TJ's Kaleidoscope

I Say Music, You Say Moozik

“You tend to listen to the same song quite a lot, do you like it?”, said Vijesh the other day, poking fun at my playlist. He should know, for him and I trade DJ responsibilities through the workday, the notes from our speakers wafting through the air, blending into the office noise that is the CallFire hustle. Jesting aside, Vijesh has a point, for when I like a song (I mean really like a song) I tend to go overboard and play it repeatedly for a long time. This can go on for months until I’m so tired of the song that I stop playing it, and then go out of my way searching for music to fill that void. This approach has served me quite well for in the quest to fill the void my music collection has gotten very diverse, eclectic, and large. Now, if only I could consolidate all of them into one gigantic drive that I can take everywhere I go, life would be good.

The reason for this post, however is to let Vijesh know that I’ll be dialing down the frequency of Rilo Kiley’s “Silver Lining” and ramping up Raphael Saadiq’s “100 Yard Dash”. I like both songs mainly because they are new songs by contemporary artistes that have recreated sounds of a previous era. Rilo Kiley creates the sounds of seventies pop that’s oddly reminiscent of songs your parents used to play on an idle Sunday afternoon and came to like because you were too young to have a say in the music choice. Saadiq on the other hand, is doing a new cover of an old song, but brings an edginess to the song that seems to belong to a different era. Perhaps it’s the use of sticks instead of brushes on the snare drums, or just his voice, but the moment it plays you picture yourself in an jazz or blues club back when cigarettes and big-print bell-bottoms were cool. Both songs come recommended via different paths. Rilo Kiley got shuffled into my playlist by the majicomputer at Pandora, while Saadiq came highly recommended by NPR. You can purchase both, like I did, DRM free from Amazon.com.

Interestingly, as per iTunes, I’ve played Rilo Kiley only 13 times, though by Winamp’s stats (which is my primary player) I’ve played it 19 times. Thirty-two times since October 29 (when I bought the track) isn’t too bad is it?

Rilo Kiley Video

Raphael Saadiq Audio.

Quote of the Day

Without music, life would be a mistake.

                                        --Friedrich Nietzsche

Merry Christmas

If you’re one of the sixty odd readers of this site, or just happened to stumble upon this blog, Merry Christmas to you and to all.

(Above: our home Christmas tree)

Quote of the Day

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

                                                                      --Agnes M. Pharo

Friendcast Mentioned in MacWorld

Friendcast—CallFire’s app for iPhone users got mentioned in MacWorld roundup today.  As the article states, it’s an excellent way to send out a broadcast message to multiple iPhone contacts with simple taps on the screen. All the people to whom I’ve given demos seem to love the app. They see uses for it like last minute changes of venues, sending out mass greetings (the holiday season is already here folks). Those without iPhones found one more reason to get one! So I’d encourage all those with iPhones to download this app. It’s fast, friendly, and did I mention free?

Go on! Socially network using—voice—the  natural communication form.

Quote of the Day:

If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.

                                                                     --Woodrow Wilson

Little Pleasures

Old fashioned vanilla frozen yogurt, mixed nuts on the bottom, middle, and top and a generous sprinkling of sunshine. One of life's joys.

Quantum of Solace

I wonder what’s the quantum of solace, the approaching train that takes me to work like clock work everyday, or the the sunlight sneaking past the clouds reminding us all that a new day has arrived.

(I know I’m stealing a now clichéd line, but I never claimed to be original!)

Quote of the Day

Keep your head up,

cause a new day will come,

and look to the sun,

even when the darkness shall come.

                                   --Wycleff Jean “New Day”

Life is a Bubble of Soap

They say life is a bubble of soap, you never know when it will burst. This reality was brought home by this week’s events.

When I blogged earlier about how this was going to be a packed week, I was referring to a hectic work schedule where we were pushing to rush out features, as well as a busy social itinerary that had me meeting friends and celebrating birthdays almost every evening of the week. What I didn’t expect was a personal roller coaster a lot rougher than anticipated, and then an unexpected personal loss that eclipsed that and everything else.

There are plans you have for life, and then there are plans that life has for you. Most of the time, we get away with doing what we want in life, making choices and taking actions thinking that we have control over our own destiny. We complain about traffic, fashion, current affairs, thinking all of them as so essential to improve our quality of life. Yet, every now and then, life shows you who’s boss and what really matters by doing things you can’t control and can’t explain. All you can do is deal with the aftermath the best way you can and realize that despite all its challenges and obstacles, life is sweet, and it does go on.

Goodbye Subbu mama, I’ll always remember you as the uncle who spoilt me the most.

Quote of the Day

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

                                                                             --Khalil Gibran

The Art of Possibility

My friend Chris blogged about Benjamin Zander, the Conductor for the Boston Philharmonic. We were both part of the conference where he spoke for a exhilarating two hours. So if there’s some place he’s speaking, you know have it from two people to go see him in person. For those who can’t, go buy his book, or at least see his talk on TED:

 

There’s a longer version on POPTech:

http://poptech.org/popcasts/popcasts.aspx?lang=&viewcastid=211

 

Quote of the Day:

However difficult it is, however overwhelming the tasks, overwhelming the odds, possibility is always only one sentence away.

                                                        --Benjamin Zander

Starting the week

For what promises to be a packed week, one can still time to enjoy the small things.