Hi, everyone. Lately I’ve been enjoying the colors of Spring. Around here, pink is the primary color of the season (aside from the yellow pollen). I took a few pictures of the cherry blossoms in my neighborhood that I thought I would share with you all. I hope you enjoy.
I am deep but simple
I am a loner and a people-lover
Though some ask for my perspective
I’ll never claim to be a sage
I wear my guarded heart on my sleeve
I am a free spirit in a cage
I seek wisdom and knowledge
I value creativity and individuality
I am a romantic and a thinker
I am self-conscious but proud
I crave deep conversation- real connection
And feel most at home in nature
I see beauty wherever I look
Music transports me
My nose is often in a book
My family and friends keep me sane
To love and be loved makes me feel alive
This is me- my autobiography
I wonder, who do you see?
“He kind of flies under the radar”.
This phrase, and words with similar meaning, have been used to describe me many times. Sometimes the speaker is talking to me; sometimes it’s a conversation when I am not present. When I hear someone say this of me, I smile.
I smile because those who “fly under the radar” can plan and work without attention; without people trying to get a sneak peek or influence their creative process or result. Then they emerge when the work of creation is done and shake things up. Those who need to be the center of attention can have their spotlight. I’ll let people notice me on my own terms.
Yeah, that’s my style.
I had to share a new favorite song (again). I first heard this song several months ago and fell in love with it from the first time I played it. I came back to it a few days ago and It has been on an almost constant loop on my computer and in my head. Every now and then I come across a song that resonates with me in all the right ways. This is one of those special songs. The instrumentation is very minimalistic: a guitar, upright bass, violin, and banjo are the instruments I hear. The song lives in between genres, in my opinion. But it is probably best categorized as folk. And Isakov’s voice is very distinctive and perfect for this song. I believe this will be his signature song, if it isn’t already.
And the story of the song is wonderful. It can be interpreted several different ways, as all good art can. I watched a live version where Isakov says that when he is asked what the song is about, his reply is that it is a poem about everything. But, to me, it is a story of a man who wants to create music that is beautiful in a clean, technical way. He struggles to find his muse and create something that is beautiful in that one narrow definition of beauty. After much struggle, he is unsuccessful and rebels against the whole creative process. He abandons it for a time.
After an undetermined period of time to live and experience life, he comes back and now knows that to create the best art he can, he needs to be true to himself. He learns that there is beauty in imperfection and the dirty stuff of life. I love this song for the music and the artist’s voice. But the lesson is one that I am in the process of learning. I feel that I have something creative in me that wants to come out. I believe I know the general form, but I am still searching for specifics. So I identify with the person in the song who is struggling in that way. This is one of the main reasons I started this blog. Writing is the focus of my creative efforts, as it is something I have loved to do from a very young age.
Whether you have heard this song or not, if you take a few minutes to listen and follow along with the lyrics below I hope you enjoy.
The Stable Song
remember when our songs where just like prayers.
like gospel hymns that you called in the air.
come down come down sweet reverance,
unto my simple house and ring…
and ring.
ring like silver, ring like gold
ring out those ghosts on the ohio
ring like clear day wedding bells
were we the belly of the beast or the sword that fell…we’ll never tell.
come to me clear and cold on some sea
watch the world spinning waves..like some machine
now i’ve been crazy couldn’t you tell
i threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell
now i’m covered up in straw, belly up on the table
well and sang and drank, and passed in the stable.
that tall grass grows high and brown,
well i dragged you straight in the muddy ground
and you sent me back to where i roam
well i cursed and i cried, but now i know…now i know
and i ran back to that hollow again
the moon was just a sliver back then
and i ached for my heart like some tin man
when it came oh it beat and it boiled and it rang..its ringing
ring like crazy, ring like hell
turn me back into that wild haired gale
ring like silver, ring like gold
turn these diamonds straight back into coal.
Since I was young, I have been interested in men’s grooming. Also, I have been a fan of facial hair since I can remember. My dad wore a mustache for around thirty years, and I still hold out hope that he will grow it back (though I know it is very unlikely). I had to be clean-shaven throughout high school and looked forward to the day that I could experiment with my own facial hair. Since I graduated from high school I have spent more time with some style of facial hair than I have being clean-shaven. I like the look and feel of having facial hair. But I enjoy changing it around. I frequently go from full beard to goatee and mustache and back again depending on my mood.
In order to keep my facial hair looking neat I enjoy using a method of shaving that was most common in my grandfathers’ generation- the double edge razor. I enjoy it because it is better for the environment than the plastic catridges you throw away. It is more economical, as DE blades are much less expensive per shave than cartridges. And lastly, it’s just cool to use a sturdy piece of craftsmanship that my grandfather used than Gillette’s latest and greatest disposable shaving system. The startup cost can seem a bit expensive. But once you get those out of the way, you see the savings. The biggest advantage is you don’t have to keep buying the expensive cartridges. A word of warning: it can become a hobby. Below I have listed examples of the tools of the trade. These are products I use and enjoy. But I have multiples of all of these: razor, blade, brush, soap, cream, aftershave. For me, it is a way to treat myself.
Before getting to the specific tools of the trade I wanted to recommend a website for anyone interested in researching old fashioned wetshaving. The best web forum for anyone interested is http://badgerandblade.com/ You can find all sorts of helpful information and reviews here. Disclaimer: I am a moderator on the site. Also, the downside of getting into this way of shaving is that many of these products must be purchased online. There is limited space on the shelves of physical stores, so they carry what is most commonly used.
As I mentioined earlier, I am ending this post with a few examples of products I use when I shave. What do you all use for shaving? Do any of these products look familiar?
DE razor
Edwin Jagger DE89- this razor is made in England and is a good razor for the beginner or seasoned razor.
DE blades
Personna Platinum blades- there are many different blades. This is one popular brand that I use.
Brush
Semogue Owners Club boar hair shaving brush- Brushes most commonly come in boar and badger hair. I prefer boar and this Semogue is my favorite brush.
Soap/cream
Proraso soap- Proraso is a traditional Italian soft soap that I love to use in the warm weather, as it contains menthol for a cooling affect.
Aftershave
Pinaud Clubman aftershave splash- This classic American aftershave has been in my cabinet since I started shaving. Every barber who has ever cut my hair has used Clubman in either the splash or talc form following a haircut.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world”- Mahatma Gandhi
I recently read Quiet by Susan Cain after, quite suddenly, becoming interested in the Introversion/Extroversion comaparison. The first step was following a link to a Jungian personality test a friend had posted on one of the social networking sites. The test identified me as an INFP, which I wrote about in an earlier blog post. Then I remembered another friend mentioning the book online after he read it some time ago. The book sounded interesting to me, so I wrote the author and title down for future reference. I am very glad I read it, because I belive this to be an invaluable book for everyone- introvert and extrovert, alike.
In Western culture, the Extrovert has become the ideal personality. But, as Quiet sites, at least one third of the people you know are Introverts. I believe this number to be significantly higher among my family and friends. So, in catering to the extroverted majority, Western society relegates introverts to the sidelines. One of my favorite sections of the book identifies the contributions of Introverts to the world. Among those are: Rosa Parks, Chrles Schultz, Steven Spielberg, Theodore Geisel, Isaac Newton, and J.K. Rowling. And Cain also discusses the fact that the Extrovert Ideal does not exist in Eastern Culture.
Another section of the book deals with the idea that a quiet, introverted child needs to be “fixed”. The implication being that a child who is not an Extrovert needs to be changed, because being an Introvert is not good enough. I see this often in my daily experience. Also, it is a popular message from the media. The reality is that Introverts need to be appreciated more for our own personalities and our own way of contributing to society.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I believe Quiet to be a book that benefits everyone. Introverts can discover ourselves in its pages. And Extroverts can get some help in understanding how our minds and personalities work. Have you read the book? I welcome your ideas and thoughts about anything in the book, whether I’ve written about it here or not.
The subject of memory is fascinating to me. People have so many different methods and tactics to help them remember things they want to recall later. Some people have photographic memories. Others remember numbers and figures. Still others can recall names and faces easier than most. I belong to this last category. So many people over the years have thought it unsettling that I remember them, while they have no idea who I am. I suppose, in choosing academics as my career, that I shouldn’t be surprised by my interest in memory.
Another thing I have noticed is that I tend to remember everything: classmates from school, former coworkers, even insignificant events from childhood. One of my earliest memories is sitting in my driveway at about three years old watching my dad drive off for a trip around the block on his Harley Davidson Sprint. He seems to think that I shouldn’t have been old enough to remember his motorcycle running, but it’s there in my mind.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why I have such a hard time remembering driving directions. My mind is so full of everthing else, there isn’t room left for that. In any case, I’d love to hear your thoughts- earliest memory, the kinds of things you remember best, or have the hardest time remembering?
I’ve talked before about how much I love to write, and how much I enjoy sending/receiving mail. I started to act on this a few Christmases ago when I mailed a few Christmas cards. Since then my mailing list has grown, and I am very happy about that.
I was thinking that this year I would like to write occasional letters to friends, not just for birthdays or Christmas. So I wanted to see how interested some of you would be in getting mail from me and, when you have time, having someone to write. This will be open to anyone, no matter where you live. Just let me know and I’ll be glad to have new pen pals.
I enjoy my share of nice things: clothes, fragrances, high end wetshaving products, are a few examples. But I derive just as much, if not more, enjoyment from simple things. I thought it would be a fun idea to talk about a few of my favorite simple pleasures. These are by no means original, just the first things that came to mind.
A book- anybody who knows me knows I love to read. Books hold so much opportunity to learn and feel and experience something new through the words of the author.
A walk- I have to get outside, if only for a few moments, every day. Sometimes, because of allergies or weather, I can only stay for a very short time. But it’s worth it to get out into nature for a bit. It always helps to clear my head (figuratively speaking).
A smile- People look better wearing a smile. It’s a fact. And you can lift somebody else’s mood by doing it. So, just do it.
Sending/Receiving mail- Real mail. Pen and paper, envelope and a stamp. In this age of instant electronic communication, the fact that somebody takes the time to send something via the Post Office means even more.
“Unplugging”- It does me so much good to occasionally leave my computer and phone and be unavailable for a time.
Meeting people from all over the world- Even though technology annoys me in many ways, I do love how the internet connects people who would otherwise not have met. I would not have met several of my closest friends if not for this thing called the internet. (I know it’s a stretch to include this in a “simple” pleasures list. But this is my list 🙂 )
A hug- a gift you can give and receive that the same time. And it has the power to help both people feel better. What’s not to love?
Hearing a loved one say “I love you”- Oh, the power of these words. Hearing them instantly makes me happy; improves a bad day or a bad mood. I resolve to say them more.
Any thoughts about my list?
What would be on yours?
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