Albums I’m listening to today:
• Coldplay – Viva la Vida
• Conor Oberst – self-titled
• Astronautalis – Pomegranate

I highly recommend all three. Coldplay is melodic and soothing, Conor Oberst is angsty indie/alt-country passion, and Astronautalis has awesome beats and lyrical flow.

I’ve been practicing my guitar a lot lately. Songs I can (almost) play:
• Brandon Heath – Give Me Your Eyes
• The Proclaimers – 500 Miles
• Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World

I caught onto Brandon Heath recently via Carolina who showed it to me on YouTube. The Proclaimers is an old favorite of mine I remember hearing and enjoying in sixth grade and subsequently hearing it played (an edited version) during Young Life in high school. “Whole Wide World” I first heard in the movie “Stranger Than Fiction” which is the first song Harold Crick learns to play on his guitar.

The next song I’d like to learn is Flight of the Conchords – The Humans are Dead. Unfortunately, I’m not sure this will be possible, as the humans will all be dead. (Plus, it takes two people to do it any kind of justice.) Watch below via YouTube:

Categories: Life, Music

On January 3^rd, 2009, I realized I hadn’t shaved yet this year and opted to continue the trend.  It lasted until today.

My reasons for growing the beard in the first place included:
– look/feel older
– the experience of having a beard in my mid-twenties
– looking similar to old photos of my dad when he had a beard in the early 1980s
– seeing what it felt like to be Samson (shaggy!)

While I enjoyed having a beard for all of these reasons, I became hard-pressed by two primary reasons to make a change:

1. Summer comes soon. Long hair/beard in summer = hot, sweaty, yuck.

2. A woman asked me to cut it because she wanted to see what I looked like without a beard.

Results: “You look younger,” “you look like a different person,” “you look so much better,” and “you look great.”  I will not complain about these responses.  Photographic evidence below.

The Before Photo (upon awakening this morning)

The After Photo (upon shave and a haircut this afternoon)

Categories: Life

Things to Do When Your Friends Aren’t Blogging Enough to Keep You Entertained

• Fill Out Forms at the Bureau of Communication website — including, but not limited to, a “Declaration of Romantic Intent,” “Airing of Grievance,” and “Acknowledgment of Occasion.”
• Do you have introverts in your life? Learn about “Caring for Your Introvert” (The Atlantic).
• Learn 10 new words (from other languages) every day
• Sign up for Twitter and tell the world what you ate for breakfast (or, y’know, use it to communicate with people)
• Sell things on Craigslist or Amazon — or buy things, there are good deals to be had.
• Watch your TV. I wouldn’t recommend this though — you can learn a lot more about the world, the people in it — your families and your neighbors — if you turn it off, go outside, and talk to people.

Or watch this music video: Brandon Heath – Give Me Your Eyes – I would embed it here, but the label won’t let me =(

Categories: Life