Good phactibus.
I got a journal for christmas from my mom. I've written in it every day. It's from Italy, and is made with genuine leather. The pages are made of paper.
I'm trying to center myself. I watched a documentary called "Collapse" the other night. Anything that instills a desire to be perfect is probably a good thing. I wouldn't mind being a little less motivated by fear.
I made a deal with nature today. I'm going to do my best, and nature is going to take care of me. It made me happy.
Struck by the arrow of God.
simon.
I like when i say things that i'm not expecting to say. That happens sometimes.
I like when i say things that are of interest to other people. Ideally, my thoughts will inspire thinking in others, or inspire a calm, an absence of thought.
Ideally, the things that i do are good.
I want to be good. Seems like a healthy desire, if there is such a thing.
I think that if i am good, i should become popular. I think that if i write the best blog posts in the world, with some level of frequency, then eventually i'll have hundreds, or even thousands, of readers. Quality is magnetic. Or it aughta be, at any rate.
A -> B; B -> C.
I want to be significant. Visiting my own site and finding no comments leaves the precise sense that the post didn't matter.
Lack of comments -> lack of interest -> lack of quality.
Am i asking for positive reinforcement? Clearly i am.
Do i think that i should look into myself for a measure of quality? Yes. Do i think i should face forward and move on, without looking back to see if my past efforts earned me praise? Of course. Do i think that asking for reinforcement is an entirely weak and unproductive step towards a self assured future? Nope! But why?
Mostly because i'm still writing from my center of thinking. That's all that really matters. I'm doing my best. I'll see you next time. Merry Christmas. The excitement of the holidays will be exciting. No doubt. Make sure you enjoy the calm for all it's worth.
simon.
Hello. My name is simon and i play online poker.
I play poker because i believe in it. I believe in it as a test of skill. A battle of wits. A measure of ability to exchange money and remain calm. I believe it is a game that can be played well.
I've played cards since i was young. My family plays games to win. It's healthy competition. I believe that i've gotten good at card games. I believe that i am in the process of getting good at poker.
Again, i believe in the game of poker. I believe in it as a test of skill. There will be ups and downs, but the most skilled players will win. Practice makes perfect.
Update!!!
I'm not really losing any money, and i'm not really winning any money.
simon
Bon found them in the stack of cds she plays at her work. Angus and Julia Stone is the band, the album is A Book Like This.
I like to imagine though. I dream big, and i assume i'll do more than imaginable.
Last night i started working on a TED presentation. It's about art. A couple pages of shorthand (not sure what that means, but it sounds intelligent) on the topic of 'what is art?'. It looks pretty good so far.
I'll refine what i've got. I'm hoping that i'll be able to give some guidelines on how to create art. My current input doesn't sound much like secrets, sounds more like persuasion towards gruntwork.
Do what you do so much that it becomes mindless. Next time you're possessed by feelings, the wheels of production are so well greased that art comes with little perpetual editing.
Art happens when feeling is expressed. In order for feeling to be genuinely expressed, a person must be consumed with the feeling. The feeling cannot be the object (with the artist calling his/herself the subject). Describing a feeling which lies outside the describer cannot express that feeling.
The object of the art form is not important. The feeling is important. The feeling is so important. If you're feeling sad and hopeful, you can write a song about relationships, about weather, about war, about government or about fishing. You'll be using the means, the context, of fishing, but you'll be expressing feelings of sadness and hopefulness. The existence of feeling is what makes it art.
When something is hard to define, i feel my best bet is to define it unsatisfactorily as often as possible, and maybe some collage of poor explanations will form a basis for what i intend.
Art is expression. Art is expression through undefined means. I'm gonna look at three forms: word art, picture art, and sound art.
Word art has the easiest path to expression, but the hardest time avoiding defined meaning. To say "I am sad," is not art. It is expression, but not art. It is expression through predefined notions of what the words mean. Definable expression is not art.
To say "the clouds are heavy" is more on the artistic side (although i must confess, since i am not currently feeling that the clouds are heavy, there is no expression of genuine feeling, and therefor, no art is taking place). The meaning intended by calling the clouds heavy is not precisely the meaning defined in the words used. [ideally] There is some sort of feeling which is at the core of the expression.
Visual art takes a neat transformation. There is far less opportunity for defined expression, but there develops a brand new opportunity for nothing to be expressed at all.
How can defined expression exist in visual art? Symbols. A circle with some sticks can represent a man. This is as definable as looking up 'man' in the dictionary. In visual art, however, the man can appear in billions of ways. That may lean people to believe that all paint on canvas is art.
But it aint! Art requires expression. Art requires the expression of feeling. If the painter is not feeling anything, than no feeling can be transferred to the canvas. Sure, the image that appears is not defined meaning, but that's only of half importance. There must be some meaning.
Recall, meaning can not be intended. I cannot look at the painting and say "what does sad look like" and try to paint sad. This, in a way, would be an attempt at painting something defined as sad. Definition is not what art is.
To paint something artistically, i must feel something. I could feel joy, and paint an apple. I could feel fear, and paint an apple. I could feel anger, and paint an apple.
It's a fine line, but i cannot feel nothing, and try to paint what i think a joyous person would paint as an apple. That gets its way back to defined meaning. The feelings must be felt. The feelings must be felt. The means of communication must be practiced such that the artist is not distracted from their feeling by their discovered lack of abilities.
In the mind of an artist must be two things. Consciously, an artist thinks of his topic. An apple. The weather. Subconsciously, an artist is possessed by a feeling.
Audio art.
I have a hard time believing that there are any defined meanings. Some people who compose for film might have pretty convincing arguments to say what chord changes 'mean' as though it's definable. I don't know though.
I will surely admit, however, that some music is art, and some music is not art. Art is expression of feeling. Some music is created with feeling. Some music is created without feeling. We all know which is which.
It's not 100% feeling or 100% not-felt. It's a range.
That's all i've got for today. Ted, here he comes.
We're Canadians. Yee Haw.
It's a label which seems to indicate only imagined unity. We're so linked to the united states of america, that we're unable to acquire a culture.
Something like that, anyway.
I was thinking about Japan. I had recently bought a crate of manderin oranges from there. To me, Japan seems entirely in control of what japan is, what japan works towards. I think japan is capable of wonderful societal advancements.
Naivety, prejudice, optimism based on ignorance. Guilty as charged.
Canada, though. I feel that we are so tied to the usa that we will not, as a nation, be linked to cultural advancements. Adopting new energy sources, reducing the necessity for laws or government, blah.
Y'know, i'm probably a little too left for my own good. I'm subject to the rules of those in power. I'm probably on a hunt for power of my own, with naive dreams of giving it up, and making an example of myself.
Got pride?
I've got debt. About twenty large.
A student in debt cannot receive enlightenment.
Ted.com is sweet.
History of Jazz final is tomorrow. Wednesday is ear training singing final. Thursday has my Bass proficiency exam. Then i am nothing. Free to be enlight.
I learned to play Take Me Down on piano. I'm using it as an Arranging project. Due thursday. Thursday is my shutdown date. Don't worry. Something will live on. Something which writes.
Wine? Probably.
simon.
This is not merely a link of three best friends, in a time long past. This is a link in all of us, at all times.
How can we do well? How can we develop habits which will award us this peace of mind, this knowledge that we, each of us, is good?
In order to believe that i am good, in order to achieve peace of mind, i must believe three things:
1) That any proper and improper actions in my past have been recognized, and learned from.
2) That i am presently acting rightly.
3) That my intent for the future is good.
These things are linked a few ways.
Our actions are determined by the quality of the character we've developed through a recursive review of the past and our intent for the future.
Our goals for the future are determined by the will to recreate happy events from our past.
Sounds a little formal. It should be wish-washier, with phrases such as "i think it's sorta true that..."
There's this wonderful question: "What is good?"
I think it's sorta true that objective, personal feelings of joy and happiness are the best indication that something good has taken place.
That said, we've developed an idea that there is a greater good. This idea is possibly counter-intuitive. It seems to be the bread offered by power to the weak.
Not only has this idea of a greater good comfortably positioned itself into our psyche, it has taken the role of the noble, virtuous definition of good. It has slandered the good defined by personal feelings of joy and happiness.
This greater good calls itself justice, and those in power struggle to maintain it.
There is a contrary good. if this "greater good" comes from powerful sources, than it's contrary good must come from weakness. If the greater good, justice, comes from the collaboration of the masses, than it's contrary good must reside in the individual.
I'm pretty down with the whole non-violence thing. It can be used to free a nation. I'd be pretty thrilled if i managed to free my mind.
Urswep Tebnor,
aaaaand out.
I had a very nice open mic appearance last night. Alot of people said nice things.
That's nice.
Playing a bunch of poker lately. Party gave me twenty five, and i've PLOed that to 40, yet to make a major score. I've got a goal of a thousand dollars by year's end. I'm willing to call it likely. I'm a pretty good poker player.
Semester's end has me busy. Major projects in Arranging and Computer Applications (MIDI) are due in the next week or two. Finals in Ear Training, Harmony, Bass Lab, and Bass Lesson are also approaching. Rock Ensemble has a show a week from tomorrow. We play mostly Zeppelin and Floyd.
I'm making a band. Keven is lead guitar. Neat fella. John is a drummer. Nicole writes songs and plays piano. She's big on Ben Folds. We haven't played together (other than john and I), but the imagined results are great.
I got a bass amp yesterday. Genz Benz 1X12, cost me a fortune. Sounds great.
I don't know what i'm doing for christmas yet. Haven't spoken to my Kelowna family yet. Don't know if my dad is heading there. Don't know what kind of days off bonnie has. I'm pretty sure it'll pan out.
Flavourless update.
I got a journal for christmas from my mom. I've written in it every day. It's from Italy, and is made with genuine leather. The pages are made of paper.
I'm trying to center myself. I watched a documentary called "Collapse" the other night. Anything that instills a desire to be perfect is probably a good thing. I wouldn't mind being a little less motivated by fear.
I made a deal with nature today. I'm going to do my best, and nature is going to take care of me. It made me happy.
Struck by the arrow of God.
simon.
Blogging is nice.
I like when i say things that i'm not expecting to say. That happens sometimes.
I like when i say things that are of interest to other people. Ideally, my thoughts will inspire thinking in others, or inspire a calm, an absence of thought.
Ideally, the things that i do are good.
I want to be good. Seems like a healthy desire, if there is such a thing.
I think that if i am good, i should become popular. I think that if i write the best blog posts in the world, with some level of frequency, then eventually i'll have hundreds, or even thousands, of readers. Quality is magnetic. Or it aughta be, at any rate.
A -> B; B -> C.
I want to be significant. Visiting my own site and finding no comments leaves the precise sense that the post didn't matter.
Lack of comments -> lack of interest -> lack of quality.
Am i asking for positive reinforcement? Clearly i am.
Do i think that i should look into myself for a measure of quality? Yes. Do i think i should face forward and move on, without looking back to see if my past efforts earned me praise? Of course. Do i think that asking for reinforcement is an entirely weak and unproductive step towards a self assured future? Nope! But why?
Mostly because i'm still writing from my center of thinking. That's all that really matters. I'm doing my best. I'll see you next time. Merry Christmas. The excitement of the holidays will be exciting. No doubt. Make sure you enjoy the calm for all it's worth.
simon.
Why I Play Poker
Hello. My name is simon and i play online poker.
I play poker because i believe in it. I believe in it as a test of skill. A battle of wits. A measure of ability to exchange money and remain calm. I believe it is a game that can be played well.
I've played cards since i was young. My family plays games to win. It's healthy competition. I believe that i've gotten good at card games. I believe that i am in the process of getting good at poker.
Again, i believe in the game of poker. I believe in it as a test of skill. There will be ups and downs, but the most skilled players will win. Practice makes perfect.
Update!!!
I'm not really losing any money, and i'm not really winning any money.
simon
New Music Alert!
Bon found them in the stack of cds she plays at her work. Angus and Julia Stone is the band, the album is A Book Like This.
Best to confess i'm destined for more than i'm fit to imagine.
I like to imagine though. I dream big, and i assume i'll do more than imaginable.
Last night i started working on a TED presentation. It's about art. A couple pages of shorthand (not sure what that means, but it sounds intelligent) on the topic of 'what is art?'. It looks pretty good so far.
I'll refine what i've got. I'm hoping that i'll be able to give some guidelines on how to create art. My current input doesn't sound much like secrets, sounds more like persuasion towards gruntwork.
Do what you do so much that it becomes mindless. Next time you're possessed by feelings, the wheels of production are so well greased that art comes with little perpetual editing.
Art happens when feeling is expressed. In order for feeling to be genuinely expressed, a person must be consumed with the feeling. The feeling cannot be the object (with the artist calling his/herself the subject). Describing a feeling which lies outside the describer cannot express that feeling.
The object of the art form is not important. The feeling is important. The feeling is so important. If you're feeling sad and hopeful, you can write a song about relationships, about weather, about war, about government or about fishing. You'll be using the means, the context, of fishing, but you'll be expressing feelings of sadness and hopefulness. The existence of feeling is what makes it art.
When something is hard to define, i feel my best bet is to define it unsatisfactorily as often as possible, and maybe some collage of poor explanations will form a basis for what i intend.
Art is expression. Art is expression through undefined means. I'm gonna look at three forms: word art, picture art, and sound art.
Word art has the easiest path to expression, but the hardest time avoiding defined meaning. To say "I am sad," is not art. It is expression, but not art. It is expression through predefined notions of what the words mean. Definable expression is not art.
To say "the clouds are heavy" is more on the artistic side (although i must confess, since i am not currently feeling that the clouds are heavy, there is no expression of genuine feeling, and therefor, no art is taking place). The meaning intended by calling the clouds heavy is not precisely the meaning defined in the words used. [ideally] There is some sort of feeling which is at the core of the expression.
Visual art takes a neat transformation. There is far less opportunity for defined expression, but there develops a brand new opportunity for nothing to be expressed at all.
How can defined expression exist in visual art? Symbols. A circle with some sticks can represent a man. This is as definable as looking up 'man' in the dictionary. In visual art, however, the man can appear in billions of ways. That may lean people to believe that all paint on canvas is art.
But it aint! Art requires expression. Art requires the expression of feeling. If the painter is not feeling anything, than no feeling can be transferred to the canvas. Sure, the image that appears is not defined meaning, but that's only of half importance. There must be some meaning.
Recall, meaning can not be intended. I cannot look at the painting and say "what does sad look like" and try to paint sad. This, in a way, would be an attempt at painting something defined as sad. Definition is not what art is.
To paint something artistically, i must feel something. I could feel joy, and paint an apple. I could feel fear, and paint an apple. I could feel anger, and paint an apple.
It's a fine line, but i cannot feel nothing, and try to paint what i think a joyous person would paint as an apple. That gets its way back to defined meaning. The feelings must be felt. The feelings must be felt. The means of communication must be practiced such that the artist is not distracted from their feeling by their discovered lack of abilities.
In the mind of an artist must be two things. Consciously, an artist thinks of his topic. An apple. The weather. Subconsciously, an artist is possessed by a feeling.
Audio art.
I have a hard time believing that there are any defined meanings. Some people who compose for film might have pretty convincing arguments to say what chord changes 'mean' as though it's definable. I don't know though.
I will surely admit, however, that some music is art, and some music is not art. Art is expression of feeling. Some music is created with feeling. Some music is created without feeling. We all know which is which.
It's not 100% feeling or 100% not-felt. It's a range.
That's all i've got for today. Ted, here he comes.
Who are we, and what are we doing? Where is improvement?
We're Canadians. Yee Haw.
It's a label which seems to indicate only imagined unity. We're so linked to the united states of america, that we're unable to acquire a culture.
Something like that, anyway.
I was thinking about Japan. I had recently bought a crate of manderin oranges from there. To me, Japan seems entirely in control of what japan is, what japan works towards. I think japan is capable of wonderful societal advancements.
Naivety, prejudice, optimism based on ignorance. Guilty as charged.
Canada, though. I feel that we are so tied to the usa that we will not, as a nation, be linked to cultural advancements. Adopting new energy sources, reducing the necessity for laws or government, blah.
Y'know, i'm probably a little too left for my own good. I'm subject to the rules of those in power. I'm probably on a hunt for power of my own, with naive dreams of giving it up, and making an example of myself.
Got pride?
I've got debt. About twenty large.
A student in debt cannot receive enlightenment.
Ted.com is sweet.
History of Jazz final is tomorrow. Wednesday is ear training singing final. Thursday has my Bass proficiency exam. Then i am nothing. Free to be enlight.
I learned to play Take Me Down on piano. I'm using it as an Arranging project. Due thursday. Thursday is my shutdown date. Don't worry. Something will live on. Something which writes.
Wine? Probably.
simon.
We are linked by a common desire to do well.
This is not merely a link of three best friends, in a time long past. This is a link in all of us, at all times.
How can we do well? How can we develop habits which will award us this peace of mind, this knowledge that we, each of us, is good?
In order to believe that i am good, in order to achieve peace of mind, i must believe three things:
1) That any proper and improper actions in my past have been recognized, and learned from.
2) That i am presently acting rightly.
3) That my intent for the future is good.
These things are linked a few ways.
Our actions are determined by the quality of the character we've developed through a recursive review of the past and our intent for the future.
Our goals for the future are determined by the will to recreate happy events from our past.
Sounds a little formal. It should be wish-washier, with phrases such as "i think it's sorta true that..."
There's this wonderful question: "What is good?"
I think it's sorta true that objective, personal feelings of joy and happiness are the best indication that something good has taken place.
That said, we've developed an idea that there is a greater good. This idea is possibly counter-intuitive. It seems to be the bread offered by power to the weak.
Not only has this idea of a greater good comfortably positioned itself into our psyche, it has taken the role of the noble, virtuous definition of good. It has slandered the good defined by personal feelings of joy and happiness.
This greater good calls itself justice, and those in power struggle to maintain it.
There is a contrary good. if this "greater good" comes from powerful sources, than it's contrary good must come from weakness. If the greater good, justice, comes from the collaboration of the masses, than it's contrary good must reside in the individual.
I'm pretty down with the whole non-violence thing. It can be used to free a nation. I'd be pretty thrilled if i managed to free my mind.
Urswep Tebnor,
aaaaand out.
Greetings, earthlings.
I had a very nice open mic appearance last night. Alot of people said nice things.
That's nice.
Playing a bunch of poker lately. Party gave me twenty five, and i've PLOed that to 40, yet to make a major score. I've got a goal of a thousand dollars by year's end. I'm willing to call it likely. I'm a pretty good poker player.
Semester's end has me busy. Major projects in Arranging and Computer Applications (MIDI) are due in the next week or two. Finals in Ear Training, Harmony, Bass Lab, and Bass Lesson are also approaching. Rock Ensemble has a show a week from tomorrow. We play mostly Zeppelin and Floyd.
I'm making a band. Keven is lead guitar. Neat fella. John is a drummer. Nicole writes songs and plays piano. She's big on Ben Folds. We haven't played together (other than john and I), but the imagined results are great.
I got a bass amp yesterday. Genz Benz 1X12, cost me a fortune. Sounds great.
I don't know what i'm doing for christmas yet. Haven't spoken to my Kelowna family yet. Don't know if my dad is heading there. Don't know what kind of days off bonnie has. I'm pretty sure it'll pan out.
Flavourless update.