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The Last Flapjack

I wonder if it’s worth all the gas I’d burn to heat up the griddle. . .

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Off to Alaska! (The 2008 Cordova Music Camp)

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Tomorrow I will be flying to Cordova, Alaska for to teach at the annual Cordova 4-H Music Camp. This will be my second year. I’m excited! Last year was a blast, and this year I have a better idea of what to expect, and plus it’ll be interesting to see how their new book works out (more on that in a minute). The camp is a week long, but I’ll be gone for ten days total. (In fact, it’ll be the longest stretch of time I’ve ever been away from my family.)

Mt. Eccles Jam The camp itself consists of five days of classes. The kids, which range from eight year-olds to teenagers, each take three hour-long classes on (generally three different) bluegrass instruments, Monday through Friday. They also rehearse together in bands, each coached by an instructor, which perform around town Saturday afternoon and at a concert Saturday night. I’ll be teaching all banjo this year. Would rather be teaching various instruments, but they need more banjo teachers. (And I thought they were trying to be a good influence to the kids! ;-) )
Continue reading ‘Off to Alaska! (The 2008 Cordova Music Camp)’

How Come Education Always Fails to Educate?

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What an outrageous notion. Outrageous but true for the most part I suspect. Allow me to educate you. ;-) It has been my experience (and yours too I guess) that deeper understanding is a slow process of realizing what I don’t need to know. Education can never teach us what we don’t need to know. The scope is way to broad, infinitely broad, for that. So, in truth, we use education to set things up so they can be laid aside.  Kind of ironic don’t you think. Yet another irony is the fact that we need to put education on its ‘pedestal of value’ so we will take it seriously enough to set it up. But, let’s keep this a secret between us. The social order may collapse if wind of this gets out.

—Carl

2008 Japanese Cultural Fair

June 21st was the Japanese Cultural Fair here in Santa Cruz. We got together with Kevin to play a few Tsugaru pieces on stage. Here, Kevin kicked it off the set with a rousing Aiya Bushi. Complete with both major and minor versions!

After, Luke and I came up on stage to play the folk song Yasaburo Bushi while Kevin…got jiggy with it.

Then, we … Continue reading ‘2008 Japanese Cultural Fair’

“Nah, it’s been photoshopped…”

Anything unusual about this picture?

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For as long as I can remember, there have been two super-tall palm trees near the cliff overlooking Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz. Well, a few months ago one of the ‘palm tops’ vanished. That right there is a 100% genuine, unedited picture. Yet, it looks kinda fake, eh? In fact, it would be so trivial to remove one of the palm tops in photoshop; I mean, dead-easy. It almost looks “photoshopped” when seen with the naked eye, it’s cut so cleanly. Reminds me of a certain comic:

Been Beaned

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Beans are great! Delicious, cheapicious, nutritious, easitious! They are definitely more than just something to toot about.

We’ve been using pinto beans in our meals for umteen years now. Whenever I hear of people saying … Continue reading ‘Been Beaned’

My Mother The Animal

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Naturally that’s a compliment! There’s more to it though. First, of course we are all animals. The principle difference between us and the others is our ability to think and remember what we think. We can dwell on issues. Now, my mother has been a very feisty person for all of her 98 years, and I don’t expect that to change. Sure, she’s slowed down a lot this past decade or two, but the fire is always there.

We’ve had a contentious relationship since I was in my teens. In fact I joined the Air Force at 17 to get away. We get along well now though, ever since I ceased needing to have her ‘understand’ me. I found that if I simply accepted her, that imparted to me the ‘understanding’ I so craved. Interesting aspect of the reflective nature of perception.

Yet, even now we will have an occasional emotional run in. The interesting animal aspect to this is that she doesn’t remember very well those events for more than a few hours. The next day is a new day. In this way she is more like other animals than she’s ever been. The same is happening to me to a lesser degree already. Not being as able to remember now as well as in my youth means less for me to dwell on, less to worry about, less to separate me from the rest of life on earth. With fewer memory and energy resources now, I’m more focused on using what I have left for recalling what I truly want to remember.

—Carl

Subtle Hints

When somebody ever says, “I will leave the matter in your . . . capable hands.” You can bet for certain that they think you will screw up “the matter” and will immediately tattle to the boss afterwards in hopes of getting a promotion.

Sainthood

I always thought of myself as a saint…
—Luke [taken totally out of context but humorous all the same]