What's one of your good habits? Was it harder to form than one of your bad habits? Do I need to ask?
Ever thought about why it's so challenging to form a good habit? From drinking at least eight glasses of water a day to taking a daily vitamin, it's daunting to know that from here on out there will only be more things to remember to do consistently... or else.
I came upon a site recently called Behind the Makeup which seems to explore this topic in more depth. There is a good "The Hills" spoof there too.
One of my good habits is writing. Though I have gotten out of the habit of sharing things publicly for awhile, I'm working on writing more often so that I can work my way through that. It used to be really fun to write publicly, then with the proliferation of social tools of syndication I became very aware of who could see what. As a result I've been writing neighborhood-only. I'm in a different place now. A place where I'm meeting new people in the web sphere, giving out my website and to my chagrin, realizing that when they visit it will appear to have been neglected for months.
If you'd like to read my hidden (neighborhood-only) Vox posts, then add me and comment on any of my posts or you can send a private message. If your blog is updated on a semi-regular basis and isn't geared toward spamming the world with your wares, whatever they may be, or just uninteresting to me for some reason, I'll more than likely add you back.
My friend @netzoo recently shared a video "The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo." Jarvis, an Art Center student, visually demonstrates what sparked the downturn in the economy (easy credit) and how it all happened in an easy-to-digest way. Check the rest of the post out here.
http://netzoo.net/the-credit-crisis-visualized/
It's not everyday that LA radio stations change format, but just like Indie 103.1's recent departure the entire line of KLSX FM Talk is becoming just like all the other stations tomorrow at 5pm. The format is changing to a Britney, Justin, Jonas Bros and other overproduced pop music roster to appeal to a younger demographic.
Frosty, Heidi, and Frank are breaking the news that this is their next to last show, yet trying not to say too much about this as they're trying not to steal Tom Leykis' thunder.
Mostly, I'll miss Tim Conway Jr.'s show with Arsenio Hall on Wednesday nights, though Thursday nights with the Jesse Jackson game were especially entertaining too. I know the contracted employees (on-air talent) have a bit of a financial cushion since their contracts were bought out, but I still hope the good ones can make a come back to the airwaves (or podcasts) soon. I'll also miss hearing the producers (Gina Grad, Randy Wang and Crysta Garner) who are not contracted, just unemployed after tomorrow. You can read more about it on the 97.1 FM wiki.
You should be able to use your voice well.
You should be able to write well.
You should be able to play your instrument(s) well.
Most performers I've seen live are good at one or two and at least passable with the third skill. Two out of three is not bad because it takes a good deal of work to get to that point. However, to be considered a triple threat we singer-songwriters should really develop and master all three skills to be our best. I took guitar lessons for one year-- twelve years ago-- and that's what I sound like when I play the guitar. So now I'm working to improve this skill.
Recently I read an interview (by Derek Sivers, CD Baby founder) with touring musician extraordinaire, Amber Rubarth. After reading about the hours of practice a day she puts into her music I was inspired to go on a search for a tutorial-style book to work on improving my guitar sound. After a couple hours at bookstores and then my local library I finally picked up this gem: The New Complete Guitarist by Richard Chapman.
I'm only about fifty pages into it but I love that it is very visual and packed with information about my instrument (an acoustic-electric cutaway). It also includes info about other types of guitars with historical tidbits. It's like the music book equivalent of the TV show Good Eats. Hey, I might even learn why the guitar neck's 12th fret has double dots. Does anyone really know about that?
Another thing you may not know is that this is February Album Writing Month. If you're interested in the challenge of writing fourteen songs in twenty-eight days let me know so I can add you to my watch list. If you want to follow my writing progress, here is my page: fawm.org/fawmers/madeline/
Happy music making!
If cooking Korean food is something new to you too and you'd like to try it, check out maangchi.com for how-to videos for a large selection of Korean food recipes. You can search for Maangchi on YouTube as well. She's fantastic.
Just saw this on TechCrunch. I remember the magazine back when Derek Powazek was in charge. I'm sure he knew this was coming.

I have no good habits... though I love blogging, I don't see that as a habit, it is more a... read more
on On cultivating a good habit