This is the Greek village I’m originally from, called Skiadas (my dad’s village). The name in Greek means “Hades’ shade” or “Hades’ shadow”, since my village is built by the Acheron river, close to where the Cerberus and the entrance to the UnderWorld was located according to the ancient Greeks. According to the myth, when Plouto had too much of Hades’ darkness (or too much bickering from Persephone, his trophy wife), he would come out to the living world to rest, but because he hated the sun (he was the God for the UnderWorld no less), he had to find a place that had shade for a long time. The sun is obscured by a large mountain in front of Skiadas, so we don’t get sunshine there earlier than 11:00 AM for most of the year. A perfect hideout. The actual entrance to Hades is nearby another village, which is where my mom is from. I guess you can say that I have a creepy lineage…

I only lived about 5 years in Skiadas overall, but it’s my real home. At 00:45 sec you can see my school (now deserted, I went there for 3 years). You can ignore the terrible local music in the video btw… That kind of music has become my nightmare since I was a kid, as I was often forced to line-dance to it (social pressure).

Now that my health is back on track, next time I’m there I will be able to shoot a proper video of my village and its people. Maybe I’ll shoot it as a documentary.

For those who never heard of “Two Steps from Hell“, allow me to introduce them to you. They’re a music production company in Hollywood that employs some classicaly-trained musicians to write operatic music for movies — although their main market is writing music for… movie trailers. As a side job, they also release full-length albums with great success. Their two albums “Invincible” and “Archangel” are some of the most-sold among contemporary classical works.

Their music is interesting. If you take these songs individually, they sound pretty good. They are all very catchy, epic, and can make some people feel like they’re the intellectual ones in their bunch, listening to cooler music than Foo Fighters. But it’s an illusion.

These albums are a great example as to why most people today don’t listen to classical music: because it’s a language from another time. It does not mirror our modern life. Music has this magical ability to describe feelings that we might have hidden deep inside us about the world we live in. When we listen to a piece that well-describes our life today (musically, not lyrically), it can evoke certain feelings that otherwise remain indescribable.

And that’s the problem with “Two Steps from Hell”. These guys are good copy-cats of the golden age of Opera. They studied what modern people find cool about opera/classical music when they cursory listen to it, and then they compress these few elements together in 2:30 minute pieces. Each of these pieces are a copy of each other in reality. Listening to these albums offers absolutely no variety. It’s from one high note to another, resulting in a shallow result at the very end.

Don’t get me wrong. These musicians know how to write very catchy classical music, they’re unquestionably talented. They have an uncanny way of providing the goods, and duping the common listener into thinking that they’re listening amazing, modern classical music. But what they listen to instead is a smart algorithm, a recipe. Over and over again.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my desire to see a kind of truly modern electronic-based “classical” music. I provided some examples from artists that touch this hopefully-upcoming sub-genre, but I think I should provide one more example, which is a piece that’s closer to what “Two Steps from Hell” do (more operatic that is). This is what the talented musicians at “Two Steps from Hell” should be doing. THIS is the kind of “classical” music (witch-house in this case) that can work today (use headphones to spot the differences). THIS is modern classical music, and not a wanna-be. THIS speaks TODAY.

JBQ had a food request today, and since he doesn’t often makes such requests, I knew I had to satisfy his cravings. He requested a vegetable soup, and so I modified Alton Brown’s popular soup recipe to make it more Paleo-friendly. JBQ said he absolutely loved the soup and that it felt fresh and tasty, although I believe that anything that gets cooked with bone marrow broth becomes tasty. Just like with duck fat…

Ingredients (for 4, 10 gr of carbs per portion)
* 1 tspoon coconut oil
* 1 tspoon pastured butter
* 1 leek, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 Thai chili pepper
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 1 turnip, chopped
* 3 button mushrooms, chopped thinly
* 1/3 cup frozen green beans, cut in 2″ pieces
* 1 small zucchini, chopped (optional)
* 2 green leaves, chopped (either kale, collards, turnip, swiss chard, or a small bunch of spinach or bok choy)
* 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped
* 2 cups beef bone marrow broth
* 1 TBspoon of fresh parsley, minced
* Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1. In a big cooking pot, under low heat, add the coconut oil and butter. When hot, add the cleaned & chopped leek and minced garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat to medium.
2. Add the Thai chili pepper, carrot, turnip, mushrooms, green beans, the optional zucchini, and the green leaves. Stir occasionally, and cook until most of their juices have evaporated.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then add the bone broth, and 1 cup of water. Cook for about an 45 minutes in medium heat, or until the liquid has been reduced to the amount you find satisfactory for a soup.
4. A few minutes before it’s done cooking, add the parsley, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Serve hot.

I find it very interesting thinking of a “first contact” scenario involving an alien species that would look similar to us. One of the things that would happen almost instantly it would probably be some cultural exchange. If an alien was to ask me for a mixtape with recent/modern pop songs, these are the ones I’d choose to include. The songs below are not always my absolute best-of, but rather, they’re the ones I find most interesting musically: strong atmosphere, semi-complex constructs, some thematic development. We wouldn’t want the aliens to think we’re complete dumb-asses down here, when most Earthlings listening to easy, brainless crap — do we now?

Active Child – “Hanging On” (legally free)
Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
The Antlers – “Kettering”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Menopause Man”
Bear In Heaven – “You Do You”
Bill Callahan – “All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast”
Bon Iver – “Hinnom, TX”
Broken Bells – “The High Road”
Caribou – “Jamelia”
Chad VanGaalen – “Replace Me”
Crystal Castles – “Baptism”
Enhues – “You Aren’t You” (legally free)
Fever Ray – “Keep the Streets Empty for Me”
HEALTH – “We are Water”
James Blake – “Limit To Your Love”
John Maus – “No Title (Molly)” (legally free)
John Maus – “Believer” (legally free)
Keep Shelly In Athens – “Cremonia Memories”
LesVilles – “Tr33s”
Memory Tapes – “Green Knight (Visions of Trees Remix)” (legally free)
The Morning Benders – “Stitches”
Neon Indian – “Halogen (I Could Be a Shadow)”
Old Arc – “Chief of Sun” (legally free)
Paper Route – “Tiger Teeth”
PVT – “Community”
Salem – “King Knight”
Sin Fang Bous – “Melt Down the Knives”
Soft Moon – “Parallels”
Still Corners – “Endless Summer” (legally free)
Washed Out – “New Theory”
Wild Nothing – “Confirmation”
The XX – “Intro”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
Yeasayer – “The Children”

This is the Paleo version of Bolognese, using spaghetti squash. We had this last night for dinner and it was really good. Personally I prefer it over real pasta.

Ingredients (for 4, 15 gr of carbs per portion)
* 1 lb (450gr) beef or veal minced meat
* 1 small spaghetti squash
* 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 TBspoon chopped parsley
* 1 clove of garlic, minced
* 4 button mushrooms, chopped
* 1 TBspoon coconut oil
* 2 TBspoons olive oil
* 1/3 bell pepper, chopped
* 1 cup of bone marrow broth, or water
* Salt & pepper to taste

Execution
1. Preheat oven at 400 F (200 C). On a cookie sheet lay some parchment paper. Cut the spaghetti squash in two length-wise with a sharp knife. Using a spoon remove all the seeds found in the squash, and discard them. Using your finger, apply the olive oil everywhere on the inside of the two pieces of squash. Place face-down on the cookie sheet, poke some holes using the knife (so the squash can “breathe”), and bake for 30-40 minutes, until soft.
2. In the meantime, prepare the bolognese meat sauce. In a cooking pan, under medium heat, cook the chopped onion with the coconut oil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the minced meat, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic, mushrooms, parsley, bell pepper, salt & pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes, continuing to stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, and bone broth or water. Stir, and cover. When all the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick, it’s ready.
6. After the spaghetti squash is still warm but not too hot to handle, use a fork to “scratch” in it, and remove the spaghetti threads from it. Discard the hard skin. Serve topped with the meat sauce and optionally, grated parmesan.

These breakfast muffins are the latest craze in the Paleo community. Reddit’s r/Paleo is full of pictures lately with people experimenting with these! The idea is that you can make muffins ahead of time, refrigerate them, and then you microwave some of them for a few seconds in the morning, for breakfast.

Ingredients (makes 12, 2-3 gr of carbs each)
* 6 eggs
* 4 slices of bacon, or 2 sausage links
* 1 TBspoon Parmesan or 1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)
* 2 green onions
* 1 tspoon butter
* Salt & pepper to taste
* 3/4 cup (overall) of broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini… Use whatever fast-cooking veggie you need to get rid of from your fridge

Execution
1. In a big bowl whisk well the eggs, with the optional Parmesan or coconut milk. Then sprinkle salt & pepper to your taste.
2. Either in a food processor, or with a sharp knife, cut the bacon (or sausage links), green onions and vegetables in small pieces. Preheat oven at 350 F (180 C).
3. Place the chopped ingredients in a frying pan and fry in medium heat for 5-8 minutes (until the bacon is done), while stirring often.
4. Take the butter in your fingers and grease well the muffin holders in the tray.
5. Pour the fried ingredients in the egg bowl and mix well. Then, using a ladle, pour the mixture into the muffin holders.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the holders immediately and let cool. Then refrigerate for up to 3-4 days, and each morning microwave for 15 to 30 secs (depending on the microwave unit) the quantity you need for breakfast.

TED published a video today by Alain de Botton, suggesting a “religion for atheists”. Basically, atheism that “incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence”.

I must thank Alain for thinking of us atheists, but his views are myopic. Bollocks, even.

He goes on to say that education does not provide true guidance and that humans need (spiritual?) “help” all the time. Weird, because I don’t really need any of that kind of help — not any more than my normal relationship with my partner, family, or friends provide. I’m glad that I live in one of the most progressive places in the world, so people here are smart & intelligent to provide me with tangible, objective, no-bullshit advice should I need one.

I practice love, generosity, and forgiveness on any chance I get. I’m not trying to boast, but now that my major health adventure is over, I do try to help out my community (I teach free filmmaking classes for kids, and I have other plans too). But I need no God, or church, or priest, or doctrine of any kind to tell me to do these things. I know them in my head to be right because they make perfect sense, not because a deity said so. When I left Christianity back (I used to be religious in the ’90s), my opinions about love and forgiveness didn’t change. Becoming an atheist did not make me unethical. It made me more objective, and more analytical instead. But the compassion remains, I did not become empty. In fact, I see more inhumanity within religious groups today than I see between atheists.

Alain de Botton makes the mistake of thinking that atheists need extra guidance, that their education is dry and sterile, but this is not the case. While there are certainly atheists that are assholes, at least the kinds of atheists that I know are extremely smart, humane, understanding, and true freedom/liberty fighters. Societal progress is one of our major objectives of course, be it via fighting for universal healthcare, anti-corruption, environmental etc. If our society becomes more free, humane and open-minded, the citizens will be happier, that’s the idea behind our “movement” (personally I don’t see us as a movement at all, but some do). We must endlessly continue moving towards a society that’s for each-other rather than against each-other. In other words, true love. Not love instigated by a deity, or fear, but true human love.

Regarding “transcendence”: You want to transcend? Listen to music, take LSD. Or wait for future technologies. But I don’t see how trying to reach a mythical being transcend us anywhere other than the abyss. It’s just a state of mind, and in our current situation, I find it not helpful. Maybe in the future we find a technological way to save our conscious forever, or able to communicate with a higher being (e.g. a Type III civilization alien) or something like it, but today we don’t have this technology, so it’s counter-productive trying to get “high” (basically that’s what it is), instead of actively helping one-another.

Regarding “ritual”: Not only I don’t need rituals, I in fact hate rituals. It is stupid play-acting bullshit. From all his arguments, this was the dumbest one.

Regarding “connection”, it’s the only legitimate point Alain has. But I don’t need to have calendar days (as he suggests) where I join others to do specific useless things (“staring at the moon”, really?). True connection comes when people come together to solve problems, or to help one-another. Not at certain dates, but all the time. When the one becomes many, but is still singular and free. But again, I need no God to do all that. What I need is a goal (== problem that needs fixing), and a few other people who would join in the effort.

Almost exactly a year ago The Guardian wrote an article about “rock’n'roll” being dead. Today, they had a new article where they say that “indie rock” is dead, citing disappointing sale figures for the genre, and the fact that no new major stars are coming out of it. I will argue against this new article on two of its points, but first we need to understand what “indie rock” means. For the author of the article it encompasses anything that has guitars in it, and happens to be coming from an independent label.

The fact that no big arena stars are coming out from the indie scene is not a bad thing. The sales speak for themselves, the numbers are down for guitar-based music. And that’s for a multitude of reasons: Britpop-style or alternative-rock-style music had its time in the ’90s, and these days are now over. Another reason is that there are over 100,000 albums coming out every year, so sales are divided more now, rather than having a handful of embraced artists selling millions of records and then having the rest selling almost nothing. Being a musician is just a job now, only the best ones will be able to make a buck and go by. Don’t expect Hollywood villas, and Rolls Royce anymore. I’m personally content with that reality. It’s for the best, as we’re maturing as a society. More people are doing art, resulting in more radical art, and that art becomes less commercialized since it usually comes from musicians that don’t even have a label contract. My prediction is that as artists lose their “star” status, and as art becomes more democratized, more radical art emerges. The winners will be artistry itself, and our society as a whole.

Secondly, I don’t get what the big deal is about guitar music. Like all the other kinds of music or instruments, it had its time as a center-stage sound. It’s being in the fore-front for 50 years now. Whatever kind of melody/harmony a guitar can produce, it has already been done. There’s very little to explore, musically-speaking, via a guitar anymore. It’s time to move to naturally-impossible, more interesting sounds, sounds that can only be done via computers/synthesizers. This is not to say that guitar sounds don’t have to be used anymore. I mean, we still use pianos, or violins, or other older instruments to enrich our modern sound. But the difference is that these sounds are not at the center stage anymore, they’re there as part of the whole, they don’t overtake the whole arrangement.

I know that I will take shit for saying that stuff about guitars, but it’s only natural musical evolution. Times change, people change, music changes. It’s inevitable, and I have no recourse but to embrace that change. I personally find modern electronic music (e.g. Nightlands, Washed Out) way more engaging, unpredictable, and atmospheric than acts like Wilco, or The Black Keys. And even if you’re more into rock than electronic, the truly modern rock bands, like Phoenix or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, use the guitar as a secondary or equal element to synthesizers. That’s the way forward: No guitar, or a guitar that blends with modern instruments and doesn’t overpower.

Writing love songs is pretty easy. Everyone and their dog has done that. But writing erotic songs is hard (no pun intended), because they require a level of impressionism that few artists can reach. I’m not talking about songs with cheap sexual lyrics (that’s no art), but about songs with an erotic atmosphere, or a vocal performance, that send you to frenzy just by listening to a few notes. These are the ones that do the trick for me (it doesn’t mean that I’m into all that shit mentioned below though – I’m not).

Romantic sex:
* Gayngs – “The Gaudy Side of Town”
* Four Tet – “Angel Echoes”

Casual sex:
* Feist – “One Evening”

Paid sex in rural America (don’t forget the tip, you redneck!):
* Kings of Leon – “Closer”

The first time. So intense and beautiful, mixed with the fear of failure and pain.
* Washed Out – “Echoes”
* Teen Daze – “Saviour” (free)

There should be an app for that! You enter a math expression, and it visualizes the position for you!

Virtual Reality sex. Just hook up on your iPhone 14s, and Siri will walk you through!
* Memory Tapes – “Green Knight (Visions of Trees Remix)” (free)

Shouting match over the premise of “Dialectic of Enlightenment“? Nothing that a line of coke and some creepy sex can’t fix:
* John Maus – “Just Wait Til Next Year”
* John Maus – “No Title (Molly)” (free)

Crazy-in-love, passionate, breathless sex:
* Madonna – “Erotica (The Confessions Tour – Live)”
* Washed Out – “You and I (feat. Caroline Polachek)” (free)

And that’s why folks, do keep sex in the equation, or it would be endless bickering over ontology!

Drunk sex (what? who? where? bleeeeeh…):
* Emily Reo – “Above Ground And A Golden Cloud” (free)

Sex in space! Each star is a pair of eyes…
* Neon Indian – “Era Extraña”

Lacan’s “Diagram of Sexual Difference”. The math is incomprehensible, but the lines are very telling!

You don’t say! Your first time with BDSM? Trust me, you wanna be high for this.
* The Weeknd – “High for This”

Oh, so you have a headache tonight? How about a blowjob? No? FINE. But you take the kids to soccer tomorrow. No, I don’t want to sleep. I’m going to the next room to check my email…
* Neon Trees – “In the Next Room”

Anal probes? That’s just hearsay! The Greys are gentle lovers!

In our hippie commune we share everything! Join us! We have cookies!
* Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”
* Washed Out – “Before”

Sex for the last time before your loved one leaves for army duty in a far away land & you don’t know if you will ever see him/her again:
* Washed Out – “A Dedication“

After several years, I re-took the political compass test. Back then I was classified as a centrist, but now, I’m almost off the chart. I thought that I was just a socialist-democrat nowadays, but this chart claims that I’m closer to left-anarchism instead (anarcho-socialism) — even if I don’t believe that pure anarchism can work. Thank George Bush for all this. Without him, I’d never be interested in politics. He’s a real motivator.