First dance is always free

Unleashed words rhyme poorly without proper forethought. Keeping one's composure when attempting to write from the cerebellum isn't easy when you're trying to juggle hundreds of sensory inputs at the same time. Thankfully they move to the background and I don't actually have to deal with hundreds of sensory inputs, more like a couple. Mainly my cold feet and my fingers on the keyboard. Brainiac catscratch flu hitting me straight between the eyes, gotta fight to keep focused.

It's easy to get distracted when you're attempting to write under the influence of electro swing. "Oh great, another post raving about Gabe's latest musical obsession". Thankfully, my attention span is approaching null so if you've got some focusing problems as well we can take this journey together and leave the past behind.

Unfortunately, this journey is mostly about me because I know nothing about you and although I could create an imaginary character to represent you on this journey, I think it's better if I stick to one narrative, ya dig?

I find that as I grow older, my threshold for the things that I find lame increases. While you try and figure out what that means, I'm gonna tell you that tonight I was somewhat of a socialite and that made me feel kinda cool. Actually, what made me feel cool was chatting with two attractive people on two independant occasions. Does that make me vain? I don't want to go into details but I guess I want to make a note that this night happened.

So yeah, things that I used to find lame, like icebreakers and singing songs in groups (jeez, ever tried to get 40+ people to sing Lean on Me? it's pretty hilarious) are now things that I enjoy. Maybe because they're inherently social and that feeds my primal brain? Who knows.

Are we still on a journey? I was hoping for something more like the Odyssey, with grand adventures at sea and travel to mysterious islands. I'm sure you were too. I don't think I have it in me tonight, though. See, I came here all inspired because of a story I'd heard earlier tonight about dragons and water and fire that made me feel like I was listening to an audiobook of the Skyrim or Lord of the Rings.

I might make an attempt at a fantasy epic short story through this blog, or perhaps another I shall create. I'm not sure I want to fill A kaleidoughscope of writings with poorly written fantasy fiction.

Here, another electro favourite! Have a great night!

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.