George Barker’s “O, Child Beside the Waterfall”

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Reading of a poem penned by George Barker

O Child beside the Waterfall
What songs without a word
Rise from those waters like the call
Only a heart has heard-
The Joy, the Joy in all things
Rise whistling like a bird.

O Child beside the Waterfall
I hear them too, the brief
Heavenly notes, the harp of dawn,
The nightingale on the leaf,
All, all dispel the darkness and
The silence of our grief.

O Child beside the Waterfall
I see you standing there
With waterdrops and fireflies
And hummingbirds in the air,
All singing praise of paradise,
Paradise everywhere.

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Logitech USB Desktop Microphone Review

I was recently advised to buy a Logitech USB Desktop Microphone, and did not hesitate to do so when I saw the majority of reviews for it at Amazon.co.uk gave it the FULL five star award.

I received it and was disappointed. I wrote the following review and submitted it to Amazon who have NOT published it, neither have they told me WHY they have hushed my opinion which I repeat here —>

ADEQUATE – A (USB-) Port in a (Sound) Storm

Given the high praise awarded to this item by the majority of reviewers here (it was THEIR enthusiasm that sealed my decision to purchase), I seriously wonder if the particular microphone *I* received is faulty.

I own a number of microphones. All of these alternatives were budget buys or freebies (the most expensive being a £15 Hama Unidirectional that actually DELIVERS on its promise not to pick up background sound) and all of them are better than this example.

This Logitech is my first USB-connecting variant. It works. It installed on both Windows XP laptops I have tested it on within seconds (and with no downloads required).

Sporting a prominent base-based MUTE button, I imagine the desktop microphone’s ON/OFF feature plus the USB technology are what ate the budget and that the hardware is designed with “live chat”, SKYPE speak and gaming garrulousness in mind rather than the high quality recording of any material that you might want to keep or need to present to anyone.

Unfortunately, whilst the device is dismayingly super-sensitive to any slight squeak or creak from your chair, the “Noise Cancelling” feature seems to result in it having difficulty detecting VOICE. You need to PROJECT at an unnatural level to be heard and the more you increase the unit’s sensitivity the more HISSSSSSSSSSSS is brought into the mic’s mix. THISSSSSSS HISSSSSSSS *can* be edited out, and that task is fairly quick and easy, but it’s still a task and one that I do NOT have to undergo with material made using the very good tie-clip microphone that came “free” with my i-River mp3 player.

Naively, I had hoped for professional podcast-ready results and, at the very least, a marked improvement over any hardware I had experienced heretofore. I was disappointed.

My advice would be that, if at all possible, you should TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. This mic’ is, at best, ADEQUATE – a (USB) Port in a (Sound) Storm. 

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