Author: Michael McCornack

After a number of years of sombermoose.com existing as a (largely ignored) unique domain of its own, the moose temporarily moved to a new location as a subdomain of gardenvarietymusic.com. That lasted a few days, and in fact, at this writing, the subdomain is still there, but not for long. The moose is back home, at its own domain, and ready for some new life. After all the back-and-forth, some of the old content is still here, but some of it has been allowed to sink into the sunset. I hope that I will be inspired (or forced by guilt) to add some more content. If that comes to pass, it would be fun, and if not, if a blog […]

We’ve all been locked indoors of late, and I’ve taken the time to do some playing with video. Here are a couple of examples:

A pyrotechnic goatExploded in the moatAnd little goatley parts were strewn in places quite remote I’d never tasted flanI’d never gotten hurt ’til falling in a restaurant I landed in dessert. A novel that I boughtWas lacking so in plotI started with intent to read but then decided not.

I think we need to have a discussion. Not about guns vs. no guns, but about where we draw the line. We already have a some lines drawn, but it’s clear by now that they are not drawn in a good place. It’s hard to feel safe anywhere in America anymore. Because of where we draw the line on guns. I once met an exchange student from Europe who told me that her parents’ biggest fear in sending her to the USA for study was the fear that she might be shot and killed by a gun. They knew she was safe at home, but they were worried about her here. Such was their impression of our United States. I […]

I want to work with you on some rules of device etiquette. These days I think we all often find ourselves alone while among others because of our devices, and we don’t know how to make it better. So here is my first attempt at some guiding principles for how we might manage our devices in social settings. Please read the suggestions, think it through, and help refine, improve or maybe replace the list. Perhaps together we can find a a way to find each other again, in spite of our devices. Device Etiquette, draft one Put devices away during shared meals. During conversation, disregard your device. Concentrate on the person who is present. If you still feel the need to […]

One of my favorite Gary Larson “Far Side” cartoons features a dog walking behind a lawnmower which has cut an erratic path through the lawn. The dog’s owner on the porch is admonishing the dog and hollering “Bad dog! You call that mowing the lawn?”.  When I complain about my technology I feel as if I’m following the example of the man on the porch: witnessing a near miracle, and complaining about its lack of perfection. All in all, it is amazing that this stuff does what it does as well as it does. Still, it sometimes feels necessary to complain. 

One of the great pleasures of my life these days is the freedom to get out of the house and go for a walk, pretty much at will. I find walking to be a deeply pleasurable activity. The physical activity is healthy, of course, but the mental lift the walk provides is real, as is the space to think in an unfettered manner. I am walking in a suburban area, which is a mixed blessing. There is beauty in the area where I walk, but there are also roads, and I have made an unsettling discovery about roads while on my walks. There are motor vehicles on roads. Okay, so this may sound a little obvious. But what is new […]

I stumbled across this old carol in a recording by the choral group, “The Sixteen”. In English, it’s usually called Rocking or The Rocking Carol. I loved it immediately. It’s simple, but haunting.  

I recently watched the Duck/Huskie football game with a couple of close and dear relatives who happen to be Beaver fans. This kind of division can happen in the best of families. At any rate, I was concerned that the situation might be stressful for them as they are unaccustomed to rooting for the Ducks. I provided them with the following primer to help ease their discomfort. I hope that you, too, might find this useful. Throughout the day of the game, and especially during the game, you need to occasionally and randomly shout “GoDucks!” at the top of your lungs. Shout this anytime anyone in the room does anything, like coming back from the bathroom, applauding a good play, sneezing, or […]

Recording is hard. Okay, digging ditches in the rain and cold is hard, but discounting for obvious physical labor endeavors like that, recording music, and recording music worth listening to, is very, very difficult. Self-recording adds even more difficulty. There are some technical difficulties right from the start, like having a good acoustical space to record in, having access to the equipment (a recording device, microphones, stands, pop filters and the like), and having good, well-rehearsed music to record. But beyond that, things get tough. When you self-produce, you are creating a situation where you must do two very different things at the same time. You need to be an artistically engaged, immersed performer, filling the core of your performance. […]