Tim.Maciag

Explorer of Technology, Art, Music, & The Everyday

Author: Tim Maciag

  • 2013 albums of the year

    Well well well. It seems my blog has all but died but for my annual “albums of the year.” Perhaps this year I’ll make more of an effort to write more…yes. But alas, I say this each and every year.  No Miley here friends. Also, Arcade Fire??? …WTF???  Omitting the blah blah, here is my top 10 of 2013, with some honourable mentions. For the most part, another great year in music! 🙂

    city and colour 10. City and Colour, “The Hurry and the Harm” (LP)

    Dallas Green has the voice of an angel. Yes, simply beautiful. From the opening track, “The Hurry and the Harm”, to “The Lonely Life”, to the slightly more rockin’ first single “Thirst” to the angelic “Take Care.” A solid good and great album.

    young-galaxy-ultramarine09. Young Galaxy, “Ultramarine” (LP)

    I have always been a fan of Young Galaxy. There is something I really like about the smooth, toe tapping melodies that they make. Favourites on this album include: “Fever”, “Pretty Boy”, “New Summer”, “Fall for you”, “What We Want”

    Indigo-Meadow-front08. The Black Angels, “Indigo Meadow” (LP)

    I simply love these folks. Super psychedelic. One could for surely got lost in the reverb grooves (haha!). Favourites include: “Evil Things”, “Broken Soldier”, “War on Holiday”, “Love Me Forever” and, of course, “Don’t Play with Guns”

    12"_Vinyl_JackeT07. Shotgun Jimmie, “Everything, Everything” (LP)

    Someone, this “one” in particular, would consider Shotgun Jimmie to be a national treasure. His infectious beats, not to mention his most excellent of live show that he puts on, his kind nature. Just a fantastic person and musician. So many favourites on this one but in choosing, “Carry On”, “3212” (tractor beam, tractor beam!), “Skype Date”, “Proud Champions”, “Standing in a Line”, “Growing Like a Garden” (fantastic live!), and “Sum of my Parts”

    RonSexsmithForeverEndeavour06. Ron Sexsmith, “Forever Endeavour” (LP)

    Although making comparisons really isn’t a fair thing to do, if I were to do a comparison I would say Ron Sexsmith is the Neil Young of my generation. From his thoughtful songwriting, to his delicate guitar and beautiful voice. Perhaps another Canadian treasure!  Favourites include: “If Only Avenue”, “Back of My Hand”, “Nowhere Is”, “She Does My Heart Good”, “Nowhere to Go”, and “Me, Myself, and Wine”

    Disarm+The+Descent++Special+Edition+Cover05. Killswitch Engage, “Disarm the Descent” (CD)

    What an album! My brother Joey introduced me to these fine lads. I always say, once a metal fan, always a metal fan. And these boys sure do metal well!!  Not to mention that this album in particular has done wonders during my bicycling routine 🙂  My favourites include: “In Due Time”, “Time Will Not Remain”, “The Hell in Me”, “Slave to the Machine”, “Beyond the Flames.” What a kick ass album!

    Vampire_Weekend_-_Modern_Vampires_of_the_City04. Vampire Weekend, “Modern Vampires of the City” (LP)

    “If ‘Diane Young’ won’t change your mind, baby, baby, baby, baby right on time.” Since first hearing this song I was like, “What the What, so good!”  Ok, I think I might have the lame award there. But seriously, this album is fan-tas-tic! From “Don’t Lie”, to “Everlasting Arms”, “Obvious Bicycle”, “Finger Back”, “Step”, “Ya Hey” …ya hey, there is not one bad song on this album! If you don’t have this, whatcha waiting for!?!

    https://youtu.be/bg4c3L0rq1Q

    portage_and_main_never_had_the_time03. Portage and Main, “Never Had the Time” (LP)

    Truth be told, when I first heard these guys I really did not like them. Perhaps it was the Radio3 over playing their single. Unsure. However, this album soon became a highlight of my 2013. Seeing them live at the Artesian was one of my most memorable highlights this year for live music (Skydiggers as well, and of course, you’ll soon be finding out about another 😉 Perhaps “The Band” of my generation. I just love this album! Every song is great but in choosing favourites, “Oona Jean”, “Epitaph”, “Sweet Darlin”, “As a Child”, “This Old Heart”, “It is You”, and “Better Man”…yeesh, just all 10 songs are great!

    BlueRodeo-InOurNature-Cover_50002. Blue Rodeo, “In Our Nature” (LP)

    One of my favourite bands of all time, and one of Canada’s finest (or the world’s for that matter). This particular album is really so very great. Truth be told, it has rekindled my eagerness to write music of my own (just as Portage and Main as well as my #1 album of 2013). Such a treat for everyones ears 🙂 All is good but if picking a few favourites, “Paradise”, “Over Me”, “Mattawa”, “Made Your Mind Up”, “Wondering” and “New Morning Sun” …oh and “Out of the Blue” …and “Never Too Late” …and “When the Truth Comes Out” …and 😉

    DavidFranceySoSayWeAll200x20001. David Francey, “So Say We All” (CD)

    One of my most favourite days of 2013 (minus a really big day I had in May ;), we went out to see this lovely person with his band at the Exchange. If you have not heard of David and his music, please do yourself a favour and youtube it up! I’ve listened to this album now thousands of times and I get shivers and goosebumps still. I always say the sign of a great song is one that gives me goosebumps. There are no individual favourites as I love each song on this album start to finish, from the opening “Rain”, to “Pandora’s Box” to “Satellite” to “Long Long Road” (so very great), to “Blue Yonder” (listening right now and goosebumps!!), to “BitterRoot” – “So Say We All,” this album is pure brilliance!

    Well, there you have it friends! My top 10 of 2013. What I like to call “cyrus-free!” and, sadly, Arcade Fire free (what the hell was that that they released?!?)  There were many other very good albums of 2013, just to mention a few, in no particular order:

    • The National, “Trouble Will Find Me” (LP)
    • Justin Rutledge, “Valleyheart” (CD)
    • Alice in Chains, “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” (LP)
    • Basia Bulat, “Tall Tall Shadow” (LP)
    • Burns and Maciag, “Neyaskwaw” (LP) – of course I would have this one!! 🙂
    • Pearl Jam, “Lightening Bolt” (CD)
    • Powerwolf, “Preachers of the Night” (CD)
    • Pokey LaFarge, Self Titled” (LP)
    • Dream Theater, “Self Titled” (LP)
    • The Burning Hell, “People” (LP)

    Here’s hoping for a great 2014 for music! – tMac

  • My #ETMOOC Experiences

    As my PhD dissertation nears completion – hopefully soon, …hey there man, there is still some work to do there! …Oh-oh, talking to myself again 🙂 OK, whoops (tehe)…and I begin my post-university life as a Knowledge Base Analyst (Knowledge Coordinator/Manager) for eHealth Saskatchewan, I see exciting times ahead.  As I travel on my continued path of life-long learning, having been thrust into the world of business (again), torn from the comfiness of the academic world that I have grown quite fond of (oh my, the drama!), I find myself turning back again (Bilbo style) as I began investigating, as John Dewey describes, new experiences to aid in my betterment in conducting my job related activities. As the Knowledge Coordinator for eHealth I am tasked with the building of a collaborative organizational learning and knowledge network and cluster – A community of practice if you will. My experiences at work thus far have been excellent. Most everyone I have chatted with, teams and individuals, have been very open and eager to begin this journey with me. This openness and positivity has made me even more eager to build on my own knowledge, learning about different possibilities and courses of action.

    Enter #ETMOOC, an online and highly collaborative, and at times participatory, activity being offered by Alec Couros, a University of Regina professor in Educational Technology, along with many other contributing individuals. #ETMOOC is a MOOC, a Massive Open Online Course – the “ET” standing for Educational Technology. For an excellent description of what this is, here’s a video by Dave Cormier:

    With the building of a community of practice around knowledge management I have, thus far, found my #ETMOOC experience to be invaluable. One of the most significant outputs on my collaborative and participatory experiences has been learning, from Dave Cormier, about Rhizomatic learning. I find this concept truly fascinating and will likely apply it to the work I am doing at eHealth.  From the concept of Rhizomatic learning I also learned about a framework for knowledge management called Cyenfin. Cynefin, developed by Dave Snowden, is a Welsh term for “habitat” or “place of multiple belongings.”  The framework describes specific categories of knowledge, i.e. simple, complicated, chaotic, and complex (i.e. knowledge management itself), the different activities (safe-fails, attractors, etc.) that one could conduct, among other things. I too find this work extremely fascinating.

    Here is Dave talking about it here:

    In taking part in collaborative #ETMOOC Blackboard Collaborate sessions I have learned about several other interesting things. The most recent session I watched was on the power of narratives – a presentation run by Alan Levine. As Alan posted on his Twitter, the video I have posted below highlights the potential power and usefulness of narratives. I find this work quite interesting. I too am using narratives, a technique referred to as narrative inquiry, in my PhD dissertation (to find out what people truly care about when forming decisions relating to food selections). I have also been actively using narratives in my job activities at eHealth. Here, I am interviewing both teams and individuals, asking them to relate the experiences, habits, and interactions that comprise their daily work lives. My experience in conducting this activity has been quite successful in better understanding the inner workings of my organization. With this I am also actively thinking about how to apply the notion of business narratives to further aid in organizational learning and knowledge. I still have many questions but it was #ETMOOC that opened the door and it may very well be #ETMOOC that helps me define further safe-fail investigations (the notion of safe-fail is part of the Cyenfin framework – see the video above).

    From #ETMOOC I also learned from Dean Shareski about sharing and responsibility (rather than enforcing the notion of accountability). I have learned about connected learning from Alec Couros. Of interest here was the distinction between: little boxes (silo’ed groups/teams), glocalization (the ideal perhaps? – where specialized groups, or clusters form in compliment to the general network of an organization), and networked individualism (everyone doing their own thing, regardless of network and space, leaning on their developed network to aid in daily activities). I believe my organization, and likely many others, are somewhere between little boxes and glocalization. The exciting aspect is how to define a model of interaction that is best suited for an organization.  Although, based on their article, it is my understanding that the authors cite networked individualism as the way of the future, I am not so convinced it can be as successful as something like glocalization (especially for my organization).  Again, I have many questions, #ETMOOC opening the door and #ETMOOC helping me to continue my investigations.

    My #ETMOOC experiences have been quite illuminating thus far. They are just beginning and they are ongoing. I would like to thank Alec Couros, the many contributors mentioned in my post here (and those not mentioned – this blog post is too long already!), and those who also participate in blogging, posting on Twitter, and interacting in Blackboard Collaborate sessions. This has been, and is surely still to be, a highly educational and wonderful learning experience. One that has benefited both my school activities as well as my work activities. I’m leaving you with the following video that was also highlighted by one of #ETMOOC’s many participants -tMac

  • 2012 albums of the year

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    It’s been a bit too long since I updated here. Just a brief update until I get to the business at hand. Still have some work to do re: thesis but it’s almost there. My weight loss efforts have taken a little hit recently with +4lbs re-gain over the last 3 months, +3lbs just over the Christmas break – eGaDs!!  But I am re-focusing my efforts to get back on track. The holiday season and all the food grazing and rum egg nog and ale was not very kind to me but it did rekindle my awareness that I’ve put in some good work and that I need to reamin focused so it’s not all lost. I’m back in industry again starting in the new year working for eHealth Saskatchewan as a Knowledgebase Analyst, and my happiness project is still on track and Nova even got me Gretchen’s new book “Happier at Home” which I’m really looking forward to reading.

    Ok, to the business at hand, my top 10 picks for 2012 albums of the year.  This year I listened to 63 new albums and dwindled my top picks to 20. This is where the task became terribly difficult. In removing albums from my top 20 list I felt like I was nitpicking but I did manage to dwindle things down (it was very very hard indeed). I did add a few extra “honorable mentions” as this year, like all years since I started doing this, had some most fantastic music ringing in my ears.  This year I also started purchasing vinyl and let me tell you, what a different listening experience indeed. I actually think I like and appreciate the music more when spinning records on the ol’ 33. In brackets after each album are the various formats I have listened to the album in.

    earle

    10. Justin Townes Earle, Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now (LP, MP3). This was an early favorite for me and it has been a constant in my playlists and on the 33.  My favorites on this album include: Movin’ On, Memphis in the Rain, Baby’s Got a Bad Idea, Look the Other Way, and Maria. 

    bidini

    09. Bidiniband, In the Rock Hall (MP3). Missing one of my favorite bands of all time, the Rheostatics, a good close second are the various side projects the members of the band have been putting out throughout the years. It took me a little time to get into the groove of Dave and Co.’s recent album here but once I did, I loved it!  My favorites include: I Wanna Go To Yemen, Hey Paul and Donna, Needle Beach/Outdoor Motors, Big Men Go Fast on the Water, and Last of the Dead Wrong Things.

    rah3

    08. Rah Rah, The Poet’s Dead (LP, MP3). Regina-based band really puts out an excellent album here. Actually, my favorite song of the year, Prairie Girl, is on this album – such a great song. This is one of the many albums that inspires me to pick up my guitar and write or pick up a paint brush and paint. It is just a good album!  My favorites include: Prairie Girl, Art & A Wife, Dead Men, I’m a Killer, and The Poet’s Dead.

    soundgarden_0

    07. Soundgarden, King Animal (LP, MP3). Wow!! One of my favorite bands from my high school years, and a band that was, and still is, a huge inspiration musically. They’ve come back! Kim Thayil is quite simply one awesome guitarist and Chris Cornell on vocals, Matt Cameron on Drums, and Ben Shepherd on bass all equal one recipe for musical awesomeness.  I love this album. Favorites include: Eyelids Mouth, Non-State Actor, By Crooked Steps, Taree, Attrition, Black Saturday, and Halfway There.

    the-walkmen-heaven

    06. The Walkmen, Heaven (LP, MP3). I could not believe that I hadn’t heard of these folks before. When I first heard this album I immediately knew it was something special. My favorites include: Heaven, We Can’t Be Beat, Song For Leigh, Line by Line, Nightingales, Love is Luck, and The Love You Love.

    TheWilderness_Cover_web

    05. Cowboy Junkies, The Wilderness (LP, MP3). One of the highlights of the year for me was when Jason and I headed up to the Cedar Lodge just outside of Saskatoon to see these fine folks. As part of a 4-LP/CD set called The Nomad Series this is the forth and final album. Such a great album! My favorites include: Fairytale, Unanswered Letter, I Let Him In, We Are the Selfish Ones, and Damaged From the Start.

    provincial

    04. John K. Samson, Provincial (LP, MP3). Another early 2012 album release – which could have been easily overlooked. Alas it surely was not as it was always a constant in my playlists and on the 33. From the opening song Highway 1 East you just know that you are listening to something special. My favorite song, partially maybe due to my own thesis, well, it was just given away (haha!). An very cool album with favorites including: When I Write My Masters Thesis, Highway 1 East, Highway 1 West, Heart of the Continent, and Grace General.

    Gaslight-Anthem-Handwritten

    03. The Gaslight Anthem, Handwritten (LP, MP3). This album was an instant classic. Such raw energy and emotion from this New Jersey-based band. All of their albums are constantly in rotation on the 33 and otherwise. My favorites include: Handwritten, “45”, Howl, Biloxi Parish, bah!! It’s all great! Seriously, if you don’t have this album, go buy it now!

    amelia-curran-spectators

    02. Amelia Curran, Spectators (CD, MP3). Another highlight of my year is when Nova, Jason, and I went to the Artful Dodger, a wonderfully beautiful music venue that just opened up in Regina, to see Amelia and her band (with opener Joe Nolan who was also AWEsome!). Such a talent and special person. On this album she adds a few more instruments to her normal repertoire and although this departs a tad from what we’re used to, still a very excellent album. Although all songs are great, if picking a few favorites they would surely include: San Andreas Fault, Blackbird on Fire, Years, and The Great Escape. Like with #3, go buy now!

    220px-Babelcoverart

    01. Mumford & Sons, Babel (LP, MP3). And to the #1 of 2012 for me. This band was a band I just was introduced to in 2012 very recently. Simply fantastic!  Beautiful harmonies, excellent musicianship. These folks make me happy and are constantly spinning on the 33 or on the playlist. As with the last 2 albums all songs on this album are great but if I must pick a few: Lover of the Light, I Will Wait, Holland Road, and Hopeless Wanderer just to name a few 😉

    Honorable mentions (no particular order, basically those in my top 20):

    • Andrew Bird, Break It Yourself (LP, MP3)
    • Mike O’Neill, Wild Lines (MP3)
    • The Skydiggers, Northern Shore (CD, MP3)
    • Joel Plaskett, Scrappy Happiness (LP, MP3)
    • The Lumineers, Self Titled (LP, MP3)
    • Patrick Watson, Adventures In Your Own Backyard (LP, MP3)
    • Rush, Clockwork Angels (LP, MP3)
    • The Tragically Hip, Now For Plan A (LP, MP3)
    • The Wilderness of Manitoba, Island of Echoes (MP3)
    • The Wooden Sky, Every Child a Daughter Every Moon A Sun (LP, MP3)

    That’s all folks. As always, here’s hoping for a musically excellent next year! -t.Mac

  • Experiences from Breakout West 2012

    This past weekend I was asked by my friend Ben to help him take pictures for the Breakout West festival, the festival that takes place as part of the Western Canada Music Awards.  Being generally a landscape, tree, plant photographer I was quite apprehensive at first, even declining the offer. After chatting with Nova about it and my best friend Ajay, Nova said something along the lines of “well there is some pressure but it would be a great experience.”  Ajay, on the other hand, told me straight out to tell Ben that I would do it (not in so many words…ha).

    Untitled

    So, with that giant monumental kick in the ass I re-got a hold of Ben and told him that if he still needed a hand that I would be in. With that the weekend was set and looking back on it, oh my was it such a blur. But indeed I had a blast!

    Enter Friday night. I had really wanted to see Sarah MacDougall perform at the Club as I saw earlier this year (at the Club) and have since become a huge fan of her.  That said I simply couldn’t make it out early enough, family obligations, and needed to start the evening a little late. Thus, the first band I saw was Federal Lights (Manitoba) at the Artesian.  A very awesome band performing in a very cool venue (possibly the best in Regina??). As a side note, when Jason and I have our own CD release (which will happen very soon I think) we may likely try to use this venue.  Back on track – Federal Lights (pictured above to the right, all lit up) – these folks were simply excellent!

    Untitled

    Next I traveled to the Club and was witness to another great band out of Manitoba – Oh My Darling (pictured left).  These 4 women are truly wonderful. I loved their music so much I also made an effort to see them Saturday night as well, although I also planned on trying to see some performers at the Creative City Centre too.  That, however, did not pan out as when I saw them setting up at Crave, I decided to stay as I just knew it was going to be great.

    Shuyler Jansen (Saskatchewan) at The Exchange. Blurry pic but I love it!

    Catching the end of their set I traveled next door to the Exchange and saw Shuyler Jansen (pictured to the right, this pic sums their music nicely I think!). Shuyler and Co. are from Saskatchewan and I was quite impressed with what I heard indeed. It was then and there I thought to myself, what a treat it really is to be in Regina this weekend and to be taking part in this wonderful event – so much good music! I simply thought…wow!

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    After Shuyler’s set I saw the 2-piece band (guitar and drums) Castle River from Saskatchewan (the guitarist pictured to the left). They too were most fantastic! Very reminiscent of the Japandroids I thought or Molten Lava. Finally I ended the evening back at the Artesian to catch The Lonesome Weekends from Saskatchewan – so wonderful!

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    Saturday night was more of the same thing. Bypassing the Rider game to see more music (this was hard, especially since it was a heck of a game) – I’m glad I did as I heard some excellent music again.

    Starting off the night I traveled to the Knox Metropolitan church to hear some fantastic classical music. What a wonderful way to start the evening. It just put me in such a great mood. I then traveled to Crave to see Sarah MacDougall from the Yukon (pictured to the right) and her band. Sarah is such a wonderful spirit. There is indeed a beauty in her music. Her last album, The Greatest Ones Alive, came out in 2011 and for surely, had I heard it in 2011, would have been on my 2011 top 10 album list – possibly even in the top spot inching out Elliot Brood (her first album, Across the Atlantic, which is equally good, came out in 2008).  Anyway, as suspected, she and her band mates put on a wonderful show. It was hard taking pictures as I found myself toe tapping or otherwise just caught up in the music (this was also the same for Oh My Darling and Dana Sipos who performed after).  I think I did manage a few good pictures though…ha!

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    Staying at Crave for the next 2 musicians/groups I saw and heard Oh My Darling again and than Dana Sipos from the North West Territories (Dana is pictured left).  Both put on amazing performances. I really could have ended the night there but traveled back to the Artesian to see Jeffrey Straker (Saskatchewan) who I’ve come to like a lot. Just good, fun music.

    So there you have it. The weekend was indeed a blur but it for surely was a great experience and I definitely heard some wonderful musicians and bands.  I really must thank Ben for the opportunity and especially Ajay for giving me a slap in the face. What really made the weekend worth while was that Sarah MacDougall posted one of my pictures as her Facebook cover. This simply made it all worth the while!

    You can view a selection of the pictures I took over the weekend here:

    The problem with all this picture business is I now find myself drooling over new expensive lenses to help me take better pictures now. Higher (lower) f-stops and wider angles – these lenses ain’t cheap!  Haha! …oh well, I guess there are worse things to invest in 😉 – tMac

  • Picture Taking Adventure Day (10mm, 2012)




    Starting out in Candy Cane Park at 6:30am, to the FNUC and the U of R, to Waterfowl Park, to Wascana Park, taking a bit of a break and afternoon nap and then continuing to Condie Nature Refuge (6:30pm), to Lumsden (10mm), and finally back home. All pictures were taken with a Canon 10-22mm lens using exclusively the 10mm setting.

  • Happiness project for september: the decluttering

    Continuing my happiness project I decided to take one of the first bits of wisdom Gretchen provided in her very own happiness project, i.e. that every month you should set goals, or projects, with varying degrees of manageability.  I liked this idea as it is a way to keep tabs on progress while, also, getting things done 😉

    Reading about Gretchen’s progress, one of her first projects was to tackle clutter. Looking around at the situation here I too thought this would be a good first project to tackle myself.  For me, however, this project felt like it was a little more than not unwieldy so I decided to break it down into two parts:

    1. part 1: clothes (now)
    2. part 2: shelves and other stuffs (end of September)

    So this past weekend I set out to tackle part 1: clothes.  For me, this part was simply a massive undertaking. However, it was truly enlightening and refreshing and all that. Having lost weight over the past year I knew some clothes I would just get rid of as they would be too big and not wanting to go that direction weight-wise again, I decided it would be best to get rid of everything I thought was just too big now, and there was a lot! So VERY cool, yes indeed. However, over the course of going through my current clothing situation I also ended up having the staunch realization that I had/have a problem, re: clothes spending as I realized that I had WAY too many clothing items and that this was contributing to some of the debt I had been accumulating over the years.  All I could do, say, feel, was whoa!  Over the weekend I went through a whole series of emotions from: holy shit!, to what the f%*k, to ok good, at least I’m chipping away, to feelings of depression, to just feeling good about things again and knowing that I was in a state of mind ready to make a change and grow.

    In the process of folding all items I wanted to depart with nicely in piles, I began thinking of what to do with these items. I couldn’t just give them away to people I knew as I was, and still am a big guy, bigger than most people I know – even though I’m chipping away at this and making great progress, as I’ve mentioned here many times – self encouragement here ;).  Talking with my parents, my mom wanted me to try selling some of my clothing items noting some had been barely, if ever, worn. At first I thought this was a good idea as I know, through experience, how hard it is for a big guy to find clothing. However this also brought back emotions of depression and dread as the realization came back of what I had done, re: spending. With that, I packed all the clothes up in bags (*6* full garbage bags of big and tall clothing as the picture above illustrates) and donated all items to the Canadian diabetes foundation. Someone there might be a tad baffled as to how to deal with the situation. I hope they can figure it out though and hopefully they can do the hard work in selling what they can to other fellow big and tall dudes (we stick together gentlemen), or women who like baggy pjs 😉 – with the money they make helping to contribute to finding a cure (both my grandmothers had diabetes).

    I truly felt that a pressure had been lifted (so, yea, these self-help-esque type projects do work).

    So, having done part 1 of my massive declutter project I have some space to breathe.  I feel good about it, and I know now that I had a wee tad of a little problem re: spending, and that now I can face it head on, learn from it, and grow. I’m looking forward to part 2 at the end of the month. I’m sure I might go through some similar emotions but I’m also sure that it will be a good thing – t.Mac

  • le cabine (August 2012)


    potential burns and maciag album cover (inspiration for my next painting) #a
    potential burns and maciag album cover (inspiration for my next painting) #bMy favorite time of year (fall) is en route!

    le cabine (August 2012), a set on Flickr.

    Visiting J and Melly’s cabine. Although the Riders lost and I got into the liquor patch something fierce, I had a very wonderful time with J, Melly, and Bree!

  • My code and guide to living well

    Here is my guideline, or code (aka Cake: Rent a Goalie, one AWEsome show!), or as Gretchen calls them my [ten] personal commandments. These I devised as part of my happiness project and will be the ten criteria I will try to use daily to evaluate the many things that occur, people I encounter, situations I get involved in, etc.  It will be a work-in-progress, like me 😉

    1. Sometime I am (or can be) quick to anger and judge and be rude so the first and foremost code is: Lighten up

    2. Since May 2011 I have been keeping tabs on my exercise and what I eat. To date I have lost a fair bit of weight and still have a ways to go. Thus, my second code is: Exercise and eat well

    3. I often overlook that I have made some pretty significant accomplishments in my life, and am still in the progress of making a couple pretty big ones too (piling things higher and deeper and finding love and happiness). To me though, there is an arrogance in this statement, i.e. look at how awesome I am, and that is not really something I like to portray myself as having/being. Nonetheless, I need to be proud of some of the things I have, and am doing while keeping it light and being my normal jokingly, sarcastically funny and charming self 😉 So: Be proud but be light

    4. Although I love Nova, my family, and my close friends, there can be times, especially with family where it might not seem like I do to the extent that I do.  For instance, having a bad day and taking it out on the first person around (often my brother Joey) or just arguing for arguing sake (often Nova and my parents). I would really like to work on this part of my life, to #1, lighten up and to simply always: Love *&* respect the ones I’m with

    5. I often see people surpass me in life, i.e. get married, buy houses, have (and save) money. Sometimes this affects me a great deal. Staying in university for so long, I know the end will eventually justify it all, but seeing people move up and progress while I remain arguably stagnant at times impacts the ol’ noodle a great deal and that leads to me sometimes not following #4, love and respect the ones I’m with. So, I need to learn how to simply: Be patient

    6. Over the past year Nova introduced me to numerology. I often take such fuzzy things with a grain of salt as I tend to be more sciencey in my opinions. That said, it was interesting to me. Nova calculated that I am a number 6 type personality.  When I read what that was (and other descriptions as some differ however slight) I was amazed at how close it described me and my inner feelings.  So with #5, be patient, comes compromise but with compromise I must also learn to seek balance and fairness with my mental state and well being. So: Compromise *&* be fair to me (strive for balance)

    7. Being seemingly always busy – although there are times I just feel busy and am not. Perhaps this means I am feeling overwhelmed? I need to make sure I make time to do all of the things I’d like to do, visit all of the people I’d like to, and need to visit, and just be me – all of the time. So, I need to learn to simply: Make the time

    8. Something I’ve always struggled with is finances.  Let’s face it, those who know me well, and now I guess you reading this (now there’s accountability) know I like my little tech trinkets and music sounds and plant things and, etc. Anyways, 😉 being a student for so long (and on student loan), and partly due to my lack of #5, being patient, I have accumulated a fair deal of debt. When I look at the situation it can be daunting and I often feel like I have nothing really (tangible anyways) to show for it.  So, I am going to strive to be more aware of this and I am going to: Spend less money

    9. Something I tend to do is bottle emotional things (at times, not all the time of course as sometimes I just explode!), partly due to the fact I don’t like sounding self-caring, but also I don’t like dealing with things when everyone is emotional. It may also be partly due to the numerology aspect, me being a number 6 type personality, taking on the weight (or emotion) of others with my own and often at the expense of my own well being – my whole #6: compromise and be fair to me. So I’m going to strive to: Discuss it, do not bottle it

    10. One thing I really must work on is to: Follow the schedule (just do it now). Self explanatory I think 🙂

    -t.Mac

  • Canceling maciagonline.net, and beginning this

    As the title says. In an effort to save money but keep a blog going and keep up to date with all things wordpress (I use drupal in my research at the uni), I’ve opted to dust off my very old wordpress site here.  So, yay!

    Just to give a brief update, there are lots of things happening in life these days:

    • A thesis is underway with actual research done, analysis underway, and content (being) written
    • I’ve started to log my food and exercise with MyFitnessPal, a very cool program if I might say so myself.  Things here are still progressing, ummm, downward?? (tehe), this is a great thing!  To date (from May 2011) I am down 57 pounds. Still a long way to go but progress and, in this case, downward growth is a good thing 🙂
    • Jason and I have been recording with an actual producer (Orion Paradis). We’re actually very close to having an album completed and, to me anyway, it is sounding great. I’m pretty excited about this!
    • I’ve started my own “happiness project” – an effort to structure my life while trying to keep my head above water and just be happy(ier).

    Finally, over the next little bit, or actually in the next couple weeks, I’m going to move some of my content and posts from my previous site over here.  There is some content I would like to keep, some of course can go by the wayside 😉

    With that, I hope summer has been great for everyone. I’m ready for fall (my favorite time of year) – t.Mac

  • 2011 albums of the year

    With a cleanly shaved face (like a babies bottom, oh dear what have I done!!!) and as with tradition, I bring to you my 2011 top 10 albums of the year. This year was like all others, extremely difficult. Without further adieu…

    10: Eddie Vedder, Ukulele Songs

    The first entry of my top 10 of ’11. This year was my first chance to see Pearl Jam live (with Jenn and Justin; what a great great show!). When I first found out about this album I thought, how good could it really be: one guy fiddling around on a ukulele. Oh wow though, did it ever knock my socks off. My favorites include: Without You, Can’t Keep, Longing to Belong, Once in a While, and Tonight You Belong to Me.  Here’s a youtube of Without You.

    9: Death Cab for Cutie, Codes and Keys

    The number 9 entry belongs to Death Cab for Cutie. I never really was a big fan of Death Cab; could it be their ridiculous name? …not sure. However, ever since I first put this album in my rotation I have loved it.  It’s just a good, solid album. My favorites include: Doors Unlocked and Open, Underneath the Sycamore, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and Unobstructed Views. Here’s a youtube of Doors Unlocked and Open.

    8: Socalled, Sleepover

    Ever since I saw Socalled at the Regina Folk Festival I have been a big fan. There is just something so unique and fresh about his music, something so great. This album simply does not disappoint – it’s great from start to finish. My favorites include: UNLVD, Richi, Beautiful, Work With What You Got, Sleepover, and a cover of Springhill Mine Disaster. Here is a youtube of UNLVD.

    7: Chad VanGaalen, Diaper Island

    Well, this album is a unique entry in my top 10 of ’11 list. Let me state, I LOVE this album. There is not one song on it I don’t like and this was once, earlier this year, a contender to be in the top 3 of my list here. What changed you ask? It all changed when I saw the man and his band live a few months back. Playing a wide range of tunes from this album, the concert really should have been one of my year’s highlights. However, the concert was one of the worst, if not the worst, concert I have ever seen. Playing way too loud (and I like loud music!), and playing out of tune and appearing to laugh about it I was quite taken aback. However, the greatness of this album cannot be overshadowed as it is a very excellent album but still I have a sour sound in my ears and have slid this album down from where it should really be. My favorites on the album include: Blonde Hash, Freedom For a Policeman, Replace Me, Peace is on the Rise, Sara…really, it’s all good!  Here is a youtube of Replace Me.

    6: Sean McCann, Son of a Sailor

    This is such a good album. Being a fan of Great Big Sea (GBS), Sean’s music is very much the same goodness; on the mellower side of GBS. This album is a constant in my workday/playday playlists. My favorites include: Rather Be A Sailor, Simple Song, The Reply, Doing Fine, Long Road…really, every song is great!  Here is a youtube of Rather Be a Sailor.

    5: Cuff the Duke, Morning Comes

    Cuff the Duke is quite simply one of Canada’s best and greatest bands. On the heels of the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics, Sloan, and Great Big Sea – Cuff the Duke will be known as one of Canada’s musical gems I am sure of it. This album is a great one, in line with all of their previous albums. My favorites include: Count on Me, Standing on the Edge, You Don’t Know What Its Like, You Won’t Look Back, So Many Times Before, and Time is Right.  Here is a youtube of Standing on the Edge.

    4: Shotgun Jimmie, Transister Sister

    Another year, another Shotgun Jimmie album on my list. There is just something about this guy that appeals to me, be it the rawness of his sound, the humor and light heartedness he has – it all just is very refreshing. At the Regina Folk Festival this year he was one of my favorites. This album is just good and fun!  My favorites include: Too Many Flowers, Transistor Sister, Swamp Magic, King of Kreuzberg, Suzy, and Stereo and the Stove.  Here is a youtube of King of Kreuzberg.

    3: Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues

    Getting closer now to the number 1 album of the year!  My number 3 of ’11 belongs to these fine masters of folk goodness. Mr. Rhiendel first introduced me to the Fleet Foxes a couple years back now and I have been a fan ever since. Their folkiness and beautiful harmonies just resonate with me. This album is quite simply a masterpiece. My favorites include: Battery Kinzie, Lorelai, Bedouin Dress, Helplessness Blues, Someone You’d Admire, and Blue Spotted Tail but really, every song is fantastic!  Here is a youtube of Battery Kinzie.

    2: Handsome Furs, Sound Kapital

    Seeing these folks at The Exchange this year was definitely one of my year’s highlights. A day that was full of music – Jason and I playing the Harry Chapin tribute; another highlight, thank you so much Jeff. I will remember playing that tribute gig forever! …and then Jason, Melly, Tara, and I…oh and Bree came later, went to go see these 2 beautiful people. Such a great day!  An interesting fact (perhaps) – this album, along with Chad VanGaalen’s 2011 album were my first 2 LP purchases. I simply love love love this album – every song from start to finish. It’s just so great! But if picking favorites: Serve the People, Repatriated, Bury Me Standing, What About Us, and When I Get Back standout. Here is a youtube of Bury Me Standing.

    1: Elliot Brood, Days Into Years

    After first hearing this album I instantly knew it was something special. Like with the Handsome Furs, I saw Elliot Brood for the first time this year with Jason, Melly, and Bree and oh boy, what a great show indeed (second only to Rammstein in May which was the best show I have ever seen, period!). Every song on this album is great and I am sure that this album will be one I listen to forever. Songs like If I get Old and Northern Air are instant classics for me but there is more. Lindsay, Lines, Hold You, Will They Bury Us, West End Sky, My Mother’s Side, Owen Sound, and yes, Their Will (my personal favorite on the album) – mentioning all songs on the album here, all I think are/will be a permanent part of any playlist I will ever make.  Seeing them live, the energy they have – very special indeed.  Here is a unique version of the song Lindsay.

    Honorable mentions (no particular order, limit of 5)

    • Dream Theater, A Dramatic Turn of Events
    • The Decemberists, The King is Dead
    • Christine Fellows, Femmes De Chez Nous
    • The Dears, Degeneration Street
    • Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Kings and Queens

    Well, there you have it ladies and gents. It was quite tough to dwindle the list to just 10, there was just so much great music in 2011. Many were not menitoned here (oh my, REM, PJ Harvey, Cake, Daniel Ramano…oh my oh my indeed the list goes on!)  As always, I’m sure 2012 will be yet another great year for music! -tMac