PBJ, Bacon, Uncrustables, D. B.

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

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

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

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.

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!!!!

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

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.