The Vanity of an Ancient King

I do this all the bloody time, but hey why not…

First, I'd like to say I've been enthralled with the entries of those who have chosen to participate in the 20-day song meme. While we may not share all musical tastes, I love the glimpse into what makes you tick, and sometimes, I get hipped to something new. Thank you all!

Now I realise I'm starting late, but I'm going to give it a go (more than likely in fits and starts). I hope to contribute as you have, and give you insight into what makes me tick, and maybe, just maybe, get you to listen to something outside your comfort zone, and have it pique your interest.

The songs I list will probably be "of the now", as I listen to so much music, in all different genres. Some cycle back, some cycle out, but they are the songs that come to mind first when I look at the selection criterion for the day.

Without further ado:


Day 1, My Favourite Song (of the moment) O.N.E. by Yeasayer

When I heard this song, I couldn't stop listening to it. It's pretty high energy, so it gets me moving on my way to the office. I listen to music mostly when I am on the move. Walking, or in the car, my speed is dictated almost entirely by the mood and tone the music sets. O.N.E. has a lot of electronic sequencing which I feel gives it an 80s vibe, but with a fresh twist which makes it not feel dated. There are some really good hooks in this song, which if you're not careful, can turn into a rather nasty case of earworm.

The entire album is pretty good, although I am not sure how long it'll last in my rotation. All the songs sound a bit too similar for me "go steady" with them. The band I've placed in the genre I call "the new hipster collective" (with all the negativity that implies), and there are only so many skinny jeans, and pork pie hats I can stand before I start throwing punches.

For now however, it's summer, and it reminds me that things are pretty good right now.

Runners up: Janelle Monáe - Tightrope [feat. Big Boi] (Video) and Reflection Eternal (Feat. Estelle) - Midnight Hour [Video] Both of these have so much energy, you can't help but pick up your pace.

OK, not *everywhere*, but quite a few places. I'm sure I've missed a few countries that now no longer exist.

I'm finally responding to the 5 Things meme I posted over the week-end.

Because of the post length, I've decided to post each topic as its own entry. This way people don't have to read a giant wall of text. This is part 3.

Leather

I don't have fetishes, but I do have proclivities. Leather could be considered a proclivity, but the origins of my leather interests are actually far more utilitarian. Dead cows protect the body from harm. It's far more durable than cloth, and it ages well, especially if you (or someone you know) takes care of it. Black leather, brown leather, other colours —they all have their uses. While the majority of my leather gear (by weight) is utilitarian, it's not true for everything. Sometimes it's just nice to play dress-up and go out with friends. Because my leather interests really fall mostly on the utilitarian side, I exist on the periphery of the "Leather Community". I enjoy helping out during events, when I can spend the time, but I care not to join any organisation. I'm just not a joiner. The idea seems nice on the surface, but then the reality hits, and I realise it isn't a good fit. Mind you, I am making a distinction between the Leather Communities, and the BD/SM(etc) Communities. That's a much more involved story, but often doesn't include a leather aspect.



You are reading Part 3
Previously: Part 1 Part 2

I'm finally responding to the 5 Things meme I posted over the week-end.

Because of the post length, I've decided to post each topic as its own entry. This way people don't have to read a giant wall of text. This is part 2.

Gym/Workouts

It all started about a decade ago when my metabolic rate changed. I used to be the guy who could eat anything, and not gain weight. In fact, I was 6'4" (around 198cm if my mental calcs are correct) and weighed 145lbs/~66Kg). After the metabolic change, I wasn't getting any exercise, and found myself gaining weight. The wrong kind of weight. While I've never been fat, I have a thin frame, so the extra weight really wasn't working for me. Right then, I decided that I would totally stop my bad eating habits, which included no longer drinking sodas of any kind, and removing HFCS from my diet entirely. Long before then I had stopped eating fast food, as I never really liked it.

I also needed to do something about my lack of physical exercise (I've always been in front of a computer, or desk my professional life). That's when I decided to fill out the paperwork to join the (free) gym that was in my apartment. When I turned in the forms, the person behind the desk admonished me (with tongue-in-cheek) for living there for 5 years without once using the facilities (it also has a pool!). I had a lot of hangups about what I thought a gym would be. I thought people would be watching me, chortling, etc etc. As it turns out, everyone's in their own little workout world, and they don't even know you exist. They just want to get their workout on, and go home. My metabolic rate still stinks, but I keep going to the gym, and I eat better foods than I used to. I don't really have goals per se, but I do listen to my body, and it seems to like being in the 205 range. I wouldn't mind being upwards of 10lbs heavier, but my body doesn't want to maintain that.




You are reading Part 2
Previously: Part 1

Work has been insanely busy, so I haven't had time to follow up with this until now. I'm still insanely busy, but I'm also procrastinating.

So here are the 5 topics, in no particular order:

Photography
Gym/Workout
Leather
Geekery
NYC

Because of the post length, I've decided to post each topic as its own entry. This way people don't have to read a giant wall of text.

Photography

This answer is going to be slightly different than the one already asked and answered on furr_a_bruin's entry, as I want to focus on the whole B&W/square aspect, as many folk wanted to know about that. The square format thing is my appreciation of the medium/large format film camera days, where the negative (for some sub-formats) was square. I would actually alter my 35mm cameras to capture a square negative by epoxying small copper shims in front of the shutter, and etching the focusing screen so I would see where "square" is. I didn't change the sprockets to allow for more of the negative film to be used (now that 1/3 of the width was not being exposed per shot), but that would have been over-the-top. With the advent of digital, some SLRs had the ability to individually turn off pixels. I simply made a map of these pixels I wanted to turn off, and achieved a similar effect —a square "original". I also found out that with 2 of my SLRs that the info strip on the bottom ended at what was the "square" mark, so I didn't need to make any physical adjustments to the camera (film SLRs, and very high end DSLRs have removable focusing screens).

Why black and white? Well, a few reasons. 1) My eyes see colour differently than most. They do what I call "push green". This means that if there is even a small bit of green in something, it registers as "green" to me, and not, say, brown, or blue, although it may be a green that is close to brown, or closer to blue. Interestingly, I don't have the inverse problem, where it would make it hard to pick out purple (for those that don't know colour theory, green and purple are on opposing sides of the spectrum). I see purple just fine, or at least, I think I do ;-)


To be Continued!

So there is a meme going around, and I think it's an interesting one, so I will participate. However, I am going to do it with a twist. As most of you know, I am not one to "tag" people, so don't worry about leaving a response. You won't have to do it if you don't wish.

Here's how it goes: Comment here, 5 things you associate with me. I will then tally the answers from the replies, and expound on the top 5.

45.5 miles per gallon

Created by The Car Connection

I'll post something worth looking at eventually.

There is no other place I'd rather be.





Taken with my iSight. For some reason it's no longer auto-focusing.

This was me in the mid-late 90s, when I had more hair ;-)



Self portrait. Most of you have probably seen it on my flickr account