root signals indeed.

check out this orchestra made up entirely of instruments crafted out of vegetables.

pretty wild stuff. a recorder made out of a carrot (featured here), a "cucumberphone" that sounds a lot like a saxophone (featured here)... not to mention an instrument simply called "salad." people never cease to amaze me. and i would definitely see these folks if they were playing Verizon Hall or something.

our own much less vegetable-based music project (despite its vegetablesque name of Root Signals) seems to be taking up all my free time. it's just very, very time-consuming and painstaking work, and at once exhausting and energizing. we plan to have a limited-edition 5- or 6-song demo ready by the end of the Messiah Conference in the first week of july, and are currently piecing together track #6 beat by beat.

not everyone will like it. a lot of people won't relate to it at all. but i think some people (including me) will really love it. i almost feel like i'm working on it just so that i can relish listening to it.

ah, maps

thanks to a wired blog post i found out about the strange maps blog, which i need to explore a bit more. i have always loved maps. and maps that are reworked to make art or bizarre connections? all the better.

but look! i'm living in holland again! and belarus is alaska; i've always wanted to go to alaska! i guess vanuatu didn't equate well to any of our states, alas...

in totally unrelated news, my hands are on the healing up quite nicely. on friday (due to groggyheaded clumsiness) i sliced up both hands (mostly my right) in several places; i was bleeding profusely and even got lightheaded from the trauma. writing and typing has actually been quite painful. today is the first day since The Maiming that i've had full use of my right hand. the wounds don't look pretty but, thanks to the profuse application of aloe, i don't think they'll scar. much.

where i'm going

people keep asking me where vanuatu is. here's the wikipedia article, which should give you some idea.

it's nearly three months 'til i leave, but that doesn't stop impatient little me from planning as much as i can. right now, i'm working on the packing list. because i'll be travelling about amongst the several islands of vanuatu, i need to pack light. i am therefore following much of the advice of the genius site OneBag.com, which has given me tips on tooth powder (packs smaller and lighter than toothpaste), a tiny bottle of shaving oil instead of a big can of shaving cream, super-absorbent viscose towels, what mosquito netting packs smallest, &c.

it's fun. one of the few things i enjoy more than planning for a trip is actually taking one. so i'm in my element now.

the lack of recent updates is mostly because i've been very, very busy. lots of people were born in june, so there are birthday functions, and of course june means weddings, and there's music to work on, and several (smaller!) trips this summer to plan. meanwhile my job description seems to get wider and fuller with every passing week. it's great fun, except for when i get cranky for lack of a chance to eat. i think i'll go grab some food now.