curious thing -- I have been editing that most recent previous
comment for the last 15 minutes, adding things ... and
I don't know what you saw. . now, it ends with a link to
a photo of one like the Fender in the living room here. -- j
.

I can appreciate that, john. Its the singers who spend 20 minutes of a 3 minute song yodeling with little regard to the melody, or the meaning of the lyrics, and think that they have created a masterpiece. Unlike Mozart, there really are "too many notes."
But in a free market unaffected by idiot judges with little taste or residual talent, everyone should be free to enjoy what they enjoy. (grin)

great word, ffa -- melisma! . thank you!!!

sneaky pete was my idol, in this steel guitar business,
and here's one of his best:::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtEqK...

yes, it has melisma, or curvy notes, but he hits 'em
dead center, eventually. . if you have perfect pitch,
you hear it more eagerly ... "okay, now, get to the center
of the note, Pete!!!" -- j

p.s. the Fender in the living room here is the same
model, a Fender 400, which Pete played for much of
his career. . this one is 58 years old. . like this photo,
but having only 4 pedals::: http://p2.la-img.com/196/33320/135041...
.

I see a lot of this as an arms race between the human spirit, versus the ongoing evolution of technology for mass psychological manipulation. That technology has already progressed to the point of getting people to willingly relinquish most of their democratic rights.

You mean a voice doesn't have to sound like a warbling gospel singer to create good music?
One irritating thing about those idiot 'judges'/'coaches' is how they encourage the artists to develop their own sound and then they reject them unless they sound like Mariah Carey.
Melismatics are completely overdone by every artist that the 'judges' love.

Now that would be a fascinating research project - analysing vocal timbre, intonation, rhythm, syncopation, dynamics etc, and figuring out what kinds of voices tend to succeed in the marketplace.

I remember from a recent micro-economics paper I did at university how they beat up severely on diversion of unearned wealth, and how this creates inherent economic inefficiencies. However, they only focused on this when done as government taxation at the point of a gun, not when done by corporations at the point of extremely clever psychological manipulation.

Sounds like software is a much cheaper alternative to the 'judges' on the Voice, xxx Idol, X factor. Washed up, has been, opinionated jerks.

Probably illegal in the USSA.

But its consistently bland pseudo-food ;^)
You are right, of course. The chains start out with a good product and then gradually decline as the originator loses out to the 'professionals.' Happens in politics and education, too, unfortunately.
Kudos to mediocracy.

Music has a lot to do with capturing a feeling, an image, a structure, and backing yourself with it. Much of what popularises a new genre is not its inherent musicality, but the undaunted confidence and charisma of its early exponents.
A basic song form, with its own engaging logic, with meaningful lyrics, and a few appealing musical 'hooks', is perfectly viable as a commercially workable song.
I remember a documentary about a piece of music software which analysed all the chart-topper hits of many decades, and determined the chart toppers were moderately different to everything else current, but not too different. The software even came to be able to accurately predict which songs would chart well.

What always gets to me is the power of a brand.

Brands have a way of lulling people into semi-consciousness where they will put up with higher prices and/or lower quality in order to stick with what they know and trust.

Brands are like moochers - like that old friend who always finds a way to get you to lend them another $100 they promise they'll pay back promptly but never do - once they're established, they give access to unearned wealth and undeserved power. Therefore, they constitute a form of market failure, because they aren't delivering optimal quality and price.

I recall at one job I had, across the road there was a strip of shops with 3 takeaways - a McDonalds, a KFC and an independent burger bar. The burger bar's burgers were brilliant, fresh, healthy, tasty, well-priced. But they didn't attract anywhere near the number of people who went to McDonalds each day, chomping down on their unhealthy, mass-produced, bland pseudo-food.

now, I have found a couple of good solar panels on amazon,
but the most recent "find" was at Northern Tool. -- j
.

I am such a novice with this thing that we're still learning
the scales and making the pedals work. . more to come!!! -- j
.

Couldn't you harvest your own shrimp from your boat with a net? We used to do that when I was young to get bait for fishing on the SE Atlantic coast.

Possibly they recognize the impracticality of such a vehicle and falseness of the PC "savings".
If they had any courage they'd point it out instead of cowering.
They are just as cowardly as Walmart and Amazon.

I second David's suggestion, john!

Lived in Auckland (near UA, Northside, Ponsonby) for about 2 years. I enjoyed Hell and Burger Fuel. Lots of good asian food choices, too. Best masaman curry I ever had outside of Thailand was at a small restaurant in Taupo.

I usually have something else quick to prep and don't opt for frozen pizza in a pinch for time. Its rare that I don't have some homemade leftover chicken curry, or spaghetti, or pulled pork, or chicken du jour. If not, I'd opt for making breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage) over frozen pizza. Frozen pizza just has no appeal for me.

Sounds great, MA ;^)
I have moved away from tomato sauce completely, although a few fresh halved cherry tomatoes or some sliced sundried tomatoes are a good addition. My favorites are based on garlic and grapeseed oil and a touch of crushed red pepper/chili, then add the flavors I crave that day. I love shrimp/prawns when I can get fresh ones- that should be easy in your location. Plus various fresh vegetables and cheese.

Only thing missing now is a YouTube link of you belting out a song or three celebrating the glory of individual enterprise, overcoming the restraints of collectivist dogma, and soaring high into selfish achievement! ;)

I have it on a steel guitar, and the variations are neat!!! -- j
.

Nice sounds! :D