Things are getting all turned around.

Even though next week is supposed to be midterms, I don't have anything.  It's all this week.  However, all things considered, it's not that bad.

The way my schedule works is I have something every week (for the most part) instead of a bunch of things in one week.

For example: a test in complex one week, a paper due in theatre the next, then a test in geometry in week three, then a test (complex) and midterm in-class essays the next week, which happens to be this week.  I'm currently working my way through the prompts my theatre prof will ask tomorrow, finally (finally!) reaping the rewards of being an obsessive note-taker and having a freakishly good memory for remembering what happens in books.  (And yet, oddly enough, it takes me a solid three weeks to learn one person's name.)

Even though I have the essays tomorrow and my complex test on Friday, I partially took yesterday off.  I think, though, that it may have something to do with the way my classes went.

I showed up to advanced geo at 8:00 yesterday morning to find colored paper everywhere.  We then proceeded to make butterfly bombs.  (You can see one in action here.  I don't yet have the guts to do it to mine.  The thing took a solid twenty minutes to put together.)

And as a side note: I was telling Tess about butterfly bombs, and she said her first thought upon hearing the term was some kind of shot with vodka and glitter.  Although I prefer what we did, I like that I have friends with excessively active imaginations.

I then went to subversive theatre, where we spent about 10%-20% of the class listening to Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd.  There was context, I swear.  Tom Stoppard kind of context, too.

Then I spent two hours trying to learn how to solve a Rubik's cube (my goal is to know technically how to do it by break)--hint, orientation is everything--and concluded the day by listening to Ken Burns speak.  No, he wasn't on tv, he was on stage in our auditorium.  He talked primarily about his WWII documentary and a bit about the Civil War, but his thesis (hey, I'm in essay mode here) was:

If history is about remembering, then war is about forgetting.

Listening to him was a lot, I imagine, what it would have been like to hear Lincoln speak.  He was highly eloquent and succinct, and he had almost a triple cadence instead of a double when he spoke, so his sentences rolled into each other.

And he said some pretty good stuff, too.

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And did I mention?  It's barely dropped below freezing in the past week and a half.  We even got up to 61 degrees last week.

Light, literally and metaphorically. And lots of puns.

About two months ago, the internet blew up.

Okay, so that's not quite true.  I'm still on it.  Case in point.
What I mean when I say "the internet blew up" is really "my friends made a really, really big deal about the soundtrack to a new movie coming out."
Movie?

Music?  

 

Now, I'm all for soundtracks that fit the movie.  I don't want to watch anything of Austen's with a punk-rock score, and, let's be honest, an organ just doesn't fit with anything in Iron Man.
However, we're talking about a band called Daft Punk.  I like Simon & Garfunkel.  The Beatles.  Butch Walker.  Rufus Wainwright.
So when all of my friends (it seemed) went completely mad for this new soundtrack, practically foaming at the mouth, I didn't really pay attention.  Well, until the third time or so I heard about it, and then it just became irritating.

I was wrong.
So very wrong.

Today was my first Saturday night back at Coe, and a group of us went out to Sushi House (even better when you've been craving salmon tempura maki since November) and then to the movies.  And we went to see Tron.

Overall, I didn't much care for the movie.  I haven't seen the original, so there were some things that didn't make any sense (starting with the title).  And there were some other things, too.  From my understanding, everything in the Grid is a Program (except for the Users--which, incidentally, doesn't make Clu's genocide a genocide.  A Program, at least the way I think about it, isn't a sentient being).
A Program is code.  Code is binary--a series of ones and zeros.  Near the end of the movie, one of the Programs falls into a sea, and (from my understanding--again, not having seen the original) drowns.
One: how is it binary is affected by water?  And two: if it is, why have a sea?
I suppose most of my complaints have to do with the fact that everything in the Grid is binary.  That kind of ruins emotional attachment.  I'm not one to hug my computer.

Anyway.  The movie earned a resounding "meh" from me, but I feel in love with the music.  I don't like electronic sounding music, but Daft Punk and their 85-piece orchestra was sheer brilliance.
It's very consistent in basic form, but then it gets layered, almost like building blocks.  However, they also manage to keep it fairly minimalistic, in keeping with the visual simplicity of the movie.  In addition, the music fits into the film nearly seamlessly--one of the best I've seen/heard, if not the best.
It stands well on its own as well (listen here, and start with track four to hear what they've done with the original).

Final score:
The movie barely squeaked by in earning its $9.25.  I would gladly pay that for the soundtrack, though, and may do just that.
But the extra $3.00 for 3D is so very, very painfully not worth it.  [Did you hear that, Disney?  STOP THE 3D INSANITY!]

m.

And, just for the record, Cillian Murphy appears in one scene in the movie and is uncredited (according to IMDB).  I caught it, and knew who he was.

Books that are not Harry Potter.

I love the Green brothers. They can usually keep me close to death with laughter (which is greatly appreciated about now), and Hank's newest song is no exception. It's even better than "Ranavalona" (which I enjoy primarily because of her name).

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Paper Moons

Someone please tell me that this isn't the most involved (with the possible exception of OK GO) music video just about ever.

Paper R2D2!

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New

You know what I love?

Set schedules.

Like when a professor tells you a class is going to be at this time, in this classroom, and then--egads!--it is.

However, seeing as though I can't find said set schedule online, I'll have to find something else to share today.

Glee.

Yes, I am one of those people. Come on, don't you just want to break out into song at inopportune/perfect moments in your life.

That's okay. I know you want to, you just don't want to admit it.

Glee is one of the two tv shows that I specifically take time out of my life to watch (the other is Big Bang Theory).

"Grilled Cheesus" was the title of last night's episode (last night for me, at least. I have to watch them the day after they come out, being in Turkey and all), which caused me to panic a bit. I'm a Christian, and while I will readily admit that God works in strange ways sometimes (like: "Really? Really? I trust You, God, but I don't think that would even fly on a soap opera"), I don't think He spends too much time trying to talk to us through sandwiches.

Which is more or less exactly what Emma said on the show.

All in all, I thought they handled it extremely well. I liked that they represented both sides (and subsets) of the argument, and that they didn't make any of the opinions just...stupid. I've seen that before, and it always makes me mad, even if they're against God. People who don't believe in Him aren't stupid, for the most part, and they have better arguments than "he wouldn't have let my cat die when I was 5."

Grow up, people who write dialogue like that. You shouldn't be writing theological arguments when you can't even write.

Okay. Done grandstanding.

We return you to your originally scheduled program, sans dancing.

What I love so much about the show is how they never cut anybody any slack. Every character has their good and bad parts.

Hey! That's just like real life!

There are plenty of parts that are over the top, but when you get rid of some of it, there are plenty of bits that sound like sound bites from a high schooler's life.

The other thing I really love about it is how they know that they're over the top, and they have fun with it. They don't try to delude themselves into thinking that it's a highbrow drama with lots of morals and life lessons.

For pete's sake, they did a Lady Gaga episode. I hold it's impossible to take yourself completely seriously when you're dressed in giant bubbles, or have Beanie Babies stapled to your jumper.

They also had an episode directed by Joss Whedon (who is king of American scifi). With Neil Patrick Harris. It's about time the guy got some props for his voice.

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And: Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, did the most fantastic rendition of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." I never thought that song could be done in ballad form.

Boy, was I wrong.

"Wheels" image courtesy of http://nymag.com

Lady Gaga episode still courtesy of http://bolahenksokak.blogspot.com/

Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison's rendition of "Dream On" poster-worthy image courtesy of http://www.nydailynews.com/

Final image courtesy of http://mjsbigblog.com/

Discoveries

I am beyond impressed with Today's Lyrics.
They take (strictly) song lyrics and turn them into a design.

One every day.
Some are photos, and others are just the text (like the one below).
I think I'm in love.

Well, perhaps inspired would be a better word.

Even though the words aren't theirs, and not every design is great.

But turning one out every day.

Now that's impressive.

I should try something like that.

Hello, summer project.

Oh, and I suppose it doesn't hurt that there's a Butch Walker line tucked in here, too.

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