Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
I'll be seein' ya, Bean Blog.
I'm moving my blog over to Wordpress. A full blown explanation is located on the new site, but the main reason I'm leaving Blogger is adaptability. I feel that Blogger is (surprisingly) getting left behind in terms of social media and Web 2.0 capabilities, and as a future information professional whose career is based on evolving and forward-thinking, Blogger just hasn't stayed as relevant as I might've hoped. So hop on over to my new site and give it a look-see. And as Bilbo said, "I regret to announce...this is The End [of Blogger]. I am going now [to Wordpress]. I bid you all a very fond farewell [until you click the link below]. Goodbye!"
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Jon's 101th Blog Post Spectacular!
i just realized that i inadvertently missed my big 100th blog post by posting a joke about inter-species relations. oh well.
so i've actually written 100 blogs. that's a pretty cool achievement for me, especially considering some of them were pretty substantial. others obviously were pretty dumb (see last post) but i'm decently proud of myself for keeping up with this for as long as i have. it's a great feeling to write something and then put it out for anybody to stumble across. a good outlet. so thanks for reading. i don't plan on quitting anytime soon.
as is hopefully noticeable to the avid reader of my blog, i've changed the look up a bit. this template is called rounders. don't know why. i've seen some other blogs that are designed in very cool ways (awesome picture karlie), but i have no idea how to church this thing up other than changing background colors. oh well.
i'm also confused about font and almost more importantly, spacing of lines. i kind of feel like the blogspot service isn't the most user friendly when it comes to organization.
but that's what i intend on figuring out as i continue to blog. here's to hoping you'll stick around while i learn how to space all my lines evenly. that would be awesome.
-jon
Friday, May 15, 2009
old blogs.
tonight i was on facebook and i remembered that i originally started blogging using facebook "notes," and after a few i decided to switch over to blogspot. i don't regret the decision, as facebook as become overridden with so much pap. anyway, i glanced through my old notes tonight and decided to add them onto this mug because a lot of them showed quite a bit of insight into how i write today. reading a few of them i was actually envious of how well thought out i think they are. so i'll start with my oldest one and add them every few days and maybe add a couple two-and-a-half-years-later edits/thoughts to them.
enjoy,
-jon
Monday, June 9, 2008
finally. something new.
ok. i had a blog started about being back in the states, leaving spain, starting my summer, all this thoughtful stuff. then i got bored of it. here's what i decided to write instead.
i sincerely hope to keep my blog up. it's a nice outlet, even though i have no idea how many people read it. but lately it's been hard, not enough time to just sit around and write. but i'm sitting in joel's room right now, waiting until the movie he and ryan are watching gets over so we can pop in either strange wilderness or batman (the michael keaton one) so i had some free time now. tomorrow N*E*R*D's new album comes out, seeing sounds, which hopefully will result in a new blog. a week later coldplay's new album comes out, which i am insanely excited for, which will almost certainly result in a new blog. in three days i'll be able to throw down a new itunes update, which i didn't think i was gonna do after my last one sucked but with the new al green album that came out a few weeks ago and the fact that i'm in a full blown kanye west phase, i'm really excited to see how my play counts have mixed up.
this just in. i just finished listening to the 30 second clips of seeing sounds, and i am out of my mind excited about it. i would buy it on itunes but i am kind of against buying music off itunes, as onboard as i am with everything mac (that could make for a dece blog.) i will probably just sleep and go grab it in the morning at best buy.
so here are the few thoughts i had in my failed return-to-iowa blog. i like iowa. i like farmlands. i like my girlfriend. and my friends. i was right about my trip to spain. it felt good to be there, and even better to come home. this is my real home. being with colleen is home. i learned tons, and it's so good to be back here. and i really encourage you to go out and buy N*E*R*D's album tomorrow. it's gonna be bomb.
-jon
i sincerely hope to keep my blog up. it's a nice outlet, even though i have no idea how many people read it. but lately it's been hard, not enough time to just sit around and write. but i'm sitting in joel's room right now, waiting until the movie he and ryan are watching gets over so we can pop in either strange wilderness or batman (the michael keaton one) so i had some free time now. tomorrow N*E*R*D's new album comes out, seeing sounds, which hopefully will result in a new blog. a week later coldplay's new album comes out, which i am insanely excited for, which will almost certainly result in a new blog. in three days i'll be able to throw down a new itunes update, which i didn't think i was gonna do after my last one sucked but with the new al green album that came out a few weeks ago and the fact that i'm in a full blown kanye west phase, i'm really excited to see how my play counts have mixed up.
this just in. i just finished listening to the 30 second clips of seeing sounds, and i am out of my mind excited about it. i would buy it on itunes but i am kind of against buying music off itunes, as onboard as i am with everything mac (that could make for a dece blog.) i will probably just sleep and go grab it in the morning at best buy.
so here are the few thoughts i had in my failed return-to-iowa blog. i like iowa. i like farmlands. i like my girlfriend. and my friends. i was right about my trip to spain. it felt good to be there, and even better to come home. this is my real home. being with colleen is home. i learned tons, and it's so good to be back here. and i really encourage you to go out and buy N*E*R*D's album tomorrow. it's gonna be bomb.
-jon
Sunday, April 20, 2008
don't be offended if i ever talk to you with my earbuds in. i'm probably paying attention.
had an interesting chat with a friend on the bus tonight. we'd spent the day in león with some friends and most people were falling asleep on the bus and we got to chatting about the day and how it went. and i realized a few things.
it's weird living here in spain. and it's especially weird because the closest friends i have are people with whom i'm not really in my comfort zone. they aren't people i think i would ever choose to be close to. they're not bad people, just way different than i am. and i think lately i've been subconsciously distancing myself from hanging out with people cause i'm starting to realize that. i think i'm known around here as the kid with the ipod; at school, between classes, even if i'm talking to somebody, i have at least one earbud in, and most times two. i walk to class with my ipod, i play ping pong with my ipod. blake even drew a comic that was seen by all the students with me in it, and he drew me wearing an argyle sweater and listening to my ipod so people would better recognize me. it's just part of my identity. i think i'm also known as the guy who doesn't go out. there are so many days when people ask me when i did during the weekend or if i'm going out later that night, and my most common answer is "nope, probably gonna head to the cafe". the cafe has become my second spanish home. i'm almost always guaranteed good, functional internet until midnight when they close. and they have pretty good coffee.
but that's who i've become to the kids around here. the kid with the ipod who doesn't go out. and when i realized i was really starting to isolate myself and every now and then would get crap from people about it (oh lame jon isn't going out cause he's got a skype date, etc.), i felt kind of bad about it at first. but i think i've finally pinpointed why i do it. i just don't connect with these kids well. i have a different lifestyle, a different mindset about things than most people here do and it is so hard to truly connect with anybody. i connect best with people through music, through lists, through creativity. and no one here understands that. no one here would rather spend time in a cafe, researching artists and albums online so they can write a Top 5 list about music rather than go out and party. and i would. i'd rather spend time seeing colleen's face and getting to talk to her and connect with her rather than go out. nothing makes me happier than letting her know who i've been reading about or sending her new music that i've been listening to. i'd even rather spend time talking with my other buddy online (yeah, like instant messenger. i still rock that.) than going out because that's how we connect. he and i have hung out in real life less than ten times (girlfriend's cousin) but i feel like he's a close friend cause our minds work in a similar way. he gets excited about music, about creativity, like i do. and no one here does.
today in león, around 7pm, we'd been there since like 2 or so, and people had just bought some drinks and we were gonna walk around the city some more. there were nine of us altogether, and people were eating their snacks and drinking their drinks, and i actually put my ipod on, even with everyone around talking. it's not that i don't want to talk to anybody, it's just that there are times when i'm just dying to experience a tune and i'll forfeit being 100% involved in a conversation for that experience ("rock with you" by michael jackson was what i needed to listen to.) i ended having my ipod on for almost the next three hours, walking with everyone and dancing while we walked. sometimes i'd talk to people, sometimes i'd fall to the back and practice moonwalking or other dance moves off the curb. and it was fun.
it's a weird thing. i feel like a part of my mind has opened up here in spain and i'm nervous about losing that when i go back to the states. i've had the best opportunity to just let music sink into every part of my life here, and been able to have an outlet for it through writing. when i'm in the states, i've got real classes, real homework, a job, a relationship, and actual close friends that i have to put effort into. here, i've got easy classes, joke homework, no job, still a relationship, and one actual close friend. so i have so much time to let this part of my mind open up and let the creativity blossom. and i've loved it. it'll probably be one of the biggest things i remember about this trip. it's just an important part of who i am and i haven't really found it here with anyone else. like when somebody asks me what i'm listening to (which by the way hardly ever happens. why don't more people ask that to people with headphones in their ears?), if i get even remotely passionate about what it is i'm listening to, i almost always get blank responses back, or at least apathetic responses. which just kind of bums me out. not even for me, but like if a person responds in an uncaring type of way, it's like what inspires you? what makes you feel things, get passionate about things? i just wish i was surrounded by more people who cared about things that seem important to me.
that's the biggest reason i'm excited to get back into the states. not to get back into my comfort zone because it's easier, but to get back to that place because it's necessary for me. i need to connect to people who really know me cause i'm starting to really drag without those connections. so if nothing else, i've got about one more month of good blogs in me and then they'll start to suck again. enjoy while you've got 'em.
-jon
it's weird living here in spain. and it's especially weird because the closest friends i have are people with whom i'm not really in my comfort zone. they aren't people i think i would ever choose to be close to. they're not bad people, just way different than i am. and i think lately i've been subconsciously distancing myself from hanging out with people cause i'm starting to realize that. i think i'm known around here as the kid with the ipod; at school, between classes, even if i'm talking to somebody, i have at least one earbud in, and most times two. i walk to class with my ipod, i play ping pong with my ipod. blake even drew a comic that was seen by all the students with me in it, and he drew me wearing an argyle sweater and listening to my ipod so people would better recognize me. it's just part of my identity. i think i'm also known as the guy who doesn't go out. there are so many days when people ask me when i did during the weekend or if i'm going out later that night, and my most common answer is "nope, probably gonna head to the cafe". the cafe has become my second spanish home. i'm almost always guaranteed good, functional internet until midnight when they close. and they have pretty good coffee.
but that's who i've become to the kids around here. the kid with the ipod who doesn't go out. and when i realized i was really starting to isolate myself and every now and then would get crap from people about it (oh lame jon isn't going out cause he's got a skype date, etc.), i felt kind of bad about it at first. but i think i've finally pinpointed why i do it. i just don't connect with these kids well. i have a different lifestyle, a different mindset about things than most people here do and it is so hard to truly connect with anybody. i connect best with people through music, through lists, through creativity. and no one here understands that. no one here would rather spend time in a cafe, researching artists and albums online so they can write a Top 5 list about music rather than go out and party. and i would. i'd rather spend time seeing colleen's face and getting to talk to her and connect with her rather than go out. nothing makes me happier than letting her know who i've been reading about or sending her new music that i've been listening to. i'd even rather spend time talking with my other buddy online (yeah, like instant messenger. i still rock that.) than going out because that's how we connect. he and i have hung out in real life less than ten times (girlfriend's cousin) but i feel like he's a close friend cause our minds work in a similar way. he gets excited about music, about creativity, like i do. and no one here does.
today in león, around 7pm, we'd been there since like 2 or so, and people had just bought some drinks and we were gonna walk around the city some more. there were nine of us altogether, and people were eating their snacks and drinking their drinks, and i actually put my ipod on, even with everyone around talking. it's not that i don't want to talk to anybody, it's just that there are times when i'm just dying to experience a tune and i'll forfeit being 100% involved in a conversation for that experience ("rock with you" by michael jackson was what i needed to listen to.) i ended having my ipod on for almost the next three hours, walking with everyone and dancing while we walked. sometimes i'd talk to people, sometimes i'd fall to the back and practice moonwalking or other dance moves off the curb. and it was fun.
it's a weird thing. i feel like a part of my mind has opened up here in spain and i'm nervous about losing that when i go back to the states. i've had the best opportunity to just let music sink into every part of my life here, and been able to have an outlet for it through writing. when i'm in the states, i've got real classes, real homework, a job, a relationship, and actual close friends that i have to put effort into. here, i've got easy classes, joke homework, no job, still a relationship, and one actual close friend. so i have so much time to let this part of my mind open up and let the creativity blossom. and i've loved it. it'll probably be one of the biggest things i remember about this trip. it's just an important part of who i am and i haven't really found it here with anyone else. like when somebody asks me what i'm listening to (which by the way hardly ever happens. why don't more people ask that to people with headphones in their ears?), if i get even remotely passionate about what it is i'm listening to, i almost always get blank responses back, or at least apathetic responses. which just kind of bums me out. not even for me, but like if a person responds in an uncaring type of way, it's like what inspires you? what makes you feel things, get passionate about things? i just wish i was surrounded by more people who cared about things that seem important to me.
that's the biggest reason i'm excited to get back into the states. not to get back into my comfort zone because it's easier, but to get back to that place because it's necessary for me. i need to connect to people who really know me cause i'm starting to really drag without those connections. so if nothing else, i've got about one more month of good blogs in me and then they'll start to suck again. enjoy while you've got 'em.
-jon
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
a blog about blogging? such self-reflexivity.
so far i feel pretty good about my blog activity since coming to spain. i've been writing a fair amount, and having lots of good ideas of things to write. i think to keep me accountable, i'm gonna start a list of blog ideas. i'll X them out as i write about them.
things i'd like to write about in the future:
my Top 5 Lists, including:
Top 5 Songs
Top 5 Artists
Top 5 Albums
Top 5 Producers
Top 5 Showbiz entertainers
Top 5 Breakup Songs
i could use suggestions.
i also have something in the works about rap music. what i love about it, different aspects, different artists, lots more. problem with this one is that i started it when i was heavy into kanye's graduation. i'm now listening to different albums and my intense love for rap music has subsided a bit. i'll keep writing as soon as kanye gets under my skin again.
i'd love to write about d'angelo's brilliant album "voodoo", but i'm not sure i could even do it justice. a few years ago john mayer wrote an open letter to d'angelo in esquire magazine, asking him to get back into the studio and record something new to follow up voodoo because it was one of the single best soul albums of the last ten or so years. he goes on to say marvelous things about voodoo, effectively everything i would want to say. bummer. so part of me really wants to write about voodoo cause i am just enamored of the album, and part of me doesn't even want to try and touch it cause voodoo is just that good.
obviously i'll keep writing about cool stuff that happens here on my trip while it happens. example: paris trip coming up in a week. getting incredibly psyched for it.
so i guess i don't really have any good ideas except writing about music. i bet if i had my guitar i wouldn't need to use this dumb blog as a musical outlet. buzzkill.
-jon
things i'd like to write about in the future:
my Top 5 Lists, including:
Top 5 Songs
Top 5 Artists
Top 5 Albums
Top 5 Producers
Top 5 Showbiz entertainers
Top 5 Breakup Songs
i could use suggestions.
i also have something in the works about rap music. what i love about it, different aspects, different artists, lots more. problem with this one is that i started it when i was heavy into kanye's graduation. i'm now listening to different albums and my intense love for rap music has subsided a bit. i'll keep writing as soon as kanye gets under my skin again.
i'd love to write about d'angelo's brilliant album "voodoo", but i'm not sure i could even do it justice. a few years ago john mayer wrote an open letter to d'angelo in esquire magazine, asking him to get back into the studio and record something new to follow up voodoo because it was one of the single best soul albums of the last ten or so years. he goes on to say marvelous things about voodoo, effectively everything i would want to say. bummer. so part of me really wants to write about voodoo cause i am just enamored of the album, and part of me doesn't even want to try and touch it cause voodoo is just that good.
obviously i'll keep writing about cool stuff that happens here on my trip while it happens. example: paris trip coming up in a week. getting incredibly psyched for it.
so i guess i don't really have any good ideas except writing about music. i bet if i had my guitar i wouldn't need to use this dumb blog as a musical outlet. buzzkill.
-jon
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