Drinking orange ginger chai is a fine way to settle into an evening. It has enough spice to keep me sharp and is soothing enough to bring me into stillness after a day afoot. I’m appreciating the tea especially much because I haven’t been drinking a lot of tea lately. I’ve been drinking water more than anything else, so having some rich flavour is refreshing.

The past two days I’ve been tidying up my apartment in the mornings and then heading out to spend time with friends and indulge my bookworm side. Yesterday I had a grand time with Andrew and Allison downtown, including some comic shop browsing and today I met with my friend Ashley at a library near where she lives and was just at another library tonight to pick up a book I had on hold. Combining that with a stack of books I got through a mutual loaning session last week leaves me with a ton to read through in the next couple weeks. I’m quite happy to have such an overload of content to drink in.

Saturday night is surely going to be a highlight of my year. I’ll be seeing Broken Social Scene, one of my all time favourite bands, and Bedouin Soundclash in concert. I’ll be going with a bunch of the wickedest folks I know, which will make it especially enjoyable. Jana, Pegah, Allison, Andrew and Nathan will all be joining me for the evening’s extravaganza. Rumours have me thinking it’s going to be a surprising night. Any of my fellow Haligonians that are going and want to drop by here for a pre-show gathering are welcome to.

Autism is an interesting condition that is often misunderstood. Some truly amazing people have been diagnosed with it, and there has even been speculation that Einstein, my favourite scientist-mystic, had a mild form of it. One case that shatters any doubt that brilliance can be found in those afflicted with the disorder is that of Gilles Trehin, an artist and imaginative genius who has created the imaginary but realistic city of Urville. Through a profile and a short video I’ve become facinated by the complexity and thoroughness of his life’s work on the city. Urville, the book compiling his work will be released this year, and I’m looking forward to exploring his city. For more information visit his Urville website.

I’ve been a Nintendo loyalist for a long while. Though I don’t often play video games these days, I do appreciate Nintendo’s consistant push for innovation. Not only is the Revolution the most innovative console in history and a sleeper winner of this generation of video game systems, but the Nintendo DS is the most impressive portable gaming system on the market at the moment.The company has been consistantly impressing me, so much so that later this year I might own a gaming console for the first time since the days of the NES in my childhood. I’m almost certainly sold on the Revolution, but the DS will finally have a web browser later this year in the form of a version of Opera. It makes the system very appealing to me now that it will have the one feature I was considering a PDA upgrade to have.

I recently came across an interesting blog promotion website, 25 Peeps. Essentially, people submit a 100 x 100 px image and hope it gives them enough clicks on the 25 Peeps page to stay on the 5 x 5 grid. There are some interesting folks there, belying the superficial appearance of the method. Check it out and look for my face to be up there in the coming days.

I enjoy beverages of all kinds. Sodas, teas, coffees, sakes, you name it. There’s one product that I can’t wait for, however. Programmable beverage containers are simply a brilliant idea!.

Give me a bottle of Jones with that and I will be in heaven! Innovation is a marvelous thing.

A friend of mine introduced me to the music of a friend of hers, Simara Rose. I can’t come up with an easy categorization of her music, because it combines disparate bits of jazz, alternative, metal, industrial and other genres. Not only is the music brilliant, but her visual style is oh so pleasing.

My continuing interest in biofeedback and binaural beat lead me to discover yet another resource for experimenting with it. Through “Hack Your Brain with an iPod” I came to find Brain Wave Generator and the exciting selection of presets it offers. Want to get a caffeine rush with only a pair of headphones? You can, as well as experiencing a large number of other states. I’m actually considering having a gathering of some of my friends who are interested in doing a group experiment with the technology using some of the more entheogenic (as a hint for those of you not familiar with the term, its etymology is ‘generating the divine within’) signals.

A short while ago I received a postcard of the Imperial Forums of Rome from Susana while she travelled in Europe. Aside from being a nice jesture, it stirred up my wanderlust a bit. Tonight, still in that mindset some, I signed up at Postcrossing. Postcrossing is the creation of a fellow from Portugal with a love for postcards that allows people across the globe to exchange postcards. While they might not be as special as a card from someone we care about, I’m looking forward to sending and receiving some.

I’m a constant used of Last.FM, the finest on-demand social music service there is, but sometimes I like using the lesser but more accessable service provided by Pandora. A new bridging site by Real-ity allows users to listen to Pandora and submit those songs to Last.FM, making Pandora a far more appealing service to me.

The image to the left is of a sunset I captured when stepping outside during a break at work. It was a beautiful sight that the photo didn’t do justice to. Experience is always more beautiful than any way we might try to relate it, but we still try to work that magic of reflection. I think it’s part of our evolutionary movement to make every effort we can to have a sense of communion through communicating our experiences with each other. My love of storytelling stems from that, as does my appreciation of art in general. I only hope I can cultivate the grace to pass some beauty along.

I’m in the midst of brainstorming for the relaunch of this site for May 1st and I’d appreciate some suggestions. I’ve been compiling a list of features I want to add or remove, visual elements I enjoy and ways to make the site gel, but I’d like to hear from you what you find appealing. Is there something you’ve noticed on certain blogs that you especially appreciate as a reader? What information do you like to know immediately about an author when you first read his or her blog? Is there something I could do to make my content more coherent and enjoyable?

What is the one thing that ensures I’ll continue to read a blog or other site I initially enjoy? An RSS feed. It’s absolutely the most valuable tool a site can offer me if it wants me to continue to read its content. I was using desktop-based aggregators for a long while, but I found it annoying to not be able to check feeds when I didn’t have access to my laptop for a long while. I made a switch to Feeds on Feeds, a web-based aggregator that I host at my own domain. It makes checking the sites I most love easy no matter where I might be. I highly recommend giving it a try if you tend to hop from computer to computer.

I’m making an attempt to get back into near-daily updates here. I’m hoping regaining that habit will be a way to align a new routine for myself that can bring my other practices such as meditation, resistance training and yoga into a more consistant pattern. As much as I enjoy and benefit from these things I’ve chosen to incorportate into my life, it can be a challenge to fit them into my daily life.

Sometimes the geekery of blogging needs to be shared with the world, and Snap Shirts offers a wicked way to do that. They’ll create a customized t-shirt featuring a word cloud made up of words you use frequently in your blog. My word cloud was made a couple days ago, but I haven’t yet ordered a shirt due to some more pressing demands on my bank account, but I think I’ll be sporting one in May, that special month of transition.

Now, to end my entry on blogging, I’ll leave you with my Blogger Code. B9 d t+ k+ s- u f i o+ x+ e+ l c– If you use the Blogger Decoder you’ll see that means…

Today I discovered Jamendo, a site that facilitates artists distributing their musical works through Creative Commons licenses and allowing them to still be paid for their works. That means that listeners get quality free music, creators can sample some music freely and artists have a valuable and rewarding way to distribute their music. It’s an idea that is ripe, I believe. Two of my favourite album discoveries so far are Vinc2‘s Stalactites and Greg Baumont‘s Wood. Copyleft and fine music make me content.

In a recent issue of Forbes you can find their take on “The 20 most Important Tools Ever“. I wouldn’t dispute the importance of any of the tools listed there, but I wonder what will be considered to be the most important by the end of my lifetime. The abacus may have been a precursor to the computer, but can it not be considered a different tool entirely? Will computers not be seen as a revolutionary force that can rival any listed in that article? Subtechnologies like the underpinnings of the internet will surely alter our entire world in ways we can not yet imagine.

Personal DNA is a new personality test that I found to be rather accurate. Other than an empathy scale that focuses more on being influenced by the feelings of others rather than recognizing and sympathizing with those feelings, it seems well constructed. You can see my results in My Personal DNA. Like the Johari Window I recently shared, one of the more interesting aspects of this site is that there is an evaluation by others that is an option. Please do take the time to Psych You / Psych Me!.

As promised, I’m going to share a bit from my walk around Deadman’s Island. I had been there only once before, but I found it to be a calming place to visit. On Monday, with death on my mind, I decided there would be no better place to explore and reflect on impermanence.
Deadman’s Island is a site here in Halifax of historical significance. During The War of 1812, 195 captured invading American soldiers died while imprisoned and were buried at the island. Additionally, it is believed that a large number of Chesapeake black refugees, Irish refugees and French and Spanish prisoners also rest beneath the soil of the island.
Deadman’s Island is actually a peninsula that juts out from what is now a residental area near my home. It is covered in gnarly trees and is rather rugged off the main paths. Walking along its shore and climbing up between its trees, I was contemplating the transient nature of beauty. The wonder of this place would be entirely altered if I stood there as bodies were lowered, but that afternoon it was beautiful and mysterious.
I wondered for a time about my affinity for cemeteries and other burial sites. I think my peace with death stems from that enjoyment and also informs it. There’s a beauty to endings and things that have ended that can’t be grasped amid their living moments. Whether it’s nostalgia, romanticizing the past or just an appreciation for the unfolding of time, death in the broadest of senses instills meaning and beauty in our perceptions that might otherwise be lacking. It also, perhaps more importantly, given me appreciation for every dying moment.

Photos from my exploration can be found in my Halifax and self-portrait photo albums.

I took some video footage as I explored, but the sound didn’t turn out very well. I decided to edit in a piece of music I found today that matches my Blair Witch Project-quality footage well enough. The track you’ll hear is “Serpents” from French artist Philippe Mangold‘s beautiful album IGAPO. The album is released under a Creative Commons license that allows me to distribute any derivative works (this video) so long as I apply the same license to it. So this video is under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Commons Deed.

The video:

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After a week of stress and unpleasantness at work, Friday night found me stepping off a bus with 2kg of cheesecake and bound for a gathering at my friend Pegah’s home. As I reached the sidewalk I heard my name called and saw that Jana had been on the same bus. I Jana met through my friend April in January, and had actually met both Pegah and Sara through her as well.
Jana and I arrived at Pegah’s home to find Sara, Pegah and one fellow I can’t remember the name of already there. A night of food and interesting conversation was begun. I swear I’d never seen more desserts for only a handful of people in one night before. We definitely had a feast of sweets. it was a fitting end to my sweet gluttony. Long last my health.
The photo you see to the right of Sara and I was taken later in the evening, when I dug out my camera and snapped a few poorly-lit photos.
It was a great evening and I was very thankful to have a night among friends again. Work had sapped my energy and mood, but I was definitely renewed after being in such good company.

Just over two months remain in the third year I’ve kept a journal here at Frozen Truth . com and I’ve started some early planning for a new presentation, fresh coding and a new level of content. I hope my sketchiness recently can be forgotten once I have the freshness ready for you. I’m genuinely excited about it and some choices I’m making at the moment that will change a lot throughout my life. I hope to keep things interesting.

Today I took a walk to Deadman’s Island, where I captured some video and still shots that I’ll be sharing soon.

I have Rob Zombie’s “Death of it All” stuck in my head. I can’t help but sing, “together we all see the death of it all.” We do, and it’s beautiful.

Farewell winter, die well.

Welcome to what seems to have become a weekly endevour. Work has been a time-eater and soul-sapper. I’m sorry for those of you (and there must be legions) missing my more frequent emanations. I promise you that a change is afoot that should have things moving along more quickly. Or at least my fingers over the keys a bit more often.

Speaking of keys, my W key has been broken for several weeks. It isn’t attached to my laptop, but rather just floats there, ready to be knocked free or shift enough that it’s a hassle to type. It’s been an annoyance that has reminded me of the value of every last letter. How does one type questions without a W? Who, what, when, where and how are just gone.

I’m having some vanilla cola and some honey dijon kettle chips, in case you were wondering. It’s a last hurrah for my more indulgent eating habbits (not that there’s anything particularly bad about the Kettle chips, delicious and natural as they are). This week will be the end of my sweet tooth’s reign over my intake and another transformation of my lifestyle to get an ILP in swing.
Sugar has long been a big part of my life for a long while. I’ve always had a terrible sweet tooth, and that’s lead me to consuming more sweetness than would be best. So from here on out I won’t be drinking straight maple syrup by the mugful. Okay, just a couple times a year. I’ll make a conscious effort to limit the amount of sugar-rich foods I eat and be mindful of that element of my diet. A weekly bottle of Jones can stay, but much of the rest will be weened.

A year ago I became a vegetarian, one of the changes in my life I’m most glad I made. It’s been a year of change that goes far beyond that dietary choice, but I think it’s symbolic of my momentum. It’s been surprising to see the reactions of people when they learn I’m a vegetarian, especially those who know me when I was young, because I was a big fan of meat when I was growing up; I’d have consumed only steaks some days if I’d been allowed. More than just not eating animal parts, I think the mindfulness about food has been rewarding. Along with vegetarianism I’ve gained an appreciation for diversity in foods; ethnic and experimental foods have become a bigger part of my diet as a result.

This past week I discovered my favourite pop album so far this year. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs will be releasing the sublime Under The Covers, Vol. 1 next month, just in time for a spring and summer that’ll bring all the good of the sixties’ sound to bear on my headphones. The album is a collection of covers of both obscure and well known songs from the 60′s (and one abnormality from the 70′s) recorded as a amalgamation of Matthew and Susanna’s styles with a reverence for the originals. “Cinnamon Girl” and “Different Drum” are my two favourites at the moment. It’s beautiful, all you really need to know.

After listening to them at Integral Naked, the people behind Viking Youth Power Hour have become some of my internet heroes. They produce a weekly podcast during which they chat about some facinating topics in the manner I’ve had the best conversations among friends in my living room. It definitely has a free and casual vibe, but the vikings do their homework and present a diverse and often hilarious hour of talk, counter-culture and realness. Oh, and their slogan is badass; “Quit dreaming like a pussy!”

Have you ever looked at just how subjective our experiences are? Time is one of the most obvious of these. As Einstein said, “A man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. He sits on a hot stove for a minute, it’s longer than any hour. That is relativity.” How to Stop Time is an experiment in manipulating our sense of time in a way to demonstrate its subjectivity. Give it a try and maybe you’ll be moved to be as curious about our consciousness as I am.

I’ve been using binaural beat biofeedback in the form of Holosync for several months now and I’ve been curious about experiementing with binaural beats in other ways. I was pleasantly surprised to learn about SBaGen, a freeware program that creates binaural beats. I’m especially interested in the dream-recall aspect, since I remember very few of my dreams. I’ll approach it with care, but definitely give it a try soon.

That’ll have to be all for now, aside from a short Q+A I’ll leave you with. Enjoy.

1. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES? I have black, blue and green plates.
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I have four on the go, including Rumi: The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstacy and Longing, Jo Clayton’s Magic Wars, Kittens for Dummies, Beginner’s Guide to Yoga and Irene Radford’s The Dradon Nimbus 4
3. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don’t use one
4. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? HeroQuest
5. LEAST FAVORITE SMELLS? vomit
6. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Usually of the things I need to do that day.
7. FAVORITE COLOR? blue
8. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR? Yellow
9. HOW MANY RINGS UNTIL YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? Usually no more than 3.
10. FUTURE CHILD’S NAME? I’m fond of the name Grania, but I can’t say I’ve thought much about having children.
11. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Vanilla
12. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? I don’t drive, and I think I’d rather enjoy the scenery.
13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Nope
14. DO YOU LIKE THUNDERSTORMS? Yes, very much.
15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? i’ve never had one, but I imagine if I were to it would be an efficient, non-gas one.
16. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN? Sagittarious
17. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? Yep.
18. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE? A writer-traveller mystic. Anyone have somewhere I can send a resume?
19. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I enjoy my red.
20. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? Everything is empty, and more so the closer you look at it. It’s beautiful, though.
21. FAVORITE MOVIE? Samsara
22. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? Nope
23. WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED? Floor. Mine doesn’t have a frame
24. YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST INTENSE PAIN? Separation.
25. PERSON MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I’ve no clue
26. PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Ditto
27. KETCHUP OR MUSTARD? Ketchup, usually.
28. HAMBURGER OR HOT DOG? Burgers, definitely.
29. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Autumn
30. THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? Here, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal.
31. WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW? I have none.
32. FAVORITE FAST FOOD? Does veg. sushi count?
33. WHAT IS YOUR BIRTH NAME? Apollo Isaac Lemmon
34. A COMMENT ABOUT THE PERSON THAT SENT YOU THIS? She’s great, definitely someone I’m happy I met.

I’m under siege by a cold right now, sinally pressured and made sluggish. I’m glad it hit during a day off so that I could get the rest I needed so that I’ll be feeling well by the time I need to be at work. And I’ve made the discovery that hot sake is great for a sore throat. Along with mint tea it’s been a blessing.

I’m always looking for new avenues in which to explore spirituality, so I was pleased to be pointed toward Integrative Spirituality, ” an open source spiritual wisdom sharing center designed to help support individuals who want to enhance their personal spirituality.” There’s a wealth of information and resources available at the site, and I hope to delve into it soon. One piece linked to, “Colors of Thinking“, an article that explains some of the key aspects of Spiral Dynamics, I found very interesting and useful. There’s even Spirit Mates, a personals section.

“Survey Links Altruism and Romantic Love” points out a correlation between altruism and healthy romantic love, a link I’ve long felt is overlooked.

Interestingly, the survey also showed a decline in the number of people who hold the selfish view that one should look out only for him or herself and that financial status had very little to do with feelings of altruism. It could be a positive trend.

This morning I received an e-mail from Beautiful Agony letting me know I’d had two signups through my previous entry mentioning the site and thus earned a free month extension of my accout there. If you’re at all interested in eroticism, I highly recommend experiencing its glorification of the orgasm.

In a similar vein, I watched the short film Cashback earlier this week, after a friend of mine asked me to find it for her. The film follows an art student working a night shift at a local supermarket and his attempts to make the time pass faster. A core aspect of the story is his appreciation of the feminine form and the origin of that appreciation. You can watch the entire short film via Zed, one of Canada’s finest public tv shows. Here’s the direct link: Cashback.

I’ve been making use of The Freesound Project, “a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds,” to give my computer a more pleasant set of sounds. No more is there that annoying Windows startup noise, but now some pleasant temple bells.

My friend Mark recently launched an ingenious new project called DomainBrain.

Check it out if you are curious or have been looking for a perfect word domain. Just don’t take vul.va from me.

I’ve allowed myself to become swamped with work, distractions and life during these past two weeks. There have been some very pleasant moment, but I’ve felt off track. I always take those detours from my intended path, as much as I do work to remain committed. It’s a struggle I hope to overcome in time.
I’m sure there’s plenty I’ll miss mentioning, but I want to get caught up and move forward in the few minutes I now have before I get any further behind. Let the time hopping begin.

Last night I went to see Pink Panther with Pegah, her brother and some of his friends. It wasn’t a great film but had its share of funny moments. It’s definitely a rental rather than one to see in theatres. The company was good, though; I hadn’t hung out with Pegah for a while, and it was nice to clear up some ambiguities.
After the movie Pegah and I looked around Chapters for a while before she had to catch her bus. I ended up feeling like a very inadequate bookworm because I left the bookstore not with books but with free weights. It’s not as if I don’t have plenty in my to-read stack, so I suppose I can keep my bookwormhood. At least I’ll be a toned bookworm if I keep with my practice.

Once I returned home I talked with a new friend of mine, Helen, and was kept in stitches for a couple hours. She’s an uncanny mix of strange, silly and beautiful, and it’s been a joy to get to know her. There’s nothing quite like having your name sung in impromptu songs, I’m convinced. Do others find my name sexy? I just don’t hear it.

If you haven’t yet, I’d like it if you’d take part in creating My Johari Window. I’m considering using it as part of a new identity-focused website presentation and I’d like it to be fairly accurate.

My friend Sara wrote a glowing piece about me, that I just have to share, because it’s just too ego-boosting.

Keep in mind this was entirely unsolicited and a surprise. I can’t complain, though, it’s nice to have some esteem building compliments now and then.

Time for a rapidfire clearing of my list of sites I must share. I’ve been really digging the artwork of Todd Norman Guess (“Eros & Agape” especially). Spore looks to be the greatest video game ever. Buck 65‘s “Devil’s Eyes” video is one of my new favourites. The Imperfectionists have captured my musical attention and aren’t letting go. Inspire to Journal might be a good place to look if you’re ever at a loss for something to journal about and Craftster looks to have plenty of ideas for DIY fun. Digg has more interesting links than I could ever read, but is a good way to kill time. Oh, and I really need the pirate shirt at Ex-Boyfriend I’ve started watching two Vlogs lately; Rocketboom is a Daily Show-like news and entertainment show and Ask A Ninja is pure comedy.

Before the most recent video entry, I want to share my favourite quote I’ve encountered recently.

Now, the video:

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