jamessavik's Blog

My Music Collection, Part 2

I've been working on it and have my collection sorted by group and release year (when known). It includes all CDs and vinyl. There is more to add but I'll be parsimonious about adding it as it is stuff I might unload on e-bay. Yes- I do have doubles of various things I might have on the trading block. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Doors Down The Bet

April 21

Lessons of Music

Rush was a band that got me in trouble. Back in the mid to late 70s, my parents didn't really care what I listened to. We were far enough apart, and my stereo modest, using headphones my noise was never a nuisance. I think they actually liked some of my Yes. The problem I had was when we had a revival preacher that was a real fire breather who preached about the devil, all of his works and his cunning snares for youth. Of course, it was this album that caused our conflict.

April 8

How I discovered Can

How I discovered Can My discovery of the Krautrock band Can was one of the more improbable bits of serendipity to fall in my lap. The improbability of a German Experimental Band's music and a Mississippi teenager crossing paths had to have been quite low. In the 70s my family would drive into Jackson, Mississippi on weekends to shop at a big store on highway 80. It was a big, day long event not to be missed. Just around the corner from the strip mall was Be-Bop Record Shop-

April 6

prompts

Reddit Prompt

I saw a prompt on Reddit I couldn't resist. A prankster in the future rigged a tank with speakers blasting heavy metal, traveled back to the 1400s, and went on a 2 month havoc filled joyride. Now in 2022 you are reading the legends born from those that witnessed this event. __________________________________________________________________ Trouble in the Provinces "Angus laddie, whatever is that bloody racket? "It sounds like thunder sire."

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March 16

Dear Hunter's - The Color Spectrum

In 2011 The Dear Hunter, a progressive rock band, released an album that intrigued me since I heard its premise. The Color Spectrum is a concept album composed of nine EPs each corresponding to the colors black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and white. Each color is interpreted in a series of four songs that invoke the flavor, emotion and feel of those colors. It was so unique I've been curious about it for years. I finally found a copy of it on eBay and have been jamming

March 3

Home Audio

home audio What is a DAC and what do they Do?

Many people are asking: What is a DAC? And Do I want one? A great many people play music on their phones and computers. That's all well and good, but have you ever listened to the difference between the all digital sound you get from your computer and a dedicated analog stereo system? The difference is so real it's astonishing. There is a good nuts and bolts technical reason why analog and digital sources sound so different. It is because of the nature and the difference of analog and

JamesSavik in Home Audio

February 20

art

Would you like to play a game?

Do you want to read or listen to music for fun? I understand perfectly. After all, what's the point otherwise? We ask too little of our art these days. We want it to give us a few laughs. We like to be entertained, maybe excited or even frightened. We don't often ask that it teach us anything and that's a shame. That's what art is for. It's supposed to challenge you, disturb you, open your eyes, expand your consciousness and understanding. There is another level to reading and listeni

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February 6

Home Audio

home stereo Cambridge Audio Christmas

This Christmas I had two choices: either I let my old stereo die or replace it with something new and modern that could do things like streaming my old system could not. I've been replacing it by bits, but my old amp was on its last legs. I did my homework. I read reviews, looked at specs and found something I could afford and gave me the kind of options I wanted. The core of my new system is a Cambridge Audio ARX-85. It's a capable little amp that can push 85 watts over two pairs

JamesSavik in Home Audio

December 30, 2021

media

The Unblinking Eye

The Unblinking Eye Once upon a time, the news of the world came to us at the sedate speed of the newspaper man's Linotype. The news of the world would arrive at your door every morning along with sports, comics, book reviews and obituaries. On its way, editors might decide that the typhoon in China or the earthquake in Persia wouldn’t be of interest to local subscribers. Sometimes the images of distant disasters and war took weeks or months to end up before the public.

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December 5, 2021

science

Scientific Consensus

Scientific Consensus Alfred 1 Wegener (1880-1930) was a German meteorologist who picked up an interest in geology. He wondered why some continents like Africa and South America fit together almost like a key? He began to wonder: do continents move? In Victorian times such an idea seemed ludicrous as every good Christian fundamentalist knew that the world was 10,000 years old. Anyone who might suggest processes like Wegener s or his contemporary James Hutton that to

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October 14, 2021

Memes

Memeing In the First Republic

Some people might think that the 1st memes invented were Keyboard cat, Philosoraptor and the numa-numa guy. That would be very, very wrong. Imagine you lived in a Kingdom that was one of the most powerful and influential in the world but, it had fallen on hard times. The king was, by all accounts, a corrupt incompetent dolt. The people were hungry and the spoiled, foolish Queen, when told there was no bread for the peasants said let them eat cake. While this might sound u

JamesSavik in Memes

October 8, 2021

COVID-19

The Truth About COVID-19

COVID-19 is a modified Coronavirus(1). Coronaviruses are first cousin to the Rhinovirus which cause the lions share of head colds. One guess which family causes the rest of them: coronaviruses. Coronavirus and Rhinovirus are positive stranded RNA virus which means their genetic material is the single stranded RiboNucleaic Acid (RNA). They differ significantly from DioxyNucleaic Acid (DNA) based viruses. RNA viruses do not have double-stranded genetic material of DNA viruses and are much sma

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August 30, 2021

recipes, southern

Cassarole for a Dinner on the Grounds

Many Protestant denominations have a wonderful tradition called Dinner on the Grounds. That alone is enough to give you religion but, I digress. It's often held in late summer or early fall so the bounty of farms and gardens can be shared with friends and neighbors. Many a little old church lady... ...will don her blue wig and show off her best recipes. This is why there are no anorexic Baptists. If you would like a taste of this heavenly goodness without the associated hymns and

JamesSavik in recipes, southern

August 14, 2021

astronomy

Fun with the Eagle Nebulea

This is the Eagle Nebula. It is otherwise known as M-16 or "the Pillars of Creation". As a star forming region, it has long been studied. The Hubble's images from the nineties have given us a better look at it than ever before. We can now see structures that no telescope ever before could resolve. This gave us a chance to see these gems. All of these artifacts are gas, dust, multiple stars in the process of formation and their interactions. The Demon is five major stars form

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August 1, 2021

writing

writing Experimental Writing (or Thanks for being my Guinea Pigs)

I have two rather large writing experiments that I've been running for a while now. I have been running them at GA because I can access them directly and don't have to go through an intermediary to post or do hot online edits. These are highly experimental, and I'm trying a lot of new and different things. I'll share my findings here. I had several goals that I wanted to achieve: Get proficient with self-editing Work on the process of outline => draft => revision

JamesSavik in writing

May 13, 2021

music, albums, vinyl

The Vinyl

Like many kids my era, I collected albums, smoked a lot of weed and listened to music real loud. Unlike many of my contemporaries, I held on to my collection and treated it with great care. It sounds as good today as it did in the seventies. Jackson Browne The Pretender LP R The Beatles Abbey Road LP R Foreigner

JamesSavik in music, albums, vinyl

April 25, 2021

Music

CD Collection

I have a bunch of CDs and I had to get them organized, so I'll know what I have and where they are. I'm working on my vinyl collection too but, it's a lot more work. I'm taking them out, cleaning them covering the outside in plastic and replacing the liners that need it with an after-market product. I wanted to have this list in a few different places. Anyway, gaze upon my works and despair. Yes- there are duplications (trade bait). Location is where they are. After getting this actually done I'

JamesSavik in Music

April 23, 2021

preview

The Summer Job (A Preview)

Phillip is 16 and new in town with his first job: working for the Y. With no friends and his Dad stuck in London (or was that Hong Kong or Singapore?), he resolves to make a few. One of the new fiends older brother Andy is known to be a real asshole and, he wants to have a talk to Phillip.

JamesSavik in preview

February 16, 2021

horrible writing advice

Horrible Writing Advice

Horrible writing advice... Heroes wear white. They ride on high white horses and have shiny plot armor. They are, of course, interesting because who wants to read about a bum, right? Heroes should be flawless role models because seeing them overcome their petty human experience is just plain boring. Villains wear black. Their horses don't really like them. They don't get shiny plot armor because the writers guild demands it! They aren't very interesting because they're just plain old e

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February 12, 2021

Science Fiction- Tomorrow's Headlines Today

When it comes to science and technology, never say never. Never is a very long time and, we don't know everything. Last one to Proxima Centauri is a Tribble turd.

December 22, 2020

Mary Sue (with appologies to Buddy Holly)

If you knew Mary Sue Then you'd know why I feel blue With Mary, my Mary Sue Oh well, I loathe you, gal Yes, I loathe Mary Sue! Mary Sue, Mary Sue I'm so fucking sick of you Oh, Mary, F-ing Mary Sue Oh well, I loathe you Yes, I loathe you Mary Sue Mary Sue, Mary Sue Annoying, bitchy, perfect Mary Sue Oh, Mary, f-ing Mary Sue I'm so f-ing sick of you Die horribly perfect Mary Sue!

December 18, 2020

Shrimp Creole

Cajun food is a lot like jazz. There are some basics but, there a lot of ad lib going on. Some of the old recipes were designed to vary significantly depending on what you had on hand. For something like Jambalaya the rice and spices are constant but, it can be loaded up with anything from sausage, hamburger meat, shrimp, deer meat, etc. It's how a Mom could feed a lot of kids based on what's in the kitchen. It's not hard to do, fun and you come up with some absolutely delicious stuff.

June 28, 2020

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients: 3 X chicken breasts 1 X large onion (red or yellow) 1 X green bell pepper 1 X red bell pepper Spice Mix: 1 TBS chili powder 1 TBS Cumin 1 Teaspoon salt 1 Teaspoon black pepper 1 large crock pot Steps: Prep the veggies Slice onions and peppers. Load up the crock pot Create a bed of onions and peppers for the chicken. Park the chicken on a bed of onions and peppers