Mix CD

Had a fun time making a mixed cd for someone. Here's the song list with some of my comments in italics.

1.) 'Little Boxes' song by Death Cab for Cutie (Intro from Weeds)

I can't believe Malvina Reynolds made this in 1962 and how the social commentary is still (or even more) relevant in 2010. The TV show 'Weeds' did a lot of variations on this song and while there's better covers, I think Death Cab's version really changed the song into their style.

2.) 'Single Ladies' cover by Pomplamoose from their 'Tribute to Famouse People' album

Pomplamoose actually modifies part of the song and sings "Don't make me sing this part of the song, the lyrics are so bad, so I'm gonna skip ahead to the Single Ladies part instead". I like this version more than Beyonce's.

3.) 'My Freeze Ray' by Neil Patrick Harris from the 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' soundtrack

Neil Patrick Harris + Sing Along = Awesome.

4.) 'Home' by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

Right on fellow hippies! "Home is wherever I'm with you"

5.) 'The World at Large' by Modest Mouse from their 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News' album

6.) 'Marching Bands of Manhattan' by Death Cab for Cutie

7.) 'Californication' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Thought this was a witty line, "Cobain can you hear the Spears singing station to station"

8.) 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' by Warren Zevon

9.) 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead

10.) 'Angel' by Jack Johnson

I listened to this song after a bad breakup and it gave me hope. "She gives me presents with her presence alone" I know it may sound a little cheesy, but it sounds more like genuine love.

11.) 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I want' by The Smiths

12.) 'Might Have Ben Hur' by Switchfoot

Used to listen to this song when I had my first crush on a girl back during middle school

13.) 'Streets of Philadelphia' by Bruce Springsteen

14.) 'Heart of Gold' by Neil Young

15.) 'Neon Bible' by Arcade Fire

16.) 'Be Yourself' by Audioslave

Like the message that we could only be ourselves, including our mistakes. Also has rad effects on the guitar.

17.) 'The Authority Song' by Jimmy Eat World

Used to listen to Jimmy Eat World during college and it brought back good memories.

18.) 'I'd Rather Dance with You' by Kings of Convenience

19.) 'Moondance' by Van Morrison

They don't make music like they used to. Probably one of my top songs that I'd love to hear live.

20.) 'I'm Hoping You'll Stay Around' by Flight of the Conchords

Girlfriends from the Past: "He doesn't cook or clean, he's not good boyfriend material...."

Boyfriend: "Oooooh, we can eat cereal"

Heard it somewhere...

Old men speak about what they did, young men speak about what they're currently doing, and foolish men speak about what they're going to do.

HTML5

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Arcade Fire's 'interactive' music video; content that changes based on your hometown (location). Neat.

Soccer

Since we lost a majority of our soccer players (and I'm not sure where I'll be in the next few months), our co-ed soccer team didn't attempt a third season at the YMCA. Instead, I started looking online for random pickup games. Yesterday was my first pickup soccer game and there were striking differences from the organized games that I've grown accustomed to. Instead of a sport ladened by nugatory rules and regulations, it felt like futbol the way it was meant to be played.

On Monday night, a friend and I went to the designated spot and approached a motley group, asking if it was the same meetup group that posted online. A terse "Yes" was all that was said from one of the players.

The group of random people consisted of all age groups, genders, and ability. They gathered for the sole purpose of playing a good game; there were no introductions of names, rules, or even a single referee. Almost instinctively, teams formed with dark shirts vs. light shirts and the game began instantly.

What I found most interesting was that there were no limits on 'ball touches' based on gender. In most of my past co-ed games, guys were usually limited to three to four 'touches' of the ball before someone else needed to touch the ball. This forced limited ball control with guys while girls had unlimited touches. The rule implied that all guys were more proficient than all girls. I found it to be an antiquated concept that could easily be seen by certain girls who could dribble endlessly around talented guy players.

It felt incredible playing without the imposed handicap. It was mentally and physically rewarding in that I didn't have to count each touch. If a ball came high, I wouldn't have to worry about using my chest to stop the ball (first touch), kneeing the ball to gain control (second touch), and begin dribbling (third touch), before I needed to pass the ball (fourth touch). Throughout the night, I was able to use my speed to catch up to attackers or to pass defenders, and I had unlimited touches to control the ball!

For the majority of the game, I played defense with a random stranger that happened to hang out back with me. With no goalie, we were able to defend with 2 defenders versus 2-5 attackers. Although I had never met this person before, we were able to read each other's moves and cohesively defend against the odds. Without a word, one of us would cut off the pass while the other would rush the ball. For the first hour, they hadn't scored at all while we scored over 3 goals.

It was bizarre how few words were communicated throughout the night. There were a few shouts of "Man on", "You have help on your back", or "Across". It was just pure soccer. We started playing with sunlight and left at night, with cars flashing their high beams onto the otherwise unlit field.

Everyone played clean and we finally called it a night (promptly after someone was accidentally kicked from the lack of visibility). We all exchanged concise "good game" goodbyes and left as quickly as the game had started.

Ethical Relativism

Currently studying at a local coffee shop (LeStats) and stumbled onto some text regarding ethical relativism by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He states that judging a particular action is dependent on the circumstances of the time and culture in which it occurs.

It'd be interesting to juxtapose 'fundamental' precepts across different cultures. How do Western ideas of sexism, racism, and genocide compare to Eastern? It's ironic how this human concoction of morality has no absolute right or wrong.

New Surf Board!

I finally replaced my fiberglass longboard with an epoxy shortboard. I bought the used board at a local shop, and I normally make a big effort to buy local, but was a little disheartened to see the prices on the wet suits. I quickly googled the $200 wet suit that I was interested in and found it for half the price online. That's not even competitive :(

Oh well. I'm so psyched, I can't wait to take out the board tomorrow, but I need to wait for my wetsuit to arrive first. I've long acclimated to this constant perfect weather and now I find 70 degree F water teeth chattering cold. To my cred, I didn't factor in wind chill...

Another Chapter

I'm officially unemployed! My last day at the RTFH was last Friday. A new chapter of my life begins!

Right now, I feel a wide mix of emotions. For the most part, I'm genuinely happy and optimistic; I look forward to the new challenges and adventures that await. I feel like I have a new found purpose (although I'm not entirely sure what it is yet)! Another part of me is relieved that I still had the courage to listen to my heart and to change things up.

For a fleeting moment, I worried whether this was the right choice. Logically speaking, it seemed so easy to stick with the job; I'd be volunteering to quit a comfortable career in the middle of a recession. I was never one to stick with 'sensible' though; flashbacks of deciding between Law School and Peace Corps came back. I listened to my heart then and I never regretted it since.

That isn't to say that I haven't had unexpected emotions come up. I didn't know the extent of how much I would miss the camaraderie of the office and how engrained I was with a whole community during my almost three year stint there. It's only been a few days and I already miss everyone I worked with (albeit some more so than others).

New paths always seem so lonely; I wonder if the negative reinforcements of leaving familiar faces will someday catch up to me.

On a happier note, this afternoon I took a friend out for his first time surfing and happened to catch some gnar gnar waves.

I'm going to revisit some of my New Year's Resolutions and see if I can catch up on some of those items, as well as add a few new "to do's". For some strange reason, I really want to try out swing dancing.