notes to self

music projects, photo hobby, study notes

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About Me

Hello and welcome to this remote outpost. I'm a software developer and a musician. I also have a couple of degrees in math and one in engineering too. I guess I like learning stuff. To reach out use the contact form.

  • Journal,  rand-o-mat,  The Others

    25 Things, a meme reborn

    / November 18, 2011 / 7 Comments

    During the year that I was on Facebook (2009), I participated in the viral survey called “25 Random Things About Me”. The idea behind it was simple: you list…

  • music-o-mat

    Tiny Desk Concert: Marketa Irglova

    / November 10, 2011 / 1 Comment

    We need more of this in the world — two unaffected artists straight-up making music, no gimmicks, no pizzazz. Marketa Irglova and the talented newcomer Aida Shahghasemi performed a…

  • books

    Dovekeepers Cover Photo

    / November 6, 2011 / No Comments

    A little tidbit about the cover photo of Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers. It’s a photograph by Joyce Tenneson, a photographer in NYC who shoots large-format polaroids on chocolate film. This…

  • Journal,  software

    Cloud Shmoud

    / October 24, 2011 / 1 Comment

    Spent today immersed in the software side of social media and mobile. Very timely stuff of course, though I couldn't get as excited as everyone else about putting web…

  • logic,  studio-o-mat

    Mastering, Cheaply

    / October 20, 2011 / No Comments

    How to master a CD if you're operating on a zero budget.

  • music-o-mat,  review-o-matic

    electronic minimalism: listen

    / September 14, 2011 / No Comments

    Beautifully strange music from a composer in Spain named  José Manuel Berenguer, a.k.a. ‘jmb’. Free mp3s on his website, though he strongly suggests that you contact him for higher quality…

  • Featured,  in detail,  Tribute

    Being There

    / September 10, 2011 / No Comments

    Four views of being in New York on September 11th, 2001.

  • in detail

    Bill Hanley: Genius

    / August 14, 2011 / No Comments

    The man who single-handedly invented the concert sound system. File under: amazing people deserving wider recognition.

  • books,  review-o-matic

    Goon Squad

    / June 12, 2011 / No Comments

    One sentence review

  • glam,  review-o-matic

    A Glass, Darkly

    / June 2, 2011 / 3 Comments

    Had an amazing day in NYC today. We walked endlessly, photographing architecture and odd window displays, consuming epic amounts of cappuccino, admiring a city we once called home. Late…

  • steinway-hand
    jazz,  jazz education,  transcriptions

    The Horrors of the Half-Diminished

    / May 24, 2011 / No Comments

    The pesky root-tritone relationship in the half-diminished chord — min 7 (b5) — adds an annoying constraint to voicings options. Often chordal players will omit it entirely, particularly when…

  • steinway-hand
    jazz education,  transcriptions

    Greasy Dominant Tricks

    / May 21, 2011 / 2 Comments

    Continuing the topic of chords (chords, I love chords!!), it’s time to bask in the power of the dominant nine — whether flatted or raised. The voicings below are…

  • steinway-hand
    jazz,  jazz education,  transcriptions

    Luscious Chord Fatness

    / May 21, 2011 / No Comments

    In the spirit of the previous post, I thought I’d talk about a few more chord tricks. Here the focus is on creating the biggest sound possible, the type…

  • jazz,  jazz education,  transcriptions

    Ferrante Voicings

    / May 19, 2011 / 2 Comments

    The great pianist/composer Russell Ferrante (of the Yellowjackets) has a unique brand of chordal harmony. While much of what he plays is as rich and complex as chocolate cake, it could be argued…

  • glam,  Journal,  The Others

    Manolo

    / May 17, 2011 / No Comments

    Last night we ditched a planned movie outing to go wandering through the Galleria. The appeal of the Apple Store is always great, and yet it always disappoints. There,…

  • film,  review-o-matic

    Two More Soundtrack Gems

    / April 24, 2011 / No Comments

    Continuing the topic of soundtracks, I’d like to add two more films for consideration, both of which are now available on Netflix Instant. “Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)” comes from…

  • classical

    Twelve-Tone Commercial

    / April 12, 2011 / 1 Comment

    If tone rows were popular...

  • jazz,  review-o-matic

    Review: Gretchen Parlato “The Lost and Found”

    / April 7, 2011 / 2 Comments

    Gretchen Parlato’s much anticipated third release, The Lost and Found, secures her position as the leading vocalist in New York’s under-40 jazz scene. On this 15-track program, Parlato and producer Robert Glasper…

  • Tribute

    A phone call from space

    / February 27, 2011 / No Comments

    This is pretty amazing: On Sunday, my dad received a phone call from astronaut Mike Barratt aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery! He reported, “The view is spectacular up here.” Adding…

  • classical,  Tribute

    Goodnight Milton

    / January 31, 2011 / 1 Comment

    Today we bid farewell to another musical giant, the one and only Milton Babbitt who died Sunday at 94. Babbitt’s boundary-pushing musical works posed challenges both for his audience…

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