Tom Ray

Worked on some of my other projects this weekend and had updates I wanted to share.

##Lorenzo’s Music - “We all fall down” video

Posted a live in studio performance video. One of the songs from an internet show put on my band Lorenzo’s Music.

This is the first song from that event - “We all fall down”.

We took a Google hangout live stream and went one better. Got ourselves set up with 3 cameras, had someone we know direct it and ran the sound though the studio mixer.

##Music Manumit Podcast

This is for the creative commons music podcast show that I’ve been doing for quite a few years now.

There was someone that we were supposed to talk to this weekend but never showed. Instead of calling it a wash and skipping a week, I had a subject to cover I thought somewhat relevant.

The night before, another creative commons musician we know tweeted, his music was uploaded illegally to digital outlets. The person uploading it claimed they had rights to own and sell his music. So he filed copyright infringement suit against them.

Took this chance to have a discussion with my co-host Doug, about creative commons artists and the fact that they still have rights.

Common mistake people make is, you can do anything you want with music under a CC license. That’s not true. The license itself says “Some rights reserved”. These rights apply with basic copyright, not remove it.

Have a listen to the episode on the Music Manumit Podcast website.

Maybe because of the new venture I’m entering I’m thinking so much about keeping notes for thoughts & ideas.

I realize this is the 3rd post like it. Don’t want it to seem like this is some, get things done blog. Just on my mind I guess.

Writing down what you think somewhere is better than nothing.

Thing is, a lot of ideas come to me when I ride my bike. I don’t know if it’s because all you can do is pedal so the mind wanders? The passing people? Scents in the air? But most things come to me during a bike ride. Lyrics. Ideas to try. Concepts for things I’m working on & so on.

I just posted about having a pocket notebook. But if I stopped every time to write thoughts down, getting around would take forever. Used to think I could remember thought until I got to where I’m going. Never did.

My simple trick involves headphones with mic, Google mobile app & Google Keep.

When I think of something I click and hold headphone mic to activate Google search. After the tone I leave a message.

Just say “Note to self” to add it to Google Keep. That’s it.

Later you can view your notes on computer or phone and do what you want with them.

That’s the text or IM that I send people when their name shows up in my daily journal.

I had been using a site called ohlife.com for years that did a simple thing. It sent you and email at the end of the day with the subject line:

“How was your day today?”

When you opened the email it would say,

“A year ago today you wrote this.”

Showing next what had been written and sent same day last year.

You respond to it and send it back. Simple.

It wasn’t an app. It was just an email. Once I got over the fact it got R.E.M.’s “Losing my religion” in my head because of it’s site name, I looked forward to it.

Sometimes surprised me with things I didn’t think were already a year old or things I forgot I was going to try.

My friends and family would even tell me “remember to put that in your thing!” They liked when I would send them update when their name showed up.

The site closed down this year. I needed to find a way to carry on this ritual I enjoyed so much.

I tried a couple of different methods to recreate this. None that I liked really.

Then I upgraded gmail to the new Inbox version. It has a snooze.

My method now. I send email to myself with my journal for today. Then I open it and snooze it for one year. When it comes back, I will respond again.

I have boxes I’ve kept around forever of old notebooks. Can’t bring myself to throw them out. Seems wrong.

I just think of the times, times of things so important that I needed to write down.

Mostly it’s lyrics or drawings. Really of no use. But I keep them.

Nowadays we have tons of ways to write things down, on phone or computer. I think then it’s available when I need it. Can’t even be lost.

When I moved to a new house. I found that box and looked at these books again. One from 20 years ago. Could remember where I wrote these things. Some I know why I was writing at the time. Looking at it opened a little movie in my head that filled in the blanks of what wasn’t on the page.

When I search for notes on my apps or phone I have no memory trigger like that. Relating to something I wrote on page after a doodle or something like that. Sometimes I can’t remember what I was trying to say. It sits alone on screen in a page. Sure its searchable. But not like pouring through paper pages.

I got nostalgic for that feeling again so I’ve started to keep a small notebook in my front pocket. So’s I don’t have to remember to carry it around.

So far I’ve learned my handwriting has gotten horrible.

image - CC-BY - Some rights reserved by Jim, the Photographer

I just saw someone with a box of these. My mind took a second to even put together why I recognized them.

I think I’ve mentioned before the lame ass things like shrinky dinks that where out when I was a kid. Are they even considered games? Toys? Art?

Colorforms were just a background picture on smooth cardboard surface. Vinyl character cut outs pressed on it to create the scene. They didn’t even really stick which didn’t matter since you laid them down flat anyway.

But I had several. Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, a KISS one for cryin’ out loud!

Yet looking at them I still think they’re kinda cool.

They did have a certain style. And you gotta give credit to someone that looked at the concept of paper dolls and thought, how can we build from this?