I'll be the first to admit that, essentially, this is still a personal blog. I don't write many revelatory articles on politics, nor do I spend a lot of time scouring the web for the latest bright ideas from seasoned bloggers. Having made that disclaimer, I'm now going to make my list of New Year's resolutions. Over the past two months life has fallen a bit through the cracks, so this New Year's Eve has suddenly become very significant in my mind. I really feel that I need to adjust some things about how I go about my life. Here is a list of some ideas I have for putting myself back on certain rails, as well as plans for taking myself off of tracks I don't want to be on.
- keep track of what I earn and spend... I think some call it "balancing your check book"... obviously a foreign concept to me...
- know and learn what things are truly worth the money
- plane tickets
- music tickets
- music equipment
- good wine
- floss at least 5 nights a week
- play guitar at least 5 nights a week
- play guitar with somebody else at least 2-3 times a month to start
- look put together every day - have a "safe outfit" for days that I just don't feel like putting myself together
- be more aware of when to get shit done, and when to say fuck-all
- don't stop knitting just because winter is over
- knock facebook off the #1 spot on my homepage on Chrome... those of you who use Chrome know what I mean... for those of you who don't, it means GET MY ASS OFF OF FACEBOOK!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Post-neo-hippie me - Part 1
I know that music is good when it compels me to start playing guitar on a daily basis again. This has been the case with Phish over the past couple of weeks. I was skeptical at first, but after a few listens I seem to be completely hooked. To the point that I've already made a hypothetical plan for saving hypothetical not-yet-earned money for hypothetical tickets for a hypothetical Phish tour that hasn't even been announced yet... this could turn ugly.
But, back to the music. Their jams are so free and fluid, they warm up the mind to be carried to the same place that the jam is heading. I need to correct myself here because saying that the jam is heading somewhere implies that there is a final goal. Perhaps some of the songs are orchestrated beginning to end, but from what I've heard so far, the music is (r?)evolutionary. Each note is borne of the previous. Every new note is related to every one that came before it, and to the whole arch of the preceding melody. It doesn't simply take it's place in any pattern, nor does it work towards anything. Then when the time is right the jam comes back to the main theme, but so naturally it almost seems like the main melody is part of the jam and it just happens to match whatever they were playing at the beginning. The catch to making this sort of flowing music is that you need to have near technical virtuosity and visualize the way that the notes draw on each other. I can only dream of having such a holistic understanding of music.
While writing that, I realized that I'm mainly talking about Trey Anastasio's guitar which is, being a guitar player myself, what stands out to me most. This brings me to the second aspect of Phish that blows me away every time. Not only is the music evolutionary, the band itself is like a naturally developed organism. The years of playing together seem to allow them to fuse the sounds of their instruments together perfectly. Perhaps I've only been given their best stuff, but they don't get lazy and sloppy. If the jam goes off in a confusing or uninteresting direction, it is quickly corrected. If what I've heard and read is true (example from a fan website, "A bad Phish show is an oxymoron") then even if they play a mediocre show, you can never say that they didn't try.
All I can say is that I really want to see them try again.
But, back to the music. Their jams are so free and fluid, they warm up the mind to be carried to the same place that the jam is heading. I need to correct myself here because saying that the jam is heading somewhere implies that there is a final goal. Perhaps some of the songs are orchestrated beginning to end, but from what I've heard so far, the music is (r?)evolutionary. Each note is borne of the previous. Every new note is related to every one that came before it, and to the whole arch of the preceding melody. It doesn't simply take it's place in any pattern, nor does it work towards anything. Then when the time is right the jam comes back to the main theme, but so naturally it almost seems like the main melody is part of the jam and it just happens to match whatever they were playing at the beginning. The catch to making this sort of flowing music is that you need to have near technical virtuosity and visualize the way that the notes draw on each other. I can only dream of having such a holistic understanding of music.
While writing that, I realized that I'm mainly talking about Trey Anastasio's guitar which is, being a guitar player myself, what stands out to me most. This brings me to the second aspect of Phish that blows me away every time. Not only is the music evolutionary, the band itself is like a naturally developed organism. The years of playing together seem to allow them to fuse the sounds of their instruments together perfectly. Perhaps I've only been given their best stuff, but they don't get lazy and sloppy. If the jam goes off in a confusing or uninteresting direction, it is quickly corrected. If what I've heard and read is true (example from a fan website, "A bad Phish show is an oxymoron") then even if they play a mediocre show, you can never say that they didn't try.
All I can say is that I really want to see them try again.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
this post is about sex. you should so read it.
Yes. This post is indeed about sex. I have been looking for an excuse to write about it for some time now, and this article gave me ample opportunity to go off on the subject.
I've been really excited by the openness of the Trader Joe's crew to talk about sex or to make sexual innuendos in casual conversation. The other night we had an extensive conversation about penises, circumcision and male sensitivity. A few days ago a coworker did not even blink before high-fiving a pair of gloves that were suggestively hanging out of my back left jean pocket. Sex is here to stay and the discourse has somehow changed.
Over the past few weeks I have been keeping up a liason that has turned from mere fucking (let it be known that the word "mere" is meant to quantify the depth of the relationship, not the quality of the fucking) into a mutually beneficial friendship that grows a little bit more tender each time that it culminates in a face to face encounter. As the closeness has grown, so has the amount of teasing that I have been subjected to, and that I have subjected him to. I pride myself on being fair and balanced when it comes to intimate relationships, but what I fail to realize is that the teasing, the power struggle and the gentle bullying is part of the romantic encounter, the flirtation game that we all inevitably partake in. There is a large part of myself that takes my own self and my surroundings entirely too seriously. I'm starting to think that what this relationship is going to give me (besides a renewed interest in hip-hop), is a lighter look at myself and the people around me. An invaluable life skill.
I've been really excited by the openness of the Trader Joe's crew to talk about sex or to make sexual innuendos in casual conversation. The other night we had an extensive conversation about penises, circumcision and male sensitivity. A few days ago a coworker did not even blink before high-fiving a pair of gloves that were suggestively hanging out of my back left jean pocket. Sex is here to stay and the discourse has somehow changed.
Over the past few weeks I have been keeping up a liason that has turned from mere fucking (let it be known that the word "mere" is meant to quantify the depth of the relationship, not the quality of the fucking) into a mutually beneficial friendship that grows a little bit more tender each time that it culminates in a face to face encounter. As the closeness has grown, so has the amount of teasing that I have been subjected to, and that I have subjected him to. I pride myself on being fair and balanced when it comes to intimate relationships, but what I fail to realize is that the teasing, the power struggle and the gentle bullying is part of the romantic encounter, the flirtation game that we all inevitably partake in. There is a large part of myself that takes my own self and my surroundings entirely too seriously. I'm starting to think that what this relationship is going to give me (besides a renewed interest in hip-hop), is a lighter look at myself and the people around me. An invaluable life skill.
Monday, November 17, 2008
writing under the influence
Over the past week I've been under a considerable amount of emotional stress. Simply different things coming at me from all directions and snowballing into a huge weight. For this reason I can't seem to write anything worth reading. All that is in my head is "me, me, me" and "boo hoo". I'll spare you the details.
Friday, November 14, 2008
fuck trendy fruit
My god, I haven't written in so long.
Over the past few months I've started attempting to identify the notes in wines without looking at the label first.
This Coppola Malbec tastes like prunes. They would never put the word "prunes" on the label. Instead, it says "rich, juicy plums". What the hell is wrong with prunes? Sure, they aid digestion, but they're also delicious. This is wine bullshit if I've ever heard it. A wine nerd of a coworker pointed out a wine label that talked about pomegranate notes. Now, I'm certain that they haven't specifically cultivated any grapes that develop pomegranate flavors when made into wine. Either they're there or they're not. Pomegranate is trendy, so they will write it in. So sorry that I missed the acai berry notes of last year's wines. Or was that lychee?
Nevertheless I'm damn proud of myself for knowing the particular fruit in it.
Over the past few months I've started attempting to identify the notes in wines without looking at the label first.
This Coppola Malbec tastes like prunes. They would never put the word "prunes" on the label. Instead, it says "rich, juicy plums". What the hell is wrong with prunes? Sure, they aid digestion, but they're also delicious. This is wine bullshit if I've ever heard it. A wine nerd of a coworker pointed out a wine label that talked about pomegranate notes. Now, I'm certain that they haven't specifically cultivated any grapes that develop pomegranate flavors when made into wine. Either they're there or they're not. Pomegranate is trendy, so they will write it in. So sorry that I missed the acai berry notes of last year's wines. Or was that lychee?
Nevertheless I'm damn proud of myself for knowing the particular fruit in it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I wish I may, I wish I might...
...have the wish I wish tonight, which is for Mike Bloomberg to endorse Barack Obama. After weeks of being bitter about Clinton not getting the nomination, I think I'm finally becoming an Obama believer. Let's just hope that congress and big corporations let him do what (I think) he intends to do with his time in office.
It's not that Bloomberg's endorsement will make me any more sure that I'm voting for Obama. I'm really fucking sure, alright. I would just be INCREDIBLY disappointed if he went with McCain. I'm fairly certain that he's too smart for that.
All (two of) my NYC friends should vote to extend his term limit, by the way. I'm talking to you! Yes, you!
It's not that Bloomberg's endorsement will make me any more sure that I'm voting for Obama. I'm really fucking sure, alright. I would just be INCREDIBLY disappointed if he went with McCain. I'm fairly certain that he's too smart for that.
All (two of) my NYC friends should vote to extend his term limit, by the way. I'm talking to you! Yes, you!
Monday, October 13, 2008
jazz
Sometimes it so happens that you're going along your regular route and you turn a corner and see something completely unexpected. Something you fall in love with. It's not entirely coincidence because the thing that you fall in love with stirs something inside of you that has been brewing for sometime, you just failed to notice it before.
This happened to me in New York with a person. This also happened to me a few weeks ago with jazz. I was spending an evening with someone, and he put on Brad Mehldau whom I hadn't heard of before. Although I was attracted to the music immediately, I felt like I couldn't trust myself with the feeling yet. I had had a lot of wine and needless to say (since most of my readers know me too well) this person and I ended up in his bed. There were many thoughts, feelings and sensations swirling around in my head, and I had a hard time singling out the music. It was only later when I got a chance to download more, and when I began listening to KCSM (the local jazz station) that I settled into this feeling. I realized that I turned a corner and bumped into this friend I had had since childhood, but didn't immediately recognize the face of. The friend has not changed, but I had matured and I was able to not only recognize it, but appreciate it as I never could before. The more I listened, the more the music was separated from that evening. The events of it, though enjoyable, simply became a catalyst for this blooming obsession.
Jazz, good jazz to be exact, has always been in my life with the help of my dad. It was always in the house, in the car and sometimes at concerts that he took me to. I pretended to like and understand the music. Yes, there was something in it that intrigued me, even as a child, but I can't honestly say that I liked it. Even now after listening to more, I had this irksome feeling that my like for this music was a pretense. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to tell good jazz from bad and that in a way I was at yet another concert imagining (but simultaneously wishing) that I understand it all. This changed tonight when I was driving from work and Myra Melford (piano) and Marty Ehrlich (alto sax) came on the radio and I was completely blown away. This is what I like. This is quality. I know it.
There is so much out there that I need to catch up on and even more to discover, I feel overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I think this is the start of a lifelong relationship.
This happened to me in New York with a person. This also happened to me a few weeks ago with jazz. I was spending an evening with someone, and he put on Brad Mehldau whom I hadn't heard of before. Although I was attracted to the music immediately, I felt like I couldn't trust myself with the feeling yet. I had had a lot of wine and needless to say (since most of my readers know me too well) this person and I ended up in his bed. There were many thoughts, feelings and sensations swirling around in my head, and I had a hard time singling out the music. It was only later when I got a chance to download more, and when I began listening to KCSM (the local jazz station) that I settled into this feeling. I realized that I turned a corner and bumped into this friend I had had since childhood, but didn't immediately recognize the face of. The friend has not changed, but I had matured and I was able to not only recognize it, but appreciate it as I never could before. The more I listened, the more the music was separated from that evening. The events of it, though enjoyable, simply became a catalyst for this blooming obsession.
Jazz, good jazz to be exact, has always been in my life with the help of my dad. It was always in the house, in the car and sometimes at concerts that he took me to. I pretended to like and understand the music. Yes, there was something in it that intrigued me, even as a child, but I can't honestly say that I liked it. Even now after listening to more, I had this irksome feeling that my like for this music was a pretense. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to tell good jazz from bad and that in a way I was at yet another concert imagining (but simultaneously wishing) that I understand it all. This changed tonight when I was driving from work and Myra Melford (piano) and Marty Ehrlich (alto sax) came on the radio and I was completely blown away. This is what I like. This is quality. I know it.
There is so much out there that I need to catch up on and even more to discover, I feel overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I think this is the start of a lifelong relationship.
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