Hope you all had a fine holiday. Despite my car accident (no one was hurt) it was a very good one. My lovely wife spoiled the heck out of me. If you ever come to the Westgate Cavern you will find out why. The teenager is doing well, as long as he has his iPad to play Badfinger and the Rolling Stones' "Child of the Moon"
I, too, listened to some music this year. Here's what kept me going. Really, really liked the first two - so I'm calling it a tie for the year's best.
Algiers - The Underside of Power
Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee
Alvvays - Antisocalites
Neil Finn - Out of Silence
Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Soul of a Woman
Little Steven - Soulfire
Lorde - Melodrama
Willie Phoenix and the Soul Underground - Garage Blues Band
St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION
Harry Styles - Harry Styles
Tinariwen - Elwan
Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm
Next up, the movies watched list, and car buying.
Showing posts with label ipad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ipad. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Tonight in parenting
I am very self conscious about my guitar playing. I think I suck and there is very little that would convince me otherwise. When my son was younger, I'd break out my acoustic and play it. He would come up to me and put his hand on the strings and mute them with a very earnest 'stop playing, Dad' look on his face.
My neighbors have noticed me playing back there. One of them told me his dad was quite the musician back in the day. Very versatile, played a lot of different instruments. I said I hoped it was not too loud. He said he could not really hear me play, but could see me. Is that a sign for me to crank it up?
Recently I had my acoustic fixed. It's been cleaned, restrung and had bridge and nut work done so it is a lot easier to play. It's like I have a brand new guitar, it never sounded this good before.
Tonight I was playing the electric in the back room when my Son wandered into the kitchen and looked toward me. I invited him back to sit, and he did. I played a bit on the guitar and he remained seated, whatever I was playing did not seem to be harming him or he would have left the room.
I put on some records as he's still listening to what I put on his iPad. Since he's been listening to I Want You Bad by NRBQ I put that on, and he sat and listened. Then I put the Left Banke on as he's still really enjoying Pretty Ballerina and seems to like She Will Call You Up Tonight.
Put a new one on for him. I know he likes the acoustic stuff so I put Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More' on for him and he really reacted positively to it. He was listening intently, rocking front to back in the chair. Real connection. So I put it on his iPad while he was still in the back room. As he picked up his iPad to go upstairs I told him I put the Mumford & Sons on there for him.
I returned to the back room and about ten minutes later my wife came back to say she could hear Winter Winds coming from his room.
This kid amazes me.
My neighbors have noticed me playing back there. One of them told me his dad was quite the musician back in the day. Very versatile, played a lot of different instruments. I said I hoped it was not too loud. He said he could not really hear me play, but could see me. Is that a sign for me to crank it up?
Recently I had my acoustic fixed. It's been cleaned, restrung and had bridge and nut work done so it is a lot easier to play. It's like I have a brand new guitar, it never sounded this good before.
Tonight I was playing the electric in the back room when my Son wandered into the kitchen and looked toward me. I invited him back to sit, and he did. I played a bit on the guitar and he remained seated, whatever I was playing did not seem to be harming him or he would have left the room.
I put on some records as he's still listening to what I put on his iPad. Since he's been listening to I Want You Bad by NRBQ I put that on, and he sat and listened. Then I put the Left Banke on as he's still really enjoying Pretty Ballerina and seems to like She Will Call You Up Tonight.
Put a new one on for him. I know he likes the acoustic stuff so I put Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More' on for him and he really reacted positively to it. He was listening intently, rocking front to back in the chair. Real connection. So I put it on his iPad while he was still in the back room. As he picked up his iPad to go upstairs I told him I put the Mumford & Sons on there for him.
I returned to the back room and about ten minutes later my wife came back to say she could hear Winter Winds coming from his room.
This kid amazes me.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Was I surprised, yeah, was I surprised, no not at all
After my son's six year old iPad finally broke I replaced it. The music that was on the old one did not transfer over for whatever reasons so I ended up doing the selection all over again.
I know some of what he listens to, but most of it was a guess and, I admit, projection on my end. So, yes, I loaded his iTunes with what I would have liked to listen to in 1978.
Who can say what a non-verbal, fourteen year old kid with autism will play? He likes acoustic numbers, or acoustic guitars with jangly electric. Nothing really loud, heavy or punk. He likes watching the early Beatles material on DVD. Yes, this type is very familiar to me.
He's been playing Walking in the Rain by The Ronettes on repeat. I caught him listening to it a few weeks back and he had a very sad look on his face. All I said was, "Yes, that's a beautiful song." This morning's playlist was the opening bars of Badfinger's Come and Get It, the opening riff of Tom Petty's American Girl and Maryanne With the Shaky Hands by The Who.
The huge surprise is his love of Pretty Ballerina, the other hit by the Left Banke. He will play this one over and over. I put a fan made video on for him and he watched it. I even found a copy of the album AND the 45 and played it for him in the backroom, where he sat and patiently listened as he rocked himself back to front while looking at the album cover.
I do not know what's happening in his head, but I am honored that he likes some of the music I do. We are thrilled that he is listening to music that is more grown up. He also does not come up to me when I am playing guitar anymore, the times he stopped me from playing by putting his hand on the strings with a look that said, "Stop Dad." Maybe he likes my rendition of Eight Days A Week on the Rickenbacker?
I know some of what he listens to, but most of it was a guess and, I admit, projection on my end. So, yes, I loaded his iTunes with what I would have liked to listen to in 1978.
Who can say what a non-verbal, fourteen year old kid with autism will play? He likes acoustic numbers, or acoustic guitars with jangly electric. Nothing really loud, heavy or punk. He likes watching the early Beatles material on DVD. Yes, this type is very familiar to me.
He's been playing Walking in the Rain by The Ronettes on repeat. I caught him listening to it a few weeks back and he had a very sad look on his face. All I said was, "Yes, that's a beautiful song." This morning's playlist was the opening bars of Badfinger's Come and Get It, the opening riff of Tom Petty's American Girl and Maryanne With the Shaky Hands by The Who.
The huge surprise is his love of Pretty Ballerina, the other hit by the Left Banke. He will play this one over and over. I put a fan made video on for him and he watched it. I even found a copy of the album AND the 45 and played it for him in the backroom, where he sat and patiently listened as he rocked himself back to front while looking at the album cover.
I do not know what's happening in his head, but I am honored that he likes some of the music I do. We are thrilled that he is listening to music that is more grown up. He also does not come up to me when I am playing guitar anymore, the times he stopped me from playing by putting his hand on the strings with a look that said, "Stop Dad." Maybe he likes my rendition of Eight Days A Week on the Rickenbacker?
Monday, April 1, 2013
Traveling Light?
How much stuff does one really need to travel with? Clothing aside, how many electronic connectable to the world wide web devices do I want to bring?
I have a camera, laptop, iPod, iPad and they're not all coming.
The camera yes, because the camera on the iPod sucks.
The iPod because it's a nifty portable device that does every thing I want it to, except take a decent picture when I want it to.
The iPad is nice. Large enough to scroll through stuff easily. Easy to connect to the cloud. If I have to get something down in writing Google Drive is becoming a good friend of mine. Light enough to travel easily.
The laptop has my life on there but it takes up more space and weight. I'm not sure if I want to travel with it this time. I'm too reliant on it and I want to get away from it for a few days. But if someone wants to look at pictures...oh Hell no one wants to see those.
Yes, I'm answering my own question here.
I have a camera, laptop, iPod, iPad and they're not all coming.
The camera yes, because the camera on the iPod sucks.
The iPod because it's a nifty portable device that does every thing I want it to, except take a decent picture when I want it to.
The iPad is nice. Large enough to scroll through stuff easily. Easy to connect to the cloud. If I have to get something down in writing Google Drive is becoming a good friend of mine. Light enough to travel easily.
The laptop has my life on there but it takes up more space and weight. I'm not sure if I want to travel with it this time. I'm too reliant on it and I want to get away from it for a few days. But if someone wants to look at pictures...oh Hell no one wants to see those.
Yes, I'm answering my own question here.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Windfell
Despite my lack of production in other areas, I got our taxes finished this weekend. For the first time since my divorce I was able to claim my son and therefore received a modest refund. Not a major windfall by any means, but enough to pay for the car insurance and a tea kettle that does not leak.
My wife received some good news, she is now an official permanent resident of the U.S. Her new Green Card came in the mail on Friday and we do not have to worry about anything immigration related for another ten years.
Mere words cannot express my disdain for the above character. I give my son his iPad, he immediately finds videos of her, and watches them over and over. The learned helplessness is overwhelming. The annoying meter, breaks the meter. I know, it's something he gets, but you have not lived until you have heard the words "Bridge, rocks, tall mountain" shouted at 3AM. Try it sometime.
My wife received some good news, she is now an official permanent resident of the U.S. Her new Green Card came in the mail on Friday and we do not have to worry about anything immigration related for another ten years.
Mere words cannot express my disdain for the above character. I give my son his iPad, he immediately finds videos of her, and watches them over and over. The learned helplessness is overwhelming. The annoying meter, breaks the meter. I know, it's something he gets, but you have not lived until you have heard the words "Bridge, rocks, tall mountain" shouted at 3AM. Try it sometime.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
It will arrive
I write in a comfort zone often. I suspect this problem is not unique. A writer can fall into a lack of confidence, and then write about the familiar to at least keep writing.
My pen's fast food is Mad Magazine snark, a bunch of anger, my son's autism and too much autobiography. I'm more than capable of writing outside of those zones, more often than not I look at it afterwards shake my head and move on. Or move back as it were.
In the middle of a piece not quite outside of the zone. Trying to not write a poem that does not have frequent uses of the word "I" is tough for me to do. In a place I know about but do not reside in and am flailing about for an ending. Tried wedging in a fragment I had lying around and that did not work.
This one's going to get finished. I'm not worried, just kicking my own tires.
Thanks to my mom, I downloaded the Proloquo2go app. Have not had much time to work with it, but it does seem easy to use. The trick is to get my son to actually use it appropriately. He loves the iPad, and is more than capable of navigating it, but spends most of his time watching trailers and videos. Often watches the same video on repeat.
We're also taking him to a new doctor concerning his eating. He's 4'3" and weighs 46 pounds. Very thin. We have some ideas and are working on a new approach. It's hard.
My pen's fast food is Mad Magazine snark, a bunch of anger, my son's autism and too much autobiography. I'm more than capable of writing outside of those zones, more often than not I look at it afterwards shake my head and move on. Or move back as it were.
In the middle of a piece not quite outside of the zone. Trying to not write a poem that does not have frequent uses of the word "I" is tough for me to do. In a place I know about but do not reside in and am flailing about for an ending. Tried wedging in a fragment I had lying around and that did not work.
This one's going to get finished. I'm not worried, just kicking my own tires.
Thanks to my mom, I downloaded the Proloquo2go app. Have not had much time to work with it, but it does seem easy to use. The trick is to get my son to actually use it appropriately. He loves the iPad, and is more than capable of navigating it, but spends most of his time watching trailers and videos. Often watches the same video on repeat.
We're also taking him to a new doctor concerning his eating. He's 4'3" and weighs 46 pounds. Very thin. We have some ideas and are working on a new approach. It's hard.
Friday, January 13, 2012
No such thing as a free App
Been trying to find apps for my son on the Ipad to use that do not involve him watching the same Dora the Explorer trailer over and over. A fellow poet posted a link on Facebook to an app called Scribblepress that seems to attract him.
Tonight we were working together with it and he was naming all the colors of the pens he was using as he scribbled on the screen. It's very easy to use. I have not made a book with him yet, but we're going to take some more pictures soon enough.
It's tough to find things we can do together. I got him a Hot Wheels set that he does go to once in awhile, and he uses it rather appropriately. That's one of the rare ones. I feel like my life with him leans more toward the miss out of he hit and miss. Winter's here and I'm feeling a bit lost. A picture I do not want to draw.
Tonight we were working together with it and he was naming all the colors of the pens he was using as he scribbled on the screen. It's very easy to use. I have not made a book with him yet, but we're going to take some more pictures soon enough.
It's tough to find things we can do together. I got him a Hot Wheels set that he does go to once in awhile, and he uses it rather appropriately. That's one of the rare ones. I feel like my life with him leans more toward the miss out of he hit and miss. Winter's here and I'm feeling a bit lost. A picture I do not want to draw.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Is there an app for toilet training an autistic kid?
My mother bought an iPad for my son. It arrived on Tuesday night. Set up the iPad for him. Did not add anything for my personal use. I do not need another gadget to be addicted to.
It is sleek, easy to use and had amazing video quality. The camera is still a piece of crap.
Gave it to him, and he spent most of the morning watching the same video over and over on the PBS app. I took it offline, knowing I'd put it back. I'm trying to figure out a way to use the iPad as a tool in toilet training. Something has to motivate this kid.
Later, he handed me the iPad on the screen that shows the homepage of the PBS kids app. The one I took off. The one he wanted me to put back on. No sure how he found it, but he did.
Last night, he was at his mother's and asked her where it was. Later, she said he was looking at an app for learning Portuguese on her iPod. Great, another language he can learn that we will not understand.
It is sleek, easy to use and had amazing video quality. The camera is still a piece of crap.
Gave it to him, and he spent most of the morning watching the same video over and over on the PBS app. I took it offline, knowing I'd put it back. I'm trying to figure out a way to use the iPad as a tool in toilet training. Something has to motivate this kid.
Later, he handed me the iPad on the screen that shows the homepage of the PBS kids app. The one I took off. The one he wanted me to put back on. No sure how he found it, but he did.
Last night, he was at his mother's and asked her where it was. Later, she said he was looking at an app for learning Portuguese on her iPod. Great, another language he can learn that we will not understand.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Proportion does not matter when they will add up to millions
Trying a new look here. Any opinions?
Last night I drove up to Mount Vernon for my feature with Joe Suarez. Had an unexpected detour that involved bridge construction but I got there in plenty of time. Pleased to see this outside Sips Coffeehouse.
First of all, my name was spelled right - and I got top billing! I've been trying to get Mark to book me for one of his nights and I'm glad he finally asked.
You never know what to expect when you read to a new audience. Read a mixture of work, most of it serious, some of it about autism.
The crowd was very, very quiet throughout. They did not even clap between poems. Not what I'm used to. Had no idea if they thought my work was any good or not.
Did a little whining about it on Facebook until Paula L. said that is how the crowd is, and that they will come up to you after and praise your work.
That is exactly what they did. Got some good feedback and conversation. All the people I spoke to had an autism story. Their grandchild or niece's son has autism. Everyone is being touched by it now. What to do about it?
Here's the set list.
It Was an Old Book
Corridor
After Birth
David's Rock
Notation
Hearing Projection (new: read off iPod Touch!)
The Tall Man Tries
Jungleland: Praise and Response
Nobody's Poet
It was great being there with Joe to have someone familiar in the audience, and to exchange a knowing look when a certain guitar playing poet took to the mic.
Got some gas money, sold a few cds. Yes, it was a success. Drive home was dark, rainy and scary. My eyes are not good in the dark, and no one was on the roads behind me. When cars approached, the headlights were a bit overwhelming. Freaking age.
In other news my son now has an iPad. I set it up for him, downloaded some apps. All he's doing right now is watching videos on PBS Kids. How to use this as a toilet training tool?
Last night I drove up to Mount Vernon for my feature with Joe Suarez. Had an unexpected detour that involved bridge construction but I got there in plenty of time. Pleased to see this outside Sips Coffeehouse.
First of all, my name was spelled right - and I got top billing! I've been trying to get Mark to book me for one of his nights and I'm glad he finally asked.
You never know what to expect when you read to a new audience. Read a mixture of work, most of it serious, some of it about autism.
The crowd was very, very quiet throughout. They did not even clap between poems. Not what I'm used to. Had no idea if they thought my work was any good or not.
Did a little whining about it on Facebook until Paula L. said that is how the crowd is, and that they will come up to you after and praise your work.
That is exactly what they did. Got some good feedback and conversation. All the people I spoke to had an autism story. Their grandchild or niece's son has autism. Everyone is being touched by it now. What to do about it?
Here's the set list.
It Was an Old Book
Corridor
After Birth
David's Rock
Notation
Hearing Projection (new: read off iPod Touch!)
The Tall Man Tries
Jungleland: Praise and Response
Nobody's Poet
It was great being there with Joe to have someone familiar in the audience, and to exchange a knowing look when a certain guitar playing poet took to the mic.
Got some gas money, sold a few cds. Yes, it was a success. Drive home was dark, rainy and scary. My eyes are not good in the dark, and no one was on the roads behind me. When cars approached, the headlights were a bit overwhelming. Freaking age.
In other news my son now has an iPad. I set it up for him, downloaded some apps. All he's doing right now is watching videos on PBS Kids. How to use this as a toilet training tool?
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