Chronicle of black_son_of_gray's failures

[black_son_of_gray]

Wow, thanks everyone! Looks like I have a couple months of exploring to do...

[AxelHeyst]

For prog metal, River of Nihil's seasons tetralogy. My favorite album is Where Owls Know My Name.

[Henry]

Sergio Leone - Scores to the Dollars Trilogy

As you are probably aware, the scores were composed by Ennio Morricone. We just watched the documentary "Ennio" and it was both entertaining and illuminating as to his early struggles being taking seriously as a film composer until being recognized as one of the greatest composers in history. And of course there is score to "The Mission" which makes everyone weepy.

[black_son_of_gray]

As you are probably aware, the scores were composed by Ennio Morricone.

Correct! Whoops, that was my bad. I'll see if I can hunt down that doc. I've heard parts of The Mission, but not the whole thing yet. That's an insta-add to the list.

@AxelHeyst
So I was just perusing the wiki for Rivers of Nihil and came across this beauty of a line: "During this period the band opened shows for bands such as Decapitated, Decrepit Birth, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and Misery Index." These bands names are killing me (wouldn't be surprised if Killing Me is also a band)

[AxelHeyst]

That's the best part of metal, the band names. Speaking of, another thematic album per your ask would be Cattle Decapitation's Terrasite... but if you're not already into shrieked-vocals techdeath you're unlikely to have much fun with it . Rivers of Nihil's newer albums are more accessible. (Semi-related story: a friend who's in the extreme metal scene (has worked with Sun O)) and Igorr etc) gave me a record player and a record to maybe do an abstract CG music video for. I thought the player was broken because it just sounded like a broken machine that also happened to be possessed by a demon. Turns out, nothing wrong with the player, that's just what noise metal sounds like haha. I'd found my limit of the genre.)

[mountainFrugal]

Great recommendations above! I am sure @WRC will have some good recs as well. An eclectic smattering!

Herbie Hancock- Head Hunters (1973) - Classic and way ahead of its time - https://youtu.be/3m3qOD-hhrQ?si=aEe9O1nmf1jtZzHW

The Mars Volta - De-Loused In The Comatorium - Every album of theirs is composed and they usually play an entire album fully through for shows (at least they did). Prog punk rock - Amazing tension and release - https://youtu.be/8l7Ix-LfSBA?si=7BPcczRlWeqIVWKK -

John Mayer - Any Given Thursday (Live) - Bubble gum pop rock at its finest. Love to hate John Mayer, but he is a very good live musician. This was his rise to power tour/album. A hill I will die on! - https://youtu.be/Bs0D7F1ojCg?si=bgDYEq6OcGLkkrMD

Soulive - Live at Blue Note Tokyo - Unbelievably tight jazz funk set - https://youtu.be/ZQ9efaOJfus?si=d4PgNWgzKhKwL8LV

Snapcase - Progression Through Unlearning - Hardcore dial turned to 11 the entire time from the first pop of an over-tightened/over-channeled snare drum https://youtu.be/3Y1GEPhwdp4?si=UTIxb2fpV27bF8y5

Fleet Foxes - All of their albums have great composition, but this one started it all: https://youtu.be/rX7OwQkFK0U?si=qTUORaj58JAucXBD

Kiasmos - KEXP Live - Excellent multi-instrumentalists who think about composition on many levels - https://youtu.be/4fHw4GeW3EU?si=Dk_EQ_xsE1h-mMuh

Fred Again - Boiler Room Set - Post pandemic live show - crowd involvement as part of composition - https://youtu.be/c0-hvjV2A5Y?si=h2HJP84doyPo9dZ4

Shingo Nakamura - Japanese sensibilities and technicality applied to progressive house, this album takes the cake for programming work music- https://youtu.be/WYp9Eo9T3BA?si=ZShZulDRFYYTJSCB

Complexity Podcast - Sante Fe Institute (One of my favorite podcasts, but the new season is not nearly as good since the old host left)
Very topical episodes:
Tyler Marghetis on Breakdowns & Breakthroughs: Critical Transitions in Jazz & Mathematics (phase transition math applied to jazz sets)
Dmitri Tymoczko on The Shape of Music: Mathematical Order in Western Tonality (makes links between visual thinking and music)

[Western Red Cedar]

The point is, these are the kind of albums where you just put the thing on and listen to the whole thing through rather than pick and choose songs.

I've got eclectic musical tastes, so I'm open to just about any genre.

Your post sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole in terms of thinking this through. Some of my favorites are critically acclaimed and recognized as particularly unique by a broad audience (example: Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, or The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band). Artists like Pink Floyd were clearly trying to put together cohesive albums, with songs like Pigs on the Wing or Shine on You Crazy Diamond bookending their albums. Some artists don't go that far but create songs that naturally roll into the next track. Others are exploring a theme or telling a story with the album.

Quite a few of my recommendations are probably more autobiographical. I may be drawing a stronger thread through the album based on my own experience with and memories of those albums. I've always approached and consumed music via albums. I have 80 gb of music on my phone and none of it is individual songs - all albums. I used to carry around a discman in college with a handful of cds in my backpack, and listened to them on my long walks to school and work. One of the reasons I love vinyl is that it requires sitting down and listening to a full (or half) of an album. It allows me to experience the composition of the songs as intended by the artist. For example, when I listen to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly on vinyl it adds a different element to the listening experience, with additional emphasis on the breaks and soliloquies between songs that emphasize some of the broader themes of the album.

Another variable I was thinking about when I was making a list was the producer. A great producer like Rick Rubin or George Martin will shift a collection of songs into something greater than the sum of their parts.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Digable Planets - Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Modest Mouse - The Moon Over Antartica
Cat Power - The Covers Record
Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal
Radiohead - OK Computer, Kid A, Amensiac
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
The Clash - London Calling
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Dropkick Murphys - Do or Die, Gangs All Here
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Rebel Music
Pink Floyd - Animals (or anything)
Jimi Hendrix - Jimi Blues, Band of Gypsys
Ry Cooder & V.M Bhatt - A Meeting By the River
Sigur Ros - ( ), or anything
Joni Mitchel - Blue
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Titus Andronicus - Local Business
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Crematorium
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly, Good Kid Maad City
Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it In People
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
R.L. Burnside - The First Recordings
Taj Mahal - The Natch’l Blues
Run the Jewels - RTJ 3, RTJ 4
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago, Bon Iver (anything really)
Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain, Birth of the Cool, Big Fun, On the Corner, etc..
Django Reinhardt - Anything
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Muddy Waters - Muddy Waters at Newport 1960
Bad Religion - Against the Grain
Led Zeppelin - II
Sylvan Esso - What Now
Saul Williams - Amethyst Rock Star
The Beatles - Anything from the Rubber Soul/Revolver onward (Sgt. Peppers is arguably the most famous)
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
Bjork - Homogenic
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba
Paul Simon - Graceland
Fleet Foxes - Self Titled, Helplessness Blues
Outkast - Aquemini, ATLiens
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Operation Ivy - Operation Ivy
Rancid - And Out Come the Wolves
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
William Elliot Whitmore - Field Songs
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Old Crow Medicine Show - O.C.M.S
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
The XX - XX

I could probably keep going but this list is getting long. I feel like almost all classical or jazz music I hear should be listened to as a full album.

[black_son_of_gray]

New Years Resolutions?

I usually don't make any.

Fitness (and sewing):

So my partner has been researching into the qualifications/training required for search and rescue dogs, with the thought that she might want to raise and train a puppy for that eventual purpose. (This is a very big commitment of time/effort.) Last night we were talking about it, and she mentioned the human qualifications that also had to be met. Which is to say, you have to be in pretty good shape...

Which got me thinking: why don't I think about becoming a search and rescue volunteer? It's a way to contribute to my community, learn/practice useful skills, and meet interesting people. So I started looking into that. It's a fairly rigorous process (at least the California Search and Rescue/CALSAR one is), and there is a year-long cycle of classes/requirements/checks/tests to complete.

The fitness component intrigues me. There is one test: "Carry a 25 pound pack over a 4 mile distance with ~1300 ft elevation gain in one hour and 35 minutes."

Basically: rucking. Because I have (I think) 10ish months to train for that, I was thinking of making that a fitness goal for 2025. I honestly have no clue where I currently stand. I might be able to do it right now. I might need a few months of training. It might be beyond me. I am, as they say, no longer a 'spring chicken', though I wouldn't call 40's old...in any case, I'm not taking it for granted that a nice, gradual training regime might be exactly what my body needs.

Also, over the last few months I have finally done the work to finish my ERE sewing merit badge (rehabbed 90's Kenmore machine ("No, I've never oiled it..." ), read a dozen books, sewn about a dozen projects), and I have access to a local store that sells commercial fabric remainders by the yard at considerable discount. I already have a bunch of small adjustable dumbbell 5lb weights, so maybe I'll try to sew my own rucking vest to train with 25lbs? I'll probably go with denim (I'm not worried about it being hot), which I can get for about 4ish bucks a yard.

I have lots of elevation within a few minutes walk...worse case scenario I don't want or can't qualify and I end up getting into decent shape anyway. The horror!

Writing:

Some of you know this, most don't -- I'm currently knee-deep in writing a novel. I spend a few hours working on it per day, and it has been a great experience so far. I feel like I'm learning quite a bit about the craft of fiction.

Anyway, a goal for this year is to finish it. And because I'd like the world to step on my ego's neck and press it firmly to the ground, I have aspirations to try to find an agent and get it traditionally published when it is done. Yes, and I'll remind you that this journal's title is not in jest.

In any case, I shall try to post my progress/setbacks in these endeavors as we head into 2025!

[suomalainen]

Excellent challenges accepted for 2025. In either case, failure (of 3rd party acceptance) is still a personal success! Does CALSAR's have like an acceptance rate, or anyone who meets the minimums can get certified or whatever the merit badge is called? As to publishing, good luck! I understand from acquaintances that it's a brutal endeavor the first time, but once you get in the club, it's much easier the second time around.

[jacob]

Basically: rucking. Because I have (I think) 10ish months to train for that, I was thinking of making that a fitness goal for 2025. I honestly have no clue where I currently stand. I might be able to do it right now. I might need a few months of training. It might be beyond me. I am, as they say, no longer a 'spring chicken', though I wouldn't call 40's old...in any case, I'm not taking it for granted that a nice, gradual training regime might be exactly what my body needs.

Also, over the last few months I have finally done the work to finish my ERE sewing merit badge (rehabbed 90's Kenmore machine ("No, I've never oiled it..." ), read a dozen books, sewn about a dozen projects), and I have access to a local store that sells commercial fabric remainders by the yard at considerable discount. I already have a bunch of small adjustable dumbbell 5lb weights, so maybe I'll try to sew my own rucking vest to train with 25lbs? I'll probably go with denim (I'm not worried about it being hot), which I can get for about 4ish bucks a yard.

I have lots of elevation within a few minutes walk...worse case scenario I don't want or can't qualify and I end up getting into decent shape anyway. The horror!

I'd suggest another approach. Throw an increasing amounts of weights in your standard backpack and just carry it everywhere you go whether it's commuting, walking the dog, or going shopping. The extra weight eventually becomes normal.

If you just go out with 4 miles and 25 pounds extra, you're going to feel it and possibly develop some *itis, which takes weeks to recover from. Ask me how I know

Primarily, rucking is not really a strength or cardio exercise as much as it is a tendon, joint, and stamina exercise. This is where "old-man strength" comes in Normalizing increasing amounts of weight instead of seeing it as a work out also helps the body to build that tendon/joint stamina slowly. Rucking is basically like being a fat person with the extra load. Fat people are out of shape but generally stronger because they're used to carrying around the extra weight.

[mountainFrugal]

Sounds fun!

One idea...having looked into the local SAR group here after participating as a citizen on a search, I found I did not have a good alignment with the group leaders. They were a little too militaristic without explanation for my taste. I am sure that groups are different, but actually spending time with people who you are going to be in potentially stressful situations with is also a good thing prior to committing.

[black_son_of_gray]

@Suomalainen - Those are good questions wrt CALSARS, and I don't currently know. They certainly don't sugar-coat things, and elsewhere on the site say that the process is 'selective'. I haven't dived all that deep into it yet, but it does look like there is a rigorous interview and background check (DOJ, FBI, DMV) phase - which I find kind of interesting...? The website projects an intense vibe, which may very well indicate a militaristic/hardcore mindset (which I hadn't thought of, thanks @mountainFrugal!). Or maybe it is just to weed out prospective candidates that wouldn't be reliable and spare the headache later on...

@mountainFrugal - "participating as a citizen on a search" How did you hear about that? By that I mean, if I could just get on a listserv...

@jacob - oh, I totally agree. The hedged language of my post was entirely about whether I can get my connective tissue durable enough in time. Cardio-wise I don't think it'll be a problem. I already regularly walk for a couple hours at a time, and last year I also tried out the laden-backpack method on several long walks. My goal at the time was to see if I could get into Zone 2 by walking at a decent clip with ~20lbs, and I found that I could if I was walking uphill. The backpack method was fine, though I was slightly annoyed by the weight distribution/relatively narrow shoulder straps/fact that I was wearing out my otherwise beloved lighter-weight pack (~20lbs is a bit much for its construction). Plus, weighted backpacks are super awkward for things like pushups, wearing around the house while cleaning, etc., which I also envision using the vest for.

For those who care about the DIY project, I searched the web and found exactly one suitable result. As you might expect, the overlap between "people interested in rucking" and "people interested in sewing" is ... small. I went to the store before finding these instructions (how very me of me), but the vest I am making is almost exactly the same...I'm just going to use some webbing and D-rings to cinch the waist rather than velcro. I'll construct it in such a way that if the D-rings/webbing don't work well, I can add the velcro later (that conversion will cost about $1) and reuse the webbing and rings. I found some really nice black cotton canvas at the store that I wanted to try, so my total cost will be $17 for everything (thread, webbing, D-rings, velcro, 1 yd canvas). If I went full velcro it would have been more like $12. Oh well, now I'll have experience making D-ring belts (arguably, not a bad skill to have). Still makes the vest 50-90% cheaper to make than buy, depending on where and what you buy.

[FunkyFreedom]

Hi BSoG,

I’ve recently joined the ERE journals.

I’m not sure yet how to add references to older posts, but I will have to look back on all these album suggestions!

My suggestion is “Hot Rats” by Frank Zappa!

Regarding moments of insight or intuition, have you or any other readers of this thread read “My Stroke Of Insight” by Jill Bolte Taylor? I wonder how this book might relate to the conversation.

She is a neuroscientist who has a stroke that shut down her left brain. She describes realizing which parts of her brain she figured were shutting down as she experienced her stroke. Then while in recovery her experience was that of a completely right brain consciousness. And she described it as wonderful (but helpless).

I’m thinking the “monkey mind” folks were talking about is left brain chatter - very different from right brain insights, which would by their nature not be verbalized. They’d be more felt realizations that you can’t put your finger on but you’re very confident of. Probably the left brain was quieted at that time.

I’m an INTJ, or that’s how I originally tested when I was in high school. I’m now more of an XNXX when I take the MBTI again. I went through a meditative journey that turned my monkey mind channel in my stream of consciousness to a very low level and that gives more space in my theater of consciousness for the holistic side of the brain to provide insights that aren’t explicitly stated but I’m able to understand and process. I believe the brain has its own preverbal language and any verbalized thoughts are really preverbalized thoughts that subsequently go through the language centers. If I recall correctly, our motor cortex for our larynx is activated when we think in our own voice.

I am making my way through the journal of My Brain Gets Itchy and he talked about being a left handed creative person who did more left brain work for a living and was utilizing his left brain to ERE so as to free the right brain. I think that’s my experience as well. I am aware of the presence of my right brain consciousness even when it is quiet, and want to be able to experience more exploratory, creative, present living! I remember when I first had glimpses of what I think is my “right brain” it felt like something super important that was foreign. But now I recognize it as a natural and even foundational component of my conscious experience.

Love those line artworks! I may want to someday create one of those big contraptions that are paint buckets on wires that you throw around the room. Or something like that. Much less well controlled and much more messy!

Thanks for your journal and Happy New Year!

-Funky Freedom

[jacob]

I’m an INTJ, or that’s how I originally tested when I was in high school. I’m now more of an XNXX when I take the MBTI again. I went through a meditative journey that turned my monkey mind channel in my stream of consciousness to a very low level and that gives more space in my theater of consciousness for the holistic side of the brain to provide insights that aren’t explicitly stated but I’m able to understand and process. I believe the brain has its own preverbal language and any verbalized thoughts are really preverbalized thoughts that subsequently go through the language centers. If I recall correctly, our motor cortex for our larynx is activated when we think in our own voice.

I am making my way through the journal of My Brain Gets Itchy and he talked about being a left handed creative person who did more left brain work for a living and was utilizing his left brain to ERE so as to free the right brain. I think that’s my experience as well. I am aware of the presence of my right brain consciousness even when it is quiet, and want to be able to experience more exploratory, creative, present living! I remember when I first had glimpses of what I think is my “right brain” it felt like something super important that was foreign. But now I recognize it as a natural and even foundational component of my conscious experience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origi ... meral_Mind

Yes?

[FunkyFreedom]

The book I read that was pretty amazing that may have built upon what you’re talking about is “The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and The Making of the Western World” by Iain McGilchrist.

My recollection of the gist of what he’s saying is that the “left brain” can achieve and make amazing things and produce lots of cool things and technology. But, that when that mode of being is overemphasized on a societal level as the author says it has been in the Western world, we get lots of production and consumption and growth that eventually starts polluting the world and running agains limits such as climate change.

The “Master” in his thesis is the right brain, which possesses holistic awareness and wisdom, which would tend to prevent the issues we’re seeing. And ideally the “Master” tells the “Emissary” (the left brain) to go out and do stuff, but within the holistic awareness of and under the guidance of the right brain. But what we have instead is that the “Emissary” has taken complete control and we end up seeing the problems that we see.

I’m pretty sure I’m doing only an ok job of recalling the gist of the book, and also the “left” vs “right” brain dichotomy isn’t strictly accurate, but this is my exposure to the “bicameral brain/mind”.

Looks like a documentary was made about it (I haven’t seen it).

https://thedividedbrain.com/

I think in this forum you’ve got a lot of people utilizing their “left brain” analytical abilities in the service of consuming less, so maybe what’s going on here is a type of rebalancing that the author would look upon as part of the solution to the problem.

[black_son_of_gray]

Welp, here it is:



It's been a few days since I finished it. Here are a few thoughts:

• It was quite easy to make, technically. If you can sew a patch pocket and make a pillowcase, there is no reason why you can't make one of these in a few hours. Of course, good sewing practices still apply (pressing seams, pinning/basting as necessary, understanding how to negotiate bulky folds in fabric with the presser foot, etc.). I was kind of impressed that my old beginner-level machine could handle sewing through of 6+ layers of canvas. The only tricky part was, towards the end of the construction, negotiating turns under the relatively cramped arm without putting too much pressure on the needle.
• It's pretty solid loaded up with 20 lbs. I feel confident that it won't jostle much doing pushups, squats, etc. I don't really have any plans to run with it on. Still, I plan on adding some additional bar tacks/satin stitching to the bottom of the bottom pockets and corners of the shoulder strap attachments just to ensure no catastrophes like a 5lb weight slipping and crushing my foot. After a few hours of wear, I see no change whatsoever in my double-stitched seams.
• What I really like: It is extremely low-profile. I wore it on a walk yesterday underneath a fleece zip-up and it is 95% unnoticeable just walking around. When bending over/stretching etc., you can see a little bumpiness.
• Weight distribution: wide shoulder straps that are sewn exactly at my shoulder angle make for a relatively comfortable experience. No problem wearing it a couple of hours. Unexpected: because there is weight draped over the chest (unlike a backpack), breathing takes a little more effort. Not a crazy amount, but noticeable. I wonder if this will strengthen intercostal muscles??

[black_son_of_gray]

I’m not sure yet how to add references to older posts, but I will have to look back on all these album suggestions!

If you are asking how to do this (above), then the way to do that is to click on the quotation mark button at the top right of the post you would like to reference in a new post, and the text will be added to your post draft...You can then pare down the entire quote to what you specifically want to address. Any time you see another post being quoted, you can click on the little tiny up arrow after e.g. "[username] wrote: [up arrow]" and you'll be whisked away to the original post so that you can read the whole thing if you like (or read all ensuing discussion).

Because you are new here (welcome!), you'll certainly want to familiarize yourself to the forum rules of conduct that @jacob has laid out.

[black_son_of_gray]

Love those line artworks! I may want to someday create one of those big contraptions that are paint buckets on wires that you throw around the room. Or something like that. Much less well controlled and much more messy!

Perhaps you'd be interested in a compromise: a pendulograph or harmonograph machine? Relatively simply to construct, and can use pen or paint.

[FunkyFreedom]

Perhaps you'd be interested in a compromise: a pendulograph or harmonograph machine? Relatively simply to construct, and can use pen or paint.

Ooh. I’ll keep these in mind while this idea is on the back burner. I’m more of a musician than a visual artist but one day I’ll have more time on my hands and I might try this out. Thanks for the helpful tips!

[black_son_of_gray]

"Systems of Three" and Paradoxes

This morning I stumbled across the "preparedness paradox", which got me thinking. There are a number of very similar "paradoxes", like the Downs-Thomson paradox and Jevons paradox, but the thing is: I'm not sure they're really paradoxes. Instead, I would rather say that they are a particular class of "system of three"--one that seems to confuse people into thinking there are only two elements involved rather than three. [Trilemmas are another "system of three", but one which most people can pretty easily wrap their heads around.]

It's the unstated or confused third element of the system that makes these seem like paradoxes. Take Jevons and LED bulbs, for example. Modern LEDs are amazingly efficient and pretty much the end-game of lighting gains, unless I'm missing something about physics. So the paradox goes: lighting has become more efficient and therefore less energy will be used for lighting, but WHOAAA it turns out that doesn't happen! One only need drive around an American suburb during the holiday season to observe the retina-searing results of making incredibly efficient lighting widely available. Some houses are like staring at the sun.*

Of course, that's because the system is being framed as having only two elements. The missing third thing is 'demand for lighting', which does not stay constant as the other two variables change. Same with road infrastructure and traffic. Same with preparedness and 'disaster outcome'. And so on.

Anyway, I bring this up because some people on this forum are very intentional about building out their personal systems, and even systems as small as three elements routinely present as inexplicable (and therefore e.g. politically impossible when it comes to public support, etc.). Happily, all one has to do is simply let the system run and see what actually happens, theory be damned. Problem with that approach, however, is having the humility/patience to actually test something you think you already know. I'd be curious to hear what others have found was in fact possible even though it didn't initially seem that way...I suppose ERE itself is an example: the incorrect perception being "money == quality of life" and the missing third element being "skills"?

Look at me, rehashing the classics...This morning's circa 2000's blog-post brought to you by: coffee

*Speaking of staring into the sun, LED car headlights are yet another infuriating example. "More light == more safety!" This will continue until everyone is driving blind.