The paradox of insular language
2 years ago
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sprinter...You know, Spring and Winter.
I like when the seasons collide like they did this morning in Chicago.
When I awoke this morning, it was snowing pretty nastily. It was one of those cold, really wet snows, too. The ones that turn to slush almost immediately but are so heavy that they don't melt. It was like winter never left.
And now, the sun is shining brightly, the snow has all but melted, and from my back window, I can see 2 purple flowers peaking out of someone's backyard. Spring is here.
Flowers surviving through the snow is always a really cool image.
When I awoke this morning, it was snowing pretty nastily. It was one of those cold, really wet snows, too. The ones that turn to slush almost immediately but are so heavy that they don't melt. It was like winter never left.
And now, the sun is shining brightly, the snow has all but melted, and from my back window, I can see 2 purple flowers peaking out of someone's backyard. Spring is here.
Flowers surviving through the snow is always a really cool image.
Drawing future success from the past...
I had the awesome opportunity to catch up with 3 friends from college this past week. It was so cool to see how far we've all traveled in life whether that be literally or figuratively. Sometimes I worry that my life isn't progressing, that I'm missing something. So many of my friends are doing really incredible things with their lives. They've been to places in the world I don't even have a concept of, they've learned volumes beyond what any normal person would know about one particular subject, they've grabbed on to their lives.
I have to remember that my journey is also exciting. So often, I'm overwhelmed by the day-to-day that I forget to look at the whole picture. My friends didn't just go to Africa or law school. They gave up a ton. They invested themselves in it completely. They didn't just make a record. They put in hundreds of hours at the studio and thousands before to even get there.
That reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s book "Outliers" which theorizes that in order to become successful at something, you need to spend at least 1000 hours doing it. He examines other things that contribute to success as well.
It's a really interesting book, but what it brings me back to is that everyone has their own path to a successful life. And who's to say that a successful life isn't anything more than living it your own way.
I have to remember that my journey is also exciting. So often, I'm overwhelmed by the day-to-day that I forget to look at the whole picture. My friends didn't just go to Africa or law school. They gave up a ton. They invested themselves in it completely. They didn't just make a record. They put in hundreds of hours at the studio and thousands before to even get there.
That reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s book "Outliers" which theorizes that in order to become successful at something, you need to spend at least 1000 hours doing it. He examines other things that contribute to success as well.
It's a really interesting book, but what it brings me back to is that everyone has their own path to a successful life. And who's to say that a successful life isn't anything more than living it your own way.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
If you can even call it music...
Ugh. I'm back to loving American Idol. Tell me you don't love it and I'll tell you that you don't understand the beauty of reality TV or the complexity of music. Or I'll tell you that you have a life and I do not. Either way, I'm sure we won't get along. To be honest, I didn't want to go back to American Idol this year. I tried sooooooo hard for David Cooke (I even voted for him like 6 times), and in the end, the originality that I once applauded totally fell by the wayside when it came time to make a commercial album. Terrible.
But this time, I love how there's a blind guy, and a guy who doesn't know when it's acceptable to rap or jump around, and another guy who can't stop talking about how married he is, and another guy whose sob story will break your heart. And I hate how terrible these women are - how there's a girl who is 16 and doesn't know how to talk, how there's a girl who's super beautiful but doesn't know how to sing, and how there's a girl/woman who's actually ok but who still couldn't beat me in a karaoke contest (wishful thinking).
But this time, I love how there's a blind guy, and a guy who doesn't know when it's acceptable to rap or jump around, and another guy who can't stop talking about how married he is, and another guy whose sob story will break your heart. And I hate how terrible these women are - how there's a girl who is 16 and doesn't know how to talk, how there's a girl who's super beautiful but doesn't know how to sing, and how there's a girl/woman who's actually ok but who still couldn't beat me in a karaoke contest (wishful thinking).
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Something to get me up and going this morning
"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!"
Og Mandino (1923 - 1996)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Closest I'll get to a Pipe Dream
I have fallen really, really hard for this new Facebook trend where you create your own Album covers based on searching random things from Wikipedia, Quotes, and Flickr. I can't stop, I'm so addicted. This is one of my favorites. Directions below so you can create your own.
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop (or similar) to put it all together.
5 - Post it to Facebook as a note and tag friends.
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/expl
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop (or similar) to put it all together.
5 - Post it to Facebook as a note and tag friends.
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