Etc.
Lent
Last year was the first time I'd ever given up anything for Lent. I've just never been in a tradition that does that sort of thing. But last year I had a couple of friends who did it, so I joined in and gave up meat. I think it's a good experience to give up something voluntarily, for a lot of reasons--religious or not.
So this year I'm going to give up meat again. And having seen bits and pieces of it last year on Twitter, I'm also going to do 40 days of Water. The idea is that you drink only water for 40 days, and donate the money you would have spent on other beverages.
Last year I was actually successful in avoiding meat. This year... we'll see.
On Originality
This is a short essay I wrote up a while ago. There are a number of topics like this going around in the back of my mind that I've thought about writing out. I'm not sure if the tone of all of those are quite right for this blog or any site where I post regularly, so I don't know if the rest will make it onto the web, but we'll see.Our generation, I think, has a funny way of looking at originality. And what's really funny is, this is especially prevalent in circles that are considered "geeky." Originality is the holy grail of this generation's geeks. If something is similar, it's a rip-off...
We have a situation here.
With apologies to @wbm and @ViNull, who I ripped off the concept and title from.
So, guitar.
So. Maybe I should find some things to blog about.
I got a secondhand guitar last year. For free, no less. (During one episode of Feel The Func, Mike was digging through his old audio equipment and ran across a guitar he couldn't otherwise get rid of.) So I've been trying to learn how to play.
It's taken me about 6 months to actually play chords well enough. I've given up on the picking or single-note playing for the moment because I can barely get both hands cooperating on the simple stuff. (The simple stuff being anything with 4/4 time that doesn't abruptly change chords mid-measure.) Which is fine, because I'm not really looking to be a guitar god or go electric anytime soon.
The sad thing is, I've got a pretty good stack of songbooks in the corner of my room, and I tend to use sites like Ultimate Guitar and Chordie to look up other songs. (One thing I've learned is that, even if you hate a particular band or genre or music, you have to respect the amount of experience and effort that goes into creating that music.)
I can actually play a few "easy guitar" versions of songs now:
"Don't Think Twice It's Alright" and "Girl From the North Country," by Bob Dylan. There's a few more out of the Bob Dylan songbook I think I might be able to work out, but I'm not quite there yet. I can also sort of play the version of "Born in Time" listed on Ultimate Guitar, but I've only heard the alternate version off Tell-Tale Signs.
"Hazy Shade of Winter" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel. Again, there's a few more songs I know I can do the chords for, like "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Fair," but I haven't been able to figure out the rhythm. My problem is mainly that I try to match my strumming to the lyrics (one beat per syllable) because I seem to have a head for lyrics. That, and I have the real versions in my head, which don't sound anything like the easy guitar versions.
"Oh My God" by Jars of Clay. It's got a strong rhythm part that's easy to pick up, although there are some nuances I can't pull off consistently. (I think if I'm going to learn to play any recent rock songs, it's going to be songs with a strong rhythm track.) I can also fingerpick the simple and repetitive rhythms for "Headphones" and "Shipwrecked."
"The Hero of Canton" from Firefly. And something that sounds vaguely like Jonathan Coulton's "Re: Your Brains." Vaguely. And without the bridge.
So, anyway, that's where I am, and I'm kind of amazed I got this far. I remember trying to learn guitar from my dad when I was a kid, which I think consisted of me picking a song in a songbook, learning two chords, and then realizing that it's hard as hell to actually string them together. Yes, I'm
That said, I'm running low on new songs I actually have a shot at playing. Anyone have any suggestions for good song books? I'd really prefer something in the vein of classic rock/folk. And does anyone know which Jonathan Coulton songs wouldn't be too hard for a noob to pick up?
Also, considering that @nathanblevins and @tma have tried to harass @jhckr into teaching them to be "rawk stars," perhaps we should plan a guitar tweetup?
2010, Off to a Great Start
I should start out by saying that, no, I don't have a New Year's Resolution to blog more. I actually don't have any New Year's Resolutions. But in the coming year I'd like to get into a mental state that I'm not so self-conscious about what I post, stop telling myself that I should post more, and don't feel so much pressure when I don't post. With the goal being shorter, more conversational posts.
Anyway. That's not the point. The point is, my new year is off to an ominous start.
First, I woke up about 30 minutes late for a meeting today. It wasn't critical that I be there, but it was just a really unpleasant way to wake up to the first work day of the new year.
I blame the fact that I forgot to turn the alarm on my cell phone back on after the long weekend.
Well, that, and I slept through my actual alarm clock. Which I do, because I'm a heavy sleeper. (At this point, current and previous roommates who are reading this are probably logging in to post snarky, vaguely passive-aggressive comments.) I don't even remember shutting it off or waking at all, but the best I can tell it was on.
Last night, before going to bed, I was reading a chapter in this book on dealing with anxiety I started a couple of weeks ago. And I don't mean the fluffy, self-help-y, I'm-OK-You're-OK, Tony-Robbins-hungry sort of stuff, I mean a real book written by a real therapist.
Anyway, the example given for the section on countering "should/must thinking" I was reading?
Being late to a work function.
OK, so the actual example posited being stuck in traffic rather than oversleeping, but if I were a superstitious man, that would bother me.
