Hey Reader,

Jeff here, I hope you're doing well. Here's what I've been working on and working through this week. Making music, WordPress drama, mindful fitness habits, and a Jungian analysis of Rumpelstiltskin lol.

Scroll to the end to read how you can get a free 1-on-1 session with me!

Making Music - Bboy Funk

Inspired by my Bboying Music playlist, I wanted to try my hand at creating some vintage funk inspired breaks. I deliberately set aside time this week to focus on music production and I'm glad I did. I really like how it's sounding so far.

I've never tried making funk before so here's my first attempt. It's not organized yet, just a few ideas smashed together, ready to be arranged into a song. I know the organ is a bit all over the place!

🥁 Listen to the track: bboy breaks idea_2.mp3​

For drums, I used EZ Drummer 3, the default kit with the Fat Funk Drive preset. Works really well for this. Now, I also have the Funkmasters EZX with sounds and grooves from Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks (legendary funk drummers known for their work with James Brown). I started with a pretty aggressive Clyde beat, made some modifications, and went from there.

For the horns and organ, I had to do some digging. That organ has such a distinct sound and after doing research it's called a Hammond B-3 Organ. I didn't actually have any instruments or plugins for this. I could have used samples, but I'm not much of a sample guy. I like to try with virtual instruments first and see if I can make my own unique sound.

I came across a free VST plugin from Orchestral Tools called Sine Factory. They have a Big Band Horn section and a Tonewheel Organ. These were damn near perfect for what I was looking for. This will tide me over until I can afford Toontrack's impressive Session Organ expansion for EZ Keys.

I was putting all this together in FL Studio and playing around with the new EZ Mix 3 plugin from Toontrack. I was able to give it a more gritty, vintage breaks sound. I dig it so far. Maybe I'll add some guitar here and there before I flesh it out into a full track.

WordPress Drama

It wouldn't be a Finley Fridays week without some WordPress drama. Here goes:

​WP Minute: The Problems With WordPress - a presentation by Marc Benzakein. This talk raises some great points about why WordPress is falling behind and frustrating its community. It points fingers directly at Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic. The talk references the podcast below which is an eye opening look into who's really has say over where WordPress is heading.

​

​Whose WordPress is it anyway? Jason Tucker and Sé Reed discuss the concept of who "owns" the WordPress open-source project and the broader question of who controls WordPress, highlighting the tension between the open-source community's ideals and the reality of centralized control. The episode concludes with a call for transparency and accountability in the WordPress community, particularly within project leadership.

​

Mindful Fitness Habits

I got inspired to start tracking my eating again (was heavier than I'd like to be). I'm using the Lose It app and walking 8-10k steps a day with my FitBit and Pacer app. Cara and I renewed our Rec Center memberships and I made an effort to go 3x this week. I also signed up for some "drumming fitness" classes starting next month. We'll see how that goes!

Rumpelstiltskin!

I somehow got into this Rumpelstiltskin kick. I was reading The Sacred Prostitute and the author was talking about the Jungian concept of the anima and animus – how Rumplestiltskin is an example of a woman's negative animus. It sounded like it was talking about a strong inner critic, or little troll in your mind that's trying to mess with you. Reminded me of this OCD book called The Imp of the Mind, and that by naming it, you reclaim its power over you.

So I ended up watching the 1996 fantasy horror film Rumpelstiltskin, and boy was it terrible. But in a so bad it's good way. Watch the trailer:

​

I was watching it through a Jungian lens and taking notes. Yep, a fine way to spend a Sunday night. Apparently, it's only loosely based on the original fairy tale. But it sent me into a bit of a rabbit hole. I read Emma Jung's Animus and Anima and got halfway through The Feminine in Fairy Tales by Mary Louis von Franz. Interesting stuff.

So that about does it for this week. Have a good weekend!

Jeff

PS... I'm now offering 1-on-1 sessions via Superpeer. 🤙

I'm giving newsletter subscribers one free session to try it out and see how it works. If you're interested, reply back to this email and we can schedule it!

---

The Official Newsletter of Jeff Finley
​Designer, Author, Mystic

​view in browser | past newsletters​

You received this email because you signed up on my website or purchased something from my shop. If you no longer want to receive these emails, you may unsubscribe or update your preferences.

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205