Exploring Adaptable Art

We all go through them, and good or bad they're a by-product of change. Whether it's the change we want or the change we need is anyone's guess--and sometimes distinguishing between the two isn't easy.

I've been going through my own transition recently, and I'm happy to say I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I've still been playing & writing music--but my blogging muse has been a bit silent the last couple of months. As everyone around me knows, I'm going back to grad school. Hooray!

And, I'm quitting my job & starting a new one. Hooray! Actually, the new one will let me go part time in the Fall while I concentrate on school, and will let me play with educational technology, new media, social networking, etc. Hooray! I happened to start a scholarly / professional blog: http://www.edtechresources.info that I'll eventually start using to talk about what will be hopefully useful resources for faculty looking to integrate cutting-edge ed tech in their classrooms.

So, this is the reason for the silence. Literally.

it's hard to believe i haven't posted since March. i haven't left either music Or Aikido, but life has a way of keeping me occupied.

One of the 'not so minor changes' since the last post was getting married to my lovely wife, Janet! Although wedding pictures are coming eventually, I decided to reprioritize my music once again. Although the game project has been put on hold, I'm working on a new project--this time writing a mini-score for a "not-yet-ready-to-be-announced" aikido project. Let's just say that I'm working up some sketches that I think might be able to be used as accompaniment to aikido techniques.

What better way to start researching the project than to invest in yet *more* musical instruments! This time I decided to invest in some ethnic instruments by Motu(Ethno Instruments), and big ambient drums by EastWest(Storm Drum).

Comments - one more time. I've re-enabled comments. THis time - using CaPTcha in attempt to foil spam software. You don't need to be a member to login--but you'll need to enter a graphically generated password to continue.

Let's see how that works!

take this next clip, for instance.

ok wait. first, i'm going to take you on a little trip.

imagine you're out walking along a hillside, on a gravel path. the late afternoon sun is throwing a ring of color that glows a deep red around a bank of dark gray clouds. within view is what looks to be a monastery, further up a winding gravel path. the wind is picking up, and you notice that its song seems stangely melodic. a church bell begins to toll, as if announcing your arrival. you see a glimmer of light and you begin to think you might find some shelter. you decide it best to reach it quickly--before you get soaked.

now take a listen

what do you think? do you think there's form in the ambient background effects? or the visual setup? or is it completely formless? in this instance, i was attempting to convey a basic structural form, through use of descriptive text and ambient background, without over-prescribing the setting.

i suppose some people will look at the picture & see a nebulous mess. (it's actually a screen capture from a video clip i've put together) (here's an mpeg alternative)

i shot this video while riding in the passenger seat of janet's car. i started varying the amount of digital zoom & i liked the effect that a 700x zoom makes. at that resolution on a sunny day every fast-moving subject was reduced to simple colors. some colors blended nicely, while other subjects (like the sky or clouds) remained somewhat solid & stable.

well we managed to make through an aikido seminar (not to mention dodging hurricane rita), so i'm back to posting.

i'm taking a break from aikido with this post, and am exploring the idea of "formless form".

the>American Heritage Dictionary defines formless as:
1. Having no definite form; shapeless. See Synonyms at shapeless.
2. Lacking order.
3. Having no material existence.

the same dictionary defines form in a number of ways. what caught my eye was the 2nd definition listed.

2. The essence of something

if we put the two ideas together, we get: 'the essence of something which has no definite form, lacks order, and has no material existence'.

the other day, i decided to take a plunge into the world of video. i spent a considerable amount of time researching various cameras. my goal, at least in the beginning, is to use the camera to take still pictures of aikido. since i can't be both in front of and behind the camera at the same time, i needed a way to shoot pics while doing techniques. this way, i'll be able to take footage & parse it for later use.

after a bunch of wrangling, i narrowed the field to cams that had at least:

a mic jack,
a shoe (hot or cold)
an sd card slot
good vid quality & at least decent still picture quality
a headphone jack was preferred, but not 100% necessary.
good manual controls & good ui

i promised when i started this, i wouldn't rant. but i didn't say i wouldn't vent.

whew! some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you! today, was tough.

i can't talk about stuff @ work, but let's leave it at work = stress = a freaky uncool state of mind

and let me just say that a freaky uncool state of mind is really bad for the zone.

i was definitely not in the zone today, the best i could do was hover in and out, and it showed. i hate trying to do aikido when i'm stressed. i mean, it always helps ***after*** i'm done, but the process can be painful. tension, tension everywhere. and i kept waiting for conflict--as if i was expecting it.

when you spend much of the day dealing with stress due to conflict (not to mention who knows what all else). and then bring it into the dojo, it makes aikido rough.

i even had a brain fart on a really basic technique. brain farts are embarrasing--especially when they linger.

my brain kept trying to do another version of the technique, and when i was performing a standard series of techniques (call tai gi), i totally spaced & combined the two.




at least everything's over with & tomorrow is a new day, and another chance to zone.

ok, i'm taking m's advice & i'm rethinking how i do this. this blog is just another in a succession of outlets--another adaptable art, something i choose to define it

on with it.

Let me clear to begin, eh? I'm defining this for me--not as an exercise to pass some lame exam. I have something that needs exploring. I need to look at how art adapts to me. I'll give you an example.

Let's take aikido. For those of you who don't know, aikido is a Japanese martial art.

And yes, it is an art form (hence "martial art"--for more consult the Wikipedia on the topic). I practice it 3 times a week, usually. Anyway, a lot of being attacked; throwing & falling. In a dojo, in Texas, in the summer, with an A/C that's working dubiously at about 83 deg F. while wearing heavy judo gi & hakama, working out becomes pretty sweaty pretty quickly.

In any event, the strenousness of the class isn't the issue--the practice is. I spent time practicing throws that I've done a million times before, and as always I work toward many things--to relax, to breathe, to count, etc., etc. How did I do? Well, ok. Some throws were more relaxed than others. Some throws were more successful than others. But, I didn't quite get "into the zone" as much as I had hoped. Work gets in the way--even as I suppress it way down in the back of my clattering brain. It wasn't too bad tonight.

ANYway,

The Point for me is that "zone". Every throw is a chance to get into it--if only briefly. I get a lot out of practice either way, though. Aikido is sometimes a good physical workout, if the class moves fast enough, and it Does take my mind off of things, if only for a while. And so, in that way, it's an art that adapts pretty well to my state of mind--and I usually get what I need. (Betcha thought I'd forgotten about the adaptable part...)