|
Joeleo13
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Joel
Country: United States
State: Ohio
Gender: Male
Interests: Reading and discussing philosophy and theology, spending time with the wonderful woman in my life, listening and making great music, watching enjoyable movies, Chicago Cubs
Expertise: Philosophy, Theology, Cubs baseball, Music
Occupation: Student
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  MrTumnus13
Member Since:
11/10/2003
|
|
| The time has come for me to move on from Xanga as my primary place of posting. I have moved my thoughts to:
http://joelschwartz.blogspot.com/
Join me there for my two cents on anything and everything.
| | |
| The last couple days here in Texas, we've gotten some nasty storms! The interstate has been flooded to where traffic has been shut down! When we moved down here, we were in the midst of a drought. Now, we've just been poured on all day the last two days. 2 down, 38 to go? :)
On a sad note, one of the showers is taking place in our living room. It is not that the roof is leaking. Instead, it is from our bathroom. This week, we had the floor beneath our bathtub replaced. Our apartment staff has been great through this, going to great lengths to try to help us get things taken care of especially since Jess' friend Karen is coming into town tomorrow. They even put us up in a hotel for last night and tonight. The people they hire to do the work, well, they're a bit questionable. One of the guys put a screw in the shower pipe. (Oddly enough, this happened at my apartment in Athens when they tried to fix the shower.) Another guy messed up the drain. However, they did not know this until they had done everything else (including cleaning the carpets) and the last thing he was doing was turning the water on to make sure it worked (although he thought he was already done for the week, but when I saw we couldn't take showers, the apartment staff called his boss who sent him out here to do it). It worked alright... and we got rain showers in our living room. Quite frustrating. So maybe we'll get put up in a hotel for hte weekend? I sure hope not. That is not how I had hoped to spend my weekend, nor is this how it was supposed to go while we had company!
Right now I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive and look at the stuff to figure out what in the world is going on. So I thought I'd update for once.
On a postive note, Jess and I bought "Life in Cartoon Motion" by Mika this week. We LOVE it. Some of the songs are a little overly sexual, but apart from that, I don't really have any complaints. Chances are you won't be able to sit down and enjoy it... because you'll have to get up and dance. :) Check it out! | | |
| Who would have known that us humans could have such great power. Not only could we cause global warming on our own planet, but we can also cause it on a planet that no human has been to!
Look what we've done!!
That's right, Mars is experiencing global warming at a similar rate to what we're experiencing global warming here on Earth. And since all scientists supposedly agree that global warming on the earth is occuring at the rate it is because of human activity, for Mars to be experiencing it at a similar rate, well, that must mean we're behind it too.... or those Martians that we've yet to discover apart from Marvin the Martian. And really, if Marvin can cause the same amount of damage as all 6 billion of us Earthlings can, maybe we're not so bad after all. :)
DISCLAIMER: I do believe that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet. However, I do not believe that we should be scared into doing so through things like global warming. I am not saying that global warming is not occuring, but I do seriously question the effect that humans have had on it. Regardless, I believe that we should take better care of our planet, as it is a gift, given to us to preserve and enjoy. | | |
| As Jessica and I were driving back from Indiana yesterday, I decided that it would be fun to put together a list of my top 20 most played songs in 2006. I got my computer in the first part of January of last year, so the song counts on iTunes reflect on the past year of music. These songs are not the top 20 that came out in 2006, but merely the 20 songs I listened to most.
20 (5 way tie) - "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects, "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers, "Seasons Always Change" by Sarah Masen, and "Lonely Nation" by Switchfoot
I was amazed that a couple of these songs made it this high. "Somewhere Only We Know" was enjoyed in 2005, but I don't remember listening to it that much in '06. "Lonely Nation" was a solid song, but once again, I didn't remember listening to it that much. However, "Mr. Brightside" is the paradigm example of jealousy... I mean, you can hear it ooze in the guy's voice. This is a great work of music. Also, "Move Along" was a great song, although I think it got as many plays as it did due to the music video. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth checking out. The song that I would rank as my favorite of those tied for the #20 spot is "Seasons Always Change". This may be my favorite Sarah Masen song as it speaks of life and love and the growth that happens in the midst of the seasons of change in life.
19 - "Love" by Sarah Masen
This was a surprise as well. I really like this cover of Victoria Williams' song, but as it has been a part of my life for 10+ years, it was surprising to find it in the top 20. I think that this cover should make Victoria Williams ashamed for ever recording the song because Sarah Masen blows her out of the water with this song.
16 (3 way tie) - "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, "Come Back Down" by Lifehouse, "Screen Door" by Rich Mullins
Each of these songs belongs in the top 20 for good reasons. "Take Me Out" is a song with a great tempo change in the midst of it, a killer play on Guitar Hero, and an all around fun song. "Come Back Down" is the opener off of the newest Lifehouse. (I think they should be due for a new one anytime personally.) When I heard this song for the first time, I felt like Lifehouse had found the perfect sound for the band and had developed it in a way that felt natural. "Screen Door" is an incredibly fun song by Rich. It is an a cappella number with 4 guys, and when this was performed in concert, they would do "The Cup Game" while singing it. This added to the witty lyrics about the relevancy of faith without works ("It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.") makes it a memorable song to be enjoyed by all.
12 (4 way tie) - "No Sleep Tonight" by The Faders, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson, "To Be With You" by Mr. Big, "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers
"No Sleep Tonight" became famous through a Cingular/iTunes commercial. This fun, infectious song is a bit risque, but it is easy to miss it in the beat as you fight the urge to break out into dance. "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" is another song that was greatly enhanced for me by the music video. The entire music video was filmed but played backwards and he mouthed the words backwards so when the music video was played backwards, it would look like he was saying the words correctly. Simply amazing. "To Be With You" is one of those songs that just never dies. I was surprised to see it this high, but how can you not want to break out singing along?? "One Headlight" is the sign of what could have been. When I hear this song, I can't help but think that this band has great potential and should be huge today. However, it didn't work that way. Bill Simmons of ESPN attributes this to a joint performance with Bruce Springsteen at the 1997 VMAs where Springsteen found his groove and took over the song as his own and the Wallflowers never recovered. If you see the clip, he may be on to something. Regardless, this is a song that best embodies the music scene of the mid-90s.
11 - "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield
This is a fun song that just makes you want to get up and dance.
10 - "Better Days" by Goo Goo Dolls
A song that rocks and points to a not-yet future for which we hope and which we must work to achieve.
9 - "We Can Work It Out" by Phil Keaggy and PFR
I love the Beatles. They are in a league of their own when it comes to music. They are one band that you typically just don't cover. You won't do the song justice. However, Phil Keaggy and PFR nail this song. They bring in more strings to the original and add their own flare. Seeing as both are heavily influenced by the Beatles, it makes sense that they might be able to pull this off. This is the only Beatles cover that should be listened to.
8 - "Funny Little Frog" by Belle & Sebastian
This is a relatively unknown band who produces some fun pop/rock. Although this is not my favorite song of theirs, it is a great song that is worth listening to. The lyrics may not make much sense, but it is still fun.
6 (2 tied) - "No Action" by Elvis Costello, "Use It" by The New Pornographers
"No Action" being so high is a result of an early year Evlis Costello kick that I was on. This isn't one of his overly popular songs, but is very catchy and an enjoyable listen. "Use It" is a song that everyone should own. It has a great sound by a band that deserves much more publicity than it does. I'll admit that their name may have something to do with that, but I don't care. Go listen to their stuff. Now.
5 - "Letter From An Occupant" by The New Pornographers
This is the first hit from The New Pornographers off of their first album. Although it may not may be a bit hard to understand at times, it just rocks. Neko Case's voice takes this song to a level that is unparalleled by most other bands.
4 - "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA
"Mike and Mike in the Morning" should be thanked for the appearance of this song. They would play this song multiple times every morning for at least 2 weeks as they prepared for the NFL draft. Everytime they played this, it would get stuck in my head for the rest of the day. I downloaded it and enjoy it... and look forward to the NFL draft next year... in part, so I can laugh at the team that drafts Brady Quinn FAR too high, and also so I can hear this song.
The top three songs were all tied for number of plays. However, I've taken the liberty to rate them so there is a #1 song for the year.
1c - "This Time" by The Crash Moderns
I saw this band open for Lifehouse in the summer of 2005. They played this song and it was so incredibly catchy that I couldn't get it out of my head. Near the beginning of 2006 they made the song available for download on their website. I downloaded it and the rest is history.
1b - "For You I Will (Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger
This song will also be sung by Wayne to me. This song began to be recognized through the show "Love Monkey". Sadly, the show only lasted 3 episodes on CBS and VH-1 played the other 5 episodes that were recorded before it was canned. I loved that show and I loved this song before it was embraced by teenage girls all over the country. Therefore, it is a tribute to Tom Cavanagh and "Love Monkey" that this song did so well. May the show live on in the hearts of its fans forever.
1 - "The Big One" by Sarah Masen
This song was put on Sarah Masen's website for a free download. She wrote a little blurb about the significance of this song. It is a powerful, beautiful song that is well worth listening to... and definitely deserving of the top spot of my top 20 of 2006 list.
I hope that you all had a happy new year! May this be a year full of joy, blessings, and growth for all! | | |
| Last night Jess and I experienced our first Baylor Lady Bears basketball game! The VP of Jess' department offered her two tickets around 4:15pm yesterday and she took them, hoping that she'd be able to get me away from my papers for a bit to go. (I have 3 papers, all 15+ pages due this week: one today, one tomorrow, one Thursday. One is done, one has a solid rough draft, and the other is about half way done. Hence, why there was doubt for me to be able to go.) Thanks to some butt-busting on the papers, I was able to escape for a bit and go to the game. It was a blast! These tickets are right near where the President of Baylor typically sits, so of course they were great seats! There weren't many people there considering it's finals time and we were playing a team that was celebrating that they were 3-3 on the season. Baylor jumped out to a 30-3 lead and cruised to a halftime lead of 59-26. We left at halftime knowing the game was in hand and that there were still things to work on. (The final score was 117-50.)
The best part of the game, in my opinion, had to be the video montage they showed before the player introductions. You must understand that there is a fan thing called "Sic 'em Bears!" In this cheer, the fans will raise his/her right hand high in the air, while yelling, with the intensity growing greater with each passign moment. This culminates with the crowd yelling "Sic 'em Bears!" while lowering the right hand in a thrashing motion. Our friend Tiffani describes the motion as though you were tearing out the heart of your opponent with your claw. There is a large statue of Judge Baylor on campus (the man after whom Baylor was named). Keep in mind, Baylor was founded in the mid-1800s. They have a clip of the statue on campus doing the "Sic 'em Bears!", thanks to computer animation. It was hilarious. I laughed for awhile with that. It's probably a lot funnier if you go to Baylor, but humor me. :)
Regardless, it was good time, and since Jess and I can both get into games for free by using our ID cards, we'll probably start to frequent these games! "WHOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA SIC 'EM BEARS!!!!" | | |
|
