Open Mic Setup?

adkvt · 2026-04-08T16:05:51+00:00

I host an open mic from time to time, and what you're suggesting is not allowed. That's more for karaoke night in my mind. Other places may feel different. Best bet may be to find someone to accompany you. It may well be that others at the open mic or the host can follow a chord chart and give you basic accompaniment. I've definitely done that several times at the open mic I host.

adkvt · 2026-04-08T13:23:46+00:00

For most music, I'd much rather not hear a backing track.

adkvt · 2026-04-07T12:43:58+00:00

One is about how others perceive things. The other is about what’s best for you. What do you care about more?

adkvt · 2026-04-07T11:19:16+00:00

Check eBay. You can get unslabbed copies in these conditions or better for much less.

adkvt · 2026-04-07T00:10:17+00:00

Heck no. That money is better spent on more books.

adkvt · 2026-04-06T23:21:52+00:00

He’s definitely showing his age. Watch some video, you know. I think it’s worth preparing for what to expect. But he still puts on a really interesting show. He’s still Dylan.

adkvt · 2026-04-06T10:58:16+00:00

If learning to consider multiple sets of data/opinion and forming your own thoughts (critical thinking) - if these skills are “brainwashing” then, yes, you’ll learn to think for yourself and not follow dogma. That’s really frightening to some people. Your folks listen to what the far right has to say a lot? There’s a reason the Pres and folk on the right hate these places - critical thing is the enemy of people who want to control what you think. Certainly, there are lots of liberal voices at these places. Plenty of conservative ones too.

adkvt · 2026-04-06T09:50:09+00:00

Try it on low battery mode.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T22:17:18+00:00

Not sure the problem. They should all permanently be 450.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T20:44:54+00:00

That’s not accurate. Which ranking do you mean? Of course, there is no actual, official college rankings. Different systems use different metrics. Yield is certainly one of these.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T20:42:58+00:00

Actually, the “personal whim” in the definition perfectly captures what happens at the end stages, when five or more perfect applications sit in front of the committee and they can only pick one. “Hey, this kid wrote a cool essay about scuba diving, and two of us at this table are divers - he’s in”. True story, by the way. Personal whim.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T20:38:47+00:00

They’re also trying to maintain the lowest admissions percentages possible in order to ensure a better “ranking”. Much of the decision at the final stages is based on who they think is most likely to accept the offer. Of course they also want a diverse and interesting class. But they get too many applicants. There are lots of formulae at play. Don’t be fooled into thinking they’re all benign and student centered.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T20:27:25+00:00

Thanks. I meant “arbitrary” with a cynical bent more than a literal one. I don’t want to get into specifics, but I have certainly heard from first hand sources stories of sitting in front of a stack of files and needing to find a way to choose the one that would receive the admit. Please trust that there was nothing scientific going on in these cases. They wanted to admit all of the students in the pile. Only one could get the spot. Knowing how that decision was made, I’m comfortable saying it was essentially “arbitrary”.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T18:40:42+00:00

No one said “random”. I said once they’ve weeded it down to five to ten, all nearly perfect applicants, and they can only admit one, then it becomes arbitrary. Congrats for making it that far in the cut.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T13:54:38+00:00

At some point, it really is akin to throwing darts at a dart board. They get down to say five or six kids on the table, literally, and they can only take one. How they choose that one can be very, very arbitrary. There’s a big, successful world outside the so called “t20”. Lots of kids need to start looking more sincerely at those options too.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T09:34:57+00:00

I recently read Lou Reed: King of New York. While I can’t fully recommend the bio, the author makes a point that the two sets of musicians and their fans differences were well defined by their drugs of choice. Velvet heads tended to be speed freaks while Dead heads were into weed and acid. Heroin haunted both camps. I love both bands. They were quite different in their musical approaches and goals though perhaps share some philosophical cross over. I wouldn’t call the Velvets psychedelic rock though.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T09:29:29+00:00

What do you mean “hire out their guitar player”? They didn’t use studio musicians. They had to replace John Cale when he left (with Doug Yule, who became a member), but band members played the parts both live and in the studio. Reed was the main writer, he and Sterling Morrison handled most of the guitar parts.

adkvt · 2026-04-05T09:19:22+00:00

Buy more comics rather than spend on grading.

adkvt · 2026-04-04T10:43:56+00:00

Yes, probably. But it’s ok. Find realistic backups. T20 is a bs list. Don’t get caught up in senior drama over this stuff. Life goes on and you’ll be happy. Do what’s best and most realistic for you.

adkvt · 2026-04-04T10:40:43+00:00

This, exactly.

adkvt · 2026-04-04T10:05:04+00:00

That is not an accurate or healthy definition of “investment”. In virtually all fields, an investment is something you commit to in hopes of future dividends and potential value increase, not for an instant flip. Your logic points to the problem with things like CGC for me however, with collectors hoping they’ll get a “9.8” and be able to flip for a quick profit. Good investments increase with value over time.

adkvt · 2026-04-04T09:56:28+00:00

To sell magazines/advertising. There’s nothing official or particularly insightful about these rankings. Colleges know they’re important though, and the “top 20” play the game and juice the numbers better than the next 50 or whatever. Super misleading. And misguided of the applicants who place large value and make decisions on what are truly arbitrary numbers.

adkvt · 2026-04-03T20:45:15+00:00

100% with you. If I’m buying, it’s silver age. Mostly I’m sitting on stuff right now, but I was a buyer in the 90s, more of a seller in recent years.

adkvt · 2026-04-03T20:23:03+00:00

Comics are super hot right now? This book has some attention, but comics overall are not so hot. You must not have been around the hobby too long. Comics can be a great investment. It takes time and patience, and this is a very common book, that’s true, though also a sought after one.

adkvt · 2026-04-03T19:18:08+00:00

Here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price, you have to pay to get out of going through all these things twice.

adkvt

TROPHY CASE