A friend suggested I record a Christmas album this year. I’m lazy so I’m doing an EP instead.
Here’s the first track – “Carol of the Bells”
It’s a song I had always wanted to learn on piano but never owned the music. The next best thing is to arrange it for yourself, I suppose. I even added a new part in the middle to mix things up.
Hope you like it!
www.thebeatles.com
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Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I’m certain that it happens all the time…
Given the day, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the various things I’m thankful for:
☺ The family
☺ All the great people I’ve met in San Francisco
☺ My band
☺ RedCandle, the research group I just co-founded
☺ Thread, the start-up I’m consulting
☺ The sacrifices made by the turkey community
☺ Harry Potter
That I can work from home post-layoff and not go significantly into debt is a nice thing. 2009 was tough but I feel I learned a lot. I just need to remind myself of all the great things in my life and I think I’ll get by just fine…
Perhaps, with a little help from my friends.
Happy Thanksgiving!
www.radiohead.com
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I incorporated this song in a Yelp review a year ago. It was in response to feeling particularly down and listless, when I was trying to figure out how to find balance in my life. Unemployed and searching for meaning, I’m finding this theme particularly relevant again…
Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco
The naked, descending notes on the opening track of Radiohead’s Kid A fall into a schizophrenic scatter of ambient sounds. I remember first understanding this album in New York when I plugged in at the Museum of Natural History and it transformed my experience into one more visceral. The chaotic repetition is meditative, and it distracts from the endless noise and static in the head.
Everything…
Everything….
Everything…
There’s little better than enjoying a cup of coffee in the Ferry Building. The echo of spoken voices provides just the right amount of audio haze, and the view of the Bay keeps the mind at peace. The food options are also incredible – my favorites being Delica rf-1 and Acme Bakery – where one can grab a bite of quality comfort to enjoy with the scenery.
There are two colours in my head…
There are two colours in my head…
What was that you tried to say?…
I like to believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe it’s delusion, but there’s solace in knowing that, like the song, even random chaos retains some structure, that even the craziest noises can come together in meaningful harmony. Visitors enter from all around the world and are never seen again. It’s serendipity and chance that pulls us together. You prepare yourself as best you can for the world, but if the world isn’t ready, you must remain patiently wanting… and after that, it’s all a matter of luck…
It’s all a matter of timing.
Everything…
Everything…
Everything…
…in its right place.
Kingdom of Heaven | It’s visually lush and enchanting with a remarkable score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Jeremy Irons is fantastic and Edward Norton really delivers as the “leper king.” Still culturally relevant since its release, the film has more to do with the good and evil within people than that which exists between faiths. Also, Eva Green is in it.
Sunshine | Danny Boyle may very well be my favorite director. Sunshine hits the heart of the sci-fi genre: behind all the technology, it’s ultimately about humanity. Also, Rose Byrne is in it.
Pan’s Labyrinth | “A fairy tale for grown ups,” the film contrasts fantasy with the brutal reality of human violence.
The Motorcycle Diaries | A flat-out beautiful film with one of the best taglines ever, a quote from Che Guevara: “Let the world change you and you can change the world.”
Braveheart | Probably my favorite film of all time with one of the most moving scores ever by James Horner (Glory, Titanic). If anything can be both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time, this is it. By the way, movie trailers in 1995 totally blew.