' a listen.

Congratulations Glenn!

Glenn Thompson - Retro Pop from Australia

If you are an artist or band who would like to be listed and featured in The JavaMusiK BloG, e-mail us and we will get you listed. All Featured Artist Picks are chosen from FriendZ of JavaMusiK.

BloG #7: Up And Adam!

See below for our Indie Artist Pick!

We all have tendencies. You've got yours. I've got mine. They have theirs.

This blog dwells on a tendency that has a tendency to rub people the wrong way if those tendencies between 2 or more people are not compatible. The tendency this blog is dealing with is people's tendency to be a morning person ..... or not.

Nothing can polarize like the meeting of these two tendencies.

The morning person tends to, more often than not, go to bed at an earlier hour in the evening. Early to bed, early to rise....The early bird gets the worm....

The night person has a tendency to stay up a bit later. Bring On The Night.... All Night Long.... I Could've Danced All Night.... When The Night Comes....

For some reason, people afflicted with one of these tendencies have a tendency to look down upon people afflicted with the other. The other people may actually accomplish more as a person than the original one, but will still be generally considered second class citizens because of their outside the norm tendency. Why is that?

In today's open minded society, it would seem that social acceptance would be just as easy to come by for either tendency. Not so. There seems to be little tolerence for the person who doesn't sleep at night or rise at the crack of dawn. This is unfortunate because today's society no longer runs strictly on a 9 - 5 structure. We have evolved beyond that lifestyle to where there is a considerable need for people who can work well at later hours.

Someone walks into work 5 minutes late and gets the business, even though they worked 5 hours beyond the normal work day the previous day - on salary pay (meaning they got no extra pay for those extra hours). What ever happened to the big picture?

We also travel more than in years past. Guess who gets the shaft on this deal??!?
Whoever lives furthest west, that's who.

Let's say you live in Oregon and a couple friends decide to come visit from Vermont. You like to crash around 11pm. So do your friends. There is a problem here. Their body clock is going to send them to the guest bedroom at 8:30 pm, because they are wiped on your time zone. Guess what the morning is going to bring..... That's right. You'll be preparing breakfast in the dark for the early bird who's going after that worm. Your day typically begins at 7 am & your friends slept in until 5:30 am, when they could finally take it no more. They slept in as long as they could. It's already 8:30 at their house & that's too late. We're burning daylight!

In conclusion: In the name of world peace, can't we all just get along??? Learn to recognize and look beyond our differences. If your friend is a morning person, learn to accept that quirky difference. They're human just like you and shouldn't be looked down upon just because of their inability to sleep beyond the crack o' dawn. Besides, you had to entertain yourself for several hours the night before. The least they could do is show you the same courtesy... and NOT look down their nose at you once you DO arise. Despite what you think about each other, nothing you can say or do will change the other person, so accept the difference and move on.

Besides, we all know when the entertainment is better.....don't we? ;-)


JavaMusiK - Piano-Based Instrumentals from Western Slope, CO

Starting NEW with this BloG, we'll be featuring an independent artist who we feel deserves our recommended attention.

This BloG issue's Indie Artist Pick is Sammi Morelli from Vancouver, Canada.

Think Alicia Keys meets Amanda Marshall and you have the powerful vocals and soulful urban pop/rock sound of Sammi Morelli, gift wrapped with classic beauty inside and out. Sammi injects soul and passion into her vocal delivery, and connects completely and convincingly with her lyrics. "I have this incredible passion to do more than sing a song. I want to communicate and move people at a soul level, to dance, cry, feel joy, clap along and to think."

Sammi has been a featured artist on MTV, has had her music video PERFECT aired on MUCHMUSIC, and her song LET ME BE THE ONE featured on Warner Bros. hit tv series SMALLVILLE. UNLIMITED was the title of her debut album and unlimited is definitely part of the Sammi signature, as she writes the personal empowerment thread through her music. International, and North American performances including Madison Square Gardens in New York City , have seen audiences charged by Sammi's dynamic, entertaining performances where she clearly champions for the happily obsessed, creatively possessed.

Sammi is definitely worth a looksee & listen in our opinion here at JavaMusiK! We have found her to be a very supportive member at IndieHangout.com who happens to have a wonderful voice with a very polished and professional sound. We highly recommend giving 'Masquerade' & 'Invisible' a listen.

Congratulations Sammi!

Sammi Morelli - Urban Pop/Rock from Vancouver, Canada

If you are an artist or band who would like to be listed and featured in The JavaMusiK BloG, e-mail us and we will get you listed. All Featured Artist Picks are chosen from FriendZ of JavaMusiK.

BloG #6: Do You See What I See?

April 23, 2004; 2:17p.m. A date & time in my life that will forever live in infamy.
Ah, but wait! Let's go back in time, shall we?...........

The year was 1971. Childhood as I knew it, took a left turn when my vision became impaired with Myopia (Nearsightedness). All of a sudden, I had to wear glasses, spectacles, visual aids, four eyes, windshields, specs in order to see across the room. Without them, everything was fuzzy. What happened? Why the sudden "blindness?"

I cannot exaggerate the effect this little fact had on my life. My face was now forced to accept a new piece of hardware if I wanted to see my life's experiences. It was fun for the first day. This next point cannot be overstated enough: From then on, I HATED WEARING GLASSES! Nothing can prepare a child for the horror of such a permanant change. From afar, glasses look fun......to try on for a moment. To wear them every waking moment is a whole 'nuther ballgame.

Let's review some social aspects this new hardware imposes on a child growing up in the 60's & 70's, shall we?
First, classmates notice everything. Boy, do they notice! Suddenly, you're different now, and it's not by choice.

Quick point here.... Individualism is not a real high priority in elementary school. Yes, we are trying to discover our unique traits that will one day define our character. But, having a uniqueness suddenly thrust upon you from out of nowhere.... Not a good thing, in general.
We're all looking for the big break in life. Getting to wear glasses as a child isn't it.

Anyway, self psycho-analysis for a moment: Wearing glasses throughout my childhood may partially explain my fascination with Elton John. Dude was rather unique as far as image was concerned. This cannot not be a full explanation, as the music caught my ear long before I'd ever seen a picture of the singer, however it may have contributed somewhat. Hearing the only pianist in Rock n Roll at a time when I was taking piano lessons may have contributed, as well.

Back to the social aspects of being labeled 'four eyes' as a child in the 70's.
Anyone who has ever broken a pair of glasses knows this can turn out to be a very traumatic moment. Example: Everyone remembers playground football, right? Here I was, participating in an activity - trying to act normal with my unique windshield attached to my face. "Throw me the ball, throw me the ball, THROW ME THE BALL!!!" In a snap decision, the quarterback see's I am open, decides to THROW ME THE BALL and... CRACK - the ball hits my face. No big deal until... everyone discovers my glasses are now hanging from my ears along the sides of my cheeks. Split right down the middle, they have become totally useless. Going back into class, I was blind again. The next day, I will show up to class with tape holding my hardware together. 'Revenge Of The Nerds' anyone?

Do you think the quarterback is going to instinctively throw me the football again? In a word......

Now, styles of glasses available to the consumer in the 70's was... how do you say....considerably ugly. Ever looked back at pictures from the 70's? Look at the glasses. They are hideous. News Bulletin: They seemed hideous then too! We didn't have cool choices then. NOTHING looked good. It was a matter of picking what looked the least bad on a face.
Thankfully, styles of glasses have come a long way recently.

So, then the contacts revolution came along. Here's some fun. Of course there were the hard lenses first. Then came the soft lenses... Unless you had astygmatism. Then, you were stuck with hard lenses at that time. Ever tried to look normal with a piece of hard plastic stuck in your eye? Pics from that era make me look as if I've seen a ghost. This is not my natural expression.
Finally, technology made available the option to wear soft lenses - even 'permanant lenses,' the ones you could sleep overnight in. This was going to be good, because I couldn't stand the routine of sticking stuff in my eyes first thing in the morning. Not long after investing in THIS new concept, my eyes reacted & seemingly rejected the contacts....violently.

There is the long & short of it. Glasses have been a part of my life since age 10 and, while thankful for the technology available to bring clear sight back, it has not been a relationship w/out pitfalls.

April 23, 2004; 2:17p.m. A date & time in my life that will forever live in infamy. I walked out of Lasik eye surgery able to see without hardware! The positive effects from this technological achievement cannot be overstated! To wake up in the morning & see across the room, first movement not having to be reaching for glasses. To walk in the rain w/out needing windshield wipers or de-foggers. To spontaneousley take a nap w/out having to remove the hardware from your face, otherwise smashing or losing them. To wear ski goggles w/out smashing glasses aginst your face & drilling a new set of holes into your nose. To freely choose a cool pair of sunglasses that are not clip-ons. To not worry about constantly pushing something back up on your nose. To swim & see. This list doesn't begin to even scratch the proverbial surface of how my quality of life is so vastly improved over the previous 3 decades with spectacles.

Worthy of a BloG, don't you think?!