Sodium Sun
Image by eric_malette
I was tagged in a photo where I was compelled to reveal eight fun facts about me. If you’re tagged, then you must do the same, or suffer great misery.
1. I worry constantly about my creative shortcomings. Creativity is a difficult sensibility to nurture, and I oft think my natural apprehension interferes with an utter creative freedom which I’ve yet to experience.
2. I love animated films, especially those from Japan. I cannot fathom people who don’t take the genre seriously, and have a profound disdain for those who maintain the aloofness that it isn’t "valid" or "real" cinema. The films that make me the happiest are Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Also, while technically not cinema, the Cowboy Bebop series is a gem admist the rough, and whenever I watch it, I feel like the world’s perfect.
3. I love Belgian beer. It’s the best thing ever. It’s better than french fries, Byron Pizza and bacon sandwiches. That said, I drink too much of it, and I’m trying hard to cut down and prevent the inflation of my spare tire.
4. I forget everything. My mind is a sieve. I’ve very little ability to retain information. This may be tied to some kind of existential anxiety and a profoundly ingrained form of skepticism. I’ve practically given up on reading because I’ve forgotten most of it thus far.
5. Music is a deeper part of my life now than it has ever been. I take refuge in and derive comfort from lyrics that illustrate the commonalities of human joy and suffering. I’m currently in love with the symphonies of Philip Glass, and the songs of Muse, Laura Marling, Imogen Heap, Laura Veirs, Elliott Smith, Bjork and Tegan and Sara. The song that has most fascinated me in the last week is The Stranger Song, by Leonard Cohen. The orchestral symphony I find the most engaging is Philip Glass’ String Quartet No.2 from Company.
6. My favorite photograph is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Hubble_ultra_deep_field_high_rez_edit1.jpg) It looks back as far as 13 billion years in time, and is the only photograph that truly scares me. It is a reminder of how precious we are, and that human consciousness is the defining characteristic of this sanctity. Hubble Ultra Deep Field is pure awesomeness. To put this image into the vast perspective of the Universe, Wikipedia describes it thus: "…the image covers 11.0 square arcminutes. This is just one-tenth the diameter of the full moon as viewed from Earth, smaller than a 1 mm by 1 mm square of paper held 1 meter away, and equal to roughly one thirteen-millionth of the total area of the sky." The nature of the cosmos and of life is that it is infinite. *shiver*
7. I loathe spending money, but I’m glad to go into debt for camera and lighting equipment. I love the feel of my cameras in my hands, and consider my personal photography, even in its limited extent, to be a validation of existence, and an affront to the existential terror of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Nietzsche once said: "Here, when the danger to his will is greatest, art approaches as a saving sorceress, expert at healing. She alone knows how to turn these nauseous thoughts about the horror or absurdity of existence into notions with which one can live." Truer words have never been uttered.
8. I am currently incapable of crying. It’s a sad thing, I think.
Liberals target families with education pledge
Michael Ignatieff aims postsecondary assistance at cash-strapped parents
Read more on The Globe and Mail
House GOP leader wants to override Ky. gov vetoes
(AP:FRANKFORT, Ky.) The Kentucky House minority floor leader called Monday for lawmakers to reconvene on April 6 to override some provisions that Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed in a Medicaid budget bill passed last week.
Read more on INO News
8. Managing household debt
THE build-up of household debt has been a topic that has generated much discussion in recent months and years.
Read more on The Star
