crank email , part 2

2 days after a technical phone screening with Leo, that did not go very well, I got this from Leo’s company recruiter:

On Jan 24, 2008 12:10 PM, wrote:
Tom,

Thank you for taking the time to speak with Leo yesterday. He, unfortunately, does not feel you have the skills we are currently seeking so we will not be inviting you in for an in-person, on-site resume at this time. We wish you well in you career search and will keep your resume for consideration of future/other openings.

Best regards,
Cindy


Cindy Anderson
IT Recruiter
….
….

To which I replied:
Cindy,

Expected - No problem. I didn't think Leo asked the kind of questions that would determine a quality software engineer. Instead he tested on facts, despite him saying he wouldn't in his introductory comments. For instance: He asked details on "Synchronization". I know what it is and where to get more information on it. Since I haven't had a need to use it, why would I keep more information in my head than that? Same with questions about "protected". I don't use it; and in fact, think it’s a useless construct. His DB questions: I didn't get the essence of what he was asking until I got off the phone.

If you got this far, thanks for reading. You will be filling your company with a bunch of robots with your evaluation criteria, in my not very humble opinion!
/tom

-

crank email, part 1

kristie XXX posts this ad in the “musicians section of Craig’s list:

I am 24 years old, and have an extensive history of music education and training. I have attended universities in both London, England as well as the US. I would love to join a band just to have some fun and hopefully be successfull. I would prefer Motown, blues, jazz, soul, or funk but i can be convinced to do rock or electronic if the music is good.


To which I replied:
Are you Motown certified?
Memphis or Detroit school of Soul?
/t

To which she replied:

No i'm not certified but i'd like to discuss doing some jams, perhaps with other musicians as well. Do you have a demo, i'd like to send something but im not sure how to do it over email?

To which I replied:

I was joking about motown certification. There is no such thing and let's hope there never is.

old news I forgot to post 4 years ago tommorrow

Wilson Pickett, 64, Soul Singer of Great Passion, Dies, passes on “wickedness”
By B-Fool-ish
Published: January 20, 2006
Wilson Pickett, the soul music pioneer whose insistent wail turned songs like "In the Midnight Hour" into hits, died yesterday in Virginia. He was 64.
Just before dying, Mr. Pickett passed his special “soul” on to the one “wicked, wicked, wicked’r than me” . Surprisingly, he passed on his mantle to a completely unknown local singer and bass player of the Boston area, Tom Doran. When asked about this unusual choice, Mr. Pickett did not reply. Unfortunately, he was already dead. Speculation immediately began on whether Mr. Pickett was in a coherent state of mind when making this unusual choice.

Contacted in his Wellesley home the day after hearing the news, Mr. Doran stated “I useta hafta hide how wicked I was but now I can stop pretending to be humble and be as openly wicked as I’ve always felt, but had to hide it.”

Other singers, when asked for comment on this unusual choice had a range of comments. James Brown commented “I’ll kick his ass like I did to Pickett”. Diva Mariah Carey was already recruiting his allegiance – “I’ll bury his face in my tits and then he’ll sing on my record”. James Taylor, not usually associated with Soul music stated, “I’m looking forward to hearing his repertoire. Maybe there’s a few things I can whiten up to make into a hit”.

When asked what would change in his life, Mr. Doran was exuberant: “This is like winning the lottery for a nobody like me! Clearly it will mean a big spiritual boost to me”. When pressed harder to identify real world changes he replied “I will begin wearing a huge gold necklace to honor Wilson – and look forward to (maybe) gigging outside of Framingham”
@c 2006 By B-Fool-ish

in time, I'll get there

The chords keep coming at me
The chords keep coming and in time I figure out what to do with them.
Time takes care of it.
The little, the lot, I know what to do when chord changes fly by me.
I’m talking about rock here and maybe blues and R&B, but when it comes to jazz, it separates me. I try for an identity but the chords keep coming and I feel as though I have to take care of them first, all the while not quenching my thirst. I’m tired at the end because I haven’t expressed those chords through me.

old history

The last 40 years.
Went to Boston in 66 for college and never left. Kicked around for a few years playing music and assorted other things like mental health, job counseling. When I got to 30 i needed a profession so i became a software engineer, got married, had Julia all in short order.
Fast forward 25 years. High tech has been bumpy for me . So i'm in limbo, half in and half out. I was thinking of retiring, but the market crash put a damper on that. I have a son, Jesse, who is 18 and off to college in the fall. Julia is in NYC where she makes artsy cakes. We are still married and live in Wellesley, a snooty suburb. We bought the house when it was a cabin so it has vastly appreciated.
I stated playing music at 19, although i had always wanted to, and am still at it. We vacation in Jamaica when we can afford it and still have one friend on LI we visit pretty regularly.

Do we perceive beauty?

This story "came across my desk" the other day. I couldn't have said it better.

A man stood inside a Metro station in Washington, D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Many minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the bucket and without stopping continued to walk.


A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32 mostly in coins.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the D.C. Metro, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and with tickets averaging $100.

This is a real story. This Joshua Bell, incognito, concert in the D.C. Metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the lessons from this experience is: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the most accomplished musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? Please give this a thought ... for a minute or two!

it's good to be home

I did a club gig for the first time in many moons last night. (all of my gigging the last few years has been parties) I was reminded of how rude the audiences can be, of squeezing money out of club owners - this is a new one - he is trying to dock the band $100 because we did not use the stage that he had provided (the band was too big) Wow, huh? And then the ride home became scary when this cat spun out right next to me on 95. Was very glad to get home and I went right to bed!