January | 2010 | Coe Douglas

Discover Kirtan

Among yoga people, Kirtan–which is a mantra or chant based call and response style of music–is immensely popular. And, if you’ve ever been to a yoga class, unless you were at one of those ultra-hip modern flavored yoga classes with reggae and finger food, you’ve probably heard Kirtan at some point.

There are some amazing artists (Jai Uttal, Krishna Das) in this genre. But of the major Kirtan performers, David Newman (aka Durga Das) is my favorite.

Newman’s most recent album is wonderfully accessible and beautifully recorded, the voices are incredible and the songs will having you singing them even off the mat.

Give this record a listen.

A Few Words About Phrenology

Phrenology is by far my favorite 19th century pseudo-science. The idea behind phrenology is simple: a person’s skull shape determines personality traits.

Here’s what wiki has to say about it:

Phrenologists believed that the mind has a set of different mental faculties, with each particular faculty represented in a different area of the brain. These areas were said to be proportional to a person’s propensities, and the importance of the given mental faculty. It was believed that the cranial bone conformed in order to accommodate the different sizes of these particular areas of the brain in different individuals, so that a person’s capacity for a given personality trait could be determined simply by measuring the area of the skull that overlies the corresponding area of the brain.

Imagine the dating implications this must have had as Victorian women and men went to odd lengths to size up the skull protrusions in a potential mate.

“Hey, Agnes, I hear that Wilfred has an amazing right frontal protrusion.”

“Oh, I hope so, Emma. Because every knows that I’m most definitely a literary, observing, knowing faculties kind of girl.”

Good times, for sure.

Confession: I Love ABC’s Castle

Okay, for starters I’m a big Nathan Fillion fan. Not like man-crush big, but come on, Fillion has to be the most likable guy on TV. Plus, he’s played some great roles on fantastic shows like Firefly (another show I loved), Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Yes, Josh Whedon has kept him busy) to name a few. So this alone is enough to tune in and catch an episode. So, tune in I did.

Now, I’m hooked.

Beyond the Fillion-factor, I love Castle because it’s a smart and funny crime drama with just the right amount of camp and sexual tension. Plus, the writing is great and the characters likable.

And kudos to ABC for actually releasing a Richard Castle novel – Heat Wave, the first Nikki Heat book. This book is the central premise behind the show. His research for the book is why he follows around and eventually partners up with Detective Kate Beckett in the first place. The book is a nice piece of cross-marketing. And, based on reviews, it’s not a bad crime read either.

There is no poet in the world who is not a mystic. A poet is a mystic whether consciously or unconsciously, for no one can write poetry without inspiration, and when a poet touches the profound depths of the spirit, struck by some aspect of life, he brings forth a poem as a diver brings forth a pearl.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Mystic and Musician.
From a chapter on the writings of Rumi in his book The Heart of Sufism.

You Too Can Be An Innovator

I’ve always loved the way Marty Neumeier thinks. ZAG is still my favorite book on brands. Now, Marty has a DVD available with his famous Innovation Workshop on it. This should be fantastic.

Plus, the Tool Kit includes a copy of his most recent book, The Designful Company which is also a really good read.

From the Vault

I worked on this a few years ago with my friend Vic Donati. He was comissioned to create a gig poster for the Tapes N Tapes show and we were kicking around a couple of ideas.

At some point, we began reminiscing about vintage rock and a few of its more iconic elements.

One of the first things that came to mind was Eddie Van Halen’s classic red guitar. We both remarked how it looked like he had simply covered it with tape and more tape.

Happy MLK Day

Remember:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Music & Musings

Dan Wallace, a recording artists, songwriter, producer, composer, writer and all around super smart guy has a somewhat-new blog that he’s using as a sounding board for a range of philosophical discussion, criticism, commentary and storytelling. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Dan is best known for his music – putting out 7 CDs both as a solo artist and with his previous bands IZIS and the Pindrops (both of which he founded and fronted) – and developing a sizable following as an indie artist who has successfully bucked convention and eschewed the mainstream, while still drawing rave reviews and critical success for his innovative sound and adventurous recordings (I’d argue he’s one of the best under-the-radar artists in the world).

Dan’s a really smart guy with interesting ideas on pretty much everything. It comes out in his music and now it comes out in his blog which covers music, the music industry, composers, philosphy, writing, pop culture and more.

Give it a read. Leave a comment. Engage in the discussions over there.

And, if you haven’t listened to Dan’s music. I’d recommend that too. It’s fantastic.

The Fantasticness of Field Roast Vegan Sausage

The Field Roast Artisan Vegan Italian Sausage is fantastic. In fact, it’s my favorite new veggie product. I made a Bolognese sauce using the Field Roast sausage, whole wheat spiral pasta, Roma tomatoes, freshly minced garlic, red chili flakes, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Damn, was it good.

The sausage had amazing flavor, a firm texture and had a hearty fennel flavor which infused the entire dish with a robustness that I absolutely love. This is a great product for any vegetarian and non-vegetarians who want a lower fat option without sacrifing flavor.

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