nostatic at all...

To see a smile, and hear that laugh
Never meaning to break the ties
Or hurt someone on my behalf
Scars can tell a twisted tale
Mistakes were made the same
And not afraid to fail

I need you but I need myself
I need you and I heal myself

A chance to see just what is lost
Eyes in that stunning shot,
Tell volumes of the cost
Mistakes are made, and then repeated
It's hard to face the facts,
See the one that cheated

I need you but I need myself
I need you and I heal myself

This turn is short, cannot waste
See the light and reach for it
With people we are graced
To have a choice, although it's blurred
See the way and feel today
A heart is finally heard

I need you but I need myself
I need you and I heal myself

Pin the hopes and dreams on a slice of time
There's danger in tying to a moment always dying
Packed and ready, played around the edges for so long
A proper coming out, a chance to bury some doubt

4 Nights in Tokyo, it would make it all right
4 Nights in Tokyo, could be a bit too tight

11 hours in a tin can, wasn't the worst part
No time for a refill, could be my bitter pill
Big city, bright lights, small room
Just like the inside, losing grip on the ride

4 Nights in Tokyo, sit in a stranger's car
4 Nights in Tokyo, a warm spot seems so far

Know yourself, know the world, no nothing
Foundation cracks, no grounding strap
Overbooked, undercooked, worry how it looked
When did the sun start setting in the east?

4 Nights in Tokyo, the room is getting smaller
4 Nights in Tokyo, the shadow is getting taller

Finally come clean, but the call starts a spin
First flight out, clear the decks, hold on tight
Hoping to clear, when back on thin ice
Home field advantage, still just can't manage

4 Nights in Tokyo, home seems bittersweet
4 Nights in Tokyo, it's still incomplete

Had enough, how many times
Too many to count, no defense to mount
I'm inside my outside and back again

Live up to the mirror, how many times
Not good enough, lay up from the rough
I'm inside my outside and back again

She's the one, how many times
In love with the idea of being in love
I'm inside my outside and back again

If I knew then, how many times
Mistakes are the same, different game
I'm inside my outside and back again

Today's a new day, how many times
Feels suspiciously like, falling off the same old bike
I'm inside my outside and back again

Well, the new year is here. To paraphrase Pete Townsend, "meet the new year...same as the old year." 2003 ended on an ausipicous note, as I had to pay out of pocket for many thousands of $$$''s in repairs on my car. It could have been worse I suppose...it could be medical bills being paid.

The new year starts off looking towards recording an EP with Simpleflower, cranking out publications at work, and working on my album. I''ve got a bunch of new tunes, and they just need to be worked out.

Hey, I was just trying to rhyme. For those keeping track, my car is back out of the shop after an argument with a large chunk of concrete (tossed into my path by another car). I had a few modifications done, and unfortunately I don''t like them, so I''m swtiching the car back to stock. The bad thing is everything cost more than expected, so I''m out of pocket pushing 5 figures. Ouch. Now I''ve got to scramble and try and find the guy who caused the concrete to be in the freeway and see if I can get his insurance to reimburse me. Fun. Double fun. And to make matters worse, my car now has no front valence since I took the new fiberglass one off (and couldn''t get my old banged up one back on). So I shouldn''t really drive the car until next week. But then I''ve got to wait to get a valence, then get it painted, then mount it up.

Could be worse...I could have been hurt.

New Year''s resolutions? Naw...too much to think about. Although I would like to sort out my electronic nonsense. Right now, I''ve got an iPod (can''t live without it), a cell phone, Palm pda, PocketPC pda, G4 laptop (can''t live without it), and TabletPC (NEC, very thing), digital camera. Too much stuff to keep track of. So why all the things? Well, for one, since I do bleeding edge media for a living, I need to have devices to test our content. I also am looked upon for advice on how to do things. Anyway, here''s my early new year assesment of my stuff, and what I do/don''t like.', 'iPod - no brainer. Great. The only thing I wish it could do is accept data input (other than with a microphone). Keeper.

cell phone - no brainer...I have to have a phone. BUT, why can''t it do something else? There are ones that do (camera, pda, etc) but I don''t like any of them. The new MS phone scares the heck out of me, and you can''t use a stylus. Frankly, I don''t like navigating with buttons, and it took me too long to figure out just how to use it like a phone. The Treo600 is too bulky and I HATE the mini keyboards....uggh. The old Treos were too big, and the Kyocera is too big too. Still waiting on this front, but I''ve got to replace my v60 as I''ve broken 5 antennas now (I carry the phone in my pocket).

laptop - no brainer. G4 ti book. I''d like to get the new Al body version, but my Ti book has been running flawlessly for well over a year, so why upgrade.

pda - well, I need one to remind me about things. It is also nice to have something to take quick (and sometimes not so quick) notes on. I really want to like Palm, but Grafitti2 is unusable to me. OK for writing a few words, but beyond that, hopeless. In a terrifying state of affairs, I actually like PocketPC2003 fairly well, and the new HP hardware is very good. I can use my 2215 for writing, although the screen is still too small for taking "proper" notes (I like to diagram). So still not perfect, and I don''t really like having MS products controlling my life. So, still undecided. I want a "new" Newton 2100, but that isn''t likely to happen.

tabletPC - an interesting beast. The OS isn''t quite as nice as the PocketPC and you have to have a special pen to use it (bummer if you''ve lost it). But the new NEC VersaPad is a great form factor, very thin and light. And it is big enough to use for taking notes...I can diagram to my hearts content. And I have to admit that the new OneNote app is pretty nice and useful. I have been using the tablet at meetings and it works fairly well. Battery life could be longer (about 2 hours), but not too bad. I still wish it were a bit smaller, but it is pretty close. Same caveat though about having an MS product rule my life.

So, the solution? Apple needs to make a tablet and/or enable data entry in the iPod. I''d like my phone to do more, and my v60 does have calendar functionality that will sync with iSync, but I can''t yet get iSync to talk to our Exchange backend at work (hopefully in January when we upgrade our back end). If my phone can do basic calendar/contact stuff (which it should), syncing with my desktop, then I''m set there. The iPod can just do music and store files, and the tablet can be used for notes, or I can use paper.

Awhile back I had thought about iPod recording audio at meetings, and my Digital Elph snapping pictures of white board drawings. Still haven''t implemented that, but it is a thought. Maybe MacWorld will bring something interesting...

Well, another day, another bit of controversey on the OSX Audio board. I continued on my rant against those who I view as "artistes". One person made a distinction between using canned loops and making your own...with the undercurrent being that canned loops weren''t "music" but if you made your own it was somehow inherently superior. My reply:', 'sorry, but I call more "artiste" nonsense by making a distinction between canned loops and "real" homemade loops. If the final product sounds good and moves people, it is immaterial what and how loops were made. Creating a loop from a sample clearly takes more expertise, but imho it does nothing to guarantee the "musicianistic" quality of what comes out the backend.

hey, a new word.

I know web developers that poo-poo anything but a text editor for creating web pages. Then there are people that use graphic tools. Then there are people who use weblogs that automate the entire process of creating the presentation of electronic words, except for the arrangement on the page. None of these guarantees good or bad results.

Not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. I''m not saying that musicianship is dead, nor am I saying that loops are the be-all and end-all. But, the emergence of apps like this often point out the elitism and snobbery that pervades the arts. And I think those attributes are what helps to kills the arts in society

so jsepeta says: "oh, please spare us the bs. ClearChannel decides what they want to market, and the labels all have to kiss ClearChannel''s buns. while using modern tools like loop manipulators might put one into the ''britney pop throwaway music'' category, it won''t necessarily bestow her girlish figure on you. so garageband should be seen as a fun toy/tool, but not necessarily something that will make you a "star". the age of the album is dead; long live the single.

and I sez: "Not sure what part of my post was BS. I''m in total agreement about the evil that is CC, but the relationship isn''t quite as one-way/black-white as you paint it. Maybe for indies, but not for the big 5.

And I"m not denigrating loops...I think they can be used in pop nonsense as well as "serious" music (whatever that is). And I never said GB will make anyone a star...merely that it empowers people to MAKE something instead of CONSUME something. As to the quality, that is up to the person.

The dynamic between consumer and producer is changing. Yes, CC controls a scary number of radio stations. We are at a tipping point in history. The next few years will be critical with regards to content creation and the state of the commons. Tools that enable people to move into an active role help attenuate the power being amased by entities like CC via activities legal and otherwise. You only need to look to bbs'' and weblogs to see the possibilities. Go to Google, enter "miserable failure" and click "I''m feeling lucky. That result was the organized unwashed masses, not CC.