Calvinsmood

new islands album

2012-02-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

i like this

happy valentines day.

2012-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

new rap mixtape coming real soon. I promise. Just a few tweaks left to do.
Also I have a bunch of my old albums if anybody wants one. $2 plus shipping for copies of whatever.
listening to much classical music these days, reading the new Alex Ross collection of essays, "Listen to This"
Also finished reading Anna Karenina and it was real good. Posting stuff on goodreads about the books I've been reading lately.
Here is a randy newman cover i did.

Happy Valentines day!!

greatest flo on earth vids

2012-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Last night took part in a show in Kilby with a bunch of local emcees and djs. had alot of fun. i look a little crazy when i'm rapping, but that's okay...here are some vids nat took.

Some rough writing about Fitness

2012-01-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

I wrote this during the summer. My ideas have substantially changed recently. I am starting to go to a writers guild twice a week and just trying to get into the habit. I will post a bunch of very rough draft, unedited stuff up here. If anything floats your boat, let me know you like it and I will go back and rework. This is way too long and pretty annoying to be often. If I were brush this up, I would completly delete the first half and start down at the body building stuff. I also gotta do alot of work on my adjetives, I'm quite repetitive.
*************************************************************************************

When I signed up for housing my freshman year at Utah State University, I had the option to be put on a floor of the dormitory that housed people with similar interests. It seemed like a pretty logical idea. For some reason I had decided that I was going to be a Civil Engineering student, and it seemed that whoever the detached student planner was decided that this was the key interest to consider, putting all Engineering students on the same floor. This would have been strange enough, as the typical Engineering student is pretty introverted and the coursework would leave not time for any social interaction, only-there weren’t enough Engineering students to fill the whole floor. The planner then made a second incomprehensible decision: to fill the other half of the floor with Drama majors, the polar opposite of the bookish, restrained Engineers. So much for “unifying interests.”

Somehow, I was one of the few Engineering students rooming with a Drama student, as if my name came out at the bottom of the draft, where they were just trying to fill space. Stories about my roommate could fill pages on another occasion, but just to give you an idea; the guy was obsessed with anything and everything Disney. The walls on his side of the room were plastered with posters of different Disney films, his bed spread had a giant Mickey Mouse print on it, a huge Donald Duck towel hung from the towel rack by his closet. When I first walked into the room, I couldn’t help but think I was on some MTV program where they try to freak out new college students with an over the top actor portraying their new roommate. My roommate had not yet made an appearance and I was alone for about 10 minutes surveying the scene. I was curious about his music taste and browsed his CD rack. Aside from various Broadway recordings, he owned the soundtracks to various rides at Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, even the entire “It’s a Small World” song all its repetitive glory. The tracks were the minute long earworm sung by children in like 32 different languages. I know because I later had to ask him to turn it off while I was studying sometime around that track number. The screen saver that was flashing across his screen was a quote, something about believing that wishes can come true, by Jiminy Cricket. How old was this guy anyway?

When we finally met and had a casual conversation, two things were clear. One, Marshall was an incredibly nice guy. He was wearing a shirt with the abbreviation M.M. on the front on his first day of college. He told me he was interested in voice acting and that his ultimate goal would be to act in a full length animated feature for a Disney Film. I never came straight out and asked him why he was so obsessed with the company, but I came to appreciate the fact that he was into what he was into and that was that. He never asked me what the deal was with the Bruce Lee posters were about on my side of the room either.

The second thing that became clear is that as nice as he was, we weren’t ever going to be great friends. Conversation usually ran dry in a few minutes. I would try to tell him about the intricacies of a great 8-bar rap verse or he would try to explain the brilliance of the movie “Chicago”. There were very few things we could connect on. I like to think that I enjoy the arts as much as the next guy, but our tastes were just so wildly dissimilar. And it wasn’t just Marshall, most the guys on my floor really had little in common with me. Aside from the occasional game of Super Smash Brothers or Halo, and maybe once in a while a bit of shared hatred of our Floor Supervisors, none of us really connected on many levels. It was because of this that I accepted the invitation of a guy from the “Phys. Ed.” floor to play Ultimate Frisbee one Saturday.

There were way too many Physical Education Majors at Utah State that year, so much so in fact that they filled one floor completely and spilled into part of a second. Sometimes in my rare conversations with other Engineering students, we would joke about these guys. “How many Gym teachers does the world need?” That type of thing. But there was no denying that these guys were enjoying their college experience much more than we were. Girls didn’t talk about floor 3, they talked about floor 2. When one of us wandered down to the Phys Ed floor, we stood out like a sore thumb. Phys. Ed. Majors don’t wear glasses, usually walked around in shorts and flip flops, and definitely weren’t eating the grilled cheese at the Junction cafeteria like we were. These guys were active, and I didn’t know it was possible to be so smug about it until I met them. When someone would suggest going to see a movie, one of them would invariably frown and suggest hiking to the wind caves or playing racquetball or some nonsense like that. Never mind that it was 8:00 at night and you had just been studying all day, you would not be forgiven for not being full of all sorts of energy and excitement about life. No toleration for self-loathing around the 2nd floorers, you had to be filled with adrenaline at all times to really fit into the circle.

Fitting is what I wanted. I needed to feed off of their energy, their freedom, their access to the girls in the opposite tower. So when one of these guys took pity on me during class and asked if I wanted to go play Frisbee with him and some friends, I jumped at the chance to change my social destiny. I hadn’t done anything even remotely physically taxing for a good year or so, but in my mind I was just throwing a Frisbee, figured I could handle that. At least they weren’t inviting me to do mixed martial arts or something.

The morning of the game I woke up about ten minutes late and had to literally run out the door. I didn’t have time to go the cafeteria to grab breakfast, so I grabbed a Mt. Dew from underneath my bed, shot-gunned it, and sprinted out to the field, figuring it would give me plenty of energy. And the game began. Ultimate Frisbee has little to do with throwing a Frisbee, it turns out, and a lot to do with high speed sprinting. I’ve never been great at making difficult catches, so my only chance to impress anybody enough for that coveted second invite was to run so fast that I could be completely open. I did this as best as I could. My sisters used to tease me about sprinting with my fingers spread out equidistant from each other, so I did my best to keep this habit at bay. I caught a few passes, even made a couple of points, but soon, the Mt. Dew and lack of activity caught up to me and I found myself on my knees in the end zone, surrounded by all the aforementioned girls and the 2nd floor guys, yakking green liquid onto the grass over a series of violent heaves. I didn’t get that second invite.

This is one of the many famous occurrences of me throwing up after a short amount of physical activity. You can say whatever you thing will make me feel better; that I just pushed myself too hard too fast, that it would get easier over time, but the truth is that it’s pretty pathetic. A few summers ago I decided to take a girl on a date to hike a little mountain in Palmer, the Butte. The hike only takes about half an hour, but at 25 minutes my body shut down and I was throwing up weird mushroom soup just off the trail. I know for a fact that she has spread that story around a bit…I don’t blame her. Last month I tried to take another hike here in Logan with a friend and before we reached the top I was again reduced to the same pathetic state. Nowadays, I don’t feel like I’ve really done a good work out until I hit the nauseous stage.

My dilapidated condition has not really created the motivation to get in shape that I thought it would. On the contrary, I am more embittered than ever to the 2nd floor inhabitants of the world. For a time I concocted complex arguments about how science had it wrong; exercise is damaging to your health! My proofs were that I felt sick every time I attempted strenuous activity; that weightlifters actually are “tearing” their muscles, that people get “addicted” to running, and I would point to the amount of injury involved with sports. Of course I was smart enough to know that the logic behind all this was bogus, but it brought me joy to try to defend slothfulness. However, although a lot of my arguments are a bit tongue in cheek, I can’t deny that I still feel some disgust towards certain types of people who put fitness on a sort of pedestal.

I have a bizarre memory of sitting in a dark theater at the Mr. Chugiak competition in Eagle River when I was in Middle School. Mr. Chugiak was a high school body building competition. I was there because a friend of a friend of a friend was a competitor, and through that chain I was somehow recruited to be there to cheer for him. I had met the guy once or twice, he seemed alright. Body building competitions are probably the most surreal thing I’ve ever seen. The competitors come shuffling out one at a time, covered in greasy bronzer to pose for an audience and judges who clap at their bodies. There is a split second before each flex where the contestant gets this twinkle in his eye, as if the audience doesn’t know what he has in store for them. Then he flexes, and his out of proportion muscles bulge through their thin packaging a few centimeters. This seems to me wildly unimpressive, but the audience at these events roar and hoot like the body builder has just cured cancer. The most disturbing poses to watch in my opinion is when the body builder puts his back to the audience and flexes the muscles in his shoulders and back. As he moves his arms into different positions, the contours in the back transform and shift like. It’s almost machine like as the muscles slip into new spots to accommodate the pose. Even as an eighth grader, I realized that what I was seeing were the twisted leftovers from our evolutionary mating history, a strange ritual of selection. Growing up on a farm and showing livestock, it was almost all too familiar. Bodies are paraded in front of a few judges who in the end which one is the ideal example of the species. The guy that we went to see won the competition. He also happened to date one of the girls I had a crush on in high school.

Years later I watched my cousin, who was a pretty stout guy, prepare for Mr. Alaska or some type of similar competition. We worked on a train and for lunch he would take a piece of Sourdough bread, pile it with six pieces of ham, 6 pieces of turkey, 2 chicken breasts, and sprinkle a bunch of smoked salmon on the top. I was a bit grossed out by this daily ritual. “Protein,” he said. “I have to do it to be ready for competition. I don’t really like it, but I can’t fall behind”. It was weird to realize that even he was sucked into this weird cultish world of body building. What is the real motivation? Obviously the end goal is to have the musculature, but why do we want the musculature? We’re not going out on the Roman battlefields anymore, and even if he did get in a fight, doesn’t bulk get in the way with the way things go down these days? Body building competitions are all about appearance, and have very little to do with functionality. Until a body builder can explain what the real end goal is, I can’t think anything otherwise.

I don’t want to die of a heart attack when I’m fifty years old, and I don’t want my body’s inactivity to drag my mind and vitality down with it. I’m all for teaching our kids to be active, and hopefully someday my own children will get that message that I never did. I think exercise and eating healthy is important, and wish I had a bit more will power to be able to meet my own weight loss goals. I have pretty much stopped having playful arguments with my friends about “reasons why I don’t work out.” There are no good excuses. But I still have a problem with the extremity and downright preachyness of some of the fitness freaks and sports aficionados. I refuse to believe that these things come before family, or are even much more important than any other hobby somebody might have. I’m sure there are some good residual effects to these types of activities, but you also have to admit that much of the motivation behind it are just the “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” that come from the people surrounding you. It’s completely natural, don’t worry, we are programmed this way. It’s instinctual. We want people to look at us and give us the Grand Prize Ribbon. Just don’t pretend that it’s not at all about the glory. Admit that in the scheme of things obsessions with our body’s appearance is a strange vestigial behavior that hopefully someday we can shed off. Don’t try to guilt me into buying gym passes, exercise equipment, personal trainers, or diet pills by saying that if I don’t do it I’ll surely die an early death. Instead, try being honest and talk about how there is a certain bit of narccissm involved, and that I am less accepted by the human race if I don’t look a certain way. The cold hard facts are what have always motivated me.

I will survive longer than any of my ancestors precisely because there is no longer the need to be in peak physical condition. It’s a simple trade-off. In a civilized world, with no hand to hand battles having to be fought, I am more likely to survive no matter what condition I am in. Muscles are a commodity no longer needed, so why waste so much time in the pursuit? Today, survival takes brains, work ethic, and being able to write snide remarks about the strong safely from a computer in my locked house.

Physical Fitness by Calvin Smooth

Tom Wait's Covers.

2012-01-03T12:52:00.001-08:00

Armorie Record Club-Orphans: Bawlers by Armorie Record Club
Next we are all going to cover the same Roy Orbison Song. Stay tuned.

Favorite movies of 2012

2012-01-02T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here is my last list of 2011. I didn't see a ton of films that came out this year, but I enjoyed these ones.
1. Tree of life
2. Drive
3. Being Elmo
4. Cave of forgotten dreams
5. Moneyball
6. Midnight in Paris
7. Another earth
8. Paul
9. Super 8
10. Submairine

Favorite TV series of 2011

2011-12-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

***I watched way more TV than I should have this year.

1. Breaking Bad
This season had a great slow build and major payoff at the end. Major improvement over season 3, and I am so glad it is going to end soon. The only way to ruin it would be to find ways to drag it out.
2. Louie
Louie often is not even funny, and often goes in weird unexpected directions. I can't predict it alot of the time. I wish more TV was this way. And also, usually, it is funny.
3. An Idiot Abroad
All Hail Karl Pilkington
4. Downton Abbey
Had to kind of be forced to watch this one, and then Natalie and I watched season 2 in like 2 days. The story continues to move and there are satisfying conclusions during the season. I don't know anyone who wouldn't like this show.
5. Boardwalk Empire
Richard Harrow is one of the coolest characters on TV. And the butcher really got to my nightmares this season.
6. Parks and Rec
This show has the funniest complete cast of characters in my humble opinion. I don't mind following any of them around. Of course Ron Swanson is the best, but he doesn't completely outshine everybody.
7. Game of Thrones
Books are better, but this is about as close as a show could come to awesomely recreating a world of this size.
8. Curb your Enthusiasm
Even one of the weaker seasons of Curb is better than most comedies out there.
9. Community
Another great ensemble show, but I like the direction even more than the characters. It's like watching an alien's version of what they think a TV show is...covering all genres.
10. 30 Rock
What are they going to do now that Kim Jung Ill is dead!!!

Shows I've given up on:
1. The Office (Really I gave this up like 3 years ago, but now I can't handle even one minute of it.)
2. Dexter (Same thing, I haven't seen it for 2 seasons)
3. Walking Dead. (How can you ruin a zombie TV show? They managed.

2011 Favorite Albums

2011-12-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

10. Relax by Das Racist:
9. Bon Iver by Bon Iver
8. James Blake by James Blake
7. Family and Friends by Serengeti
6. Bad as Me by Tom Waits
5. Own your Ghost by 13 & God
4. Kaputt by Destroyer
3. Strange Mercy by St. Vincent
2. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost by Girls
1. W H O K I L L by Tuneyards

Honorable Metions:
1. 2 Action Bronson Albums, Well done and Dr. Lecter
2. Take Care by Drake
3. This is our Science by Astonautalis
4. Davis by Davis
5. XXX by Danny Brown
6. Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio
7. Watch the Throne by Throne

Favorite Songs of 2011

2011-12-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Favorite Songs of 2011:
10. Northern Lights (St. Vincent)

Best manic guitar solo.
9. Satisfied (Tom Waits)

Best references, most inspirational
8. Otis (Watch the Throne)

The funnest
7. Last Night at the Jetty (Panda Bear)

Best Melody and Harmonies
6. Believer (John Maus)

Most likely to make one cry for unknown reasons.
5. Love Like a River (Girls)

Best throwback style
4. The Whip (Serengeti)

Best storyteller.. (he even gets the little details right, like how the guy says, "you don't know anything what the octagon is about" in kind of this weird stammer.
3. I never learned to share (James Blake)

Most said with fewest amount of words
2. Bizness (Tune-yards)

Most original sounding song to come out this year.
1. County Line (Cass Mccombs)

Prettiest thing I've heard in a long time...pure nostalgia.

Honorable Mentions:

1. 212 (Azelia Banks)...Dirtiest, most catchy.
2. The last Huzzah Remix (Mr. MF Esquire, Das Racist, EL-P, Danny Brown, Despot) Best posse cut
3. Micheal Jackson (Das Racist)

Angriest first verse
4. Sexting (Davis)

Prettiest rap song this year
5. Loft Music (House of Baloons)
Most debauchery
6. Love on top (Beyonce)

Most Key changes
7. Will do (TV on the Radio)
Saddest sounding chorus
8. Marvin's Room (Drake)
Most likely song to make me feel sorry for a rich R&B singer
9. Ronnie Coleman (Action Bronson)
Most listened to during workouts this year.
10. Shut up (R. Kelly)

Best comeback. hahah
Oh, la Brea (Man Man)

Prettiest Refrain at the end of the song.

Books I read in 2011 and Book goals for 2012

2011-12-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

1. The Accidental Billionaires
2. StoryTeller (Roald Dahl Biography)
3. Eating Animals
4. Life (Keith Richards Biography)
5. Game of Thrones
6. Clash of Kings
7. The Big Payback
8. The Walking Dead Volume 1-15
9. Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen
10. I make my own rules (LL Cool J Biography)
11. The Tao of Wu
12. Decoded (Jay-Z bio thingy)
13. True Grit
14. The Magician King
15. Bossy Pants (Tina Fey autobio)
16. The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

I liked the Game of thrones books, true grit, and Magician king alot, and really really really enjoyed the roald dahl bio. Check it out.

What I wanna try to read this year among other things I wanna do:
1. Brothers Karamozov
2. Listen to this
3. Unbroken
4. All the pretty horses
5. Storm of Swords
6. Feast for Crows
7. Dance with Dragons
8. Thelonius Monk Biography
9. Mark Twain Autobiography Vol. 1
10. Blood Meridian
11. Carter Beats the Devil
12. Cannery Row
13. Kraken
14. 11/22/63
And other things. Any thing you think I ought to read this year?

Add me on goodreads if you have an account.
I will post my top ten lists this week sometime on this blog.

some cool ladies of rock

2011-08-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

St. Vincent

Elis Regina

Aretha

Jolie Holland

Bessie Jones

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Big Mama Thornton

Tuneyards

Carol King

Edith Piaf

Feist

Etta James

Shangra las

Edda Dell'Orso

She and Him

Ronettes

Classic Natalie Kenley

cookie waits

2011-08-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

shout out train peeps

2011-08-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

So happy I am not on the train wearing this greasy uniform this year. Saying hi to the train peoples that are still there.

two music videos.

2011-08-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

Two great songs. Serengeti's best song off of Family and Friends is maybe the best song on redemption I've ever heard, and the new single from the forth coming Girls Album has an overblown ending that exemplifies what I like about the band.

Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen

2011-08-06T11:12:00.001-07:00

Just finished Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen, Larry McMurtry's quasi-autobiography. It's fairly short, like 200 pages, but I really liked it. There isn't much of a unifying theme in the short stories that he writes, but they all stem from him reading "Illuminations" by Walter Benjamin while sitting at the Dairy Queen drinking Lime Dr. Peppers. Illumination is a contemplation on the storyteller, why he is an important figure in the community, and what purpose stories have. As he read the book he began to reflect on his own literary history and where his love of the story comes from. It makes him delve deep and talk about his family history as well as the history of the West and Texas specifically. He ruminates on everything from the romanticized notion of the cowboy, to the positive and negative effects of media saturation, to lamenting the loss of families eating together around the dinner table, and even the importance of local rodeos and rodeo queens.

At a certain point he talks about writing Lonesome Dove. He says that Gus and Call were the closest thing he could write to Don Quixote and Sancho. His goal in setting out to write the book was to kind of take the glamorized view of the cowboy and squash it. He wanted to really show how difficult and awful life as a cow herder could be. He states at one point,

"What rodeos, movies, Western art, and pulp fiction all miss is the overwhelming loneliness of the westering experience."

Instead much to his dismay, he believes that he further added to cowboy mythology, creating an even more legendary figure. Having read the tetraology, I feel that he really did manage to inject loneliness and futility into the narrative, but I still think that he is correct when he assumes he also added something to the longing that American's have for the open West. After watching the mini-series with Natalie (her first time, my 10th or so), she shuttered at the idea of having to live in those times and conditions. I can't deny that deep down part of me longs for the simplicity and even the hardships of the cowboy that McMurtry paints. The loneliness even seems idyllic for some reason, as if feeling that alone makes life more real and poignant. Being at the mercy of the elements and living that close to death or pain might make the small pleasures mean so much more. If the choice were actually presented in front of me, of course I'd rather be born in this time, but that doesn't by any means erase the internal longing that I think a lot of American's have for the Old West. It is why the mythology has stayed relevant in our culture and stories for so long, even though, according to McMurtry, the true age of the cowboy and cattle drives only really lasted about five years or so.

McMurtry would probably side with Natalie. He is kind of appalled that people would reminisce about the rough time his ancestors had with any type of yearning. He himself grew up working on a ranch, spending a lot of time on his horse, and hated most of it. He marvels at his ancestors' will to move to a place inhabited by hostile people's, where the comfort of the city or even close neighbors is far removed. It seems in the end he does not understand the reasons why his family would want to come fill the empty space in the West, but he compares it to him filling up empty pages with words. He acknowledges that their settling is not on the same playing field with that which he does with empty pages, even writing:

"The American Pioneers I knew when I was growing up worked far too hard to leave many written records: their records were their fields, their houses, the children, their herds".

During one of my favorite bits of the book, he writes in disgust about anyone who would call themselves a "modern pioneer" or compare our advances with pioneering in any way. Our modest advances in ideas and technology are not comparable to the hard work of settling new land in the wilderness, completely alone. We may feel alone at times in what we think or do, but in an increasingly global society, there are few people actually do choose to leave and isolate themselves in the way pioneers did. Even if we leave behind some people, materials, or ideas, we all hold on to quite a bit as well. Not so with the early settlers.

More than anything else, this book contains a lot of ideas, it's not really a personal history. He uses experiences to illustrate ideas, and talks a lot about learning to love books, but mostly it sounds like he was having some deep thoughts at the Dairy Queen and needed to write them down to legitimize his personal philosophy, and to put meaning to some of the narratives in his own life. I would highly recommend it if you like McMurtry's writing or are at all interested in him as a person. It's a short quick read, and has a lot to think about, even causes you to reflect on your own relationship with stories.

Anybody on GoodReads? I just set up an profile. Add me,Calvin Kenley. I'm excited to read "The Magician King", comes out on Monday.

jagger supergroup

2011-08-03T17:32:00.001-07:00

this literally looks the worst idea ever.

DAT, Iceland, Walter Benjamin, Danny Says, Cowboys & Indians, KKVB2 Update, New Blog Coming Soon

2011-07-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Gotta get back in the blogging mode, here are some life updates.

-Took the DAT in June and did well. Applications are in for Dental School. We just gotta wait now to see what happens, nice to not have to really worry about that stuff for now.

-In September, Natalie and I are heading out on a pretty amazing cruise. The trip goes from Denmark to Ireland to Norway to Scotland to Iceland to Greenland to Halifax to Florida. It will be 18 days long and kind of the trip of a lifetime. I have been talking about going to Iceland for several years now, but there was never really a practical time to go, but I worked this last summer for the last time for Holland America/Princess and put in for a discounted trip and we got it! We weren't sure if everything was going to work out with getting time off from work, but we got lucky and were able to get away. It's kind of cool that this is actually going to be a reality, we are still kind of shocked that it all worked out. I'm pretty excited to do some sightseeing, eating good food, relaxing, and reading for a while and be able to forget about the job for a bit.

-Can't stop reading The Walking Dead right now. I just finished Volume 9. A few friends got into it the same time I did and it's fun to have people to talk with it about. Really is a page turner. I watched the AMC show this last fall, and thought it would spoil some of the series, but weirdly, the characters are the same but the plot is wildly different, so both are pretty enjoyable. And no, I'm not embarrassed that I like comic books.

-Also been reading Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry. I'm about halfway through. The book is a strange roundabout way of him writing an auto-biography by talking about the role of storytelling in the west. He talks about the importance of stories to his ancestors while simultaneously telling their stories, and then he also drops insight from his own career. The guy is a fantastic writer and a very deep thinker. I find myself highlighting bits and pieces of the book, especially when he digs in to the power and reasons that stories are passed on in different places. I'll try to write a bit about his overall thesis when I finish the book.

-That there is the B.C. Spirit Bear. It's a white black bear. Not albino, it's actually a recessive trait. Not a ton of them left in the world though. I subscribed a month or so ago to National Geographic and Scientific American. Money well spent. Out of the two, Nat Geo is more readable has a lot of nostalgia as we used to get the magazine when I was younger. It's kind of weird to realize, "Oh yeah, if I want that magazine, I'm at the point in my life where I need to get it myself". As dumb as that sounds. The articles in the mag are short and to the point and there is a lot of great photography. Scientific American is great, but occasionally goes over my head a bit. Anyway, helps me put new things in my head, which is healthy while I am in the position of sitting at a desk all day taking monotonous phone calls.

-Been recording a bunch of material for KKVB2, should be able to release it on Sept 1st, or at least before I go cruising. I kind of want to do a live show or two for it, we will see what the possibilities of it are. There will be possibly be some great collaborations on it, pretty excited for that, more news in the future maybe.
In the mean time, here is the latest Tom Waits Cover I did and another little song I did for a friends project. The Tom Waits Cover is actually a Ramones Cover. I like how it turned out, despite a few technical problems. The other is a thing I did for fun for a friend's project "The peachfishers". The idea of the whole thing is songs that jerks write and sing to women. So that's the idea with that one. Here is his website. http://soundcloud.com/peachfishers/tracks
danny says by Armorie Record Club
Cowboys and Indians by Peachfishers

-New Music you should listen to? The new Jolie Holland "Pint of Blood" is pretty exciting to me. I really like the Nick Diamonds Solo album "I am an Attic", 13& God's "Own your Ghost", the WuGazi remix thing, and of course, Serengeti's new album Family and Friends is what I've been listening to the most. The album is pretty dark, filled with black humor, but remains pretty poppy. Great thing about the album is it's short, there are no filler songs, and is consistent to it's theme while telling wildly variant stories. Serengeti writes great little battle rhymes and great introspective/steam of consciousness stuff, but his strength is certainly in storytelling and character work, and this album plays to that I think. Almost like a weirder and more serious Slick Rick. Here are two videos for the new album and a few others from recent projects.

-Nat and I will soon be launching another blog. It is not going to be a cutesy, fun, family blog, but you might be interested nonetheless. More details on that soon. It'll have stories and art and music and stuff too, but with a bit more of a odd direction.

That's alot of stuff. I'll try to post more often, I really will.

Tell it to me, Magician King, St. Vincent

2011-04-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest effort, Tom waits song #2 from Armorie Record Clubs selection this month. It will want to make you do a slow waltz around the room.

Tell it to me by Armorie Record Club
This song is less sad than it is funny. Usually the sympathetic one in the story is is the guy who is getting cheated on, not the real father of a child resulting in some night of major indiscretion.

Can't get this song out of my head recently:

Or this song

I am overly excited for this:

If you haven't read the first one, it's great.

Peace out.

Songs of late

2011-04-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

We are doing a Tom Waits disc this month for Armorie Record Club. Here is my first pick:
if i have to go by Armorie Record Club

Or, if you missed last month's selection, here is Beck's Guero in it's entirety.

Guero by Armorie Record Club

Work on KKVB2 is slow but oh so sweet, I'm excited to finish it up this summer.
Calvin

Hip Hop Memoirs....

2011-04-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I thought I'd do a little 3 in 1 book review since a few books I've read in the last 3 months have a similar theme. All three were pretty fluffy reads, but sometimes I can't resist letting my mind run on auto pilot while in the bathtub after answering phones all day. So here's goes.

1. "I Make my Own Rules" by LL Cool J

I got this as kind of a gag gift from my brother in law for Christmas. Seriously, this book is pretty awful, but I had to get through it. LL was kind of responsible for my initial interest in the world of Hip Hop. We never had cable growing up, and some of our family friends, the Morgans, occasionally would give my sister's tapes that had 6 hrs of the Disney Channel or MTV recorded over them. We all got to know those video cassettes pretty well. Most of the stuff on there was Paula Abdul or whatever, but I remember one tape specifically because it was pretty much my first actual encounter with Hip Hop. It was 1990, I was like 6 years old, and Momma Said Knock You Out was the most incredible thing I had ever heard. I may have heard Vanilla Ice before that or something, and I probably liked it, but this was on another plane to me. Honestly I didn't understand everything he was saying, but the braggadocio was so intense that you HAD to believe that he actually believed the things he was saying about himself.
That was the only song I ever knew until about 8th grade when I kid in my class had Walking with a Panther in his Disc man. This was a year before downloading and burning CD's became common in most households, so I couldn't get a copy of it from him, but I borrowed it and listened to it over and over again on the stereo in my room with my cheap headphones plugged in. It was mostly something about how weird he was. Nobody else was gonna rap the line "The pudding is delicious", except for him. Look at how spastic he is in this video:

No matter how much people jump around on stage, they won't look as crazy as LL used to when he was some excited eager kid. The no shirt thing works for Lil Wayne, but LL perfected it. I make a pretty distict homage to his video for I'm that type of guy in my Peach Fuzz video.
Anyway, the book kind of spoils all that, it was written in 1997, which is right at the point where I lose interest in his whole career. Of all three of these books, this one is the most painful to read. The most interesting moments are about his turbulent relationship with his father. His dad once got so angry he came to the house with a shotgun and ended up shooting his mother and grandfather. They recovered, but his father moved to California and changed his name and was never prosecuted. Later in life LL hired his father to come be his manager, and as you might have guessed, that didn't turn out so hot either. For all the violence he experienced as a child it's actually surprising that his lyrics are some of the least violent in mainstream rap.
LL tends to overdo it on some of the drama and motivational stories. My favorite chapter is called "Cry School", the title strikes me as funny because it's the easiest pun in the world. It's like he was thinking, "I've got to come up with another punny chapter heading,, yeah, that'll work, because I cried alot in high school!". He talks about how he was made fun of for his skinny legs and big lips and how hard it was for him. You would never think LL had self confidence issues. But I guess you could say the same for Comedians and actors, projecting themselves into a character maybe helps them deal with that.
Mostly, his advice tend to be things like, "Keepin' it real ain't about carrying a gun and smoking blunts. I'ts about being true to yourself and those around you." and "A relationship-any relationship-only works when two people are growing together." At the end of the day LL is a family man who's life is a lot less glamorous or exciting as his supercharged youthful music was. I'm not surprised, but the little kid singing "Mama said Knock you Out" inside of me died a little.

2. "Decoded" by Jay Z
This book came out last year and was marketed as a high end coffee table book--a compilation of lyrics, explanations, pictures, and stories. As a piece of art I would say that the book works rather well. It's fun to look at and well designed. As a memoir, there are a few great moments. Jay is at his strongest when he is telling stories. It's why his music is compelling, he rarely makes you feel like you have to agree or disagree with the narrator. When he tells stories about the industry or his childhood the images are vivid and detailed. When he begins to talk about government, social issues, or possible solutions, the logic gets clouded and he starts to become too self aggrandizing for my taste. I actually believe the Jay has certain moments in his music where he makes powerful arguments in a clear and precise way, but he seems to contradict himself a lot in this book. Even points of contention are easy to agree with him on aren't framed well.
As a lyric book, I would say the project is the weakest. I don't feel like his explanations of his lyrics do anything to deepen them or make them any stronger. Sure, to the outsider it might be helpful to understand what certain slang is referring to, but by the tenth time he talks about how the song is reflecting "the hustler's mentality", I get a bit bored. I had to skip several lyric pages just to get through the book. A good storyteller does not need to make a "making of" book. I'd prefer they tell stories that inspired the lyrics instead of talk about exactly what the lyrics are supposed to inspire.
My biggest complaint is that the book is not more personal. The most exciting parts talk about controversy in his career. He talks about the Oasis Glastonbury feud and about about his disagreements with Oprah, and about a few of his run ins with the police, but very little else is all that thick. I wanted to hear about his falling out with Jaz, his issues with Diplomat and Jim Jones, his relationship with Beyonce of course....but he offers no real information. Also, even the portion of the book where he talks about his life as a hustler is never specific. He talks about certain practices, but no detailed story telling, and that was disappointing.
I also wanted him to talk more about his transition from a speed rapper to a storyteller, because the shift in creative direction is intriguing to me.

3. “The Tao of Wu” by the RZA
Last but not least I picked up the Tao of RZA at Border’s closing sale last week for %70 off. Out of the 3 books I probably enjoyed this one the most. The writing was definitely the strongest, but I think a lot of credit could go to the fact that he had a co-writer to organize all of his thoughts. Basically, RZA sat down and did just rambled about his philosophies for a several hours and the co-writer organized it into something more cohesive. Like Jay-Z, RZA is at his strongest when telling the stories.
The best thing to me about the Wu-Tang clan is how they made connections with other mythology and applied it to themselves. RZA doesn’t just like Kung-Fu movies, he feels like they embody his life. To RZA, Chess is Hip Hop, Kung-Fu is Hip Hop, Religion is Hip Hop. He is skilled at absorbing and integrating the things he loves into his music, like the ultimate fan boy. RZA is at heart a just a huge nerd who is extremely talented in emulating his influences. Because of this, he spends most of the time talking about his various obsessions and showing how he uses them in his music. He doesn’t sound humble either, but at least his excitement seems more about his influences than himself.
When RZA does get introspective about his career, he mentions that he has never had as powerful production as he did in the early days. He has made thousands of beats, but they are not as appreciated because they are too polished. He feels like not knowing the techniques makes for a better project. Being an expert in something means you won't make anything new necessarily.

RZA’s weakest moments are when he attempts to explain certain doctrines of principle. To me statements like “Knowledge is Power and Power is Water and Water is also Love because it’s all around us.” are just Gobbledigook. Talking about the “12 jewels” is nice at all, but I’m more of a fan of practical information that the theoretical concepts that RZA is into. He’s better off writing about how he used to snatch guns out of people’s hands than he writing about the practice of meditation and oneness.
Also, I wanted more information on conflict within the Wu-Tang. He seems only comfortable when dwelling on the times when they were a cohesive unit, and doesn’t get into their current differences and conflicts. He mentions Raekwon saying, “RZA, you want to make peaceful music, I want to make music that’s basically punching people in the face,” and that quote almost begs for more information about their conflicting views. Currently, Raekwon and Ghostface are the only really relevant members of the Wu-Tang Clan, so it would have been interesting to read how he feels about their approach.

I just wrote way too much that nobody will probably read. Congrats if you made it to the end. Next time, I’ll review “Life” by Keith Richards. Read up if you want to discuss it with me.

Meat is worth it. Book Review.

2011-03-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

So I just finished reading this book by Jonathan Safran Foer. I am not even really sure why I read it, I usually hate these kinds of things, so why put myself through the torture? I guess I was just curious. After finishing it, I can definitely tell you that it wasn't quite convincing enough to make me a Vegan, but he had some good points that at least made me think about my relationship to my diet and the forces that are at play in the background. Most of his arguments are well framed and logical enough that it would be hard to disagree with any of the content. But, and this is a huge but, the writing style of this book made it a chore to get through. He marries a personal memoir with interviews and research about factory farming in a way that made it really difficult to stomach. Talking about the facts of factory farming gets a little over-emotional because of this, and it gets in the way of a reader really forming their own logical conclusion. At the end it takes a particularly bad turn as he concludes that factory farming isn't just a moral dilemma, but should be altogether illegal. He compares allowing your children to eat thanksgiving turkey with allowing your children to play with toys that have been painted with lead paint. It's not that I don't acknowledge any health risk with eating factory farmed animals, but putting the risk in those terms seems a little over the top, even after reading his compiled evidence.
To the writer's credit, certain arguments he made do make me want to eat less meat in general because of the almost inevitable support you lend to factory farming, which he argues is unsustainable in the long run and overly cruel to the animals. He also got me thinking for the first time about how all animals have different places in all cultures. It would be inhumane to beat a dog into its kennel in the U.S., but not in India where they eat the creature. Transversely, it would be awful to beat a cow in India, and in the U.S. we think of that as a common practice to control the animal. Cultural ideas about the animals generally outweigh logic.
Sadly, at the end of the book, Foer throws water on anyone thinking they can go away from the book thinking that they have learned to eat fewer factory farm animals. He takes a staunch "all or none" position, even dramatically framing the animal rights issue in the same context as slavery and the civil rights movement. He claims that Martin Luther King didn't tell people to only ride buses when it is inconvenient not to, he told them to boycott them all together. The half measure of eating less meat is simply not acceptable to the author. The conclusion is narrow and it seems unlikely that anyone would ever adopt it, and so it makes the reader feel like they have to either be part of the club or have missed the point completely. There is no leeway, and frankly, he just comes off as being bossy or preachy, although well-informed.
The book also has other bits and pieces that bothered me in numerous ways. I found myself either being disturbed at the poor ethics of the factory farming industry, or disturbed by the author's refusal to accept any practice as being ethical. To me, bolt guns on cows seems humane enough, and I can't think of a way to kill a cow more quickly with less pain. Foer certainly doesn't suggest an alternative, but is concerned that sometimes this doesn't completely do the job. I don't know of any method that would be full-proof. Also, he seems incredibly concerned with the castration of cattle, but never mentions whether his dog is castrated, or whether he supports spaying and neutering pets.
The language is particularly grating. Castration becomes "Mutilation". Genetic Engineering creates "Frankenstein Birds". Although I don't argue that these practices take place and may or may not be ethical or sustainable, the language places a sinister undertones on the facts. At one point he describes himself watching youtube videos of people hauling in big fish. He describes the scenes as men congratulating each other as if they had just cured cancer, while women in bikinis stare on admiringly. It annoyed me that the act of catching a fish had to be framed in his book as a typical, stupid American custom, like watching the super bowl or playing poker. Having grown up in Alaska and lucky enough to have a Dad to take me fishing, I never had a similar experience to the one he describes. I am aware that the practice is so much more than a bunch of jocular types on a boat. Painting the picture becomes more important than looking at the situation from all different angles.
Although I overwhelmingly had a negative experience with the book, I would recommend it to almost anybody. I learned a lot of information that I wasn't previously attuned to, and I think that sort of thing only usually happens when you let an extremest lay out their side for you in detail. And honestly, I never did disagree with the idea of eating less meat. It is even within my own religious principles...so it was good to have a modern understanding of why this belief is a positive one. If nothing else, reading Foer's book will make you consider your position and work to come up with your own narrative and logic to support it.

Stay tuned for my next book report on Jay-Z's "Decoded". Hahahahaha

Pogo mashups, Accordian

2011-02-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Just ordered this on Amazon, should be a good read.

I have been getting nostalgic and geeking out over these Pogo sound collage videos lately. Especially this one. They don't make any type of sense but it makes me want to watch these films again.

Last night andrew and i performed at the USU IMC radiohead cover night. Here are the videos for it.
4 minute Warning

Codex

The accordian used to be my dad's. I think it's really bizzare he even owned it for so long. He can actually play it a little bit, and he would pull it out every couple of months when we were kids for our family home evening to play "5 green and Speckled Frogs", or "How much is that doggy in the window". I think there are certain people who would pay money to watch my dad play accordian and sing. I'm one of the lucky people who have witnessed it. I once asked him if I could have the accordian, he told me if I went on a date once a month during the school year he would give it to me. I ended up getting married and he wrapped it up as my wedding present. Good ol' dad. And no, I did not just get married for the accordian.

Dahl, GNR, epicmealtime

2011-02-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

Glad a 4 day week end has come around. I was sorta going crazy on the Spanish phones until 6:30 last night. The job is okay, just sometimes can be depressing based on the nature of the circumstances of the people calling in. The good thing is now I am starting to do the processing bit, which means I can half listen to music and podcasts and whatnot while working on the cases. Can't complain about that.

I am reading "Storyteller", which is this awesome 600 page Roald Dahl Biography that came out in September. It's really well done, and from what I understand the writer had pretty much full access to the Dahl Estate. He read hundreds of letters and book drafts and the whole thing is pretty comprehensive. I guess Dahl was a bit of a nasty person and extremely opinionated, some even described him as a bully. Above all, it seems he was a braggart. His personal experiences were in his mind more valid than anybody elses. Because of this, he would exaggerate wildly and even make up huge details in order to best the stories of those around him. The author really kind of softens this idea by looking into why he was that way, and how his bad temper really contributed to great writing. Maybe pathological liars are just contributing to society in a whole different way.

There is a chapter in the book that talks about how Roald Dahl related to children much more than adults. His outlook on children was a bit grisly, but I thought it was interesting. He said they are creatures that are only concerned with survival. They judge people on if they are a threat to them or not, and gauge people on how essential they are to their own survival. In that way, children are incredibly selfish. In Roald Dahl's books, the children usually are orphans or from 1 parent households, and the adult world is against them. The adults are, for the most part, evil funcrushers who despise children. (The witches, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The twits). Occasionally an adult comes along that is there to help the child, and this adult is given special consideration. Usually these adults are basically children that have never grown up. (Willy Wonka, Danny's Father, Mr. Fox). The author of the biography decides the Roald was on to something, as children related with his books and the "me against the world" themes that made them so popular. Dahl was quick to point out, however, that children being selfish, self-absorbed creatures is not a bad thing. In fact, it's just a different way to describe purity or innocence. As adults in a society, we are led to give people the benefit of the doubt. Even people who do not have our best interest in mind are acceptable if they are funny, or serve some other useful purpose in the community. But it doesn't matter how funny you are, to a child, if you are mean, you are to be avoided and overcome, not tolerated. Anyways, just some thoughts I was having while reading. It's a good book, if you liked Dahl as a kid.

Speaking of authors, Brian Jacques passed away last week. You ever read those Redwall books? That was my life in Elementary and Middle School. I think I read 8 or 9 of the books. Now there are like 22. Crazy.

Here is the song I made two weeks ago for my last Beck cover. I am trying to mess around with sampling. And what would be a better sample to mess with the first time around than GNR's most famous riff?

Just a Message to Her by Armorie Record Club

The new Radiohead album dropped today. "The King of Limbs". I'm giving it a first listen as we speak. Thoughts later. Andrew and I will be playing some songs at the Radiohead cover concert at the Lundstrom Center next Saturday. You should come if your around.

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is doing some insane stuff right now.

I watched Restrepo last weekend. I have a goal in life to never get shot at. This documentary was so scary at certain parts I had to close my eyes. It's streaming on Netflix so check it out.

This is so awesomely gross. These Epic Mealtime guys are killing it right now.

crunch factor, work of art, Solitary confinement

2011-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hey,
Tomorrow we are going to go see the Best of the Fest Films in Ogden. I've lived in Utah a while and never been to Sundance, it seems like it is a bit of a pain in the rear to get there and deal with parking and crowds and expensive tickets. But Anita told us about Best of the Fest in Ogden, which is where they take two award winning films and show them for free. Luckily, I was going through Ogden on my way to pick up Nat from the airport a few weeks ago on the day they were giving out tickets. I had to stand in line for a while, but we got some! So we are going to see "Being Elmo" and "Another Earth" Tomorrow. I'll post some reviews later this week maybe.

Yesterday we went to the temple and had Sushi. I think it gets better and better each time you eat it. The Mexican Crunch roll is particularly amazing, we both agree that the "Crunch Factor" greatly enhances most food. Take Crunchwrap Supremes, or Double Deckers for example. Those double decker tacos were my jam in the Middle School Cafeteria.

We also watched an episode of 30 days, that show by Morgan Spurlock where he makes someone spend 30 days with a person that has a drastically different lifestyle. The episode was about a guy learning about New Age Practices. Most of it looked pretty bogus to me, specifically the Rakee...I think that's how you spell it. While he didn't really get into alot of the stuff, he kept the practices that actually helped him to relax. Good way to go about it I think. We got to thinking what the worst thirty days would be for us individually. For me, it would be putting me on the Raw Food Vegan diet for 30 days. I gotta have meat to function. For Nat it would be eating macdonalds for 30 days or living with Gun Activists. We also think living with Gilbert Godfrey for a month would be almost unbearable.
We also think that my the funniest position we could put my Dad in would be to force him to be a contestant on Project Runway. Love that show.

By the way, Natalie and I caught up on Work of Art: Next Great Artist, and we both really liked it. It was cool to see people work under deadlines to create. My first criticism of the show was that real artists need more time to create than the reality show could provide. But then I realized that in my own creative process, I don't really sit around waiting for an idea to come to me. I actively pursue it, spend time working on a goal and ideas shift around until something comes out of it.

Shad goes real hard here:

My first week on the job for reals wasn't too bad. The days are long but the 3-day weekend makes up for it. Everyone I talk to is either in crisis or really uneducated, so it makes for a bunch of tough conversations. I like that my Spanish is improving though, great perk.

Here are some songs I did for the latest Record Club selection, which is Beck's Guero. My little sister Rachel is participating this time around.
Go it alone by Armorie Record Club
Earthquake Weather by Armorie Record Club

I just got one more song to do on this one...

I watched a documentary on Solitary Confinement. It was frightening. The people they put in solitary just basically slowly go crazy and become more and more aggressive, so it really doesn't cure that at all. I guess some people argue that it is inhumane to put anybody in solitary. After watching these people freak out on camera I might agree. But the warden had a real good point, what are you supposed to do with them? If they are stabbing prisoners and guards, you have to some how slap them on the wrist. Isn't the most humane thing you can think of to separate them from people? Anyways, I thought it was really thought provoking.

I also watched another documentary called Cropsey on Friday night and it was a pretty disturbing story about Staten Island and a criminal there. I won't describe it in detail but it's streaming on Netflix and one a couple awards at Sundance last year.

On a big Bonnie Prince Billy Kick right now. I forgot how good even the mediocre albums are.. That and Scott Walker are in the headphones a lot.

More later.
Calvin

new songs, ramblings, ect.

2011-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hey,

I can't stop watching Breaking Bad. Good thing I'm almost caught up.

Natalie is in Toronto til Saturday, I'm excited for her to come home.

I'm taking the comp tests right now at work, which means that I only have to travel 4 more days to Ogden, and then I will be working in Logan. Can't wait.

Thinking about writing lately...alot.

I recorded a bunch of songs this weekend. Here is one of them.
Juveniles by Calvin Smooth
It is a cover of the first song on the Walkmen's new record, which I think was my favorite song this year. I am trying to learn guitar, accordian, and trumpet little by little.

Kinetic Kalvin vs. the Beast 2 is well in the works. It's a very lazy mixtape full of throwaway battle nonsense. I'm laughing at some of it, and will have it done hopefully by month's end. There is some odd stuff on there.

I read The Accidental Billionaires and an LL Cool J autobiography over the break. One was good and one wasn't. Guess which was which? Now I'm back to plugging through David Copperfield. It's great, but long.

Honeycombs is maybe the best cereal for early mornings.

The record club project my friends and I do just finished it's fourth cover album, Neutral Milk Hotel's "In an Aeroplane Over the Sea" I think it turned out very well. Check out the songs:

http://soundcloud.com/armorierecordclub/sets/armorie-record-club-in-the-aeroplane-over-the-sea

Stay tuned for the next pick.

Also: Amendment to the top ten movies, I would put Fighter at number 6 probably, bumping off Hell House from the top ten.

Later Y'all
Calvin

Top Ten Movies of 2010

2011-01-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here they are in order, no explanations needed:

10. Hell House
9. Exit through the Giftshop
8. Black Swan
7. Cyrus
6. Inception
5. Winter's Bone
4. Un Prophete
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
2. The Social Network
1. Toy Story 3

I also liked Greenberg, Shutter Island, and my little internal caveman was entertained by the Jackass movie.

Movies I still need to see that might bump my list around a bit I'm told:

The King's Speech
True Grit
The Kids are all right
Another Year
Catfish
Blue Valentine
The Fighter

wait a second....

2010-12-16T19:46:00.001-08:00

No, actually this is...

this my jam!!!

2010-12-16T19:39:00.001-08:00

top ten albombs.

2010-12-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well, Well, Well, we come to the close of another year. These things are really pointless, but it’s time to make my list of my 10 favorite albums this year, mostly because I like making lists.

10. Have One on Me-Joanna Newsome
I liked the scope of this a lot. It takes patience to really listen to the whole thing, but it pays off, because she is constantly recalling bits of melody through it all. I bought the record on vinyl in Washington DC on my honeymoon and am still discovering new easter eggs in the songs. And I think the closer on the record is amazingly beautiful.

9. Sit Down Man-Das Racist
Shut up man and let me tell you why Das Racist is awesome. They are one of the very few rap groups that are talented, yet don’t care if you take them seriously or not. I get that word thrown at me sometimes, I’m talking about “novelty”. People love to call anything funny or too self-aware “novelty rap”. Kanye and Lil’ Wayne make jokes in their stuff too, but he’s not joke rap is he? It all has to do with the perception of somebody being “cool”. For some reason they escape the novelty boundary and I’m not so sure why. Anyways, Das Racist is above the game, because people can’t figure out what to label them as. They will have something that bangs harder than most with some serious MC on the track and they will keep up, and then they will have something less serious on the next track that makes you wonder what they are trying to be. And that’s awesome, because they have somehow made it impossible to define them. I say though, that they rap with the best of them and are doing important work in stretching the genre.

8. Bells and the Floating World-Serengeti
Serengeti is slowly becoming my favorite rapper. He is a bit of a workaholic, this year he had three projects come out, but this one is really just a remix and addition to last year’s excellent Terradactyl. Polyphonic’s production is lush and dreamy and probably near impossible to rap traditionally over. This is a challenge that Serengeti embraces whole-heartedly, following his stream of consciousness wherever the blips and arpeggiated electronics lead him. This to me is another pioneering move in hip-hop.

7. The Arch Android- Janelle Monae
The Arch Android is the first I have heard of Janelle Monae and a very strong showing. If Serengeti and Das Racist are expanding the borders of their art forms, Janelle Monae is going back to it’s funk and soul roots. Critic’s have described this album as cinematic. I will have to admit, I can’t follow any sort of story that she claims is behind the album, but the songs blend well into each other in a way that scenes in a movie do.

6. Winter of Mixed Drinks-Frightened Rabbit
I saw Frightened Rabbit about 3 years ago opening for Pinback and didn’t think much of them. Since then they have released 2 albums that are classic in my book. Although I tend to prefer Midnight Organ Fight, Winter of Mixed Drinks is not really a step in the wrong direction. The songs are still very catchy and the lyrics are well written. The big difference is that the subject matter is not as hard hitting, but I am glad they are not writing the same album over and over again. Check these guys out.

5. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy-Kanye West
10 stars? No way. Awesome? For sure. The production is so good on this album, but what kind of freaks me out is the vocals. A lot of the time, it’s like he is just trailing out and doesn’t feel like finishing the verse all that strongly. And some of the lines are just ridiculous. But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I am actually impressed, because it seems like he was more concerned with making his voice an instrument this time around, it blends so well with the track itself. Kanye is not Sinatra anymore, it’s almost like he’s a male diva. Plus the twitter is great.

4. High Violet-The National
Like every National album, I feel like this one is a grower. So who knows, maybe in time it will grow itself even higher on the list. Having already had some time to process it, I think that the album shows them refining their sound to a definite, whereas the previous two albums found them stumbling upon it.

3. Situation on the Home front-Grimm Teachaz
Maybe a little high on the list? Sure. But maybe not high enough. I am obsessed with this project. Two highly talented and maybe partially insane rappers decided to make a whole album as characters from a quick sketch on a different album. The result is a bizarre throwback to early 90’s underground hip-hop. It’s like listening to the energy of Wu-tang. They make up words, throw in bizarre references, and pretty much abandon all conventional wisdom to make this thing. Not only did I laugh my head off when I first heard this, but I ranted and raved about it to my friends for about a month and couldn’t stop imitating Serengeti’s character, which is a Chicagoan white guy a la snl “da bears” who somehow raps hard. This is not a new character for Geti, but the way in which he is used is the best yet. Favorite Line from the album? “We the teachaz, our legacy don’t end. You Mister Rogers. You pretend. You lady Elaine. I’m crazy insane.”

2. Lisbon-The Walkmen
I was a little late getting into this band, but am loving the amount of catching up I have to do. Lisbon is my second favorite, right behind You and Me. The horns kind of do this thing to me, gets me feeling sad and wishing I was a cowboy or something.

1. This is Happening-LCD Soundsystem.
Summer album full of earnest dancey pop and a lot of mumbling complaints. Maybe the last ever from this group I guess. At least it’s a good way to go out. I definitely listened to this album the most this year, and will continue with it.

I liked the following albums, but not that much:
Age of Adz-Sufjan Stevens
Creulean-Baths
Cosmogramma-Flying Lotus
All Delighted People-Sufjan Stevens
Saturday Night-Friday Night (Serengeti)
Forgiveness Rock Record (Broken Social Scene)
IRM-Charlotte Gainsbourge
Only Built for Cuban Linx 2-Raekwon
Sir Luscious Leftfoot, Son of Chico Dusty-Big Boi
The Suburbs-Arcade Fire (I’ll take the most heat for this from people.)

I played a little show at the art theater yesterday night between two movies they were showing. The set list was:
Man Says
Last Christmas
Brain cell Break
Hard to be a Gentleman

I hope to do more little things like this in the future. It was really weird. And fun. I feel like I need to work on my slower song repertoire though, it was a bit too active on my part and I felt it by the end of the night.

Well, I will do my top ten movies of 2010 later this week.
Calv

Greed is good?

2010-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Gordon Gecko once said Greed is good. It is in ways. People look down greed in the Christmas season, which makes this a difficult blog to write, because I am going to get into all of the awesome things that have caught my eye this Christmas Season. Not that I think I will get any of these things from anybody, but its fun to ruminate on what looks awesome, even if its just daydreaming while at work and surfing on ebay for goods. So, these are the things that I think are the dopest Christmas gears this year around.

Oh, wait, before I get to that, I will give you a little gift. If you go to www.soundcloud.com/pop-gun-war/sets you can listen to my new-ish album that I made with Greg Santanna, and even download it for freee.. (shhhh). I’ve been gearing up to do some shows around Logan soon, and this will be some of the material I will be performing. So anyway, listen to it all, tell me what you think. It’s about childhood and coming of age and loss of innocence…mostly.

It will be best to do this by category. Let’s start with…..

Books:

The Accidental Billionaires. I have wanted to read this since seeing the Social Network. I thought the story was surprisingly intriguing. The book is written mostly using Saverin’s input I guess, and I feel like he probably has a legitimate view of the rise of Zuckerburg. Anyways, this looks like something I could plow through.

An Object of Beauty. I read Steve Martin’s “Born Standing Up” when it came out and thought he was a great writer. This is a work of fiction about the world of art collecting and supposedly is a very accurate depiction of the market over a period of time. I read a few pages of it at Borders the other day and was hooked, but had to put it down so I wouldn’t buy it.

Roald Dahl Biography. This is a biography of my favourite author as a child, and it is the first authorized one. Although I have read his two autobiographies, Boy and Going Solo, and several other writings, I kind of crave an outsider’s perspective, and the book is supposed to be pretty exhausting. This maybe tops my list of wanted books right now.

LIFE, Keith Richards. This is supposed to be juicy and kind of crazy. I am into rock autobiographies in general, and Keith Richards probably has more crazy stories than most. Good news is, my wife’s mom works for the publisher, so I think it is on its way here right now!!! Perks of being married to Nat.

Bob Dylan’s Writings Collection. This is a comprehensive book of his essays, some interviews, and musings. I thought Chronicles Volume One was fantastic. I think this is maybe the ultimate ultimate bathroom book. The reviews are good.

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything. A friend told me this book is important to read. If the book is as thought provoking as the title, I would probably agree.

Medium Raw. After listening to Anthony Bourdain on a podcast arguing with a vegetarian about the merits of eating meat, it made me want to get this book. I haven’t read anything by him, or even really watched his show too much, but it made me happy that he claimed something like “vegetarians are a threat to our way of life”. Of course, I have nothing really against people who don’t eat meat and I’m sure he was speaking in the broadest hyperbole, but still…. Anyways, food has been becoming more interesting to me that last couple of years, especially its cultural implications. Natalie and I always talk about how it can be a real connector or divider, I think that is definitely a true statement.

Vinyl:

I always appreciate a good record to add to the collection. Here are a couple of things I kind of want to get my hands on.

Tom Waits: Orphans, Glitter and Doom, Nighthawks at the Diner. Orphans is a box set that came out last year. It’s way too expensive, but I really like the scope and concept in the way he put together these songs. Glitter and Doom is a live record, I’ve heard some of it and Tom Waits still kills it live. NightHawks at the Diner is an old reissue, and it is coming out in this fancy red vinyl.

Echo Party: I don’t even know if Edan is still selling these, but they are limited edition and all hand stamped. Probably the best dance mix ever.
Beauty and the Beat, Primitive Plus: This are two more Edan releases that I think are classics, but don’t know if the vinyl is still available anywhere. I think discogs might have some used ones to sell.

The Walkmen: Lisbon, You and Me, Bows and Arrows, 100 Miles Off are all records I’ve recently become obsessed with.

Buck 65: Avant, The Distance, Albequerque. Buck 65 has been releasing little 4 song records this year in 4 installations. The first four are out. This makes a particularly good buy, each one is only like 6 bucks or so. He sells them over at Buck65.com.

DVD’s

Here are some of the few DVD’s I wouldn’t mind owning, because I think they merit multiple viewings.

The Elephant Man: I have said for a long time that this is my favourite movie of all time. It’s definitely still true. I think they have some sort of special edition released with new interviews and stuff, I wouldn’t mind getting that sometime.

The Lost Tapes: This is a DVD that Buck 65 put out this year and has a lot of good performance footage, interviews, music videos, skits, etc.

Mad Men Seasons. For 10 bucks on Amazon, you could get somebody a full season of Mad Men. That is a great thing, especially if they need to get caught up on the best show on TV right now.

Of course another thing that is way too much, but the Seinfeld Box Set of seasons 1-9 seems like it would be an awesome gift for pretty much anybody.

Miscellany:

And finally, here are some of the random things I think are cool:

Capo/Guitar Picks/1/4” Music Cords: I need all of these and they make good stocking stuffers aye?

Korg Monotron: For 55 bucks or so, this makes a pretty affordable toy. It can do a bunch of stuff for such a little device. A friend of mine got one recently and made me jealous.

Handheld Digital Recorder: I am getting interested in doing a lot more field recording and this would be a great tool. Nothing super serious, but man, I think it would be great to do some interviews and record playing in odd places.

Chromatic Harmonica: I have wanted one of these things since I was like 10, but never ponied up to get one.

Numark TT200 Direct Drive Turntable: I have a Turntable that works okay right now, so this isn’t number one on my priorities or anything, but man would it be great to have something I could do a bit more with and would give a bit better sound quality.

Okay enough of that. I’ll write a better blog tomorrow to make up for this guilty pleasure.

Bye. Calvin

The Return, Square Pig, Driving, Record Club, Social Network

2010-10-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time. I shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to. step to. step to step to step to.

I could try to go back and recap what's been going on for the past several months in my life, but anybody who reads this probably is aware that I got married and am real happy and all that. Doing those types of things takes a lot of time out of one's schedule. I worked a lot on the train this summer and am now in Utah searching for a job for the year while I wait to hear back from some dental schools. Every day I apply to about 6 jobs and have got some interest but am still looking for the best fit. I will keep you updated on how the search is going. Right now we are staying at my sister and brother-in-law's place while we are job hunting. It is a transitory feeling, but hopefully it will all be equalized soon.

This summer I read: Conquest of the Useless by Werner Herzog, Metamorphasis by Franz Kafka, Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, Superfreakanomics by Dubner and Levitt, The Quiet American by Grahm Greene, a bunch of graphic novels, and have started David Copperfield. So a good summer for reading.

I particularly enjoyed the Herzog book. It is a collection of journals he kept while he was filming Fitzcarraldo. They are for the most part a bunch of feverish rants about the jungle and his determination to get the boat over the hill. He approaches a mental breakdown several times, and when he finally succeeds he is indifferent about the success. I liked this resolution, it was not what I would have predicted. I was all set up for some last pages about the relief he felt that the hard parts were over and he had accomplished what he set out to do, but instead, he plunges into a sort of disgust...there is no sense of accomplishment, because all the work that went into this act is in his eyes insignificant. Through the entire narrative, he is venomous about how banal the jungle is. He is constantly writing about the indifference of rivers, how people die and the jungle just goes on steaming. There are some great images.

One of the images that I can't get out of my head, (much to the disdain of my wife, who can't stand when I tell people about it) has to do with what we have dubbed "the square pig". He writes,

"A pig in Palermo had fallen into a sewer shaft: it lived down there for two years, and continued to grow, surviving on the garbage that people threw down the shaft, and when they hauled the pig out, after it had completely blocked the drain, it was almost white, enormously fat, and had taken on the form of the shaft. It had turned into a kind of monumental, whitish grub, rectangular, cubic, and wobbly, an immense hunk of fat, which could move only its mouth to eat, while its legs had shrunk and retracted into the body fat"

This is a great metaphor...for what, I don't know...but I guess even creatures take the shape of their containers.

The drive down to Utah from Alaska was beautiful. There were lots of animals in northern British Columbia, including deer, moose, buffalo, and caribou. Natalie did not so much enjoy the drive itself. At one point she told me she would rather walk all the way then drive all the way. When I pushed her on this, she did not back down, which made it even more funny. She would have made a great pioneer. A couple times she suggested we just stop where we were and live there. Even I don't want to live that remote.

Over the summer, a few friends and I started a little project we are calling the armorie record club. It's a fairly common and simple concept. Basically, a bunch of us choose an album for the month, and then each of us do one or two songs from it and post them for people to download. So far, we have completed cover albums of David Bowie's Hunky Dory, The White Stripe's White Blood Cells, and Def Leppard's Hysteria. Currently we are working on the next selection, Neutral Milk Hotel's In an Aeroplane over the Sea. If you want to check out the tracks and download them for your Ipod, go to www.soundcloud.com/armorierecordclub/sets The tracks I have done are: Quicksand, Bombers, I can Tell, The Union Forever, Jolene, Gent, Animal, Love and Affection, Gods of War, and Communist Daughter. Enjoy, and let me know if you have a suggestion of a great album to cover and I will consider putting it in our monthly drawing.

I also have some other musical projects that should soon see the light of day, particularly some collaborations with Greg Santanna under the name of Pop Gun War.

If you want to hear the Armorie album we put together, here is the link to that.
http://soundcloud.com/user1991062/sets/pew-pew

That's my music news as of right now.

I saw The Social Network the other night, and it was great. Very dark and moody but great story telling and dialogue, and a pretty great illustration at the challenges of trying to fit in by changing the rules altogether. I would recommend it to anyone. J.T. isn't even dreamy in it.

I will be back with more later, including my escapades into Tai-Bo recently. it sucks.

Calvin

National Anthem Fail, Beyond the Mat, George Jones, Podcast Animations

2009-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yep.

Might go Roller skating tonight. Haven't done that since I was like 8 years old or something. I remember Wasilla used to have a roller rink and they would have limbo contests. I was never really all that good though.

This had me laughing so hard I was almost crying the other night. I can hardly watch it without dying.

good thing the stars were still there.

I am finishing up with this semester's classes. Just two exams to go. Things are panning out fairly well. I just turned in four papers this week, so I'm kind of sick of writing. Excited for the break, I am headed to Las Vegas and Alaska during the four weeks, should be fun.

This is what real country music sounds like. I miss it.

Last night for documentary night we watched one called Beyond the Mat, which was about professional wrestling. It was really good and I would reccommend it. There were some very sad parts too, as it showed how showbusiness ruins the families that are involved and how wrestling tears apart people's bodies as they get older. Jake the Snake had a really sad story and it was depressing to watch him try and reconcile things with his daughter. There are definitely some funny/shocking moments too, specifically when Vince MacMahon, president of the WWF, recruits a new wrestler and excitedly gives him the name "Puke". He calls home excited to tell his Mom that worldwide he will be known as "Puke" and will end the matches by puking on his opponents. Mom must be proud.

I finished my book on Little Richard. It was pretty fascinating. There were a couple chapters in that book that were tough to get through because he is pretty raw in his descriptions, but it didn't feel too gratuitous. Most of the book is direct interviews with Richard and those close to him. I thought one of the most interesting parts of the book was reading how white artists would rerecord black artist's hits and get rich off of them while the black artists would write these fantastic songs and have trouble getting any money from them. Richard claims he never has gotten royalties for Tutti Frutti, Slippin and a Slidin, Good Golly Miss Molly, Lucille, Knockin, or The girl can't help it. Kind of sad. Currently Richard is a preacher but has found peace with his position as a rock and roll icon. Instead of saying it is Satan's music he has decided that there is good rock and roll and bad rock and roll. There still is this weird conflict in his mind because he associates the music with the lifestyle, drugs, money, and sex. It's weird how bizarre some of America's celebrities are.

I am excited about the new HBO show based on the Ricky Gervais podcasts. Karl Looks awesome.

Later
Calvin

too lazy to title.

2009-11-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

Man oh man-Good week. I have been weirdly interested in cooking lately, (although I'm terrible at it) and I am trying to do it a bit more. Fortunately Natalie can cook well, and we are doing it twice a week. It's a welcome change from ramen noodles. I was getting desparate for that change. In fact, no joke, a few weeks ago I mixed together ramen and macaroni and cheese, just so I could taste something different. It was awful. On last Thursday we cooked some really good cajun chicken pasta and Tuesday we made Mexican Crostada. Pretty good stuff. Thanks for the recipes Rita. This week I am choosing the recipe for Wednesday so leave a good suggestion in the comments. Ate anything good lately?

Speaking of good food we went and had Thanksgiving in Cokeville yesterday. There were like 35 people there and it was a huge table and lots of fun. The food of course was incredible too so thanks to those who prepared it. Grandpa told some funny stories afterwards that had us laughing pretty good.

My obsession with little Richard is getting worse. This biography I'm reading is intense. He was a crazy dude-I just read about how as a child he used to have this compulsion to defacate in jars and boxes. He would sometimes wrap up the boxes an give them to people as gifts. Once he did it in his mothers jam jar and then put it back on the shelf like nothing had happened. The town thought he was possesed by the devil. There are some other sad things that happened to him as a boy that are probably too graphic to describe here, but his story is fascinating. He thinks many of his problems have come to him because his one leg is much shorter than the other. Although I don't think it has affected me near as much, I felt I could kind of relate. Walking funny because of my leg did have some sort of an impact on my personality, beleive it or not. It was one of the reasons I got made fun of a bit, and so I had to combat that by making fun of myself. I still have that trait to this day somewhat. Little Richard also kind of invented performance art in rock and roll because he was trying hard to be non-threatening to white people. There was a lot of racism in Georgia and the rest of the U.S., so to get around that he invented the craziest stage act that he could so as to come off as funny. Then everyone else kind of copied his free expression approach. Elvis refers to Richard as the greatest performer who ever lived.

Speaking of great performers, we went and saw the Michael Jackson movie the other night. It was a bit too long, but it was entertaining and kind of sad. Even though at times Mikey was a little over-indulgent in the rehearsals, that show would have been and amazing one. He was all about spectacle. At one point he plans to have a huge bulldozer drive onto stage and stop right before it hits him. Nobody questioned his judgement. It was weird. After watching that I can't stop singing Human Nature.

Ever seen Style Wars? Its a famous documentary about graffiti in New York in the 70's, and its pretty amazing that it even exists. Do yourself a favor and sit down to watch it sometime.

End of the year is coming up, time to start making some lists. And listening to Christmas Music. And figuring out presents for people.

My mom wanted a list of things I might want for X-Mas. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Conquest of the Useless by Werner Herzog.
2. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys on Vinyl
3. Glitter and Doom by Tom Waits on Vinyl
4. Non-black Dress Shoes (Size 10 or 10.5 or so)
5. Any books by Steinbeck aside from East of Eden, Mice and Men, and Grapes of Wrath

If I can think of anything later I will post it up.

Calvin

Gonzo, L.Welk, Raphanz.

2009-11-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hi.

Had a busy week but things are calming down now. I am thankful I haven't had to work alot at Village Inn so far. Tonight I do though, 6 to close.

We watched this documentary called Gonzo last night about Hunter S. Thompson. Meh. It was kind of long and boring. There were a few interesting moments though. Maybe I just can't relate because I didn't live his during most of his history, so the outrages he felt don't impact me as deeply. I dunno, probably.

I realized recently how fresh Lawrence Welk can be. Yes I said it. Just watch this.

When my grandparents used to watch that show I never remember anything that cool being on. Usually some boring singer with his band. It was almost like a bad variety show. But this Neil LeVang thing is otherworldly. I love the organ player the most. Looks like he's out of a Hitchcock flim or something. Life is undescribable.

I was reading this earlier today and thought it was pretty funny. Especially if you follow the links. I know I do weird things with my hands but hope they are not this repetitive.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/browbeat/archive/2009/11/11/funny-things-rappers-do-with-their-hands.aspx
I noticed that Kanye always is grabbing his head in mock unbelief too!!
I add one more handy rapper for consideration:

The first rapper there is Cadence Weapon from Edmonton. He's good.

Right, welp. seeya.
Calvin

Christylez, God Warrior, Lambert

2009-11-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

I went to a crazy Hip-Hop writing workshop last night with Natalie. We were the only ones signed up so I was a little worried. The name of the guy teaching the class was "Christyles Bacon" and I thought it would be an interesting experience to see what he could possibly say about writing a rap song. Luckily there were more people there than had signed up originally, about 25 in all. The teacher turned out to be pretty cool. I'm not sure I learned much about songwriting that I hadn't already considered, but it was a strange experience, especially to occur at USU. He made us write a song about Aggie Ice Cream and perform it while he beatboxed and a piano player jammed. We wrote a song about getting obese from eating too much of it. It was a major hit.

So many people liked the last wife-swap clip that I figured you ought to see more of the insane people they find for this show. This lady especially has been popular. The clip begins with her getting home after her stint as the mother of another family. You'll get the picture. Shes a God-Warrior.

This lady is the dark-sided one, if anything. I know this is not as flattering as King Curtis is, but theres alot of freaks out there.

I read this book by Elna Baker called "At the New York Regional Singles Halloween Dance". I got it for Nat, but read it in a few hours before I gave it to her. Its an interesting take on trying to be Mormon but also trying to live in the world without being considered too weird. Amongst many other things. Reccommend. Its funny.

Did anyone else see this?

That girl is a killer!!

More Later.
Calvin

Dylan's Christmas, Herb Alpert, Disney Fail.

2009-11-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

I have to work at 9:00 tonight. It seems like I've been working alot lately, but that's a good thing, I can use the cash. I am just sick of getting syrup all over myself. I really hate syrup....really anthing that sticky shouldn't be consumed. Speaking of, I have never liked pancakes very much. Way too bready. Seriously, I choked them down as a kid when my mom would make them, but pancakes are straight gross. They are really popular at the restaurant, but I will never understand it.

I was listening to Bob Dylan's Christmas album this last week. I don't care what people say about, its funny. I think the fact that he made it is like a slap in the face of his hardcore 60's fan, and after reading Chronicles I think he knew that. In fact, I bet that making people angry or annoyed was part of the objective. I appreciate people who play jokes for only their own benefit. It has to be important to have your own peculiar sense of humor and do things that cater to it. Dylan definitely does this. Just watching some of those documentaries makes you appreciate his cynicism and how it made him deal with fame.

This weekend I played some music with my friend Russ and recorded some stuff. Maybe we will up it soon to the myspace. He just bought a Nord 3, a Dr. Sample, a Kaoss pad, and Electribe Synth. I think I fell in love with the Nord and Sample machine. It makes sampling so easy. In fact, we spent a while tearing apart some records I got. The best by far to work with was one by Isaac Hayes called Three Tough Guys. Its a soundtrack from some blaxploitation film he did and its great.

I also found some Herb Alpert, Bach, and a few records featuring the organ. We have alot to sift through.

Do you want to see something bizarre?

I don't see how this could happen...

Lates.
Calvin

Beyonce, King Curtis, Larper

2009-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

My peoplez....

Its very possible I may become server of the month at Village Inn. Not that anybody there cares about the title, but its going to be awesome to push other servers out of the way and say, "excuse...server of the month coming through," and that jazz. I am really the worst server there, so its really going to irk some peeps that I have some sort of validation claiming I'm the best. Maybe this is the best thing thats ever happened to me?

This baby was born to get down. It seems that age is not a precursor for loving Beyonce. Nobody can resist dancing to this song.

I ordered that Little Richard Bio. I think it will be an interesting read. Dude invented much of Rock and Roll and probably took more risks than any performer ever. You can't dress like that and scream in front of a bunch of white people and not think its going to have people calling you the devil. Eventually Richard agreed with them and became a preacher and shunned his output. Then he went back and forth for a while. I like conflicts like that and think everybody has them on some level. I'll let you know what I think of the book.

I don't know if any of you watch Wife Swap on ABC, but its awesome. Just some trash TV that shows you why your family is better than any other family. On the other hand, King Curtis is pretty fresh. This kid is bratty but surprisingly articulate for his age. I like that he thinks Bacon is good for him too. Oh, by the way, the premise of the show is that the two families swap wives for like a week.

you have to love his sticky note too. "I am not lisning to your rules!" That bacon is going to be a problem when he gets older.

My brother went to see the Micheal Jackson Movie tonight. He said it was pretty good. I will probably wait for the rental. I saw Where the Wild Things Are though, it was pretty great. It reminded me more of my childhood than any movie I have seen. I think the negative reviews exist just because its not really a kids movie.

I think this is what I'm going to be for halloween.

They are called Larpers, and they live in a town near you, meeting every Wednesday to fight with sticks and styrofoam out in the woods. Its gonna be a sweet costume.

Natalie comes back to Logan in one week!

Calvin

Nat

2009-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is Natalie.

Anvil, Life, Mystery, Whole lotta shakin.

2009-10-09T16:44:00.001-07:00

BAM! Back in the Blogosphere! Just like that! I know I have been slacking a tad bit, but duty calls! Accept the apology and lets move on.

First up, I am going to a great show tonight in Salt Lake. Jolie Holland has been a favorite singer/songwriter of mine for a while, and tonight I get to go see the live show. I am pretty pumped. Also, Dr. Dog from Philly is playing and that should be worthwhile as well. Check both those artists if you haven't heard. You OWE it to yourself.

Tomorrow I will go see Why? is Salt Lake and that should be good too. I've seen them before and it was a good show, so I am excited for a second round. Its at a cooler venue too. Should be exciting.

School is good. 12 credits is pretty easy, just kind of cruising along and working 3 days a week at Village Inn. I really enjoy the Global Marketing class I'm taking. Teacher is good, time is well spent. I wish all my classes were like that. Operations Management has to be the most boring class I've ever taken.

I watched this crazy movie called "Anvil" last night. It was a mildly depressing documentary about aging washed up rockstars. These ones were Heavy Metal heads. I would recommend it, its got some really funny bits as well as some sad ones. People are calling it the "real-life" Spinal Tap. The drummer's name is even Robb Reiner.

Lately the Pick-up Artist has come up in conversation quite a bit. If you don't know about Mystery, the reality show star who dresses like a goth cowboy with aviator glasses and teaches his band of fledgling nerds how to pick up women at bars, you should catch up with the times. These men's secret clubs to pick up ladies by using a crazy methodology is taking over the world. Mystery is a pied piper of sorts I guess. Anyways, you have to watch this clip from the soup, it will tell you everything you need to know about the show. We have been obsessed with this lately.

Tell me, is saying someone is "smoking ballz" an insult or a compliment? I'll tell you more about Mystery and his methods later.

I really want to read the biography or Little Richard biography by Charles White. I am stopping myself from buying it online right now till I finish some of the books I have in line. But its tempting.

That my friends, is a party.

More soon......

Jagger at his weirdest.

2009-08-14T00:20:00.001-07:00

haha

Good song.

2009-08-13T22:10:00.001-07:00

Hank williams

Golden.

Chuck Berry.

2009-08-08T23:26:00.001-07:00

You gotta see the awesomeness at 1:54.....his foot is like coordinated with the riff. thats showmanship.
I wrote a real good song about Little Richard last week. I think you'll like it when its all done.

News, MJ, Little Richard.

2009-07-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

So I wrote a long diatribe about Micheal Jackson and how I am getting sick of long diatribes about Micheal Jackson, and then it somehow all got erased instead of posting. I do not feel like re-doing it though. The gist is, I enjoyed his music alot but am not heartbroken about his death because his life was pretty tragic and he was pretty lonely. Not happy about it, but happy that he can rest from the craziness that enveloped him since he was a child.

Speaking of, they came out with these Stripped mixes of Jackson Five songs, without all the production of strings over the top. Just basically Micheal and the siblings. I'll pass on those. The production is half of what makes those songs so great.

Took a nice drive up through Canada a few weeks ago with my dad. It was a good time. We saw Buffalo, Black Bears, Deer, Elk, Rabbits, Caribou, ect. ect. XFM radio also makes that drive alot more tolerable. My dad bought a new truck in Kellog ID, hence the reason for the drive.

I took the DAT yesterday and am a little non-plussed about the results, I had hoped to do a little better. I am still applying now, but plan on trying to retake it in three months for a better score. You can't change the past so I am trying not to dwell on it. Specifically I thought I would do much better on the old PAT. It killed. I'm tired out. Slow Burn.

Applied for the train today. As much as I dread some of the aspects of the job I am excited to get back in the workforce and start making some cash. Things might get tighter soon so its good to have gainful employment I think. And it beats selling some crap door to door. If somehow the train thing doesn't work out, I am not adverse to heading back to Logan early, but I have to figure out if that is what I really want to do.

Other than that I am just trying to keep busy with different things. I was supposed to buck some hay bales today but it didn't happen for some reason or another. I am not too bummed, I get hayfever real bad if I don't take the perfect combination of allergy meds.

Man there are some good films that are gonna come out real soon. I am stoked about the Big Fan film trailer, Funny People, Shutter Island, The Road, District Nine, Sherlock Holmes, Hurt Locker, Bruno, The Invention of Lying. Will be a good year for Cinema even if half of those are flops.

Here is some little Richard to start your day off right. Dont tell him how a piano is supposed to sound.

Elliott Smith Cover ala ragtime

2009-06-25T15:20:00.001-07:00

Tale from North America

2009-06-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is a great video a friend sent me. Thought it deserved to go up.

Norm, Busdriver

2009-06-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Conan had Norm Macdonald on last night. For some reason that dude really cracks me up. He has a way of telling a joke that is bad that makes you feel as if you are the only one in on his sarcasm, and how bad the jokes are. I feel sorry for him that he never really has had a huge break into the mainstream.
Here is my favorite appearance of him. The best part is at around 5:45 and after. Norm kills it.

Man, the Lakers are ticking me off. Kobe doesn't need another win. Arrrrg.

Busdriver just released a new album called Jehli Bean. To me as a rapper he is like cotton candy, really good for a short period of time. I can't usually make it through an entire album because its too much insanity. But if you want to talk about technical skill, Busdriver has got it.
But here is one of the new songs that I thought was pretty cool by the by.

And here is one of his older tunes that I used to like.

We'll see if I can ever get through the entire new album. The voice sometimes annoys.

bromitzva

2009-06-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

I found this to be funny, but somebody older than him had to have written it.

Mos Def. Huge Battle in New Orleans

2009-06-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

ha ha ha ha.

I hate to say it, but Mos Def was actually pretty awesome on Letterman last night. I am generally not a fan of the guy. Maybe its because of a few talk shows I have seen him on...he came across horribly. Also the most his albums seem lazy and without much real content. I enjoyed the Black Star thing he did with Talib, but not as much as its enthusiasts. But pretty much anybody that can do the drums and rhyme like this has got to get a bit of respect. Also, listen for some of the weird glitches in the arrangement that he works through. Its pretty dope.

The album he was promoting came out today. I will have to give it a listen here soon.

In other Mos Def news, the guy has been talking for the past year or so about organizing a huge battle in New Orleans with all of rap musics "greats". The idea is to have it be a huge charity event, combining dj battles, b-boys, and of course the ultimate MC throwdown.

He wants to do teams of five rappers each and has mentioned his team will consist of him, Black Thought, MF Doom, Nas, and Jay Electronica.

He also wants a team from Jay Z and one from Kanye, which I am sure would include the likes of Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Eminem?

I would put my money on Mos Def's team if only because it contains Doom. Black Thought has thrown some great lines out in the past as well. This would be something I would love to see in general. The way the system is today, the supposed "best" rappers never have to face each other down like the small local guys do. I am a horrible battle rapper, but always have enjoyed watching it because of the pressure that is forced to produce something awesome. Early hip-hop had alot of that tension to be the quickest at coming through with the punchlines. I am sure that these guys are not the greatest free-style artists in the world, probably not even close. I bet they write half the stuff they will say in the battle. But it will still be awesome to watch them go at each others throats, pre-written or not. I am officially pumped for this. Its supposed to go down in December.

If I were to put together a team of 5 people based on who I think would be deadliest, it would include Sage Francis, MF Doom, Eyedea, Mac Lethal, and Ghostface Killah. I think they are more battle tested, although not as universally known. They would bring home the cup I think.

ah speculations...

More Heart than Brains....

2009-06-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

This Album is great for running late at night. I got a copy on vinyl too.

I give it 5 gold stars.

A few words about it....

Buck 65 is a rapper from Halifax Canada that has been around for some time now and gone through a lot of evolution. In the early days he made some pretty generic raps over sampled funk riffs, and it was enjoyable, but it wasn't the best music of its kind. He went under the moniker "Stinkin' Rich" and had a beard that wouldn't quit.

He also participated in several collaborations, one with Dose One of Anticon fame, and also the famed Sebutones. Both interesting stuff to delve into on another day.

Something snapped in him and he started making long mixtape style series that he called "Language Arts". Among these are two albums that I consider classics as far as Hip hop goes, "Man Overboard" and "Vertex". They are pretty lo-fi and take a few listens to recognize the genius of what he was doing. Today, I can listen to them any day in any mood and enjoy it immensely.

Having gained a serious fan base with this work, he made a album that was heavily produced, and made another 180 in his career. It was called Talking Honky Blues. It was great in its own right, but it labled him as an "alt-country" rapper for years. People are most familiar with this as his representation.

He worked for a few years to get out from under this label, and I think that with More Heart Than Brains, he severes ties with the "country rap idea". It is a collection of love songs, and the music is all done by electronic artist "Greetings from Tuscan". These electronic songs are actually very pretty. The lyrics seem complimentary to the feel of the music. As mentioned before, its also killer to run to in the nighttime.

So far my favorite track is "The Lazarus Phenomenon."

There is also a cover of MC Shan's MC SPACE which strangely fits well.

Anyways, something to give a close listen to I think.
Calvin

Baaaby, Trash TV, Fishing, NBA, Butte Puking, Car Prank

2009-06-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Hey blogosphere.

I am a new uncle. I guess not a new uncle, but +1 neice. Her name is Elsie, and she was born on Friday morning. I don't have any pictures. sorry. But she is a cute baby.

As much as I am a sucker for the reality T.V. mess that America has forced upon us, I can't stomach any of that new one "I'm a celebrity get me out of here." I caught about 20 minutes of it the other day and it was just awful. They need to just call it the "Spencer is the King of the Jungle" show. It is so horrible. But I admit I did laugh a little bit when Stephen Baldwin was baptizing spencer in the river while everyone was looking on. It was possibly the weirdest thing I have seen on Prime Time television.

I went fishing with some of the family out to Whittier. I caught 2 halibut and we also trapped about 170 shrimp in our pots. It was alot of fun and we had great weather Friday and Saturday.

I have never been a huge sports fan, but hatred unites all. I will be devastated if the Lakers stomp Orlando to the ground like they did the other night. I really am not an LA fan. Sit down Jack Nicholsen. Quit threatening the other team with mob violence.

I have got some new rhymes in the incubator. Doin' their thing. Exciting projects ahead. Just wait and see.

Last week I attempted to climb the butte and upchucked about 3/4 the way up. Somebody is out of shape. And bad....! I mean, it is time to rethink your lifestyle if you can't hike the Butte without your body hitting the eject button. It was a bad day.

By the way, this is a prank worth doing to someone you know. The best part is ths slomo of the guys face.

Iron Giant

2009-05-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hey there.

I watched that cartoon that came out in 1999, "The Iron Giant" the other night. For some reason that thing almost made me cry. I don't know how they figured out the way they made that huge robot so loveable, but I was really sad about his whole predicament during the show. I guess this was a real flop in the box office, but don't let that discourage you from watching it if you haven't yet.

Studying is going swell. Lots of work to do ahead though.

David got married last week. Guess its time to start looking for a new roomate. The wedding was very nice. Good food.

Eminem has a new album out. It is as if he is a parody of himself now. Instead of trying to find some new direction he is just taking the easy shots, rhyming about how he hates teen celebrities still and what he is going to do about it. Booooriiing.

Autotune, a little hiphop history.

2009-05-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

I do greatly apologize for the absence. Life got quite busy and time got short. But there are rewards to this...

First of all, the with the autotune craze recently I thought this was hilarious. well put together. And it features the chop slap dude. Its like it was meant to be.

Armorie played last wednesday and on Monday in Salt Lake. It was a fun time. Today and yesterday we went and did a bit of recording. Things are sounding good. Skipping Stone is sounding cool when I am able to fix the little mistakes vocally.

Guess what? NocouponNopizza had their last jam session for a while this last saturday. It was fun. Please hear the new tunes and drop a line. Some good some bad. I like the way "Ain't no good sounds" Its a cover by the by.

I was telling my friend Cory about the greatness of Busta Rhymes back in the glory days of rap. I was thinking particularly of the work he did with the Leaders of the New School and Charlie Brown. But even more specifically, of the guest spot he did on this Tribe Called Quest Song. The first time I heard it I was blown away. This was even after being introduced to the lame BustaRhymes that usually shows up to sluff guest verses with people like the PussyCat Dolls. The song that I am speaking of is "Scenario", and its a good jam either way being a TCQ joint and Q-tip delivers as always, but Busta makes 'em look like ameteurs. His verse starts at about 2:40. I miss this type of energy in rap. The insane costumes and bugged out dance moves also do not hurt his cause.

So about 2 years ago I saw them do a reprise of this song at a Hip Hop Honors night. Busta Rhymes came out at the end dressed coat that was about 8 times too big for him. When he came out you could hardly hear him because he was screaming the verse and the people were going nuts. I could not stop laughing in the first few seconds of the performance. You can't hear a word and he is just flailing around like a madman. I found it on the net on this Japanese site. If you are interested, you should take the time to fast forward to the end where he comes out and is going nuts.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_cf00XMTQ3NTY4NzI=.html

If you are too lazy to look that up, here is a different one, but not quite as grandiose, as it is when the song first came out and his verse didn't have the legendary title yet. But a good watch.

Sorry to be forcing hip-hop history on you. I know most aren't interested, but I have been on the vibe lately listening to some of my old favorites. I probably will be blogging a bit more about it than less.

Oh by the way, Q-tip is still dope. Even when he keeps it real simple, his voice carries a song. He made that group, and it makes me glad he is still getting some props today. Don't beleive?

This is a bit video heavy, but necessary to illustrate the thought.

got to get ready to move
Calvin

Potato Salad Sisters, 40 pizza rolls, cookie jarvis.

2009-04-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished with my first final. Basically is was peach and cake. So down one, 3 to go, seeing as I finished one of my mostly online classes about 2 weeks ago. Let it be said though, that the next two weeks will be quite busy. Too busy for my liking.

Last night Herchyl and Natalie got booted off the Celeb Apprentice. While they weren't the best players, it was obvious that Clint needs to go. He is messing everything up and being a punk about everything. As Rodman would say to him, "Its a team game!"
Jesse James is still in the clear and doing well. Just hope that he doesnt have to raise a bunch of money by using his friends, because it appears that he is strictly adverse to doing that. I agree, how annoying is it to keep calling up your rich friends for money?

By the way, this is the strangest thing I have EVER seen. Maybe one of the most disturbing too. They are singing a song about potato salad and then things get crazy!!!!
I give you the Ross Sisters.

Welp. that was awesome.

Summertime she comes! Alaska is going to be fun. I need a job still though.

I am pretty sure that we will have a good crowd at the armorie show on Wednesday. Which will be good. I am nervous to play without the full band effect, but I think things should still go down quite nicely.

Only watch this if you are not the least bit squeamish, I almost lost it during the first minute. This is everything wrong with America.

I can just imagine his mom coming home and opening the freezer. "That porker ate the whole bag of pizza rolls in one sitting again!!"
Off to go shopping!

One more gross eating video
This guy is like the Billy Mitchell of Eating

The Death of Csmooth????? maybe....

2009-04-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hello there loyal readers.

I am headed to work in a few minutes...to go serve some skillets to some geezers who think they are kings. The menu has changed up a bit and I got to get that down. I am actually not bummed to be going to work though, I need to get my rear out of this chair. I have been working on a school project most of the morning.

The rap show went well last night, definitely had a good time. There were a good amount of random people there for the other three bands and I don't know if I was what they were expecting. In fact there were two old ladies there looking at artwork that looked as if they had just been blasted to the future and were trying to figure it out. I take that as a good sign. Thanks to those of you who showed up. You may have witnessed the last Calvin Smooth show of all time. Yes, I have been putting some thought into and thinking that it is time to hang up the cape for at least a while. I am not going to say that I am "retiring", because that way if I ever do come back to writing rhymes again, then it will be about as annoying as Jay-Z quitting and then coming back to make more albums. He should of stayed away. Naw, I'm more of taking a long break without a definite end. There are several reasons for this decision.

1. I think I told the story I wanted to tell with Calvin Smooth. He is a character who is slightly obnoxious and full of himself although sometimes secretly has his doubts about his own belief system. He had songs that were full of boasting and strong opinions, and a that showed a bit of insecurities deep down. He destroyed the beast and then wallowed in the aftermath of that for a while, before ripping out the sting and laying it all out on the line. After a while he just kind of went out of his mind and wished that the challenge hadn't already been surmounted. It was the arc that I always had planned for that character since my Junior year of highschool, and the 3 albums I have kind of follow it nicely. Its time for him to go away for a while and figure out what to do next. He is kind of in a weird stasis right now and sick of the game. As he said in "Spotlight Burns", "Someone else will come around, I will make my peace, I'll let them grab the microphone, complain about the beast". That time has come.

2. I think that hip-hop has a certain stigma in Utah that is hard to break. People still think Gangtser rap is what rap is. I have a different view. It is very difficult to make people come see a hip hop show without them knowing exactly what you will be doing and saying. I think most people enjoyed the shows when they came out, but its that first hump that is difficult. Logan especially isn't all that interested in live shows, which is fine. I am more into recording the stuff and giving it away anyways. Maybe the supply is too high. So I decide to gracefully bow out to decrease the supply. I will still do stuff with the band live, but live shows in Logan is too much work for a one or two faithful people who come out.

3. I want to move on to something different. I don't want to be one of those poeple who makes the same songs over and over again. So I am going to try my hand at a few different things for a while. Going to compose some stuff for other people, write some melodies, ect. I have alot to learn. I want to play some classical piano too. This summer is a good time to get jumpstarted in all that I think. School has taken its toll and it is time for a huge change of pace, musically included. I killed the beast? What more could you want?

So thanks for anyone who has ever come see Calvin Smooth do his thing. There is hope that someday for some circumstance he will come out again, flag waving to save the world from some new threat. Something in proportion to his inner strengths. But for now he is in hiding in some cave somewheres. I still have a bunch of music to give away if you want some.

Word.
Calvin

Rivers Girls, Neil, New Music

2009-04-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

So things are winding down here at school. Just finishing up some papers and starting to study for the finals, which will be no fun. I have alot of work to do in that area, but hope to get a good jump on it tonight.

If you haven't been keeping up on the Celebrity Apprentice you are missing out. The Rivers ladies are losing their minds slowly but surely.

Last week Joan about killed Clint Black, but this week they have formed an alliance against Annie Duke and Brande. Things are getting intense. Brian McKnight kind of laid down and died though. He must have had other things to do, and I don't blame him for wanting to get away from all of that craziness. I still think Jesse has got a good chance of taking the whole thing unless some freak accident eliminates him. He seems to be the best player right now.

Went to the Neil Young night the other day that they USU guitar club put on. Aside from taking forever to start and alot of setup time, it was pretty good. I did a tune from one of the newer albums. I also went and caught the last few songs at the Fictionist show at Whysound and that was fantastic. I'd see them again.

Speaking of band news, I am doing my last Hip hop show as Calvin Smooth for the school year at Whysound this Friday. It starts at 8:00 and I will be opening the show, so stop by if you are in the vicinity. I have some new songs and some special guests that are going to help out during the set. Its gonna be weird.

Also, I will doing my last few sets with armorie on the 22nd at Whysound, and on the 27th at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City. Hope to see you there. We are excited to play those shows. They will be the last until next year of course.

Had to work on Easter, but it was alright. I made like 50 bucks and also we had a huge party with Chilis, Dominos, and Ice cream cake. It made the night worth having to be stuck serving people their coffee on a holiday.

If your looking for some interesting new music, then here are some things I have been digging lately.

1. Bats For Lashes (Both her albums are very good. Get it today)

2. Bromst-Dan Deacon (Very excited to see this show on the 29th)

I understand how weird of a performance that is. Thats what makes it so funny. he must have confused the heck out of those local news peoples. This is not an accurate representation of the new album though.
3. Wavvves (Lo-fi Punk rock?)

That should do for now.

Oh yeah, and Keith and I will be playing for a benefit show on Thursday at 8 PM at the Lindstrom Center. Will be fun I think. Keith went to see Britney Spears tonight. Make fun of him.

Unusual Texting, Notes

2009-04-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Kind of was a lousy weekend, despite a good General Conference.

But here is a funny/odd story.

I was in the TSC studying for a test, and i have the follow transaction through text messages.

Unknown Number: "Hey whats up"
Me: Not much how are you?
Unkown Number: Hey whats your name?
Me: Who is this?
UN: Derek aka smiley
Me: this is Calvin
UN: calvin?
Me: yes how do I know you?
UN: whats your last name?
Me: kenley
UN: where do you live?
Me: Logan. listen I dont think I know you.
UN: no, I want to be your friend, listen, calvin can you do me a favor?
Me: what would that be?
UN: well ok, i need 250 dollars by tomorrow or else i go to jail but i don't get paid til next week so i was wounderin if you can loan me 250 i will pay you back. please if u can go to walmart and moneygram it to me today.
Me: I don't do favors like that for people i don't know.
UN: Please, I will send you a picture of myself! (He send a picture of himself, he is a latin looking dude with a mustache and a Skyview Sweatshirt on)
Me: this is really weird man. how did you even get my number
UN: Please i will pay you back
Me: Why do you have my number?
UN: Please I will pay you back I promise!
Me: Your not answering my question.
UN: Ok fine, I seen a picture of you on mandi's facebook and i saw you number that is how i got to talk to you please will you help me, i will pay you back!
Me: Can't help you. Go to one of those quickloan places.

At this point I stopped texting for about 2 hours. About every half an hour I received a message like this.

UN: Please Please! I said I will pay you back, I promise! I will pay you back!

Finally I texted him back
Me: STOP TEXTING ME! LOSE MY NUMBER! I CAN'T HELP YOU!
UN: Ok. Fine. tell me how i can get that money you said at quickloan???
Me: Search on the internet for fastcash in logan
UN: Do i get it for free
Me: No you have to leave some sort of collateral, something of value
UN: Like what tell me
Me: A car title or pay stub or something like that
UN: Like a social security card or ID card?
Me: No it has to have monetary value, like a car title. at least worth the loan amount.
UN: I dont have that if u help me i promise to pay!
Me: no can do
UN: Why?
Me: Because there is no way i am giving money to some random guy who gets my number off facebook. promises are worth nothing, you can just run with the money. you are crazy thinking someone will give you a loan like that. especially that you have never met before.
UN: Do you know anybody? (Now its like that curse on the ring where you have to pass it on. Lucky for you I did not punish anyone by giving him their number)
Me: Not that would help you. Goodbye.

That was the last I heard of him. Man was he annoying. Needless to say, I took my number off facebook and blocked the dude and any public from seeing my account. I did a bit of research, he is a real guy, not somebody trying to prank me. what a creepster. I bet he was either an addict that really needed some drug money, or somebody that was owed somebody else some major cash. Either way, your not safe posting info. on line. There are a lot of psychos out there.

Saw Barton Fink for the first time and man was it crazy.

Eminems new songs are worse than ever before. Absolute garbage.

Celebrity Apprentice had a double firing this week. It seemed like a very ratings based decision. Trump fired two very boring people who didn't contribute to the feel of the show. Chloe got canned because he found out she had a DUI whereas the TLC chick "T-boz" went because she volunteered to go into the bored room, and as Trump says, "Never volunteer for anything negative!" Clint clearly should have been the only one to go. He was being such a weirdo during the whole task. Anyways, Junk TV sometimes can be soooo good.

We were supposed to play on campus today as part of the Day on the Quad. This mornign they cancelled the Quad stuff because it looked like it was going to rain. But now its beautiful out there. What the heck weather??

Dance moves that rock.

2009-04-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

This is what joy really looks like.

I think the weird butt slap may be the key to his power.

wonder if anyone enjoys this as much as i do.

Musics, Tetris, Prince

2009-03-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

"What up. To all rappers shut up. And While your shuttin' up put a shirt on, at least a button up. Yuck. Its like these rappers is strippin males, outta work jerks since they shut down chippendales."
-I think this is my favorite MF Doom line at the moment. Cracks me up.

Good weekend I guess, relatively relaxed. Did you see that Rodman finally got booted off the Apprentice? Thank goodness. That guy is a train wreck. But I do like how he responds to everything by saying, "Absolutely" Even when somebody asked him if he was out of work and in hard times he didn't miss a beat. "Absolutely". Donald told him he was fired. "Absolutely". Glad hes gone though. I wish that show were only 1 hour instead of 2. It takes up a little to much of my life I think.

Big ups to Andrew for getting me this Loney Dear CD. Its real real good. You should get it too. Very awesome. I am also digging Wavvves quite a bit right now. Good new musics. Also, as far as rap goes, I am freaking out over this rapper Serengeti. Here is a weird but promising sample of his work. He is playing a chicagoan character obviously.

Saw this on familyguy the other night and laughed for a long time about it. I have had this experience alot of times.

Prince was on Jay Leno the last 3 nights in row, and was perpetually entertaining. That guy may not be the best songwriter, but he shreds the guitar. I have to post this too.

Seminars, Fees, Sales

2009-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Just got done typing up a bunch of TPS reports. Or at least thats what it felt like. I had to go to a business seminar up on campus for about 3 hours and then type a couple of pages of notes on what was said and send it off to the superiors. Tomorrow I have a similar fate lined out for me. Here's my thoughts. If you are going to force me to go to these things, at least have speakers there that will tell me something that I don't know already. One guy talked about how the number one complaint in the workplace is not enough recognition. Its what makes people quit the job they are in. That is all fine and dandy, common sense if you will, and it was good to say that in case some managers in attendance were not aware of it. BUT, and this is a huge BUT, he then went on to show surveys and information gathered at why recognition/acknowledgement is so crucial to a healthy and productive work environment. Over and over he pounded this into our head for about an hour. I think that is already understood! Why not talk about the reasons that it is not being done in the workplace in America, or talking about how one can impliment these tactics on a regular basis? Give some ways to show recognition. Or even have plans for programs to impliment. I am sure everyone understands that it is beneficial, now show them how to do it.

All three of the seminars were similarly redundant and not all that informative. I know, I paid attention and took pages of notes. Most my notes were just evidences of the main point though. I am not interested in the evidences so much as what needs to be done in light of the evidence. And you can't just say, "Recognize people more." There is some barrier in the way of people doing that, and it needs to be discussed.

Sorry for the boring rant, but school sometimes seems odd to me.

Speaking of, they are increasing our sports fee by $60 yesterday. I voted against it and spoke out to get to people to do it as well, but the sports people had a booth set up with laptops and got everyone that passed to vote for it. I don't really want to get into this too deep, but why am i paying for something that I don't participate in. The majority of the university does not attend those games. Majority being more than 50%. So why are we having to pay money for it? I dont make people pay for my piano lessons. Let me keep my 60 bucks and I'll shut up. Maybe I will do a more extensive blog on this later, but I want to make it clear that I am not against sports. I am against paying for YOU to do sports. Do it yourself. Its not a crucial part of the education process...physical fitness is, but not sports. Sorry. If I want a ticket to the game I will be happy to pay for it.

This is a negative post.

One more little juicy bit of complaint.

The other day some kid I haven't seen in years comes up to me and strikes up a conversation. He acts like we used to be best friends. We hardly spoke to each other then, when we were living in the same apartment, he couldn't give a hoot about me then. But all the sudden he is asking me questions about my life and people we used to know, and then asks me for my number and says "We need to catch up sometime." As far as I'm concerned, we just did catch up as much as was neccessary. But I give him the number, thinking maybe he just wants a friend now that he is married. Maybe he is lonely or something.

So I gives him the number. Then I was chatting with another old friend who I actually keep in touch with, and she tells me, (from experience) that he is going to call me and try and sell me the product that he offers as part of the business he is involved in. Well that was that. I am okay with a guy trying to do his job, but he got my number with the claim that we were going to "Catch up on things" or something like that. So the truth is, he doesn't see anything but a dollar bill sign on my face. This somehow makes me very angry with people in business in general. Either you want to be my friend, or you want to sell me something. One or the other. If your my friend and you offer me what you sell, and I reject it, it shouldn't hurt your feelings, because there is always a base there. But if your fronting as a friend and using it as a guise to sell me a product, I have major beef with you. Ask me if I want your product, and don't try to score points and sell your friendship along with the product. I have seen this done alot to much dismay. Even in the church sometimes people will try to "befriend" non-members only when they see that they may have an interest in the gospel. Well it sickens me a tad.

So yeah, he has called my phone about 8 times in the past week and is pretty determined to get me to answer. I am not doing it, because I have his name on ID on my phone and anytime it comes up I ignore that sucker. You would think he would get the picture after leaving 3 messages. I am not going to even waste either of our precious time.

If I did answer, the conversation would go something like this.
"Hello"
"Hi Calvin, How have you been."
"Good, what can I do for you."
"Well as part of my work I am doing these presentations to people in the neighborhood and was wondering if I could meet with you."
"Well, I am not in the position to buy anything like that right now."
"Well I am not selling anything yet, just presenting. You don't even know what it is."
"Yeah, but I know i don't want it. Why go through all the steps to say no? I will say no."
"Yeah I just thought we could catch up and I could do this thing for my work."
"One or the other dude, no dressing it up. Not interested."
"I understand, do you have any friends I can present to."

Now your really in trouble. He knows that you saying a name can't hurt you too bad. Except for the fact that he will use your name as a reference and an in to their world. You know your friends are really not interested, so its almost like you cast a miserable hex on whoever you name. Like the Salem Witch Trials, or the Inquisition, or the Communist party or something. Or better yet, its like the Ring, where the only way to get rid of the curse yourself is to cast it on somebody else. And so it goes.

And again, salesmen are people too, I have no issue with them doing what they do. Some of the products are legit and people are happy with them. Some people want it. But far too many times it is forced upon the buyer by some questionable tactics, such as the ones this guy tried to use on me. I don't have the perpetrator, just the snakey tactics that he employed. Theres a right way to go about things and a wrong way. The right way will give you more sales in the long run, people will trust you and seperate you from the position if you can offer the product without attaching your friendship to it like a trojan horse.

Enough Ranting. Sorry if anyone disagrees about any of the above, I'd like to hear your rebuttles if its the case though.

Peace.

jesse pulls it off, reads, dylan, themselves

2009-03-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

Good week.

Had a fun show on Thursday night in which we played alot of newish stuff. Some of it I am pretty happy with the way they are transforming. Should have some recordings of it done soon that will be at the least quite listenable.

Finally, the guys win an episode of the Celebrity Apprentice. Dennis Rodman is getting crazier and crazier. This week he almost got in a fist fight with Clint Black, and then said he quit and threw his microphone across the room. But Jesse James pulled through and they were able to win the competition. That guy is pretty smart, and I am hoping he wins. Obviously though that there are more competitive girl players than guys. You do not want to go against the River's Mother Daugher alliance. It will crush you. That deal or no deal girl tried it and look what happened to her!

I read The Great Divorce on Friday Night/Saturday, and really enjoyed it. It was a quick read and I listened to some good instumental records during. It got me thinking about alot of things that are important and I renewed my vow to try to read more. I finished a book a started a month or so called "I'm a Stranger Here Myself". It was pretty entertaining. Now I am reading something by Neal A. Maxwell called "If thou Endure it Well". Its pretty cryptic so its slow going, but its of course really engrossing.

Also I got into a mood this week to listen to some audiobooks while I was walking around and driving. I read Bob Dylan's Chronicles this summer, and I had an audiobook version of it. I liked it alot this summer, so I tried it out again. Its a little hard to follow with all the rambling he does, but it was still an entertaining remenisence. Especially when you know the songs that he is referring to. I think my favorite part of the book is when he is talking about the "Oh Mercy" sessions and how frustrating it was to work with the producer and the musicians just to make a record that was only given a mediochre reception. I thought it was interesting to hear an honest portrayl of how those sessions go.

The hip hop group themselves released a free 40 minute mixtape recently that kills anything you've heard lately. It makes you wonder how it can be so good. And its loaded with guests. At the beginning Dose One says something like..."Lots of people talking trash but won't ever come battle me to my face." Then he says to eliminate all excuses he will give his home address, and spits out the street. Its a pretty great line. I doubt many could have a chance against him.

Must go. write more later.

Spring Break, St.Patty Show, Flicks, Celeb Apprentice

2009-03-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Holla.

Spring Break was good. I read a bit, listened to some music, worked on some projects, worked at Village Inn, watched a few flicks, hung out with a few friends, ect. All in the name of a good time.

First off, if you are in the area, Armorie is playing on St. Patrick's day, or tomorrow night. Its going to be at 6:00 PM. Also playing are the Castannettes and Baby Britain. It's at a place called the Pool House in Logan. Love to see you there if you can make it. We are going to do many new-ish songs. Yesterday we practiced with a full PA setup and it was alot of fun. We are pumped to play.

I watched Synecdoche New York over the break. It was really strange but I enjoyed it alot. Probably the most I've enjoyed a Kaufmann film since Adaptation. Its not something that everybody will enjoy because it takes alot of work to follow, but if you want some non-traditional movie-viewing I would reccommmend it.

Also, The Celebrity Apprentice has got me addicted. I can't believe I am wasting time on it, but its dang entertaining. The guys team is getting their butts handed to them this year, its embarrassing. Tom Green got fired last night, and although he brutally sucked as a team leader, Dennis Rodman was the one who deserved to get sent home. The guy didn't even show up to the challenge, claiming that his eyes hurt when he was clearly just hung-over. I am rooting for Jesse James to win the whole thing, although he probably doesn't have as many celebrity connections to call in for help to pull it off. If I were to predict the winner right now, it would probably be Joan Rivers strangely enough. That alien plastic faced woman has got some skills. Next week supposedly Rodman is going to have a meltdown and flip out on Clint Black. Dreams come true.

Well I have alot of work to do now that school has got up and running again.

Later.
Calvin

Spring Break, REM, Roots

2009-03-05T14:02:00.002-08:00

Whats up y'all...
Just wanted to drop in to say hi.
And to wish you a very happy Spring Break, because everybody knows you get to start one day early!

I have some fun things I'm going to do, but also a bit of work at the same time. And gotta get caught up and geniafied on my schoolwork.

Had a test today that I think went pretty well...it was difficult but I was ready for it. Anyways, happy that it all is over for a week or so.

I entered a little competition with a few friends on youtube. The goal was to create a creative cover of an R.E.M. song. So we tried a few things. Give them a view when you get a chance? The judging will happen tomorrow, and it probably would help to get our video viewed a little bit. Let us know what you think.

End of the World

Everybody Hurts (Lounge style)

Driver 8

We threw them together pretty quick...I will let you know the results.

What do you think of Jimmy Fallon hosting the late show? I really am not digging it right now, but I think he is slowly getting better. He seems so nervous the whole time...as if any minute he is going to break down and cry. He is pretty awkward all by himself, but with the guests he is a bit better. Good interviewer. I will say that his band is freaking cool though.

Who thought they would someday be a late night band....I mean they are almost too raw for it...

More to come.

Bird, Zachary, DI finds, Rape Stats?

2009-02-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

Update:

After enduring some difficult tests yesterday I went to see Loney Dear and Andrew Bird. Both were really really great and although the place was very crowded I am glad that I decided to go. I bought one of Martin Dosh's albums (Bird's drummer and a great solo act as well) and a tour poster that is pretty awesome. The whole show had alot of switching of instruments and looping and it was cool just to see how they used the technology to make the songs sound as full live as they do on the recordings. If he comes to your town...go. Here is some Martin Dosh doing his thing....its off of the album I bought yesterday and called Capture the Flag.

Today I watched a semi-disturbing documentary at Kevin's house called Dear Zachary. It is an incredibly sad story about a guy who gets murdered by his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his son. I don't want to give too much away so I will just tell you to see it and that it has a major twist at the end. Its a movie that you should watch, but it might leave you a little depressed. Here is the trailer for it, which is not all that exciting, but the movie is definitely reccommended viewing.

I also stopped by the the old Deseret Industries to browse a bit on my way home. I got pumped when I found a little casio keyboard there, but it didn't work. I grabbed a few old Mark Twain books, found a copy of Catch me if you can (the book by Frank Abengale), and also Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. I read Grapes of wrath in High school and enjoyed it then, so if I get time on my hands I would like to do it again. Its a book worth owning for one dollar.

I also bought a record that has all of the Chopin Waltzes on it, which I am pretty excited about. I became a huge fan of this stuff while in Guatemala on the mission. I even tried to learn this one during the summer. Its extremely difficult, but it may be my very favorite classical piano peice of all time. Its got a very sing-a-long-ish melody and interesting rhythmic backing. Listen closely.

I think this guy places it slightly too fast.

Oh and for kicks...is this real or not? I hate Nancy Grace. Rape stats?

Another Awkward moment.

Tommorow I have to go interview with one of the Dental Board of Review people at Utah State. Wonderful. I am dreading it. Trying not to though.

armorie, andrewbird, baptazia

2009-02-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys.

You may notice I write a bit less on the blog lately. Been busy. Thats a good excuse.

We played as armorie Thursday night and had a great time opening for Desert Noises, Drew Capener and Ruru. It was great to play first because we got a decent soundcheck and I think it really helped things go off without a hitch for the show. Here are a few pictures of the event.

This week I am going to go see Andrew Bird in Salt Lake. He's a great musician and I am excited for this one. He does alot of looping in his songs. And he can whistle like no other.

I have been working on some new material that should surface next month. Until then to hold you over, you can check out a couple semi-new rap songs I've posted at myspace.com/calvinsmooth. There are some live ones and some real low quality bedroom recordings. Some are pretty hyperbolic so don't be scared.

I have been addicted to watching these baptazia videos lately. THey are just basically evangelical churches services set to heavy dance bass and drums music. It makes it hard to tell if you are watching a crazy rave or a church service. Maybe the thing will evolve so that people will just go to these churches to party and dance...I have to admit that some of it does look almost painful though. This totally clears up though why MC Hammer used to be a preacher. The dances and all.

I think my favorite guy in the above video is the one at 3:30, and 2:56 with the old lady.
Here is one more for you viewing pleasure.

I cant decide the best part of that one.

Calvin

Strange Mashups, Letterman appearances

2009-02-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Just messing around with some sampling equipment that a friend Eric sent me. Its freaking awesome. I kind of want one now. Maybe this summer I will get one to play with when I am not working endlessly.

I have some tests coming up next week though so it is time to stop being so freaking lazy. Just in the nature I guess. ANd this weekend will suck cuz I am working both Friday and Saturday.

I enjoyed this remix very much. Its as if its meant to be. Cory gave it to me on some mix cd of strange mashups. This one was a gem though. Beyonce is still the most fly, \ I dont care what anyone says. The dance in Single Ladies proves it.

Also, it seems that Joaquin Phoenix is pulling some Kaufmanesk stunt. He is not all that great at it, surprising since he is a fairly good actor in films, but cannot deceive people in real life. It think he looks alot like he is going to try out for Teen Wolf 3. Which could use another sequel I think.

To see something that is really puzzling, not just trying to be puzzling...check this out.

and heres harvey pekar

later.

V-Day Show, Sportz Fanz

2009-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hello loyal readers:

This weekend has been fun aside from having to put up with the shmoopiness of Dave and his fiance. (Shes been visiting this weekend from Rexburg and it was Valentines day, so extra blech!!) I survived...somehow, and now I use a suit that cryptobionically keeps my temperature at 0 degrees and is fueled by Diamonds. (Rita may be the only one to get that joke, sorry.)

I did go to the P.O.S. concert at Kilby court on friday with some friends and we had a good time. It was a little crowded in the venue, but still entertaining and I bought some good records afterwards. The drive home was scary through the canyon but we made it, and then on Saturday it really dumped snow.

Saturday I did a show at Whysound with the Crooked Beats. I did about 40 minutes of my own stuff, it had been quite a while since I had performed that much on my own. It went really well and I think everyone enjoyed it. The setlist was as follows.

1. Kill Rockstars
2. Laughing with Mouth Closed
3. Pro-Politics
4. Smooth Spitz Game
5. Youngest Man on Earth
6. SummerSummerSummertime
7. Taxidermy
8. The Web Remixt
9. Man Says No
10. With the Birds

It was alot of fun to do the theatrics again. Here are some pictures of the event.

Today I have been just tidying up and getting ready for school again. Read a book for a class about Positive Leadership which really got me thinking about how I treat people that I don't need. I think it will take a concerted effort to impliment some of the things in the book but I think it will be worth it. I decided its goood to read some motivational material once in a while, as much as I loathe the idea of a "self-help" book. I am a fan of literature and history, but not so much inspirational or how-to books. Guess I need a balance.

We are playing on Thursday as armorie at 8. You should come.

I also bought some of this for the sandwhiches I pack for school lunch...and if you aint had it, your missing out.

I thought this was really really really funny. Its at the Jumbodome caught on camera during a sports game. I like this guy's enthusiasm. More people should get this excited about what they enjoy. Even if it is sports.

Seeya.

Rap battle, Job Hassle, Top Ten Albums of 08

2009-02-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

So last night I went to a rap battle on campus. I was not aware it was a rap battle, otherwise I might have not gone. A friend asked me to come do a song, so I obliged, and before I knew it, I was facing off against some gangsta rapper telling me how nerdy I was and how much he was going to kill me. I have not done one of these things for about 6 years, so it was definitely weird. But I held my own...spit some rhymes at fools. Took second (it was crowd judged) and won 20 dollars to Wal-Mart. I am going to buy a bunch of cereal, and some milk. Whoopee!

Last time I did a battle was in Alaska 2003 and it was downright scary. Everyone there hated me. It became a total racial "bash on the white dude" thing and I think I left with more enemies than friends. Have me tell you the story sometime in person because I'm too lazy to write about it.

Gotta work tonight, picking up somebodies shift. Oh well. I need the cash for various things. I decided that I am not the waiter type though. You couldn't make a worse waiter than me...because I don't care about your special needs when it comes to food. Let me just give it to you, and you leave me some cash. I dont want to know your life story, and I dont want you to know mine, and I don't want to act like somebody else while I am giving you the food. Order, Eat, Tip. I'm busy. Can't be bothered.
That may be a bit extreme, but that is why I am not all that cut out for the job. But it is a job.

Headed to P.O.S. this weekend in Salt Lake at Kilby Court. Its gonna be a cool show. Never Better.

Once again there is a show Saturday at Whysound. Gotta a fun rap set put together. I think I am on right at 7 this time around, so if you want to come, come on time. Crooked Beats, Navigator, and Cousin Songs are playing as well. Gonna Kill it.

Oh by the way, sorry the videos in the post below got deleted. I will try to find replacements shortly. They show that the Grammys are just a show....although Radiohead deserves whatever praise they get.

Speaking of...here are my top ten albums of 2008. Once again, totally my opinions and bias.

1. Jolie Holland "The Living and The Dead". It was a tough decision choosing number one, but I have gone back to this album over and over again in the past months without it getting old. Her voice is that mezmerizing, and it great classical songwriting. The genre is maybe rock/folk-country, and she does it better than anyone. Its very honest and I think its my favorite thing to come out this year.

2. Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend". This album was great from first listen and is still incredibly catchy. They also became their own genre, which is something every band should strive to do. I saw them last spring and the sound was excellent live. It was one of the most crowded shows I have been to recently, but it was still great. If you haven't heard them, (and you may be the only one) give them a try.

3. Buck 65 "Dirtbike 1-3". This is the greatest rapper in the world with maybe some of his best work yet. He released the 3 hour opus for free online, and its all very low quality, quickly thrown together stuff, but its fantastic. A lot of throwbacks and references and it doesnt sound as is he is trying so hard. Also there are some great guests on it. And once again its free!

4. Jamie Lidell "Jim". I get a kick out of Jamie Lidell, weird as he is. The amazing thing to me is that the music is so creative...and then there is his voice. Its good even for those looking for the traditional definition. Even my brother enjoys this album. But how could you not? Its what Taylor Hicks would be if he was actually cool...and could sing well in a recording booth.

5. Alopecia "WhY?". I have been listening to Why since Highschool and watched him go from an abstract rapper to having one of the stranger indie bands around. Alopecia is a combination of his hip-hop skills and singing. Don't be too weirded out by his voice. He has alot to say about things you never thought would be interesting. I did not like this album quite as much as the last one, but it definitely was not a backslide at all...just different.

6. Islands "Arm's Way". This album did not get treated fairly by alot of reviewers. I am sick of defending it. Most people are mad because they did not make the same album as last time, and to me that is admirable. They totally switched directions. Every song on there is epic in nature and maybe takes more patience, but they are still great songs, and alot more mature than the "Return to the Sea" thing.

7. Sigur Ros "Meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust". This band never dissapoints. Ever. Enough said.

8. Wale "Mixtape about nothing". Thanks to Cory for turning me onto this. It was a free mixtape the rapper Wale released on his website, and the linking theme is Seinfeld. Sounds cheezy? I agree. Is it cheezy? No. Its great. There are samples from the show in lots of the songs and usually they forward the topic he is taking on. It is not about seinfeld, it just uses the templates to dig into his mind. And its awesome. And free.

9. Flying Lotus "Los Angeles". Thanks to Greg for getting me into this. REally grimy beats with lots of feedback and static pops. The entire thing bleeds into one song basically, so its hard to pick a track that you like. The entire hour though is really shifting and has a great feed to the whole thing.

10. Deefhoof "Offend Maggie". I had a hard time understanding Deerhoof before, but this album made it all make sense to me. When the first song hits with the hard guitar and the soft, almost indecipherable quiet singing, I'm sold. Its great. Check it out.

Opinions? Anything you would bump??

Seeya.
Calvin

Grammy aftermaths

2009-02-09T10:31:00.001-08:00

Last night were the grammys. I didn't care to watch, but I did check out Radiohead's performance after the fact. Its pretty great...and here it is. Im not sure how long this link will last.

In other Grammy news, here is a guy who walked away with 4 awards. I just dont get it. This interview is comedy. Why is Katie Couric trying to be so hip? She probably has never listened to any of his songs. And if she has, how can she take herself seriously? I like that he calls he "Miss Katie" though.

He has got to be high all the time. All the time.

Thats all i wanted to post today.

Concert, Cereal Appreciation Day

2009-02-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Armorie is playing on the 19th. Will be a rock show for sure. We have alot of practice to do between now and then to get a killer set ready. Tell yer friendos.

Today as I was enjoying a full bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats, I thought of how amazing cereal is. Whoever invented the idea should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize. Or maybe cereal predates that. The greatest thing about cereal is that there are so many choices. If you get sick of one, you just move on to the next, but soon your always drawn back to your very favorites. Anyways, in an effort to honor cereal today, I thought I would do a top 10.

1. The KING of all Cereal is Honey Bunches of Oats. Its so freaking good that its hard to describe. If you get tired of the regular, you can easily go for the +almonds, or even better, the +stawberries. There is no cereal more conducive to a fruit addition than H.B.O. either. The ultimate test is that even little kids are ok with it, even with their immature tastebuds.

2. Bluberry Muffin Top cereal is not only based on the ingenious seinfeld idea in its marketing scheme, but also is affordable because its made by MALTOMEAL! I couldn't believe how good this was the first time I tried it out. No other brand name has anything even remotely similar. For the record, it tastes nothing like blueberry muffins, but its still strangely very tasty.

3. Frosted Mini Wheats are one of those cereals that has been in my life for a long time. The image of round hay bales covered with snow comes to mind as soon as you see 'em, and somehow they have made that image appetizing. Even for a guy who absolutely hates hay...being that I have excruciating hay related allergies and cannot get within ten feet of it without ruining my entire day. One thing I love about FMW is the fact that they absorp milk at a fast rate without getting too soggy. They just are drenched, and it makes for some great textural surprises.

4. Fruity Pebbles are the Flinstones official cereal. If they didn't get much right in the stone age, this was definitely a winner. Best thing about the pebbles is that they are tiny so you get much cereal per bite, and also they leech their flavors into the milk and make an amazing after breakfast beverage filled with every sugar under the sun. I call it rainbow flavored milk.

5. HoneyCombs are another one of those cereals designed after something you would never actually want to eat...believe me, in Guatemala I sucked honey out of a comb many a time and its an excruciating and very unrewarding process. But make it into a cereal and somehow they have struck gold! Honeycombs are the one cereal that gracefully made the transition through the pre-teen years into the teen years and into adulthood. They are so good that everyone can agree on it. Part of a complete breakfast yo.

6. Lucky Charms did not make the aforementioned transition, but I have to include them because as a kid this was the only cereal that even could hold my interest. The marshmellows, the leprachaun who wouldn't let the kids have the cereal, the fact that your parents forbid you to partake. It was like the very first bit of rebellion I ever experienced...a friend would have some at his house and offer you some. There was no way you could turn it down. Later my mother caved and got some, and its as if you handed a kid the keys to a candystore. I snuck that stuff at various times of the day. Who cares that the marshmellows really aren't marshmellows, they still taste good. Lucky Charms is as close to comfort food for me as is Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup.

7. Cheerios...although incredibly boring in concept, are still delicious surprising and classic. I ate these things as a toddler from a plastic bag during church so I wouldn't cry, and they have never let me down. Lets get something straight though. Regular cheerious suck without sugar. If they are Honey Nut though, say no more, your morning is made.

8. Cap'n Crunch Oops all Berries is an offshoot that I am not even sure currently exists. Forget Captain Crunch, he was an old fart. The crunchberries on the other hand were what the cereal always should have been, and somebody finally realized. As the story goes, someone hit a wrong button in the Cap'n Crunch factory and all the bags got filled with berries. I don't care how it happened, this is the kind of mistake I love. By the way, the soggies effected the brown stuff in the cereals much more than it did the crunchberries.

9. Chex....All forms of it...well maybe the wheat chex lack a little bit, but even they have an intregal part when it comes to making chex mix. Chex has transcended even the cereal world, along with my number 10 choice, to something so much greater. Have you had muddy buddies? They even sell Turtle Chex mix in packages now. Amazing. Lest we forget though...straight up in a bowl is pretty fantastic as well, as long as you do a little sprinkling of sugar before hand.

10. Rice Krispies are so great. Plain and boring I know, but still, with a bit of sugar you have the makings of something great. And the sound those little suckers make is really one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole thing. Also caters to fruit mixing in, and of course, nobody can deny the power and resonance of the rice krispie treat. They have even turned Rice Krispie Treats into a cereal...which is a bit like cannabalism in a way. Maybe not.

Honorable Mention: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Did I forget anything? Let me know your opinions on this one. Cereal deserves its praise and status as King of all Breakfast.

Calvin Smooth.

GymRats, Beirut, American Idol, Hurt Feelins

2009-02-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

Just got done doin some excel assignments for my MIS class. Joy. Done fer the week with that at least.

Also, I went to the Gym tonight. I know, I know, just a little at a time. I ran on the stair machine and then hit the treadmill for a while. It made me remember why I don't enjoy going to work out. Sure, I feel better because I did it, but its the price I had to pay to get the work out you know? Like the fact that the entire place reeks of a blend of body odor, and you are not sure which part of that comes from you and which is coming from the place next to you. Also, today is the age of the Ipod. Its not like you can have a chat with the person next to you. So you remain in this weird awkard state of looking around at everyone while trying to appear as if your minding your own business. When your on the stairmaster, its hard not to stair (stare). Bad pun I know, but it holds true nonetheless. And since I never go there much, its like you feel that everyone is staring back at you when you can't get the stupid machine to work. I tried to get this one treadmill to work for like 3 minutes before I saw a little tiny "Out of Order" post-it on the side. Some girl next to me was watching me the whole time unabashedly and didn't say a darn thing. Take out the Ipod, help a dude out. They should call it the I-podge. Podgy people wear 'em while working out.

Enough of that.

I never mentioned that I saw Slumdog Millionare this weekend. I really liked it, even with some of the big flaws. I did not buy into the relationships in the film. The one with the girl was just weird, they only saw each other once or twice, and really were not all that romantically involved those times. And the one with his brother was even weirder. It was a cool show though, definitely one to pick up.

Some good new albums have dropped this week that you should know about. The Beirut one, "March of the Zapotec" is pretty good, but the first half is about twice as good as the second half. Heres the video for the song "La Llorona". The Llorona in spanish is ghost that they believe in that has a horse for a head and seduced men and then kills 'em. In Guatemala they are terrified of her, and everyone, I mean everyone, has seen her before and swears shes real. Since Zach Condon recorded this record in Mexico with one of the funeral bands there, its only appropriate.

P.O.S. "Never Better", is some rap that I can get behind. Its pretty hard, and definitely he spits alot of social commentary, but he does it in a continually interesting way, so whether or not you are 100% in agreeance or not with his stances is really kind of irrelevant. The other thing about the homie P.O.S. is that he always, always, has killer beats that are unlike anything you've heard. Check it.

There is a compilation album coming out very soon called "Dark was the Night" that is amazing. It has all your favorite artists on it. The best two songs so far to me are the one by the National, (listen to it at www.darkwasthenight.com) and the cover by Sufjan Stevens of You are the Blood. Pretty great stuff.

I'm too lazy to continue on that vein.

I will be playing at Whysound, opening for Crooked Beats on the 14th, Valentines day. I have some fun stuff planned for my half an hour. Costumes, stories, keys, rock and roll.
Also, armorie will be playing on the 19th opening for Desert Noises. That should be very good as well. We are learning alot by playing live. Never trust your equipment.

If you didn't get to see American Idol tonight, you will be happy to know that Katrina, or the Bikini Girl as she has come to be known, has been kicked off. Thank goodness. She was so horribly dumb that it was painful to watch. Tonight though, she refused to practice and went to bed early, then wouldn't wake up in the morning. She has always been this horrible singer too, so it goes to show that you can get far in America if you are a dumb slut willing to show some skin. And make-out with Ryan Seacrest the faux gay guy. Ugghh. I haven't heard too much awesomeness this season. One or two stand-outs, but i can't recall their names.

If you missed Flight of the Conchords this week, here is one of the songs from it. My favorite part of the tune is where Jemaine says, "Have you ever been told that you look like a Llama." I'm sure he's been told that alot, since thats EXACTLY what he looks like.

Word.

Strange Dog.

2009-02-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hey all.

Good Weekend. Great Battle of the Bands. All the players were great.

I just wanted to pop in to post this quick video, which I think is one of the funniest things I've seen on the Soup in a long time. So weird.

That dog has issues.

Excitement, Cheers to you!

2009-01-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

Studied most the evening tonight and it feels really good to be getting a hold on things. This weekend will be great, hopefully. I want to go see that Slumdog Millionare show people are talking about. Also, Battle of the Bands is on Saturday at 6pm and we are excited to play for alot of people who may not necessarily know us already. Its hard to get random crowd to come out to a show, especially here in Logan.

I haven't posted an informercial for a while, and this one excited me the other day when I found it. They have many different varities of this, and it looks like just the thing you need if you have no friends!

Hooray for me!!!

Gotta get back to work!

PHX, More Elvis, Top Ten Movie Lists

2009-01-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

The Physics test went alright today. Probably a high B or an A is what I am thinking. There were like 2 problems that I was not sure on...and there is always another one that takes you completely by surprise. It was on Waves and Electric Fields. The Wave stuff went down good, but the Electromagnetism stuff was a little over my head. Luckily he stuck to problems with formulas, which I stuck on my handy little note-card. I love the concept of the note-card. I am learning to have microfish-like handwriting. Nothing compared to Brad Grandy's though. You would have thought he typed the whole thing in a fontsize number 3. Ridiculously small!

Tonight I went over to Jodi Burton's house and made the Elvis Sandwich. It was quite tasty even for the second go around. If this is what my cooking skills amount to though, I am in some sad shape. Listened to some Elvis to get some inspiration. It was like his 50 greatest hits through time. We decided that you can actually hear Elvis getting fatter as he grew old. His songs get less energetic and his voice becomes a much richer baritone. Its all about young Elvis in my opinion, I liked it when he was more of a lady-killer. In some of those recordings you can't even hear him because there is so much screaming. How did he do that? The Beatles figured that secret out as well obviously. Check it out.

I thought I would post my top 10 worst adn best movies of the year. Many will disagree with this list. Good thing that it is just an opinion. And yes, there are many movies I have not got around to seeing yet, so if I missed out on one that you think is crucial...don't freak out. Some may find this list a bit childish, but I think those were some of the better movies that came out. I'm sick of too much depressing stuff.
oh and as a disclaimer, I have not seen all the worst on the list.

10 WORST
10. Don't Mess with the Zohan: Please Adam Sandler, Please be in something like Punch Drunk Love again. Stop making these crappy comedies. You are better than this!

9. The Love Guru: Its like Austin Powers 4. Mini-me is even in it. Come on.

8. What happens in Vegas: I actually have seen this show. Ashton Kutcher is such a moron. What makes him think he has comedy chops? And why did Dennis Miller get involved in this one? It is just straight up bad comedy, and adds some chick flick elements to it. Don't be fooled by the pretty faces!!!!

7. Indiana Jones: This really wasn't that bad, but the disappointment involved in it magnified its suckyness. I know that Indiana Jones has always dabbled in the supernatural, but aliens were a poor choice. Just my opinion.

6. Jumper: Hayden Christian Anderson or whatever the crud Anakin's real name is has had enough chances. He is no good in the movies. Sick of it. Fed up. Move on.

5. Disaster Movie/Meet the Spartans: Its all the same thing, so this one is two in one. I am so sick of even having to watch these trailers. It proves that obnoxiousness does pay off if you live in Hollywood.

4. The Hottie and the Nottie: This may be the worst movie of all time as some people have put it. Paris Hilton is not a Hottie. She can keep telling herself that, but she is not all that attractive. At some point she is going to have to find out that she is not an entertainer either.

3. Fools Gold: "Wanna make some money? Lets get that guy who plays the bongos naked and talks out of the side of his mouth and some blonde girl who's mom was famous and put them in a generic plot about treasure and have them fall in love during it. Make sure they are both in bathing suits so we don't have to write anything interesting and they don't have to act it out all that well. That'll work for sure!"

2. Never Back Down: The only thing I hate worse than a mindless chick flick is a mindless guy flick. This is the posterboy for the category. And I think its funny how the film's premise is the high school underground ultimate fighting league. Yeah, my higschool experience was just like that.

1. Twilight. How could I not include this. Edward is not real. He will not sweep you off your feet. Dress it up however you want, but please do not refer to it as "great" literature or film making. When you talk about twilight, you sound like a guy that is obsessed with Magic Cards or Dungeons and Dragons. This is everything cinema should not be.

10 FAVORITES!!!!
10. Hellboy 2: I know the story is a bit much and some of the acting is a little cheezy...heck its not even all that well written, but how can you not be entertained watching this? I have never seen anything this visually appealing, and it made me excited for Del Toro to direct the Hobbit.

9. Iron Man: This was just a very well done action movie, and you don't get many of those. I will be the first to admit that I thought the trailers of it looked stupid and I even groaned that Marvel must be running out of Super Heros. But Robert Downey Junior made him the most likeable of the bunch.

8. Kung-Fu Panda: Took my nephew to see it this summer and I think I liked it more that he did. He laughed at the slapstick, I laughed at the awesome Kung-Fu movie Cliques they fit into the show. As a kid I went through a Kung-Fu flim stage for an extended period of time, so I got alot of the jokes. And it was really well written and had a great moral to the whole thing. That movie should be required watching for people trying to write a coherent story.

7. Encounters at the End of the World: Herzog Directs another strangely interesting Documentary. He does not go wrong.

6. Gran Torino: Okay Okay, some of the racist remarks Clint spouts were a bit over the mark even for what he was trying to do, and sure, the kids in it are horrible actors, but man does Clint Eastwood have screen presence. You don't want to look away from him when he is on screen. You still get the feeling that the 80 year old guy could snap your neck if he wanted, and that is a tough thing to portray. I can't give anything away, but it does make a good point about real friendship and motivation to change your bad habits.

5. Man on Wire: This was the best documentary to come out this year. Its about the guy who walked across a tightrope that spanned the world trade centers. It is funny but also just an amazing story. The guy is a little off his rocker, which makes it all the more entertaining.

4. Let the Right One In: This movie is everything that is not Twilight. Its scary, different, and weird. I won't give anything away except that there are vampires and they are not teenagers fighting werewolves and evil Italian secret society vampires.

3. Ghost Town: This to me is the best romantic comedy that I have seen since Groundhogs day. Its funny, and its not purely about the mundane details of a relationship. Its more about learning to actually care for people. Ricky Gervais was great as a leading man, which is surprising.

2 The Dark Knight: Some people will be mad that this is not number one on my list. I liked the movie alot, otherwise it would not be here. But the story was not all that coherent, and the actors all kind of paled in comparison to Heath Ledger's performance. Still amazingly good, and I don't think it could have been much better, just not my favorite this year.

1. Son of Rambow: This was a genuinely clean, funny, family comedy about trying to fit in and also being creative. It brought alot of Nostalgia in the way Be Kind Rewind failed to do. This was the best movie that came out this year, period.

I haven't seen The Wrestler, Happy-Go-Lucky, Slumdog Millionare, Reservation Road, Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Changeling, or Synecdoche NY. So those might be contenders, but once again, havent seen 'em.

Top albums of the year for me to come next week sometime.
Later.

Billy Bryson, 14 yr. old cop, Treadmill.

2009-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sooooo.....

I started reading this book by Bill Bryson that my sister gave me called "I'm a stranger here myself." Its about him coming back to America after many years in Great Britan and some of the observations that he made. Some of them are pretty funny. He talks about restaurants, the post office, drug culture, waitresses, and rules.

My favorite chapter so far has been about how rules run american life. He mentioned that at his local swimming pool there is a list of 27 rules posted up on the wall that are expected to be followed. I think our swimming pool in Palmer has a similar list. Anyway, some amusing reading if you are interested. The chapters are really short so it goes by quick.

I have a big Physics test tomorrow so I have much studying to get around to. We are doing waves and Electro-magnetism.

I read the story in the paper the other day about a 14 year old kid impersonating a police officer successfully for about 5 hours. I know exactly what the Hollywood Producers are thinking right now. Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes. At least we should see a book written from the kids perspective, especially since he is going to be prosecuted now. I'm sure everyone is curioius as to what his motivations were. But if this can happen, then who knows who is pulling you over when your speeding? I am going to ask the police officer to see his lisence or badge before I sign a ticket from now on. Especially if he has a squeaky voice and peach fuzz. Watch out Frank Abengale!!!!

I have been laughing at this clip for about a week now. Everytime I see it the result is the same. In fact if you watch it closely about 3 times in a row, you will be crying, guarenteed.

Peace.

Provo, Practice, Animal Collective

2009-01-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Ok. So this weekend was pretty good. On Friday I drove into Provo to meet with my Boss from my summer job in Alaska on the train. Hopefully this will be year 5 for me up there. I am slowly getting so crazy that it annoys me less and less to do that during the summer. Only thing is I will be starting in June because I have a few weeks to study for the DAT and stuff...Sheesh. I ate some good Brisket though.

Saturday I ran some errands and went to work. Somebody did not show up so I ended up having to stay pretty late, which was not cool. The money was not all that good.

I finally finished my book "The Devil in the White City". It was long and I had like 50 pages left coming back from break. Reading text books kills my time, so I finally just sat down and sacrificed an hour and a half finishing it off. Pretty good stuff, very interesting. Not sure what I'm going to read next yet.

Sunday we went to Whysound and practiced for Battle of the Bands. I think we have some good ideas in the works. THat is this upcoming SAturday at 6 by the way, in case you are in town and looking for cheap entertainment. Good bands playing that night.

I watched the new Flight of the Conchords Episode last night. I thought it was alot funnier than the episode 1 of season 2. It had alot more stupidity.

Lots of people are going to hate these next videos, so you may just want to skip them unless you are into some really weird live electronic music. Animal Collective recently came out with their new album, Merriwether Post Pavillion. Its getting great reviews and I think rightfully so. Its very different and has a great atmosphere to the whole thing. I don't blame anyone for not digging what they hear though, when a friend first reccommended them I couldn't understand what they were trying to do all that well. It took listening to one of their solo records, (Person Pitch by Panda Bear) to really latch onto the sound. Then I heard the Strawberry Jam record and it was amazing. So here are some great live performances by the Collective.
First up the best song they have, Brothersport.

Now here is another great off the new album, Summertime Clothes.

And here is one off of Stawberry Jam.

And one more

That is all

Long Weekend, Puppets, PB&Bacon

2009-01-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Ok Ok Ok,
I knows its been a while, but I tried to write twice and the internet flipped out and I lost huge paragraphs. I am being careful to copy everything this time.

Last Friday started tragically. I was at the Village Inn doing my cleaning and I ordered a salad on some healthy change vibe. Fiesta Chicken=awesome. Anyways I was chowing down and Russ called, letting me know he had gotten into town. As I was talking and munching down, I suddenly heard this loud CRUNCH! Blam! Was no Crouton, in fact the fork was overly hard and chipped my right front tooth. Now I am even uglier. Sorry ladies, but I had no control over what happened. I partially blame the fork. I partially blame the salad. I mean we try to be healthy and look what happens! America insists that we all stay obese! Mostly I blame Russ for calling me while I was lunching. You should have known dude, shoulda known not to interrupt a man on a misssion.

You can kind of see the results in this unflattering pic of me. I debating on wether or not to go to the Dentist. Geez.

Anyways, Friday I went Hot Tubbing at Trevor's complex. Also got a tasty Slurrrrrpeee. Those things never get boring.

Saturday I went and helped paint the Whysound venue, the recording part. It was good fun. We are playing in the Battle of the Bands on Saturday and that should be a great rock show. Lots of good plans playing I think. We practiced most the day Sunday for the show and things are going good.

Also on Monday...Russ and I recorded a handful of songs. You can listen to some of them at myspace.com/nocouponnopizza. They are different than most other stuff we have done. But still flavorful. The recording studio picture above has a Ukelin in it. Its the weird thing on the bed. We are rocking that thing.

Also on that Monday, I decided to try the Elvis Sandwich. So Delicious strangely enough. The bacon even tastes good on it.

By the way, have you seen this Coldplay music video. I found it clever.

I like how exaggerated the moves are, especially how the helicopter picks them up.
Another Great Puppet video is this one. I dont even like Kanye that much but this here is pretty cool.

Oh and the National have a great new song up at this website here. Its worth hearing I think. www.darkwasthenight.com

LAter Yo

game night, weight gain, shad k.

2009-01-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

Went and played some games yesterday at my friend Hilarys house. It was fun and I will say that I won all three games. I hadn't played Clue in like 12 years, but I just dusted off my old private eye skills and took them to town. It was totally Prof. Plum, in the Hall with the Poison the whole time. Nobody thought I knew, but I knew. Genius. The whole game is a bit weird though. I constantly was suspecting myself of having done the murder. I mean what happened? Did I forget or something? And how come I have to be standing in the room to guess that someone did a murder there? I dont get it.

I think Russ is coming to town today, and we will be doing some recording. As usual they all should be available shortly. Recently we have obtained some new instruments to mess about with. So I will let you know like Tuesday how things go. Some good ideas are brewing though.

Somehow I gained like 10 lbs. over Christmas Break. Probably it has something to do with eating double entres on the cruise. That and not doing anything active at all. The good news is, I am starting to work it off a bit at a time, I am almost halfway back to where I was before. It has to do with having nothing delicious in the house and forcing myself to not have as much snackage. Its crazy how fast my weight can fluctuate though.

I've been listening to this rapper named Shad K. from Canada quite a bit lately. His first real album came out last year and it was one of the few that I really enjoy. I don't get excited about Hip Hop as much as I used to unless they can really flo, and this guy has great style. Plus from what he says it seems that he has similar ideology about the art form as I do. Anyways, the album is The Old Prince Still Lives at Home. Its up for a few awards and I think well deserved. Here are 2 great songs from that album.

Dont say I never reccommend anything cool to you.
Calvin

PBJ, Bacon, Uncrustables, D. B.

2009-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a long one. I stayed up on campus until like 9:30 studying up on some classes. It was a good thing to do. Tests loom around the corner. So not much exciting to write about in that realm of stuff.

Had my first Physics Quiz today and it was easy since I had studied up. I am not so concerned about that class, I think I know how to study for it pretty well and none of the concepts are really all that foreign. Its actually kind of fun.

I packed me lunch today. I like eating peanut butter sandwiches, an apple, and a granola bar. I think there is a problem with the way I used to make my sandwiches though, because I would put a layer of peanut butter then the jelly, and therefore I would have jelly soaked bread after about an hour or two of sitting there. No good. So recently I have started doing a layer of peanut butter on both pieces of bread, kind of like a buffer zone. Only problem is, now I feel like I have thrown the entire peanut butter/jelly balance off. I get too much of the peanut butter. Being that I only like crunchy, it is incredibly hard to get a very thin layer on both sides of the bread. So although the jelly soak issue has been dealt with, now there is a new problem. Moral of the story...Dont solve problems. Why am I talking about this?

Above is one of the worst idea ever. Although I admit I have never tried it. They are things that should be seperate until they are put together. How lazy are we getting to not be able to open two bottles? You dont see ketchup and mustard in the same bottle.

Speaking of sandwiches, I saw this thing on the news the other day about how to make elvis's favorite sandwich. Supposedly he invented it after coming down off of a 3 week bezadine high. So he was pretty hungry anyways.. It consists of peanut butter, jelly, tons of bacon, and sometime honey and bananas depending on what you like. Usually he would deep fry or toast these little babies. No wonder his heart stopped. Anyways, I am so incredibly curious about this that I think I might try it out. I always ragged on peanut butter and pickle sandwiches until I gave it a try and it wasn't half bad, so this could be the same way. Here is a picture of somebodies version.

Finally here is another peanut butter/jelly product I cannot get behind, although Rachel was obsessed with these nasty things. Thats culture consumerism for you. I think Smuckers is seeing the millions of lbs. of peanut butter consumed every year by kids and just was trying to find a way to make people pay more for it. And since nobody likes the crust, I give you "Uncrustables!". My mom actually bought some of these. They were not very tasty, didn't even taste like real bread. But how could it? Otherwise they would have the jelly leaking into the spongy bread and the product would be ruined.

Enough about all of that.

Here is the guy I vote for DB. of the year. Reminds me how in highschool 2 kids could sit around and talk about speaker systems and snowboards for hours on ends in some secret code I could never understand. And also, I have a thing for strange news interviews. I have a couple I need to post still.

Pitted, so pitted.

AI, Lip Syncing, Gran Torino

2009-01-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched a little bit of American Idol. Not quite as entertaining as I remember it, but I think that every year. I do want to watch the episode when they come to Salt Lake. That will be worth watching I think. Out of all the weirdys who came in this time around I would have to say that my favorite was the rocker who just wanted somebody to tell him he was really good. Why he thought Simon was going to do that is beyond me... Anyways, I am going to try to watch that show a little less this year, but I will update once in a while my thoughts.

Speaking of singing and pop, what is with this trend of lip syncing live music these days? Nobody expects performances to be perfect, so why make it sound just like the album? Ashley simpson, Kanye, Britney, ect. ect. ect. Here is one I have found more recently, and this is the worst way to get caught I think.

Oh and I saw Gran Torino and thought it was pretty good. Clint Eastwood really can't do much wrong it seems. Although I think some of the supporing actors were a bit stiff, that is probably because they were all first-timers and also because it was filmed in like 5 weeks.

Eastwood has said this will most likely be the last time he will appear in front of the camera. Lets hope not. He has alot more screen presence than most other actors these days, and it seems his movies entertain and have a point at the same time. Also, even though the guy is 78 years old, he still makes you believe you could snap your neck if he wanted to.

Weekend Blues, Projects, Morrissey, Cosby

2009-01-12T09:47:00.001-08:00

Lots to talk about today, but we will try to keep it breif...I think.

Weekend was good. Got a fly haircut, worked on some projects, chilled with friends. I also went and ate some ribs at Chile's for David's Birthday. Man those things be tasty. Saturday night I worked at the VI for a long shift with very little payoff, hardly anyone came in. Anyways, I got home at like 3:00 AM and had to prepare the priesthood lesson for the next day...so it turned out to be a late night. The lesson was on leadership in the church and at least it was an interesting topic for me. Better than something like "Raising children in the Lord's Way". They should skip those ones in a singles ward I think.

After Church I bummed around until about 5:00 and went to Jeremey and Heidi's place for kind of a David birthday dinner. I hadn't been to their new place yet and it was good to see them. Also, I learned how much fun Guitar Hero is, for the first time ever. They have the "rock band" version and it was awesome. I am partial to the guitar though. I started to get pretty good by the end of the night.

I decided I am going to make another music video sometime here soon. I think Ben Zurcher is going to help out on this one...do the directing, filming, scripting, ect. Everything pretty much except write the song. Hopefully I can have some updates on that soon.

Battle of the Bands with armorie is going to be on the 31st. THey are only letting us play 3 songs, but it still should be fun. We are going to have to choose wisely.

Oh and I am currently working on remixing a track by one Mike Beeson...a guy I know from High School that makes music under the moniker "Miss Sloan" (She was our second grade music teacher and made everybody square dance). He has a great album called "The Astronaut" that he finished a few years ago and I am excited to mess around with this track. It should be weirdly cool when its finished.

Morrissey from the Smiths is about to put out another album...its gonna be called Years of Jealousy. Morrissey is one of those guys that can't help but write good lyrics. I wasn't a huge fan of his last few albums, but this song is great. Also the fact that he is singing it as though he is on Broadway is pretty cool. Somebody leapfrogs over the drums about midway through the song.

Fast forward a bit to get to the video.

Also I saw Bill Cosby on Meet the Press the other day and it reminded me of how sad it is that he is losing his mind. I agree with alot of what he says about parenting and what is acceptable for children, but he can't phrase his sentences at all! He just is out of it! Here is an example of how weird he has become. At least watch until he has the band give him a bass line.

But lest you forget the genius that he used to be, I have to add some other clips. First this early one where he shows off his amazing storytelling skills on the Dean Martin Show. You can't help but get wrapped up in it all.

And this next clip is I think his very funniest bits. He picked up on the irony of the situation and crafted some amazing comedy around it. He has the faces down pat too...

That really cracks me up. You deserved this! You worked hard for it!

That is all.

Burg, GoodReads, Sungha

2009-01-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

In and Out BURG.

Last nights show was fun. It was an extremely strange line-up for sure, but we had a good time in all the rap/electronica/rock goodness. It was fun to play with armorie.

I am going to go to the DI later today and look for junk. That is such a good pastime. Here is hoping I find something awesome. Also I think I am going to go eat lunch with David and Scotty, its Davids B-day today. He's 25. Its funny how we think thats old here in Utah.

Over the break I read 2 books, one was called "This is your Brain on Music" and it talks about kind of the neuroscience of music. It was very interesting and rarely ever boring, which is surprising for a book of that type. It talks about why we like certain music that we do, as well as what it can do for the brain to listen to it at certain times and under certain situations.

I also read "The Devil in the White City" which kind of chronicles two stories that are interwoven. Its non-fiction and follows the architect of the World's Fair in Chicago, and at the same time America's first known mass murderer. It kind of has this creation vs. destruction theme. It is very well written and has alot of information in it about the World's Fair that are so interesting you would think they would be common knowledge, but yet they are not.

I am working on remixing a song for a friend of mine from highschool. It is a bit challenging but should sound cool when its all finished. He's got a great voice and its a cool song.

I have to work tonight at 6:00. It will be the first time back at Village Inn in a long time. Yesterday I stopped by to do my weekly assignments which was cleaning out all the syrup bottles. I hate that one with a passion, you have to get syrup all over you in the process. Syrup is so disgusting I do not know why anyone would like it. Give me a pancake with just a little bit of Peanut Butter. Thats all I ask for.

This is pretty amazing if you ask me. His name is Sungha Jung and he is known for picking Beatles tunes.

Off to lunch yo.

Quickie.

2009-01-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Just got out of ochem and am waiting an extra half an hour up here on campus because at 5 they are having free pizza for those interested in the Accounting Club. I am at least a little interested if free food is involved...that is my game man...my game.

I watched Burn after Reading last night and cannot fully reccommend it, although it has a few funny moments. It ends a little too quickly and really is quite strange. The acting is pretty good though...I am just saying it is not one of the best from the Coen bros.

Going to practice tonight for tomorrows show. I have an interesting setlist planned out that will be fun to do but pretty challenging. The tunes flow into each other at a pretty fast rate and I will have to work hard to keep afloat doing them, but with practice it should be pretty cool...of course the theatrics are also important.

Animal Collectives new record came out and it is pretty cool. The song Brothersport is probably the best thing I have heard from them so far, but it is not for the faint of heart.

I would write more but pizza calls. I will post some pictures tomorrow hopefully from the trip.

New ish, Ghost Town, NOT A FINGA!!!!

2009-01-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I sat down for a few hours with my friends minidisc player/recorder and some instrumentals and just recorded a ton of stuff. Of course its in the style of lo-fi quality quickly put together....but it has some charm and alot of potential I think. During the long vacation I decided that I would at least try to pen a song a day, and the cruise proved to be especially productive. I recorded lots of em yesterday...about two hours of material or so. There are songs about Farmers, Coffee, Reality T.V., Mexico, Disneyland crowds, Brain Cells, The Aging Process, Spaceships, Hobos, Crying, ect.. Usually I would just load all this straight up to the net for people to check if they wanted to, but I think I am going to hold onto these cards for a bit longer. I want to do them live a few times, fix some of the lyrics, pick the best ones, and then record them the right way later. Maybe someday in the far future I will just put these demos up. It got me excited about having some stuff to kick around though. I am trying to memorize some of it as we speak.

Friday I will be opening the show at Whysound. It should be alot of fun. I am going to do half an hour or so and plan on doing only stuff that I have never done live before. Maybe I will throw in one or two classics, but that is it. It will be 5 bucks and should be fun. Also, I am playing with my friends band armorie during their set. Please come if you live in Logan. Its at 8:00 and I am up first so be on time.

I watched Ghost Town again last night. Its a great Romantic Comedy with Ricky Gervais and is one of few movies in that category that I actually enjoy. In fact the only other one I can think of is Groundhog's Day. Its just a movie that is more than just about being in Love. It has more to do with redemption and living a life to help others. Anyways, you should check it out, its hilarious. Heres the trailer.

While in Universal Studios I went through the House of Horrors and this puppet was one of the cases. In case you missed it, the puppet is featured on a video in my Halloween entry. The made for T.V. movie was called Trilogy of Terror. When I saw it at Universal studios in one of the display cases I laughed pretty hard.

Also, I didnt get to watch the Christmas Story this year, even though they have it going 24/7 on Christmas Day. For the record, this is my favorite line from that movie.

I still yell that at people when I dont want them to touch something while I am gone. NOT A FINGER! That could not have been in the script. And if it was then he delivered the heck out of that line. I also like the part when the bumpus dogs get his turkey and he runs out into the snow screaming "SONS OF B_____ES! BUMPUSESS!!!!!" Was he in any other movies?

My mom and sister are in town. They got bumped off their flights like 3 times now! Rita is racking up the flight monies. Share the wealth fool!

Vacay, Exile, The New Joker

2009-01-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time....I shouldn't have left you...ahhh forget you.

Vacation was good and long and relaxating. Spent a week on a cruise in Mexico, hit Acupulco, Ixtapa Zihuatenao, and Manzanillo. Met some interesting people and basically did nothing during that week but eat and read and write and swim. And a bit of kareoke. I think Al Green has the most unbeatable kareoke songs.

Then I spent about 4 days with my cousins in San Diego, that was fun too. I ate at In and Out Burger more than once. So good. Also, I went to a local record shop and found some Rolling Stones records in pretty good condition. I am most excited about getting Exile of Main Street. Its often thought of as their best record even though it was panned when it was released. I agree with Mick Jagger when he says the mixing on it is pretty shabby....but that means that some of the songs are so interesting that you kind of disregard the blemishes. I think the best song on the record is I just wanna see his face. The falsetto is so weird.

Then my family all met in Anaheim for a week. We took the neices and Nephews to Disneyland, and also did Seaworld, the Wild Animal Park, and Universal Studios. It was a great time and we all had alot of fun.

I spent about 11 hours driving home yesterday and that was not so fun. But I proved that I could do it all. Nonstop except for gas and potty breaks.

I am pretty sure I will be playing at WhySound this Friday night at 8:00 opening for some other bands from Salt Lake. I am trying to put together and interesting and challenging set of lots of new stuff and some remixed older stuff. You should come if you are around. I'm going to stage dive into Jello.

School is up and running. Should be an interesting semester. My new roomate James moved in yesterday. I am excited to have him around to do stuff with. Although I am not entirely sure how much time this semester will allow me to mess around.

My roomate David got engaged over X-mas break. That means I have to deal with even more schmoopie. Good thing I am used to it.

Al Franken actually won the recount? I think that is far from over. I think if they have the Joker in the next batman he most definitely could take Heath Ledger's part in it. He has that creepy voice and even the smile. Check it out.

Thats no Joke.

I have alot to write but not time. Tomorrow my friends.

Hobokin, Fat Cat, Ninja Parade

2008-12-11T13:49:00.001-08:00

I am loving being done with Finals, but I still have many an errand to acheive before vacation time begins. I need to finish my packet, Get somebody to work for me saturday night, clean the house, get an oil change, sell my textbooks, finish registering, cancel the milk service for the rest of the month, and figure out what the heck I am going to do in California for 5 days while I wait for the rest of the family to get there. I am thinking of literally becoming a Hobo. Just to see what it feels like. Gonna sleep in the car with a loaf of bread and peanut butter and read a book and not shower or shave at all... That sounds pretty fun.
Also I am sure I would enjoy just sightseeing a bit. Maybe I will go see a movie or something. I will try to spend Christmas day with some family down there though.

My sister had a cornet through High school that she does not play at all anymore, so they are supposedly bringing it to me at Christmas. That will be great. I can play just a little bit and with some practice can probably become decent. I just dont know how I am going to practice because the walls are just to thin in the condo. Maybe I will take it up to the institute building a few times a week. That should be something to keep me busy, aside from School, DAT study, and the guitar I want to get.

David's parents are in town for his graduation. The apartment is pretty messy, but they are staying at the Crystal Inn so probably wont be here too much. I think they leave Saturday night.

Oprah is claiming she has fallen off the Health Wagon again. I hate that Health Wagon. People are always falling out of it. But nobody more than Oprah it seems. Its like everytime she gets on, she is off again..so she gets some product that supposedly will fix the problem. Everytime she gets obese again, it seems she gets some new "sponsor" to help her get rid of the weight. I bet nobody knows more about the different weight loss plans than she does...she has tried about half of them.

Speaking of Health Wagons, here is the world's fattest cat. Are people shoving food into these animals intravenously or something? Just give them less to eat!!!!

Here is a dang funny video from The Onion's website...probably my all time favorite fake report from then. I especially like the little kid with the candy. This was pretty clever.

Finals, Gavin Bryars, Howling Wolf and Burl Ives, Edge of the Word

2008-12-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

So Sorry for the lag time between posts. I just figured I had to put my mind focused on Studying for Finals. Things went ok. Could've gone slightly better. I think I ended up with a B+ in Corp Finance, A- in Marketing, A in Physics, and an A- (crossing fingers) in Physiology. Man the Physiology final was brutal!!! So much information to know. He never goes easy on the tests it seems. I had an extremely late night studying for that one. I thought I pulled a better grade than I actually did, but thats the way of things sometimes. Needless to say I am extremely tired.

The other day I bought this great album off of Itunes. Its a bit weird, but its amazing, its called "The Sinking of the Titanic" and is a very long orchestral piece by Gavin Bryars. It is basically a repeat of the same melody over and over again with varying instruments and sounds of water. He basically wanted to simulate the sinking of the titanic, with the string quartet playing as the ship sinks into the ocean slowly. So year hear really strange sounds like screeching metal, water rushing, clanks, soft shreaks...all kind of breaking ship sounds. And then he mixes in very muffled accounts of the story by various survivors. It makes for a very interesting hour of music. Some people probably wouldn't care for this little experiment, but I think its a great idea. In fact, without exaggerating, I probably listened to that thing at least eight times this week so far. Mostly because it was excellent to study and try to memorize things to, but I would listen to it alone as well. And if you fall asleep to it you will have some crazy ship sinking dreams. I guess a while ago he recorded a version in a water tower and its hard to find...but its on vinyl. I think I will have to look for that one. He also does a similar thign with another song "Jesus Blood Never failed me Yet" and mixes in some Tom Waits vocals...which is never a bad thing.

I bought that album because I got a 25 dollar Itunes Card from the Village Inn Christmas party. I also go two others with it...a Howlin' Wolf compilation, and a "Best of Burl Ives" album. I know those may seem like some strange choices, but I am really getting excited about some of that older stuff these days. Howlin' Wolf does Blues like nobody ever does, and Burl Ives actually writes some great sad love songs. I think "Funny Way of Laughing" is like what an angry teenager today would write if he were clever enough to come up with the lyrics...just expressed differently. I always thought it was a little goofy when I was younger...but tastes and opinions change.

I like how Howlin' Wolf holds up that dollar up while he is looking so seriously at the audience. Such a weird captivating performance. And here is Burl...

There voices sound great together. I know some people might say it was a bit prideful to have his own show...but I think this would be the type of thing I'd like to watch today even. Instead you have to watch Pink sing on Saturday Night Live. I heard Elvis Costello has his own show on some channel, I should look into that.

Speaking of the Christmas Party, my group played for it, we did about a 50 minute set with a ton of originals and some covers too. Andrew a. played with us and I added some bells to the tunes. We actually plugged a friend's Minidisc recorder into the mixer and recorded the show, so we have a pretty good mix from the soundboard. I will get it uploaded for you to check out, but that probably won't come up until January. Some of it sounds pretty good...some of it sounds cringe-inducing. But it is what it is.... I also won 10 dollars to Hamiltons STeak House.

Tomorrow the goal is to finish off the Dental Packet and be done with that. So its not over yet. That will take some time. Friday Coltan is coming and I have to get ready to leave that night for California and the cruise. That is going to be awesome. I just have to figure out what I want to do during the few days I will be there all by myself. Maybe I can pick up one of these while I am down there.

Last weekend I did have the chance to watch the newest Herzog film. Its called Encounters at the Edge of the World and is about the people who work in Antartica. It was pretty interesting...its like only a certain type of person is willing to leave society and go that far into nowhere. They are like today's pioneers...they are looking at things very few other people see. It was pretty well done. Here is the trailer incase your interested in it.

I will try to post something funny tomorrow if I get time.

Boring, Elvis, Jason

2008-12-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Things are busy. I am trying to put together my packet for the Dental Board at Utah State and it is not really all that fun. I am supposed to write an Autobiographal Statement. I now understand that it is important to do that once in a while to realize exactly how PATHETIC you are. I dont know if I have accomplished anything important in at least that last 3 years. Or maybe ever. Leastwise, thats the way it makes you feel. You are supposed to talk about all the awesome stuff you have done, but who has time for that when they are trying to work and go to school at the same time. Maybe Einstein. If I were Einstein I could write something like "I came up with the theory of Relativity in my spare time while working at a patent office." My mind doesnt work like that. The only comforting thing is that, no doubt, nobody I know is all that fascinating either. In fact, although I may be boring, there are people out there who's life is Wake, Eat, Work, Sleep. My Roomate David is a good example. He won't read this so I am safe writing this...if I went school to become disinteresting for 10 years and worked hard at it, and my mother was the most disinteresting person on the planet and my father was a zombie, I still would be more interesting than that. I am annoying myself now.....

Practiced last night for Sunday. It will be an interesting show. I borrowed some Bells from Andy to play for a few of the songs. He will be playing guitar with us this time around as Tyson T. will be in Wyoming.

This afternoon I am going to go learn about Contraception from Andy Anderson's wife for my Physiology Lab. Should be a hoot. I will tell you all about it sometime. Speaking of Andy, I went to check out some questions on the last test and gave him a copy of the song "The Death of Elvis" which is a little rap I wrote inspired by one of his lectures...he was talking about the medical reasons for Elvis passing away. He enjoyed it I think, so I gave him the copy. He thought it was pretty funny.

I am listening to "A short history of nearly everything" on my ipod. It is alot more interesting I think now that I have taken classes that have gotten into the subject matter at a great depth. I understand what they are Bill Bryson is saying and recall the experiments and scientists he mentions.

Its infomercial Wednesday.

Yeah. If someone was wearing that when I walked in the house after school I would think that I was about to die. Could not they have gone to the trouble to make the mask look less like Jason's? Geez. I hope nobody bought that one. I'd rather have the Hula chair.

THE WHISTLES GO WHOOOOOOOOOOO!

2008-12-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

Man I am hungry right now. Subway is in order. But first I need to meet with my corp. Finance group and do some studying for finals. Sheesh. Its coming soon. My last one is on Wednesday, a week from tomorrow. I have alot to do before then, so today I will keep this short.

We are playing at the Village Inn Chirstmas Party on Sunday and have a pretty good setlist just about ready. WE just need more practice and it should be a good show. I am excited for the Hamiltons Catering. Their food is the bomb.

This news report makes me laugh. Its as if "Bubb Rubb" can't help but imitate the whistle everytime he talks about it. I like how he also says, "You supposed to be up cookin breakfast!" Its like an alarm clock!

The whistles go WHOOOOOOO!

Follow Recipes, A Christmas Gift for you and yours, Horatio Caine

2008-12-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

So the weekend was nice. Did the whole rest and relax thing for the most part. I read quite a bit, went to Thanksgiving at the Cook's house, among other things. Really good food at the Cook's house, especially the candied yams. I cannot believe how tastebuds change. That stuff is amazing.
Now it is time to buckle down and get to work. Finals are next week and I have alot of preperation to do before then. And then comes the cruise to Mexico and Christmas in California. This will be awesome.

I decided to do some cooking during the break. I made Frogeye salad as I said I would, and it went pretty well. I made a few mistakes, first when I bought pineapples, I accidentally bought crushed pineapple instead of the slices, and also one can of big slices. So that was a bit weird. And I added about twice the amount of pineapple juice as I should have. But it worked out alright. I had no idea how much it was going to make though, after weighing it on scale I discovered I had made 10.5 pounds of pasta salad. I also realized that nobody was very excited about it, and as much as I tried nobody wanted to eat it. I guess its not all that popular of a salad, they think it looks gross and most people dont like the consistency. I ended up eating a little over half of it over the past 3 days before I had to chuck it out. The effects it had on my digestive system were not pretty. In fact, it reminded me of this day in high school where I attempted to eat an entire watermelon over the course of the day. That night I had to attend a court of honor for boyscouts, and I remember having to run to the bathroom while I was standing in line waiting to get some merit badges. But now things are starting to normalize.

Last blog entry I mentioned some of my favorite Christmas Albums. Well, here is one to add to your list. Think of it as an early Christmas present from me. Free to download, the incredible Christmas LP was recorded in about four hours or so. 9 classic and not so classic Christmas tunes for your listening pleasure at www.myspace.com/nocouponnopizza. Just a little something to get you into the spirit of Christmas early. That is another thing I did during the break. Its called Nocouponnopizza saves Christmas. I like the Jingle Bells song.

Had to work last night and Saturday night. I hate sunday nights at Village Inn. If you ever go to resteraunts on a late sunday night, then shame on you. Especially if you dont think you need to tip. I got stiffed 3 times last night. I am definitely not cut out to be a waiter. That is for dang sure. I feel like Bruce Banner half the time...on the verge of explosion.

Real quick, I really don't care for that CSI Miami Show. This is the reason.

David Caruso may be the worst actor on T.V. Its as if he thinks his job consists of putting his sunglasses on and off and saying a one-liner. I like how he always pauses before he hits you hard with punchline.."Our accident.....is not an accident at all." Its as if he applies that formula to every line in the script. Then he walks away as fast as possible. A man on a mission.

If David Caruso was acting in a comedy, it would be a different story. Its as if he saw an over-the-top cop comedy, and thought that was how all cops really act. Its so bad that you would think he is playing a person who is supposed to be a horrible actor playing a cop in a comedy. Maybe he saw this clip from Seinfeld and based Horatio Caine's character off of it?

You never know I guess

Christmas Albums here we come....

2008-11-26T23:43:00.000-08:00

Its officially Thanksgiving Day. So now its time to break out the Christmas Music. It seems to be a clique thing for people to comment, "I hate people who try to bring Christmas music early!" They whine about how Christmas cannot officially begin until Thanksgiving Turkey has been given a few days to digest. They don't want any decorations, music, themes, shopping, ect. to begin until December rolls around. I don't mind telling you that I am one of the people that you lot hate. In fact, you may be really mad when I tell you that I think Thanksgiving is a snoozer anyways. You just eat alot of food and sleep through the rest of the day. Christmas lasts much longer then a few hours, and if I want to eat alot of food I can go to Royal Fork whenever I feel like it. So, don't be mad, but here are some of the albums I will be playing for the next 35 days or so....

Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas"
This is one of the best there is. Its pretty un-traditional sounding, with lots of Banjo and Wind instruments. It's a double disc, so it lasts a long while, and it also has a good mix of old favorites and original tunes from the genius who is in the process of writing an album about each one of the 50 states. 2 down, hes got 48 to go. The fact that he even had time to make this album blows my mind. You will have to just take my word on this one, it is a fantastic Christmas album.

Vince Guaraldi Trio "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
Vince Guaraldi made an excellent soundtrack to the special. And it is about as Christmas can be felt. A great version of all these songs was released last year. Its great background Christmas tunes and brings back childhood memories. The recording quality on the album is great by the by. And who doesnt love this song?

James Brown "Funky Christmas"
The king of soul had a special place for Christmas in his heart. In fact, he died on Christmas day. He also made an amazing Christmas album, but its not the kind that your parents will want to listen to. This is not sipping cocoa by the fire music. This is typical James Brown. Shreiking "Merry Christmas!" and "James Brown Loves YOU!" There are few traditional songs on this album, and those that are traditional are hardly recognizable as such. But I love James Brown. And he gets me closer to wanting to dance than any other performer. So if your having a Christmas party, and need some jamming tunes, this is your album. I have it in my car during all of December to wake up to. Just watch this clip of "Soulful Christmas". Is that the Funky Chicken dance I spot at 29 seconds? I think so.

Bing Crosby "White Christmas"
I dont have to say anything about this hopefully. But here for your viewing pleasure is something you probably had no idea existed. A christmas duet with Bing and the one and only David Bowie. This is a match in made in heaven.

And no its not on the White Christmas album. Sorry.

James Taylor "A James Taylor Christmas"
This maybe doesn't really merit the list, but its just that I like James Taylor so much. So I am a bit biased. His voice is pretty amazing and its as if he were meant eventually to make a Christmas Album. I really like his version of Aud Lang. But he could sing pretty much anything and I would probably like it. Here is a good clip that proves his voice is just as good live as in the studio.

Low "Christmas"
There are only like 2 traditional Christmas songs on this album, and that is probably the reason I love it so much. Usually when people write their own songs they are a bit cheesy, but these guys managed to do it without destroying the feeling of the holiday. This is really pretty different from what you are probably used to, but I think you would enjoy it. Here is a music video with some of the song "Just like Christmas"

I have a few more I might post later, but those will give you some options to get into the spirit. But before I go, and I know I have posted lots of videos already, but this may be the best Christmas song ever. By Tom Waits of course.

Don't pretend you don't love it.

Let me know if you agree with any of my choices or think of something that I definitely missed. I'd be happy to spar with you.

Frogeye, Carnival of Light, C-diddy

2008-11-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Alright Ok.
Thanksgiving break is finally here thank goodness and I am going to lounge like I never have lounged. I have some big plans. I am going to read a book. I am going to write some tunes. I am going to eat Turkey at Angies and make some frog-eyed salad. I have not looked forward to something this much in some time. Its going to be a great vacation. Last night I had kind of a quasi-Thanksgiving dinner with the ward and that was pretty good, lots of Turkey to go around. I also decided that Ginger Ale might be one of the best Thanksgiving drinks. Look at how delicious that salad looks Rita? You are such a commie.

I just have one more class today and it is Marketing. That class is incredibly boring but rather that than difficult right? I will have to think of something fun to do tonight though because as of right now I will home doing jack squat.

I read in the paper today that Paul Mcartney has decided recently to release a previously unknown Beatles track. It is supposedly pretty abstract, its called Carnival of Light, and is 14 minutes long. It was recorded during the time they were working on Abbey Road. I guess Paul just told them to run around the room and bang on things. I hope its at least slightly melodic. Anyways, I will be excited to hear that when it is finally released.
Here is the 2003 World Champion Air Guitarist, C-diddy, doing the performance that won it all for him. It was the first time the U.S.A. had competed and he took home the gold. Its pretty amazing how seriously they take this stuff.

Pretty amazing eh? This looks like something I could actually do. Maybe USU should have an Air guitar championship. That would be an entertaining show to watch. I need to get that idea to the right people. Oh, by the way, the above clip is from the documentary called Air Guitar Nation, which chronicles the battle for the cup. Its a cool show, but near the ending, suddenly a guy decides to be completely naked while he is jamming at the competition. For some reason, the filmakers did not feel the need to censor this. The competitors are funny though, they act as if this is a legitimate art form, and sometimes, you partially believe them.

Moratorium, Ben Johnson, Kinski, Star Trek, Tony Jaa

2008-11-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

Pretty quick weekend passed by.

Friday I went and ate some dinner with my friends Brad and his wife Catherine. It was really good food. During the course of the conversation I discovered that Brad started to write a book after his first year at College. He spent 2 months in his treehouse in the process. The book is called Moratorium and is about 200 pages done. My new goal in life is to harass him enough until he lets me read that thing. I can't think about anything else unfortuneatly. I just keep wondering what in the world this book could be about and how it could be so important to write that he took 2 months out of his life to do it. He says he doesnt have time to finish it yet, so it will go unpublished until he finishes Dental School in 5 years or so. That is too long to wait. So Brad, if your reading this, I will never let up until I get a copy of the beginning of the book. I will make your life miserable trying to get it. I will go to Cokeville and get it off your computer. I will succeed. What could his twisted mind have thought up as a narrative? I will let you know about any progress in this area.

After eating with them I went with my friend Clint to go see the Whysound show. It was pretty entertaining. I was not a big fan of the first two bands, but Ben Johnson was great. I am not even really a fan of that genre, but those guys put on a fantastic show and could really play. They have a CD on itunes called Make it Bloom which is pretty good. Special props to their keyboard/trumpet/backup vocalist. That guy was the man!

So Saturday was pretty chill, I had to work at Village Inn until late though. Ran some errands and what not. Also did a bit of study. Oh and I watched this awesome film by Werner Herzog about Klaus Kinski. It was called "My best Friend". It basically chronicles the five German films they made together, (which are all awesome by the way) and talks about the crazy relationship they had. Kinski had this acting method in which he would try to stress the entire crew out...to the point of a nervous break down, and that would supposedly induce amazing performances from everybody, including himself. If he could rile himself up and become enough of a raving egomaniac, supposedly that drove his performances to new heights. Werner realized this and as difficult as it was to work with Kinski, he figured it was worth it for the performances that were created when the two of them teamed up. Out of all the directors, only Herzog really understood what was happening and was willing to put up with it, but it about drove him insane. At one point they both had plans to kill each other that they were going to enact. Werner even threatened to shoot him in the back if he tried to leave the set one day. And he claims that he was dead serious about it at the time. Everything about Werner seems larger than life, he really lives a different way than the majority of people. This documentary was a good intro to his madness. It also made me want to buy the Klaus Kinski autobiography. Would be entertaining. So study up...check it out.

The new Star Trek is coming out soon. I never watched the Shatner ones. But I enjoyed The next Generation, that was an entertaining program. I'm not a trekkie, but I think Patrick Stewart is just cool. So I dont know what to expect with the JJ. Abrahms remake. I will say that I liked what he did with Mission Impossible 3, but am not the biggest fan of Cloverfeild or the T.V. Show. The other thing is that this clip from its "base" material leaves me hoping they will do an updated version for the movie. This is one of the top 10 fight scenes I have ever scene. Talk about an adrenaline rush!!!!

Ok to make up for having to watch the worst fight scene of all time, here is one of the best. This is Tony Jaa in the Protector. He is insane. But although he is good, the fact that this was all done in one shot is amazing. The camera never cuts away. So this whole long process had to be just perfectly done. This one is not for the faint of heart...there is alot of throwing people around, but no blood.

Later.

Twilight, Nosferatu, Sagelike advice

2008-11-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well the long wait is over. Twighlight is in theaters for all you girls with a pre-teen mindset to obsess over. But just so you know, its getting some pretty poor reviews, so it might not be worth standing in line at the box office for an hour and cramming yourelf into a theater with other 13 yr. olds who are screaming everytime Edward appears on the screen. Instead you should stay home and rent a good vampire movie...like this old silent film Nosferatu. Werner Herzog actually did a remake of this with Klaus Kinski that was pretty entertaining.

Seriously though, I read a review for twighlight that said it was the funniest movie of the year. That almost makes me want to see it. I love funny movies. If you haven't ever read twighlight...below are some spoilers that make me laugh.

-The story follows Bella and her Vampire boyfriend Edward. There is also some sort of scandal love triangle with Bella and a Werewolf named Jacob Black. Jacob is very passionate and Edward is very cold and shows little emotion. Both of them are supposedly irresistible.
-Bella has to make a choice between the two of them, and when she chooses Edward, it creates an even more important choice...become a vampire...or stay a human and eventually die, leaving Edward all alone. It is very dangerous to even be close to Edward as a human because he does not know his own strength. When he brushes his hand through her hair, it might crack her scull. I'm not making this up. It truly is a forbidden love.
-In the final book Edward and Bella get hitched, and they do the deed. The bed breaks and she ends up with bruises all over her body...her friends suspect abuse. But Edward is just too strong for his own good.
-Bella gets pregnant with a Humanoid vampyro baby. Its basically a super baby, and it wants blood. It is so ticked off about not getting it that it kicks and breaks Bella's ribs. (again I am not making this up). She begins to drink blood to satisfy the humanoid vampyro's needs. The baby calms down a bit, but the birthing process is going to suck!
-Baby is born in an intense way. Pretty much coming out, the baby rips Bella to shreds, much like an Alien in Ridley Scotts movies. She is dying, and Edward can't handle it. So he bites her to inject the vampire venom and give her immortality, even though he told her earlier he would never do it. She survives and becomes a vampire mother to the humanoid vampyro toddler.
-Finally, and this is the best part, Jacob Black steps back onto the scene. You see, werewolves have this thing where they can imprint with humans. They can't control it. When they find who is supposed to be their soulmate, they look at them and then destiny creates a way for them to be together. So when old Jacob sees the humaniod baby, he can't resist. He imprints her then and there...so in the future they will fall in love and be married and be soulmates. Everybody wins in twilight, even peodophile werewolves. I just think that it is going to be hard to explain to that girl that he used to be in love with her mom and kissed her a bunch. Nasty.

There you have it...part of the twilight plot. If your wondering how I get so much information without reading the books, its because wherever I work at there are always some females that are into that series, and I can usually squeeze some of the best parts of the plot out of them with enough harrassment. If you haven't read the books yet and don't believe that these things can be true, then just ask someone who reads them about the above synopsis. Usually they will say something like, "Yeah thats true, but the way she writes it doesn't make it sound so cheezy." The weirdest thing is that this nasty bloody book is all the rage for Utah girls. I do not understand the appeal.

Here is some advice that Dr. Phil came up with that really is sagelike. Nobody has ever had this thought. Its completely unique...all he has to do is tell his guests this, and it will solve their problems. If only they could have heard this before!

Koolaide, Hellboy, Turkeyday looms.

2008-11-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my sister Rita.

Commy Commy traitor to our country!

I watched Hellboy 2 last night. The story is not all that great but it was incredibly entertaining to watch. Lots of really strange looking creatures. My favorite was the winged creepy death guy I have pictured.

Thanksgiving is coming soon. I am going to make frog eye salad at least. Maybe even some devil eggs. Love that stuff. I probably will skip the turkey..or maybe get some from village inn. Things to think about.

Love,
Calvin

Graduation, Life in Jail, Hula Workout

2008-11-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings:

I just got done writing an outline for a graduation speech for David. He is the engineering Valedictorian and they wanted him to do a speech. He had to turn in his outline today. I could have told them that this was a mistake. Why in the world would you want an Engineering student to give one of the speeches? Even I am smart enough to figure that out. Anyways, i zipped through it pretty quick and made some cheezy analogies about climbing a mountain. Hope its what they wanted.

In a little while I am going to go eat lunch with Mark and study Physics. We have a bit to go over there. I hate how you start to celebrate after a test by not paying attention in class and falling behind. Some form of celebration that is. We are now learning about Diffusion. Its fairy interesting.

I am entering Battle of the Bands in January with my friends from the band armorie. You can check them out at www.myspace.com/armorie. It is going to be like a supergroup. We have been putting some songs together for a while, and I have some new rap tunes to try out. I think we are practicing on Thursday afternoon. We really want to win it.

Britney Spears recently said she feels like she is living in a jail. She must have only been to those jails where you get to keep all your money and you can leave when you want and eat whatever you want and pretty much do whatever you want. I love those kinds of jails. Also in celeb news, Lindsay Lohan said the other day that she was so excited that we elected our first "colored" president. What planet is she living on to have decided to use that term?

Oh I almost forgot that it is informercial Wednesday. This probably beats them all in terms of uselessness. In fact, I thought that it wasn't even real when I saw it...looks like an SNL sketch. But nope, its legit. There is even a website that sells them. Can you imagine the look on your boss's face if you brought one of these into the workplace? You would automatically be classified as a lunatic. Which you would be for buying one. I present, The HAWAII chair.

I love the jingle they wrote for it. If you can sit, you can get fit! It looks like the most annoying thing ever to sit on especially at work! But I have to admit I slightly have an urge to try it out.
Then I found this more realistic review of the product.

Looks about right to me. Retail Price? 149 dollars. Informercial? Priceless.

Breaktime, Spelling, Evan O'Dorney

2008-11-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I am so relieved that test week of doom is over. The final one took place at 10:30 this morning and I literally have no idea how I ended up doing. It could have gone anyway, since it was all math its hard to say. I ended up with a 91% on the multiple choice part of the Physiology test, so hopefully that is a good sign.
I will still be busy, but, at least nothing big looming in the future. Can relax again for a bit.

Thanks to my mother, I am about to go to Subway and get a Chicken Cordonbleu sammich. She sent me and my brother a gift certificate the other day. I love that stuff.

Today I have decided to write a little bit about spelling Bees. They are pretty entertaining I have decided, but probably not the most healthy pastime for young children and the parents that are involved in pushing them toward it. It is basically the opposite of a Hollywood parent, instead of a parent pushing for their children to have fame and be thought of as "cool", they are pushing them hard in the other direction. The tendency of parents to want to live through their children is present everywhere in our society...and I dont think there are many parents that are not guilty of it to some extent. For example, take the parents who think that when their child is playing a sport he/she is curing cancer. Go ahead and lend your support to what the kid wants to do, but don't push them into something because YOU think it is important.

This of course is a pretty broad generalization, but I think its got to be present in the parents involved in these spelling bees. There is so much work into winning these national contests. It must damage the kids in some way. All that stress... Also, working so hard for something so unimportant. Sure its good to be able to spell decently, but the words in the national competition are usually some strange disease or recently made up word. Most these kids are early geniuses...put them to work doing something worthwhile. Teach them to be able to socially interact with other human beings! Take for example Evan ODorney.

I actually feel bad for this kid. I don't think its his fault that he doesn't understand how to communicate. He has been studying a dictionary for 2 years and he should be climbing trees. That video has to be one of the more awkward exchanges between a newscaster and interviewee that I have EVER seen.

I went a little overboard this time and decided to look up more on Evan. Evan also composes music when he is not trying to spell scrombridae. Best part is that he does it his head..... And what a singing voice! Maybe that is another savaant like talent. American Idol here he comes. Skip to about one minute to hear the most beautiful sound in the world.

All jokes aside he is obviously a genius of somesort. I mean thinking of notes as numbers? Its sad that with that intelligence comes the social awkwardness. This is personal to me because my brother-in-law Richard is also an Idiot Savaant and has similar strengths and weaknesses.

Here is proof of the the stress and insanity these kids go through.

AND NOBODY RUSHED TO HELP HIM UP! And he still got the word right!

And finally...proof that the words these kids get will probably never used in volcabulary and are a waste of time to learn the spelling to.

I hope that kid won.

If that intrigued you at all about the world of competitive spelling, there is a great documentary called Spellbound that follows some of the competitors through the rough world.
But I can't get over that Evan interview.