justin timberlake.

i couldn't tell you why, but i really wanted to title this post "justin timberlake." probably for no real reason other than the novelty of naming a blog post after a member of n*sync. but hopefully by explaining myself, i'm...

...justified.

with the explanation out of the way, the rest of this waste of time can continue.
for the unaware, last weekend--wait, two weekends ago--i fell ill. i had the pleasure of going to the health center, wearing a biohazard mask, and having a six inch q-tip shoved far enough up my nose that my brain started pushing back. just before the doctor put the thing in, she handed me a tissue and said, "when i do this, your eyes are going to run like crazy and your nose will probably do the same." and indeed it did. as soon as it entered my right nostril my left retaliated, and yes, the tissue was very much appreciated.

following the interrogation, i got to take the swab to the lab, wait for results, and then be told they weren't really sure what i had. but don't worry, they were still confident enough in my illness that they banned me from campus for the next four days. those four days were thursday, friday, and the weekend. so two days of no classes and then no church. made for an interesting weekend.

when i'd reccuperated, i returned to find my midterms happily waiting for me; staring into my eyes with they're own and grinning sadistically. all things considered, they went alright. because i was having to play catch up and study for all of them at the same time i didn't exactly ace them, but as i knew that was coming, i planned ahead and things should still be able to work out fine in the long run.

this weekend, though, i'm missing class for a weekend by the sea rather than a weekend with the chills playing my roommate's wii. that's a welcome difference. also, the drive to san diego should supply plenty of time to read text books and sleep, both of which i always insist i'll do when i'm sick. then i get sick, remember how apathetic i become towards everything, and wind up beating guitar hero.

so yeah, should be a good time. a pleasant break from things for a few days--at least in presence. if anybody would like me to bring you back some sand, just let me know. i'd be happy to. just get me a vial.

watch for my next post, "joey fatone." as i've named one post after a member of n*sync already, i think in naming the next likewise, i'd be...

justified.

when the bee stings.

sometimes we all just need a good pick me up. .we need something that will make us feel better. sometimes we need a few of our favorite things. like raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, and julie andrews.

forgive the youtube slide show format, but it's the best i could do. take a listen. you'll feel better even if you already feel great.



and for you more ambitious types--no need to be satisfied with watching.

and taking a lead from julie, i'll now be listing some of my favorite things. and remember, these are a few of my favorite things, not all of them. in no particular order:

*jonathan coulton*

a wonderfully lighthearted musician i recently discovered and have been enjoying ever since. this link will give you a good list of his stuff on youtube. give it a listen.

*grilled cheese*

need i say more? i think not. it's the best of a bowling alley and a sandwich thrown in the frying pan til golden brown and ready to make me jolly. double cool points when using the sandwich cutting device i received from my sister esa. it turns a one grilled cheese into two dinosaurs made of grilled cheese (as seen above).

*mark williams*

suffice it to say that if you don't know him, you wish you did. if you do know him, you know what i mean. and yes, the photo is of the aforementioned paper-mermaid burning.

*surf ninjas*

how can you not have this movie on your list? it's one of virtually everyone's favorite things. kwansu!

*human anatomy*

yes, it's going to devour me this fall, but as a subject it can't be beaten. it's always crazy when you look at your text book and then look at your forearm and see the same thing. just dissected. way too cool. chemistry would probably be the same if we could readily see on the molecular level. it's also cool that my body works. that's included in this one.

*robots*

and anything that has to do with them. androids are not included in this. nor are cyborgs. and on a side note, i realize that this is sloppier than most of my posts. cry about it. i did.

*mario... and luigi.*

most anything involving these two is bound to be good. and really, the film is what sort of spoils things here, so most any game is a safe bet. the funny part is that we all look back and slam on super mario bros the movie, yet at the time, we all loved it. and some of us saw it more than once. more than three times, actually. and really, it should be noted that the film is included in this favorite thing just because of the nostalgia attached to it. and because it has john leguizamo.

*acoustic guitar*

fun to play, fun to hear, and bob dylan utilized it well enough to make the list of a few of my favorite things. something very soft and soothing about an acoustic that you can't get elsewhere. also wonderful to watch splinter in wrestling matches.

*h.g. wells*

i've recently gotten into audio books and wells has been a staple in the lineup. personal favorites include sleeper awakes and island of dr. moreau. definitely worth investigating.

*england*

you friends across the pond know that i can't leave england out. i love the place. i'm happy to be american, but i'm happy to have english friends. you know i love you, you crazy english folk.

*wales*

and wales, i love you too. i put wales after england because i hoped that at least a few of you would be angry and assume i just lumped wales with england. you know i don't play favorites. just favorite things. and countries. oh how i miss doing sixty in a vauxhaul down your winding roads. i also miss some of the nicest, and at times, bewildering, people in the world. but mostly the nicest. and the people that were bewildering were still friendly... just more confusing than anything else.

and now, to end my list of favorite things, i give you one that's very dear to me.

*chairs*

though we really don't make a fuss about it, chairs really are just too good. really, chairs are wonderful. i love them to death, and hope to have many wonderful chairs before my days are done. and name them all.


now don't you feel better? i do. and it's a good thing to, because i was quite peeved. take care everybody, maybe next time i'll write something worth reading.

lessons learned in the nations captiol.

hello everybody. you may have noticed that the blog's been a bit barren as of late.

mark williams certainly did (and my thanks for his devoted reading--what a wonderful cheerleader he is).

anyway, this is because for the last bit of time i've been visiting my father who's working in washington dc for a few months. the trip was very enjoyable, and i decided to share some of the adventures i had and the lessons i learned. but not in that order.

i'll first give lessons learned since they all have associated experiences, and then the experiences that didn't really have a morals to their stories, just novelty. and since there's a lot, they'll be split into two parts. this is part one.

welcome to washington dc!
(part one)
political hotspot and tourist attraction to boot!

to preface, i spent about a week here altogether. i went to most of the standard tourist sites including the government buildings, smithsonians, and other hotspots. the humidity was higher than i prefer, but bearable, and the only camera i bothered with was my cell phone. with these things in mind, i now present my lessons learned in washington dc (and the travels surrounding it).

lesson one.
even if you are on a special tour, you still might not be as clever as you think.
the national archives contains several documents of immense importance. these include the magna carta, declaration of Independence, bill of rights, and of course the constitution of the usa. the line demands you wait for at least an hour, and when you get in there you still probably have to wait to see the actual documents.
well, we were in front of a large student group. each document is in a protective case in a big rotunda with gold emblazoned titles above each item etched into the stone walls. as one of the school girls approached the constitution and practically licked the glass in front of it, she looked to the security guard and asked, "hey. what is that?"

classic.

lesson two.
short shorts are like scissors.
when scissors are used safely and wisely cutting thread or curling ribbons, they are useful indeed. however, attempting to juggle or run with scissors carries serious potential injuries. a similar phenomenon is seen with short shorts. while some people can use them wisely and enjoy good ventilation and please many of those around them, not all use them wisely.
here in utah, short shorts are not so common for both environmental and cultural reasons. with both of the reasons absent, dc has a much larger amount. both wisely and unwisely used.
i won't get into detail here, but suffice it to say that short shorts abused will result in gauged eyes, just like scissors. the difference is usually just whether or not it's intentional.

lesson three.
if you match, you're happier.
and i don't mean with yourself. i mean with others. somewhere between protesters, school groups, families and couples all matching their peers, i started to feel a little left out.

i think this couple is one of the most charming examples. look closely, though the picture, granted, is grainy.
whether this couple was going for practicality, high fashion, comfort or raw sex appeal, it worked on all accounts. these z-coil shoes make their mark.
several schools also were excellent examples though i'm lacking a photo. my personal favorite uniform pieces were shoulder strap refelective belts, bright red womens visors (note: worn by elementary school children, not women), and id necklaces introducing each member of the tour and the company sponsoring it. and of course, there is always having every student wear a certain kind of shirt. however, this was to a degree unnessecary because if able to choose their own shirts, they typically wore the same rhine stone encrusted t-shirts of president obama with "hope", "change", or "gobama!" written in bold lettering.


lesson four
celebrities look like secret agent.
for those who don't believe me, i don't care.
at the smithsonian museum of air and space, they have a planetarium. i attended one show there. as i waited in line, right before the doors opened, a man with a beard, big sunglasses, and a black fadora hopped in at the end of the line. the ticket man laughed, shook his hand, and let him pass after he gave him his ticket. the suspicous man looked familiar.
after the show, i saw him again in the gift store downstairs. further feeling as if i'd seen him before, i looked at him from the side while he waited in line to purchase his 'jr. spaceman' outfit. it was none other than october sky heartthrob, jake gyllenhaal. he purchased his outfit and left the store. i was going to attempt to get a photo, but decided that i wouldn't as i couldn't do so without looking like a complete jerk. however, upon contacting an expert on all things gyllenhaal (lindsay harding), i confirmed that he indeed had a beard and was working in the dc area.

boom. celebrities look suspicous. at least when they're at museums. they don't want anyone to know they're being so nerdy, i guess.


lesson five.
neither i, nor jimmy seely, are as fat as a whale.


lesson six
everyone wants to sing
somewhere between a street vendor, guards, school kids, people on the metro, people behind food counters, me, and some of the exhibits of washington singing a tune, it was proven to me that everyone wants to sing. if you don't sing, you're just holding yourself back. if you think you don't want to sing, you think wrong.


lesson seven
you're probably the weirdo
no matter where you go or what you're doing, if there's a lot of people, you're going to think that some of them are weirdos, and some people are going to think that you're a weirdo. it's just the nature of things.

for every person i saw that i was inclined to stare at for any reason, i almost always saw them staring at someone, or someone else staring at them, or someone else staring at me, or the weird person staring at me. what does this all show? yes, they're a weirdo, and you're probably somebody else's weirdo. it's a big cycle (see diagram).
this can be applied on many levels, but i'm sticking to the simplest and just keeping it there. so next time you're inclined to stare at the gentlemen in the combat boots and khaki shorts (a personal favorite), just remember that someone else probably thinks your plaid shorts and high tops are just as bizarre.




there are more, and maybe one day i'll record them. for now, i think i've written enough though. thanks for reading. hopefully more soon. more soon at least about other adventures (without lessons) from dc. hope you learned something.

and i hope williams is satisfied.

count tranceula

hey there. so, it's been a while. i know. the fact of the matter is i actually have a bit to do these days, so posts aren't going up quite as readily as before.

but this little treat is really something especially good. something especially... spooky!
props to my brother skyler for this one. a good majority of this was written by him for guitar and simply translated to 8 bitness. i had some additions, but most original writing goes to his credit.

anyway, it may be a bit earlier than the usual season for this sort of thing, but i hope you all enjoy it just the same. and as always, watch your volume before you start.

now, may i present to you,

count tranceula.

hope you enjoyed. i was pleased as a peach when i found the photo for this video. not super thrilling, but i knew i was going to be lazy and have you staring at it for two minutes, and i couldn't have asked for a more entertaining still frame than the one i found.


so.
keep it real folks, really real.

sats.

autumn and i had the grand opportunity this last saturday to go to utah lake's finer areas and enjoy half a day reading dune and eating little debbies. it was great.

if you'd like photos of the day or to read autumn's side of the story, you can find what your looking for here.

for the braver bunch, you're welcome to stick around.

waste out weekends aren't really satisfying if you stay around the house. sure, you can find satisfaction in watching humorous youtube videos and never actually changing out of your pyjamas--but it's all a bit hollow. you need to go somewhere and do something. and what something is to be done? here i quote ferris bueller and say, "how can i possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?" in addition to that, the last week was a nightmare, and after finishing another string of exams, i proved my generation and felt entitled to a day out.
and it was pretty awesome.

besides, we were reading. surely that counts for something.

in addition to read, we also had a grand time skipping stones, tasting the dirt from unpaved roads as one of us accidentally kicked up a pocket, and having a dog named bobo follow us in the car (we eventually had to drive back to where his owner was to get him to return).

it was a nice time. i felt very tom sawyer as we boarded the somewhat neglected dock on the edge of one part of the lake. any time losing your balance means falling into a batch of cattails you know you're living a life worth the living.

the cattails bring me to the next point.
i had no idea a spot like this even existed in utah. if you look at the photos (again, found here) you'll find a somewhat odd combination of ecosystems present. it's like this.


anyway, it was a grand time in an unexpectedly pleasant environment. good day all and all.

and now back to school.