009_Hot, Buttered 'Nutmeg' Soul...

I was crestfallen and melancholy this morning when I found out that mixwit.com, the guys who provide the interface that allows you to listen to my radio sets was shutting down. Those damn RIAA bastards had something to do with it, I know. It's all a conspiracy I tell you, conspiracy... ;)

Another one bites the dust. First muxtape, now mixwit, next will be OpenTape, whom mixwit has given the code to so that it's legacy may live on. There is another alternative which I am testing out and is located below, 8tracks - it's not mixwit, let me tell you. So the mixwit mixes will expire at the turn of the new year and will be rendered useless like the pumpkin and Cinderella. Poof! It's gone.

So all disappointment and violin playing aside, this is the holiday season, a season to be jolly and at peace. Now what is better than to be jolly and whistle or sing along with everyone's favorite yule tide jingles. So, ladies and germs, I present to you your egg nog warming, mistletoe kissing, candy cane licking, fire burning, story telling, gift giving melange of background companionship to aid in your togetherness and to champion the run-on sentence ;)

To help me help you enjoy this gift, I have the following heavy hitters backing me up:

Bing Crosby / Berlin Symphony Orchestra / Louis Armstrong / Kay Starr / Lena Horne / Eartha Kitt / Joe Williams / Patti Page / Ella Fitzgerald / Billy May / Jimmy McGriff / The Cathedral Brass

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

Holiday Jam...

A happy holiday is what I wish upon you,
And the dance of the sugar plum fairy ;)

Baby, it's cold outside, and that's ok
I've got my love to keep me warm.

So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,
Santa baby, you can and you will
Jingle bells. No one tells, or even sells
Quite like that nutcracker suite.

Just look at Frosty the Snowman strut his stuff
Dawning his white christmas suit, getting ready
For a midnight sleigh ride. Rudolph, the red-nosed
reindeer waiting to begin the magic of the night.

It's that time of year,
Sing the song, you know,
The christmas song and bring
Joy to the world and then
Heaven and nature sing...

May the spirit of Festivus for the rest of us reign supreme throughout your holiday season. Enjoy the company of loved ones, family and friends. We witness love in action during the holidays and every time we love, every time we give, it's something to be celebrated.

I am Khayyam and this is Hot, Buttered 'Nutmeg' Soul...

Seven things you didn't know...

@kathrynaustin tagged me and was humbled to think that someone thought to thank me. She doesn't tweet as much as others do AND when she does it's always of top notch quality. I have no other option than to forward her links, posts or insights ;)

So, I guess I'm supposed to tell you seven things that you don't know about me (this could get scary). In no particular order:

I'm very particular
So particular I can't stand to see water spots on chrome faucets and religiously clean them to a shine. It even extends to other people's places (OPP, ya you know me). I will find myself cleaning faucets that don't belong to me and the satisfaction that comes from it is very soothing ;)

I meditate in a number of ways
Washing dishes, vacuuming and folding clothing are my regular theraputic remedies that I embark upon to maintain balance in my life. Oh ya, I stretch connective tissue and do breath of fire (which is very different from dragon breath). I crave for Om Sweet Om and burn incense to feed the gods.

I'm a collector of fine things
I collect things like shoes, jackets, cuff links, scarves, music and shoes ;)

I talk a lot
I have accepted the fact that I enjoy hearing myself talk and that I'm sure if you've followed me or read things I write... you'd notice ;)

I like to help out, a lot
Can't stop winking or retweeting, there is help for people like me. One day I will seek it out, just not now.

I always wanted to build things
Deep down I always wanted to be an architect. I've designed homes and one restaurant for myself. Would love the opportunity to go to Italy to study Architecture and learn how to make shoes from that old cat named Gieuseppe across from the butcher shop ;)

I need to learn to enjoy the spotlight
I can shine my light with the best of them, yet something comes over me and I can't bring myself to share my skills or talents with the rest of the world. I used to be a concert promoter and enjoyed it because I was the one making it happen, not the one up on stage pulling in all the attention. Well, I'm stepping out of the shadows and on to the stage... I am Khayyam, I'm here all week, try the Green Eggs and Ham, Khayyam I am.

Tag, you're it. I loved that game when I was a kid and when I was recently tagged and I was "it", I jumped at the chance to reach out and tag some others. There no challenge in tagging thos that are easy to tag, so I took it upon myself to tag the ones that are a bit more elusive and have some skills to thrill.

@adbert - started following me this past week and this IT Manager, System Analyst, Web developer and soon to be blogger lends his retweeting weaponry without hesitation and even asked me how I was... stellar chap.

@keryp - web designer, graphic artist, flash animator, science fiction reader, job hunter, supermom, perpetual student, environmentalist, electronica lover supports me, actually cares and it shows with every tweet.

@mechanis - stumbled upon this mix-media and cultural artist and loved the way he layed out his site. It's off the beaten path, symbols mixed with letters and numbers, chaotic organization - a new approach to art and media.

@hookersforjesus - X-Hooker Annie Lobert has a non-profit organization that reaches out to sex workers called HOOKERS FOR JESUS!!! The name says it all and I'd love to know more about do-gooder doing good. Well done.

@zappos - Tony's the CEO, what more can you say?! Best shoe company around that feeds my soul's soles. I ask him a question and he answers me back. The frickin CEO. Now that's a man of the people.

@huddydesign - She's a freelancer, business owner, flash designer, developer, triathlete, student and weirdo. Can't wait to watch her blossom into the power house flasher that I know her to be, just need to buy her a khaki trenchcoat and she's set.

@megfowler - Dubious at best. She writes well, strangely and has an ecclectic assortment of musical expressions. Did I mention she's awesome?! ;)



*Honorable mention - was tagged previously by @DamienBasile
@abartelby - Designer. Writer. Blogger. New Yorker. Obstinately cross-referential. Of cryptic interconnective syntax. Nonlinear. Discontinuous. Collage-like. An assemblage. He hearts me in a platonic way ;)

That's my list... I've checked it twice. Now comes a test to see who's been naughty or nice.

Here are the rules I followed, stolen from @damienbasile and passed on by @lisahoffmann :

Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.

• Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged

Me and three million others...

The Hajj. It's nothing like I ever imagined. Now that I've experienced it, am actually wondering whether or not I should share my personal experience. My intention is to properly explain what it is that each of the 3 million pilgrims that migrated to Saudi Arabia do to perfom The Hajj. Just not in this post, it's going to have to wait until I get back to Canada when I sort everything out and have a moment to actually form proper sentences ;)



I am able to share with you the images captured of moments in time that can give an idea of the magnitude of this event. I did capture some video (http://youtube.com/iamkhayyam) as well of how congested and overwhelming some of these situations are.

Please be patient, be very patient, be very very patient.

This was the one of many lessons learned...

Love Glue™ - What's it mean to you?

#loveglue - Meaningless concept given meaning and brought to life. Something silly and fun...

It was all sparked and inspired by the following statement:

Miss James has totally squeezed my mind grapes and produced heavenly love glue ;)

So I ask of you, what does #loveglue mean to you? Drop me a line, @iamkhayyam or comment or email me at theusual@gmail.com. Whatever floats your boat, diggs your soul or you stumble upon ;)

And don't forget, create a beautiful day ;)

The Pilgrimage...

As you may or may not know, I'm in Saudi Arabia performing The Hajj. The videos can be viewed HERE and the images HERE.

I don't know how to begin to describe the experience. I have written about it here and there and haven't had time to share it with the very limited and very expensive interwebs. Saving the words for now and just sharing the picture with you since they are worth thousands of words, in lieu of mine.

Let's just say that I've finally experienced love. Not the love that we see in magazines or movies or day to day... I mean the deepest and widest form of the formless.

There was an invitation that was extended and I'm glad to have shook the hand of all that is.

008_Hot, Buttered Soul...

This installment of Hot, Buttered Soul was heavily inspired by feeling the music and the trenchant message of love throughout the songs and titles. I never sit down and scratch my head at what I'm going to play, the songs kind of just fall into my lap and out of my chest.

With my new friend Last.fm, whom I speak to when it has a hiccup streaming and I ask it,

"Last.fm. Are you ok? What's wrong? Why don't you want to play my Neo-Soul radio?! Oh, you want me to switch the station. Thanks Last.fm".

That's kind of how it goes ;) I dedicate this session of soul to Last.fm and those who resonate with any of these songs who wish they were played specifically for them. From time to time I am inspired and I could not have done it without the following people:

Sugababes / Erykah Badu / K-Os / Leela James / J-Live / Queen Latifah / Lucy Pearl / Crown City Rockers / Angie Stone / Glenn Lewis / Sweetback

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

From Time To Time...

What an overload experience,
the love of my life taught me.
Learning to be the man I used to be,
don't speak, can't love - tense.

Now I'm coming home to
witness simply beautiful,
the dance tonight, a tool
one transmutes through.

Side step, and move forward,
because life goes on, it always does.

It's ok to believe, dream
your dream & you will rise.

From time to time, through thick and thin, love resides within us albeit most often it is conspicuously hiding from the world to see. Well this is me saying the clouds are parting and the sun is shining down on you and taking a snapshot of you right this moment. A snapshot of your thoughts, your feelings and how you treat the world around you. Do you like what you see? If your answer is no, then take the picture again... and instead of saying "cheese" this time, say "LOVE".

Ya, that's the ticket...

I am Khayyam and this is Hot, Buttered Soul...

Typographic Madness...

(via noupe.com)

This is a brilliant compilation of some of the finest typographic treatments that you've probably never seen. Only a few are familiar, the rest fresh and they are keeping my jaw on the ground. Really impressive and well worth the checking out.

Typography Madness: 30 Brilliant Pieces of Work

Design Your Own Tequila bottle...

I've been following (@simoncook) from Made In England for some time now and have been amused for hours on end with his wonderful characters, cross country treks, bizarre stories that I wouldn't normally find, he makes me laugh and well, most of all... he rocks a pretty darn nice moustache ;)

Well, just like he... I was drawn in to an opportunity to design my own 1800 Tequila bottle. So I ventured off to make my first bottle design ;) I whipped one up quickly just to see what it would look like if my nose was on the side of a bottle ;) It's not the quickest process out there so I'm calling it quits at one for now... I'll be back though.

Yes, I am a typophile...

I've been a typography whore since my elementary school days of ordering from Scholastic Books and my favorite and first of all time, The Lettering Book (Noelle Morris, 1988). Amazon has the book listed for one new version at $218.46?! - far from the $6.95 I once paid. I tried finding an image of it and the only one in Google images' existence I found was on typophile.com which led me to the article that it resided within: A SURVEY: What was your first book about typography?

Through an another excellent article Five Simple Steps to better typography, written by Mark Boulton. In the depths of his site I found this absolute gem of a short film. Now this is how I'm would cherish spending time with my son or daughter, kicking back, sharing brushstrokes and creating typefaces. From my calculations, that is a five year old kid with a solid stroke and a brilliantly genius way of seeing the world. Inspiring on so many levels...

(via mark boulton)

a video by Job & Roel Wouters
recorded in Amsterdam at studio Xelor early 2008

Hand 1: Gradus W. Wouters, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2003
Hand 2: Job Wouters, Leiden, the Netherlands, 1980

Director: Roel Wouters

Director of photography: Sal Kroonenberg
Music: Rik Elstgeest & Bo Koek
Production asst: Ton de Munck

notes from the director:
‘Job and Gradus are both ambitious concerning letters. Spontaneous jam sessions in our studio inspired us to make this film about the fun drawing letters’

Digitalmash is a digital pimp...

I've been surfing the swells of the interwebs for a long time (Mosaic ring a bell? ;)) and I have never been quite blown away like this with such an absolutely clean and aesthetically pleasing site before. Recently I've been digging grids in typography and Rob Morris's use of grid systems on digitalmash.com is so pretty. If I had money, I would give it to him. Yup, he's that good.

Take a quick peek...
digitalmash

007_Hot, Buttered Soul...

Another installment of Hot, Buttered Soul on CFCR 90.5FM. A rememberance edition that left me the only one in the studio and I turned up the monitors and had me a little Tuesday afternoon tail feather shaking. So grab you sweat bands, track suits, Kangol and unlace those Adidas... damn I'm getting old ;) My soundtrack for the day brings to you the likes of:

George Kranz | Robin Thicke| Uncle Louie | Rap Parker Jr. | Jean Knight | DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince | Honey Drippers | Stevie Wonder | Faze-O | Barrabas | Cookie Crew | Michael Jackson

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

Something Like This...

Din daa daa goes the song
And I have to stop and ask myself,
Do I like funky music?
Am I still in the groove?

Mister big stuff on the floor
As we go and impeach the president.

I wish there were no more disputes;
We could be ridin' high together
Woman, but I'm born this way
And you don't stop til you get enough.

As we go a little something like this...

A rememberance to a time when disputes were dealt with on the dance floor... crew against crew. Mess with the best, get disgraced with the rest. Trade in your guns for boom boxes and slap the cardboard down on the floor...

Bring it... cause mine be broughten... ;)

The art of sourcery code...

(via creattica)

I remember when I had my Atari 1040ST linked up with my 1200 baud modem connecting to the BBS's that rocked ASCII art top to bottom. The dark background with the glowing green text - makes you almost want to pull out your old phreak manuals and anarchist cookbooks to hack into the system and make free telephone calls from payphones ;)

This is a beautiful modern day application that has left me going... "Damn, I can't wait to do that." ;)

Start generating your ASCII:

• ascii text generator
• ascii art generator
  
• ascii art & image conversion
  
• ascii image generator
  

A rough guide to napping...

(via swissmiss)

006_Hot, Buttered Soul...

I host a radio show called Hot, Buttered Soul every other week. I brokered an agreement with mixwit.com and after signing up and creating an account I was now able to offer those sets up to the public. It's been nice to document bi-weekly my mood in music. It truly lends to some very interesting insights. My most recent is that I love love. Yup. All kinds. I think it's the only answer...

So, without further adieu let me introduce the souls that are joining me on this magical quest to discover, as Andre 3000 would put it, 'The love down below'. I mean that in the sense that it is love that needeth uncoveringeth... it's way down deep and as you peel back the layers, the closer you get to the love down below...

Roy Davis Jr. | McFadden & Whitehead | The Jacksons | Willie Bobo | Organized Konfusion | The Pointer Sisters | Samba Soul | I Gres | Johnny Bristol | Secret Weapon | Larry Young's Fuel | George Benson

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

It Rains Rain...

People get ready for it.
Ain't no stoppin' us now...
We goin' places... Where
you are, you're always there.

Go for a walk into the sun,
bask in it going down slowly...

Chove chuva means 'it rains
rain' and when it does, it doesn't stop.
Leaves me restless, weightless,
impressed and breathless...

No, that's that lusty lady,
must be the music... it's both.
Woman... turn off the lights
give me the night that has no end...

When it rains, it pours. There's a choice when it rains... slip on some rubber boots and splash about and have some fun or or just let it be since you don't have any control over it... just enjoy it. It's bound to rain once in a while and you've got to weather the storm, whether you're ready for the whether or not?! ;)

The all new Photoshop CS4...

I'm absolutely thrilled with my new upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS4. I couldn't be happier. The collapsible menus that can have a myriad of custom configurations, the all new multiple panels... truly the only WYSIWYG pixel editors out there.

This new software makes it feels as if I were painting it myself... the art just flows out of me now.

Thanks Adobe ;)

Get yours now.








This is some really nice art direction...
________________
as real as it gets @ flickr
agency : Bates141 Jakarta
creative director : Hendra Lesmono
art director : Andreas Junus & Irawandhani Kamarga
copywriter : Darrick Subrata
photgrapher : Anton Ismael

Back up... it's one of those days...

(via kdiddy)

This is how I felt today. One of those days where you wish a mother trucker would cross you, just so you can drop heavy all over up in this herr' ;) I'm mad at all there is. How can the universe pluck strings and move skies just to come crashing down on me?! Ya, I know... I'm not that important ;) I'm just steaming here in frustration and don't get it. Glad it's just one of those days.

Tomorrow is going to be stellar after this one ;)

A thick ragu fest...

Just did a little revamp on an old design for an upcoming reggae night hosted at The Churchill Cellar, below Winston's, and put on by the few that are Momentum.

005_Hot, Buttered Soul...

I've been recently inspired by a 'swimmingly fantastic' presence that has only be known to me for moments at a time. In these moments however, time stands still and the insulating warmth that I feel slowly grows a smile.

Music has always been an outlet for whatever emotions one goes through. I find that the soul sisters of yesteryear and today have an ability to communicate the feelings that I have inside and can't quite lasso the words to describe them well enough. So I thank the following people for joining me today:

Isley Brothers | Marie "Queenie" Lyons | Mary Jane Hooper | Barbara Acklin | Common | Roxanne Shante | Gladys Knight & The Pips | Zapp | Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns | Citizen Cope | KC & The Sunshine Band | The Sisters Love | Patti Jo | Betty Davis


The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

Swimmingly Fantastic...

That lady who swims fantastically
Leaves me in a frenzied fever.
I've got what you need, a mind weaver.
Love makes a woman and i am music... infinitely.

So, go on girl, what's the story? Please tell me,
Who is she and what is she to you?
I'm gonna be alright, you cool?
Get up for the down stroke and you'll be set free.

Every time I see you, you're all dressed up
And looking good, boogie shoes too.
Give me your love, make me believe in you
It's the anti anti love song, half full is my cup.

Embarrassing when you get caught telling the same swimmer how good she is at what she does...

Just Souled Out, Again...

While I was travelling I came up with the original Souled Out promotional materials. I was recently asked to create another implementation of the Souled Out nights hosted by the physician named Jason aka Dr. J.

Get yours before it's Souled Out.

Z-Trip has a posse...

A letter and a mix from Z-Trip:

"Recently, Shepard Fairey and I threw some fundraisers for the Obama campaign. We called them "The Party for Change". (If you don't know who Shepard is--among many other things--he is the one responsible for the image on the right).

I've been wanting to put the mix I've been doing at these shows online, in hopes of spreading the word to people who need to hear it most. So, here it is:

http://djztrip.com/obama/

I encourage you to download it and pass it along to anyone you think should hear it. Feel free to burn copies, share it with friends, family, co-workers, strangers, and especially anyone you know is on the fence about this election. I'm also putting out a radio friendly version, in case anyone wants to broadcast it.

Please share the message. Educate those who may not know what is really going on. There is still time.

If you, or anyone you know, isn't registered to vote, I encourage you to make it a priority and fix that before it's too late. This election is WAY too important for anyone to not get involved. If you need more information on how and where to register, vote, or participate, please check the links below.

I honestly feel if we make our voices heard, this time WILL be different.

Peace,

Z-TRIP


For more Information, check out these links:

• The Official Obama Campaign Site
• MoveOn.org Political Action Group
• Rock the Vote
• OBEY
• Z-Trip News, Downloads, More

Eid Mubark's Eve...

Eid is coming up for some in a few hours, for a few others it will be tomorrow. It all depends on when you see the moon do a dance in between a couple of mountains when a beetle crossing over dung in front of you after a baby belches and a sparrow swiftly spins it's tune in flight ;) Or something close to that ;) So I looked online to find some nice Eid cards to send out to family and friends and I was sick and tired of seeing the sloppy photoshop filters of blurring, drop shadowing, pillow embossing and stroking type... for me, I can't do it... just can not.

So last night I made a few different designs. October 1st is Eid-al-Fitr, the celebration and festivities after the month of Ramadan (the month of fasting) is complete.

Someone wished that peace be upon me and within me and now I do the same unto you...

004_Hot, Buttered Soul...

Down at the radio station there is something called FM Phasis going on which is a fund raising event that lasts roughly two weeks in duration. This is a community radio station and thereby ruling out the bix boxed advertising from the big cheese honchos. So we as a community come together to support all that is and the things that sometimes slide under our noses if it weren't for CFCR.

I decided to dedicate the entire show to the Motown sound, a sound that has been twisted and churned into amazing inspiration and influenced a myriad of artists. The Motown Crew rolls deep with name dropping like:

Chaka Khan & Montel Jordan / Eddie Kendricks / Marvin Gaye / Ben Harper / Jackson 5 / The Temptations / The Funk Brothers / Smokey Robinson & The Miracles / Diana Ross & The Supremes / Rare Earth / Me'Shell N'degeocello

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

The Motown Sound...

Slowly and surely the journey unravels,
There ain't no mountain high enough
to keep me from keep on truckin on my travels.
A voice inside me says, "I got to give it up".

When I heard it through the grapevine
A dancing machine that got away.
Better use the energy wisely to pave the way.
I can't get next to you, so I give it time..

Falling for Bernadette, begins with a wait.
Begins with tears of a clown, a fool.
I want you back, like in the day
When we were chill, talking about love, child.

I just want to celebrate
With you on cloud nine

The sound that will constantly go around with hi-hat's that are like angel's voices...

I feed when the sun goes down...

I am the undead. Feeding when the sun goes down, going to sleep when the sun comes up. The only missing thing here is a serious blood lust and a coffin. I'm coming around the corner on the last few days of fasting. I can honestly say that I don't care very much for fasting anymore. I set out to fast for a lunar month just to see if I could do it. And I'm doing it.

My schedule has been flipped turned upside down and all I seem to be doing is sitting in front of a computer. I rarely go outside, feeling like I don't have enough energy stored in order to go and I prefer to have the blinds drawn when I'm inside. All I can do is immerse myself in developing a creative source for my energies to flow towards and through.

That means I withdraw from what surrounds me and I get enveloped in a world of thought. My head has been going over this and that with analysis on each pass only to regurgitate the information reducing it down to a more efficient use and then a millisecond later, I continue ;) Even when I finally would lay my head down to meet the pillow, there was still a charge left sparking synapses and engaging my train.

This creative and entrepreneurial train runs every once in a while and when it does there 'salways some last minute passengers that come along for the ride. I've never seen any family member on the train with me, but lo and behold, all that is drops a beautiful gift of support from the heavens to give me some coal to get the locomotive chugging. Like the guests in my house, I've got some space to share with some strangers and some, not-so strange. It's a ride, I know my journey is what's important... just sitting back to take notice of some moments of transition and potential that is finally being realized and met.

Tallyho pinkerton...

Astronomically astrological apathy...

Those that know me know that I roll with a certain kind of flow. I do certain things and like to have things done in a certain way, this I'm hundred person certain. Exampla gratia like every Sunday I would check the horoscope section in the Sun, you know, the one written by Holiday Mathis that tells me:

You're so charming now, you can get to know anyone you want or need to know. There are lots of open invitations on the table throughout the week -- you're both giving them and receiving them, and they mean very little. Make specific requests with a time and date attached. That's how new relationships really start.

That's the first time in about six weeks I actually cared enough to read it, to be open to another perspective. My apathy towards all that is became all that wasn't. Not a good place to be in when you haven't eaten in a month ;)

Today something changed.

I've realized how much time I've spent by myself and how neglectful I've been to the rest of the world. My melancholy spilleth over and my friends, all few of them, have witnessed a rather uninspired individual. Well inspiration came through today and I am thankful to have had the perspective tweaked by that whom is capable of tweaking it in such a way that I can't begin to even comprehend. Thank you.

It reminds me of the conversation between Govinda, a son of a brahmin, with Siddhartha:

"We have learned a lot, Siddhartha, there is still much to learn. We are not going around in circles, we are moving up, the circle is a spiral, we have already ascended many a level."

It sometimes feels as if we are going around in circles, chasing our own tail if you will, and rather, it's a continual pathway that unfolds. From my experience, when I've absolutely given up on something... completely let go and accepted that it wasn't in the stars; I find that what ever it was that I was focusing on that frustrated me so is no longer and I'm well supported in ways I wasn't expecting.

I noticed that my breath went from shallow and apathetic to a inspired one with fresh air and faith and hope and courage... a deep feeling within me to continue doing what I'm doing.

Something feels right all right...

The sky's the limit...

Momento...up'd by theusual...

I've been drawn to the skies lately for inspiration, clarity and insight. It is absolutely amazing at what expertise the sky is painted with diligent brush strokes. Patience to let the oil paint move and dry upon the canvas. Any little mistake is quite on purpose creating a pleasant collection of tumble and falls all lending to generate what seems to be perfection which are indeed many little accidents that were always meant to be. Funny how that be...

ed. One of the longest run on sentences I think I could have come up with ;) I won't change it... that's me off in some place or another...

Three weeks in...

And I'm out. I've gone on a roller coaster ride while fasting this month. I'm 21 days in and I have to tell you this last week has arrived with a pack of unwelcome visitors. Which reminds me of the following Rumi poem, entitled...

The Guesthouse.

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

I've been what seems like hell and back smiling at each guest as they come by unannounced. Each one I have to tend to with care and when they do not show it back I struggle and fall, step right back up and muster from somewhere... a smile ;)

In one week I will be done this quest... my unexpected vision quest. The darkness shrouded the sky and green pastures desaturated into a colorless picture. The feeling was ominous and constricting. Then by if some miracle when I could go no further, a beam of sunlight appeared through the clouds and began a wonderful painting through my windows.

This ain't no block party...

Just designed a little number for momentum's Blog party. J-Swing from Vancouver is coming in and I'll tell you from experience that he puts on a good show. He's been a staple in Vancouver's hip hop scene for years and I'll guarantee that he drops some slick tracks.

October 2nd at Bacchus Lounge beside Earl's.

See you there...
momentum's blog

Regurgitating recurring dreams...

Normally one wouldn't be dreaming about this kind of KISS. I went to Dr. Hoe Mark yesterday, he shares an office with Weiping Wang. I'd have to say he's the hardest working Hoe I know. Regardless of his work ethic, we travelled back to my youth to find the root of some physical symptoms I've been suffering. My ears, nose and throat issues all manifested at the age of about six years old. The age at which my father had a heart attack and at that young age I took on the responsibility of causing his heart attack. Pretty big responsibility to take on when you're six. Not to mention I had no control over what happens to anyone, including myself. Hoe asked me about my dreams at that age and I recall two recurring dreams, one possibly a nightmare since it left me crying out in absolute fear.

So this is how we come to KISS. In the early eighties I was exposed to the groups that my elder two brothers listened to, well, perhaps the one ;) I remember seeing the album covers and the make up that these guys sported. Scary stuff when some crazy tall man with monsters for boots and a tongue that spews blood in a mist similar to the sprinkler my next door neighbour has. Six years old and the KISS army was closing in on me. I think I've mentioned this dream before somewhere in my blah'ging history, so anywho... it starts out on Poplar Crescent and I'm outside riding my bike, picking my nose, throwing rocks... you know being six. And all of a sudden a UFO hovers between our house and the next door neighbours and a really long ladder starts descending to earth. At this point I'm frozen in astonishment and just waiting to see what is going to appear through the black rectangle of the ufo. Gene Simmons pokes his tongue around the corner and one after another the KISS army descends upon me. Now I'm freaking out. I run to the door of the house and it's locked. I can see through the window of the door that my brother is behind it and won't unlock it for he too saw the ufo and slips into survival mode. That leaves me running to the back of the house to try and get in. No dice. On the way, the KISS army surrounds me and I'm swallowed in darkness. On cue, I sit up in bed with tears of fear rolling down my cheeks and realize where I am and it was only a dream... a dream that I never thought would last six or seven years.

The other recurring dream that I had was right out of Indiana Jones. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dr. Jones is in a dark cave and it's booby trapped. One of the traps is a boulder becomes dislodged and rolling through the narrow cavern crushing everything in it's path. Well, that boulder gets transported into the house where I spent most of my early days. If you were to open up the doors in the house you could walk from one end to the other. Well this boulder would roll through the house (and through the door jams somehow, what am I supposed to say... it's a dream, boulders roll through door jams in my dreams) and rustle file folders full of papers that were really important to other people. I would run back and forth making sure nothing was out of place or any papers floating away due to the boulder creating a wind stream in it's wake.

So my Hoe says that I've inherited my father's struggle. Brilliant, I thought I had it hard enough ;) He struggled with his and made his choices to the best of his abilities to combat it. I had the privilege of witnessing it first hand. Now on my path I make the choices that he did not make. We were both on either side of the spectrum. Inheritances aren't always was they are cracked up to be.

There was one interesting thing that surfaced however. I have been numbing all sensations and emotions which by default puts my in my armadillo state (curled and shielded up) which suffocates the rest of me. By numbing everything away or out I was slowly killing myself. Which reminded me of a passage in Dr. Wayne Dyer's book, Your Erroneous Zones:

If you place a rock under a microscope and observe it carefully, you note that it never changes. But, if you put a piece of coral under the same microscope, you'll detect that it is growing and changing. Conclusion: The coral is alive, the rock is dead. How do you distinguish between a flower that is alive and one that is dead? The one that is growing is alive. The only evidence of life is growth! If you are growing, you are alive. If you are not growing then you might as well be dead.

Guess I've been dead this past month ;) Well, here's to being back from the dead!!

003_Hot, Buttered Soul...

This is my third show of Hot Buttered, Soul - today was inspired to get your head nodding 'cause your neck knows it's phat. Since FM Phasis Fest is coming up it cut into my line up a little bit and I didn't get to play the last Angie Stone track... so here it is in it's entirety... a little hot butter for your soul with the likes of:

The Detroit Spinners / Diana Ross / The Emotions / Pointer Sisters / The Beginning of the End / Evelyn King / Jean Jacques Perrey / Jully Black / Gap Band / Robin Thicke / New Edition / Angie Stone

The titles are in the flow somewhere and if you listen along then you can play along - the name of the game is Name That Tune! ;)

Respectfully I say to thee...

It's a shame that we don't act with love
scared to experience another love hangover.

Once you take the turn down the blind alley,
Only thing to say is "yes we can can" ;)

When she made me promise, the skies opened
Up and love come down, upside down.
The extra vehicular activity, reminded me,
Of heaven, it smelled like coffee and crepes.

Queen, I ain't seen you in a minute,
Wrote this letter, finally decided to send it.
Last thing I heard you say was,
"You dropped a bomb on me". That's very true.

What else would have opened my eyes to see
Everything; I can't have my cake and eat it too.

So I'm going to cool it now, play with it,
Let it flow, slow my roll and just let it simmer.

So open up your spices, awaken them with a slow roast, let it marinate...

Once upon a Harvest Moon...

The time is upon us, to stay up all night and farm our lands with the light of the Harvest Moon illuminating that which confronts us. This is the last moon of the summer and transitioning into the fall season... my favorite season particularly because I can bring out my shawls and scarves ;) I don't know how I ever existed all these years without these over my shoulder, really... I don't even know how I managed. Not to mention that it's sweater season. So we move into the last quarter of the year, down by a touchdown with an injury to the quarterback that has left it up to the defense to make the game. It will be an interesting end to what's been an amazing journey from the whistle that started the first quarter, the half time show and now on to the finale.

The fall layers that follow are an experiment in creative flow, love the colors. Not much else to say, so I'm off to experience... the experience ;)