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.