Long has it been since last I wrote, whenceforth I have:

• purchased and set up Logic Pro Studio 8 on an iMac (om-nom-nom)
• seen Phantom of the Opera (loved it, I am considering seeing it again)
• I got a new/old position in Orion (which involves me being rostered for Labour Day)

I have been rather unattentive to my blog for the last month, so my revisit to it was with new sight: Christ, is it pink! It did not look so when I developed it on my old laptop, but I suppose time has jaded the monitor’s display. I shall have to re-colour the site soon with a hint more testosterone.

-Pearlmill

Last movie seen: Casablanca - so many quotable lines
Listening to: Gorillaz - Demon Days
Reading: Leonard Cohen’s Book of Longing

I’ve been looking to purchase a set up for doing home music compositions. I have a fairly amateurish one right now, basically only suitable for mixing acoustic recordings. I also use an ancient version of FruityLoops which is a decent, if simple, drum/sample machine and a very tedious-to-use MIDI sequencer, but with a pathetic sample library.

What I’m really lacking is a decent MIDI sequencer and a huge media/MIDI/effects library. Logic Studio Pro 8 seems to be the current solution to my problems.

I checked out a package at the Rockshop which might suit my needs. It’s fairly pricey, especially since it doesn’t come with speaker monitors (which seem like they’ll be roughly an extra 700 bucks for decent ones). Let me break this down in the form of bullet points:

I did some research to see if I could setup something similar for cheaper. Here’s what I found:

So, I’m looking at a total of between $2850 and $3300; a much cheaper deal for a slightly worse/better iMac and room for a better recording interface.

…sigh…

-Pearlmill

Finally! Friday!
No more work for two more days!
Current mood: content

…and this site’s skin has been updated to a more consistent purple/lavender theme; Yes, I realize it’s fairly girly. People accessing this site via a web-browser (as opposed to an RSS feed) will also have noticed the disclaimer splash page.

The Bill Bailey “Tinselworm” show on Sunday was excellent; the sound setup could’ve been better, but, overall, the show was hilarious and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the moment he impersonated Satan, and then started singing Chicago’s “If you leave me now”.

Musically, I’ve lately been in a new “meta-creative” mode. Elaborating on this statement would take too long (and be too boring), but I wanted to say it anyway.

Anyway, I’ve scheduled leave from work for the week starting September 22nd. This is so I can focus on music projects that I haven’t put enough consolidated effort into. I’m looking forward to it!

Chow,
Pearlmill

Previous visitors will notice I have renovated my website, which includes a new installation of Wordpress. New features:

The new skin isn’t quite as grungy as the old one, but then again, I don’t listen to Nirvana or Pearl Jam anymore. Firefox 2.0 has been my browser of choice for testing this website. I’ve had a few glances at it with IE 6.0 and, as expected, there are a few issues. No biggie, though; IE 6.0 users are probably used to it.

Things at the new apartment have settled down. The weather has been sunnier as of late, which has provided some very tranquilizing views. A proximity to everything central has proven convenient too:

Last night, the fire alarm in the building went off. After leaving the building from the nearest fire exit in an orderly calm manner, I saw a crowd of the evacuated observing heavy smoke coming out of Wildfire (which, I guess, fits the name). Firemen eventually arrived and seemed to be taking a while to attend to things. Not caring to wait around, I decided to take a short walk to Honey bar to pass time. One Whiskey Sour later, I ventured back, and the firemen must have done their job alright, because the crowd had gone and there was no sign of fire or damage.

Had the same incident happened at the old flat, there wouldn’t have been any decent places around to quietly re-evaluate life just in case all your possessions got burnt. I guess there would’ve been the Pelican Club, though.

In other news, I am looking forward to seeing Bill Bailey at the Aotea center tonight.

And on a musical note, my good friend Simon Marshall was visiting Auckland recently. While he was here, we made some beautiful music together. I’ll always remember the good times!

Finally, I’ve had this song stuck in my head lately, so I must share the pain.

Later,
Pearlmill