Resilience

We had about eight inches of snow last week. There are still some significant snow piles in our front yard, due to my clearing the walkway and driveway, but most of it has melted off. And I was struck by how resilient nature is. Poking through the receding snow are some tulip shoots. Here it is, late January, and who knows if we’re going to get more snow, but these shoots were determined to come up.

Perhaps that is giving them too much credit. I don’t think determination has anything to do with it. They are just being what they are: tulips. It reminds me that, regardless of any difficulties I face, the most important thing is to just be who I am. Keep “showing up” as they say. Resilience is essentially just showing up, day after day. And eventually you will bloom.

One Ticked-Off San Francisco Native Rants…

For some reason, this really bugs me. More than it should, I suppose.

J.J. Abrams has a new non-reality series called Alcatraz. It tells the story about the “real” reason that it closed in 1963; ostensibly, all the convicts mysteriously disappeared one night and started showing up in present day, and Sam Neill plays the head of a secret agency to track these bad boys down. It should be interesting. I was a HUGE Lost fan. I’ll expect the usual incomprehensible plot twists and unresolved mysteries. And that will not bug me.

What does irk me is that the series is not actually shot in San Francisco, but rather in Vancouver, B.C. The pilot showed footage of an action sequence on the streets of San Francisco, and being a native of the Bay Area, I was quite excited about a series being shot there. Here is an SF Examiner article from 2011 talking about how the new series will be filmed there:  http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/02/tv-show-filming-will-close-san-francisco-streets

Then came episode 2, which included a struggle on a roof top. And lo and behold, there were the mountains that sit right to the north of Vancouver in full view. I was not totally surprised, since an earlier scene showed an alley which clearly looked like an alley in Vancouver and nothing like what you’d see in SF. Having fled the Bay Area in 1980 to re-settle in Seattle, I am very familiar with the look and feel of our closest big city in the Great White North. I would have thought they’d try to do a better job covering it up.  http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Vancouver+plays+home+Alcatraz+television+stars+with+video/5975981/story.html

As I was pondering my state of irk, I thought about the series Parenthood, which is also set in the Bay Area, across the bay from SF in Berkeley. At least that show is filmed there, right? Wrong. It is filmed on a back lot down in Hollywood, which I guess shouldn’t surprise me, since the large sprawling bungalow where the parents live is larger than anything you’d find in the real Berkeley. http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/07/29/tv-critic-gets-to-bottom-on-the-berkeleyness-of-nbcs-parenthood/

Is it too much to actually film stuff where it’s set? Yes, I guess it costs too much. Vancouver is a very filming-friendly town.

Anyway, just thought I’d vent a little. Probably of no interest to anyone out there, but it’s my blog so I can vent all I want, right? (Please come back.)

Gliss Bliss

I just discovered this from a blog. There are some pretty cool ambient music creation apps on iOS devices that use a visual approach. One of these is called Bliss. Here is a short video. Pretty cool.

Of course, one can’t look at one YouTube video without discovering other music creation apps. Here are a couple of others, first Aura Flux:

And here’s the mobile version of Reactable, not quite so ambient, but fun:

Pretty cool, huh?

Much Ado About Poop

Walking our dog Jake the other day at a Kirkland park and happened upon this sign. Cute, don’t you think?

President Snow and a Dark Fortnight

I just realized that I haven’t blogged in well over two weeks. My buddy Frank mentioned my disappearance from blogdom last week. My reply? Actually, I have been a bit depressed lately. The multi-day depressive episode happens occasionally and I tend to go “dark” when it does. Chalk it up most likely to Seasonal Affective Disorder aka “SAD” aka the “winter blues”. I have begun referring to this particular episode as my “dark fortnight of the soul”.

I figured I should “come out” and blog about it, because I know that I’m not the only one who struggles with this. January is typically hard here in the Pacific Northwest. Last year at this time, I had post production on “Passage” to focus on, so I wasn’t as affected. This year, I’m still trying to crystalize my goals, traction on which is being hampered by my mood issues. Here’s a good article on the Medicine Plus website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001532.htm

Meanwhile, we have been snowed in this past week, without power for a lot of it, and without internet for most of it. This break in the gloomy monotomy has lifted my mood considerably. Merrilyn has been home since school has been cancelled for most of the week. We have a generator. I have gotten my exercise via our snow shovel. Excercise is always an effective anti-depressant. Vitamin D helps too.

Without cyberspace to lollygag around in, I have been devouring Suzanne Collin’s trilogy “The Hunger Games”–almost through the last book. I’m hoping that President Snow gets his a** kicked. Wikipedia on the series here. I highly recommend it. And they’re coming out with a movie soon!!

Speaking of the President–the real one–did you catch his performance of “Let’s Stay Together” at the Apollo? Watch it here.

There you go, probably my most random post. I would love to hear your feedback about seasonal depression. What do you do to combat the winter blues?

Do you have a lot to lose?

It’s that time of year again. I’m noticing a rash of weight-loss commercials on the TV this morning. On the Today Show they had a segment about willpower where they interviewed an expert on the subject, Kelly Mcgonigal, PhD, a health psychologist and yoga teacher at Stanford university, who happens to have a book out: “The Willpower Instinct”.

Perusing a little on her website, I am seeing themes reminiscent of some of the insights I learned from Dr. Daniel Amen’s work. The brain is crucial. If there’s something off in the brain, achieving lifestyle-change goals will be more difficult. But information IS power and, although I struggle with some issues like ADD, addressing the brain chemistry issues has enabled me to turn the corner on my heath and lifestyle goals.

Dr. Mcgonigal’s work adds the psychological dimension including the importance of self-compassion and strategies for using and building self-control. I will write more about her work as I research it. Meanwhile, here is a great article from her website: http://kellymcgonigal.com/2011/10/21/how-mindfulness-supports-weight-loss/

For your convenience, here is one section from the article that I found fascinating, but you really ought to read the whole thing when you get a chance.

From Mindless to Mindful Eating

According to Susan Albers, PsyD, author of Eat, Drink and Be Mindful (New Harbinger 2009), mindless eating is a major factor in weight gain and a saboteur of weight loss. “In many cases, it’s not the meals we eat that cause weight gain. It’s the snacking, the mindless eating while watching television, when we’re on autopilot and not really aware of what we’re eating.” And it’s not just the environment or distractions that trigger automatic eating. Emotions play a big role. “The majority of food decisions people make have nothing to do with hunger. They have to do with stress, anxiety, sadness or frustration.”

This is where mindfulness comes in. Mindfulness is the process of paying attention, both to inner cues (thoughts, emotions and sensations) and to your environment. When applied to eating, this can mean the difference between one more failed diet and lasting change you can live with. “When clients address their mindless eating, they often naturally lose weight,” Albers says.

Albers breaks mindful eating into three components:

• Mindful Eating in the Moment. This means getting rid of distractions like reading, watching television or eating on the go. It also means being aware of the sensations of eating—really tasting, smelling and enjoying the food as you eat it. Finally, it means knowing what it feels like to be hungry or full, and learning to honor those signals. “Mindless eaters have so lost touch with the feeling of fullness. But with practice you start to realize, if I eat any more, I’m not going to feel good. ”
• Nonjudgmental Awareness of Eating Habits and Beliefs. Albers encourages her clients to keep a food journal to get a clear sense of their eating habits, and to pay attention to habits like where they keep food in the house or office and how they go about food shopping. It’s also important to notice how you talk to yourself about food. “Be mindful of the voices in your head, the messages Mom might have given you about food.” Common self-defeating beliefs include not wanting to waste food, putting foods into black-and-white “good” and “bad” categories or trying to show people you love them by sharing rich comfort foods.
• Nonjudgmental Awareness of Environmental and Emotional Triggers for Eating. A bakery case full of French pastries may trigger a craving that was not there a moment ago. That craving has nothing to do with the body’s true needs and everything to do with the eating environment. A mindful approach can help you become aware of the difference between hunger and craving. And when you are aware of your personal triggers, it is easier to avoid them or to pause and make a conscious choice. Stress is another common trigger for overeating, but it’s not just negative feelings that trigger mindless eating. “Positive feelings can prompt automatic eating, too,” Albers says. “You want the happy feeling to continue, so you celebrate with food to hold on to the joy.” Mindfulness can help you recognize when you are eating for emotional reasons and can allow you to develop other strategies for self-soothing or celebrating.

 

 

The Spotify Question

I recently serendipitiously ran across a recording by a music artist named Moshimoss. The link I ran across brought me to his MySpace page where I can listen to all of his songs on the music player., And then I searched and found him on iTunes. Then I noticed him on Spotify. And now I encounter what I am calling the “Spotify Question”:

Am I willing to pay $9.99 plus tax to download his album “Hidden Tape No. 66″ from iTunes or just listen to his stuff for free on Spotify as much as I want? How I answer this question through my actions makes a small yet big difference to the livelihood of the music artist known as Moshimoss.

If I purchase the album from iTunes, he will net about $6.31. That’s enough for an average sandwich or a pint of beer here in the U.S. I have no idea what that will buy him in Japan where he’s from.

Let’s say I choose not to purchase his album from iTunes and continue to listen on Spotify, which is essentially the path of least resistance. Let’s say I listen to the whole thing 10 times. Assuming his music is not through a label (big or indie) and he is able to get all of the proceeds, he earns $0.00189 per song stream. Doing the math (14 tracks x 10 plays), Mr. Moshimoss earns about 24 cents. Music artists don’t receive proceeds directly, but rather through any number of intermediaries, so he will mostly likely earn a fraction of this amount for my 140 plays.

So, do I decide to shell out $9.99 plus tax? I am not sure. Meanwhile, I can just choose to listen on Spotify or MySpace (where he earns nothing).

I do know that in order for Mr Moshimoss to make the equivalent of minimum wage from iTunes sales, there needs to be at least 1,229 people this month who are willing to pay for a download of his entire album. Otherwise, to make minimum wage, guess how many Spotify streams are required? 4,053,110.

Woody Guthrie’s New Year’s resolution list from 1942

At the age of 30, Woody Guthrie created a New Year’s resolution list filled with wise gems like “Keep hope machine running” and “Dream good.” The list, handwritten in 1942 on notebook paper, contains 33 resolutions that might inspire you to make a similar list of your own.

(This post was originally from BoingBoing.net.)

So you don’t have to download the picture or squint, I (Kelly) have re-typed his list, followed with some of my own commentary.

1. Work more and better
2. Work by a schedule
3. Wash teeth if any
4. Shave
5. Take bath
6. Eat good – fruit – vegetables – milk
7. Drink very scant if any
8. Write a song a day
9. Wear clean clothes – look good
10. Shine shoes
11. Change socks
12. Change bed clothes often
13. Read lots of good books
14. Listen to radio a lot
15. Learn people better
16. Keep rancho clean
17. Don’t get lonesome
18. Stay glad
19. Keep hoping machine running
20. Dream good
21. Bank all extra money
22. Save dough
23. Have company but don’t waste time
24. Send Mary and kids money
25. Play and sing good
26. Dance better
27. Help win war – beat fascism
28. Love mama
29. Love papa
30. Love Pete
31. Love everybody
32. Make up your mind
33. Wake up and fight

Isn’t this priceless? He had me at just #1 and #2. As I think about the upcoming year and how much I wish to accomplish, I feel a lot of pressure to work harder, smarter, and more efficiently. I am generally enthusiastic and optimistic, but I must confess that I sometimes get tempted with feelings of hopelessness about being able to be successful in my new career. Therefore, I love #19: “Keep hoping machine running”. I might put that one up on my wall.

For those of you who don’t know who Woody Guthrie is, he was a folk singer/songwriter and is best known for writing “This Land is Your Land”. You can read about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie

Goals for 2012 and Beyond

Yep, it’s that time of the year again. I am still in the thick of all the goal-setting/re-setting stuff. Meanwhile, I thought it would be fun to list some of more interesting predictions and goals for the upcoming years that I saw on Wikipedia, the Mother of All Truth.

2012

• Queen Elizabeth II will have been on the throne for 60 years
• The world is going to end according the the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, ostensibly because the calendar runs out. This will effectively limit the Queen’s 60-year reign, of course.

2013

• The space program of the People’s Republic of China will attempt its first unmanned moon landing
• The first products using memristor technology will be available. Memristor is a new type of computer memory.

2014

• Other than the next FIFA World Cup (soccer), nothing spectacular predicted

2015

• On July 1, Earth, Venus, and Jupiter will be aligned. Ooohh!
• If Elizabeth II is still on the throne, she will surpass Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch. She is the same age as my mum; both will be 89.
• The US Navy will commission the first in a new class of supercarriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford. It will feature an additional deck containing a 9-hole golf course. (I made that part up.)

2016

• Orbital Technologies, a Russian company, will launch a space hotel for wealthy tourists. I doubt there will be a dance floor.
• The long running television series, South Park, will finish its current contract, and possibly will end. This is causing many to reinterpret the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.

2017

• The remaining classified documents pertaining to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy will be released to the public

2018

• According to futurist Ray Kurzweil, by 2018 “there will be a drug that lets you eat whatever you want without gaining weight.”

2019

• Slim pickin’s as far as predictions go. Prognosticators have bypassed this year in favor of predictions for…

2020

• Several developing countries have plans to become “developed countries” by 2020, among them, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. How does one become a developed country?
• India’s space agency, ISRO, plans to send a manned space mission to the moon in this year. I suppose that is one answer to the previous question.
• The Russian Federal Space Agency says that they plan to be mining helium-3 from the moon by this year.
• Technological predictions include cars that drive themselves on smart highways, 3-D video conferencing, artificial brain cells, artificial lungs, artificial kidneys, and the identification of the genetic causes of all diseases

As for moi? I’m still working on my goals, but I definitely plan on having a Christmas record released.

What about you? Any goals and plans for the new year?

Peace On The Earth

Last year at this time, I was inspired to write a strident song about peace. I had thought about writing a new one this year but got too busy with other things. So, here once again is “Peace on the Earth”. I hope you enjoy. Lyrics and credits below.

Break the silence
Confront the madness
Make the voice of reason heard

Crush the hatred
with ruthless kindness
Let your love be the last word

Peace on the Earth
Peace on the Earth

Stop the violence
of cold indifference
Too much goes on that we allow

Pierce the darkness
with fierce compassion
Beat the drum of justice NOW!

Peace on the Earth
Peace on the Earth

—————–

Music by Kelly Carpenter. Words by Kelly Carpenter and Scott Burnett.
© 2010 KelSongs / Kelly Carpenter Music (ASCAP) / Scott A. Burnett. All rights reserved.

Recorded December 2010 at Avondale.Blazing guitar solos by Scott A. Burnett. Vocal choirs by Kelly and Merrilyn Carpenter and UPC Gospel Choir. Programming, rhythm guitar, and lead vocal by Kelly Carpenter.