Live performance in the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow with the Ministry of Defence Orchestra with Kristina Aglinz and Vadim Ananiev as the soloists. If you need proof of the revival in Russia, look at this video. It has touched Russian pop artists… unlike here in the godless USA.
One concert like this is worth more than all the books written by all the academics in the world… it proves that the hearts of ordinary people are being touched. If you gave me the choice between a great scholar or a person chosen at random, I’d take my chances with the latter.
Kina Grannis is someone I discovered some years ago on the site Digg.com when the site creator Kevin Rose spoke about her on the video podcast Diggnation. She made a rather cringe-worthy song dedicated to the site which got a lot of diggs (votes) providing her with plenty of exposure. A couple of years later and another story was posted on Digg about a new single and video announced from her called “Valentine” (released at an appropriate time) which is one of those tracks that I feel compelled to share. This song is an incredibly infectious little ditty, and has echoes of the demo version of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” which I posted some time ago, with its incredibly laid back and stripped down sound. The previews of the other tracks I heard from the album on her homepage sound beautifully produced and with a really organic sound, reminisent of the album Coco from Colbie Caillat I’ve blogged profusely about previously. This song flows easily over the air with it’s summery, mellow sound and if this track is any indication of what the rest of the album may sound like, I’m intently waiting on hearing it.
Kina Grannis – Valentine (Zipped Download from Official Site)
[ Mirrors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ]
[ From the Album "Stairwells" | Pre-order Album Here ]
As I anxiously await his Toronto debut on February 20, one of my 10 Performers to Watch in 2010, Dan Black, dropped his FREE all-things-unusual-and-wonderful mixtape “Weird Science”, in conjunction with the North American release of his debut CD ‘UN’.
Kate Bush? Bruce Springsteen? Bryan Ferry? Madonna? Missy Elliott? They’re all here in this very cool mashed up experiment, which will probably be amazingly hot in his club show.
Recommended track: ”Pass That Head Noize”, which bounces and slams along till the break of dawn…
If we were dogs, the tires of our neighbors’ cars would be our turfs.
A turf is a field of knowledge which you reign over and which other people would be damn stupid to intrude upon. The purpose of a turf is to give us the assurance that we may be pieces of driftwood and brainless zombies about the rest of the universe, but we’re bright and shiny geniuses who are in control when it comes to our turf. To put it another way, a turf is a square patch of paradise where we walk as gods.
Let’s discuss some kinds of turfs we usually see each day.
The Lifestyle Turf – One of the most common kinds of turf is the Lifestyle Turf. “Kings” and “Queens” of this kind of turf deeply believe that their lifestyles are sparklingly superior than everybody else’s (from here on, we shall call the owner of a turf as either a “King” or “Queen” to give a sense of his/her sense of dominion over his realm). You’ve probably had a drink with these people. They’re typically the most whiny, gossipy drinkers in your address book. From their patented ice-breaker “Hey, have you heard about what happened to X?” to their drunken back-stabbing rants on automatic, these people assert the supremacy of their jobs, families, values, religions, cars, pets, etc. over others.
Looking at them analytically, you can’t really figure out what makes their lifestyle better than others’. Their line of attack doesn’t concentrate on any singular ethic, custom or belief and constantly changes depending on who listens to them. For instance, when a Queen of this turf drinks with a musician, she’ll likely proclaim the wisdom or sophistication of her musical taste over others (usually not present in the current drinking session).
“Have you heard about Carlene? She’s always whoring her trance techno shit to everybody like they care. I personally think that trance crap is for dipshits. Meaningless, repetitive lyrics, boring beats on loop – no wonder only stoned bar-hopping loners dig that kind of music.”
The Queen of the Lifestyle Turf doesn’t care if her room’s covered with heavy metal posters though her flip-flops are Hello Kitty – it’s not about consistency. It’s just about the enormous gut feeling that she’s abstractly greater than everyone else in terms of how to live life.
The Religion Turf –The Religion Turf deals with goodness and salvation but no turf is bloodier if you review history. Fortunately, today’s Kings and Queens of the Religion Turf don’t go on crusades to purge the world off non-believers, though they do rain scoff, raised eyebrows, righteous pity and condemnation on all of them. The average King of the Religion Turf is expected to memorize at least 50 excerpts from a holy book plus prayers and traditional phrases like “his goodness,” “I’m blessed” and “in awe.”
Though the King of a religious turf just inherited his hand-me-down religion from a group of other religion turf Kings and Queens, he takes his religion very seriously and makes it the central issue of his life. The most distinctive trait of a religious turf King is to pull every article in life into his religious concerns. Thus, it is not hard to find a King who associates his diet, favorite films, music, pick for political candidate, favorite color, ideal man, preferred level of sexual activity or preferred sexual position with his choice of deity (missionary position is most likely preferred over others because somehow it’s less “demeaning”). All strands of religious knowledge are tightly knotted together to provide a coherent (though oftentimes illogical and unscientific) explanation of one’s religious beliefs. The result is it can be mighty difficult to surprise a King of the Religious Turf with a religious question he still hasn’t heard of. Worship sessions are precisely done to cover all questions the secular world might throw at a religious turf King or Queen.
Whatever happens though, one should never go into any serious religious debate with a King of a religion turf because one can never win. The King of a religion turf goes into any religious debate armed with a locked and loaded conviction than he’s right and you’re either with him or your underworld papers are already being processed for an eternity’s grilling by the hottest fires the devil can summon. The Political Turf – These turfs have been popping up more often lately because of the coming national elections. You can see them as status messages on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites which are very convenient venues for announcing and propagating one’s turf. The Political Turf is ruled by Kings and Queens who know everything – EVERYTHING – about running candidates (that is, everything the media broadcasts about running candidates). The turf is likely subscribed to by people who unfailingly follow the evening news because it gives them an easy opportunity to insult figures of power without them so much as sticking their tongue back at them (of course, the issue could be drastically changed had these same candidates were debating them one-on-one or, say, pointing a caliber .45 at their heads).
A Queen of the Political Turf can be expected to easily enumerate why you should vote a candidate or damn him to hell. She can be quite aggressive, taunting you to show how much you know about today’s election campaign, so she could laughingly expose your stupidity to others in venues like social networking sites. These folks work like fish bait. You mistakenly snap your mouth on a wiggling status message and – BAM – you’re shamed in front of all people who know little about the election campaign themselves (because they have their own turfs to worry about).
So one piece of advice to all of you: if you pride yourself as a considerably intelligent individual, stay away from Kings and Queens of the Political Turf. You can’t win against somebody who has a habit of scouring TV channels and the Internet day in, day out for serious political news. I say, let them drop that Intelligent vote with a capital I, and you just stick with your normal average vote with a small “a.” Don’t lose your face over someone else’s turf.
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These turfs are just some of the most observable in today’s society. Of course, there are innumerable other turfs worth talking about in the future, such as the Fashion Turf, the Diet Turf, the Job Turf, the Free-Time Turf, the Boyfriend/Girlfriend Turf (this one can at times be as bloody as the Religion Turf), the Nightlife Turf, the Intellectual Turf (deliberately unintelligible to people of other turfs), the Sex Turf, the Sport Turf, the Art Turf (inclusive of the fast-growing DSLR Turf), and the Rebellious Self-Destructive Attitude Turf.
People are experts over so many limited fields of knowledge that collectively, we’re a race of geniuses. We’re living in great times.
There are often infuriating days, which despite any manner of good intentions turn out to be unproductive and deeply deeply unsatisfying. Still I managed to read an article written by a celebrated tutor and my dissertation studies advisor. Immense satisfaction was reached when on reading the article I found it dull and badly written. It is not that I shall write off her opinions or advice but it was heartwarming to find that even experts in their field can be human enough to write badly.
You hear so much about “style”. Style-watch, style police, stylist… of course there is not getting around the fact that style is what people see first. Whether it is your clothing, hairstyle (see, I just did it), demeanor, or diction, your style will send a definite initial impression of who you are, and maybe what you are all about.
Which is why I believe style is so important. Style encompasses that which is close to your heart, your identity, your soul. It is more than your way of dressing up (or down). It is how you convey the core of you. Which may be off-putting or attracting. I have seen well-dressed people, luxury oozing from every pore – until a rude remark to a car valet or restaurant server literally strips away any style or class like wax dripping off a candle. But witness the dowdy, but oh-so classy gentleman in the ”cheap suit” as he ushers me ahead of him into the elevator with an ”after-you-miss”. What a man of honor, what a man of style!
The brigade rides up with a ruckous. But when your approach has an air of dignity and class – well, I would say, you’ve definitely got some style.
The other day I was driving out of my neighborhood and I saw on the community billboard where announcements are posted “Did you know, it’s impossible to fold in half any sized piece of paper more than 7 times”. See the proof in the picture on the left.
Doesn’t that sound like something a stoner would come up with?
I’ve been suspicious about activities in my neighborhood for a while and have even blogged about it (Click Here to See That Post).
But this really sounds like a bunch of stoners sitting around at 3:35 or 3:34 in the morning. Trying to come up with something to write. You know – Like in the Chicago song “25 or 6 to 4″.
Which makes me wonder, did the administration and/or band director at my junior high school know, what potentially the song was about when we played it in the marching band? Because other than the time reference there is still debate to this day of the song’s meaning.
As always -
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Here’s a nice, fast recipe that’s plentiful, flavoursome and rich in nutrients:
Fry off an onion and curry powder (use minimal oil/dry fry or even sneak in a bit of liquid to help soften the onions)
Add about a cup of frozen mixed vege
Add a 185gm can of salmon or tuna (salmon has more calories but is rich in Omega fats, if that’s important to you)
Continue cooking and add in a sachet of tomato paste
Add some water
You can throw in some sultanas and a small sprinkle of sugar and a dash of salt, if you wish.
Cook down until veges have softened and the “sauce” has reduced
That’s it. It takes about ten to twelve minutes from start to finish. It provides a nice mix of protein, fat, veges and flavour. Despite its richness, it would be hard to get this curry over the 500 calorie line. It’s quick and diet focused. I guess it goes without saying, but avoid rice or bread with it.
This is a part of my loose series about food which started with this introduction, and continued with this
Never heard of Michael Pollan? Read this, and this, and this.
1. We spend an enormous amount treating chronic illnesses caused by our diet choices. Conservative estimates are in the 500 Billion range. The food industry in a symbiotic relationship with the health industry–our food makes us sick, our healthcare system treats us and sends us home with a bill. Why isn’t this a more prominent part of the health care debate?
2. For various complicated reasons having to do with the cold war (see Larry Norman’s Great American Novel), food prices rose exponentially in the ’70s causing that political-social genius known as Richard Nixon to restructure our agriculture system, setting up the modern subsidy system, which pays farmers to a) develop a monoculture of either soy or corn, and b) dump that soy and corn into a bad market causing food prices to plummet. The problem being that monoculture goes against 10,000 years of agricultural wisdom and has devastated our environment.
3. As a result of #2 above, food corporations must process food to give it value in order to maximize profits. Processed food is at best less healthy and at worst very, very unhealthy, which explains why we have the healthcare problem stated in #1, and why diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity have skyrocketed since the ’70s.
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2. It takes 10 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef. This is unethical for two reasons: 1) In consuming it 1lb of beef we are stealing 9 lbs of grain from someone who needs it more than us. 2) The greenhouse gas emissions from the process is killing our planet. Cows that eat grass do not compete with humans for crops that we can eat, and are less harmful on the environment, and may actually reverse the effects of greenhouse gasses (carbon fixing). Looks like my beef stew recipe needs amending.
3. Swine flu is not caused by eating pork. However, swine flu came into existence in a pork processing plant as a result of the way that we process pork (think back to the first outbreak of H1N1, there were multiple report of how UN health officials traced the origin of the flu to a pork processing factory in Mexico).
4. Holy Shit! The Bible was right! Which animals were the Israelites allowed to eat? The ones that chewed the cud i.e. ATE GRASS. Which animals weren’t the Israelites allowed to eat? The one’s whose production and processing is harmful to the well-being of humans and the planet.
I don’t know how many of you are actually into zombie flicks but basically, in a nutshell, mindless zombies always somehow manage to take over the world. And through all the chaos, there are always these groups of survivors whose end goal is to survive the zombie apocalypse. If you think about it, the whole thing is really no different than reality.
Believe it or not, half of the world is composed of “mindless zombies” so to speak. You encounter them everyday. Maybe you even happen to be one yourself. These are the people who sleepwalk through life on autopilot. They live in the man-made conformity bubble that society has worked so hard to keep us in. For the most part, these people follow the herd, closing their minds off to all the world has to offer and the unique people in it. These people have no definite life purpose, and therefore spend their whole lives really having never lived, but instead consistently engaging in activities that add no real value to their lives. These people are long dead before “their time” simply because they live unconsciously with low awareness of most thoughts and emotions.
There is a major zombie epidemic going on in this day and age. The good news is, this isn’t a zombie flick. Being a “mindless zombie” by no means has to be permanent. You can choose to awaken at any time. It’s easy. The challenge is STAYING awake. That’s where I come in.
I have made it my life purpose to help WILLING unconscious individuals transition into a new way of life. The INFINITE Life!! A fully conscious life with NO limits!! Of course, I am not claiming to be the world’s savior. I am constantly evolving as a person and definitely DO NOT have all the answers. But I was smart enough to realize at a young age that I was indeed one of the mindless zombies wasting my life away. Since then it has been my mission to live a life of non-mediocrity and help others do the same.
So now you have a very important decision to make. You can either go on living a “life” or you can live an INFINITE life!! It’s your choice. I only help willing individuals. I’m not trying to save the whole world. The whole world isn’t meant to be saved. But that doesn’t mean you are sentenced to live a mediocore life. It all lies in one choice. To live a life of existence or one of meaning.
For those who choose the ladder, stay tuned for more posts!!
The Religion Turf –The Religion Turf deals with goodness and salvation but no turf is bloodier if you review history. Fortunately, today’s Kings and Queens of the Religion Turf don’t go on crusades to purge the world off non-believers, though they do rain scoff, raised eyebrows, righteous pity and condemnation on all of them. The average King of the Religion Turf is expected to memorize at least 50 excerpts from a holy book plus prayers and traditional phrases like “his goodness,” “I’m blessed” and “in awe.”
The other day I was driving out of my neighborhood and I saw on the community billboard where announcements are posted “Did you know, it’s impossible to fold in half any sized piece of paper more than 7 times”. See the proof in the picture on the left.