When I survey...

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

When I survey

Currently listening to... Yann Tiersen's soundtrack for "Amelie"

Amelie is a wonderfully quirky film... filled with stunning visuals, excellent acting, a fascinating tale to tell & a wondrous soundtrack.

I only recently picked up the soundtrack & absolutely love it. It has a expertly crafted balance of quirkiness and poignancy... that really works for me... and demonstrates how talented Yann Tiersen is.

So much so... I picked up a number of his other albums. Talented is actually an understatement.

Find it on Spotify & enjoy. It's for sunny days like today.

Tx

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The Moleskine iOS App looks rad

The Moleskine app is thoughtfully designed for notetaking & drawing... which builds nicely on their reputation and provides an authentic digital experience - it functions as a notebook rather than just being a brand extension.

Oh and it's free... which is pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Tx

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Loving... "End Of Line [Original Tron Re-Score]" by Mogi Grumbles

This makes for interesting listening... a re-scoring of the soundtrack that backs the seminal Tron. Here's the blurb:

"End of Line is an original re-score of the movie Tron (1981), created by Ann Arbor native French / Disco House antihero Mogi Grumbles. End of Line is a 100% independent composition that lives wholly outside the original film score by Wendy Carlos and Annemarie Franklin.

The result of a live collaboration between Alex Taam and video editor Christian Silbereis, a re-cut of the film featuring the Mogi Grumbles re-score has been released as a companion piece for your viewing pleasure. End of Line is being released digitally as a name-your-price offering, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the artist."

Download the re-score here... and enjoy.

Tx

More photos of birds in Olly's Garden

Application is where knowledge is transformed into wisdom

I broke my fast.
I tried and I failed.
I continued to consume... because there is too much good music out there... too many interesting apps and enticing second-hand books for me to check out.
I needed a new case for my iPhone.
I needed a new (to me) waistcoat.
I needed a pair of Birkenstock sandals for my holiday to Lido di Jesolo, near Venice.
I tried and I failed.

But in my failure I have learned about what motivates me to consume... and believe this awareness will help me in the coming days. It is something that I can use.

I am motivated by the thrill of discovery. I derive pleasure from finding something new.

I am not a horder, per se... in that I am not necessarily motivated by having lots of stuff. I am not really a collector of anything... apart from film cameras, I guess.

For me... its the obsession of the hunt... that singularity of view of my prey where everything else is kind of blurred (kind of like focussing on a single raindrop on a washing line)... and then the rapturous joy when I get what I'm after.

If the thing fits with my needs and my self-identity then it becomes assimilated into my life.

However, if the thing intrigues me but... is ultimately extraneous to my life then... at the point when the novelty wears off... it becomes another thing taking up space.

I don't think I am alone in this.
I don't think I am the only person who enjoys the hunt.

Where do I go from here?
What do I do with this knowledge?

I could differentiate between what will have an impact in my life... and what is transitory? But then... will I know it is extraneous at the time?

I guess this is where I should question myself...
Will it add to my life?
Will it improve my life?
Do I actually need it?

The key here is to apply my new learning.
Application is, afterall, where knowledge is transformed into wisdom.

We'll see.

Tx

It must be the synergy effect in effect... thoughts on curation and creation

”Curation will be prized a lot more over creation in the future”

Alison Mooney - psfk.com Conference NYC

I spent part of my lunch hour debating this sentence with Innes Johnston today. Innes is a dear friend who, in part, runs eat-a-cd with his wife and brother. I see what they do on their site as being curation... and used the quote to demonstrate the point.

It did get us thinking if curation is actually more important than creation... will it be really more prized?

For me, the action of curation is to bring together... to use some form of judgement to filter through various options and present this selection... for consideration by others.

To this end... art galleries are curated... so too blogs and magazines... anywhere there is thought applied to the content on show.

Curation is important... but then so is creation. It's a symbiotic relationship - the curator needs the creation to filter and promote... and the creator needs to be promoted and to feature in an independent curation is important praise.

I think if the phrase used was "trusted curation" then I would have an easier time agreeing with the statement. Over time, certain curators demonstrate their taste and ability to appeal to your aesthetic sensibilities... and become trusted. I am more likely to buy an iOS app featured in Swiss-Miss or Notcot... because the blogs and the curators behind them have proven themselves worthy of my trust due to their taste.

But the thing is... I can't get over the fact that the bringing together of things is more important than the things themselves. It must be the synergy effect in operation?

Is the output I produce as a result of my filtering process more important than the content itself?

I think there is a need for humility in the presentation of the filters... in acknowledgement that whilst the curation is very important, it is the icing on the cake... or should I say, the icing on someone else's cake.

There is too much "stuff" out there. I failed in my Lenten fast partly because of this fact. We need effective filters to reduce this noise... and this is where curation comes into it's own as something to be truly prized.

However, I believe the best outcome would be for us all to seriously consider the "act of filtering" and seek to develop our own abilities.

I guess this is where discernment comes into play. We need to keep thinking for ourselves. We need to curate our curators... and even become curators for others. This blog, for example, or my mixcasts are my attempt at this.

Just as we are becoming our own publishers & creators... we too will become our own curators.

And that's where the real prize is, imho.

Tx

Loving... the second Hawk Moon Records compilation

I have a confession to make.
I overuse the word awesome. I say it too often... and I think I have devalued the word.
Why my sudden remorse?
Well... I've been listening to the second Hawk Moon Records compilation and... well... its awesome!

It kicks off with "sun" by in lieu ... who are new to me but have seriously impressed me. Full on euphoric post rock with vocals reminiscent of Jon Anderson from Yes... albeit less wedgie-esque.

We then go into "FL350" by the wonderful Echelon Effect... who carries on his trademark deep wall-of-sound with a piece that incorporates American Police Radio (I think) and a tremendously languid melody.

Afterwards we have a piece from Damn Robot entitled "the great landfill in the sky"... which follows "FL350" with some French ranting (I think) over subtle beats and harmonies. Damn Robot is the new project from Rob (Inachus) Honey and Tom (Good Weather For An Airstrike) Honey... and I really look forward to their album in May. This track winks at real promise... albeit part of me wants to understand what the rant is all about.

From there we move to "the cure" by ...And The Earth Swarmed With Them which is beautiful in its graceful unhurried elegance and subtlety... very much the calm before the storm.

The storm coming in the shape of another favourite band of mine MinionTV with their track "Yardsticks". Their trademark post rock is combined with a frantic sense of urgency... and a building towards a chaotic climax... which comes in sound of skittering beats and an epic sounding wall of guitars. A track that needs volume... in fact it demands it!

We then come down a peg or two with "blood and toothpaste" by Escalators... before the rhythm becomes more frantic and the pace quickens again... with chunky guitars and a driving sense of movement. I'm really, really eager to hear more from them.

The penultimate track is fast becoming a favourite of mine... "the days of snow" by Circadian Eyes is melodious piano-driven post rock... that snares the listener and draws them in before building in pace towards a wonderfully joyful and euphoric moment of climax... a moment that holds a real sense of the cinematic.

The last track is by one of my all time favourite musicians... Lowercase Noises. "Let in the morning light" holds all the trademark elements that makes for a truly wonderful Lowercase Noises track :: a slower tempo... subtle melodious keys... skittering beats... and the most beautiful layered guitar sounds that build, evolve and mutate as the song grows. Truly gorgeous and warm-hearted.

All in... this compilation is awesome. The material on offer is truly the best out there... in my opinion. In fact, this compilation would make a mighty fine soundtrack to a Hollywood film.
Yes, its that good.

Oh and the craziest of things is that the compilation is free to download here.

As my twitter friend @textistential put it... "Holy cow. WHY IS THIS FREE?".

Indeed!

Tx

An egg cooker... and the need for single-purpose as well as multi-purpose

Recently Olly came home with this egg cooker. She does that... brings home wee gadgets for the kitchen. This one is really special... it cooks eggs.

How could this be "really special" I hear you cry? because it cooks the eggs better than if they were cooked in a pan... in water... on the gas.

I'm not sure why its better... it just is. The eggs are cooked to our view of what a perfect egg is... golden runny yolk and a tender white. Which is, by the way, awesome on a buttered Irish soda farl with a wee spot of hot sauce.

I digress.

What has also impressed me about this egg cooker is its singularity of purpose... it doesn't do anything else. It cooks eggs and it cooks them perfectly. That is it.

We are becoming more and more used to multi-purpose devices. I'm typing this post on my 13" MacBook Pro that is definitely a multi-purpose device - for surfing the interwebs, listening to music, watching videos etc - consuming and creating content.

Beside me is my iPad... and my iPhone - both excellent (in my opinon) multi-purpose devices.

However, beside me too is my camera... my Nikon d60. Its a single-purpose device - it doesn't shoot video and only takes still images.

Notice I said "only"? Its as if I am excusing its failing... "Yeah... it only takes still images".

I personally think it captures excellent still images. (I am not saying I take excellent images... but making the point that the camera, in my view, does a grand job and when its off... its because I am off.)

Sometimes I think... in all our technological advances and grasping for growth... we put too many things into a device.

We have too many expectations.

I coined a phrased yesterday called "notifitractions" ... this is the distraction that comes when your technology seeks to notify you of something. If you have a smartphone with push notifications "on" or you use "growl" on your Mac... you'll know what I mean. Its the technological equivalent of a small child tugging at your clothes to ask you something. Its pleasantly annoying when you are in the mood for them... and down right distracting when you are trying to be in the zone.

Notifitractions disturb our concentration... and our concentration, as my boss reminds me, is a very, very, very scarce resource... at least mine is... ***squirrel***

They are a symptom of "connectivitis"... the disease that comes from being connected on the internet for too long a continual period of time... like bed-sores but virtual. (Credit to @tenstrings for that phrase).

As a result of even the mildest of connectivitis... we have too many expectations. We expect our tools to do everything... and do everything awesomely. Think about it... the criticism of the iPod is that it doesn't have this or do that. No one stops to ask... why? Not why they are not there but why they are expected!

I recently saw a bluetooth-enabled Casio G-Shock watch... that receives and then presents notifitractions from your smartphone. It was an awesome application of technology... and I could see myself using it... when I surreptitiously sneak off to the toilet whenever an email comes in whilst I am at work.

Surely a watch should be a watch... and do chronological things awesomely... to the detriment of anything else?

If you have ever tried to use a "databank" in a digital watch... you'll get what I mean. They should stick to telling the time... and forget about all the extras.

Does anyone actually need a bluetooth-enabled watch? Does anyone actually need phone numbers stored in their watch? No... didn't think so.

I have taken to reading eBooks on my iPad when I am out of wi-fi reach. Why? So that my enjoyment of the story isn't spoiled by the ***bing***bing***bing*** of notifitractions.

Yes... I should just turn them off... as I have done with my iPhone... or switch off the wi-fi when I am reading in the house. I know... I should... but then I wouldn't get the benefit of them when I need them (I hate the hassle of switching things off then on then off again... yes, I know, I have first world problems!)

Maybe I will delete Twitter (which is the main culprit) off my iPad. I don't need it when I have my iPhone beside me... or my MBP.

I think the issue is that I allow these notifitractions into my life in the first place.

A book, for example, is the perfect single-purpose device. Yes... you can consider the fact you can prop up a shoogley table leg, provide insolation to a house or burn them for heat as other uses of books... but these are not the main use. The main use is for a book to be read... to impart knowledge and provide an experience.

Maybe this is why the Kindle has been a success?

It does one thing... and one thing well (we'll ignore the browser).

I guess when you have something that does what its meant to do really well... and you use it for that purpose... then there is no need to disgard it and upgrade.

This is then the point where our consumption becomes considered... when we think about what we want and what we have... and really consider what it does and whether it will do what we need it to do.

Its also where we could start to consider minimalist ideals... and look to strip away all the unnecessary bells and whistles... to focus on the purpose of the device and the value it brings to our life.

In this way... we may be able to see even the most rampant multi-purpose device as having a degree of sleek singularity.

Well... it does for me.

Tx

A broken lens... and some accidents of light

Bob Ross was fond of saying...

"There are no mistakes... just happy accidents."

Now while the fall that damaged my 55-200mm lens for my Nikon wasn't a happy accident... in any way shape, or form... I do quite like these pics. They came from me trying to work the lens and discovering it wasn't auto-focussing in any sane means.





I have tweaked them in Lightroom... but I haven't altered their content... just played with the colouring / contrast.

I hope to take the lens in to get fixed. There is a shop in Glasgow that's been recommended by two independent but trusted sources. Hopefully it won't be too expensive... or I'll need to start selling my pics to recoup the loss.

I'm not sure what else to say... other than to try and see the beauty in even the toughest of times... you'll be surprised at what you see.

Tx