Music and Me

For as long as I can remember music has been part of my life in one way or other. Whether Listening, Learning, Playing or Collecting, music has been something I have had no problem talking about. Even when meeting new people it is not that hard to strike a chord with them when it comes to music.

Growing up, everyone in the house played, or at least had a chance to try, several different instruments through grade school and high school. I settle on the drums. I must add that when I settled on the drums that meant that everyone in the house, and maybe the neighborhood settled on the drums :-) My wife, Deb, is also a musician having studied music in college and still very interested in music today. Now our children are also showing interest in music. I hope that they continue to explore and maybe even learn to read and play music.

As part of my fortieth birthday, and at the suggestion of Deb, I created a list of 40 artists, albums and songs, one from each year (1967 - 2007) to play at my Birthday party. While some of the artists and songs may have been popular in each year, the selections are more in line with what I really like, reminding me of events or people important to me. Also, the selections are pretty much from the rock genre. It was hard enough settling in on one song per year so focusing on one genre reduced the effort quite a bit.

Ultimately the "40 from 40" list that was created was played during a 40th birthday party organized by Deb. At the the party I shared with all who attended, a condensed list of 15 songs which I called "15 from 40". Along with the list, I provided the following explanation...

Fifteen from forty [15 from 40] is a collection of rock music selected from each year comprising the first forty years of my life, 1967 – 2007. Narrowing down the forty was challenging; many songs and artists did not make the cut. Fifteen were even harder. Mixing rock, jazz, blues, classical was too difficult. I will cover jazz, blues and other genre another time. I have settled on rock to start. I did so because it is where I got my start. Even though there was plenty of classical and big band in our house growing up, rock and roll, in particular the rhythm sections of the rock bands are what I really latched onto. Eventually, I went on to play drums and to this day enjoy traversing the kit whenever I can find one.

Music is very important to me, but music is not as important as all the people who have helped me reach this milestone. I am truly thankful to have you as part of my life journey and look forward to the road ahead.

The songs herein remind me of events, places, challenges, victories, ideals, family and friends. Mostly they just help me remember. Sometimes they even help me take a step forward.

In taking some steps forward and trying to improve my communication and sharing, I have been working on writing more. I am out on the vast internet blogging about things I find interesting, thoughts I have, and news about me. I am off to a slow start, but preparing this collection has given me all kinds of ideas and a springboard for covering the past forty years. My hope is that it will also improve the reporting on the next forty. I do not think it will be all music, but music will certainly have its place. Those who have been around the block a few times with me know that food and technology will have its place as well. I think God will also find His way onto the pages as well.

http://tomcoppa.blogspot.com is the place you need to go for the rest of this story, a bit about each of these songs, the full list of forty, and the next entries on our journey.

Tom.

Which brings us to this entry which serves as an introduction to a year by year music discussion with a bit about me thrown in to boot. I am working on a list of forty jazz artists and songs as well as blues. I anticipate having those done soon and expect that like the rock list, all the artists and songs will come from my current music collection.

I'll post the "15 from 40" and "40 from 40" lists with a link for downloading a PDF of the list in case anyone wants to follow along.

Milestones...

40 - The most recent milestone I have reached. I have done so with the love, help, guidance, tutoring, nudging, kicking, screaming, prayers, thoughts, friendship and fellowship of my family and friends. To all of you I simply say "Thank You". I am honored and thankful to have you along with me on my journey.

Recently many of you joined with me in celebrating this milestone. Some attended a party, others send cards and gifts, still more sent emails, while others called or messaged. So many have helped to make this a wonderful event.

I have got lots more to say and share... For now thanks, again.

And please keep coming back.

Visual Representation of the US Federal Budget

I don't know if this counts as getting to know and understand the politics of our country a bit more. After all I am trying to learn a little more about the way this country operates. This blog entry from Guy Kawasaki caught my eye and I thought it might catch yours.

The content is of course interesting and educational. The largest chunks enjoyed by the military and homeland security tip the scales at 67% . Zoom in on the bottom right-hand corner and get a summary breakdown including the deficit numbers, nicely arranged around a US penny.

I love cool graphs. Here’s a visual representation of the federal budget. Guess what that big blue circle is on the left side of the chart.

Visual Representation of the US Federal Budget
GuyKawasaki
Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:33:39 GMT

RSS - Presented in Plain English

I have really been talking up the use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) as a way to "Step Into the Information Flow" on the Internet. As many already know, my definitions, examples, and illustrations get deeper and deeper, longer and longer, the more excited I get about a technology. Here, however, is a low-fi introduction to RSS.

The article appeared on a mobile and web computing site, Blue Flavor, linked from the CommonCraft website. Both sites are recent additions to my newsfeeds. This short video is a simple and funny first introduction to RSS. Even moms and dads will get this one... I think...

Link - Video embedded in post

Distributed HD, Digital Content

A recent article from the CTO of Netstreams.

Digital, High Definition content is growing all around us. The same capabilities that we have grow accustomed to in our offices and homes are expected with these new digital sources. However, the traditional means for distributing audio and video in particular have a number of shortcomings. This article highlights the challenges and proposes IP solutions from NetStreams of course.

Great background for even home use...

Printable Article
http://www.audiodesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=PPA0XCXTRM3QAQSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN?printableArticle=true&articleId=199200419

Page by Page Article
http://www.audiodesignline.com/199200419?cid=RSSfeed_audiodesignline_adlRSS

Original Article from Video/Imaging Designline
http://www.videsignline.com/;jsessionid=PPA0XCXTRM3QAQSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN

Turning off the TV

In the last week or so, Lifehacker picked up on a blog entry over at The Simple Dollar discussing completely disconnecting TV (or at least significantly reducing TV viewing). Several suggestions, very good suggestions, are presented for filling the time we gain back.

Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television - And Ten Things To Replace It With [The Simple Dollar]

I know for myself, having recently upgraded my two-channel audio system, I have really tried to emphasize music. I find that I am trying to listen and encourage more listening to all types of music in the house. Even trying to turn the music on first thing in the morning on the weekends to avoid falling into the Saturday morning cartoon routine.

We still watch good deal of movies, particularly on Friday and Saturday night. The other week nights have started filing up with swimming lessons and sports practice. Soon we will be out on the patio cooking and playing, if this crazy weather ever settles down.

I've got a few projects planned including a garage sale (which implies cleaning and organizing first), some acoustic treatments for the family room, repairing an old wooden bench, and landscaping.

Praising Perseverance, not just Intelligence

I have recently been reading a blog I stumbled on a few weeks ago called "Laid Off Dad". The blog is managed and thoughtfully populated by a gentleman who for a long period of time was without full time employment. During that period he spent a great deal of time as what most would say is a stay-at-home-dad. The blog name remains today even though he is "between layoffs".

Anyway, back to the reason for my post. After reading his post titled "Dummypants" and following the link to another article in New York Magazine that he references in his own post, I started thinking about how and what I praise when it comes to my own children. A little more attention and focus on praising the effort has certainly resulted in a practice that lasts a little longer, or a few additional colored pictures, and even a few more sentences in a book report or short story.

Sure, I think my kids are intelligent, or "smart", but they are not done yet. There is plenty more to learn, see, and do. And that goes for Mom and Dad, too!