Author Archives: ken

Zipcar: Beware!

Posted on May 24, 2011 by ken

A friend recently signed up for a Zipcar account recently so I joined her account, since that way I can have a car when I’m in the city without having to drive mine back from Ithaca and worry about parking … Continue reading →

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Balloon-Slide Banjo and the Electric Rake

Posted on March 30, 2011 by ken

Eugene Chadbourne Originally uploaded by kenficara Eugene Chadbourne is to country music what Monthy Python was to situation comedies. He played a show in Ithaca last night with improvisational percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani, covering Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hoyt Axton and … Continue reading →

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You Say You Want a Revolution

Posted on February 23, 2011 by ken

While we stay home and write songs, people all over the world are speaking out, marching, fighting and dying against tyrannical and unjust governments. We call some of them “protesters” and give them our heartfelt, if meaningless, support. We call … Continue reading →

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Which Side I Am On

Posted on January 15, 2011 by ken

For eight years following the 2000 election, progressives like myself suffered under a government we considered illegitimate and malicious. We watched the economy destroyed, environmental regulations gutted, corporate criminals running riot, thousands dying in an unnecessary war started by lies … Continue reading →

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Harmonitronica, Tradition and Musicianship

Posted on January 11, 2011 by ken

Many people, myself included sometimes, do not understand the connection between the acoustic old-time and blues and bluegrass that I love to play, and the harmonitronica I’ve been spending so much time on lately. For the last few weeks I’ve … Continue reading →

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Nine Sticks

Posted on January 11, 2011 by ken

OK, so you’re all used to the binary jokes by now — and there will be more of them come October. But this is a special moment for everyone that hasn’t happened before in my lifetime and will not happen … Continue reading →

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Fever Dreams

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ken

I celebrated the New Year in bed with a nasty fever, the kind where you sometimes feel well enough to watch TV (or streaming Netflix, in my case), and sometimes just lie there dozing and having bizarre dreams. The soundtrack … Continue reading →

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iNexplicable iPod iDiocy

Posted on December 22, 2010 by ken

Apple’s design prowess is legendary … except when it’s notorious. There are a host of ridiculous usability problems in Apple products, but at the moment I am playing some songs on the iPod and frustrated by these facts: The name … Continue reading →

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Waning Gibbous After Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2010 by ken

After a great, but hectic, holiday, I spent a little while today looking at the moon and doing a new harmonitronica piece, “Waning Gibbous.” It’s one of those that began with one idea and mutated completely into at least two … Continue reading →

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Bloomberg CEO Appointment At Risk

Posted on November 24, 2010 by ken

The confirmation of Marvin Thistlebottom as Bloomberg, LP’s new CEO appears in danger, after the corporation’s board expressed near-universal opposition to the pick. “Thistlebottom is obviously an expert English teacher, but will that expertise translate into running an international corporation?” … Continue reading →

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