October 2011
3 posts
On Regret
I moved to an old place, took a new job, and came out with a rather typical result. Resignation.
I resigned from my job at Trinity United Methodist Church this past Monday after a short tenure of 5 months as the Media Director.
It would be easy to say that I really regret moving out of a great place with great friends and into something that ultimately didn’t work out, but there’s...
September 2011
1 post
August 2011
2 posts
To Haiti With Love
Sitting still for 2 hours isn’t something I usually budget for in my week, but right now I’m doing that somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico.
This time last Monday I was just walking into the church that I’m employed at ready for another week. It would be nothing more than that. I would do some design work, plan a few weeks out, attend some meetings, take long lunches, and then...
July 2011
2 posts
Resurfacing
There’s a lot to be said about working long hours, setting your hand to the plow, and pushing through. Ovid said, “What is without periods of rest will not endure.” I believe that, but I also believe that excellence isn’t only achieved from 9-5.
May 2011
2 posts
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us...”
– Ira Glass, on taste and creative work
Found on Kottke (via jonathanmoore)
“The arts are not a peripheral luxury for the elite few, but a central necessity,...”
– Mako Fujimura (via walkr)
April 2011
4 posts
An Update
Friends,
I hope all of you living well and loving your lives. Some of you I have seen more recently than others and I can attest to the fact that the many I have seen recently are in fact living well.
As a lot of you know I have been living well for the past 2 years, but I have been doing that in a number of different places. I bounced from life on the road, to living in Charlotte, to Sam...
Blake's Book a Week 2011 (1 of 52)
I’m pretty bad at New Year’s Resolutions. I’m better than I used to be. I actually lost about 12 pounds at the beginning of this year, but then I managed to multiply those pounds lost by 2 or three and put them back on.
I’m thinking that maybe my New Year should start on my birthday. It’s a new year for me, anyway.
One of my resolutions was to read a book a week....
“The American Revolution was ignited by word of mouth and it wasn’t on the...”
– Sally McConnell, as quoted in Brains on Fire
“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It...”
– C.S. Lewis, from The Magician’s Nephew
March 2011
2 posts
If You Were Wondering
soundtrack for anything
February 2011
11 posts
WatchWe haven’t been able to listen to Sister Hazel since the incident. Trust me, that hasn’t been a problem.
Watch
Listen
Watch
If you had to compose a list of the Top Ten Best Recorded Cover Songs of All Time who what songs would make the list?
3 tags
It's Music Appreciation Time (Vol. 1)
Hey hipsters everywhere, listen up!
The music you’re listening to today was inspired by other people other than The Cure and The Smiths, trust me.
I watched a documentary about Bob Dylan and this John Jacob Niles character stuck out to me.
Niles was a collector of folk songs. To the children of the 21st century it’s easy for this to sound like a glorified bar gig where covers...
The First Shall Be
It was early, and the temperatures had already hit the 90-degree mark. It was going to be one for record books the meteorologist claimed on the television at the homeless shelter. Men poured out the doors—two blocks to the empty lot where the vans would be waiting for them.
Frank was there waiting. He had been taking men from this lot onto worksites for years. His nose stained red from the sun...
January 2011
23 posts
“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and...”
– Jack Kerouac
Top Docs on Netflix
When you’re too poor for cable there’s always Netflix. It’s a very beautiful thing, but I’ve found that I almost spend as much time surfing through the instant stream menu as I do watching films and shows.
II’m a fan of a good documentary with proper focus and a follow-able story line.
5. Touching the Void- Kevin McDonald (2003)
I always wanted to be more...
“Walking Far From Home” Iron &...
WatchPartners and Spade.
This Will Be a Top 10 Album of the Year →
The Decemberists never fail. And this is Colin Meloy’s big stab at true Americana. I’ve only listened once through, but I’m a fan. Go buy it on Tuesday.
Dear Jack,
You’re great. Really you are, you probably don’t get a lot of credit because you never do anything long enough for people to realize your worth, but i mean it - you’re great.
But, this whole ‘of all trades’ thing you got going on just isn’t working out for you. I’m glad you can change light bulbs, navigate an excel spreadsheet, fix the squeaky door, come...
Listen
There Are Days
photo credit Parker Fitzgerald
I went home at Christmas. A lot of people do, but home wasn’t quite home this year. My parents moved from my old home of Fort Mill, South Carolina back to the great state of Louisiana. This holiday season was the first time I was able to visit the house where my parents reside and currently call home. It was strange. It was like wearing someone else’s favorite...
This is the Only Thing On My Birthday Wish-list
$200k can’t put me on the moon, but it can get me weightless. I’m serious Virgin Galactic is now booking flights into space. I will gladly accept this as a birthday gift, and also reciprocate by bringing back pictures from 65 miles above the earth. This is on the bottom of the bucket list, but if I get into zero gravity then I think I can burn the rest of the list.
Sign me up....
Albums of the Year According to Blake
I’ll admit this is usually my favorite time of year because of the world wide return of the top ten list. There are tons of lists I could’ve made, but the only media I consume enough of to warrant making a top ten list is music. I’ve always been an album guy. I love listening to singles, but bands that can write an album with landscape, themes, highs and lows are the ones that...
“Yea, i guess. It’s like taking a bath, it just feels good.”
– Dylan Leblanc, from an NPR World Cafe interview when asked if writing music was therapy.
WAVE Alliance →
This won’t be the last time you hear of this brand.
WatchNew Year’s Eve takes prep work. Lots of it.
Can't Hold Me Back
For whatever reason tumblr erased my account. I’m really not even going to put up a fuss. I like new things. It almost seems fitting that this occured around the beginning of the year.
I had two options: give up posting things on a public forum or attack it from a different angle.
I’m choosing option B. I think it’s because I’ve always enjoyed creating, and even though...