randomness

While I love Idaho in many ways, I have found that I’m not so fond of snow as I remembered.

While I don’t love snow as much as I thought I did, I’m getting used to it.  And I still prefer it to heat.

As long as I’m on the weather–in many ways, I miss the great rain-storms in Texas.

I am more than curious to see how events will unfold after President Hinckley’s funeral (which I’m currently watching).  Who will serve as counselors to President Monson?  When will the announce the re-constitution of the Quorum of the First Presidency?  What will President Monson’s administration be like?  How will his General Conference talks change?

I’m frequently disturbed by the mis-representation of the quote that starts, “Anyone who imagines bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around and shouting that he has been robbed.”  While I love this quote, I’m frustrated that people don’t recognize that President Hinckley did not say this.  Rather,  he quoted it from an article in the Deseret News from 1973.  If you’d like to read the quote in full, take a look at the following article (just one of many in which President Hinckley used it): “A Conversation with Single Adults.”

I love teaching at BYU-Idaho.   I can expect so much more from my students than I could at a state university.  Plus, I don’t have to avert my eyes when talking to my students (because they all dress modestly); I can talk about the Gospel openly (which is nice, since it’s a strong vein in my thinking); and I actually feel like I’m a real member of the faculty (which I never really did at UNT).

I would be willing to teach full-time at BYU-Idaho, at least for a few years.  Especially if I could teach some linguistics-related classes, like History of the English Language.

If Sen. John McCain wins the nomination as the presidential candidate for President, disaster will soon follow in the Republican Party.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it caused a major party-shift.

If McCain wins the nomination, I refuse to vote for him.  I will write in Mitt Romney as my choice for President.

I’m on tenter-hooks, waiting to see how things come out in the many primaries and caucuses on “Super Tuesday” (Feb. 5).

I’m wonderfully grateful for the in-depth coverage that has been given to this presidential race.

Although I love my new PC laptop, I still wish I’d gotten a Mac.  *sigh*

While I appreciate the great love that members of the Church–and especially the youth–have had for President Hinckley, I don’t quite “get” the deep sadness at his passing.  I have no doubt that he is much happier now than he has been for some time.  Meanwhile, the Church will move on here on the earth, and can only progress.  What is there to be sad about?  (I don’t mean to trivialize the grief of so many, I am merely expressing my own feelings on this occasion.)

I didn’t realize until just recently that there was some lag-time between the passing of the President of the Church and the re-constitution of the Quorum of the First Presidency, even after Brigham Young had cleared up the succession problem.

One of the most destructive weapons against the productive use of our time is the invention of decent computer games.  I am currently obsessed with Jojo’s Fashion Show, and a few weeks ago was obsessed with Chocolatier.  Now I can hardly stand not being able to play Chocolatier 2.  And I am addicted to the 60-minute trial scheme.

I have been trying to work up the courage to leave the country for a few years as soon as I finish my doctoral degree.  I’d love to teach English abroad, perhaps in Mongolia or Jordan, perhaps through the Peace Corps or the BYU Kennedy Center for International Studies.  And I frequently think that I’d like to learn a “less-commonly-taught” language like Arabic, Hebrew, or Bengalese and then work as a contract linguist for the FBI and/or NVTC (National Virtual Translation Center).

The BYU-I English Department Secretary recently emailed all the faculty, asking for some help with a special project.  They are collecting favorite one-liner quotes from our favorite authors.  *chuckle*  I think I can do that.  My pick of my favorite favorite quotes ended up at about 2-1/2 pages.

I recently bought the actual album of Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations.  Not just the downloaded version, but the real-life CD, which I can now keep in my car and listen to whenever I want.  Oh, joy!

A few weeks ago, Mom and I watched the movie Dan in Real Life.  I loved it!  From the previews, I thought it was going to be a screwball comedy.  It wasn’t.  And it was so much better than I had expected.  Even if you’re not a Steve Carrell fan, I highly recommend it.  And if you are a Steve Carrell fan,  I still recommend it, as it’s an unusual example of his dramatic acting skills.

 

musical monday: a muse primer

I know I’ve talked a lot about Muse on my blog in the last year or so, and a few people have asked me about their music.  So I decided to post a Muse primer for this week’s Musical Monday.  There are 9 different lists in the following post.  I know, I know — that’s a lot of lists.  But I wanted to offer options for different kinds of people.  So, you can sample some Muse according to your favorite instrument: guitar, drums, bass, piano/keyboard; to hear the best lyrics and/or vocalization; or to get familiar with their most unusual instrumentation and/or goofy trivia.  There’s also a list of some of their better videos, if you’re into that; a list of “must-hear” songs, sort of a best of the best, and a list of their quieter songs, in case you’re not into the loud rock sound.

I’ve only included those songs that you can hear on the official Muse website (no b-sides), which you can access by clicking on Media (either at the bottom of the page, or on the revolving star-menu in the upper right-hand corner) and then choosing the album you want

So check out a list or two, turn up your computer volume, and enjoy some Muse goodness.

 

good news

the good news first
The internet is working again! We finally got the phone service switched back, so that we are now able to use both the internet and the phones at the same time. Life is very, very happy again!

ramblin muse
I also recently took the plunge and registered at Muse.mu, so that I’m able to (a) post on the discussion board (assuming I ever want to) and (b) edit my own content. It’s really a pretty cool site, and I’m not just saying that because I happen to adore Muse. There is a media player embedded in the bottom right-hand corner, where you can listen to music and watch videos — and it’s the whole song, not just a 30- or 60-second clip like most artists give you. When you register you can also edit your own playlist, so that it plays exactly what music and videos you want, and it allows you to use any and every song from all of their five main albums, as well as every official music video they’ve done and even a couple of live gigs.

Didn’t mean to go on about that so much. I promise I’ll find a new interest soon so that I have more to talk about than just Muse. In the meantime, thanks for your patience!

back to the good news
So, to reiterate: the internet at our house is working once again. That means that you are sure to see more regular posts on my blog. Yay! And more points for all! And I don’t have to stay up late to use the internet anymore (so that I can disconnect the phones when we don’t expect to need them). And I can listen to podcasts regularly. And … the list of goodness goes on and on!

Man 1: Well, throw him out in the street.

Man 2: Wait, wait! [name] is my best friend. We can’t just throw him out like Grandma’s ashes!

(38 points, plus 5 for each character you can name in that exchange)

 

muse high

I’m in a weird place today — I am still partly coming off my high from seeing Muse in concert on Wednesday, which makes me both elated and deeply depressed (something that sublimity always does to me), and in addition my body is dealing with the odd sleeping patterns of the last two nights, which makes me groggy, lethargic, and a tad grumpy.

See, I didn’t end up going to bed on Wednesday until 3:00 am, since I decided to wait around in the cold after the show and see if I could catch the band. Happily, I did, and the three-hour wait was actually worth it. If anything, I am only the more besotted by the experience. I was really worried for a while that they weren’t going to come out or come talk to us or anything, but they did, and they were extremely gracious about the whole thing. I, personally, act like a complete idiot in these situations — what exactly do you say to people you’ve never met before but have such profound respect for because of their work (I fully believe that Matt, Chris, and Dom are musical geniuses, in the most literal sense of the word)? Anyway, I mostly stood there like an idiot, listening to them talk to the other fans. I was really impressed with Matt — when my “friend,” Julie (whom I met that night while waiting for the band) told him she had seen them perform in Tokyo, he asked, “Which venue? We played four there.” She told him the venue, and he replied, “Oh yeah, that was a good show — that’s where we played the longest set out there.” Honestly, I’m amazed that he would remember details like that, considering how many gigs they play in one year (let alone the 14 that they’ve been together as Muse). All three of them were wonderfully gracious, as I said, and they even signed my “Absolution” CD — even though I was a complete dork and had to tell them, “I don’t have a pen, but I was hoping I could get an autograph.” I had to tell this to all three of them separately, as they moved among us, which only made me feel that much more dorky about it. I’ve learned my lesson, though: always take a Sharpie with you to a concert, just in case you decide to ask for autographs and the “talents” don’t have any.

So, to sum up the whole evening: It was a great concert, my niece and her friend were great fun to hang out with, Juliette and the Licks (supporting band) were just plain goofy but did a great cover of “Hot Stuff”, I was greatly upset that Cold War Kids didn’t come as support, I just about lost my voice (from singing with Muse) and my hearing (from listening to Muse), I now have an autographed CD from the band — and I even got to touch Matt Bellamy. (Marriage Plan A is SO still in play!)

P.S. Apologies to LS and K about where I got my autographs — none for you, guys!

MuseWiki’s page on the Orem concert — complete with set list, but not much else at the moment.

Your dark shines, bringing me down — making my heart feel sore, ’cause it’s good. (12 points — today’s quote is fairly easy, but it’s the best one for describing how I feel after seeing Muse)

The last quote (in the post runner’s high) was from a Muse song, “Bliss.” Shocker.

 

*sqee!*

I’m off to Muse! See you on the other side.

 

musical monday: muse

In anticipation of my first ever Muse concert (have I mentioned how excited I am?), today’s Musical Monday is a list of my top ten favorite lines from Muse songs, with occasional comments.

Back in May I created a post about things I love about Muse. That post was mostly about their attitude — not totally out-of-bounds, but more than willing to toe the line and even take a few steps over it. I want to just add that one of my favorite things about Muse is their lyrics. While I realize that they don’t quite rank with the likes of Kit Marlowe, George Herbert, or T. S. Eliot, I do think Matt Bellamy has a real genius for lyrics. They are sometimes surprisingly profound, sometimes goofy, and sometimes just so durned ambiguous — it makes for great interpretation possibilities.

10. It’s happening soon, it’s happening soon — its scent has been blowing in my directioon. (“Fillip” from Showbiz)

This makes the bottom of the list, because I don’t care that much about the actual line — mostly I just love how Matt alters the final vowel in “direction” so that it quasi-rhymes with “soon.” Makes me smile every time.

9. You needed it when I was away, and no matter what I say, you’ll never forget when I wasn’t there — so why should I care? (“Overdue” from Absolution)
8. I’m not breaking down, I’m breaking out. (“Hysteria” from Absolution)
7. You would do anything and you would say anything to escape your meaningless and your insignificance. … Why can’t you just love her? Why be such a monster? (“Escape” from Showbiz)

I love the use of “meaningless” as a noun in #7.

6. For one moment I wish you’d hold your stage with no feelings at all. (“Citizen Erased” from Origin of Symmetry)

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean, but I still think it’s great.

5. I don’t want you to adore me, don’t want you to ignore me when it pleases you. … I have played in every toilet, but you just want to spoil it to prove I’ve made a big mistake. (“Muscle Museum” from Showbiz)

I’ve felt this way so many times, and I always love finding my own feelings expressed in someone else’s words — makes me feel not so alone, I suppose.

4. Paradise comes at a price that I am not prepared to pay. (“Megalomania” from Showbiz)
3. Everything about you resonates happiness, now I won’t settle for less. (“Bliss” from Origin of Symmetry)
2. This is the last time I’ll abandon you, and this is the last time I’ll forget you — I wish I could. (“Stockholm Syndrome” from Absolution)
1. I’ve had recurring nightmares that I was loved for who I am and missed the opportunity to be a better man. (“Hoodoo” from Black Holes and Revelations)

I’ve honestly never cared much for the song “Hoodoo,” so I didn’t pay much attention to the words until I was getting this list ready. When I found this line, it immediately gained first place in my list of favorite Muse lines.

 

plenty

There’s a lot to talk about today, so I’ll try to make it all fairly quick.

props to my bro
My brother Kip is a self-titled “big fish in a small pond” — which suits him just fine, apparently. He recenlty has starred in some commercials for the local Pocatello bank Potelco. (The name always cracks me up!) The most recent is now on YouTube, so I’m sharing.

going for muse
I managed to get tix for the Muse concert in Orem this fall. The site I bought them from cites September 12 as the date, so that’s what I’m currently planning on. They weren’t nearly as expensive as I was afraid they’d be, so that was quite a blessing. And I’ll plan on at least seeing elliespen while I’m there (if not staying at her newly-acquired house, as she so magnanimously offered), which will be great fun. And, most importantly, I’ll get to see Matt! And Dom! And Chris! *sigh!* Can life get any better?

I submit that it cannot! (82 points, especially since I’m not sure myself where this is from; I have an inkling it’s Adam Sandler, though

wildlife in wyoming
Well, I’m now in Idaho Falls, at the home of my youth. I arrived on Wednesday after a long and arduous drive through the wilderness of Wyoming. Harold (my faithful companion and car) performed very well. I promised him a good wash as soon as we could unload him — he’s very dirty — which should be by the beginning of next week at the latest.

While in Wyoming I saw a baby elk frolicking by the highway-side. He made me very nervous, in fact — I was afraid he would frolic into my path, causing a major highway disaster. Kind of like the (presumably adult) vulture I nearly hit earlier that day. As I came around a bend of the highway, this vulture was feeding on roadkill in the other lane. When he saw me coming, he decided to fly off — right into my path. Bird-brained bird! He very narrowly escaped Harold’s windshield, coming within a few inches of it.

I suppose that’s all — not as much as it seemed when I was getting ready to write. The last quote, correctly identified by elliespen, was from the film IQ.

 

farewell and hello

Goodbye, Denton! I have officially left, and I may never return. Or, I may return twice. We’ll see.

Right now, I’m in Colorado Springs, where I’m staying overnight on my way to Idaho. I’m excited to drive through Jackson, Wyoming, tomorrow. Jackson is close enough to home that it feels like home — it’s familiar terrain, so to speak. Not to mention, it’s gorgeous. There may even be some snow on the Teton Pass, so that’s pretty fun, too.

During my last weekend in Denton, NM invited me to come with her and her boyfriend to Hailey’s, a local club, to hear some bands play. NM and her man are both very into music, and they go to hear live acts all the time. I’ve only recently started getting into the modern music scene, especially the indie scene, so I was excited to go see a real band play and hear some new music. NM is a big fan of Beach House, and I enjoyed them. But at the moment, I’m completely in love with The Clientele. They have a very retro 60s-pop kind of sound going on, fairly mild, with with a good beat and some fascinating lyrics. I really enjoy “Since K Got Over Me” (incidentally the only single they’ve released so far), as well as “Here Comes the Phantom,” “I Hope I Know You,” and “The Queen of Seville.”
(Check them out: The Clienetele Official Website, Wikipedia, Google Music)

And speaking of concerts … Muse are apparently playing in Orem, Utah, this fall. There’s a little confusion over the date — one site I found said August 22, another said August 12, and the ticket site said September 12. But the point is, it’s Orem, and it’s Muse, and it’s Muse in Orem, and how can I possibly miss that?! I’m working on a way to get tickets, despite my low budget these days, as well as some friends to come with me — hopefully including Erin and possibly my niece.

When was the last time you said, “Wahoo!”? (25 points)

 

things i love about muse

You may well have found yourself thinking, sometime during the past four months or so, “I don’t get it — just what does gryffinkat see in Muse, anyway? What’s so great about them?” Well, through the magic of YouTube, I have decided to share a few of the things I love about them.

The BBC does a show called “Live and Kicking,” where they have popular musicians on to play live. But when they invited Muse onto the show a few years ago, to play their hit “New Born,” they asked the band to lip sync their song, rather than playing it live. So Muse rebelled. Though it’s hard to tell, Chris (the bassist) and Dom (the drummer) have switched places, and Matt (the genius … that is, lead singer/guitarist) is just plain ridiculous throughout the whole performance. (And yet, still sexy as all get-out — check out those shades, eh?)

And here’s another thing I love about them. The BBC does another show called Re:Cover, where they invite bands to cover a song of their (that is, the band’s) choice and perform it live (for real this time). So when Muse was on a while back, they performed — of all things — “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Although the BBC folks bill this as originally by Andy Williams (his version reached #5 in the UK charts), most Americans know it from the Lettermen’s version, when they did it as a medley with “Going Out of My Head” (which reached #7 in our charts). Anyway, few people could take such a classic, relatively mellow song and make it sound this amazing in a rock version.

(As a side note, I hear that The Killers have also recently covered this song — I’d love to hear it, though I doubt they can reach this kind of nirvana with it.)

In a related item, I also love the reason Matt gives about why the band chose to cover this particular song. It’s at the end of this video, so you’ll have to sit few a minute or so of inane conversation.

Mostly, though, I love watching Muse play live. (Insert enormous sigh, resulting from my thinking about the fact that I haven’t personally seen them perform live, yet. One day … one day.) But then, that’s the glory of YouTube. While I’m really not a fan of music videos, I do love watching the first half or so of Muse’s video for “Time Is Running Out” (the half before the Nazi-esque women start removing their clothing for no apparent reason — one of the things I hate about music videos.) Just look how engrossed they are in their music. It’s fabulous — and, to me, inspiring — to watch!

(There’s no quote this time. I just don’t feel up to it tonight. Incidentally, I will be starting the scoreboard over soon, since Erin has effectively trounced everyone — again. And the last quote was from Middlemarch, as Jane Heiress said.)

 

missing matt

Well, Muse is no longer in Texas.

They were in Houston last Saturday and San Antonio on Monday, supporing My Chemical Romance. In between those, they played in Frisco (near Dallas) at Edgefest, a big annual rock concert sponsored by one of the local radio stations. Unfortunately, that was a Sunday, and with it being such a busy week, it was impossible — well, at least unplausible — to go to Houston or San Antonio.

It took major effort to refrain from going to see them in Frisco. Only the fact that it was a Sunday kept me.

Oh well. After all, they were only supporting MCR, who I don’t really care about anyway.

Now I have grand visions of going to Chicago in August for Lollapalooza — the next US gig they’re playing — but it’s really not practical. Oh well. Maybe they’ll hang around in the States for a while after that and I can catch them elsewhere.

This life could be the last, and we’re too young to see. (37 points)