I just finished stretching and I successfully got my nose to the ground. I wrapped a 20lb weight in a pillow and balanced it on the back of my neck. Then, I grabbed my feet and made increasingly pitiful noises until my face went all the way down to the ground.
I need to work on getting my shoulders down and straightening out my lower back. I've found that a mix of Ulrich Schnauss' album Goodbye and recordings of birds go very well together. And I might go so far as to say it's damn near "heavenly."
I don't know exactly at which point I became such a sonic enthusiast, but I'm... happy I did. I edited out an expletive there. I know I've mentioned this before, but I often entertain a weird possibility which would subject everyone around me to the music that's in my headphones... at the same volume and in the same language. Sometimes people need to get rattled. Sometimes people need to be uplifted. Sometimes people just need to be reminded that there's very much a plot and storyline in any direction they might be facing at any point in time. The colors we see in our days have nothing to do with what's in front of our eyes.
I read an article this morning which summarized a recent study done on human sounds. The researchers found that humans from vastly separate cultures can comprehend the human/emotional connotations embodied in different bodily sounds. Groans, laughter and screams were all correctly related to their corresponding circumstances.
Insofar as we understand our own (Western) music, I think the minds of even the most recreational music listeners pick up on the emotional suggestions of the piece at hand. At some point in our not-too-distant past, humans were actually able to feel tsunamis coming in the distance. This awareness has since faded. And perhaps a bit further back, there were actually a greater frequency of instances of unbridled love and emotion. It'd be like a human acting like a happy dog who wants to lick every animal it sees. I can't, however, say it's a bad thing that there aren't more people like Richard Simmons and Pee-Wee Herman running around. But that doesn't mean the intention can't be recognized and used just a bit more often in public. I imagine more than one caveman met his demise by attempting to cheer up the wrong cavewoman in the company of her apelike-manfriend.
That was a tremendously bizarre tangent. And if you pieced together any sort of meaning from it, I'm both impressed and appreciative. Take some time to think what you would choose to subject the world to if you could hijack the global airwaves for a second. I'm going to take a moment and appreciate the very under-appreciated Nicola Tesla.
It's cold again in Texas. We had a couple of weeks in the 60s but now it's frozen. It's actually freezing tonight. And I'm wearing two pairs of socks just to stay comfortable. It's... please pity me. Pity the unsuspecting Texan who got caught in the cold front. It went alllllllll the way down to 30 degrees. I'm actually just happy we didn't get it as badly as the rest of the country. I spoke to someone on Thursday in Tulsa who was expecting over an inch of ice. Terrible.
I'm only a few pages into Philisophical Investigations by Wittgenstein and I've stumbled onto what I think is my favorite literary quote to date. While describing the journey of a thought from conception to vocalization to reception, he states:
"Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination."
It's brilliant. I couldn't have put it better myself. I could launch into an over-sized description of what I think Communication is to me, but I don't have the energy at the moment. Suffice it to say that I'm happy we got vocal chords along with our opposable thumbs and I think more care should be given when speaking to others in general.
I'm going to have the house to myself in the not-too-distant future. I was talking to my landlord earlier today and went into my housemate's room to check on the current state of things. In the room, I happened upon a certain informative brochure. My 40 year-old roommate-person apparently has the time and resources to consult an audiologist for two custom-fit ear monitors (turbo expensive musical performance enhancements), but he's completely unable to pay the (horribly cheap) rent on time... consistently. Anyway, Mr. Man is going to be gone in the next month or so. I'm looking forward to it. The place will smell better and I'll be able to clean things without hearing him bitch and moan about me harming his various percussive instruments. According to at least one person I know, I will never be a good drummer unless I have at least four xylophones on display while they actively collect dust.
I've been playing my guitar a lot. And it's fun. It pulled a couple melodies that have been floating around in my head for a couple years now. It's nice. I don't really have any words for them. Go figure. But they'll be there when I do. I might just start dedicating some time to songwriting. Who knows. I would like to send some songs to friends and family at some point just to let everybody know I'm still kicking. Whatever. Time will tell. I'm gonna work on my pancake and keep trading.
I'm also kicking around the idea of composing some type of literary piece of moderate length. The idea of communicating reason by compounding emotional experiences in someone is appealing to me. Right now, I talk to people on the phone and am walking a very fine line between caring about what they have to say and shoeing them into the pen of Resolution with a linguistic cattle prod of monstrous proportion.
Anyway, in lieu of a serious relationship, I'm considering writing a book. Granted, it will take many months before any measure of reciprocation is seen, but... time is on my side. Life is endlessly short.
My tablet arrived in San Jose for repair two days ago. They haven't called me to tell me just what exactly is wrong with it, but I suspect they will shortly.
I currently have a 32mb image from the Hubble telescope as my background. It's spread across three monitors and is dreamy :)
Part of this being my blog means that I can geek out a little bit about completely lame things. It's beautiful. I didn't get a dial-up internet connection until I was 17. I didn't get a computer that ran faster than 1ghz until I was 20. This machine, although considered to be out of date already, rocks hugely :D
Okay. I'm going to read into slumber. I'm working in 8 hours.
>>"Never Be the Same" on Goodbye by Ulrich Schnauss
January 30, 2010
January 28, 2010
The dream
Sometimes, things fall into place so kindly that it feels like a dream. Such was the case today. It's not so much that anything was especially out of place, but the fact that it was my Friday smoothed everything over like a big wave after a sandcastle contest.
While jamming to The Nits, I decided to post on here again. It's been a really long time.
January has gone by quickly. I celebrated a horrible week trading last week by getting myself a new guitar. It's my first, and probably last, electric guitar. Yes, I have been sleeping with it. No, I have not named it. And no, I have not ruled out naming it at some point in the future. I've played about 3 hours every night this week and... will do so again tonight.
I read that a 16-year old Haitian girl was rescued from the bathroom of her school after 15 days of isolation. 1.2 million people are without homes. That's the size of Dallas and San Diego. Rescue officials mentioned that with the most extensive governmental aid available, the temporary housing for these people might last more than six months. Before the earthquake, one in four children were not living until their eighteenth birthday. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that it took a catastrophe of such magnitude to bring their economic state to my attention. I've mentioned this before here. But what hope for global improvement can we possibly maintain if an island nation so close to us geographically is living in such squalor? The Haitian government has been on the list of the world's most corrupt in the last few years. But... I still can't imagine why we can't have a profound effect on any nation in such close proximity... especially a democratic one hurting for development as sincerely as Haiti. I've known people from Haiti and they consistently said it has one of the most beautiful cultures in existence. It's bad. I donated.
Otherwise, Steve Jobs finally unveiled his most recent creation. I'll say this... it's long overdue. I still, to date, have no idea why tablets have not yet acquired the popularity they deserve. I think Mr. Jobs has done a great thing for the computing industry. Well, I suppose he's brought computational mobility a long way in general. He hasn't pioneered mobile PCs by any means, but he has helped many people put operating systems in their hands. And that's a huge accomplishment.
The iPad is quite literally a large iPhone. It is not a tablet computer. Anyone who tries to use it as an actual computer might very well be disappointed right out of the gates. As I told a co-worker today, any "tablet computer" without a USB port is not a "tablet computer." It has the speed and resources to run email, video, browse and play music comfortably. If that's all you need a computer to do, you should get one with more durability... and a USB port. The base price under 500 dollars is great if you only need a 16gb (flash) hard drive. The 64gb model will run you $840... and not include a USB port. The iPad is going to outsell the Kindle and the other book readers quickly and easily. It might even outsell iPhones and iPods, for all I know. If it outsells those, I will excitedly wait to see what their R&D dept. puts out for the third generation model. Based on the first generation model, I can comfortably say that the second generation model will not excite me, either. If you want to use a tablet PC, get a TC1100 from this crazy bastard who can apparently sell them for $150. Otherwise, Google Fujitsu Stylistics and enjoy an actual mobile pc.
I have no doubt in my mind that every Mac owner with three or more children will own an iPad before the end of the year. What I don't understand is that these people already have the ability to check their emails on their smartphones. So this really might only shape up to be an oversized media player. And that's fine. But I personally like my computers. That's what happens when my cell phone catches me w00ting over technology.
In other news, my mother is successfully relocated. I lifted many heavy things and I was compensated with much food. It was a brilliant success.
I've been balancing on my head recently and working on my pancake but... it's hard. My neverending manliness does not want to let my groin relax. Too much information? Maybe so.
This evening, I went to the grocery store and got some lasagna and a huge Guinness. That's all anyone needs, really. As an added bonus, I fell in love with three beautiful women while walking the aisles and conversed kindly (flirted mindlessly) with the cashier.
Happy weekend to me.
>> "2012" on Music for Men by Gossip
While jamming to The Nits, I decided to post on here again. It's been a really long time.
January has gone by quickly. I celebrated a horrible week trading last week by getting myself a new guitar. It's my first, and probably last, electric guitar. Yes, I have been sleeping with it. No, I have not named it. And no, I have not ruled out naming it at some point in the future. I've played about 3 hours every night this week and... will do so again tonight.
I read that a 16-year old Haitian girl was rescued from the bathroom of her school after 15 days of isolation. 1.2 million people are without homes. That's the size of Dallas and San Diego. Rescue officials mentioned that with the most extensive governmental aid available, the temporary housing for these people might last more than six months. Before the earthquake, one in four children were not living until their eighteenth birthday. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that it took a catastrophe of such magnitude to bring their economic state to my attention. I've mentioned this before here. But what hope for global improvement can we possibly maintain if an island nation so close to us geographically is living in such squalor? The Haitian government has been on the list of the world's most corrupt in the last few years. But... I still can't imagine why we can't have a profound effect on any nation in such close proximity... especially a democratic one hurting for development as sincerely as Haiti. I've known people from Haiti and they consistently said it has one of the most beautiful cultures in existence. It's bad. I donated.
Otherwise, Steve Jobs finally unveiled his most recent creation. I'll say this... it's long overdue. I still, to date, have no idea why tablets have not yet acquired the popularity they deserve. I think Mr. Jobs has done a great thing for the computing industry. Well, I suppose he's brought computational mobility a long way in general. He hasn't pioneered mobile PCs by any means, but he has helped many people put operating systems in their hands. And that's a huge accomplishment.
The iPad is quite literally a large iPhone. It is not a tablet computer. Anyone who tries to use it as an actual computer might very well be disappointed right out of the gates. As I told a co-worker today, any "tablet computer" without a USB port is not a "tablet computer." It has the speed and resources to run email, video, browse and play music comfortably. If that's all you need a computer to do, you should get one with more durability... and a USB port. The base price under 500 dollars is great if you only need a 16gb (flash) hard drive. The 64gb model will run you $840... and not include a USB port. The iPad is going to outsell the Kindle and the other book readers quickly and easily. It might even outsell iPhones and iPods, for all I know. If it outsells those, I will excitedly wait to see what their R&D dept. puts out for the third generation model. Based on the first generation model, I can comfortably say that the second generation model will not excite me, either. If you want to use a tablet PC, get a TC1100 from this crazy bastard who can apparently sell them for $150. Otherwise, Google Fujitsu Stylistics and enjoy an actual mobile pc.
I have no doubt in my mind that every Mac owner with three or more children will own an iPad before the end of the year. What I don't understand is that these people already have the ability to check their emails on their smartphones. So this really might only shape up to be an oversized media player. And that's fine. But I personally like my computers. That's what happens when my cell phone catches me w00ting over technology.
In other news, my mother is successfully relocated. I lifted many heavy things and I was compensated with much food. It was a brilliant success.
I've been balancing on my head recently and working on my pancake but... it's hard. My neverending manliness does not want to let my groin relax. Too much information? Maybe so.
This evening, I went to the grocery store and got some lasagna and a huge Guinness. That's all anyone needs, really. As an added bonus, I fell in love with three beautiful women while walking the aisles and conversed kindly (flirted mindlessly) with the cashier.
Happy weekend to me.
>> "2012" on Music for Men by Gossip
January 05, 2010
To the stars
Send all my thought to you
Till your oceans have filled right through
And on the shores, I will wait for days
...
It's not a cause for alarm
It's a strange and lovely place
Your absence makes me strong
So here I wait...
The thoughts struck me tonight. It's from "The Living" on Neverending White Lights: Act II.
They struck me because I had a pretty wild dream last night. I was together with my family in some foreign place. It was a cool, humid evening under a big canopy with a few tables and bright lights. We were all just visiting, old and young, laughing at my older cousin. He was finding great joy in just darting in between the tables, up and back, and clapping his bare feet together in the air as his whims required. This might seem strange to anyone else, but I've seen him do it. To this day, he's a huge inspiration to me... foot-clapping very much included.
I only remember two people in the dream specifically: my cousin and another. But I could tell I was with family. Wisdom was moving slowly on the other side of the tent and Vivacity and Expression were very busy considering the state of things. I was surrounded by the feeling that everything was alright, like Bob Marley had just left. I was happy to sit in peace while the wind flowed around our legs at the tables.
There was a stiff breeze and a moon illuminating the damp air through the trees. The tent-like structure above us was resting comfortably in a huge indention in what used to be a rock cliff. Balanced and broken, four and five foot boulders rested to make a wall. It felt like the ocean might have been just a stone's throw away out the front of the tent (almost every great memory I have with my family took place at or very near a large body of water). In between the rock, there were some old steps that led up and out to whichever beautiful building might have been our destination that night. It was a great time to be outside. Favoring a Roman air and smiling like yogis, moments of elation were in steady supply. Tears of laughter were on deck, watching each pitch as they came in.
I was perfectly content.
And then the second person arrived.
She walked through the path in the rock, through a visual impasse, and I immediately turned into water. I knew who she was before my eyes even made it all the way to her. A wave of Emotion hit me from behind and pushed me forward. Without even having to lift my feet, I was directly in front of her in absolute amazement. My hands were radiating with Anticipation and everything from the neck-up was now Listening. The warm dynamic under the tent maintained but I could tell there was a new polarity about us. The Wise grew silent and happily retreated into eachother. Expression and Vivacity continued to consider the nature of things, albeit a bit more quietly.
The air was warm and the air was kind. She was much taller than I expected, but I think I was actually just beside myself to see what she'd become. Her hair was inexplicably long and brown, but it could have been green and still a minor detail. As hard as I focused, her face wasn't the same. I couldn't see it at all even though I was right in front of her again for the first time in a lifetime. I finally got a glimpse of her face and, although it was completely different than I remember, it was no less kind. It was the same person. And I was no longer in control of my movements.
Without saying anything, I invited her to walk with me. She agreed in the same peaceful way she always did and we started away from the rocks toward the trees.
Not two steps out did panic strike her and push her back against the rock behind us. She was pinned, raised off the ground and in visible pain. But it seemed to be completely out of both her and my control. I ripped into the air with my voice and screamed like fire toward whatever it was holding her to the rock. Her expression was quiet and reassuring, as always. But she was visibly upset and was either unwilling or unable to help herself. And that's where the dream ended.
I woke up feeling better than I did when I went to sleep. I didn't feel particularly troubled at the end of the dream, so I'm content to let it rest in Metaphor. I got to see my cousin clapping his feet again and got to see a great old friend.
And the lyrics from the song just sorta brought out the details long enough for me to go back to it.
It again feels as if more has taken place than has actually happened.
To the stars.
Happy New Year :)
>>"Star Guitar" from The One Shinichi Osawa
Till your oceans have filled right through
And on the shores, I will wait for days
...
It's not a cause for alarm
It's a strange and lovely place
Your absence makes me strong
So here I wait...
The thoughts struck me tonight. It's from "The Living" on Neverending White Lights: Act II.
They struck me because I had a pretty wild dream last night. I was together with my family in some foreign place. It was a cool, humid evening under a big canopy with a few tables and bright lights. We were all just visiting, old and young, laughing at my older cousin. He was finding great joy in just darting in between the tables, up and back, and clapping his bare feet together in the air as his whims required. This might seem strange to anyone else, but I've seen him do it. To this day, he's a huge inspiration to me... foot-clapping very much included.
I only remember two people in the dream specifically: my cousin and another. But I could tell I was with family. Wisdom was moving slowly on the other side of the tent and Vivacity and Expression were very busy considering the state of things. I was surrounded by the feeling that everything was alright, like Bob Marley had just left. I was happy to sit in peace while the wind flowed around our legs at the tables.
There was a stiff breeze and a moon illuminating the damp air through the trees. The tent-like structure above us was resting comfortably in a huge indention in what used to be a rock cliff. Balanced and broken, four and five foot boulders rested to make a wall. It felt like the ocean might have been just a stone's throw away out the front of the tent (almost every great memory I have with my family took place at or very near a large body of water). In between the rock, there were some old steps that led up and out to whichever beautiful building might have been our destination that night. It was a great time to be outside. Favoring a Roman air and smiling like yogis, moments of elation were in steady supply. Tears of laughter were on deck, watching each pitch as they came in.
I was perfectly content.
And then the second person arrived.
She walked through the path in the rock, through a visual impasse, and I immediately turned into water. I knew who she was before my eyes even made it all the way to her. A wave of Emotion hit me from behind and pushed me forward. Without even having to lift my feet, I was directly in front of her in absolute amazement. My hands were radiating with Anticipation and everything from the neck-up was now Listening. The warm dynamic under the tent maintained but I could tell there was a new polarity about us. The Wise grew silent and happily retreated into eachother. Expression and Vivacity continued to consider the nature of things, albeit a bit more quietly.
The air was warm and the air was kind. She was much taller than I expected, but I think I was actually just beside myself to see what she'd become. Her hair was inexplicably long and brown, but it could have been green and still a minor detail. As hard as I focused, her face wasn't the same. I couldn't see it at all even though I was right in front of her again for the first time in a lifetime. I finally got a glimpse of her face and, although it was completely different than I remember, it was no less kind. It was the same person. And I was no longer in control of my movements.
Without saying anything, I invited her to walk with me. She agreed in the same peaceful way she always did and we started away from the rocks toward the trees.
Not two steps out did panic strike her and push her back against the rock behind us. She was pinned, raised off the ground and in visible pain. But it seemed to be completely out of both her and my control. I ripped into the air with my voice and screamed like fire toward whatever it was holding her to the rock. Her expression was quiet and reassuring, as always. But she was visibly upset and was either unwilling or unable to help herself. And that's where the dream ended.
I woke up feeling better than I did when I went to sleep. I didn't feel particularly troubled at the end of the dream, so I'm content to let it rest in Metaphor. I got to see my cousin clapping his feet again and got to see a great old friend.
And the lyrics from the song just sorta brought out the details long enough for me to go back to it.
It again feels as if more has taken place than has actually happened.
To the stars.
Happy New Year :)
>>"Star Guitar" from The One Shinichi Osawa
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