Sifting Through the Nuggets

NOTE: I am currently experiencing technical difficulties with my Blog section. The latest upgrade of Word Press is causing havoc. DO NOT USE VERSION 3.1
 
I am a bit frustrated at the moment. I do not have the full computer skills needed to debug the problem. It is also remind me I am also behind in the computer skills needed to bring my website as a whole to the next level that I want. I am a writer first. Potential better computer programmer is a distant second if I can fit it in on top of everything else that exists in my life.
 
WP 3.1 problems have placed a menu bar I cannot get rid of on the top of the page. I also cannot edit any of the hyperlinks so that they will open in a new window.
 
I was about to temporarily step away from the blog until these inconveniences were resolved.
 
I took a break and went for a walk to get away from the anger this caused. Frustration places things on pause. I was also listening to WTF Podcast episode I noted below to bring me back some perspective of the “bigger picture of things”.
 
I wish this post was fully edited in the format I want it to be. In the mean time, I am going to have to accept the problems. I needed to get a post written. The hyperlinks are not the whole post. They are just there to add to it. For the time being please just right click on the posts to open them in a new window or wait until you have read this post to go to them.
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

 
  I have been going through the ideas on the notepad again. It is not always easy trying to connect the points that I have written on the page. I think I may have been a spy who spoke secret codes in another life. It is just how I am. I am constantly looking at various sources of information. And I am trying to figure out how they may be connected to each other. I am very aware my source material is out of the “norm” for about 99.9% of the population. I have a very unscientific approach when it comes to my sources. I have to go with what mind is gravitating towards in that moment. And then go from there.
 
 
 So please just read along on this one.
 
 
Over the last week, I have been watching just a few minutes of a movie at night as I lay on the couch trying to unwind from the day. It is hard most nights to let things go and accept things for what they were that day. So I have been just watching brief segments of movies. The one thing is I cannot watch action films because they get the pulse up.
 
 This was last week’s movie.
 

 

 
Lost in Translation is a movie that embraces the concept of “a stranger in a strange land”. This is about two people who are out of their element. This story about how they are stepping out their element for a brief moment before going back in. Sometimes it is easier talking about your circumstances in a foreign environment because the distraction of your regular one is not there. I also like the honesty of this story. I am also glad that this movie did not go into the stereotypical Hollywood tale of “forbidden love”. I rather watch a story unfold with “brains” rather than a cheap sex-capade.
 
 
 
 
 

 

I also liked the soundtrack to this movie. I can hear how it can take you on a trip when you need to think about things.
 
I have also been bombarded by news lately. And it is hard not to be given the state of what is going on. The problem is that a news segment is not exactly storytelling. However, many people think that is. There is more to any event that a 30 second rundown. A news story contrary to how it is presented and what many believe is not a history lesson. A history lesson needs time and perspective. It also calls for filtering out a lot of what seemed to be important at the time of the event. Another problem is a lot of the news is constructed to reinforce an ideology. A bunch of sound bites does not mean you are hearing a genuine story.
 
I have been gravitating more and more towards various podcasts. I need to hear a more in depth interviews and conversations. I want to hear people telling their “truth” and it may not be exactly my “truth”. It is a nice change to listen to people whose first drive is not to necessarily driving sales of a specific product. I have been listening to The Moth which features real people telling stories on a stage without notes.
 
 
 

 

 
The preceding clip was from comedian Mike Destefano who recently passed away. I was aware of his work but it sadly took his passing away before I took the time to delve into it. I like the stories about how one’s vice and virtue can exist to opposite extremes within him. Neither side being exclusive of the other. And how they interact to create the “human existence” for what it is and was at that moment of time. It is hard at times to listen to such stories because you have to drop your perceived notions in order to truly listen to another human being.
 
Marc Maron’s interview on his WTF Podcast with Mike does an excellent job expanding out his Moth speech.
 
I am amazed at how many people do not engage anything they have a question about. How they are not willing to take a moment to do some inquiry on something they seem to be so “critical” about. Google seems to be too tough for them to use. A person does not know a song that is playing on the radio and gets mad when the DJ does not announce what the song was. Easy solution. Note the time, date and station. Go to that station’s webpage because most of them post their daily playlist. It is that easy. I am constantly making notes like this. Music, books, websites, etc. for me to check out later on the Internet.
 
I also go through YouTube wormholes from time to time. And they are much better than Facebook wormholes for they are a lot easier on my guts. Here is an example of one of my trips into the wormhole. This one started courtesy of Netflix.
 
I was watching the documentary Lemmy. It featured an interview with Jason Everman who used to play with the bands Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mind Funk. However, he was wearing the uniform of United States Special Forces. This guy now makes me interested to hear what his story may be about. How does one go from alternative rock bands (a couple of the biggest ever) into the Army Special Forces? First step Google. Next step his Wikipedia page. I know Wikipedia pages can be a bit of half truths and lies but it is a good starting point to doing your own inquiry. I found a podcast interview. I also have a new podcast to check out from time to time Music Life Radio with stories about how life and music come together. I cannot play any musical instrument myself but I do listen to music as I write so this may be worth a listen. (When I catch up with my current listening) Jason’s Wiki page also mentioned he was influenced by Italian Renaissance Benvenuto Cellini who “who stated that a well-rounded man is an artist, warrior and philosopher”. I read Cellini Wiki page and it said his work also influenced Alexandre Dumas. This has led me to make sure Dumas’ book The Count of Monte Cristo gets added to my ever growing reading list. (Plus I think this is book I should know more about than the movie versions of it I have seen)
 
And if any of my grade school teachers saw how I now connect the dots then their heads would explode.
 
Lemmy of Motorhead ends up leading Dumas?!
 
Cool.
 
I realize that I come across peculiar things.
 
I have been carrying a copy of Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury in my backpack. In the preface of the book he states how as a child he found inspiration in Buck Rogers comics. He also states how he ignored the ridicule other children gave him because of it. And learned how to use the inspiration he found in his own writing.
 
 I wanted to share this passage from the book.
 
So I collected comics, fell in love with them and World Fair’s and began to write. And what, you ask, does writing teach us? 
 
First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and
 that is a gift and a privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has been awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation.
 
So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it revitalize us amidst it all. 
 
 Secondly, writing is survival. Any art, any good work, of course, is that.   

This entry was posted in Listening To, Reading, Reference, The Mind Wanders. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Sifting Through the Nuggets

  1. Dan Sauter says:

    Great post, I’ve had problems with my template and WordPress updates as well. Always make a backup, that’s what I do, before upgrading!

    Check out the Jason Everman interview, it is spectacular in content. Jason has been everywhere man, and we can draw a lot of personal inspiration on his life. Everyone has a story to tell. I just ordered the Lemmy DVD and eagerly await the arrival. Great blog I look forward to reading more posts.

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