Dreadful Snake Blog

So Here are the Dreadful Pictures!!!!!

2006-03-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Original Complaint: I have about 10 pictures ready to post of Goa, and other adventures but suddenly can't get the Blogspot site to upload the pix. China already blocks access to actual blogspot blogs - that is, I cannot see my own Dreadful Snake Blog, but I can get access to the authoring part of the site and never had a problem posting before. Now I can prepare the text fine - I actually have 3 posts sitting in draft waiting for the photos - but it will not upload the photos. Hmmmmm. I suspect a regime thing here. I am in Singapore this weekend so will try to get it done from there. . . . Hang in there, photo-hungry Snakesters!!

The Victory Lap: OK - just arrived Singapore and logged on from here and posted all those pics in a flash. Need I say more??

What do these really mean????

2006-03-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Newspaper article from China Daily. If you think the showers are tough, you should see the taxis. No smoking sign (of sorts) from a breakfast stop in Goa, India. Sign from a garbage can in Guangzhao, China (does it have to do with recycling chicken heads? I dont know!!) Brooklyn Bluesman - can you translate please?

Welcome to Goa, India

2006-03-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

So I flew from Shanghai to Delhi, connected to Mumbai (Bombay) and then to Goa. Would have been ok except the flight to Delhi got in at 3 am and the next one didn't go out til 10 am. yawn. When I finally got there, I was ready. My phone happily told me I was in Anjuna and even the cab driver stopped on the hour long ride from the airport to Anjuna to buy me a couple of coconuts to drink. Water view from the cab ride.

Hospitality, Goa Style

2006-03-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

If they are good at anything in Goa, it is relaxation. The man with the crab is Xavier. If you look in Lonely Planet guide to either India or Goa - check out the section for Anjuna, Goa. His restaurant - "Xavier's" is rated best seafood in Anjuna. Check it out!! Then there are great homes there - check out the view from this upper level deck. . . aaah.

Goa Sunset Watch

2006-03-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

Up on a hill over the beach the sunset looked great. Everybody turns our for sunset into the Arabian Sea. Techno beats out of the cafes on the beach and was quite subdued from up on the hill. . . . Seemed to be right in synch with where the crowd was at. an old woman with a 15 foot long Alpen horn carried it out to the rocks just off shore and played long low notes to the sun as it set. Since Goa was a Portugese colony, there are old shrines here and there by the sea like this one up on that hill

Dreadful Snake in the Fountain

2006-02-13T07:42:00.000-05:00

"All those hours in the Colleseum, dodgin' lions and wastin time" So Michelangelo gets all the PR for Rome but this guy Bernini really did a lot of the good stuff all over.

In the Vatican, he did that skeleton under a chunk of marble that was carved to really look like folded cloth. Then in Piazza Navona there is that fountain with the leg in the foreground. Above his hand is the Dreadful Snake whom you can see in another closeup picture. Finally - it isnt same guy but the Trevi Fountain is one of the famous sights and the last picture is the very top of that one.

My Roman Neighborhood - Trastevere

2006-02-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

The apartment I rented was in Trastevere - was great to have a private place versus a hotel. Had some great sunny days so the warm colors on the houses of the narrow streets was worth taking pictures of. Building with the horse on it was actually across the river toward the Forum. Dreadful Skull was in a local church wall.

More Pompei Pics

2006-02-13T07:24:00.000-05:00

This courtyard with the pillars here and in previous post was the town park and swimming pool.

Pompei - When Time Stops

2006-02-13T07:13:00.000-05:00

When time stops because of a volcano kickin yer Neapolitan butt, that is. 2 hour train ride south of Rome to Naples then a local for 45 min to Pompei. So Mount Vesuvias put killer hot ash in the house and time stood still. Pretty amazing stuff. Bigger town than I thought - wandered for hours thru the streets.
The little paintings were a few inches high and on the inside wall of a house . . . imagine some National Park in USA letting you walk right up and touch this stuff - I dont think so. In teh last pic between teh 2 pillars on teh right you can see the edge of the town swimming pool . . . still totally intact. Suitable for playing Marco Polo I assume.

SnakeCasters and Topics Welcome

2005-12-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

So want a cheap-sh*t way to be a podcaster? Forget everything else you have heard. Send me an MP3 file and maybe I will suck it into the show. Want to hear an example? Go back to my show called "Dead Sam and the Sheep that Wouldn't Die" where Bobo of the North sent a great 3 or 4 minute segment of about Elvin Jones, his giant death resisting sheep. You can do the same. If your topic is just the right mix of strange, fun, authentic and/or includes a paypal $50 deposit (kidding), I will include it and you will get access to the vast audience of Snakesters out there. BTW - I am back up to being rated #20 in the damn WORLD in terms of Music Podcast. OK, that is, on Podcast Alley. OK so saying that ranks me as #6 on the conceited list as well. Hey - don't hassle me in my own house!
There is danger in that podcast offer I made tho cause if you are the least bit geeky, you will find your self gradually pouring more money in to improve the sound of the setup. Hey, it's fun.
Finally - what topics do you get psyched over. Here's some I am working on in my head. (I tend to work em upstairs for quite a while, then they come together quicker later down here in the studio) OK so topics I am thinking of for soon . . . .. or maybe not.....

The Next Dylan (wont tell you who - but I picked him out already - best writer ever)
The Funnel (John Fahey) All the blues guys went into him, all the white pickers like Kottke came out the other side
It Grabbed Me! Songs that I cant get thru singing or playing without breaking down (not sad - they just move the heck out of me)
My Own Funeral - OK so i think about it. OK so I obsess about the soundtrack I would want...
Local Chinese Bands (or, "Stop spitting while you play, for God's sake. Huh? Yes, I said God. Never mind, I dont have time to explain that one! Just stop Spitting!!)
The Crazy Uncle You Keep in the Closet (I KNOW you have one!) I dont even know what that means, but I will figure it out

Sydney - Best Urinal View in World

2005-12-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

OK so I was travelling thru Sydney and had lunch at a dreadfully good restaurant - Level 41 or something like that. 41st floor with premier view, great wine list and killer food. I was told the view from the bathroom was one of the best in the restaurant so that is why i took my camera in (so quit the wisecracks, Silvertone!) And there it was! 3 porcelin receivers in a row with picture windows straight out and down to the rest of Sydney. I was happy, that is, certainly not pissed.

Chop Chop!!

2005-12-14T07:44:00.000-05:00

So in China any official paper has a "Chop" on it. It is a red stamp that means it is official. A work permit needs your company 'chop' to be accepted - you get the idea. So I figger the DSGuy needs a chop too so I had an official one made. I have a Chinese name that was given to me by a loose (very loose!) committee of people I work with, led by the guy that runs my Hong Kong office. It is a pretty cool name that sounds like my real last name a little but is a common Chinese family name with 2 given names that imply lovely attributes that I am FAR too modest to name. (Unless you buy me a glass of wine). Anyway here is the 'chop maker' carving the old style chinese symbols into the bottom of a stone stamp. This goes on all correspondence from now on. . .

Makes You Slobber

2005-10-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

Featured prominently in the 10/28/05 podcast - this is the best example so far of an earnest attempt to translate enthusiasm to English . . . .

Formula 1 Race in Shanghai

2005-10-27T11:09:00.000-04:00

So the government built this state of the art F1 track that Schumaker has called the best he has ever driven. The main grandstand holds 30,000 people in this structure that looks like it has a giant spoiler on top of it. The sound was incredibly loud. . . . wore earplugs most of the time ....but did sneak them out from time to time just for the pain rush.

The cars were hot, so was the beer, and the experience was totally nuts.

How to Survive in a Japanese Retreat House

2005-09-24T04:16:00.000-04:00

Spent 4 days in Japan including a night in an exclusive retreat house where it was 'spare' acommodations to say the least. Well they had this radio built into the wall with nothing but Japanese stations and then it hit me! iPod with iTrip!!! Tagged into this puppy's FM band and next thing you know . . . a little GD to soothe the soul while I changed into a robe-like yukata to join the boys for dinner and a little soak in the mineral springs. I have NO idea what the remote control did - looks like it ionizes the trees outside. Right click the pic to save it and see full size.

United Airlines Does Not Respect Our Intelligence

2005-09-24T04:09:00.000-04:00

So on the longhaul flight over from SFO to Shanghai, this is how I am treated. Bad enuf that they tell you how to use the seatbelt. But this is the first time I have EVER seen this. Inside the toilet seat cover where they usually have pictures showing you not to throw weird stuff in the toilet, this is what they had. So let's see. . . .. first you sit on the toilet to use it. . . . OK . . . then you flush it!!! Thanks UAL! Not many of us would put THAT together.

Safe at Last

2005-09-24T03:47:00.000-04:00

Luckily, there is no real danger to inhabitants from things like this. Whew. Shanghai remains a very safe city but ya better learn some Mandarin to get around. I have my basic taxi stuff about half way there (Turn Left! Turn Right!) but I still need the other two (Go Straight! Stop Here!)

"I'm Almost Gone"

2005-08-07T23:35:00.000-04:00

In a fitting goodbye party I had a weekend in a woodsy lodge with 20 friends and many many vintage guitars and amps (tequila and other consumables ensured no achilles tendon pulls). Electric jam till 11:30. . . .acoustic til 330 am. Bobo (of Dead Sheep episode fame) had to crawl in the window of his room from the roof of the second floor. Made it! Joel the Bass Player (Wacka Wacka episode) had his birthday and narrowly escaped a new baptism in the fast running stream next door. . . and Steve Silvertone (frequent commentator) ruled the airwaves with Les Paul and 'turf tone so sweet so sweet. The Oolong Boys Minus One made a surprise appearance with a Fahey-esque guitar and tabla duet. And Dreadful Son (on bass) and I took a shot at Wilco's A Shot In the Arm. ("Something in my Vein! Bloodier Than Blood!") Johnny the Drummer did NOT drool out of either side of hs mouth and sang the sweetest Long Black Veil ever. Robert J and The Mirth Man let me add Harmony 3 to the Beatles' If I Needed Someone - something about harmony singing feels SO good. The amazing Mark Barden blew us away then drove away. All those friends are a gift any snake would envy. Love you all.

Turmoil in Snakedom

2005-07-31T00:06:00.000-04:00

Ok Sportsfans, what the hey has been up with that snake? I gotta tell you there are Changes afoot!!! I will not drop it all down on this post as I love a little dramatic tension. . . but here are some clues. I am moving. Out of the NE USA. Out of the USA for that matter. Far away. Far, Far away. Yowsa! It will be very interesting. . . .. . Any guesses as to where that snake will next surface? Anyway - I am really stressed and busy figuring out how to move and all that - hence the silence - but I commit more shows soon.

Argentina Snake Stuff

2005-07-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

Buenos Aires is definitely one of my favorite places on the planet. "The Paris of Latin America" is an amazing city with beautiful people, great wine (from Mendoza region - go for the Malbecs from Luigi Bosca and Los Altos), and for the carnivorous - steaks beyond compare.
See the boat pic? This is the Puerto Madero Yacht Club. I rented it out a few years ago for a press conference - that is another story altogether. Puerto Madera is an area by the river with a bunch of old warehouses that are now top end restaurants. Due to Argentina's financial collapse and only partial recovery, the meals are cheap for gringos.

DS Guy in Uruguay

2005-07-19T16:36:00.000-04:00

So a mere 11 hour flight from NY to Buenos Aires and a 35 minute flight to Montevideo and - pow! - you are there! That wasn't so hard, was it? Arrived yesterday leaving tmo. Montevideo is a small city that looks like it is on the ocean (can't see across) but it is technically the Rio Plata across from Argentina. It is the evil depths of winter here so tho it feels to me like a NY early spring day, the locals are all huddled up in the heavy layers of stuff.
At the top, we see a close up of a pic of 2 of the local guys I was meeting with and we are all drinking coffee - except this one guy was drinking matte in this cup with a silver rim and a long silver straw. I had thought that was rural indian stuff but here it was in corporate life too! The routine is this - the cup is full of this chopped herb and he has that red thermos of super hot water with which he keeps refilling the cup, Then suck it up!! Yow, that's local.

So, a great little city with great little dark restaurants - not unlike Argentina with that semi-Italian feel to it all. And the last shot is a plaza (Plaza Independencia) with lunch strollers and tons of street vendors. They have casinos too tho the Snake doesn't really bet. Sure things only please. Got some sound from all this too - will try to put something together. . . off to Argentina tomorrow.

I Stopped begging For Votes - ouch

2005-07-12T09:36:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Florida. I stopped begging for votes on Podcast Alley. Guess what - i have like no votes for this month yet my downloads keep growing. Gotta say I enjoy not beggin in the podcast and in the occasional email to loyals. Yet my ego hates to see my standing so low - I was top 25 in Music genre for over 3 months (that is a decade in PodCast Years). At first it was the practical aspect of "Get up there in the ratings and more people will wander by and sample, if they like it they will stick around" Well, maybe when I can actually get listied in iTunes directory all this wont matter anyway - I gotta believe that is the wave of the future (present?) due to the gazillions of users. Anyway - if you like DSR, please spread the word. Tell a friend or co-worker, burn a CD for the aging aunt, whatever . . . Damn, there goes that begging again. Maybe this has to do with a poor self-image needing constant reinforcement form the world? Was this child mistreated in some way? Dropped on head?

Apple Ignores The Average Podcaster

2005-07-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

I mentioned on today's DSR podcast Order and Chaos that I am still not listed in iTunes directory and I really don't know how to fix that. I submitted stuff on day one but I am not there. Listener Al S. sent me this link to a Post by Matt May about how iTunes has gotten it wrong . . . . Here is some of Matt's right-on view: "Podcasters had been told that Apple was sourcing the iPodder directory to generate its own. This was good news: we all wanted to be there on launch. I knew that I was in that directory, so I figured I was in good shape. Then, on the morning of the launch, I searched the database for my show. No results found. So I went to submit my RSS feed, and found that someone had already submitted it. . . . I can only guess, as I wait through week 2, what the problem could be. One thing is for sure: Apple's not talking. . . . .Almost everything we knew about iTunes, we heard second-hand from people like Adam Curry and Dave Winer. . . . . . Nobody knows how they decide which podcasts they host and which they don't. Nobody even knows what the procedure is. All any podcaster can do at this point is to hope that those who do have access to Apple will let some detail slip. This is no way to communicate with independents. . . . . . "

This post is right where my heart is. Apple is just not paying attention to the broad community that sustains podcasting by creating most of its content. Adam and others probably get more ears with one cast than many of us do combined but it is the diversity and breadth of our content that makes it a unique medium. And more than a few of us get 1000's of real downloads per show. Apple is ignoring a secondary busienss benefit - thousands of podcasters who can tell hundreds of thousands of friends and associates with iPods and iTunes how to get more use from them driving everything from additional iPod sales to putting more eyes looking at itunes pages where Apple will get more sales of their commercial content and views of their add space.

I think it all comes down to corporate decisions on what makes Apple money. So my guess is they devoted very few 'man hours' in their business plan for a support plan around all those feeds that appear 'no charge' in iTunes. And like a bud of mine said - "You spend cheap - you get cheap!" Hope they wise up. . . they are sitting in Versailles playing with G5s while we peasants who till the podcast soil outside are not getting anything from this. . . yet. I doubt we will come up with a cyber-guillotine, but we grow restless, restless indeed.

David Bromberg and DS Guy at Telluride

2005-06-28T22:54:00.000-04:00

Two guys from New York. Both play guitar. One real well. Really really well. That guy has a beard. Photo taken in the street below Elks Park right after Dave's incredible afternoon set with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and what was her name again? O yeah, Emmy Lou Harris. I taped it all, yeah!

My new Budget Mobile Recording Setup - it Works!!

2005-06-27T12:47:00.000-04:00

Here's my new Mobile Recoding Setup - I've gotten lots of emails about how good the quality was in the Telluride shows - this was the setup. First the equipment and then the staging. The staging btw was hilarious and fun. You can right-click and open these pics for a bigger view.
In the bottom pic you can see me in the red shirt holding my trusty iRiver ifp-795 for a recording device. I bought a stereo lavalier mic set from Sound Professionals: SP-BMC-3. I got em with extra sensitivity and little clips on them. I wore them clipped on my running shirt for the 5K show, but I needed to get them on a stable platform for the festival. I found a video camera tripod in a closet that will collapse to about 14" high so fits in a backpack easier. I set that up and took a regular wooden paint stirring stick about a foot long and attached that to the flat bed of the tripod using an old rusty C-clamp. Now I have a horizontal platform a foot wide. I then clipped the 2 lav mikes to either end of the wooden stick and faced them forward, but angled out about 30 degrees for a better stereo sound. Voila!
In the bottom pic you can see the tripod. Look carefully and you can see the edge of the stick and the 2 black mikes at either end. In the top pic, it is a side view and you can see the C-clamp and the top of the tripod and the near mike aimong to the right of the pic. People would see my setup and laugh. They are so used to the 'serious' tapers with their 15' mikestands and huge mike arrays. Mine seemed like a joke - but I am all about the fun, and I bet I got 75% of the quality they did.

Telluride posers

2005-06-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

Posers! DSGuy does the acoustic version of rocking out with Dr. Dawg Eye on harp and David (SonofaDawg). In our campsite at Telluride festival. This is my Guild D-40 guitar which I have had since 1976. . . . it is probably a 1971 or 72. I am a fingerpicker using 3 fingerpicks so I need a guitar that stands up to a pretty firm workout and this one does it well.

Telluride

2005-06-26T19:23:00.000-04:00

Here I am. Dreadful Snake Guy in Telluride, Colorado. This is the main drag and yes those are real mountains behind me. I will post a bunch more pictures soon. The festival is about 6 blocks behind me to the right - closer to the mountains. I can't tell you what a great town this is - and I have been all over Switzerland and lots of other mountainous regions. . . way cool.

Let's get this new Blog rolling! Crawling? Rattling?

2005-06-26T17:27:00.000-04:00

OK, so my idea was to have a place to have more text, and pictures and other stuff that doesnt fit neatly into my regular podcast site at http://dreadfulsnake.com -- That site is acutally hosted at libsyn.com - Liberated Syndication. Get me right tho - I LOVE that service - so easy - I wouldn't know an RSS standard from a Les Paul Standard. I wouldn't know an XML syntax if it fell in my lap - so I just record the best podcast I can and they do the rest. Way cool. But I don't really know how to add a lot of other content so I am trying this....... Stay tuned as I get this going. What do you want to see here? Lots of pictures? More descriptions of Snake Adventures? Let me know.