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October 16, 2007
Paris
I am sitting here in the lobby of the Paris hotel Matty and I will be staying at waiting for him to show up so we can get to our room and start exploring the city proper.
Because wi-fi access isn't free here this probably won't be posted until we arrive in Amsterdam on Tuesday which, we are told, will have internet access. If we don't, this will make it's way onto the interwebs on Sunday, October 21st.
OK, enough of the disclaimers which, I'm sure, no one cares about in the first place. :)
Paris is quite a place...it's akin to a more cultured, older version of New York City without all the skyscrapers. In Switzerland I've gotten numb to the fact that 90% of the people I come across are white. Paris is near the opposite with lots and lots of other nationalities all intermingled together.
On every little corner there's something interesting whether it's occupied by some little shop, café or a collection of people interacting in a way that I can only say is very 'French'.
Oh and everyone smokes here. Everyone. Seriously. It's as almost if the country as a whole decided to take a stand against all the smoking bans taking place in America and the rest of Europe by continuously lighting up in a cloud of protest. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school and used to go to the mall and see people light up in the midst of the food court. Who knew the constant smell of cigarettes could conjure up such nostalgia?
Like Basel, Paris just oozes the sort of charm that makes you want to amble around and explore it. I really hope Matty shows up soon so we can drop off our stuff and get to the wandering. His flight was supposed to land at 1:30 and, if it is on time and he was able to get on the right public transportation, he should be here in no time.
I have been working through the audio book of 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins, the world's foremost atheist. The book is definitely interesting and many of the ideas and concepts he brings up have caused me to question and reevaluate a lot of what I believe. However, I cannot listen for too long of a stretch at a time for two reasons: 1) it's a very dense read where lots of important stuff is introduced and discussed all at once and 2) it's so negative.
There is no doubt that Dawkins is incredibly intelligent and his ability to write is dazzling. But, there is something peculiar to me about a man who devotes his life to not believing in something. His disbelief has become, in itself, a belief and he is very determined to get others to think in the same ways he does. At some points in the book I find myself feeling repulsed in the same way I did as a kid when the gospel would be shoved down my throat by some preacher or at a church retreat where the speaker would try to get every kid there to in-cant some prayer which, we were told, would save us from the fires of hell.
The more I explore the avenues of my faith and beliefs the more it is apparent that it is all about the journey. In the past I've been very quick to condemn people who believe what I used to. I tried to convince them, through argument, about why they are wrong and why they should think what I do. The fact of the matter is, no one argued me out of the very beliefs I'm trying to forcibly remove from them. It was through reading, writing, thinking, discussing and wrestling that I came to where I am now.
I think there's a fundamental difference between knowledge and belief. I would classify 'knowledge' as the things you discover practically that can be immediately put into practice kind of like measurements and figures you put into an Excel spreadsheet. Beliefs are the spreadsheet itself: the framework and interpretation, on the whole, of all the knowledge one has collected.
We can take umbrage and argue about the knowledge; about the data and methods used to collect the data and the way in which the data was entered into the spreadsheet. But, how can you argue with someone's spreadsheet? You can call it an inferior spreadsheet, and tell them why your spreadsheet is so incredible and awesome but, like our varied tastes in pizza (you Nick with your anchovies), what if we were all born with slightly different perspectives on what this whole life journey means.
Some people are born tall, some with lighter hair and some who like to eat lemons. But, for every category I've mentioned, there's someone else who's completely different. Why try to jam everyone into the same spreadsheet?
I came across this awesome quote recently by Jorge Luis Borges who said, "a book should not reveal things. A book should simply help us discover them."
There are people who resonate, and resonate deeply, with Jesus. I am one of those people. When I read about him and wrestle with what he says there is something within me that stirs and gets passionate and wants to change the world. Strangely, however, some people don't get that at all. At first I used to judge those people and make speculation about what it is that went wrong in their life to cause them to have such a perverted way of thinking. But, here I am and, well, I change every day. Maybe some people out there are changing to become more like me in their world views and, maybe, it's the exact opposite.
All I am responsible for is myself and, when I reflect on what I want to do in my life, I can't help but come back to what Jesus said when asked about what the greatest commandments where: "Love God, Love Others." Now, who is the God I am supposed to love? Well I could tell you today but tomorrow it might sound a little different. And, because this won't be on the internet for a few days, I think I'll leave that question unanswered for now.
Posted by Jon at 03:29 PM | Comments (1)
October 12, 2007
Moderation
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness - all foes to real understanding. Likewise, tolerance or broad, wholesome charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in our little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -Mark Twain
Everywhere is nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends. -Seneca
Posted by Jon at 02:47 AM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2007
Fall Promo '07: Night Driving
Download in either: High Quality (320kbps) or Medium Quality (160kbps)
"So what I told you was true...from a certain point of view."
"A certain point of view?"
"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
And so begins my Fall Promo for the year of our Lord, two-thousand seven.
I finished this mix nearly three weeks ago but, in preparation for my trek to Europe I couldn't carve out the time to sit down, finish the write-up and get it online.
As the title implies, the entire vibe of this mix was centered around those tunes I like to drive at night to. I hit upon this in 'What Do You See, David?' and thought I would continue along that same path for this mix.
It starts out with 'Wired' by Raumton, a track that came free with my DJ Studio 3 software and upon first listen I fell in love with it. It's one of those tracks that you file away and consider for every mix but can never find the position that will do it justice. So, after two years of almost being included I thought I would have it be the lead off, setting the tone for the other tracks instead of vice-versa.
Manuel Tur is up next and his tune, Ready To Go, keeps the ball rolling nicely. Manuel is an excellent producer whose tracks span the gamut of style, tone and mood; I have lot of his music and have been watching him closely for the better part of three years (he also produces under the moniker 'Tweeq') and thought it was high time I showed the love by putting him on a mix.
Sebastian Leger fills the third spot with his remix of Eric Prydz's remix of Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall'. All three parties just mentioned are all favorite music makers of mine so to have them combine into a perfect storm like this is really a treat. It's bouncy, driving, electro throbby goodness with a little vocal kick that harkens back to drives with my good friend Steve, when I was discovering Floyd for the first time.
The middle of the mix (Callisto/Jaded/Horizons/Madderferrys) is compromised by the stuff I most like to drive to: loopy repetitive deep techno-influenced house music. Throbbing synths are what get me pumped up (especially 'Jaded') and I hope they'll do the same for you.
For the end of the mix I took it in more of a progressive direction starting with Aril Brikha's 'Leaving Me' and ending with two tunes that remind me of my end days at Messiah. Not that I was playing them then but it was the sound that, at that time, I was looking for and found shortly afterward.
On champagne bottles it says 'Best Served Chilled' and on this mix I'd like to add the addendum that it's best listened to in a car with the windows down, driving through winding roads at night in the Fall. My point of reference has always been New England so if you're from around there, find some of those classic foliage drive spots and do it up proper. I know gas is expensive but it always washed my soul out to take a nice long drive with some great music so I'm sure it will do you good.
Maybe you could use this drive as an excuse to visit someone you haven't in a while or go to a spot you used to frequent but, because of time and circumstance, haven't seen recently. I always used to go and visit Mitch this way in Marshfield and after he moved out I still made it out that way to see the Bartlett's. Sometimes it was an excuse to go and see my parents but an impromptu drive to those you love always has a way of clarifying ones outlook on things and gives a much needed sense of peace.
This Fall Promo goes out to Nick Roy: Nick, every time I sit down to do a mix I'm trying to impress you, specifically. You've got this same tendency as I do to think of all music, no matter what it is, as a soundtrack to something. And I think you, like me, are always assigning listenables we find to areas of our lives, on a never ending quest to score the existence we've been given. Ever since 'Leaves Fall, Beats Drop' you've always let me know what you think specifically and the feedback you give always helps me improve. For that I am in your debt.
As usual I uploaded it in 160kpbs (Medium Quality) and 320kpbs (High Quality). I really hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think in the comments either here or on my MySpace page.
Without further ado here's the track list:
01: Raumton - Wired
02: Manuel Tur - Ready To Go
03: Eric Prydz - Proper Education (Sebastian Leger Remix)
04: Stephan Bodzin & Marc Romboy - Callisto
05: Deadmau5 - Jaded
06: Cirez D - Horizons
07: Pryda - Madderferrys
08: Aril Brikha - Leaving Me
09: Mike Brin - Magic Changes (Stel Remix)
10: The Disco Brothers - Inner Sense feat. Andrea Britton (Starecase Remix)
Posted by Jon at 04:30 AM | Comments (2)