Merry Christmas!
So, naturally I consider myself somewhat of a shoe snob at this point. While I can't seem to stop buying new shoes, I am always observing trends at an even more ravenous pace than my buying habits. Thus, my absolute horror when I came upon this pair of shoes on the Ben Sherman USA site. I am sure my other fashion-conscious male readers out there will agree that Ben Sherman has been on a slow decline for the past year or so and has been replaced in that "stylish but affordable" category by such brands as Modern Amusement or even Original Penguin (who appears to have some staying power beyond the typical "retro" thing that they rode for the typical year or so). But, I still check the BSUSA site every now and then to see where they are headed. And let me tell you, if this shoe is any sign of their future, just hang it up now folks. Just go back to being the trashy clothier you are in the UK and be happy with that. Please don't tell me that tassle loafers are coming back anytime soon. Before a style can become "retro" I think a requirement is that those who are out-of-style have even stopped wearing it. Every blue shirt, khaki pants wearing corporate schmuck still wears the Bass or Cole Haan version of these shoes which really don't look markedly different from this BS version. Ugh.
Just not right. That's all I have to say. Not right at all.
Ok, my primary blog, Raleighing, uses CAPTCHAs when commenters exhibit certain qualities that set off a sort of alarm (similar to TSA procedures, perhaps?). Well, this image which I was just presented on another site is just taking this too far. If computers are getting this good, then I give up. Let's go ahead and come up with the next anti-spam technology, ok? This one's dead.
Ok, this bastard is much easier to read than the one I tried to download. Piece o' crap. There's some computer somewhere laughing its ass off at me.
And I thought we were brothers...
Been a hell of a year, eh? For me it has... Lots of highs, lots of lows. I put together this little playlist to showcase some of the music that helped keep me sane. All of the tracks are from albums released this year... so I guess it is the beginnings of my best of 2006 list.
FIQL is a pretty cool place where you can make/upload playlists and they auto-generate links to various music services... so you can listen via whichever you use.
Enjoy!
So, I made my first "professional" blog post a couple of weeks ago. It was strange, but at the same time really not as big a deal as I had imagined it would be. Lulu.com (my awesome day-job employer) asked if I'd write a blog post to introduce some new site features to our newsletter readers. Having written several hundred blog posts on my current blog (Raleighing) and my former blog (worthyMUSIC), the general task was really not very daunting. Plus, due to the fact I was intimately familiar with the topic (I am a part of the team who rolled out the features), I was excited to expound on the subject. The software engineers/user experience designers with whom I work can turn out some amazing features in remarkably short amounts of time, so I am very compelled to spread the news of their accomplishments by shouting it from the mountain tops. And, the Lulu.com cause is one I believe in passionately...
So, even with all of that going for me, I was still a bit tentative. Should I be funny? Into how much detail should I go? Should I use my normal writing style which I believe tends to be a bit rambling, cognizant of but apparently not slavish to grammar rules, and not really anything my English teachers would claim to be of their influence? Do I like writing when there are dollars attached (both my paycheck and potential dollars by satisfied customers)? Why do I write anyway? Wasn't I a math and computer nerd growing up? When did I start thinking my thoughts were actually worth writing down and even worth sharing with others? Didn't Katharine and Isabel tell me I am an introvert? And so on and so on... I do so enjoy torturing myself...
Anyway, as it turns out, I like my little article and am pleased that I took a humorous approach (i.e. I'm the only one who thinks it's funny) and generally kept my normal writing style (i.e. a lack thereof). Luckily, though this was for my day job, it's not my day job...
Anyway, the music contained in this boxset is so incredibly beautiful, so incredibly reverent, and so incredibly passionate that I don't even waste brain (or emotion) cycles on determining Sufjan's beliefs. All I know is that this music connects with me. He connects with me. Not necessarily in definition, but seriously in passion.
Luckily, all of this makes sense to me. Which, as much as I love anyone reading this post, is all that really matters.
Chris
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