Who Built the First Electric Guitar?

Having started windsurfing in the early days of the sport, Cary Acord took lessons on Kailua Bay from Larry Stanley of Windsurfing Hawaii in the spring of 1977. A musician as well as an athlete, Cary Acord was in a band for five years. He still enjoys playing the guitar.

Though Leo Fender mass-produced the first electric guitar called the Fender Broadcaster in 1948, in reality, Les Paul built the first solid-bodied amplified guitar in 1941 and showed it to the Gibson Company in 1945. He was scoffed at by Gibson management at the time, but once Gibson saw the success and potential of the Fender model, the company sought out Paul’s help for an alternative design. 

The story begins to change at this point depending on who’s telling the tale. According to Paul, he already had the concept for the Black Custom and Gold Top, and he had the final say at every stage in the engineering of the new instrument. Gibson, on the other hand, contends that it already had the guitar built, and Paul’s contribution was a name endorsement and some input on designing the bridge.

An Overview of the ABABCB Song Structure

Cary Acord is an avid stand up paddle boarder (SUP) who has competed in various SUP races and competitions. Cary Acord also enjoys playing guitar and bass and writing songs.

Songwriting combines elements of creative writing with the composition of original music. Despite the highly creative nature of songwriting, a large number of songs follow a few basic structures. The ABABCB structure is arguably the most common style of songwriting. In fact, many mainstream songs across a variety of genres assume this structure with little variation.

Songs that adhere to the ABABCB structure open with a verse that leads directly into a catchy chorus, or refrain. The first chorus is followed by a second verse that closely mirrors the first in structure, though it may be slightly shorter. The second verse is followed once again by a chorus. The second chorus may introduce slightly variations, but will generally follow the same melodic pattern of the first. The second chorus then gives way to the bridge. The bridge represents the only significant deviation within the song, as it soon is followed by a final chorus, ending the song.

The ABABCB song structure has a number of equally popular variants. For example, some songs may incorporate a pre-chorus before the first and second refrains, which usually serves as a quick build or change of pace before the actual chorus is performed. Under the ABABCB structure, songs that implement pre-choruses generally transition directly from the bridge into the final refrain.

History of Sushi

A snowboarder since 1977, Cary Acord practices several other outdoor sports including mountain biking, paragliding, and kitesurfing. Standup paddle boarding is another favorite of his, and he placed first in OC2 men’s division in the NorCal's Half Moon Bay Race in 2004. An adventurous eater, sushi is one of Cary Acord’s favorite dishes.

While sushi is considered Japanese, its origins can be traced back to Southeast Asia in the second century AD. Both meat and fish were cured and then wrapped in rice as a method of preservation that outlasted curing alone by several months. The method eventually gained acceptance in China and finally arrived in Japan, where the Japanese began to ferment the rice and fish with sake (rice wine).

After another millennium of time had passed, vinegar replaced wine, and this greatly sped up the fermentation process. It wasn’t until the 1820s that the Japanese began serving sushi using raw fish, known as the Edo-style. After another century, Tokyo was full of street vendors peddling nigiri-sushi, which is raw fish sitting on top of shaped rice. After World War II, modern restaurants replaced street vendors due to sanitation concerns, and today consumers enjoy the nigiri-sushi style worldwide.

Ramen and Its Basic Broth Types

Cary Acord is an accomplished athlete, who has earned respectable finishes in numerous sports competitions. A former windsurfer and paraglider, he currently focuses his athletic efforts on snowboarding, outrigger paddling, standup paddling, kiteboarding, and mountain biking. Cary Acord’s love of extreme sports is reflected in his adventurous eating habits. Although he enjoys food from a variety of cultures, one of his favorite dishes is ramen. 

Originating in China and migrating to Japan in the mid-1800s, the word “ramen” roughly translates as “pulled noodles.” Although stretched eggless noodles serve as the foundation for all ramen dishes, ramen is divided into four distinct categories, according to broth flavor. 

Stressing simplicity, ramen broth typically comes from boiling pork and/or chicken bones. Cooks then add extra salt to make shio ramen and soy sauce to make shoyu ramen. In more recent times, they have begun adding miso paste to create miso ramen. The fourth type of ramen, tonkotsu, requires boiling pork bones for an extended period of time. After 12 to 15 hours of boiling, all bone collagen dissolves, leaves the bones, and goes into the stock as gelatin. This gelatin significantly alters the overall taste of the finished dish and creates a whole new flavor category with no need for additional ingredients.

The Ancient Hawaiian Roots of Outrigger Canoe Building

An outdoor sports enthusiast, Northern California entrepreneur Cary Acord has a background that spans windsurfing, snowboarding, paragliding, and kiteboarding. Over the past two decades Cary Acord has also engaged in Hawaiian outrigger competitions, and raced in both carbon-constructed OC-1 single canoes and long boats. 

Introduced to Hawaii around 200 AD, the outrigger canoe came in a variety of sizes, including those designed to carry dozens of people, animals, water, and plants on long ocean journeys. The highly functional designs are singularly without extraneous ornamentation. 

Finished outriggers were the result of extensive planning that began with the priest, or kahuna, following an elepaio bird into the forest, where it would lead to the “ideal” tree. This search had a practical side, as that particular bird species only pecked at trees that were rotten inside and thus not suitable for the rigors of weeks or months at sea. 

The transportation of the selected tree to the canoe shed often required the participation of all able men in the community, with the carvers holding an exalted position in society. Once the basic shape was hewn, a black waterproofing agent made up of plant extracts and charcoal was applied, and the sacrifice of a pig or dog took place. This last act was thought to enable a symbolic tearing open of the ocean’s surface and the planting of the outrigger vessel in the sea.

Typical French Dishes

An outdoor sportsman with a wide range of interests, Cary Acord enjoys mountain biking, stand-up paddle boarding, and kiteboarding, among other sports. Cary Acord is also a travel and food enthusiast who especially enjoys French cuisine.

Steeped in tradition, French cuisine is known for its variety of unique flavors. A few typical French dishes include:

- Hachis parmentier. A French variation of shepherd’s pie, hachis parmentier consists of a layer of mashed potatoes and another of stewed beef. This simple dish is considered a form of French comfort food.

- Bouillabaisse. This well-known fish soup contains a variety of seafood, from monkfish and seabass to prawns and mussels. Bouillabaisse derives its name from its unique preparation method, with the soup boiled before each type if fish is added one by one as the chef gradually lowers the temperature.

-Cassoulet. Cassoulet gets its name from the term “cassole,” or “cassou,” which is the pot used to prepare French casseroles. A cassoulet contains white beans and slowly stewed meats such as duck, pork, goose, sausage, or mutton.