For years I have gone in and out of journal writing stages, especially when I hit the computer age. I am constantly torn between the old tried and true book journal, or the convenience and speed of the computer. A paper journal is so linear that it is easier to focus ones thought. The computer is powerful with spell checking, searches, formatting. Well now I have found a third option, Memiary.
It’s not meant as a replacement to either method, unless you are satisfied with the level of granularity it provides.
I came across this website (and optional iPhone app) that makes journaling easy and fun. Memiary is a website that allowed the user to enter five items each day. The magic doesn’t happen all at once. It’s easy to think of the most important things that happen to you each day, but imagine looking back a year from now, or five or 50. Wouldn’t it be great to know what you did on this day 10 years ago. It only takes moments a day. I record things throughout the day, and polish them at the end of the day. But each person might have a different way of recording their day.
Signing up with the site is free, and the design is simple and beautifully designed. Go check it out.
Not quite safe for all audiences, but terribly funny! Anyone who has been married for more than, say, 10 years (maybe less maybe more) will understand. This isn’t the version from the album, but pretty close. He tends to improvise .
If you want to find the song to download so that you can listen to is again and again and again, visit this link. Enjoy.
Bob Dylan’s new release this year, Tell Tall Signs, is #8 in his bootleg series. It’s a series ofrare and unreleased songs from his work between 1996 and 2006. He never ceases to amaze me how he can put so much meaning and feeling into song after song.
One example is the song, Most of the Time. The original version is good, but the alternate version on Tell Tale Signs is incredible. What I love about this song is his ability to say one thing but mean another.
It’s an incredible album, one of the best of 2008.
For lunch today, I bought a chicken bowl and a chocolate shake from Hogi Yogi. Why? I don’t know…call it feel good food. It’s food that invokes happy feeling. music does that same thing as feel good food, except that we can invoke more than just happy feeling with music. Of course, food can invoke a lot of different feeling as well, but the range of good feeling is somewhat limited with food. With music we can enjoy a wider range of emotions, even feel negative emotions and still ‘enjoy’ the experience.
For example in You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones we can experience the liberating realization that sometimes in life we can’t get what we want in life, but somehow things work out and ultimately we get what we need. At least in the midst of trials, it’s nice to hear someone else tell you such sage words of advice.
Who hasn’t felt their spirits rise as the result of hearing the refrain of Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry, Be Happy. The song was worn out in it day, but only because it was so therapeutic to it’s listeners who longed to be uplifted and encouraged.
Weezer’s hit the big time in 1994 with Undone - The Sweater Song. 1994 was a hard year for me, kind of like last year, and that song really hit home. I felt like I was unraveling little by little. Thankfully I’m starting to feel better. But my point is that Weezer really seemed to be able to put into a song the way I was feeling. Here is a case where a song can make one feel good and bad all at the same time. “If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as I walk away, watch me unravel I’ll soon be naked, Lying on the floor, I’ve come undone.” Now those are insightful lyrics. It’s funny to talk about a sweater unraveling, but the imagery is unique.
Finally, James Taylor on his album Sweet Baby James sings about the loss of a friend in his song Fire and Rain. Part of it is a story about a friend, Suzanne, who committed suicide while he was in London. His friends didn’t tell him about the suicide for six months for fear it would shake him up. You can feel the regret in his voice at this loss. “I’ve seen fire, and I’ve seen rain, I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, But I always thought that I would see you again.”
Where would we be without music…and where would we be without good food? I’m going to go finish my chocolate shake.
Since moving into our house in 2005 I have been haunted by a monster. But this summer the monster was cut to the ground and hauled away in little pieces. (I wonder if I’ve been reading too much Steven King?)
The monster that had haunted my dreams for 3 years was a pyracantha (firethorn) bush that measured 75 feet wide, 18 feet deep (to the fence) and more than 20 feet high. Presumable planted when the house was built in 1960, the bush had more than 40 years to amass it’s hold on my backyard.
We attempted to get bids from experts trained to deal with green pests and garden giants. One yellowpage add said, “no job too big or too small.” He would not even give us a price quote, nor would anyone else. I note now that his ad did not say, “no job too scary.”
So in mid June, with chainsaw in hand and a 40 foot dumpster on the way, a select group of brave comrads and I (family and neighbors) slew the monster and chipped it’s remains into a million little pieces. The battle was won, the foe has been vanquished.
What worries me is what lies under the ground. The battle was won, but what of the war? Already I see signs of life. Ever see Tremors?
What’s The Price of Magic? It’s a “game” or exercise taught by Orson Scott Card at a writing class I attended in San Diego recently. The purpose of which is to define rules of a fantasy world where magic is possible. For magic to be possible, there is bound to be a price.
Uncle Orson’s writing class was a wonderful two day course that finished off my relaxing Southern California trip. The class was more than inspiring, it gave me some real world experience with the writing process.
OSC talked about everything from characterization and viewpoint to submitting manuscripts. It was fun and fascinating to learn from someone so intelligent and prolific. When I read OSC’s books I’m always amazed at his understanding of human nature. For anyone interested in the writing process, I highly recommend his class. Maybe if he does one next year I’ll try for his boot camp, an extended course whepre you write a complete story under his tutalage. Sounds fun, huh!?! What’s the price of magic? $175 and two days with a master of his craft.
I’ve been meaning to make this post for several months now It just took me a while to get around to it. (Or to get a “round tuit” as my mother used to say…never did figure out what a round tuit was, but wouldn’t you know it, they sell them on online.) Anyway, already off topic.
Last December I started turning my living room into a home theater room. It was a big project, but it turned out nice! It’s wonderful to be able to watch a movie on my own 150″ screen. It has almost all the benefits of being at a movie theater, without the drawback. Plus a few advantages such as pause, rewind, subtitles, light control, etc.
I was going to put a picture of a kitty, or a T-Rex on the screen, but I didn’t get around to it.
The wall of my home theater screen all taped off and ready to paint. The screen is 150″ diagonal, I could have gone 170″, but then I wouldn’t have room for the speakers on the side, and the electrical plugs at the bottom would have been in the way.
Okay, title is a lame reference to an catchy Blue Oyster Cult song…but it somehow seemed appropriate. You can almost feel the heat coming off those candles. And, yes, There ARE 38 of them. I’ve been saying that I’m 62 this year…since I’ve decided to count backwards. It’s been a birthday full of surprises, one worth remembering!
100 Year Picnic, one of my favorite independent bands has released their newest full length release, Tales of a Modern Splash. The album is full of great songs; multi-layered and perfectly textured, each song has it’s own story to tell.One of my favorite songs on the new album is Looks Are for Free. It, like a few other songs on the album has properties that remind me of the Beatles, though to call Jeff Greeneberg and Edwin Pierce another John and George would be to misunderstand their motives. 100 Year Picnic’s music is mostly based around their families that they both love and tolerate, and this can be seen in their songs.Another favorite from the album is Isolation, an alt country ditty that paints a picture of a run down yard and a neglected relationship. The chorus is full of truth:
She said, you and your isolation,What are you trying to escape from,Can’t stand to walk away,So let me back into your life,It takes two to make one wrong thing right.
Don’t miss the song, Come On. It’s about living life to its fullest. It’s wonderful. I’m sure that I’ll have Tales Of A Modern Splash on my mp3 player quite a bit this year.BTW: one of my all time favorite songs is also by 100 Year Picnic, It’s called Mary Faye Tucker. It’s the story of an annoying sales-person selling resort timeshares.Enjoy! Life’s a 100 year picnic…
Family Man, Artist, Photographer, Writer, Podcaster, Code Monkey, Music Junkie, Gadget Geek, Basket Case - not necessarily in that order.
he said...
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness. -Robertson Davies
Two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven. -Flight of the Conchords
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. - George F. Will
Bob Dylan’s new release this year, Tell Tall Signs, is #8 in his bootleg series. It’s a series ofrare and unreleased songs from his work between 1996 and 2006. He never ceases to amaze me how he can put so much meaning and feeling into song after song.
