Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Google Chrome: Browser Wars (contd)

With the latest devbuild, I can see that Chromium/Chrome (Google's new-style browser) is getting stronger; and I must say that I like it. It's simply designed, but elegant in a zen way; and the search+address bar feels so right, so intuitive that browsing becomes a much better experience. Already I'm using this browser on a daily basis, even though there's so much unfinished about it that most people would probably think it isn't worth the bother. [Wait till they try it though.] In short, this is shaping up to be a killer app!

Verdi is gr8 4 yr heart!



Verdi is gr8 4 yr heart!



The researchers tested out various combinations of music and silence on the volunteers and found tracks rich in emphasis that alternated between fast and slow, like operatic music, appeared to be the best for the circulation and the heart.Verdi's arias, which follow music phrases that are 10 seconds long, appeared to synchronise perfectly with the natural cardiovascular rhythm.
BBC NEWS | Health | Opera 'is music for the heart'

Thursday, June 18, 2009

18th June

18th June

Your desire,
glowing like embers in a fire,
attracts me
with its warmth and promise
of home.

I know I'm not alone
when I see that in your eyes.

It's no surprise
you love me: you're like that;
I'm more surprised
I love you: but I like that:
no-one wants to be alone.
No-one likes to be alone.
No-one needs to be alone.
We all need a face
we can call home.

Heat me
until I perspire.
Root me
with your warmth.
I desire
your desire.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The five rites & the physiological clock


The Five Rites (google it!) is an exercise system reputedly more than 2000 years old but described by Peter Kelder in a book first published in the 1920s. It isn't described as a fitness system but rather as a way to reset the body's chakras, the seven spinning wheels of energy. I've been practising the five rites daily for over five months now and I can tell you that they work: I have more energy, more muscle, less grey hair (the grey is actually disappearing), a sharper mind and a greater feeling of well-being. And I sleep better too. Amazing? Certainly. Miraculous? Perhaps.
The rites seem to work by kick-starting the endocrine system, resetting the physiological clock. That's true for me at least-- I really do feel that I'm youthing rather than aging. Apart from the hair, energy, etc., I've been getting a few spots on my face that I haven't seen for the last twenty years: spots that are hormonal in origin. There have been other changes too, too many to mention here. I shan't be stopping this programme. The five rites are for life (both meanings are intended).

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tai Chi and Grace


Attending Tai Chi classes has made my life more graceful--even though my practice is clumsy; my muscles and bones ache--even though the movements are flowing and slow; and I'm more aware than ever before of the beauty and fragility of our lives.

I didn't expect any of this; I'm not sure what I expected. I do have a Tai Chi book, but its attraction for me was its philosophy rather than its utility as a practical guide to the movements. I practice Zen so I saw in Tai Chi a kindred practice, an addition to my lifestyle. Tai Chi has been more than this: it has changed the ways I move through my days.

Like Zen I can't explain this, not any of it. Like Zen, Tai Chi's meaning lies exclusively in its practice. Like Zen, Tai Chi is not for reading in books, but for living.

Friday, June 12, 2009

rNb rock still rulz

Ever since I was a teen I've loved rNb based rock bands; I'm from south London (Chelsea's my home team), so I grew up on a diet of all the London mod bands: the Who, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and supremely the Small Faces. I still listen-- a lot!-- to the Small Faces, but now I've added Paramore and Kings Of Leon. Recently I listened to the SF's All Or Nothing and KOL's Sex On Fire back-2-back and confirmed that it's the same sound. It really is. There's the same rNb base, the same driving energy, the same hormonally-charged-group-instrument-playing-and-arranging thing. Is this perhaps why KOL are bigger in the UK than back in the States? They know it too: check out the lyrics to Fans (it's on their 3rd album).

Umhlanga's Coming...


We're two months away from this year's Reed Dance (umhlanga): perhaps the kingdom's biggest tourist attraction, so here's a pic to whet your appetite. Lovely smiles... :-)

Googl Chrome on LinuxMint 7

I've been trying out Google's new developer build of their Chrome browser on my Linux laptop (LinuxMint 7), and it's fast. It also works well (the missing implementations notwithstanding). I particularly like the all-in-one search & address bar: this is a feature so natural you soon wonder why it wasn't there in the first place. Of course, it's not my primary browseryet (it's not even an official release yet) but if all goes as well as Google intend it may well become my favourite browser soon.

Friday, June 5, 2009

surviving? hell, no! I'm thriving!


I just met someone in town. "You're surviving?" he asked. "Surviving?" I laughed. "No, I'm thriving!"
"You're about the only one then," he said. What a gloomy doomy fellow. Life is good. Today is warm and sunny in the kingdom. And it's a Friday! Yay, yippee, toodle-do. Enjoy, good people, enjoy.

HAROLD BUDD: go in peace

Harold Budd Back in the 70s I had a friend called Howard, who lived in Wimbledon village, and we met regularly to listen to and discuss ou...