TCS @ The Mall

I should note a special thanks to Adam Klein and Holly Sharp for shooting the footage.

Pilgrimage Redux

That's right. We're at it again. This time with Pax in tow...



In case the fine print is too fine, here are the cites we'll be in... (and the italics mean that the date is still available)

Sep 28 - Fresno, California
Sep 29 - Flagstaff, Arizona
Oct 7 - Dallas, Texas
Oct 9 - Austin, Texas
Oct 10 - San Antonio, Texas
Oct 11 - Irving, Texas
Oct 13 - Omaha, Nebraska
Oct 14-17 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 18 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Oct 19 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct 20 - Louisville, Kentucky
Oct 21 - Lexington, Kentucky
Oct 23 - Wilmington, Kentucky
Oct 24 - Cincinatti, Ohio
Oct 25 - Westland, Michigan
Oct 26 - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Oct 27 - Canton, Ohio
Oct 28 - New York City, New York
Nov 1 - Vienna, VA
Nov 2 - Washington, DC
Nov 3 - Baltimore, Maryland
Nov 4 - Durham, North Carolina
Nov 5 - Rustburg, Virginia
Nov 6 - Nashville, Tennessee
Nov 7-9 - Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 10 - Tampa, Florida
Nov 11 - Gainesville, Florida
Nov 15 - Houston, Texas
Nov 16 - Austin, Texas
Nov 18 - Dallas, Texas

More info at The Cobalt Season (.com) And please download this poster and help get the word out on your blog!

GPS Anyone?

I'm in the market for a GPS for our fall trip. If you have one you'd be interested in loaning/selling/renting us for Sept-Nov, please let me know. Or if you know where I can find one for a good price, that'd also be helpful. We're looking for one that pulls up bookstores, coffee shops, etc.

If you have any leads, please email me.

An Interview

Andrew Greenhalgh interviewed me last week about the new album. You can read it here.

We discuss collaboration, songwriting, life-quests, and blunders. Enjoy.

(Oh and also, they have an exclusive acoustic version of Unified Theory posted!)

WordCamp, yo

Yes, I'm here at NerdCamp WordCamp. Will be most of the day. Sweet.

Nuestro Jardin

I'm a bit rusty on mi español, but I think that means OUR GARDEN.

So, I know we posted a while back that we were starting a garden. It's been a nice project to have. Dan and Bethany helped us plant seeds months back. Some things took; some didn't. Our yellow squash and zucchini have done amazing. Producing like crazy! Our cucumber plant is just starting to grow fruit. Our tomatoes and peppers are slowly, but surely coming around...I think slowly due to the lack of sunshine.

But man, our plum tree is producing like mad...like mad. Last summer, I remember getting perhaps a couple dozen good plums from the tree. This year, so far, we've picked more than 4-5 dozen good sugar plums. Yum. And there are plenty more a comin'.

Anyways, some pics Holly took...

Awesome

Ha.

Some context.

Thanks Bryan for directing me here.

Terrible 2(0)s

Do you know our friends Nate and Andrea and Kayla and Chase Millheim? They're a wonderful bunch. They practically live down the street from us here in Bernal Heights (our neighborhood in San Francisco).

It's always nice to get to spend some time with them.

Their daughter (the older of the two children), Kayla, is in what they affectionately refer to as her "terrible twos". Wikipedia describes this stage...

The toddler's positive and negative feelings are focused on the same person and become visible (known as the 'terrible twos'). The child is in conflict: wishing both to be independent and to retain the complete devotion of the mother. In this stage, ambivalence is considered to be normal.

I tend to think that my twenties were a bit like that. I wanted to shed everything...while maintaining some sort of lifeline to whatever "mother" was at play...the church, my national identity, family heritage, etc.

The thing about toddlers in this stage (as perhaps Nate or Andrea–or other parents–can confirm) is that they test boundaries. And this is healthy. For how is a child to know what is good and healthy or bad and unhealthy if not to see for themselves? Certainly there is something to wisdom of parents, but a child has to experience for themselves the effects of pushing mommy too far...or seeing just how far he can run before daddy tells him to stop. You know what I mean? (Or am I off here?)

I think it's important to shed our youthful skin in our twenties, test the boundaries, push ourselves, challenge anything (and perhaps everything). But think of the havoc we (I) wreak on others during our terrible twenties. Just think.

I could apologize (and perhaps should), but I'll hold off on that as I think that it's an appropriate developmental phase that ought to be embraced, ought to be learned from, not apologized for...kinda like Kayla learning that when she interrupts her dad, he'll kindly say, "Kayla, I'm talking to Ryan right now."

And perhaps she serves as a reminder to us, calling us back to curiosity, asking "Why?" incessantly, pushing ourselves and those around us to really consider what life is made of.

WordCamp 2007

I just registered for WordCamp. Any other Bay Area folks interested? Register and then email me, yo.

iTunes, yo

That's right.

We're on iTunes now...so just in case you've been waiting, click here and download the album. Or please, please, please do a little review of it, ey? Thanks sooooooo much.

Happy In(ter)depence Day

Tomorrow, July 4th, I choose to think about all the great people I know, love, and rely on in my life. Instead of declaring what I am not a part of, I will attempt to embrace my heritage, my life, my family, my tradition.

To celebrate, we'll be hosting a party in Oakland from 4-9pm. If you'd like to come out, shoot me an email, yo.