KGBlog: October 2009

can someone find me a virtual u-haul van

kgblog has a new home!

what's that?

oh, those are moving boxes.

are you moving somewhere?

yep.

but, i thought you liked it here?

i did, but my template keeps disappearing.

well, we'll miss you.

i'm just moving to tumblr. it's not far. you can come see me there.

oh, nice. that's a shorter drive for us anyway.

(also, the app trail blog is changing .com's)

Posted in: on Friday, October 23, 2009 at at 6:00 PM 0 comments

recovery

today, driving home i was blaring "use somebody" by kings of leon and "mess of me" off of the switchfoot album that comes out sometime next month. this was completely not a conscious effort to remove miss cyrus from the "songs stuck in my head" list, but seems to have had that effect. (though, i'm pretty sure when i hear it again i'll embrace it just as readily...so, really this is just a temporary fix to the "problem".)

Posted in: on at at 5:51 PM 0 comments

c'mon...really? self, you've got to be joking.

i managed to scroll past it on the itunes home page, where it sat atop the singles chart for weeks on end, with no interest whatsoever in hearing what was behind the link. i ignored it's other position at the top of the video purchases as well. today it happened. i forgot my ipod when i left the house for my car and my ears ended up with only the radio for company. this morning all i got was talk radio, but this afternoon, oh this afternoon, i had fun.

it would be wrong not to mention that the first song on when i started the drive home was none other than usher's "you make me wanna...". high school flashback. i mean, this is the video that made me want to learn how to dance. now that i've just watched it again, it still has the same effect. also, is that jermaine dupri in the back ground? or rather, on second thought, why do i remember rapper/producer names from high school?

back to the matter at hand. when a less than exciting old hit followed up usher i decided to move on through the stations and what did i hear. miley. how i'm not sure, but by the next stoplight i was blaring party in the u.s.a. with the windows rolled down. it would have been embarrassing except for the fact that, from what i can tell, no one can really resist it. you hear it, you think, "oh miley, you teenybopper you, you're songs are so...put my hands up, they're playing my song..." and that's it. roughly five seconds into judging the music you've actually been sucked into singing along. weird. oh, and it sticks. it's been stuck in my head since but i also don't feel compelled to get it out. omg, this could be, like, totally not awesome.

Posted in: on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at at 3:07 PM 0 comments

can i just go already?

consider my desire to travel to argentina re-awakened. these were the first pictures that came up when i googled "southern argentina":i mean really? can places really be this cool? yeah, i know. i wasn't talking about the ice though, just the unbelievably surrealistic landscapes. as soon as i have any money to save...taking me here will be it's purpose. i may even buy a little jar with "$ for patagonia" written on the side.

Posted in: on Monday, October 19, 2009 at at 4:01 PM 0 comments

cold front

our house is an igloo. i just took a couple of cans of coke out of the pantry to put in the fridge...only to realize they were already the same temperature as the cans that had been in the fridge all day. my only sanctuary is the hot water in the shower (minus the getting out part), sitting in front of the tiny space heater that my roommate just bought, or laying in my bed. in fact, leaving my bed is now the most difficult part of my day because it means i have to walk the few feet to the closet to get my sweater. i just got my winter hat out of the winter clothing bag and as soon as i can get back to fayetteville i'm getting my gloves. when i just couldn't stand it anymore this afternoon i went outside...because it's warmer there. why is all this happening. apparently our house is hemorrhaging heat. the last occupant's winter electric bills were not pretty. so we're fighting the good fight for as long as we can. on that note, i need to get my smartwools up here. layer, layer, layer...and hang out next door where they keep the heat on. i can't feel my nose. ugh.

Posted in: on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at at 11:27 PM 0 comments

ctrl+shift+8 (thats the big aim smile...in case you forgot your life between 97 and facebook)

i've mentioned before my love of the moleskine, as well as my refusal to use any pen other than the G2. this week i noticed that apparently even fictional characters have the same obsession:

anna torv as agent olivia dunham on fringe. i can't confirm that as a G2, though it looks suspiciously like one, but that is definitely the same moleskine reporter notebook i have in my pocket.

Posted in: on at at 10:44 AM 0 comments

45 minutes to spare?

last night jimmy fallon did the entire show with the guys from monty python. they really couldn't be any funnier:

Posted in: on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at at 11:45 AM 0 comments

picture overload (sorry about this one)

if i could take a trip to the wardrobe trailer from the brothers bloom i would have a field day...also, if i were in 5th grade again and had a field day, i would go looking for that very same trailer. without further ado, exhibits a thru h:

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at at 9:28 PM 0 comments

where my ears have been (or, my ipod's been shuffling)

now, we all know that the shuffle function of the ipod is fairly hit or miss. still, it does tend to be consistent with it's choices. when it's on it's on, and the inverse tends to be equally as true a statement. when it misses it keeps on missing until you re-shuffle. today i received a gift. the best shuffle i've ever encountered. now, it wasn't a true daily double, as it was only out of the 121 songs in my recently added playlist and not the full song list, but nonetheless it was wonderful, and i feel that even 121 songs provides a decently poor probability of this happening:

1. the perfect space - the avett brothers

2. sex on fire - kings of leon

3. hello seattle - owl city

4. what you've done to me - needtobreathe

5. near to you - a fine frenzy

6. use somebody - kings of leon

7. use somebody (cover) - paramore

8. wake up (where the wild things trailer version) - arcade fire

9. islands, is - volcano choir

10. hope for the hopeless - a fine frenzy

11. boy with a coin - iron and wine

...and so on and so forth. i've got a pair of happy ears.

Posted in: on Monday, October 12, 2009 at at 4:20 PM 1 comments

G-2: on how easy it is to break down my entire routine

i lost my pen earlier this week and with it went any ability to maintain an organized life. i couldn't bring myself to write with a ballpoint in either of my moleskines (the ones with my planner and notes). thus after a trip to office max, i am the proud owner of a new pack of .5's, and am also giving the .38 a test run. it's good to not feel frazzled and lost anymore. thanks G-2's.

Posted in: on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at at 10:19 AM 0 comments

invisible children: (further) thoughts on responsibility

a link to this little gem (ie video) came in the inbox today:

i think it's a great idea from the i.c. guys and, along with touching on something i've had on my mind a lot recently, it's made me happy for them. i think this is one of the best things they've done to make tangible action feasible for the masses. they did bracelets...which was nice...but do we really need bracelets? not all that much...even if it is for a good cause.

bracelets...bags...is there really a difference? i know, this is just a bag, but i'm hoping that they are moving in the direction of making things we will all buy at some point anyway (ie: basic articles of clothing or otherwise). in this scenario it makes sense to buy from someone that you know is aware and conscious of the working conditions, compensation, etc., of those in their employ. this doesn't have to be i.c. or some other organization across the map. it could be clothes from the local tailor, food from the farmer at the market, drinks from the artsy (or not so artsy) fair trade coffee shop down the street, or eating at the restaurant that buys from these same sources.

whats that? oh yeah, i know. of course it costs more to live like that, and sometimes a lot more. it's because no one in the chain is being taken advantage of. we've been raised in a mass production society. even within the christian circles that i've moved in for the majority of my life we've been told that cheaper is better, and we've all seen people we respect live like it's truth.

but, cheap means we're being responsible with what we've been given right? not really. finding the cheapest deal, in almost every case, means that somewhere along the line someone isn't being compensated fairly for the labor they have put forth. that's just the nature of the market. here's the thing. if we actually decided to be generous (ie: pay more...and not just for a name brand, but because we can see the source and know that everyone involved in the products journey from start to us is being treated justly) then maybe, just maybe...we wouldn't have to give money to the charitable organization educating and feeding starving kids in __(insert 3rd world location)__ or the one building them houses out of cinderblocks.

wait, what? well, because their mom and dad would actually have a real income...and could take care of their own family...and maybe be given back just a bit of the dignity that we take from them when we buy the sweatshop products they make for 10 cent an hour.

i know that's a lofty goal...and in the meantime, sure, go ahead, give to the charity of your choice...but maybe start changing the way you shop too.

how can i afford these products made with responsibility and quality? simple, simplify. you buy fewer things. you may even find that with less stuff your life is less cluttered, and therefore you spend less time taking care of your things...giving you more time for relationships, community, your long lost hobbies/potential passions, plying your own trade for those investing in you and your product, etc.

thanks for letting me ramble...and asking such good questions. this post was probably mostly to encourage myself on these matters, but maybe we're a little bit alike. so, feel free to get something out of it too if you want...i won't mind.

Posted in: on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at at 8:04 PM 1 comments

gpoyw

Originally uploaded by harris.martinson

Posted in: on Wednesday, October 07, 2009 at at 8:06 PM 0 comments

The Arnold Frolmer Invitational: brief thoughts on it's namesake

i stumbled across this picture today along with an article that (forgive the source) somehow made me appreciate the man even more than i did before:

“… sportswriter Frank Deford has testified that Palmer’s cool came from those L&M’s: ‘All America had this image of Palmer taking a cigarette out of his mouth, throwing it on the green to putt, and then sticking it back in his mouth. It was golf’s equivalent of Bogart and Bacall. It’s odd to think of a cigarette as an athletic totem, but back then it was sexy. Palmer with a cigarette was like those old convertible ads with a beautiful woman sitting in the front seat and her scarf blowing in the wind.’”

Posted in: on at at 3:48 PM 0 comments

observations for 10-6-09:

1. encountering the smell of fire/smoke from a bonfire or cookout on a long drive puts me in about as good of a mood as i can reach. i don't know why exactly i have such positive feelings about that particular smell...but i'm glad i do.

2. why do cars have settings for the windshield wipers. is this just a problem for me? i always need a speed somewhere between my options. can we just get rid of the clicks? shouldn't it just be a dial that you turn to the appropriate speed for the given weather situation? you: "why yes, it should be." thank you for agreeing.

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 at at 5:22 PM 0 comments

new toms:

these are on their way to me...and i am happy (read: giddy).

(yes, completely aware of the grossly disproportionate amount of happiness these are bringing to my life)

Posted in: on Monday, October 05, 2009 at at 12:58 PM 0 comments

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