Emerging From The Waters

A Year In.. (2010): Sometimes it feels good just to vent

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:19:00 +0000

If you're not listening to Spoon, you're making a mistake.

This is by far my favorite of the new dojo pictures off of my new camera. It's a lot better than my camera phone or the stills off of my little JVC. Tomorrow is the big day. Been workin' hard to create the buzz. Just like in rock and roll. www.10kmma.com

I put in over 12 hours on this video over the past few days, not to mention the hours on the music recorded back in November. The final product of this particular song in the video, finished back in early January of this year, is only posted in one place for now. Go HERE to check it out - it's called "Star Crossed Lovers (Romeo's Song).

A Year In.. (2010): www.10kmma.com

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:17:00 +0000

Black Eyed Peas - "Meet Me Halfway"

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*There's been quite a lot of us putting in time to make sure that the Grande Opening of Land of 10,000 Strikes MMA Training Facility will be a success. April 2nd could never come so fast.

A Year In.. (2010): This is awesome.

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:07:00 +0000

There's this argument going on in the Minneapolis musician's community thread on Craigslist. Someone is bitching about how they're not making money at being a musician, and now this argument has turned into a Capitalism vs. Marxism Battle of the Titans. Someone had a really great response and so I felt I had to share.

This breaks the normal format I've adopted, but that's okay.

A Year In.. (2010): The Day to Day

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:25:00 +0000

A photo blog post a day has seem to have gotten away from me. It's hard to sit down and post daily when you're busy being awesome. Hehe.

From "How I Met Your Mother."

This was last Saturday @ Urban Outfitters at MOA. How am I going to round kick someone in the head with those pants? Anyone got Chuck Norris on speed dial?

These guys are a cool Minneapolis band.

Prayers for Chile.

A Year In... (2010): The Day to Day...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:45:00 +0000

"Stairwells" by Kina Grannis (2010) - Go buy this album!

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Long Distance Call
- Phoenix (2006)

Where to go I had no idea
26.10 was the price to pay
A messed up kid with no ideals at all
I thought those 26.10 I shouldn't give'em away

I remember this young guy died and I took his part He got far too many stitches on his pretty face Long time to see but I always thought us two would be serious I was looking around town, thinking the same as you

I'm far gone but your long distance call And your capital letters keep me asking for more

It's never been like that
It's never been like that

I'm far gone but your long distance call And your capital letters keep me asking for more

Where to go I had no idea about it
Most of the people do, there're only doing just fine I don't wanna stay in place no more, see Ain't doing well well well, I am only doing just fine

long time no see, long time no say
Got little to tell, I don't say much but I might Something always told me us two would be serious I am looking around town, thinking the same as you

I'm far gone but your long distance call And your capital letters keep me asking for more

It's never been like that
It's never been like that

I'm far gone but your long distance call And your capital letters keep me asking for more

Long time no see... Long time no say...

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I first heard that song as a Paramore cover

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Ever wonder what a bar looks like when there's no one there?

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A Year In... (2010): Two Brothers, Two Titles

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:23:00 +0000

*I live between two worlds - the martial and the musical.

Last night, two of my teammates fought for title fights. Congratulations to both of them on their victories.

Melvin Blummer

Marvin Blummer

I wish someone would have shown me these videos two years ago.

Paramore - Loves Not A Competition (Kaiser Chiefs Cover)

A Year In... (2010): When Life Gives You The Finger...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:18:00 +0000

When you don't want to cook
Originally uploaded by imuakame

...you grab it and break it off.

My profound thought of the day, brought to you by Virgil, the Roman epic poet (70 BC - 19 BC):

- possunt quia posse videntur -

I am getting my voice back in shape. It's Lent. I'm giving up Dominos Pizza, dairy, soda, and alcohol. It's a tall order, but that stuff hasn't been good for my voice. It'll be nice to have it back in full form again.

This is a great song.

A Year In... (2010): Don't make things look easy to do, make them look amazing

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:06:00 +0000

Shaun White has defied gravity yet again. The man has truly joined the ranks of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and so forth, with regard to true sports greatness. I realized a simple fact today while watching the Men's Half Pipe Finals - Don't just make things look easy. Make them look amazing. You always have to leave them wanting more.

Sprint PictureMail
Originally uploaded by imuakame

This picture is of my roommate's dog. He is most cuddly dog you will ever meet.

Her British accent seeps into her singing voice, and it just makes me melt.

A Year In... (2010): Emerging From The Waters

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:08:00 +0000

Sprint PictureMail
Originally uploaded by imuakame

An entry every day for a year has already begun to elude me since I missed yesterday - Valentine's Day!

I love taking pictures of my computer screen - very different feel than a screen shot. In the spirit of self-referentialism, such a picture felt appropriate.

I've been focusing on guitar for the past few months and it's been getting better. Time to get my voice back in shape.

By focusing on guitar, I've become more acquainted with the characteristic sounds of more guitarists, as I am with some drummers and plenty of vocalists, as well as bands as a whole. This is an important evolution in my development as a guitar player, something I've never truly considered myself even though I've been playing for 10+ years at this point - the guitar was always an instrument for my voice to sing over. David Guggenheim's film, "It Might Get Loud," opened my eyes to being a guitarist in a broader sense than just a "rhythm guitarist." My fingers have been set free since first seeing that movie. I sent out a tweet earlier saying how I blame Johnny Marr for the way I prefer to play guitar. This was more of an unconscious preference due to a lot of the alternative music I grew up listening to on the radio - I knew band names at that time, but not much else - these were the days before the internet. If you wanted to learn about music from a music appreciation standpoint you had to find people who knew a lot about it, find books about your favorite artists, or go to shows. Now, with YouTube and Google, I can sit and just learn about music and musicians and soak it in for hours on end.

I think that's an essential step on the road to greatness...you have to truly be a fan of the thing that you believe you are meant to be doing. You can be good at something and gain a lot of recognition for that feat you've accomplished, but if you don't love it, none of it will mean anything.

A Year In... (2010): Love, Minneapolis, MN

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:50:00 +0000

Love, Minneapolis, MN
Originally uploaded by imuakame

I think it's interesting to think about creating a piece of art each day - weaving together seemingly unconnected ideas together into a coherent thought. You start viewing the world as an artist's palette with which you can draw from and apply towards whatever canvas you're working with.

In other news, I think that people need to experience Red Bull Project X . Shawn White and Red Bull teamed up at a Secret Half Pipe hidden in the mountains where he could focus and invent new tricks with the intention of progressing the sport of snowboarding. It is probably one of the most brilliant things I have seen in a long time. Even if you don't understand or appreciate snowboarding I think you can still extract some sort of inspiration from Project X.

Grab the new Angels & Airwaves album for free. It's not a great album, but if you like Angels & Airwaves then you'll dig it. Namely, more of the epic vibe that they go for - not groundbreaking, but it's still satisfying.

My little brother told me about this particular Youtube video. Incredible. The only thing that is consistent in this video are his eyes. Everything else around him changes - even the quality of the photos. You can tell when he starts using a camera phone to take his pictures.

A Year In.. (2010): Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:14:00 +0000

Focus
Originally uploaded by imuakame

Today counts as the beginning of a project of mine, borrowed from my friend C.J. Johnson, who had the idea to document this year with a photo a day from his everyday experience. What I want to do is take that idea, and expand upon it by including a piece of visual art, music, and the spoken word in that entry for the day. Those pieces won't necessarily be created by me - It'll be music I'm listening to, a particular picture from my readings that caught my eye, something I was reading that stood out to me, but it will all be consolidated into one entry, like a virtual scrapbook.

So, without further adieu.

Somebody surfing in Hawaii. One day, I'll get to do this with my days in my downtime.

I love that MTV Unplugged was resurrected.

- Twilight

Straddling Two Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:11:00 +0000

The past few days have been filled with new music, which makes me pretty happy. My creativity sometimes takes me to a dreamworld far away...then I remember that evil men still roam this earth, and I snap out of my trance.

God bless those who keep us safe from the things that go bump in the night.

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*Above is a piece of Fractal Art by an artist by the name of Ralph Langendam. Enjoy.

We are...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:01:00 +0000

abandoned
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise

The world changes, but it is we who stay the same...
We are the transient, but we are in the middle of the eye of the storm
watching vectors intercept and flow away from us.
We are a fixed point, journeying to die as we mature and become evermore full of life.

We are the sons of Adam, the daughters of Eve,
Always wanting the thing we cannot have,
Crying Abba and Allah in the desert
Louder than the screams of jets, and missiles,
nor the roar of gunfire, could ever drown out.
We are hungry for apples and thirsty for water.
We are the triplet sons of Abraham.

We are the sons of God,
Destined for more than flesh and blood,
Birthed by blood and water,
Through wine and bread -
The afterthought of a meal and a death sentence;
the gift from a star and a trough.

We are these nightwalkers and daytrippers,
with tickets to ride on 35's and 405's,
in man created birds and steeds we ride,
The world is smaller still with my passport and y gateway at my finger tips

- Josh Peterson (2009)

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*I haven't posted my own poetry in a while. It's been something I've been keeping to myself, for in the past it's had some unwanted repercussions, but I thought this one was particularly interesting and fit enough to share. I did not take the photo accompanied with it, nor do I know Ray Wise (the gentleman who composed this picture), but I thought it provided interesting adjacent imagery.

Experimenting with a work space

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:34:00 +0000

Experimenting with a work space
Originally uploaded by imuakame

I've started to write new music. I started as of November 1st. I was lost and tired of it for a while, so over the summer I took a break from anything resembling music performance or composition. I hated it.

The muse and I are on speaking terms again...it's been a while, and it's starting to feel good again. It's starting to click again. I'm not sure what will happen, nor do I particularly care this time. I just want to make music I'm proud of that both I and others can enjoy.

I hope you feel the same way.

Dream on

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:31:00 +0000

“All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out otheir dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
-T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia)

"The Wild Swans at Coole"

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:28:00 +0000

(Photo Courtesy of Ottawa Citizen - World of Birds)

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All’s changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake’s edge or pool
Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

- William Butler Yeats (1919)

Pardon the mess

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:15:00 +0000

Right now, since I am in the process of reformatting everything, please excuse the sloppiness of this page.

You're too kind.

Arabic

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:59:00 +0000

I've been working on this one for a few months. I like the way Rosetta Stone does things, but sometimes I wish I were just in an Arabic speaking country to learn the language by immersion.

Google books is quite useful, even if you can only get the preview of certain things, like the book below, for example.

The Arabic Language
By C. H. M. Versteegh

The Old and The New

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:47:00 +0000

My alma mater, Hillsdale College, has now made available its reknown free publication, Imprimis, in podcast form.

(Image courtesy of OutloudOpinion.com)

A Return to An Old Form

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:13:00 +0000

So much to say, so little time. I guess that's why we prefer blurbs and soundbites these days.

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I'm gonna blog without purpose this time - just for kicks. I tried to spread out my ideas on different pages several months back. That proved to be too much to keep up with, and when life is meant to be lived, something that is too much to keep up with often just gets in the way of living life. Twitter now bores me to tears and Facebook is utterly useless to me, save for the fact that my extended family is now on it and it's a good way to stay in touch with them. I like the feel of the blog. It's kind of like pen and paper...

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For your viewing and listening pleasure, a song from the last performance of my favorite band, Juny, a few months back at Hillsdale College.

Video courtesy of Hannah Mead.

The Markets: It's Just Good to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Josh Peterson: Such a common name

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:02:00 +0000

After doing a Google search for stuff on the internet about me, I found my Wordpress.com contributions by way of under the mercy five pages into the search. When I had a music myspace up, it was actually one of the first results that would come up on the search engine. Maybe I should do that again.

I Couldn't Help It

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:57:00 +0000

All this Web 2.0 talk has gotten me in the mood for some real laughs, as well as some good times with my friends. Headin' to Uptown tonight to see one of my friends from Hillsdale, Tyler Blanski play an amazing set at The Beat Coffeehouse. It's gonna be fantastic.

Check out his myspace and tell me what you think. I'll post a show review on it.

It's Not About Photographic Memory

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Photoreading

I tried it when attempting to sign up for a free macbook pro. Didn't get the macbook, but I learned an amazing new skill. Here's a real positive commentary on it.

Check it out. (No, I don't make any money off of promoting it)

The Dark Knight overdelivers!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Peterson) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:28:00 +0000

(Photo courtesy of Newsgirl.org)

It's all over the news.

(Film Critic, David Edelstein, photo courtesy of RottenTomatoes.com)

This guy is entitled to his opinion. He is, however, a douche, meaning, he is the first and one of the few critics to write a negative review of the film.