The Ernest Chronicler

Off to WordPress

2009-11-22T08:58:00.001-08:00

I have decided to change my blog to WordPress due to the iPod application that they offer and that Blogger doesn't. You can now find me at http://theernestchronicler.wordpress.com/. Thank you!

Signs of Stress

2009-10-30T18:59:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting recently. I'll briefly bring you up to date on my life. I got the part of George Bailey in the high school's production of Its a Wonderful Life. I'm pretty excited that I got the part, but its causing some craziness. For the last two weeks, I've been at school a whole lot more than I'd like. I fell behind in my Pre Calc class due to sickness two weeks ago and haven't been able to catch up adequately. With the lines to memorize, math homework, AP English homework, youth group, Grand Rapids Youth Symphony, violin rehearsals, my homework suffered. I also felt like I wasn't memorizing lines quickly enough. Overwhelming fatigue and a canker soar got me, as well as a round of my nervous spitting-up bouts. My hair also is curly now, but maybe that isn't stress related.

Things are a bit better now. I got through most of the first act yesterday without my script! Also, our high school orchestra had a concert last night. I had a solo on Vivaldi's Spring. It isn't a very challenging piece, but because I hadn't time to practice it, I'd been dreading it. I did a heck of a lot better than I thought I'd do on it, so I'm more relaxed now.

If you could, pray for peace and rest for me the next month. Thanks.

A Paradigm Shift

2009-10-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I've softened a bit on the Christian music industry. I used to think that Christians are all too willing to comprise talent for something "Christian". I still think this is the case for a lot of it, but as I grow in faith I think that I am developing a different view of music. I've always felt closest to God when playing violin or singing in church, but now I've gotten to the point where I buy Christian music from iTunes occasionally. When I listen to a worship song, it reminds me of who I am in Christ and helps me to stay firm. Here are my favorites:

You Never Let Go by Matt Redman

This song I was introduced to in freshmen year during one of our Wednesday night Youth Groups. I love it. It is the first (explicitly) Christian song that I'd actually played on my iPod more than three times.

His Glory Appears by Hillsong (Brooke Fraser)

The new worship director at our church is very good. He has helped me discover some great songs, this being one of them. I listen to this one every day on my walk to school a couple of times. Brooke Fraser's voice is just brilliant. She's from New Zealand. This is probably my current favorite.

The Glory of it All by David Crowder Band

I saw the David Crowder Band at CHIC and to prepare, I bought the CD "Remedy". This is the first song on it. This was very helpful during Youth Nexus.

Shine Your Light on Us by Robbie Seay Band

Another one from the new worship director.

Moving Forward by Israel Houghton

The YouTube video has two songs, I'm talking about the first.

At CHIC, when Israel performed this song, he just looped the last part of it:

"You make all things new

Yes you make all things new

and I will follow you forward"

Powerful.

Mr. George Bailey

2009-10-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

In the six grade I auditioned for The Music Man Junior. I got the part of Mayor Shinn. It was a role that fit like a glove because I was already somewhat pompous and loud. I had a blast doing it and performing it twice in my suit and top hat.

Every year I'm in at least seven orchestra concerts. Add that to several weddings, tea parties, and gatherings of Swedes and I'm used to being on show. I'm actually the only extravert in my family so it's nice to have an outlet into which I can channel my energy.

Finally, last year I played in the pit orchesta for The Wizard of Oz and had a blast. So this year I decided to give the play a go. The audition was yesterday. The play is an adaptation of "Its a Wonderful Life." I only got nervous once I sat in the circle with the rest of my fellow auditioners. I wanted a somewhat significant part and was going against a LOT of very good, experienced guys.

We were asked to read through a few scenes from the play. I thought I did my best at Mr. Potter and Pop. I was shooting for Mr. Potter because it would be challenging for me. I thought thaty George Bailey was lacking. The most fun was the improv. The director called up four guys. He asked me to teach him how to knit in 15 seconds. Then he told me to act like I'm getting ready to be in a swimming meet. I could tell that I did pretty well because everyone was laughing. It felt really good.

The results were posted during the last hour of school. Needless to say I was pretty giddy. So I went with my best friend who also tried out. By my name was "George Bailey." I think my heart must have stopped or something. Oh my gosh. I still think that it was a mistake, but I'm excited. It will be a lot of lines to memorize but I think I can do it.

Websites That Should Have a Mobile Page

2009-09-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

With my iPod touch, I spend a lot less time on the computer thinking "What should I do next?" Now, I have my applications for Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype (just learning), and have the ability to access websites with the Safari Browser. Rasmussen Reports, for example, has a pretty decent mobile site, as do CNN and FOX News. These are easy to navigate without a lot of clutter. As I use my iPod more, I am aware that some websites that should have easier mobile access do not. Here are a few:

blogger.com

Sure you can download applications for blogging, but none I've tried are as good as going to blogger.com and being able to type. If you try to go to the website from your Touch, you can type under the "Edit Html" banner, but not the "Compose" banner, so you are pretty limited.

theonion.com

I love the Onion. It is funny. In order to keep up with actual news organisations, it should create its own mobile page.

I'm going to stop the list here, because I just realized that I am obsessed with convenience. Forgive my self-indulgence.

First Thoughts on School

2009-09-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of being back to school, this is my first post about it. It's going well. I like my teachers most of the time. It is a pretty easy trimester for me. AP Englisg, Pre-Calc B, Financial Planning, Honors Orchestra, Online Learning. The math is the hardest. The English will be a little intense, too. Financial Planning is a class based off of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I'm concertl master of the orchestra. For the online class, I am taking Latin. Learning Spanish was alright, but something in me wants to be different, so Latin seemed to be a good option. Dad got me the Rosetta Stone Latin so I could learn Latin in case the online class doesn't work out. I really like the Rosetta Stone so far. It is very easy and it doesn't use English to teach Latin. It makes you think in the language.

It should be a good tri.

...Shameful

2009-09-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Just watch the video.

ACORN has released a statement calling this a "smear campaign". The couple that went undercover after six weeks of preparation because they knew that this kind of stuff happens.

If you have a blog I encourage you to repost if you ever blog on anything like this. The only way slavery can be stopped is if the enablers are exposed. The couple in this video were undercover, so the ACORN employees were ready to help traffick children and make them sex slaves. I need to to homework, but I can't take my mind off this.

Claiming Hallelujah

2009-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that everyone knows the song "Hallelujah" originally by Leonard Cohen but made popular by Jeff Buckley. I first heard it in a movie that my friends brought to that I probably shouldn't have seen. Scratch that. I first heard it on Shrek, but the version wasn't good. It was brought to my attention again a few months ago when I was obsessed with a YouTube cover artist named Kina Grannis. You might remember her from this post. She did a cover of it and I thought it was the greatest. I printed out the guitar chords and started learning it, kind of mumbling the parts about being tied to the kitchen chair and the cries heard at night. But I kind of understood the reference to David and Bathsheba and the reference to Samson and Delilah. My parents really liked the song so I started singing it without the mumbling and they were still ok with it.

Tonight I showed Dad the various versions of the song to see which his favorite was. He had never heard of Buckley or Cohen before and really liked both versions, especially Cohen's. We were trying to think why that song is so appealing. I think that it perfectly expresses the emotions of a broken soul learning to experience the grace of God. I don't know what the religious beliefs of Cohen or Buckley are, but it doesn't matter. It is the song of David after "the incident" and the cry of Samson before he pulls down the pillars. And it is the song of anyone who knows that they are broken and want to give God what they have, a bunch of loose ends. I think that is it.
Here is a link to Cohen's best performance of it that I've seen (embedding has been disabled):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttv5dyvtF4o
Feel free to post any thoughts on the song.

Concerts

2009-08-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

There is something that I am ashamed of. CONFESSION: Besides classical music, opera, ballet, and theatre, I haven't been to any concerts. I'm talking about bands, music bands. I have seen Bela Fleck and the Fleck Tones, but that was in colaboration with the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. I know, its a travesty. Wait, wait, besides CHIC, I have never been to a concert. At CHIC I saw several Christian bands.

My father has seen Supertramp and Bob Dylan. Mum saw Elton John, Barry Manilow, and K. C. and the Sunshine Band. Next month I start my own list with U2, my favorite band of all time. That concert will take place on the 13th at Soldier Field. Then November 13th I see Bruce Springsteen! I am very excited, and if you personally know me, I'll probably have rubbed it in verbaly by now. Actually, you'd be surprised how many people dislke U2 because of Bono's escapades. That is for another post, though.

Fun and Exciting!

2009-08-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

I went to dinner at at friends house. He is a pastor of a local church. He happened to have one of those funny little green laptops that are sent to third world countries to help educate kids. I asked to see it and he said I could have it! Because I'm not used to Linux I can't do much. It currently has a strand of Linux called "Sugar" which was created for easy use for kids. I'm going to try to get a better strand of Linux on it. Maybe Ubuntu.

The laptop is called a XO-1. It uses "mesh networking" and can get wifi. Fun new toy. It will distract me from my AP prep.

In the Mail

2009-08-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

Today I received a couple of things I've been expecting. The first being a stress ball sized pink ball from SocialVibe.com. It is physical proof that I earned 2000 points and this earned money for the charity that I selected, To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). They combat drug addiction, sexual abuse, cutting, and depression.

The second item was from the Secretay of State's office. My license! I put the sticker on it that means I'll be an organ donor. Kidneys, heart, liver, and lungs.

Good day so far!

My New iPod

2009-08-12T14:28:00.001-07:00

I am testing out my new iPod Touch. I got it today after returning the one I got yesterday that didn't work. It is amazing.

All of the Shouting

2009-08-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

With all of the hubbub and health care fighting, I've looked through this web page and find some good Jefferson quotes that still speak today. Everything should be taken in context, but I'm afraid that I only have snippets, so here goes:

"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?"

"I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."

"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all."

"Never spend your money before you have it."

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."

"The accounts of the United States ought to be, and may be made, as simple as those of a common farmer, and capable of being understood by common farmers."

"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."

My personal favorite:
"Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!"

and similarly:
"When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."

Rob Bell

2009-08-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

I have a recomendation for movie watching. Rob Bell was the pastor of Mars Hill, a VERY large church in Grand Rapids. His series for churches called NOOMA will soon be releasing the 25th installment. Bell has a nonprofit called Flannel that is behind the NOOMA films and all of Bell's other endeavors.

Rob Bell has done two speaking tours that are now on DVD. The first is called Everything is Spiritual. It starts at creation and looks at topics like the vast universe, sub-atomic particles, dimensions, and oh watch the trailer...

The second is titled The Gods Aren't Angry. This one speaks about sacrifices, cavemen, cutting, and what it looks like to follow God.

They are both amazing to watch. Buy them and show friends.

I am now reading one of his books called Jesus Wants to Save Christians, I'm not too far in, but if it is anything like his films, it will be great.

PC

2009-08-05T20:12:00.001-07:00

Because the terms "white" and "caucasian" do not accurately describe my ethnicity, I will now write on all forms that I am "Gerwelshwedczechscottswinglish".

German, Welsh, Swedish, Czech (Slovak), Scottish, Swiss, English.

(From Youth Nexus)

CHIC: Calling

2009-08-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Again, CHIC was amazing. The Holy Spirit is alive and thriving in the Covenant Church. I just can't imagine not being in the Covenant.

The last speaker of the week was Efrem Smith, the senior (Covenant) pastor at the Sanctuary Covenant Church. He summed up some of the things that I like about the Covenant. Efrem Smith told us that the church leaders are encouraged by my generation: they think the church will grow as we grow up, they call us the "Justice Generation" because they think we will solve problems like human trafficking. He also spoke about the diversity of the ECC. We are no longer just a bunch of Swedes, well I am... Anyway, the ECC is filled with all different cultures and colors. The Covenant Church in the Congo is bigger than it is in the States! And finally, he spoke about the role of women in the church. In the Covenant, a woman can be ordained to Word and Sacrament. We acknowledge the gifts that God gives to both genders. This view comes from reading the Bible in context, which could fill a blog in itself. I cheered loudly after that one because my mum is a pastor, so its personal.

To the call! The week led up to Wednesday, I believe it was, when we shared communion and had an "alter call". Instead of everyone going to the front, the floor was cleared and a large cross erected. If you felt ready to accept Christ, you went to the cross. A friend of mine went down with another guy from my church. After everyone was leaving I went down to be with them and share in the tears. After that, we had small group time in which another friend accepted Christ. Another accepted the day we left thinking he would regret it if he didn't do it at CHIC.

In regards to my call, I've been praying for discernment. Recall the Youth Nexus violin story (middle paragraph or so). After that week of prayer I felt God put the ideas of ministry and music into my head. At CHIC these thoughts were reinforced. Through this past year, justice has also been a field where I feel called to. Ministry, music, and justice I think can be combined and I'll be praying for further direction.

Ross, guy in my grade, loves kids and has a Downsyndromic younger brother. This week he felt called to Children's ministry, especially to handicapped kids. Another friend of mine felt called to be a missionary.

Finally is the story of Katie, a girl who just graduated high school. She already had her career planned out coming into CHIC, which turned out to be not wise. During the week God tugged at her to be a pastor. When she first felt it she told Him that she wasn't ready. Then came speaker Efrem Smith, who if you will remember spoke about women in the ministry. Katie took this as another poke from God. But, she felt that she doesn't have what it takes to be a pastor. At the last night of CHIC, after mainstage when we all were walking back to our dorms, bags were given to us. Inside was a pen, lollipop, flyer about justice, other stuff, and a small booklet about the story of a young woman who was called to ministry. Katie was beginning to see that God is persistent. So she told God to send her a sign, one more. As she was walking back to her dorm, someone walked straight into a street sign.

After CHIC, at our weekend stay at a white water place, Ross and Katie and I spoke. They both had the idea that we should start a church with Katie as pastor, Ross as Minister to Youth, and me as Worship Leader.

I am wondering how to combine ministry with music and justice, but God wouldn't give me a call I couldn't fulfill. I hope to not lose sight of them.

Movits!

2009-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

I think I need to buy the album. They are a Swedish hip hop jazz band called Movits! (including the "!"). Before their appearance on the Colbert Report their debut album Appelknyckarjazz placed in the thousands, now they are number five in MP3 downloads.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Movits! - Fel Del Av Garden

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tasers

Cell Phone Test

2009-07-26T17:19:00.001-07:00

this is a test of my blogging capabilities

CHIC: Pictures

2009-07-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

CHIC: Basic Day Plan

2009-07-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

On the average CHIC day, here is how the schedule went.
Breakfast
Meet with your Base Camp
Seminar or Worship Experience
Lunch
Free Time/ Block Party
Dinner
Band plays
Main Stage
Small Group
Bed

Alaska

2009-07-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Covenant Church is doing pretty well in Alaska. During Youth Nexus and CHIC I got the opportunity to meet four Alaskans. When Sarah Palin became known, all of us mainlander thought she is a pretty outdoorsy lady: she hunts, fishes, and snowmobiles. After meeting the kids and youth leader at YN (including one from Wasilla) I've come to the conclusion that Alaskans are just hard core. A girl my age from Youth Nexus, Kira, told us of how she killed a bear. The number of species that I've killed is limited to ants with my most powerful weapon being the magnifying glass. Well, once I used a Super Soaker loaded with soapy water to rid a backyard tree of inch worms. And I guess I have de-wasped the house using the miracle spray that shoots 20 feet. But, a bear?

Another different thing about their lives is the communities they live. Two of the girls I met are from the same town of six hundred people. They all know each other and many of them are related. In fact, when I saw Kira with her church at CHIC I asked her about that and she pointed out maybe a third of her church that are her distant cousins. My cousins live in New York and Maryland. I don't know who most of my distant cousins are.

They have native olympics, in which one of the sports is balancing all of your body on one hand while holding it horizontally. It looked painful to me. In Michigan, we hope for seventy degree weather, Don the youth leader likes fifty five. The coldest it gets here is probably ten degrees, they've experienced negative forty!

The thing I envy most about my Alaskan friends is the landscape they enjoy. Katiya showed me a picture from her bedroom window. It was white and watery and went on forever.

I hope to go to Alaska one day and see all of this for myself. There is a Bible College up there. That might be worth looking into.

Bonus material:
A status update from the Alaskan youth leader from Youth Nexus a half hour ago:

Don if any of you UNK kids wanna make leather sheaths for your knives there will be an opportunity to do that sometime next week...let me know

Whoopsie!

2009-07-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

I realized in my post on the perfect snack, instead of mixing in "Fair Trade" chocolate, I recommended "Free Trade" chocolate. The puzzled faces of the Starbucks baristas are now explained.

CHIC: Overview

2009-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a few posts on CHIC. It is a triennial conference for the youth of the Covenant Church. This year we had about 5,500 from around the country and world at the University of Tennessee. Eighty five went from my church. It was a blast! In the mornings we had "base camp" which is a time for us to be with about one hundred kids, usually from multiple churches but Thornapple filled up one. Every day had a theme, so depending on the day we heard about knowing our identity, friendship, human trafficking, and there was a sex talk in there, too. In the evenings we had a block party you could attend or excursions (read "nap" if you are from Thornapple). At the block party the bands were Salvadore, Lost and Found, Downhere, Asylum, and Kendall Payne. After that time we had main stage at the stadium. Main stage is where the heavy weights were brought in. For speakers we had Erwin McManus, Shane Claiborne, Steven Furtick, Judy Peterson, and Efrem Smith. The last two are Covenanters. And bands were as follows: David Crowder Band; Israel Houghton; Flyleaf; Third Day. Overall the week was a great experience. I'll go in depth about the various aspects of CHIC in future posts.

Hitchcock

2009-07-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man". It's a true story about a musician who is accused of a series of crimes and the way the trials effect his family. Henry Fonda played the Manny, the main character.

I like Hitchcock films because they are suspenseful without being gory, scary without being overtly violent. The suspense isn't "Will this person get his limb sawed off as well causing another blood bath?", it's "Will this innocent man live a life in prison and will his wife be OK?" or even "Will this music climax in time for the event that I think will happen to happen?". I personally prefer the latter questions to the former.

I recommend this movie. Even though it is one of the lesser known Hitchcocks, it is a good one.

Summer Job

2009-07-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

It seems that a popular question is "Do you have a summer job?" I would like to say "No." or "I tried to find a job that will keep you for a summer with every other week off, but apparently they don't like that." But thats not really the truth. I have one violin student and a few gigs here and there: weddings, tea parties, and the like. But I also am cataloging my dad's book collection. Those of you who are trying to wrap your mind around the amount of time this would take know my father. My dad has a Doctor of Theology with his Ph. D. on St. Athanasius, and is an academic book editor for Baker Book House, and at one time was an editor for Hendrickson Publishers. So imagine the years of freebies, reference books used for editing, dictionaries, commentaries, and books to satisfy his personal interests. Yup. We estimate (conservatively) for me to simply attach Library of Congress labels to each book would take 50 hours. That doesn't include looking up the numbers for older books or organizing them on the shelves. So it will be a process.

So far this summer...

2009-07-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Whew! It is a pretty busy summer for me, so I apologize for neglecting my blogging duties. That being said...

Last week I was in Chicago for an event called the Covenant Youth Nexus. About 15 kids and their youth pastors (mine didn't come) from around the country (including 3 from Alaska {and 1 from Wasilla, Alaska}) came to the North Park University campus for a week of spiritual growth. I think that it was intended to equip us to be leaders in our communities, but I think that I grew spiritually more than anything. We did have speakers come to talk about various topics: human trafficking, prison rape, immigration, hate crimes, racial reconciliation, among others. Speakers also spoke about spiritual practices like prayerful examen, lectio divina, and healthiness. The prayerful examen is a review of the day where you try to see God working in ways that you might not have noticed at the time, note any times where you put God on the back burner, and resolve to do differently the next day. A byproduct of this practice is a sharper memory. I'm glad lectio divina was covered because I just got "the Message//REMIX Solo" which is a year long devotion based on the Message translation and lectio divina.

I debated whether or not to take my violin on this trip. I knew there was to be a couple of worship nights at the seminary chapel, but I didn't want to put myself out there. Sunday, the first night there, we had chapel and immediately after that I regretted not bringing the violin. The atmosphere there with the other kids, their youth leaders from their towns, and the various Youth Nexus staff from North Park was amazing. A couple days later I called home to see if there was any way I could get my violin delivered. Mom shot that down pretty quickly but she offered to try to pull some sources to get me one later in the week. If my mom was anyone but she, I would not be impressed. But as it is, she is a well connected Covenant pastor who went to North Park and knows many MANY people. So I rested assured that I would have one and some of the people there I know were praying because they knew what it would mean to me. Come Friday, I had heard nothing from Mum or anyone about a violin. Friday was the final night and there was chapel that night. So I called Mom again on Friday and asked her about it. She said that she'd try to get me one, again. But this time, an hour later she called me back with a name and an address a minute's walk from where the seminary. Amazing.

I also brought my buttons on this trip. I sold a good many and sent some with a new friend off to Washington. I know others are willing to sell in their states, so I am very excited about the possibilities.

Next week: CHIC

Miriam's Open House

2009-06-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

This post is pretty much for AVI's family. Because you all couldn't come out for Miriam's open house, I'm posting a video of her friends saying their favorite Miriam memories.

Yum

2009-06-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

After mowing the lawn, finishing at 9:45 in what felt like 85/90 degree weather, I had a snack:
Vanilla yogurt
A bunch of raspberries
Crushed (Free Trade) chocolate
Crushed peanuts
All Bran cereal

I don't think a more perfect snack has been invented.

Media: 1, Iran Regime: 0

2009-06-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

If you read my previous post, then you'll know that I have not had internet access for several days. What I did have was CNN and FOX News on the TV. And on Saturday something amazing happened: all of the major news stations poured all of their air time into covering the struggle on Iran. I really wish I could've live blogged it, but alas...

This is amazing for the following reason. You are probably aware of the Iranian election recently held. ~~Ahmenosejob~~ Ahmedinijad or whatever his name is was reelected by a two-to-one margin. On Fox this morning, it said on some of the reports they'd seen that the turn out in some of the regions was more than 100%. Lets say that there are some major questions about the legidamacy of the results. The students who supported the opposition leader Mousavi took to the streets. They've been at it for a week, and during the week the regime put a blackout on all foreign reporting. Nothing could be reported from inside Iran, so they thought they would put a damper on what foreign countries could see. Now for some irony: ex-president Mousavi and Ahmedinijad, although they have had some human rights issues, removed illiteracy from Iran. The generation of thirty year olds and under (60% of the population) are educated people. They know how to Facebook, how to Twitter, and how to blog. The networks on Saturday and Sunday were able to spend more time on this subject than they normally spend on any one subject because this generation took videos and pictures of the protests and clashes and uploaded them to Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. And I think that the extensive reporting done on Iran in those two days were the media's way of sticking it to Iran.

I never thought that social networking sites would ever have this much influence on society. On Twitter, Iranians were posting directions to embassies that would shelter those who were hurt in the protests. This Iran incedent is cementing the way that the media and social networking sites have a symbiosis that will enhance the way news is retrieved and delivered.

I have to go now, but I'd like to blog some more on this later.

Brief Update

2009-06-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

I'm typing this from a the Lakewood Memorial Library in Lakewood, New York (near Jamestown). Finally I have access to the internets after a couple days of information isolation. I enjoyed being with my dad's family in Hopewell, Virginia a lot, but I was going through some serious withdrawel (sad but true).

The ride to Hopewell from Caledonia (home) was rough. Wednesday and Thursday were filled with white-out rain conditions. On Wednesday night, we had to stop in Ohio to sleep because of the weather. The next day wasn't much better, yet we perservered. After a couple of days in Virginia we drove to D.C. yesterday. Bedecked in green, I was hoping to see the Iran protesting, get some footage, and maybe participate. The only protester there was a octagenarian hippy who was singing a version of "His Eye is on the Sparrow" without any reference to God and holding a sign that said something about the Iraq war being illegal. So disappointing. (I'm sorry for any spelling errors, the Internet Explorer here doesn't have spell check.)

We walked around D.C. for an hour and then continued driving, had a Father's Day dinner at a Max & Erma's in Penn. and arrived in Lakewood at about ten.

Vacation

2009-06-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I'll be on vacation this next week. We're leaving tomorrow for Virginia to celebrate my dad's mom's 80th birthday. We'll then go to New York to see my mom's parents. I hope to interview my grandpa and grandma for the Veteran's History Project. Then we might go to Stratford in Canada to see a play. Nothing says summer like a road trip.

Good for you, Colbert.

2009-06-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Stephen Colbert is, or course, a controversial figure. But no matter what you believe, chances are that deep down you think he's funny. He is funny, charming, and good natured (unlike Jon Stewart) and because of this he is a very popular person. It made me happy to see that he is doing a week of shows from Iraq with his normal audience replaced by the men and women in the U S Armed Services. There were appearances by John McCain and President Obama as well as General Odierno.

Click to watch

Facebook, or Arrrrrbook?

2009-06-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, that was really lame title.
Anyway,

On Facebook you can adjust the language preferences to a variety of languages, including Norsk, Afrikaans, and Bosanski. There are three forms of English: US, UK, and now Pirate! And they actually committed to the Pirate motif.

"Language" becomes "Tongue"
"Share" becomes "Divvy spoils t'all ye mateys"
"See wall-to-wall" becomes "Spy plank-to-plank"
"See all" becomes "Peer into the depths"
"event invitations" becomes "grog fests sighted from the Crow's Nest"

This will keep me amused for a couple of weeks or until it just becomes annoying.

Summer Laziness

2009-06-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

Now that school is out, I get to finally sink into the slow summer life. It was a pretty grueling year, what with AP US history and pre-calc at the end. Normally I'm fine at math but pre-calc proved to be a bit of a challenge so I got an A-. Oh well. Before this trimester, I was 14th in my class of 370-something, so it may go down a little bit. On next years' AP (advanced placement- counts as college credit) schedule for me is AP English and AP Government. Apparently English is mainly reading a lot and writing essays (no problem), and government is WAY easier than AP US history. Also I love history/government type classes, so I'm a little bit excited.

Along with taking AP English next year comes with some summer reading and writing. The books are the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Inferno, all of which I've already read. I will reread them because the first two I read in fifth grade and because I enjoyed them the first time. There are also large packets that we must complete in order to get into the class.

Besides this, I'm thinking about applying for a job. It is a bit late, but maybe some place would want me. I do have my violin student for a trickle of revenue, but it is a very small trickle indeed. Daddy wants a new iPod. By "Daddy" I mean myself and by "iPod" I'm thinking maybe a iPod Touch. The cost of iPhones just significantly dropped, but the Touches stayed the same.

What I've Been Doing Lately

2009-06-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

For my 16th birthday I got a small camcorder, which I quickly dubbed the "Sam Cam". I enjoy taping my friends do stupid things and then editing in classical music or music from a well known sound track. I give to you, blogging community, a video that is reserved for my facebook friends and their friends: Lunch Olympics II: Cocoa Powder.

Giant Crabs

2009-06-01T13:00:00.001-07:00

Experts Agree Giant, Razor-Clawed Bioengineered Crabs Pose No Threat

Orchestra News

2009-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Its an interesting time for our orchestra. The seniors in the orchestra are now done, so I'll get to be concert master. I will miss my senior friends a lot though.

A fun thing that is coming up for the orchestra is a side by side concert with the Grand Rapids Symphony. We play some, they play some, then we play together. At each stand is a symphony player and a high schooler. I'm a bit nervous because I'll be playing a solo at the concert (Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole). It'll be before the Symphony plays, but my teacher is in the Symphony, so it might be intimidating.

The Good, the Post-Midlife Crises, and the... the... hmmmm... and the Bonnie

2009-05-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Alternative titles to this blog post:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good, the Flamboyant, and the Bonnie
The Original, the Cover, and the Who-Let-Her-Have-the-Rights-to-this-Song?

It is known that I am a U2 fan, and part of my fanship involves me dutifully searching Youtube for various renditions of my favorite U2 songs. Here is "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and two covers, by Cher and Bonnie Taylor.

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" live in Milan

"I Found What I was Looking for Twenty Years Ago, but I Still Do it for the Money"

"I Still Haven't Found My Voice"

Actually, the more I hear it the less disturbed I am by it, but still...

Here's a bonus version of the song at U2's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Boss joins in and it is magical like Edge says.

Proof that God exists.

2009-05-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for actual proof that God exists, then you won't actually find it here. What you will find though is a decent story of convenient circumstances.

I am a person who loves duct tape. I've made many wallets for friends, an iPod case for myself, a desk organizer that I didn't end up liking, and a purse for a girl's birthday.

I also had a reversible belt that broke. The little holes in the leather (through which screws attached it to the belt buckle) tore. A few weeks ago I lost one of the screws. But I looked at this belt buckle as a challenge. I made it my mission to make me a blue duct tape belt. The strap part was easy enough. Just take one long piece of duct tape and fold it over the skinny way (hot dog, not hamburger), and put more and more layers of duct tape on. I got this much done last week, but I couldn't find any way at all to attach the strap to the buckle. I thought of using shoe goo, carpenter glue, or Gorilla Glue. My dad said none of these would work (but I'm sure the Gorilla Glue would've). And the one screw I had wouldn't cut it.

After a few days of not trying anything, tonight at dinner I made a discovery. I looked down at the hardwood flooring next to my chair and there was the tiny missing screw! How opportune! After Mother's Day dinner I resumed my quest, but again I was inconvenienced. I had not a screwdriver the correct size for the tiny belt screws. I used my pocket knife's blade and file for a while, but they didn't work and I got angry.

Another problem was that the nook in the belt buckle where one end of the strap is inserted was wide enough so that when the screws were in, they just pressed down on the duct tape strap. They couldn't puncture it. I again consulted my father. He recommended a wedge to insert on the opposite side of the belt buckle than the side the screws go into. His idea worked, I used a cut out from a plastic lid. But still there was not a screwdriver small enough to be found. So I went into the garage to search through some ill-sorted draws. In the second one I searched, way in the back was a screwdriver the perfect size!

After screwing the buckle to the strap I used a hammer and nail to punch holes in the strap. Now I have a blue, duct tape belt. And it is awesome.

I have my life back!

2009-05-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

WOOH!

The AP U. S. History exam was Friday, so no more intense study sessions or unreasonable amounts of homework from that class. I'm so happy and relieved. The exam went alright, but I can't mention any details or I'd dragged off into the A.P. netherworld. I may start blogging more regularly now that I have time just waiting to be killed.

My mind has been flirting with the idea of uploading a video of me playing the violin so old friends can hear, maybe it would just be embarrassing...

Cover Up

2009-04-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

One byproduct of the YouTube sensation is "the cover." I thought covering music was only for famous people, but YouTube showed me differently. When I find a musician who covers music that I like, it becomes almost addictive. I've only found two so far that really impress me. One is a male duet who I found by looking for U2 songs. The other is a singer/songwriter girl who besides being stunning is an amazing singer.

bigcmacd

Kina Grannis

The harmonies on the second one are what really amaze me. Those are her sisters on either side of her. That song "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" is originally by Death Cab for Cutie and became a favorite of many of the teenagers known as "emos".

Prom

2009-04-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was prom and I got to go, even though I am a lowly sophomore. You see, the orchestra contains a large amount of pretty awesome seniors and I went with their group. I did end up asking a junior friend of mine and she said yes. This caused quite a bit of controversy for reasons that would best be left off of the internets. Our large picture taking group divided into the (mainly) senior group, and the junior and me group. We went to an awesome hot dog restaurant called Yesterdog's. We were the best dressed there. After eating dinner, we headed back to the large group for desert, then headed out.

The facility looked like a warehouse, but they had punch and a disco ball so I was appeased. The actual dancing part was fun although the music that was chosen was mainly rap and not really meant to dance to. If you aren't familiar with modern day dances, the "mature" dancing goes on in a large circle near the DJ. If you stay outside the circle, this is best because you can have fun while not disturbing those who are "in the zone" in the circle. Sometimes if you look like you're having fun then the Circlians glare at you as if they are there for serious dancing.

Overall it was fun. I got to wear a top hat and tux. I also have two more to improve with in upcoming years.

U2 360

2009-04-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm going to a concert in U2's new tour. Soldier Field in Chicago, September 13. For those of you that know me, you should now that I'm telling everyone that I possibly can because I'm a huge U2 fan. Those that I told include my accidental-marijuana-smuggler-of-a-teacher . She's a fan too and I think she's jealous.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was hunting for Easter eggs around Concord Covenant's premise with Josh, Drew, Rebekah, Rachel, and others.

This is an interesting weekend for me because I was born 16 years ago as of yesterday, on an Easter Sunday. This is also the first Easter that I didn't dye eggs. Everyone but me in my family was in and out of the house this week so there was no one to dye eggs with. And dying eggs by myself seemed depressing and pathetic.

But the Easter Bunny did visit us this morning. We were up early, at 5:15, to drive to the church my mum preaches at which is an hour and a half away. The bunny no chocolate this year. This I requested though, because the chocolate industry is loaded with slave labor, so until that get clears up I'll try to stick to no chocolate or Free Trade.

Tomorrow I go back to school after Spring Break, my birthday, and Easter. pooh. The good news is that there are only 40 days left until summer break. Its kind of Biblical: 40 days left after Easter.

Woohoo!

2009-04-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

My family got four tickets for the U2 360 tour for the second day at Soldier Field in Chicago. The first day immediately sold out, so we joined the U2's official web site to get pre-sale tickets! Pretty good seats without blowing a fortune. But the set's design is supposed to make every seat a good seat. Here for a virtual demonstration.

Also, U2 has another album coming out at the end of this year.

Now there'll be baggage checks at petting zoos...

2009-03-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

After this:

This is a great place to go and just laugh and laugh and laugh.

More fun from Am. Lit. B

2009-03-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. Here's the story that our teacher told us yesterday.

Prologue notes:

My teacher (we'll call her Mrs. P)'s mother and father are very "straight": they are adhearants of the law and I take it pretty conservative. The mother loves gardening. Mrs. P is maybe in her early 60s.

Mrs. P took a trip to Hawaii "a few years back" and wanted to get her mom some flowers as a souvenir. A street merchant there was selling seeds to various exotic flowers and plants. Mrs. P's eye was caught by a packet of Wood Rose seeds. Wood Roses look like normal rose bushes except that the flowers look as if they are made of wood.

Mrs. P flies back home and gives her mom the seeds. A while later Mrs. P stops over her parents house for dinner and notices a marijuana plant proudly displayed in the dining room. Mrs. Payne asks what the plant is and her mom says "Its the plant that you got me from Hawaii". My teacher then informed her mom that it was, in fact, pot. Her parents got all flustered and tried to think of a fast way to dispose of it. Her dad proceeds to take the plant, shove it in the fire pit, and burn it. Pretty soon the whole neighborhood was filled with the scent of marijuana.

A few nights earlier, a friend had visited for dinner. He happens to be a police officer. He noticed the plant, but didn't say anything because he figured they had a good reason for possesing such a plant. This is before pot became legal in Michigan (2008).

Today our class learned that Mrs. P went to the same college as and is friends with Taffy Nivert, singer in the Starland Vocal Band (Afternoon Delight)

No Line on the Horizon

2009-03-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

I've anticipated the coming of this album for a year and am really excited to finally own it. I actually bought the CD as opposed to getting it off iTunes. This is just a list of my thoughts on the various songs. This took me a few days:

1. No Line on the Horizon (song)-
The verses have a repetitive quality that would get repetitive if it wasn't Bono singing it. It gets stuck in my head for hours. The tune is pretty dang catchy even if the lyrics are a little bit odd. One of my favorites on the album. A promising start.

2. Magnificent (song)- Original working name: French Disco
This song was from an improv session in 2007. Bono cites Bach and Cole Porter as influences for it. He describes it as "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship."
I love the guitar riff played at :45 and during the chorus. This is really the Edge's album. I can't help but think of Harry Potter when the lyrics go "Only love, only love could leave such a mark. Only love, only love could leave such a scar." It has signs of Christian influence with verse 2:
I was born
I was born to sing for you  
I didn’t have a choice
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh
Logically, who else would this "you" be? Pretty good song, its growing on me.

3. Moment of Surrender (song)-
7.5 minutes long! Bono's voice comes out raw. This song continues the smooth and creamy synth. I like the lyrics although they don't make a whole lot of sense to me. I get the feeling they will once I'm 50, maybe.

4. Unknown Caller (song)-
I often skip over this one. It has the same repetitiveness of track 1, but in the chorus and less interesting. They use a lot of computer metaphors "Restart, reboot yourself, you're free to go", "Force quit, move to trash", and "Password, you, enter here, right now". The Edge gets a pretty sweet solo towards the end of the 6:03 song.

5. I'll go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (song)- Original working name- Crazy Tonight
My favorite of the album. Bono slips into falsetto. Lyrics are a bit funny in the first verse. Kind of a hopeful song with
"Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won’t listen to your boys and girls
‘Cos the sweetest melody is the one we haven’t heard
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear"

Its the chord progression in synch with the lyrics that make the song interesting. Also, rapper/produce will.i.am worked on a remix of this song that may be coming out. Listen to this one: my thoughts are inadequate to describe it.

6. Get On Your Boots (song)- Media release name- Sexy Boots
This is their first single from the album. It is very reminiscent of Vertigo from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with the upbeat and mainstreaminess. Before the new album came out I read somewhere that Bono said that he wouldn't mind experimenting with rap. This song and Breath which comes later on in the album are as close as U2 gets to rap. Adam Clayton's bass gets a chance to take center stage.

The band made a strong effort to stay away from war, but this song is described by Bono as a "collection of images of [him] taking his family to a fun fair in southern France on the eve of the war in Iraq, with warplanes zooming overhead."
It is supposedly sung from a man to his first love.

7. Stand Up Comedy - Original working names- For Your Love, Stand Up
Stand Up Comedy is one of the catchier songs on the album. I couldn't find a video of U2 playing it, just covers. The lyrics are here. This song is a commentary on something, I just can't put my finger on it. I like the lyrics for the most part. Especially "Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady". The Edge rocks out on the guitar with gusto and the whole song just has a good vibe. That was the worst review on a song ever. Haha....

8. FEZ-Being Born (song )- Original working name: Chromium Chords
When I first heard this song, I didn't know what to think. The first sessions for No Line on the Horizon started in Fez, Morocco so I assume this is a mixture of jams from Fez. The whole song sounds almost like its echoing towards you, bouncing off the walls from a nearby room. Very atmospheric. The lyrics appear to be about car racing?

9. White As Snow (song)-
White As Snow is a song being sung by a dying soldier in Afghanistan after hitting an IED according to Adam Clayton the bassist. The 4:00 of singing represents the time it takes him to die. I didn't realize this until I looked up information on it; the lyrics don't make this evident although it makes sense once you know. The tune is "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel" the Advent hymn. I think U2 should do more songs like this. From the piano at the beginning to Bono's reflective, mournful voice this song is just beautiful. They are able to sneak some spirituality in too. Part of the song describes the journey of faith of the soldier:

"Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow"

Lyrics here.
10. Breathe (song)-
I think this is my favorite of the new album. Its about drowning out fear with love. Maybe a common U2 theme, but this song just plain rocks. The verses talk of door-to-door salesmen and an Asian virus and whatever, then the chorus comes and clears all that away and it just soars. Just listen to it.

11. Cedars of Lebanon (song)-

This is the political commentary song. It starts out with the atmosphere-like sound that a lot of U2's songs have. But this one takes a different turn than most. It is a lament for the past and for the often depressing situation of the world. An overall pretty good song, though not one of my favorites.

There you have it. I wasn't really going for a review, just some miscellaneous thoughts on the album.

The E Scale: 40

Sick and Impaled

2009-03-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

If you are familiar with Edgar A. Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, then you might find this funny. I thought it was hilarious.

For my tenth grade American Literature course, we have to read certain writer's works. Right now we are just about wrapping up our unit on Poe. We started out with The Raven, then The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, then finally The Fall of the House of Usher. I really like Poe, I'm not sure why because I don't really like the other romantic work we've read. Maybe its dark romanticism I like... Anyway, we had to do group PowerPoint presentations on various literary concepts like alliteration, metaphors, and foreshadowing in Red Death, and House of Usher.

If you aren't familiar with The Fall of the House of Usher, its about the two surviving members of the inbreeding Usher family. Roderick Usher is one of the two. He has gone mad as he watches his sister Madeline's life slowly fade away. He has become pale and wide-eyed and generally sick.

One of the groups in its presentation described him like this:
Usher is sick and impaled.

I don't know about you, but I think thats hilarious.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel?

2009-03-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is the ninth track on U2's new album No Line on the Horizon. It is just beautiful the way they take the old melody and add on it.

Where I came from there were no hills at all
The land was flat, the highway straight and wide
My brother and I would drive for hours
Like we had years instead of days
Our faces as pale as the dirty snow

Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow

And the water, it was icy
As it washed over me
And the moon shone above me

Now this dry ground, it bears no fruit at all
Only poppies laugh under the crescent moon
The road refuses strangers
The land, the seeds we sow
Where might we find the lamb as white as snow

As boys we would go hunting in the woods
To sleep the night shooting out the stars
Now the wolves are every passing stranger
Every face we cannot know
If only a heart could be as white as snow
If only a heart could be as white as snow

The End of O.M.

2009-03-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

This has been my fourth and last year of Odyssey of the Mind. The first and second years my team came first in regionals thus advancing to state. The first year my team got the coveted Rinatra Fusca award for exceptional creativity. The third year we went to state with a solid second place in regionals. This year, we finished third of three, not going to state.

If you don't know what Odyssey of the Mind is, it involves various teams forming skits or machines and then competing against each other. Every year there are new challenges to pick from, my team usually picked acting ones capable of being made humorous. This year we made a skit about the Lost Labor of Heracles. I was Zeus.

Normally there is a lot of friction throughout the whole process of writing the script, making props, costumes, and scenery. This year, we divided the team of six into different "task forces" to tackle in pairs the tasks. This removed the friction but we had no effective way to synchronize the team, so it came together to late in the game. Last Thursday when we practiced, the skit was 15 minutes long. This would be alright, except for the fact that the time limit is 8 minutes. For the performance Saturday we got it down to 8.5 minutes, so we accomplished a lot. But the time deductions were bad.

I don't plan on doing OM any more, it is too much stress and too time consuming. But the group will maybe stay together to volunteer or something. One idea is to interview veterans about their war experiences and send the edited tapes to the Library of Congress. My Grandpa fought in World War II and earned two purple hearts, but I've never talked to him about his service.

Jay Smith

2009-03-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Jay Smith is a Christian man who goes to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park every Sunday in London and debates (loudly) there. I've got pretty deep respect for a guy who can take on a crowd with his Bible.

The New Leader

2009-03-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

Its kind of fun watching the republican party try to find a new leader in a time of leaderless discord. Not because I like to see the party in discord, but because its a little exciting to think of a new leader to replace, um whoever was the last one. (W, H.W, or Reagan?). It was supposed to be Romney, then McCain, Palin, Jindall maybe, and now on Geraldo at Large, Geraldo's announced that Rush Limbaugh is the current leader after his CPAC speech. I actually liked some parts of the speech although I'm not his biggest fan by any means. From what I've heard on his radio show he sounds rather self-righteous and pompous like most of the talking heads of the Republicans like O'Reilly, Hannity, and Ann Coulter.

The person who I have taken a liking to over the last race is Mike Huckabee. I went to a rally of his when he came to my region, and he is a cool guy. He is smart although he balances it out with a very approachable and maybe a little bit simple appearance. The most important thing about him though is that he is not polarizing and seems very honest.

One important thing to keep in mind is this: a radio personality of a lifetime isn't and probably can't be the political leader of a party. Limbaugh may voice views of many Republicans, but that doesn't mean he is able to take hold of the entirety of the party with its needs and views and get it on track.

I'd also like to see how Michael Steele does as Chairman, at whatever it is Chairmen do.

Sorry that I got all political up in here after a week's break.

And He's Off!

2009-02-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

.... to Florida! The high school orchestra and band are taking a trip to Florida for this week. You may or may not notice a week of no posts.

How about this:
Leave me a comment, if you want to, of any trips to Florida you've had or high school trips. It will be fun to read on my return.

More than a retail holiday.

2009-02-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Look! Everyone in the mall is happy except, wait... did John McCain get glasses?

I understand the stimulus bill!

2009-02-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Uncle Jay .

But seriously, what is in the air in D.C?

Christian Music

2009-02-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've never really been able to get into Christian music, not because of the content but because, well, I don't know actually. I like hymns and some praise songs, but it has taken me a long time to appreciate the "mainstream" Christian music. It seems that if you willingly call yourself a Christian band than you are doomed to minor popularity and to be out of the ears of non-Christians, which I think partly defeats the purpose. This is why I really appreciate U2. If you listen to "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" carefully, or not carefully, you can hear deep Christian undertones and themes. Rebirth is talked about in Love and Peace (or Else) and elsewhere:

"As you enter this life
I pray you depart
With a wrinkled face
And a brand new heart"

I think that if you want to be effective in getting non-Christians into Christian music, then follow the route of U2. Another band that is Christian but not a "Christian band" is Flyleaf. Flyleaf is a female-lead hard-rock group that appeals to rock lovers regardless of beliefs. If you watch the video, they look kind of scary but the lyrics are Christianity-influenced.

My hands are searching for you
My arms are outstretched towards you
I feel you on my fingertips
My tongue dances behind my lips for you

This fire rising through my being
Burning I'm not used to seeing you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

My hands float up above me
And you whisper you love me
And I begin to fade
Into our secret place

The music makes me sway
The angels singing say we are alone with you
I am alone and they are too with you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

And so I cry
The light is white
And I see you

I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

Take my hand
I give it to you
Now you own me
All I am
You said you would never leave me
I believe you
I believe

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healed

If you are familiar with the Evangelical Covenant Church, then you may know of CHIC: Covenanters High in Christ. It is a one week gathering of all the high schoolers in the denomination with speakers and bands. This year Flyleaf will sing as well as the David Crowder Band and Third Day.

My Music Listening History- The Origins

2009-02-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Until spring break three or four years ago, I hadn't listened to modern music. I've always listened to classical music: my favorites being any Dvorak, my Jascha Heifitz CD, and Gilbert & Sullivan. In fact, we found a family video from when I was a baby and my sister a toddler and we were sitting on the floor playing with Dad with an organ concerto by Widor blasting from the turntables.

My first "in-depth" exposure to modern music was a few years ago when my family went to Riviera Maya, Mexico. I had heard of a guy called Bono and his band U2, so I borrowed "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" from a friend of mine for the trip. The first time I listened to it in the car driving to the airport I thought "How bizarre" because it wasn't like classic music, the oldies that played on the radio and at the dentists, or the stuff from the movies on Disney Channel. I'm sure that I wasn't as sheltered as that last sentence makes me sound, but it was very different. After listening to the album five times at least, I decided that it is good, and to this day it is my favorite album of all time.

How to spend money.

2009-02-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Congress,

Could you throw in an iPod touch for me, too?

K, thanks

Sam

I spy...

2009-02-06T14:53:00.001-08:00

... Darth Vader in a wheel chair.

This is a pretty cool picture.

If you zoom allllllllll they way in, you can see Hillary mouthing along with the speech.

The ushers look like Soviets, haha.

Buttons

2009-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago after learning of the modern day slave trade from seeing the "rockumentary" Call+Response (See link on left side of page), I wanted to do something. So, I ordered buttons from purebuttons.com. The first buttons I designed in made said "Sam is My Friend". I sold these for 50 cents each, all of the profit goes to the International Justice Mission. I've sold all but about five of those, and by putting a banner on the bottom of this page, they sent me some more buttons that I designed free of charge. These are 1 1/2" and go for a minimum price of $1 (some people like to give more).

I'm pretty happy with button sales, I'll publish them here later for transparency. One beef: the smaller "Sam is my friend" buttons fall apart so I won't be ordering any more 1 3/4" ones.

Anyway here's the cool part:
My mom, being a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, went to a pastor's conference in Chicago. Justice was the main focus of it, I believe. She heard speakers talk about trafficking and there was a time for the pastors to share ideas for things to do to raise awareness. She told of my buttons and apparently a lot of the pastors were interested in getting some for their church to sell.

Back on track, the cool part:
Gary Haugen, the founder and president of the International Justice Mission spoke this morning. Afterwards my mom met him and told HIM about the buttons (!). I think that is pretty darn cool. She also returned with a copy of his "Good News About Injustice" complete with personal encouragement note. That is some big motivation to keep going.

Fortune Fun!

2009-02-05T18:20:00.001-08:00

We had Chinese take out last night.
My sister who is leaving for college/ ballet life after the school year got : "You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties."
I got: "You are compassionate and understanding." Not really a fortune, but I'll take it.

Word Verification 3 Results

2009-02-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

Almost a week after the appointed finish time, I'm here with the results of our third verification.

The word was "mitib".

The winner is James E with "A superfund 'mitigation' suddenly terminated when half complete because higher-ups order the EPA agent in charge to kill the project and shut up about it."

I would also like to point out AVI's definition "(an)East Indian plant used to wrap a curried rice dish. The leaves are discarded." This is the second Word Verification with Asian food, the first being about an older Israeli dish with beans and herbs. Keep up with the Asian food!

Excessation!!

2009-02-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

I got the link from Wyman at Ten-Four, Good Buddy.

Try it at http://inspiratomatic.com/.

What I've been Up to...

2009-02-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the week and half gap between posts lately.

Last weekend was the Wizard of Oz at my high school. It was a very strong performance by everyone involved. I played violin in the pit, and had a blast. I plan on being in the play and the musicals next year because I've had so much fun in this one. I'm personally rooting for Fiddler on the Roof (hem hem). When I was in middle school I got to be Mayor Shin in the Music Man Jr., so I can't wait to be on the stage again.

If you've ever been in a play, then you may be familiar with Post-Play Depression. I had an extreme case of it the days following the play, but am mainly recovered now.

During the week of performance, I hadn't a minute to access the new except listening to NPR while walking to and from school. Some of the stuff I've heard seems ridiculous what with appointees resigning, ACORN getting 4 point something billion dollars, and all kinds of other fun bailout facts. Uff da!

Also, last Saturday before two of the performances of Oz, I participated in Solo/Ensemble. This is for soloists or groups of musicians to go and perform a piece for a judge, and the judge listens to us play, then gives remarks and a grade. I played Mozart's 5th concerto, 1st movement. At the end the judge said that it was refreshing to hear Mozart played like Mozart (one of the biggest compliments you can get). The criticism was to work on pin-point shifting (jumping from one position to another). My left hand is tense, so it often stops me short of the note that I'm trying to get, even though I know where it is. Anyway, the judge gave me a 1, which is the best score you can get. I was happy.

Uff-da!

2009-01-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day.
Awake at 6 am.
Leave house at 6:45 for 0 hour
Stay at school until 2:45ish
Go to Odyssey of the Mind practice until 5:20
Leave and head for McDonald's
Return to school while eating McDonald's and arrive at 5:40
Stay at school to play in the orchestra pit until 10ish
Arrive home.
Write blog.

Tomorrow will be almost identical.

I enjoy playing in the school play because I can just play out. There are only 5 string players and I was the only 1st violin present today, so I got to play louder than I normally do. We are doing the Wizard of Oz, which has a bunch of "Incidental" pieces scattered throughout conversation and whatnot.

oof, I just got really tired.

I'll now do some homework and go to sleep...
...in case you were wondering.

Word Verification 3

2009-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

All right, you know the drill. This time I won't bother posting the actual image of the word because they never show up.

mitib

You have until January 30th.

Word Verification 2 Results

2009-01-26T19:26:00.001-08:00

While looking through the entries for Word Verification 2, I asked myself "Self, which one sounds believable?". I think that the most reasonable entry was AVI's Wife's:

Hylisro (noun)a double petaled hyacinth that resembles a rose.

Especially with America's fascination with combing words so dogs are called "Cockipoos" and "Labradoodles", people "chillax", and a bizarre dish with a chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey is called a "Turducken". So she wins.

Wyman apparently remembers me well enough to know that I like my food.

AVI was close to winning, my dad would've picked his entry.

OBloodyHell made me feel a tad bit violated with an answer that brought me back to last year's health class where I learned many things.

Thanks for participating! You're ALL winners!

Yay for Youtube.

2009-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

I was pretty angry when I heard that the inaugural "We Are One" concert was reserved for HBO customers. We don't HBO, but I really wanted to see U2, Springsteen, Garth Brooks, and Mary J Blige perform. I could do without Shakira and seemingly tone-deaf Will.I.Am, but still I wish the concert was on a normal network. Lucky for me, Youtube exists, so I can see the performances. Does anyone know why HBO had exclusive rights?

Sooprise, sooprise, sooprise!

2009-01-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

Come in, come in. I wasn't expecting company! Welcome to the Ernest Chronicler. Again, I wasn't expecting anyone to show up right now so this place is a mess. Thanks to AVI for a little bump.

By the way, I'm not actually this desperate. (Its a shtick)

Well, make yourself at home. I've got some studying to do for AP (read "life-sucking") U.S. History class. Big test tomorrow.

Word Verifaction 2

2009-01-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Lets try this again after an unexciting first round. We'll only do one word this time. Comment with your definition.

hylisro

I Just Saw It.

2009-01-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

My favorite is the giggly one in the pink shirt.

Sequals are never as good

2009-01-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

A favorite book of mine in the last two years was Plato and a Platypus walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy through Jokes, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. I liked it because it explained various philosophical ideas without requiring me to think a whole lot. The jokes were relevant and hilarious. I can't find it right now. I think I loaned it to my dad so I'll blame him for me not being able to give you a good example of the writing.

One of my favorite jokes from the book goes like this:
Two cows are in a field. One cow says to the other, "You, know, after hearing so much about this Mad Cow disease, I'm getting a little bit concerned. What about you?" The other replies, "What should I care? I'm a helicopter."

Anyway, I really liked it. A month or two ago I heard about their second collaboration Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: Understand Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes. Needless to say I was excited, but I then forgot about until last week when I was in a Barnes & Noble. I saw it sitting there on the shelf and thought MINE! So I bought it. And how disappointed I've become.

There are two things that annoy me about this book:
1. In the first pages Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush were all hammered. I'm no Bush hugger but maybe reading the book right after Bush left office makes me a little sympathetic to him. Its kind of like putting up your campaign sign after the candidate won. I suppose its to be expected, though. And they did go on to use examples of doublespeak from Frances Fargo Townsend, Barbara Boxer, Norma McCorvey, Bill Clinton, Tom Delay, Neal Boortz, Rick Santorum, John Kerry, and Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly himself.

2. It cost me $18.95. Well, 16 something after the B & N members discount.

I'll continue to read the book despite poorly put up examples, though. I'll leave you with this quote, I liked this one. It comes from a section called "Argument from Weak Analogy":

"Look, Al-Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a well-placed nuke. OK. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but the teachers' unions in this country can destroy a whole generation." -Neal Boortz on Hannity & Colmes

I didn't prepare a speech, but...

2009-01-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the International Center for Extreme Internet Excellence has noticed my efforts in the blogging world and announced that I've won a golden ribbon. Not as good as a golden ticket, but it'll suffice. Thanks to the AVI who also won one.

Hahahaaa, the first of many!

Back on the Job

2009-01-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

After a very nice Christmas, or "Holiday Season", I like my friends and colleagues returned to school this week. On the first day back, I took an AP test 1st hour, and that brought me quickly back to school mentality. I don't mind being back, I like seeing my friends regularly and not going crazy after being in the home for some long as is my nature. I definitely did not miss homework, but hey, I gotta compete with China, Japan, and India someday in the world economy.

A nice surprise greeted me Thursday morning. A two hour delay! I set my alarm clock and went back to bed. By the time I had to wake up school had been canceled. I had done the snow day rituals the night before, so I personally wasn't surprise. Yes, nothing like a snow day to break up a week nice and proper.

And In Other News

2009-01-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Its 2009 and the sky is falling!

Response

2008-12-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, I went to a movie called Call+Response with my youth group. This movie put me into a state of shock. Call+Response is about modern day slavery. It was put together buy a singer/songwriter turned director/abolitionist named Justin Dillon. Throughout the movie various musical artists, the Cold War Kids, Five For Fighting, Natasha Bedingfield, Imogen Heap, and a Jewish reggae singer called Matisyahu to name a few, perform songs and the awesomely crazy Cornel West talks about how oppression is related to music and how music is related to justice. All of the songs and moments with Cornel West supplement information and statistics on slavery.

The most effective part of the film though, were the stories and clips of brothels where girls as young as three are forced to pull tricks for their master. There are stories about teenage girls selling their best friends to traffickers that will take them worlds away. There is a story about Nicholas Kristof a NY times reporter who bought two girls from a brothel owner and brought them back to their families. After three days, one of them returned because her addiction to meth wouldn't allow her to be anywhere but the place where she could get her fix.

The movie didn't just talk about sex slavery, but also about child soldiers, forced laborers, and other forms of child slavery. One of the performers is a rapper named Emmanuel Jal. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army and his mother was killed in civil war. When promised education in Ethiopia, he (seven years old at the time) along with thousands of other boys accepted. It turned out to be a ploy by the SPLA to get fresh recruits. He eventually got away and now shares his story with the world through his book, cd, and film, all entitled War Child .

I don't want to give away all of the stories, but there is one are two more I want to share. A very common situation in India as well as many other places is people working to cancel the debt they owe someone. One person may have owed someone five dollars, so he goes to work on that person's farm. After working off that $5, he then has to work to pay the "employer" for the cost of housing and food. This goes on and on and on. In one story, three or four generations of women all worked for the same person to pay off $5. In the last story, one person pays himself off, then goes to work somewhere else in order to pay off someone else. They together work together to pay off a third and so on. Ten thousand were eventually freed because of the efforts of one person.

So here are the facts:
-27,000,000 are currently modern day slaves. This includes child laborers, sex slaves, labor slaves, and child soldiers. This is more than any time before. This is like more than 1 out of 10 people in the U.S. enslaved.
-As many as half of these are children, and most are female.
-The movie is amazing, and you need to see it. Yes, that's a fact.

Sites:
Call + Response
Not For Sale Campaign
The Redlight Children Campaign
International Justice Mission
STOP THE TRAFFIK

Please read up and post on the subject if you've got a blog.

Word Verification

2008-12-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

All right folks, its time to play "Word Verification"!
This is a game where I find one of those human verification codes we have to type in order to prove that we aren't some machine trying to hack onto the internets and write rude things. Actually I'm not quite sure why we have to do them, but thats alright. Anyway, I post a number of them, and you have to write definitions for them. The ones used on Blogger are just screaming out to be defined.
1.sestedly
2.spolo
3.tureo
4.sewadehe (my personal favorite)
5.dismet

I will then announce the my favorites. Have fun!

On Snow Days

2008-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

After a long period of blogging laziness I've popped out to write one or two posts.

Snow days, yes. I remember when I used to live in New Hampshire, five and a half years ago now, that on snow days I'd wake up, check with Mommy or Daddy to see if it was a snow day or not, and if it was I'd put on my snow pants, cumbersome coat, and mittens Grandma made for me and run outside, through the backyard to Jake's house to see if he wanted to play in the snow (I'm sorry for the grotesque amount of commas in that last sentence.) Jake lived on a dead end and whenever it snowed, all of the plows would dump the snow right there: to the front right of his house.

If you aren't familiar with New Hampshire winters, they can be pretty brutal. In one of my favorite winters, we got twenty-four inches in one storm. After it was over, I walked outside (in proper dress, of course) and I was now able to climb trees because of the crazy amount of snow. You can imagine how large Jake's pile of snow was that week. It was twice the hight of me at least. When the pile grew that large, Jake, Matt (Jakes little brother), Kenny (lived across from Jake), and I would burrow through it and make mini caverns or play king of the hill. In one king of the hill episode I pushed Jake off the mound and he fell and got his nose all bloodied. He got revenge eventually.

We also had some pretty intense snowball fights. Depending on what kind of snow fell, the game would change. Slush can sting really badly but is harder to through. Ice hurts badly so we usually outlawed it. Powdery snow can't be thrown at all. The perfect snow is packing snow that is moist and heavy.

On snow days I would also make snow angels with my sister in the front lawn and throw snowballs at Dad while he shoveled the drive.

These days, on snow days, I wake up and watch the local news to see any delays. If there is a snow day or two hour delay, back to bed! It will be a day of sleeping and general laziness. And I now have figured out some fool proof rituals that ensure a snow day for the next day if performed right before bed:
1. Run around the table five times (the dog gives me funny looks)
2. Flush three ice cubes down the toilet.
3. Throw three ice cubes at a tree outside from the porch.
4. Wear pajamas inside out.
5. Sleep with a spoon under my pillow (I've only tried this once, but it worked in combination with the other four)

As you can see, I don't do any silly "Snow Dances".

Dear God!

2008-12-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the year, I was signed up for two trimesters with teachers known to be bipolar and mean to students (of course I try to form my own opinion, not just listen to my friends). But I have reason tto believe that the rumors are true; I trust my friends. After first trimester was over, the school switched around the classes so I have two different teachers for the courses. And the one I got this trimester is pretty cool.

On the first day of class, like most teachers he gave us a syllabus to sign, but his had a "Code of Virtues" or something like that requesting all students be kind, courageous, or who knows what (I can't find it now). He also for writing prompts has us write about his cousins in Alabama who live in the country. Their names are Jimmy-Boy, Jethro, two other guys, and Dee-Dee their sister. They have dogs named Kicker, Skipper, Jumper and a whole slew more. They are summoned to eat by the banging of a barrel nailed to a tree. I'm no fool, mind you, so I'm highly suspicious of the reality of my teacher's cousins.

I learned that he has a band(!) called Potato Moon from a friend of mine. We had a canned/boxed food drive recently and if anyone brought in 20 items, he/she got a free CD from our teacher. I brought in 114 with a friend so we each got a CD. Potato Moon is folk music, and its pretty cool.

So I think this all turned out quite nicely.

"A Boy and His Dog", or "I'm Single and Fine With It"

2008-12-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

My love life started in Kindergarten, when I kissed a girl named Macy on the cheek.
...
...
My love life ended in Kindergarten, when Macy slapped me and ran away.

This experience didn't scare away from girls forever, but right now I am single. I think I am at an age where this is perfectly acceptable. Not that there aren't certain someones who I wouldn't mind dating later. I joked to a friend of mine last year that I need someone/thing to hug: a girlfriend or a dog. I got a dog, (an Irish Terrier, for those of you who don't know).

Ever since I remember really (or since third grade), people in my grade have been "going out". The use of this term is ironic because until this year, when some get their drivers licenses, there has been no "going out", maybe walking out of the school building with each other. Suzy and Jimmy started "going out" on Friday, but broke up on Tuesday the next week. I found this very pointless throughout elementary school and middle school. The relationships that developed between the couples were (from what I could tell) shallow to nonexistent. The couple would be "together" one day, "broken up" the next day, and the "back together" or with someone else. And people wonder why the divorce rate may be above 50%.

Another factor in me thinking about dating is I don't have time. Between homework, AP homework, violin practice, violin lessons (receiving), violin lessons (giving), church/youth group, and the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, I think I would be a negligent boyfriend.

Thanks to AVI's wife for the idea of this post.

Reminder Post

2008-12-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

This post is a reminder post for me with possible topics to blog on:

Salem Witch Trials
Snow days
The Game

Feel free to add some, I'm in a bit of a creative dry spell.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

I think that it is fitting on Thanksgiving to think about what we are thankful for.
Things that I am thankful for:
-God
-Family
-Friends
-Music, violin and iPod specifically
-My puppy dog Orla
-A country in which I can walk, worship, go to school, and live without (reasonable) fear for my life
-A home in which to live
-Food
-All of the blessings that I don't notice specifically

Well, I think that pretty much covers everything. If I've missed anyone or anything important, please tell me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

R. I. P. Roberta "Bobby"

2008-11-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

When I first started this blog, I wrote a post on my search for a dog and about my parakeets (read that before you continue). Well, in a kind of sick way, everything came full circle about an hour ago when I came home from a long day, but first a brief synopsis of Bobby's life.

My mom worked for a hospice chaplain for a while, and that involved visiting many dying people in nursing homes. One patient, an elderly lady who had Alzheimer's, owned a beloved parakeet named Bobby. During the lady's stay at hospice, Bobby 1 died, and the hospice staff took the corpse to a pet store and said "Got any that look like this?". The Bobby that we came to inherit was number 2 or 3.

Anyway, the elderly lady died but no one knew what to do with the bird. No one in the family wanted it, and the hospice didn't have an aviary as some do, so Mom said that we'll take it (her as we found out) in for a while, until we could find a home. I came home from school that day to see my first real pet (the 17 fish and a sea snail we once owned and only lasted for a month each don't count) perched in a cage in the kitchen. We kept her and found a buddy for her named Cyril (his stomach is Cyrillian blue).

Bobby came to have "scaly-face" after a while, and to cure this would take a lot of money for a vet. I instead put Vaseline on the build up of mites and clipped some off once in a while to keep it down. Recently it started to spread to the area around her nose holes and warped her talons.

Enter Orla , the Irish terrier. She's been a good girl mainly, but she has had an interest in the birds. Bobby recently had been getting really bad, maybe she couldn't see well or grip onto things with her talons, so she wanders around on the floor (we let the birds fly around). Needless to say Orla got to Bobby, and when I came home from school and Odyssey of the Mind practice, I saw one bird in the cage, and the I saw a bunch of green feathers on the dog's mat. Orla ate Bobby because we can't find the body.

We are now trying to find a new home for Cyril with other parakeets so he is happy. Birds are known to go through grieving and not come out. They can stop eating or tear all of their feathers out, so I'm trying to find a home for him (maybe a nursing home?).

Here is the real irony:
The real name for what we call parakeets is budgerigar (budgie is the shortened version). Budgerigar is an Australian word that means "good eating".

R. I. P. Bobby, your chirping will be missed.

Lifehouse Skit

2008-11-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Some people in my youth group made a rendition of the Lifehouse Skit. I thought it was pretty amazing.

Post-Election News Withdrawel

2008-11-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know how many of you are suffering from PENW, but I am one. I've had a harder time "getting my fix" of politics coverage. Recently (the last day or two) I've been following who Obama will pick for which office where, but the news people can only say the information so many times before I become bored. I still listen to NPR every day while I walk home from school, but I need more listening time to get the same feeling of enlightenment.

Listening/watching/reading news is also a great way for me to procrastinate and not feel that guilty because I am learning something. If I don't want to read my APUSH (Advanced Place U. S. History, read Class From Hell) book, then I can turn on CNN or FOX and get my fix. The problem(s?) though, lately is (are?) the fires in California, and I feel horrible for saying this but its frustrating when I want to hear about whats happening in D.C. and I can only see depressing images of peoples lives being destroyed. Both ways, you're watching something go up in flames.

Commitment Problems

2008-11-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

After having 1/3 of my readers complain about lack of blogging recently, I'd like to share with the class that I just had an exam week in which I did very well. I'll resume blogging as usual. If there any particular ideas on which you'd like to read about, I'll take some suggestions. I've hit a kind of blogger's block.

What, 10 days, Really?

2008-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well I followed this election season since it began one and a half to two years ago. To me, it seems like my whole lifetime. I'm only a teenager so any length of time is comparatively longer to my life then, say a forty, fifty, or sixty year old.

I remember most of the candidates and debates.
I remember having fun laughing at Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich (self proclaimed "hero of the Constitution"), and Ron Paul's voice.
I remember the magical map of CNN.
I remember watching John Edwards announce his campaign, "suspend" his campaign, and get into trouble after that.
I remember going to a Huckabee rally and hearing him play bass guitar.
I remember reading a bunch of articles on why campaigns failed, and I remember forgetting what those articles said.
I remember when Clinton dropped out and the rally at Unity, New Hampshire with Obama.
I remember seeing both candidates announce their running mates.
I remember listening to NPR walking to and from school every day.
I remember getting an Obama pin from Moveon.org, and getting McCain/Palin bumper stickers from the local campaign office. (all free!)
I remember when I started to read some political blogs.

This political cycle has been very long. Verrry loooong. And I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. What I want to say is, I did my part. I am fairly well informed. I think I know who I'd vote for if I was able. But, I can't. So, its up to you, my audience (hopefully not just one family in New Hampshire, although I appreciate their following). DON'T SCREW UP. Vote for the right one. Alright, no one knows what will happen in the next 4-8 years so we really can't know who is the right one. But if Biden's prophecy is fulfilled and after Obama is elected we have a major terrorist attack, I blame you! If McCain is elected, kicks, Palin takes charge, is killed in a hunting accident and Pelosi becomes president, I blame YOU!

I hereby wash my hands of this election. In yet, I can't wait to see what happens.

Ahhh... the Poor Violas.

2008-10-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

One thing I have neglected to mention on this here blog is that I play the violin. For those not familiar with it, it is an instrument of terror once used popularly on little children. Why? Its educational and you have to practice. My parents started me off on one of these things when I was 4. Yes, thats right, 4. I should be a musical genius by now, but alas, I am not. And I'm not Jewish either. Many of the best violinists of our time have been Jews: David Oistrakh, Igor Oistrakh, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell (half Jewish), and my favorite violinist Jascha Heifetz. Despite all odds, I have grown to like playing the violin and have gotten fairly good. Jashca Heifetz:

My family is part of the Swedish American Heritage Society of Western Michigan (SAHS/WM). I became the official fiddler a couple of years ago when the resident accordionist lassoed me into playing. At first I found the songs too repetitive, but I have now become accustomed to Swedish folk stuff, and I rather enjoy playing at the gatherings.

When my family moved to Michigan five years back, I joined one of Saint Cecilia's (a local music institution) orchestras. They had two at the time for students. I climbed up the ladder to the better of the now three orchestras and this summer auditioned for the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony Orchestra, GRYSO for short. It is very fun playing with a full woodwind and brass section, as well as with the rest of the strings: cello, (double) bass, and viola.

If you are not familiar with them here are the basics:
The bass is the biggest and lowest stringed instrument. They are large, cumbersome, and usually get fairly boring and rhythmic parts, which is a shame because I like the low tones which they produce. The double bass is usually played standing up or sitting on a tall stool.

Cello: Smaller and higher in pitch then the bass and it is played sitting down on a chair. The plural of "cello" is "celli", like Shelly but with a "ch". Celli usually receive melodic or harmony parts. The tone is mellow and serene but if sloppy sounds like a wounded animal. Here is Yo Yo Ma, the most well known cellist of our time:

And finally comes the viola. The viola looks like an overweight violin. The viola has the three lower strings of a violin: G, D, and A, but instead of an E string like a violin, they have a C string the poor dears. And composers throughout time must not have been particularly fond of violas because their music is often ridiculously monotonous and repetitive. So in relation to violin and cello orchestra music, their part is fairly easy. And there has been one to many poor violists due to not enough challenging music. For these reasons violas have become the butt of many an orchestra joke.

My teacher recently copied me a list of orchestra jokes and on this list were the following jokes (I think they're funny):

Q: How do you make a violin sound like a viola?

A: Sit in the back and don't play.

Q: A violinist and a violist fall off a tall building, who hits the ground first?

A: The violinist; the violist stops to ask directions.

Q: How do you know if a viola section is at your door?

A: No one knows when to come in.

Requirement for the 2nd round of the International Viola competition: Holding the viola by memory.

Q: What do bad airplane mechanics and violists have in common?

A: They both screw up Boeings.

"The violist is the hermaphrodite of the orchestra," British conductor Thomas Beecham.

And here's one I made up:

Q: Why aren't the violas split into two sections like violins?

A: They would all be 2nds.

Now lets see....

2008-10-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Issues I watched:
1. Whether questions are answered
2. ACORN
3. Whether McCain takes the bate and attacks Obama on Bill Ayers
4. If Obama calls Sen. McCain "John"
5. The funny faces they make while the other person is talking
6. I'm watching on CNN so I I'll try not to watch that addicting little men/women approval feed

Reaction:
1. I think the questions were answered more extensively than in the previous debates, maybe due to follow up questions.
2. I wish this was more talked about. It is a pretty shameful occurrence and shouldn't be ignored. One man was registered to vote seventy something times? Ridiculous. Maybe debates aren't the best place to deal with ACORN, but someone somewhere should.
3. Sen. McCain didn't attack Sen. Obama as hard as I thought on Bill Ayers. I'm glad about that because there is nothing to be gained there.
4. I didn't pay complete attention to this one but, I did hear Sen. Obama call McCain "John" a couple times, and that irks me. I didn't much like the "Say it ain't so, Joe" comments by Governor Palin either, but at least that was in humour. Overall, its fairly unimportant, it just sounds dismissive.
5. Sen. Obama's faces and awkward smiles aren't as awkward as Sen. McCain's. He often adopted the "stuffed frog" look while Sen. Obama spoke. His "I got 'em" look after the whole Plumber Joe discussion was priceless.
6. I did watch the male/female independent Ohio voters feed, and it appeared that the men like McCain more and the women prefer Obama.

It was the best debate of the three and I wish there were more. I think that McCain won the night because of his "I'm not president Bush" line. He needed to say that. Then again, Obama dealt gracefully with Bill Ayers, but McCain had to do well and he did.

Things I'm looking for during the Third Debate

2008-10-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

1. Whether questions are answered
2. ACORN
3. Whether McCain takes the bate and attacks Obama on Bill Ayers
4. If Obama calls McCain "John"
5. The funny faces they make while the other person is talking
6. I'm watching on CNN so I I'll try not to watch that addicting little men/women approval feed

Just... one... more... level...

2008-10-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

Gah... can't beat level three. It is so addicting.

www.winterrowd.com

Most of the peeing has stopped!

2008-09-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

Like I said, most of the peeing has stopped!

Some months ago we got an Irish Terrier who we named Orla, see this post. She is finally learning when and where to "piddle" and thanks to a wonderful, magical pill, her coprophagia (thats the polite term) has stopped. She is currently confined to the kitchen/dining room area, the deck, and a fenced-off portion of the back yard. We have been taking her into different rooms in her crate while we occupy the room so that she will get used to being in new places. We are now letting her run around some in carpeted areas, much to her delight and excitement. Unfortunately, excitement can mean several things to a puppy...

She has enrolled in a puppy "obedience class". Every Tuesday night we take her to it and there maybe ten or twelve other dogs there, and Orla wants to play with every one. She has got down "sit", even with only the hand signal, "comes" when she wants to, is catching on to "down" (lie down), has problems with "stay", and stares blankly at "make Samuel breakfast". She's doing well, though.

If you know how to make a dog prepare breakfast, please let me know.

Creepy

2008-09-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

read the material from the blogs I read via Google Reader. Google Reader makes some recommendations as well as showing the blogs you already are subscribed to. I clicked on one called the Anchoress . The second post included this video:

How creepy is that little girl? Vote now on the new poll on my blog.

Music

2008-09-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've arrived at a few favorite music groups. And because I haven't blogged in a while, I'll just make a list of the music groups I like. Not original, but hey, its a way to get to know me a little.

U2-
A couple years ago before spring break, I was at a friends house and saw "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (a recent U2 CD) lying around his house. A little before this I'd been seeing a lot of articles about Bono, U2, and humanitarian efforts in newspapers and magazines. He let me borrow it for the trip. I listened to it on the way to the airport in Detroit. I remember thinking how strange the music sounded. I was raised on ABBA (Mum's favorite), Supertramp, Springsteen, maybe some Dylan, and Schubert, Mozart, and Brahms. This CD was like nothing I'd ever heard before. At first I didn't like it, but after a couple more runt-throughs it was the only CD I would listen to. This lasted for a good few months, then I started listening to some earlier U2. Needless to say I can't wait for their next album to come out next year.

Simon and Garfunkle-
I'd like to add another group to the list above of music I was raised on: Simon and Garfunkle. The earliest I remember listening to them is when I would vacuum the dining room area. Its interesting the things that you remember. More recently I added a three CD collection of their "Greatest Hits" to my iPod. They are now on my list. My favorite song of their's is "Bleeker Street". It is a perfect example of all that I like about Simon and Garfunkle: beautifully poetic lyrics and a simple song structure.

Bruce Springsteen-
I really don't like "Born in the USA". It doesn't take a musical genius to take six syllables and repeat them throughout the entirety of the song. But last year Dad got a collection of Springsteen songs for his birthday or Christmas, and I started listening to them and actually liked them. I was surprised to find that he has songs with lyrics that don't repeat. I was also surprised after reading the lyrics of some of the songs on the web as to what actually is being sung. I'm not sure I want to understand all of the lyrics. But listening to the songs, I've found some good songs with cool harmonica lines and good rock beats.

Also ran/ rising on the list:
Johnny Cash
Journey
The Fray

Maybe:
Pink Floyd
The Killers

Good Words Wanted

2008-09-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

I think the best game of tall time (so far) is Apples to Apples. If you haven't heard of it, go out and buy it immediately and thank me later. It is a good game for old friends or for getting to know people.

If you know the game, skip this paragraph:
In Apples to Apples there are red noun cards and green adjective cards. Every turn there is a judge. The judge draws from one of the multiple decks a green card and reads the word aloud. Then all of the players (this game can go from 4-12 players and up, the more players the better the game is) look at their hand of seven red cards, picks the card he or she thinks the judge would choose, and lays it face down on the table. The judge picks up all of the red cards, shuffles them, and reads them aloud, and then picks his or her favorite card. The person who played the chosen red card wins the green card. The red cards are then discarded, and the green card goes to the winner of the round. The judge position moves to the next person, and a new round begins. You play until a person wins a certain amount of cards.

I have the Party Box and expansion kit number one. They both come with blank cards where you can write your own words... I need help with coming up with adjectives and nouns. Be creative. They can have multiple words as long as it describes something or is something. If I find any I really like (because I'll get tons of entries) I'll post the ones I choose.

Back to School

2008-09-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

We're Going to be Friends
by the White Stripes

Fall is here, hear the yell
back to school, ring the bell
brand new shoes, walking blues
climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends

Walk with me, Suzy Leethrough the park and by the tree
we will rest upon the ground
and look at all the bugs we found
then safely walk to school
without a sound

Well here we are, no one else
we walked to school all by ourselves
there's dirt on our uniforms
from chasing all the ants and worms
we clean up and now its time to learn
Numbers, letters, learn to spell
nouns, and books, and show and tell
at playtime we will throw the ball
back to class, through the hall
teacher marks our height
against the wall
And we don't notice any time pass
we don't notice anything
we sit side by side in every class
teacher thinks that I sound funny
but she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while in my bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the bugs and alphabet
and when I wake tomorrow I'll betthat you and I will walk together again
cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

This song kind of characterizes my memories of my childhood although I had no Suzy Lee, I had Jake, Mattie, and Kenny. Its hard to believe that its been 5 to 10 years ago that I was running around in "the field" with my buddies pretending to be wizards, elves, dark elves (there is a difference), dwarfs, GI's, spies, and people on cigarette commercials (we did parodies).

Mattie, Me, and Jake

My attitude towards going back to school is fairly reluctant. I'm glad and grateful for my education. I think my reluctance is from a longing for running around and playing with friends until sundown one more time. I dislike getting older.

The Funny Way Things Work Out

2008-08-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Its been a long summer for me: dog escapades, studying hard to test out of a class (and failing to do so, stupid timed essays), going to DC. So recently, the Friday before last, my family took a road trip of sorts. We started out hitting my mum's side in Lakewood, New York. Then Monday, we went to Hopewell, Virginia to visit my Dad's family.

After all of the family fun we took an overnight visit to Shenandoah National Park in the Virginian Mountains. When he was a kid, my dad spent much of his summers camping in this area. The place we stayed at is called Skyland. We took a hike to the top of a nearby mountain and ate some pretty good food there. When we hit the gift shop, after looking around, I saw the perfect hat: it is tan and blue, with SNP on it. It is the epitome of head wear, the cream of the crock, the tip of the top so to speak.

My dad bought if for me because he usually likes to get his kids a little gift on vacations (he bought my sister a pair of earrings to maintain all important Sibling Balance). This hat is so cool, that it gets a 47 on the E scale (yeah, it's that awesome). So the next morning we left for West Virginia. I was wearing the hat on the ride to our destination, needless to say.

We stayed at Canaan Valley Resort in Canaan Valley. (When I was 3 or 4, my family stayed here with my dad's sister's family, so my uncle, aunt, and cousins.) While there we went horse riding, swimming in the two hotel pools, and on the second day of our stay we went to a local village and visited a couple of funky looking shops. We went to an art gallery called Mountain Made that features West Virginian artists. Then we filed back into the car and visited an old hardware store that now carries a bunch of stuff (including itching powder!). We hopped over to a smaller branch of Mountain Made, realized we saw most of the stuff already and left. Then we hit up a local coffee house called the Purple Fiddle for some ice cream. The Purple Fiddle used to be run by a theologian and we visited the last time we were in the area (when I was 3 or 4). It now hosts fiddle duels and local artists. Throughout this excursion, I wore my hat and took it off and played around at it at every opportunity. I don't have ADD or anything, but my dad does call me Little Mister Busy Fingers, and the name is well earned.

After swimming that night, we ate local restaurant, and went to bed. The next day we headed out to climb a mountain, and I realized that I could not find my hat... it was gone.

I lose things fairly easily due to the above reason and the reason that I don't consistently put things in the same spot after I'm done with them. I once "lost" my iPod and put signs up all over my neighborhood, in EVERY MAILBOX IN MY DEVELOPMENT, and in some local businesses. Later that week, I checked my backpack for the fourth time, and found it in a pocket that I never use, and ironically, I remember I put it in there because I thought it would be easy to remember

Back to the main story: that 47 point hat was gone... where could it be? A restaurant, four shops, our car, our hotel room, and the rest of the resort. Whoa! We combed the car and the restaurant and couldn't find it. Visited the indoor pool, and it wasn't there. We tried calling the hardware store and the restaurant, but the phone wouldn't work. We then visited the restaurant that we ate at the night before. We looked after mountain climbing, the next day (yesterday), and this morning. We did other things beside searching for the hat, we swam some more, I read, and we watched the DNC (out of interest for the system). But for me the main thing was finding my hat. It cost $17 and I kinda talked my dad into it, so I felt bad even before I lost it.

This morning, I gave up. We had to go home, and it just so happened we would pass the shops we visited the day earlier, so I agreed to look some more, after all the hat is perfect. I dropped into the first Mountain Made store and talked to the very nice lady at the desk, she said it hadn't been turned in there and she called the other store, no luck there either. I left her my e-mail. The hardware store wasn't open, and it wasn't to be found at the Purple Fiddle... drat! So we drove home.

When I reached home at 10 PM or so, I had two messages from a lady whose name I didn't recognize but the subjects were "FOUND HAT!" and "Your hat?". I opened the first and the picture attachment didn't work. I opened the second and I saw this picture (it wont show on the blog) and a note saying that the staff had found this hat. If your thick, the hat they found was mine.

DNC- Jim Leach

2008-08-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

Its pretty nice in West Virginia at Canaan Valley Resort. I rode a horse for the first time yesterday. We can swim, play volleyball, mini golf, go to tourist towns. We're having a good time. We were relieved to find a TV in our room, we thought there would be none. My family wanted to watch the Olympic closing ceremonies and the Democratic National Convention. The Olympic ceremonies were way too long in my opinion, though technologically impressive.

Yesterday I watched as much of the DNC as I could, not because of any strong interest in the candidate or the party, but a strong interest in the political process. They had many speakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Rep. Jim Leach, Michelle Obama, Michelle Obama's brother Craig Robinson, and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. III among others.

CNN to my knowledge was the only network that broadcasted the convention. I wanted to hear the speeches, but it seemed as if they (CNN) just wanted to talk the whole time, to my annoyance. After a while they got the picture: they let Senator Kennedy talk, they let Michelle Obama talk (she was the headliner), they let her brother talk (?). But when it was Jim Leach's turn, Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer crack a couple of jokes saying how "dry" and "boring" and "off-topic" he is and cut to a break. Who cares about Obama's brother-in-law? Why is he more important then Jim Leach, who is a republican voting for Obama? I thought Leach would have some interesting things to say, but I never heard his speech thanks to the staff of CNN. Now you can go to cnn.com and see any speech you happend to miss, but there is no WIFI in our hotel room, and the lobby (where I am now) has a computer that is open to all of the resort, so it is occupied often.

So, tonight, day 2 of the convention, I hope to see more of the speakers, RELEVANT speaker I should say. No more Craig Robinson or Jesse Jackson Jr. or even Michelle Obama.

Rant over.

Burlap Wears (Down) Easily

2008-08-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

You see, I like the title of this post. It makes sense with or without the (Down) part.

Main story: Yesterday, I got a pair of TOMS Shoes. I wear 10s but usually I need a 10 wide or 11. My last pair of shoes that are fairly new are Converses size 11... they run so dang thin. And don't think I'm obsessed with shoes, because, I'm not... I figured I'd order a pair and they'd be to small, or too large, so I'd ship it back and repeat the process over again, but luckily, they fit. A little awkwardly at first, but the great thing about TOMS is, they mold to your feet and are REALLY comfortable.

The cool thing about TOMS is, that if you buy a pair of shoes, they will hand distribute a pair to a child who has no shoes, they've been to Argentina and a country in Africa so far. Its a good thing that they send another pair to someone who needs them, otherwise the $40-50 price tag may seem high for a pair of slip on thingies.

They have some flaws though. In the shoe I got (pictured above), the burlap is already starting to get a little fuzzy, and the soles have noticeably worn down some. There are newer shoes in which these problems may have decreased. One problem that can't be fixed is the kinda girly loafer look, but I suppose you could say it is "avant-garde" or "visionary" or something PC like that.

Overall, cool shoes, but it could be at least $5 cheaper. Buy one!
On the E Scale: 34 (out of 47)

By the way, if one of the TOMS Shoes crew wants to make a discount code because of this blog, that would be pretty cool. Its happened before.