July 31st, 2007
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
I thought that was a nice quote. It was in a book I’m reading called SOYOUWANTTOBEAPRODUCER? by Lawrence Turman, except the quote was falsely attributed to Goethe. It’s actually by William Hutchinson Murray, and the last two lines are a very loose paraphrasing/translation of a couplet by Goethe.
July 24th, 2007
I’m back from my 6 days in Ghent. Those 6 days coincided exactly with the period in which the Gentse Feesten (“Ghent Festivities”, I guess) and the national holiday (celebrating independence of Belgium) both fall, and therefore there was a lot to see and do in Ghent.
Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t meant to be a holiday, and I was preoccupied with the task of finding accomodation. As such, I wasn’t in the mood, or really predisposed anyway, to take many pictures. Even when I was not actively “working” on the task at hand, I didn’t feel like I could relax and take pictures and participate in the festivities.
It was pleasant environment though. Ghent really comes alive at this time, I’ve discovered. That just makes it more depressing if you can’t take part though. I took a handful of pictures, all from my apartment window. They’re completely unrepresentative of the vibrant and exciting environment I was in, but they’re all I have to share this time.
Didn’t really succeed in my search either. I found somewhere temporary where I can stay for a while, from which I can find somewhere cheaper while i’m there.
July 14th, 2007
Starting Tuesday, I’m spending 6 days in Ghent – staying in a B&B – in order to try and find a studio apartment in which to live for the next six months or so, as I’ll be studying in Ghent for the next two terms. I’ve found a couple of nice prospective places online but they ended up having ridiculous contractual requirements, such as a minimum contract of 3 years.
I almost thought I would have similar bad luck even finding a B&B for these 6 days, because I booked the flight and only afterwards realised that I had neglected to remember that this is THE busiest couple of weeks for tourism in Ghent. All the B&Bs are fully booked, but I eventually found one that still had room for one person.
If I don’t find a place within these 6 days, then I’m pretty screwed, as I certainly won’t have better luck trying to find property in Ghent when I’m back in Ireland and not even in the same country, let alone town.
July 8th, 2007
I’ve understood the basics of Propellorheads’ Reason, and I’ve made a short track with it. It’s based on the theme song of an old clock crew animation called The Peggey Movie.
Here’s my track. Do endure past the squeaky trombone part. There’s more to it.
July 7th, 2007
I’ve always been a fan of ratiocination; the Reason that the title refers to is Propellorheads’ Reason, a music software. I’ve watched a few tutorial videos and I’ve begun experimenting.
This program is a pedant’s dream. You can fine tune every aspect of your track right down to the pitch, length, velocity, volume etc etc of every single note. I’ve spent over an hour just playing around with one drum loop. You can add countless compressors and all kinds of gadgets to modify the sound output.
I have a really great idea for a song, but currently I don’t have the technical competence with Reason. Good way to learn, I’ve always thought. Good place to start.
Another thing on my mind is finding accommodation in Ghent, where I will be living and studying for the next 6 months. Finding somewhere nice is difficult, as I’m still in Ireland. I’ve found a couple of reasonable studio apartments but they only deal in year-long contracts :(
July 1st, 2007
I made this picture of Jack White using brushes made from the lyrics of the album Ecky Thump:
click the pic for a slightly bigger version
