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Revolutionary Action

The forms don’t much matter.  Even the audio quality is less important than I thought.  My thinking was archaic and limiting.  My sense of accuracy and precision lost in the wind.  The podcast had been, to a certain extent, stagnating…Not growing in WEBSITE subscriptions.

How did this happen?  I have been on the internet, living a digital life, for almost 25 years. I remember seeing a “WWW” address on a bus bench (it was actually at the corner of Embassy Blvd and Regency Park Blvd) for the first time, and thinking a new age had really arrived.  My whole sense of the world of communications and creativity is shaped by my internet experience.

Learning by Letting Go of Old Ideas

When I first started getting ready to start So Local Pasco, there was just no question that a website, and a web domain were going to be necessary.  I saw social media, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram…and additional ‘reach’ tools.  I was fundamentally, spectacularly wrong.

It turns out those tools are the primary drivers of the modern digital landscape.  From Facebook to Pokemon Go, people are connected in ways so new that even a seasoned web denizen like myself can get surprised.  This is pretty nerdy stuff, sorry if you dozed off.

The Facebook live thing is a total surprise, to me.  It’s turned everything I thought I knew about modern mass communications on end, and shaken out a bunch of loose parts and dust.  I’ve spent this week in a constant state of alarmed, interactive communication with DOZENS of people…People who had been there all along, waiting for me to find the right path to them.

New Ideas, New Structure

Well, here I am.  Part of what I’ve been doing, is working out the mechanics of how to make a coherent, usable  product for you, the reader/viewer/listener.  I did not WANT to do video…Notice, for instance, how quickly I ran from the TV show, earlier in the year.

But I now have a vision for how to use THREE different tools to make a coherent creative statement, and product.  Here is how the process will work:

1)  The Facebook Live videos will serve as a newsflash service.  I will do them when I want your direct attention.  To give information, to ask for your participation, the explain something that has happened, or IS happening…Like an approaching hurricane, or other breaking news story.  I will use it like I did this week:  To offer you a glimpse into the workings of stories I am covering, and events I am attending.

2) The podcast itself.  The podcast is where you will go to hear interviews with guests.  There is simply no good way to ‘serve’ you the interviews on Facebook.  Yet.  It may come, and if it does, I will have to re-evaluate the process.  For now, I will direct you to the podcast so you can hear the guests, directly.

3) The blog posts (this is a blog post), which will serve to handle links to information, email addresses, and more detailed stories and photos.  For instance, the Monday blog post contains a map of the Port Richey WOD, so folks can actually SEE the area, and know what we are talking about.  Today, the blog post will carry photos of my guests, and a graphic with information about what is discussed in the interview.

This was me, last week. I feel better, now.

This is all so new.  I feel hilariously antiquated!

Me: “Look!  I have a WEBSITE, and a BLOG!”

Kids:  “Wow, Gramps…Good for you!”  *eye roll*

http://solocalpasco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/SLP-Complete-7-13-16.mp3

Awww, yeaaaaahhhh!

Let’s talk about rules, for a minute.  Okay, enough of that.  Now, let’s talk about the right moment to ignore rules, even self imposed ones, and risk.  I’m beginning to think that all creative work is risky…whether the thinking is related to science, or art, or food…RISK brings us daring things even better than the pretty good things we already had, or have.  Jenn, my guest today, even hates the WORD rules.  You go, Jenn.

So, some rules get broken, at So Local Pasco, this week.  The cast is longer.  I did NOT editing on the studio portion, except to remove the opening and closing few seconds of studio ambience.  Keeping the other elements…because they are well made, and sound great.

So tired, right now.  So tired.

10am-1pm…Westside Deli (it was already 90+ out at 10)

2-5pm…Daughter time (stayed out in the heat, 95 degrees)

5-7pm…Grocery shopping, then nap

7:30-9pm…Port Richey City Council Meeting

9:30-10pm…Pokemon Go War Driving and dinner

10-11pm…Writing notes and composing self for live cast

11pm-11:16pm…LIVE CAST ON FACEBOOK

11:16-12am…answer questions, plan strategy, bask in glow

12am to 1am…Write podcast script, sit outside and rest

1am to 2am…Edit and Record podcast for July 13th, 2016

2am to 2:45am…Write blog post in support of podcast

3am…Hit publish.

My guest, today, Jenn Davida is a funny, charming, hard working dynamo.  She talks about helping folks through some very tough times, and how YOU can benefit from her experience and expertise, for FREE, on August 4th.

You can learn more about Jenn, and contact her to RSVP for the meet and greet, by visiting her webpage. Click our picture, below, to get there!

Hanging with Jenn. Eating donut bread pudding. Drinking coffee with JUST MILK. Breaking rules, like ya do.

 

Jenn Davida Dot Com

Bed. Sleep. Dreams.  Interview with Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad on the Thursday podcast.

 

~Greg

http://solocalpasco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Dale-Massad-interview-unedited.mp3

I just spent a very interesting hour on the phone with Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad, discussing recent friction between the city and business owners in the Waterfront Overlay District, or WOD.

I am not going to make any editorial comment at this time, as I have barely had time to do the technical stuff necessary to post the audio clip.  This interview was recorded by phone, between 3pm and 4:30pm, today, July 13th, 2016.

Please subscribe to the podcast to get updates…You can listen to my podcast direct from your smart phone, computer, or tablet…Even Smart TVs are now capable of streaming podcasts.

There is a LIVE video synopsis on my Facebook page (Greg Smithwick).

Port Richey Mayor, Dale Massad, MD.

 

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There is no wrong turn when you are paving the road.

I am their leader…Which way did they go?

A totally NEW and different thing, today.   I have a few advisers I trust to help me navigate this totally new media type. Two of them, in recent weeks, have told me they think I think too formally.  That the quest for technical quality may be consuming too much of my effort.  That the spontaneity may be missing when I script, produce, and mix the show.

I am still not sure I totally agree with them.  That’s okay, though.  We may ALL be right, to a degree.  In other words, there is probably a balance point I am seeking, and since all of this is so new, there is really no standard for when I have found the sweet spot (see the illustration at the top).

90 views, within 3 hours of completing the sixteen minute live cast. Good numbers, with NO promotion, at all.

Corey Cottrell is a pioneer, and a troublemaker

I spent a few hours with Corey Cottrell, local musician and host of the Baboon Room, today.  I try to do that once a week.  He sort of picks me up by my mental ankles, and shakes all the mental lint out of my pockets.  He’s capable of seeing new things with total confidence.  He seems to have to fear of breaking down old systems, and replacing them with shiny, new, more functional systems.

He’s been experimenting with local live MUSIC performances, lately…Where he streams his shows live, and invites people to pay money for requests.  He’ll play them for you from the bar where he is gigging, and you never even have to put on pants to hear your favorite tune.

The numbers are compelling.  He often has viewer numbers in the hundreds for simple videos of his sets.  Camera mounted on mic stand.  Browser open on tablet next to camera for interaction, and to take requests.  And…GO.

Corey is getting phenomenal numbers of views doing Facebook Live videos.

Yes, but…

I know.  It’s crazy.  It’s low rent hi tech.  You can’t even really include the high quality audio in the feed, it’s only as good as your camera microphone.  And, yet…As Corey reminds me, that doesn’t matter to anyone but me.  Instead of the old way “Ready, Aim, FIRE!”, we go “FIRE, aim….” and that’s it.  Because we are never ready for big change, when it comes.

Monday night, I reached a lot of people during the peak of the live Facebook cast (I’m not even sure what to CALL IT, yet).  A few minutes after signing off, there had already been 60 views.  At 2am, the number of views is 92.  I suspect today, as people wake up and click on it, it will reach 200.  For what I am doing, that is substantial…And it happened with NO promotion, no schedule.

More, please!

Feedback was instant, and overwhelmingly positive.  I was able to read posts from viewers in realtime…Although that was clumsy, because everything happened so fast.  The show you listen to today had no script, it was live, like the best talk radio.  It was intimate, and it was interactive.  Several commenters encouraged me to do this more often, and I will be doing that.  How often is being discussed, but don’t be surprised if it’s a few times a week.

I still have a few tickets available for the Sunday Marine Science Camp Boat Day for Grownups (with BEER!), if you’d like to join us.  Click the green text, above,

http://solocalpasco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/SLP-Complete-7-11-16.mp3

Port Richey Problems

I got wind of an issue involving the City of Port Richey on Friday.  Several people posted that businesses in what is called the Waterfront Overlay District (WOD) were not happy with new parking fines for boat trailers.  The WOD is the area of Port Richey that sits on the  north bank of the Pithlachascotee River.  It is evertyhing from the Catches Restaurant, along the river/Miller’s Bayou to the Seaside Inn, to the Hess Station on U.S.19, and back along 19 th Catches.  It is a roughly triangular area, shown in the map below (On the right edge, where it says “Single Family” is Gill Dawg.  Nick’s Park, the boat ramp launch park mentioned in the podcast, is at the top, between Hooters and the Sun Cruz property.

The Waterfront Overlay District is a key piece of the puzzle for how to re-develop the U.S.19 corridor and invite tourism, commerce, and culture to West Pasco County.

Nick’s Park:  An Old, Unsolved Problem

I started boating in this area when I was eleven.  That was in 1975.  By 1978, we had a 24 foot boat, and regularly used the Nick’s Park boat ramp.  It is the closest public ramp to the Gulf between Hudson Beach and Anclote Park…And in 1975, NEITHER of those places had ramps.  Parking was always an issue.  On busy weekends, if you were not in the water by 8am, you were going to have to park OFF the park property.   That meant having permission from someone to park on their property, and it was always a hassle.

If you did that math, that’s a 35-40 year old problem, that the City of Port Richey has not fixed.  It is a PRIME boat launching location.  People who use that ramp buy gas, ice, snacks and food in Port Richey.  They cruise and come back TO the waterfront restaurants and bars in the overlay district.  The music venues that I frequent, there, are a hotbed for our local music scene…Seaside Inn, Gill Dawg, Whiskey River, Rum River…ALL have live, local music.

There are plans to develop that aspect of the WOD even further, but the City is making some decisions that are making local business owners uncomfortable…And downright ANGRY, too.

The Bayou Business Association is working to make the Port Richey Waterfront a destination…Is the city uninterested?

Recently, problems have begun to develop.  At least three business owners and stakeholders I have spoken to report that they feel the city is slipping, and in danger of losing some critical funding to address the boat ramp issue, and to dredge channels to make the area more usable and accessible.  The money to do that was secured by the last city manager, Tommy O’Neill, but the city does not seem to have followed up.

Last week, the city told businesses in the WOD that if boat trailers are parked anywhere OTHER THAN Nick’s park, the owners of the property (not the boaters) would be fined $500.  That is a weekend killer.  Boaters had to be turned away both Saturday AND Sunday, from places they have always parked, before. That translates to lost revenue for businesses in the WOD.  Gas, ice, snacks, meals, and post cruise drink buyers went elsewhere…Because of a forty year old parking problem.

What SO LOCAL Really Means…

Colleen and Erik Soujenen, along with MANY other local business people, have put their fortunes on the line, banking on a viable, attractive, prosperous waterfront, in Port Richey.

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Danielle Mohr is our guest on today’s So Local Pasco Music Cast.

* “Sampling is not real music!”

* “Loops are for cheaters!”

* “If they had any REAL talent, they’d learn an instrument!”

* “Classical composers would never have used cheat tools like synths!”

When you see someone doing this while discussing modern music, run. You don’t need this kind of negativity in your life.

 

These are all things I have heard people say about digital music over the last…Thirty or so years.  And they are all wrong, mostly.  While it IS true that non-musicians (like myself) can use looping and sampling tools to write complex music without true skill, for the most part, they are a door opening, world expanding tool set for working musicians.

Today, our podcast guest proves this.  Danielle Mohr has been playing guitar, singing, and writing songs for several years, now.  The looping station she uses (the Boss RC300 shown below) allows her to create vocal harmonies and rhythm tracks to enhance her already stellar songs.  You’ll get to hear it in two of the songs she performs for us, “Core” and “Goodbye Love”.

Looping stations are not new…But they are powerful tools for already talented players.

The prejudicial view of sampling and looping tools is based on an assumption that musicians have money for accompaniment, and to hire ‘side’ musicians…And the more you know about how little musicians get paid, locally, the more ludicrous you’ll find the idea that they CAN pay for others to join them.  One of the reasons you find so few bands with more than five members is the cost of divvying meager bar band pay six or more ways…Oh, how I miss seeing more bands with full brass sections!

Danielle’s Boss sampling station, taking up FAR less room than six extra musicians would!

Danielle recording the podcast.

Danielle is busy 20 or more gig days a month…So she must be doing something right.  It is hypnotic, watching her start a song…Working it up like clay on a potter’s wheel, until it is a full tilt roar.  She layers harmonies very nicely, too!

If you like what you hear, and you’d like to engage her for a gig, contact her via her email address:

Or at her excellent new website:

DANIELLE

In the podcast, I make mention of a couple of sampling masters and masterpieces you may want to check out.

Reggie Watts, MASTER of looping using only his voice.  Amazing.

This second piece is more complex, and requires a 60 minute commitment.  It is called “Raiding the 20th Century”, by DJ Food…And includes literally DOZENS of mashups, bastard pop mixes, and spoken word pieces by Paul Morley, a noted music writer and member of 80s group Art of Noise…Who did music for the “Max Headroom” ads and songs.

It’s heavy stuff, so get out the headphones, chill and take it all in:

http://solocalpasco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/SLP-Complete-7-8-16.mp3

As you wake, and read this, there is terrible news.  You’ll no doubt experience the same rage, and horror, and sadness at it.  Sadness for all of us.

It was hard to look away, and work.  But I landed on one simple truth:

Many of the best days of my entire life have been in the Gulf Waters of Pasco County.  I have travelled far and wide…Africa, Europe, the Caribbean.  I have lived in three countries.  That’s a lot of spots to compare…But my home waters are my happy place.  They have almost always been, and I hope they always will be.  I will work to KEEP them happy, and healthy.

So the podcast today is maybe an escape valve.  It’s maybe a window on a world you don’t know well.  Can I take you there?

Here are a few pictures that may help give this podcast meaning, for you…

I hope you’ll get inspired to buy a ticket and join us for a spectacular Boat Day, coming up on Sunday, July 17th.  I hope you’ll join me for a passionate, fun, educational day.  We live in an AMAZING place, with a treasure box right outside our doors.

For information and to buy tickets, click the poster image, below:

Click the poster to buy tickets!

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con·scious·ness

ˈkän(t)SHəsnəs/

noun

noun: consciousness

*

the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings.

“she failed to regain consciousness and died two days later“

*

the awareness or perception of something by a person.

“her acute consciousness of Mike’s presence”

*

the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world.

“consciousness emerges from the operations of the brain”

 

So, consciousness discovery would be a mode of thinking that helps someone become awake and aware of their surroundings…And a Consciousness Discovery CENTER would be an enterprise that helps people find ways of doing that.  This is definitely a ‘down the rabbit hole’ kind of topic, for me.  Seeking real and lasting consciousness has been a central part of my existence since my mid teens.  My early attempts at it were clouded by drugs and alcohol, in the mistaken belief that narcotic and psychedelic adventure equaled ‘seeking’.

But I discovered that what I was actually seeking was oblivion…And a sort of ‘switching off’.  I was seeking UNconsciousness, and found it.  It consumed me until shortly after my 23rd birthday, when I got sober.  THAT is when the real ‘seeking’ began.  It turns out that seeking only works if you know what you are seeking.  Even so, some of the ways I sought consciousness were unhealthy, unreasonable…And unsuccessful.

I guess that is true for a great many people…And there are many MANY paths to consciousness.  Some of those paths DO involve psychedelic substances, and those are valid, for some.  But there are a great many healthier, effective paths to consciousness.

Queen Kavanaugh is one of those people who seems ‘lit from within’. She is such a warm person.

The Consciousness Discovery Center facilitates spiritual journeys and discovery, right here in New Port Richey. Click the image to visit their webpage…

The Consciousness Discovery Center wants to help YOU find those healthy paths.  Here is their mission statement:

“At the IDR Consciousness Discovery Center, we host workshops and events on topics related to consciousness, spirituality, metaphysics, the paranormal, physics, philosophy, New Age practices, and healthy living.

Our vision is a world where we understand that we are all connected to one universal consciousness and we use our powers resulting from that connection, especially the Power Of Love, to improve our lives.”

These are deep waters, and you’ll want some guidance.  If you are interested, and want to dip your toe in the waters before diving in, listen to today’s podcast.  Queen Kavanaugh shares with us a couple of upcoming events designed to get you down to the pool, at least…So you can watch the other swimmers, and decide if you want to jump in.

I will be at the second event, the Kai Chi Do session on July 15th.

Sims Park, Friday night, July 8th.

Kai Chi Do in Sims Park, Friday evening, July 15th.

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Pasco County is the number one tourism destination for one specific type of traveler.  You can find out who they are, in today’s podcast.

Today I sat down with Pasco County Tourism Director Ed Caum, to talk about our assets, and how we can utilize them to increase tourism in Pasco County.  There’s a lot of good stuff happening, in our county, right now.  We have a LOT of good destination festivals, like Chasco Fiesta, Bikefest, and more.  A TON of sports tourism (not just pro sports, but amateur sports, as well) is here, and more is coming, with Sunwest Park hosting major volleyball tournaments, and new ice arenas being built.

The Harbors West Market Development Plan will enhance and enrich our opportunities for Gulf tourism, like eco-tours, boating and angling access and opportunities.  We also have plenty of EXISTING draws…Can you guess what one of the biggest is?

Ed Caum, Pasco Tourism Director

I would also like to remind readers and listeners that the Pasco County website has a lot of “opt in” options for information about many aspects of Pasco County government and administration.  If you’d like updates emailed or even texted to you on a WIDE range of topics, go to the link below, sign up for an account, and start receiving updates!

Sign up for Pasco County Government Website Updates

If you’re curious about the potential for keeping chickens in your backyard, or even against the idea, you should think about attending next Friday’s Pasco County Food Policy Committee Meeting in Land o Lakes, where the keeping of chickens will be among the items discussed.  The Food Policy Committee will be making recommendations about the measure very soon…A vote on an ordinance on chickens is expected before November…So the time to learn about it is NOW.  The meeting will be held from 10am to 12pm.

Backyard Chickens…Roosters won’t be allowed.

Our weather this week has been EXTREMELY hot..So PLEASE be careful, out there.

117 “Feels like” is DANGEROUS weather.

Stay hydrated, my friends!

~Greg

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I am sometimes filled with wonder at us.  Sometimes, I am filled with disgust.  Sometimes, both at once.

The Wonder and the Awfulness of Us

Right now, I am writing this while watching the NASA/JPL feed of the Juno Spacecraft entering the orbit of Jupiter.  It’s going well…Every ‘landmark’ has been met, so far…The approach, adjustment of the spacecraft attitude, the spinning up rotation for stability, and the engine burn…All have gone perfectly.

Juno launch five years ago, Indian River Lagoon in the foreground.

We are SO capable.  And yet…

THIS is the Indian River Lagoon, this month…

Indian River Lagoon algae bloom, this month. We are failing ourselves, our environment, and our children.

A Crisis a Century in the Making is Upon Us

I strive in this podcast to bring us good news, as often as possible.  But we cannot put our heads in the sand, and pretend there are not problems.  Some seem so large, fixing them seems beyond our control.  But there is ALWAYS something we can do.

An enormous crisis is upon us.  It is not theoretical, or possible, or debatable.  It is HERE.  It has been coming for decades…And we have failed to act to prevent it.  NOW we will be faced with consequences of that failure.  Unfortunately, we have continued to elect officials that have ignored, or even exacerbated the problems.

I am not feeling like flinching away from showing pictures of what is happening, in our state, right now…Because over the long weekend, this stopped being a south Florida problem, or an Atlantic coast problem…And became a Gulf of Mexico problem, as Lee County was added to the list of counties effected by the algae bloom emergency:

Manatee being given water from a garden hose, because the canal water is so full of algae, it is undrinkable.

Boats docked at Central Marine in Stuart, Fla., are surrounded by blue green algae, Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Officials want federal action along the stretch of Florida’s Atlantic coast where the governor has declared a state of emergency over algae blooms. The Martin County Commission is inviting the president to view deteriorating water conditions that local officials blame on freshwater being released from the lake, according to a statement released Wednesday. (Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP)

Fish Kill in Stuart, Florida

How Did This Happen?

In the podcast, I give a BRIEF, and far too simplified explanation of where we are, and why.  Decisions made decades ago to protect human lives, compounded by failures to repair dike systems, and to hold polluters accountable in favor of profits, have led us here.

The September 1928 hurricane killed at LEAST 2,