2) creation

• some progress on chapter 10, revising one row that stretches the entire chapter. yesterday, while falling asleep, had a fleeting image of how to pull it all together. but could not remember the structure when awake this morning.

2) creation

• chapter 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... hitting a wall half way through. strong editing but not seeing the next pieces falling in.

2) creation

• (yesterday) revising chapter 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage..., working on the pieces already arranged and inserted. surprised by the associations coming out unplanned. wonder what others will link when they read through the pages.

2) creation

• in ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... unexpected reworking of last part of chapter 9 to have it come into chapter 10. half of chapter 10 also finished.

2) creation

• finished chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... - revision, last alignments, standardization of certain formats, et cetera. now on to chapter 10 and a large scale rearrangement of what I'd tentatively sketched in. don't have overall rhythm set yet. anxious to finish chapter 10 and be done with book 2. plans are to return to book soundtrack while also compiling book 0. expecting book 0 to come together as quickly as the rear.

2) creation

• a little bit of work on chapter 9.

2) creation

• big final push on final editing of chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... then on to chapter 10, currently 1/3 done.

2) creation

• adding footer to ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... cover to label each book.
• editing last parts of chapter 9 of ....fence posts rotting in the acreage...
• wrote down several story ideas in notebook.

2) creation

• working on chapter 9 and 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... researching and revising sections to be done with chapter 9 completely. chapter 10 being roughed in.

2) creation

• Large section of chap. 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... done. recorded field sounds.

2) creation

• (yesterday) working on chap. 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• worked on chapter 9 and chapter 10 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...
• (yesterday) wrote dream. uploaded zoom h4 and photos.
• (two days ago) recorded field sound.

2) creation

• (yesterday) revising chapter 9.

2) creation

• (yesterday and today) revising chp. 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation

• (last two days) standardizing dates, formatting, and page numbers on book 1 and book 2 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... revising chapter 9. various field recordings.

2) creation

• (last few days) research and notes on eye maladies. kid quotes.

2) creation

• (two days ago) wrote dream.

2) creation

• small work on chapter 9. scanning in various illustrations, photographs, and artifacts and cleaning them up for future use in ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation

• finished laying in last pieces for chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... needs revision. mentally working through chapter 10 and 11.

2) creation

• wrote dream.

2) creation

• (last three days) nearing completion of chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation

• (last few days) wrote several skits in notebook. more pages finished on chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• organized early drafts of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... for book 0. used voice recognition software to transcribe pages of dreams from notebook to word processor file for revision. compiling various sketches and strips for eventual project. backed up music files.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• (last few days) laying down pieces for chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... gave copy of the rear to teeple. recorded conversation.

2) creation

• (last two days) chapter 9 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... is nearly half done. trying different approaches to sift through the associative connections without staring at monitor for hours to complete one or two pages.

2) creation

• (last two days) finished chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... gave copy of the rear to parents, two other copies made, one of teeple and one for reference. even though plans to start on chapter 9 I can see how format of the rear could be used to make book 0. struggle to move forward instead of back.

2) creation

• (during the last week) finished the rear and printed several copies, one for teeple, one for parents. will sit on it for awhile to revisit in a month to see with clear eyes for any revision.
• back to working on chapter 8 of fence posts.

2) creation

• (last few weeks) nearing end of the rear. almost 300 pages, should finish in the next day or two.
• took photos.

2) creation

• scanning old/first versions of various pieces for the rear. the scope keeps expanding, teeple encourages me to include old super hero sketches and photos, citing the files of mine I keep and he has seen.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• (last month) heavy assembling and editing of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... chap 8.
• working with teeple on his music, running side-by-side late into the nights.
• finishing the rear - including final arrangement, editing, researching dates, finding Burroughs quote, scanning in notebook pages, early drafts, and illustrations to be used.
• recording additional field sounds.
• chance moments to photograph various images passing by.
• recording and writing dreams.
• taught ian to use small voice recorder, now records stories, running commentary, and dreams.

2) creation

• (last three days) working on chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... teeple over to pull off tracks from four track into cubase. keeps me focused and productive.

2) creation

• (during the last week) large sections of chapter 8 finished. working with teeple to compile a cd of his new music. recording dreams and some vocals. a few notes in notebook.

2) creation, 3) community

• (last two days) worked with teeple on his music, using both computers, making progress. down to see naquin's new band and two others. working on fence posts chapter 8. wrote dream and recorded another dream in small digital recorder.
• (today) working on chapter 8 of fence posts. uploaded 3rd piece of book soundtrack to myspace page - much too quiet.

2) creation

• (last three days) working on chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... finding quotes for The Rear and chapter 8. cleaning up preface for the Rear. getting print of a negative. working with teeple on his music. reading The Job and Ports of Entry by Burroughs and Overqualified.

2) creation

• took several photos.

2) creation

• installed voice recognition software on main computer. collecting photographs for new section in chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... uploaded files of teeple's music into computer.

2) creation

• (last several days) finished 3rd piece for book soundtrack. arranging pieces in chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... working with Teeple on pieces from 4-track and tracking we did at old house. wrote dreams in notebook.

2) creation

• (in the last two days) working on chapter 8 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... and writing up outline of autism workshop.

2) creation

• (during the last week) finished writing and editing of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... chapter 7. researched and bought video editing software. editing video of autism workshop. searching for Burroughs quote in The Job and My Education - can't find the one I wanted to use for the preface to the rear. recorded various sounds with zoom h4.

2) creation

• chapter 7 - nearly done. final editing.

2) creation

• (last two days) chapter 7 - nearly done, trying to move more fluidly in bringing the pieces together - goal to have 2nd book done and CD by the end of the summer.

2) creation

• (today) most of chapter 7 finished, all coming together quickly after months of slow piece-by-piece.
• (yesterday) recorded more sounds from kelli's body with zoom h4.

2) creation

• (yesterday) recorded dream into small digital recorder. yet another to later be transcribed when time.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• (today) backing up files. installed video editing software on laptop for workshop.
• (yesterday) tracked Teeple and band at the old house. problems with the new laptop and zoom h4 set-up, solved as soon as the others left and just Teeple to record.

2) creation

• working on ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... chapter 7.

2) creation, 3) community, 4) housekeeping

• (today) tracked teeple at old house, using empty living room. learning to use cubase on laptop w/ zoom h4. always interesting to see him work - laying down track after track with little editing or revision. I comment on his process and he says his music is "ready made." I'll spend weeks editing one track - the difference is skill level obviously.
• (last two days) installed cubase on laptop and using zoom h4 as mixer/audio interface. amazed at ease of use and appreciate items bundled together for relatively seamless operation. massive compiling of photos and video to be backed-up. primary computer (writing and music) damaged in move and now showing intermittent issues. uploaded revisions to website www.timcoalman.com, including new preface to ...fence posts rotting in the acreage....

2) creation

• (last three days) editing websites to remove address no longer used. finished new preface for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... and worked on chapter 7. researching new microphone to buy. working up new piece on guitar.

2) creation

• (yesterday) editing of 3rd piece for book soundtrack.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• revised preface to the rear. marginal progress. selected cover photograph and worked up cover design.
• tightening up 3rd piece for book soundtrack.
• (yesterday) writing preface for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... and the rear. both failing. frustration of expense of effort to explain instead of create.
• continuing to compile and sort artifacts from scattered sources of different sources.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• (last two weeks) moving to new apartment, garage sale, 15 hour days, and Bell's palsy. away from this log but some summary notes:
• revised and arranged several sections of chapter 7 of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...
• editing of 3rd piece for book soundtrack.
• wrote dream in notebook.
• collected warning label from medication that warns of euphoric appreciation of life - or some such verbiage among dire warnings of suicide and organ failure.
• file management of video and photographs taken recently.

2) creation

• finished editing of oral history project. actually began to enjoy the challenge of removing unnecessary segments from long-winded pointless tracks. sick

1) identification, 2) creation

• editing oral history project. realizing the ones with nothing to say take 12 minutes to fill in all the details of a hollow life while those with something of interest only take a few minutes to get out such meat you want to hear it again.
• (yesterday) editing oral history project. sonar locked up and lost the project at one point - imported files into new project, lost only eq settings and fades. audio dropouts are more frequent.
• (during the last week) reading reprint of The Daily Adventures of Mixerman. makes me want to do something similar in the world of teaching except sure it would led to ruin and termination. and I don't want to spend time on work that complains when the good work is everywhere and could always use more time.

2) creation

• transferring oral history project segments from various sources into sonar. the last of the night was the best - a tape cassette and the sound quality made me imagine the family wrapped the tape recorder in an egyptian cotton beach towel, placed it in the garage, and then went to a far room in the house and talked at a normal volume. additional technology enhancements include a squeaky motor sound that runs throughout and the entire segment not having any right channel.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• small editing on 3rd piece for book soundtrack.
• working on ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... chapter 7
• backed up computer files.
• (during the last week) creating summer workshop for autistic students to focus on social skills and learn film/music editing.
• wrote proposal to link business in the community to students in my class.
• had students record family members for oral history project. working with challenge of transferring many formats into sonar.

2) creation

• (yesterday) bought various adapters for mini-plugs and other formats I am now dealing with in transferring audio for oral history project.
• tracked one oral history segment from micro cassette. what a horrid format.
• for the first time in a decade could listen to the few micro cassettes I have left from all those I destroyed. voices of who I was, complete feel of the shallowness and hollow heart. several times almost destroying these as well. I took such pains to kill who I was that even the thin voices coming through on the tapes is moments of life he should not have. what a fuckhead, should have done him in years earlier than the 1997 period.

2) creation

• transferring oral history segments into computer. many formats and odd combinations of adapters and plugs to get everything in.

2) creation

• editing tracks of oral history project I am doing with kids.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• working on smaller pieces for book soundtrack.
• organizing, deleting, and renaming audio tracks and projects to have better feel of what is currently done and what is being worked on.
• (yesterday) writing preface to "the rear" and uploading files from zoom h4.

2) creation

• nearly finished with 3rd pieces for book soundtrack.
• (yesterday) bought small digital recorder for situations where zoom h4 would be too much ($40 risk vs $275 risk). using with students to create oral history project similar to storycorps on npr.

2) creation

• some efforts for preface for "the rear."
• editing third piece of soundtrack for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...

2) creation

• finished all introductions for "the rear." need to write preface, then done.

2) creation

• introductions for "the rear."

2) creation

• introductions to "the rear."

2) creation

• nearly done with introductions to each sample in "the rear" as well as introduction for teh whole book.

2) creation

• introductions/explanations to "the rear."

2) creation

• writing introductions and explanations to each part in "the rear."

2) creation

• tracked additional filed recording in house.
• hours on the new book - now titled "the rear." near 200 pages. such an assemblage of failures, learning curves, dead ends, near insights, false starts, and much of "saying" instead of "doing."
• collected a scrap of paper at library.

2) creation

• recorded environment sound in house with H4.
• (two days ago) took photos of long dripping leak in school and all that the water has run over and rusted.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• working on book of old material. compiled to show weak early efforts, taking the idea from Burroughs who said such books would be valuable as most accomplished authors destroy or otherwise lose early writing. the benefit for the enamored to see where their heroes began.
• laying out plans for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... book 0

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• compiling old writings into book showing early efforts.
• cleaned and organized studio.

2) creation

• took photos of house we lived in five years ago. returning to scout out the condition, planning to move there again, now with kids. the walls don't have the paint we rolled on then, but in furnace closet found my writing of the air filter size on the wall. remember the splintering veneer of the door that is misaligned.

2) creation

• editing of third piece for book soundtrack. nearly done.

2) creation

• editing third piece for book soundtrack.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• editing 3rd piece for book soundtrack.
• organizing sound files, deleting redundant files, labeling.
• (yesterday) finished designing association arrows for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage.... retrieved copy of book to find more connections and imagine placement but immediate impression from each page that placing such arrows would ruin all balance and work of each page. abandonment and pleased to be done with nagging feel the connections should be made explicit.

2) creation

• sketching association lines to link sections of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage....

2) creation

• dictation of notebook entries.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• unhappy with headset provided with voice recognition software: much too small for head, cheap plastic, and a brace on the opposite side of the one ear speaker that dug into my temple at chisel angle. disassembled, removed microphone, positioning arm, and speaker. took another headset from classroom set bought years ago: fully adjustable, thick ear pads, translucent blue plastic, and built for abuse from years of daily children use. gutted the ear speaker from one side of the blue headset, hollowing out the earpiece. used needle nosed pliers to bend off extra plastic of cheap ear speaker, make hole for microphone arm in blue pair, make additional room in blue pair. worked single ear speaker into hollow of blue pair so microphone arm comes perfectly to mouth. reattached ear speaker cover flush and slid back on ear padding. perfect.
• dictation of notebook entries.

2) creation

• dictating dreams from notebook. the headset is painful, the program runs at about 90% accuracy. very pleased to have seven pages in.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• burning copies of dvds student plays.
• downloaded software for creation of dvd and cd labels. though used for classroom dvd label, now can be used for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... cd label.
• uploaded sound files from zoom h4.
• using voice recognition software to transfer material into word processor.

2) creation

• finished video editing of plays.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• designing associative markers to link various sections of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage.... trust two friends who have seen it develop for years, both recently mentioning that they found it difficult to navigate. if those familiar with the methods of creation, the overall structure, and accustomed to highly experimental work cannot make the distance then assured the everyday audience will stymie.
• installed voice recognition software and calibrated.
• entered several dreams into computer with v.r.c.

4) housekeeping

• bought voice recognition software. several notebooks and other raw material that takes so much time to put into computer. trouble sleeping last night, thinking of using the program.

4) housekeeping

• researching voice recognition software. interested in moving large amount of written material into computer efficiently. more time for creation, not handling and housekeeping efforts.

2) creation

• more video editing.

2) creation

• learning to use video editing software on student play. making plans on using to visualize ...fence posts rotting in the acreage...
• bought materials for making cds/dvds. odd sensation to find the packaging step so easy when all the intermediate steps leading up to that point are a withering struggle. just walking in and buying what is needed.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• pooling various folders into primary to consolidate overall material and have it included in back-up.
• working on video editing software.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• tracked several guitar parts in garage. have played for over a decade and have had several recording setups but now thoroughly enamored with setting up h4 and recording at low levels in garage late at night.
• going through old audio folders, deleting and cleaning up old tracks.

2) creation

• worked on a written opener for ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... series.

3) community

• on main website www.timcoalman.com: cleaned up a few pages, added links, removed some items I'd grown tired of. uploaded revisions.
• dropped off book and cd on teeple's front stairs. called him later to tell him it was there - said we were lucky it had not started raining (clear night).

2) creation, 3) community

• editing teeple tracks. some dismay that interest and efforts wane easily when it is not my music. surely evidence that I am more musician than any other studio bound roles.
• updating website www.timcoalman.com for links and various clean-ups.

2) creation

• editing teeple tracks of 8/07. have back-ups of original arrangements we left at the time and have had no revisit to in years. hopes to have the two or three pieces done for outing cancelled with his sickness.

2) creation, 4) housekeeping

• tracking with zoom h4 sound kelli suggested should be captured. appreciate her finding the sound and then recognizing the audio library I am piling needs such constant additions.
• (yesterday) researching video editing software. find I already have version on computer that will work well. wonder when such a program was installed.

3) community, 4) housekeeping

• dinner with naquin, gave copy of book and cd to him.
• various efforts to upload new song to myspace page - it is so long I am dithering it away to make it small enough to upload. might end up with 27 minutes of occasional murmurs and pops. finally success late into the night.
• downloaded video editing software for inevitable expansion of ...fence posts rotting in the acreage... discovered it is unworkable.

2) creation, 3) community, 4) housekeeping

• reworked effects on part of book soundtrack part 1.
• burned book soundtrack part 1 and part 2 to three CDs: naquin, teeple, and parents. delivered the one to parents.
• bought heavy-duty 2 hole punch for binding of book. had considered buying another of the three hole I use now and then removing punch to frankenstein one hole puncher that does four holes. decided it was silly undertaking for reasons that are just as silly to list and so found the heavy-duty 2 hole. now no worry as each 1 inch prong paper fastener (with compressors) will be aligned just right. a near fetish moment with the steel construction and level action. see one for yourself here:http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/staplers-hole-punches/desktop-hole-punches/product-ARS24569
• made artifacts to do list with at least 20 items - most completed today.
• reworking myspace page for music and artifact log information.

2) creation, 3) community

• wrote dream.
• sent teeple letter originally written for naquin. summing up of recent events.

2) creation

• working on book soundtrack part 2.
• wrote two dreams in notebook.
• (yesterday) with majority of jone's track completed, working on arrangement, also adding in a new piece recorded the other night, all mixed with previous tracks. the book soundtrack has 2 main tracks now - the one completed sometime ago and on myspace page at 13 minutes or so and this new one, around 25 minutes or so (two parts of which are also on the myspace page as segments). wanting to complete the second and have both on cd for outing with teeple this weekend.

2) creation

• re-recorded sound on h4 that originally was too short and varied too much to be looped or copied and blended to make a longer repitition.
• recorded sound with h4.
• (yesterday) within five minutes of beginning to work on jone's monologue with various signal processors to cleanup tape hiss and other sound quality issues had audio drop out and sonar freeze up. backed-up work but when reopened dialogue box said the project was suddenly incompatible with the version of sonar I was using. pulled copy of the project from external hard drive backup and then imported tracks I had worked on since last back-up (1-27). the audio files could still be retrieved through audio folder even though the project was inaccessible. about one and one half hours to reconstruct the project, leaving that much less time to get work done on it.

2) creation

• (yesterday) finished edit on jone's track. bounced pieces to one track, around 18 minutes total. complete proof that original sound is paramount and all else is derivative - the poor quality of tape, the conversation over a phone line, and the wild dynamic range (my responses booming through and much of his at tape hiss threshold) all before even beginning the signal processing.

2) creation

• with zoom h4 recorded failing battery sound of kid audio book. the sound chips are horrid and the sound shrill but when the power starts to fade the volume comes down, the pitch goes everywhere and unusual sounds are generated.

1) identification, 2) creation

• (yesterday) More on the Jones' conversation. The hundreds of edits and blend of cut wave forms have taught me much on basic comp skills. Nearly finished and the monologue frightening and sincere.  Finished Appetite for Self-Destruction. Reading about music subscription service led me to Rhapsody. Listening to Tom Waits' "Jesus Gonna Save Me"

2) creation, 3) community

• (yesterday) sent copies of book to two previous teachers through inter-district mail system with note. each had seen earlier version of book and thought to offer the new one.
• (yesterday) editing jones conversation of cutting arms open with steak knife. strange to hear his voice again telling of the police shooting him and the blood stains on the carpet - so many years since I saw him last. the conversation might have been one of our last. left word with dad, who avoids a call from him once or twice a year looking for me, to pass along website. might send him the book and music with his piece. over one hundred edits, 20 minutes long, and the tape hiss nearly unbearable - had used a standard tape recorder and line out of phone to record it. the tape recorder became very loud after a few years.

2) creation

• (yesterday) mixed musical cues, sounds, and accompaniment from students' play. the freedom to practice tracking and editing free from my own book soundtrack is liberating. the end product not my music (although it still is to marked degrees in arrangement and production) but is being driven by outward goal of the plays' structures - many decisions are already made.

1) identification

• reading Appetite for Self-Destruction and the plays to own, consolidate, expand, control, and leverage the catalogues of music. the creator's looking initially to have interest and be included and always a measuring of loss of some ownership to be swallowed up. and i on the other end, creating piles of material that goes here and here, wonder in what way it finally will makes roads and the precarious plans of keeping it from running a distance without me. a recurring fantasy of my sons making some use of it long without me and pleased they can do whatever they please as it is all theirs.

2) creation, 3) community

• (today) Comping and editing old tape of Jones' retelling Schizoaffective episode of cutting inner arms with steak knife and being attacked by protective police. Working to remove all of my responses and have just his narrative. Revised website www.timcoalman.com source material to clean out a few mistakes and add links to this log and myspace music page.

2) creation

• (today) Tracked two sounds in and of the house with Zoom H4. Listened to one for years, the other months, before making time to capture. This artifact log insists such acts be carried out whereas they would otherwise marinate indefinitely.  Wrote dream of two days ago, captured well because of promptness.

2) creation

• (today) Tracked with Zoom H4 the musical accompaniment, cues, and advertisement jingles of two reader's theater I have class performing as old radio plays. Had tracked the students' parts and sound effects prior, all completed with materials in the room.

2) creation

• (today) Wrote dream of early February - delays change the account to summary instead of visceral reliving of the events, always a disappointment. Outlined two straying ideas in notebook. Finished hardship letter, shared with Kelli who corrected the age of Beckett hospitalization.

2) creation

• (during the last week) With Zoom H4, recorded vocals I'd been working up for some time using living room with natural reverb, 15x20 and wood floors; Beckett crawled nearby and can be heard on the track. I will keep it but odd disconnect as writing and singing share little. Not sure where it will fit on book soundtrack or if it will be relegated to some other sound project.  Wrote hardship letter to mortgage company. Hours to set up the intro and keep tone intelligent and endearing to request lower monthly payments. If they don't we will lose house. The entire effort completed under a feel it will eventually be viewed as financial artifact by small niche audience.