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The first act to perform at the PeaceFest 2005 was the Sacred Hearts Freedom Choir singing “We Are Family.”

Listen: 3:20, 3.9mb, 160 kbps MP3

Each year the Unity Church of Omaha hosts PeaceFest to help raise money for the New Covenant Center’s Peace Education Programs.

Oddly enough, the New Covenant center does not have a web presence, but you can email them at mcosss@juno.com for more information.

On the program were a silent auction with items and services donated by many local Omaha artists, musical performances, poetry readings, and a mime troupe.

PeaceFest 2005 found me with my microphone placed inconspicuously on the seat next to me as I recorded the following performers:

• Sacred Heart Freedom Choir
• William Welter and Mike Godfrey - Violin
• Fritz Thorn - Singer/songwriter, piano
• Christie Woods - Singer, piano, member of quartet Nu Beginning
• Sandra Brennan - poet
• Deb Jennings - piano

I regret that I arrived too late to get a recording of Mike Murphy playing guitar and his Native American flute. The mime troup, Messengers of Christ Mime Ministry were amazing to watch, but the art form didn’t lend itself well to a sound recording.

I’ll post each recording as it’s own entry on the blog, so be sure to come back and check for new posts, or better yet, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed.

I need a little something extra to help me get up in the mornings. As the years pass, it seems I have to keep uping the ante, as wimply little beep, beep alarms just don’t do the trick.

A few years ago I found Timex electronic alarm clock that had a built-in sound chip where I could record my own wake-up sounds. My daughter has great fun by randomly changing the recorded message to the strangest of volcalizations.

A few months ago I stumbled across a traditional looking analog alarm clock with bells on the top with a dinger that moves back and forth between them. What makes this particular alarm clock remarkably different is its size. It’s comically huge, easily three times larger that what should be normal. The face of the clock has a small-print advisory:

Warning: This alarm will wake you up.

And that it does. Despite its amuzing proportions, it is quite loud.

However, even with my voice-chip alarm, giant mechanical bell alarm, and my wife’s alarm, I still needed something extra to arouse me around 5:30 a.m. I found that my cell phone has a daily alarm, and by setting it to vibrate, it makes the most annoying buzz on my wooden dresser.

In the following recording, you will hear what it sounds like when all four alarms sound. This recording has not been altered or layered in any way. As a bonus, the microphone captured a peal of thunder during the recording.

Listen: 1:42, 1.6mb, 128 kbps MP3

Keywords: alarm, clock, bell, ringer, vibrate, buzz

CNN.com - Lawmakers move to extend daylight-saving time - Jul 22, 2005

CNN reports that lawmakers in Washington have reached an agreement to extend Daylight-Saving Time in an effort to conserve energy. However, the decision wasn’t made without some argument.

Quoting the article:

According to some senators, farmers complained that a two-month extension could adversely affect livestock, and airline officials said it would have complicated scheduling of international flights.

I can understand the complication of scheduling flights, but the comment about affecting livestock seems like a joke. Certainly the cows of the US don’t carry watches or live by a clock? Any adverse effects must certainly be that of the schedules kept by the farmers.

From the News-Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, Indiana: KRT Wire | 07/20/2005 | `Godcasts’ booming across the Internet

This article explores a new twist on the recent phenomena of podcasting. Regardless of your religious or spiritual views, or lack thereof, you may find it interesting to sample a godcast or two.

I’ll take this moment to plug the weekly podcast for my church, Second Unitarian Church of Omaha. There you’ll find an audio excerpt of the weekly service featuring a sermon or lecture by the minister or guest speaker. The recordings usually run about 30 minutes.

The campus of the charming Concordia University in Austin, Texas, the host of the 53rd convention of the Esperanto League for North America, has a lovely fountain in its common area.

My daughter was especially attracted to the fountain, as she enjoyed dipping her feet in the water during the hot June days.

This fountain has a webcam trained on it. You can watch it in real time from their site. It was fun to call home from my cell phone and and have my wife and son watch us from the web site.

Listen to the recording I made at the fountain and watch the webcam and you’ll feel like you’re there in person.

Listen 1:01, 1 mb, 128 kbps MP3

Keywords: fountain, water

This summer my daughter and I spent a couple of days on the beach at Galveston Island off the Texas coast. While there, I thought it would be a good idea to take my iRiver and microphone into the surf to make an ambient sound recording of the waves.

This worked out pretty well except when a larger than expected wave hit me and nearly ruined the microhone. Yes, that’s me yelling at the end of the recording.

Listen: 2:58, 4.1 mb, 192kbps MP3

Keywords: wind, waves, water, birds, seagulls, splash

During the 53rd Esperanto Leagure for North America convention we visited the Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin, Texas to see the world famous colony of Mexican free-tailed bats emerge for their nightly feeding.

Before dusk, a chatter could be heard under the bridge. I am not certain, but I think the sound emanated from the bats, though I know that bat echolocation is at a frequency much higher than the human ear can hear.

Listen: MP3 - 0:45, 1 mb / 128kbps

Outside the dorms at Concordia University, each and every summer night, hundreds of grackles gather in the trees, singing a never ending collective song.

Listen to the sound of the grackles, as well as some passing traffic and the sound of my daughter playing. Towards the end, they all decide to stop singing and fly away to another tree.

Listen: 1 mb/128kbps MP3

Keywords: bird, grackle, song, summer, traffic

This was my last report on the road back from vacation. Listen as I comment on the changing terrain, and how it’s so good to see prairie again.

Recordings from the road

MP3 File