"Nice Work If You Can Get It..."

Well, well, well... My cavernous brain is quite devoid of thought this evening. I think I shall discuss music, since that is always a jolly topic for me. I'm listening to some Thelonious Monk at the moment, really good stuff. There are two things that I enjoy about Monk. The first is that so many notes in his improvisations sound completely wrong, and yet sound so very right. That's also one of the great things about jazz in general, I suppose. The other thing is the saxophone. Although Monk is a pianist, he often features a saxophone, especially on the Monk's Dream album. There are some really great sax lines on that album, and I think it's pretty cool. I don't like vocal jazz and I don't really get into some of the larger ensembles, but I really like small ensemble instrumental jazz. 

So, that is what I am thinking about tonight. Perhaps something more substantive will emerge tomorrow. We shall see...

On a side note, here is a monologue I plan to use for the upcoming musical auditions. It's from the movie Amadeus and is delivered by the character of Antonio Salieri.

"My plan was so simple that it terrified me. First I must get the death mass and then I, I must achieve his death. His funeral! Imagine it, all of Vienna there, Mozart's coffin, Mozart's little coffin in the middle, and then suddenly, in that silence, music! A divine music bursts out over them all. A great mass of death! Requiem mass for Wolfgang Mozart, composed by his dear friend, Antonio Salieri! Oh what sublimity, what depth, what passion in the music! Salieri has been touched by God at last. And God is forced to listen!! Powerless, powerless to stop it! I, for once in the end, laughing at him!! The only thing that bothered me was the actual killing. How does one do that? Hmmm? How does one kill a man? Well it's one thing to dream about it; very different when you, when you have to do it with your own hands."

Andrew Is Dead

I am, in fact, alive and kicking, so no problems there. I realise that I haven't posted much of anything in recent weeks, for which I apologise. If you check this blog regularly for updates, I expect you have been frequently disappointed by the lack thereof. Honestly, there hasn't been much to write about. But, I am about to begin reading a book by Athanasius, which should offer me some blogging material. The church fathers tend to do that to me...

More blog on the flip side.

I am unambivalent and so can you!

Well, there was something I was thinking about earlier that I wanted to write about, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. So that will have to wait until I remember it.

I picked up a copy of Rolling Stone today(we got a free subscription from Best Buy or something, I don't remember) and who should I see on the cover but our friend Barack Obama. Rolling Stone writes from a rather liberal political stance, so this wasn't surprising, although I thought their virtual worship of this man was excessive. On the cover was a heroic portrait of the golden boy himself, a glimmering figure of hope, symbolizing peace and free lunch in a post-Bush America. I won't bother repeating what I said in my last post, so I'm just going to say that I'm not buying it. Obama makes me feel all warm and cynical inside. To all of his supporters who are, oh, say, my age, I'd like to say please pick up your heart off the floor and go bleed on someone else's shoes. People say that he is the JFK for my generation. I call shenanigans. Ok, enough about that.

In other news, I am now an avid Team Fortress 2 player. If you at all inclined, check this game out. It's definitely the best class-based FPS I've played.

I watched "Reservoir Dogs" the other night. It's a Quentin Tarantino film, so right off the bat I knew what to expect: guns, violence, and lots of four letter words. That's basically the plot of this movie, right there. It's about this group of guys who try to pull off a diamond heist, but get ambushed by cops at the last minute. It was an interesting movie, the script was good, but it was rather short. It would've gone south had it been too much longer, because the plot couldn't expand much more the way it was laid out. But, overall, it had some interesting(if undeveloped) characters. I prefer "Pulp Fiction" of course, but "Reservoir Dogs" was still an interesting film to watch.

That's all I've got, I'm full out of ramble.

I'm... back?

OH, LAWD! I have a blog? What is this?

Ok, ok, so I haven't posted in over a month. Very sad, indeed. So, what's going on? Well, Apple just updated the MacBook line, which is fortunate for yours truly, since I will in the market for a brand new MacBook in a few months. (Pending employment. Meh.) New processors, new graphics cards, new trackpad... good stuff. You get the nifty gadgetry of the MacBook Air without feeling like a complete moron for spending a bunch of your hard-earned money on a tin can with wireless capabilities. Feel my scorching sarcasm, Steve Jobs... feel it. Yes, the MacBook Air is cool-looking and has some nice features, but it is hardly worth the money. The updated MacBook Pros give you so much more for your dollar. The only advantage the Air has is the portability issue, but I really don't get that. I mean, how portable do we really need to be?

But enough about that. Politics is rather on the national brain as of late, specifically the presidential race. (On a side note, it boggles my mind that the local elections get shoved under the rather stained and dusty rug of media coverage and get virtually ignored by the average citizen. Shouldn't local elections carry much more weight than national ones? I guess federalism isn't exactly alive and kicking.) If you ask me, I think Obama has a very good chance of winning. If he gets the Democratic nomination, he'll most likely run right past McCain and take up residence in the White House. There's really no good reason for people to vote for Obama, I mean, any reason that might be presented is based on mere campaign promises, hearsay, and "change" rhetoric. Obama is more an inspirational speaker than he is leader of the free world. Obama is said to be the candidate of my generation. This statement scares me, because my generation is filled with idiots. I don't think McCain will be able to properly defend himself against either of the Democratic candidates. He will be seen as a war hawk, his age will be called into question... He's looking pretty weak against Clinton and Obama. I'll still vote for him, but I don't have a whole lot of hope for a conservative president.

All right, I will try to resume regular posting for now on. That is all.

Here is a video of me playing my new ukulele: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpP8zPpRSU8

Lulz, I am a mink.

I am almost finished with my college applications, which is quite handy. I don't know what I'd do without online applications. They save my life. I've only got to turn in my UT application and then complete the UT Plan II Liberal Arts honours program application. That looks like a pretty good program, so I'm hoping to get accepted into that. 

Well, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I am not sure what I am supposed to do with this so-called holiday. Is there a certain way in which one should celebrate MLK day? It's kind of like President's Day. It doesn't have any sort of express purpose, but we still cancel classes, close stores and what have you. Also, January 21st is supposedly the most depressing day of the year. I call shenanigans on that, 'cos I wasn't depressed at all today.

 

I am looking forward to seeing Cloverfield. I've kind of gotten into the entire backstory and all of the online clues and things of that nature, so I'll be interested to see the actual movie. It is definitely a unique film experience, from what I have heard. I suppose the whole project is unique, but the film-making style of this particular movie seems to be especially unique.

In which Andrew has a conversation with the Math Eagle.

I procured the textbook for my Trigonometry class a couple days ago.  This is the cover:

Apparently, the majestic eagle on the front of the book is meant to inspire me to greater heights of mathematical excellence. Math Eagle says: "Soh Cah Toa!" The textbook cost us 91 red, white and blue American dollars. That's a lot of dollars. Math Eagle, I am expecting a lot from you. For $91, I had better be getting something out of this deal. Don't let me down, Math Eagle. America needs you.

I have a new desk. I love it. I practically live here, now. Pictures shall be posted once I find a proper camera. The only one I have access to at the moment it attached to my MacBook, and it's not incredibly useful for taking normal pictures of things. I've also got my new Moleskine notebooks, which I am very pleased with. I'll post pictures of those, as well. They should prove to be useful tools in the coming semester. 

My college application essays are complete! I am glad about that. Although, it's kind of a hollow victory. This sums it up quite nicely: 

toothpastefordinner.com

But it's done at any rate. 

That is all. Dre... OUT.

The Antithesis of Joy

An excerpt from Angels in the Architecture:

"We have many Christians who embrace the truth about predestination simply because it still makes other people made, and it provides them with the opportunity to move on to other issues which make other people mad. Soon the regulative principle is wound tight around their axle; they are so full of scruples that they are standing in the slop of the overflow. They insist, for example, that we have a bounden duty to sing the psalms; we must sing the psalms; gotta sing psalms; in sin if you don't sing psalms. In attitude, this is the antithesis of joy. "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms' (Jas. 5:13)."

It would seem that divisiveness and concern for pinpoint doctrinal accuracy often get in the way of Christian fellowship and joy. Pretty counter-productive, if you ask me. I've been a distant witness to some denominational squabbling within the cloisters of Presbyterianism in the form of the Federal Vision controversy. As a young Christian, it is more than a little disconcerting to see Christian leaders behaving in such a manner. I am sure this has been said before, but shouldn't the primary focus of the church be the joy of the gospel? I cannot say this with complete confidence, because I do not know the specific points of contention in the debate, but I would expect that the unity of the church would come before theological differences. That is most definitely one of the problems with denominations in the first place. From what I can tell, there are rumblings of a possible split in the PCA. From what I have heard and read, the concept of "brothers dwelling together in unity" is not always at the forefront of the PCA's considerations and discussions. Again, I do not know everything about the issue, nor can I claim to know what should be done about it. I do, however, expect Christ-like conduct from the church's leaders, something which is not always present. I could be wrong, but those are my impressions. No denomination should be above stepping back and examining itself.

"Man, you really freak me out..."

I think some of the reactions in this video are a bit extreme. Do people seriously get upset over fast food? Apparently so. Unless you're just blatantly argumentative or mean person, the service at any fast food institution shouldn't get you worked up. There's my unwarranted two cents. It is rather humorous to observe this phenomenon, though. Personally, I couldn't possibly imagine getting flustered by something so trivial, but apparently, some people REALLY like the Whopper, low quality convenience food though it may be.

"We'll always have Minas Tirith..."

I had the distinct non-pleasure of watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3 last night. The plot was terribly incohesive and consisted of one adventure movie cliché after another. We had three-way stand-offs, lack-lustre inspirational speeches, predictable characters, so-so fight scenes and bad dialogue. Sounds like your average, run of the mill adventure movie. The production quality was great, though and the movie was visually interesting, but the storyline just didn't back up the visuals. I hadn't seen the second installment of Pirates, so I was a little confused at first, but even so, the plot was very strange. The ending left me saying to myself, "Well, that was stupid." 

In the end, the movie was mediocre and generally unsatisfying. The first Pirates movie paved the way for a really great franchise, but it seems that PotC has become yet another gear in the Disney money-making machine. Hopefully, the standards for the Chronicles of Narnia films will be a bit higher. Personally, I am still on the fence about that. I wasn't quite as enamoured with the first movie as some others were, but I will be interested to see where the series goes. I will say one thing: Thank goodness they didn't screw up the Lord of the Rings. 

I thought technology was supposed to make life easier.

Well, I am considering revamping my organisation system for the coming year. Up until this point, I have used(very inconsistently, mind you) a Tungsten E2 Palm handheld for planning and organising purposes. 

I recently tried to resume use of this device for the coming semester, only to find that using it with my MacBook is somewhat of a hassle. The Mac version of the Palm desktop software is not to my liking. The design is rather inefficient and not as good as the Windows version, in my opinion. It still contains the same functions, but the design is different. When organising things, ease of use is very important. So, I have decided to go analogue. I'm just going to use a small planner notebook to take care of my organising. I haven't got all that much to organise, so it shouldn't be a huge deal. Also, since we are starting a new year, this is the perfect time to start such a system. I may still use my Palm for certain things, such as storing phone numbers and the like, but now that I have a laptop, its usefulness has somewhat diminished. Also, there is a certain appeal to good old-fashioned pen and paper. Between my laptop and the notebook, I should be able to keep all of my scholastic ducks in an oh-so-scholarly row.

Much to my chagrin, there's been a mishap with my registration for next semester. I subsequently lost my spot in the trigonometry class I wanted, so I had to register for the course at a different time and at a different campus. This is quite the annoyance for me, as it will make my Tuesday and Thursday mornings slightly inconvenient. But, this is certainly not the last time something like this will happen, so it's not a big deal. I'm just glad I'll still be able to get that trigonometry course out of the way.  

I was reading through the December archives of Dr. George Grant's blog and found a post that I thought was worth a look. Then again, I think that anything discussing the workings of the Christian worldview is worth a look. Link: The Terms of the Debate.

Interesting note:  I seem to have a slight habit of posting very near, if not on the hour of 12:15. Take a look at the timestamp on my last post.  Weird...