Why "Thrift Shop" is cool

                The top song of the past four weeks("Thrift Shop") contains the notes: Gb,Ab,Bb,Cb,Db,Eb,F.  Yep that's a Gb major scale,no biggie...but the cool part is that the song revolves around the Ab note. Typically if a recording contains the notes of a Gb major scale, the recording will revolve around either the Gb or the Eb note, but this one doesn't. That's why it's cool.

By Blake Aaron Russell

Google +

Choosing a Better Group

               We agree on enough to work together and make amazing change in the world. The subjects of common disagreement separate people because neither side has enough real knowledge to support their arguments.

“I know I'm intelligent because I know that I know nothing.”-Socrates

               However, we do treat some "in-between" ideas like truths for good reason. We have to latch on to some ideas, but we benefit the most when we do so in a very pluralistic way. We have to latch on, but not so tight that we can't let go as we learn more. Many facts of the past ended up as incorrect theories of the ignorant (the world is flat). Some ideas (group 1) like gravity or the Easter bunny, are difficult and maybe impossible to observe as "possibly incorrect" or "possibly correct," although with some "in-between" ideas(group 2), we have the ability to consciously place them into "folders" labeled; "I've Found This To Be True" or "I've Found This To Be False." In other words, we have the ability to form "relative-truths" about certain ideas based on research and experience. However, there are other ideas(group 3) that frighten, confuse, and separate us because we don't have enough knowledge to draw real or worthwhile conclusions about them. We don't like that. In fact, it makes us so uncomfortable that we often act like these ideas are more rational than gravity or the absence of the Easter bunny. This is a destructive and all to common problem. Think of these three groups. 1) No research necessary. IE. gravity, life needs( food, shelter, water, and ideas that we use several times a day and learned with minimal experience and research 2) Ideas that require several years of research and experience to draw conclusions. IE. how to be happy, how to make friends, how to find love, how to influence 3) Ideas that infinite research and experience could leave you without a conclusion. So, lets focus on what most of us know and agree on and what brings us together.
              In my "I've Found This To Be True" folder (group 2) I've placed this quote, "When you are healthy enough to do so, go find, participate in, lead, and follow within a group that helps people, because it will make you happy, and happiness like positivity, is exponentially infectious." This quote encompasses three important ideas my life has taught me; A.) groups make you happy B.) helping people makes you happy C.) being rationally positive makes other people happier. (all group 2) I equate them to happiness/fulfillment because most healthy people want more of it.
              People come together to help the earth,themselves, and humanity for infinite reasons, and do so in varying amounts, but the numbers of many groups diminish along side their helping potential because of disagreements about qualifiers like; who should be helped, why should they be helped, and under what conditions should they be helped (group 3 ideas).
              Many help qualifiers are romanticized like poverty, poor health, and lacking education,but these qualifiers have never been rationalized, and even if they could be rationalized, it would take an amount of time that wouldn't merit whats actually been accomplished by rationalizing them in the first place. Like; Maybe some rich people could use more help, maybe some poor people abuse help. maybe humanity thrives when certain people are sick, who gets to decide? why do they get to decide?(all group 3 ideas) and the important question; Why does our focus end up here?(group 1... maybe 2) When it comes to helping, it doesn't make sense to focus on ideas that have been disagreed on since recorded history. No one would have ever been helped. We deprive and provide health,money, and education to those who we find deserving. Welcome to the abyss of subjective territory that no one really understands, but many of us have formed strong opinions about.(group 3) Humanity and the earth would have been much better off if certain people had less help,money,education,health and influence. So these qualifiers aren't universally worthwhile. It's our fear of helping the "wrong people" that sometimes leaves us living static, unhelpful, self-centered lives. The turning point is when we realize that our help, though on the surface appears to be for others, is actually for ourselves with the added bonus of occasionally helping others too. We just need to pick or create a group that helps without causing other problems in the process.(group 2 idea)
             In short, we need to choose our groups more wisely. Many groups help some qualifying people under certain conditions while alienating others in need of help, as well as other groups of helping people. We need to find and create groups that help humanity while keeping group 3 "talk" to a minimum, especially when that talk puts one human or group above another. That talk will lead to inevitable separation and other problems that negate the initial cause. The unknown makes us uncomfortable. We try to talk our way out of it and we fail, because we don't have enough facts to really have a valid opinion. We just have a hunch that our peers have helped us romanticize. When people try to communicate about ideas that they don't understand themselves,they inevitably fail at communicating them to others. Its impossible to communicate those group 3 ideas to someone else. It becomes high volume, continuous streams of meaningless, bumper-sticker, emotionally charged, platitudes that separate people, waste time, and exhaust us. It's group 3 knowledge. It functions as a tab that separates people and deprives them of their helping potential.

Find and create groups that don't waste time placing themselves above others or attaching themselves to philosophies that do the same. Why give and take away when you can just give?

             We all agree on enough to take action and impact humanity and our own lives in ways that we haven't seen. We all agree that actions get much more accomplished than words, so lets focus on the few things we kind of Know and agree on like; our (group 1 and group 2) knowledge. " When you are healthy enough to do so, go find, participate in, lead, and follow within a group that helps people, because it will make you happy, and happiness like positivity, is exponentially infectious." The more conditions and qualifiers that we package with our help, and the more time we focus on our group 3 ideas, the less everyone takes away from the situation. However, when we decide to research, lets try to prove our own ideas wrong not right. Knowledge happens when someone with an idea constantly tries to prove it wrong with no success. Trying to prove something right shows your bias, and therefore doesn't produce useful information, while failing to prove something wrong excludes your bias, and yields very useful knowledge.

By Blake Aaron Russell

Google

Paleo and "Musician's Food"

               At different times we all feel unhealthy. Sometimes we're told we're unhealthy,feel unhealthy, and seem unhealthy(compared to your friends).  Sometimes our perspective is skewed by never having been healthy.  I've always been a health nut for all the reasons that people are health nuts,even the ridiculous ones.  Whether my reasons were related to appearance, performance/competence, environment, or just feeling crappy, its something that I've always been researching.  I've even had health problems that stemmed from my efforts to be healthier.  Despite this, I've finally found some ideas that work. These ideas have improved my health and address all the reasons I've ever tried to be healthy.  What you eat affects every aspect of your life.  (This post should inspire research) You can find this info cited at marksdailyapple.com as well as many other websites and journals. The following is my condensed approach to food.
                My new (4 years) relationship with sugar and carbohydrates has probably been the most beneficial to my health.  Early in my college years, I used to go to my parent's house to practice on their acoustic piano and eat all their food.   I remember going there early and eating a pack or two of pop tarts or a half a box of cereal and then jumping behind the piano. If you know me, discipline has never been a problem of mine, but ignorance has gotten the best of me plenty of times. So I would play for hours eventually getting the job done, but it went something like this; in 15 minute increments; practice,noodle practice noodle...Focus was extremely difficult.  This never happens to me now because I don't eat high glycemic index carbohydrates that raise your blood sugar levels too fast.  High glycemic index foods can cause inflammation, make you fatter, make you sleepy, leave you unfocused, cause pain, give you the blues and other countless side effects.  I've always been thin, but now I stay defined even without exercise. Body composition is 80% diet related. I wrestled in high school, which aside from daily practices, we additionally ran and worked out daily. We would spit in cups,stand on our heads, all sorts crazy things.....but my mile and 5k times are better now then they were then(and i'm 29 now), not to mention  I look and feel better now.  Eating these high glycemic foods also takes up room in your stomach that you need for other nutrients. (That's why we often overeat)
                 Psychologically we all want to accomplish and achieve goals.  Failing to achieve a goal has been a proven cause of depression.  As musicians we can channel this depression into the composing of a song about the human condition, but we may end up too sick to get to play it for anyone.  It's difficult to accomplish when you don't feel well.  I'm not knocking medical doctors, but the fact is: They study MEDICINE. They study how to cure ailments with MEDICINE.  Don't get mad when you go to them and they don't address natural remedies. They are trained to treat you with MEDICINE. They have a degree in MEDICINE.  It's up to you to treat yourself naturally.
                  www.Paleotrack.com. Trust me I know the stress of keeping a food journal can negate its other benefits if you're not careful, but just do it for an entire day... occasionally.  Getting started is difficult, but enter the most common meals or supplements you eat into the recipe/custom food section; that way you never have to do it again and the hope of it being easier the next time you do it, is motivation enough to go through it the first time.
                   Next on the list is; omega-3 fatty acids. We need them and we need a lot of them.  You can get them from fish as well as fish oil and omega-3 supplements.  They're necessary for ideal cardiovascular and joint health.  The suggested amount the fish oil bottle tells you isn't always as much as you need, so you can use a great website (paleotrack.com) to help you see about where your ratio is.  I don't have experience to confirm the importance of omega-3s yet, but the research is there; google away. I'll keep you posted when I do.
                  Easy on the salt and eat lots of vegetables for potassium.  Again paleotrack.com is great for keeping an eye on this ratio as well as others.  We've known for a while that the average person's salt intake is unhealthy, but this puts it into perspective and shows how potassium can protect us from the effects of additional salt in our diet.
                  Lift heavy things twice a week,  sprint every ten days, and walk/play/hike/dance/stretch etc- 5 hours/week.  Lifting heavy (relative term) things and sprinting starts a chemical reaction in our body that improves our strength as well as our overall health.  Obviously if your body isn't properly aligned, these activities can hurt you, so stretch regularly and when possible, be advised by a professional. I recommend yoga with a great teacher. Remember, this is more important for musicians and people with static jobs. Balance Balance Balance Balance.
                 Oh and limit alcohol to small amounts of red wine and no caffeine.  Don't do cold turkey. Go; coffee, then black tea, then green tea, then white tea, then quit.  Aside from it being unhealthy, you want to maintain the ability to shut your mouth and not fidget. (that is a word,auto-correct just proved it) I know I've done it.
               The money issue. Its simple: High glycemic foods are cheap for a reason; they're mass produced, and they don't contain many nutrients we need. I've paid those doctor bills for treatments that didn't work and I've paid the insurance premiums and for the prescriptions.  Your grocery bill is going to go up, but your medical ones will go down... and at the very worst they shouldn't increase, unlike they will when the manifestations of your bad eating habits finally begin.
               What you eat affects every aspect of your life.  I hope this was helpful and inspires you to research and then try this lifestyle. Share this with your loved ones while keeping it from your enemies:)  
 by Blake Aaron Russell

                 




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