12.29.06
Posted in Music, Toys and Materials at 14:00 pm by Josh
Even though I probably shouldn’t have, I went to Guitar Center yesterday (you know where this is leading) and I picked up the AKG Perception 200. As much as I love to buy toys for my guitar, I thought it was finally time to invest in my own condenser mic rather than relying on distant friends. The result is pretty sweet. Combined with a cheap mic stand and pop screen, I’ve really got some decent capabilities to record in my apartment. I did a quick demo last night of a Christian tune I like just to see how I liked the mic and I was pretty impressed. The vocals are pretty crisp even though I wasn’t doing the best job enunciating and if you listen to the vocal track by itself you can hear various sirens and carhorns and at one point a little clicky noise indicating that I was receiving an IM. Not bad for being ten feet from the computer speakers and Lord knows how far from the street. I’ll keep you posted on what I think in a week.
If you want to hear the song and you like Christian music and electric guitars, check it out here.
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12.28.06
Posted in Life at 15:52 pm by Josh
I feel like I’ve been floating for the past couple of days! And as much as I would love to update you all on the catalyst for my airborne buoyancy, I’m afraid you will have to hold fast to the phrase “Good things come to those who wait” =P. In the meantime, I hope that you all have a Happy New Year and while you are out revelling in whatever it is you’ve decided to do this December 31st, please be safe and smart! Especially all you Connecticut folk who plan to go bar-hopping…
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12.26.06
Posted in Today, Life at 13:45 pm by Josh
I’m back at work after an amazing Christmas break. God has blessed me in ways I can’t even begin to express in words, let alone convey to you in the impersonality of a weblog. I will simply say that today I am a very happy man, all glory to God in the highest =) =) =)
So Merry Christmas, just a little bit late, and Happy New Year, just a little bit early. I pray you all are having a happy and healthy season and that each and every one of your hearts has been filled with the love that is spilling over from mine =)
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12.20.06
Posted in Theology, Today, Random Thoughts, Life at 14:09 pm by Josh
- I saw a headline titled something to the effect of “How to Cope With Holiday Hangovers”. Here’s an idea: Don’t drink so much
- God came to visit me at work today. He didn’t say He was coming but then again, He never does.
- I’ve been smiling more often over the past couple of days. Just something to keep my eye on
- And a partridge in a pear tree.
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12.19.06
Posted in Random Thoughts, Life at 13:59 pm by Josh
Guess what?! I’m sick. Again. Not really sick or anything; just enough to make me a bit uncomfortable. I’m trying to figure out why I can’t shake this thing for good and I’ve only come up with one answer: the holidays. My weeks have been loaded with Christmas parties, running errands, birthday parties, out-of-town visits, and a great deal of time on my feet in a city which can’t seem to decide on a climate for December. Today, for example, it is in the lower forties in contrast to yesterday’s high temperature of fifty-middle-something-or-other. Tonight it will be thirty-five but by the weekend, it’s going to be in the fifties again. Some consider it a blessing, but not me. I want it to be cold when the calendar says it’s supposed to be. What’s the point of having a picture of a snow-covered forest for December when I’m sleeping without covers in a T-shirt because the heat is still on in my building? Maybe we could shift the months? That sounds like a fun undertaking…kind of like switching to the Euro…
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12.18.06
Posted in Reflections, Life at 13:39 pm by Josh
The weekend started at 9:30 on Saturday morning. First stop was Grand Central to meet Mandi, Heather, and Dan, then it was onward to the Brooklyn Bridge because I’d never crossed it before, neither had Mandi, and it wasn’t terribly cold outside. After crossing we proceeded to scout out Caracas Arepas Bar which is apparently on E 7th Street and 1st Ave. Then we wandered the village for a bit, checked out the setting of my fourth novel, perused the Union Square Christmas Village which somehow maintains a feeling of holiday cheer despite the fact that it’s overpriced, overcrowded, and under-managed. The farmer’s market was nice, though =)
Following Union Square and the west, we eventually headed back east to Bua, my favorite place for cocktails, and after an over-limed pomegranite cosmo, we rounded a few blocks before arriving at SEA for the best Thai food the city has to offer (in my remarkably not-humble opinion). The time went by quicker than expected once we sat down and before we knew it we had to head out to face the masses at Rockefeller Center (yes, that was the second time in a week for me!) and I’m pleased to announce that the tree is still standing and it’s still pretty. Saks still has snowflake lights, too.
Once Mandi, et al were safely on their way back to Connecticut, I hopped the 7 train to Long Island City for a Christmas Party at Alex’s which was tres cool. Homemade egg nog, half of the church community, Gosa rum balls, and some frozen “mini-chimis” that Todd brought. And let’s not forget John Pa doing the running man. Oh, John Pa.
Sunday was church which was fun because we sang Christmas carols instead of regular hymns and as childish as it may seem, that makes me happy. Then I did laundry (yuck) and went to the skating rink in Central Park and stood idly by while George, Diana, Justin and Luke braved the crowds to slide around one metal blades during which time I tried to think about ice-skating in the context of Christ. On the one hand, God delights in our enjoyment of life but at the same time, He must think that we are just a little bit on the foolish side, no? Well, just food for thought 
We finally ended up at Luke and Jessie’s for a Christmas party. There was a bowl of punch on the table and it was so yummy and I was so thirsty that I gulped down a glass of it and then proceeded to feel a strange warmth inside of me. “Does this have alcohol in it?” I naively asked my hostess to which she nodded as though it was the most foolish question ever. Fortunately, it wasn’t too spiked. Still, in the future I might suggest a little sign with a skull and crossbone or something. Anyway, I made it home, exhausted but quite full of holiday cheer. Happy Monday!
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12.15.06
Posted in Books at 13:48 pm by Josh
Two weeks ago I was in the Barnes & Noble on 8th Street and 6th Avenue looking for a particular book when I stumbled upon Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. It’s a story about six misfit students at a secluded New England college who spend a remarkable about of time studying the Classics and the Greek language. An eccentric professor indulges the youths’ hunger for the ancient, the seductive, and the darkness of an extinct polytheistic world. However, simple curiosity goes awry when the smartest of the bunch, a lad named Henry, becomes the ring-leader of something much deeper than an exclusive study group and leads his friends into a dark and dangerous place from which they cannot escape.
The language used in this book is unbelievable. Not only is it remarkably poetic but it swallows you up into surreal descriptions so vivid and yet still so interpretable that you will feel as if you are in New England during the haziest of fogs. And if the setting is so immaculately narrated then the character development goes well beyond what should be human understanding or capability. Tartt makes these people so real you will feel as if you know them all personally for both their flaws and their fortunes. I actually almost cried at the end which, by the way, will come up out of nowhere. Rest assured that no one can guess how this story comes to a close. This is on my uber list of recommendations.
*sigh* I miss them already 
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12.13.06
Posted in Today, Random Thoughts, Writing, Life at 22:38 pm by Josh
It’s happened. I said I’d never do it again and I’ve done it.
I’ve started seeing life through the eyes of a fictional character.
The last time was the house. This time, it’s more surreal and doesn’t bear that same disorienting psychosis. Even so, it makes life a strange thing to see.
Don’t worry; I think this is just a passing phase.
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12.12.06
Posted in Life at 16:15 pm by Josh
Not much for blogging lately. Been feeling a little lonely which only breeds irony because I’m surrounded by millions of people on a daily basis. I’ve been tired, too. I’m not even that into the holiday spirit this year (though I’m trying desperately) and I feel a bit overloaded. It’s times like this I consider my annual helping of egg nog.
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12.10.06
Posted in Today, New York City at 21:33 pm by Josh
A few minutes ago I was sitting on the subway and I had this amazingly powerful urge to give the man standing in front of me a shoe wedgy as I stared forlornly at the floor. Good thing I’m not impulsive
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