Rich Seymour's stochastic statements.

Is it ok computer? ummm well anyway, the www.machineproject.com / www.scrapyardchallenge.com thing I did today was officially the funnest (technical term synonym being: most fun) thing I’ve done for an entire day since oh… I don’t really know, definitely a long long time. (Our workshop at my lab was pretty darn fun too come to think of it, but less anarchic) It was just stupid smart fun. I didn’t know what to expect. There will be videos, pix, etc. etc. Every single person there (who went to the end) did something totally awesome and original. I’m going to work on getting a variable voltage -> midi box put together (it’ll go to the front of my things to solder queue) so I can play this instrument I made. Which… is a red office chair that you play by scooching around on it. And I wasn’t really thinking about the playing it with your butt aspect when I made it (originally the design was to incorporate an endless potentiometer on the rotational axis, but the pot didn’t fit right! and I didn’t want to dremel it down) The result was definitely way funnier to watch, at least I think… although people said it looked like I was in pain. It was just weirt because I had to really sit on the dang thing to make it work. And _really_ sitting takes effort.

Also met ~15 or so people who, if impressions based on spending one day working super hard side by side (and sweating a bit, cause it was hott up in the machine project), do really really great things.

Mega propers to the organizers of this roving band of construction Katherine and Jonah who not only now live in my former digs Park Slope, Brooklyn (repruhzent) but are getting their PhDs from Trinity College Dublin… and think about and do big things for a living. And Mark of the machine project who has built an amazing space… One thing I would’ve done differently… bring my friggin’ notebook. That was a rookie mistake there. As made exemplary here by the fading memory of the guy who actually set up the synth itself (MAX/MSP) and the names of a lot of other people although there were a lot of Marks (one Makr…) and so I guess the rest of us were the funky bunch (badum ching) … fading … darn… oh well, we’ll cross in flickr or somethin’ like that. (speaking of flickr, I took a few photos, but others got video, etc. etc. etc.) Too bad my instrument made me look like a damn fool. Damn fool. I could dream about becoming the next star wars kid, but I doubt it looks that purely true and awesome.

… in other news:
We all missed the world cup final… I hear that some famous dude tried to crack open a dude’s sternum with his head. It’s like Alien (aliens, alien^3, alien resurrection) in reverse! (oh man check it, with the french commentary, et pour quois?) I would hasten to bet that the one guy said something so wrong, so unrepeatable, that it would’ve made any red blooded man head butt him in the chest. (hah)

Clark 8 practiced tonight in a sweet sprint fashion and we f’ing killed it. If we don’t play a show it’s basically your loss (you being the world at large). Because we’re good, and I’m not just saying that cause I’m in the band. We kick it super hard and then head butt you in the chest. (Song to sing in your head while reading me writing like this: Red Hot Chili Peppers “If you see me getting high if you see me getting high, knock me down…”)

finally, I tried to play through the ‘in my tribe’ 10,000 maniacs songbook that I’ve had since time immemorial. I could play the songs, and lord if Rob Buck (RIP) and those guys pick some sweet, sweet chords, but I just started crying like a little baby by the time I got to about the weather (that’s three songs in)… it’s just too much, it like tore me up with homesickness and reminiscence and wow… Natalie Merchant when she was who knows how young wrote some of the most righteous words, perhaps I was just too young to get it when I was actually able to meet her a good 3 or four times. I think I was pretty deep into my too cool for 10,000 maniacs and their major labelness by the end of it, but my god, even “candy everybody wants” is like such a perfect meta pop song. Insane. (oh, btw her solo work and the 10k maniacs without her, sweet too) (for those of you who don’t know, I’m from Jamestown NY which is the home of Roger Tory Peterson (bird books, if you know), one supreme court justice (chief maybe) named Robert Jackson (thanks for the reminder Dad on the name) who had a good hand in forging the international law system post WWII that our country has now taken upon itself to forget about, Lucille Ball (she had this TV show or something ;) ), and the 10,000 maniacs, and about 28,000 maniacs doing amazing things within the city limits these days and some 230,000+ more living in Chautauqua county at the westernmost tip of NY state)

My batteries are shot so I’m sleepin’ now.