I’ve spent the last couple days in a loop. I would wake up and make tea or coffee. I would then do some reading, converse with any friends who were around and following that I would meditate for an hour to an hour and a half. Before sleeping I’d so some chores and light exercise before sleeping again. I made it through this about 5 times before now. It’s been energizing and has allowed me to be inspired.
Last night I upgraded to ObjectDock Plus and am now entirely done with the windows taskbar. I had been using ObjectDock for months but the free version didn’t support the systems tray (that area on the taskbar where instant messenger icons show up, where network connections are indicated and other icons reside). Oh, how much more pleasing my desktop looks and feels now. I’m very happy with this software.
The wallpaper I used in the screenshot of my desktop I linked to above was grabbed from a really wicked Jewish art site that I can’t currently remember the name of or find. I’d very much appreciate it if someone could clue me into who the artist is and the gallery I found it at. I’d love to take another look at the other pieces.
I was reading Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for Smart People this morning and nabbed a workbook by Tony Robbins that he linked to. “The Power of Momentum: 7 Steps to a Fulfilling 2006” is a way to plan and focus on change for the new year.

Having glanced through it, it seems to me like a simple yet useful way to make a resolution. I plan to complete it before heading out for the evening as a close to my transition thinking of 2005. I may share it tomorrow.
For now, I’ll do a 2005 summary that my friend Mandy posted in her journal.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
I spent a night wandering around the city, became a vegetarian, began working in the hospitality industry, adopted a cat and began a holosync practice, among many other exciting things.

2. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
I’d like to have more dedication to my goals and work more diligently in the areas that I wish to improve in my life. I’d like to fall into a passionate and devoted romance, but I’ll settle for evolving in other ways.

3. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 28, the date that Susana arrived here in Halifax. Her visit was one of the highlights of my year and a catalyst for all the change that came in the final third of this year, and for that I’ll be forever thankful.

4. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Starting an ITP, because it’s going to change everything so much.

5. What was your biggest failure?
I had my share of failures, but the one that stands out most is not being dedicated enough to my writing.

6. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than some scratches from Mithra, nothing I can remember.

7. What was the best thing you bought?
Definitely my laptop; it’s been good to have such a cooperative machine.

8. What was the worst thing you bought?
Some sorbet that was melted before I bought it and ended up spilling across a floor.

9. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Without a doubt it will be Stars’ “One More Night.” The album it is from, Set Yourself On Fire, is my favourite of the year.

10. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Definitely happier! I’ve been through a world of change in just the past three months.
ii. thinner or fatter? I’m pretty much the same, though I’d like to think I’m a bit more fit.
iii. richer or poorer? I’m a bit poorer if you look at my bank account and the value of my possessions, but richer in nearly every other way.

11. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I’d have liked to get more reading done, spent more time with the people I love and have written much more often.

12. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being stagnant, pathological and unmindful.

13. What was your favorite TV program?
The only show I watched faithfully was the new Doctor Who series, so lets say that.

14. What was the best book you read?
Ken Wilber’s The Marriage of Sense and Soul.

15. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I’ve had too many to count, but The Cruxshadows, The Arcade Fire, Death From Above 1979, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Matt Mays and El Torpedo come to mind.

16. What did you want and get?
Peace, art, a cat and evolution.

17. What did you want and not get?
Financial security, a chance to travel and fierce, lasting, mutual love.

18. What did you get and not want?
Scratches from Mithra, heartache and a red racing t-shirt (the oddest Christmas present I got this year).

19. What was your favorite film of this year?
Samsara.

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
It’s been evolving. It’s black, as always, but now more experimental and transparent to who I am. I also have a more jewelery, which would lead me to say it is more accented.

21. What kept you sane?
Meditation, dear friends, art and good food.

22. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
M.I.A. and Neelesha BaVora come to mind.

23. Who did you miss?
Everyone I love at some point.

24. Who was the best new person you met?
I have to say Susana.

25. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
“And after changing everything they couldn’t tell we couldn’t sing,” from Stars’ “Soft Revolution”

I’m sipping on my second cup of coffee of the day and gnawing on a gingerbread man. The gingerbread man came into the waking process in honour of Alisha‘s love of gingerbread coffee. I take the more elemental method of adding the taste, but it’s still a fine experience. Today is the first time I’ve used my new coffee maker and I’m quite impressed. As tiny as it is, it makes a more than adequate cup.

It’s rare I forget anything important, but sometimes I tuck things into the foggy space of my mind when they lose focus. I was talking with Susana today and remembered that I’d promised her a package. I hadn’t worked on putting it together, though I’d hoped to send it before Christmas. I’ll have to start that during my lengthy New Year’s break, along with a new about me writeup and a design for Alisha’s Goodbye Scorpio site. Little projects like that will help fill the space, surely. I’m still hoping for an adventure, though.

While doing some looking back tonight I reread “Ragnarok Bubble,” a poem I wrote in April of 2004. It still holds something that moves me, mostly because of the larger story it is a piece of. I’ve long put off writing it out, and failed even with NaNoWriMo this year to begin. I find stories haunt me until I get them out, so I suppose sooner or later I must let my writing take over a part of my days. Maybe I’ve grown too fond of having a ghost, though.

Through Cool Hunting‘s year in review I came across the entry Personal Data Forest, which linked to Texone’s Tree Applet. It’s an applet that creates a unique, beautiful visual representation of the data of a website. The forests are drawn using the content of the site to determine each aspect, making a dynamic and animated picture.

I’ve sat here for a couple minutes and just watched the forest grow with each page of Frozen Truth . com expanding from a point to a tree. While this concept is more interesting and artistic than practical, I imagine such visual representations of content will become increasingly common as we work to find ways to interpret and cope with the infinite amount of data that bombards us. You can see stills from my forest’s growth in the following links. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Before I go on, I must mention that The Dears’ “The Second Part” is the sexiest song of the evening. Feist’s “One Evening” is a close second.

Over at Gaby‘s blog I found a Seven Things meme, and I figure a good addition to my year end rituals will be to fill it out, so here goes.

Seven Things To Do Before I Die
*Give in to my wanderlust and live a rover’s life.
*Find a partner or partners to fully share my life with.
*Write a body of work I am fully pleased with.
*Spend time with all the dear friends I’ve been blessed with across the globe.
*Take part in a lengthy meditative retreat.
*Contribute to the spread of the integral movement.
*Become transparent to divinity.

Seven Things I Cannot Do
*Cease loving anyone I’ve loved.
*Backflips. Not yet, anyway.
*Forget moments I value.
*Sit in a lotus position, though I’m working on it.
*Stop hearing music.
*Be as I was.
*Lose my romanticism and wanderlust.

Seven things That Attract Me to Blogging
*The sense of community that can grow out of it.
*Writing, because it’s one of my great passions.
*Keeping a record of my life, because there’s so much wonder that I could easily let it blur together.
*Sharing my life with my friends who might otherwise not know what is happening.
*Reflection upon the events and thinking I move through.
*The discovery of new ideas, points of view and purely entertaining works.
*An outlet to distribute the art, ideas and other discoverys I find.

Seven Things I Say Most Often
*Good evening, thank you for calling Quality Inn and Suites Halifax. This is Apollo. How may I help you?
*Nice.
*Namaste.
*Love.
*Good morning Mithra.
*I see.
*Okay.

Seven Books That I Love
*Blankets by Craig Thompson
*House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
*The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
*A Stone’s Throw by Ross Laird
*The Marriage of Sense and Soul by Ken Wilber
*Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
*The Word & Void series by Terry Brooks

Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again
*Samsara
*The Three Colors Trilogy
*Lord Love a Duck
*Travellers and Magicians (or I would if I had a copy)
*The Girl in the Café
*Dinner At Fred’s (again, if only I had a copy)
*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Seven Songs I Play Over and Over Again
*”One More Night” by Stars
*”Fingertips” by Poe
*”Smog Moon” by Matthew Sweet
*”Rebellion (Lies)” by The Arcade Fire
*”No Beginning No End” by Hawksley Workman
*”Original Face” by Stuart Davis
*”Le 65isme” by Buck 65 (I can’t get enough of “Sex. Cinema. Politics.”)

I’m back from the dialup-plagued Dean. That’s the only negative aspect of being out there; I spent half an hour checking my e-mail alone. I do feel a bit sad to be away from the trees and stars, but I do love being here in Halifax.
When I came back my parents took me to a book store to use a gift card they’d given me for Christmas. I ended up buying Ken Wilber’s A Theory of Everything : An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality. Yeah, I’m hooked on all things intregral. I think this book, at 140 pages, will make for a good introduction to integral to all those I want to get into it. It’s essentially a primer on integral theory, which is important considering the massiveness of his more comprehensive works. Now I have three of his books to tackle in the new year.
I spent a couple hours folding all my new Christmas goods into my apartment, from hanging the beautiful windchime Ilea gave me to filling the very classy low dresser. I really did get a lot more than I anticipated. My cupboards are now filled with food, with tea taking up a good portion of thar. I’ll have to document each flavour for those of you who are tea fanatics. If you’d like to see some of the gifts I received, you can find photos here.
When I arrived at work tonight I had a very pleasant surprise in my new schedule. It’s worked out that I will have from the morning of the 30th to the evening of the 4th off. I’ll have nearly 6 days off for the new year, and I have absolutely no plans. I’m told there may be a “fancy drinks” party by Nathan, but I have some other days to fill with excitement. I’m desperate here, so someone drag me off somewhere.
I love sharing the music that moves me most, so I was happy to read that Ashley recently got my favourite album of the year, Stars’ Set Yourself on Fire, and fell in love with it. I recently was pointed to an interesting remix of “Ageless Beauty” done by Most Serene Republic, another band worth listening to from Arts & Crafts. You can find “Ageless Beauty (Most Serene Republic remix)” on Said the Gramophone‘s 2005′s Best Music list for download.

Love.

It’s been a nice couple of days here in Dean. I’ve exchanged gifts, visited with relatives and taken part in abundant food and drinks. I must vouch for strawberry wine as a delicious drink. I can’t deny my family creates an inviting and energizing environment. It’s been envigorating to step back into this time with family and into my first home.
I received some very appropriate and surprising presents this year. Everyone in my family knows I wear black nearly exclusively and now they’ve begun giving me other items that are black as well. My parents gave me a large black laundry basket filled with numerous black items, including towels, a coffee mug, a water bottle, a radio, napkins and gloves. In addition they gave me black bowls and plates, a pair of black shirts and a black coffee maker. Ilea and Greg gave me two new pairs of black Thai fisherman’s pants and other relatives gave me household things in black. Outside of the black items there was an Insight From the Dalai Lama calander, a Bothers Hildebrandt art book, maple syrup, a very nice green stone windchime from Ilea, incense and an incense holder, a tiny Buddha statue (my third Buddha), a new dresser and a beautiful bamboo box filled with a dozen different varieties of tea. The box of tea may in fact be the most exciting part, because I’ll have weeks of experimentation with it.
One of the highlights of my visit was a talk I had with my father this morning. We went to his shed and started up the wood stove and spent a long while talking about the state of Canada and the world and where we might go from here. It’s good to be able to share that bond of intelligent, engaging and meaningful conversation with him, another aspect of my family I’m thankful for. In the past couple years I’ve come to appreciate his compassionate and pragmatic stances, even though we may disagree on some issues.
In the afternoon a bunch of my extended family visited for a while. It was a joy to play with my cousin Hailey, who is such a sweet and sharp child. She ended up having me act out with her, using a pet shop play set she had, a scene that involved Buddha buying a pet, which ended up being a bunny. Her energy and seizure-like fits of joy always lighten rooms, and never fail to sow some doubt in my intention to not have children of my own.
During the visit my cousin May noticed the dark blue Christmas stocking that Ashley gave to me during the Cristmas she spent here and asked where I’d gotten it. “That was from Ashley,” my mother said.
“The girl Apollo dated from America?” asked May.
“Yes, they’re friends now,” went on my mother. “And that,” she said, pointing to the amber necklace I always wear, “was given to him from Susana, who lives in Mexico.”
“And she is beautiful!” she exclaimed, giving the impression she wanted to ask, “You’re often around beauiful women, so what’s wrong with you that has kept you single?”
I’ve thought on that unasked question and I sure can’t answer it. It’s not as if I’m actively seeking romance; I’m generally content to stumble upon it whenever it takes place on my journey. I can’t say I don’t have those moments often when I long to have someone to share my days and nights with; there’s no way to kill the romantic in me without losing all that’s vital about who I am. But I’ll let the mystery bring those women I might fall in love with into my path when it will and maintain my love, care and admiration for those I’ve fallen out of the dance with.

My Christmas day began with me working, ensuring guests got their breakfast meals and otherwise keeping this hotel running. When I returned home I meditated, then slept, did some cleaning when I awoke and then meditated after a meal and came to work again.
Here I found that my co-worker, Irene, had brought me a plate of Christmas dinner. It was nice to have stuffing, mashed potatoes and a fresh roll, because it’s been months since I had any of those. I think that, honestly, was the highlight of my Christmas, other than having a couple conversations with my dear friends.
In a few hours I’ll be heading to Dean to visit my parents. I’ll be working out and enjoying the hot tub until my father arrives here and then we’ll be off to the sticks.

I’m listening to Last.FM and you should be too.

I’m drinking some Jones Soda Co. cream soda from a wine glass ’cause I’m full of class and romantic. I discovered, while getting some groceries this morning, the my local grocery store is now carrying the finest soda on the planet, so I bought three bottles of some of my favourite flavours. Green apple, creme soda and root beer are irresistable. Jones Soda is a very hip company, producing stylish bottles that feature submitted photos and coming out with some very inventive flavours and side product lines. One of their more interesting products is the new Carbonated Candy line.

I’m running on far too little sleep for the start of a 14 hour shift, but I’ll survive well enough, I’m sure. I’ve been working alone for the past two nights, and it’s been a mixed time. I’m busier than I would otherwise be, doing the work 2-3 people normally would, but I’d had time to do some reading. I can’t say it feels especially festive tonight, just overly warm and quiet.

Tonight, through a link at GTMcKnight, I came across You Are Beautiful, a wonderfully positive site that challenges us to look closely at consumerism and offering a polar, positive approach to public spaces.

The project creates pieces with the words “You Are Beautiful” in various locations and through varied means. My favourite has to be one that placed cups on a fence. The message changed over time because of counter vandalism and retooling of the message, with “You Are Forever,” “You Are A Lover,” and “You Are Loved.”

The other day it seemed people wanted me to be wearing gloves, even though it was a nice day out. At three different places I went that morning I was asked if I had left gloves there. I don’t think my hands looked cold, or are so visually unappealing that they should be covered, so the coincidence must be benign.

It just dawned on me that it’s Christmas Eve. This season is moving by so very quickly. It seems like just yesterday it was my birthday. I’m not sure I’ll be updating tomorrow, so I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. And Merry Mithramas as well. I’ll drink some egg nog for each of you.

Boxing Day (the day after Christmas, for those of you in parts of the world that don’t have that name in your vocabulary) I will be visiting my parents in Dean. It’s been months since I was last there (see “Given Sight By Stars” and “Time and Motion“), and I’m looking forward to seeing my family agian.

You Are Beautiful.

This morning I went for a walk to pick up a package. It was a chilly but sunny day, and I felt alive in the whitened city. Since starting my ITP and especially now that I’m doing holosync-enhanced meditation each day, I have a surprising increase in energy and positivity throughout my days. I can’t recall more than a moment in the past month that wasn’t at the very least saturated with a calm, and more often than not I’m filled with a feeling of purpose. I have no doubt this is the path I should be on, and I’m excited to see where it will lead.

The package I picked up held the three Threadless t-shirts that I ordered several weeks ago (and mentioned in “Wrists and Beyond“). Each of them is just as comfortable and visually pleasing as I could have hoped. “E=MC Escher,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bleeding Heart.” each represents a facet of my life, and I’m happy to rebuild my wardrobe some with them. While taking photos, this afternoon, I decided to match the shirts up with a book that somehow fit. “E=MC Escher” got Thresholds of the Mind, because Einstein is a grand example of someone with a brain operating with bilateral synchronization. “Best Friends Forever” was an easy match with Wilber’s Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, with his emphasis of the importance of wisdom traditions coming together. The Onion Girl met up with “Bleeding Heart” in that realm of healing that the book deals with so well.

With my Threadless order I received a sticker advertising 15 Megs of Fame. I was curious, so I took a look and found it to be a rather cool music sharing site. It offers artists the ability to share a small selection of songs and gives listeners the chance to listen, rate and comment upon the music shared. I’ve found a few interesting tracks, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of the site. I’m hoping I’ll come across some real gems soon. Do check the site out if you’re a music junkie like myself. You’ll find my profile here.

I’ve forgotten to mention that I have a ticket to see Feist in January. Leslie Feist is one of my favourite singers, and her album Let It Die has had a long life playing in my headphones over the past year. I’m not sure what to expect from her live show, but I’m excited to see her.

I first encountered Jackie-O Motherfucker a couple years ago when they opened for Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a show that blew me away. I later picked up The Magick Fire Music, Ecstatic Peace! and have been looking forward to hearing more. J-OMF is comparable to Shalabi Effect, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, Valley of the Giants and a number of other “post-rock” groups, but there’s a distinct and very valuable voice emerging from it, filled with honesty and devotion.
This week I was lucky enough to listen to the group’s new album, Flags of the Sacred Harp. From the opening track, “Nice One,” I was in love, absolutely in love. The following alt-blues-country “Rockaway” carried that momentum and had me singing along to the lines “Tombstone is my pillow, graveyard’s gonna be my bed, the sky is my blanket, moon’s gonna be my spread” The remainder of the album was rich in a sense of spontaneity, agelessness and spirit. It was a warming experience to listen and has been each playing since. This is an album to cozy up with for the rest of the winter. You can cuddle up with a couple tracks here or hear “Nice One” and “Rockaway” via Parasol Records.

Canada is in the midst of an election campaign. It’s going to be a close and dangerous one, with plenty at stake. The stagnant Liberals and regressive Conservatives are neck-and-neck to be the governing party, the sepratist Bloc Quebecois are sure to gain seats and the vangard of noble, compassionate and reasonable government, the New Democratic Party, looks to be holding on to its position as kingmaker. I always have and always will vote for an NDP candidate when he or she has a chance of winning, because it’s the only party in this country that stands firmly for the type of world I wish to live in, one founded on genuine compassion, pragmatic approaches to social issues and a commitment to multiculturalism and human rights.
The struggle to get more people to vote for the more evolved approach to politics is so very daunting. Using SDi as a model, blue-orange Conservatives, orange-green Liberals and green-yellow NDP have decreasing sizes of populations within their general developmental range (something like 40% Blue, 30% Orange, 20% Green and 5% Yellow), so it’s up to those in second-tier to find effective ways to communicate the benefit of higher policy in the areas those still in first-tier care about. I think Jack Layton, the current leader of the NDP has done well in bringing forward these ideas in an accessable manner. He has become the leader regarded as the most decent, charismatic, ethical, caring and practical. He’s also the leader most Canadians would like to sit down and have a beer with, which should help bolster the appeal of the party. It gives me hope for a Canada that can move again into a role of positive leadership in the world.
Alexa McDonough is the NDP candidate in my riding and should have an easy victory on her hands. She lead the NDP for 8 years and has done a tremendous amount to improve the lives of people here in Halifax, in Canada and across the globe. I have nothing but confidence my vote for her will be well rewarded.

Good morning! I’m just waking up now and sitting down for green tea with honey in snow man mug. I’m in the mood to warm my insides just a little to fend off the winter morning chills. I’m listening to a lovely cover of the Pogues’ Christmas tune “Fairytales of New York” (downloadable here) done by my favourite band, Stars. I’m steeped in the spirit of this season.

Monday afternoon I finally placed the first photos into the photo cuff that I received on December 6th. I selected four photos of my friends, Alisha, Mandy, April and Angela, which they volunteered to be included. I think I have little choice but to name the first set “My Excessively Beautiful Female Friends,” as per an e-mail exchange with Alisha. I hope to change the photos every week and make the ritual a part of Frozen Truth . com. You’ll be able to see the new photos in the sidebar of the current and future layouts. I’m loving the cuff and certainly recommend you check out the line available at Smoy.net and PixelGirlShop.
Here are the first four photo cuff photos:

Saturday evening I spent a few hours with a bunch of friends, including Chris, Micheala, Nathan, Andrew and Allison. It was a quiet affair, with TV watching, snowflake creation, eating, drinking and general good spirits. Sadly, Nathan burned two pizzas I provided badly, but that was the only black mark on the night.

Sunday night was the staff party at the hotel where I work. It was quite a fun night, with good food, enjoyable company and zaniness. When we walked in we each received a helium-filled balloon that held a number. After the buffet meal was eaten, we exchanged our secret Santa gifts and each staff member received a gift from the hotel. From my secret Santa I received The Beginner’s Guide to Yoga, which looks like it will be an excellent resource for my budding yoga practice. With the number found in my popped balloon I received a gift certificate to stay at The Prince George Hotel, one of the city’s nicer accomodations. I’ll most likely use it for a night after I go to a concert downtown, so I’m happy with the selection.
The DJ soon started up the dancing music, and I got what I thought was a brilliant idea. Noticing some free balloons floating on the ceiling, I asked my co-worker Ian to pass me three. I then had Andrea, a former co-worker tie them onto my hair in three places, leading to the look you can see in the photo. I ended up looking like some sort of demented Anne of Green Gables, as was asserted by Andrea. I was soon dragged, ballons and all, up to dance to Outcast’s “Hey Ya!” I, without a doubt, shook my balloon-anchored head “like a polaroid picture.” It should be noted that I had not had so much as a sip of spirits by this point.
I did eventually have a couple drinks, courtesy of Andrea. I wasn’t told the names of them, but they were very tastey, fruity drinks. John, my fellow night auditor, had received a bottle of whiskey as his secret Santa gift (it was as fitting for him as the yoga book was for me) and poured me some on ice. I didn’t end up using the drink tickets given to me when I arrived because others kept providing me with some, so before the night was out I’d given them to my co-worker Gerald, who was definitely a stage or two further in his zaniness than I was with my balloon adornment. After hours of that enjoyable chilling I headed up to my room.

Monday night was spent doing some gaming with Nathan, Andrew, Allison and Greg, with Ilea dropping by to hang out and keep Mithra occupied. It was nice to get some role playing in again, but I must say that Nathan picked a rather sluggish adventure, an odd murder mystery. While here, Nathan gave me a nice Tea Party (R.I.P., one of Canada’s greatest bands) tour shirt and Andrew and Allison gave me a very nice tea kit that included a black mug inscribed with Chinese lettering, a mesh ball infuser and a can of Tea in the Sahara Marrakech (green tea, mint and bergamot) loose tea, which smells absolutely wonderful.

This past week I fell in love with an Indian dish named paneer darbari. It’s a dish of cottage cheese in a tomato gravy, and is wonderful over a bed of rice. Kitchens of India makes a nice warm and eat package that makes for a nice lunch at work.

My friend Mark of ShinyPlasticBag often shares some very cool links and this week two are must-mentions. Samrost 2 is the sequel to a beautiful flash game I mentioned more than two years ago. It’s a fun puzzle adventure game that will give you an hour or so of entertainment. I still love the way the backgrounds are rendered. Mark also shared a story on PARK(ing), a project that took on poor urban planning by converting a parking spot into an oasis of park in a concrete jungle. It’s an inventive and very cool intervention that will hopefully help people realize the need for green spaces in urban environments.

Faithful readers should know of my admiration of Stuart Davis. He’s offering up wonderful music and other work that’s simply stellar. He wrote yesterday about integral practice and its importance. I’d like to share a bit from it, but I urge you to go read “Wake Up and Die Right” in full.

He does, I believe, an excellent job of expressing the impetus for engaging in a truly integral practice, something I’m working to become ever more deeply engaged in. In other Stuart news, he’s writing a book and giving up coffee.

I’ve been pointed to Audrey Kawasaki‘s art and I’m entranced by it. Her paintings are erotic, sensual, beautiful and haunting. Some of my favourite pieces are “flower,” “twisted,” “three,” “vila,” and “fish.” I’m quite in love with her work and have enjoyed reading her journal.

I just read that an anime film is being made that adapts Ursula K. le Guin‘s Earthsea books. I’m certainly hoping it will be a more faithful and pleasing version than the horrendous Sci Fi channel corruption of Earthsea. Le Guin has provided a wealth of stories to the speculative fiction field and her Tao Te Ching translation is excellent. You can find a recent article, with an overview of her work, here.

The Presidents of the United States of America, one of the most fun and inventive rock acts to come out of the 90′s, released one of the most innovative, fun and hip videos ever created this year. Made for the infectious single “Some Postman,” it was shot using cell phone video cameras set up in a number of angles and then pieced together.

You’ll find the “Some Postman” video here. Always a band to thrill and amuse (nearly all my friends light up when a song like “Puffy Little Shoes,” “Dune Buggy” or “Peaches” plays), I’m happy to see them pushing invention in music videos. Love Everybody, their most recent offering, is a killer party album, so check it out.

Your wouldbe holy man friend has returned. I’ve been busy lately, but I have a few minutes to bring you up to date and share some beauty. Let’s see if I can remember all I hoped to write here.
Monday I travelled to the dark side (the city of Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax) to take a Saint John Ambulance first aid and CPR course. It had been some time between when I last received training, during my time in Scouts as a kid, and the certification that day. There were a lot of little details I had forgotten, but much of the training was just refreshing my memory. It was certainly worth the time to take the course, though, because I certainly feel more capable should I ever need to save a life.
Tuesday night I discovered that my Muvo Slim had stopped charging its battery. The same exact problem had happened to the first model I had, and I was quite dismayed that within 6 weeks I had two MP3 players break. I returned the player and ended up with an iRiver T30. So far I’m liking the T30 quite a lot, but it doesn’t have as nice a physical design or transfer interface (it requires WMP10) as the Muvo Slim. One nice feature is the on the fly loop creation, which is great to review parts of dialogues (think IN) or, I imagine, for music creation.
Wednesday morning I started my weight training and cardio routine after work. There’s a fitness center here, so I’ve committed myself to spending at least an hour after each shift working on that. It’s one of the seeds I’ve selected to create an Integral Transformative Practice, and I’ve no doubt it will be beneficial. Sadly, I’ve forgotten my swimwear for the past two nights, so I can’t enjoy the hot tub or start my swimming routine quite yet.
Also in my ITP, I received my first package from Centerpointe today. It contained the Awakening Prologue program, which I’d already been working with for a couple weeks (I was sent a copy to try by a friend), and I’m happy to keep working with it because it really has benefitted my meditative practice, deeping the states I’m able to enter into and refreshing me more effectively. I gave my friends Andrew and Allison my demo disc and I’m hoping they’ll find it as exciting as I do.
I’m on the verge of the next leap of my path, I feel, and it’s exciting. I can’t ever feel I’ve fully explained how enthused I am by the integral movement and the wonderful challenges it has presented to me. The ITP ideal has been a great way to focus on implementing the changes in my life I’ve wanted to for some time while having a whole lot of fun. It may just be the geek in me dancing, yelling and singing, but there is a genuine thrill to the discoveries I’ve been making and the increased understanding of the world I’ve gained through my integral studies. There’s a wealth of resources and knowledge out there that has renewed my hope in spite of all the cultural deadweight, harmful political momentum, my own pathologies and general lack of evolution that for so long dragged me down. Now that I’m engaged in my own personal evolution and seeking ways to share that with others, I’m finding a deep-seated contentment and sense of direction.
Tonight I was listening to the IN podcast for this week and enjoyed “The Yogic Practice of Courtship.” It points out a very important aspect of a healthy relationship, that the happiness of those in it should not be independant of the relationship. That is, that we should first be happy outside of a relationship rather than seeking one to bring about happiness. It also speaks of the need to be entirely present for a lover, in this example through a long distance relationship. Having been in one a couple years ago, I can definitely speak for the importance of that sense of presence.
It’s no secret that Stars are my favourite band (I even have a t-shirt to share that with everyone). I’ve fallen in love with their very seasonal video for “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead.” It strikes me as a very Canadian (the band hails from Montreal) vision of heartbreak, with the song being about not regretting a lost love.

Be sure to check out the beautiful video.
When I was talking with Susana last night I remembered some fond memories I have of skating on frozen lakes. The expansive white of a lake covered by a thin coating of snow is entirely unique and so moving. In the years since I last laced up skates, there has been no experience even close to the feeling of moving over the depths of water with wind howling past me and nothing but space before me. I think that’s one of the secret joys of living in a country of bitter winters like Canada.
Human Upgrades has to be one of the coolest and most elaborate hoaxes ever created on the internet. It’s a site for an imaginary European medical clinic, compelete with broken English, that offers technology-based enhancements for people. Some of the surgeries are bizarre (like the “palmclit”) but there’s one I find very beautiful and appealing. The Simpleear is an enhancement that is visually beautiful and would be of some benefit if it were possible.

You can find a photo of the Simpleear here. While not possible now, what kinds of enhancements will we choose to have in the coming decades?