Sure, movie night is fun and relaxing, but there are seven days in every week. It's time to spend one of them doing something that doesn't involve a remote control and popcorn. Find a sports team, learn to play an instrument, or embrace the great outdoors. Commit to get up, get out, and get going!
"Yeh, end times, what can I tell you.
I spent an age working on OBS (broadcasting programme for online streaming). I stayed up late night after night, testing and debugging this whole thing so I could stream on simultaneous platforms on Sunday Nights.
I neglected the songs, and sleep. And didn't get much exercise. And ate a lot of crap. BUT.
Sunday night, I pulled off something which I wanna build on. I streamed live on all 3 platforms using a Chatroom that combined all the comments into one place. I took requests and let people Add songs to the queue live. I had screen transitions, background audio and a nice big condenser mic to pick it up.
Still a couple of bugs to work out, still learning the ropes. Steep learning curve. But with Everyone stuck at home, and my gigs on ice indefinitely, there's no better time to figure out how to do this for real on the internet.
So yeh, now that I've climbed outta that pit of heavy learning, I gotta get busy. ASAP. I have songs that desperately need finished lyrics. And chord sheet that need locked down.
I feel bad for not doing more with it this week. In honestly I'd say Stickk should take my $37 stake this week, but in reality - talk about extenuating circumstances...! Every single house in lockdown! Who saw that coming 8 weeks ago...??
I'm gonna get these songs done if it kills me. I'm annoyed that it's taken this long and is gonna be a rush to meet the Sunday deadline. But on the bright side - I've nothing else to be getting on with... no excuses.
Hope everyone's well. Family is so important.
I hope we can return to some sort of normality soon. At least it's allowing people more time to be creative at home.
take care
dan"
"I start with twice a week and hopefully go to thrice a week . But the key is just really to e able to do free style very comfortably at the end of 1500m. Slowly...and put in the hours..."
"Was feeling a bit sick this week (hencewhy goal in workouts not reached).
Having Dota crisis as well, so practiced fundamentals a lot and didn’t play competitive. "
"I didn't run today because I went climbing instead and ended up spraining my ankle. For now, I will have to find an alternative until my ankle heals, but it was an incredible day outside in nature with Ethan"
"Sigh pics not showing. Anyway, this week did more practices of random words together (like one piece) to see how it looks. Also practicing the “S” curve. Need very thin ends and a nice bulge in the middle. My strokes still not consistent enough. "
"This is a tough period to think about whether I should continue to train longer distances due to a fear of immune compromising. I have not been pushing really hard. But still training my runs and short swims."
"End of WEEK 7: What is the name of all that is holy is going on??!
Hey Martin - just a wee update, business as usual - NOT! :P
At the beginning of February I began a simple 9 week self-motivational project to kick start my songwriting and creativity again. At the same time looking to move in with my girlfriend, get a part-time job to supplement my gigs, and see about a mortgage.
No way on earth could I have predicted that by the end of it:
- I’d have no job because the bars would all shut
- Everyone would be in lock down and / or panic buying
- And I’d have to sign up for benefits to cover my rent
I could laugh or I could cry. It’s unbelievable.
Oh well. So, little recap. I’ve 14 days to knock these songs out. I’ve limited access now to playing with other musicians, so it’s most likely going to be recorded by myself.
I’m learning how to use my laptop to stream - Because all the self-employed musicians I know are now trying to keep themselves (and others) sane by playing live gigs on Facebook.
I streamed last night, but the connection wasn’t good. I need to find the sweet spot between the Bitrate and the kbps upload speed / screen resolution. (I’ve no idea, it’s trial and error!) But assuming the internet isn’t affected by all this, I should be able to Go Live more frequently and successfully without it dropping out.
On the plus side, last week I got further with the verse for Electric Licks and also that same evening I wrote a chorus and verse for a new song called Rejection Letters (Write about what you know, I didn’t get the job I interviewed for… Irony!)
Also my head is bubbling with other lyrics, thoughts and themes during all this. So this next couple of weeks should be interesting and hopefully extremely productive.
I’ll let you know about Live Streaming, are you on Facebook still?
Hope you and yours are doing well, safe and healthy. It’ll all blow over soon.
Bon chance
Dan"
"This week has been difficult with everything going on. I've been able to find a way to still run everyday, but it's much easier to track progress when running on a treadmill. The gym I normally go to has also closed down for the time being so it'll be interesting to see what ends up happening. "
"Week #5:
Calligraphy focus:
- 55 degree angle
- spacing
- slim vs round letters
- working on getting my “f” right
Blog:
- new post on coronavirus
https://thewrittenletters.com/2020/03/19/love-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/"
"Not having school or work means I don't really have a reason to wake up at 7am, I did not hit my goal and since shelter in place is taking affect tonight I'm pretty sure I might not hit my goal anymore, but we'll see"
