Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
James Blake - Enough Thunder
Panda Bear - Tomboy
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Washed Out - Within and Without
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Jamie xx & Gil Scott-Heron - We’re New Here
Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence Trilogy
James Blake - James Blake
Destroyer - Kaputt
As I began writing about my favourite songs/albums of 2011 (just wrapping it up, putting out soon I hope), I felt as though my opening paragraph had already been written. Not in a “This is fate, the words are simply falling out into place” kind of way, but a “fuuuuck, where did I read this already?”
Ah yes. Last December.
One year ago:
As Twenty-Ten comes to a close, I of course partake in my usual reflection and (naturally) loathing of how quickly the time has passed. But through this shroud of negativity, there is a comfort I can always find.
My opener—and much of what I had already written—was nearly identical. Seems like I have gone full-circle and wound up exactly where I was one year ago. Or rather I just have not changed at all.
Jesus-titty-fucking-Mary-on-a-stick-Christ, have I not changed in an entire year? A full calendar just blew past with nothing to show for it? That’s pretty goddamn depressing.
But let’s look back on ’11. Without a doubt, 2011 has been a year where so much has happened in the world. Actually, I’d like to amend that statement: maybe the world hasn’t in fact “gone through more” this year than any other year, I am just in fact paying closer attention (huh, looks like I’ve written that already too; 1000pts to the one who finds it). Or things are being pushed more into the light; Egypt, Gaddafi, bin Laden, Occupy, Fukushima, Will & Kate, SOPA… whatever. All huge stories that I have only really wanted/been able to follow because of the Interwebs.
So what about me (also said by 7+ billion people)? Have I not changed? I have made, lost, and been reunited with friends. I almost lost my love. I’ve done some very stupid things, but also some very cool ones too. I voted for the first time. I started working (a bit), struggling (a lot), drinking (a bit lot? nope, bit). I got punched for wearing a yellow shirt. Just to name a few…
Huh. Guess I have changed.
And then you’re there going, “well no shit, dumbfuck.” We’re always changing. Sometimes it is in a slow, decaying process too subtle to notice. Like rust. Other times it is violent, instant. But it is happening, change is happening. I may currently be in rust-mode—hell, I may be for the rest of my life—but the fact is that I am we are collecting all these experiences that shape and form us. They change us. It’s comforting knowing that tomorrow’s Sven will be much different from today’s Sven.
I hope he’s a little more funny. And has a girls crawling all over him because of his super sexy rippling abs. Actually I take that back…
Go grab a drink, I have a toast to make.
*tink tink tink*
Ahem. Here’s to not the people we were yesterday, nor today. But to the people we hope to be, and become tomorrow. Always be better, always strive for more, and may happiness find you as you follow good health. Thanks for a great year everyone.
Written 12 Dec 11 @ 01:11am
“Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.
By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.
The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.”
– President Obama
Written 10 Oct 11 @ 06:54pm
Even before I had a Mac, I used Safari. This was back before I knew about all the bells and whistles that went on behind the scenes of browsers. I simply loved the way Safari looked over others. When I got my Macbook Pro, of course Safari being the standard browser, it remained my browser of choice. We’ve had a great relationship, Safari and I.
I have to say though, Safari 5.1 has been repeatedly kicking me in between the legs. It hurts.
The past few releases have been, well a little unstable to say the least. 5.0 was good. It included some features I have enjoyed and commend. But the 5.1 shit that was shipped out with Lion seemed to be yet another problem added to the “I Want To Love Lion But I Can’t Because…” list.
The newish engineering of Safari has been built around this “thing” called WebProcess. It’s neat, good on the devs in coming up with something contemporary. However it sucks. Eloquent wording, I know. Specifically though,
- WebProcess uses far too much CPU and memory space. It’s absolutely unnecessary.
- I browse with a lot of tabs, as I know many of us do. I rarely have a window open without the more-hidden-tabs icon showing. Yes, it certainly takes up a bunch of memory, but this has never been an issue prior.
- When switching tabs, Safari decides it is mandatory to automatically reloads pages. It is an action that is incredibly frustrating and unacceptable; forms have to be refilled, written material is lost, information gets erased. I have found (perhaps only one of the reasons) this occurs because Webkit2 WebProcess crashes. Disabling Java helps, but does not fix.
- Scrolling, reloading, and other actions are very slow.
It is true a lot of websites are getting much more intensive with their code. Javascript is being used in many ways, a lot of them in small chunks. There are CSS bits such as text-rendering:optimizeLegibility; that I found affect browser performance. Font rendering takes time on my machine as well. But none of these tweaks are entities that cannot be handled. I’d like to say everything could be blamed on Flash, but that simply is not true. I uninstalled Flash for a while, and nothing changed, at least not in the ways I wanted it to. Sure it slows down when it is in use, but that’s just Flash doing it’s Flashey thing.
I still unfortunately use Safari, but I tend to have Chrome open almost every time as well. I did use Chrome for a while, but preferred Safari (based on appearance and not performance). I will not that this may be less of the browser’s and more of Lion’s fault. I am sure the dudes and dudettes at Apple are trying to fix a tonne of shenanigans, but if Safari doesn’t sort itself out and find itself some new architecture, I think it’s safe to say the gap between it and Chrome will close up.
Written 9 Sep 11 @ 10:29am
Before moving to the city, people-watching was rare treat, a sport that happened infrequently because, well, there weren’t many people to watch. However, here in the bustling metropolis, it is impossible to get away. And Vancouver isn’t even that populated. I now tend to do most of my people-watching as I ride the train everyday. Sure about 90% of humans are uninteresting to look at on first glance as they are swimming in “normality,” but if you look closer we all have little quirks worth noticing.
As I swept the candidates to amuse myself today, I found a worthy target. A girl, perhaps early 20s, shoulder-length dark blonde hair, blue peacoat… she was very pretty. She glanced about, her eyes darting back and forth. It was as though she was inspecting people around to see who was looking at her.
Anybody with any sense of others and/or human emotion could see she was upset. Very upset. I could—I’m sure everyone could, had they escaped their bubble of individuality and self-obsession—tell she was using every ounce of her being not to burst into tears on the train. Her eyes were still puffy, her mouth corners shaking. Her hands curled and grasped her coat sleeve opening tightly.
Was I the only one who noticed? Maybe. But what struck me most about this girl is there is something wrong. It is odd to me that people outside of the ones I am close to have problems. Whoa, hold on…is this to say we are all have an ability to be hurt? To be sad and angry, feel hatred, jealousy, pain?
Of course. It’s no wonder there are so many songs and poems about hurt. It is a universal sentiment, one that binds us—if nothing more—all together as peers. Yet our connection to one another is blatantly stepped on as we ignore the the girl trying to not explode in front of everyone. Why is that?
Why is Blondie even trying to keep it in? Why is it that one cannot simply cry? Yes, I understand it is “weird” to do so, but why can’t I express sadness when I am sad, anger when I am angry, and goddammit clap my hands when I am happy and know and really wanted to show it? I imagine such a lack of control would be a reimagining of a world in which we all had Tourette’s syndrome. It is interesting how we as a society have deemed a neutral, restrained composure necessary.
We’ve been taught that our personal issues and worries are just that: personal. Which means that my problems are my problems, are yours are yours. I completely understand this notion, which is the reason I don’t enjoy soap operas or reality television; my life is already maxed out with stress and drama, I don’t need to worry (nor do I care for that matter) about such frivolity. If your life is being complicated for the sole purpose of entertaining mine, well that’s kind of a dumb move on your part. But thanks for the lulz. Maybe this is why nobody seemed to care about the poor girl, millimetres away from a transmogrification¹ into a busted fire hydrant. Maybe people simply have no interest in the matter, nor do they wish to get involved. God only knows how the situation would end for me if I get involved.
There comes a point where we need to look past our own dilemmas and personal difficulties and engage in the equally (or far, far worse²) devastating hardships of others. We all have our demons. But where is this balance? What is the magical equilibrium of dealing with both my problem and yours?
That’s your choice. You can do whatever it is you see fit, whatever helps you cope. We all deal differently. Just know that if the Bible contains but one truth, it is that guiding or aiding another may in turn help one’s self³. Helping others helps us. Is this, therefore selfish? No. Think of it as a byproduct. That being said, you do what you want, but I’ll do what I want. Even if that means waiting until the girl looks at me so I can smile at her, maybe making her feel good for a single moment, taking her mind of her unimaginable drama.
Written 1 Jan 11 @ 01:33am1. Get learned foo’: ZZZAAAAAPP.
2. Sometimes, just shut your complaining.
3. Wise words.
As Twenty-Ten comes to a close, I of course partake in my usual reflection and (naturally) loathing of how quickly the time has passed. But through this shroud of negativity, there is a comfort I can always find. As per my entire childhood and growing years up to now, music has been a very positive influence and involvement on/in my life.
I wouldn’t really be able to categorize myself in a favourite genre of music, I am quite open to and enjoy most, yet there are some particular albums that really stuck out this past year. Notice this is not a Top 10 list; limiting myself would be unfair. Here are the most remarkable and gratifying albums—my favourites of the year.
Today I gave a man a sandwich.
Like most (or rather, many) people not from a city, I am very sympathetic to the homeless. When one is subject to seeing homelessness every day since childhood, they tend build an immunity; to see these people not as exactly that, people, but as lesser. Indeed, perhaps many of the homeless have made mistakes—and continue to—yet there are others are simply always in difficult positions.
I feel guilty passing by the homeless, as I never—really, never carry change. However, I still say hello. I am from a small town, where passing someone along the street is consistently met with a greeting. Of course, I can’t keep that habit here in Vancouver as there are far to many passerbyes, but when I see someone in need, the least I can do is say a hi. They are people. People say hi.
Today I gave a man my sandwich. He was alone, carried no sign, had but a toque and looked very cold. I passed, and he smiled. I don’t know what it was, but you could see the difficulties he faced in a second of looking at him. I greeted him and asked how he was doing. “Sun’s out today, thank God for that!” and he chuckled. I agreed with him, opened my bag, and handed him my tuna sandwich I spent a good 20 minutes making (it was a work of art). He took it cautiously, looked at me, and thanked me from the bottom of his heart. His smile stretched across the entire width of his rouged face.
“Have a great day, sir.”
“Thanks. You especially.”
Written 12 Dec 10 @ 01:48am