Mike Janssen

This seems to be the perfect afternoon, given the preconditions. I’m drinking coffee and listening to jazz. The coffee turned out well — I used a different grinder, and I’ve determined that my other grinder is not suitable for coffee any longer. The grind is too uneven and generates too much dust. This one is better. Still, I want a burr grinder.

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p>The jazz is good, too. Actually it’s a mix of music, all of which I’ve deemed fit for playing on WPFW, if I ever get a music show on the station. I’m trying to rate more of this music … Continue Reading

Ruminatrix. The scumbled scudded matrix. I love the word “scud.” As well as “scumble,” yes.

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p>I am boiling soup and listening to jazz. The soup is boiling itself. The stove is boiling the soup. Electricity is boiling the soup. Today I spent a long time IMing with Catherine and then finally got up and out of the house, for the purpose of finding red lentils and a can of diced tomatoes for my soup. It’s a soup of butternut squash and red lentils, my contribution to my mom’s side of the family’s Thanksgiving get-together, the annual ritual. This year it’s being … Continue Reading

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p>Harmonious megaphones. I am at Busboys and Poets in DC, drinking a mocha (uncharacteristically). I am a little weary on account of having had a lot of beer last night, the aftermath of which has been dogging me all day. Not in the guise of a hangover past the first few hours of wakefulness — just that sense of needing a good sleep to be 100 percent. But I soldier on. Today I reported to WPFW to do my newscasts, although I really just wanted to get back into bed until fully recuperated. I did those newscasts, and did … Continue Reading

Take a listen to the MP3s here, on the blog Awesome Tapes from Africa (that name and what it promises is hard to top, in terms of what gets me going). Each one is a half hour of a guy playing a stringed instrument and, apparently, telling the story of this Moussa Tchefari. The beat stays the same moderate tempo throughout. It sort of reminds me of R.L. Burnside. I want to put speakers on top of my car and drive around my neighborhood playing it for everyone. Trippy dude! Speaking of which. Also, check out Lavender Diamond’s [“You Broke My … Continue Reading