#84 – Life is defined by maintenance.

All you do in life is try to maintain it.  You eat for energy to do it again.  you sleep to do it again.  You work to pay for it again.  You do more or something new to make you happy…again.  Life becomes a huge cycle of maintenance.  Therefore:

#85 – The secret to life is to avoid or mitigate maintenance.

Set your bills to be paid automatically.  Eat well.  Learn to control your dreams so you’re not just sleeping.  Spend less so you need to work less.  Find out what makes you happy and keep on doing it.  Stop your mind from worrying about what you need to maintain in your house, but start accepting what doesn’t need to be maintained.

Modeling isn’t a career.

Neither is DJ’ing.  I’m sure you can think of a bunch of others that fall into this category.  By definition, “career” means “an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed by one’s life work.”  There’s a reason for the existence of the expression “don’t quit your day job.”   Ultimately, your career should lead you to a way that lets you take care of someone else too, other than just your immediate needs.  There’s certainly a period in life when it’s acceptable to chase these occupations, but if they don’t work out, do the responsible thing and walk away, even if it’s to find a career that can support your hobby.

acoustic guitar and electric guitar are not genres of music you can play.  Meaning, don’t ask me if I play acoustic or electric guitar.  That’s like asking me whether mac is better than dell.  The confusion that emits from those makes a response impossible.

I’m starting to question memory in dreams.  In some of my more recent dreams, the feeling of being familiar with the dream happens.  Does this mean that I really did dream about that dream before, or is it all part of the fantasy and illusions in dreams?

Recently, I’ve had dreams that I’m in a play or a musical back at my high school.  I have to remember all my lines and dance routines and cues.  Last night’s dream was the actual performance of the play, and I had such a hard time remembering all my lines and parts, but I was very familiar with them.  There was a complicated costume change where I had to wear some sort of Roman soldier chest plate under my dress shirt so that I could make a critical change quick enough.  I remembered rehearsing that part…or did I?

I’m really curious as to whether my dreams are picking up fragments of old dreams and I’m interpreting them as memories.  Or maybe I’m just being fooled into thinking I’ve dreamed about it before.  Broken down, it’s all just chemical and biological reactions.

I’m actually getting a little stressed out about it in my waking life, as well as my dream state.  I’m worried that I’m not creating more unique dreams but I’m stuck on the same recycled concepts.  I’m worried my dream memory is failing and my dreams will not be as fun as they used to.  Maybe my dreams will wind up just being similar to the real life of an old man with Alzheimer’s.  Am I there already?

Kallie’s cousin, Julia, works at the Steppenwolf Theatre, and while we were in town, she hooked us up with tickets to see Detroit, by Lisa D’Amour.

First off, Kallie and I had never heard of the theatre, let alone the play.  Maybe it’s because we’re not from Chicago, or maybe it’s because we are uncultured neanderthals.  Either way, we were thoroughly entertained.  The set was beautiful and even the theatre itself told me that I’m in a place that’s taken seriously.  As I browse the program, I see that Gary Sinese and 2 friends started the company back in the 70s, and now there’s a ensemble of MANY familiar faces!  I was very impressed, to the point where I felt ashamed I didn’t know anything about this place before hand!  I would think a place with the caliber of it’s ensemble would be as well known as Second City (which we tried to get tickets for, but they were sold old 3 days out).

To the actual play, a cast of 4, most recognized by Laurie Metcalf (Jackie from Roseanne), Detroit is a play that tackles very modern american ideals and circumstances.  A long time married couple without children in the suburbs of Detroit struggle in their relationship while a younger, recently clean and sober, couple moves into the house next door.  There are some great laughs, but it also has a lot of deep meaning.  Something I’ve never heard of before, after the play, they have a discussion group with an assistant producer of the play.  They talk about the characters, how the definition of the American dream has changed, and what changes we saw in the characters.  It was awesome.  Kind of like a college class, with a bunch of old people in it.

It was a great play, a great place, and a great night.  Consider it RECOMMENDED.

Related:  Detroit is a focus for Palladium and Johnny Knoxville in their exploration how Detroit Lives – http://www.palladiumboots.com/explorations

I’ve been meaning to post a review of Joy Ike‘s new Album, Rumors, but I’m just getting around to it now.  If you’re already a fan, this album reminds you why.  If you’re not a fan yet, here’s a review through bias eyes and an unprofessional (and unapproved) opinion.

In retrospect, Joy’s first album, Good Morning, was coming from someone who loved to play music and write songs and was entertaining the idea of people actually paying to listen to it.  It was…but, it also worked.  Joy’s sound was original, familiar, raw, and somehow catchy all at the same time.  I was hooked right away, and I’ll be the first to admit her style is certainly a departure from my normal listening.  She had heart, believed in her music, and it showed.  Something about someone doing something they are passionate about is so engaging.

With Rumors, I was expecting more of the popular sound that I was used to from Joy.  What I got, was something a lot more serious and a lot more -real-.  That isn’t to mean that the previous songs were superficial at all, but I think they succeed at being the catchy, groovy songs they were meant to be.  The songs, and more specifically, the lyrics, on Rumors, are not as secular or topical as her first album.  Where we talked about children growing up too fast (“Hey, Where are the Kids?”), we’re now honestly talking about faith and personal struggle (“Untitled)”.  Where we were talking about getting lost in the city (“City Lights”), we’re now confronting the earth’s mystery and that man alone doesn’t have the answers (“Power”).

The result is a more potent message and it’s delivered with more powerful melody.  She stays true to her stripped down mixing, going with hand drums and a piano and the occasional strings, so we still have the same Joy Ike sound, but she’s pulling us closer by revealing, what I assume to be, herself, and her own thoughts.  An undeniable Christian philosophy is threaded through her lyrics, which wasn’t present in Good Morning. In tracks like “Power” and “Rumors” (not to mention the “Amen” at the end!!), we hear a progression that is something similar to a hymnal.  It’s moving.  It’s great.

To put it simply, I think Joy’s matured, as well as her music.  She’s giving us quality tracks, original and inspiring lyrics, and an honest message that’s not somber, but engaging.  If I had to compare her to someone more mainstream, I’d say Sarah McLachlan, which is appropriate seeing that Joy has been selected to join her in the Lilith Fair line up for Philadelphia on July 28th.  That’s going to be a big show for her, and I’m positive that we’ll hear a lot more of her, sooner than you think.  Better get your gear on while you can.

So, I’m trying to transition over to itunes (version 9) after being a hardcore winamp user since the late 90s.  Winamp’s keyboard shortcuts are the cat’s pajamas though, and I’m missing them tremendously.  Specifically, the shortcut to jump to a song.  Hit "J" and just start typing in a title or band and it dynamically searches for you.  It’s great when you can’t remember who sang a song and you just remember the track name or vice versa.  Nothing like that in itunes, and surely not as simple.

I also miss the visualizations of winamp.  I loved having that in a mini window.  Infact, plugins alone are lacking dramatically in itunes.  It’s weak.  I want skins!  that’s one of the main reasons why I have a jailbroken iphone.  I don’t like your interface, Mr. Jobs.  LET ME CUSTOMIZE IT.  I AM A UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE.  I AM THE ALL SINGING ALL DANCE CRAP OF THE WORLD.

The another shortcut key I’m missing is queue.  In winamp, I could click a song, hit "q" and winamp would play that song next and then go right back to where it was on the playlist.  As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this.  That’s based on forum posts through google that date back to 2003, and Apple still doesn’t listen to their users.  How they crap do they have such product loyalty when they don’t listen to their users?  cough cough mindless droids  cough cough.

I feel like winamp was a baseball.  Intricately laced, tight, filled with strings and cool stuff and was pretty solid.  Itunes is more like a basketball.  It’s bigger, bounces better, but it’s filled with a lot of air.  I guess I’m the anti-michael jordan in this analogy?  Whatever, Apple is refusing to play ball regardless.

Although there are famous people that play World of Warcraft, people that play World of Warcraft do not then become famous.  By famous, I mean known for things outside of World of Warcraft that do not include their raid in Azeroth.

Do you want to go to the Carnegie Museum of Art or Carnegie Museum of Natural History?  Want 2 free tickets from me?  If so, read further.

Here’s how we’ll play this.  Tell me the activity you are most excited to do this year in or around Pittsburgh this year and why.  If you post your reply on facebook, you’ll earn 1 entry.  If you post your reply (which requires registration) through my blog post, you’ll earn 2 entries.  After 1 week, I’ll count all the entries and pick someone at random.  Sound cool?

_{If you’re wondering how I came about the tickets, ask me how my search for used cars in Pittsburgh is going.}

Watching J’aime’s kids the other day, gave me an idea.  I call it KidCom.  It’s a device, much like a watch, that your kids wear.

In it’s simplest form, it just has the time on it and you can set alarms on it that say things like "1 hours before Daddy gets home", or "it’s almost snack time".  It’s to help highlight and grow the anticipation for the important and happy moments in their days.

There are a few things you can do to extend the functionality.  A web interface or desktop application to record your own voice and have it say messages on certain times.  Or you can change settings remotely if you’re going to be late.

It could be integrated with a gps for locating your kids, or even some sort of 911/call home functionality for emergencies.  I think the simpler the better these days when it comes to technology…especially when it comes to kids…which makes me feel old…I’m going to go play with LEGO blocks now.