It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

I've been listening to a lot of swing music lately. More specifically electro-swing music, which I believe is simply swing music with electronic elements added in like drum machines and the such.

I don't know much about swing music, actually. I know it's got a sort of sub-culture attached to it, and I know it was popular in the early 20th century but that's about it. I don't know intellectually what makes swing music what it is, but I know intuitively when I hear it whether it's swing or not. It always has that upbeat back-and-forth rhythm and is usually accompanied with some slick lyrics about dancing or being real cool.

Actually, I think it's one of the best types of dance music out there. I have a friend who is big into swing dancing and lindy hop and it seems like a rocking good time.

Maybe I'll go dancing some time! And here's a tune I caught on an electro-swing station. It might be your thing too.

Post its on the subway

I was riding the subway today on my return trip from running errands at the Eaton Centre when I noticed that someone had stuck a small post-it note on one of the train doors. It was small enough that you wouldn't really notice it unless you happened to be staring at the door while the train was moving. I had plenty of time to stare at the door as I had mistakenly gotten on the Southbound train from Dundas Station instead of the Northbound train. Ultimately, I end up in the same place but I skip a streetcar ride and ride a bus instead.

Anyway, the post-it note had a smiley face on it. That's it. Probably a stranger wanted to put a smile on someone's face so they stuck one on a post-it. I thought it was neat so I snapped a picture of it and I won't upload here because it's really blurry... yes, my cameraphone is still broken.

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On a different note, I've been watching a friend play a video game from the comfort of my own home. It sounds pretty boring but I find it kind of exciting that I can log onto my Steam account and watch one of my friends play a game that I don't even own. He told me that me watching him play (i.e. him streaming to my computer) had no impact on his connection or performance, so that's pretty impressive. Only downside is I can't hear him on voice talk. I can hear his allies though? That's particularly thrilling when you figure they're just hurling insults at each other anyway. Oh and the game is Day of Defeat: Source.

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I'm listening to Mother Mother's new album "No Culture". It's 'aight. Kinda catchy.

Ignition

Poppin' fresh out the kitchen etc. etc.

I've been listening to the remix to Ignition (is there even an original?) a lot, so my post title is actually relevant! That's good because I read in Blogging for Dummies that having relevant titles is important to drive traffic to your blog. Apparently people get turned off when titles don't match content? Well, I can work with that.

I wrote a letter to someone and dropped it off in the mailbox today. I should do that more often. Absolutely nothing beats getting a fresh letter in the mail. An e-mail is like 1% as satisfying. Real, crisp paper, perhaps fresh ink, maybe some finishing touches like a sticker to bind the envelope - now there's something tangible. An e-mail? Bahhhh, I'll let gmail sort it into some folder or another... I'll read it later...

Speaking of gmail, apparently the FBI is now allowed to ask Google for transcripts of e-mails from residents of other countries, even if the actual data isn't even located in the States. Not a great precedent. I've always been pretty okay with gmail (I made the switch from hotmail ages ago back when you needed an invite), but lately Google has grown into a more Big Brother-esque corporation than I would like so I'm not nearly as loyal to them as I once was. I obviously still use their blogger platform but maybe switching to a new e-mail service provider would be a good idea.

There's this new e-mail provider called protonmail. I've heard good things: servers located in Switzerland, top-notch encryption, open-source... impressive! I definitely would like to switch - eventually. It's a huge hassle switching e-mails. So many services are linked to e-mail that it's impossible to just ditch one and start a new one without making backups somewhere.

I would love to just ignite my gmail inbox (with over 600 unread e-mails added up over the years!) and start anew. It'll have to wait.