Under Construction.

My days of balancing work with the ten-thousand plans I have for a (personal) web page are over. I have settled on a plan and over the next month (or two) I will be re-imagining, redesigning, and rebuilding both Knock Twice dot Com and Knock Twice Radio.

To fill this space during construction, I have loaded up the SoKT with a number of great tunes and audio stories. While here, feel free to browse through my Past Posts and write that comment you never get around to sharing. Also check out the Websites 'For Reading', which are good... especially Celebrating Sagan. If you are a Sagan fan and haven't yet posted your memories of the man to CS... it is never to late.

Thanks to the six of you who periodically view this site. Please note that it is for us (me + you six)that I am renovating this jaunt. All input is greatly appreciated.

My dinner with the President.

Last night I attended the 63rd Annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner. It was fun, and overall I think I liked the evening more than last year's dinner.

The evening started with cocktails. A gin and tonic and then a Dewars (neat).

Sat with colleague's Terry and Todd, plus Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Patrick Murphy (D-PA [and only 34!]), and Norm Dicks (D-WA). Rep. Dicks also brought along his lovely wife Suzi.

Red wine and water accompanied the following meal:

New Orleans Cajun Salad
Texas Rubbed Tenderloin of Beef
Paired with Fennel Crusted Orange Roughy
Mississippi Mud Pie

The entertainment portion of the evening followed dinner. Some awards were given out, and there were a few speeches. President Bush was rather funny and deft. There was some other absurdities followed by more uncomfortable laughter.

Post-dinner time was spent at the Fox News after-party, then some other after-parties which grew increasingly lame with time (Beatles cover band, including bad hair and accents). The open bars, though, weren't the only thing that prevented me from heading home for an early evening. It was a great blast for me to hang out with former NewsHour colleagues as we stuck random stuff into a chocolate fountain.

Anyway, let this be the first and last time I write about any party that I attend (until the Nobel Prize dinner, fingers crossed).

Radio Confessions.

Hey KTR fans, followers, and friends.

I just wanted to take a moment and apologize for the past two (blank) weeks on the Knock Twice Radio calendar. While I love working on this project, the necessity of balancing the workload of a promotion with my other web and home improvement projects has meant I have not been able to find the time to complete the current KTR episode.

That being said, production is underway and expect a new episode to be posted this Friday, March 30th.

Looking forward at the remainder of Spring, there are a number of exciting KTR shows being developed. Guests hosts will include -- David, Liz, Eric, Rachael, Brian, and Assymeric -- and topics will vary from Technology Entertainment and Design, to protest songs, and songs from bands that begin with M.

All I am saying is look forward to some Metallica.

Thanks for your patience,

Bryan.

Truth Craving.

The first issue in my new subscription to SEED came today. This is all good because the magazine is all science-y and stuff.

The theme for the March 2007 issue is Truth. Seems like a reasonable subject for a publication subtitled Science is Culture.

Lets look at what SEED's editor, Adam Bly, has to say about dissecting the intersection between science and culture in the search for truth:

The pursuit of truth is variously infuriating, exhilarating, amusing, foolish, humbling, noble, emboldening, silly heroic, even superhuman. Its very existence is debated, and we can safely assume always will be.

We are living in a moment where our traditional sources of truth... have diminished in standing. Our collective cynicism, mirrored in our media through satire and irony, has helped expose an assault on reason and the often corrupt machinations of politics. And we're left having shifted the power equation but desperately lacking new ideas to fill the void that we have revealed. So now what? We are urgently in need of rational thought. We crave truth.

Where does science fit in this pursuit? On one hand, its generally perceived distance from culture affords it an uncompromised sterility that engenders trust. . . On the other hand, this conception causes us to see science as a tool of reduction, practiced by an elite few in a foreign language, incapable of reaching the elusive, romantic notions of truth we crave. This is an area where science can learn from the arts. Science is our way to move forward as a society, but only by addressing this relationship with truth will we actually do so.

Bly goes on to set the tone for the flavors of Truth that the SEED staff elucidate on in this issue.

Despite my goal to read, at most, the final 80 pages in the Cronkite memoir -- I left the book at work -- and in the least finish the Wired article I started at work a few weeks ago, the aforementioned Editor's Letter is all I did read, that wasn't online, tonight.

I could, and really would, like to elaborate more on my own personal perspectives about the necessary intersection of art, science, and truth -- but that is the type of conversation that I really do enjoy having over a quantity of beer, so next time you are in DC, or I in your neighborhood, lets make it a conversation.

Living in Pictures.

Throughout eighth grade and high school I was one of (if not thee, imho) preeminent photographers at Chaminade College Preparatory, St. Louis, MO.

I loved the time I spent after school, bathed in orange light, reeking of stop bath and listening to the Velvet Underground (see SoKT). For those hours I might as well have been living in NYC in 1967.

As a film student in college I didn't find much time for still photos; and oddly (pathetically?) enough for moving ones either.

Well after Boston and towards the end of my East Nashvillian days I purchased a Holga 120 CFN. I used it to take some square pictures.

Now living in DC and letting the Internet consume more and more of my time, I have been itching for a digital camera that I cannot quite afford.

On the 30th of December, 2006 I was hanging at the Naschmarkt in Wien with friends and family when I purchased a new (used) Ashai Pentax Spotmatic SLR. Its a gorgeous piece of work - and works great!

In line with this new shutter-bugginess I have finally started uploading images to my two-year old Flickr account. I must say, I really do like the way these film photos scan -- so much so that I am cool putting off digital-ness for the time being.

Enjoy.

Records, Seats and Glasses.

Today I fixed my record player.

With the help of a soldering iron my music collection has again expanded to include my hundred or so vinyl records. Though portable, I think that my digital music collection will be taking a back seat for a while.

Especially now that Rachael and I have a sofa / couch / love seat / thing.

It's small, cheap, and from Ikea. What more, it is a great addition to our living space. We finally have a soft place to seat and read that is not our twin bed.

Aside from fixing the Technics SL-2000 and buying a sofa, today marks a day of fresh starts because it is the first day that I haven't had a headache related to eye wear since getting new glasses.

After more than a month and a half of frustration and circular dealing 'America's Best' was finally able to get me the two pair of eyeglasses I ordered. I have new frames for the first time since spring 2000, and while I prefer the look of my old glasses it is nice to have scratch free lenses and an updated prescription.

My second new pair is my first pair of sunglasses. I can't wait to protect my eyes from the sun the way I protect my ears from loudness. It will take a while to get used to packing an extra glass this summer, and perhaps more so developing the routine of how I switch between the glasses as I enter and leave buildings.

Check out the SoKT for the excellent Neil Young song, 'Albuquerque.' It is the type of number that gets one ready for summer.

Currently, though, on its one of my un-listened to birthday records.

Dolphy, Eric. The Berlin Concerts. New York: Inner City, 1978.

Recorded August 30th, 1961.

'Hot House'
by Tad Dameron, 19:04

Eric Dolphy - alto sax
Benny Bailey - trumpet
Pepsi Auer - piano
Jamil Nasser - bass
Buster Smith - drums

The Coolest.

Aside from exploration of space via telescopes and satellites, I think that the One Laptop Per Child is the coolest and most important projects being developed globally right now.

Essentially the OLPC is meant to be a super cheap computer designed for the youth of developing countries. The idea is that a government will buy these OLPC computers in bulk, and then distribute them freely to that nation's youth.

Among this computer's benefits are pedal generators, WiFi Mesh capablity, and screens that work in daylight. This means that during the middle of the day in the middle of a field a child could see what was on the screen of their computer, while powering the computer with a pedal, and communicating over a mesh network that would connect that computer to similar computers.

When paired with network based texts books and the Internet these computers can provide access to more information and offer more flexibility to schools in the third world.

Living in an Information Age where access to information is power, the OLPC can hopefully offset the digital divide that is splitting the world into two.



It may not be evident now, but I am definitely directing my career so that I can work with devices like this to help prepare the planet for peace and eventual extra-solar travel.

Thanks to Wired.com for the video.

Ze, Websongs, and More.

In eight days The Show with Ze Frank will move from active production to memory.

For those that don't know, The Show was started on March 17, 2006 by web impresario Ze Frank. Over the course of the last year, Ze's Show has grown from a one man act to a rapidly evolving web community that counts more that 200,000 members.

These members have become an integral part of The Show. Called Sportsracers, members of this community develop intros for The Show, collaborate on songs, dress their vacuum cleaners, and submit power moves to vie for a spot in the League of Awesomeness. In many ways The Show has morphed from focusing on Frank's musings of current events to his dialog with his devoted fans. The Show has become a true collaboration.

In that light I should rephrase my opening statement.

In eight days Ze Frank will step down as the voice of The Show. In his place, legions of Sportsracers will take creative control of the project and continue its growth on the ORG.

If you are interested in catching up there is no better place to start than with the first episode of The Show.

For a quicker synopsis I recommend checking checking out last night's episode. The bulk of this episode is dedicated to 10 minutes of original Show songs. In short, Ze played a game of chess against his viewers. He lost, and the price for his loosing was to spend 10 minutes on screen with a guitar, playing songs.

The songs in this episode stretch back to the earlier days of The Show. As such watching this episode is in many ways akin to a sitcom where the character sit around reminiscing of their previously televised escapades.

'Fun Winter' is the first of the songs played, and it is by far my favorite. Originally featured on January 3, 2007, 'Fun Winter' is awesome because it casts winter in a really exciting light. Perhaps that seems strange, but really, listening to this song makes me really excited about winter. Truly.

Anyway, I have featured 'Fun Winter' as the first song to be added to March's SoKT. This performance is from yesterday and features Jonathan Coulton on guitar and vocal.

Enjoy.

As a side:

While I wait for the many promised KTR shows to roll in I continue planning my own shows. This morning, while re-watching yesterday's episode of The Show, it occurred to me to host a KTR show of 'Websongs,' songs written for an audience on the Internet.

'Fun Winter' by Ze Frank is an excellent example of a websong. Other websongs are more abstract. Some of the mathematical / musical / visual engines on the Whitney Music Box would also work.

As I plan this KTR episode I am going to make a request from my few readers. In the model of Ze I am asking you to submit some of the websongs that you all have come across in your web journeying. Email them to me here.

In this way I will build an upcoming episode of KTR -- whith your all's help.

Danke.

Astro-Blog.

Thanks to Rachael, I now know that the New York Times has a new astronomy blog. What more, Brian May, former member of Queen and a current expert on interplanetary dust, writes for the blog. 

Who knows what will happen now that the holy houses of rock and astronomy are in line?

'... then I am Mickey Mouse.'

Thanks to Boing for mentioning this EXCELLENT re-visioning of Mickey Mouse. It has been a long time since Disney made anything exciting with their 'flagship character'. As evidenced in this video a face-lift is in order.


I am really amazed by this creation, not by how new and relevant Mickey can look with a little vision, but rather I am giddily impressed by how well Matthew Cruickshank recreated the joy and pleasure I used to have as a child watching Mickey Mouse, or really any other classic and great cartoon.

Cruickshank's safe and fascinating realm delights me. It is rare that media creations takes a healthfully optimistic and curious look at a world (either this world or a fictional space) .

In this video Cruickshank animates a world where there are no negative consequences to curiosity. Take that chance, it says, and if you fall down that cliff, get up and keep looking, keep exploring.

This encouragement is essential to childhood development, and therefore it should be a HIGH priority for programing aimed at kids. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for shows like Sesame Street, Mr.Rogers, and especially Reading Rainbow. 'Neo-Mickey' takes the visually exciting world of the Teletubies and elevates it this pantheon.

The levity in Cruickshank's 'Neo-Mickey' amplifies the joy of curiosity and investigation that is so often thwarted by an un-sympathetic 'adult' public; likely similar to the way that Disney will thrawt this project. Shame.

Call to Arms.

For those of you who have been following my life for a while now I am sure you know, or know of, my good friend (for over ten years!) Joe Jovanovich. For those of you new to this maundering saga, Joe and I met in seventh grade and have been friends ever since. Though we haven't spent much time together since college I can always look to Joe for a level headed and noble perspective.

City Year brought Joe to Chicago, and after two years of service he is now in a management position with the red-coated arm of Americorps. On the side Joe has joined a cadre of like minded do-gooders who have organized a walk to raise money to improve the lives of those suffering in the Sudan.

The Sudan was a big issue for the early part of 2006, but as mid-term elections rolled around 'the Sudan' seemed to have dropped from the mass-media-eye. That being said, the suffering, genocide, and slavery continues.

The Sudan Freedom Walk will occur on May 5th, 2007. For those living in Chicago I implore you to participate. For the rest, I recommend donating what you can. If you live pay check to pay check (like me) Joe promises that even a meager contribution will be used to improve the quality of life in Sudan. [For instructions on how to donate follow the above link.]

To read Joe's letter click here.

To learn more about the Sudan I recommend visiting the Online NewsHour's special report: Crisis in Sudan.

Wired.

Working at the NewsHour one of my responsibilities was to help come up with an idea for the Daily Buzz. The Buzz is a feature on the NewsHour Extra (a news website for students and teachers) that highlights current events that are soft-news, timely, and interesting to teens.

Part of my research ritual included daily visits to Reuter's Oddly Enough, Yahoo News, News.Google.Com, and Wired.com. While these sights were able to provide the Buzz from time to time they were more useful, for me, in rounding out the more 'serious' straight-news reading that work in the Capitol and for the NewsHour required.

Reading political and international coverage for hours a day can be a daunting and exhausting activity. The levity and diversity of the coverage provided by the above sites provided a well needed break.

Since leaving the NewsHour, I no longer visit most of those listed sites. The notable exception is Wired.com, the website for Wired Magazine.

I first started reading Wired Magazine a long time ago, in kid years. I remember picking up a copy of Wired that featured a photo of HAL back in 1997. The magazine was running a story on the 30th anniversary of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was impressed by the entire package: the glossy pages, the great photos, and the insightful yet accessible writing. My interest in science and technology kept me reading periodically throughout high school and college. Only after working at the NewsHour, and periodically thumbing through Rachael's classroom subscription to the magazine, did I become an avid reader.

Although we are already well into February I just finished reading the January 2007 issue. Within this magazine, themed 'Beyond the Body', I unexpectedly came across four really incredible articles.

[As a side: another great thing about Wired Magazine is that the whole thing, more or less, is published online. At the beginning of each month, Wired.com will feature a few pieces from the current issue. As the month progresses more and more of the Magazine's content is published online... so by the time the new month starts and the next Magazine is ready for sale the previous month's issue is available for online readers. And despite common sense -- this does not undermine the magazine. In fact it is doing quite well. The Chicago Tribune recently declared it the fourth best magazine of 2006 (behind the Economist and Dwell, and right before The New Yorker).]

Back to those four amazing articles. Each of the four appeared in the second half of the magazine, and all look at a particular use of technology or science as applied in the real world. I think the reason my reaction to them was so strong was because they all offered a glance at a person whose career has taken them in unexpected directions. In other words, it is really exciting for me to read about people who have found careers for themselves outside the beaten path.

Basically, as someone who is constantly being reminded by an empathy devoid job market, there are very few jobs out there for someone, like myself, who is excited, interested and qualified, yet desires to pave new ground. As such I take great comfort in reading about people who have accomplished a level of independence and the career control that I long for.

If you share similar feelings about your job future -- I hope that you too can take something from these articles, but you don't have to take my word for it...

The Righteous Fury of Dick Pound, about the man who create the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Meteor Farmer, about a man who makes millions finding and selling ancient meteor's on farms in Kansas.

CSI: TCP/IP, about the man who invented cyber-forensics, works for the DOD, and hangs with hackers.

Untangling the Mystery of the Inca, about the search, through a series of knotted ropes, for clues about a possible Incan written language.

Norwegian Political Party + German Photographer = Copyright Infringement

During my daily stumble through Flickr I came across a legal battle in Europe that exemplifies, I am sure, the fears of many Flickr users.

Apparently, the youth branch of Norway's conservative party stole an image from a German photographer's Flickr page and published it as the cover of their magazine, 'XTRA'. Photo here.

It was months before the photographer, Mareen, was notified.

Since filing a cease-and-desist lawyers for XTRA offered a cash settlement, but it doesn't look like Mareen and her sister, the subject of the photo, are interested.

Mareen has done a good job of documenting this incident on her Flickr page, including pictures of articles from German newspapers.

In this instance the photographer is totally in the right. As one who publishes a fair amount of my own creations on the web I take this is good reason to be fearful that some foreign entity is using my content for its own ends -- without me even knowing.

Perhaps even more frightful is the fact that as more and more user generated content starts living on the Internet those bodies that host the material (Flickr, You Tube, etc) will likely not stand up for those 'little guys' who use their service.

SoKT

Peaking at the sidebar you will notice that I have changed out the tracks on SoKT.

In order to keep things fresh I have decided to start a new playlist each month.

As promised I started this month with a Pete Seeger rendition of 'Clementine', one of my favorite American sing alongs... about death!

For those of you who miss the great tracks on last month's SoKT, please check out the new SoKT page: www.knock-twice.com/sokt.

The SoKT features January's excellent and Oldam-ish bonus track.

Also, don't forget to check out Knock Twice Radio this Sunday (Feb. 4). I will be debuting the inaugural episode around midnight EST.

Seegerdom.

It is with great excitement that I announce both my recently obtained concert tickets and Knock Twice's first ever giveaway.

No thanks to Ticket Master I was able to score four free tickets* to the Seeger Family Tribute at the Library of Congress. Mostly this is exciting because it is offers a rare opportunity to see Pete Seeger live. For those that don't know, Seeger is one of the greatest voices in American Music and perhaps the country's most important 'folk musician'. If you have the time I highly recommend you check out The New Yorker bio on the man -- courtesy of Pete's own site.

As for the giveaway -- I have one ticket to giveaway to whomever wants it -- you have just got to convince me you are the right person. Email me here with attempts. BTW -- the concert is on Friday March 16, 2007 at 8:00 pm.

Also -- when I get home I will post a Pete Seeger song to the SoKT.

* Although the tickets were free, Ticket Master charged me an unnecessary 3.75 for each ticket. Shame on the LOC for pandering to the monopoly.

the Cost of Conflict.

Tonight, under pressure from a newly elected Democratic congress, the President will address the nation. In this speech, Mr. Bush will outline his new plan for the U.S. military in Iraq.

To mark this potentially pivotal point in current history, I have added some new audio to SoKT that was created during another key time in recent years.

The track, The Cost of Conflict, is an audio collage that I made for my late night radio show in Boston. It was broadcast on WERS 88.9FM at 2:15 am, just 30 or so hours after President Bush declared war on Iraq. (The speech was delivered on the evening of March 19, 2003)

In the style of the Overnight Experimental Show, that Shawn H. and I created and hosted, here you can hear the President's televised declaration of war played over music, sound effects, news broadcasts, and recordings from anti-war demonstrations.

While this track likely violated some of WERS' by laws, I believe that it is non partisan in nature.

Listening to it now, I believe, as I did then, that this speech was masterfully written. Within its own context it makes sense, and I hope that with patience you can hear that now, though personally I (and presumably we) disagree with the President's conclusions.

By contrasting the focused logic of the President's speech with trembling then victorious music I hoped to highlight the real world absurdity of what Mr. Bush was saying.

Thank you for taking the time to listening to these 17 minutes. If you have any comments or input, please share.

May we find some peace in this New Year.

The Sounds of Knock Twice.

Accomplished.

On the sidebar you can now find the Sounds of Knock Twice, the aforementioned web based MP3 player that will allow me to share audio with you.

Unlike my intended found sound podcast, the SoKT, will feature mostly music. And, in an unexpected nod to my past, I have launched with a Phish tune. This version of 'Ghost' was performed on David Byrne's short lived Sessions at West 54th television show, on PBS, in 1998.

I know that many of you wince just thinking about Phish, but please give it a chance. The performance is outstanding, the tempo perfect, and the jam tight.

On another note, I have included an Otis Redding tune, sort of... In it he melds my new found love for soul with my favorite of Coca~Cola's ad campaigns, 'Things Go Better with Coke.'

peanut butter + honey + cinnamon

I have some big plans for the future of Knock Twice.

Not only do I plan to start a found sound podcast (hopefully this weekend), but I will also be building a web based MP3 player, similar to the one on Celebrating Sagan, that will include sounds and music that are pertinent to Knock Twice.

Additionally I have some posts and pictures planned that detail some of my recent experiences in Europe.

Last night I went to bed at 9:15 and this morning I woke up, having decided to apply for a Fulbright. We will see where this goes.

In the meantime, check this:

2 slices of wheat bread
peanut butter of choice
honey
cinnamon

Both a change of pace and an excellent sandwich.

A Temporary Pause.

There will be a temporary pause in production as Dave and I dive head first into our 'Week of Sagan,' otherwise known as 'Celebrating Sagan.'

You can track our progress at www.celebratingsagan.com.

If you  too are a Sagan fan, we encourage you to participate in the celebration.

Email your memories to celebratingsagan@gmail.com and your thoughts will be posted.

Chronos vs. the Federal Agency.

The current Harper's (December 2006) features a good article that details the debate in the U.S. between astronomers and physicist about who should control time. In this article, Clash of the Time Lords, Michelle Stacey elucidates by talking with folks at the USNO and NIST, the literal keepers of the time, who are in favor of moving to a purely atomic (perfect) clock, and the opposition.

Basically the argument comes down to whether or not Time should be an exact unwavering measure, or whether things should remain the same with 'perfect' Time being altered periodically so that Time reflects observable phenomena.

While this issue is potentially vexing, it is tackled with the swagger of the popular-science writing that periodically dominate the Times best seller list, and couples that with the 'journalistic balance and integrity' that a lazy public demands from their news writers.

Ultimately though, this is an issue that has real world consequences: air planes could literally fall from the sky and noon could occur well after sunset. For a more down to earth, though benign, example read the excerpt.

The deeper problem that haunts Levine is what might be considered the underlying gap between the two ways of counting time, a gap that cannot be remedied by inserting leap seconds. He explains this dilemma with a real-world analogy: our physical age, counted by seconds and days lived, and our age counted by birthdays. Someone who is, say, twenty years old could be considered, on his birthday, to have ben alive for 7,300 days (365 times 20). But this self-evident fact is not actually true. Because of the every-four-year leap year, he has in real-life (what Levine calls "heartbeat") terms been alive 7,305 days (including the five leap days that have occurred since his birth). On his birthday he is twenty years old, but depending on how you count time--by a calendar or by the actual moments that have passed--he is either twenty, or he is twenty years and five days. It's a mathematical conundrum with no true answer that results from our ability (or our decision) to count time in two different ways.

Surprise -- you are older than you thought.