Music & Adventure

A few weeks ago I realized my YouTube subscriptions had started to run a little stale.  With the exception of Kiri most of the people I was following on YouTube had either stopped posting, or were basically posting the same videos over and over.

So I went exploring, and was pleased to find Mr. Ben Brown.  His videos of exploration, and adventure have a tendency to make me smile.  Further his musical selections for his YouTube videos are often great pieces of music that I have never heard before.

This evening I was watching this video where Ben and his girlfriend Nicole go on a romantic hike and discover a beautiful waterfall.  Not only did I love the cinema-photography, but the music was spot on!

So I did some exploring, and discovered that the music was by Sam Garrett.  Now I will confess I was a little disappointed to discover that none of his music is available on vinyl, but that hasn’t stopped me from listening to his playlist for the last hour or so.

I hope you all enjoy his music as well.

Cheers everyone!

This Is What Being A Geek Is

This morning my friend Kiri posted the video below. In her video she said something profound.

Be a fan, and don’t be embarrassed to be a fan

Later on I noticed that my phone was encouraging me to update my tumblr app (Yes I have a tumblr account, NO I will never give out the link!).  In a rare moment I looked at the description included in the tumblr app and this is what it read.

 Post anything, from anywhere. Share photos, gifs, video, music, quotes, chats, links, and text. Find and follow the things you love, and get all your latest news from your dashboard.

I love that description, and I think it goes hand in hand with what Kiri is trying to tell people.  Be a fan, and it doesn’t matter if you are a 16 year old who is in love with Justine Bieber, or an 87 year old who still loves Star Wars.  To many people think that being an adult means you have to give up your passions, and the things you love.  To quote The Doctor…

There is no point in being grown up, if you cant be childish every once in awhile

I love being a Geek, I love being around geeks, I love the fact that I have tattoos of geeky things, and I don’t care that I am 32 and still watch Buffy, Firefly, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, and organize Doctor Horible Sing Along parties!  Being a fan is about loving something so much that you make it a part of your life, and it becomes a part of who you are.  So follow Kiri’s advice and go out and create, write, and otherwise be a wonderful, fantastic, Allons-Y, Geek.

Vote For Kiri

Just To Be Different – A Follow Up

Yesterday my friend Kiri Callaghan wrote a blog post entitled Just To Be Different.  I loved every word of it, because it brought out a feeling that I have carried with me for a long time.  I, like my friend Kiri, would spend hours customizing the look and feel of my characters in games.  I can still remember the first time I played NeverWinter Nights.  I must have spent at least two hours adjusting everything about my character until I got it just right!

When it came to adjusting my own look & style I was no different.  I would find a look or style I liked off of a TV or movie character and try and incorporate it into my own personal style.  And it did not end there.  I would randomly rearrange the furniture in my room, or apartment, change the cut or style of my hair, mess with the display settings on my computer, and constantly tweet the notification sounds on my phone.

Today, not much has changed.  I am balding, so there is little I can do with changing my hair style.  However I have decided I like the buzzed head look and feel.  But I still enjoy customizing and changing different aspects of my look & style.  I have fallen in love with tattoos, and am quickly developing a list of tattoos I want to get.

I look around and see so many people who loose this sense of creativity.  They stop feeling their sense of unique expression, and they fall into the suite and tie mentality.  They start saying to themselves that they are an adult now, and should start acting like an adult.  Whenever I hear that I want to scream!  I am 32 years old, I make a good living, am responsible, own my own car, pay my bills, and live in a nice house.  That has always been the definition of being an adult to me.

Why did people start thinking that the only way you could be an adult was to give up all your creativity, and love for unique self expression!  I say this as I sit in my office, surrounded by other professionals, while I wear my brand new Doctor Who T-Shirt.  I was so excited when this shirt came in the mail, and I have really enjoyed wearing it today.

I guess my point is be creative, be unique, be different.  I don’t care if you are a child or an adult.  Don’t let the world dictate what you should wear, how you should style you hair, or if you should get a tattoo.  Do it, and be proud of it!

A New Beginning & A Fresh Coat Of Paint

I honestly didn’t realize I started this blog back in April of 2009. I have come a very long way since then, and a lot has happened. I have been wanting to start writing again, personally. So I decided to come back here, and begin anew with a fresh look to the site. I hope you all enjoy.

This morning my friend Kiri Callaghan posted this amazing video to her Facebook wall.

Now I am a fan of Lindsey Stirling, but the performance of the musicians in this video is incredible!  You can see how the music affect them deeply and they cant help but express that through heartfelt emotion and dance.  I remember feeling that way once about music.  I can still remember the first time I listened to Rent. The music and chords were amazing, and I could feel the raw emotion of the music down to my core. When I played in the Northwest Chamber Orchestra we once played The Bacchanale by Saint Saens. Never before had I thrown myself into learning a piece of music. As we performed it on stage I remember feeling connected to the music in a way that I had never experienced before. My entire body was vibrating with the sound of the music, and I loved it.

As I watched the video above I realized that it has been a long time since music has spoken to me, and I have felt an emotional response that reaches down to my core.  This understanding really upset me, especially considering how music has always been a big part of my life.  Somehow over the years I let it slip away, and I want the passion I once had for music back.

I am planning on having my parents ship me out my Viola, and I am going to pick one piece of music and throw myself into learning it.  This is really not going to be as easy as it sounds as it has been years since I read music, and even longer since I attempted to play anything outside of simple Christmas tunes a few years ago.  While I am not starting from scratch I will have to relearn a great deal.  But I am going to give myself till the end of the year to learn this piece of music and then I plan to present it in a performance.  Its been a long time since I had the opportunity to perform music in public and I am looking forward to doing it again.

Until then I hope to be able to stoke the passions I once had for music back into a roaring fire of emotion.  Wish me luck!