Ben's Blog

A non definitive dump of things that make me happy

• My imagination
• My Foster Allen shoes
• My Vibram five fingers running shoes
• Travelling
• improving my Capoeira
• Singing in the Roda
• hanging out with friends
• Lost
• Music
• Concerts
• My thick blue Icelandic jumper
• The Tango
• Reading old letters
• Being loved
• Being in Love
• My friends
• my family
• Remembering my grandparents.
• Taking photos
• Making a mix tape.
• Skating
• Lending a helping hand
• Spontaneity
• intimacy
• Laughing so much it hurts
• cycling
• telling a story
• Cooking
• Eating
• running
• meditation
• green tea
• hot buttered toast with Marmite
• learning new things
• the smell of cinnamon
• Security
• Safety
• predictability
• Thrill of the new
• Orange juice
• health
• routine
• Being on top of things
• a sense of accomplishment

Singing, Dancing and Camping: The Key To A Long Life

Brian Eno has just written a great article about the joy of singing. Capoeira came to my mind while reading it.

At the heart of Capoeira is the Roda and a key part of that is the music. The Roda is a circle of people, with two people competing in the middle and everyone else singing and clapping in time around them. The music gives the fighters strength, they aim to make their moves in tune to the rhythm of the song. It's uplifting feeling a part of something like this.

Brian sums up the way I feel about Capeira  songs and the Roda:

When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings — to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue.

You can read the full article here

Eight minutes ago

Sunlight is just over eight minutes old by the time it reaches us here on Earth. Or to put it another way, if there's a brief flare on the surface of the Sun, it would have already been and gone by the time our scientists get to watch it.

There is roughly 150 million kilometres between the Sun and Earth. Sunlight takes about three and a half minutes to fly past Mercury, Venus in six minutes, then us at eight. Light from our nearest star Proxima Centauri takes over 4 years to arrive.

So, why am I writing all this? Well it got me hypothetically thinking, it works both ways. Everything we do here on earth is bouncing back out to space.  It's not just light that gets sent out into the vacuum either, it's radio waves too, consisting of mobile phones, TV, internet chat sessions, emails, video calls, earth is a noisy place. There is nothing in the way to stop our broadcasts from going on forever.

And here's my main fantastic point, If I was 150 million kilometres from Earth with a really powerful telescope and computer to process it all, then I could witness life on earth eight minutes ago.

Providing we are at the right distance from Earth one could re-witness any moment at any time in history. You could witness your Grandparents' picnic in the park on a sunny day. Or relive any cherished personal moments, imagine seeing yourself re- fall in love again for the first time.

I'm sure a Physicist would find fault with my thinking, but I don't care. I like the thought that everything is recorded and locked into this universe, nothing is lost in time. It gives meaning and weight to every moment.

972 Miles in a Weekend.

I've just come back from a busy weekend. I estimate it to be 972 miles travelled in three days. I had to pack in.

A week after being back...

I’m not sure if closure is the right word, it’s wasn’t a goodbye, more like hello. I hope I got to know and understand my grandparents a little better, saw a bit of who they were as a young couple, before I was born. It was quite a powerful thing to experience, possibly put things into perspective. They were a major influence on my life and will always remain a part of me.

day 16, homeward bound

I spent my last night in France, checked out of my hotel, bought some pastries for breakfast and spent the day walking around Perpignan, the sun was out, it’s an attractive city; but with no guide book though I was sort of wondering about aimlessly. I checked up on 43places and Wikipedia, but there wasn’t much listed about the town, popped my head into another gloomy church. I kept saying things in Spanish rather than French, I missed the place already.

day 15, I'm sitting at a railway station, got a ticket for ma destination.

This is my third day in Barcelona. I’m feeling unrelaxed, torn in two. I want to see all that Barcelona has to offer, but I know there’s no way I’ll get to know this city in the short time I have here. My time off is coming to an end, I think that’s what saddens me.

day 14, barcelona night-time trip

Started thursday still in Barceloneta, Barcelona, sitting on my balcony; the sun was out, with a cooling sea breeze to accompany me. I fixed my skates, packed up a small bag and headed out.

day 12, onwards on water...

The day was spent on the move; starting on Formentura with a breakfast by the beach again, today the orange juice was back in stock, so I had that with a local pastry.

day thirteen, shopping for wheels.

After being relaxed, away from people, today was a bit of a shock. I felt like a naive peasant, learning about the ways of the city for the first time. I had to figure out how the metro worked, reading instructions in a language I didn’t understand, deciding the most cost effective ticket. I pushed my ticket in the wrong machine, a guide tried to explain, but at first I didn’t understand, I felt very stupid. Leaving the metro is different too, I’m used to swiping the ticket on exit, but on Bacelona metro you just push through the double gates. I had to watch someone to see how it was done.