Monday, November 27, 2006

http://www.edge.org

Dot Org
Dot Com
Dot Net
Dot Info
Dot God?

Why isn't there a .god?

This is just to say
check out the website
Dot Edge

The founder is John Brockman.

John Brockman is one of the finest philosophers of the XXI'st Century. 2 books in particular: BY THE LATE JOHN BROCKMAN (1969) & 37 (1970) . These books comprise a kind of TRACTATUS, in a Wittgensteinian sense. That is, they summed up philosophy to that time. However, whereas Wittgenstein moved into a second phase of philosophy, thus becoming "the later Wittgenstein," or, the author of PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS; Brockman, on the other hand, truly left philosophy behind and became a literary agent.

Brockman became something so rare in philosophy that he has almost no peers amongst philosophers of today: that is, he became useful.

Brockman has worked to create forums for philosophical concepts to be discussed in what was formerly referred to as, The Republic of Ideas.

All philosophers dream of this: Charles Sanders Peirce, Ludwig Wittgenstein, William James, Karl Marx, Billy Ray Sartre. But how often has it happened?

John Brockman mans the barricades. He is working to create the possibility of modern thought.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Debussy defined the era of noise.

What Are Noisicians?

Circa the turn of the 19th Century Claude Debussy said, "Any sounds in any combination and in any succession are henceforth free to be used in a musical continuity."

ANY SOUNDS

This is as simple as it gets

IN ANY COMBINATION

There are no rules

AND IN ANY SUCCESSION

Sequence is open-ended

ARE HENCEFORTH FREE TO BE USED

Time, space, matter, force, gravitation, electricity

IN A MUSICAL CONTINUITY

We don't call it "composition" any more

Music is weather

Music is the continuum of experience

Music is the arrangement of sound into thought

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Patti with tree friends on the farm near Leaf River.

Taken on Thanksgiving Day. Gloriously warm and splendid. Now I'm back in Helena and the snow is piling up and the temperature is headed toward zero. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Empty Bottle, Chicago

Old school noisicians, Smegma, brought their Portland cement sound to town on Sunday night.

I missed Burning Star Core who was earlier on the bill. Luckily, the Cincinnati chaotic crooner sat in for a "number" with the Smegs, so I was able to get something of an idea of what he's up to. To date, I'd only read about his sonic activities.
I bought a CD and invited him to do a show in Helena.

Oh, and here's a photo of Mr. Jansch from Friday night.
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Saturday, November 18, 2006

Chicago, Illinois.

Saw Bert Jansch at The Empty Bottle last night. Beautiful finger-style guitar, same as it ever was.
*
Also, some really bad noisicians. A very modest venue, run by nice people and a pleasant crowd of angel-headed hipsters. An abundance of cigarette smoke.

Great cheap meal at The Bite which is connected to the club.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Thirty-Three and a Third

http://www.33third.blogspot.com/

I'm trying to write a review of Colin Meloy's book, LET IT BE, in this series, for Rick Newby's drumlummon magazine, so I don't have time to write anything here.

(Also, Patti took her laptop to Washington D. C.--the means by which I upload photographs.)

*

At one point, Meloy writes: "I wasn't that familiar with the Kiss oeuvre--what I knew of them I learned from their short-lived television show, an episode of which I watched while at a family reunion in the late seventies."

Was there a television show? I think there was a cartoon.

Same thing, these days.

But what I really like is the casual mention of a "Kiss oeuvre." It's so sweet.

*

Back to work.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Last light over Last Chance Gulch

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