The Story of The Star-Spangled Banner

Just about every American knows the words to the first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner, but do you know the story behind it?  I spent six months in Baltimore in 1976, so I was well acquainted with it, but this is still an inspirational video.

For Musical Masochists...

Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was born on June 2, 1740.  In honor of his birthday, I present you with the two most painful pieces of music I have ever heard:

There are many, many recordings of Steve Reich's Music for Pieces of Wood, and I could have tortured you for hours with all of them.  They do sound pretty similar, though, leaving you with the question, is the ringing in your ears meant to be part of the music? What makes this video particularly excruciating is eliminating the human element, just seeing the pure geometry of the passing notes.

John Cage's Fontana Mix is quite a different beast.  He did not notate it in a traditional manner, so different performers can have radically different realizations.  What makes Max Neuhaus's interpretation so ear curdling is that his primary "instrument" was a speaker and microphone, which he manipulated the feedback between.

This Rots....

If you want a good in-depth discussion on composting, listen to Trevor Van Hemert on The Survival Podcast.  What makes him an expert?  It's his day job!  He has a profitable business collecting compostable waste -- by bicycle -- and selling the finished compost.

Back From The Dead

I love it when I can pull people off my Zombie Blogroll.  Johnny Max and The Queen are back on The Self-Sufficient Homestead with Episode 202.  (They are up to 205 now.)  It has been a long hiatus, but in the meantime they have finally made the move out to their homestead.

Too Late

"It's Too Late for Solutions": A Podcast Interview with James Howard Kunstler on Chris Martenson's Peak Prosperity.

Chillout

Thanks to Jenna from Cold Antler Farm for recommending this. You can read more about it here.