Knott's Inferno Mix 2009

Red Swan Entertainment has provided the Inferno Stage at Knott's Scary Farms Halloween Haunt for the last two years. In addition to wrangling 20 performers and a dozen spotters, we provide our own music for the show. Since they won't let us have live music, and we must provide a cd, we went with a friend who created two stunning mixes for us.
Check 'em out:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7817978401066367605&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7179575558474923286&hl=en

For 2009, we decided to take a lesson from the performers and accept "auditions" for this year's mix. Any DJ who would like to do so may submit a mix for consideration for the Inferno Stage mix.

Because this is a public venue and a park with a lot of things going on, there are some restrictions to what we may accept. Submitted mixes should have the following attributes:
- 15 minutes long
- preferably music without copyright entanglements
- All tracks must be appropriate for 13 year old + (ie "clean" ratings)
- All tracks, Ambient to Goa, Breaks to TechStep, should be danceable.
- limit radical changes in style and speed to 1-5 times total, please.
- Knotts likes the mix to have a definitive end (like big Hollywood spectaculars). Drum build and a gong, or, in the case of our second year, the dragon's roar; etc.
- We prefer the last 5 minutes or so to have a lot of energy and an epic build
- we prefer the opening sequence to have a seriously strong hook to gather the crowd

You're encouraged build whatever mix you like, without regard to previous versions or preconceptions of what would "fit" at Knotts.

Since we like to have the mix ready for performer auditions, and we'll need some time to decide, all submissions should be with us by Mach 1st, 2009.

Winning mix will be awarded $100 and [if available] 2 guest passes to the Haunt.

Please send links to online mixes or Audio CDs to
http://redswanfire.com/contact.html

On the woes and ways

Okay, so, by now, you should know I run a few websites. But the one that's my bread and butter is Bearclaw Manufacturing.
http://www.bearclawmfg.com/
I make and sell fire performance equipment (big shocker, no?), and do so primarily through the website.

Well, back in April 2007, I installed the current version of the site. It's got a lot of cool things about it and, quite frankly a few things missing. Fortunately it's ope source, so there's a plethora of contributions to fix the issues I might have with it. Why a few of these are not in the basic install is completely beyond me. More on that later.

So, Over the last few months I've been looking over my earnings sheet and noticed a disturbing downward trend. Naturally, this bothered me a bit. I took a look at a wide variety of indicators and correctly foresaw the crash of the housing market and the current depression we are suffering.

Unfortunately, I've also noticed that my ONLY customers of late have been either returning customers or ones that I contacted directly. Add that with the convenient timing of the downturn compared to the installation of the new website and you get one big, embarrassing oversight. It seems my new website is not optimized for web searches.

Yup, generic title, no meta tags, and the information that I transferred over was pathetic. So, I looked on the contributions page and found a plethora of ways to help. Again, I don't know why a couple of these are installed standardly in the basic package. But, Okay.... we might just want a sales page that can't be found. *sigh*. So for a year and a half, my sales have been declining, mostly because google doesn't know what to do with my site.

It's all fixed now, and maybe a little better for the trouble. So, now we just wait for a few spiders to crawl the site and we should be done. Here's hoping. I hate being on page 36 of a google search for fire poi. *shudder*

Red Swan Recruitment

Red Swan Wants YOU!

If you haven't heard, Red Swan Entertainment is a fire performance talent management company. Our job is to connect fire performers up with jobs. And not just the same old jobs, but good ones. We started with running the Inferno Stage at Knott's Berry Farm during their Halloween Haunt in 2007. Then, we did special spots for new ABC shows, a piece for the History channel, charity gigs, music videos, another run at Knott's, and more.

Now, just because people signed up doesn't mean they were forced to do gigs. All we do is notify you when work is available. Either we post general jobs to the gig list, or we contact you directly if you meet specific needs. Then, you decide if you want the gig. More business, no stress, What more could you want?

"How about my fire troupe?" Oh, so you're in a troupe, are ya? No problem. If the troupe doesn't mind it's members doing occasional solo gigs, we'll take them all. We don't always get asked for "dark-haired female fire eaters", sometimes they specifically want a troupe, or a mixed group of people. In those cases, being in a troupe can be a benefit.

Okay, yeah, sounds too good to be true? Fine, yes, we take a small cut, but only on the gigs We get you. If you get a gig on your own, you get the whole gig. And, if get a gig you can't handle, you can have us manage it for you, no stress. And you can even take a finder's fee if you like.

If you're on our gig, we ask that you represent. Follow NAFAA regs, pass out Red Swan cards when requested, and be professional. You're welcome to keep a pack of Red Swan cards to pass out when you're not at our gigs; but, no pressure.

So, you see, for just a little bit of your time, you get a lot of benefits, and no stress. We get another performer, another set of skills, another unique person that may be just what someone is looking for.

So why not sign up with Red Swan today?
http://redswanfire.com/performers_sign-up.html
Or feel free to write or call with questions.

I told you so...

For those who didn't believe back then, I can [unfortunately] say: "I told you so".

I was going through all my old blogs, transferring them to blogspot, when I cam across this
http://people.tribe.net/tedward/blog/296c45bd-04cc-441c-929f-242ba86176d3

It seems that more than 2 years ago, I called the current financial crisis. So, for all those unbelievers, I say :P nyah nyah.
...
Of course, I'd rather not have been right on this one, but you take the victories you can.
Here's another prediciton: Assuming he survives to swear in, Obama will the new JFK yet get almost as much accomplished as Clinton. After two terms, Biden will run and win, but his priorities are elsewhere and he won't get much accomplished.

Welcome

It took me a long time to get used to blogging.  I just couldn't imagine the arrogance of it.  What on earth could be so important that you need to inflict it upon the rest of the world.  

Well, I guess I'm more arrogant now.  :)

I started blogging some time back.  I'll see if I can get my Tribe blogs up here.  Based on those, you can expect a complete mixed bag of nuts.  Sometimes theoretical physics, sometimes politics, sometimes toe jam.  But I will say that I don't like pulling my punches, so if you can't take the heat, get out of my kitchen.

Time to testify

Last year, I performed on Halloween with Tangee and completed our little fire sword grudge match. Here ya go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-hgrf9fHto

Let me tell you, that's an intense minute, and far more strenuous that most people imagine. At the end you see me put my hands on my knees. That's because the chest pains were starting to kick in. A few seconds more of fighting and it felt like I was beginning a full coronary. Since my dad had 7 of them before he noticed it, I can well imagine that this was, indeed, my first heart attack.

After that gig, and after paying off a bunch of bills, I had some money left over. And for many other reasons, I lusted over the iPod Touch. So i put money and desire together with the standard Catholic-guilt conditional: I must use it 3 times a week for exercise. Not having a music player was the final excuse I was clinging to.

Okay, quick tangent. Excedrin came out with a catastrophically unsuccessful commercial. Based on research that showed most people did not fully trust doctors, combined with it's third place ranking in headache elimination, they had their spokesman say " did I listen to 'research'? NO. That's for doctors." Well, it turns our people do respect clinical research. I write this testimonial not because I don't think people believe the research, but because re-inforcing testimonials DO work.

So, if you look back at my blogs you will see some of the progress I made over the last year. My resting heart rate went from 100+ down below 90. My heart rate recovery time after exercise dropped from 45 minutes to about 10 minutes. And my blood pressure dropped from "hypertension" level to "normal" levels pretty quickly. In short, I was back to being "healthy like ox" by the beginning of the summer. I would have liked to see some changes in my physique, but I did, at least, maintain the measurements I had dropped to during the first Knotts gig.

So, when this year came around, I was still a little shy about performing regularly. Partially the physique, partially because I didn't want to suffer those chest pains again. So, I avoided getting scheduled more than one day in a row. But I allowed Michelle to put me on more than once a week. I ended up performing the same number of days, but worked almost twice as many all told. Plus, that last week, I was onstage quite a bit.

But, instead of falling apart like last year, I felt pretty good. I managed 14 performances in a week with some almost as intense as the combat. But instead of chest pains, I muddled through. And instead of three days of pain and sickness at the end of the run, I actually had a little energy afterwards. In short, I feel pretty good.

For this, I salute my iPod. Of course, I've picked up the 2nd Generation Touch, so now I have access to Nike+, a whole system for walking and running management. Plus, I have twice as much room on this thing, so lots of choices in music. But, really, it comes down to getting off my ass and taking a little stroll. Then a couple more. Then a slightly longer stroll when the view got boring. Then a little hike. Until, eventually, I would walk all day.

I may still look like a bear, but, 'I strong like ox' and a lot healthier too. So, based on this, I encourage you to find a way to get yourself moving. An ipod shuffle is super cheap, and can hold about 8 hours of music. You don't need a gym membership to walk around the block. And the more you do, the safer your neighborhood becomes (criminals don't like people watching them). And, hey, you might get a bit healthier too.

BOOYAH!

President Elect Barack Obama.

Sounds so sweet.

Now, we just got to keep him alive until January... :oP