Summer Playlist

What have I been listening to all summer? Nice of you to ask... here's a list of my favorites this summer:
Dance Inside - The All-American Rejects
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
The Boy With the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian
The Rising - Bruce Springsteen
Your Heart is an Empty Room - Death Cab for Cutie
Sweet Child 'O Mine - Guns N' Roses
Dead Man (Carry Me) - Jars of Clay
Bling (Confession of a King) - The Killers
Float On - Modest Mouse
Sleep - My Chemical Romance
Mass Romantic - The New Pornographers
The Tension and the Terror - Straylight Run
A Pillar of Salt - The Thermals
Punkrocker - Teddy Bears
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Werewolf in London - Warren Zevon
I'm Always in Love - Wilco
Intervention - Arcade Fire
Dirty Dream Number Two - Belle & Sebastian
Look After You - The Fray
Here in Your Arms - Hellogoodbye
She's a Jar - Wilco
Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
Trouble Is - Jars of Clay
Don't Die Wondering - Kill Hannah
All that He Wants (American Jet Set) - Kill Hannah
Lesser Things - Jars of Clay
Testament to Youth in Verse - The New Pornographers

The Only Road I've Ever Been Down

so pretty much one of my most favorite songs is Bittersweet Symphony. Here's the pretty awesome music video for it.

Robot Chicken... Star Wars Style

Star Wars Robot Chicken was amazing. Here are some highlights...

Yo-Mama fight:


Vader Really Can't Choke People...



Solo's Real Convo in the Death Star



Drinking Ruins Lives...



The Side of Boba No-one's Ever Seen...



The Emporer Learns the Fate of the Death Star...

I LOVE Death Cab For Cutie

So i was listening to music today, and the song Expo '86 by Death Cab For Cutie came onto my playlist. And i have always liked this song, it's probably my favorite off of the album Transatlanticism though the song Transatlanticism and A Lack of Color make compelling arguments, but i haven't listened to this song in a long time. anyways, so i listened to it for a few times today, and i just realized how beautiful it really is. i went on songmeanings.net, which is a great site, and started reading what people thought of the song. and i stumbled upon this explanation of the song: "It's about a person who has been crushed time and time again when his affections have been placed in people that either don't return them or scorn them. It's about somebody who has been let down by love his entire life, but now there is this perfect person that has somehow miraculously chosen him and him alone to be with, If one has been disappointed one's entire life, you can't help but think that this great thing won't last and you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop or to wake up from the dream." and that explanation just floored me. it was perfect. so i made Expo '86 my theme song. then i went on to just read the lyrics of several other DCFC songs, and each one i was thinking to myself 'these are amazing lyrics'. I had forgotten how well i can find my feelings in DCFC songs... and i really really love DCFC

Last Day's Bringing Memories and Thoughts

So today marks the last day of my freshman year in college... it flew by so fast. i remember the last months of my senior year in high school dragging on and on and on and on... and on. but college, one year, flown by. there's been some good times, i've done some regretful things... all in all i think it was a good year... but i'm dreading moving forward... losing some good friends to graduation... others to financial difficulties... makes me sad... i also have been becoming increasingly aware of other people having relationships and me not... everything i see reminds me that i'm alone... heh definitely in one of my melancholy moods right now...

Weird stuff....

soo... today i found out that one of my friends from high school is pregnant... she got married last summer right after graduating to one of my other old friends... and now she's pregnant... its just feels weird to know that someone my age is actually starting a family... its something that i won't be ready for for a long time... on one hand... they're very happy... but on the other hand they are missing out on some of the experiences that i'm gaining at college... i wonder which is better... i dunno maybe they'll be happy not having the same experiences i am... but i know that i definitely needed to come and experience college before settling down... still... its hard to get past...

Dirty Dream... Number Two

I'm lucky, I can open the door and I can walk down the street
Unlucky, I've got nowhere to go and so I follow my feet

A choice is facing you, a healthy dose of pain
A choice is facing you as you stare through the rain
A choice is facing you but I choose to refrain for today
Tomorrow we'll be back in trouble again

Dream one, you had a whole lot of fun with a comedian
Stop short of going all the way, you'll have to make it someday

Why is this happening to you, you're not a child?
Why is this happening? You've too much on your mind
Things creep up on you when you are fast asleep
You are dreaming, you are sleepy
You are stuck to the sheets

In a town so small there's no escaping you
In a town so small there's no escape from view
In a town so small there's nothing left to do
Intellectual and perspiring
Dirty dream number two

Dream two you couldn't see her face, but you saw everything else
Dream two was pretty special, easily beats loving yourself

Could you put a name to someone elses sigh?
Could you put a face to someone elses eyes?
Is it someone that you'd maybe recognise?
But it all fades into morning when you open your eyes

My Heart is Also with the Kids

This past weekend was THON. For those of you who don't know what THON is, it's an entirely student run event that raises money for the Four Diamonds Foundation, which helps pay for treatments for kids with cancer and gives money towards research for a cure. Last year a record $4.2 million was raised... this year it was topped by a full million dollars. The full total: $5,240,385.17. Simply amazing. Here's a video on THON...

My Heart Is in Africa...

So I wrote this paper for english 015 a few weeks ago. Made me miss Africa badly... here's my paper

Victoria Falls
In August 2004, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to see Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe. I spent two days there, and those are two days that will remain etched in my memory forever. Victoria Falls is part of the Zambezi River and is created by the river flowing into a gorge. The river is about a mile wide at the point where it encounters the gorge. Since the river flows over one of the long ends of the gorge, tourists are treated to a spectacular view of the falls. They are able to walk along the other long edge and see the wall of water in front of them. It is a view you cannot get at other major water falls like Niagara Falls or Iguazu Falls, because you cannot get a head on look at either one of them.
There are so many ways to describe Victoria Falls it’s hard to decide where to start. It appealed to each of my senses except taste. I guess I’ll start with the smell and touch and work my way up to sound and sight. The smell of Victoria Falls is one that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Walking along the edge of the cliff, the smell was almost overwhelming. On one side, I could smell the stink of the wild animals that lived in the woods on the left side of the path. Several baboons roamed those woods, but they didn’t come near the tourists. But when I turned my back to the woods, I got the full array of smells from the water. The smell was much like the smell after a refreshing summer shower, but it was a cleaner smell. It had that musty smell that you smell when you’re in a cave that has water flowing through it. The smell of the moss, lichen and wet grass all contributed to the fresh scent that hung in the air. Each time I encounter a smell that is similar; I am yanked back to my memories of Victoria Falls.
What I felt while I was at Victoria Falls was small, but it still played a part in the overall experience I had. Before I even got within fifty feet of the falls I could feel the ground faintly trembling. It is a weird feeling when the ground shakes underneath you. I can only imagine it’s something like a mild earthquake. The shaking could only have been caused by the force of the water that was pouring over the edge of the cliff to the river bed below. I could feel an increase in the movement as I stood directly across from the falls, but that is to be expected. The other thing that I felt was mist from the water hitting the rocks and splashing up. Now, the gorge is 130 meters (about 430 feet) deep and water was splashing up and hitting me. That flat out amazed me.
It is hard for people to get an accurate picture of how deafening the roar of the falls was if they haven’t experienced it. I think the most amazing part to me was the fact that I could hear the dull crashing of the water from my hotel room at The Kingdom, which is over a mile and a half from the falls. The sound can be heard all around the town as well. As you approach the falls, the sound begins to grow louder with each step. Finally, there are only a few trees separating you from the falls. Once you clear the last tree line, the full force of Victoria Falls blasts you. The sound is like listening to thousands of antelope gallop across the African Plains. By the time you leave the falls, your ears have the same feeling they get when you have just left a particularly loud rock concert. It rings in your ears for a good ten minutes after leaving the falls.
It is impossible to do any justice to what I saw at Victoria Falls, but I must try. When I first came up on the falls, I took a little path through the woods to get there. I couldn’t really see anything, but I knew it must be there because I could hear it. Near the end of the path there was a tiny waterfall and I thought to myself “There is no way that this is all”. As I approached the end of the path it veered off to the left, and then curved back right. As I cleared the curve suddenly there were no more trees to my right and they were replaced by the full view of the falls. All at once. It is a lot to take in. I think I just stood there for a few moments trying to get a grip on what I was seeing. Thousands of gallons of water were rushing over the cliff each second, and falling. Four hundred and thirty feet to the ground. It was a surreal feeling. The feeling was complimented by the mist that pervaded the area. It was like walking through a dreamscape, only it was very, very real. I walked along the path towards the west end of the falls. At one point there was a bridge that spanned the gap that allowed the Zambezi River to continue its course. It was at that time that I saw my first perfect rainbow. The mist in that area was so thick that a complete circle rainbow had formed around the bridge. It was almost as breathtaking as the rest of the falls were. The falls stretch for about a mile along the gorge. There were points where rocks along the top of the gorge poked through the water and broke up the water flow. However, I was there during the dry season. Apparently during the wet season, the water flows uninterrupted as one long sheet of water. I wish I could’ve seen that.
My experience at Victoria Falls was the final part of a life changing trip. I loved walking along the path next to the falls. It was a very serene moment in my life. Despite all the surrounding noise, the scene was nature at its perfection, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

It's been awhile

ok so it's been awhile. almost a month... alot has happened since then. in the last few weeks i have become a pledge in the Rho Class (go Rho's!) at the Alpha Chi Sigma (AXE) fraternity here at Penn State... it's gonna be fun times. it's the professional chemistry frat, it's also co-ed. Justin convinced me to do it... haha. so because of this, i'll be back at home this weekend so i can go canning for THON which is next weekend. gonna be sweet! and... Serena Williams is back! She won the Australian Open, dominating Maria Sharapova in the final... Federer won the men's side obviously... this video just shows his beautiful mastery of tennis...

The Australian Open

Well the tennis season is in full swing again. The Australian Open started Sunday night (Monday morning there). S o far none of my favorites have lost (Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidisova, James Blake, Rafael Nadal) but Roddick has a tough match at 3:30 this morning against Marat Safin. One surprise so far this tournament is that Serena Williams has made it to the fourth round. She took out 5th ranked Nadia Petrova today. She's playing 11th ranked Jelena Jankovich next, so we'll see how she fares against her. It should be a good match. Another nice surprise for Americans is Mardy Fish. He's made it to the fourth round now after starting off the tournament upsetting 4th ranked Ivan Lubijic. After watching the first few rounds... my predictions from the semis on in for the men:

Federer vs. Roddick

Blake vs. Davydenko

Finals:
Blake vs. Federer

Winner:
Federer (You'd be a fool not to pick him)

Women's Draw:
Semis:
Sharapova vs. Clijsters

Williams vs. Mauresmo

Finals:
Williams vs. Clijsters

Winner:
Williams (It's a long shot, but she's starting to want it again)

Sunrises

So I caught a sunrise this past sunday. Thanks to my sister's hockey game at 7:10 (she scored her first goal by the way)... anyways, I've always been a fan of sunsets (I took some great pictures of the sun setting on the west coast when I was in Cali this summer they're on my facebook), but I have very rarely witnessed a sunrise... I value my sleep. But since I had to be up, I decided to enjoy the sunrise. It was beautiful... seriously, it needed a pit orchestra to play in the background. At first, there was just a tinge of pinkish orange light on the horizon, but after a few seconds it started to grow into a rich orange, silhouetting the clouds that dotted the skyline. Pretty much, it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I quite enjoyed it, it made my morning.

//kmart

Confusion, regret and loneliness

Why are things confusing for me?

I think part of the reason why I get confused is because I think that people think the same way I do. Like, they have the same opinion that I do on a certain event, but then I find out later that they actually didn't, I was just hoping that they did. Confused yet? Good. I can't explain it much better than that, hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to say... this break has been interesting to put it simply. I'm really not sure where I stand with some people and I don't like that, but I've gotta deal. Past choices lead me to where I am now, so I've got to live with that. I need to think a little more before making decisions maybe... that might avoid some of this confusion later on at least. Regret sucks. Don't do things you'll regret. Haha if only it were easy to determine what you will or won't regret.

I saw The Good Shepherd today. Great movie. Very thought provoking. There isn't alot of action in it, but the acting is wonderful, and I think it really captures the emptiness and lonliness that people like Edward Wilson feel. Every decision he had to make throughout the movie forced him to lie to someone in his life that he wanted close to him, mostly his son and his wife. He didn't have the luxury of having friends that he could trust. While the movie never showed Wilson as caring whether or not he had people he could trust, it was clear that his job is not the way life is meant to be lived for human beings. Even if it didn't show, he was lonely.

Loneliness will tear people apart.