Happy Valentine's Day (with a couple of treats)

I don't have anything planned, but felt like this post would be my card to the world: forced like so many other holiday cards, it's not going to say anything very meaningful, but please know I'm thinking about you and I love you nonetheless.

For you gardeners out there, here's a dope Growing Calendar on the Burpee's Seed website. Plug in your zip code and be amazed. It suggests when to sow seeds for particular crops of plants. Cool. I should be sowing a bunch of stuff inside right now... Oops.

And finally, for all you young parents, here is Will.I.Am on Sesame Street. Pretty sweet. I gave up on trying to find a free download of it though. Holler if you do

Family Time

Picked this up at the library--just what I was looking for; more or less a reggae album for kids. Ziggy Marley's Family Time. So far so good--too excited, I couldn't wait to get through the whole album before posting about it. The album features other Marley siblings, Jack Johnson, Toots (Hibbert), Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, and others. Very mello and upbeat, not far from the great Bob Marley, but with tunes that really focus on family. So great! Can't wait to rock this while dancing with Ms. Baby, enjoying a warm and sunny day, or brightening up a gloomy one. Enjoy!

Proof

Work Day + Music

As most of you surely know, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For many Americans, this means a day off from work or school, and consequently time spent away from the computer monitor. However, for people who reside outside of the United States, or for people who reside in the United States and are employed by racists, it is unfortunately a Monday like any other... - BikeSnobNYC

yeah, I'm at work. good coffee, but not good enough to help get me through this Monday without being a little bored and a little stressed...

but then BSNYC goes on to say this:
This means that you may have commuted to work today, and you may even have used a bicycle to do so. One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work. It's the rare and fortunate person who looks forward to his or her workday, so if you're not one of them you can at least sandwich the misery between two slices of pleasure by riding your bike there. Actually enjoying your commute can infuse an otherwise dreary day with some joy. 

True dat.

Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright

Happy Birthday Bob

Saves the Day - Through Being Cool

Great GREAT album.
"Best song?" you ask.
"You Vandal" I reply without hesitation.
(Crap, then I remember "Do You Know What I Love The Most")
If anyone has this album, please send me a copy. I lost mine a long time ago

Through Being Cool on IMEEM

You Vandal:
Last night I dreamt you called from Costa Rica
The place you've been for the last two weeks
You said, "I miss you, oh sweet boy," and "Will you come on down?"
I woke up to my cold sheets and the smell of New Jersey
When do I get to wake up to you?
Today I can't forget that I've got these open wounds
It's such a drag
I can't forget you've gone
My ribs have parted ways
They said, "We're not going to protect this heart you have."
Oh no, what can I do?
My lungs are breathing open air
And my spleen is dripping from my pants
You've left me here in the cold
And I miss you
You never told me it would be this hard
I think my body's saying so
When you're not here, it's leaving me
But I hope that you're o.k.
Even though I'm dying
I hope that you're still trying to have a killer time
Go see the volcanoes
Go see the rainforests
I'll be fine by myself
I'll be fine without these bones.

DOOM TOWN

This weekend was the highly anticipated Gag/Red Shadows/Coffinworm show in Indianapolis. Chris did a great job pulling everything together and making it happen. You just can't beat a house show... except with a free house show with lots of cheap beer, some home-brewed porters, and a bunch of cool people. I'm really glad I made the commitment to Chris to play with the band and I can chalk this one down as another one of my glory years (but, this was not a last-hurrah). It reminded me of how great if feels to make music. Also I made some friends through the project and hope to keep in contact with them. This week I will work on downloading videos of the show.

Yesterday, our friend Zane and his family hosted a winter solstice party. There was a bonfire that struggled valiantly against something like 30 mph winds and 3 degree temperatures--but we weren't as strong. I'm glad we went though. Not only because the winter solstice is one of the best days of the year to celebrate (the beginning of longer days!), but because Zane is such a good guy. Incidentally I realized he rides a really nice fixed gear bike which blew my mind... While we were downtown, we got to visit with Jess, Mike, and a friend, Ed, while the dogs played, and retrieved some dinner fromThe North Star Cafe...

As for now, I have lots of work to do before leaving town for the holidays, so I'm gonna cut this short. Stay warm: it was reported that Columbus was experiencing a windchill of 16 degrees-below-zero this morning. Balls

This isn't just the coffee talking

I'm feeling great today

I went out to the Homestead (at Denison University) last night to visit with Chris and Nolan who were driving through Ohio to West Virginia. I got to hang with some of the current Homesteaders and retrieved my old acoustic guitar!

Also, I bought a new crankset for my bike on Ebay. This means I can finally mess with the gearing... Hopefully I might be able to sell off the stuff I'm switching out to recoup some of that dough, making it "stupid cheap"...

C made killer vegan sugar cookies last night; I've got pizza for lunch; this is my last full week of work for two weeks; this weekend is the Gag show and Nolan will be there... shit, what else?

I dunno. Just felt like counting some blessings for a few minutes...
--
New playlist... Light This City's album,
Facing The Thousands. It's metal music - not for the faint of heart: BYAH!

Mastodon

If you're looking for a good time--and by a good time I mean a healthy dose of DOOM--check out this playlist of Mastodon's album, Remission. If you feel hesitant to listen to any of it, do me the favor by listening to the second track, March of the Fire Ants. It will blow you away. I've been groovin so hard to this album all day. It might even replace the Kanye playlist despite the fact that RoboCop keeps getting stuck in my head.

I've been learning the "Gag" songs Chris wrote and they are nothing less than epic. John said Chris was the J.R.R. Tolkien of writing songs, and as it happens that I hate reading books, perhaps I disagree because I love this music... Just kidding; I understand the allusion...

Work can seem... so pointless

Capital of DOOM

This weekend I visited my college roommate, Chris, in Indianapolis. He's been writing music for a Doom band called Gag--which, surprisingly, will include me on bass for the band's one and only show to be held in Chris's parents' basement in two weeks, just before he moves to Portland, Oregon. Yeah, it is that chaotic. We had our first of two practices; the second of which will be on the day of our show. It's gonna be brutal.

My eyes were opened to the strange and hypnotic world that is DOOM. After practice, Chris and I went to a Doom show to see four Doom bands, before going to the after-show to see two more bands that were full of Doom. It was doomalicious. This has led me to believe that Indianapolis may very well be the American capital of Doom--and I mean that in a good way. All I can say is that Doom is heavy and full of soul and, after four beers, it will put me to sleep.

The other two guys in the band, John (guitar) and Patrick (drums), are awesome and I'm pumped to even have met them. They used to be in a band called Angelville. John is married, has a great house, lots of pets, and a really really (really) awesome bike. The similarities are even more eerie: we both got married on the same day of the same year and had both asked Chris to be in our wedding parties. I can't wait for C to meet John and his wife because I think it's so cool to meet another couple that, in my opinion, shares so much in common with us. Too bad Indy is as far from Columbus as it is...

Anyways, I'm excited about this project. It will be the band that Chris and I always wanted to start but never did during the four years we lived together. It's been so meaningful to me and I want to thank C for being so supportive. The music is amazing. I'll try to make sure to get video at the show and post it on this blog. The show will be December 20. Be there and prepare to get a face full of Doom: Doom to the face--Woop!

Buju Banton - Til Shiloh

Link to album Til Shiloh on IMEEM.com

"One good thing about music..."

"...when it hits you, you feel okay." - Bob Marley

Hey party peoples. How are you? I'm good. This week has been a busy one--hence the lack of blogging--and the next few will carry on the same way. Last Friday, during the midnight soccer game I rolled my ankle and wrecked it in a gnarly way. I blame it on the cleats I bought and had never worn. Also, I was getting pretty aggressive and playing my best game yet. Anyways, the whole team played well and we won.
At work, I've been in the field every day, wearing rubber boots with no support whatsoever, walking steep inclines and through rocky stream beds. Sucks. I have a soccer game tonight, and expect to play, but will take it all easy.
Last night, C bought a Sizzla album (reggae) and it's really making me feel good today. It's a sort of "greatest hits" album. Anyways, it's good music.

I'm not sure what it is about reggae music, but I always feel good when I'm listening to it. Whether it is slow and mellow, or up-beat ska/roots reggae, or a heavy dub mix, it fills me up. It's good to dance to, it can ease oppressive summer heat, and it can warm a Midwestern winter.

So, go find some good reggae. If you don't know where to start, I recommend Bob Marley, or Sizzla. It will make you feel good. Check out Pandora.com and create a Bob Marley "radio station." Actually, this is one I created: check it out.

[Brandi--I hope I don't sound like a total dork. You probably have a lot of insights about reggae. Feel free to school me on it. Say word?]

True hope responds

"True hope dwells on the possible, even when life seems to be a plot written by someone who wants to see how much adversity we can overcome. True hope responds to the real world, to real life; it is an active effort." - Walter Anderson, American painter
--
+ listen: Mogwai

lion life

"it's better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb"
New music project by Zach de la Rocha and Jon Theodore

Health is wealth

Dead Prez has a song called Be Healthy
It was inspirational to hear a cool hip-hop group rhyming about eating fresh, whole foods and exercising while rejecting alcohol, cigarettes, OTC medicines, and animal products. I first heard this at a time when I was decidedly abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and becoming very passionate about environmentalism, vegetarianism, and farming/gardening. I hope you enjoy the track as much as I do.

For a while now I have been hoping to write a list of the "essential ingredients of my Good Life"--foods and other things that I have made part of my routine. I think it might be useful to share lists like this, though I'm not sure why... Here goes... (in no particular order)

+ Avocado
+ Almonds, raw & unsalted
+ Mangoes, fresh
+ Broccoli & Carrots, raw (mixed with almonds!)
+ Basil
+ Avocado & Tuna (no mayo!)
+ Honey, honey, and more honey!!! (the all-curing panacea)
+ Peanut butter, crunchy
+ Pumpkin pie, chocolate, & cookies made by C
+ More avocado
+ Chipotle