Technology and Me and Music and Food and WTF

My mornings seem at the moment to be pretty stable, predictable to a certain extent.  Coffee is a must.  It takes a while to get the juices flowing, to get moving.  I am sure there’s room for improvement.  Any productivity consultants out there? 🙂

I am floored by technology.  Part of it is the eternal child in me.  Hitting a button and seeing something, anything, happen is still miraculous.  “How can this possibly happen?” I ask myself.  Even though I have a bit of an inquiring mind, some technological know-how, the wonder of it all still wins.  I embrace the technology from the vantage point of one who wishes to find true convenience and improvements in personal and professional effectiveness as well as one who is simply curious.

Among other things this morning, I used Google Reader to aid in Music Discovery.  Learning of folks who are enthusiastic about songwriting is way high on my list, so I sift through the noise to find some gems.  Among the great material was “Rest Your Head on My Shoulder”, from PGO.  It’s got a great acoustic Celtic groove, a hypnotic melody and heartfelt lyric and performance.  The song made it into the Top 10 Finalist Stage in Broadjam’s International Songwriting competition.  What do you think?

This is what leveraging the technology is about–discovery, to enhance your life, to find what is rewarding, what makes you feel something, to make this an engaging, positive journey.

Then, as the morning continued, in my haphazard way I grabbed one of my favorite foods, a Chocolate Chip Clif Bar.  They can be a healthy part of your diet–Calorie Count gives it an A for nutrition.  Not bad, I’d say!  This is where more of the technology comes in:  I go to my Android Calorie Count app and try to enter the item–but the search does not yield the result;  but with the new version of the app, you can now *scan the bar code* on the product, and the nutritional information will appear.  I did this using the Android QR Code app, and instantly the info appeared and I was able to log it.  If only the technology could get me to enter everything I eat at all times (I’ll keep hunting that app down)!

The WTF reaction was instant.  The child in me came out and froze in amazement, transfixed at what happened on that Android G2 screen.  My wife, though, saw it more on the 1984 Big Brother side.  I acknowledged that, but I stated how this could be put to good use.  Let the tools and technology be your servant.  Maybe your partner.  I seek to be and stay the master of this mind-obliteratingly, ridiculously intense, futurisic magical technological stuff–but it seems to get more difficult by the minute!

Holla!

 

My CMA Awards Invitation

Every day I have checked the mail, feverishly anticipating the arrival of the envelope.  The raised print, the gold-dusted admittance to the prestigious Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.  Still I await.

Is there a problem with the Postal Service?  Has the invitation been intercepted?  It is all possible.  Think of the troubles that have plagued the USPS, budget cuts, manipulation of the cosmos, competition from email and every other form of modern communication.

Maybe there’s a different issue, an elusive or not so elusive one.  Maybe they forgot to send it.  Maybe they ran out of paper and did not have an alternative means of reaching me.

I’d love to go.  The excitement is rampant throughout Nashville and the Nashville music community, both with and without the matrix.  The loop, the belonging, the inclusion all seem elusive.  They appear to be remaining so.

It is seen as a measure of influence, of clout, of presence.  Is there logic in that, paranoia, is there sufficient evidence to lead to the conclusion that if you ain’t there, you’re square?  I’m not sure.  The members are a Who’s Who in country music, they are luminaries, they have the prestige.  How could one not want to be there among the throngs of fans, the artists, the executives, the media?

A friend has been setting up for the event, in a stagehand union.  He made it.

Me, it would help if I had a CMA membership, and if the circles would open up, if the glass and the walls evaporated for a bit.  Oh, I never asked anyone either if I could tag along.  That would help.

I’ll be there in spirit, for sure.  One day in person.  For real, it’s going to be a heck of a party.

Three Sessions, One Day: Today

Pen, paper, MacBook Pro, smartphone and me–all are at the ready to help me get through what is going to be quite a full day here in Nashville.  Three songwriting sessions lie ahead.  Cheley Tackett, Trevor Finlay, and Janell Wheeler–each a great talent and friend.

A book comes to mind:  Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  Within one of the early chapters, Covey discusses Production and Production Capability (P & PC).  It would be great to have both of these in abundance.  All senses open.  Intuition present and accounted for.

Where will the ideas come from?  Notebooks?  The MacBook?  My memory?  This morning’s paper?  Hard to say.  The paper may be out of the question.  I don’t know who sells them anymore.  Oh, we get a local one on the lawn just about every week.  There could be a gem or two in there.

I remain grateful for every day given, to have these opportunities to practice the fine art of songwriting.  And the fine art of life.  To the most of it, to the best of my ability.