Category: Life

CHANGE IS CORE

This theme came up in a recent Zoom meeting I was in:

“I took a sabbatical from my work as a photographer last year but I have a feeling my time as a commercial photographer might be coming to an end. I’ll always love photography and I’ll always be a photographer, but I feel my life force pushing me in different directions. When I tell my friends I might stop being a commercial photographer, they ask, but what will you do! And I realise how interesting that question is, and how we can limit ourselves and others when we think change is hard and things always have to be a certain way. In fact change is core to a vibrant, meaningful life, and we should expect change at any moment, without notice.”

From “reprogramming” by Rebecca Toh.

DEAD TELEVISION

I was gifted a 60″ television, something I would have never bought for myself.

It was older, which is part of the reason it was a gift, but it didn’t age well. It died this past week.

You don’t just “toss” a 60″ television though. It’s not really something you can leave on the curb, and there’s also e-waste recycling things to deal with.

Today, though, the TV is gone, and my life feels a little bit lighter. When off, it’s just this black monolith taking up space, mentally and physically.

I used the 1-800-GOT-JUNK folks, and they were great. Sure, a wee bit overprices for the TV and the other few items they took away, but it’s all gone, and the guys were super nice. Literally like, had a good laugh with them.

In a round about way, thinking less about televisions and “entertainment” and more about people. Bummer that it took the death of this giant TV to arrive at that place, but it was a good lesson learned.

Say no to gifts over 60″ in size.

WALKING

Since getting hurt over the summer from running, I’ve turned to walking. Lots of walking. Basically 10 miles per day of inentional “start my watch and go” sort of walking. This week I walked 82 miles.

Thanks, Norah for this one.
From Bradley
Another from Bradley.
Even updated my Strava.

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

October 1st is here, along with crisp morning air, a long walk, and coffee from a local joint called Four Monkeys.

This time of year is magic for me. Since I’ve been working in the “music biz” since the mid 2000s and all, things always slowed down around this time. The flow of press releases, big news, tours, the overall volume of information kinda calmed down, and I always try to form these months around that, even though it’s a different era.

The world ain’t gonna form around my vibes, so I will bring the vibes I need, in both work and personal life, and that means being more present, more morning walks, less stressing about the things I have no control over.

ART VS POLITICAL NONSENSE

A blog is a wonderful time capsule, for both the good and the bad. This from a recent email newsletter from the German band Elder:

Unfortunately, the timing for this release coincides with the change in tariff policies of the US government. Our (Stickman, based in Germany) uses a number of services to ensure the cheapest possible worldwide shipping, but all of them are currently not servicing the US while they re-tool themselves to handle the current situation.

As such, before these tariffs went into effect we only managed to get 100 copies of the EP into the US! If you are in the States and want to get your hands on one, you will need to order either via Armageddon Shop or Echodelic, both of which have only 50 copies.

We know that techincally tariffs shouldn’t affect vinyl as it falls under the banner of “informational materials”. Our shipping partners are not currently servicing the US and our hands are tied. Apologies for that.

Hope to look back on this post five years from now and shake my head at the current state of political affairs.

And holy heck, that album art is soooo good.

NOT WHY BUT WHAT?

Great reflection from Devon Yanko:

I have been asking myself the wrong question: Why? Why was this the wrong question for me? Because you don’t need to make meaning out of every feeling. I have become so accustomed to working on myself that self-interrogation has become second nature. And it is not always the right tool. Introspecting on every single thing does not in fact create more insight. I kept trying to fix the past through understanding it and ensure that I would be safe in the future. But it doesn’t work that way. Making meaning doesn’t inoculate you against future failures.

The better question to ask myself is: What? What am I feeling? What do I need right now? What am I excited about? What do I want to do? If I follow those questions with a Why? I feel immediately defensive and shutdown. I can feel my chest tighten. I have spent my life justifying and explaining myself, and I have worked so hard to not feel like I have to. I have worked so hard to trust myself and my deep inner knowing. I have asked enough “why” in therapy and self-work that it is no longer the right question for me.

That part, “you don’t need to make meaning out of every feeling.”

I actually heard Alex Hormozi talk about that, too. Fuck the feeling, it is what it is, sort of onto the next.

Okay, maybe I’m paraphrasing and off topic, but I like where Devon takes it.

A GOOD TIRED

I’ve been on a lot of Zoom calls this week with my Escape Pod offering via Social Media Escape Club.

I remember being exhausted from scrolling through multiple social media channels everyday. Twitter. Instagram. LinkedIn. Back to Twitter. Over and over, throughout the day.

I would spend hours every day posting, replying, sharing, DMing, ping ping ping. All day long.

Now I spend hours every week with people who are engaged, filled with the energy of making good work.

CHEAP SHIRTS

Like most people, I’ve got a lot of shirts. Many fit better than others. Different cuts. Different weights.

I’ve since been checking out the tags of the shirts I like and ordering blanks from Blank Shirts.

I just ordered three shirts that cost me less than $15 (before shipping). I bought five last year (including a long sleeve) and with shipping it wasn’t even $50.

I still love my logo “graphic tees,” and the companies and bands that I support with my purchase. But sometimes I want to go outside without making any statement, or repping any brand.