Anything Box | There Is No Meaning

It began with the idea that the studio could be spontaneous, just like the old days when all I had was two synths and a drum machine. The setup is rather simple… Well…. OK.

The laptop is running Ableton Live and a video triggering program. I had an MS20 loaded on there for the bass sound. Prior to filming, I had recorded some samples into the Kaos Pad as well as some strange loops from my radio (you can see its flashing lights). I also sung into the microphone and recorded the sample, "There is no meaning", which I then began to mangle live as I sequenced and affected the audio output of my Maschine…

So yes, this is my room, and it dos look that spacey right now. I love it! Enjoy…

Oh, the camera I used wasn't the best and a few frames were dropped, so it does go out of sync here and there. Could not be helped, as this was all improvised as I did it.

The Praying Mantis visits…

When I came home a few days ago, my daughter pointed out this rather large brown praying mantis above our front door. He was actually quite the looker for a scary insect. As I studied him, his head would move and study me. He seemed to be amused by my presence. I pondered for a moment… Exactly how many of these have I seen in my lifetime? The answer is just a handful of times, and here in California, it seems they are even more elusive… But there he was. I decided he was some sort of sign, but for what I could not tell. I went into the house and he was forgotten…

Fast forward this morning. I went to bed at nearly 4am, and forgot to set my alarm. I had a deep and dreamless sleep, and when I awoke the sun was beaming through my curtains. I awoke with a start. More than a few thoughts went through my head at that moment.. Was I late? Did I miss my alarm? Where was my clock? And in that instant my eyes focused on something that seemed to be wavering just inches from my face… The Praying Mantis was on my pillow!!!!

I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was reactionary fear of course. Normally, I love these guys… I’m not afraid of them in the least. But right there on my pillow? ON MY PILLOW??? I sat next to him, and he gave me that look, the same one (I know how that sounds) and I knew it was the same one. I picked up my red pillow and I set him loose on my porch. He stayed perfectly still right in front of the door. I bent down to the ground and got a really good look at him. He was beautiful, a perfect little slice of life in this great little world we call earth.

I went about my day, decided to see if I could find some lore on Mr. Brown Mantis and discovered the following:

The praying mantis has a great deal of myth and lore associated with it.  Its name comes from the manner in which they hold up the forepart of the body, with its enormous front legs, as though in an attitude of prayer.

Martial art forms in China have adopted specific movements of the mantis into their practices. These movements help the student reconnect with their personal chi or energy.  The discovery of how energy moves through our body, what it is projecting and where energy blocks are located can be a great aid in healing ourselves.   Those with this totem would benefit from prayer, meditation and martial arts.

These amazing creatures serve the earth and her people in various ways. They consume large amounts of insects helping to maintain ecological balance. Excellent hunters with an efficient attack strategy the praying mantis always knows the right moment for attack and for retreat. Time in the linear sense is irrelevant to the mantis.  They move according to their inner instincts and remind us to do the same.  Moving effortlessly between worlds the mantis is associated with time travel. They help us break out of linear time and move according to our personal bio rhythms.

The praying mantis can remain motionless for an indefinite period. This ability helps them blend with their environment becoming invisible to predators. They hold the secrets of materialization and de-materialization and awaken this ability in people who hold this medicine.  Perception through stillness is part of its teaching.

Patient, perceptive and focused this little totem holds a powerful message. When it appears in your life it is asking you to direct your energy, your thoughts or your actions in a different way. Asking the following questions can give you the insight necessary to motivate appropriate changes.  Have I lost patience with a particular situation?  Have I been too patient, and if so, has this had a detrimental affect on me?  Is my perception correct regarding a situation?  Have I become narrow minded? Am I focused on my objective?

So… What do you make of this?

– Claude S.

Warning! | Politically Incorrect… But Funny.

This was too funny not to post… Sorry if anyone is offended.

Anything Box | Going LIVE

Endpop | Links

Anything Box | Nineteen | Spanish Review

Como salido de una cápsula de tiempo, Nineteen es un álbum rescatado después de veinte años de creado, un regalo del pasado. Claude S., el lider de Anything Box, lanzó en el 2008 este trabajo personal, un recopilatorio de sonidos de finales de los ochentas bastante dulce y nostálgico, con sus sentimientos marcados en él. Las canciones fueron grabadas en un cassette en dos días, durante un fín de semana de 1987 o 1988, utilizando solo dos sintetizadores, un “drum machine” y la voz de Claude. La cinta había sido olvidada durante años hasta que el mismo Claude la encontró guardada en una vieja caja y volvió a escucharla. Fue en ese momento que decidió remasterizarla, digitalizarla y lanzarla a la luz después de veinte años de olvido junto a un pequeño libro en formato digital que él mismo diseñó llamado The Book of 19, treintaidós páginas llenas de recuerdos, dibujos, fotos, notas y poemas para acompañar el álbum. Como nota curiosa, entre las fotos incluídas en el libro, encontré una de Macchu Picchu y otra del Parque del Amor de Miraflores (ambas de Perú). Más que un álbum en sí, Nineteen es un mensaje personal, con ocho canciones del synth pop más puro y simple, fieles al sonido Abox. En la página web de Nineteen se puede escuchar el álbum en su totalidad.

From:

http://segmentoese.blogspot.com/2009/06/anything-box-nineteen-mayo-2008.html

 

PROBLEM-REACTION-SOLUTION

I had this copied and pasted from an old post. I had forgotten all about it. My apologies for not giving proper credit to the original author. However, this is information that you must begin to understand if the future is one of free thought, press, and speech throughout the world. I edited the long article for clarity. It’s simple. Learn to recognize it Here it is…

Problem-Reaction-Solution, also known as Problem? Reaction. Solution., PRS, or P-R-S, is a variation on the classic Machiavellian fabricated external-enemy strategy for manipulation of public opinion and society, usually by the government. The general theory is based on the Hegelian Dialectic method thesis, antithesis, synthesis, but the specific term is usually only used in the context of a conspiracy theory.

Definition:

Problem-Reaction-Solution is defined as the strategy of creating a crisis (the problem), waiting for a call for action to resolve the crisis (the reaction), then taking action (the solution), supposedly in response, which actually furthers a hidden agenda, usually gaining power. This is often cited as:

0. The government wants power the people will not freely give.
1. The government creates or exploits a problem, blaming it on others.
2. The people react by asking the government for help, willing to give up their rights. Think terrorist attacks, Cyber Terrorism, Domestic Terrorism
3. The government offers the solution that was planned long before the crisis.

Learn to spot this. Learn to see it when you’re reading the paper, surfing the new on the web, listening to the radio. It’s time for our world to change.  But it does not have to be the world of Orwell’s 1984. We can end this cycle now. Get smart. Be a bad citizen while being a great neighbor. 

Anything Box | Worth

Worth is the title track to Anything Box's second album, recorded in Germany with Gareth Jones. It was an ambitious album, too. A-Box was there during the war, away from their families, and without a doubt the lonilness of the journey goes through the songs.

Provided with a bunch of snapshots from the recording and the apartment that Claude S. and Dania Morales shared, we offer up the documentation of Worth. Was it justifiable suffering?

Many thanks to their friend Mike for providing these tidbits into the lives of the people that make up Anything Box!!!

http://cdbaby.com/all/anythingbox/from/katsama

UFO in your backyard? | Real Alien Contact Laws

In 1969 Congress adopted a law (14 CFR Ch. V Part 1211–Extraterrestrial Exposure) which gave the NASA Administrator the arbitrary discretion to quarantine under armed guard any object, person, or other form of life which has been extraterrestrially (my italics, their word) exposed.

This means that if you happen to capture the alien and tie him up in your bathroom, you could still face jail time for exposure. Funny how the laws work, huh?

Hollywood Kill

 

is a pretty cool band. I loved their videos. They seem like a cross between electro and rap…?