It’s 1:48 in the morning; do you know where your thoughts are?

I’ve just settled in with pan of Kraft Mac and Cheese, it’s made like a cheddar cheese salt lick (just like I used to do when I was a kid) and I thought it was time to make another blog post.

This weekend has been a little weird for me, August 3^rd. You little bastard.
I know that all my friends are dealing with this in their way, but this is my way. I write. I write a lot. I’m just letting you see it more.

My friend was taken from me by cancer. Taken from everyone that knew her.

That day, was today.

This last week, things keep happening to me, that remind me she was an important part of my life and a very short part of my life. And while I have my friends to remind me as well,  there have been just too many things this week.

It starts with drink I have every Monday now. Who introduced me to it? She did.
I went to check out my subscriptions on YouTube. For some reason she was on the top of my list, I don’t know how, but there she is. I’d forgotten I’d subscribed when she made her video.
I found a post here I made right after her health took a bad turn, I’ve locked it, I don’t bother looking, that’s between her and I.
I found a book she’d lent me at the top of one my book piles last night.
I was looking over my bike tonight, and the custom paint job, she’d helped with, I’d forgotten about that.
20 minutes ago I opened a drawer and handout from her funeral had shifted and made its way to the top of the paper pile.

It’s times like this where I wonder what’s going on out there, it’s worth a question, no matter the answer.

For me, I made my childhood snack, curled up with my blankets and settled back to think about the first time I’d met her and her in her apartment on 4^th Avenue.

Her husband and I had been friends for a while before I met her and he’d invited me over for games at their house. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that’s left such mighty impression on me. Those that have met her maybe able to speak to it, I leave you with these simple words.

This has been a interesting week for me and I see it like this; she was such a force in this world there is nothing that can, bury it, lose it, or end it. She lives on in an army hundreds strong. Touched, shaped, and released.
There doesn’t have to be an afterlife to simply live on.  She does for me.

Do what she did, make good friends, be yourself, shape the world in your way.

Do it with class and astounding style.

This is never been a site that I’d published, mostly because it’s a place where I write about the messed up shit that goes on in my head. Really the only people who know about it are the only ones that should be following it.
No one.

I’m rethinking that choice, I’ve found I have more to talk about things that interests me the more they are starting to pile up and clutter in my brain. Something I want to do in the next few months is take a real look at what it would take (cost?) to be a full time writer. I have a severe passion for putting my mind on paper, piles and piles of words that I want to share. Illiteratemind.com is where I talk in my politically correct voice, it’s a driving force for my books and so it needs stay in that theme.

Not the case here…

The reality is I want to talk about all KINDS of things. Not all of them good, but not all of them as offensive as the original plan for this blog either. So what do I do? Make another site for my brain to fill up? No, I don’t believe that’s what’s needed. I’ve been wrong before. I could be again. With all this in mind and a writing plus editorial team of one…

Let’s give this a try.

Feel free to share, delete, set on fire, or criticize as you wish.

I’ve always loved music, I mean I can’t think of a day where I haven’t listened to something. In fact I have a record spinning as I edit this. Also, I’m an eclectic person, I got into collecting vinyl. Is it art? Is it music? Why can’t it be both? Half to the time I can’t tell if I’m a damn hipster or anti-hipster or what. What I do know; I like my music to sound amazing and vinyl helps. I see you judging me, well fuck you!

A friend of mine posted this:

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9467-wax-and-wane-the-tough-realities-behind-vinyls-comeback/

This chart belongs to Pitchfork and Joel Oliphint

It was a good read, but it also pissed me off.

I mean holy shit, over 6 million sales with 3+ month waits to get your music pressed? Seems like all it’s all upside for the press companies. But they aren’t adding more presses to keep with demand?

How is it prohibitively expensive to make more vinyl presses? What are they made out of?
“We need another press in here!”
“I’m sorry, but the cost of virgins to fuel the tools, is just too expensive now that we have a Human Rights Act.”
“Curse you 1998!”

Wait? The Human Rights Act took till 1998, da fuck? They drafted this thing in 1949 and it’s not put in place till 1998? We live in the Dark Ages my friends. Also I didn’t know it was the UK that made this right.

Lost myself again… Oh right. I wanted a price tag on these presses. I started to look into it.
First site I found was a place that will press records for you, seems to start at about 100 record minimum. Anyone want record of me belting out the oldies? I’d never thought about making a record before.

If internet can be trusted… It says that the last presses made were done in the 80s by some Russian company and most of the machines used today were created in the 60s and 70s. Who repairs these things? I got to believe the markup on that work is epic.

I guess, what they are trying to say is; you don’t only need to make presses, you need to make companies that create presses. And when vinyl still only counts for 2% of all music sold in a year, you can go fuck yourself.  Where did all the tooling to make these machines end up, I wonder?

If the “Projections” are correct, vinyl could hit somewhere near 8 million sold this year, and that’s awesome I love the idea of records becoming an expected format when I go to buy my band’s new album. But I feel the cautious edge to this whole tale.

It’s got a fad feel.

I think the biggest reason…

How much life is left in the record? At the speed we have improved everything else in our world, is the record going to stay the audiophiles’ choice? It doesn’t sound like pressing process is going to changing anytime soon, and if mastering is going almost full digital, what the win of going analog with your release? Records aren’t cheap and they take work to make. That’s cost in the labors of love.

Then you have systems like Pono, DVD, Blue Ray , and HDTracks. How long before they sound better, more convenient, and cheap.

Or maybe it’s here to stay? Let’s not forget, when we landed on the moon we didn’t believe it would be long before everyone would own a flying cars.

Well I have to replace the tires on my car and I’ve not been to Mars yet. So long live vinyl, even if is just prettiest sounding swan song I know.