Music Monday

I've spent the last week trying to catch up on school work. I've read close to 30 chapters and written around 15 pages. I thankfully have some time off before I go back to work. I think I've got a bit peculiar to tell you the truth. At the moment I am currently half way through a 55 minute supermix of Weird Al Yankovic Polka songs and I'm enjoying it. The man is funny.

Speaking of Weird Al, he's getting a lot of press this week because he's released a new album and he's doing it one song a day over youtube. I'm posting my favorite song today. I give you Weir Al, the prince of parody, the pernicious polka-er, the man, the legend.

This is Word Crimes:


Until next time, CU L8ter

EO

Music Monday

I've really been into remixes lately. Its nice to have a music with a steady beat and some type of wording while reading or writing but not words that make me think too much. Thinking too much includes thinking about thoughtful lyrics and thinking about how much I despise some of the mind melting lyrics that get replayed in a lot of pop music over and over again. Remixes are nice because they usually just focus on the musical or emotive elements of a song. My most favorite band Radiohead has had remix challenges where they encourage people to remix Radiohead songs and feature the ones they like the best on their website. Some of it is really interesting, some of it is out of my sphere of understanding, and some of it probably should have never happened. Sometimes I feel judgmental.

I am on my last week of school for this quarter finishing my last set of papers. I'm excited for a break again.

This is Handbook with Know What (I still love you)

Until next time, can you feel?

EDO

Music Monday

Did you know that coffee beans are roasted at a very specific temperature? Did you know that when they reach too high of a temperature they start to burn producing a bitter, burnt flavor? Did you know that boiling water exceeds the temperature that coffee burns at? Tea drinkers don't scoff because its the exact same for green tea.

Do you have a french press? If you do or you plan on getting one try this out. Take your beans and grind them. Sometimes grinders cause the beans to heat up: I do short bursts and count to 10 between. Once they are ground place them in the french press. You can heat up your water while you are grinding. When the temperature of the water is 200 degrees Fahrenheit (94 Centigrade) pour it in the press, put the cover on and set the timer for 3 minutes. When there are 20 seconds left on the timer commence the plunging sequence! Plunging should be done slowly and take 20 seconds. Immediately pour the coffee out of the press (never leave it in) and enjoy! You will note that your coffee has a sweet why-the-deuce-did-I-drink-it-any-other-way type flavor to it. The flavors that the bag states your beans taste like will suddenly be present and there should be no burnt bean type flavor. You will also notice that you no longer need milk or sugar for you coffee (though you can add it if you like) and you just might exclaim your thanks to me out loud... in your kitchen... alone. No one will think you're weird.

If you are a green tea drinker you can do the same process with or without a french press* and you will notice the same sweet flavor instead of burnt. If you happen to stop in at our house I will gladly make you either one of these beverages and you can thank me in person without looking foolish alone in your kitchen.

While you are drinking your coffee or tea you can enjoy this song conveniently called "Coffee" by Sylvan Esso


Until next time, keep your beans unburnt.

EO

*If you try it without a french press make sure it is in some type of container and not resting in a hot puddle on your counter.

Music Monday!

Well hello there. Guess what... its Music Monday! I've been neglecting you, I'm sorry. I've had songs picked out for the past few weeks but when it came to Monday I just... didn't... post. What's wrong with me? I'll sum it up for you: I'm afraid that I'm losing my resilience when it comes to school anxiousness. I was way up there very early this quarter. Strangely, at the same time, I feel more confident in my abilities, organization, and abilities. Of course that can change on a whim but I'll take it intermittently. I've got three more papers to complete in four weeks and I am only looking forward to one of them.

Here is a bit of a school update. This quarter I have two new courses; Psycho-pharmacology and psychopathology and Brief Therapy models. Both of these courses have been very intriguing and helpful. In psycho-pharmacology we've been running through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 5. It is interesting to see what actually goes into a proper diagnosis and the requirements that symptoms have to meet before they are considered a disorder. It is also interesting to hear that the DSM was created to unify the language that Psychiatrists use when talking about mental illness. The most important thing I think that I've learned is that the DSM is a tool that, when used properly, is helpful in naming mental illness and how to be helpful to someone who is diagnosed. Unfortunately we sometimes think that the only tool we need in a tool belt is a hammer and when that happens everyone starts to look like a nail (somebody important said that, its a quote...).

Brief therapy models are also interesting. The most important thing that I've learned is that focusing on the problem someone is facing may not be all that helpful. We are constantly facing problems and constantly creating solutions to them. We are actively engaged in problem solving every day and often we need to be reminded of that. It is important to understand how we are already solving a problem and do more of that. Cool stuff really.

Here's a weird one today. This one is dedicated to Mon Capitan MP. Mostly because its performed in a fishing boat but also because of the volume of problems to solve in Alaska in only a 3 week period.  This is Cosmo Sheldrake with "The Fly"


Until next time, are you a happy fly? If you live or if you die?

EO

Music Monday

Hello Everyone. It is Monday and I am knee deep in research articles about medication non-adherence.

So far it is a fascinating topic and a big one in psychiatry. The gist is that roughly 60% of individuals prescribed medications for psychiatric disorders to not take their medications appropriately. Some individuals take too much, some too little. Some individuals are forgetful, others are defiant. Either way the side effects and risks of taking these medications alone are frightful. To me it seems that non-adherence is like a prescription for side effects without feeling any of the intended benefit. Non-adherence is a significant problem and it has many factors.

Also this quarter I get to read the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders as my text book. After 40 pages of reading about ADHD I was ready to self diagnose. Most disorders require someone to meet 5 out of 8 diagnostic criteria which seems somewhat easy to do... at least for me. I wonder if hypochondria is coming up soon?

Here's an oldie that is stuck in my head this week. I heard it while I was out and about somewhere and haven't stopped listening to it since.

This is Once in a lifetime by the Talking Heads


Until next time, keep it the same as it ever was.

EO

Music Monday

My stars I've dropped the ball on this for a few Mondays. For this I apologize, it was due to a mix of unexpected events and not having any musical inspiration in the past few weeks. There have been no songs old or new that have been on my mind, until now.

Here's an older song that still retains its wonder and inspirational setting. I am pretty sure I love everything about this song: trumpet, clarinet, drums, keyboard, guitar, bass, vocals. Check check check. Love it all. Laid back but driven.

This is Brasstronaut with their song Hearts Trompet.


Until next time, take the only road you know...

EDO

Music Monday

Hi.

I've really slowed down my music intake lately. There is a time for everything I assume.

I am also aware that I have absolutely nothing to say today. No thoughts or words come to mind only the noises of a quiet afternoon.

This is Uppermost with their song Beautiful Light:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1DvVzKXktY

Until next time...

EO

Music Monday

Time to pause a moment and say: I love spring! This of course is qualified by the fact that I also love summer, fall and winter. The difference is that spring is just beginning and winter is losing its preferential treatment in the northern hemisphere. I love the precedence of constant change set by the earth and I find it interesting that human beings (at least some of us) believe that it is strange to not be consistent, unchanging in mood, appetite, motivation, or ability.

I recently received some good advice from a professor. I asked him how he managed to balance his family, professional, and scholarly careers. He informed me that, to maintain balance, for every one thing I add in to life I must also take one thing out. Its funny how good advice sometimes takes a while to sink in. Its funny how difficult it is to change even though it is necessary.

Its been a while since I've posted anything from Tunng but today seems like a fine day for it.

This is Tunng with "So Far From Here"


Until next time, feel like lions.

EDO

Music Monday

I finished another quarter at school and I am greatly enjoying the time I have. After last quarter I felt tired and unmotivated for a long time after the quarter ended. This time around I am hoping for the exact opposite. At the moment I am basking in the springtime sunshine. It may get warmer and it may get colder but right now the sun is shining and I am enjoying it.

Here's a pretty thing. When I'm writing papers I often enjoy music with no words. I'll look for ambient music and music mixes online and I've found some things I greatly enjoy. For instance Rob Viktum's album "Progress: An audio tribute to the Cambodian people." I know nothing of Rob Viktum other than he makes hip/hoppy type music but I found the songs pleasant and interesting and I think a tribute to the Cambodian people is a great way to make an album.

Without further ado here are two songs by Rob Viktum: "4/17/1975" and "Siem Pang"


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Until next time keep your progress audio...?

eO

Music Monday/ This week in school...

The past two weeks have been full of fascinating conversation. Most notably has been a discussion of men's and women's strengths and weaknesses. This conversation stemming from the ideas of men and women from a "relational-cultural" perspective. Relational Cultural theory states that relationships are the primary source of development and remain so throughout life. Because of this Relational Cultural theory looks at both individual relationships and cultural influences as important to understanding the individual.

While I do not have time to go into great depth I wanted to post some important points that struck me in the past two weeks:

Men:
-Men suffer from disconnection from both other people and emotions. Early on sons are, consciously or subconsciously, encouraged to detach from their mothers (faster than girls) and displays of emotion begin to be discouraged. This socialization is the start of a pattern of detachment that remains for men throughout life.
-A consequence of this pattern of detachment is the difficulty men have with feeling or expressing emotion.
-A consequence of detachment from emotion is a tendency in men to confuse physical intimacy with emotional intimacy.

Women:
-Women are socialized to be objectified and sexualized by men. Because of this women are often viewed and judged through the eyes of men. This results in women having difficulty finding their own voice.
-Women are sexualized and yet when they are sexual it is seen negatively.
-Most research that has been done on humans in the past few centuries has been done on men and applied to women. As an example the idea of "fight or flight" is a reaction to stress that is displayed by men. Women's reaction to stress is to "tend and befriend" relationally. For example tests have shown that women are reported as more affectionate toward their children when they have had a bad day. In contrast men were reported as more distant upon experiencing a bad day.
-The "tend and befriend" response to stress also points to another reality for women, that they benefit greatly from relationships with other women. Unfortunately women are also the most critical of other women. It is suspected that this critical-ness is a sort of violence that women display in relationship as a response to objectification and voicelessness. From what I understand studies have shown that the more "patriarchal" (as apposed to egalitarian) a society is the more women display such violence.

An offshoot of this discussion in my head was the realization that women are objectified in our culture but I think that relationships are also objectified. Objectification is looking at something rather than looking through its subjective reality. We impose meaning on something rather than understanding the meaning of something in its context. Essentially we rob something of its personal story. We rob relationships of their story when we think that everything will end up "happily ever after."

One more thing I found extremely important in our discussions is the idea that men and women experience emotion differently and that instead of seeking understanding and sitting with emotion we are critical of the other gender. Women feel too much emotion while men "never" feel enough. Both genders experience emotion, both genders should be encouraged to experience emotion, and both genders should seek to empower each other to do so.

I think this music selection fits nicely with this theme. This is Sufjan Stevens in a collaborative concept concert about the planets with "Pluto"



Until next time, keep your moon fixed...

EDO

Music Monday

Remember the feeling of being completely overwhelmed with the amount of information you were receiving? I did not feel that this week. It was the week of residency for me which means I was in Vancouver and had classes from Wednesday to Sunday from 8am-5pm. That is a lot to pack in.

Here is a brief list of areas we talked about this week:

Freudian Theory of Ego and I (apparently there was a mistake translating what was supposed to be "I" into "Id").
Psyhoanalysis
The role of the counselor's "self" within therapy
Dealing with sexism, racism, ageism, etc.
Attachment Theory
The Primacy of Emotion in human lives
Vulnerability
Existential Psychology

One thing that really stuck with me is a description of anxiety. Anxiety is like an alarm bell going off inside of us but we do not know immediately what it is connected to, it is not as easy as a fire alarm. Often we are given the impression that anxiety or feeling anxious is a negative thing but the reality is that it has a purpose. It is telling us that something needs to change. It is this premise that has caused some people to say that anxiety requires creativity and courage. When we examine the cause of the alarm and we are creative in our response then the alarm usually goes away. If we try to ignore or numb the feeling the alarm will do its job by becoming louder.

This is the Mountain Goats with "Love love love"


Until next time do the things for love love love.

Music Monday

Another week has come again. This time around I am in Vancouver for coursework. I have friends who live very close to downtown. Today I am enjoying the sunshine and trying to get ahead in some homework.

This the major theme was identity markers. What identity markers do you use to describe yourself and which ones have changed most over time? In my short lifetime I have identified as Caucasian, male, heterosexual, Christian, son, grandson, brother, friend, uncle, husband, child, adolescent, adult, student, employee, student again, fisherman, single, married, athlete, musician, writer, traveler... etc. etc. What is fascinating is that even if I describe myself using one of these identifies it is not very descriptive. My identity then rests in the interpretation of the individual I am describing myself to and their experiences with individuals who use similar identifiers. That, to me, means that when I identify as something I represent that group and that I am assuming the responsibility of representing that group fairly.

Another thing that stuck out to me about identity is how complex it is. There are identifiers that have changed greatly for me such as athlete, traveler, or uncle but there are identifiers that don't change about me such as Caucasian or male. However, even though these identifiers do not change about me they themselves change. Being male today is not the same as being male fifty years ago and it will not be the same fifty years from now. Identity development is a dynamic rather than static system because we cannot remain static. We are constantly changing and adapting to new situations in life. Our very thoughts can bring about change for us! I think that this is a marvelous part of life and I think without it I would get very bored.

A few weeks back I posted a full DJ set and I finally found one of the songs I was looking for. This is Bonobo with the song 'Cirrus'





Until next time, identify yourself!

EO

Music Monday

Hi.

I have been late posting these for the past two months. That means it is time for a change. I will still attempt to post on Mondays but I have no time for anything other than studying and listening to music while studying. Therefor I will be changing Music Monday to more of a weekly summary format mostly focused on what I have been learning in my school program with a musical component. You may be able to guess my moods through the music I listen to if that is what you're interested in. Feel free to respond to any of the content. Let the discussions begin!

Here is the first weekly review:

This past week has been dominated by discussions of Freud's theories. We were challenged while reading not to "do battle with Freud" but to try to understand the context in which he was writing and find the value in this. The results were very positive. Freud's theories came at a time when renaissance thought of the "higher humanity" was mixing with the natural selection theories and the "instinctual humanity". His theories merged these two streams of thought into a practical and workable theory for the time. Moreover his intensive focus on sexual repression came from the Victorian age of morality where, put simply, sexuality was repressed.

Another idea of Freud's that is possibly most significant to counselors and therapists everywhere is the idea of transference and countertransference. This is idea is significant because it identifies that both client and therapist will bring their own opinions, beliefs, values, rules, emotions, etc into the therapeutic relationship. Transference happens when a client puts their emotions onto the counselor whether that is love or hate and countertransference occurs by the therapist as a result of this. This is useful for the therapist to be aware of as it can be a valuable clue as to what is happening for the other individual. I suggest that transference and counterstransference happens in every relationship and not just in therapy.

That being said this is Sparklehorse with their song "Apple Bed"


Until next time keep your horses sparkly

EO

Music Monday

Its Monday enough people.

I don't have much time to post as school is now in full swing and I get to spend my days reading and writing other things.

So far I have been learning a lot about Freud and his world. I found that it is too easy to bash Freud for having some nutty ideas but after reading about the context he lived in I find him to be interesting. The truth of the matter is that Freud didn't really have a lot of data to back up his theories and the reason for this is that there was no data. He theorized the best he could with what he had paving the way for others to do more work in the field (although he thought his theory was definitive). His theories were also a response to the culture. His theory suggested that there must be a meeting place between the higher man from the Renaissance and the man driven by instinct from Darwin's theory of natural selection.

For music today we have a heavy hitter from Music Monday's past. In fact I posted one of these fellow's songs before it was even called Music Monday. This is Beirut with their song Nantes.



Until next time, resolve your Oedipus complex's

EDO

Music Monday

Happy new year!

Now that it is January we can move on to a new year of Music Monday. To tell you the truth I have not been listening to much music lately. I've been enjoying the quiet without any music on. Because of this I don't have anything new to present but I do have an oldie for you. One of my favorite songs.

Words (Between the lines of age) from Neil Young's Harvest album. The first time I heard this song I was hooked, I couldn't stop listening. The swinging rhythm, the raw and gritty electric guitar and raucous solos, the beautiful slide guitar, and of course Neil's signature falsetto are all features of this song that stick out to my ear. The lyrics don't really paint a clear picture of a story but are more like a reflective surface to think upon.

This is Words by Neil Young:




Until next time read between the lines.

EO