Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 71
November 25, 2022
Metahuman
Just finished listening to "Metahuman" by Sverre Knut Johansen, released by Spotted Peccary Music.
"Metahuman" Sverre Knut Johansen’s sixth album for Spotted Peccary, is about looking beyond the arbitrary constructs of ordinary life towards a higher consciousness. Inspired by the Deepak Chopra book of the same name, "Metahuman" is the search for the best version of oneself, a posing of the question: what are we capable of without the conditional mind?
There is a strong tradition behind the "Metahuman" - the power of the ascended mind - in Kabbalah traditions -yet the Kabbalah does take into account account that ascension does not mean divine goodness and purity.
My favorite tracks on this CD of nine layered sonic topologies are: "Human," "Immortal," "Miracle of Existence," and "Infinity Being."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/metah...
"Metahuman" Sverre Knut Johansen’s sixth album for Spotted Peccary, is about looking beyond the arbitrary constructs of ordinary life towards a higher consciousness. Inspired by the Deepak Chopra book of the same name, "Metahuman" is the search for the best version of oneself, a posing of the question: what are we capable of without the conditional mind?
There is a strong tradition behind the "Metahuman" - the power of the ascended mind - in Kabbalah traditions -yet the Kabbalah does take into account account that ascension does not mean divine goodness and purity.
My favorite tracks on this CD of nine layered sonic topologies are: "Human," "Immortal," "Miracle of Existence," and "Infinity Being."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/metah...
Pangaea
Just finished listening to "Pangaea" by Wouter Kellerman and David Arkenstone, released Next Music.
"Pangaea" is literally one world, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, one gigantic land mass.
Pangaea or Pangea was a super-continent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It was assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 200 million years ago, at the end of the Triassic and beginning of the Jurassic. In contrast to the present Earth and its distribution of continental mass, Pangaea was centered on the equator and surrounded by the super-ocean Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys and subsequent Tethys Oceans.
Pangaea is the most recent super-continent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists.
Pangaea also gave raise to the concept of "Gaia" - one world.
Kellerman and Arkenstone use the one-world concept to explore universal concepts of shared humanity and mythos - primarily those from Eastern and African cultures.
Now I'm not sure how this CD came about by Kellerman and Arkenstone. There is nothing on the Next Music website, or either artists' websites about the creation process for their CD.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "First Rain," "A New World," "Dance of Joy," "Desert Moon," and "Across Land and Sea."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Pangaea-Wouter...
"Pangaea" is literally one world, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, one gigantic land mass.
Pangaea or Pangea was a super-continent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It was assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 200 million years ago, at the end of the Triassic and beginning of the Jurassic. In contrast to the present Earth and its distribution of continental mass, Pangaea was centered on the equator and surrounded by the super-ocean Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys and subsequent Tethys Oceans.
Pangaea is the most recent super-continent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists.
Pangaea also gave raise to the concept of "Gaia" - one world.
Kellerman and Arkenstone use the one-world concept to explore universal concepts of shared humanity and mythos - primarily those from Eastern and African cultures.
Now I'm not sure how this CD came about by Kellerman and Arkenstone. There is nothing on the Next Music website, or either artists' websites about the creation process for their CD.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "First Rain," "A New World," "Dance of Joy," "Desert Moon," and "Across Land and Sea."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Pangaea-Wouter...
November 24, 2022
Seed of Stars
Just finished reading "Seed of Stars" by Dan Morgan and John Kippax, published by Ballantine Books back in February 1972.
The second book in the Venturer Twelve series is definitely not going to be an easy book to read if you are a Woke individual who gets easily triggered by themes of colonialism, eugenics, and women acting as sexual aggressors against men by black mailing them into having sex - yes, women can commit acts of violence against men.
While Morgan and Kippax were not the fist science fiction writers to envision interstellar colonies segregated into racial divisions - much like how college campus are segregating students into campus areas and classes by race in today's educational environment by Woke liberal educators - they were perhaps one of the few science fiction writers to show the reluctance of a colony to reach out for help from the home world just as they are the precipice of independence. They definitely were among the few writers who dared to explore the psychological effects of being blackmailed into having sex by a woman has on a man.
Yet as Commander Bruce and the crew of the Venturer Twelve literally stumble upon the truth of the genetic tampering that has been done on the colonists of Keelper III by the Kilroys - an unknown alien race that is seeking to destroy humanity, Bruce is forced with another terrible choice - save a single world, or let humanity be entirely destroyed. The unspoken terror is that the Kilroys are far more advanced than humanity.
Morgan and Kippax created a fascinating universe that was brought to life in a series of four novels in the Venturer Twelve series, which sadly ended due to the untimely death of Kippax. Despite a promise in the afterward of the last novel to carry on the series, Morgan never did, and there is no record of why he choose not to continue the series. Perhaps that answer can be found in the Elvenbane series by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey. Lackey simply didn't want to continue the series after the passing of her friend. Morgan, I suspect, felt the same way as Lackey did.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Stars-Ven...
The second book in the Venturer Twelve series is definitely not going to be an easy book to read if you are a Woke individual who gets easily triggered by themes of colonialism, eugenics, and women acting as sexual aggressors against men by black mailing them into having sex - yes, women can commit acts of violence against men.
While Morgan and Kippax were not the fist science fiction writers to envision interstellar colonies segregated into racial divisions - much like how college campus are segregating students into campus areas and classes by race in today's educational environment by Woke liberal educators - they were perhaps one of the few science fiction writers to show the reluctance of a colony to reach out for help from the home world just as they are the precipice of independence. They definitely were among the few writers who dared to explore the psychological effects of being blackmailed into having sex by a woman has on a man.
Yet as Commander Bruce and the crew of the Venturer Twelve literally stumble upon the truth of the genetic tampering that has been done on the colonists of Keelper III by the Kilroys - an unknown alien race that is seeking to destroy humanity, Bruce is forced with another terrible choice - save a single world, or let humanity be entirely destroyed. The unspoken terror is that the Kilroys are far more advanced than humanity.
Morgan and Kippax created a fascinating universe that was brought to life in a series of four novels in the Venturer Twelve series, which sadly ended due to the untimely death of Kippax. Despite a promise in the afterward of the last novel to carry on the series, Morgan never did, and there is no record of why he choose not to continue the series. Perhaps that answer can be found in the Elvenbane series by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey. Lackey simply didn't want to continue the series after the passing of her friend. Morgan, I suspect, felt the same way as Lackey did.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Stars-Ven...
November 20, 2022
Excalibur Awakens
Just finished listening to "Excalibur Awakens" by Midori & Time Rock, released by Medwyn Goodall.
It's an open secret that Midori is the non-de-plume of Medwyn Goodall. "Excalibur Awakens" is the second in Midori's and Rock's Celtic music fantasy series that explores Arthurian Legends.
While it's up to the listener to spin their own tales of what happens after Camelot's fall and eventual rebirth, Midori and Rock spin an interesting musical interpretation of Celtic folklore.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Avalon," "The Lady of the Lake," "Legacy," and "Truth and Justice."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22316...
It's an open secret that Midori is the non-de-plume of Medwyn Goodall. "Excalibur Awakens" is the second in Midori's and Rock's Celtic music fantasy series that explores Arthurian Legends.
While it's up to the listener to spin their own tales of what happens after Camelot's fall and eventual rebirth, Midori and Rock spin an interesting musical interpretation of Celtic folklore.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Avalon," "The Lady of the Lake," "Legacy," and "Truth and Justice."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22316...
Medicine Woman Seven
Just finished listening to "Medicine Woman Seven" by Medwyn Goodall, released by Medwyn Goodall Music.
If memory serves me correctly, Medwyn Goodall first release in his long running Medicine Woman series, titled appropriately "Medicine Woman" started about a little over three decades ago, initially released by New World Music. "Medicine Woman" was also the CD that got me in "trouble" with the Barnes & Noble near where I live because the sales clerk in the music section had a problem with the artwork - a Mayan priestess with her hands raised in prayer. I actually had to fight to order Medwyn Goodall CDs there after that, which resulted in an in-store meeting with the manager there at the time to resolve the issue. Thank goodness for Amazon and direct ordering from New World Music. Apparently I wasn't supposed to like New Age Music, which was odd considering Barnes & Noble had an entire section and a listening station devoted to New Age Music at the time. After having successfully fought and won the war against the Camp Lejeune School system on what I still enjoy reading, standing up to a zealot over what type of music I enjoy listening to was and still is a piece of cake. [Selma Franz, my baby sister, calls me a weirdness magnet because if it's weird, somehow it will try to attach itself to me.]
For this seventh release in the Medicine Woman series, Medwyn Goodall uses Spanish guitar, flutes, Panpies, Mariba, in combination with vocals to evoke the mysticism of native South American folklore.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The Seven Sister (The Pleiades)," "The Universe is With You," "Dawn of the Golden Age," and "The Road Well Traveled."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22357...
If memory serves me correctly, Medwyn Goodall first release in his long running Medicine Woman series, titled appropriately "Medicine Woman" started about a little over three decades ago, initially released by New World Music. "Medicine Woman" was also the CD that got me in "trouble" with the Barnes & Noble near where I live because the sales clerk in the music section had a problem with the artwork - a Mayan priestess with her hands raised in prayer. I actually had to fight to order Medwyn Goodall CDs there after that, which resulted in an in-store meeting with the manager there at the time to resolve the issue. Thank goodness for Amazon and direct ordering from New World Music. Apparently I wasn't supposed to like New Age Music, which was odd considering Barnes & Noble had an entire section and a listening station devoted to New Age Music at the time. After having successfully fought and won the war against the Camp Lejeune School system on what I still enjoy reading, standing up to a zealot over what type of music I enjoy listening to was and still is a piece of cake. [Selma Franz, my baby sister, calls me a weirdness magnet because if it's weird, somehow it will try to attach itself to me.]
For this seventh release in the Medicine Woman series, Medwyn Goodall uses Spanish guitar, flutes, Panpies, Mariba, in combination with vocals to evoke the mysticism of native South American folklore.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The Seven Sister (The Pleiades)," "The Universe is With You," "Dawn of the Golden Age," and "The Road Well Traveled."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22357...
Above The Clouds
Just finished listening to "Above The Clouds" by Patrick Kelly, released by Medwyn Goodall Music.
Kelly, who comes from a family of classical musicians, believes that music is a powerful medium which can convey the whole spectrum of human emotions, and he carries that belief into his latest CD from Medwyn Goodall Music. With "Above The Clouds," Kelly uses melodies and keyboards to create vivid and uplifting soundscapes.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Silver Lining," "Future Golden Age," "Holding the Light," and "The Great Awakening."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22713...
Kelly, who comes from a family of classical musicians, believes that music is a powerful medium which can convey the whole spectrum of human emotions, and he carries that belief into his latest CD from Medwyn Goodall Music. With "Above The Clouds," Kelly uses melodies and keyboards to create vivid and uplifting soundscapes.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Silver Lining," "Future Golden Age," "Holding the Light," and "The Great Awakening."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22713...
November 19, 2022
Pagan Priestess
Just finished listening to "Pagan Priestess" by Wychazel, released by Medwyn Goodall Music.
Wychazel is the recording and production alias used by Chris Green. With a career spanning two decades, Chris first appeared on the new age music scene as part of Runestone and has since established himself as an award winning solo artist.
With this CD, his third outing in Norse Mythology, Green uses skin drums, percussion, tagelharpa, harp, guitars, reed pipes, whistles, along with natural and synthetic sounds.
With this CD, Wychazel steps into domain of ancient Norse gods, pagan landscapes and the revered tree of life: Yggdrasil.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Blessed by Freyr," "Quest for Mjolinir," "Oceans of Njoror," and "The Voice of Freyja."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22713...
Wychazel is the recording and production alias used by Chris Green. With a career spanning two decades, Chris first appeared on the new age music scene as part of Runestone and has since established himself as an award winning solo artist.
With this CD, his third outing in Norse Mythology, Green uses skin drums, percussion, tagelharpa, harp, guitars, reed pipes, whistles, along with natural and synthetic sounds.
With this CD, Wychazel steps into domain of ancient Norse gods, pagan landscapes and the revered tree of life: Yggdrasil.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "Blessed by Freyr," "Quest for Mjolinir," "Oceans of Njoror," and "The Voice of Freyja."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22713...
The Alchemist
Just finished listening to "The Alchemist" by Guy Sweens, released by Medwyn Goodall Music.
While Sweens is perhaps best known for fusing Western and Eastern - primarily Indian - influences into his music, "The Alchemist" blends authentic medieval instruments with keyboards to spin the tale of the two ever eternal quests of Alchemists - the Elixir of Life and the ability to turn metal into gold.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "In Deepest Secrecy," "The King's Court," "The Manuscript," and Magnum Opus."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22714...
While Sweens is perhaps best known for fusing Western and Eastern - primarily Indian - influences into his music, "The Alchemist" blends authentic medieval instruments with keyboards to spin the tale of the two ever eternal quests of Alchemists - the Elixir of Life and the ability to turn metal into gold.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "In Deepest Secrecy," "The King's Court," "The Manuscript," and Magnum Opus."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22714...
Samurai
Just finished listening to "Samurai" by Orion released by Medwyn Goodall Music.
If memory serves me correctly, "Samurai" is the third release from Orion on the MGM label.
"Samurai" is the musical journey of a Samurai and his family over the course of years in feudal Japan. As I listened to it, I was reminded of the Japanese folktales I used to enjoy - and still do enjoy reading - and I fondly recalled Mom and Dad diligently studying Japanese language and writing - they used to pay tutors - native speakers - to come over and provide them with writing and speaking lessons. I also had three semesters of Japanese language as a Physics major at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The Beauty Of Forever," "Two Stars," "A Devoted Father," "Dawn Of The Katana," and "Over The Passing Years."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22316...
If memory serves me correctly, "Samurai" is the third release from Orion on the MGM label.
"Samurai" is the musical journey of a Samurai and his family over the course of years in feudal Japan. As I listened to it, I was reminded of the Japanese folktales I used to enjoy - and still do enjoy reading - and I fondly recalled Mom and Dad diligently studying Japanese language and writing - they used to pay tutors - native speakers - to come over and provide them with writing and speaking lessons. I also had three semesters of Japanese language as a Physics major at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The Beauty Of Forever," "Two Stars," "A Devoted Father," "Dawn Of The Katana," and "Over The Passing Years."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://medwyngoodall.com/album/22316...
November 15, 2022
"The Secret of Life - Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix"
Just finished reading "The Secret of Life - Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix" by Howard Markel, released by Norton.
Science is not a glamorous search for nature's definite truth. Nor are those who participate in the run towards scientific glory and immortality pure of heart and basically all around decent people.
The dirty little truth behind the discovery of DNA's Double Helix
was that James Watson and Francis Crick stole Rosalind Franklin's data and then covered their tracks by deliberate deceit and cover-up by Cambridge University's old boy's club and it's active anti-Semitism.
Markel, who is also an MD and PhD, has written a comprehensive history of the key players in the race to discover the structure of DNA, warts and all, and it's a fair, non-revisionist history. Watson and Crick admitted they stole Franklin's data and it gave them the intuitive leap they needed in order to figure out DNA's structure.
As I was reading Markel's fascinating history of scientific pursuit marred by religious and gender prejudice, I was reminded of "The Galactic Medal of Honor" the only book I read by Mack Reynolds since Watson and Crick committed the same crimes as Reynold's fictional protagonist in the pursuit of glory and how history would eventually judge him.
Franklin is now honored for her work and dedication which ultimately cost her her life due to exposure from radiation, and the ESA's Mars Rover bears her name.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Ro...
Science is not a glamorous search for nature's definite truth. Nor are those who participate in the run towards scientific glory and immortality pure of heart and basically all around decent people.
The dirty little truth behind the discovery of DNA's Double Helix
was that James Watson and Francis Crick stole Rosalind Franklin's data and then covered their tracks by deliberate deceit and cover-up by Cambridge University's old boy's club and it's active anti-Semitism.
Markel, who is also an MD and PhD, has written a comprehensive history of the key players in the race to discover the structure of DNA, warts and all, and it's a fair, non-revisionist history. Watson and Crick admitted they stole Franklin's data and it gave them the intuitive leap they needed in order to figure out DNA's structure.
As I was reading Markel's fascinating history of scientific pursuit marred by religious and gender prejudice, I was reminded of "The Galactic Medal of Honor" the only book I read by Mack Reynolds since Watson and Crick committed the same crimes as Reynold's fictional protagonist in the pursuit of glory and how history would eventually judge him.
Franklin is now honored for her work and dedication which ultimately cost her her life due to exposure from radiation, and the ESA's Mars Rover bears her name.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Ro...
