Wandering to a Goal

Now

2008-09-23T14:52:00.004-04:00

I haven't felt the urge to blog in a while. I'm not sure why. It's not because of a shortage of topics - somewhere among my possessions, there is a scrap of paper with a list of blogging ideas that I didn't want to forget. There have been times when I forced myself when I didn't feel like blogging, resulting in random irregular updates and tons of never finished posts, but this time, I decided not to. I figured if i didn't want to blog, then I shouldn't. I don't think it's just been the blog, I've been going through a partial internet withdrawal.

Oh, I'm still online all the time, but lately I've been much more of a passenger on the information superhighway (why don't people use that phrase anymore) than a driver. I haven't been blogging, I haven't been posting in many forums, I haven't been publishing youtube videos like I planned to.

My withdrawal is partially due to computer issues. After a recent upgrade, my video card failed. I could've moved back to the old hardware, but that would require a reinstallation of everything to move back to the old stuff, then another reinstallation when the replacement card came - and this would be on top of the re-installation I already did when I upgraded in the first place. So, I sent the card back and waited computerless. After what seemed like a really long wait, I got the replacement card, put it in, and my computer was up and running. For two days. Currently I'm waiting for the second replacement. In the meantime, I've had the use of my lady's laptop, but it's not the same. I'm used to using my own computer with my own settings, programs, etc.

Will I be blogging regularly when my computer's up and running? I don't have a clue. I will be posting some stuff on youtube though. I have some video of Philly singer/poet Rhapsode performing at this year's Odunde, a short stop-motion film I made with a friend of mine, and video of myself performing at The Knitting Factory in NYC from last month.

Who know what else the future will hold . . .

My Dance Story

2008-07-08T10:11:00.005-04:00

I am a house dancer. I haven't always been a house dancer - I haven't always even known what house music is - but now I'm a house dancer. Lately, I've been running into a lot of people from my dancing past. It's made me reflect on my dancing history, so while it's on my mind, here's my story . . .

The early years

I grew up listening to hip-hop, reggae, and soca, but I was not much of a dancer. As a young teen, I never went to clubs and the parties my friends threw usually involved a bunch of us hanging out at someone's house, so I never danced in public. I didn't start dancing in public until I started visiting colleges toward the end of high school. Some of the colleges I visited threw parties for their prospective students - I can still remember awkwardly two-stepping through those nights. Once I started college, I got more comfortable on the dancefloor.

Until my second year in college, I never did more than two-step. Over the summer after that first year, I visited Barbados with my family. While I was in Barbados, I saw a guy dancing to soca, and something clicked in me. I suddenly understood how to move my waist to the music. After that, when they played reggae or soca at college parties, people knew to find me on the dancefloor. The girls loved it because they knew I could dance and that I did it because I enjoyed it - unlike some guys who simply see dancing as flirtation and foreplay.

Circles

I was living in Philadelphia in the summer of 2000. I was still learning the city and I was just getting used to the idea of going to clubs. One night, I went to 700 Club with some friends. It was a while before I realized this, but it was really a life changing night for me. Now, 700 Club is known as a hipster club, but back then it was a lot more mixed. Cosmic Cat, who later became one of my favorite Philly DJs, was spinning that night. One of my friends introduced the group of us to a girl that she knew. At some point in the night, I was feeling the music and I started doing this step I had learned from watching breakdancing on TV as a kid. I only knew the one step. The friend of my friend came up to me and yelled over the music.

"Do you battle?"

I wasn't really sure what she was talking about, so I just yelled back, "No."

I don't know if this girl misheard me or what, but her response was, "Aight! Let's go!"

She stepped back with her arms wide, pushing people back as she moved. Within seconds, there was a big circle cleared in the middle of the dancefloor. She jumped in the circle and started dancing. I had never battled before, but at that point I would have felt stupid backing down, so when she stepped back and looked at me expectantly, I jumped in and did my thing. Looking back now, I can't imagine myself not looking silly that night. I did my one breaking step and I did horrible imitations of the cartwheels I had seen Capoeristas do. I have no clue what else I did, but the two of us went back and forth several times, so I guess I did throw some other moves in the mix.

At the end of the night, as we left the club, random people kept walking up to me, congratulating me, giving me pounds, etc. I had an amazing feeling - it was one of those times when I can say I was truly high on life. While I was battling that girl, I was caught up in the music and the moment, but it was the ego stroking that came afterward that originally made me fall in love with the circle. When I walked into that club I only knew the friends I went there with and the one girl I was introduced to. When I left, I was the center of attention and it felt like everyone loved me.

After that, I started going out to clubs regularly. At first I'd go with my friends, but they never wanted to go out often enough to satisfy my dance craving, so eventually I started going out on my own. When I started going out on my own, a whole new world opened up to me. I'd walk into a place full of strangers. I'd see a circle or I'd spot other dancers and we'd form a circle, and then suddenly we were friends. It was instant community. Once you share a circle with someone, there's some kind of bond. You might know nothing about their personal life, their home life, etc., but you know something important about them. You might not even know how they look - there were plenty of times when I didn't recognize someone, but then when I saw them dance, I instantly remembered our last meeting.

House Music

Over the time that I was getting used to dancing in circles, I gradually became aware of house music. As a child, I never heard of house music. Later, I was under the impression that house music was like techno - excessively loud, mind-numbingly repetitive, and annoying. When I finally understood what house is, it was kind of like watching a movie that just had a plot twist. You start thinking back to things that happened earlier and understanding them in a new light. I realized that many of the songs I had heard on the "urban" stations as a kid, songs I loved back then, were house music. Some of the music that Cosmic Cat was spinning was house. That Baltimore club music I had gotten into a few years earlier was a particular style of house. Some of the music I loved so much at Crimson Moon was house. The more I thought about it, the more I could see that throughout my life I've been in love with house music even though I didn't know what it was.

Before I was aware of house, my aim was to learn to breakdance. When I saw breakdancers, I tried to study and learn their moves. At home I would try to learn to stand on my head and to do the six step. As much as I tried to learn, I never felt comfortable with many of the movements. My awareness of house music ushered in a new stage in my dance journey. I realized that house was the music I felt most comfortable moving to. It inspired me to try things I'd been unable to do when I was trying to breakdance, and now they felt right. I started learning Capoeira, which has greatly influenced my style of dance, around the same time that I was becomming aware of house. Also around this time, I stopped caring about being the center of attention when I danced. If I was surrounded by good music and other dancers, I was happy. When a good DJ spins house music, you feel the music in a spiritual way. When you're in a circle of dancers, you know you're sharing that feeling with others. The world outside of the circle starts to disapear.

And Now

There are people would be shocked to hear that I don't dance to reggae anymore. Now, it's strange for me to think that it's been 8 years since I first stepped into a circle. I'm constantly growing as a dancer as I learn from other dancers and try new things. After a three year break, I returned to Capoeira this year. Capoeira is making me stronger and more flexible. Capoeira and dance, they each help prepare me for the other. When it comes to dancing, I have no idea where I'm going. I'd love to continue to learn and develop, but outside of that I've never had goals. Dancing is just something I love to do.

I'm Gonna #14

2008-06-26T09:57:00.005-04:00

I'm gonna initiate conversations with people I have seen before for the sole purpose of identifying them.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Errr, I don't think so."
"Yeah, I sat next to you on the bus two days ago."
"Oh"
". . ."
". . ."

For the proper effect, the awkward silence, which should last a minimum of 8 seconds, is followed by walking away.

True Story

2008-06-25T12:41:00.003-04:00

I should have written this down the morning after it happened, but i didn't. I did my best to remember the conversation as accurately as possible. It's all paraphrased, but you should be able to get a good picture of the night. Keep in mind - none of this is exaggerated. It really did happen this way.

A few weeks ago, after my usual Sunday partying, I went to a diner with some friends of mine. Afterwards, it was too late for a lady to be walking alone, so one of the other guys and I walked with another friend to a hotel where she was staying. When we got to the hotel, the three of us stood outside, continuing our conversation for a while. While we were talking, a random guy walked up to us with his hand out in a gesture of greeting.

Random Guy: Hi. How you doing?

The three of us stared at the guy for a moment. We were standing outside in the middle of the night and a guy none of us had ever seen before was standing there, greeting us like we were at a cocktail party. I looked him over. From his age and dress, I figured he was a drunk college student or recent grad. I warily shook his hand but I stayed silent, waiting to find out why he was approaching us. The other guy, my friend, shook his hand and gave him a funny look.

My Friend: Have you been drinking or are you really that friendly?
RG: No, I just moved back into town and I'm trying to meet some people.
MF: Ohhh, you're back in town?
RG: Yeah, I just moved back.
MF: Yeah, I remember last time I saw you was at that party. That was a wild night! You were real drunk!
RG: Uhhhhh . . .
MF: You probably don't even remember. Don't worry - I won't tell anyone about that night. You were so drunk!
RG: Uhhhh . . .
MF: So you're back now?
RG: Yeah, I just moved back here. I have a place on 19th and Arch. So where you guys coming from?
MF: We were just hanging out with the guys. You just missed Rob and Dave. Mike moved out of town not long ago, yeah, he's gone. I'll tell all the guys you're back.

Here, my friend used the names of the other people we had just been hanging out with. I changed the names cuz yall don't need to know them. The girl and I were just standing there this whole time with no idea what to say. We were fighting hard not to laugh cuz we didn't want to ruin the conversation. Random Guy was really confused. He had no idea who my friend was but my friend's tone was so matter-of-fact that he wasn't sure.

MF: Man, I remember that party! That was a crazy night! You left with that girl. I know you're probably embarrassed. That's just between us. It's good to see you though.
RG: Yeah, I moved to Wisconsin for a while, now I'm back - right on 19th and Arch.

(I don't remember if it was Wisconsin he was back from, but it was one of those middle of nowhere states)

RG: So what are you guys up to? Are there any parties going on now?

At this point, my friend and I discussed several parties taking place at a combination of real and made-up clubs in the area, giving him "directions" to each one.

RG: You guys wanna go party some more?
MF: No, I'm gonna go smoke some crack. You ever done crack?
RG: No, I just smoke weed?
MF: Weed? Nah, that's too weak. Is it laced weed?
RG: No, just plain weed.
MF: You gotta lace it. PCP, heroin, cocaine, crack, that's real drugs
RG: I'm right on 19th and Arch. you guys wanna hang out?
MF: You got crack?
RG: I'm trying to invite you guys to my place to smoke some weed.
MF: Nah, I'm gonna head home and smoke some crack.

Random guy walks off.

Dancing

2008-04-17T08:22:00.000-04:00

Look what I found while I was messing around on YouTube. Someone posted video of me dancing.

I'm about to get a video camera of my own, so look for more video posts in the future.

I'm gonna #013

2008-04-16T08:30:00.002-04:00

I'm gonna needlessly give people extra assurances of any facts I pass on to them.

"Is it raining?"

"Yeah, I was just outside and it's pouring."

"Okay."

"No, I'm positive, it's definitely raining."

"Alright."

"I swear to you! Look at me! I'm wet! WET!"

". . ."

"It is raining."

Podcast

2008-04-14T08:11:00.004-04:00

I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna start a podcast. It's gonna be all about sharing songs I like with other folks. Of course some of my own material will get slipped in there as well. The genre will be all over the place - like my musical tastes. I've been toying with the idea of a name thats related to the expected variety of genres. Hmmmm . . .

Stay tuned for more info.

Interview

2008-04-11T08:30:00.002-04:00

Recently, I was at a mass interview/discussion with some other artists. Here are some of the questions we were asked along with my answers

Where did your name come from and what does it mean?
When I was younger I had dreams of being a grafitti artist. I wanted to put up these meaningful symbol-filled murals and stuff. The first step, of course, was coming up with a tag. I made 2. The first was already my generic internet tag. I came up a way to write it that I thought looked good. The second was Ahd. I liked the word "odd" as a name, but I couldn't write it in a way I found apealling, so I went with an alternate spelling. "Ahd" was the short version and "Ahd Child" was the full version. The way it's written in my logo is the same way I wrote it back then. When I started making music, I went by my internet tag first, but many people didn't seem to know how to pronounce it, so I switched to Ahd Child (which isn't a whole lot better in that regard, but oh well).

How and why did you start writing/poetry/music?
It seems like a lot of other people (at least in hip hop) were inspired to start rhyming by one particular person. I had no plans of writing poetry or music. I started writing poems in high school because one day I had an idea for a poem. Years later, after I hadn't been writing for a while, I got an idea for a verse. I got home, finished writing it and recorded it using an instrumental from a CD single (remember those) and a free program I had downloaded. From that point on I started writing and recording songs for fun. As time went by, I got better and began to make my own music. Eventually I realized that this was something I could take seriously.

Why do you share your work (on stage, in writing, etc.)?
When I first started making songs, it was for fun. I'd share them with friends to hopefully get good reactions, and that was it. I just wanted people to hear this cool thing I made. Nowadays, of course that's still part of the reason I share - it feels good when people complement your work - but it's not the only reason. In every song I make, I try to communicate some idea or emotion. I try to make people see things in a way they haven't before. I share my music because it is what I have to say to people - it contains my words to the world. It still feels good when someone says "I like your song" but it feels better when I hear things like "you really made me think."

XKCD

2008-03-24T00:47:00.004-04:00

Sometime last year, a friend of mine turned me on to XKCD. In my travels around the ~~intertubes~~ ~~interweb~~ internet, I come across many web comics made for geeks and gamers. XKCD is my favorite of the bunch - it's consistently funny, and unlike with the gamer comics, even if I haven't been up on the geek news for the past few weeks, I usually still get the humor. Even if you don't score very high on geek quizzes, you should get at least some of the humor. (You are reading a blag, so I'll assume you're part of one of the internet-ready generations)

So, umm, yeah . . . I bring up XKCD because today's comic is particularly applicable to my life. Many people who have heard my music collection played on shuffle don't know what to make of it. Years ago (when my collection was less diverse than it is now) it wasn't uncommon to hear dancehall reggae followed by The Muppets or show tunes (anyone else like The Pajama Game?) followed by Akinyele (You know you still love Put It In Your Mouth).

Capoeira

2008-02-27T12:13:00.002-05:00

Many years ago (does that make me sound old) I encountered a friend of mine as I was walking down a hallway. I jokingly put up my fists. In the next instant, he disappeared. One more instant, and his foot was about an inch from my face. Once my brain was able to process what had happened, I realized that he had somehow dropped to the ground, stood on his head and thrown a kick. That was my very first encounter with Capoeira - it was brief, but I never forgot it. My friend told me about it and invited me to classes. He regularly encouraged me to check out the classes, but I was busy and constantly broke at the time. About five years later, I finally got around to taking a class. (It was six years before I went to the particular class he had told me about).

In the years between first hearing about Capoeira and taking a class, I had learned a little more about it and even seen some demonstrations. I started the class already having some familiarity with the basic movement, jenga, and with some basic kicking knowledge gained from other martial arts I've dabbled in. I felt pretty good about myself throughout the class - it seemed like I was picking things up pretty quickly. That feeling changed when I got into my first rhoda. The rhoda is the circle where you actually do Capoeira. Some call it a dance and some call it a game. That first time in the circle, with feet rapidly flying toward my face, it didn't feel like either. It felt like "run for your life!" Now, whenever I see a newcomer step into his first rhoda and freeze up, I chuckle to myself as I remember my first time. I also think about the pain they'll be feeling the next day - Capoeira has a way of introducing you to muscles that you didn't know you had.

Due to life's inevitable complications, I started and stopped several times. My last stretch was very definitely my most intense. I was taking classes multiple times a week, and I even started taking some classes teaching a different style of Capoeira with the hope that the diversity of styles would help improve my overall abilities. The effects of the intensity were definitely beginning to show . . . right up until I stopped. For three years.

For three years, I've been promising myself that I would get back to Capoeira one day, but time kept passing and it kept not happening. Well, about a month ago, I finally made it back. The first few classes were physically and mentally painful. The physical part was because I was out of shape. As for the mental part - I knew that I wouldn't come back and instantly be at the same level that I was at when I stopped, but it was disappointing to see how far I had actually fallen. Still, despite my disappointment, I knew that I would get there, so I've been working hard. The hard work is paying off - even now I am doing much better than a month ago. I wanted to write about this now so that later, when I'm better than I was before I stopped, I can read this and smile.

If you're interested in trying Capoeira, I found this directory through Google, though I'm not sure how accurate and up-to-date it is. You might be better off typing "capoeira" and your city or state name into a search box. If you're looking for Philly area classes, hit me up or look here.

Cooking Bambi: Part 2

2007-12-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

I did it! The deer is cooked. I cooked it in three different ways and took pictures. One thing I've taken for granted during all my years of buying supermarket packaged meet is the amount of blood that I don't have to deal with. The hunk of deer was wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap, a layer of newspaper, several plastic shopping bags, and finally a garbage bag. Once I got all of the covering off, I found a large, extremely bloody piece of meat. I took the picture below after I washed off most of the blood.

After I got over the sight of all the blood, I grabbed the meat, cleaned it, and inspected it. I found no buck or fur, though I had absolutely no idea what signs I should be looking for. I had my lady, who has better eyes than me, take a look also. She didn't see anything either, so hopefully we won't get any surprises as we eat this massive quantity of meat. After inspection, I got to play butcher.

I was pretty proud of my butcher skills. I cut two huge steaks and some smaller pieces for stew. The remaining hunk was my roast. Below are before and after shots.

In the end, it all came out tasting pretty good - very much like beef. I'm not sure if I'd be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test. The stew and sliced roast are hanging out in my freezer right now (It's a whole lot more meat than we're going to eat within the next few days) and I am already looking forward to the next time I'm gifted with venison.

Cooking Bambi: Part 1

2007-12-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

Last night I tasted deer for my first time. At first, it seemed almost indistinguishable from beef, but after a moment, i noticed that it's flavor was much more intense than beef's flavor. Still, my first reaction was "it's okay." About ten minutes later, I realized that the taste was still on my mind and I wanted more even though I had eaten a full meal and desert not long ago. Fortunately I was given a huge hunk of frozen deer to take home.

Along with the frozen cut, I was given some advice on how to prepare it. I'm trying not to be squeamish about it - I've cleaned and prepared meat and fish before, but this will be my first time preparing meat that didn't come from a market. Somebody shot the deer, cut it up, froze it, and now it's thawing out in my sink. I was instructed to check the meat for buck and if there are holes from buck, check them for any fur that might have entered the deer along with the buck. Mmmm. Still, I think it is worth it - the meat is fresher than anything I've ever bought and it wasn't raised on funky hormones and chemical concoctions.

I've been trying to figure out how to cook it. After doing some reading online, I think I'm going to cut it into three pieces and cook them in different ways. I'll roast the larger piece, broil another piece, and cook the third in some sort of gravy. Hmmm . . . maybe I'll take pictures of the process and post them. Stay tuned.

Update: I just got home and checked on Bambi. After about 16 hours of being out, Bambi is still frozen solid. I was planning to marinate him for at least 24 hours, so I guess there'll be no Rudolph for Christmas.

In With the Old

2007-12-19T19:08:00.001-05:00

Today I had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant with some co-workers. The restaurant we went to is one of my favorite places to eat in Philly. Despite that, I haven't eaten there in years. I forgot all about the place. There have been a few times recently when my lady and I found ourselves completely uninspired when trying to figure out where to eat, and this place never crossed my mind.

I'm wondering if there are other things from my past that could be enriching my life now, if they hadn't been forgotten. Even as I write this, some things are coming to mind. We tend to look to memories as ways of reliving what once was, the good times we had but memories can also be the key to the good times to come. Don't forget that.

Mobile Blogging

2007-12-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

I am writing this entry on my newest gadget - an ipaq 110. The ipaq is a PDA - no phone, just a PDA. Sales on phoneless PDA's have been abysmal over the past few years, especially in comparison to smartphones. I am purposely going against the trend.It's not that I don't see the benefits of having one device, the problem is that when it comes to purchasing smartphones in this country, I see nothing but a bunch of bad options. Let's see . . .

- I could've taken the standard path - buy a smartphone that is subsidized by a service provider. After paying a chunk of money, I would've been stuck with a 2 year contract, a phone that would not have worked on other networks, and a monthly bill that was inflated by data costs. To cut down on data costs, I could've gone with a wi-fi enabled phone, but phones with wi-fi are more expensive.

- I could've bought an unlocked phone which would not be limited to one network. I would've spent a LOT more money, and once again I would've been forced to choose between extra data costs and expensive wi-fi.

- I could've bought a network subsidized phone and then used one of the various unlocking methods to get rid of network limitations. Depending on the phone model, unlocking can cost money and it can be risky - just look at the horrible experiences many iphone users had with unlocked phones.

None of these options seems worth it to me, especially considering the alternative - a plain old PDA. My ipaq 110 has wi-fi and bluetooth. I can get online, work on my website, blog, write lyrics, and more - and I don't have to deal with any monthly fees or contracts. Counting shipping costs, the ipaq cost about $280 (www.datavis.com) - comparable to the initial cost of some of the cheaper smartphones. If you want to factor in the other costs, you could add the data costs for the 2 years of contract time (I believe it usually starts around $20/month) and you'll find that a $280 smartphone really costs you $568. Ouch! I think I got a good deal.

So, my hope is that my ipaq will make me more efficient. There have been many times when I wanted to do some writing, but I was not at a computer or the computer I was at didn't have the file I wanted to work on. Now, that won't be a problem because my computer is with me. My e-mail is with me, my RSS feeds are with me, my schedule, my lyrics - it's all here in my hand.

Oops!

2007-12-17T17:41:00.000-05:00

Edit: So I wrote the entry that's about to be posted after this, but apparently I sent the wrong file to blogger. I'm going to leave this up for memory's sake.

Bluetooth PhoneManager
version 4.30 071012
Diagnostic file

---------

Check if "HP IPAQ 110" is allowed
HP IPAQ RX4 NOT FOUND
HP IPAQ HX2490 NOT FOUND
HP IPAQ HX4700 NOT FOUND
HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY NOT FOUND
HP IPAQ HX2790 NOT FOUND
HP IPAQ 110 found
Ok!

Don't Step on Faith

2007-11-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

Do you remember all the things you learned in elementary school? I doubt many people past their teens do. Once school is done, most people do not have much reason to know basic but useless facts like the capitals of all 50 states and the major components of a living cell. Everything we learned back then isn’t useless now, but people tend to remember the important stuff . . . right?

One of the earliest “life lessons” that was repeatedly imprinted into my memory was “look both ways before you cross the street.” It seems so basic – a four-year-old could tell you what to do before you cross the street. Well, apparently everyone does not know
What a four-year-old knows. Just about every day that I ride my bike through the city, I come across people who step off the curb without looking in any direction that traffic might be coming from. Some keep their eyes fixed straight ahead – maybe they trust their lives to traffic lights, I mean, everyone obeys traffic laws, right? Other people keep there heads down the whole time. I guess they see it as a leap (step?) of faith.

There are times when an observer might not be able to tell that I looked before crossing the street even though I did do it, so I can accept that I’m not always able to tell when someone looked. The thing is, I know these people didn’t look. Why else would they step off the curb, directly into the path of my bike when I’m flying down the street and they have a red light? A lot of times when this happens, I’ll slow down and stop with less than a foot of space between my front tire and the person, and they still won’t know I’m there. Sometimes, I’ll modify my path so that I pass in front of them with ample clearance, but they will still jump in surprise.

If people care so little about their health and well-being, they should at least find neater, more effective means of ending it all. I don’t have any statistics, but I can confidently assure you that jumping in front of a moving bike is not likely to lead to a successful suicide. If you’re not trying to die, why even take that step of faith?

Nanny can save us

2007-11-05T12:50:00.000-05:00

On an NPR podcast I was listening to today, they were talking about new legislation being proposed (I think it’s in NY, but I don’t remember for sure) that would give government to the blood sugar test results of diabetics. The idea is that all that info would go in a database, and when someone’s results show they are getting dangerously close to experiencing the serious complications diabetes can cause, they would get some sort of automatic notification. (e.g. “Take your medicine or your leg is going to get cut off.”) People against the legislation claim that in combination with smoking bans and bans on trans fat, it would bring us one step closer to a nanny state.

Is the idea of a nanny state really that ridiculous or wrong? When violence and disorder reach an extreme in a particular area, there is talk of making it into a military state and imposing marshal law – at least temporarily. They say that desperate times call for desperate measures. Isn’t this a desperate time for health in the U.S.?

All kinds of surveys and studies show that we are one of the fattest countries in the world. Obesity has grown from being a rare oddity to a nationwide norm. I’m sure that if you look at the statistics from any health insurance company, you will find that a disturbing amount of money spent goes towards preventable health problems. Through this country’s high healthcare costs, we are all footing the bill for smokers, folks who aren’t eating well, and people who don’t get enough exercise.

If we had a nanny state, maybe when I went to the supermarket, I wouldn’t be forced to choose between the exorbitant prices for healthier food and the lower prices of unhealthy options. Maybe my insurance would be forced to help fund things like a gym membership that would help keep me out of the doctor’s office and save them money in the long run.

Smokers are already complaining about losing the right to pollute the air that I have to breathe – but they should learn the difference between a right and a privilege and they should spend some time thinking about what happens when one person’s freedom impedes on another person’s freedom. Does the same hold true when it comes to other health related vices? We cannot escape the fact that we live in a world with other people. Your health affects my life and my health affects yours. That means if we both stay healthy, it’s better for everyone.

Before you light that up . . .

2007-11-05T01:11:00.001-05:00

It seems like most people I see/meet are smokers. I can never understand why so many people continue to smoke despite all of the well-known negative results. Well, here's one more negative result you may not have known about (this one is for the ladies) -

Smoking makes your boobs sag.

Yep. Check out the last paragraph of this article.

Missing Summer

2007-10-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

This is the first day since last winter that I've worn a sweater. Last night, as I was watching the news, I unhappily noted that the highest number in the five day forecast started with a six. I hate to admit it, but summer is over. I've never liked the cold, so summer has always been my favorite time of year. Over the past few years of my life, it's become even more important to me, as I've been spending more time outside - hanging out in the park, walking, partying, biking . . . the list goes on. Colder weather doesn't necessarily mean I'll stop doing those things, but from now on, it's going to be a bit more uncomfortable and a bit more unpleasant - whether because of ridiculously cold whether or the uncomfortable bulkiness of multiple layers used to keep the warmth in and the ridiculous coldness out. It's a lose-lose situation.

And it's not just about how the weather directly affects me. Winter means that when I step outside, I'm less likely to see, meet, and speak to interesting people. People-watching season is over. The assortment of people is one of the things that I love about Philly, but for the next several months, the world will be a less colorful place - literally and figuratively.

I guess the cold months aren't all bad - they bring the holidays, an excuse to be cuddled and comfy with my lady, the satisfaction of stepping out of the cold into a warm house. It's not enough though. I've always preferred too hot over too cold. In the summer, I make an effort not to complain about the heat, even on the worst days, because I am grateful. I often joke that I love global warming because it means more tolerable winters - and there really is a bit of truth in every joke. On those unnatural winter days when the temperature hits 70, as one part of me fears for the future of mankind (not the earth because nature always finds a way) another part of me rejoices in the stolen moments of warmth.

Oh well. It was a good summer. I'll miss you.

Universal

2007-10-18T15:27:00.000-04:00

They say music is universal.
But it seems so local
When closed minds form borders
Barring chords from harmony.
When I speak
Many closed ears don't hear
Notes in a foreign tongue.
"What's that different stuff?"
They want to hear what they know.
Music is plagued by xenophobes.

Lifetime Achievment Goal

2007-09-28T12:37:00.000-04:00

It hit me the other day that it would be cool if after a musician's death, they had enough of his music to do a 24 hour tribute. Now that's a new goal for me. I want to release enough music to fill 24 hours without any songs being repeated. Between Reverse Psychology, Meeting of Minds, and Rough Drafts, I already got the first 2+ hours out of the way. Now some (very roughly estimated) numbers:

I have to release 21+ more hours of music to meet my goal.
Over the past 2 years I've released 1 album per year.
Each album is around 60 minutes.
I need to release 21 more albums.
If I stick to doing an album a year, I can meet my goal before I reach retirement age.

En Route

2007-09-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

En Route is a new series/section where I will talk about the noteable things I do or see during my travels around Philly. So without further ado . . .

I almost hit a girl in a motorized wheelchair with my bike. She came off the sidewalk right into my path without looking or slowing down. After a dramatic skid, I stopped about a foot away from her. The moment was extra awkward because I kind of knew her. I met her through a mutual friend, I didn't see her for a long time, and now when i see her, she doesn't seem to recognize me.
In the park, I saw a guy playing an acoustic-electric guitar in a way I haven't seen before. He was using the fact that it was amplified to make sounds you normally wouldn't get from an acoustic guitar. I've only ever seen electric guitar players play that way. More acoustic-electric players should take advantage of the fact that they're not playing a normal acoustic.

Slash Backslash

2007-09-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

You know how when somebody does something that bothers you, you're supposed to deal with it right away instead of letting it fester? You didn't know? Well now you know, and the knowledge will help your relationships a whole lot. Back to my point - I knew I shouldn't let things fester, but I've been letting this one thing fester. It's been bothering me for several years I think, but I have never ever said a thing about it - not to an offender, not to a sympathizer - I've bottled it all up. It's way past time that I let it out, so today is the day:

URLs do not use backslashes!!!

Phew! That felt good. Most people do not seem to know the difference between a slash and a backslash - sometimes I wonder if people even know that slashes exist. Before the worldwide web, this wasn't much of an issue, but now that people are regularly giving out website addresses, it's a big deal. Especially now that MySpace is the big thing.

"Oh yeah, just check me out on MySpace. Myspace dot com backslash badfriggingrammar."

Why does it bother me so much? Several reasons:

Colloquial use of improper English is only acceptable when it makes a word easier. For example, "Ain't" takes less time to say than "is not" or even "isn't." "Backslash" however, doubles the syllables of "slash." Why make a simple word more complex? Better question, why make an already unwieldy URL even more difficult to say than it has to be?
It's one thing to accidentally substitute a similar word for the correct word, but "backslash" is the polar opposite of "slash." How would you feel if people considered you and your arch-nemesis suitable substitutions for each other? It's just not right. Spelling a URL with a backslash is like baking a cake with salt.
And I guess if you don't know how a cake is supposed to taste, salt could be fine, but I know it should be sugar. If only I could be ignorant of what a slash - is like so many other people seem to be, I'd be fine . Unfortunately, that bliss is not mine.

It's horrible - at first I thought it was just a few non-tech-savvy people misusing "backslash," but it's not. I cannot recall ever hearing anyone spell a URL with a slash. Every time I hear "backslash," I cringe on the inside, but on the outside, I'm all smiles. I know it was wrong of me to hide my feelings instead of confronting the problem. I'm trying to make up for it by telling everyone that I can reach - it's a slash!

On Reaching a Goal

2007-09-04T11:27:00.000-04:00

It takes dedication.
It takes dedication, and effort and work and time.
It takes focus, and knowledge, and . . . it’s hard.
It gives satisfaction
It gives satisfaction, and happiness and relief and joy.
It gives pride and pleasure and . . . it’s good.
It’s hard to achieve, its good to achieve.
Anything worth gaining hurts to get,
And I can testify to the truth of cliché with this blood sweat.
Tearing myself away from a possible future
Has proven impossible since I gained the knowledge -
“I can make it happen.”
And now it has happened.
I’m happy, feasting on the satisfaction,
Relieved to be free to be proud and pleased
With the result of the hard work and effort
That I put in for so long
Because I knew I had to be focused,
A living dedication to purpose.
But what do you propose comes next?