eXtraheavyblog!

Paradise Circus by Massive Attack is playing.

“The Devil makes us sin but we like it when we’re spinning in his grin.”

Transformative moments are so rare as you get older. Things slow down to predictable speeds. You go to work. You hang out and read. You sleep, eat, and poop. All of these are predictable.

Just look at the math.

There are 24 hours in a day. I wake up at 6:45. I leave the house for work at 7:30. My commute is 30 minutes getting me to work at 8am. I take a small, 30 minute break off campus each day. I leave work at 4:30 and arrive home at 5pm. I walk the dog until 6 and prepare diner until 6:30. I feed the cats. The rest of the night, say until midnight is mine. That leaves 5.5 hours that are uniquely mine. If you add my 30 minute break and hour of drive time that makes 7 hours that I am not sleeping or owned by someone else. Really, the stress of a commute and my lunch break shouldn’t count.

5.5 hours.

How can one find the time to inspire themselves, feel creative, be healthy and grow in the time it takes to watch two movies?

Dunno.

All I know is I have forced myself to reprogram my brain a bit. I listen to more music and actively seek new music. I am drawing again and recently started a doodle sketchbook that I write short poems and draw my versions of people. I make sure I take at least a fleeting moment to commit a word or two to here or any number of other places like these:

Blog – Stories, Art, Music
RedNotebook – Deeply personal, diary-like stuff
Facebook – Shoutouts to my peeps (shoot me)
Twitter – General Assholery
Foobar, Grooveshark, Blip.fm – Music
Reddit, Metafilter, BoingBoing, Lifehacker, Warren Ellis – Knowledge and Sanity

Changes are coming. Hopefully some professional ones and some real-life ones are on the horizon. I know I don’t often get personal here but sometimes it is a really good place to vent. I feel like one of these dudes who only figure out how to live every 17 years:

I promise my next post will be an inappropriate picture or some story about a Baltimore crackhead trying to cross the harbor by walking on water. I promise.

Here are the 10 songs that have been stuck in my mind this month. I think they spread out a little across genres but tie into one another nicely. Enjoy!

Tweaker – Crude Sunshine
This is one of the best songs I have stumbled across in years. I can’t get enough of Jennifer Charles’ voice. This song is perfect. There, I said it.

The Pixies – Wave of Mutilation
A classic. Enough said on that.

DJ Logic – Spider Dance
More Jennifer Charles. Very hypnotic. Perfect for being in the dark with headphones.

Blonde Redhead – 23
If this sounds a little like My Bloody Valentine it is because it was produced by a member of that legendary band. My neck hurts from gazing at my shoes so much.

Inspired Flight – Parasympathetic
This makes me want to go out and buy a bass. Thanks to Warren Ellis for posting a link to them.

Devotchka – Transliterator
Perfect post-folk stuff. Beautiful song that has real, heart-felt lyrics.

Kasabian – Vlad the Impaler
Great for ass shaking. Shake that ass will you?

Radio Dept. – Pulling Our Weight
I can’t get this one out of my mind. It has been stuck on mental replay for a few weeks. It is sad and full of longing and really got to me in a way songs usually don’t.

The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs
Considering the past two weeks, this song makes perfect sense. No, I don’t want to talk about it. I will show you if you beg nicely.

Explosions in the Sky -Your Hand in Mine
Again with my love of all things Post Rock. This sounds like how I view the world on my best days.

Or click here to listen.

Just thinking about how much I miss drawing. Here is a quick little sketch I put together using ScribblerToo:

_{Rabbit/Bug Man originally uploaded by extraheavymarcellus}

_{The Seven Year Sub originally uploaded by extraheavymarcellus}

Home. Exhausted and happy to be alive.

So I feel like I got at least back to 20th Century Technology today. I drove. I won’t feel 21st Century at all until I get my flying car and robot maid.

The streets are still a mess and most roads are still barely single-laned. It took me 20 minutes to drive the mile to Safeway.

It is Valentines Day and the Safeway has been out of roses due to the Snowpocalypse. One guy, standing in the middle of the floral section, said “Thanks Safeway. You just got me fucking murdered!” The poor woman in the floral kiosk tried to calm him by saying they would have them in by 4pm. “I’ll be dead by then”, the poor lad said as he skulked out into the uncaring world via the automatic doors. Poor guy.

Several other guys exited the store in a stampede of cuckholds. I am sure Whole Foods was their next stop.

The fascists at Hallmark should make a card about it:

There was a certain poetry to what he said that really sums up the whole assinine culture built around this the most dreaded of Hallmark Holidays. That said, I love you sweetie. Happy Valentine’s Day!