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Home Improvement (My New House and Other House Keeping Thoughts)

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Tim Kuefler

Where I came from, holding a door open for a stranger was absolutely necessary (especially the elderly), and minding your parents wishes at all times expected, but I also had the great privilege of choosing my career path, focusing on creative acts and experimenting with belief systems as I grew up.

A strange combination of conservative Christian roots and post-modern ideals indeed, dear readers.

Now, in case you are wondering what my interpretation of that lifestyle could possibly look like, I’ll start by telling you some of my thoughts on living life. I have strong tendencies towards moral relativism and pluralistic truth-finding, while my creative energy is highly self-referential and irreverent – this is likely why I gravitate towards satire. And satire is best represented in popular culture (in my humble opinion of course). Also, my humour is starkly dry, and I hate injustice of any kind, so satire lends itself well to those values. But on the other side of that coin, I am fiercely loyal to maintaining family traditions, believe in the importance of a cultivated education that never ends, and I will happily defend that etiquette, discipline, and spirituality have their place in properly developing a human being. Even more-so as I step off the singles ledge and into the deep-end of parenthood.

It might seem contradictory to have those combination of beliefs, but I think of it this way, we should carve out what doesn’t work, always holding onto the core pieces that give us structure.

Also, there is an old adage about sweeping your own front door before you sweep the entryways of others, which make perfect sense to me. It’s a universal truth about minding your own business, that we shouldn’t assume to know the first thing about someone. We live in a world today that is very quick to judge or pass judgment on others without looking at ourselves first. We are quick to judge people based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, how they make an income, what their income level is, based on where they live and even based on their past life experiences.

But life is way too involving to waste time and energy on what other people are working through. I really can’t see how you would ever run out of things to do to improve yourself, which is likely why I happen to think of houses as marvellous objects and excellent metaphors for change.

Tool Time

As you may know, I’ve been making lots of changes to this brand ever since I started this timotheories business back in November 2014, and for many, it seems like a natural progression to buy property after a certain period of time renting a space. Many people rent for a few years and then pick up a mortgage when they’ve tucked enough savings away.

I decided to to buy a property too. But I did it because I want to have more freedom over my daily life

Buying a house meant finding a mortgage broker who would approve a loan, searching through hundreds of listings, and then viewing more then twenty of them, before finally making an offer. After I put my offer on the table, I was approved. Which meant I could move forward with the next step – I had an inspection of the property done, I put down a deposit, worked with my insurance company to set up the house insurance, got the lawyer to draw up some paperwork on the sale of the house, and finally closed on the deal.

As I mentioned already, I bought this particular house for a few reasons, one of which was to convert the bi-level bungalow property into two rental units. And I’ve already started that process by replacing the old furnaces and hot water tank with brand new energy efficient models. You see creative cuties, I want to rent both properties and luckily the house came with two furnaces; furnaces that were 20 years old mind you. So rather then continue a string of repairs and having to coordinate with handymen, I signed up for a lifetime warranty plan and replaced those machines. That way I can just give any heating and plumbing concerns over to Always Heating and Plumbing whenever a tenant has an issue. For free. No surprise bills, and the annual maintenance schedule should help keep them alive for many years.

theories Summarized

I also want to pay off the house faster, and turn the house into a source of passive income. That way, if either Mysticque and I lose our jobs, we still have money coming in which could be used to buy another property, build a studio over the garage of our primary residence, or any number of big expenses. It’s a lot of work, but as I’ve said before, home improvement is essential if you want to make a difference in this world. You work with what you’ve been given, but each of us has an opportunity to improve on what came before, by mixing the old and the new.

And if you can keep up that habit, you’ll find you don’t even have time look at your neighbours house, let alone try to sweep up their front step. Leave that mess to the Jones’ and start planning to put in your hot tub instead. Just a theory to consider.

Tim!

A Thousand Suns (timotheories January 2018)

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Tim Kuefler

January is supposed to be a month of promise, renewed hope, vigour for whatever we care about. And yet, I haven’t stopped running since August of 2017, so I’m not feeling the temporary January endorphins this year.

Which might actually be a good thing dear readers. Yes, I bought a house, and yes I got engaged, and yes I planned on getting married before this years end. But in the time that I took a forced hiatus from timotheories, I didn’t stop thinking about timotheories. I can’t stop. I won’t stop.

You see creative cuties, thinking is one of the things I do best in this world. And you give me the space to think, and man will I ever think. So I thought about things like the name timotheories, and I thought about the types of posts I write, and I thought about the different media channels I use to bring in traffic, and the people I interview to give you perspective on how to be creative, I thought about theories, and wisdom, and logos, and pretty much everything.

And that’s how I know I won’t stop. Because I still have a million and one ideas of content to share with you. And so I’m going to make a list of goals this month, and share it with you next month. Then I’m going to start to implement them. It’s an evolution of the campfire theories theme I chose last year…

The fire of a thousand suns.

…

*Disclaimer* As always, every week I purchase an album and movie one week ahead of the actual review release and while I have the best intentions, I don’t always get what I want… so if you follow me on instagram (@timotheories) you can actually see what’s coming.

timotheories summarized – January

Professional Theorems – (01/07) Brendon Greene interview, (01/14) Cross Talk Ep. 30, (01/21) Cross Talk Ep. 31, (01/28) Matthew Ankerstein preview interview
Sound Culture – (01/02) The Rolling Stones, (01/08) Miguel, (01/15) Sinistro, (01/22) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, (01/29) First Aid Kit
Watch Culture – (01/01) Dunkirk, (01/03) Brawl in Cell Block 99, (01/09) American Made (01/16) IT (01/23) Blade Runner 2049 (01/30) The Killing of a Sacred Deer
School of Thoughts – (01/10) Art Stars (Mentors), (01/17) Gaining Wisdom, (01/24) Diet, (01/31) By The Book (Education)(Reading)
Art House – (01/04) timotheories January, (01/11) House, (01/18) Engagement, (01/25) Wedding

You’re right, I did rename the weekly headings folks. Too smart for me, I could never pull a fast one over you lot. I did this because I was tired of trying to get posts in exactly on the day that I envisioned them for, and I quickly realized that a lot of you are in different time zones, and the ones that aren’t wouldn’t be reading my posts until the following morning anyway, and now I’m on brand with what I’m doing over on YouTube… so bonus! Which means that I’ll need to slowly go back in time and edit any mention of the old themes.

Point number two, I’m introducing a new monthly post called Art Stars (under the old Wisdom Wednesday heading), so that I can share some of my favourite creative professionals with you regularly. Wisdom often comes from having mentors, and these are mine. Additionally, I am rebranding the book of the month post to By The Book – clever right?

As it stands, I’ll be wrapping up the Brendon Greene interview I didn’t get to finish editing in the summer, and I’ll also give you a teaser of next month’s guest… Matthew Ankerstein! Matt is a podcaster and influencer, with a ton of energy. He’ll bring some great ideas to the table.

Lots of great Watch Culture posts and vids too, of course. And maybe if you’re lucky I’ll get some Sound Culture videos published on top of the blog posts? And last, but not least, I’ll give you some personal insights into my world with Art House (formerly Timely Thursdays) which I think you’ll enjoy.

theories Summarized

Yeah there are some changes coming, but I hope that the taste I’ve given above helps reframe the tone of this website, and all related media channels. timotheories is about digital curating at hear, that means cultivating good art; whether it’s film, music, fine art or something else.

I want to hear some feedback on what you think of this years theme, and the changes I’ll be implementing. And of course, any new theories I run across. Please like, comment and subscribe so I know you’re there!

Tim!

Well, That Was Easy (A Return To timotheories Form)

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

If you can believe it, I have been quite busy these past few months, dear readers.

I’m sure you’ve noticed this fact, given that timotheories effectively shut down in the month of August and didn’t return back to form until December, a solid four months later. This is largely due to two key reasons –

I bought a house in September
and then I got engaged in November

On top of that, I spent the better part of August searching for the house I have now bought, and once more in October shopping for a ring and planning how to propose to Mysticque on the eve of our anniversary. And spoiler-alert, she said yes to me. Which was both exciting and terrifying for me.

You see friends, I’ve never done either of those two major life things before, but it was finally time for me to take the plunge and make a financial decision that would further my ambitions AND more importantly secure a future for my fiancee and I. But it feels terrifying because I’m making decisions that don’t just impact me anymore. They impact the woman I love, and her son, who will also become my child too. Also, I’m hardwired (just like you) to resist change because it could hurt me.

This is why I consciously decided to carve out those months to complete those major goals and then get back into the rhythm in time for Christmas.

Fear of failure is where the terror comes in. Obviously I don’t want to let them down, nor do I want to put them into a bad situation. But to do nothing is worse because I know what I am capable of, and failure is simply an opportunity to learn.

When we are children, we are given many chances to learn, and as we learn we improve. Riding a bicycle, using a lawnmower, and wiping with toilet bowl cleaner all come with some risk. But if someone who is trained to use those items instructs us properly on how to use those items ourselves, then we can better prepare ourselves to complete those tasks too.

I guess my point, creative cuties, is this – Life will continue to be as it always is, difficult and beautiful. Which shouldn’t stop anyone from pursuing their dreams. Dreams are what make life so interesting after all, they motivate our waking life, it’s that easy. And that’s my major theory for the week.

Tim!

The Ideal Artist Home (Housing)

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

We’ve all done it.

Dreamt of the perfect home and what it would feel like to have it. What it would do to make our lives more constructive, comfortable, and creative.

Friends, let me assure you there’s no harm in fantasizing about what this situation looks like (read: the law of attraction), you dear sweet readers, because you should always gravitate towards healthy environments, the ones that will truly satisfy you. And if you’re like me at all, which I suspect you are, you’ve stared down tons of DIY photos featuring custom housing solutions and pretended they were your property.

Images like this.

And like this.

Sometimes like this.

And definitely like this.

These settings inspire us to actively think about how our environments should look and operate. Which is a good thing. Function combined with aesthetics is a honourable endeavour.

Teenage Art Throb

When I was a much younger artist, I had this ideal artist home all laid out in my mind, it featured so many cool functional elements that it was difficult not to get lost in my own imagination and stay there for hours at a time. Daydreaming my life away. But c’set la vie, as I was quickly course corrected. You see creative cuties, as I went through art school and then got my first adult job, I quickly learned what was possible on my budget and I also learned to put a lot of things on standby. I instead focused on the most important components of my visual empire. We make do with what we can right?

This is after all the first post in a continuing series which was inspired by my Postconsumers post on health and wellness. Which was thankfully a good experience and not a demotivating one. You see friends, what I learned from that website is that sometimes we forget just how good we truly have it.

We live in an age where most people in western society have more than enough. If you really stop to think about it, all we require to live is air, water, food, and shelter – everything else is unessential.

But the astute artist would argue otherwise, stating that the purpose of life is to live it, which means contributing to society in a healthy way – and what better way to contribute than to make excellent art? Thus, the question of shelter is elevated to include elements for the artist. Which also means that finding affordable housing and a sustainable workspace becomes all the more important in your journey to success.

Art & Start Homes

I realize this is a challenge as you start out, but let me offer some words of encouragement, this is not about having the biggest and the best right out of the gate, though many would argue that millenials expect the best. It’s about having better than the constant threat of eviction – you work hard to share your work with the world, but discipline is needed to maintain the basic level of shelter. This means being realistic about what kind of rent you can afford, and then dumping leftover resources (time and money) from your income earning and shelter providing job directly into your passion.

It might sound like madness to some of you, but I’m not advocating you stop making your art, I’m offering an alternative where you keep yourself out of debt and able to do as much as you humanly can to make your art. You don’t need permission to make or sell your art, but you do need housing.

I have a confession to make – I’m not an award winning, world famous, globe trotting artist folks. Yet. But my intent is to keep at it until something gives, whether it’s fortune or skillfulness, I’ll get there. And you can too. But that’s just a theory, until you make it a fact.

Tim!

Just Hymning Along (Bloc Party, Hymns review)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

There is this really lame scene from 2007’s Spider-man 3 where Peter Parker gets upset with Eddie Brock, pushes him against a wall, and decides to expose him as a fake photographer. Which is then topped off by the one-liner – You want forgiveness, get religion.

Fans of the Spider-man comic books can appreciate both the cheesiness of this line, and the attempt at foreshadowing the pending birth of Venom in the film.

This might be relevant to today’s Melodic Monday entry in more ways than one.

Bloc Party – Hymns
released January 29, 2016
****** 6/10

Bloc Party are an English indie rock band, which also use elements of electronica and house in their music. Though they have seen some lineup changes over the past few years, the current band is composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums).

This is their fifth studio album, which comes after a 4 year hiatus. After 2012’s Four was released, Matt Tong left the band in 2013 and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2015. This is where Justin Harri and Louise Bartle came in.

Hymns is an interesting effort. \s I already mentioned, it is the first album Bloc Party has made in four years, but it is also the first album the new lineup has recorded together. And somehow it manages to both work as a wall of sound album, with religious undertones, and simultaneously alienate fans of their older work. In other words, it’s not really like the smash first album Silent Alarm and their dancier third album, Intimacy.

But what’s the problem?

Why it doesn’t work is because it never quite reaches the levels of spiritual praise that it claims to be striving for. It’s an album half baked. But when it does work it’s because they stop pretending to be making dance music with religious redemption and just talk about the issues they care about. This is where Okereke’s vocals have always been strongest and where the heart of Bloc Party lies.

Instead with Hymns we get to see Okereke in control of the show, existing in a space between soul and gospel, but he does still love his electronica. Stand out tracks include Into The Earth, So Real, and Living Lux, but overall the rest of the songs are just okay. It’s so strange because this was one of the 21st centuries golden children, they were pioneering in 2005 what has now become the norm in modern rock. But their exploration of music and lryics as a slow and forced movement into a more mature sound just doesn’t quite work yet. This truly is Bloc Party 2.0, but I’m not entirely convinced that the upgrade has been worth it.

It may be because half of the original band has left, and the party has left with them, but Different Drugs best demonstrates the future of the band, and incidentally may be a code for the reason why the band started to break up in the first place. If reinvention is supposed to be cool, I think it just got cold in this house.

Now I don’t necessarily think that Bloc Party “got religion” in the wake of the band experiencing inner turmoil, but it is interesting that self-reflection usually breeds this kind of behavior. And I’m willing to bet we haven’t seen the last of Bloc Party, that an awesome team-up style fight is in the not-too-distant future, but I’ve been burnt before.

So should you buy this album? Well I don’t think it’s amazing, but still, it’s a decent listen. Fortunately enough, I just might have a redemption movie in store for tomorrow. What do you think? Is Hymns marred with too much self-worship? Are my theories on the mark?

Tim!