Late-Spring Updates

Sorry, blog, for the neglect. I'm not going to give a running tally of things done, nor will I enumerate the woes piling up around me. I'm just going to forge ahead into a recap of the present. (ha ha ha)

Share is fun. Share is not sticking to its rigid schedule like last year, due to its higher quality of content this year. Had a great 1st show in April with all sorts of amazing performers and supporters— you'll be the first to hear about it once we're done shooting and editing!

Summer's around the bend! I'm taking a CompSci course at Tufts this summer, with the hopes of getting a leg-up for the Fall, when I go to NYU and learn about computers and all that. The Tufts class is kicking my butt just enough to be fun/new/exciting, but not so much that I can't catch up. Oh, they call that an "academic and intellectual challenge"? Excuse me, it's been so long, you see, I'm not used to such things...

Share is branching out to the kiddies, it appears. I'm doing a module at this amazing summer camp called Parts and Crafts in... well... DSP for children. I'm writing my syllabus now, but this is new waters for me. Does anyone have any good ideas for gentle introductions to electronic music for the under 15 set? If so, please let me know!

My curriculum so far includes lessons and exercises in timbre, harmony, partials, pitch (and of course pitch-bending!), rhythm, sampling & dubbing, and explorations in room acoustics. I'm using Spear, Pure Data, and Fruity Loops to teach, along with a whole bunch of noise-making kiddie instruments (recorders, xylophones, etc.), and contact mics. The goal is getting kids to make Music Concrete; a friendly primer to that whole "with tape" idea. I'm hoping to get a crew to video some of our classes, and include that in upcoming episodes of Share, too. I hope you'll think it's interesting!

What else? I need cash, guys! With the upcoming move to NYC, I expect my resources to be TAPPED. I am on the prowl for freelance gigs (web design/dev/what-have-you) so please forward my info to anyone who might have a job for someone like me. (CV here if you seriously have a lead...) I might be going to school only part-time this year (No, thank you, Mr. Credit Crisis) so in which case, I'm on the lookout for a good part time job in the city. Hopefully one that would best utilize my skills, but you know, who can afford to be picky these days?

Had a birthday a week or so ago. That was ok. I spent it flat-broke and by myself, reading Debord on the porch. The Merriam-Webster word of the day was "destitute." NEVER AGAIN, WE SAY.

On a more positive note, Noah's in Pittsburgh for the NIME conference! Tomorrow is his presentation, and I wish him the best of the best of the best of luck! He's already gotten to play with (OMG!) the Max plugin for the new version of Ableton Live (MOTHER-EFF!) and attended a pannel with Max Matthews (ok, enough of the Max love!) You should check out his pics on fickr— he's bound to update more as the week progresses!!! (I LOVE YOU! YOU ARE THE GOOD ONE!)