February, 2010
Make the benefit bigger

I really have to work on my rhetorical style. And by that I mean to say that I don’t think it’s the rhetoric that’s the problem so much as the delivery. I make what I think is – what I know to be a perfect conversation-ender and then turn as if to walk away, and at that instant, someone says “Yeah, it’s like when…”

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Posted on 28th February 20101 Comment
Lost and found department

Okay so get this. On Thursday I posted about that cool book of modern piano music (published 1963) that I picked up on AbeBooks not long ago. Well you may be aware that I’m a bit of a fan of ABC’s Lost, as is my wife. And this evening we were catching up on the [...]

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Posted on 26th February 2010Comments Off
In praise of dead software, part 1

I talk a lot about music hardware on this site, but the music that I write wouldn’t sound like much without software. Logic is my main audio production app, and I’ve been using it in various incarnations since about 1989, when it was called Notator SL, and was available exclusively on the Atari ST platform. [...]

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Posted on 26th February 2010Comments Off
New-ish music for the piano

There’s been a resurgence of interest online in 60s-style commercial design, that really evocative screen-print business with the deep cool colours, the kind of stuff Saul Bass made a name for himself with. In the spirit of the zeitgeist (wow, did I just say “in the spirit of the spirit?”) I’ll share the cover of [...]

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Posted on 25th February 2010Comments Off
Conservative talking points on detainee scandal

I recently pointed out Harper’s communication strategy on the Afghan detainee scandal: any discussion opposing Conservative defense policy is equated with attacking the troops. I couldn’t have asked for a clearer illustration than this clip from CTV’s Power Play (Feb. 5, 2010). It’s almost painful to listen to Conservative MP Peter Braid stumble over his [...]

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Posted on 5th February 2010Comments Off