Jason Toney

#resound11: Best Photo

"...posing like we're this year's models." - Friendly Fires, Photobooth

Prompt 09: Best Photo
please post your best photo of the year. It doesn't have to be the best technically, it doesn't have to be the best visually, but it should be a photo that you consider the best. Does it have special meaning? Is it of a significant event or moment?

Jimbaran Bay, Bali, Indonesia. November 2011.

'Nuff Said.

#resound11: Catch Phrase

"Come on, baby, tell me what's the word?" - Cameo, Word Up

Prompt 08: Catch Phrase
What's your trademark phrase? Not sure? How about a quote or saying that you repeat often?

I don't think I had a catch phrase of any import this year and my tweet cloud didn't reveal anything beyond how often I was collecting stickers from GetGlue

But maybe you know something I don't. Would you say I had a catch phrase this year? If so, what was it?

#resound11: Achievement Unlocked

"What will be, will be." - The Foreign Exchange, Laughing At Your Plans

Prompt 07: Achievement Unlocked
What goal did you set for yourself and achieve this year? Did you achieve something you didn't think you could? Did you win an award? Did you set a record? Did you finally get your VCR from 1985 to stop blinking 12:00?

Let's go back and look at the 2011 Personal Operating Plan:

In everything I do this year, the goal is to Provide Value. In my personal life, I will be more deliberate with my Kindness and Compassion. I will also Love Harder. Health and Wellness will be a priority. Professionally and creatively, I will embrace Breaking Some Eggs, Breaking Some Rules, and Challenging the Status Quo. 

Looking at specifics goals therein, I'll focus here on the career ones:

Provide value. Instill values. Showcase and Celebrate that value.

When I wrote this, I had no clue the amount of change and upheaval was to come. I couldn't imagine how much we'd have to pivot (to use one of the more common corporate culture words from this past year) and still, we did what I said we would.

I end the year feeling even more confident that we are on the right track, that we have successfully showcased who we are, what we do, and why we do it.

And that we provide value. When we understand the mission and are given the tools necessary (and often even when we don't), we can obliterate expectations. We did so several times in 2011, particularly over the last six months.

I leveled up this year and I'm damn proud of it and I'm reminded of the good work we do every morning when I visit the digital home of the mouse.

Soundtrack to this post

• The Perfect Plan by Wale
• Laughing At Your Plans by The Foreign Exchange
• Plans (replanned by Mogwai) by Bloc Party
• the new workout plan by Kanye West

#resound11: Thelma & Louise

"Come on now, I wanna boogie." - De-phazz, Boogie Philosophy

Prompt 06: Thelma & Louise
Who is the Thelma to your Louise? Who is your partner in crime? Did you reacquaint yourself with an old friend? Did you make a new friend? Or, perhaps, you are a lone ranger?

It was our 11th or 12th day abroad and we were sitting at the beach side bar of the Intercontinental drinking the first real drinks we'd had in Indonesia and about to have an excellent lobster meal, when I took stock of what had transpired.

We'd been married for six months. We'd lived together for nearly a year. We'd spent the most of the previous three years in a long distance relationship. Those, if they are going to work, require a nearly constant flow of communication and conversation. And not small talk but real talk. You don't stay up late or wake up early to tell a person what you last ate...most of the time, anyway.

And here we were, two weeks into a trip where we'd spent just about every waking moment together, in a country and culture that was not at like our own...and we still had things to talk about.

We still were delighted with each other's company.

We didn't get on each other's nerves.

She rolled with my under-planning of our days. I followed her lead and expertise in international traveling.

And through it all, we had incredible fun. Our kind of fun.

Tiffany B. Brown is my road dog.

Soundtrack to this post

• Una Dia Otra Noche by Alla
• L.O.V.E. And You & I by Sonar Kollektiv Orchester
• You Are Golden by Incognito
• Spaceape by Burial
• Boogie Philosophy by De-Phazz
• Angelica by Lamb

#resound11: Theme Song

"What goes around comes around and back again." - The Rebirth Brass Band, What Goes Around Comes Around

Prompt 05: Your Theme Song
If your life was a television show, what would its theme song be? What music would be cued at the start of the show or when you entered a scene?

Even though this isn't near the top of my charts for the year (That's Jay-Z & Kanye West's N***as in Paris), this is it.

 

For obvious reasons, New Orleans has added significance this year. Add to that the jubilant nature of brass band music mixed with a phrase that is a resigned truism about life rather than some pollyanna view of the world and we get to the running theme of my resound posts so far.

Life is. 

And that's worth celebrating.

Now everybody form a Second Line and let's work it out.

#resound11: Super Power

Prompt 04: Super Power
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound ... we know you've got one. What's your 2011 superpower?

My comic book reading has suffered this year—from talking with a few of my male co-workers and friends, this is a common consequence of matrimony—but I have read enough and Batman, particularly Grant Morrison's Batman, was my favorite super hero read.

For my money, the most interesting twist was the creation of Batman, Inc., Bruce Wayne announced a vision of global Batmen helping to bring justice to the world and set out to find local heroes to join his mission.

He didn't create carbon copies of himself. He found the right people for the job and, as Batman, gave them the confidence to step up, even if they didn't believe they could.

And he often did it with just a few words.

That's what I'd like to think my super power was this year: The Spark.

I hope that I was, more often than not, able to ignite ideas for people. To suggest something was possible that was just on the outside of their field of vision. To give rise to something a little greater.

I hope that I sparked conversation and connection. A little love and kindess. A little belief in taking big leaps of faith. A little healthy sense of adventure and risk-taking.

I hope that I sparked a desire for those around me to be better.

Because they sure did that for me.

#resound11: Virtues

"You'll disappear." - Gossip, Holy Water

Prompt 03: Virtues
What good have you done in 2011? Where do you really shine? What have you done that makes you proud of yourself?

Since I took advantage of The EnneaThought of the Day for my vices, there's some nice symmetry to talking about my virtues:

Your Type Seven EnneaThought for December 4th—
Today, become aware of one of your most powerful, positive qualities. Healthy Sevens sense there is something holy about life, which is to be revered and respected. Their sense of wonder allows them to value everything.

I'm not a religious man. I don't know if there is some Supreme Being out there (or in here). What I do know is that I don't need there to be one for me to realize the divine. Life is the divine. I'm scared of death for the simple fact that I just really love being alive.

This year, perhaps more than in years past, I took time to really enjoy moments as they happened, both the big ones (like saying "I do". Twice.) and the little ones (like making breakfast before she gets out of bed or writing this post right now).

Even in the hardest moments of the year, I found the nuggets of joy for myself and I tried to find the small things I could do to make them better for others. And did them.

I was most proud at the end of our wedding reception. It's the most love I have ever put into or received in my life. Second to that? Probably standing up for my new family on the other side of the world. Next? The moments when I thought to do someone a kindness or to share my own weaknesses and fears, heard the voice in my head that has often stopped me from doing so in the past (hoping to protect my heart from getting it's feelers hurt) and then did it anyway.

I did those things because I am alive. In this moment. And everything matters. And none of it's permanent.

And that's amazing.

Soundtrack to this post

• Holy Water - Gossip
• Holy Moly - Talib Kweli
• Holy Holy, etc. - Sufjan Stevens
• Lizstomania (Holy Ghost I love Paris Remix) - Phoenix
• O Holy Night - Al Green
• Holy Are You - David Axelrod

 

A Week with the Kindle Fire

Just some quick notes about my Kindle Fire experience.

• It's become my bedroom device. Because I use my iPad constantly during the day, the Fire has become my go-to device bedside so that the iPad can charge at night. This is where it's size becomes incredibly convenient and it's effectiveness for book and video consumption (including just about all web video) wins. I spent over two hours in bed this morning consuming...
• Android devices need the android market. I've gotten over some challenges, like wanting the official Twitter app, Feedly, GetGlue and Hanging With Friends on the Fire, by side-loading them on and they, for the most part, work great. But nothing from Google works, even by using this trick, and that's lame. Android is so much better with Google integration. Also, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to run HBO Go on this device but I can't. Also, having to side load updates to those apps is going to be a pain in the butt.
• The headphone jack is in the wrong place. After those two hours of consuming, I had a nice indententation on my belly from where the headphone cable was pushing in to me. (although I guess that's just a mental block for me. I could flip it over so that the power button and jack are up top.)
• The touch screen is both too sensitive and not sensitive enough. Swiping often results in a click. Clicking around the edges often results in no response.

Overall, though, I like it. For 200 bucks, it's cheaper than my phone but feels more useful. It's no iPad but I don't think it wants to be.

#resound11: Vices

"My man trying to get his weight and height up." - Common, The Food

Prompt 02: Vices
Did you slip back into any old habits that you wish you hadn't? Did you gain any new habits that you wish you would have walked away from? Did you discover the evils of Nutella? 'Fess up ... we won't tell.

Interestingly enough, I've been thinking about this lately. In part, because my latest physical revealed my blood pressure is high, and, because of this recent email from The Enneagram Institute:

Your Type Seven EnneaThought for November 28th—
Your "characteristic vice" is Gluttony, which causes Sevens to overdo whatever captures their attention. Be aware of this tendency in yourself today. 

I will be ending this year, assuming I don't backslide mightily, about 10 pounds lighter than I started (maybe more, I'd love to get 12 pounds down which is about where people really notice a physical difference) but I should be a lot more. I am a committed exerciser. If you follow me on Daily Mile, you know that outside of when I was injured (April) and when I was on vacation (November), I stay pretty consistent on getting some kind of physical activity in.

I like high intensity, high cardio workouts. I have a trainer. I still do Insanity on occasion. Thanks to my trainer, I've got a lot more muscle definition and strength than I've had in a very long time.
But...I like to eat. I stress eat. I eat when I'm happy. I reward myself with food. I like coming together with my loved ones around a table. And I'm not one to deny myself something. It's not in my DNA.

I don't feel like a glutton. I don't secretly eat things (okay, maybe once in awhile). I don't binge. I don't feel the shame that I would associate with gluttony but...the proof is in the pudding. Banana pudding. With the condensed milk and nilla wafers and real whipped cream.

Mmmmmmm.

It doesn't have to be this way, though. I started reading Nudge yesterday and the very first chapter talks about how making small changes to context can greatly impact food choices. I saw this when I was in Indonesia. For two weeks, I didn't have fast food. I didn't have items laden with high-fructose corn syrup. Processed foods were nowhere to be found. Very little bread crossed my lips. I was on a steady diet of seafood or chicken, rice, fruits and vegetables. Snacks were likely to be nuts or more fruit. And even though I ate extremely well, I lost a good 5-6 pounds. By the end I was craving something fried and/or cheesy but not ridiculously so. In fact, for most of the first week back, I was more inclined to have rice and meat with a salad than anything else.

I succumbed to the power of the pizza and our work snacks and McDonald's by the end of this last week but I at least know I can be different and not feel like I'm missing out.

I'm a glutton for information, too. I used to have in my online profiles the term "all-consuming media beast". That's still true even if I don't wear it as a badge of pride.

Baratunde and Gina Trapani are going on an Information Diet in the new year. Maybe I will too to go along with trying to stick to that Balinese nutrition plan.

The Soundtrack for this post

• The Food - Common
• Get Down (Phonicfood remix) - Discorados
• Soul Food - Martina Topley-Bird
• Junk Food - Dan Black
• Food For Funk - Common
• Food For Thought - 9th Wonder & Buckshot

#resound11: One Word

"Spread your wings and fly." - Erro, Change For Me

Prompt 01: One Word

What is one word to describe your 2011? Why does that word sum up your year?

Change.

My life is completely different today than it was 12 months ago. I'm married. We live in a new house. I've got a new boss. He's got a new boss. I've grown up a lot. I do things like pay for personal training and travel internationally. And plan for the future. And think about my health.

2011 demanded leveling up at almost every turn. Sometimes, I was met with a gut punch. More often, greetings were group hugs. Either way, the world was a little different on the other side.

And I'm ending this year better for it.

"Summer love and now I'm ready for the Fall." - King Britt Presents Sylk 130, Season's Change

Soundtrack to this post:

1. Erro, Change For Me
2. King Britt Presents Sylk 130, Season's Change
3. Jay-Z, Change Clothes