I'll take either one: the high speed camera or the samurai sword.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It took me a full week to realize that my ksmoker.com domain name expired and wasn't getting automatically renewed as it should have. A quick check of my webstats shows that a good chunk of my readers (or maybe my spammers) still link to this through the ksmoker.com domain name as opposed to the new fretfulporpentine.com.

Everything should be back to normal soon, which if you're reading this, means that it is.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the best parts of this cookbook is the 50-page introduction where the author explains the traditional uses and preparation of the (gazillion) spices used in Indian cuisine. For example, we learn that turmeric is a root which gives an even better color and flavor fresh than when dried. “Turmeric is difficult to powder at home, and there is always a danger of buying an adulterated form in markets, so shrewd housewives buy their annual requirements before the summer and get it pounded in their presence.” Also be on the lookout for cassia bark being passed off as cinnamon, and if you can't use fresh coconut or find a reliable canned product, Nestlés coconut milk powder is the most acceptable of last resorts.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Been tagged by Greg, an apparent first-time internet-meme taggee. Can't imagine how I've missed tagging him in the past.

Here's the deal, fairly straightforward. List five reasons why I blog.:

Self-indulgent blather

Yes, there it is: blogging is, at least in part, an exercise in narcissism. Doesn't mean I don't have anything worthwhile to share,¹ but there is that basic human need to be heard that is a key motivation.

Keeping in touch

Almost all of my family and friends are within a day's drive, but most are not exactly around the corner, either. A blog is a good (not perfect) way to keep everyone up to speed on what's going on in our lives especially the big stuff.

Information-sharing

There are, perhaps surprisingly, some things that I discover or learn that may be worth sharing with others. You know, kind of as a community service.

Writing practice

I maintain an interest in writing---perhaps not good writing according to some standards---but I do enjoy the discipline of translating thought to words.

Connecting with others

In those dark and benighted days before the internet, the only way to foster a non-face-to-face relationship through the medium of writing was to have a pen pal. Through my blog and the blogs of others, I have had dozens, if not hundreds, of conversations about topics that hold a deep interest to me. Fleeting as some of these conversations may have been, I have actually met a couple of these people in the flesh (Greg is one) and the relationships seem somehow richer and more meaningful because of---rather than in spite of---the 'impersonal' medium in which we initially met.

That last one is perhaps the most exciting to me. Despite our reputation as pajama wearing navel-gazers, most bloggers who are at least semi-serious have stories of making a connection, of finding kindred spirits and collaborators, of enriching the lives of others as well as their own. All through blogging.

Maybe it's me, but did those answers seem too formulaic to you? Let's tag Cynthia and Stephen. I'll bet they can come up with something different.

Posted by ksmoker at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Plopped this cd in after seeing Greg's post about the robot that plays Giant Steps. It's not quite a fair comparison. I mean, there's no rhythm section and you can hear the clicking of the mechanical fingers. But definitely, as Greg says, there's something missing. If you do need a point of reference, here is my favorite online version of the Coltrane classic.

The video is six or seven years old, though. The technology seems to have come a long way since then. Admittedly, it isn't Coltrane, but the Toyota trumpet-playing robot has picked up at least a tiny amount of soul in the musical (if not the metaphysical) sense.

So yes, I'm sure that someday in the not too distant future, perhaps even within my lifetime, airport bars and hotel atria will start sporting robotic house bands. This could certainly be seen as an improvement over piped in Muzak and not much of a stretch beyond player pianos, but does this signal the end of the small-time, independent musician?

Mmmm no, I don't think so. The question of whether the sounds of tomorrow's robots can be distinguishable from the music that humans produce is really moot. Making music will remain a human endeavor for eons to come. It's the metaphysical soul that is the engine for musical soul. Until robots have the former, they will only be able to emulate the latter.

Posted by ksmoker at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)