Philly - day 3

Today was another long but productive day in the office. There is a real benefit from these sessions being face to face > an understanding that comes from the interaction. There is a lot going on and its hard to keep track of everything... but I'm doing my best.

Today was a good food day... at lunch we had some fab tortillas with chicken fillings... and a tomato salad. Beautiful!

At night I ate with the team and had a NY Reuben sandwich... which was lovely! Meat... sauerkraut... cheese... fries... lovely. I am going to put on a ton of weight while I am here!

We stayed in tonight... did some work... ate... had a few drinks... I headed up to my room to watch the Republican Presidential Candidate Debate... which was interesting. I like the concept of the debate... and was interested in their responses to the questions. Mike Huckabee interested me the most and gave the best answers in my opinion... but, if I am honest, I am more interested in the Barak Obama / Billary Clinton debate tonight.

I'm back

You've probably realised by now that I'm back blogging. I was profoundly shocked and deeply humbled by the support expressed with emails, texts and phonecalls as a result of my recent post :: mea maxima culpa :: I don't want to embarrass anyone... you know who you are! You will never fully know how powerful your words of support were [are] to me.

For some reason the content on this blog... the ol' nanolog... resonates with some people and this is something I greatly appreciate. I am just a theological simpleton... a follower of God in the way of Jesus who loves his wife and kids and wants to make a difference... in this life.

I talk about the dull... the ordinary... the everyday... the obscure... the fantastic... because I see beauty in everything. I appreciate good design... great tunes and the kind of experiences that shape a person's worldview... and just want to share these thoughts.

I make mistakes... we all do... but I have always believed in the God of the second chance and have found real mileage in the saying attributed with Confucius ::

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

I may fall... but I will rise again! I am grateful for the opportunities that blogging brings and will never seek to abuse them.

I do so now... and I do it in the strength of my Lord... in the strength of my wife and kids... in the strength of all the people who have my back (you know who you are).

I'm not sure what the future will bring... I don't know about ((deep)) or S*N*A*C... but I do know I do not stand alone... and for that I am more grateful than you would ever know.

Rodney Mullen rawks!!!

Thanks to Noah for reminding me how much I used to love watching Rodney Mullen skate. I used to really dig watching the Bones Brigade movies with Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain and Tommy Guerrero skating streets... but I always paid attention when Rodney Mullen did his thing. At times he was very technical and static... its a joy to watch him move. Amazing!

Philly - day 2

Work and play... that's pretty much what happened today. Another really productive session in the office... with less looking out the window. Its work but its good fun too > the vendor's team are a great bunch of folk and the atmosphere is light but serious.

After work... we all headed over to the King of Prussia Mall for food and a look/see. I was a total chump and forgot my phone > I hate not having a camera with me! Must be the way things are moving where before I would feel naked not having my phone to make connections... now I hate not having it because I can't record my journey.

I picked up a few bits and pieces for my girls in the 5 below store... along with the 76ers beanie (all $5 or less!!!) I also picked up the latest edition of Giant Robot which has some fantastic articles on less mainstream culture.

We met up in a seafood restaurant called Legal Sea Foods - I never realised until now that I was eating illegal seafood up until now. The space was lovely... beautifully designed. Kicking myself that I forgot my phone to show pics.

The food was good... not great... but good. I ate a shrimp and garlic linguine... and shared in a good banter with my colleagues.

Later on... after I got everyone home (I am the designated driver) I did some more work in my room (the bar was way too noisy and my battery is gubbed in my Thinkpad) and then crashed at 2230hrs (est).

I fell asleep dreaming of Olly... and the bairns... and it was great to see them at 0300hrs (est) this morning.

Philly - day 1

Spent the day in the office... Had the hardest topic to cover and it went really well. I love the vendor's office - the views are awesome. The view touches me every time I see - watching hawks soar on the thermals... watching geese fly in and out... watching a flock of small birds feed then fly off when the hawks get too close. Beautiful.

It was after 6pm when we all headed back to the Desmond. It was a productive day with real progress made.

We all headed over to a local bar/diner called Baxter's >> the food is great... and the ambience is honest and open.

I had a philly cheesesteak (when in Rome afterall...) and we all had a good natter. The group I am with are all great folk... real honest and focused individuals. Its a privilege to be in their company.

Afterwards... as we walked back to the Desmond... I noticed a shop for me :: Shortstop - its capitalism just great!

Philly - day 0

Flew from Glasgow Airport yesterday morning... to Newark, NJ. Absolutely beautiful flight... apart from some hands in the air turbulence at one point.

We were riding in economy... so the films were pretty bland. The Pink Panther remake is VERY FUNNY without any sound > with sound and its terrible.

Entertainment was provided by my colleagues... No Logo by Naomi Klein... some great tunes (I'll speak on them later) and Bust A Move on the DS.

Looking out the window was fab too... beautiful desolation below.

Arrived without any hassle... and then headed to the Newark International Railway Station to wait on our AMTRAK train into Philly.

No hassles on the train either... people we met were sweet although the food wasn't cheap > $1.75 for a bag of pretzels???

The 30th Street Station in Philly is awesome... harking back to a day when railways were the way to travel. Beautiful decor... blows Glasgow Central out the water.

We grabbed a car > needed an SUV instead of the wee car they offered us > and headed off into Philly (thanks to the GPS) and then onto Malvern.

Trip was sweet - nothing that taxing... just loads of road and a group of Brits trying to work out what stay left, go right means.

Got to the Hotel... dumped our stuff and headed out to explore. It was about 4ish EST.

Ended up in Golf Galaxy (where I snapped this handy device) and Circuit City where I picked up some tunes. We then popped over to the local wawa convenience store for pretzels and snapple > I was gutted when I heard the music wasn't some seventies acid funk boom chicka wah wah guitar sound.

Ended the day in the FOX and HOUNDS for a chicken cesar salad... and some ice cream. Crashed about 8pm est

Its good to be here... but I miss my kids and Olly like crazy. Caught up with them on iChat... which is good.

Check out my photos here >> I have my dad's Canon EOS 350D with me... along with my Sony Ericsson K800i > going to be snap happy!

gathering... this Tuesday

Huge thanks to Laura and Laura for making this happen! Unfortunately I will be in Philly... but will have a coffee and think about all the fab gatherees. Can't wait to see the photos.

If you are in the area... corner of Hope and Waterloo... on Tuesday night... then you are more than welcome!

mea maxima culpa

I am human. I make mistakes. I fail as often as I succeed. I am not proud to admit it when I am wrong... and I greatly appreciate being challenged / brought to task for things I have done, if offense has resulted from my actions.

In my report on ((deep)) I expressed a personal opinion. That opinion has the potential to hurt / damage / cause pain... not only to the person I express my opinion about but to this person's friends and the wider ((deep)) community.

I will never deliberately seek to hurt the ((deep)) community or tarnish the goals that we seek to achieve... and as result I would like to say... mea maxima culpa! I am sorry for this error in judgement and for any offense I may have caused.

I would, however, like to articulate the following points as I seek to learn from this experience::

1. I am human and will make mistakes. This is not an excuse or a defense... it is a statement of fact.
   
2. I am approachable >> a wee word in the ear would have cleared this all up. Do not be afraid to come to me directly to challenge me / speak to me about your concerns.
   
3. This is MY blog and I will express my opinion on my blog. I do not get a penny from this blog and do not wish to. I only represent things I like. This is a forum for my self-expression... and for the expression of the Nanolog Community. If you do not like the opinions raised here then either challenge me on it - show me where I am wrong - or don't read it.
4. The only person who will censor this blog is me. If I see where I went wrong then I will be big enough to acknowledge my mistake and make amends. I have tried to do this here.
   

Tonight has been greatly distressing for me and has made me consider what I do/what I am involved in. I will be off the air for the foreseeable future as I seek regroup.

Music with interesting stories...

I love music. I'm not musical but I love it nonetheless. Acoustic guitars. Distorted guitars. Ambient synths and glitchy electronica. Choral arrangements. These are the kinds of sounds that keep my soul alive.

Here are some tunes that inspire me with their sounds... and their stories:

First off is my Iowan friend Jake Bouma with a fab EP of acoustic guitar orientated tunes (with the odd bongo drum thrown in). Jake is a pal on twitter >> I responded to a tweet (aka a post on twitter) intimating a post on his blog >> he was (at the time) giving away 20 copies of his EP for free to commentators. I was 13th (I think) and was not alone in being directed to his blog from the tweet (although I do read the blog) >> what amazes me is the immediacy of the whole thing... tweak >> blog >> comment >> EP. Nice - thanks Jake!

Expressive. Free. These are the words that come to mind as I listen to songs like the opener Stuck in my heart and last time >> fiery and spirited performances of self-penned material... love songs for today that drip with sentimentality and ache with real life. The EP shows promise... and I look forward to following Jake's progress.

Next up is a beautiful slice of electronica that I found out about on one of my fav blogs... boingboing >> it has the distinction in that it is...

The first-ever Creative Commons-licensed electronica album that is backed by a collecting society has just been released. This means that the artist will get paid for radio-play and live performance (which the collecting societies get money for), a major breakthrough since many collecting societies have been hostile to CC, telling members that if they adopt CC licenses, they can kiss their radio-play money goodbye.

This is big news for the netlabels I just soak up >> just because it is released for free on the 'tinterweb does not mean the music is not worth anything... if it is used in a commercial setting then Tone gets paid. Who knows... maybe this is the future of the music industry?!?

The album itself >> small arm of sea >> by Tone aka Sofie Nielsen from Aalborg, Denmark; is gloriously bittersweet and melancholic... with ambient electronic soundscapes layered over glitchy beats and other-worldly vocals. Overall it reminds me of the Icelandic band Mum. Wonderfully atmospheric... fab for dark nights in cold climates.

Aerotone have released another fab album... this time it is a series of remixes for the Portuguese band >> Norton >> their blurb on myspace describes them as...

Four young guys who make music for the world to hear. They are from a city in the middle east of Portugal called Castelo Branco and they’re the perfect symbioses between the simplicity of Múm, the soft pop of The Postal Service and the tension of Mogwai.

All bands I really dig.

I don't know their album Kershe but I will check it out after hearing these remixes. An album full and distinctive in its own right with beautifully ambient and glitchy electronica. Artists from all over the world ::

From Iceland with FM Belfast, side Project of Örvar Smárason from Múm, to Malaysia with Muxu, Germany with Corwood Manual, Hidden Letters, Nuuk and Trondheim, Portugal with Loto, Stereoboy and Daily Misconceptions, Sweden with Lost Room, U.S.A. with Cars & Trains and Transient, England with Will, Switzerland with And Me and Netherlands with You Echo.

Love it... good stuff! Each song has its own identity and feeling... expressive and futuristic. The best remix album I have heard since Bebel Remixed.

Check them all out... and support true creativity.

Remembering a hero!

""Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jnr

I look to the day when we can all be free!

Celebrate the life of Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jnr today by remembering him as a true hero.