I am a technocrat now, but grew up in the area of pre-Apple, pre internet, pre-electronic age.  The Apple Mac was the second computer I owned.  The first was a now defunct ‘Kaypro’ running on the CPM OS.  CPM was very DOS-like, but was a predecessor to DOS.  I was amused by the Kaypro 4 with high hopes of working its use into my daily life to help with business-related functions.  I had owned it little more than a year when a soon-to-be life-changing event was about to happen. 

My buddy Cliff came to me one day bursting with excitement over his purchase of an  Apple Macintosh 128. He had just bought and took delivery of one of the first Mac 128s in the world! He showed me MacPaint and MacDraw and MacWrite, and I was intrigued, but generally ho-hum about the tour de force of this new way of computing, and missed the point of where computer graphics were headed.

When I heard a movie about this iconic innovator was opening ‘at a theater near me’, I had to see it.

My general impression was, the film showed Steve in a negative light. It was a story about a man abandon by his parents, willing to step on any one to bring his vision to fruition. The film offers vignettes of Jobs cheating on his girlfriend, getting his GF pregnant then abandoning her, lying to WOZ about the money they made on the first Atari programming project, booting his early adopters out of the company and leaving them with no ‘piece of the pie’ for their troubles.

Later in the film we see Steve refusing to acknowledge his first-born child, Lisa (while he is working on the ‘Lisa’ project, no less) and standing by while his buddy and co-owner ‘WOZ’ fades into the shadows of Apple Computer, and later leaves the company he helped form.

The first part of the movie was slow.  Seeing Ashton Kutcher as Jobs walking around barefoot on campus or in a field did nothing for me.  It didn’t move the story along to any great degree either. Things began getting interesting in the film as the Lisa (predecessor to the Macintosh) was in development.  I remember seeing the Lisa in a local computer store. I was intrigued listening to the salesperson explaining what it could do, but realized I would never spend $10,000 on a personal computer.

Ashton was a good fit for the role of Steve.  There were times when he had an uncanny resemblance to the real Mac man.  Something in the eyes I think.  I don’t know where Ashton got that ‘Jobs walk’ from, but in a few scenes – in a profile view – it had me thinkin’ SJ had a load on, and needed to visit the men’s room…

The chronicle opens with the introduction of the iPod, and leaves us there.  We never see the introduction of the iPhone, iPad or the company-changing birth of iTunes.  All three of these Apple events help crush the PC/Windose grip on the computer world and catapult Apple into the forefront of technology world wide.  Will there be a sequel? My guess is ‘yes’. Maybe they could call it ‘Jobs 2.0.16 build 58′.

If you are any way interested in Apple or Steve Jobs, or the Mac, or how a mega-glogal multi-national business got started in a so-cal garage; this movie is a must see.  If you want to preserve your memory of Steve Jobs as a kind, warm and fuzzy technocrat giving birth to the tech toys of our age; you may want to give it a pass.

In Uganda, Joey Blake an associate professor at Berklee College of Music and Kim Thuita are making a difference in the culture, by bringing the healing powers of music to bear in a positive effort to unite the community.

Using Music to Heal

It is a Tuesday night at the Kigali Serena Hotel, and Joey Blake is serenading the waiter with his dinner order. “I would like some pork chops,” Blake croons into the microphone. “Pork chops, please, some pork chops.”

As the waiter takes down Blake’s order, a growing audience fills the hotel lounge and multiple voices begin to clamor. “‘Ladies’ Night’, Joey! Play ‘Ladies’ Night!’” says one fan. “Do ‘September’!” demands another.

It is 11 PM and Blake, an associate professor at the Berklee College of Music, has already performed the “last song” of the evening four times. Still, Blake winks at pianist, Kim Thuita, who responds with a head shake and a laugh. Moments later, the opening beats of ‘Ladies’ Night’ immediately rouses cheers and audience members stand and push aside chairs and tables for an impromptu dance party.

The informal jam session at Serena Hotel on May 29 marked the end of an eventful and music-filled four days in Kigali, during which Blake led music training workshops to patients of WE-ACTx (Women’s Equity and Access to Care and Treatment), a medical organization in Rwanda that provides medical treatment, psycho-social care, legal and work counseling to over 3500 patients.

The workshops followed-up on Blake’s first trip to Rwanda – and Africa – three months earlier as an ambassador for Musicians without Borders (MwB), an NGO that uses the power of music to bridge divides and heal communities in areas torn by war. In February, the multi-talented artist, who has recorded and produced five albums with ten-time Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin, already knew he would return to Rwanda.

“I grew up as a child admiring Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi – these people who were ambassadors of peace and harmony and community,” says Blake. “Music was my way to find a way to create something like that in the world.”

Blake makes a statement – not just with a voice that is as silky smooth as it is rhythmically percussive – but with a lifelong dedication to promoting harmony and changing the world through music.

“For me, music is a way to communicate with people: a way to lift the spirit,” says Blake.

At Blake’s music workshops, youth leaders at WE-ACTx took turns practicing and then teaching the musical skills they had gained. As the designated teachers introduced concepts and led singing activities, other youth leaders participated as hypothetical students whose antics frequently disrupted lessons with hilarity and laughter.

“Knowing some of the things that [these patients] are going through with their personal lives, it’s inspiring for me to see their enthusiasm and their pride and strength,” says Blake.

Umutoni Nadine, one of the youth leaders at WE-ACTx, smiles when she talks about how music has changed her life. “Music has helped me to forget about the bad things I have to go through and to be happy,” says Umutoni, 18. “It’s important for me because I want to know it and I want to teach other kids.”

Sustainability of the music training, however, is a key focus of MwB as it moves forward with the program, says Danny Felsteiner, project manager of MwB. “One of our main goals is to create a strong network of local musicians and organizations, and to train the youth leaders not only to do music, but also to coordinate and manage parts of the program,” says Felsteiner. “Based on our experience in other countries, we’ve learned that without building local capacity that can support durability and sustainability, projects cannot succeed.”

To that aim, MwB has formed partnerships with local musicians and institutions. In addition to the connection with WE-ACTx, MwB has also gained support from the Kigali Music School and three local musicians – Aline Gahongayire, Moise Mutangana, and Kim Thuita – who will continue the work in between the training weeks when the MwB team is not in Rwanda.

Back at Berklee, Blake has started an organization called “Singing Tribe” that uses music to connect and build communities. Blake hopes that the Singing Tribe will be able to visit countries like Rwanda to create partnerships with local organizations and even develop scholarship programs that give talented local musicians the opportunity to attend Berklee. The Singing Tribe also serves as a model – a microcosm where people from different backgrounds and nationalities can come together in mutual appreciation of music.

“There’s 25 of us from fourteen different countries,” says Blake. “We’re enjoying and sharing music together – there’s no reason why the world can’t do the same.”

http://allafrica.com/stories/201206111535.html

Joey Blake and Kim Thuita are showing that there is hope for healing and the health of nations with peace, love and understanding.  And of course Music!

The Frost consisted of 4 players – common in a Rock band.  The drummer was Bob Rigg.  On bass you had Gordy Garris.  Don Hartman filled the spot of Rhythm and some of the Lead Guitarist.  Dick Wagner was the primary guitarist of The Frost, and while having limited success with this Michigan-based Rock N Roll band, went on to bigger and better things with the likes of Tina Turner, Lou Reed, Ursa Major, Alice Cooper – penning such songs as ‘Only Women Bleed’ and ‘Shine Silently’ both of which have been covered by many artists from Tina Turner and Nils Lofgren to Elkie Brooks and Ray Hamilton Orchestra where ‘Shine Silently’ “shines” once more on the disc ‘It Takes Two To Rumba’.

Kim Jong Il as a younger man

Today, Kim Jong Il died at the relatively young age of 69. The son of Kim Il Song, founder of the communist nation, Kim Jong Il took over the rains of power in 1994 when his father died of a heart attack at age 82 – 13 years senior to the number of years of Kim Jong Il.  Being the leader of the Korean people for the last 17 years, he controlled the fourth largest army in the world.  No small feat.  This takes years of military and political training and a diplomatic mind filled with a lifetime of experience.  The successor to Kim Jong Il is believed to be his 3rd son Kim Jong Un – believed to be under the age of 30.

Kim Jong Un at a recent parade

What were you doing when you were 28 or 29?  I know I wasn’t gearing up to run a dictatorship.  I was focused on my sexy wife, my work and rock and roll – which was my work at the time. Yes, I played in rock bands ever since high school.

So what do you think Kim Jong Un is thinking about?  I’m sure he is morning his father’s death, but he must be thinking along the lines of any healthy 28 year old, and probably petrefied about taking over the fourth largest world power as figurehead.  Who wouldn’t be?

I can only hope that Kim Jong Un has been influenced by rock music (or any music for that matter – except Rap, because that is not music…), in a positive way.  If Kim has let Led Zeppelin into his life we have less to fear from him than his father.  If he has embraced the words of the Beatles “All you need is love”, or John Lennon’s “Imagine”, the world is a gigantic step closer to world peace, and the people of North Korea are in for a bright new uplifting life of freedom!

I wish Kim Jong Un well as he grieves for his lost father, and given his youth, pray that he makes a wiser, more reasonable and compassionate leader than his father.