Shamelessly resharing this quote from sports writer Roger Angell sourced via Austin Kleon:

“It is foolish and childish, on the face of it, to affiliate ourselves with anything so insignificant and patently contrived and commercially exploitative as a professional sports team, and the amused superiority and icy scorn that the non-fan directs at the sports nut (I know this look - I know it by heart) is understandable and almost unanswerable. Almost. What is left out of this calculation, it seems to me, is the business of caring - caring deeply and passionately, really caring - which is a capacity or an emotion that has almost gone out of our lives. And so it seems possible that we have come to a time when it no longer matters so much what the caring is about, how frail or foolish is the object of that concern, as long as the feeling itself can be saved. Naïveté - the infantile and ignoble joy that sends a grown man or woman to dancing in the middle of the night over the haphazardous flight of a distant ball - seems a small price to pay for such a gift.”

Miranda and I saw a rescreening of the film in theaters at the start of summer and I was NOT PREPARED for this to become a new favorite movie!

Took a few months to work at this. Definitely one of the busier pieces I've played so far, so I'm proud of that!

*psyyy~*

Still a wild song 15+ years later.

Thanks to Let's Talk About Math Rock for the tabs and curated licks.

Sick lick! 🦑

Thanks to Let's Talk About Math Rock for the tabs and curated licks.

A few times I've made the case for blogging. Admittedly, though, maybe it's not your thing. I say this all lovingly, but blogging can have some baggage — the word itself is clunky, the format for delivery is old-fashioned (not in The Endearing way to some), and maybe you don't like the technical side of publishing.

Fine, fair enough!

What I'd also like to encourage you to do is write.

Andrew of Writing with Andrew seems to agree and has a great video on the matter.

Once students get over the hump of their initial bewilderment, they find that nonfiction pays off in all kinds of other ways. It gives them a chance to process their own experiences, to find meaning where they thought there wasn't any, to reckon with family histories, to articulate parts of themselves that have gone previously unexpressed, or even just to play with ideas and learn how to think through things in meaningful ways.

Put simply, writing is an opportunity to live more deeply. A chance to revel in the experience of it all.

There are plenty of other mediums to do this aside from blogging. But I bet you'll find some benefit in writing, no matter where you do it.

A common hurdle when it comes to publishing is how intimate it feels. I've certainly felt this. Turns out the feeling doesn't go away, because I keep finding things that feel more personal to share, more exposing.

But Andrew has another perspective on this:

There is always, and unavoidably, a separation between the flesh and blood human who is you and the constructed persona who represents you on the page. The essayist is not imagining characters in the same way that a fiction writer is. Instead, the essayist is making a character of themself.

If you've ever met someone whose writing you're familiar with, you'll catch it. Writing is a bit of a stage, and speaking with the person is not synonymous with reading their writing. Even someone who writes from a place of intimacy or in a casual tone is accessing a caricature.

So don't sweat the feeling of being too exposed — that's partly the whole point, and doubles as a shield.

I still think blogging is a fun way to do it. (Links, man!!) But maybe you prefer Twitter threads, video essays, or good ol' fashioned journaling. Whatever you do, don't miss the opportunity to magnify the experience of life!

I love being bored.

It's a stupendously easy problem to solve with quick hits. It's not entirely novel to this generation — magazines, books, comics, television, etc. have had a hand in staving off what can be an uncomfortable feeling.

But I savor it when I can. It makes room for one of my favorite hobbies: Daydreaming.

Not enough credit is given to daydreaming. It might be that there's not craft to it, perse. There aren't daydreaming contests, there's no coach I can hire for it. Maybe people see it as lazy. It certainly doesn't fit into a puritan work ethic.

And yet, paradoxically, it's essential, even in pragmatic efforts. Software problems are often solved while doing the dishes. Books are written while on walks. And music is composed in that twilight realm between wake and sleep.

But, I'd hate to justify it with a specific outcome. Much like music teaching advocates who would only speak of the increased SAT scores for music students, I feel that we'd be missing the point.

I will say, writing is a fun vehicle for it. A nice balance of structure and flexibility. A place to watch thoughts crawl through the page, turning here and there, until a piece comes together.

But, nothing quite beats having time to stare at the ceiling and see where the thoughts go. There's a magic to it, "between the click of the light and the start of the dream".

Another go at a different rif!

Thanks to Let's Talk About Math Rock for the tabs and curated licks.

It's been a while since I've shared something from the sketchbook!

Except if it were a slow jam.

Thanks to Let's Talk About Math Rock for the tabs and curated licks.

The night-time desk.

So good. 🤘

Thanks to Let's Talk About Math Rock for the tabs and curated licks.

Wahoo!

There's a piece I've been meaning to write about how Super Mario 64 was my medium for curiosity growing up. That running around in these worlds expanded my own, that taking to the sky in game made me curious as to what would happen if you flew into the skyboxes. What other discoveries could be made out there?

But, then again, maybe the painting says it all.

Greetings from Colorado! I'm releasing my first lil album since the move from Texas.

There's so much natural beauty out here. Mountains frame the sky and streams run in parallel with trails. I couldn't wait to capture some of that magic with sound!

Hope you enjoy, thanks as always for listening!

• Support the ablum on 🤘 Bandcamp.
• Listen on 📺 Youtube.
• Listen on 🙉 Spotify.

Never Meant — The Wonder Wall of Midwest Emo.

I've never felt so seen by a soundfont cover.