I'm
really glad you jumped to my web site. Life
got in the way of my updating it, for
several years, so I decided to do something
about that, and revise it. I began revising
it at the beginning of last year; expecting
a late April-early May re-launch. Then, in
early April, I chose to divert my course for
something far more important;
(requiring me to dive into AI by setting up
my own AI lab in my studio to do some very
deep analysis of it). Doing that meant
sacrificing all progress on updating the
site. (Sometimes, the needs of the many
really do outweigh the needs of the few.)
This is a bit-more-than-simple placeholder;
rather than tabs, it's mainly just a broadly
ranging scroll through what my creative output
is about, so people have a clue--a chewy
clue whilst the snazzy version is
cookin'. I hope it inspires you, at least to
feel better than you felt before you got here.
:
(April 24-25) : ...What
I hoped to give you was a nice set of
new tracks; since that's still pending, I
decided to restore a nice playlist
of pre-2020
tracks for you. Being a self-contained
artist, (i.e. doing all parts myself), I
wrote most of the lyrics and melodies,
did all of the arrangements, and
performed all vocals and played, or
MIDI-programmed most of the
instrumentation; (with the exception of
the all Elven/Quenya lyrics, and those
of the Russian song, as well as the
guitar on the Bossa Nova tracks, and the
background track to "Insensatez",
which is the one from the classic
performance of the song by Astrid
Gilberto, with Stan Getz on sax.)
The Complete Playlist
See below for
song details
AoP
(Pre-2020) Demo Playlist
(Except "Catcher Dawn",
all the below demos were produced in my home
studio.
Catcher Dawn was recorded live in Don ("DJ")
Freeman's studio, L.A.; engineered by Warren
Giancatarino. If the format
isn't specified beside the song title, it's a
full-blown arrangement.
The order of the songs
in the playlist follows the non-linear demo
number sequence.)
As a spiritual
teacher, my millieu is Tolkien-based Elven
spirituality, which is formally recognized as a
sacred tradition that's equally as
viable as all the world's major religions, under the U.S.
Federal Law Protections for Religious
Liberty. The opening track of the playlist
is my melodic interpretation of Tolkien's, "Galadriel's
Lament", from the Fellowship of
the Rings; the first book (or movie) in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy. When I
heard him recite it, I also clearly heard
parts of it melodically--which were
strikingly different from those
Gregorian-esque lines that Donald Swann
composed. So, I allowed the
full Song to come through; basing the
cadence of my melody on his recitation, to
represent the melodious nature of the way
Elven speech is described in his
Middle-earth writings.
Scene: At the end of Fellowship of the Ring,
as the Fellowship is leaving Lothlórien, Galadriel sings from
her Swan-ship:
"Ai!
laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
"Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
yéni únótimë
ve rámar aldaron!
long years numberless as the wings of trees!
Yéni ve lintë
yuldar avánier
The years have passed like swift draughts
mi oromardi
lisse-miruvóreva
of the sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the
West,
Andúnë pella,
Vardo tellumar
beneath the blue vaults of Varda
nu luini
yassen tintilar i eleni
wherein the stars tremble in the song of her
voice,
ómaryo
airetári-lírinen.
holy and queenly.
Sí man i yulma
nin enquantuva?
Who now shall refill the cup for me?
An sí Tintallë
Varda Oiolossëo
For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the
Stars,
ve fanyar
máryat Elentári ortanë,
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands
like clouds,
ar ilyë tier
undulávë lumbulë;
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;
ar
sindanóriello caita mornië
and out of a grey country darkness
i falmalinnar
imbë met, ar hísië
lies on the foaming waves between us,
untúpa
Calaciryo míri oialë.
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for
ever.
Sí vanwa ná,
Rómello vanwa, Valimar!
Now lost, lost to those from the East is
Valimar!
Namárië! Nai
hiruvalyë Valimar.
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar.
Nai elyë
hiruva. Namárië!"
Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell!"
1.
Namárië
(A Cappella)
(Language: Quenya [Elvish])
(Keith Jarrett
somewhat inspired this piece. He taught me
[and lots of other musicians] that, if
you're really know your shizzizit, you can
just walk on stage with no clue about what
you're going to do, and entirely improv your
way through a concert.) "Catcher Dawn"
was recorded on tape. The tape was rolling,
the mic was hot, and I had zero clue about
what I was going to sing until it entered my
mind. It came in movements; and I just kept
singing until it was done.
2.
Catcher Dawn
(A Cappella; Jazz Improv)
"Smile"
was Michael Jackson's favorite song. I had
just gotten out of the shower, and was
walking into my living when I heard,
"We'll be back in a moment with more about
the death of Michael Jackson!"-- ("W -
T - F?! Did I really just hear that!?")
-- After settling my emotions about the
news, I sang it to him as a swan song, at
sunset, that evening, 09.03.2009;
recording it--for the first and last time.
3.
Smile
(A Cappella; Vocalise)
"He is
There" came to me out of
the blue, one evening, as I was thinking
about my Christian greater family; i.e.
the congregation of (Bishop) Rev. Dr.
Yvette Flunder's "City
of Refuge UCC", in Oakland, CA. I
intuitively heard, "Read
the Word. Don't be scared. Trust the
Lord; He is there!" with that melody, and thought,
"OH--That's RICH!", (as in rich in
Presence), and just went into my studio
and recorded that on the fly, part by
part; allowing each part to solidly
resonate within my body before recording
it. Primarily, I'm singing to
Queer/LGBT... Christians.
20.
He Is
There
(A Cappella ~
Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Baritone)
(Language: English)
Singing jazz
vocalise/scatting is my favorite way to
sing; i.e. not being bound to intuitive
Flow-constricting words--which probably
doesn't above show, considering my
singing in 5 languages in the playlist.
I particularly enjoy singing Bossa Nova
(BN), especially Antonio Carlos Jobim's
melodies, and soloing over his chord
changes. And I'm very grateful for the
influences of Ella Fitzgerald, Flora
Purim and Kenny Rankin in my
vocalise development; and of Elis
Regina and Gal Costa in the
development of my BN
sensitivities
and sensibilities. The
next 4 songs of Jobim's were sung
live and are unedited;
they're just a record of me having fun
at home, with the mic on and open. (For
differentiation, I perform Jazz using
my first and last names.) (The MIDI
guitar tracks were coded in
Brasil; I've forgotten by whom.)
I stumbled upon a
copy of the rhythm track of the famous
version of "Insensatez"
with Stan Getz on sax. I simply sang it my
way.
:-)
When
I first heard the term, "non-binary", I thought,
"Wow, this generation is so intent on having a
self-defining, gender stereotype defying term,
they're not even aware of one that's already
stood the test of time!" To be androgyne is to
be a person who's gender balanced. As you'll
read (if you read), the term applies to all
demographics; cis, queer, and questioning. For
those questioning, this article may be a
godsend; it enables people to drop the question
and just be themselves. There is a demographic
for whom that questioning will only be lessened,
but not alleviated; the trans community.
[Tangent]
(Click the title to open the Primer--after
the page has stopped loading.)
A
Brief, (Impromptu),
Somewhat Visceral Primer on Gender Dysphoria
What's
the difference between "transgender" and
"transsexual"? THAT is one of the most
difficult questions for trans persons to
answer themselves. Look at the two words;
the difference answers the question. The
former refers to non-genital shift of your
socially-perceived gender to conform with
your inner gender self-perception. The
latter entails that too; however, it
extends to the literal structure of your
genitals as well.
Try to wrap your head around this for a
moment:
If
you're not transgender, do you
remember how your bodily self-image
matched the gender that was medically
assigned to you by virtue of your
anatomical sex at birth? Your natal
body had a penis (M), or vagina (F)
[if not born intersexed]; you grew up
thinking and feeling you're a boy [if
M], or a girl [if F], and you've been
totally cool with that forever.
Generally, gender norms in most
societies aren't set in stone; there's
a lot of variance. E.g., if you were a
girl, you enjoyed looking and behaving
the way most girls do, regardless of
whether they're "tomboys", or
"girlie-girls". If you were a boy, you
could be an hard jock-head, or a soft
sensitive type. Either way, by age 7,
your gender identity is set; it's
locked. Let's refer to that as your authentic
gender. Either way, you had no
problem when puberty hit, and your
biology took control of your dominant
sex characteristics--you were still
tomboy, girlie-girl, jock-head, or
sensitive type, as you were. You may
have been straight, or lesbian, gay,
or bisexual, however, there wasn't a
fundamental schism between your
medically-assigned gender, your
authentic gender, and your sexual
development. Getting into the nitty,
let's focus on persons born female.
Now,
imagine you're 4-6 years old and,
intellectually, your eyes see that
your body has a vagina; however, when
you close your eyes and imagine your
role in society, your self image
decidedly matches that of most boys.
You're just beginning to get a grip on
the most fundamental differences
between people at that age. You see
that your body is genitally like
girls, and for reasons you're not
going to understand, much less be able
to communicate, perhaps for another
decade, or more, your constant
self-image aligns with children who
have penises. The usually very wide
prepubescent gender variance amongst
same sex persons enables you not to be
emotionally consumed by the dichotomy
between your inner perception of your
sex, and your outer social role;
however, there's a very critical
psychological pressure cooking.
If
your genes don't hard-preset your
gender appearance, you may socially
float; you know you're a "girl", and
you also know you're He-Man, or the
winner of some kind of male
competition, or part of a winning male
sports team. Then, puberty hits and
your flat chest doesn't become a pair
of strong pecs; it becomes a pair of
squishy titties. Instead of slender
hips and developing abs, your hips
spread by 10%-40% and developing abs
just ain't hap'nin' like boys because
your body's preparing your uterus for
childbearing. [Let's not even get into
menstruation!] If you're a
female-to-male (FTM) transperson,
you're still fine with having a
vagina; but all those other factors
that decisively define social gender
are diametrically opposed to your
inner self image which you've had for
nearly [or, perhaps more than] twice
your lifespan at that time. If
you're a FTM transsexual, you have
the same kind of social role schism
regarding your gender--but, your
self body-image has a penis too--and
the biggest trip is that you also
have an imaginal*
felt sense of having a penis.
In both cases, something's gotta
change. It's the
inverse for male-to-female (MTF)
transgender and transsexual persons.
Let's go one small step, for this
conversation; huge leap for your
understanding. Men, try to imagine
feeling as though your body has a
vagina, even though it's obvious to
you that you have a penis; perhaps a
cervix-long one--based on your
heterosexual experience. Every time
you stand up peeing, your brain is
having a challenge because it's
experiencing somewhat of a
psycho-emotional schism; because it
expects you to be sitting, or at
least squatting as you're doing so.
You wipe the tip when you're done,
and your brain thinks you should be
spending a bit more time, and paying
a lot more attention to the whole
wiping process. Feeling the tension
of the schism as brain and gut
tension, you know you're going to
feel the same way even if you ARE
sitting with your body as it is; so
you pee the path of least
resistance, not even adding head
gaming yourself by sitting down, (if
sitting's not what you're normally
do anyway). That brain-gut tension
extends to when you're wearing
practically any pair of pants; your
brain not expecting to need to
adjust your 'nads to accommodate the
garment. For
the most part, when you're not
asleep, your central nervous
system is on constant alert as a
consequence of the schism; to a
greater, or lesser degree
depending on a myriad of factors.
At age 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...
15, 16... 22, 23... 30...
57...--you've gotta accept carrying
and living with that tension 60/60/24/7/365.25;
or something's gotta change.)
(Very mildly put), that's extremely
hard to bear at any time;
exponentially more so ALL of the time! That's
Gender Dysphoria (GD).
The
emotional
felt
sense
of
GD is akin to wearing a wet blanket
and wet quilt and wet duvet and
sopping wet heavy boots, along with a
sopping wet wool
hat everywhere, always; incessantly.
Consequently, GD
is a direct cause of chronic
self-abnegation, PTSD, Major
Depressive Disorder, and enduring and
anxiety; which begins before
elementary school, even if the person
experiencing it lives in a totally
accepting natal family--a caustic
Shadow cocktail which too frequently
leads to substance abuse, in an effort
to self-medicate away the gravity of
GD. Too many times, it leads to
suicide. So, clinically, when someone
lives with GD, some kind of physical
change definitely needs to happen;
whether with one’s gender and
secondary sex characteristics, or
one’s gender and both primary and
secondary sex characteristics. Transgender
refers to outwardly changing
one's social gender presentation to
match one's authentic gender
self-perception—which is
brain-determined rather than
choice-determined.* That's usually
done by changing one's hair style,
clothing style, (which may also
entail wearing clothing that
modifying genital appearance, e.g.
wearing extra support tights to
disallow the penis from bulging, or
wearing pants with very loose
crotches--for either gender), often
also speech pitch and/or patterns,
and perhaps wearing enough makeup to
enhance one's gender-neutral
features, tilting their appearance
toward norms consistent with their
authentic gender. It doesn't usually
entail surgically changing one's
genitals. Transsexual
entails outwardly changing ones gender
presentation and sex organs to match
one's psycho-emotional, authentic
gender and sexual
self-perceptions—which are also
brain-determined rather than
choice-determined.* However,
being transsexual also
entails changing one's sex
characteristics too; perhaps not
necessarily one's genitalia.
Generally, that change always begins
lightly; via hormonal therapy,
male-to-female (MTF) taking
estrogen to
enable development of female breasts,
wider hips, and much less dense
muscles, or
female-to-male (FTM) taking
testosterone to enable development of
facial hair, naturally lower voices,
more slender hips, and much denser
muscles.
In
most transgender cases, that's enough;
which solidly qualifies such persons
as transgender --even with only the
secondary sex characteristics so
modified. However, when it comes to
GD, even after decades of hormonal
therapy, and changing one's gender
appearance and social [even
professional] gender role, that
gravity continues to be ceaseless. For
us, ultimately, changing one's primary
sex characteristics via Sex
Reassignment Surgery, or Gender
Affirming Surgery (SRS/GAS, ergo
having vaginoplasty [changing penis to
vagina], or phalloplasty [construction
of a penis and permanent closure of
the vagina]) is the only certainly
alleviating resolution. Medically,
only the latter transition
definitively qualifies someone as
transsexual;
(nevertheless,
since [according to Duck.ai] "the
average cost of sex reassignment
surgery SRS/GAS in the United States
typically ranges from $20,000 to
$300,000, depending on the specific
procedures involved", most
transsexuals are unable to have that
benefit, which doesn't effectively
disqualify them from being
transsexual, if they've
psychologically have been clinically
assessed to decidedly match that
profile).
ALL
TRANSSEXUALS ARE TRANSGENDER; but,
MOST TRANSGENDER PERSONS AREN'T
TRANSSEXUAL. That fact makes it extra
challenging for transsexuals because
it can take a long time to be certain
that one's experience of GD does, in
fact, encompass a bodily change of
sexual appearance as well, rather than
just an apparent change of gender.
AND, it's not something to try to sort
out alone. For anyone to be totally
certain usually requires a person to
undergo (a) a year, or more of
clinical therapy to determine whether
one is decidedly living with Gender
Dysphoria (GD), and (b) to what extent
that may be operative.
In
my effort to make sense of my GD
experience, I was led to Dr. Harry
Benjamin's "The Transsexual Phenomenon",
one of the first formal scientific
studies of transsexualism, (https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-04-07_5ca961529c262_HarryBenjamin-TheTranssexualPhenomenon1copy.pdf),
when I was 21. I experience a long series
of totally resonant "Aha!" moments--and,
there was something else happening within
me that felt beyond that certainty; a
button on which I couldn't put my finger.
Several years later, I found Dr. June
Singer's book, "Androgyny: The
Opposites Within"; a strictly empirical scientific study
of androgyny, (Anchor/DoubleDay
paperback (1976/1977) — ISBN-10:
038511026X / ISBN-13: 9780385110266);
finding it not only put my finger on that
button, it mashed it to the max!
Certainly, being born with a "M" as my
designated sex, I actually inwardly saw my
body as "F" since I was 4; however, I
wasn't uncomfortable with my masculinity,
and stereotypical femininity (i.e. the
American version) seemed too
self-limiting. I had spent a lot of my
time during the previous decade finding
ways to balance gender within, with very
remarkable success, and Dr. Singer's book
helped me to understand that part of my
Journey as a very natural human experience
that very few people allowed themselves to
experience. I don't recall her ever
mentioning "transgender", or "transsexual"
in that book; (could've, and it's been too
long for my recall to be accurate).
Finally, I understood I'm an androgyne; it
took a lot longer to clinically confirm my
GD, and my transsexuality.
[Continuing from
the Primer] A few years later, I
wrote "On Being Androgyne"; as an
illumination, rather than an autobiographical
piece. The year before she died, my mother
read it. When she finished, she looked at me
and said, "Now, I finally
understand you!" I'm grateful my showing
it to her enabled her to do so! May it also
help other parents to understand the true
Nature of their androgyne kids.
If you're an androgyne, and your parents
feel confused and/or judgementally ashamed
of you,
then
enable them to read it also--perhaps it
will help them to finally understand you
too.
(By the way,
dispelling the stereotyping of MTFs as gay
men who change sex to be with men as
women, I know many MTFs, and almost all of
them lived as straight men before
transition, and only lesbian
afterward.
Jus'
sayin.').
The
Science of Transgenderism
"It's very rare that the natural world
gives us totally clear-cut dichotomies...
The way people have traditionally thought
about trans individuals is 'This is someone
who for some reason thinks they're different
sex than what they actually are'. What the
neurobiology suggests instead is 'This is
someone who has had the incredibly crappy
luck of being handed a body that happens to
be a different sex than who they actually
are'.
You
may download an excerpt of the
GD primer portion of this page as a
.pdf file. (The ,pdf
includes references to the above studies
by Drs. Benjamin and Singer,
as well as to On Being Androgyne.)
.
I
recorded songs tracks 9-15 in the
playlist with my virtual band; TransAction.
To differentiate between my Jazz and
my Pop, I produce and perform my brand
of Pop using only my middle name;
Alyras..
.
"Something
About You" is a straight up
lesbian come-on song. For me, the joy of
the song is how it came to be. I was
working as a techie in what was San
Francisco's premiere data center, one
night, and the groove came to me as I
walking down one of its 2-block long
hallways; at that tempo. The groove just
slid into my mind, "(1) Doo-Doont
(2),
Doo-(3)Doont;
(4)Doo Doon-". I sang the
groove into my phone, and coded the MIDI
tracks and fleshed out the song after I
returned home. When I hear it, I always
feel that initial--"Oooooohhhh!"
that I felt and thought when the groove
just locked-step with
mine. (Are you
feelin' me?)
9.
Somethin’ About You(Language:
English)
8.
The Girl I Can’t Get To
(Voice/Piano -- both
self-performed)
(Language:
English)
"Hey, Cool!"--Waaay back, my
son, Aryeh-Or [Aryeh-Or.com]
told me I had no clue about how to
write a good Hip-Hop song. To date,
I've been songwriting longer than he's
lived. I didn't argue; I just wrote
and produced that, and let him hear it
a few days later. He promptly
apologized. [Check
him out. :-D As a thespian,
author, and musician, he's
definitely got tasty juice! ]
The
inspiration for the song was a
video clips of a shooting was
between two rival gangs in
Chicago; filmed from an high-rise
window. I'm speaking to black
Millenials and Gen Zs.
10.
Hey, Cool!(Language:
English)
11.
Give Me Your Time(Language:
English)
Back in the
day, [thanks to the help of
Richard (Dick) Rudolph, Don
Freeman and Warren Giancatarino],
John McLain wanted to sign Lenny
Kravitz and me to A&M (as the
"Black Lennon and McCartney");
while Jheryl Busby [head of Black
Music] at MCA was offering me a
solo deal with Universal. My
manager, Brian Avnet, advised me
to take the MCA deal. Thing was,
MCA was buying Motown, and as soon
as that deal was sealed, they
began dropping artists who were
more aligned with my music, (e.g
Joe Sample, Stephanie Mills,
Gladys Knight...), in favor of the
teen market, e.g. Shanice, New
Edition/Bell, Biv Devoe, etc.
(Brian and I didn't see that
coming). The month I signed,
Brian
went on a long hiatus, (for
fam reasons);
Dick
had already bailed to produce
Timothy B. Schmidt's solo
album;
Jheryl
left to lead Motown;
my
A&R person bailed to
another company; and
my
publishing lead also jumped to
another publisher.
Everyone I needed to just get
my feet squarely on the major label
ground were gone--and the first
thing I heard from the woman who'd
been given my case, the second I sat
down after going to her office to
meet her, was, "I don't like your
music!"
[
In-my-face verbal abuse,
from the jump--WTF
was I supposed to do with
that?!?]
I'd signed
the deal during an intense Mercury
Retrograde (Merc Rx) cycle; which
is how I learned about Merc Rx the
hard way! The MCA axe hit lots of
artists very hard. My
understanding is that Stephanie
put L.A. totally behind her and
went back to performing on
Broadway;--(Before moving to L.A.,
I used to sing through most of her
"Sweet Sensation" album to warm up
for gigs--if I could nail HER
chops, I could totally rule on
stage! lol). Joe suffered a major
psych dive, (what we used to call
a nervous breakdown) because of
it; Gladys went back to Gospel
music, starting a choir in Vegas.
After a year of zero traction,
increased debt, a 1 year old
[Aryeh-Or] and a sibling newly on
the way, I convinced the label to
pay out my contract and went back
to freelance.
Jump many
years ahead. Lenny's crushing it
:-D; and I'm raising my kids on a
bookstore salary. [One of the best
parts of that experience was my
personally being able to assist
Lisa Bonet when she came there to
find books to help her to bring
Zoe into the world in the
healthiest, most balanced way. I
simply led her to the great,
spot-on books I'd discovered [and
personally used very well to raise
my kids, (up to age 5)], and some
to which I'd been introduced
there--and, apparently, those
conversations bore great fruit!]
This song, "Heavenly Virtue"
is what came out when, (20ish
years thereafter), its Lenny-like
groove wafted into my mind. As
soon as I was feelin' it, I
thought, "This is the kinda groove
Lenny likes rockin'!"; so,
somewhat as a nod to him, I turned
it into a full song; maintaining
the groove the way I think he
probably would, and evolving it
the way I would.
The groove of the song emulates
what I've heard of Lenny's music;
the melody's all me. (Maybe John
was onto something?)
12.
Heavenly Virtue(Language:
English)
I'd
become bored with the Verse-Chorus-[same
melody]Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus (out)
song structure. I mean rreeaally bored. So,
being a composer first, songwriter second,
(I'd written several orchestral works before
turning to songwriting), I stepped back to
see a bigger picture; initially, exploring
songwriting in other languages. Then, I
stepped back a few hundred years, and
considered what's stood the test of time in
Western music prior to the greater
popularity of songwriting. The ternary
structure, most evident in the sonata and
symphony forms, ruled before then. That
format is simple: A [introduction of melodic
theme]--B [contrasting theme, usually
slower]--A [effective repeat of the original
theme]. I decided to develop an hybrid
approach. The following 3 songs are part of
the initial shift. (Then, I decided
to follow my spiritual heart into exploring
songwriting in the Elven language, Quenya;
i.e. the one in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of
the Rings", and "Silmarillion". That's what
I'm doing now.)
Representing it, I think (Portuguese) "Angie"
is the best example of that foray's adhering
to the ternary form. (Quenya) "I Calyala
Latië" [#6 in the playlist] is an
variation of the form; more consistent with
my EDM heart space.)
I met (the
Russian) poet, visual artist, etc.,
Nadia Mogilev, when we were living in
San Francisco. We decided to explore
songwriting together, starting with some
of her poems. When she explained the
significance of "Dve Rozi"
(Two Roses)--i.e. in Russia, when you're
in a romantic relationship and wanna end
it, 2 roses in a vase is the unspoken
message--I felt the depth of those
currents; hence, the song.
13.
Dve Rozi(Language:
Russian)
I had a crush on a
French woman I'd hung out with in L.A.,
who returned to Paris. Hence, the title,
which is "You in Paris and Me in L.A." in
English
14.
Toi à Paris et Moi à L.A.(Language:
French)
I wrote "Angie"
somewhat academically; (although
it was sparked by an actual,
beautiful woman named Angie, whose
voice was as soothing as
gently-swift water flowing over a
pebbled riverbed, and whose laughter
was like lyrical birdsong--a
short-time close friend who moved to
Brasil, and got lost in the
bifurcation of the waves of our
lives.) I wanted to write a
song in Portuguese, I don't speak
enough of it to save my life; however,
I had a couple great Pt. grammar books
and dictionaries, and, (thinking
of her), "Angie, esta
cancao e de voce" (Angie,
this song is for you!) was a phrase
with a grip. So, I fleshed out the
lyrics around that concept; then, I
stumbled upon an old, i.e. 1950's b/w
musical from Lisboa/Lisbon, heard and
felt their accent with an odd sense of
returning home--although I've never
been to the EU. My accent is
Continental, rather than Brasilian; as
you'll hear in this, and in the way I
sing Jobim's "Insensatez".
15.
Angie(Language:
Portuguese)
People have been using AI to create
music sung in Quenya, the Elven language
introduced by J.R.R. Tolkien, mine is
completely original, and I'm singing it.
(In fact,
I've never used AI to create music;
aside from being totally authentic,
the intuitive process is to delicious
for me to do that.) The Quenya
(Elvish) lyrics were all written by New
Zealand's late, renowned Quenya
translator, Rodger Francis Ashton-Smith.
We were discussing exploring songwriting
together, and I suggested he
translate the entire Tao Te Ching, so we
could use that body of work as lyric
source; i.e. one song for each of its
chapters. The next 2 songs, "Oiolumellë
Er", and "I Calyala
Latië"
are from that expansion. We call our
collaboration, "Ilúvamil"
(Mother of All); respecting that it was
She would enabled us to meet.
5.
Oiolumellë
Er
(Language:
Quenya)
Project: Ilúvamil
6.
I Calyala Latië
(Language:
Quenya)
Project: Ilúvamil
I composed the "Lótessë
Medicine Song" after
completing my sound healing training,
with Silvia Nakkach @ California
Institute of Integral Studies. For
Tolkien geeks, Lótessë is the month of
May, during which people who walk the
Elven Spiritual Path annually explore
personal relationship with the Valië,
Nessa.
7.
Lótessë Medicine Song – Opus 1 ::
(Honoring the Valië,
Nessa) :: Flutes & Chakapa
IMHO,
The
Way of the Elven
Spiritual Path :
Book II: Initiation
is both an excellently
exceptional, full reveal of
the Tolkien-based** Elven
Spiritual Path, for all who
are deeply drawn to it; and a
premature expression of it as
well. Frankly, it was a rush
job; written in 2 months. In
early June 2022, several
astrologers were saying an
astrological window (so to
speak) was going to open that
August, and all new spiritual
understandings, processes,
and/or belief systems that
were codified and formally
published during that window
would successfully take root,
and flourish as the Aquarian
Age now unfolds. The Silver
Elves have been writing about
their sphere of Elven
spirituality for decades;
certainly, the world deserved
to know at least a (by
comparison) tad about the
(Tolkien-based) Elven
Spiritual Path; and the Path
deserves that flourishing too.
Only 3 people were qualified
to write the book, one other
two had obligations preventing
them doing so, that they
couldn't just park for 2+
months to git 'er done. So, I
got 'er done; (First Edition
first draft, at least,
including a few
typos--nonetheless,
got 'er done, with all
fundamental parts and
particulars;
on the last day of that
window--publishing it
with Amazon and ssssliding
through the gate before
it closed.) I'll probably
release the Second Edition in
2027--along with the beginning
of a series of new books also
written to enable people to
have a lived experience of
Elven spirituality, and of
Elven timbre of Life.
The
Elven Spiritual Path is
fringe, yes; however it's not
cultish, freaky, or weird.
Like the world's major
religions, it's fundamentally
rooted and anchored in the
individual's personal
Relationship with the Divine
Feminine (DF); with a
particular added flavor.
(Interestingly, like Tolkien,
I was led to this Path via the
Relationship I began with the
DF in Christianity, albeit the
American "Metho'-Bapti'-Evangeli-Pentacostalic",
rather than the Catholic
version.)
The Legendarium reveals an
innate, spiritual
sibling-Nature humans have
with Elves. Given a conscious,
intentional, genuine
actualization of that Nature,
humans may integrate it into
their microcosms and lives,
being increasingly able to
express Elf-like personal
energy wherever we go--e.g.
generally unf***able peace,
balance, grace, holistic
harmony with all of Nature and
with all other spiritual paths
arising from and expressing
Love. The book teaches people
how to do that,
individually, on their own;
with genuine Relationship and
effect, and without
affectation, or trappings of
any kind that they can't have
with them in the middle of a
lake, wearing only their
birthday suits.
Alternate
Purchasing Option
The
501(c)(3) charitable trust, ElvenSpirit,
parents and hosts content for
the organization also named,
"Elven Spiritual Path", (which
is also such a charitable
trust). You may receive an
indie-published PDF of the
book as a Thank you! gift when
you help to advance that Path
by donating $10 to the trust
for that purpose. Click on
either below-related image to
jump to the Elven
Spiritual Pathhome
page, where you'll find
the access link.
I began creating cognitive
enhancement media in 1987, when I
translated the Mayan Sacred Calendar
("Cholq'ij", or "Tzolk'in") into
sound. In the early 2000's I expanded
the audio to include video; the colors
being the tones elevated into the
light spectrum. (I call that form of
software "sonochromatic",
sound+light.) In 2018, as I was going
to release a seriously badass
expression of it, not one, but all 3
of my laptops suddenly went to
ultra-crawl, i.e. while they'd been
exporting builds within an hour,
suddenly they were taking 3 days to do
so. It was a totally commercial
project; for 2 MacBook Pros and a then
brand new PC to be doing the same
thing, apparently Hunab Ku (Source)
wasn't havin' it--things dragged to
the point where I completely missed my
launch date, which led to great loss
on my part.
So, recovering, I decided to
develop derivatives using an entirely
different fundamental structure; same
principles, different Model. The new
Model I chose was DNA. I'd come across
research showing how the 64 hexagrams
of the I Ching and the 64 codons of
DNA have direct 1:1
correspondence--which means they are
effectively 64 music chords;
specifically, quadrichords (4 tones
each). That made it mathematically
easy for me to convert the Tzolk'in's
code to conform to the new Model's.
Harmonic Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij
SonusLumine
has 2 divisions, "BrainNeo",
(which provides "Rebound!"), and "Synaptogenesys";
the latter being more advanced
than the former insofar as it
integrates portions of both
Models. A few days ago, having
rejoined the Tzolk'in Work, mainly
to analyze it using AI, I released
a new prototype called, "Harmonic
Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij" on
YouTube
SonusLumine's
products are all dynamic, whole
brain synchronization and
cognitive enhancement modules
designed to radically advance
neuroplasticity; particularly for
persons who are experiencing
post-traumatic brain recovery,
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and
other neurological conditions
which are ameliorated by doing
things that involve any form of
pattern recognition-based therapy.
Synaptogenesys
is a paid subscription service. Rebound!
is free; as is Harmonic
Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij.
More About The Harmonic
Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij
Click
the icon to watch on
Youtube.
This Work was initially
inspired in 1986 by Dr. Jose
Arguelles' book, "Earth
Ascending", and
amplified in 1987 (prior
to the "Harmonic
Convergence")
by his, "The Mayan
Factor: Path Beyond
Technology". The
first viable sonic
translation of the Model was
completed in 1987 and
released shortly before the
Convergence event. Since
then, I've intermittently
continued progressing the
Work; this prototype is the
most recent, and the
consummate best purely
vibration-exclusive
expression of the Model to
date.
"Overview of The
Mayan Factor:
The Mayan Factor is a
significant work authored by
José Argüelles, published in
1987. The book explores the
Mayan calendar and its
broader implications for
human transformation and
cosmic consciousness. It
introduces several key
concepts:
Key
Concepts
Concept Description
Human
Transformation
The book suggests a
significant moment of
transformation is
approaching.
Galactic
Synchronization
Argüelles describes a
"Galactic Synchronization
Beam" that can awaken
consciousness.
New Cosmic
Consciousness
It serves as a guide to
understanding a new
perspective on time and
existence. This book has
been influential in the
New Age movement,
encouraging readers to
explore their connection
to the universe and the
cyclical nature of
time.
Core claim: The
Maya encoded a "harmonic"
cosmic time system;
understanding it can shift
human consciousness from
linear, mechanistic time to
cyclical,
galactic-synchronized time.
Calendar
focus:
Argüelles centers on the
Tzolk'in (260-day sacred
count) and the Long Count,
proposing a galactic
synchronization
culminating in a
transformative era (he
linked this to 2012 as a
symbolic transition).
Themes:
Spiritual/psychic
evolution, syncretism of
Mesoamerican cosmology
with New Age ideas,
planetary healing, and the
concept of "galactic
timing."
Influence:
Popularized Neopagan/New
Age interest in the Maya
and 2012, inspired
festivals, artists, and
alternative archaeology
circles.
Criticisms
and cautions:
Scholars of Mesoamerican
history and archaeology
generally reject
Argüelles’s claims as
speculative,
anachronistic, and not
supported by primary Maya
texts or inscriptions; his
work mixes modern
mysticism with selective
readings of Maya calendar
data."
-- Info courtesy of
Duck.ai
______________________________________________
The underlying
hypothesis driving this
Work:
Words and symbols may be
interpreted in an
unlimited number of ways;
scientifically, they are
immeasurable. Sound and
light waves transcend all
such interpretations; and
they are measurable.
Translating the Model's 13
fundamental cycles as
frequencies, (with the
help of the late Dr.
Barbara Hero), then
synchronously sequencing
the Model's primary
Patterns and Its
sub-Patterns enables
robust empirical analysis
of the book's core claim.
Furthermore, it enables
such analysis of the
physiological,
psychological, and psychic
effects of using the
Model's synchronized
sonochromatic expressions;
as well as the potential
for such expressions to
enable the user to
establish a direct,
communicative,
synaptic/neural link with
Source/Consciousness
throughout her/his/their
central nervous system.
To test my hypothesis,
I've developed a set of 6
progressively intensive,
extended sonochromatic
expressions of the Model.
Having done the Work,
(once I acquire the
compute to do so, e.g. a
robust laptop with mega
RAM, and a competitive
GPU), I'll use open source
LLMs to run a bevy of
simulations designed to
determine the scopes of
those effects. For the
time being, this
proof-of-concept prototype
(embodying 3 of those 6
extended expressions) is
freely provided for public
use. It is neither CC0,
nor in the public domain.
Certainly, simply
watching, or listening to
it generates profound,
fundamental cognitive
enhancement;
theoretically, in direct
alignment and
communication with the
Flow of
Source/Consciousness. What
Next?
What I've done with the
Tzolk'in is astonishing;
in principal. However, is
it just so much art, or
are there genuine,
empirically significant
effects generated by it
within the central nervous
system that support my
claims of this Work's
cognitive enhancement
efficacy? Is it possible
that there is a measurable
Consciousness enhancement
experience from using it;
or is that just more New
Age, spiritual wannabe
woo-woo? The answers to
those and other critical
questions need to be found
by rigorously analyzing
the software via running a
bevy of pertinent AI
simulations for that
purpose. For the next
several months, my
attention is on advancing
a peer-to-peer-level
analysis and report of the
Harmonic
Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij;
specifically on distilling
the research protocol for
it from scores of chat
conversations with
Mistral, Duck.ai, ChatGPT
about it, and securing
funding for the compute
required to run it using 5
open source GGUF models.
(The LLMs are free; the
entire costs are in the
Cloud-free compute, plus
power. Offline, standalone
compute rough estimates
are between $15K-$20K;
$1.2K to accommodate 6
months [$200/mo] of
additional power costs for
the duration of the
testing and reporting.)
Click on the product icon
to open it in a new
window.
(Actual Sequence playing
time is 34+ minutes.)
When
used as instructed,
the densely
synchronized
synapses they all
provide has the
capacity to help
users to rewire
their brains with
perfect Logic. Currently,
the most effective
use of all SonusLumine
products and services
is to offset brain
rot.
One brief comment about
addiction to social media,
(and, soon, AI):
Several
weeks ago, at the University of
Minnesota, I passed a group of Gen
Z young women. Soon after I
passed, one of them began
exuberantly telling the others
that she was simply going to use
ChatGPT to do a critical
assignment that was imminently
due. "I'm just going to go to
ChatGPT and have it whipped out in
few minutes". I thought of
backstepping and advising them not
to go there, not to do that;
however, I also felt that it
wasn't my role, and went my own
way. Later, I wondered what
percentage of people under 30 are
addicted to social media.
Me:Worldwide, are most people
under age thirty in
developed countries addicted
to social media?
Duck.ai:Yes,
a significant number of
people under age thirty
in developed countries
are addicted to social
media, with
approximately 40% of
young adults aged 18 to
22 reporting signs of
addiction. This
trend is particularly
pronounced among
teenagers and young
adults, indicating a
high vulnerability to
social media
dependency.
.
Frivolent
use of social media has
unleashed rampant brain rot, in
youth and adults. Frivolent
use of AI is causing brain rot
to skyrocket. Restoring Natural
Intellience (NI) is becoming a
global concern.
If you're young, and feeling
pressure to compete with your
peers who are cranking out
assignments using AI, (whether
academic, or professional), do
not take their easy route;
you'll lose exponentially more
than you'll gain by doing so.
Heed my counsel; make
increasing your NI more of a
priority than increasing your
use of AI, and watch where
you're at in life in 20
years--while you're still
young--compared to your peers
who are not heeding it. I assure
you, when you get to 2046,
you'll be far better at living
your best life by doing so than
everyone who's thought they
could fast track themselves by
not doing so. The U.S. Navy
Seals have a fundamental working
principle: "Slow is
smooth, and smooth is fast".
Applying it to how you use AI,
in contrast to your peers who
don't, will save your quality of
life from being in the pits one
short generation down the pike.
This
isn't confined to
human intelligence--THIS
ALSO APPLIES TO AI!
A
few days ago, I was listening to a
Tristan Harris
interview discussing AI,
wherein he said that AIs trained
on brain rotting content also
acquired irreversible brain rot
themselves. Doing my own due
diligence to find confirming info
and data, I didn't need to look
far; I think I used "AI brain rot"
as a search term, and immediately
found a study done by
scientists at Texas A&M
University, University of Texas
at Austin, and Purdue University,
an article from Futurism
expounding on it (which I printed as a PDF,
because it has several follow-up
links to some very interesting
supporting pieces that might not
be there when you directly access
it). Now, I ask you, if brain rot
is an across the board phenomenon,
whether it's with NI, or AI,
wouldn't it be wise to at least
learn how to use AI in ways that
don't advance it? Wouldn't it be
wise to also learn how to use
social media, (and, in fact, the
entire social Internet), in ways
that help to prevent you from
acquiring it? Yes. And Yes.
Whether
it's social media, or AI,whatever
age you may be, don't give up
your brain power. Own your
brain; own your mind; own your
life. Lose your brain; lose
ownership of your mind; lose
ownership of your life.
Registration
(without financial info) is
required for use.
Use
Rebound!
[forever] to rebound from
social media oversaturation,
and to super-rapidly build
yourself a more dynamically
resilient brain. Start
reclaiming your brain today from
brain rot today!