28 May 2008

My Current Life Has Become Detrimental to My Health

The above fact has been increasingly obvious to me over the 2 years.

For the past 3 years I've sat at a desk and worked on a computer anywhere from 7 to 14 hrs every weekday. Don't get me wrong, it's nice. It's air-conditioned, I don't have to stand around on my feet, I get paid well, and I basically get to listen to as much music as I want while I work. It's really not a bad gig at. However, I'm heavier and in worse shape than I've ever been in my life... and I can't take it any more. I don't eat horrible foods all the time, but I don't really care what I eat as long as I'm not hungry afterwards. The combination of my complete lack of will power with regard to food and my sitting all day is just killing me. I've tried nutrisystem and it worked. I was only on it seriously for a month and I lost 15lbs. But I was spending every non-working hour keeping track of, planning for, and preparing the next meal. How do you not get burnt-out on that? And as far as excercising goes, I just feel like it's impossible to make up for 9 hrs of sitting every evening. I simply can't make the time to workout in the 4hrs after work every single day.

Basically, I come away from this thinking the only solution left is a change of life.

Jesse put a quote by Thoreau up on her blog yesterday and this really stood out to me...
"I went to the woods... to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms..."

I don't know about you, but that's damn intense to me. That moves me.

Which brings me to my point. In the last couple months I've been so caught up in and stressed out by packing and preparing for our 2 years in Jamaica that I've forgotten why I wanted to go in the first place. I've been so worried about having enough quick-drying clothes and camera stuff and computer stuff and concerned about our safety (the list goes on). But in the last few days I remembered that it wasn't about a job change or moving to a new city or going on a really long camping trip. It was about changing my (our) life for the better. It was about trusting God and taking a huge leap of faith to follow some calling in our hearts. But one of the biggest things for me personally was... it was about getting me the hell out of this downward spiral towards obesity, diabetes, or worse. I feel like I've been watching from the sideline as this sedintary lifestyle drug me down over the past few years and I'm done with it. And if getting my fat ass on a plane to Jamaica is the only way to get me out of it, well, you just tell me what time the plane leaves.

This is an interesting concept to me, changing your entire "place" because you can't find the power to make the small changes yourself. I'm usually not the first to be in favor of this. Seriously. Going to a bible college to keep yourself out of trouble seems silly to me; you can't stay in bible college for the rest of your life just as I can't stay in Jamaica the rest of mine. Eventually, you have to face the "real world." But recently I've started thinking that really it comes down to this: you do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to make/change your life to the life you want or think you should be living, that's what you do. Maybe that change won't last forever. I mean, we all adapt to our surroundings and eventually find ways around things that "challenge" us, but you've got to start somewhere, right? You have to find a way to break out of whatever spiral you find yourself in.

And that's where I find myself on the brink of now. I'm 4 1/2 weeks from that change. I'm 4 1/2 weeks from getting away from a desk, fast food, and walking NO where. I'm still having trouble focusing on why we started this whole process in the first place, but it's starting to become clear again. And that makes me happy.

27 May 2008

Rock Band Weekend at the Nash's

(Jody Southards on drums. Jesse Hunter and HG Woods not pictured.)

A good time was had by all.



Baby Sloths (these are kind of weird)...

23 May 2008

Pork and Beans (feat. The Internet)

This is the video for Weezer's new song Pork and Beans. It stars all the internet wonders. Really funny.



Weezer is really impressing me lately.



Also, 5 Awesome Movies Ruined by Last Minute Changes. So I Am Legend actually ended so much better than the theatrical version we saw.



Wow. I mean, that version actually conveys the message of the book. Audiences are so stupid.

21 May 2008

Mates of State: Re-arrange Us

The new Mates of State album came out yesterday. I've only been through it a couple times, but I'll be honest, these guys just get better and better every time. The album is beautiful and intricate and melodic and just a delight to listen to. It still has all the same qualities you love about their previous music: fun, light-hearted melodies, tight dueling/synchronized vocals, and touching lyrics. Only on this album they've evolved into something much bigger and brighter than previously done. As refined and full as Bring It Back was compared to Team Boo, Re-arrange Us is easily that much more refined with better production than Bring It Back. Generally, I'm against that. Generally, I hate subsequent albums where the artist's raw sound and emotion has been watered down through post production and too many frills. However, somehow Jason and Kori manage to avoid this every time. Like good musicians should, they actually improve over time and it really shows on their albums. And much like The Shins' Wincing the Night Away and Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Re-arrange Us is an album from great musicians that you expect to be good, but ends up exceeding those expectations like you couldn't have imagined.

This track makes the album for me.

Mates of State [The Re-arranger]


(I got it off Amazon MP3 for $8. How can you beat that? I'm almost positive you can't.)


MoS blog (that they actually blog in) (a lot!)

Jerry Goldsmith and Hans Zimmer: Part II

I don't know if or when the last time you listened to the main theme from Air Force One, but you have to hear this version. It's by the Prague Philharmonic and it's brassy as all get out! I love it. I mean, the song sounds like Fanfare for the Common Man meets Star Trek: First Contact. It's got "overcoming adversity" written all over it! I can totally picture myself throwing some lousy Russian out of an airplane and then in my coolest voice saying something like, "Oh no you did'nt! Signed: America." Or something like that. What's really neat about this version is that it's not the one off the original soundtrack. Generally, I'm not a fan of soundtrack covers, but this one cuts about 6min or so of extra out of the original "Parachutes" track and leaves you with just the main theme. It's awesome.

Jerry Goldsmith [Air Force One (Main Title)]

This second piece is the main theme from the movie Crimson Tide. Hans Zimmer has easily made himself one of my favorite composers over my lifetime. I just love his style. It's usually a bit different though. He likes to incorporate a lot of rhythm into his pieces. However, this one is extremely brassy in the loud parts. And not like, just brass, but like blasting brass. It's awesome. I also love how for the first few minutes the song keeps changing keys... down. Maybe that's on purpose... down... submarines... either way, it's awesome. Then he ends the song with 'Eternal Father Strong to Save' which really just seals the deal for me. Lovely.

Hans Zimmer [Roll Tide (from Crimson Tide)]

20 May 2008

The VerteX

This looks pretty cool. Granted, most of you won't be interested in this because it's for external flash units. However, depending on how sturdy it is, it looks to be a really useful tool in terms of redirecting light in every way imaginable. Plus the 3D gallery deal is really fun to play with. It's not available yet, so the price is still unknown.

Presslite's VerteX (click on one of the configurations)

19 May 2008

Weezer - Amazon MP3 - SNL

I like these multi-subject posts. Makes me feel like I'm getting more done.

A: Has everyone heard the new Weezer single The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)? (Jess and I think Kanye West might have come up with the title.) If you haven't, I recommend checking it out. Billy recommended it to me saying how awesome it was. Well, I started listening to it and thought it was pretty terrible at first. However, after about 30sec or so it started getting really good. After it was over I was like, "Not so bad." Then I just kept listening to it over and over again. It's a "Variations on..." song, so every round through the "theme" is different. It's more creative than I would've expected out of Weezer. Do give it a full listen...

Weezer [The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)]

B: I don't know how long this has been there, but have you used Amazon.com's MP3 Downloads section? It's just like iTunes, but it's completely DRM-crap-free in 256kbps mp3 format. What more could you ask for? I think you can download it straight to iTunes if you like. I downloaded the new Death Cab for Cutie last night for $9. Seriously, even for someone such as myself, who downloads a LOT of music off bittorent (I'm sorry but I'm not going to pay iTunes to "protect" my music unless no where else on the internet has the song), this is really appealing. I really do LIKE paying for things. You have to believe me. I just like having a good REASON to pay for it. It has to be worth it and other than the large library, iTunes does not make it worth it to me.

So I highly recommend you give it a go. It might not have the same depth of library yet (with respect to older more obscure things) (although last night I went crazy on getting songs from soundtracks that I'd lost or were stolen from me in the past), BUT it's a sweet alternative to iTunes. And definitely just as easy to use.


C: Some highlights from Saturday's SNL with Steve Carell...



(The Japanese Office!)


(I like how Andy just keeps hollaring and blood just keeps coming)


some surprisingly witty monologues by McCain...





and 2 from the Shia LaBeouf episode...





I like Hulu a lot.


6 weeks left.

15 May 2008

Hot Chip and Santogold

I know Hot Chip's album came out several months ago, but I couldn't really get into it then. However, I've been listening to it the past few days and I've really been digging it. It's different from The Warning, but it's still extremely intricate with lots of bass. With some good headphones you can really appreciate all the different sounds and chords in there / dance to it. These are two of my favorite tracks from Made in the Dark. Check them out...

Hot Chip [Out at the Pictures]

Hot Chip [Ready for the Floor]

The other artist I've been enjoying is Santogold. They say she sounds like M.I.A., but I think it'd be more accurate to say she sounds like Tegan & Sara produced by M.I.A. It's pretty cool stuff. Here are few tracks I like...

Santogold [Creator]

Santogold [Shove it (feat. Spank Rock)]

13 May 2008

Happy 5/13!

Mario Kart should be rated 18+ (too funny)

Truth in Website Logos (pics)

and finally, 60 Photography Link You Can't Live Without (what a list!)


And of course, today was Jesse's birfday. So don't forget to Facebook her a message or something.



My Jesse Facebook ALbum

09 May 2008

CaptureMusicCity.com

Hey everyone. Billy showed me this the other day and today Ryan brought in an article on it from the Tennessean, so I figured it was time to get in gear and get on this. It's a photo submittal "competition" of sorts for everyone with a shot of something that says "Nashville" to you. At the end, the photos with the most "votes" will be included in the book. It's free and you can upload as many shots as you want. It's pretty new and the deadline for photos isn't for another 4 months, but you better get your shots on there otherwise it's going to be "Josh Hunter's Nashville!" (I can think of worse alternatives :) )





And if you don't have any shots to put up, then just go vote for mine so maybe I'll at least get ONE in the book!

07 May 2008

50 Ways to Help the Planet

I thought this was a pretty common-sense, practical list. It's neat to see ones you've already thought of (i.e. 13. Wrap Creatively (BOOYAH))!

50 Ways to Help the Planet



05.08.08: I was reading a copy of WIRED jess had gotten and it had an interesting article on the consumption of water around the world. What was particularly interesting was this chart in the article. Look at the amount of water required to produce several common items (2,866gal of water for a pair of jeans?!). I guess I've never put too much thought into the amount of water required to produce food/goods.



M.I.A.'s Opener

Holy F*ck is the name of the band. They were the opening act. And while I don't condone their name (for all intents and purposes), they had a neat giant color changing screen behind them. Their show was like an iPod commercial and I couldn't get a clear shot, so I did some 'sperimentin'. Basically, holding the zoom lens stationary, I pressed the shutter release and rotated the camera. (It took a few tries to get "right.")

Holy F*ck

(Full size on black)

06 May 2008

MSTRKRFT

So this is artist I keep hearing lately ("Masterkraft"). So i decided to look them up and found out they're gonna be at Bonnaroo. Looking at their style of music it looks like it'll be an AWESOME late night show (in similar Girl Talk fashion). Which is good since Girl Talk won't be there.

MSTRKRFT (Feat N.O.R.E.) - Bounce (mp3)

We went to see M.I.A. last night. The concert was very much like her website looks. It was awesome(ly loud). It was hot and sweaty too. Makes me excited about Bonnaroo!


This is another song I keep hearing and keep wondering who makes it (the one with the line "all the girls standing in the line for bathroom"). I keep hearing remixes of it, so here you go.

NERD - Everyone Nose (mp3)

05 May 2008

VideoLAN

This isn't new software by any means. I've been using versions of it since college, but this weekend I was reminded just how awesome and simple this media player is (whilst finding my way on the new Mac) and thought it deserved some re-recognition. If you don't have it, you should. It's 9mb and I've NEVER been able to give it a video format it can't play. Seriously. It'll play anything and everything. With new video formats popping up all the time, a universal player like this is remarkable and invaluable. (Fortunately, it's also free.)

VideoLAN




(I haven't taken diddley-squat in pictures over the last week. Too much freakin out and Mac playin' I s'pose.)

03 May 2008

Look at Mac & Me!



I'm like, the most original person I know.

(i don't think we'll have to worry about boredom in the Peace Corps.)