26 February 2009

Call for Nominations - the song

Update 26 February - First - I am NOT giving in! It's now three months since the switch-on.
The adoption of the implant is continuing and so far the results have been, well, spectacular. Music remains a problem and obviously a problem for the longer term, maybe after #2 listening will be easier - at the moment all sound is arriving in [what passes for] my brain all at once and with little differentiation. The speech processor is just that, it is geared to speech primarily.
So - I'm going to award the prize for the music nomination, based on memory rather than realistic hearing [nothing would pass in that case]. Now is the time for last-minute nominations. You have until the end of February to get them in either via email, or use the form further down the page. Remember - it'll have to be something memorable, post-2000 and melodic.

Update 26 November - There are now 32 nominations, hearing is not quite right to announce a winner [they'd all fail with this jangly hearing] so keep 'em coming. Remember melody, harmony, pre-2000 is possible. How young do you think I am? The boyish good looks fooled you!

Update 23 November - I thought that I might have a better appreciation of music. It's certainly better than before tune-up#1 but still jangly. Hopefully with time and despite the mono-ness music will become meaningful again.

Update 21 November - As a result of the first tune-up I will start listening to familiar music. This will assist in re-training me to hear music better. Then I can better judge the nominations. So keep those nominations rolling in!

Update 13 November - The Call for Nominations song poll is still open and will remain so until I think I'm ready to attempt to hear music - thats a big step!
So get your entries in, as many as you like. There is a prize!
[Hint - I'm looking for something melodic and harmonic, something I might recognise. I have a few ideas, but I welcome any suggestion]
Notes at the bottom of this page

























































































































































































Song titleThe nominator said...I said
All You Need is LoveLG suggested itThe Beatles, I can think of a lot of
Beatles songs which could be contenders for the ‘The Song’ I’m
less-inclined to the Paul McCartney end of the catalog however
any Neil Young songsYou can blame his bad singingI don’t find NY’s songs terribly
melodic or harmonic, even though I did listen to Harvest all those
years ago
Anything by
The Pixies
The Pixies were the band Kurt Cobain
tried to imitate when he wrote Nirvana's best known song, Smells Like
Teen Spirit. Why is this good for Couani? Because The Pixies pioneered
the quiet-loud-quiet-loud verse/chorus template that is the basis for a
lot of alternative rock since the late ’80s. Thus a song such as Monkey
Gone To Heaven or Gigantic will test his range of hearing. It will also
make him rock like a bastard. Turn it up, JC. Turn it up loud.
Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Ave Maria
Best sung by a single female voice
with minimal accompaniment. Another song to die for.
Birds in backyards-Top
40 bird songs
For the memory to kick inI look forward to hearing as many
birds as I can, including the mascot. Not really music as required by
the poll, but a good suggestion
Bitter Sweet Symphony
The Verve

I heard this song on too many ads or
something for it to be a contender. Didn’t like the lead vocal.
Blessed Essence- ChildrenIt isUnknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Children (Dream Version)
- 7:06 - Robert Miles - Dreamland
Via my friend J.: "It starts off
with rain in a forest and then moves onto the piano before slowly going
into the beginning of the song. Build up is amazing."
Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Eva Cassidy's over the
Rainbow
Tony here mate .. late as usual. Try
Eva she's absolutely wonderful and that's coming from a guy who doesn't
really like vocalists
Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Every Breath You Take by
The Police
Hit of the 80s which I took a liking
to because my son was a great fan of The Police band.
Nominated twice. Do love this song –
whether an appropriate test of hearing…
Eye of the Tiger,
Survivor
Oh, who cares what happened since
2000. The Best of Britney is her willingness to appear nude, not her
music. The Day the Music Died was sometime just after 1990. Nothing's
been good since...
Are you kidding? This was suggested
by at least two respondents!
Fallen, Sarah McLachlancos it is beautiful and describes
where you have been, but is also filled with positive energy for the
future, enjoy
Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Good Vibrations, Beach
Boys
The cochlear relies on themExcellent choice, and God Only
Knows, one of my favourite songs. Contenders
hallelujah, jeff buckleycertainly recognisable, definitely
melodic, and the bloke has a very good vocal range, could be too high
in parts for you to handle but maybe not...
With the right singer, a song to die
for. I wish I knew who sang the version which made me melt when I heard
it
Hawaii 5-0 theme To distinguish ringtonesI’ve heard quite enough of Steve’s
Theme song in tinnitus. Latest version played on a banjo – think about
it.
Henryk Goreckis Symphony
no 3
Hauntingly beautifulUnknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
Hey Jude - The BeetlesAny of the Beetles songs would be
good to listen to. You dont want anything too head banging when you
start out. Best if you have lyrics also so you can follow as you
listen. Even do some from YouTube.
Apparently written by John Lennon as
"Hey Jules" and altered by PMcC. A good song, although the na, na, na,
na bizzo gets up my nose.
INTO MY ARMS, nICK CAVE
AND THE BAD SEEDS
JUST BOOOOOTIFULAgreed - another song to die for
John Denver Children of
the Universe
I just captioned this song today, so
you can follow along as you listen. The lyrics are beautiful and John
Denver has an amazing voice.
<http://deafmomworld.com/john-denver-song-makes-me-think-of-deafhard-of-hearing-children/>
I don't know this song but John
Denver could certainly sing a mean song. Singable usually - have to
hear it.
Moon River Audrey HepburnMoon river with a Lisa Simpson voice
could be interesting.
A song which rips your guts out.
Pure, simple
OLD MAN, NEIL yOUNGYA JUST GOTTA DO IT FOR NOSTALGIA'S
SAKE
What is it with Neil Young!?
Praise You Fatboy slim"I have to celebrate you baby, I
have to praise you like I should".....
Where’s the melody/harmony? Not the
right kind of song
RockLobster B52scant get those BeeHive dos out of my
head fun, fun, fun
Good and few more B52s tracks are
contenders [Love Shack has great harmonies]
Sadness Prt1Blessed EssenceUnknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
SiX Million Dollar Man
theme
Cause you're bionicAs far as I can recall, was this
actually music?
Sound of Silence - Simon
& Garfunkle
Its quite obvious really ..... Ahh the irony, but and excellent
choice for harmonies and melody. Singable
Spanish Flea - Herb
Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
You know whySadly enough this is a great
suggestion and a few others of Herbs. Cheesy but good!
the ship song, nick caveall time beautiful, melodic song
...just listen to it.. deaf or not .. you'll know what I mean.........
Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
The Wonder of YouFor practiceElvis – there’s a few Elvis songs
which could easily be contenders
Thievery Corporation The
Richest Man In BabyloN-
GOOD SOLID BASSUnknown to me – I’ll have to hear
them
this is the end , the
doors
one of those never ending all time
greats from way before
Agreed - there are few Doors songs
which capture the moment…
Us & ThemPink Ployd. No reason in particular,
I just love the song!
Pink Floyd DsotM. Haven’t heard it
for a while but I think there might be more melodic tracks.
Valley Girl and catholic
girls Frank Zappa
With a tongue like a cow she can
make you go Wow!
Unfortunately known to me. Where’s
the melody?
walk on the wild side,
lou reed
tres kool....feels gooodI saw Lou when he came to Sydney
during the Walk on the Wild Side days. I think I can’t go along with
this nomination because of that
Yesterday - The BeetlesBecause it is easy listening and you
can try and listen to the words as well as the music.
Always been a good song, nice easy
tune

23 February 2009

Higgledy-Piggledy birds in Byron

OK you can stop waiting, or pestering me for the latest cinematic extravaganza.
Forget the Oscars, Heath Who?!

Presenting Butcher Birds in Byron Bay, the movie. Don't wait for the book.

15 February 2009

Trip to Byron Bay

13 February
We arrived in Woolgoolga mid afternoon and noticed that there were a lot of rainbow lorikeets around. At sunset there were 1000s of them. And there were some black cockatoos too. And my friends the butcher birds but not so many of them. And kookaburras eating pizza.

14 February
We drove to Byron along the coast - raining most of the way. Booked into the Byron cabin about 3pm. Byron town is overrun by Queenslanders. Must be a public holiday in QLD we think.
Later a butcher bird came by to see what was happening in our cabin...

15 February
We went to Uki in the morning for the 'market'
Later, in Byron, I went into the ocean for the first time since I have had hearing devices - and certainly the first time since I went 100% deaf. The sea bed was not flat and the currents were strong. I found it had to walk into the surf [balance].
At least we had sun after lots of rain over the weekend.

17 February
Another beach outing.
There was no rain, but cloud cover. Tried a different beach and was able to catch a wave!
Heard the butcher birds in the morning and during the day. Beautiful

18 February
Beautiful Tallow beach, too many currents to stand confidently in the water, but splashed around a bit. The roar of the surf was deafening until I took the external bit off. Met a friend for lunch in Mullumbimby. Nice town, nice old weatherboard houses. I hope suburbia doesn't invade too soon!

I give up here's some pics


Byron Trip 02 2009


On the way back
Tamworth - home of the bogan


05 February 2009

This Blog is Viewed around the World

I'll add to this list as I see them.
Down on the right hand side of this blog there's a panel [Feedjit] which shows which country the audience comes from and which page they came from. Many come from deafvillage.com, a reciprocal linked site in the USofA. The little flag denotes the country. I'm amazed at the range of different countries. Lots of websurfers out there.

Here's some I've seen

Australia of course
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong [China]
India
Indonesia
Iran
Pakistan
Phillipines
Russia
Taiwan
Turkey
United States

notable exceptions
Switzerland

Facilities available

Here's a list of known facilities for those using electronic devices to enhance their hearing experience.
Those listed as bad will be written to, so they may correct their non-provision of appropriate services.

Those with telecoil devices [hearing aids, cochlear implants] might care to make a positive or negative nomination by commenting below [or email me]. Give your nomination a rating. Entries will be added to the table.


Rating
LocationNotes
Excellent
Museum of Sydney,
AGL Theatre
Check with staff first
Good
Palace Cinema
Norton St, Leichhardt
Ask for the telecoil to be turned on
Good
Better Hearing Aust [NSW] Concord
Excellent use of telecoil public address system - the PA is better than for natural hearing people!
Bad
Dendy Newtown
King St
Asked for the telecoil to be turned-on - Apparently out of action
There are three ratings [final arbiter - me]
Excellent
When the loop works as it should - as if you're hearing the speaker
Good
Applies when the service provided works for those who can't hear properly
Bad
Applies when there are no facilities or service is non-existant. Letters will be sent.
Ugly
Applies when the experience is more than negative, like if a service is offered, for a fee or disdain is shown toward those not suitable for their precious system. Luckily not experienced yet. These will be reported to relevant authorities

3 month tune-up

Today it was time for the three month tune-up.
More personalisation of the settings [there are four modes plus telecoil only], refining the settings I do have to suit my hearing experience.

I also underwent the Speech Recognition test in the soundproof booth.
It consisted of four tests
Individual words
Sentences
Sentences with noise overlay [in which a recorded voice speaks sentences with a raucous noise playing at the same time]

I found that letters such as F and S, M and N, and D and T were the trouble areas but I think that is to be expected. Overall results were good with 60% above average in the 'individual words' test.

Next scheduled tune-up is May 2009.