WELCOME TO MY WORLD. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Pointless

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:22:33 -0500

I knew the day would come when I would consider posting here to be a pointless exercise better suited for a personal journal, closed from public view. I’m surprised it has lasted this long, truth be told. I’ve appreciated everyone who has come around, checked out the various pages and left comments. I wish you all the best in the world.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Be My Wife

Night By Night

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:24:46 -0400

It's a beggars life, said the Queen of Spain
But don't tell it to a poor man
'Cause he's got to kill for every thrill
The best he can

Everywhere around me
I see jealousy and mayhem
Because no men have all their peace of mind
To carry them

Well I don't really care
If it's wrong or if it's right
But until my ship comes in
I'll live night by night

When the joker tried to tell me
I could cut it in this rube town
When he tried to hang that sign on me
I said Take it down

When the dawn patrol got to tell you twice
They're gonna do it with a shotgun
Yes, I'm cashing in this ten-cent life
For another one

Well I ain't got the heart
To lose another fight
So until my ship comes in
I'll live night by night

Well I don't really care
If it's wrong or if it's right
But until my ship comes in
I'll live night by night

- Steely Dan

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Night By Night

The Will

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:09:54 -0400

No child ever as spoiled without the spoiling.
No heart ever heard for understanding.
Mistake kindness for love.
Friendship for indifference.
Pain for hatred.
Ache for self-pity.
No child ever as spoiled without the spoiling.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
A Small Plot of Land

Art Touch

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 22:43:56 -0400

Just got back from my favorite Starbucks. I hit there about 5-10 times a day (I know, I know). I am easily 15-20 years older than everyone who works there, but they are all great people. They know what I do for a living and many of them are artists.

I walked in to get a refill and a bunch of them were there, but not working. They all had brought in artwork that they had each created to be hung on the walls. There was a near party-like atmosphere and one could have mistaken the scene for a gallery opening. It was really nice. The work was really good, but what really touched me was that they were really excited about showing me the work they have done. Each one of them making sure that I saw what their piece or pieces. Nothing is better for the ego, let me tell you.

You must remember. By choice I don’t have a huge social circle. I like to keep my family and a friend or two close, but that’s it. Nothing more. So this little experience was a wonderful change from my usual Saturday night. Completely unexpected.

What I came away with though, beyond my elevated sense of inclusion, was that the world of art is not dead or dying. There are people out there who are working hard, creating and communicating what they feel and see and what they want to say and they are doing it through the medium of art. I had nearly given up hope for that arena at times, but I have been well convinced to the contrary. For every 10 rip-off hacks out there, there is at least 1 good artist with a conscious, a drive and a soul. May it ever and always be this way.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Chaturangui Gazal

iRate? iDon’t Think So.

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 21:23:19 -0400

Moving on to something less musical, because frankly, I am bored and don’t feel like working at the moment (That is the pitfall of freelance work; easily bored, easily distracted.). What follows is my observation of the whole iPhone price drop issue. Yes, I have one. Yes, I bought it the day that it came out and no, I didn’t camp outside of a store to get one.

I and everyone else who bought the phone, felt the price was fair at $599 and knew that eventually, either the prices would drop or that future phones would have better specs for the same price. If the price for the phone were $999, I would not have bought it, so right of the bat, consumers have shakey ground to stand on when bitching about the price change.

Granted, the price drop did come awfully quick in terms of technology cycles, but that leads me to the next point. I believe this was the plan all along, from price drop to store credit. Looking at it pragmatically, it makes perfect sense. Analysts have said that Apple sold 1 out of every 50 phones sold last month. Their goal had been to gain just 1% of the overall market share of cell phones but they were tracking at 2% based on recent numbers. So why the price drop now?   Lets say you are a company with serious brand loyalty wanting to get into a new, but well-established market. This is not a task for the faint of heart. Moves like this have destroyed companies in the past. You are going to have to not only know what the hell you are doing, you are also going to have to have a plan for every step of the way. You are going to have to understand every reaction to your actions and know how you intend to deal with them all.

So you release your product at a premium after hyping it and creating a serious buzz around it, knowing that many of your brand loyalists will buy. You price it at a premium, so if the sales are weak, you can boost them with a price reduction and not lose any money. If the sales are strong, the buzz will eventually die down and will need to be reinvigorated to regain interest for the holidays. Either way, a smaller audience will buy the product, but they serve as a second tier testing group, bringing to light any issues that might have been unforeseen with the phone in actual use, without ruining the market with millions of disgruntled owners. The cost not only controls the volume sold to mainly loyalists who will boast of the products perfection, but it also offsets any potential disaster if sales were horrendous.   Back to the iPhone. It was doing well, but the buzz was dying down, as had been expected, plus, Apple was releasing new iPods this month, which could also dampen iPhone holiday sales (one of the new iPods is essentially the iPhone without the phone or email capability). The buzz would need to be reintroduced. The price drop makes news and in turn regenerates the buzz. People who were on the fence because of price, would be more likely to buy (while smirking at the original buyers). People who had forgotten about the phone, would be reminded and enticed with a lower price. Even stories of disgruntled early adopters made news and buzz (no such thing as bad PR). Lastly. CEO Steve Jobs gets to look like a great guy by waiting 2 days, then stating that he has heard the customer outrage and feels Apple should do a better job in taking care of its early adopters. He then gives those customers $100... in store credit. Apple loses nothing as that money (and likely more) will be spent at Apple. They get even more PR mileage for the iPhone, and they look, on the surface, to be a fast reacting company that listens to its customers and cares. Oh, and we are all talking about the iPhone again. 
Look at it this way. The minute you bring home any new piece of technology, someone, somewhere is out there working hard to invent the next great thing that will top what you’ve just bought. When it comes out, are you owed anything? What about the people who take less pay at their next job, do they owe their previous employers a rebate? How about gasoline? When it drops in price, the day after you filled up your car, do you feel entitled to the difference in price? Probably not.
  I am not trying to be an apologist for Apple, I don’t even own stock in the company. It’s just that this just seems to make good business sense to me. It is a radical and risky move, but those are the moves that generally work the best. Like I said, I was happy with the phone at the original price. I am even happier that I am getting $100 in credit, so I don't feel cheated. I wasn't out anything more than before the price drop and I get a freebie to boot. Why not $200? Apple's fiscal year ends in August. Profit from large margins this year, profit from volume sold next year. They'll easily have 2% of the cell phone market by the end of next year. I’m not iRate, I’m rather iMpressed.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Rip Off (LP Version)

Genius

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:43:59 -0400

OK. In keeping with the “music critic” theme of late, I wanted to point you all in another direction. Pictured here is Bob Brozman and he is a genius. Not just in the “what a great player/composer” sense, this guy has technical chops that shine through when you listen to his work. He intimately understands everything about his craft from proper recording techniques, down to what wine bottle manufacturer provides the perfect slide ring.

His latest album, Lumière is a high fidelity experience that seeps into your looped, playback memory without the usual irritation of being unable to erase it. Rather, you’ll find yourself playing it again and again, hearing something different every time. It has the magic of being at once familiar and new at the same time.

He’s not a one trick pony either. A glance at his web site or iTunes section reveals a vast landscape of genres. I am in awe of how his mind must work. Check him out. You wont regret it.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Chaturangui Gazal

New Mini-Chapter in the “Secret Life”

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:21:27 -0400

For those interested in the glacier-like progression of the story, I was inspired enough to drop a new mini-chapter on the “Secret Life” pages. More to follow. Enjoy.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
My Moon My Man

Gone Fishing

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 21:19:36 -0400

Someone recently mentioned to me that I needed to get out and start dating again. Without missing a beat, I replied, “Ha! Foreget it. I’m semi-retired now. I only do reunion tours and guest appearances.” Though crass, I still think it was an accurate, if not humorous reply, as did the recipient. Truth be told, I’ve sworn off the reunion tours as well, sticking purely to the guest appearances.

I seem to have a knack for those kinds of statements. Analogous, one or two liners, with a touch of humor, and in this case, a reference to the music industry. Some people do puns (why, I don’t know), I do analogies. For some reason, they occur to me often and out of nowhere, like road construction (see what I mean?). I drive myself nuts with it at times, while at others, I take pure delight in the ability. It’s one of my quirks.

Speaking of music and analogies, Neko Case has been added to my “Links to Sound” section. If you aren’t familiar with her work, it’s more than worth your time to check her out. Along with being easy on the eyes and sporting a voice like honey that flows, both with human warmth and pure sex, she’s a damned good composer. To put it another way, she’s one of the few women on earth who could coax me out of my semi-retirement. Yes, she’s that talented. As for the analogy... she is such an incredible artist that she’s got more hooks than a fishing convention.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:

No Need to Cry

New View

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:55:47 -0400

There’s a new photo gallery up... sort of. Only a few selects this time from a little photo shoot I did a while back. Check it out if you’re so inclined, pass it by if you’d rather not. It isn’t anything special and as soon as I am done editing the rest of the collection, I’ll update it. There are some nicer ones coming (again, “artist”, you’ll get them when you get them).

For the purveyors of porn out there, I hate to let you down, but I am trying to avoid as many of the cliches that I can that go along with photography (though it would be hard to turn down a scantily-clad assignment if one were to come my way). Besides, there’s enough porn imagery out there already to create a 40 hour movie from the still images alone... without credits!

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
I Know I'm Not Wrong

Step Right Up

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:57:36 -0400

Well, it has certainly been a while since I’ve added anything here, and I would suppose that all who have been reading in the past, have moved on, long giving up hope of anything being published here again. Fair enough. Life is busy and as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” Even with RSS feeds, it seems that people will insist that you publish daily.

You have to understand something though. While this site has been designed with the maximum potential for creative output on my part, that doesn’t mean that the output is forthcoming at a constant, consistent stream. Good or bad, I am an artist. For better or worse, I am an artist with way too many interests and ideas. Worse still (or better, your perspective may vary), I have been quite burned out lately, and while ideas fly through my mind at a million miles an hour, 24 hours a day, my motivation to act on any one of them lately has been negligible at best.

I am not a fool, I recognize that part of the problem is a mild depression that likes to hang out around here at the studio from time to time (name five people who are completely depression free, and I’ll show you five liars). I am also aware that while I have a huge capacity to produce large quantities of work in near record time, I also have a nagging penchant for laziness after such volumes of productivity have been completed. I don’t have one speed. I don’t clock in and out at regular intervals. Dinner is never at a regular hour and the sun either greets me upon waking or, more often than not, on my way to bed. I am either hammering iron with force or I am static. Nothing in between.

I have decided that for me, there is no elixir for sale. No snake oil that cures the ills and so one must decide at some point to quit fighting the reality of one’s personality. One must decide to no longer view it as an ill, but as the way things are. Someone, long ago, determined that 9:00 am was the start time for the work day. Society assimilated and thus anyone with great talent and ability, but without the love of mornings and getting an early start, would be outcast. “You should try to get to bed earlier” is an oft-heard bit of advice from those incapable of grasping the lifestyle of the insomniac. It is analogous to telling a legless man that he should try to get out and jog more. Fortunately, my income doesn’t depend on me being in one spot at a designated hour.

Another example. It seems that the majority of romantic society has decided that little girls will be fed fairy-tales of romance along with a detailed description of who “Mr. Right” should be. Inundated with imagery and examples, this ideal is merged with what becomes the true hopes and dreams of nearly every young woman, about what marriage and love should be. It would seem that practically every internet dating ad posted by a woman requires “long walks on the beach, romantic dinners by the fire” and “cuddling on the couch watching a romantic comedy”. Where is this beach that none of these women live anywhere near? Just how romantic can a dinner by the fire be if half the year is spent in 90+ degree temperature? What man in his right mind is going to sit through two hours of Nora Ephron, badly plagiarizing another Woody Allen film (see “When Harry Met Sally” then watch “Manhattan” or “Annie Hall”. The woman is a hack.), while his arm falls asleep under the girth of the woman he is with? Fact is, this sketched out “Mr. Right”, if he exists at all, is a fashionable gay man, living with his boyfriend in San Francisco. The majority of men will do all of these insipid little things, but the truth is, they are doing it for one reason and one reason alone; to get laid. Count the divorces kids, there’s a reason.

My point is this... most of us are spending large quantities of our life trying to fit into the roles and lifestyles that we think we are expected to fit into. We do one thing to get another. A man will sit through poorly written, predictable tripe, to get laid. A woman will wear ridiculous looking lingerie that doesn’t fit her, to get the trip to the beach or the cuddle afterwards.

There’s very little truth going on and in the end, when it doesn’t work and doesn’t fit or feel right, we look for a quick fix, an elixir. We want to fix what we perceive to be wrong with us, so that we can have all of those “great things” that everyone else seems to have. If we could open our eyes a little, I think we would see that the grass, truly isn’t greener on the other side of the fence. Having two kids, a dog and a house with a mini-van, doesn’t make for a happy life. It can, but it doesn’t guarantee it. Most people in that picture are wondering what the hell went wrong. There is no more valor in only working to live than there is in the practice of living to work. Getting up early doesn’t make you any more productive than working 18 hours straight and getting up at noon.

We are on the brink of some great things in our time. We have the technology to not only be able to work anywhere in the world, but even meet and form relationships with people who truly are interested in the same things as we are. We have the ability to express our ideas in a myriad of formats to vast and varied groups of people all over the planet. It has never been easier to be who you truly want to be. I suppose for most of us, the hard part is still figuring out just who that is. Unfortunately again, for that, there is no elixir.

Napoleon Volatile

What I’m listening to:
Bwana