One Good Thing About Music...

It brings you up when you're down. It takes you higher. It opens up your mind. It can be a spiritual experience. Listen to it at the right time, and it can definitely get physical. You could be running, dancing, jumping, or playing on the beach. Music is your best companion. 

I've immersed myself into music lately. Experiencing live music in a crowd, and discovering new music wherever I go. Thankfully, Jacksonville offers a variety of scenes, cultures and venues. The city is home to festivals like The Big Ticket, Jazz Fest, Springin' in the Blues, and Dancing in the Street.

I dedicate this post to music in honor of one of the greatest musicians, the man and the legend, Bob Marley, who turned 68 today. Happy birthday Bob! It feels right to share one of his greatest songs first.

Bob Marley - Trenchtown Rock

I discovered this next artist at a G Love and Special Sauce show. The show was beyond epic. Unfortunately I was left with a not so epic hangover the next morning. But the pain was worth it. Swear and Shake have a folk sound with lots of melodic guitar and banjo rhythms. They opened with this song.

Swear and Shake - These White Walls

I leave my few readers with a gift. A heads up on a band playing in St. Augustine. I would recommend buying tickets ASAP if you enjoy listening to them. Mumford and Sons will be playing in Northeast Florida. This show is more or less a wild card. They rarely hit Florida, let alone any show that's not a huge festival. Here's a trailer for the Gentlemen of the Road tour.

Media Monday, and the 2013 Road Map

Well, Media Monday has returned, but my motivation to keep up with writing skills has diminished. I personally want to apologize to my poor, neglected blog. I think a New Year's resolution dedicated to my little speck of the Internet is in order. Let's start this year off right with some Diamond Rugs. This band will blow you away. It's like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Deer Tick, and Bob Dylan got married and had beautiful music babies together.

It's officially 2013! I'm feeling a little distraught after banking on the world ending. Now I have some serious life planning to sort out. In 2012 I finished college, lost 30 pounds, and discovered some radical, new hobbies. Unfortunately, acquiring a new job title will not be found in that list. Time to focus on the future! Prospects of a career has directed me back toward Ramen noodles, late night study sessions, and LOTS of coffee. Yep, I'm going back to college to earn a professional certificate in graphic design. The  resumé needs a face lift. It's my goal to earn this certificate, and find a career by 2014.

Spoiler Alert
Thinking of great movies to pick meaningful quotes from can be challenging. Recently, there's been a plethora of crap movies that have hit the theaters. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not one of them. It took several viewings for my own teenage mind to fully grasp this movie. I was young the first time I watched it, but I eventually dug through the surface and uncovered the true message of the movie. You never realize the worth of certain aspects in your life until you slowly watch them slip away. Never take your friends, family or lovers for granted. That's the message! The audience sees this happen to the protagonists, played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, as they have their memory of each other erased. The film doesn't end as dreary. It's open for interpretation, but I like to think the two protagonists found each other, and accepted each other's flaws. Here's my favorite quotes from the movie:

Joel Barish- "Random thoughts for Valentine's Day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies. To make people feel like crap."

Clementine Kruczynski- "I'm always anxious thinking I'm not living my life to the fullest, you know? Taking advantage of every possibility? Just making sure that I'm not wasting one second of the little time I have."



GoPro recently released their new camera, the Hero 3. Their marketing campaign was viral video gold! They sponsored the world's best extreme sports athletes, and caught their breathtaking performances using the Hero 3. There's no doubt that as viewers perused through YouTube, finding videos of their favorite athletes, they came across a GoPro sponsored film with a link to it's website. A quality product certainly helped GoPro's marketing attempts, but it's viral campaign was the real winner. I was tempted to purchase the Hero 3 myself, but my Mom beat me to the punch for Christmas. Thanks Mom! Here's a link to my videos.

Surf Sesh

Trail Run