john mayer live

Tonight my wife and I have two tickets to see John Mayer here in Dallas. My exposure to the music of John Mayer came at a later time than everyone else in America. Of course I heard all the popular songs on the radio. I.E. - Your Body Is A Wonderland, Bigger Than My Body, etc., but I never really explored what else was there. Fast forward to 2004 when I first met my wife, the biggest John Mayer fan I know, and this is where I started to listen to what was behind all the glamorous pop music. Then when the John Mayer Trio came out, it caught me off guard with how amazing it was. I still love that version of Gravity far better than off Continuum.

Here is one of my favorite clips of John playing his guitar.

i will possess your heart

new video from Death Cab for Cutie for their single I Will Possess Your Heart off the new album Narrow Stairs.

I bought the new album a few weeks ago and have listened to it quite a bit. To me it's not as strong as Transatlanticism or even Plans, but it's a solid progression none-the-less. This song is track #2 on the album and one of the more upbeat songs in my opinion. If you love the sound on their previous records it will take a few times listening all the way through to really appreciate what they're doing here.

I'm sure there are many different viewpoints to the lyrics of this song and I'm not sure what Ben Gibbard meant when writing them. But one thing is certain to me, this song is sung from The Fathers heart. Just read the lyrics:

How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me  It's like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can't read - just yet  You gotta spend some time--love, you gotta spend some time with me  And I know that you'll find--love, I will possess your heart

There are days when outside your window, I see my reflection as I slowly pass  And I long for this mirrored perspective, when we'll be lovers, lovers at last  You gotta spend some time--love, you gotta spend some time with me  And I know that you'll find--love, I will possess your heart

I will possess your heart

You reject my advances and desperate pleas  I won't let you, let me down so easily, so easily 

You gotta spend some time--love, you gotta spend some time with me  And I know that you'll find--love, I will possess your heart

I will possess your heart

bread alone

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." - Deuteronomy 8:3 (Moses speaking to the Israelites)

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” - John 6:51

To this day I still don't fully understand the process of fasting. I understand it's simply giving up something for a certain period of time. But what I'm talking about is how do I know it's the right time to fast? Sure our religions have set apart certain times of the year where you pick something to obstain from for 40 days. They even made a movie on the topic. But unless we hear from God what He is calling us to give up isn't it really just torturing ourselves?

So up until last week I had not considered fasting for a long time. I think the last time I can remember was before the military. But talking with Jason about how The Lord was having him fast for his daughter really sparked something inside of me. And I wanted to hear what The Lord might be trying to tell me. Everyday last week I woke up thinking I should fast that day. But it wasn't until Friday that it hit me. And this is the cool thing that I found out, God doesn't strike you down if you mess up. Because I was pretty sure I needed to fast my breakfast, but I ended up eating some pop-tarts (which were so good). So I decided to fast for lunch. Also, another cool thing I learned is that God will honor our choices to obey Him even if we're off a little bit.

Now I can't claim to have fasted completely from all food for lunch that day because I know my body and how it reacts to low blood sugar, and I still had the rest of the day at work to finish. So this is where the bread ties into what God showed me. I asked The Lord what I could eat, and all I heard was bread. So I got two slices out of the fridge and then thought peanut butter would go good with it, but I heard "no, just bread". So I thought "okay Lord, this is weird."  Now there I was with two slices of plain wheat bread, feeling kind of silly, but as I sat down and began to eat The Lord began to unfold some things. He spoke to me about removing the sweet things, like peanut butter, and all the other things we pile on top of "bread" and going back to the simple piece of bread, the foundation of a sandwich. It was really pretty simple but something so profound at the same time that I still don't get it all.

I think the biggest thing that's come of this is the revelation that nothing is as important as my foundation, the bread alone. All the other toppings and condiments in this life are nice and full of flavor, but do not provide the real nutrients my body needs.

Mates of State

First I have to give a special thanks to the band for playing on my birthday in the city I live in. What could be better? Well I'll tell you ... I was able to meet Kori and Jason after the show and get my picture with the two of them. They are really down to earth, friendly people. My wife said as we were walking back to the car that she wishes they lived here so we could hang out.

As for the show, how can I put in words the feelings of singing along to the songs that have brought such joy into my life. I guess it's been about 4 years now since I first started listening to Mates of State. Their up-beat style helped me out through some tougher times while I was away in Japan in the military. They played a lot of stuff off the new album, Re-Arrange Us, and some old stuff. And they played my favorite song, goods (it's all in your head), so I was pretty stoked about that.

For the show I brought along my new Holga that my wonderful wife got me for my birthday. So I have two rolls that need developing now. But once I get those back and scanned in I'll post them here and on my flickr. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Mad about MojiZu

I found a new website that is all about character design. It's a real basic networking site that allows you to comment, blog, vote and add friends. However, it is based on the .NET platform (which I'm not crazy about) and so some of the processes seem outdated. But I just uploaded three of my original characters to the website as a test to see what response I get from the community there. I'm trying to venture out with my characters and get some more recognition outside of my immediate family and friends. Below you'll find the three characters from my One-A-Day set that I added to the site. So if you have some time head over there and vote for my Moji's. Thanks. -kyle

KITTU

boo

blah

Radiohead Polaroids

The sea of people eagerly waiting for the show to start.

The view from walking towards the grass. I was hoping to get a better shot here but the sun drowned out all the foreground. I still like the silhouette of the ferris wheel in the background.

My wife and I keeping it cool before the show.

She's thinking - "What's that smell?"

My only visual record of the amazingness that is Radiohead performing live.

I meant to post these up last night, but after 4-5 beers with some friends I could only manage to get some sleep after they left. So I hope you enjoy. I wish I was closer and had better shots of Thom and the whole band, but this is my record of my experience with Radiohead. - Kyle