marco

"If you support the troops, where's my health care?"

This veterans day I'm quoting my own self from three years ago. I usually put expletives in there, but today is Veterans Day. And these are the things I ponder. Last month Obama reinstated half a million veterans back to getting the bare minimum of VA benefits. Yes 500,000 of us were put back on from 7+ years being told if we make more than $11,000 a year we're ineligible. This was called Prioity 9. This is important to me because as a former soldier I believe in two things above almost everything else. "Bury your dead, tend your wounded!" For a long time we respected neither as a nation. We still don't on many levels. I care about my fellow veterans. Why? Why do I care?? I shouldn't care really. Currently I have health benefits from Aetna and also from the VA. So what do I care if other vets, or other citizens get healthcare FROM MY TAX DOLLARS? Because I AM my brother's keeper, and you know what else? The ROI (return on investment is exponential) You know how much money I will save giving YOU free healthcare instead of paying extra when you bail on your bills from your emergency room visit???

But anyways I digress. Senator Joe Lieberman is a sick son of a bitch and he's in my top 3 list of people who hate veterans.

These are some of my many thoughts this Veterans Day. Hey, be glad you didn't hear the speech I gave 4 years ago. That was my 9th year in a row without any health care.

If you support the troops, where's our healthcare!!!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YduOeJJnw4

If you get backpain from using a footstool sometime after 2-3 hours of practicing each day, you know you would do the 4-5 hours a day it takes to be on top of your game if you could, right? Didn’t you used to do that much each day? I did, until backpain came my way.

This past year and a half I was at a plateau where I wasn’t growing anymore because I was skipping all the things I knew I needed to do just so I can go right into playing complete songs before the pain sets in.

Well last week I got one of these in the mail and I cannot stress enough how much it works and how much of a godsend it is. Get one, you’ll see what I mean right away!

http://www.luthiermusic.com/product_info.php?products_id=11104

Get it now. Take my word for it!

You’ll thank me for this!

L I E S C H A N G E -- G E N O C I D E R E M A I N S :

WORKSHOPPING A CONGRESSIONAL APOLOGY -- House 46 and Senate 14 !!


If you compare the house and senate bills from 30april you see two things jump
out at you right away. One is paragraph 12 and the other is the disclaimer.

Here's paragraph 12 from the House bill. It is not in the Senate one.

"Whereas this Nation should address the broken treaties and many of the more
ill-conceived Federal policies that followed, such as extermination, termination,
forced removal and relocation, the outlawing of traditional religions, and the
destruction of sacred places"

And the disclaimers???

Nothing in this Joint Resolution--

(1) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or

(2) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.J.RES.46:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.J.RES.14:

OPINION:

Can U even imagine looking back 2 a time when your parent forbade U meeting a President simply out of hatred/fear 4 his politics?

I thank G-d every day my mom & dad (both Republicans!) lacked hatred/fear and instead taught me and my sister to think for ourselves. This hybrid of hateful Republicans is like a bad segment from Mike Judge's movie "Idiocracy."

Writing a Poem for the Kindle.
By Marco Frucht

Writing a poem for the kindle.
Kind of surreal
And po po, po postmodern if you ask me.

Because I’m writing a poem
For the Kindle, you see.

I’m not writing a poem ON the Kindle.
That’s a feature they’ve locked you out of! Yippie!

So I’m writing it in T X T
On my computer for free.
I’ll convert it to D O C
And then P D F and then P R C

After that I can use USB
To drag and drop to the Kindle’s director-ee!

Eject it safely
And you should see

The poem in black, white and gray for me.

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree
Converted to fit on a Kindle or three…

Or can it be?
The most UNLOVELY thing in the world you see,
Is the time I had to spend converting file
After file, all the while cursing Microsoft,
Adobe, Amazon and whoever else I see.

For making me work so hard to place a poem
A wonderful pome.
A heartfelt, freeverse, freestyle poem

Onto, into and on and in. In, in, in
Stinking of sin.
And anger and rage; And Sweetgrass and Sage.

This poem for the Kindle.

New London, Conn; 1pm 6sep09
[ Originally published tomorrow in ATI Zine.
Performed an hour ago at Bean & Leaf Open Mic. ]

Here are some free downloads for you. Burn it to CD, download and print out the jewelcase on a single sheet of paper and you're on your way. Free of charge. Enjoy!

-------------------------------

Here's TAB of John Mayer's version to Human Nature which he played
at Michael Jackson's funeral. I began from GypsyFire's work on his
intro and then added some of the soloing that Mayer does throughout.
(http://www.twitter.com/johncmayer) He repeats many licks for emphasis,
which I don't notate each time. I mostly put each new phrase "in order
of appearance."
If you can open two windows on a large enough computer monitor
(or maybe print the TAB out the old fashioned way and set it in front
of you) I recommend playing the video and watching both the video and
the TAB. If a lick is stumping you, go back a line or two and play a
bunch of phrases in a row and I bet you'll find it again quickly.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------5----------
---3------------------------------------------------3-------5-------------5------------
-/4-----6------2h4--2----------------------------4-------6---------7--------7--6--4b5r4
---------------------------/4--2-------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------5-----2p0------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------3-----------5----------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----3-------5-------------------------------------3-------5---------------------------
-----4-------6-------/4--2------------------------4-------6----------4----6\4p2---4---2
------------------------------4---2----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------2----------------------------------------------
-3-----------5---------------------------0---3------------5----------------------------

-------------------5-------------------------------------------------5-----------------
-----3------5-----5h7--5--------------------3------5-----5h7---7p5--5------------------
-----4------6---------------7--6--4b5r4----4------6----------------------7---6--7p6----
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(7)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3---------5-----------------------------3----------5----------------------------------

"this is the beginning of mayers version today. its not exact i took some of his stuff
and added some of my own. use your thumb on the low E string i find it the easiest to
get those low notes and keep the chord. you can play along to this tab on my profile
i uploaded the mp3 so you can practice...the rhythm is pretty free"

-- GypsyFire http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1158334


:52 secs or so
(where orchestra 1st comes in full)
1:18
------10----10-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------3-5br3h5p3-------------------------
-----------------4/7\5----2h4-2----------2h4-----------------------------------
-------------------------------/4\2--------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1:42 Does He Do Does He Do
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3-5----------------------------------------------12-14b-r-----15-15-15-17-15--
-4-6--11-9---------------------7--7--7h9-7----------------14-----------------16
----------12-11-12-11-9-7-------------------9----------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Me That Way Me That Way


2:48
--------------------------------------------------------------------10\--10\-
---15-14----------------------------------15-17br15-----12h14brbr------------
-16-----14--16-14-----------4br2h4---14h16----------------------14-----------
----------------16--14-------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


(*from a fullstep bend)
[Gets a pick]3:06
-----------------------15br12-15b----10-10h12p10---12br10-12\---------12b10-
b11r-9--9------------------------------------12-----------------------------
------10----------------------------------------------------21br19-21-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(*The release FROM a bend is trademark Mayer and he'll use something similar
at the ending to get what I call that teardrop tone.)


By the way, that's a good observation GypsyFire makes about the thumb on the
low E. Mayer pretty much holds to traditional classical guitar style in finger
picking, where you use your thumb (P, from PIMA) for the bottom three strings.
And then your index, middle and ring fingers get one string each. But don't try
to fixate on that part too much. Play whatever comes natural and there's a very
good chance you'll fall into something very close to what he's already doing.

Did Hitme Spears steal her "If U Seek Amy" music from Pink or what?? & how unoriginal can lyrics B??? If U see kay, tell her Britney Sux0rs.

[ref] = [ http://twitter.com/atizine/status/1783436580 ]


OPEN LETTER TO HITME SPEARS



OK, Well, Britney can "If U Seek Amy" anytime;

but I do wish she would stop trying to portray herself as a singer... Or a songwriter of any kind. Did she steal all of this music from Pink's "I'm Not Dead" album? 4apr06 - http://www.amazon.com/Im-Not-Dead-Pink/dp/B000EGCITG

I thought about doing a mashup of Pink's song "Cuz I Can" with this piece of crap but I think I'll just go listen to her "Stupid Girls" song instead.

Britney is a product, she's a business woman, she's a Madonna wannabe. But she should never be allowed to get away with calling herself any kind of an artist, or singer, or songwriter. Not without catching the razzing of a lifetime! She's uncreative, unoriginal, irrelevant really (I don't know why we're even talking about her at any great length) [ok, she's relevant, just really frickin' dumb.] and if you ask me she's only got a year or two left to keep leveraging her "smokin' hot" "school-girl" teenybopper, "barely legal" image in any kind of a 'brand' way.

And lastly, Um, Britney. "F-U-C-K-me?" How original!
If you see Kay, tell her I said, hi; ok? Did you fail at Hopscotch back on the block; or what???

I have an option E, please take it seriously. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I plan to craft it even more in between my mid terms and finals this semester.

Let’s give our coaches like Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun the opportunity to make even more each year but risk making less too, by making each aspect of their income depend on the gross take each game spread over the year.

Three bad years in a row and they have to justify their salary just as eloquently as the President Hogans and Vice Provost Comprones of our campuses.

Then we can make proffesor salaries AND tuition amounts each semester more aggressively variable as well. We have all these computers and bandwidth, right? Why not put a few of them to work crunching all the numbers so we can see how much more we might be able pay our professors each semester too!

When our sports teams, and the annual Pow Wow, and the ROTC donations and nanotechnology grants give us a smaller amount one semester, my tuition goes up a little and Calhoun’s salary goes down a little.

When all those elements climb a little, my tuition goes down and Calhoun’s salary goes up.

Seriously, and don’t get me wrong, I honor athletics, but it really is quite surreal that Calhoun can command 1.6 million a year plus incentives, yet my best professors teaching me can only look forward to a smidgen higher than $111K a year!

Is your main roll in administration still doing whatever it takes to get me a quality education or had it become figuring out how the heck you’re going to get the Basketball coach his salary every time there’s a new contract negotiation?

Unfortunately I can answer that for you, I’ve been dropping out and returning to UConn as an undergrad since 1982.

Marco

Fellow students,

On March 10th, the UConn Board of Trustees will determine tuition for the
2009-2010 academic year. This decision will affect all students; therefore, we
want your voices to be heard.

Please consider the following information, which is a list of
options that the Board of Trustees will be reviewing regarding tuition
increases:

• Option A: would be no tuition increase. It would require cuts that would
likely result in approximately 290-310 layoffs. If tuition is not increased at all,
UConn will have to close programs and cut services to students. The hours at
the Library, Rec Center, Student Union, dining halls, museums and other
venues would be sharply reduced and many students working at these
facilities would lose their jobs. More classes would be moved to Fridays and
weekends, fewer classes would be offered and they would be larger. The
University would have to reduce financial aid and increase charges for things
like parking and ticket prices to events.

• Option B: would be a tuition increase of 6.0% (this is the standard amount
that tuition has increased by annually over the past few years). This would
amount to a $432 annual increase for resident students over the current
tuition rates. It would require cuts that would likely result in approximately
150-170 layoffs. Programs and services would still be curtailed. Student jobs
would still be lost. Classes would be fewer, bigger and offered at less
convenient times and financial aid would still be cut.

• Option C: would be a tuition increase of 8.67%. This would amount to a
$624 annual increase for resident students over the current tuition rates. It
would likely result in the equivalent of approximately 80-100 lay-offs. It would
save more jobs, programs and services. Financial aid would not have to be cut.

• Option D: would be a tuition increase of 13.67%. This would amount to a
$984 annual increase for resident students over the current tuition rates. It
would not entail any lay-offs. This would avoid the need to close down
programs and services. Student jobs would not be eliminated. Financial aid
would not have to be cut.

President Hogan has recommended an 8.67% tuition increase (Option C,
shown above) in order to save as many UConn programs as possible, while still
keeping tuition affordable. He has asked for the support of the Student
Government in this recommendation.

However, we at USG do not feel that we can responsibly support a tuition
increase without first getting direct feedback from as many students as
possible. It is our job to represent you, and we need to make sure we are
doing what is in your best interest.

In order to get direct feedback on the options for next year’s tuition, we have
set up a poll, click the link below to take the poll:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspxsm=8LL2HkzTVn9XNHZYd6f_2bCw_3d_3d

Please complete the survey (it’s only ONE QUESTION) so that we can begin to
understand which of these four options you, the students, are most
comfortable with. We will be presenting the results of the poll to the
administration and Board of Trustee’s at the begining of next month so please
respond ASAP.

USG is also sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday night, February 24th
at 7p.m.-9p.m. in the Konover Auditorium (at the Dodd Center). President
Hogan, UConn’s Chief Operating Officer Barry Feldman, and Vice President for
Student Affairs John Saddlemire, along with other key figures will be on-hand
to discuss the recent budget cuts and tuition with anyone who would like to
attend.

This meeting will be a great opportunity to voice any opinions or questions you
might have about the potential tuition increase. Please try to attend.

I realize that these are difficult times for all of us, and I thank you all for your
time and effort.

–
Meredith L. Zaritheny
President of the Student Body
University of Connecticut
Undergraduate Student Government
2110 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT 06269
(860) 486-3708
meredith.zaritheny@uconn.edu

Using Pidgin?

Make sure you have 2.5.3 - there are security issues it resolved.

I reinstalled my Pidgin 2.5.1 the other day and changed my MSN password both at Hotmail and inside of MSN at the Pidgin graphical UI.

Why? A friend of mine who uses his MSN right inside of the new LIVE console from Microsoft found an issue the hard way. And with me right alongside experiencing it over his cybershoulder. I got up to get a coffee refill where I was chatting with him. (he's clear across the country near Oregon and Washington)

I came back to the screen not even 45 seconds later, and sure that no one had touched my keyboard while I was away because it was in plain site the whole time.

"Did you initiate a chat?" I typed him after seeing the weirdest glitch I've seen in a couple years or so. There was a chat box open and who will I be chatting with? Him. Uh, and also, er, uh, mmm hmmm... him as well.

Yes there were two instances of his nick asking me to chat with the both of them. My very first thought was "man in the middle attack" but that's the extent of my security-oriented troubleshooting abilities.

So he said he didn't initiate a chat and that what I described to him seemed peculiar indeed. He said he would reboot and change his password; I told him I'd do the same but additionally install my Pidgen console as well just to be safe. (I didn't know there were issues around security with 2.5.1 yet, and I was never even made aware that 2.5.2 had come out, much less that there was a 2.5.3 about to come in about a day to try and resolve all these other issues that I ALSO didn't know anything about)

So make a long story short, I reinstalled the same 2.5.1 of Pidgin because that's all that was available on the http://www.pidgin.im site yet. (You'll see 2.5.3 there now, as the upgrade shipped last nite sometime)

After that I changed my hotmail password which immediately caused all kinds of side effects. I could get back into IM on my laptop, my desktop and my other desktop just fine, but not within Mobile 6 on my dumb smartphone! I reinstalled Agile Messenger on that thing three times, with even a factory reset in between. Nothing. Second factory reset, and changing my password a third time -- one or the other did the trick. That was frustrating enough.

So my buddy found out that in fact there WAS a problem with the relationship between the new LIVE MSN, and Pidgin over Vista and maybe XP. My two options I thought up in realtime were to keep using Pidgin for ICQ, yahoo, aim, etc., and use MSN's console for MSN, or ditch Pidgin for a version or two, and go back and get the newest version of Trillian which I remember liking just as much as Pidgin. The only thing it lacked for my liking was encryption so I'll consider Trillian for everything or just MSN.

Well, I read up on this issue, and found out that Trillian was having similar problems so I installed MSN/LIVE. Don't ask. I uninstalled it and figured even if that was an option, for me it wasn't an option. I won't go into everything that bothered me there, the list is long and I'll need anger management classes again just retelling it.

So I made another pass across Google and AltaVista to see if any new info had come along.

Boy had it! Pidgin 2.5.3 got released in realtime while I was wrestling with .dll hell and reinstalling apps left and right, and by the time I'd finished uninstalling all that I was full versed on how 2.5.3 overcomes all the security issues like I'd just witnessed, and decided to go for it. So I upgraded pidgin and went about my business.

If you wish to avoid all that, you might want to make sure you've got the right version of Pidgin. And you know what? Check every other application you've got if you don't mind putting the work in on that. I had troubles with Opera email browser less than a full week ago and I've heard other things about apps that I don't use.

Signal Corps of the Revolution,
marco

[ref]=[http://bugs.gentoo.org/234135]
[ref]=[http://www.findmysoft.com/news/Pidgin-2-5-3-Universal-IM-Client-Updated/]
[ref]=[http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2315]

Many words escape me while I try to express just how relieved I was that
the McCain/Palin mining agenda lost.

I remember how I felt while McCain was giving his concession speech and
then I just put that feeling elsewhere and went about my life. Then yesterday
when Obama was announcing his pick for Dept Head of the Interior it all
welled up inside me again.

Mostly because he discussed "first nations people" and "first americans" so
much in the context of this new appointment to be.

There are things I do not like about Obama, trust me, there are quite a few,
but the positives outweigh the negatives for me so far. And in the context of
what McCain and Palin would've done to places like Black Mesa and ANWR, Oh My
God! What else can I say???

http://www.counterpunch.org/norrell09192008.html
http://muffinbottoms.org/?p=20

So it was comforting to hear Obama at least state his intentions toward
"nation to nation" and "people to people."

I know Barack Obama keeps saying he's getting his recent inspirations
from reading a lot of Lincoln, but I have two additional topics I feel
he should be struggling with right this moment in realtime.

Shakespeare's last play "The Tempest" and Calvin Coolidge granting
citizenship to NDNs.

shoe bomber calls Iraqi shoe-thrower courageous

shoe bomber calls Iraqi shoe-thrower courageous
by Jo Satyriani
special to Prime Anarchist World News Tonite.


COSTA DO SAUIPE, Prison (PAWN) — Richard Reid (shoe bomber) said Tuesday that an Iraqi journalist was acting for his country's people when he tossed his shoes at President George W. Bush.



Reid said he doesn't favor throwing shoes at anybody, but that the incident could be called "the shoe toss of a people's dignity.
"

"One must remember that Bush has not thrown shoes at the people of Iraq — but bombs, death, destruction," he said.


Earlier, Reid had a more jovial response to the incident — laughing and calling it "funny.
" Referring to the shoe-tosser, he said, "What courage!"

The leftist Chuck Taylor Exploder then hedged those remarks, however, adding: "At least it didn't hit him.
"

Reid has often railed against Bush — once famously calling him "the devil" while trying to light his shoes on fire on a Boa 767 Airliner.


But he said Monday night Bush "should be congratulated" because he still "has his reflexes.
"

Commercial toothpaste contains fluoride

There is a lot of debate about Flouride and whether it does or doesn't have negative effects on our bodies. It is a key ingredient in most tubes of toothpaste that you find in the grocery store today. It also gets added to the local water supplies in most parts of the U.S. I don't want to start a big debate about whether it is good that it is put into our water supply or not, but just know that even the supporters of floride use agree that too much can lead to Fluorosis.


Personally, I try to avoid flouride and if you do you are well aware that there are few options in the grocery store. Even a lot of the natural and organic toothpastes seem to contain flouride.


But, regardless of where you stand on the flouride issue, there are many other artificial ingredients contained in commercial toothpaste, like sweeteners (usually saccharin), emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial flavors. While they may not be as bad as drinking bleach, they aren't benefiting your body.


Make your own toothpaste

I decided to do some digging and see what it actually takes to make your own toothpaste. It turns out it only requires a few natural and easy to find ingredients. I don't have kids yet, but this seems like one of those projects that may be good to get your kids involved with.

I know I never wanted to brush my teeth when I was 5, but this might have made it more fun!
Ingredients needed to make natural toothpaste

1.
Baking soda (works as a natural cleansing agent and it polishes and whitens your teeth as well!)
2.
Table salt
3.
Hydrogen Peroxide (naturally disinfects your mouth)
4.
Stevia (optional as sweetener)
5.
Peppermint oil (optional)

Both 4 and 5 can be found at a health food store

Steps to make your toothpaste

1.
Pour 1/2 cup baking soda into a mixing bowl
2.
Add a dash of salt
3.
Add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide
4.
Add 1 drop of peppermint oil
5.
Add a dash of stevia (more if you want it sweeter)
6. Mix it all up until it becomes paste like. You may have to add more hydrogen peroxide to get the right consistency.



A few notes about the homemade toothpaste

* You can store it in a plastic container to keep it from drying out.


* If you're not into the peppermint flavor, you could try ground cinnamon or vanilla extract.

Weavers, Any idea where this basket might be from?

Please help me identify him/her if you can. OK? I’m finding out that it *might* be ash splint or it might be bamboo. And I’m told so far that if it’s North America it might be Cherokee, but I’m also hearing it might be northern New England.

Some are saying the star might be Apache, and others are saying it’s 6 pointed so must be jewish. I’ve tried comparing it with pictures from all over the world but am having no real luck so far.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks a gazillion,
marco

PS: While searching so much; I found a neat “basket” version of the Concentration game, if anyone’s interested; I found it VERY fun!

http://www.nativetech.org/basketry/gameindex.html

IVAW redressed their grievance with Senator John McCain
even before he go to be president. Or didn't get to be
president. That part remains to be seen.

But let the record show, that a hefty portion of we veterans
will vow no less than eternal hostility for tyrannous sleazebags
who attack freedom with the worst weapon ever used against freedom.

DOUBLESPEAK.








note: When you heard several people chanting USA, USA, USA the chants were started by agents of the Republican Party in an effort to distract away from the protest. They've been developing this all over the U.S. since at least as early as 2005.

Just this evening I watched the corporate media finally figure out how to go looking for
where the protest was each time this happened. Hence these two fotos from MSNBC.

I saw the same out of CBS live, and watched it again on C-Span later tonite.

DickCheese assaults people onstage and then to make it worse
hunts them down and tries to remove video evidence of these
assaults.

He grabbed a camera out of someone's hands and then threw it
at them; spit half a drink all over someone else's camera.

And that's not all. He did other things backstage and on his
way out of there too. He's a royal asshole, it turns out, in
real life. Totally out of control.

If he didn't want people filming him he should've prominently
notified as such! And after demanding that people put cameras
away, if they didn't he should've stopped the show just long
enough to get authorities in there to deal with each of the
several dozen camera people.

Um, you were performing at a New Media convention. Things were
going to get filmed, recorded and blogged. Duh!

Grabbing cameras out of peoples' hands is physical assault.
Destroying their property is misdemeanor or felony in each
state of the U.S. I don't care if you feel justified, you
dolt. You are NOT justified in harming people. I don't care
who you think you are.

People need to stop hiring you. And they need to start telling
you off, and exposing you for what you are. An out of control
moron...

http://matthewebel.com/main/2008/08/20/how-not-to-treat-your-fans
http://averagesamaritan.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/post-27-controlling-your-identity-in-the-social-media-world-or-richard-cheese-is-an-asshole
http://muffinbottoms.org/?cat=6
http://brandice.net/blog/?p=695

...who can't write a real song, steals others' music in the worst
way, not even parody or fair use, steals' their artwork, and
even PERFORMS like a bad parody of Elvis at his worst. Or more
like Slim Whitman or Boxcar Willy AFTER they don't "have it"
anymore.

Face it Richard Cheese, you suck at sucking even.

You're not Lounge Against The Machine.

You're Nine Pinch Fails!

Is the POTUS:

1) just getting softer and softer in the head and falling harder and harder on the ground; or

2) shoving mass quantities of liquor, cocaine and prozac into his pie hole?


I'm having trouble with my Ockham's Razor stuff on this one...

I currently have 5 guitars: 4 acoustic, 1 electric; that I have kept because of a certain “je-ne-sais-quois” they possess.

In all these years of playing, repairing, building, I have sold off, given away and thrown out each and every other guitar only to keep these. After all these years. I’m setting out to blog each one over time.

Here’s the first; my newest.



#5 Handmade bamboo guitar from the Phillipines.

Created by Jun Reputana.

So what's so special about my bamboo guitar from the Phillipines? It's loud. It's sonorous, it's bright, it's bassy, it's precise. What else can I say. It's weird? It's beautiful. It's got sweet spots that go right to your heart.

Acoustically.

From far away even. The action will be easy with a little work, and it seems to be patterned after a fairly old Martin D-28 although I think it was made 2-5 years ago.

Bamboo neck, bamboo body, bamboo headstock. Bamboo almost every THING! The inlay spots are black pearl, from shells that the creator wanders around a beach to find on his own whenever he starts a new guitar.

And when I say handmade, I'm talking about standard, ancient and reliable but sturdy tools. Hand saws and stuff. Wow. Are there more than 20,000 other guitars in history made that way? That's only part of what I'm talking about when I say magic. You really have to hear it and feel it to see what I mean. So just take my word for it for now.

[GUITAR'S NAME HERE: Alma!]

So how did I acquire Alma?
I pointed it out in a coffee shop because of the strange hand made case. By shape you can tell it's a guitar case, but it really looks more like a footlocker that has travelled the oceans. The handle is literally a drawer handle with phillips head screws keeping it fast. Three hasps keep the top secured. Wooden pegs or locks, your call.
"What's that guitar all about?" I ask the owner.
"You like it?"
"It's neat, but what kind of guitar is it? And what's its story?"
"Open it, you like it?"
"Kinda," I say opening it. "Nice. I do." It's odd looking because I've never seen a guitar entirely made out of bamboo before. (The fretboard *might* be jackfruit, but I'm pretty sure it too is heavily dyed bamboo woods)
"Take it home. I'm sick of looking at it every day. It's been here since last fall," he says. And then he proceeds to tell me everything he doesn't like about it. The flaws, how the maker must be unskilled, etc.
"Sure, thanks." I tell him I'll string it up and if it works out ok make it work, and if not I'll make artwork out of it like I've done so many other times. It was missing a bridge pin, and had not been strung in a while, but other than that was intact and serviceable.
So I got it home, put a bridge pin on it, and strung it up. And tuned it.

Oh my gawd!!!

It sounded awesome even working its way TOWARD in-tune. Let's put it this way. No other guitar I've ever played has sounded good between 420 and 432 A. Most guitars only sound good between 440 and 455ish, and much higher than that you'll watch the whole face cave in and become unrepairable. Well this one doesn't need to even come up to concert pitch to sound exciting. I really hope I can share that with you some day. And that's the rest of the magic that I'm not even going to describe in this blog. It's there.
I'll close with one last description of other peoples' description of this magic and then a link or two about Jun Reputana who made this guitar.
I check 7 music stores working my way from far ones to the nearest ones before finding a gig bag I want to fit with this fine pony.

Caruso's in Downtown New London, CT has a new line of cases by a British company called Ritter. They specialize in Yoga equipment, upscale luggage and guitar cases.
I purchase one and open my other case to carefully move my guitar into it and see if they fit together.
"Wow, what is that?" says John the drum guy at that store asking what kind of wood it has.
"Bamboo I say, wanna play it?" I hand it to him.
He strums it once and yells, "Oh my gawd! Hey, Rich," he shouts across the room to one of the owners. "You have to hear this guitar."
Rich signals that he's on the phone and will deal with it later. Another salesman I never met before asks to play it while we're waiting together for Rich to get off the fone.
He loves it too. Rich has seen it all. Been running music stores since I was a little kid. Plays it more nonchalant than the others at first. I watch him strum some of those "show off a guitar in a salesroom" jazz chords with the occasional sweet licks in between and I can see that he's really excited about it.
"Not bad" is all we get out of him verbally, but you should've seen the look on his face.

So I go to my favorite coffeeshop to hang out and use wifi and stuff, and the salesman I hadn't met before comes in. (never did get his name) He tells me that after my guitar and I left the shop he googled it and got blown away by what he found.

http://www.IWriteMoreThanYou.org

Tony Snow has died.

He deserves our respect and good vibes but NOT our pandering. His adult career was spent in abuse of journalism on behalf of fascism through violations of the First and Fourth Ammendments, and he was a lifelong apologist for wars and genocide.

If now is not the time to expose FOX “news” channel for what it is, when???

Wait, the Salmonella looks to be from fresh commercial jalapenos now, rather than tomatoes??? Start from SYSCO Foods!

Shut them down for 48 hours and investigate them back first and then forward. Repeat with each smaller company til you find it!

Now gimme Tommy Thompson’s old job at Health and Human Services. He’s incompetent.

http://muffinbottoms.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/attackofthekillertomatoes.mp3