If You Find The Earth Boring...

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while… I’m back home from attending an long academic meeting.  I’ve got a lot to catch you all up on so please stay tuned!

I gather this will be news to most of you, faithful readers of ye olde internet, many of which do not even know me, but I’ve decided to shake things up a little bit in my life and have taken a break from residing in the good ole’ US of A.  I have embarked on a sojourn to the wonderful country of France. Not that living in France is really that different from the US of A, but there are a few things here I’ll be getting used to for a while.  Trying to speak the language is one of them.  I can read and understand French with minimal success, but speaking is another story.  I really have a way to go before I feel confident in my speech.  I long for the day when I don’t have to be translating in my head before I utter a word.  I find myself awkwardly rearranging words prior to speaking a sentence out loud just to avoid using the one, two, or three, words I don’t know the French equivalent of. All these new words also seem to screw with my unconscious mind, floating around in some kind of guttural mélange (note: French word).  In other words, sometimes I have no idea what I am saying.  For example, I went to get a coffee (not really any “North American” coffee here) and the barista asked me if I wanted to have my drink in the café.  I responded that I would like to have the drink to go.  She then said something to me and rolled her eyes at me; I couldn’t understand exactly what it was she said, but I heard “big” and “joke” in there.  It wasn’t until after I left with my drink that I realized I hadn’t said “No, I would like my drink to go” I actually said “No, I would like my drink delivered”.  For her, my straight face probably was reeking with sarcasm.  I laughed about that for a while.

I’ve been recently enjoying this fine live recording from the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Christian Fennesz, David Daniell, and Tony Buck.  Released on the Thrill Jockey Label.  Head’s Up.

This blog is a reflection of my love of music, art, and other culture.  It’s really just a place to post things I find interesting, thought provoking, or just down-right cool.  Also, as a blog should be, it’s a document of events, mishaps, and personal endeavors; sort of a diary of my daily, or not so daily, escapades. As I have worn many different hats in my career I don’t know what I normally am.  In my current day job I study the biological sciences and blog about that over here. Thanks for reading and please stay in touch.

Welcome to the blog “If You Find The Earth Boring…” a place for me to communicate things I find interesting.  I’ve attempted to maintain a blog on different blogging sites, but this will be the permanent home. You may be wondering where the blog title comes from.  It’s from the title of one of my favorite songs from Sun Ra’s Space Is The Place.  It also was appropriated by U.N.K.L.E. for a remix of Portishead.  When I was in college, living in my first apartment outside of the dormitory, I roomed with two other guys from the college radio station.  I came home from class one day to the sounds of June Tyson emanating from my roommate’s room.  That song has been stuck in my head for years now… I don’t find the Earth boring, and I hope you don’t either.