This Is Matt's Blog

Summer Skin

Matt — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:35:46 +0000

There have been some pretty big changes in my life as of late.

–

New friends

Old friends

New experiences

Rekindled hobbies

Fresh starts

A beautiful relationship

–

I really couldn’t be happier with my life right now. I’ve been playing music every day, climbing regularly, enjoying tunes like never before, and have really been reconnecting with myself. I like to think that summer always serves as a time of self-restoration, however, the last few that I’ve had have been particularly dry and unrewarding. This has been an exceptional summer so far, and I’m looking forward to making many more fond memories as this warm, bright season moves forward. This week in particular is sure to be one to remember. Good times and great travels with a special someone are always the most memorable.

Stay tuned.

Now Playing: Family Glue – Wye Oak

VT

Matt — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 01:56:55 +0000

Weekly Playlist #17

Matt — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 02:31:36 +0000

I have a ton of pictures to share from my recent trip to the northeast, but I haven’t looked through them yet. I’m also just recently finding it easy to use words to express the way that I feel again. Lately, music has been able to speak for me better than I could ever speak for myself. However, certain changes and new inspirations in my life have been leading me back to a place where I feel like words can do the trick.

For now, here’s this.

This mix tells a story.

Weekly Playlist #16

Matt — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:20:54 +0000

This playlist was cultivated over a long period of time. I’m not saying that to hype it up to be the best playlist ever; I think it’s ok. I’m only saying that to acknowledge that about halfway through it takes a pretty hard turn. Not in any specific direction, just a turn.

Such is life.

C’est la vie

F5

Matt — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:26:45 +0000

Here is a non-linear list of things that I’m anticipating

For this bittersweet semester to end
For a summer of hard work and good times to begin
My PC build
To write music again
To learn more about the things that I love
Travel
Build relationships
To start something new

Now Playing: Polyenso – Push

Weekly Playlist #15

Matt — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:12:19 +0000

This is a very diverse playlist. It’s the work of a few months of slow and sporadic collaboration of some of my favorite songs. I cannot recommend the entire alt-J(∆) album enough to anyone who enjoys music of any form; it’s a true masterpiece.

Also, since my last major update, I have: visited Portland, visited Ohio, started school, gotten a promotion, joined a church, achieved the highest score in the world in an SSX online event, sent V6, and have been sleeping better.

enjoy!

The Scale of The Universe 2

Matt — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:18:41 +0000

After exploring a reddit comment thread, I came across this website. No matter how many times I see things like this, I’m always amazed. This however, is one of the greatest and most spectacular illustrations of our universe that I have ever seen.

The authors of the site won my heart with the use of Half Dome.

I encourage everyone to take a look at this and to learn something new about the universe that we all inhabit. This toy is thorough; From Planck Length to the estimated size of our universe, this thing shows it all in detail, with facts!

Go learn something new

Sending in The Name of Christmas

Matt — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:09:54 +0000

So, last night I was fortunate enough to compete in my first ever climbing competition. It was held at the gym that I work at in Greenville,SC, The Mountain Goat. I’ve been very eager to compete for a long time, so this was a good chance to quench my competitive thirst while keeping the competition stress low.

You earned bonus points for climbing in Christmas garb, so I rocked Katie’s Santa hat for all of my attempts.

The environment was very encouraging and it was a really fun time. The competition lasted for approximately an hour and a half, so it became a little stressful towards the end after trying to earn points as strategically as possible. After climbing at your max level almost non-stop for that long takes a pretty big toll on your mind, and definitely on your body. It was a learning experience and it definitely gave me the confidence to compete elsewhere in the future.

Katie was a five-star climbing caddy and kept score for me, while providing encouragement and supreme hydration.

I managed to come in second for my division, losing to someone who was bumped up from the class below me. Winning wasn’t that important to me since the prizes were things that I have regular access to anyway since I’m an employee. I also wasn’t as concerned with winning as I was with maxing out my personal goals and achieving at the highest level I thought possible. I’m super proud of my performance, and will definitely be competing at the next competition I can find.

After the competition there were typical GOAT party festivities such as lasers and giant snowmen.

It was a really great experience, and it made me really proud to be a part of such a cool ministry. All of the funds from the party went to buying shoes for the kids on the climbing team, which is such a cool thing. I’m super psyched about how it went and how much fun was had by everyone, and I’m eager to get into my next competition and to push myself even farther.

Rock climbing is fun!

Weekly Playlist #14 aka Christmas!

Matt — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 03:39:52 +0000

So, this week the blog is getting into the Christmas spirit (as per request). These songs are a mix of some old and new Christmas favorites of mine. The Sufjan songs are currently some special favorites of mine. Mainly because Sufjan is a fantastic artist, but also because I was able to experience Sufjan’s showmanship first hand (more on that later).

Enjoy these tunes with someone special.

Why fresh EDM beats and rock climbing are made for each other

Matt — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:25:49 +0000

At first I thought the only reason that I enjoyed climbing to the glitchy tunes of EDM (Electronic Dance Music) was because of my mutual love for the two. However, the more I immersed myself in the rock climbing community, I’ve noticed that everywhere I turn, there’s someone crushing to The Glitch Mob.

It slowly began to occur to me that there was a reason that the two went together so well. It’s said that a good rock climber should appear to be performing a “dance” up the wall; visual poetry hanging from a sharp, grainy mineral. I’ve begun to think of it in a way that EDM is to rock climbing in the same way that classical music is to ballet; perfect accompanying rhythms that work together with the performers’ precise movements.

As a climber, it’s my preferred genre for sending. It always appears to make me feel stronger, and keeps the psych high at all times. I believe that this occurs because of the association that I, and I’m sure many others have made with professional climbers and the music. Every movie, video, competition montage, or documentary you watch about climbing has it pumping solid rhythms while a world class climber crushes the hardest routes in the world. It makes you feel like a pro.

I’m a firm believer that climbing is primarily, a mental sport. If you feel confident about what you’re climbing, you’re always going to do better. Let’s not forget though, ballet isn’t always accompanied by classical music. I’ve seen climbers who crush harder than I ever could, to country music, which to me is a total bummer. To each his own I suppose, but I think we can all agree that almost no one crushes harder than Adam Ondra, and he crushes to EDM (in his videos).

Keep in mind though, these rules primarily apply to the gym. To me, there’s nothing more engaging than the sounds of nature and the rubber of my shoes smearing on a perfect slab. When climbing outdoors, you’re in an entirely different environment. I have seen people bring mini speakers around to boulders on occasion, which is totally chill. Right now though, I prefer the organic symphony of nature to accompany my outdoor adventures.

Until next time,