b.rox

I was mighty excited to see the Transit of Venus this past Tuesday. I set up a tiny mirror on a tripod in our back yard, which reflected the image of the sun through our kitchen and down a short hall into my darkened office. This is called the reflected pinhole method, which is a [...]

So there’s another year gone. This was sure an interesting one from the planetary perspective, what with all the the revolutions and the Occupy movement. I remain skeptical, but also cautiously hopeful, that anything will come of all this foment in the long run. We desperately need revolutions, but are these the revolutions we need? [...]

On November 11, 2011, eleven of us gathered at The 1111 Building, in parking space #11, and at precisely eleven minutes and eleven seconds after eleven o’clock a.m., we raised a toast — the No. 11 Cup. That’s eleven elevens, in case you weren’t keeping track.

Mix for Lee. Update: Figured I might as well stick all my related Tropical Storm Lee observations here. On Friday, as I prepared to ride home through a gentle sprinkle, I was approached by a pair of slightly nervous students. “Are you from around here?” They were not. They wanted to know what to expect [...]

Twelve tracks about the streets of New Orleans. One song about a street in New York, but the singers are from New Orleans. A field recording of some high school students rehearsing in the street right in front of my house. Including music by Earl King, Montezuma’s Revenge and Johnny Vidacovich. play on 8tracks

Don’t forget, Rising Tide 6 is tomorrow. If you can’t make it to New Orleans you can watch the live webcast. Here’s a mix to mark the occasion. Also it looks like I might be on Canadian TV tonight.

Not new music, but music that’s new to me. You’ve probably heard it all before. Or have you? Recent Discoveries by Editor B on 8Tracks These are the ten tracks I’ve been digging the most over the last couple weeks or so, including music by Henry Mancini, Damien Tavis Toman, and Devo. I love these [...]

This mix might put you to sleep. This is what we listen to here when trying to get our three-year-old daughter to lie down and take a nap. It could also serve as a basic primer on the history of ambient music. Nine tracks including music by Basic Channel, Ginnungagap, and LAShTAL. About ninety minutes [...]

Here’s a mix to enliven your Fourth of July.

When my in-laws asked what time we should leave, I said 7AM, and they laughed, and my father-in-law suggested 9AM. Then it was my turn to laugh, quietly, to myself. In my mind I thought 10AM, but I didn’t take that too seriously either. When facing up to a long journey, I like to get [...]

It must still be finals week somewhere because my “Study” mix is raking in the love. As I was writing this a rare comment came thru: “I was procrastinating like crazy until I found this gem and put myself to work on my essay which btw is due tomorrow. Thanks!” So maybe it’s not a [...]

Some people say it’s irreligious to celebrate Hellacious Saturday. I say they don’t know church doctrine very well. Here’s what we’re having today: horseradish bacon deviled eggs, deviled ham, and devil’s food cake — with a little Belzebuth blond ale to wash it down. And here’s some music to enjoy while we feast. Happy holy [...]

Thirteen tracks for my convalescence (and yours) including music by Aleatoric, Donald Joyce and Guanaco. Relax, take a nap and enjoy.

I imagine anyone reading this post today will be from outside New Orleans. Here it’s Mardi Gras, and people have other things to do. So for all those people in the rest of America, where it’s just another Tuesday, I offer the following mix for your amusement. My boss challenged me to whip up an [...]

It’s entirely ridiculous for me to offer up an annual “best of” list. I don’t keep up with the latest and greatest. I’d rather plunder the riches of the past than fetishize the new. Of the twenty or so books I read this past year, only one was published in 2010: The Heart of Higher [...]

When I whipped up a Xmas mix three years ago, I had to engage in some serious scraping to round it out. Times have changed, and my collection has expanded. I can now present a collection of seventeen tracks with zero compromises. This is everything I consider necessary for a Five Star Xmas. Enjoy! I [...]

Here’s my entry in the Day in the Life contest. If you like this, please visit the mix on 8tracks and click the ♥ button so I can get a piece of the glory. Here’s a handy guide to help you enjoy the mix. 1. Rising with love and positivity 2. Morning commute 3. At [...]

As a number of people pointed out to me, the trouble with celebrating the first thousand days of life is that the number 1,000 is generally beyond the grasp of most two-year-olds. A couple friends had funny ideas about how to communicate the idea. “Let her play in a pile of 1,000 $1 bills so [...]

Hallowe’en is just around the corner, so here’s a mix for the occasion. It’s eight different versions of my favorite song of all time, by eight different artists. These are my favorites from the notorious collection of a hundred-odd versions which is floating around the torrents somewhere. The original is not included, but surely everyone’s [...]