Have you looked at the media landscape lately? It seems like everybody and their brother is streaming video of some sort. Netflix, Blockbuster Amazon. Remind me why do I have cable TV? As all of these online media outlets put more and more of theirs and others content online the reasons to keep cable get fainter. The problem in my town is that the cable company has the fastest internet which is price prohibitive UNLESS you have cable bundled with it..maybe thats how they will survive by forcing us to keep cable to get a big fast pipe to the media we really want.

So going to my first concert in years has opened my eyes and ears to what is really the best way to listen and enjoy music….Live There is a spark an immediacy an intimacy that you just can’t get with recorded music. Sigh I miss it already. I think its time to get back to making my own live music. I’m not very good but I enjoy it, and isn’t that what counts?

I just got back from a concert of the amazing Jake Shimabukuro. The stage was set with a chair, microphone and a pair of monitors. An intimate feeling stage with an amazing musician…yes I am gushing like a school girl. His technique is phenomenal and the control of his humble 2 octave four stringed instrument is nothing short of magical. From whisper quiet notes to thundering passages Jake coaxed beautiful sounds that entranced his audience. I have not been to a concert for many years and have lost touch with the reason music is so transcendal. The live experience blows away any recording. Cd, Vinyl, Digital its all an effort to reproduce the live immediacy and sound, but always falls short. In short I spent $40 for tickets and $20 for merchandise. Money which I consider well spent and I am so cheap my wife makes fun of me. Best of all my favorite Aloha shirt got signed and I got a CD that won’t be released until next month.

Yep it’s true Mt Redoubt has finally sent ash to Anchorage. My wife (from MN) is all excited. I on the other hand have been through this once before and am not happy nor excited. Really it just leaves a horrible mess that is a pain to deal with and while its going on stay home and don’t open any doors or windows. Keep a mask on if you must go outside and good luck to your car…….ash= very fine grit sandpaper everywhere!

So in case you haven’t noticed twitter has exploded, I have been seeing and hearing twitter mentioned on tv and around town. I am of two minds on this. On one hand its nice to see more people and not get the ??? look when you mention twitter, but at the same time the nerd/geek factor is gone. Technology is the purview of the nerd & geek and as “normal” people invade more of our space it feels less special in some ways. The “regular” folks have always had IRL to influence and mold and we had the technology space. The lines have started to blur and I am not sure I like that. I loved having my little clique just like the preps and stoners had in high school, I had nerdery, but with them becoming more and more tech savvy they are invading my special place. The real question is are they improving it or ruining it?

So in an effort to curb some of our spending I have been thinking of dumping one of the cel phones (leaving us with just one) and moving to the Peek. In case you don’t know the Peek is an email and SMS handheld. For $20 a month I could use unlimited SMS and Email which is my preferred method of communication. NO VOICE but I really don’t like to talk on the phone. Found some hacks using other services ( Ping.fm That help me keep even more connected then EMail and SMS. SO now its time for the hard sell to the wife. WIsh me luck!

SO the economic downturn has finally hit Alaska. It is starting to trickle down and impact alot of Alaskans me included. Hopefully Obamas plan will help pull us out of this…although I for one am skeptical, not because he’s a democrat more because he’s a politician and they always seem to talk out of both sides of their mouth. Not sure how spending a boatload of money is supposed to help us dig out of this and how it will effect his pledge to cut the deficit.

Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund

A great way to keep the flame alive. Places such as these keep the precious memories of our fallen heros alive and help to make history a living breathing thing and not a dry dusty fact from a book.

But not for long on the ” Day that will live in infamy ” It has been 67 years since that day and I didn’t hear anyone mention it. I was born and raised in Hawaii and I am of Japanese decent. Thankfully I am not old enough to have been involved or interned like so many other Japanese Americans. George Takei was interned as a child. I have mixed feelings about this day and some of what it represents. The American loving Patriotic side of me is saddened by the loss of life but also proud of our nations determination. I am also saddened about how many Japanese Americans were treated. More-so then any other ethnicity they I feel were treated unfairly. I have many books that tell the story and they all share one thing a love for this country despite there treatment. It is a testament to there hearts that they could endure this and still have a love for our country. I know our country is not perfect, and these people who are part of it make up for our imperfection and help us to shine.

Thank you to all who have gone before and who now as I write this defend and protect us. God Bless

Amazon.com: Free – Songs: MP3 Downloads

WOW! check it out you music junkies! Amazon is giving away over 500 songs! I am liking Amazon more and more. First free shipping to Alaska. Often when you order online to Alaska the shipping can cost more then your order! NEWS flash Lower 48 we ARE part of America. Now tons of free music not just Christmas.