The Ghost, me, and my parents made a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee just before the 4th of July.  Was a great vacation to go see my Mom's side of the family, whom I secretly love more than I ever say.  My 2 cousins and their respective families all own Pinewood Store and Restaurant.  They cook unbelievably great tasting food.  Also their menu is full of the healthiest food you can get, but if you're just not open to gluten free and vegan, they have grass-fed beef and free range chicken.

The second amazing thing about it ?  My beautiful cousin Mee Tracy McCormick, her noble husband Lee McCormick,  their 2 girls and Mee's strong, and very real, sister Nicole Tracy...  they grow and raise all of their vegetables and stock on Pinewood Ranch:  cow and sheep herding dogs, horses, and everything else.  One night, we all sat around listening to my Uncle Mike and Aunt Melinda play guitar and sing, like they have all of their lives (they have a music recording studio in their basement).  Another day, everybody went kayaking together, and also I road around the ranch with my brave-to-take-all-of-this-on cousin Mee, her friend Patrick, and The Ghost looking at all of the animals and fields of vegetables.  A most sincere thanks to all of you who helped make it such an awesome time.  Can't wait until the next family outing.

Next on the list my parents, the Ghost, and I met up with my sister and her family in West Virginia for the 4th of July weekend.  The area is close to Seneca Rock (a huge monolith best known by rock-climbing adventurers) and we all went spelunking in the Seneca Caverns.  We had rented a place there:  a couple bonfires, roasting marshmallows, a hot tub, a grill, some fireworks...  wow.

Well...  that's all my storytelling for tonight.  If you'd like more information about Pinewood Store and Restaurant click on the link below.  I should have an update about all things creative in a few days.  Thanks for spending a little time with me and my ramblings.  G'night.

www.pinewoodstoreandkitchen.com/

I am a falcon, I am a bird of prey,
making a killing in a different way.
Grown weary of flying in circles,
losing ground chasing miracles,
I’m just evil enough to know it.
But too ashamed to ever show it.

Am I making your skin, crawl ?
or am I making your skin, thicker ?
Am I making your skin, crawl ?
or am I making your skin, thicker ?

Is any of this sinking through ?
Thought you had me, didn’t you ?
Well…  maybe you do.

For whatever it may be worth to you,
my one night stands were few and far between.
Don’t mean to play my dismay in some cheap cliché,
but when the walls fell, as I was facing Hell,
There was my answer in a played-out movie line.
“You make me want to be a better person.”
Now I ask you: don’t those words ring true ?

I could have stayed struggling and insane.
I could have kept believing / living the lie.
When I saw you, shining through,
I had the chance; I had the choice.
I took the chance; I made the choice,
Far beyond spellbound by your voice.

No longer a falcon, no bird of prey,
I sing a new song on a born again day.
Given up flying in circles, to rest
these bones in the home of my nest.
Don’t understand exactly why or how.
But you’re all that matters now.

Pray this doesn’t make your skin crawl.
Pray you’ll choose to let me in.
Pray this doesn’t make your skin crawl.
Pray you’ll choose to let me in.

Is any of this ringing through to true ?
Thought you had me, didn’t you ?
Well…  you know that you do.
Oh...  you know you do.

Our universe is a symphony.  It's a symphony of vibrating strings and possibly membranes, but when it was born, it was born as a perfect entity in 11 dimensional hyperspace.  That may eventually give us "a theory of everything".

“String Theory says that all the notes on a vibrating string correspond to a particle.  That an electron is actually a rubber band.  A very tiny rubber band, but if you twang this rubber band and the rubber band vibrates at a different frequency, it turns into a quark.  And you twang it again and it turns into a neutrino.  So, how many musical notes are there ?  An infinite.  How many musical notes are there on a string ?  An infinite number.  And that may explain why we have so many subatomic particles.  They are nothing but musical notes.  So, physics is nothing but the laws of harmonies on a string.

Chemistry is nothing but the melodies you can play on vibrating strings, and the mind of God, the mind of God that Einstein worked on for the last 30 years of his life, the mind of God would be cosmic music.  Cosmic music resonating through 11 dimensional hyperspace.  You see, our universe Is a symphony.  It's a symphony of vibrating strings and possibly membranes, but when it was born, it was born as a perfect entity in 11 dimensional hyperspace. That may eventually give us "a theory of everything."

-- Professor Michio Kaku


For the video of him discussing this
along with an attached transcript:
http://bigthink.com/ideas/19055

If one were to think in terms of musical frequencies emitted by each planet in a specific sign, a person's horoscope would make a specific kind of harmony or music. Then, when brought together with others (people or even planets that continue to move through time), the music would be either enhanced or become cacophonic. In fact, the music is constantly encouraged to adapt and rearrange itself to fit the stronger pattern.

Johannes Kepler (1561-1630) spoke convincingly of the harmony that permeates the universe, extending the work of Pythagoras and the theme of "music of the spheres".

Pythagoras defined music as the perfect union of contrary things, as unity in multiplicity, or accord in discord. Indeed, music does not only coordinate rhythm and modulation, but imposes order on the whole system.

Musica universalis (lit. universal music, or music of the spheres) or Harmony of the Spheres is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica (the Medieval Latin term for music). This "music" is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic, mathematical or religious concept. The idea continued to appeal to thinkers about music until the end of the Renaissance, influencing scholars of many kinds, including humanists.

A small number of recent compositions either make reference to or are based on the concepts of Musica Universalis or Harmony of the Spheres. Among these are Music of the Spheres by Mike Oldfield, Om by the Moody Blues, and Björk's 2011 album Biophilia.

The three branches of the Medieval concept of musica were presented by Boethius in his book De Musica:  musica mundana (sometimes referred to as musica universalis); musica humana (the internal music of the human body); and musica quae in quibusdam constituta est instrumentis (sounds made by singers and instrumentalists).

According to Max Heindel's Rosicrucian writings, the heavenly "music of the spheres" is heard in the Region of Concrete Thought, the lower region of the mental plane, which is an ocean of harmony.

It is also referred to in Esoteric Christianity as the place where the state of consciousness known as the "Second Heaven" occurs.

Here we are again, practically the beginning of a new month.  Which means, it’s time for an update blog.  Although there’s not much new to speak of, everything seems to be progressing well.  There have been the regular up's and down's, but nothing severe.  At any rate, here we go.

I just purchased the “Magix Music Maker 2016 Premium” software.  It’s fully compatible with the “Music Maker Jam” app that I used to write 7 compositions on my smart phone.  It comes with over 6,500+ sounds and loops, 17 virtual instruments, unlimited tracks, professional effects & mastering plug-ins.  All said and done, I’m one damn happy camper.

I wasn’t accepted into Carnegie Mellon University this academic year.  It didn't crush my hopes, but can't say it felt great finding out the news.  They did write me an actual, personal letter online, signed and everything.  Basically it said that they admired my spirit, the achievements I have made, and encouraged me to apply again, and keep on with all that I'm doing.  There's always 2017-2018.  Until then, I'll keep walking my path.

The composing has been slow with me.  Just after a 2 week drought, I’m setting up one that I’ve donned “Speak in Tongues”.  No rational thought behind the title; that’s what the timbre of the arrangement evokes in me.  Yeah… this one also seems like it’s going to be a mess to sort through.  On the upside, normally my messes prove to help me to grow the most as a human being.  As with any songwriter, nobody really can say where a song is going to land, whether or not it will end up on the album.  One song you compose will have all of the lyrics fit with everything about the song and it’s done in 3 days.  Others loom in the background until that final piece comes into play, and you know it’s finished, perfectly.  That’s just hows songs are.

Fortunately I’m adding poetry and lyrics like crazy now.  Lyrics keep getting, err… “updated”.  The count is at 25 separate songs worth of lyrics.  So I have all of the lyrics that I need for my solo project.  My take on the situation ?  Awhile back, it was suggested that I write a full-fledged poetry book with one “work” per each style of poem.  Why stop writing lyrics when they can turn into poems for a poetry book ?  That’s still the concept now.

My next attempts at poetry will follow 3 of the 4 different types of sonnets:  The English (Shakespearean), The Italian (Petrarchan), The Spenserian, and The Indefinable.  That’s right: there’s a category for sonnets that don’t belong to any classification.  It’s the counterculture, misfit, none-of-the-above, check “other” on your SAT form...  of what we say passes for existence.  I wrote the Indefinable one a while back, not even knowing that I did it.  So Cheers to 3 poems adhering to the literary rules.  The lines are your friends, Hobbes; stay in the space between the lines.

I’m eagerly anticipating yinz all writing a comment or two about what I've been rambling on about.  I know what I think and where I stand for now.  I’m curious as to what all of yinz guys can bring to the discussion.  I’ll leave you with that for today.

With sincere gratitude,
Hobbes Deutsch, Jr.

In completely predictable news, the US Congress actually voted 3 times in a row as to whether they should vote on studying the pain management properties of Marijuana (thc or cbd) as a substitute for addiction to pharmaceutical pain killers.

That's right.  They couldn't just vote if they should set up a committee and hire scientists to do research.  No, they had to vote on whether they'd vote on the possibility of appointing a committee and doing research.

In reality, it has already been determined that addiction to pharmaceutical pain killers (normally opioids) leads to illegal opioid addiction, which is in direct causality to the massive heroin (an opioid) addiction trend here in the USA.

My stake in all of this ?  I have psychiatric and medical conditions that Marijuana can either cure or provide considerable relief.  After a couple bad falls and surgeries, I have pain in my spine that is excruciating at times.  I also have Crohn's Disease, have a schizo-affective disorder, high anxiety attacks, diabetes and a statistically high risk for glaucoma.

Medicinal Marijuana can reverse the course of Crohn's Disease to the point that it is either cured or, at the very least, goes into remission.  Marijuana also breaks the circular mindset common in schizo-affective disorder.  Doing that allows the patient a fresh perspective:  see new ideas, consider philosophical concepts as a means to develop coping devices, and the inside/outside world as they relate to one another.  Next, there is the constant, aching pain in all of the muscles in my body.  Point Blank, marijuana can alleviate all of the pain and tension.  Finally, while acknowledging that nothing is perfect, all of these remedies are from a 100% natural source.


The Punchline:
Medicinal Marijuana is legal in Washington D.C.  Marijuana has also been Legalized there, but the plan hasn't been implemented.  And of course, the date for implementation keeps getting kicked back.  That means that Congress will probably sign the bill into law in the lame duck sessions after the elections are over.  One can only hope.

"Before Beginning"
-- Hobbes Deutsch, Jr.

Hey... why can't our lives be monumental ?
You see… all that most do is pass the time.
What could one person's greatness show or prove ?
And are any of us truly ready for the answer ?

Could we show some respect for all uncommon things ?
For something better to shine within a summer bonfire ?
Before the embers fade and the night forsaken.
the dawn breaking bravado into domestic drudgery.
Wallowing in the mire, Wallowing in the mire...

Teach me how to let go of everything. Sometimes, to just heal...
let my head spin out the mental stress, until my soul can rest,
in a state of holy grace, through all of time and space.


Don’t look back; come on in. Got to get
out of your way before you can begin.

Don’t look back; come on in. Got to get
out of your way before you can begin.

​Don’t look back; come on in. Got to get
out of your way before you can begin.

Welcome once again to my blog about what’s new and happening with my music and whatever else in my life that has my attention. I hope that you are doing well physically, mentally, and emotionally, wherever you may be in your journey. If you need an ear to listen without prejudice, either leave a comment or write me an email at hobbes@hobbesmusic.com. And now, without further ado, here’s the update.

My first solo project, “Optimal Optical & the Auditory Story of the Mind”, now has plenty of written lyrics to draw from, but only a few musical ideas and compositions. All together I have 25 songs worth of lyrics but only 7 pieces of music. You can hear a mix of 3 music renderings in the first track at soundcloud.com/hobbes-deutsch-jr or at reverbnation.com/hobbesfeatkuderski.

I had been waiting somewhat patiently for Carnegie Mellon University to get back to me about whether or not I’d been accepted into their English program. Well, I finally did get their decision this past Monday. I know that I shouldn’t have had my hopes up, but let’s be honest here: that bit of advice goes out the window when you’re working toward a life goal.

I read the official letter online, signed and everything. They congratulated me on my achievements in the arts but eventually they said that I shouldn’t take it as any type of personal rejection. I said to myself: “Hey, next year, eh ? More time to prepare for the change in life, better chance to prepare for the scholarship process, and more time to save up money.” I’d be lying if I said it was easy to be positive at first, but I was pleasantly surprised that I have the self-confidence to believe in the promise of “Next year, friend… next year I’ll hit it out of the park.”

I feel the need to say, however...  whatever you are wanting to do with or in your life, as you gain life experience, it truly gets far easier to gain self-confidence through life experience.  How ?  Once you realize just how much you've accomplished and lived through, you gain a sense of resilience.  Weather the storm, and then again and again...  that's how self-confidence is built.  Then you'll begin to appreciate just how courageous you were:  hoping for something better to do with one's life, and acting on those dreams.  One foot in front of the other, my friend...  one by one.

Keep on keeping on,
Hobbes

When he dropped his name for a symbol, going by "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", I thought to myself:  "I wonder what it's like to be a concept, a spiritually androgynous sensual being ?"

Prince was the first inkling of that to me, and not only did he have a soul, didn't conform to a strict religious upbringing, but he still remained on good terms with The Almighty.  It was because of Prince's blatant androgyny that in 4th grade I began wearing a cheap, 3 fake pearl mess of a clip earring, with a metal flower...  at my Roman Catholic grade school.  They didn't like me there much.

When I was born, I didn't grow up with Ziggy Stardust, or any culmination thereof.  I was presented with Bowie in the "Let's Dance" album.  That was Bowie's for me.  Intellectual and intriguing, but he was through with creating personas for awhile.

Let's get one thing straight:  Prince was not, and never will be (thank God) the black Bowie.  It's my view that Bowie created persona after persona for his art, a task not to be taken lightly.  Prince was always Prince, knew who and what he was, and remained true to himself:  integrity.  I cringe at the thought of some disastrous spin that the music industry might come up with:  "The Black Bowie"  as a take-away marketing ploy.

Prince, unlike Bowie, still appeals to me because he has a spirit, a soul unbound by labels, and saw no need to deny his sexuality in light of it.  He played every instrument known to man, did so with a perfectionist's zeal. and yet was imbued with a strong, rooted center of humility before God.

Most of all ?  He deeply moved me.  All of the kids and a few Nuns called me a faggot daily, and then treated me like an abomination.  When it was done, I felt a soul still inside, the part of me that they couldn't drive out.  Hell fire and brimstone never was the best way to imbue anything in people, except for fear for the well-being of our souls.

That's what Prince meant to me.  He was human; never discount it.  His music was a starting-off point and a sanctuary.  After all, some songs on "Purple Rain" were bleeped out every once in awhile by my mom.  But hope lay in the fact that somebody like Prince existed.

He wasn't the only ray of light.  I grew up with many 80's icons who stirred my passions, but Prince stirred the parts of me that the establishment's Catholicism couldn't drive out:  My soul; my eccentric, budding identity; and my part in our common humanity.  He reminded me that everybody deserves to be truly loved, by God and by those God presents to us on our journey.  It was a round-about way to the truth...  what my Dad would call the scenic route, but it got me here (miraculous thing that it is), and for that and your music, Prince...  I thank you.

Your first time in a cathedral, but it would be a little while.
And somehow or another, I'm certain you can't understand.
You see, of my soul-time in a cathedral, I'll be in one for awhile.
Conferring with St. Peter, the rock the Church was built on, and
Mary Magdalene to talk about the man... her only true salvation.

I'm not certain this will work for us. You never have
been one to see this. No... it isn't for you to understand.
No... it isn't for you... to understand.

You haven't lived with my prayers for the home of a cathedral,
for a state of grace in the sudden death of heavenly sentiment.
And from that, I fear that your company won't be in my future,
From this message on, and for all of us who have received
a message like this one...  We would have liked
some way to get going stronger once again.

It's a true love problem, when all is said and done.
It's a little bit more about you and me.

It's a true love problem, when all is said and done.
It's a little bit more about you and me.

So you pray to get it back
Only God can give you that
Make my body come alive
I've got a right to hurt inside
-- FKA twigs

Before you discount Bernie as a cranky little Brooklyn Jew who does a helluva’ Larry David impression, do a little reading up on him.  I see posts saying how horrible ALL of the choices are for president – from Trump and Cruz to Hillary – and lumping Bernie Sanders in with them.  Do the research !  Not from FOX media or even MSNBC.

Yes, read about this man, who, for 30 years, has brokered MORE legislation by reaching across the aisle to BOTH parties to get something done in Washington than any other politician.  Read his history on Civil Rights, when he was chained to other protesters in the street to fight against segregation while Hillary was working for the Young Republicans and Barry Goldwater.  Read that Gloria Steinem anointed him an “Honorary Woman” because of his fight for equality in the workplace for women.

Read what he predicted in 1999 when the Glass Steagall Act was repealed – a prediction which came true in 2008: the crash of our economy.  Read that 170 noted economists support his economic proposals and believe they will lead to a stronger middle class and sustained economic growth for our country.  Read that, in 1972, he supported equal rights for the LGBTQ community -- a full FORTY YEARS before Hillary finally changed her mind and supported same-sex marriage.

“He’s a socialist,” they lie (They know better but they are very sure you don’t.) “He wants to plant magic trees which grow free stuff so everybody can have free college and a purple pony,” they spout, forgetting that the current taxes the US collects are the CITIZENS’ to spend the way we wish. (Maybe educating our workers so they can get better-paying jobs is a wiser choice than spending the money carpet-bombing the Middle East – After all, how has that worked out over the past 25 years?)

“He’s not electable,” they say, despite winning OVERWHELMINGLY in caucus states. “He wants to raise taxes to 62%,” proving they have not actually read his tax proposals . “Hillary is our nominee,” the ‪#‎DNC‬ and‪ #‎DebbieWasserman‬ tout, making sure the #DNC debates were in obscure time slots.c

“His supporters are naïve college students who don’t vote,” they discount, even though he won three states with nearly 80% of the vote. It’s not just Millennials who believe in his message.

In fact, if he wins Oregon and California, he will only need to win 40% of New York’s votes to pass Hillary in delegates, and then the pressure will be on the Superdelegates (another way the DNC has rigged the election) to win the nomination.

Despite all the obstacles both the GOP and the DNC have thrown in front of him, Bernie Sanders’ momentum is building.  Why ?  Because his message is simple, clear and honest: Stop ripping off the middle class and turning our country into an oligarchy controlled by only the richest Americans.  It is resonating with all age groups, in diverse neighborhoods, and he is the worst nightmare of politicians who have sold out to their donors’ interests and gotten rich through insider trading, Super Pacs, lobbyists, banks too big to fail and Wall Street manipulators.

Read … and learn … what a Democratic Socialist is (like FDR, JFK and LBJ), and how enormously different it is from a totalitarian socialism like Lenin’s or Stalin’s.  Understand that economies like Germany and the UK are Democratic Socialist governments, based on CAPITALISM which works for ALL people, not just the richest few.

But the bottom line is this:  Do you want an HONEST man for President who has lived his message for a half century, fighting for the poor and middle class, or do you want one of the other choices who are arguing over who has smaller hands (and other anatomical parts), where the e-mails are, or whose wife … oh, never mind.

Rest assured, if you post a response which labels him a commie or socialist (He is a Democratic Socialist – you know, like FDR, JFK and LBJ were), or that he is some tutti-fruiti magical thinker, your post will be deleted because it is clear you are too lazy to really examine his proposals and are simply parroting the GOP / FOX / MSNBC nonsense.
​
That’s MY First Amendment right.

First, I thank my partner in life for coming up with this idea for a new project.  I am writing a poetry book with an example of every type of poem that's out there.  So far, I've written one of Ginsberg's concoction (The American Sentence), the Japanese invention (haiku),  a soon to be a recorded (Spoken Word) piece loosely based on James Joyce's truly iconic form:  the (Stream of Consciousness).

What lies below is a sort of old poem.  I wrote this 3 years ago, and it came up on Facebook as a memory post.  After working it over and over, I feel fairly confident in this liberal version of a (Shakespearean Sonnet), the only difference being in the rhyme scheme.

Oh, and this second Poetry and Song Lyrics Booklet should be released with my first solo music album at the end of 2016 / beginning of 2017.  We'll have more on this story as the situation develops.


"Tired of Trying"

The ground massages his tried, tired feet
travels unbound upon barren concrete
All of this reminds him tread lightly
if he wants words to come out politely.
It would mean a lesser pain born nightly

But oh, the times he tried to give and take
only made worse his troubles and heart ache.
And then when he cursed and swore at it all,
it only slightly slowed his certain fall,
leaving only crumbling stones from his wall.

And so he asks of me with final breath:
"Perchance, I solve the riddle before death ?"

These are the words of a Latino American professional woman. She went on a rant about how Trump is wrongfully and ruthlessly being attacked by the media.  Fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy night.

Donald Trump did not steal your money. Donald Trump did not raise your taxes.  Donald Trump did not quadruple the price of food. Trump is not stirring a race war. Trump did not leave any US soldiers in Benghazi to be slaughtered and desecrated by Muslims. Trump did not send the US Navy to fight for Syrian Al-Qaeda. Trump did not arm ISIS and systematically exterminate Christians throughout the Middle East. Trump did not betray Israel. Trump did not provide financing and technology to Iran's nuclear weapons program. Trump did not give our military secrets to China. Trump did not remove our nuclear missile shield in Poland at the behest of Russia. Trump did not shrivel our military, and betray our veterans. Trump did not cripple our economy. Trump did not increase our debt to 20 trillion dollars. Trump did not ruin our credit, twice. Trump did not double African American unemployment. Trump did not increase welfare to a record level for eight years. Trump did not sign a law making it legal to execute, and imprison Americans. Trump did not set free all of terrorists in Guantanamo bay. Trump did not steal your rights, violate US Constitutional law, or commit treason, hundreds of times.

Here is my picking apart and responding to her accusations, misinformation, and misgivings about Trump, different and most politicians currently running for office or who already have achieved some position of power.

​Trump used tax loopholes to run his businesses, which he bankrupted 4 times, costing 1,000's of jobs.  He has said that he will continue to use the system like only he knows how, as the most powerful man in the world.

Trump not only is stirring a race war against Mexicans, calling them drug dealers and rapists, but also a religious war against anyone who "looks Muslim",promising he'll establish detainment camps and deport both Mexicans and Muslims.

Hillary Clinton has taken part in several investigative committees which Republicans fully admit were all fueled entirely by intentions to weaken her presidential chances.  She was fully exonerated of having committed any criminal activities in Benghazi.

Obama signed an executive order this past year to expand and fully fund the VA.

The Republican Congress and Obama worked hand in hand to arm ISIS and systematically exterminate Christians throughout the Middle East.

Trump has been extremely vocal with his intentions to "bomb the shit out of ISIS", escalating and beginning several additional wars in the middle east for almighty oil.  That will cost 10,000's more American soldiers' lives and trillions more of dollars for defense.
​
Every congress and President for the past 35 years have grown our defense budget, with more than 50% of every dollar going toward defense funds.

Obama and almost all members of a Republican Congress  signed into law indefinite detention.

Obama didn't set free any inmates from Gitmo when he closed it down.  Rather, he moved them to extremely secured prisons within the USA.

The Republican Congress is the group who committed treason by subverting a treaty that has successfully kept Iran from developing nuclear weapons.  In this manner, Republicans have been systematically undermining peaceful negotiations, which threatens Israel's security in the region.

Okay now throughout this rant of hers, there are points where she's just being ridiculous.  Just because Trump didn't do something heinous doesn't mean that Obama, Hillary, or Sanders did commit the said act.

I am registered as having no party affiliation.  No matter who the nominees may be, I'm voting for Bernie Sanders. 

p.s.  knock off the "Hussein" bit.  It's trivial and utterly contrived.

This is probably the best way to see where
my musical influences lie.  Pretty certain that
I'm being too self-important, but at the very least
I hope that you enjoy the testimonial.

Keep on Keeping on...
Hobbes Deutsch, Jr.

I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
and I can see your halo.

Strangely beautiful yet oddly caring.  For a very long time, I falsely knew that I was the only one.  There are others out there, with grieving halos, and we are bound by our common goal:  we love to be loved.  Trust me.  One by one, you will find your hallowed angel.  You will love like laughter and weeping all at once.  We are our homes.  Know all of this, and carry on.

I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
and I can see your halo.

Of course I love you, and I tell you most sincerely that I understand.  Now hold me slow, kiss me hard, and love me like only you can.  Show me the constellations.  You're brighter than Orion's belt above us, standing hand in hand.  Just love me strong, and with your whole heart for a time is all that I can ask.

I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
I'm with you in Rockland
and I can see your halo.

So, this is the first update since my website went crashing down in flames, way back in October 2015.  Hoping that this post finds you and yours doing well and glad for living.  And now, let's begin.

I've laid out 6 tracks for my first solo project: “Optimal Optical & the Auditory Story of the Mind”. With lyrics for all of them, I figured I'd update yinz guys on the direction that it's headed:  showcase the sounds I'm expanding on, and also showcase the composing process that I'm developing. 3 tracks for my solo project can be found on my soundcloud and reverbnation music sites. Oh, and don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the comments below each track.

My youtube channel is growing by leaps and bounds.  There are now 3 music videos up there, created entirely by yours truly.  If you'd like some more information about MATC Music, music by alumni and instructors, and everything after there are several videos there to get you on the path.  Also there, a mess of some favorites that have served and continue to serve as influences.

Well, it's official: I've 100% submitted my application to the Creative Writing program at Carnegie Mellon University. I'll apply to both Creative Writing and Music Composition for my 2nd year as a student. I was even able to submit 5 songs from my soundcloud page, as evidence of my writing technique and style, all done through their “slide rule” service online. It's not required for me to do it, but obviously, every little bit of effort on my part helps.

I've applied for a scholarship that is meant to help people who suffer from a schizo-affective disorder, to reintegrate into society and the work force. It would pay for almost all expenses, that is except for room and board. It's a long shot, but I have a good enough chance that I refuse to pass it up. Next comes filling out FAFSA forms and submitting all of that mess. I can just about see the finish line from here.

I extend an open ear to listen without prejudice, if any of you need somebody. I'm online throughout the day, so... no worries needed. I may write a lot, but when you talk I'm all ears.  Once again, my best to you, your friends, and family.  Feels great to be back !!!

Keep on keeping on,
Hobbes

"Truth of a Soulful Whole"
by Hobbes

It's in the crisp autumn air, snapping crackles and biting breeze beauty of Halloween.  All of the greeting cards show cuteness and hollow sentiments.  All of the nights owed decrepit cash for gory zombies, throat-ripping, gnawing the jugulars, and mindless screaming...  wailing bloody howls.

So why not trust a better, more romantic voodoo for us to connect with solemn blessings ?  We could cherish having kissed the spirited.  Tears-sparking lips of loved kin, we kindle lava wax and cider, and a bonfire's kindling of cedar.

See, the whole thing is...  a time-tattered, torn and tired Victorian home, is cast as a center force of marketed cheap kicks reeling, our humanity lost... meaningless horror and mauling.

But the very truth in this gorgeous Victorian home ?  There's truth of a soulful whole, family members passed, visiting with us there.  Through our presence, we gather ourselves around sentient crystals and, while smudging sage brush, these permeate.  Gathered touch, lost over uncountable years, regained.

So yes, it's in the crisp autumn air, snapping crackles and biting breeze beauty of Halloween, and glory be to a monumental, but always too brief, joining of here and hereafter in a much loved Victorian home.

Update Blog:

I'm a Singer, Lyricist, and Songwriter looking for somebody to team up with and to take my music in a different direction.  Thinking piano, acoustic guitar, or even a DJ live-mixing my tracks and yours, with vocals by me or both of us.  I own a digital piano that I can offer for rehearsals and gigs.  So if you live in the greater Tampa Bay area, and if coffee shops and art bars sound good to you as venues, get back to me soon.  I'm eager to get this ball rolling.

I've been playing around with a new toy, a composing app, and I've laid out a rough draft for the title track on my solo project:  “Optimal Optical & the Auditory Story of the Mind”.  Basically, I figured I'd update yinz guys on the direction in which my solo project is headed:  to showcase the sounds I'm expanding on, and also the composing process that I'm developing.  Lyrics for this track can also be found on my bandcamp, soundcloud, and reverbnation music sites.  You can find this song, and all of my other ones, on the music player below.

After much back and forth in my mind, I've decided to apply to the Creative Writing program at Carnegie Mellon University.  Moving forward on this, I've also decided to submit Kuderski's and my 2nd album as a portfolio.  It's not required in any way for me to do so, but with my age as a factor, I figure every little bit of effort on my part is vital in securing a place as a student there.

I intend to begin the BHA program (Bachelors of Humanities and Arts) during my sophomore year.  As I've also made clear, I will apply as a composition major.  What would be really great is if I could teach as a Professor at CMU.  I know that I'm crazy about this University.  Plain and simple, it's one of my homes, of which I have three.

I extend an open ear to listen without prejudice, if any of you need somebody to lend an ear.  I'm online throughout the day, so...  no worries needed there.  I may write a lot, but when you talk I'm all ears.  I'm right here.

Keep on keeping on,
Hobbes

Never really knew Jerry Garcia.  I had a chance to go to a Grateful Dead concert, but turned down my then girlfriend because I had an English assignment to finish.  That's not it, obviously.  From my most recent past life insight, something which I have no tangible way of proving, I remember being at Woodstock in 1969 and dying there, but I have no clear image of watching The Grateful Dead.  Best to not guess at that matter.

So I'm driving down the street on the South Side of Pittsburgh, which is a mecca of bars, drugs, and Classic Rock 'n' Roll blaring out of every window down the main street.  I see a crowd of people, looking like Hippies, celebrating with a drumming circle, while police officers stand by, ready to bust that first person who lights a jay.  That was enough for me, a then 19 yo college student to pull over and park around the block.

What I had no idea about was the reason why they were gathered there:  August 9th, 1995.  I never really knew Jerry Garcia, but he suffered a heart attack that day, and didn't pull out of it.  When he had died, so did decades of the The Grateful Dead's long legacy.  You just can't replace a lead singer of that caliber and play on, without being reminded of and feeling that hole where the person had been.

So, I'm at this drumming circle, and although I was drumming, I wasn't doing a very good job of it, so I politely and in a timely manner excused myself from the circle.  I did, however, have my backpack of notebooks, pens, and random assorted knickknacks, and wasn't doing a very good job of contributing to the general atmosphere.  So I turned to writing a summary of what was happening there.  Just a little piece on everything I was thinking and feeling, and the gist that I was having of what this event meant in a greater sense.  It came out of that.  I wrote about the people there that night.  I wrote a lot more about their kindness and unabashed outpouring of sympathy, compassion, and happiness...

It's still the happiness part that sticks with me.  They called him Papa Bear, and as far as I can understand they loved him so much that happiness was the only way they expressed themselves.  They were the first funeral celebration I had known.  They just loved to love.  That's really all that I can say of them, And that's also basically what I said in the short piece of prose that I wrote, then set on the ground, and put a candle on it so that it wouldn't blow away.

When I was done dancing and celebrating with the friends I had met that day, I started to hear talk of a letter, my letter, being phenomenal.  I mean, that...  I got back over there to see teardrops on the paper. There was also a pigeon feather, with wax from the candle holding it onto the paper.  They had decorated it.  I didn't understand fully, before that moment, just how much the words that I write can affect others.  And that was the one thing.  I choose them more carefully now, and do just a bit better every day, I think.

I held onto that paper letter for a number of years.  Eventually it just sort of disappeared, but I hold onto the memory of the night, and every once in a while I write a bit about it, like today.  It was my first funeral celebration, and the happiest one, too.  I never really knew Jerry Garcia.  That night though, I met his family, and they will always celebrate his love with anyone who wants to hear Uncle John's Band play on, and on, and on...

One feature on pretty much every smartphone is the auto-correct function.  Now, recently I've been in a writing slump when it comes to song lyrics.  Normally I can punch out three or four full songs in about a week.  So I decided to open the evernote app, and see how auto-correct might help.  I chose one letter to start off with, then a suggested word, and then let the feature do the rest.  I was stunned at how the words, that I edited within this new creative tool, summed up my then current mood.  The creative juices were flowing, and slowly I picked up on a theme.  Having discovered that theme, it became far easier for me to edit as I went along.

I don't recommend too much editing until you discover a theme in your writing.  This method lends itself to opening up one's mind to more literary possibilities, and in my case, that was exactly what I needed this time around.  And so, here's the song that I wrote.


"A new way known, and all that is home"
--Hobbes Deutsch, Jr.

I'm trying to find a place where you can get the chance to see... this vitality. Because there's a difference between what is all here now, and what could be the wonderful beauty of this most important part of our lives.

Honestly, sometimes... I don't know. I’m just trying to get somewhere in a prayer, without a hell fire and brimstone scare. You see, that's the unspoken creed here, and the cost is our injury from that sort of thing. Oh... where there is injury your pardon, Lord. Oh… where there is injury your pardon, Lord. Oh Lord, where there is injury...

So please, consider praying for the next great day. I'm sure that you have viewed the violence in our silence... please hurry too, and choose. I guarantee they will be here soon. These days will be loved, the most important part of our lives.

If not now... when ? Can we do this... again ?
If I walk into your light, hold you slow like back then,
would we be just so lost in a choked up dream ?
would the night break into an early morning scream ?
A new way known, and all that is home.

If not now... when ? Can we do this... again ?
If I walk into your light, hold you slow like back then,
would we be just so lost in a choked up dream ?
would the night break into an early morning scream ?
A new way known, and all that is home.

Yours is an optical mind of the optimal kind; and mine turns melodic and harmonic tides, words that rhyme forming moments in sonic time.  With the help of the sounds running through the underground, vibrations paint auditory landscapes.  All of it could make, break, or elevate our frame of mind, forming an optimal optical kind.  So, moving picture shows are made for cinemaphiles like you, and vivid soundtracks are made for audiophiles like me.

Care for a spot of green tea with honey and ginseng ?  Rich in antioxidants, creating a subtle sense of confident confidants.  These words are my bond on either side of the pond.  Bloody Hell, can't you tell this scene is a sacred secret dreaming ?  And now here are the screaming bastions of passions.  No matter how we tell them the truth of the matter, it shatters their walls forming the infinite halls the size of a high multiple of pi.  Never ending ascending stairs rise toward a sky that abides being eternally next to be. Walk with me...

With riddles I excel far better than well enough.  Too tough, rough, the stuff that cinema and audio addicts wrestle with as we drift, for you and I'll be gone in the global miles.  Now if you excuse me while I attend Mass, genuflecting with class in a cemetery so very vast.  As massive as this universe, you and I always defying defining the glorious ascension as a mention of pi's pine staircase, where the pieces of the infinite space-time fall into place.  These our infinite hours, we're only beginning the surface scratching as ideas are hatching entwining and matching the best of intentions in our casual causal relationship of creation.  For this all is our nature, without hesitation as you bend the lights slow; I'll bend the pitches home; and now the show begins to grow and flow.  As the orchestra swells, as they raise the curtain... Here we go.

Hello everybody,

How are you today ? This is another Update Blog, so although I have taken issue with a few things, I'll leave that all to another time.

In Carnegie Mellon University news, I'm still debating whether to apply to the Creative Writing program in the English Department or the Music Composition program in the College of Fine Arts. As a transfer student, I can only apply to one school at a time so, there's all of that to consider.

Will have to talk with my cousin who designed the album art for “At This Point” about starting the printing process and ordering the finished product. I'm stuck on that because I plan to submit the album as my portfolio. I'm also awaiting an answer from CMU on whether that will suffice.

I think that I stand a better chance of being accepted into the DC of H&SS (Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences), and then begin my sophomore year in the BHA program (Bachelors of Humanities and Arts) for a career as a Singer-Songwriter in the music world, with great connections to pretty much go anywhere I want. What would be really great is if I could teach as a Professor at CMU. I know that I'm crazy about this University, but it's one of my homes, and in my life those are few and far between.

Wow… didn't think that I had that much to say.

As always, if you need somebody to lend an ear, I'm right here.  I may write a few tons, but when you talk I'm all ears, somebody to bounce ideas off of, to be an objective 3rd party.  I'm still online interspersed throughout the day, and I check my email and such once or twice every day.  That is still the case now that we're living in Florida.  So...  no worries needed there.

Keep on keeping on,
Hobbes

I'm certain that some of yinz are wondering why the surge of posts about LGBTQ rights on my social media sites. This is why... since moving down here to Tampa, Florida​, I've come to feel as if I'm being followed around by the people here in the south.  I know that it's just an insecurity or probably my paranoia, but none the less it has come to bother me.

But then again, living here in '96 - '99 there were many times that were filled with clashes between LGBTQ and Southern Baptist and Evangelical Bible-Beaters..  On the drive down through Northern Florida there was billboard after billboard about it (Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve-type ads).

And so, I won't forget where I've come from, because frankly it's worse here now than the late 1990's, which is probably because Marriage Equality has become the law of the land and so many down here resent it tremendously.

So when you see an influx of this type of post, just remember:  I will try to not become obsessed and/or bitter.  I just don't want to live that way, but The Ghost​ and I are living this...  here and now.  As always, I'm here to hear everyday.  Simply comment, email, or look for me on social media sites.  I will be there for you.  Until then, just remember that you matter,  and to respect, honor, and love yourself.

Keep on keeping on,
Hobbes

I greatly love taking photos at interesting locations and in certain moments of time, when both of them seem to jump out at me.  The photos used here were taken in an 1800's Hot Spring Resort in an Arkansas valley that was part tourist trap, part homeopathic paradise.  Back then the only cameras that I owned were one-time use cameras, so that's what accounts for the crappy quality of the photos.

"Midnight Blue" was composed and penned far more recently.  The strange beauty that I felt when creating the song is the very same eerie "Insane Asylum" quality of the resort.  Don't get me wrong; I was captivated the whole time, snapping photos of the amazing stained-glass windows, but the presence of an electric shock therapy machine next to a bed and the other strange devices like a beauty parlor chair that looked more suitable for a dentist office chair...  everything was so strange, complex, and yet surprisingly beautiful.  Actually, "Midnight Blue" has that same quality to it.  It's strange, broody, and complex, tying together its own complexity in 2-3 lines at the end of the song.

Every facet of this artistic venture was all created by me.  That just seems to be the way of things recently.  Kuderski is overrun by project after project these days, so when the concept came to me, I just bought the needed software and went to town with it.

It's not uncommon for me to do said creating all at once.  "MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 2015 Plus" is quite reasonable price-wise, and is also turning out to be a great fit for the concepts that I have in mind for future videos.  It's fairly intuitive and user friendly. plus plenty of new functions to mess around with over time, keeping me interested.  Can't wait to see what comes out of this all creatively.

Check over the "Midnight Blue" 3-Track Single below,  If you like what you hear, it's $1.00 for the whole thing, or whatever you feel the tracks are worth to you.  As always, yinz guys, if you need somebody to give their undivided attention for wherever we are in this thing we call consciousness, I'm right here.  Goodnight and God Bless.