Rio Nuevo

A video project I did for my multimedia class on the failures of the Rio Nuevo development project which has wasted millions of dollars:

the tallest man on earth

I don’t post enough chill folk on here.  This blog needs some folk.  I’ve been chillin’ to the Tallest Man on Earth.  Not to be confused with this guy:

The Tallest Man on Earth kinda makes me wish I lived in simpler times.

Burden of Tomorrow – The Tallest Man on Earth

All is Love – The Tallest Man on Earth

the sky

Why is it that the most meaningful thoughts only ever come to me before I all asleep? The best writing I’ve ever done (I think) has been during bouts of insomnia, bleary eyed and brain addled with the sky turning blue behind the window. I need to escape this place. I need a fresh perspective. Clear air that’s been filled with dust for too long.

Must have picked up a hundred cigarette butts from my front yard today. Must be a thousand left. Somewhere in there, working in the sun, I realized how much time I’ve wasted on things that don’t matter, caring about self destructive people that bring out the worst parts of me. The endless cycle of ego masturbation I see every time theres another meaningless conversation between people who have never had a real, original thought in their lives.

Is jounalism really the right career path for me? Part of me says so, the part of me that gets annoyed at misinformed opinions, at social injustices, the part of me fascinated with the sociology of ignorance, the part of me that wants to know everything. But there is the pessimist in me, clinging to high school nihilism, the part of me that wants to be Howard Roark and create something pure and devoid of the human element, parts of me that just want to sit and make music until I die. How can I possibly reconcile everything I want to be into one resume, one portfolio? Can journalism be art or is the objective accuracy required by journalism inherently compromised by any attempts at aesthetic appeal?

Maybe I can do it all, but where should my priorities lie? Where the money is? Am I betraying myself by picking one thing over all the rest? Or is that what everyone is essentially, an ever evolving set of contradictions? I want to do serious investigative journalism and force people to look at ugly things, evil things, to make them acknowledge issues that matter. I want to write a novel that breaks hearts, that reminds someone of something, anything, the essential loneliness of being being human, maybe, and the occasional joy. Is there a spectrum between journalism and art where I can exist?

I guess all my interests do have one thing in common, the overarching theme of solitude. Its morbid, maybe even masochistic, but fittingly Nietzchian. I love being alone. I’m comfortable in my own selfish mind.

Relative Specialty

Reading The Fabric of the Cosmos right now, by Brian Greene, the guy that did that Nova series the Elegant Universe.  Nothing rocks my dome like theoretical quantum physics.

The Carina Nebula, thanks to Hubble

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Heres Tom with the Weather.”
— Comedian : Bill Hicks

darkchillwave

Been listening to the new Crystal Castles album, which they called Crystal Castles again just to make it a little harder 2 google.  There are CC h8rs out there but I’ve always loved these guys from the first time my friend showed me the Leni remix back in the day.  After their first album came out there was a time when I thought that anyone who didn’t like them just didn’t “understand the future of music”.  I was hitting the electro hard, like everyone else.  I’m glad the new album is pretty good so I feel validated in my alternative taste.  And they called it “beeps and boops”.

The 2nd album keeps mostly to the formula that has become their brand and every song on here is distinctly Crystal Castles.  If you like Crystal Castles you’ll love this album, straight up.  This whole album makes me miss the mid 2000s but hopeful too that electro will be more than a meme and be meaningful.

There’s more of Alice Glass actually singing in this one and it actually sounds good.  It’s more subtle and brooding than their first effort, dare I say more “mature”.  Will the fact that the album’s “pretty decent” make CC more than just a bloghouse buzzband capitalizing on the peak of electro relevance?  Will they earn more credit as actual musicians instead of “that band with the Nintendo sounds”?  Will Celestica make the Urban Outfitters playlist?

Vietnam – Crystal Castles

One of the darkest gems on the album, imo.  Kinda makes me feel like I’m at a dance party in the Matrix or something.

Celestica – Crystal Castles

The first single.  It sounds pretty chill, like I might not get tired of hearing it if I heard it kind of often.

Pap Smear – Crystal Castles

This one’s like I’m stuck in Tron or Bladerunner, having a gunfight with androids while on motorcycles.

Empathy – Crystal Castles

But honestly.  I like it a lot.

Pursuit of Happiness

http://www.raptitude.com/2009/03/why-is-happiness-such-a-struggle/

Ever wonder what makes people so unhappy, so much of the time?  Why the opposite can’t be true?  Everyone should be aware of what’s in this article.  When understanding can overpower biological impulses, I think not only is it a triumph of free will but an advancement of humans as a species.  An interesting read.

gorillavsbear.net

Check out this video of Toro y Moi at gorillavsbear.net.  Hard to describe their music.  Distinct, chill, understated.