The last couple months have mostly been a blur. As I mentioned, I spent very fast 24 days in New York which were mostly spent drunk or otherwise incapacitated (read: food comas). After returning, my sleep schedule got all messed up and I was stuck on a mostly nocturnal pattern. Then the last few weeks I was up for days at a time and getting very little sleep in an effort to fix myself. It only caused my brain functions to diminish even further and I was getting really irritable and spacey. Miraculously I was able remedy this problem a few nights ago and I’m already feeling better (despite waking up at 4:30 AM every day).

Hesam and I have started planning our impending trip around the world. We’ve begun researching visa requirements for all the countries we are planning to visit (I think there are about 70 or so on the list) and will soon start working on budgeting and fund-raising. I’m really looking forward to this trip – in fact, I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve had this insatiable travel bug for the last two years and despite having been away from home for four months or more during that time, I still can’t shake it. It’s not about escaping the situation I’m in or anything like that. It’s more like a race against time. Staring into the vastness of the world in front of me, I’m starting to feel like I’ll never be able to experience it all. We’re planning on leaving by the end of the year and will throw a huge party before we go. You’re all invited (and paying for it haha).

My food website is on hold for the time being. I went to a bunch of restaurants on both ends of the country, took beautiful pictures, and ate crazy shit (spinal cord!), but I’m still having a hard time finding the motivation and inspiration to write the content. I’m also having some trouble getting through the thousands of photos I need to edit and archive. I’ve switched over to iLife ‘09 to hopefully make the archiving easier and I’ve started to make a little progress. Click on the “Photos” link above to access my Flickr albums and see what’s new. There should be plenty of new pictures from tomorrow’s trip to NYC in the near future, as well. I suppose I should get the pics from my last New York trip up first, however. [ed: last twotrips to NYC]

Finally, I leave you with two mixtapes I made for that monthly mixtape club I’m in. The theme for this month was “cover songs.” I started with about 300 songs and, through various means, managed to whittle the list down to 42. That’s far too many for one disc, so I made two. The first has a very loose theme and the second is a free-for-all. Instead of posting the tracks here, I’ll just link through to the mixtape site where I left some comments on why I selected the songs I did.

Mix #1 “I Want To Be Like Them” [click for more info]
Mix #2 “At Least They’re Shared” [click for more info]

Or, if you don’t want to read about the mixes and just want to download them, follow this link:
http://www.minusnumbers.com/mixtape

Also, here’s a bonus mp3 for you. I titled my post after this song, but despite the sarcasm I seriously hope everyone’s having a great 2010. It has to be better than that last miserable year.
[MP3] Dismemberment Plan – The Ice of Boston

“Brand New Skinny Ghost”

01.  Atlas Sound – A Ghost Story
02.  Fever Ray – If I Had a Heart
03.  Björk – Storm
04.  Optiganally Yours – Oar
05.  Bat for Lashes – The Big Sleep
06.  Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Stagger Lee
07.  Tom Waits – What’s He Building?
08.  Hovercraft – Phantom Limb
09.  Type O Negative – Christian Woman
10.  Patrick Wolf – Childcatcher
11.  Fuck Buttons – Ribs Out
12.  Wolf Eyes – Stabbed in the Face
13.  Hymie’s Basement – Ghost Dream
14.  Boards of Canada – The Devil is in the Details
15.  M83 – Car Chase Terror
16.  Godspeed You Black Emperor! – The Dead Flag Blues

The full mix can be downloaded at http://www.minusnumbers.com/mixtape.  Assuming we keep going each month, I should have a new mix for you in this space, if nothing else.  If you missed the last compilation I put up (you had six months, no excuses), you can email me for the download link.  That’s all for now, hopefully I’ll have something real to share soon.

I’m Finding My Rhythm as I Twist in the Snow

01. Aiden Baker & Tim Hecker – Hymn to the Idea of Night
02. Radiohead – Like Spinning Plates
03. Antony and the Johnsons – Epilepsy is Dancing
04. The Books (ft. Jose Gonzalez) – Cello Song (Nick Drake cover)
05. Xiu Xiu – Clowne Towne
06. Alias – Autumnal Ego
07. Telefon Tel Aviv – What It Is Without the Hand that Wields It
08. Final Fantasy – The Butcher
09. Bon Iver – Babys
10. Rohner Segnitz – Flashlights
11. Cocorosie – Werewolf
12. Dirty Projectors – Darkened Car
13. Iron & Wine – Arms of a Thief
14. Mice Parade – The Last Ten Homes
15. Riceboy Sleeps – Happiness
16. Rosie Thomas – Death Came and Got Me
17. Adem – To Cure A Weakling Child and Boy/Girl Song (Aphex Twin cover)

The full mix can be downloaded at www.minusnumbers.com/mixtape. Let’s see how this works out, bandwidth-wise; I may have to move the file to another host or make a torrent. But for now, have fun with it! I hope you like it.

If this is something people seem to like, I may make this a monthly feature of sorts. I love making these mixes and, if other people want to hear them, I’ll have more incentive to keep making them. Anyhow, that’s all for now. Wish me luck on my vanishing act.

A wedding or two, lots of flights for work, seeing good friends all over the state, many drunken (and often regrettable) nights, got a new president, lots of ridiculously good (and usually unhealthy, yet never regrettable) food, moved into a new house, began living life in HD, finally returned my Netflix, lots of driving for work, began listening to audiobooks (Jack Reacher ftw), got a Twitter (and still don’t know what it’s for), started playing WoW (I know, I know), watched a ton of hockey, got in multiple car accidents, saw some amazing concerts, commissioned a beautiful piece of art for the first time in my life…

…and then we lost my dad.

Out of nowhere, life changed drastically and permanently and it still hasn’t sunk in yet. Every morning I fully expect him to call me and yell at me for sleeping in and not being at work. I sit on his couch, drinking his liquor, imagining him coming home from work at any moment. I’m in a very surreal place and don’t know what to say or what to think.

This is not a summary of my thoughts on the matter, this is merely an update. When I know what to think, I imagine I will be more forthcoming. But how do you eulogize someone that you can’t admit is gone? How do you eulogize someone that did more in his life than most can even dream of? How do you eulogize someone that meant so much to so many in largely intangible and indescribable ways?

I’m leaving town tomorrow for Indianapolis to accompany Debra to a Split Lip/Chamberlain reunion concert. I only bought a one-way ticket, because I don’t know where life will push me after that. Maybe I will update from the road or maybe it will be another six months. Either way, I have something to find and I’m not sure what it is or where to begin looking. Until we meet again.

Follow this link to claim your free Dr. Pepper: http://www.drpepper.com/freeDrPepper/?icamp=hp_dpfree_coupon.

The offer is only good through the end of the day and DP is going based off of eastern time, apparently. What’s funny is the DP website doesn’t mention Guns ‘n’ Roses anywhere. It’s understandable though, I wouldn’t want to be associated with Chinese Democracy after listening to it either. I don’t even drink soda anymore, but I will definitely be toasting my free beverage to the worst album of the year.

If you have no idea what this post is about, earlier this year Dr. Pepper offered a soda to everyone in America if Guns ‘n’ Roses released their long-delayed new record. After well over a decade and well over ten million dollars, Axl Rose drops one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard. Get in on the fun/misery over at MySpace where you can stream Chinese Democracy for free: http://www.myspace.com/gunsnroses.

Cheers!

[MP3] Max Tundra – Which Song
[MP3] Max Tundra – Will Get Fooled Again

Please don’t fuck this up.

<3jp