'Volumes'
Posted Monday August 30, 2010
There are simply too many books to read. So many authors of weight to be examined, scrutinized, possibly adored. I have been impacted by such few of this vast sea that the notion of it being not yet even partially unveiled to me sends ones head a-whirl. I have on my desk right now The Complete Works of Shakespeare Vol II, Noam Chomsky's Hopes and Prospects, two Rousseau works, The Hobbit, Creative Drawing by Howard J. Smagula, Plutarch's volume of the Harvard Classics, a Norton Anthology of English Literature, and the mother-load, Chronicle of the 20th Century(I love flipping through this catalog of the events of the 1900's. Almost every page is a new lesson in history, and generally something you would not have found anywhere else with such ease.)
Time sets it upon ourselves to select only a handful of the works that exist(using only our intuition and perhaps some outside guidance), tis the quota for a lifetime. Even if one could read all the volumes there are, or at least all the ones he wished, what time would be left for the other aspects that arise from the power of a great work? There would be little reflection, for our worker-bee would have to dive right into the next work, he has but a lifetime our speed reader. Surely only one reading of some the major philosophical works would not suffice, at least I assume not for the average reader. Besides comprehension, our reader would certainly pine to reread certain books he fancied, leaving even less time for the rest. What would even be the benefit of devouring so much? Surely the mind at some point would cease to accept any more information, even go mad if it was forced to.
To have an eternity to read, I am sure there are those who have wished it. Do I? I think perhaps yes, that it is an alluring thought, to be given adequate dispensation so that one might know all the works of his fellow kind, their thoughts and histories, their stories. While we are in this fantasy, I may as well have at all the works and libraries that were ever burnt or lost otherwise.
No value would arise from the purpose, it is only my curiosity that wishes these things. If the exercise made me any the more wiser, smarter, wittier, charming, saddened, shocked, etc., all would have to be blamed on the effects that my curiosity has done me.
'The Thinned Man'
Posted Friday August 06, 2010
I take great pleasure in my knowledge and skill set, which I consider to be wide and varied. It is born out of a lifelong submission to the whims of my curiosity[1]. I build computers, work with digital media(Photoshop, video editing, ect.) build web sites, play guitar, am an avid reader and news junkie, paint, sketch. This variation in ways to spend one's time can however prove fatal for actually accomplishing goals. I find it takes the whole of my focus to often complete, say, a web site, or a report, without in the middle of the project become diverted into something else which requires the whole weight of my attention. Much of this is often interrelated, for example, during the creation of a web site, I may run into database issues, and decide I need a refresher course, and then suddenly the whole rest of the day not working on the site but watching videos and reading documentation on PHP and MySQL. Not that gaining a better grasp on these topics is not vital, but sometimes I have goals (like building that site) that should come first, and when I should be attempting to implement workarounds so I can continue my scheduled work, I decide to go on educational adventures which leave my day's previously sought after milestone(s) in the dust, and creates all new ones, not previously anticipated. And this becomes a vicious circle: MySQL training spawns Apache training, spawns other web server research, spawns more programming research, and on from there. I can make plans/deadlines. I cannot rely that the will of my curiosity will remain tempered enough through to the deadline to keep me on course.
Aside from actually accomplishing tasks, my degree of expertise in each subject is reduced by the amount of them. I have a basic or intermediate understanding of Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Apache, MySQL, PHP, CSS, Java Script. This is not a bad thing, but if I were to focus in on just one of these I could advance my level to expert in it. Perhaps I have a mindset that strategies to slowly conquer all skill sets simultaneously over time, and at one period of time I will advance to expert on all these skills/programs.
There is just so much to learn. It is both exciting and daunting.
I must obviously either gain better focus or choose to get nothing done.
[1]While curiosity may have killed the cat, I believe a lack thereof can be just as, if not more so deadly. What is man without his curiosity? I have a strong distaste for the aforementioned prattle, and the line of reasoning it invites.
'Crush'
Posted Sunday June 13, 2010
While the hockey this year has been quite entertaining, enthralling even, the teams I have been rooting for have met similar shortcomings. It started with the 2010 Winter Olympics and the great run that team USA went on during that tournament. After a huge upset of team Canada in the preliminary rounds, the hopes for this team leaving Vancouver with the gold was huge. Well the two North American foes faced off once more, in the gold medal game. Both teams played some of the highest skill levels and competitiveness I have ever witnessed. Team USA was able to tie the game with just seconds left on the final period, sending it to overtime. To Canada's rescue of course was Sydney Crosby who scored the game winning goal to give Canada the gold.
After the Olympic break, the NHL resumed, and while having a lack luster 82 regular season games, I was still very excited to see what they could do in the playoffs. After dismantling NJ in 5, completing a historic and breathtaking comeback over Boston in 7, and getting rid of the Montreal Canadies in 5 as well, the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves in the Stanley Cup finals facing the Chicago Blackhawks. The series was tight, and the Flyers found themselves in a 3-2 hole with game 6 in Philly. The Blackhawks had a one goal lead until a goal by Scott Hartnell tied it up with nearly 4 minutes to go.
Despite their tenacity, the Flyers, just as team USA, fell in overtime, and now leads the league in losing in the Stanley Cup Finals at 6.
'Staged'
Posted Saturday June 05, 2010
Last night I played my first 'gig' with my band. There weren't that many people there but I had a lot of fun finally getting up on a stage and playing music in front of people. I'm not quite sure how we performed as a band, for I was mostly interested in focusing on my performance and making sure to get each note. There were a few mistakes of course, but overall I was quite please with my performance, and I had a lot of fun. I was quite nervous all day: I had never played in front of people, or have been paid to play. I had no conception, or metric, of how I would do under these pressures. Turns out there was really nothing to it, and once I got up there on stage, it all just kind of flowed.
'Hockeypalooza'
Posted Tuesday June 01, 2010
2010 has been a great year for hockey. Between the Winter Olympics and this year's playoff race, the competition and skill levels being displayed are quite a spectacle, and I have enjoyed much of.
Concerning the Olympics, I felt the best games were played between Russia and Canada, and the two US and Canada games. Canada eventually ran the Russians out of the rink with a hefty upset, but the skill levels for each team were amazing. The two US games were far closer, and much more competitive.
Right now the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks are playing for the Stanley Cup, and again the skill level and determination of the players shift by shift is a lot of fun to watch.
'Braintrust'
Posted Monday May 31, 2010
NBC 10 just did a 30 second bit on the Israeli offensive on a peace-activist boat which killed about 15 of them, then did a two minute piece on brain-freeze, and how to stop it: sticking your tongue to the roof of your mouth, FYI.