Yes, as the title suggests I am soon packing up everything and relocating to the fair shores of Lake Michigan. I ought to be fairly well settled in by Halloween, if everything goes according to plan. These are my few last weeks here in Minneapolis.
So, what's the big deal? Why am I doing this?
Well, after over 40 years in Minnesota and a number of life-changing experiences both good and bad over the course of my time here, I feel the time is more than ripe to start again fresh amid new surroundings. Although this decision may come as a slight surprise to those who have known me, rest assured that this is neither a sign of incipient madness nor a lark concocted on the spur of the moment. This move has been a long time coming. I have carefully considered my situation in exhaustive detail and now can come to no other conclusion that my needs would be better accomodated approximately 400 miles to the southeast. There is a lot to like about Minnesota, but there can even be too much of a good thing, especially when what ought to be good doesn't seem to be actually all that good, perhaps, on a more personal level. Perhaps some of you can relate to such an experience.
But before clueing in the reader with a few more juicy details, allow me to take the opportunity first to briefly apologize for not updating this blog very recently and for my lack of obvious productivity in general this year so far. As it turns out there is quite a bit happening behind the scenes, so by no means is this the last you'll hear from me or from my music projects, thankfully. I have been spending a lot of time trying to consolidate and organize various unfinished writing projects (including for this format), along with doing a fair amount of in-depth research on some of the scientific and philosophical topics I've touched on in these posts. I would like to comment on some of the more recently popular "realist" views of time that have since risen to prominance in certain quarters in the 25-odd years since Barbour introduced his notion of time capsules, and I also intend to say something about philosophical skepticism (Interestingly, Barbour barely mentions J. M. E. McTaggart, referring to him only briefly in a post-textual note and largely disavowing his ideas, describing them as purely logical in nature and therefore outside the proper realm of scientific inquiry!).
Beyond this I have returned to an earlier skill and avocation, electronics, both to further restore my vintage Prophet for many more years of use-worthiness, and to design and build a stereo spring reverb system as a DIY analog outboard effect. All of this while getting some new web-camera and video projects started, rehearsing some new music based around performance and improvisation... and planning for an interstate move at the same time! You can easily see how I have become a victim of my own ingenuity. Thanks for being patient as I slowly disentangle the throbbing pile of accumulated mentality that seems like would easily take two or three lifetimes to do complete justice to. I'll get around to it all eventually, right?
Yes. But first, I'm moving to Chicago. That much is certain.
The rest?
I'll keep you posted!
