Michael's Texas Embrace

I'm going to Tennessee. I will see some of you when I am there. Others I will not see, because they are in other place. In the meantime, you may sulk and grumble about the Moog in my place. Just once a day think something like, "I wish the Attack was responding," or, "If only the oscillators would magically get in tune."

If that's not your cup of tea, as I suspect it is not, then you should go to this neat website I found, and learn obscure words. It's called The Phrontistery. If you go there you can find out what a phrontistery is, what a foppotee is, and what the word sevidical means. You may find yourself squealing with glee and experiencing a sensation similar to flight. These are good things to happen, and I want good things to happen to you. That is why I am telling you about this. I am looking out for your good-being.

I have been thinking about baking a hummingbird cake and will do so sometime when I get back. If you are in Texas I may give you some cake. Wouldn't that be nice? I think so.

For now, farewell for a week. I will post exciting picture coupled with enthralling captions when I return, offering a pictorial tale of camping, boating, watermelon, and lightning bugs.

So I got my Moog back. It got new IC chips put in it for the attack. Yay! only 150 bucks!

IT IS STILL BROKEN IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS BEFORE I'M GOING TO KILL IT AND EAT IT AND PASS IT IN PIECES IN THE WOODS FOR THE ANIMALS TO EAT!!!

Oh Moog, I should have known you were cursed when it took almost six weeks for the girl I bought it from to ship, out of sheer laziness, it seemed. "Oh, I forgot, I'll get it in the mail this week for sure..." And then you were out of tune, and then you worked pretty good for about five days and then you stopped working right. I should have just cut my losses and sold you right then, maybe got a nice casio keyboard and a ring modulator or something. I could've been making spacey sounds and still had piano and organ sounds. But I trusted you, moog prodigy, I took you to get fixed. And you betrayed me. You sat there in the shop for almost a month, whispering, "all I need are two fifty-cent chips and I will sing like a square wave dream." And then...and then...you were still broken. Why should I be upset at you, you ask? I mean, I only saved up all my tips for two and a half months to get you. That's a lot of bitchy latte drinkers, my little keyboard. And the cost of your repair was my birthday present. So, little Moog, it's sort of like I slaved away over a hot espresso machine to buy an over-priced booping machine, and then didn't get anything for my birthday. Damn you to hell.

I was going through pictures I hadn't ever really looked at and came across this one. It's too cool to not share with the world. A young woman. A beany hat (with a sad broken propeller...). A puppy. And a striking set of colors and lines. What is the feeling this picture projects? Melancholia? Joy? I don't know. As a world-famous photographer, I cannot make that judgement. That is for the critics, decades from now.

But not from me, I suck a little right now. But go on over to Circuitry News and listen to Murph's way, way rad song "Lady's Captain," because it's oceanic sweetness is not to be missed!

Today is the Anniversary of Andrew. I am told it is customary to sing the birthday song. But that song is tired. It is old. It is played out, seen better days, fading away, etc. I have erected a new birthday song. One for all men and women, equally. The most perfect birthday song ever. Catchier, more moving and beautiful. More eloquent. But I shall deprive all the world, save one man, of this song. For it is Andrew's song, and can never be the birthday song for the rest of the world, though the world will clamor to make it for all and not just one man. But they will fail. The song is protected by devices, ancient and cunning traps that when set in motion cannot be stopped. If this song is sung with someone else's name in it, these devices built into the song will be set onto their terrible course. Blood will be spilled. Screams will be screamed. So do not take this song as your own. Unless you are Andrew, in which case the song is already yours and you need not fear the terrible devices hidden in the song, and you may enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed, for yourself. You were born and not killed by a song full of traps. Rejoice.

Happy Birthday Andrew Parts 1-3

Please, sing along and wish Andrew a Happy Birthday, with this, the new customary birthday song of the birthday of Andrew and not other people who may be killed by the attempt, due to the aforementioned traps.

Nothing too interesting, but I thought I would pass some links along to fans of old video game music. Apparently there are some bands now that make music using hacked and modified ataris, gameboys (the original) Commodore 64s, dot matrix printers, etc. First you may ask, "Why?!? Lol, just buy a keyboard man!! wtf atari?!?" But man, nothing sounds quite as boopy as old video game music. Even crappy old keyboards can't capture the pure bleepy crappiness of 8-bit nintendo sounds. So to really capture that, just use the real thing. This scene seems to be called "chip music" as some of the sounds come from the sound chips (or the machines themselves) of old video game systems. Anyway, I am way digging it. But then, I download old video game music and listen to it anyway (megaman 2 and sonic the hedgehog 2 rule!) Listen for yourself if you dig on the beeps, and start thinking about how you can force your atari into musical servitude. Mwa ha ha, atari 2600, lay down the phat beats for me...

These are links to some bands. All the sites have songs to listen to. Way Rad.
Tree Wave. This band is way cool. Atari, c64, and a dot matrix printer, and a singing girl.

Bit Shifter

The 8-bit Construction Set

Bubblyfish

Mmm, there are more, but I think I'm done with links for now. When my moog gets back from the stupid repair shop, hopefully fully functional (oh please work, new IC chips for attack...) I'm going to try and make boopy beepy music with that. Man.

>To: Beat Master Michae@Tha TX M-Brace
>From: Doug the Bug
>Subject: Doin it hard
>
>Yo M, that last song was a piece of shit!!!, I didn't know whether
>to put on a pink shirt or take a crap and fall asleep on a bus,
>F-U 4 that slow crap!!!!
>
>I need a song to get my girl in the mood for lovin, but I'm a fry cook
>at waffle house and I hate songs about feelings and stuff. And slow
>crap like that whack kitten song!!! (f-u!!) I like crappy drumz and
>thats it. If it aint pig it aint bacon, dog,, so put my lady in tha
>mood. She's in the next room naked and I needs a dope tracks!!
>Fast!!!
>
>Doug's cooking waffles,
>Yo.
>
>

This should work well.--ed.

Breakfast