Internet Gem: Dubstep Cat

A little gift for your Friday.  A dubstep cat in honor of Burning Man this week.  

Here's some pics from Burning Man 2011...

10,000+ pageviews

Source: Lisa Wood

As you may know, I've been vomiting my thoughts all over the internet for the last 4 months.

As of last week, I've hit 10,000 page views -- it's nothing compared to legit bloggers, but I'm still happy about it.  Thanks for reading!

From as early as I can remember, I've had an ongoing internal monologue.  I thought it was normal until I started asking others, "do you have an ongoing conversation with yourself.  like, all the time?"  The answer is usually "no" [insert strange look], except for my best friend Jess that was like, "yes, me too."  Ever since then, we've been "kindred spirits."  

Even Alan has a special song he likes to sing when he can tell I'm "all up in my head" (it sounds a bit like a circus song - doo doo dooododo)

This being said, blogging has been a nice cathartic release for my thoughts.  

In Myers Briggs land, I'm a very strong INFPs, which means...

... Our primary mode of living is focused internally, where we deal with things according to how we feel about them, or how they fit into our personal value system.

... Our primary goal is to find meaning and / or purpose in life.  How can the world be a better place? [I'm both very idealistic and cynical at the same time]

... We take each bit of information and process it against our internal value system.  Is this good?  Does this make sense?  Why do I believe that?

... Although not naturally detailed, we will cover every possible detail with rigor when defending a "cause."  We can become perfectionists -- not giving ourselves much credit in the process.

... We also gravitate towards writing, as we are more comfortable describing our opinions and feelings on paper, rather than verbally.

I'd say all these sentences describe me. They help me understand why I'm motivated differently than colleagues and friends.  Some famous INFPs include Louis CK, Andy Warhol, John Lennon, Anais Nin, Tolkien and George Orwell.  I think I'm okay with being in their personality club.

In conclusion, I feel like writing is the perfect outlet for my busy INFP brain.  Thanks for reading, and I look forward to the next 10,000 pageviews in the future :)

Why is it difficult to balance work & life?

Source: Photopin

This is my work desk.

Psych.

My real desk is very messy.  Right now, it's covered with: 2 breakfast plates, a bit of propaganda that says "love it. live it. own it," coconut water, a giant mason jar, a scattering of papers and two coffee mugs.

I'm not here to talk about the feng shui of my desk (it's only negative), but instead, I'd like to discuss a few studies I discovered this morning on work/life balance.

On Love & Marriage

Source: Photopin

For better or worse, I often feel like an alien in my day-to-day life.  Rather than seeing things like someone that's been on this earth for nearly 30 years, I'm usually questioning what goes on around me.  

Why do people act like that?  Why do I think this?  (cue eyes looking directly at my navel). 

Call it curiosity.  Call it maladaptive.  Either way, it means I have a lot of thoughts in my head.

One of these such topics is marriage.

Could food be a thing of the past?

I'm only partially fluent in "nerd."  

Therefore, I just found out that Soylent, a Kickstarter project which promises to "free your body from food," derived its name from the sci-fi movie Soylent Green.

In the movie, it's 2022 (which, now isn't that far off), and the world has turned to shit.  

You've got the usually list of villains:

Overpopulation

Pollution

Poverty

Dying oceans

Depleted resources

Climate change

[Insert Al Gore speech]

Most people in this dystopian future survive on "Soylent Green" food rations, which are advertised as "high-energy plankton."  As the movie unfolds, you discover that Soylent Green is actually made from -- Corpses.

Well, luckily, the Kickstarter namesake is NOT made of corpses.  That's be weird.

Attentional Bias & Prayer

Source: Photo Pin

At painting class today, I listened to *a lot of* Bob Dylan.

In his famous song, "With God on our Side," he reflects on juxtaposition of religion and wars.

The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too

Have God on their side.  

I'm not writing tonight to debate religion.  

Instead, I'd like to describe "attention bias" (the father of "cognitive biases") through the example of a religious person.

When did "play" change?

I have a bit of a pipe dream.  I want to be a toy maker.  professionally.

Why?
Well, I like things that are fun.  
I'm also pretty critical of the toys available in Toys R' Us (who decided to throw-up pink all over the girls' aisle?)

This being said -- I've got "toy making" on my to-do list (along with a million other things like correctly pronouncing items on a French menu, so everyone can say "wow, look at that sophisticated lady" or being able to name more than 5 African countries without going to Wikipedia).

We'll see when that happens.  In the meantime, I've been fascinated by articles on toys & play, like this one my college friend, Allison, shared with me, which I'll discuss now.

All it takes is 1%

Here's a riddle for you.

A father and a son get in a car accident.  The father dies, but the son is sent to the hospital with serious injuries, needing emergency surgery.

The doctor comes in and says, "I can't operate.  It's my son."

How is this possible?

One of My Favorite Places in the World

I finally posted photos last night from one of my favorite travel destinations: Bhutan.

It tops my list for travel this past year with Myanmar, Luang Prabang, Carnival in Brazil & an amazing catamaran trip around Malaysia in the running (can you tell I optimize my life and decisions around travel?)

Here's two posts from a few months back -- Gross National Happiness and the cutest kids in the world.  Take a look at a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

Online Shopping in Singapore?

I'm lazy.  Exceptionally lazy.  When living in San Francisco, I even bought my toothpaste on Amazon (you'd understand if you ever visited a Walgreens in the Haight or Tenderloin).

Then, I moved to Singapore -- the land of malls.  People here love to shop.  It's the national pastime.  Therefore, e-commerce is nonexistent despite having the world's highest smartphone penetration (130%).

I've been forced against my will to buy toothpaste in an actual store.... wah wah.  

But, today, I stumbled across http://www.zalora.sg/.  Free shipping after $30 and free returns.

Move over Alan... this might just be might knight in shining armor.

Website Envy: www.squarespace.com

I'd really like to create my own website.  BUT, I need to some good stuff to put on there first.

Until then, I'll just look through some good, website eye candy.  I discovered this site, www.squarespace.com, today with some BEAUTIFUL website templates.

Here's some of my favorites.

Our Kitchen

As mentioned, we are one of the Singapore "test kitchens" for Plate Culture (i.e., Airbnb for food).  Last Saturday, we threw out first dinner party: Drinks & Dumplings.

Note: It was for real friends... but, once Plate Culture launches, you can sign-up for a home-cooked meal at "Aleatory."  

"If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him... the people who give you their food give you their heart." - Cesar Chavez

Here's some photos from the photographers that came by our apartment.

[New Video] Here is something false: You only live once

I've been thinking about this SMBC comic for the last few days, so I made the comic into a video (above) using CC photos from photopin, CC music from Jamendo and a few publicly available clips from YouTube.

Enjoy.

"What if Money Was No Object"

As previously mentioned, I'm taking an "Experimental Videography" class, so I decided today to play around with Camtasia + YouTube to better understand video tools.

Above, please find my first creation.  It mixes the audio from one of my favorite speeches by Alan Watts with the experimental video, MothLight, by Stan Brakhage.

Enjoy.

Making Any Noise You Can Imagine

"I haven't made this machine so I can emulate things that already exist.  I have made this so I can make any noise I can imagine."

I few weeks ago a random thought popped into my head: "Why haven't we created any new instruments in the last century?"

I post, therefore I am

I work in tech; therefore, my livelihood comes from people spending more and more time online.  Despite this, I've been known to question its impact on society -- whether it be Pinterest, Facebook or Smartphones.

In the video above, the creator makes the point that "Instead of building real friendships, we are obsessed with endless personal promotion"

Cool Chicks: Stevie Nicks

Source: Annie Leibovitz

I've been a fan of Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac for awhile, but this clip a Rolling Stones photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz (another cool chick) reminds me exactly how awesome she is.

She's so natural and soulful in her singing -- it almost sounds like she's having a conversation with you.

Despite her mystical, free-spirited appearance, she's had a prolific career -- producing over 40 Top 50 hits and selling 140 million albums.  In fact, she's spurred on a whole new generation of artists with Courtney Love, Michelle Branch, Mary J Blige, Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan (among others) naming Stevie as a strong influence on their music careers.

At age 65, she's still going.  In 2010, she began working on a new solo album, "In Your Dreams."  Rolling Stones said, "it's her finest collection of songs since the eighties."

"It was my 16th birthday - my mom and dad gave me my Goya classical guitar that day. I sat down, wrote this song, and I just knew that that was the only thing I could ever really do - write songs and sing them to people." - stevie

In honor of Stevie, I'm listening to her ALL day on Spotify.  If only tambourines were allowed at my desk...

Source: Annie Leibovitz

Neat: Points Pros

Booking award travel can be a HUGE pain.  I think I'd prefer minor surgery to spending a day on the phone arguing with American Airlines.

Thankfully - there is Point Pros.  For $150, they'll book your award travel for you.

Last week, they got me a flight from Singapore --> Toronto --> Dallas --> Singapore for October for 70K AA points, including bulk head seats for my long legs.  All I had to do was exchange an email or two with my preferences to my guru, Davis.

110% recommend.

Here is something false: You only live once

(Source: SMBC)

I LOVE the message in this comic.  It just resurfaced on my twitter feed.

The person you were at age 18 does not need to be the same person you are at 25.  You can continue to reinvent yourself -- to find new interests -- to change your mind.

This year, I've been really kicking my butt to try to find a creative outlet, learn new things & see what makes me happy.  I'm on the verge of turning 30, and I am not: A) convinced I've found "it" yet (i.e., a passion, a calling, a career, whatever it is I'm searching for), B) ready to settle for something I'm just "okay at" or "not totally bored by."

Therefore, I've been trying a lot of things.  

[Koh Tao] View from Underwater

This chick can now hangout 60 feet under the water.  

Alan and I are now SCUBA certified thanks to Marc from Alvaro Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand (Note: I asked who "Alvaro" is and apparently, it's a mystery).  

The dive shop was perfect -- we had a 1:2 ratio with our instructor (i.e., Marc + Alan & me), which made it a very personalized experience.

After you get past the "oh shit" moment, diving is incredible.  It's likely the closest I'll come to outer space.  With the help of a bit of equipment, I was able to enter a different world that looks nothing like land.  Coral, fish and sea creatures rule with colorful patterns that delight the eye.  

I completed 7 dives and am ready for more (Alan & I are thinking the Maldives).  I just need to get a GoPro first.

In the meantime, here's some photos from our trip above water...

Neat: Spice up your Desktop

Tired of your boring desktop background?  

Check out The Fox is Black's "Desktop Wallpaper Project" for some fresh images.

Here's a few fun ones:

Proenza Schouler presents "Act da Fool"

(Source: Act da Fool by Harmony Korine)

"The world want us to be happy.  And, I trust the stars.  They ain't never lied yet.  Every night they say the same thing.  The stars ain't never going to leave us."

The fashion label, Proenza Schouler, commissioned this experimental film, Act da Fool, which explores a group of girls in a poor, Southern town.  Despite their surroundings and their shortcomings, they stay strong -- they stay together.  There are no boys -- all they need are each other.  They have hope they will be able to leave their small town. 

The video plays on the Oscar Wilde quote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars," which was recycled in The Pretenders' song, "Message of Love."

Now the reason we're here
As man and woman
Is to love each other
Take care of each other
When love walks in the room
Everybody stand up
Oh it's good, good, good
Like brigitte bardot

Now look at the people
In the streets, in the bars
We are all of us in the gutter
But some of us are looking at the stars
Look round the room
Life is unkind
We fall but we keep gettin' up
Over and over and over and over and over and over

Me and you, every night, every day
We'll be together always this way
Your eyes are blue like the heavens above
Talk to me darlin' with a message of love

Now the reason we're here
Every man, every woman
Is to help each other
Stand by each other
When love walks in the room
Everybody stand up
Oh it's good, good good
Say I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you

Talk to me darlin'

Like the girls in "Act da Fool," may we keep gettin' up and looking at the stars when life is unkind.  Over and over and over.

Experimental Filmmaking: Very Nice, Very Nice

(Source: Very Nice, Very Nice by Arthur Lipsett)

I've just started an Experimental Filmmaking class at Objectifs, which is perfectly timed with my new role on YouTube.  We spent a good portion of last night's class watching experimental films, starting chronologically from the 1920s in France (not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night).

• Ballet Mécanique (1924, 16 min)
• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943, 13 min)
• A Chairy Tale (1957, 10 min)
• A Movie (1958, 12 min)
• Free Radicals (1958, 4 min)
• Very Nice, Very Nice (1961, 7 min)
• Mothlight (1963, 4 min)
• La Jetée (1962, 28 min)
• Lost Book Found (1996, 37 min)
• As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000, 3 min)
• Act da Fool (2010, 4 min)
• Curb Dancer (2011, 2 min) Harmony Korine

One of the films, Very Nice, Very Nice, by Arthur Lipsett started out as a hobby.  In 1961, he pieced together various sound clips and then friends encouraged him to overlay images.

It's a thought-provoking 7 minute piece -- but, I was most surprised by how similar the issues & concerns from the 1960s mirror today.  

People are still afraid of change... of technology... of the future...of the government.
People are still nostalgic of the past with a belief that it was "better then"
People are becoming more isolated and materialistic  

It'd be interesting to take the same audio and overlay photos from 2013 (maybe a new side project for me).

British Weddings > American Weddings

I grew up in Texas.  Therefore, I was invited to 10+ weddings my first year out of college.  At age 29, I'm now on my second run of weddings (i.e., my post-college friends) and my first run of baby announcements.  Note: I'm now a sucker for Instagram videos of babies.  They get all my hearts.

So, although not married myself, I know what makes a "good" wedding (at least from a guest's perspective).

A few weeks ago, Alan and I made our way to Cambridge, England for my good friend Emily's wedding.  I can now say that Americans have it wrong.  We should rekindle are roots and bring back the wedding traditions of the long rejected British Empire.

Why you might ask?

Neat: Photo Pin

It can be tough to find cool stock photos for your blog (i.e., photos that don't look like images from a low-end advertising brochure).

I typically go to My Modern Met first, which is a wonderful way to waste time in the first place.

Today, however, I stumbled across this site, Photo Pin, which has a beautiful array of cool, free stock photos.  Boom.

photo credit: Sprengben [why not get a friend] via photopin cc

Book Review: Steve Jobs

(Source: Charis Tsevis) 


While reading Steve Jobs last month, I oscillated between love and hate for the man. 

I loved is healthy disregard for the rules.
I loved his excitement, energy, and focus.
I loved that he experimented, whether it be with tech or buddhism or drugs.

I hated the way he treated people.
I hated his arrogance and narcissism.

Plans for 2025

(Source: Steven McCurry)

I'm going to Kumbh Mela.  That's my plan.  The next one is 2025, so I have some waiting time.  It's like the World Cup of pilgrimages.

It's the largest human gathering in the world with over 100 million people in attendance in 2013, which happens every 12 years.  I've even notified my best friend, Jess, that she'll be going too.  

Note: I get claustrophobic in the Singapore malls, so TBD about this experience.  

Here's some pics taken from National Geographic...

Travel Recommendation: Koh Jum, Thailand

"It is not necessarily at home that we best encounter our true selves.  The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life, who may not be who we essentially are." - Alain de Botton

I'm spoiled.  I live in Singapore where it's unbelievably easy to travel from.  

Book Review: The Pleasures & Sorrows of Work

I love Louis CK -- especially this bit above.  He makes a valiant point that we've lost a sense of wonder for the miraculous things (i.e., flying and cell phones) that have become common place in our modern day world.  

In a similar way, Alain de Botton explores some of the same mysteries in his book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work.

"We are now as imaginatively disconnected from the manufacture and distribution of our goods as we are practically in reach of them, a process of alienation which has stripped us of myriad of opportunities for wonder, gratitude and guilt."  - Alain de Botton