About This Blog
This is a place for me to write about things that interest me, share links to music and art, and discuss them with people who care to listen. I will not be hosting comments here, but I will be posting links to this blog on Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook so discussion will be able to happen there. Note, that I don't add people on Facebook who I don't actually know in real life, so if you're not one of "them" comment on Mastodon or Twitter.
Why should you care what I think?
I suppose if I am going to talk about various subjects, my background becomes relevant, so here are some facts about me that can help you judge if I know what I am talking about on various topics that I am likely to discuss here:
I have a BA in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, primarily focused on existentialism
While at university, in addition to philosophy I focused on jazz history, and literature in translation
I played electric and upright bass from when I was 15 until I was 25. I played in bands, I played out in bars and clubs
I was an active nightclub DJ in NYC and San Francisco between 1994 and 2007, playing Drum & Bass, Downtempo, Dancehall, Funk & Soul
That means I have a shitload of records. It also explains why this domain exists, as I played under the name DJ Lo-Ki
I also produced electronic music with a mix of analog synths, digital samplers and computers, most of which never saw release. Three songs that did were collaborations with DJ Wally/Pish Posh "HP-52", "Too Many Dopes" and "Red With Blood"
I ran the "Warm Up" music series at PS1 museum along with Jason Drummond AKA DJ Spun
I have been a Unix/Linux Systems Administrator since 1998, before that I fixed Macintosh computers to make money. I have worked in tech from the BBS days through the first internet boom, Y2K, and then the dot-bomb 1.0 though today
I write this blog in Vim because I am a nerd
I have a Shodan or 1st degree black belt in Judo from both the US Judo Federation and the Kodokan in Japan. I also am a USA Judo certified coach
I am a former instructor of Hung Ga Kung Fu and Sanda Chinese Kickboxing
I hunt deer, turkey, geese, duck, and pheasant, and try to provide as much of my family's meat as possible from hunting
I was a vegetarian for ten years and a pescetarian for another ten before I decided to eat meat again for health reasons, and due to that decision I found hunting to be a moral imperative.
What to expect
When it comes to Spotlight posts, I am writing my opinion only. I welcome the opinions of others and of course facts are welcome. My goal with these is to share music and art that may be new to the reader. I have a large music collection and a passion for reading music biographies, so much of what I write about may not be widely known and I'd like to share the gems I have found.
When it comes to politics and/or social issue commentary, I will try to avoid getting too much into opinion, and stick to the facts. When I am writing my opinion, I will clearly state that it is so. I believe in logic, facts, science, and open frank discussion. I also expect people to be able to cite their sources when stating facts, and say so when their evidence is anecdotal.
Arguments from emotion will be mocked, those who continue will be mocked a second time, after that I reserve the right to tell them that their mother is a hamster and their father smells like elderberries. Fair warning given