I Think...

Relax, don’t worry, have a home brew. Everything is going...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:39:00 -0400

Relax, don’t worry, have a home brew. Everything is going to be alright.

Yesterday’s rainy brew day left me with a total of 15 gallons of beer fermenting away in my basement. A honey pale ale and an oktoberfest for my dad. The pale ale is for a big camping trip coming up in 5 weeks!

The stats on the yet-to-be-named pale ale are
SG: 1.052
Est FG: 1.013
Est ABV: 5.2%

The oktoberfest is an extract kit, no lagering necessary.

I’ve had recurring dreams before, especially recurring places in dreams, but last night I kept...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:05:39 -0400

I’ve had recurring dreams before, especially recurring places in dreams, but last night I kept having the same dream over and over in the same night, back to back. It was full of strangers, too: there was not a single person I knew in the dream. As the dream kept repeating, I started to know which parts to skip and which ones to focus on. I wish I could remember it better.

humansofnewyork: “I’ve never used a cellphone or...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:01 -0400

humansofnewyork:

“I’ve never used a cellphone or computer.”

Yeah, because he has elves to handle that for him.

PSA: Courage the Cowardly Dog is on Netflix.

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:30:22 -0400

PSA: Courage the Cowardly Dog is on Netflix.

Dee are you enn kay

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:23:11 -0400

Dee are you enn kay

"To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:09:34 -0400

“To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do.”

- Hermann Hesse (via the59thstreetbridge)
So, let’s.

The smell of sweat and sunblock

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:16:15 -0400

The smell of sweat and sunblock

INHALE PATIENCE, EXHALE NEGATIVITY. INHALE UNDERSTANDING, EXHALE ASSUMPTION. INHALE STRENGTH, EXHALE DOUBT. INHALE COMPASSION, EXHALE JUDGEMENT. INHALE POSITIVITY, EXHALE ANGER.

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:23:22 -0400

mallorylucille:

ONREPEAT

I am DYING to go backpacking. Ideally, I’ll find a couple...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:26:36 -0400

I am DYING to go backpacking. Ideally, I’ll find a couple people who can come on a Thursday afternoon-Monday afternoon trip in Shenandoah in the next month or so. (or maybe Adirondack, or New Hampshire, or Vermont).

enjeibee: Beer and what we are really here for… #beer...

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:43:35 -0400

enjeibee:

Beer and what we are really here for… #beer #craftbeer #war #laugh #live #death #quote #qotd

"People are just as wonderful as sunsets if I can let them be…when I look at a sunset, I don’t find..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 01:49:12 -0400

“People are just as wonderful as sunsets if I can let them be…when I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner”. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.”

- Carl Rogers (via rainydaysandblankets)

(one of my favorite quotes ever ever ever)

stillmank: Wait, what if humans are a virus put here on earth to destroy it? Have you been...

Tue, 14 May 2013 01:46:25 -0400

stillmank:

Wait, what if humans are a virus put here on earth to destroy it?

Have you been watching the Matrix movies?

One time I swam with sting rays, and it was crrraaazzyyyyy.

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:53:38 -0400

One time I swam with sting rays, and it was crrraaazzyyyyy.

Worry About Internet Drivel

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:32:41 -0400

Worry About Internet Drivel:

stillmank:

“The internet forces a general devaluation of the written word: a global deflation in the average word’s value on many axes.”

I find this article irksome. On one hand I completely agree that we should be worried about the abilities of future generations in terms of reading and writing, as well as what is deemed as acceptable writing.

However, I don’t feel that the internet is to blame for these concerns.

Education, in the US at least, is a complete disaster. If things stay as they are, future generations will most likely be able to comprehend less and less while reading. To the point where much of the language that we use even today will become gibberish.

The internet is this made up place where mass communication is possible. It’s interconnection. Not every message or email is supposed to be an incredible work of art. Not everyone is artistic in their words. Sometimes communication is short and to the point, and that’s ok.

Finally, writing has no value in our market. 50 Shades of Grey, for example, has nothing to do with the words themselves - the content and story are all that matter. Blaming the internet for decreasing the monitory value of writing is quite the stretch if you ask me.

In addition, the internet is a lot like mirror for what our own world is like. If people believe the internet to be a horrible, value degrading place, we need to look first to ourselves. We were the ones who created this digital landscape in the first place.

Those opening lines, right away, are stupid. That would imply that the more someone reads or writes, the less valuable words become to them. I would bet that very often, the opposite is true. If I were more invested in this argument, I might also try to say that editorials, op-eds, and blogs are the contemporary equivalent of personal letter.

I’m going to have to reserve judgement on whether young people can write well, but I do have many peers who are great writers. That said, I am sometimes mortified when I see how my younger sister and her friends communicate.

Stilmank, your points irk me a bit too, though. It is really not fair to say education in the US is a complete disaster. The US is 99% literate, which is more than can be said for most of the world. What is even more impressive is that that 99% literacy is the same amongst men and women. There are, however, major problems in our education. It seems that the many school systems educates to lowest common denominator, and that children are being taught what to think, but not how to think (critical thinking).

Personally, I think much of this problem comes from life outside of school as well. Education is the burden of the family as much as it is of society. Of course, maybe because of the generation gap, many children are not being taught how to use the internet to grow in knowledge, and just use it for mindless entertainment and to seek superficial validation (that needs it’s own post entirely).

I would love to see you elaborate on your paragraph about writing having no value in our market and that the content and story is all that matters. Should it be different? How so? Why? I think that would lead to a much deeper dialogue about how writing is so much more than words. The things that disappoint me about superficial literature are some of the same that upset me about reality television (in short: you are being emotionally tricked into thinking you have experienced a good story).

I love that last paragraph. It can apply to so many facets of society. I think, in general, we are missing the trees for the forest.

True Key: I was going to write a review of going to see four tet last night but...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:37:08 -0400

True Key: I was going to write a review of going to see four tet last night but...:

truekeymusic:

I was going to write a review of going to see four tet last night but instead my car broke down. Here’s my review of my car breaking down:

Hoboken is a fairly pleasant place to break down. It’s scenic and always reminds me of one of those fake cities at Disney world. The citizens of Hoboken are…

Matt is the best.

Last Night I Dreamt of Space and the Undead

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:49:00 -0400

My family and I, maybe some friends too, moved to what we called the moon. It wasn’t the moon as we know it now, it had an atmosphere, slightly more gravity, and forests, but it was no further from Earth than the moon we know. Humans had either figured out how to change the well known celestial body to be habitable, or created a new, massive satellite sphere from scratch.

Back on Earth, before we left, I had been dealing with zombies and animated skeletons. They would turn up around every corner and behind every closed door: I had to carry a weapon at all times (my preference was a one handed sword of some sort, but I had lost it and was using a hatchet). Even going to the bathroom, or shopping in a department store meant having to hack a monster to pieces.

When we first left Earth, I was extremely excited to finally get to go to space. My excitement overshadowed the logical decision process that would have lead to questions like “what I am giving up?”, “are there cons?”, etc. But that first trip to the settlement was a short one, preliminary. We returned to Earth for a while to make arrangements and whatnot, and it was back normal life and fighting undead.

The next trip to the moon was a more, if not entirely, permanent one. I had to really decide if I wanted to give up the life I was more or less content with on Earth (aside from the relatively new challenge of the undead), including many of my friends, acquaintances, relationships, and comforts for the opportunity to live on this moon surrounded by unexplored nature, full of strangers, free from the daily challenge of the undead.

I spent the days leading up to the flight (the decision deadline) getting involved in some sort of treasure seeking. There was a complex castle/dungeon of some sort; tough to navigate, full of skeletons. I abandoned the treasure hunt the day of the flight.

It was the undead that tipped the scale on decision day.

At the very last minute I had to run to find my family and tell them I had decided to join them. They were going to hold the ship for me so I could pack, but I decided to leave almost everything behind (most needs were being provided for in return for us agreeing to be a part of this first group) and take just what was on me at the moment.

The moon settlement was incredible. A wonderful blend of technology and nature; and because of the lesser gravity, I could simply jump right from the raised structure on which we lived into the treetops twenty feet below.

The dream ended with me in awe of where I was and beginning to learn to cope with my new, somewhat minimalist lifestyle.

truekeymusic: I’m very excited to share with all of you the...

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:32:00 -0400

truekeymusic:

I’m very excited to share with all of you the first single to my new record that will come out in June. YOU picked these tracks by showing up and dancing and hanging out over the past year. Thanks everyone.

If you have ears, you need this in your life.

Harriman State Park

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:15:14 -0400

Harriman State Park

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:11:22 -0400

Harriman State Park

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor..."

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:18:28 -0400

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

- François-René de Chateaubriand

(via the59thstreetbridge)