So I posted the Psychics and Precognition entry the other day where I lamented that my darn visions haven't told me the lottery number yet. But today it happened! Here they are: 33-19-7...

Okay, not really. Actually, what I realized was that perhaps the visions were not as useless I thought.

When we first began planning our tour, we were to visit my Grandma's at the beginning of the tour. So I told my Uncle that we were coming up there on the first day. Then Andrew started booking a gig in Oklahoma City. It threw a wrench in the plans. I called and cancelled our visit. My Uncle was highly disappointed. I was too.

I don't remember if it was after I hung up, or when Andrew told me we needed to cancel that part of the trip, but I was extremely upset. I didn't know when I would see my Grandma and Uncle again due to our erratic schedule. But it was during one of those two times that I had my precognitive day dream.

Though the dreams were not bad, I was very distressed by our change. As a result of that dream, I made sure that we reorganized our schedule to stop there on the way back, even though it meant a long 13 hour drive from Kentucky.

All in all, I am very happy I got to see my family.

So perhaps, though I might not have the winning lottery numbers, my precognition was indeed useful. It did actually help me to change my future...

This is the first time I've ever noticed Precognition being functional...

That's really cool!

I was chatting with a friend about psychics yesterday. She went to a psychic and had some revealing revelation. It got me thinking. When I think of psychics, I think, "What a waste of money and a scam!" Guess I've seen one too many Psychic Network commercials or something. Yet, as I think about me and people I know, I think, perhaps it's not all a scam.

Earlier this week, while visiting my Grandma and Uncle, I had FOUR precognitive visions realized in one day. That's highly unusual for me. Precongition is such an unusual trait as it is. For years, I've "forseen" things happen. They're always seemingly inconsequential things, but they happen.

I remember the moment a few weeks ago when these "visions" appeared. I was planning on when I'd see my family, when one of them came to me. I didn't think too much of it at the time. It's too much like daydreaming, and if you know me, you know my mind wanders a lot. And when the first vision was realized, it was like normal. But by the fourth, "Whoa! Too weird!"

That said, I was thinking that perhaps psychics selling their services aren't a total load of B.S. like I imagine. I mean, I know several people who have different types of psychic, shall we say, "powers". If I'm to go by my psychic training in Dungeons & Dragons, then there are many different types of psychic powers. Precognition being just one. Mind-reading being another.

So when my friend told me that this psychic she visited nailed some things about her life... really far-reaching, and one that pretty much had MY name on it for her. I thought perhaps she was psychic. But what kind of psychic. I would imagine the most-successful psychic does what every skeptic assumes, they tell you what you want to hear. And assuming this psychic could read minds to some degree, she could easily tell my friend what she wanted to hear.

I say this because the comments regarding the "musician far away" just didn't stand up in MY mind. One of my other friends went to a psychic and was told exactly what she was going to do with her soon-to-be fiancee. But it sounds a lot more like a mind reader to me. Not a fortune teller, or someone with precognitive abilities who will be telling you the lottery numbers like I wish my precog would do. No, just a mind-reader who tells you what you're already thinking, or hoping for.

And for that, well, I see that as a rather valuable service. I mean, sometimes it is nice to have a picture painted for you that shows exactly, without any doubt what you already know. Because I, for one, am frequently blinded to the things that are plain as day to others.

But it also serves as a warning. If they are just reading minds, then you run the risk of believing that the vision is outside of you. When, in fact, it is just your own desires.

As for me, I'm quite happy with my simple precognitive visions. Though dang, I wish it would send me next week's lottery numbers!

I'm having that annual craving to hit the road and go busking. Busking in Italy to be exact. I've never really done much busking outside of Renaissance Festivals. And honestly, I haven't ever really *tried* to effectively busk.

I mean, we have shows and all. But to find a location, lay out a hat or better yet, develop an attention-getting routine and show that will attract people to give you money, I've not really done.

The busking I've done alone or with the Brobdingnagian Bards involves me finding a nice location, laying out a hat and playing the most-placid songs and tunes I know. No good for busking.

I'd need a routine. Loud energizing songs. Or do I need those? Christene Le Doux mentioned playing soft, melody songs. I guess that's an option as well. The trick is to make it stand out and not just disappear which is what I typically aim for. Lack of confidence on my part. But I'm getting better. I'm playing out some solo shows more which helps.

But with Andrew, we've never been successful busking. We play for vendors at faires and they'll tip us. Sometimes patrons will take notice as well. But usually. Nope. I just haven't figured out the Art of Busking.

Side: I wonder if there's a book called The Art of Busking? Good title.

Anyway, some of what I read over at Busker Central (see more busking resources and more busking links) kinda inspired me to think more about it. The autoharp attracts attention, that's for sure, because of it's strange look... IF they see it, that is. But it's the art of getting them to see it and respond. And then how to get them to tip? That's what I'm not sure of at present...

Why am I even bothering to mention all this? Because I was looking into the possibility of moving to Italy. I'm checking all the resources to find out what is necessary. If I was living with family, I think I could make a good living in Italy. I just need to know the laws and such. Especially in regards to musicians. I'm not sure if they're considered self-employed which requires one document, or not. I assume so. Makes sense, but then when does Italy make sense? *smirk*

Finding laws for busking is no easy task. It'd almost be easier just to try and book a club gig... I think. Alas, even that's prolly a helluva challenge, especially for a solo Celtic folk singer. But if I could work it out, I could make some very nice money. I think it is time to start planning next summer's gigs, that may be include a few festivals in Italy as well.

Today I walked into work and the first thing my boss said was, "You have a lot more color in your face than you've had for a long time. You look less wrinkled." It reminded me of something a guy I dated once said to me: "You look...ragged."

I've felt ragged for a long time, but haven't known why. I eat properly, try to take care of myself, but still feel like ass. This isn't meant as a "poor me" blog entry, or even a venting entry, more of a pondering entry. Because like so many other cases of imbalance in my past--recovery from addiction, depression, anxiety--why the fuck should a seemingly healthy 30 year old feel like the energy was being sucked out of her with a 2" slurpee straw, 24/7?

Thyroid is fine. Bloodwork is fine. They say it's chronic fatigue, but what the hell does that mean anyway? Why would someone have swollen lymphnodes, night sweats, lowgrade fever, night terrors, chronic infections that according to the labwork, don't register anything...for years? Here I am again, banging on the door of Western medicine, and all they have to say is, "We need your $25 copay, please."

So what do you do? You think outside the box. You live outside the box. You take your health into your own hands, because nobody else is helping you.

The good news is, all of this bullshit is essentially a gift. It's a gift, because it's forced me outside of myself and outside the mainstream to acquire what's essentially a medicine bag. In my bag are blessings that help me do more than just cope. They help me thrive. I pull apart the purse strings and look inside: there is poetry, photography, mixed media, painting. There is a knowledge of homeopathic medicine, yoga, sauna & cleansing, meditation, visualization, affirmations. There is music, dance, nature. My friends. My family. Cats.

At times my energy drops off so severely I forget that I carry my own best medicine. So sometimes, the biggest challenge is remembering that the bag is there. Realizing that you are your own master is like driving through high altitudes and suddenly your ears pop. Your head opens and there is a familiar feeling, and you think, "Wow. That feels amazing. What a relief."

Last night I went to the gym, then an art lecture, then had an amazing talk with my boyfriend about the creative process. He showed me a gadget he made that induces alpha waves, and I meditated in the dark with it on for 10 minutes. If that put more color in my cheeks...call me a freak, I don't care. I am grateful.

A few minutes ago I had to run an errand for my boss. Though only 9AM, the humidity was oppressive and I longed for the dry heat of the desert, of home. Then suddenly, a cool wind blew toward me and I stopped in my tracks. Closed my eyes, remembered who I really am. It's not this crappy job, it's not my appearance, it's something like the wind. It just goes on.

I peeled my shirt away from my sweat-drenched skin in gratutide:

"Wow. That feels amazing. What a relief."

---
Nancy e. Pearsall is a photographer, poet, and peregrine.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast began as an extension of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. I was listening to the Celtic Music News Podcast and thought that it might be cool to play some of the free MP3s that I feature each week in the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. But within a few weeks, everything had changed.

I'm not sure if people are just more used to the idea of a radio show, or what. But listeners grasped the idea behind the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast music quicker and easier than they did with my Celtic magazine.

There are enough Celtic radio shows like the Fiona Ritchie's Thistle & Shamrock on NPR (National Public Radio), perhaps, that makes them think of some downloadable radio shows as completely different from free MP3s.

Nevertheless, within a few shows, I found the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast not only easier to compile, but a lot more fun. I played music I loved. I introduced new Celtic music groups. And people seemed much more passionate than they did with the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. If you haven't listened to my Celtic music podcast, check it out:

Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
Twenty episodes and a year after its inception, the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast has risen into the ranks of one of the most-popular music podcasts on iTunes. Over 15,000 episodes of each show are downloaded, and I get more comments from listeners about how much they love the podcast than I do from any other podcast I do. Heck, I almost wonder if I should ditch some of the others and just do this one.

For now, I continue on with my many podcasts and hope that one day podcasting will climb to all new heights of success online.

The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine was first called The Bards Crier. The magazine features "free guerrilla music marketing and promotion tips for working musicians." The name changed to The Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine when I learned a wee bit more about search engine optimization (SEO). I thought it would do better in the search engines with that name. I was sorta wrong.

While on the one hand, The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine has done amazingly well in the search engines. It is regularly one of the top 5 for both "music marketing" and "music promotion", its individual articles lost a little bit o'popularity overall. But that's not why I'm writing this article. My goal here is to explain what The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine is.

Back in 1997, I started the Texas Musicians Network with my brother. We started putting together a site to help educate and promote Texas musicians. Our limited web design and programming knowledge put limits on our ability to continue too far with that website. However, I started learning a lot about music promotion.

A few years, I started the Brobdingnagian Bards and started sharing some of the simple, yet effective music marketing techniques that I'd learned promoting my band. The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine was an instant success. Readers liked my short, simple, and straight-forward writing style. They liked the practical music marketing tips. The magazine sky-rocketed in numbers and became one of the most-popular music marketing and promotion ezines online.

Unfortunately, I ran dry of music marketing tips. Well, not really. Music marketing is a continual process, so it never Really runs dry. But as the Brobdingnagian Bards became more successful, I ran out of time to write articles, especially new and innovative ones. So I stopped... for the most part. Now The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine comes out about once a month or so. Several thousand musicians read it passionately. You can find out more about it here:

The Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine
I do keep thinking about continuing the magazine more than I currrently am. Time constraints prohibit me from doing too much sadly. But keep an eye open every month or so for a new article to challenge the way you market your music.

Over the past few years, particularly while performing at the Texas Renaissance Festival, I developed a fondness for fairies. Fae folk started popping up all around my life. So I did what any good bard would do, I let the fae muse inspire me and wrote music for them.

I added "Titania, Wake My Sweet Queen" to my profile today so you can listen. The song was inspired by Shakespeare and the Queen of the fairies at TRF.

Incidentally, since this CD was begun, I've slowly begun expanding my faery song repetoire with a plan to release an acoustic autoharp instrumental CD of faery music. The autoharp is a beautiful instrument for faery music. It has a mysterious sound that's virtually unduplicated.

The song is currently posted on my Myspace music page.

Last night, we performed at Elysium to an awesome crowd of Nagians and Goths who came to see Voltaire in Austin for the first time. The show went spectacular. We made some new fans and of course, best of all, Voltaire came away from the evening thrilled with Austin too. All in all a tremendous success.

So today, I do what any good marketer does, I search the 'net to find out what folks thought of the show and in particular if anyone wrote about the Brobdingnagian Bards. You never know what you'll find. Sometimes you don't want to know.

Tonight I found a nice mention of a former fan we'd made many years ago. Not really sure if she'd still be called a fan or not. One of her LJ readers responded to say, "This is a secret, but I can't stand those bards."

It makes me ask the question. Why? What is it she doesn't look about us? Mind you, there are a lot of reasons NOT to like us. But what was hers? Does she not like our voices? Hates the sound of the autoharp/recorder/mandolin? Is this from hearing us seven years ago on the South Mall? Or a recent adversion. Is it because I am too aggressive at marketing my band sometimes? Or what? I don't know. It's annoying. But a part of any successful musician, methinks.

Just last night, someone came up to Voltaire glowing and saying, "Wow! Thank you for playing here. You are amazing. And I have to tell you, I was told that you were an asshole. But I saw none of that." On and on, he went raving about him.

Voltaire looked befuddled and said, he didn't know where those ideas came from. And I sure don't either. Voltaire's been nothing short of amazingly kind and friendly for someone supposedly so "evil".

But it happens. I bitched about it in my LJ not too long ago. Now and then, I catch crap from people who've developed an irrational dislike of me. I can only imagine why. Course my imagination is probably worse than the actual reason.

Whatever.

As for the LJ poster, it's hard to tell whether she just didn't care for us that much or whether she actually likes us, but didn't want to say so among friends.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter. We are blessed with tens of thousands of fans around world who do enjoy the music we make. That is more important than a few hypocritical asses.

Though it just barely stopped me from being "evil" and replying to the comments of the women... that'd be funny! ;)