i-MIDI

garage band on the ipad is pretty awesome in and of itself (you can play virtual instruments on the touch pad) and it is the primary reason i got an ipad last fall. but as cool as it is to slide your finger across the screen and hear the gentle strum of an acoustic guitar, it is somewhat limited and takes a bit of "getting used to." so i recently connected my ipad to my electric piano and can now use my piano as a midi controller in garage band. this means more versatility and ease of playing. naturally, since then (last friday) i have spent the majority of my free time writing music and figuring out the ins and outs of my new set up. with the exception of the drums, all the instruments used below were written and played on the piano.

first i tried an old jazz ballad called "tenderly" featuring the steel guitar.




then i thought i would try something a little more complicated with another jazz standard, "autumn leaves." i even added a style change at the end.




next i thought i would try something original, and a little more groovy.




this one is similar to the last one (you may notice they are the same length--that's the magic of a metronome) but i added some different kinds of instruments, like strings.



next i thought i would try my hand at "house" music. i had some fun with this one. the original length was about 9 minutes which was a bit long so chopped it down to a manageable 5 and half minutes. this one is called "welcome house."




lastly, i wanted to try something more laid back and in 6/8. so i named this one "six ate."




side note: my band is having its final show (yes, i said final) on april 20 at the madison in provo. i expect 1 million people there, so you shouldn't miss it.

FLYING IN THE FACE OF

"It's also now been possible to compare our DNA with that of many other species. The evidence supporting the idea that all living things are descended from a common ancestor is truly overwhelming." --Francis Collins, Director of the Human Genome Project, Evangelical Christian.

few things really get my goat like willful ignorance. it is bad enough to believe something for no good reason, but it is infinitely worse when it is thrown in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary. take for example the latest political sacred cow: ron paul.




people often say that evolution is a political non-issue. but a person's stance on evolution indicates some very important things on how they view science and education. ron paul not only rejects one of the most important and well-supported biological theories but doesn't understand the difference between scientific theory and a colloquial catch phrase: "just a theory" (i've been saying this a lot lately). how can he be expected to take scientific advice from experts on anything if he already rejects the view of 99% of biologists on the most important question in biology? how can he be an advocate for education if he doesn't understand the scientific method and basic terminology?

comparing ron paul to other candidates on this issue is not like the old south park episode of comparing a douche with a turd. it is comparing turds of varying consistencies. ron paul may very well be the best candidate for the presidency, but his ignorance on basic science does not bode well for a commander in chief.

edit: i just found out ron paul was a practicing physician in the military for a number of years, which makes his comments on evolution all the more disheartening.

ok, one more video just for fun:



ok, i lied. one more about human evolution.