We went to see Kraftwerk last night. So good. Live version of Radioactivity is heavy.
Glass Beams
Yet another music post.
We went to see St. Vincent at the Bomb Factory in Dallas a couple of weekends ago. Amazing artist.
The opening act was this band Glass Beams. I had no idea who they were. They were incredible. I bought their EP on vinyl. It’s very good, but damn, they were so much better live. The music was just hypnotic and immersive. Highly recommend. The Bomb Factory is such a horrible venue but they made it worth the misery of standing there.
Dang ol’ Zepplin, man
Ordered four Led Zeppelin CDs the other day. One is a replacement for an old CD that was just messed up from being in the car (most likely) during the era of Car CD Players. That was a dumb era. CDs are not really durable enough for the car. Also got this 3-CD set “CODA” which is really pretty great if you are a fan, and two others I’ll post when I listen to them.
Working from Home
I’m working from home today.
I had a pretty good workout at aikido last night. Enough to make me sleep really well, though I am a bit tired. So it’s nice to be at home, getting some work done, without the noise of the office all around me. Sitting here on the couch while my wife runs some errands, with the dog and cat in here asleep. No TV on. Nice weather outside so the door to the patio is open. Peaceful. Easy to relax and get some things done.
The war against people working from home is bullshit. If people can work from home once or twice a week I think it is good for their mental health. It’s great to be able to get a load of laundry done during your work day. It’s nice to take five minutes too write a blog post or play with your dog. It’s nice to not have fluorescent lights assaulting your eyes all day. It’s nice to not have to rush out of the house in the morning and face traffic. Most of all, it’s nice to not have to “perform”, turn on the extrovert disguise, or otherwise meet the social expectations of the office once or twice a week. Even if you like your coworkers and your job, which I do, everyone can sometimes use a break.
Ukemi
In Aikido, “Ukemi” goes beyond taking falls. It is the entire art of being Uke — the person who attacks and receives the aikido technique. However, in this little video I just do some rolls. I got to practice early and was curious how my various rolls and falls look. I’ve been practicing for over 18 years now, but I’ve only shot video a couple of times, and that was years ago.
Anyway, this is me warming up last night. I feel pretty good about my ability to move. I wasn’t really loose and warmed up. Next week I’ll shoot some more difficult rolls.