Hello faithful listeners. Prepare to be wisdomed upon. I hope it comes out.
I just started reading The Tipping Point. Seems interesting, perhaps a shade inspiring. Absolutely readable.
Apparently in society a tipping point occurs in every epidemic, whether that be SARS or crookedly wearing flat brimmed, fitted to a head larger than yours, ball caps. Popular books written by previously unknown authors can also be seen as epidemics.
We're told that the tipping point exists in every epidemic. Fax machines were slowely introduced, sales increased slightly for a few years, and then the amount of faxes that existed gave every company a reason to own a fax machine. During this year sales shot up seven hundred percent. The tipping point.
My first thought, of course, was how this pertains to me. The no brainer insta-thought was what sort of epidemic can i thrust upon society? Peace and Love? Good luck sir.
Second thought, was a little more to the point. How does this pertain to me?
I am reminded of a wonderful little ditty from a stellar book (that all aspiring taoist musicians should read) called Effortless Mastery.
Sow an act; Reap a habit.
Sow a habit; Reap a character.
Sow a character; Reap a destiny.
There's tipping points involved. Piano before bed? Sounds like a good act. T'would make a lovely habit as well. I am a character. Destined for actions. Full circle.
Ralph.
simon
I can accept that I owe the government some money for the schooling and traveling I've done. Fortunately the kid in me is a bit of a poker fan.
Is it crazy to think that I could poker my way through nearly twenty grand of debt while maintaining a roof overhead and food in my belly? Yes. Yes it is crazy.
Kids are crazy. "You crazy kids!" they're always saying.
I'm a remarkable person. I've got a world class mother. I've got passions (hobbies) which are infinitely explorable.
From time to time I admit I haven't been focused. I am focused now and I feel great. I may not be focused tomorrow, but I will always, always, have the will to be the best person I can be. This will makes me feel guilty when I'm slack, happy when I'm productive.
Allow me to repeat with emphasis: my will to be good brings me joy when I am good. Oddly enough, I define good actions by the actions I take which result in good feelings. Good feelings tell me I'm on the right track. Bad feelings tell me to stop. Bad feelings tell me that I am not doing what I should do. Bad feelings tell me that I should stop and think. I should explore the bad feelings until they explain themselves. I should stop and think. Seperate myself from the guilt. Seperate myself from all. Regain focus, ideally.
So, I appear to be doing well, all philosophical and junk. Lots of love. Lots.
Quality exists, whether by some grand 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' way, or simply as a scale.
I think everyone has an opinion based on quality. What sort of car is nicer than another, which painting or album is nicer, what city or town is nice, what people you like more than others, these are things we all consider, consciously or unconsciously, and they all refer to some measure of quality.
Judgment exists. Chicken and the egg scenario. What came first, quality, or judgment? There's more or less six and a half billion recognized judges in the world. Many of these people believe that there's only one true judge, and He is none of us. Monotheists would accept that people are capable of judgment, but our judgment is more or less insignificant.
I wish to be of high quality. Who's judgment should i rely on? I can be told the judgment of others. I can find instructional books with rules to follow. I can be my own judge.
Other people have real, up to date, interpretations of me and what i'm doing. I can see if i make them happy or sad, if i'm dull or inspiring, if i'm funny or offensive.
Instructional books on living well have stood the test of time. Old books have been read by billions of people, shaping the world. New books are snatched up and passionately consumed by millions.
I believe in myself. What is closer to me than my own opinions?
I really want to be some thing special. I want everyone to agree. I'd like to have a thriving internet life.
simon
CBC radio talked about the pursuit of happiness a while back. Humans were built to desire happiness, not to maintain it. Our desire for happiness keeps us searching for food, searching for mates, searching for shelter. This keeps us alive. If we felt that we had happiness, we would stop looking. We would stop evolving. We'd die.
So that's bogus.
It makes sense though, on the life scale. Think of the things you want. You might have an argument that if you had those things, you'd be happy. On the contrary, you'd more likely just develop new desires. It's only human.
So that's that. I won't let my never ending parade of wants get me down. It's part of my being human. Whining about wanting will not provide progress for my kind. It's experiencing the wants, experiencing my reaction to wants.
I'm dreading the conclusion: it's not the destination, it's the path. Oh joy, a real creative spark in this one. Like nothing you've ever heard.
I had my first Bluegrass Ensemble today. It's a sweet group. I really like Don MacDonald, the teacher/leader of the group. Rudy is playing lead on a mandolin, and he's fracking stellar.
I'm in five bands, i would say.
Rock Ensemble is great. Zeppelin and Floyd covered most of our first semester material, there's a bunch of other delights for second semester. Some real hard stuff i'm going to be trying to learn. Frigging zappa. Why so many notes?
Bluegrass Ensemble. Brand New. Lots of root-fifth/walky stuff. I've got a lot to learn, but i'm not giving myself an option.
Peter's Showcase. 2nd year performance majors put together a showcase to get graded on. Pete asked me to play for his, it's working out great, lots of fun. Usually beer at practice. The group is fun, and it seems the pace of learning is high.
Mic's Showcase. Different from peter's. Mic is a female vocal major, peter is a guitar major. Mic has some epic rock songs, Queen's Show Must Go On, for one. And she's got some showtuney stuff, off broadway style. I use words like stuff and style to avoid using nouns. Apparently if i call something "a showtuney song" instead of "a showtune," I'm less likely to be wrong. These songs are harder to memorize, but some of them have awesome feel. Awesome tone.
And then there's the as yet un-named, unformed, uncreated band that should come into play in the next month or so. I've sat with nicole and melissa and shown them my songs. One was a fan of them, one was fine with them. I'm looking forward to working some of those out. I think that writing songs on bass is a great way for me to keep playing in bands without compromising my ideals for playing all parts to my guitar tunes.
Other thoughtful highlights include:
When i play open mics i miss having the joshfunkle beatboxbackup.
When i pick up the guitar i'm trying to be productive. I desire more songs. I should be picking up the guitar to ease myself, to relax and have fun. It's more productive.
I bought an i-pod touch. I have songs on it. I bought a 25dollar credit card thingy at seven eleven. I'm going to use it to buy some apps. I've been reading reviews on ear training ones. Pocket studio ones. Spanish learning ones.
I'm learning to play 12 bar blues, in C, on piano. I'm whipping my fingers into shape, and i'm looking forward to showing mr gill.
Good good. Time to keep working for what i'll never have.
Love you too.
I just started reading The Tipping Point. Seems interesting, perhaps a shade inspiring. Absolutely readable.
Apparently in society a tipping point occurs in every epidemic, whether that be SARS or crookedly wearing flat brimmed, fitted to a head larger than yours, ball caps. Popular books written by previously unknown authors can also be seen as epidemics.
We're told that the tipping point exists in every epidemic. Fax machines were slowely introduced, sales increased slightly for a few years, and then the amount of faxes that existed gave every company a reason to own a fax machine. During this year sales shot up seven hundred percent. The tipping point.
My first thought, of course, was how this pertains to me. The no brainer insta-thought was what sort of epidemic can i thrust upon society? Peace and Love? Good luck sir.
Second thought, was a little more to the point. How does this pertain to me?
I am reminded of a wonderful little ditty from a stellar book (that all aspiring taoist musicians should read) called Effortless Mastery.
Sow an act; Reap a habit.
Sow a habit; Reap a character.
Sow a character; Reap a destiny.
There's tipping points involved. Piano before bed? Sounds like a good act. T'would make a lovely habit as well. I am a character. Destined for actions. Full circle.
Ralph.
simon
When I graduate from school I want to not work for a while. I want to think. I want to write a book. I want to record an album. I want to be a kid.
I can accept that I owe the government some money for the schooling and traveling I've done. Fortunately the kid in me is a bit of a poker fan.
Is it crazy to think that I could poker my way through nearly twenty grand of debt while maintaining a roof overhead and food in my belly? Yes. Yes it is crazy.
Kids are crazy. "You crazy kids!" they're always saying.
I'm a remarkable person. I've got a world class mother. I've got passions (hobbies) which are infinitely explorable.
From time to time I admit I haven't been focused. I am focused now and I feel great. I may not be focused tomorrow, but I will always, always, have the will to be the best person I can be. This will makes me feel guilty when I'm slack, happy when I'm productive.
Allow me to repeat with emphasis: my will to be good brings me joy when I am good. Oddly enough, I define good actions by the actions I take which result in good feelings. Good feelings tell me I'm on the right track. Bad feelings tell me to stop. Bad feelings tell me that I am not doing what I should do. Bad feelings tell me that I should stop and think. I should explore the bad feelings until they explain themselves. I should stop and think. Seperate myself from the guilt. Seperate myself from all. Regain focus, ideally.
So, I appear to be doing well, all philosophical and junk. Lots of love. Lots.
The internet is a fine place to go to think.
Quality exists, whether by some grand 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' way, or simply as a scale.
I think everyone has an opinion based on quality. What sort of car is nicer than another, which painting or album is nicer, what city or town is nice, what people you like more than others, these are things we all consider, consciously or unconsciously, and they all refer to some measure of quality.
Judgment exists. Chicken and the egg scenario. What came first, quality, or judgment? There's more or less six and a half billion recognized judges in the world. Many of these people believe that there's only one true judge, and He is none of us. Monotheists would accept that people are capable of judgment, but our judgment is more or less insignificant.
I wish to be of high quality. Who's judgment should i rely on? I can be told the judgment of others. I can find instructional books with rules to follow. I can be my own judge.
Other people have real, up to date, interpretations of me and what i'm doing. I can see if i make them happy or sad, if i'm dull or inspiring, if i'm funny or offensive.
Instructional books on living well have stood the test of time. Old books have been read by billions of people, shaping the world. New books are snatched up and passionately consumed by millions.
I believe in myself. What is closer to me than my own opinions?
I really want to be some thing special. I want everyone to agree. I'd like to have a thriving internet life.
simon
What's more interesting, the outside or the inside? What's more relatable? Does lack of an answer render a question rhetorical?
CBC radio talked about the pursuit of happiness a while back. Humans were built to desire happiness, not to maintain it. Our desire for happiness keeps us searching for food, searching for mates, searching for shelter. This keeps us alive. If we felt that we had happiness, we would stop looking. We would stop evolving. We'd die.
So that's bogus.
It makes sense though, on the life scale. Think of the things you want. You might have an argument that if you had those things, you'd be happy. On the contrary, you'd more likely just develop new desires. It's only human.
So that's that. I won't let my never ending parade of wants get me down. It's part of my being human. Whining about wanting will not provide progress for my kind. It's experiencing the wants, experiencing my reaction to wants.
I'm dreading the conclusion: it's not the destination, it's the path. Oh joy, a real creative spark in this one. Like nothing you've ever heard.
I had my first Bluegrass Ensemble today. It's a sweet group. I really like Don MacDonald, the teacher/leader of the group. Rudy is playing lead on a mandolin, and he's fracking stellar.
I'm in five bands, i would say.
Rock Ensemble is great. Zeppelin and Floyd covered most of our first semester material, there's a bunch of other delights for second semester. Some real hard stuff i'm going to be trying to learn. Frigging zappa. Why so many notes?
Bluegrass Ensemble. Brand New. Lots of root-fifth/walky stuff. I've got a lot to learn, but i'm not giving myself an option.
Peter's Showcase. 2nd year performance majors put together a showcase to get graded on. Pete asked me to play for his, it's working out great, lots of fun. Usually beer at practice. The group is fun, and it seems the pace of learning is high.
Mic's Showcase. Different from peter's. Mic is a female vocal major, peter is a guitar major. Mic has some epic rock songs, Queen's Show Must Go On, for one. And she's got some showtuney stuff, off broadway style. I use words like stuff and style to avoid using nouns. Apparently if i call something "a showtuney song" instead of "a showtune," I'm less likely to be wrong. These songs are harder to memorize, but some of them have awesome feel. Awesome tone.
And then there's the as yet un-named, unformed, uncreated band that should come into play in the next month or so. I've sat with nicole and melissa and shown them my songs. One was a fan of them, one was fine with them. I'm looking forward to working some of those out. I think that writing songs on bass is a great way for me to keep playing in bands without compromising my ideals for playing all parts to my guitar tunes.
Other thoughtful highlights include:
When i play open mics i miss having the joshfunkle beatboxbackup.
When i pick up the guitar i'm trying to be productive. I desire more songs. I should be picking up the guitar to ease myself, to relax and have fun. It's more productive.
I bought an i-pod touch. I have songs on it. I bought a 25dollar credit card thingy at seven eleven. I'm going to use it to buy some apps. I've been reading reviews on ear training ones. Pocket studio ones. Spanish learning ones.
I'm learning to play 12 bar blues, in C, on piano. I'm whipping my fingers into shape, and i'm looking forward to showing mr gill.
Good good. Time to keep working for what i'll never have.
Love you too.