Audacity, GIMP, Openshot and Kratom Jam

I was looking at the constellations the other night and Gemini the Twins were just above the horizon at about 11 PM, and, I don't know if it had anything to do with that angle, but I noticed something that I never had before, the one on the right has a nice ass... I've never seen them right above the horizon like that, and upright; I couldn't help but think: "Who am I that God is mindful of me?"

Being on a planet that is orbiting a star gives us a shifting view of the constellation as we see it from different tangents along the 585 million mile circuit. It is a very slight change of perspective, given that all of the stars that comprise Gemini are light years away, but if watched at super time-lapsed speed, the twin on the left is definitely shaking that thing! 

Right now, it is Friday morning and I am as broke as can be.


I took the last $7.02 off my green card last night at the Walgreen's for a pack of American Spirit cigarettes. I have about a hundred bucks on my food card, so I'm not going to starve, but my ears are still not back to normal.

I went back to the emergency room, Wednesday night, since I could use their wi-fi, and so, waiting really wasn't a problem at all. I got some work done, studying the GIMP book in between seeing nurses and doctors.

I was seen by a young blond haired lady who was a cross between Goldie Hawn and Lauren Tewes in appearance; and who said she was a student.

She also said that my left ear was infected; which is the opposite side of the original problem.

I was not given any more antibiotics; for whatever reason, but a prescription for more drops, 10 in each ear once a day for a week.

My hearing is good enough to busk now, I would say, which is hopefully just in time to save myself from ruin.

The money I make has to go directly into a reserve for new strings. I'll send off for a couple sets, and set aside 10 bucks in case I break one before they arrive in "2 to 3 business days." And then, I want to upgrade from the harmonicas in G and A that I've been playing since the Special 20 blew a note (I need to open the case and see what the reed looks like -snapped off entirely, or just jammed with a pot seed or something)

I have stopped taking Kratom the past couple days. I am still noticing "symptoms," that might be evidence that it is still in my system, though; such as having stayed up the entire 48 hours after I stopped taking Kratom, working basically non-stop on projects; the video that I am posting here being one of the ones. I felt like I could further polish up the video, editing the song, singing over notes that went out of pitch (after having deliberated over whether it was "just the style," and that is should be kind of out of pitch for effect) and then, this morning, getting the idea to jot down on a chart which images play over which measures of the song, and then to go back and re-sing the whole song, replacing existing lyrics with some that refer more to the photos (putting some kind of lyrical jab at Tulip was the original impetus [see "The Tulip Story" in the sidebar for more on that worthy]).

But, then, I would have to go back and match the background voices to the new lyrics and all the instruments would have to be added, and another day would go by, and, well, I decided that the backbone of the song had kind of a scoliosis to begin with (the measures weren't counted out symmetrically) and so to work tediously on improving it, without correcting the glitch in the timing that occurs about 2:50 into it (and that would be tedious work, getting 16 tracks to line up with the new layout) was not really worth it, as the song can stand as a "fledgling" version, so as to echo the theme of my being into only the 5th hour of the "Learn GIMP in 24 Hours," book, seen in the video.

Working on a song that has a mismatched number of measures is like building a sand castle that you know the tide is going to come in and wash away in a few hours, but you still pour your heart into it...

Kratom Nourishes The Appendix

But, that is the thing; I'm kind of amped to keep pouring energy into these projects; not even stopping to blog about them. That is why I'm going to post up this video and then go right back to work on the next, and better, one.

The GIMP has very powerful video making capabilities.

Running vocals through a pitch transducer at this point

to get that nice, melting head sound quality...

Understanding that video is just a quick succession of single still photos makes it easy to envision the possibilities of it.

So far, I can see on the horizon, the making of a song called "My Head Is Melting," and then syncing it up with what I have learned so far on the GIMP.

I was considering that my hearing might "miraculously" become clear almost overnight after stopping the Kratom, but that hasn't happened yet, nor have I lost my almost "crystal meth" drive to accomplish, in general.

I'm thinking of riding my bike out to the Botanical Garden, which is in City Park, for example, and filching a tiny plant or a bulb off something; I'm sure they have some exotic specimens that would look really cool in a pot on my windowsill... I should do my quarter mile jog, also.

I don't even think I have enough pennies for a 38 cent can of food for Harold the cat.


Maybe I should drop everything and go straight to the Lilly Pad, it being noon right now, and start jamming in the afternoon sun.

I'm sure I would make 38 cents.

I feel pretty driven right now. I was going to go out tonight and do the 10PM til 2AM shift. I still have some Kratom left. I should just go and play and only take the Kratom if I feel my ambition wear off, like a fever breaking, and myself coming down and just wanting to sleep, or something. But what if I yawned just then and my ears popped open and I could hear the ticking of my watch.

Then would I take the Kratom because I know it would make me play hard for the next 5 or 6 hours??

And wake up the next morning with stuffed ears?

It seems like a magical world -one where you can go into the Unique Grocery Store and notice some interesting packages, with the cryptic name of Kratom, next to all the sexual enhancement products and on the other side of the herbal energy products , and then try some to find that it "focuses you in," and gives you a sense of purpose and the ability to concentrate completely; and it drastically reduces your anxiety, and its only 11 bucks for a 4 day supply... 

I smoke only half as many cigarettes when I take Kratom; I think smoking cigarettes is a response to anxiety.

It's as if I conjured up the product, and it appeared on the shelf at the Unique Grocery Store as, not a figment, but a manifestation of my imagination.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

One nagging thought that I have though, is this: Every drug that you see advertised on daytime TV, which seems to be every commercial which isn't for "slip and fall attorneys" who are in cahoots with doctors; has an incredulous and almost comical "side effects disclaimer," inserted somewhere. 

One of them that I saw -I kid you not- imparted the information: "In rare cases, fatalities have occurred," and then, without missing a beat the spokesman followed that with: "So ask your doctor if (whatever) is right for you!"

My point is that, since every legal (through prescription) drug comes with a laundry list of adverse reactions that seem to vary so much; with Jane only experiencing a dry mouth while Jack goes ahead and croaks on the stuff, dependent upon the individual subjects, that it makes me believe that Kratom could do just about anything for me...and...against me, perhaps. 

I can imagine the voice-over: "Kratom can weaken the immunity systems of some individuals, and increase their risk of contracting certain viruses; if you experience frequent ear infections; tell your doctor..." type of thing...

It might not be evident that I have been writing at an accelerated pace lately, from this blog. But that is because I haven't even been slowing down to post, and have been having a hard time deciding when to cut something off, call it finished, and stop turning anecdotes into novels. When I finally post some things, they will be well over 50 pages in length.

I have actually written something that is going to be novel-length as soon as I finish it, which might be a couple weeks from now. It will go into my, purportedly short, stories sidebar.  

I should be freaking out over not even having enough money for cat food, less than 7 hours before Harold will be meowing for it, but I feel like I could just go into the Quarter and make money, almost guaranteed. Of course, rain could put a damper on things...

Contrast this with my "old" credo of "I go out there with no expectations at all; I might not make a penny. I'm psychologically prepared to just play for fun."

I do expect to have fun today, though; it's 78 degrees and partly cloudy, not too humid.

Gosh, if I drank, this would be the perfect time to get a small bottle of Jim Beam Black to set next to me on Lilly's stoop. She might even come out and I could offer her a couple shots....Oh, yeah, I don't even have enough money for cat food, I almost forgot....

Can you hear me, Daniel?

Epilogue: Lauren Tewes was "Julie," on the 70's TV series "The Love Boat," she was the cruise "director" I think...

It's a regular party with the "Stellarium"program that I downloaded....