WorldFest was a bit of a letdown, at least in the food and shopping department. The shopping was… maybe okay if you like handmade soap or crocheted crafts, but was pretty much lacking in the “international” part. There was one Guatemalan food truck and very little else — apparently other food trucks had bailed at the last minute, possibly thinking that the morning drizzle would keep customers away. They were wrong and the Guatemalan truck had a long line and sold out of some stuff. I would say it was good but not amazing; I’d try some of their other stuff sometime. But we missed the bellydance group while waiting in line for it in a chilly drizzle.
Some of the performers that we did see weren’t really ready for a public performance. The Mexican guy with the guitar was definitely good, but it’s just not my thing. But we came for the taiko, and they didn’t disappoint. The director, Andrew, spotted me and a couple of other former members in the crowd and gave us shout outs. I’m invited back anytime… but as fun as taiko can be, it requires a huge effort and a significant time commitment that just doesn’t leave enough for my own music.
Quick review of the most recent order of shaving stuff:
- Taconic Shave, Tequila Lime shave cream: not a hard soap but sort of a meringue-like texture, where a smallish amount easily whips into an impressive lather. Smells absolutely delicious like it’s something I’d really want to drink or a tasty dessert. Works very well and I got a super smooth shave from it. This is definitely in the running for a favorite.
- Catie’s Bubbles, Irish Coffee shave soap: it does smell quite a bit like Irish coffee, but also a little bit like coffee candy. I knew when I ordered it, this might or might not be a good idea for a scent. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either… I think. It deserves another try at least. I’m not entirely sure there isn’t a sort of off next-day smell, but I could have been picking up something else; sometimes my sense of smell is weirdly sensitive to certain things.
- Catie’s Bubbles, Retreat shave soap: the description of this one is “Dreamy sandalwood holding up a kiss of citruses and neroli. Frankincense, rockrose, patchouli, and elemi round everything off.” I’m not a big patchouli fan, but as expected it’s a subtle part of the blend. I definitely get sandalwood — mild rather than sharp and spicy — and a little hint of frankincense and the citrus. It’s definitely pleasant, but I think I would put it a little bit behind Midnight Dreary.
- Southern Witchcrafts, Druantia aftershave splash: oh my this is good. I used this first on the same day that I used the Tequila Lime, and maybe they worked together just perfectly or maybe it was the amount I used or the dampness/dryness of my face when I applied it… or maybe just my perceptions. But that first experience with it was magical. Euphoric even. And it lingered the next day; I could still smell it while eating those chicken nachos. It is complex; sometimes I get the mossy thing, sometimes woody, sometimes spicy or powdery. I ordered a second bottle since there won’t be any more made. It was not as impressive the next couple of times, but it was still quite pleasant. The GFT Coral Skin Food has been set aside (and I may just toss it out).
After mentioning key farming in GW2, I’m making another attempt at a level 80 build to see what I think. I’m going back to one of my earliest builds, a staff-wielding Mesmer, but with a build that’s supposed to be one of the easiest, highly effective soloing builds right now. It’s kind of a slow burn; condition damage that builds up over time. You don’t kill off normal enemies very quickly, but the big ones (so far) seem to go down probably a little faster than average. It’s not tanky, but mobile and distracts enemies with illusions. But this character has had very little luck with keys — that 33% chance to get a key on map completion has given me 0 keys in 8 zones so far.
I’m putting the game on the back burner a little bit though, because I hope to release the new album this Bandcamp Friday. At this point I just have two more songs to master, and the webpage to write up.
Make Noise made a surprise noise announcement Monday: Jumbler, the second in their NUSS (New Universal Synthesizer System) line. It’s a 6 in, 6 out routing module… sort of a variation on a switch, crossfader, or even a matrix mixer with minimal controls. Rotate assigns the inputs to different outputs, while Radiate ranges from switch-like behavior where one input goes to one output, to a crossfade between adjacent inputs, to mixing all the inputs together. This is an all-analog module, requiring a whopping 36 VCAs.
It does share a little with Silhouette — which takes 6 inputs, but then scans them to a single output and also to stereo outputs, with some additional effects. That one has a sort of dual-purpose design: to place sounds in a space, and as an experimental toolset. Jumbler is just raw abstract function though, in a highly versatile design.
I’m pondering whether to pick this up, see how it behave either with Silhouette, or in place of it. There are more videos coming though and I’m waiting on that. I have a concern that Jumbler might not be quite as good at the continuous circular rotation that Silhouette does.