Basement Studio

October 25, 2017
  Ever since Miles moved into the room formerly known as my music room, I have been pushing forward on a plan to build a soundproof studio in the basement. It has taken me about 18 months of very slow progress to construct a floor and walls and I am currently in the drywall phase. With great thanks to Land Bandmates Seth and Erik, I transported 24 sheets of 5/8" drywall (probably 2000 lbs) to my front porch (full sheets won't fit down the basement stairs), where it has been cut and attached to the wood and metal staggered stud…

Elimination

October 15, 2017
  I watched in grim horror as the US Men's National Soccer Team booted away their invitation to the World Cup in 2018, losing 2-1 to the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Warriors (with a great team name, representing the proud music of the islands) while Panama and Honduras took care of their own business in the CONACAF Hexagonal Qualifier, scoring late goals to climb ahead of the US into the quadrennial tournament. I may spend more time devoted to my hometown Boston teams (and watching the Red Sox bounced out of the playoffs by the Astros was another stinger this…

Reform

October 13, 2017
  I hate to hate, but there is really no other word that describes my absolute wretched disgust for our president. Every action he takes is expressly counter to my deepest and most cherished morals and values; his entire agenda is based on destruction, division, chaos and fear. He is a domestic shame and an international terror and it is completely incomprehensible to me that he could be an elected leader or that anyone would support his presidency. It is simply indefensible. Unfortunately, there is very little I can do to improve this situation externally, other than write about it…

Cassini

September 22, 2017
Space jams.         The Cassini spacecraft is one of mankind's greatest achievements. Any projectile that reaches beyond our atmosphere excites me in a way that no other earthly conquest can move me. The information retrieved from this traveler is completely unbelievable to me - I literally have no way to personally corroborate it. The photos and videos might as well be digitally designed because it exists only in the farthest realms of visualization. And Saturn is only one of the planets in our solar system, which is one of billions in the universe. A hexagonal hurricane on…

England and Scotland

August 29, 2017
We just returned from an incredible Buckland family trip to the U.K., first visiting G and Grand in Dorset, followed by a two-day overland voyage through London, Glasgow and The Highlands to The Isle of Raasay, a remote island of The Inner Hebrides with ferry access from Isle of Skye. The  beauty escalated throughout the journey with stunning vistas in every direction; endless open fields, lochs and mountains jutting out of the Sea. And at the furthest reaches of pavement on Raasay, we settled into Arnish cottage, supplied electrically by Wind and Sun, and made it our base for exploring…

Summer = Concerts

August 4, 2017
I have had a delightful run of shows recently that warrant recognition. Prospect Park has been ripe with great offerings and I have seen several bands that really impressed me. Poliça and Yeasayer kicked off my season, Sufjan Stevens assembled a supergroup to perform his audiovisual opus, "Planetarium", Andrew Bird's looping violin entranced (although I was slightly distracted by my children, who were loving the late bedtime and large roaming range on the lawn with kids of all ages), Admiral T from Guadeloupe brought French dancehall and West Indian flavor (with bootleg rum punch making the rounds), while last night…