in silence find we meaning (includes episode three three in one project).

"silence is a source of great strength."

  --lao tzu

(that means this blog has grown very powerful.)

it's been a while. even by my standards. a lot has gone on since june twentieth, but not too much that you'll care about, so i'll streamline.

first of all, there are two musical projects that i need to get posted. the first was another three in one project. they're already on facebook, but in case you missed them (heaven forbid), here they are (there's more blog-vomit to read after the videos, if you're interested).

 three in one project, episode three:

"psyanky."

 

 "he's all ober this."

"two men, two kites."

the other musical project was my one in seven project. that is, one album in seven days. the whole thing is extremely rough, but at the end of the seven was a collection of thirteen tracks. i'll do another post for those soon, but if you want the album, just get a hold of me and i'll e-mail the whole thing to you in mp3. 

beyond the world of music, i've had a few entertaining experiences. i trained for and was able to finish a sprint length triathlon and a half marathon over the last few weekends. my times were unimpressive in comparison to most people in my age bracket, but for me and my habitually sedentary self, these are nice accomplishments. my right ankle didn't take as kindly to my half marathon, so i've been neglecting the running as of late. however, i'm taking a swimming class this semester which has been a great thing. it's basically a required bit of exercise every few days, and its helping improve my awful swim times. win win. i do have to use the locker room though... so win win lose, i suppose. just the same, it's a great time (the pool--not the locker room).

and the last bit of big news, i'm graduating in december. this is exciting, though also terrifying as i read dozens of articles noting that graduates are having a difficult time finding jobs, and likely will for some time. in case your graduating soon and would like some halloween reading:

college graduates unemployed.

no job for college graduates, so why go?

increase in unemployed graduates.

fresh out of college, slim hope for a job.

and the personal favorite:

jobs crisis could spark riots here

if i don't get a job, at least i can get tear gassed.

still, i'm really excited to graduate. i confess, worksheets are becoming a greater and greater challenge to complete. besides, we all know what happens after i graduate--the chops return and remain in triumph!

--trace.

l'blog pour l'blog.

"l'art pour l'art."

("art for art's sake.")

--french slogan (source debated)

i recently was reading my friend laura's blog where she discussed the purposes behind her blogging. it was a good read, and had me start thinking the my own blog's roots. my first blog post was four sentences long.

quote: 

disaster has struck, and i'm now a "blogger." or, you could take the immature route and think that i'm a "booger." i personally think that's the funnier option.

and on that note, my first blog post is complete.

this was the beginning of something that has now been in progress for two years,one month, and fifteen days as of the time of this post. while this description may make it sound like some sort of noble quest, you, my two readers, surely know otherwise. what it is, in fact, is a little nook of lund on the net. a place for me to ramble and for you to wish i didn't. 

this blog has roots in things since passed and addressed in posts previous in a variety of, at times absurd or stupid, ways. at these times i mainly wanted an outlet besides punching a wall. nowadays, however, i find myself punching fewer walls and needing less frequent bizarre allegories.

so why do i keep this up, my dear two readers?

l'blog pour l'blog.

blogging about paper.

*important*
to read this post, click on the giant notebook. feel free to scroll down after you read it.

now feel free to scroll down.

in case you were curious, this is what it looks like without the flip--with matchbook authenticity check even! just click on this notebook to see it in a better, more glorious resolution.

remarkably pleasant things.

"love is like a butterfly,
as soft and gentle as a sigh.
the multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings."
--dolly parton

i love dolly parton, and i love this song. it's delightfully pleasant. and this prompts this thought--that i feel sometimes that pleasant things are under appreciated. the fact is that when people could have something exciting, new, or especially "wow!" they'll typically choose it. that's my guess as to why much of classic folk music has lost its popularity. we've, as a society, swapped out the pleasantries of folk music for the loud, zippy beeps and rubbish lyrics of dance hall music. why? because while dolly parton's pleasant, she's not as exciting or ridiculous as lady gaga. because while the dubliners are charming, they're not as sexual as fergie (thankfully). because while listening to burl ives and drinking an herbal tea is hard to beat, you can't escape the beat of a heavy dance hall anthem.

there is a place for different genre's for certain. i don't especially enjoy dance hall music, and i never listen to it. likewise, i'm sure there are others who'd say the same for folk music. the important thing here is that the same way for every adventure you go on, you should have the moment of relaxation to match--for the loud and exciting music of your fancy, enjoy something a bit more soft and pleasant. i assure you, it's an enjoyable experience.

and if you need somewhere to start, by all means, dolly parton is a great jumping point.

illusory correlations.

"of course i failed--i forgot to wear my lucky trousers."

the most clear and concise explanation of illusory correlation that i've found comes from wikipedia: "the phenomenon of seeing the relationship one expects in a set of data even when no such relationship exists." data here can be taken as traditional data (statistics, reports, etc.), and can also be applied to a broader scope in understanding it as events, experiences, perceptions, and so on.

this is a common phenomenon and examples of it can be found in most any context. stereotypes are an extremely common example, studies claiming correlation between environmental factors and personal effects can readily fall victim to it, and people simply seeking explanations will typically find them, though they may be completely irrelevant and utterly incorrect (conveniently animating this principle). this is why someone may think that people named trace are not as handsome as neils or rogers(after people meet me, neil, and roger), that pot roasts cure colds (after an ill child pips up after a bit of beef), or that a pair of trousers dictates his or her academic fate (after a success or failure in a pair of 501s).

i've not failed any tests as of recent, but illusory correlations have certainly seemed to have played a role in many of my recent actions. both in the way i make decisions and in the way i explain the reasons of their successes or failures, retrospect and further experience seems to be showing where various correlations were indeed illusory.

from merriam-webster:
illusory: based on or producing illusion.
correlation: the state or relation of correlated. specifically : a relationship existing between phenomena or things.

conversations with sheila.

"good mornin' starshine, the earth says hello.
you twinkle above us, we twinkle below.
good mornin' starshine, you lead us along
my love and me as we sing our early mornin' singin' song.

glibby gloop gloopy, nibby nabby noopy, la la la lo lo.
sabba sibby sabba, nooby abba nabba, le le lo lo.
tooby ooby walla, nooby abba nabba,
early mornin' singin' song."

--sheila (hair, 1967)

the preceding selection contains one of the most unappealing bits of lyricism i've ever heard or would care to imagine. i find them such for the two main reasons of one) them being nonsensical, cheap rhymes and two) failing to make up for that by not even being pleasing to the ear. they don't roll off the tongue, and they don't flow to the ear, and they don't drive to the heart--or anywhere else in the body for that matter. now don't get up in arms--i do like this song. i hate the "early morning singin' song," but do enjoy the bulk and presentation of it. and besides, to a degree i can appreciate the fact that though sheila sounds ridiculous (not in an entertaining or mutually enjoyable way, but in an "it hurts to watch" kind of way) she very well may be trying to say something very reasonable--maybe even important.

i can relate to that at times. i've something relevant or important to say and all i can do is speak the early mornin' singin' song. it's rather frustrating, as i'm sure at least one of you two readers can relate. but oh, the things i would be saying if i could be saying it. what secrets are being held hostage by sheila's inability to escape the early mornin' singin' song? maybe many, maybe few, but the tragedy is that we'll never know. at least until the sequel to hair comes out...

--trace

doin' the fresh water jive.

just a quick note. the last post up, "fresh water," is an assignment for a biology class that was requested to be turned in via a blog. i figured you, my two readers, may be confused as to why i decided to post such. so there's your explanation. and to make this post more than just a paragraph of announcement, here's a delightful bit of music for you to enjoy.

with hippie love,

--trace

george michael.

my friend laura is currently undertaking a project having to do with grief, made up of visual and written components. whilst discussing it, one thing she pointed out is the fact that often grief is sourced in the death, not of people, but of relationships or opportunities. and that made me think of george michael.

i should have thought of wham, but i thought of george michael. forgive me, andrew.

this is one of my top ten songs of all time. possibly my top five, depending on when you ask me. this is the song i listen to when i'm grieving, so to speak. not death related grief, but for grief related to everything else. end of a relationship? missed internship opportunity? red head didn't return my flirtatious advance? time for some wham.

i could go into an in-depth analysis of why this is. but i shan't. suffice it to say that this song is perfect for it. this song is a lament of the loss of something loved, the acceptance of a loss, the celebration of the future. i can dig that.

that being said, i don't want you, two readers, to think that things are bad right now. things are going well for me, and i'm enjoying them at that. this conversation just sparked this thought and i thought i'd share it in case either of you needed a good break up/grief song. it is, in my opinion, the best of its breed.

and in case you need a pick-me-up more than a break up song, don't worry--we're still covered. enjoy!

check a box, before you go go.

--trace.

p.s.--one of these days i'll have a reason to post the best "things are great" songs. i guess... i gotta have faith.

respectowiggles and drinks.

"good morning, guests. though when i say good i don't mean it won't turn to rain or it might be snow, or fog, or thunder. you didn't get any sleep, i dare say."

there's something innately good and wholesome about reading in public spaces. i think the stereotypical yuppie reading in a coffee shop is onto something.

today i finished the silver chair from the chronicles of narnia. it's my third time reading through the series, and it's been quite enjoyable rereading and finding the stuff i'd missed in the readings prior. i've been reading through the series at work on break and when the cleanings done at the end of shift. today at work's end i had just short seventy pages left, and on the way home stopped at a local burger place and finished the book over a 'stubby double with cheese' and an order of fries. i'm not sure why it is, but for some reason reading a book in my room is completely different from reading somewhere outside the door of my apartment. i think it's the fact that you're going out of the way for leisure. you're not bored at home so you read. you're not going out to take care of business. you're going somewhere with a book for the purpose of doing something you don't need to do, you just want to do it. and there's something very freeing about that.

tonight, keeping with typical habit, i picked up a soda with the meal and enjoyed about a can's worth of dr. pepper and coke (a lovely little pop cocktail, or poptail, called 'black gold' according to the burger king soda charts). it's interesting. i used to get medium drinks. i don't anymore as i made the realization that my satisfaction with my drink has nothing to do with the size and everything to do with simply having that annoying, but nonetheless satisfying sort of growling noise you get when there isn't enough soda left to fill the straw. this started as i realized that a medium drink is often double or double plus the size of a can of soda, yet i'm as satisfied finishing one as the other, and the can typically doesn't end in the same digestive unease. so i started getting sodas that are closer in size to cans than kegs. i'm now actually enjoying the meals more. just an interesting little observation. if you're big on big sodas, i might recommend giving this a try.

and that's about it for now. thrilling business, no?

ending words with a zed.

as of recent, i've found myself doing things that i'd be far too lazy to do before. or perhaps too terrified. it may be some new found inner working or perhaps just being around shanise or maybe something different altogether, but it certainly is something.

one of these examples is improvisational comedy. for those of you unaware, back in my high school days i had the chance to take part in an improv troop at my high school. twas a fun venture that was quite fun while it lasted. at least for me. maybe not for everyone else, but they can write their own blog entries...

so last weekend shanise and i went to a local improv show by comedy sportz. (note: sportz, not sports. thus making it funny, or unusual.) i always loved doing improv back in the day. maybe it's the fact that i became lazy or whatever else, or maybe a busier schedule, but when i came to college and didn't find a troupe to join readily available i just didn't bother with it anymore. and now, for whatever reason, it's been five years since i've done any improv (outside of a myster dinner i did last year). but watching this show somehow awakened my love for the stuff, and i'm now signed up for their workshops. on one hand, it'll be fun just because it's a place to just play around doing improv. more importantly, though, is that the way they do 'auditions' for the proper troupe is seeing how they like you during said workshops and then, if you make the cut, inviting you to keep going and so on.

so we'll see what happens. i'm going in with the intention to try to get in since otherwise it seems a little silly to just go to workshops, dig? but at the end of the day, whether or not i do get in it should be a good time. we'll see. we'll see...

aldo.

as you may be aware from interaction with me or from blog posts past, i have some fairly varied interests. one of them is sci fi, and more specific to this post, planet of the apes.

in the original series' fifth and final installment, battle for the planet of the apes, humanity and apes are living in a fairly tense balance. they live in villages with humans as second class citizens. ceasar, the chimp leader of the ape revolution and leader of the establishment, feels that mankind had their chance and chose to war with and kill one another as well as mistreat apes. therefore, it was the ape race's role to care for society and assist humanity in maintaining its existence, as they've proved to be somewhat inept at it. and in order to prove they're of sterner stuff, apes establish a code of laws, the hallmark being 'ape must never kill ape.'

well, while ceasar is a worthy chimp with worthy intentions, others are not. enter aldo, the leader of the gorillas, the warriors of ape civilization. he has a rather tenacious dislike of humans and is eagerly trying to find an excuse to do us all in. well, he plans out a clever little way to do so and assembles a meeting of the gorillas to discuss a way to get martial law in order and attack a nearby human establishment. well, by some chance ceasar's good son cornelius (who aldo also hates as he always bests him in ape school) happens upon this little war council and scurries off to inform his father and the community. but aldo thinks fasts and hacks down the branch on which cornelius is perched, dropping him from the treebranch to the sickbed. then, while ceasar is at cornelius' side, aldo takes order to his own hand, starts the attack on humans both in an out of the village. in turn, cornelius passes and ceasar leaves the small home to find what's gone on in his absence.

the battle begins and in a moment of rest, one citizen makes it known that indeed cornelius' branch didn't break, but was hacked away. aldo has broken the great law. the crowd, realizing the gravity of aldo's action, circle and begin slowly chanting the horrible truth.

ape has killed ape.

i guess why i bring this up is that it's all too often that we become what we've faulted someone else for. myself included, as i always am in these sort of soap box posts. but it's really true. the practice can be found in politics, social circles, fashion, pop culture, and any number of other things. we seek to replace the humans only to follow their faults.

just something to think about, and it's always fun for me to have a chance to talk planet of the apes. and as i rarely get to with people face to face, i'll do so with my blog.

rorschach bell.

greetings.
we're going to try a little something with this post. i'm quite curious to see how it turns out. a little background first.

no doubt many of you have seen or heard of inkblot tests, more formally titled rorschach tests after their creator. the idea behind the test is that a participant is shown an ambiguous shape and the participant projects meaning onto it and says what the object "is." of course it's not really the shape of anything. it's completely random. the meaning it has to the viewer is only that which the viewer projects onto it. dig?

so i was eating taco bell today, as i often do, and on my way to my seat grabbed some extra hot sauce and napkins for today's post. here are the rules. as you scroll down the page, you'll be shown six sauceblots. your job is to decide what you think each is, and write it down. the blots will be numbered, so when you're done, post your numbered answers as a comment if you could be so kind. the only rules are that you only look at one sauceblot at a time and that you don't look at anyone else's answers before you have your own. we don't want their answers influencing yours.

and yes, they may not be exactly symmetrical. in an ideal world they would be, but with the resources as hand, we'll make do.

so... go ahead. start projecting meaning.

scroll down.

sauceblot one.

stop.

scroll down.

sauceblot two.

stop.

scroll down.

sauceblot three.

stop.

scroll down.

sauceblot four.

stop.

scroll down.

sauceblot five.

stop.

scroll down.

sauceblot six.

you're done! now remember, make sure you've recorded your answers before you go any further so that you don't see the answers that other people have placed before you put your own down. thanks! i look forward to seeing what everybody says. i'll post my answers as soon as i finish posting this whole thing.

thanks all, see you next time.

owain phyfe.

hey friends. it's been a while.

this is a quick post to share a bit of writing I did in one of my psychology classes. we were asked to write a quick paragraph or two about ourselves to help other people remember us. did i get a bit carried away? perhaps. on the other hand, they'll probably remember better for it. and as many of you may not really know me very well, i thought i'd post it to help introduce myself.

About... me.

The name is Trace Lund. Trace as in a synonym for residue; Lund as in the Swedish university. I’m a junior or senior depending on how you view my credits, as many psych majors are. My main interests in psychology are abnormal and developmental psych. Hopefully by the end of my academic journey I’ll be able to obtain a doctorate. But how knows? Maybe I’ll wind up being a traveling minstrel instead. Ideally, I’d be able to do both. I play a few stringed instruments, as well as general percussion, so it’s a fair possibility, really. I could travel the nation—nay, the world—spreading delightful music and programs designed to help all those willing to hear my words on psychology.

So. Hopefully you weren’t looking for anything to profound. I think the mental image of a mandolin-playing psychologist with a monocle (and possibly a traditional Victorian garb) may prove to be more helpful in remembering this than my age or town of origin.

i'm sure they'll all want to be in my group now. and no doubt this was very insightful for you. hopefully your new year is going well. maybe i'll post something worthwhile in the near future. maybe.

and here's the link to explain the title.

lance bass.

hello world. they say you should leave the best for last. this being the last of the series of nsync posts, i think we all knew which member would be last.

"shoot for the moon. even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
brian littrell
(about lance bass)

by way of friendly update, we're no closer to posting a link for the notebooks blog as i've still not received any submissions. so if you're really dieing to see it up and running, spread the good word.

anyway, this is one of those posts where i just get a chance to share things with everyone that i think are worth sharing. that's another reason i chose lance bass for this one. he's fantastic!

*disclamer*
blogger and/or youtube is being a punk and the video linking is being shotty. for now, please just accept my apologies, be old fashioned, and click the link.

first of all, a string of recent musical discoveries i've enjoyed. feel free to watch at your leisure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q46qCgBDdKM

haley bonar
this is a good little number of her's, but she's got more. just look around on youtube and they're pretty available.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8p3fjt4Do
peter and the wolf
i quite enjoy this song. i was quite quick to begin recommending this crew to friends, and then started listening to their other stuff, and it wasn't quite as awesome... but anyway, it's worth checking out this song at least. also, live, they aren't exactly stellar. not to make a jab, or anything, but after watching that link, try this one. same song. live. i was a little dissapointed, though i get the impression they may have been drinking prior to this performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVYcfOEPmLk&feature=related

anyway, i enjoyed it.

the next is a bit of spam mail i received over the weekend. i usually don't bother cleaning out my spam folder. but when i do, i enjoy seeing if there's anything humerous to be found. for whatever reason, i found this one quite funny, and share it now.
i couldn't tell you why, but i found it hilarious. maybe i'm just imagining this scene play out.

(Lights up on a small apartment living room. The table is set for a romantic evening. Tom is seen opening a bottle of wine, the finishing touch in his preparations. The door opens. Enter Kathy.)
Kathy: Oh! What's this?
Tom: Oh, aren't you a few minutes early?
Kathy: Yeah, business got slow towards the end of the shift and Jeff let me off early. What's all this about?
Tom: Happy anniversary. (He pours a glass of wine and hands it to Kathy, then doing the same for himself. He raises his glass.) To us. (Kathy gets visibly uncomfortable. Setting down the glass, she heads for the door. He pursues her.) Kathy! What's the matter? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to put any pressure on you, just wanted to celebrate a little. It seems like we've been so stressed lately. I thought it was a good excuse for a little relaxing...
Kathy: (Turning around, trying to hide how upset she is.) I know, I know... It's just hard to look at you... right now... just sometimes...
Tom: Kathy? What are you saying?
Kathy: I... I... it's just... (Beat.) I do not care for your clothes. (At this she begins to cry.)
Tom: Kathy... I'm so sorry... (They embrace.) I'll change... Give me a second. I'll be right back.
(Lights begin to fade as Tom exits to a door stage right, undoing his tie. Kathy sits, sips at her wine.)
Kathy:I do love him...
(To black. Fin.)

touching, isn't it? i think i may need to pursue that script...

and lastly, the random article function on wikipedia. give it a spin. it's good fun.

and that concludes this post, and the nsync post series. thank you justin, joey, j.c., chris and lance. you truly do make the world a brighter, since you are all such bright stars.

best wishes,

trace.

chris kirkpatrick.

this is going to be a short post. and as such, i thought i'd name it after the shortest member of nsync, chris kirkpatrick.


yes, i know the photo isn't really all that fair, but he really is the shortest. ask any real fan and they'll tell you the same.

anyway, short post. i'm attempting to start up a new blog. it's basically themed around notebook art, as in the kind you draw during class, on the phone, at work, or anywhere else where you're really not supposed to be. this is just sort of an invitation to submit some if you wouldn't mind sharing it. you can submit your work or questions to therealreasonfornotebooks@gmail.com. when i get the blog up and running (which is contingent on how much i recieve, if any) i'll post a link to it, of course.

so please do submit. we'll see if this can get anywhere. and we're not picky. if you drew a flaming scorpion in microsoft paint when you should have been studying, submit it.

thanks. i hope to recieve some from the lot of you.

grilled cheese and get up kids.

to the both of you--
i just wanted to write and say that you two are the best, and i still enjoy your company. you may have been worried for a bit since we weren't hanging out as often. and outside of the usual "i don't have any bread" or "i forgot my headphones" excuses, yes, i wasn't seeing you as much.

grilled cheese, i've seen you nearly every day for the last week and a half, so you know that we're on good terms. it's refreshing to be able to see you again as often as i once did, though i know my double chin is probably even more excited to make a victorious return. because of that, we may have to limit our correspondence to tuesdays, thursdays, and special occasions. but still, you know i love you, right?

get up kids, you're probably a bit more upset with me. yes, i know that i swore i'd see your show tonight in salt lake no matter what, and now i'll most likely be cleaning toilets and listening to cds from eighth grade while you're performing. but i'll make good use of the chance to explain it to you when i find my live at granada cd. until then, just know that i have my reasons. some more practical and some more relate-able to your lyrics, but all ones justifying my absence as i'm sure you would agree. i'll buy you sodas next time you're in town.
promise.

but really, my two dear friends, i'm just happy to be friends again. you are wonderful and i do enjoy you ever so much. i apologize for neglecting our friendship for the past little while, but rest assured, such times are past. i'm glad i can finally see you clearly again without having anything taint the image. you and some more of my good friends were hard to be around for a bit, but all is well, all is well. i'm glad i can once again enjoy melodramatic lyrics and the taste of a bowling alley without reserve and be happy. forgive me.

best wishes, friends. i'll see you soon.
--trace

minnie and me.

this post is devoted to my stout friend jimmy and my tall friend neil.

(jimmy)............(neil)

the three of us went to school together. i moved into the area where i lived out my teenage years the summer of 2000. i think. i met them in eighth grade when wee trace was floundering around morgan middle school. we were pretty tight friends throughout high school, and had many a zany experience. i wish i could tell you how these two met, but i wasn't around and i'm sure i'd get the story wrong. so oh well.

anyway, it's 1:19 in the morning and i'm looking for something to write about. then i realized that these guys are awesome. so i decided to post this.

the number of stories i've told that begin with either "one time, me and my friend jimmy..." or "i remember once that neil decided that..." i couldn't tell you, but they are many. and that's realizing that most of the best stories haven't been told. at least not out of the circle of the three of us. stories involving mama mia, throwing a tv from a roof (in a tweed suit), camping on the watertower, fake tattoos, pirates, oslo the dog, and lot and lots of sharpees. it's wonderful. you can't put a price on memories like that.

anyway, as of recent things have gotten really weird in a few very particular ways. so having a set of friends such as these is really nice. i worry at times about how a lot of my friendships are based on specific things. i.e., classes, mutual friends, team fortress... once those things are gone, so are those friends (or worse). it's always reassuring to know that these two weenies are always around to remind me with a noogie that i have some of the best weenies in the world as friends.

so, to you two losers whom i adore so much, thank you for being a friend, to quote the theme from golden girls. you guys are great. i (saying this at the expense of being sentimental) sincerely hope i've been as a good a friend to you guys as you've to me.


and to everybody else who read this, chances are you're very cool too. and i'm probably friends with you... probably.

roast mutton.

i love 'the hobbit'. granted, i haven't read the full lord of the rings trilogy, but i think what i've read (the first of them all), i still prefer bilbo to frodo. at least his book. this is for lots of reasons, but i think a big part of it is the fact that in reading it i was introduced to all sorts of new creatures, peoples, ideas and so on and so forth that when i read the fellowship it just didn't have the same kick in the pants as found in 'there and back again.'

one chapter is still a favorite. i took the liberty of having this post share the name of the chapter, "roast mutton." the basic summary (starting some way into the chapter) is that bilbo, being the master thief he is, is assigned by his accompanying dwarves to investigate a fire in the distance of the woods and either befriend the owners, or pilfer some food. he's to give warning if it's dangerous. he is caught by three trolls round the fire, but is able to escape. sadly, the dwarves without the warning have since gone in themselves and been captured and bound, one by one by the said trolls. as things seem worst, the trolls argue and contemplate the fate of the dwarves. all of them involve somehow eating them, but the big debate rests between boiling, bludgeoning to goo, roasting, etc., etc., etc.. luckily, they oafish trolls wind up debating on this point for so long and arguing about whatever they can, really, the morning comes, and with it the sun that turns three trolls to stone. but of course, the narrow escape has more than meets the eye. gandalf (our resident wizard) reveals himself and the fact that he had been perpetuating the arguement the whole time using voices to match each troll and irritating the others to buy time 'til morning. with the dwarves freed, and a key to their lair in hand, they continue on the journey. the trolls are turned to stone because they're each convinced the others are trying to undermine their own efforts or ideas (you could say things about the dwarves as well, but we'll save that for another over-analyitical post). so, lesson learned. when you insist on arguing, whether you're in the wrong or in the right, it usually leads to the same thing. being made of stone, and more generally speaking, stale mates and failure all around. and now to justify the title. the chapter's name comes from the troll's heard conversation prior to bilbo's being caught. a snippet from the text:

"Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer," said one of the trolls.

"Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough," said a second. "What the 'ell William was a-thinkin' of to bring us into these parts at all, beats me - and the drink runnin' short, what's more," he said jogging the elbow of William, who was taking a pull at his jug.

William choked. "Shut yer mouth!" he said as soon as he could. "Yer can't expect folk to stop here for ever just to be et by you and Bert. You've et a village and a half between yer, since we come down from the mountains. How much more d'yer want? And time's been up our way, when yer'd have said 'thank yer Bill' for a nice bit o' fat valley mutton like what this is." He took a big bite off a sheep's leg he was toasting, and wiped his lips on his sleeve.

they were fed up with roast mutton. they wanted to eat man flesh. is that so wrong? i don't think so. not for a troll, anyway. so i think to myself, "i enjoy roast mutton. but every night? i want to eat human," speaking allegorically. and then, pop! in comes a hobbit. a little thing like that would be easy enough and, though not a full person, better meat just the same. lose the hobbit. that's a shame. gain a bunch of dwarves. what a stroke of luck. spend the whole night bickering and turn to stone. that's the biggest shame. that they had what they wanted (moreso in a way, because trolls hate dwarves. eating them would be like an ultimate double whammy), and then it's gone. all gone. sometimes it's like i'm currently in one of two phases of the story. a) lost the hobbit, now hoping to have dwarves show up, or b) bickering until sunrise.

neither one is very satisfying, so at some point i'm hoping to move into the the-hobbit's-a-hero-let's-go-retrieve-the-trolls'-treasure portion of the story soon. that would be nice.

on a seperate note, but one that helped to pick the chapter's name, i grew out some infant mutton chops this weekend, which was very enjoyable. they only had just short of a week to grow, so nothing to impressive, but it was fun to have them while i did. from thursday to tuesday around 4:30 they were still around. but, then they had to come off. but they live on in spirit, and will continue to live on during weekends, holidays, and school breaks.

anyway, long winded, probably pretty boring, and completely normal for this blog; this post is done. thanks for reading, and i'll see you next time.

trace lund

revelations from the noggin (fairly boring).

thanks is owed to my friend lee-ann for her post on her blog (found here, if you're curious) that featured some tests she took from the noggin website. now, not only do i love taking pointless quizzes, and love noggin from my teenage days, but i'm also eager to find distractions from lots of things. you may have noticed that from the slur of posts over the last little bit in comparison to my usual consistency in posting. you could say i'm blog vomiting, or blomiting, these days. or maybe blogiting... i can't decide.


anyway, some results for you. and some commentary.

this one may or may not be accurate according to which element of my life you want to take in for examination. on the whole, i'll say that's fairly accurate.



this one isn't very accurate at all. i watch gossip girl when i'm the mood for just about anything, because i'm always in the mood for gossip girl.







key word: jolly. when you're jolly, you can get away with any flavor. you can also melt in pockets--don't read into that.





i didn't realize this test was just for girls until half way through, and it was only about six eight questions long, so i finished it anyway. besides, the semester is starting soon so i need all the tips i can get. sadly, this one didn't prove all that helpful as i already planned on wearing plenty of plaid.

and to end on a strong note, one more bit of evidence that i should have been born with a horn growing out of my forehead, just like i've been saying all along. we all knew that i had to end this slur of quizzes with one that was accurate.


well, that was a waste of time for both you and me. hopefully you didn't bother reading unless you were as bored or desperate for distraction as i was when i wrote it/was doing my research for it.

and by way of announcement, mark williams is very cool. we once lit a small, paper mermaid on fire. i'll have to tell that story another day. it was fun. i have pictures too.


so long, everybody.