Month: April 2007

Dirty little secrets

So I would consider myself a music snob, what with the constant whining about DRM and shameless plugs to indie music from eMusic and all.

As a matter of fact, my music collection starts to thin out at about 1994. It’s pretty rare for me to get into a current group (and it’s not that I like that- nothing is more frustrating than getting really into yet another band that has already broken up).

And when I find that I like a current, mainstream group that has songs on the Top 40, I start to wonder if I’m getting enough sleep (in case you were curious, I’m not.)

If, by some freak collision of parallel universes that forms some kind of quantum anti-sonic-judgment irregularity restricted to the boundaries of my body, I like a current pop artist…

Well, you get the idea. It usually involves getting calls from Sheol about something being wrong with the heat.

So anyways, I haven’t admitted it on this blog in almost three years, but I have a dirty little music secret, and her name is Avril Lavigne (please hold your laugter until the end of the post.)

Yes, I know she can’t sing live. The computers that process her voice in the studio sing very well. Maybe I just like her producers. But anyways, back to the point: Avril Lavigne’s new CD, “The Best Damn Thing”, came out.
And it totally sucks. It feels like she took 4 years off of her age and started thinking that boys are all that matter. In other words, she betrayed whatever it was that I saw in her in the first place: a pop artist that showed potential to, in time, be tolerable. Nothing beats the chorus from her first single:

Hey hey, you you
I don’t like your girlfriend
No way, no way
I think you need a new one
Hey hey, you you
I could be your girlfriend

Hey hey, you you
I know that you like me
No way, no way
You know it’s not a secret
Hey hey, you you
I want to be your girlfriend

Or maybe the intro to her album’s title track:

I hate it when a guy doesn’t get the door,
even though I told him yesterday and the
day before…

I hate it when a guy doesn’t get the tab and I
have to pull my money out and that looks bad! (to fully appreciate these lines, you must sing them with the most bratty, preteen whine possible.)

So yeah. If this is a sign of things to come, I’m done with Avril.

But by complete coincidence, I happened to be downloading e-Sword,Ā  an excellent free bible study tool. The project is handled by one guy named Rick Meyers. So I’m poking around his link page to see if there’s anything else worth downloading. And he drops this bomb:

OK, a shameless plug for my daughter šŸ˜‰

Krystal’s debut album was released June 7th 2005 and had 4 top 10 hits including a #1! Her latest CD promises to do even better.

Click on the CD to the left to visit her web site…

I think, um… #1? Top 10 hits? I might not listen to top 40 radio, but I recognize the names… And Krystal Meyers is not one of them. I decided to click out of pure curiosity. (The last time I saw a “Christian” site link to their daughter’s CD, it turned out to be some freaky Neo-Nazi thing with three blonde-hair, blue eyed girls singing about white supremacy – creepy.)

So enter Krystal Meyers:
Krystal Meyers
(I know. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. But this one has no known ties to the third reich. And she loves Jesus.)

So one thing led to another…. A few streams and myspace visits later, I downloaded her latest album.

It’s poppy. It’s not “high art” for music by any means. She probably doesn’t write most of her own lyrics, and I hear that she can’t sing live either. It’s another Christian album that thinks a “Christian album” is made up with The Magic Formula: 50% songs about dealing with typical teen temptations, 40% general, nonspecific songs about how God is her only reliable foundation, and 10% songs about just having fun.

But for some reason that defies all paths of logical reasoning available to me at 1:50 AM, I like it.

And then I see the fan reviews and press hype… Yep, she’s being marketed as the “Christian Avril Lavigne”.

Crap. I fell for it.

Please don’t tell Steve Kimock. Or Spearhead. Or Ozomatli.

To the 32 who will not wake up this morning

Who’s to blame for the lives that tragedies claim
No matter what you say
It don’t take away the painĀ That I feel inside, I’m tired of all the lies
Don’t nobody know why
It’s the blind leading the blind

I guess that’s the way the story goes
Will it ever make sense
Somebody’s got to know

There’s got to be more to life than this
There’s got to be more to everything
I thought exists

“Youth of the Nation” – P.O.D.

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

(1 John 3:12-16, ESV)

I am a citizen of the world glued to my television set, fighting back my rage and despair at these horrible events, and I am a person of faith struggling to forgive the unforgivable, praying for the consolation of those who have lost loved ones, calling upon the merciful beneficence of God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power.

May I know peace.

So May it Be, And so it is.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

3 Weeks?

What?! Where did the time go?

Apparently, I have three weeks left of class, including finals week. And where exactly did all of this time go?

I decided to go for the house off-campus. The dorm is great for its proximity to campus, but just getting away from it will probably be good. I need more space. And drums. And I need to be away from the 1,500 people on campus who decide to all get on YouTube at the same time and slow down my internet – because, as we all know, my bandwidth needs should take priority over theirs</sarcasm>.

So yeah. Three more weeks here. Then I get to say goodbye to all of the people on my floor, 75% of whom I will probably never see again (kinda like high school, eh?) and go on with life.

Oh, and I went to Arizona this weekend. And didn’t hang out with any of you. Surprise, surprise.

Housing, part III

So I am completely undecided. I have two opportunities for next year:

  1. Live in the premium 3-room unit in Durward. Pros are being right on campus (that is a BIG plus) and being around a lot of people. Cons are being in the dorms, dealing with college kids 24/7, and the random roommate draw.
  2. Live in a house with some guys I know through work. Pros are that they seem like pretty nice guys, and that I’d have a lot more space, and a room of my own. Cons are that I’d be over a mile from campus (fine except for the third of the school year where campus is covered in snow) and I might go into hermit mode from not being around tons of people.

I am trying to decide in the next day or two. Suggestions?

Changing my routine

I realized something this morning:

I take it way too easy these days. I mean, I’m not exactly slacking – I’m doing pretty well at school, and have my hands full at work, but I have a lot of downtime each day where I just sit on my butt surfing the net or watching TV or something.

I normally wouldn’t be too worried about it. I guess that “worried” isn’t quite the right word – but I’ve noticed that when the weekend rolls around, I don’t have any change in my habits or routine. I’ve been “on vacation” all week, so when the weekend comes, I don’t notice the difference. When that relaxed, “getting by but not getting ahead” attitude became the norm, my brain got used to it. Usually it ends in feeling like I never got a weekend, so I feel more stressed.

So I should probably use my time better during the week. Be proactive with my homework and the like. And then really take it easy on my days off.

Then again, I might just be kidding myself. I have never been that person that can plan ahead, be diligent, and get stuff done on time. I always work best under the pressure that says something is due in just a few hours. Heck, I can’t count how many A’s I’ve gotten from doing that. Normal stuff that isn’t under pressure, however, scores lower. I wish I weren’t that way, but I am.

Maybe the question I should ask myself is, “Do I mind the way I lead my daily life?” Overall, I’m pretty happy. I’m at CSU now, free of a lot of the annoying crap that I put up with in high school, have a great job, and I live in a beautiful city. Yes, my routine errs on the lazy side. It’s in my genes. I still get the job done, though, and I feel like I’m on the right path. If I could change anything in my daily life, I would probably spend more time in prayer, and I would be more dedicated to my music.

I guess the thing that causes me to question this like I am right now, and makes me try to change and be something else, is that my way of getting things done doesn’t fit with the stereotypical formula for success. Supposedly, in America, you must focus on your goal, and never quit until you have achieved it; get where you want in life, no matter what you have to sacrifice in order to get it. Then, supposedly, you will enjoy a “successful” life.

More often than not, this distorted vision actually leaves people alone, rejected, in midlife crises, and slaves to the addictions they picked up along the way when they had trouble following this path to “success”. Blame it on capitalism. Blame it on Man’s inadequacy to admit his own faults and entrust his wellbeing to God.

I’m not saying that I’m better – or different – than people with this source of motivation. But since when is the supposed end result of prosperity the most important thing in life? I believe in the pursuit of happiness, but I don’t see “happiness” as a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I see a lot of potential for finding happiness along the way. The people you meet, the experiences that come and go… The many opportunities to make sacrifices as acts of worship, which are most pleasing to our God.

So I guess that I’m alright. It’s just hard not to buy into the lie that says something is wrong if I’m not working my ass off to the point where I freak out and lose touch with my true priorities and goals. Sometimes it feels like a form of academic peer pressure – “come on, everyone’s doing it!”

Snowy Day

It snowed today, and I got my first chance to break in the new Canon.

Snowy Day

I’m trying to decide where I want to upload my photos now that I’ll be taking them more often. This album is done with Picasa Web Albums, which is the easiest solution (I use Picasa on my computer). I’m also looking at Flickr or my already-existing image gallery app on my own website.

So far, I’m surprised with the quality this thing kicks out- definitely leaps and bounds better than my tiny Kodak point-and-shoot, even though it isn’t a DSLR or anything. My only complaint so far is that the on-camera LCD screen is too low-resolution and small for me to tell if a photo turned out well – they all look crappy, and then I look at them on my computer monitor and my jaw drops.

I have to sit down for a few more hours with the manual to take in all of the new features, and a few more months beyond that to actually learn them. But it should be fun, for sure- keep checking back here, I’ll be sure to post anything notable.

Say “hello” to my little friend

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

My Canon PowerShot S3 IS came. I love it.

I got it for three reasons:

  1. The vacationing in New Jersey and Belize this summer
  2. Constant frustration with noisy high-ISO shots from my point-and-shoot at concerts
  3. An urge to get out and take photos with at least some dedication. I can’t be a hardcore hobbyist, but I can try to improve some.

It was hard to decide between this camera, which is a fully manual consumer model, a super-compact point-and-shoot, or a low-end DSLR. I ended up with this because I already have a pretty decent compact camera, and I’m not ready for the training and monetary committment involved with DSLR cameras. This is a happy medium. With a 12X optical zoom lens and Image Stabilization.