My first midi composition/recording… part trance, dance and classical tone poem. Am waiting for a midi cable (in the mail) that hopefully will connect my piano kbd to computer. The notes were played on the computer keypad… so no chord changes… just a one-line exploration.

Image via Tumblr

Heading says it all. Here’s the last four Q&A’s I’ve done at Allexperts.com, where I volunteer in several categories.

I love volunteering. It’s a great way to stay on top of a wide variety of issues and also to see what real people are concerned about (instead of just academics or New Agey publishers).

This pic was one of a series taken last weekend at Edwards Gardens, Toronto. It’s a nice park, full of newlyweds getting wedding pics, etc. I used another pic from the same series for my blog banner.

"Unaired Woody Allen interview for Granada 1971" vimeo.com/6617077 #Vimeo #woody #allen #woodyallen #bananas #interview #granada—
Michael Clark (@earthpages) April 29, 2013

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Image via http://www.casio-intl.com/asia-mea/en/emi/high_grade/wk6500/

I picked up a new keyboard now that it’s warmer and time to expand my musical horizons.

Got a great deal on a Casio WK-6500, and it’s fun, has international styles, a pitch wheel and a USB connection for MIDI… all sorts of things my old Yamaha doesn’t have.

But the sound? Hmm. Not nearly as good as the Yamaha with most voices. The organ sounds are great, and Casio is known for that. But most of the voices don’t sound sampled… more like approximations of Yamaha voices via analog synth. This baby is so on the line that I’m wavering over taking it back or not. I have to buy a new sustain pedal if I keep it because my Yamaha pedal is wired in the opposite phase. When I depress it, it gives staccato and when I release it, sustain. Who can figure? I wish all these companies would just get along and stop making accessories that only fit their own equipment.

Oh well. I’ve got about 2 weeks to test this out before deciding if it stays or goes. One big draw for keeping it is the price. Only $225 inc. tax. The new Yamaha that I’d want is $529 before tax. And in Ontario, where I live, sales tax seems to just keep getting higher and higher…

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I love new web apps, and this one looks promising. I’m testing out a new service called clipzine.me. These images are from my Pinterest page, News, Today, Digital Age. Pinterest references back to where the images came from.

So while I’m testing out this beta version of clipzine.me, please follow this link to read the text and click on the hyperlinks that go with these images at Pinterest. Thanks!

http://pinterest.com/earthpages/news-today-digital-age

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Think (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently I got a really interesting question at allexperts.com that was right up my alley. My Ph.D. was in psychology and religion, so when the questioner asked about theological vs. psychological problems, I was ready to roll. See the full question and answer here:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Catholics-955/2013/4/difference-1.htm

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C. G. Jung institute in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Photo taken by my mother who is an admirer of Jung and his work. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Actually it wasn’t seminary school like most people think. I was studying comparative religion for my Masters in a small university village in India (Santiniketan). And my specialty was on the Hindu Bhagavad Gita. But it was something of a monastic experience, even if not formally defined as such. Some of the foreign students (sounds funny but that’s what we were called) joked that studying at Santiniketan was like entering into a monastery without really knowing it!

Anyhow, I finished my degree with a few ups and downs and managed to get funded for the University of Ottawa, where I was all set to do my Ph.D. I knew that I wanted to study Carl Jung there because his work seemed a good focal point where I could integrate many of my interests. I ended up doing my doctorate on Jung’s concept of synchronicity, which arguably was related but not quite the same as the projected thesis outline that helped me to gain admission.

I was rifling through my drawers and found the original outline a few days ago. I think it might be of interest not only to Jungians but to anyone interested in the spiritual life and how it relates to the rest of society.

Projected Thesis Outline for the University of Ottawa, Department of Religious Studies (pdf copy of original dot matrix document)

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Soufrière Catholic Church (Photo credit: waywuwei)

The other day I got an interesting volunteer question at allexperts.com. I was super busy so wasn’t able to answer it until the wee hours of the morning. Even then I only answered it partially, partly because I read the question one way, and then later on, read it another way. When I realized the second way was the right way, I added some more to my answer.

The question was about the New Testament passage, 1 Peter 3:18-4:6. Who was Jesus speaking to? Is there more than one answer? My reply shows how Catholics are able to debate matters of biblical interpretation that are related to non-dogmatic topics.

Read the full question and answer here: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Catholics-955/2013/4/1st-peter-3-18.htm

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