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Oscar Peterson Is Dead

How sad to read that Oscar Peterson is dead on Christmas Eve. He died yesterday at the age of 82.

This video made the top peak performance articles of 2006. There’s no doubt why.

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The Best Of Graham English 2007

2007It’s time for my yearly reflections and celebrations.

By far the most popular and most controversial post of 2007 was The Zen Of Attraction. I’m surprised at the attention it received because I wrote it as an aside. Some people loved it and some people hated it. But what was most interesting for me was how many people hated not the article, but me. I mean these were just simple ideas that are totally debatable. This post led me to define some comment rules that include no personal attacks. I’m willing to debate ideas but not whether I’m a good person or not. It was a very interesting experience!

The second most popular post was iQuickTwitter - My Quicksilver + Twitter + iChat + Growl Hack. This little app got some serious link love from TUAW, Ars Technica, and many other fantastic blogs. And a big reason why I didn’t blog as much as I did in 2006 was because of Twitter. If I ever had something short and simple to say, rather than try to develop it into at least 250 words, which I previously believed warranted a blog post, I would just post it to Twitter, which has a limit of 140 characters. I think my strategy will change some in 2008. My new Lifestream category will probably see a lot more action whenever I find that 140 characters is not enough. The most significant change is that I won’t keep such a tightly controlled niche blog. The only thing tying this blog together is that I am writing it, not the subject matter. So if I feel like saying something, this blog will take priority.

Along similar lines as iQuickTwitter were my many posts on . Some of them were conceptual, like Automation As Part Of An Integral Life Practice and Automating The Quality Of Your Attention. While others were specific and geeky, like IM Status: Update Your Skype, iChat, Or Adium Status With Quicksilver, Top 5 AppleScript Productivity Hacks for WordPress Bloggers and Podcasters, and Blogging With Quicksilver And AppleScript. I’ve really grown to see automation as an important part of life that I need to revisit again and again.

Some of my favorite songwriting articles were Applying The 80-20 Rule To Your Songwriting, my Hit Songwriting Tips Podcast, The Secret Alchemy Of Songwriting, 5 Sure Fire Ways To Kick-Start The Songwriting Habit, Rewriting Song Titles For Practice And Inspiration, and What Makes a Good Song? My biggest disappointment of 2007 was the small amount of completed songs. I finished only about half a dozen songs and published just one of them, which I’m quite proud of, “When The Wall Falls Down.”

I also didn’t write about ear training or music theory nearly as much as I did in 2006. But I have a few favorites, such as How To Use Tension And Release In Your Melodies, my Absolute Pitch Ear Training Podcast, Playing Outside: The Dominant 7 Pentatonic Scale, and Ear Training or Listening Practice?

Two great moments of 2007 were getting my new MacBook Pro and iPhone. The new Mac inspired a whole new series of podcasts called Graham English Talks and introduced my own videos, like The Best Of Dwight Schrute Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The iPhone inspired Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies For Your iPhone and made my tech life much more streamlined.

2007 was definitely a year of . Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, Stumbleupon, and many other social networks occupied a large part of my time online. And there were many benefits like making new friends, reconnecting with old friends, finding a larger reach for my articles and music, and discovering new forms of self-expression. It confirms how important relationships truly are.

Which leads me to the very best of 2007, You! My life wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilling without the special presence of you. The support of my readers and listeners has made the tough times easier and the good times even better. I sincerely hope that we stay connected through 2008. Thanks for sticking with me through 2007. w00t!

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Three Injured in Fire Next Door

There was a terrible fire on Harvard Place in Somerville, a street parallel to mine.

Summer St Harvard Pl

Around 11 p.m., Katie and I heard sirens directly outside our house and we discovered the beginnings of a massive fire right outside our back door.

The good news is that the fire victims are reported to be recovering. As I write this, the house is being demolished while firefighters continue to spray water on the burning embers.

Click here for mobile video

 
 Harvard Place Fire: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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My Brother Is Married!

Brian and JodiI didn’t get many good shots since I was in the wedding party and, well, busy. I did my best to remove as much red eye as I could with the limited time and tools that I have. But I really do wish I took more pictures. There’s no “do-overs” in life. However, you can upload your own pictures to my wedding gallery. If you have rehearsal dinner photos, upload them to the rehearsal dinner gallery. I’d love to have one place to go to for all the pictures so please share.

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NYC Bachelor Party

Graham and Brian

I took the bus to NYC last weekend to celebrate the end of Brian’s bachelorhood. It’s Tuesday and I’m still recovering. Not from the abundance of booze–I swallowed several milk thistle pills to keep the liver in check–but from urban backpacking, crawling in and out of subways and trekking up and down stairs with a large Kelty backpack stuffed with bedding, clothes, food, and my Aerobie AeroPress.

I wish I had remembered to continue taking pictures after I was too tired to drink, stand, or even flirt, but I didn’t. I would have captured some marvelous moments of Brian passed out in an underground bar, being woken up to show yet another random girl his temporary bachelor tattoo.

It was fun. But here’s to hoping there isn’t a next time.

We are the people our parents warned us about.

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