Thursday, March 23, 2006

If you wanna go somewhere... if you wanna be somebody...

I think i need a night in. I've been running around like crazy all day. but at 8pm, you have to wonder if a nap is really in the cards. "Sister Act II : Back in the Habit" just came on. What a blessing. How is it that I've seen both "Sister Act" and it's equally stunning sequal so many times? seriously. how did that happen? But then again, how could you hate on Lauryn Hill? You can't.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

alright

if you'd like to participate....

http://kevan.org/johari?name=jordanbrookehamlin

Saturday, March 18, 2006

there is no sunken treasure.



sweet fancy moses the wilco show was good. seems too much to re-tell. but here's the setlist and a few pics (not of my taking). just close your eyes and envision awesome. ... it was better than that.

1. Sunken Treasure
2. Remember The Mountain Bed
3. Airline To Heaven
4. At My Window Sad And Lonely
5. Forget The Flowers
6. When The Roses Bloom Again
7. California Stars
8. Muzzle Of Bees
9. Hell Is Chrome
10. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
11. Jesus, Etc.
12. Walken
13. Handshake Drugs
14. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
15. A Shot In The Arm
16. At Least That's What You Said
17. The Late Greats

Encore 1:
18. Hummingbird
19. new song (Maybe The Sun Will Shine Today)
20. Theologians
21. I'm The Man Who Loves You
22. Kingpin

Encore 2:
23. Passenger Side
24. War On War


Encore 3:
25. Acuff-Rose (Jeff solo acoustic unplugged)


So, for the last encore, Tweedy came out and said something like, "I hate to say goodbye, so I'll leave you with this song. I'm going to play it the way it was supposed to be played in this room". He then unplugs his guitar and walks away from the mic to the front of the stage. The crowd who was moments ago dancing and jumping (unlike I've ever seen in that room) was now completely silent and straining to see/hear what was happening. you could hear a pin drop, but instead you heard jeff f-ing tweedy sing and play and...melt my heart of stone. It was good night. Fun abounded.

Friday, March 17, 2006

excuse me, but your Johari window is open.

Today’s one of those days where I just think, “gosh. I love my job(s).” I had two shoots back to back at the studio, both of which were for people I had never met but who were really really great through the whole process. I had quite a bit of down time between things where I read some more on Jayber Crowe, listened to good music and played with two of my favorite puppies. It’s fun to have friends assist me. On work like I did today, I must admit, it’s mainly for the company (and to prevent as much awkwardness as possible with new people.)

Despite popular belief, I’m crazy shy around new people. I think in formidable years, I was in structured environments like the academy and at the camp I worked at, where you forced to suck it up. If you’re on staff or a counselor, especially, there’s not really an option to be shy around 15 new kids every week. You basically had an afternoon to make everyone feel comfortable and a week to love them. It was a real challenge for me, though I can’t remember every talking to anyone about it then. But, I’m really thankful for those years. I still feel that tension, though. (Introvert trying to be an extrovert enough where eventually you’re both) that was confusing enough.

I’ve always been fascinated by Johari windows. Or similar concepts/tools. - The idea that there are things about a person that fall into the following four “quadrants”:


a) There are characteristics or behaviors that are known only to the self, but that people may never see or understand,
b) There are things about the person that both the self and others know.
c) There are characteristics that the person possesses that they are unaware of, but are known to others
d) There are behaviors or motives, which were not recognized by anyone participating. This may be because they do not apply, or because there is collective ignorance of the existence of that trait.

It’s just fascinating to think about. My friend Jason created one. It’s hard to do an online version, and you have to trust that those participating will be honest. Who knows, maybe I’ll get brave and post the link to mine. A good day to all.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

heads or....


tails are weird. have you ever felt one? they're really weird feeling. i can't say that i want one... or will want one.. ever. I've always wanted paws, though. not just any paws, but lion paws. that would be sweet.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

C.C. Bloom and spring. These are a few of my favorite things.

I feel bombarded with things lately that i'm supposed to use to make people think i'm cool. In a way, i suppose, this has a lot to do with the intimacy/technology relationship (see the blog about blogging). Things like LastFM which tracks your plays in itunes (if you choose this platform) and builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste, showing their favorite artists and songs on a customizable profile webpage. It shows your most played artists, most played songs by week and overall. I can't say that mine gets many hits as there are two people who know about it, but i get this feeling every time I go to someone else's... or my own. I get the sinking feeling that the user's awareness or self-consciousness of this public display often outweighs that of others' interest. I mean, it's cool. it's really cool. i like going to people's. i like going to mine. but, i know multiple friends who manipulate their listenings so they'll... well, so they'll look cooler. The same principle applies for me with profile songs on myspace. i just can't do it. b/c i know i would be thinking about who thinks the song is lame... or something to that effect. And now away (and "available" if you have a mac) messages on instant messenger hold the same power. "Working at Rolling Stone with Joey Lawrence" "recording yanni at Peter Gabriel's 'Real World' studio". I'm just sayin. there's a lot to live up to there. But, don't start getting all paranoid about your away messages, friends. Please.

We are inherently masters at this craft of 'cool' (or at least we long to be). In saying all of the above, know that the "understood you" of the thought is that we (myself especially) can do this with anything. Houses, colloquialisms, sunglasses, DVD collections... Everything. I feel confident that there are many many people who can be good stewards of this technology, I'm just probably not one of them.

In other news, AMC has been a channel after my own heart today. Two of my favorite movies are "Beaches" and "Big". (A funny addition after that last little bit about being cool.) apparently this is 80s week at AMC and they're showing Beaches today and Big on Sunday. right on, amc. right on. you know, i've never thought about it until just now, but it's kinda weird that they call it "Beaches". I mean, it starts on a beach and ends on a beach, but i'm just sayin. There's a lot of in between time where a lot of things were said that might inspire a title. i don't know. i'm not sayin. i'm just sayin.



The weather has been so amazing lately. It completely changes my outlook. As a result, I cleaned the house, bought a ton of fresh produce and went on a long walk with friends and pups.... aaaand the moon was crazy awesome. Crazy Horse. Harvest Moon. gosh i love neil young.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

scout.


i have a dog. scout. she's a national treasure.