Music, fiction, more

Music

Orchestral, quartet

Remembrance, 2nd Movement. First string orchestra piece produced in Jason's studio, many years ago. Aired on local public radio. (size = 4.2 mb, 4 minutes)

String Quarter #1- The Juneau. Third movement. (size = 6.7 mb, 6 minutes.

My ringtone. An excerpt from the piece above, (String Quartet #1- The Juneau, 3rd movement), which I use as my cell phone ring tone. (size = >1 mb, 30 seconds)

Jazz

Swing Thing. Every new piece of music software incorporated into the studio is christened with a project that defines the arc of the learning curve. Swing Thing is a short swing sketch using drums, bass, saxophone and trumpet. It was created primarily to explore the new version of Apple Logic and the Garritan Personal Orchestra, with support from GarageBand and Quicktime. (size = 4 mb, 4 minutes)

SaxAttax. The goal with SaxAttax was to explore the capabilities of GarageBand as a stand-alone composition program. The song is comprised of a heavily modified GarageBand background, a saxophone melody added via a simple USB keyboard, and an electric guitar solo created by plugging my Telecaster directly into the line input on my laptop. The guitar input was then modified using a number of GarageBand's post-production capabilities. (size = 6.95 mb, 6 minutes)

SaxAttax. Theme B, with end fade, (30 sec).

SaxAttax. Without end fade, (30 sec).

Electronic music: Robots Reflect

Experimental music comes from Robots Reflect, a half-hour radio program combining story and electronic music about a time in the future when machines control humans and become jealous of the one gift we have that they will never have - the innate capacity for irrationality. In an attempt to become more like us in this regard they create religions, take vacations...even dance. The music is everything from techno-edgy to spacious and soothing. Featured below are a few pieces from the program.

Do Robots Dance? Will Robots dance one day? Six short musical interpretations of music for robots to dance by. (size = 8 mb, 6 minutes+)

Elsewhere. Einstein's name for life beyond the speed of light.

FunkSchway. Urban edgy, the way robots like it. (size = 8 mb, 6 minutes+)

Robot Nostalgia, opening narrative. Narration about a time in the future when Robots will feel emotions; it introduces the next piece, "Robot Nostalgia." From the narrative: "Either we use the technology to make art, or the technology will make art out of us." (size = 1 mb, 1 minute)

Robot Nostalgia, soundscape. Jason's sound rendition of a Robot's experience of nostalgia, introduced with spoken narrative in the preceding piece. (size = 3 mb, 3 minutes)

Robot Prom. Imagine robots at the prom, and you get the idea.

Electric guitar

Road Runner. It consists of one track of drum machine, and two tracks of guitar. (size = 1.3 mb, 1 minute)

Splinter. Guitar solo opening. (size = 1.3 mb, 2 minutes+)

Radio drama music

Dream of the Green Chamber. Performed on an Elgit. For more information about the Elgit, contact the composer. (size = 1.5 mb, app. 1 minute)

Flute flight. Mark Whitman on flute. (size = 1 mb, 1 minute) 

Fiction, plays

Novels

Then What? Everyone's Guide to Living, Learning and Having Fun in the Digital Age (on Amazon). A novel about how technology makes us crazy in an exciting kind of way. About living and learning in the Digital Age. About reinventing education. About telling stories, having fun, and staying human. Monty Python meets the Matrix meets Alvin Toffler on too much coffee. "The new McLuhan has now arrived, in the person of Jason Ohler. Read THEN WHAT?, and see where we're headed." ...Nebula Award Winner Robert Sawyer

The Dissent of Ikeland Rand (no longer in circulation). Early novel combining psychics, clones, and an old New England family with many secrets to hide.

Plays

What the Rain Will Do. How to stay dry to a wet climate... spiritually and emotionally, as well as physically. It won first place in the Alaska Playwright Contest, 1982.

Same Time, Same Network. Two men, who would never find each other in RL (Real Life) find each other through a dating service online. Both lie about their gender, and spend most of the play trying to behave as they think women would behave. This was written well before the Internet, and predates references in motion pictures to online communication as "normal" vs. as science fiction. It won second place in the Alaska Playwright Contest, 1987.

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Robots Reflect - What Our Machines Think of Us. A radio play. At a time in the future, our machines are in charge and discover they envy us for the one thing we have that they do not: irrationality. Aired of Alaska PBS.

Stories

Mareline's corner. A girl who doesn't conform well to school, is sent to sit in the corner where she imagines a fantastic world of animals, strange people, and fantastic adventures.

Vinny the Video Game Player. A boy who becomes consumed with video games, ends up in a video game- with his parents!

Question Mark. A boy who can't stop asking questions learns that questions can save your life!

William Tell and the Young Girl Who Could Fix Computers. From Digital Storytelling in the Classroom, this story shows how to build and improve a story.

Songs, lyrics, poetry

Songs

Chasing the monsters away. Written for my mom, on her passing. As a child I used to see monsters. But they were no match for mom. Performed at her memorial service.

Just got back from the Internet. Aired on public radio.

Dancing. Two strangers meet, dance, and part, leaving a magical moment in their wake. 

Pig love. For romantics of all ages.

Poetry

The stone. Ages of rock, sea and misunderstanding. 

Tracks. About where we fall.

A lady red and white. About learning to fly.

What almost never happens. But should happen, on a regular basis.