Like music?

If you are searching for for some new music, I have a gem for you.

The other day, there was a topic on NPR that caught my attention. They were discussing an initiative that promotes change and peace through music. Now ordinarily, this would have just been a passing interest to idly listen to. However, it caught my full attention and seeded itself into my brain and I couldn't let it go. Read on to find out why.

First, here's the website to the NPR article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103715874

Next, here's the skinny. This album, Songs Around the World, takes artists from literally around the world and records them. 37 different artist who have never met from 4 different countries. I'll give you an example.

With the song "Stand by Me," written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, they start with a man named Roger Ridley from Santa Monica, California. Ridley is a simple street musician. That's it. He doesn't have a famous background or a record deal. He just plays and has a lot of soul to back his music. It was his performance that kicked off this initiative. His version of this song was recorded.

Next, the producers traveled to New Orleans where the voice of Grandpa Elliot was recorded along with fellow street performer Washboard Chaz. In order to keep everything on the same tempo and key, Grandpa had a set of headphones on which he was able to listen to Roger Ridley. The men had never met. Grandpa is another street musician who is well known and loved in New Orleans.

From there, they incorporated the voices and music of Clarence Bekker from the Netherlands, the Twin Eagle Drum Group from New Mexico, Francois Viguie from Fance, Cesar Pope from Brazil, Dimitri Dolganov from Russia, Roberto Luti from Italy, Geraldo and Dionisio from Venezuela, Junior Kissangwa Mbouta from the Congo (who apparently plays his drum set from his tiny balcony), Pokei Klass from South Africa, Django "Bambolino" Degen from Spain, the Sinamuva from South Africa (a small choir that sings in Zulu), Stefano Tomaselli from Italy, and Vusi Mahlasela also from South Africa.

And that is just for one song.

Most of the performers on this album are relatively unknown. There are a few exceptions. Bono lent his voice to the album. That should come as no surprise given his tendency to contribute to movement such as this.

Another well known artist is Bob Marley. I mean, come on. Who doesn't like Bob Marley? They found a recording of Marley playing at the Rainbow Theater in London performing the song "War/No More Trouble." They recorded the other artists in the same key and tempo and then brought in Marley voice from beyond. You should know that Marley was a huge proponent for peace. And by huge, I mean gigantic.

I urge you to listen to the NPR segment. The producers encountered some interesting events. I'll avoid saying any more so you have a reason to listen.

There are a lot of mainstream musicians out there today. Some good, some not so good. This album which contains many artists that may not have ever stepped foot into a studio; yet, the music is so rich and deep that it almost surrounds you and sends you into the music as if it were a truely tangible thing. Through the voices and the instruments, you can get lost in a mellow experience.

If you don't buy the album, at least do yourself a favor and check out the YouTube video of "Stand by Me." It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

There, I made it easy for you.

Here's link to the actual website: http://www.playingforchange.com/
The website is great because you can read the bios of the artists, see what artists play which song and where in the world they are located. You can also contribute to the cause if you so feel inclined.

Enjoy! I know I am.

Live from Memphis...

Most people by now know that I have moved to Memphis, TN. For most of my life...scratch that...all of my life, I have lived in central Arkansas. Not the worst place to grow up, but the world is a much bigger place than one little spot. To top that off, for a long time I just didn't feel like I was in the right place and didn't fit in with the Little Rock crowd. Maybe it was just me.

Now, I don't want anyone to think I am down on Little Rock or Arkansas. I'm not. It is a great place. There are so many things to see and experience that staying in one spot my entire life just didn't seem to make sense. So, I loaded up the Jeep and moved. This has so far turned out to be a great decision.

My opinion of Memphis so far...

In Arkansas, I mainly lived in a suburban setting. This is totally different than the urban setting I am in now. True, Memphis does have a suburban area, but I feel like the urban setting offers more things of interest.

The people (at least the ones I have come into contact with) are very friendly. Everyone is laid back and accepting of different opinions and cultures. I can walk into the local bar down the street and see a business guy in a suit, an indie rocker that looks as though they haven't showed in 3 days, and everything in between sitting at the same table sharing a drink. Everyone is different and seems to have their own style. It is refreshing.

In this area, art is everywhere. From the Cooper-Young Trestle to the bike racks outside of Cafe Ole, nearly everything is done is some type of functional artistic fashion. Makes it a visually interesting experience.

Most of the houses in this area are old. And by old, I mean antique-old and not trashy old. True, there are the old houses that probably need to be gutted/torn down and re-done, but that is just because they haven't been as kept up as the others. For example, the place where I am living - over 100 years old. I recently took one of the door knobs and plates off to clean the years of paint off to discover the date stamp on it reading 1902. Sweet. Old houses always fascinate me.

The music scene here is unlike any other. There seem to be an abundance of musicians all trying to make it. I've met and heard quite a few of them. Some I like, some not so much. One of my favorites right now is John Paul Keith and the 145's. You can check out their MySpace page here.

There is a local hot spot for music called the Hi Tone. Neat place even though I've never seen the inside during the day. This place has a lot of action going on all the time as far as music goes. Again, a place were all walks of life converge and have a good time.

Overall, there is so much more to Memphis than my initial impression. I should preface that by admitting that my only experience with Memphis originally was Graceland (which is in a rough part of town) and one other unsavory place that shall remain nameless. Also, when going to Tunica from Little Rock, you also pass through a rough area. But, once I actually got into the heart of Memphis where the culture is, my opinion changed dramatically. In the end I learned that a person should not judge a city without experiencing it first.

One last note...I never have been much of a basketball person. I didn't hate it, I just wasn't that interested. That being said, people here are fanatical about the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Seeing everyone so excited about their team has sparked my interest in watching basketball. But, no matter how much of a fan I become of Memphis basketball, I will always be an Arkansas Razorback when it comes to football. Go Hogs.

Google and world domination...in 3...2...1...

Well, Google does it again. Their plan for total control is well on its way. First, they have the search engine. Sure, seems harmless. They have email, an instant messaging client, a browser, and even this blog is linked to Google. Now, they have released a phone. T-Mobile has teamed up with Google to deliver an open-source phone. The G1. Sound impressive (except for the fact that it is on T-Mobile). 

Check out Engadget to get your fill on the Android based cell phone. They have a ton of stories relating to it. Below are some images I swiped from their site.

Honestly, it is a pretty slick phone with a slide out keyboard and touch screen. This looks more appealing to me than the iPhone which has no keyboard except an on-screen one which can be tricky. 

So, what exactly IS Android? Well, would you be surprised if there WASN'T a Google site for it? Here it is: Android. If you are familiar with Windows Mobile, Android is basically the same thing only open source which means anyone can edit the code or create new applications for it. I could ramble on about it, but it would be best to just check out the "What is Android?" site.

Need a new broswer?

I have always been a big fan of "alternative" web broswers. I used Netscape like it was the only one. I jumped on Firefox when it first came out and have used it ever since. I dabbled with Safari a little bit. 

Now, there is a new broswer on the scene. Google Chrome. It was recently (and seemingly quietly) released. I just happened to stumble on it through one of the websites I browse (Hack-a-Day). I decided to give it a try. 

It is a smooth browser that has that "Google" feel. That slightly whimsical feel that is both stable and simple. It is a small download and easy install. When I first opened it, I wasn't hit with a bunch of things to do and messages. It just...opened. Quickly too. 

So far, I like it. The down side to new broswers, however, is that not all websites are compatible. I haven't run into that yet, but I'm sure I will. 

Going for the top!

That's right folks. I've been trying to keep this secret, but now the news story has broken. See the video below.

Ridin' Dirty

So, I haven't posted in a while, and I'm sure everyone has missed me. I'll get started back with what I did this weekend.

The highlight of my weekend was the off-road park in Hot Springs. Click here for the website. It is a great place to take the Jeep out and run around. Highway driving can get old sometimes. Plus, the Jeep was looking a little too clean so I decided to get it dirty.

The park is a really fun place if you enjoy being tossed around like a helpless rag doll. For the driver, it can be a test of skill and courage. For the passenger...well, it can be fun but not quite as fun as driving. Driving on the trails is also pretty rough on the body since you are tensing up in the hopes of keeping all your organs in the right place. Although, I think my spleen is upside down now.

Each trail is marked with the level of difficulty. It ranges from one diamond to five diamonds. Since my Jeep is fairly stock (and it is my only form of transportation), I only went down the trails marked with one or two diamonds. I've been down a few three diamonds with not much problem, but I wanted to play it safe this time. Besides, the two diamonds are an enjoyable challenge without the stress of wondering where my differential will end up.

I'm posting a few pictures, but I don't think they really do the trails justice. There were some points where I literally could not see the road over the hood because it dropped off so sharply. And there were several large rocks and all sorts of goodies to run over.

Also not pictured were the giant mud/water puddles that I ran though. Since I had the tops off and the windows down, it was a rather wet ride. Overall, the weather was perfect, the trails were fun, and the people were friendly. If you have an off-road park (also called ORV or OHV) near you and you have a 4x4, I would highly recommend it.

Bit o' Brag

I know, it has been a while since my last post. Shame on me, but what are you gonna do?

Alright, some people know that I decided to go back to school at the beginning of the year. I was a bit nervous about this since it had been a long while since I was last in school. I'm going for a bachelor degree in software engineering with a focus on network security. Yeah, computers, go figure.

So, I'm taking these classes from the University of Advancing Technology. It is a private college in Arizona (no, it isn't related to the University of Phoenix). They have a campus in Tempe, AZ that looks pretty cool. This is their website: UAT.

When I found them, I was looking for college's that had online degree programs so that I could work full time and not have to worry about going to class. That way, I could do all of it according to my schedule. This college had a unique program. They have 3 online semesters per year. In each semester, there are 3 classes. Each class is taken one at a time for 5 weeks per class. So, it makes it easy to focus on one class at a time, and I don't get bored because the class is so fast paced (basically cramming a full semester into 5 weeks).

Ok, so here's the bragging part. I'm currently in my last class of my second semester (UNIX and Linux I), but here is a look at my grades so far:

In case you can't read the screen shot, those are A's across the board. I have a perfect 4.00 GPA. I think it is pretty awesome. Of course, these are just the beginning classes, but still that's something to be proud of.