June 17, 2017

a great musically oriented techie book

Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog SynthesizerAnalog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer by Trevor Pinch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My daughter recently attended Moogfest and chatting with her sparked an interest in learning more about Robert Moog and his synthesizer. I love music and am an electrical engineer by training, so my interest is both musical and technical. This is a great overview and history of not only Moog and his company's devices, but also other analog music devices leading up to and following the hay days of Moog modular and Minimoog synthesizers. I enjoyed the story and the facts, and the especially the account of the interplay between musicians, engineers, and sales people in the development of these devices. I also found very interesting the popular and famous artists who used the various synthesizers in their recorded and performance music. This is a great read for a musically oriented techie like me. I highly recommend it!

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June 3, 2017

one of the best authors I've ever read

What are People for?: EssaysWhat are People for?: Essays by Wendell Berry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was recently introduced to Wendell Berry by my son-in-law, who has read several of his books. I borrowed this collection of essays from him and am blown away by the excellent writing and thinking that are expressed in "What are People for? Essays". Mr. Berry is one of the best authors I've ever read, and his wisdom and carefully reasoned thoughts are in the high league of C.S. Lewis and others. While one may not agree with all his positions or conclusions, the wisdom, thought, and reason expressed are superb, with the quality of the writing to match. I am looking forward to reading many more books by Wendell Berry as i can find them.

I also would like to watch this excellent documentary on Mr. Berry again:
LOOK & SEE: A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY
http://lookandseefilm.com/

For an excellent example of his excellent thought and work, a more recent example is found at:
"Caught in the middle: On abortion and homosexuality"
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-03/caught-middle

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