Today is a Good Day

/

The reason: Serenity came out on DVD today. And, exams are over for me. So, for an entire semester, I'm through with Norwich, and am not officially on Winter break, until the 5th, whereupon, I'm leaving the country. So, it's a good day.

However, I had to run around throughout the entire campus to try and find a number of people to get approval to study abroad. I hate paperwork. First, to the Bursar's office. Then across campus to the Study Abroad office. Then to Financial Aid and the Registrar, to my advisor and the department head. Then I was given another slip of paper that made me repeat most of that. Now, I'm trying to fill out a transfer of credits form with no one around to sign off on it. I'm really hoping that I can get this finished this week.

Now, Serenity. The best movie of the year + No Class = JOY!

AND - The Supreme Court ruled the Intelligent Design theory unconstitutional to be taught in classrooms. Another point for intelligence.

Year in Review: Travel

/


I’ve developed a taste for travel. This year, I traveled even more about the States, visiting Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Hit some major landmarks, such as the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and Zion National Park. Visited some not so common places that you’ll never hear about, such as that little convenience store, run by three Mormon women in dresses, where I was able to call home for the first time in a week. I slept over in an airport after a seven hour drive down and through New York City to get out there in the first place, and that first campsite at the Valley of Fire, surrounded by ten meter tall dune cross beds.
I took off from school for half a week and flew out to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend a Star Wars convention, dressed up as a Storm Trooper. I stayed out in a hotel right across from the Convention and every morning was surrounded by thousands of fans of the series. I met some of my favorite authors, Timothy Zahn, Matthew Stover, Karen Traviss, Jan Duursema, and Joe Corroney, as well as the other workers on the Clone Wars Site that I work on. I met some crazy people there, some interesting ones and some people that I still talk to, even after several months. I went with my family to New York City, to Carnegie Hall, not once, but twice, to watch my brother perform with first the Vermont Youth Orchestra and then a national wind ensemble that he was accepted into. I found, each time that I was there, that I really enjoyed walking around the streets with such a large number of people. I also found that I especially liked Central Park, and walking in general.
Those were the major trips. My geology class took a day and we drove out to Central New York, looking at the rocks and examining a progression of strata as the mountain ranges shed material off. I went to Maine to visit my friend Sam at school, taking a much needed break from Vermont. 400 miles and a hundred dollars on the credit card later, I still maintain that it was a good idea. Then of course, there were the spontaneous trips up to Burlington with Eric or to meet with Rachel over the weekends. Then there were the times when I hiked around my house, ten miles at a time.

Year in Review: Introduction

/

Someone mentioned to me that the end of the year is a perfect time for reflection. Every year brings about a number of new changes in ways that one cannot anticipate, and along with it, a number of gains, losses and hopes for the future. I guess this year is no different. It’s been an interesting year thus far.
I’m nostalgic. I like to remember things, and one of the best things, I’ve found, it reminiscing with friends about games we’ve played, history, life, politics, other camping years, school and everything and anything that comes to mind. I’m a history major, and I’m finding that a lot of that carries over to other things. I look back to see where I messed up and to try and fix it, but also to the good times. So here, where I rant and rave and talk, it seems like a good place to look back on the year, for it’s good and bad things that have happened. Funny thing is, despite everything that’s happened; I don’t know that I’d trade it for anything. 2005 In Review.

Just when you thought things were weird... they just got stranger...

/

Found this article on Yahoo- Very strange.

Former Canadian Minister Of Defence Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien "Et" Civilizations

(PRWEB) - OTTAWA, CANADA (PRWEB) November 24, 2005 -- A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”
By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.
On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head."
Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

Full article up in the link.

And in other news, Banks/Money issues suck. Competely.
As do exams. Rest of the week until the 20th will be exam time, with several in the next couple of days. I shall be hiding under a rock for that period of time. Hopefully.

End of the Year reflections

/

End-of-year meme from Mastadge
1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Worked as a Village director. Kissed someone for the first time. Visited Utah and Nevada.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
One of them, another no. And maybe.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not that I know of, although my Aunt had a baby towards the end of last year.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, although I know someone who was in a bad car accident.
5. What countries did you visit?
None this year, although next year, January - London, England, and hopefully a whole lot of other ones.
6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Hm, a couple things.
7. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
End of June, saving several campers from getting crushed by a runaway wagon. Couple of random things from camp. Getting stuck in Burlington Airport after finding that our tickets weren't there, and then driving down to New York City that night. Seeing my brother play in Carnagie Hall in New York City - Twice. Waiting in line for Star Wars in Armor. Meeting Matthew Stover, Timothy Zahn, Karen Traviss, Troy Dennings and a ton of other people at Celebration 3. Seeing Carbon Leaf in concert.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not messing up too much as a Village Director.
9. What was your biggest failure?
A couple select moments over the summer as Village Director.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Twisted my knee pretty badly this fall, but nothing more than that.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPod. Best investment that I've ever made.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Hm.. Quite a few people over the year.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Several people over the summer - complete failures as counselors at times.
14. Where did most of your money go?
That is the question isn't it? Books, movies, comics, food. Too much on things that I probably shouldn't have.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Serenity coming out. Hanging out with a couple certain people.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
A couple- Life Less Ordinary, by Carbon Leaf. Burning in the Sun, Blue Merle. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight, Amos Lee and Best of You, The Foo Fighters.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? A mix of both. It's been a rough semester at times, but I'm looking forwards London.
b) thinner or fatter? Probably a little heavier. I haven't gotten out to exercise (Rock Climb) in a long time.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish that I was more realistic. Maybe a little less worrisome and paranoid.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Too much.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With family.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Probably Rachel or Eric.
22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
Yes.
23. How many one-night stands?
None
24. What was your favourite TV program?
Battlestar Galactica. Stargate and Arrested Developement as well.
New program?
Also Battlestar Galactica.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No one that I can think of.
26. What was the best book you read?
Hm, there's been several. When Egypt Ruled the East, by George Steindorff and Keith Seele, a definitive history of Ancient Egypt. The World Before by Karen Traviss. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck, Americana by Hampton Sides, America: A Narrative History, most likely a couple others.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Oh boy. Quite a few new artists and CDs. CARBON LEAF, John Butler Trio, Blue Merle, Mike Doughty, Amos Lee, Great Big Sea, Nickel Creek, Zero 7, Foo Fighters. Carbon Leaf was the greatest though.
28. What did you want and get?
My jobs at Abnaki and KAS.
29. What did you want and not get?
A girlfriend.
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
SERENITY!
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 20, didn't do anything.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
NOT having a string of bad luck with women.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
My coat, cargo pants, boots, a couple of button down shirts.
34. What kept you sane?
Hm. My friends.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jewel Straite, Kate from LOST.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Probably the recent news on regarding the secret prisons in Europe used by the US. FEMA's response to Katrina. Various other things that the Bush Administration has done.
37. Who did you miss?
Rachel, Sarah, Sam.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm. Probably Naomi at Climbing the other day.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
Probably to relax.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
Live a life less sedentary
Live a life evolutionary with me
Well I hate to be a bother,
But it's you and there's no other, I do believe
You can call me naive but...
I know me very well (at least as far as I can tell)
And I know what I need
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
By the way, I do know why you stayed away...
I will keep tongue-tied next time

Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
My face had said too much
Before our hands could even touch
To greet a 'hello'
(So much for going slow...)
A little later on that year
I told you that I loved you dear
What do you know?
This you weren't prepared to hear
I'm a saddened man, I'm a broken boy
I'm a toddler with a complex toy
I've fallen apart, since the ambush of your heart

The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me.
By the way, I do know why you stayed away
I will keep tongue-tied but...

Honey understand, honey understand
I won't make demands
Honey understand, honey understand
We could walk without a plan.
Honey understand (honey), honey understand
I won't rest in stone all alone
Honey understand, honey understand
I'm all ready to go
But you already know...

Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me.
If I could name you in this song
Would it make you smile and sing along?
This is the goal: to get into your soul
If I could make you dance for joy
Could that be the second-chance decoy?
The bird-in-hand I would need
To help you understand?

The night you came into my life
well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
By the way, I do know why you stayed away
I will keep tongue-tied next time

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

/

I went out with a bunch of friends last night to see the newest fantasy movie for the winter season. Although I've only read the novel that it was based off of once, I found it to be a wonderful adaptation on the story and technical levels. It's certainly one of the better Fantasy movies that I've ever seen, easily topping the three Harry Potters, although not as good as the Fellowship of the Ring.
However, comparisons to these two major franchises is unfair. They have almost nothing in common, save that they take place in fantastic locations and things along those lines. Narnia stands alone, with a very different feel and color to it's pictures, while Lord of the Rings and Harrpy Potter do the same.
Narnia, however, is the only one that I can really remember where I didn't feel that I was sitting watching a movie. I felt very much apart of the story, as a spectator while all of the action went on before me.
Storywise, the adaptation is almost flawless. A couple of scenes have actually been added, but they are not very intrusive to the overall story and add to parts of it at times, namely the London Blitz that we see in the beginning. The only other scene that I can recall being added was the waterfall fight, which also worked fairly well.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, you're missing out. It begins with the 4 children, Lucy, Edmond, Susan and Peter Pevensie, who are relocated to the London countryside during the bombings of London. While they are in the house of a Professor, Lucy stumbles across something wonderful- an entrance to the world known as Narnia, in the back of a wardrobe. There, they find a world covered in a hundred year winter, with a number of animals and creatures, under the rule of an evil queen. Their coming to the land fulfills a prophesy that "Two daughters of Eve and Two sons of Adam" would come to free Narnia from the queen, and are caught up in the fight for the land. It's a very fun little story, mainly for children. And the movie does this story exactly, and it maintains the same feelings of wonder and hope that the book contains.
The main strength of the movie are the four child actors, who really bring the movie along, especially Lucy, who excells as a young, innocent girl caught up in all this. However, Peter, Edumond and Susan are all done outstandingly. They each have their moments and there are some scenes when I felt like laughing and crying along with them as the story progressed. It was a good move on the part of Andrew Adamson, the director (Who also directed Shrek and Shrek 2) to cast unknown actors, and it really helped to not know who these actors were. One of the best things with the children was seeing in the beginning, Peter, Susan and Lucy standing together with Edmond standing slightly apart, but at the end, they are all together. And eye for detail such as that does wonders.
The animals of Narnia were also brilliantly done, especially the two Beavers, Aslan and the Fox. The CGI involved with these characters were very very good, and at times, I forgot that I was staring at a CG construct. They work extremely well with their real environments and the intigration helps a lot. Aslan is probably the best, with Liam Neison voicing him. Every scene in which we see him, he dominates, with a roar or with his words. While I think that James Earl Jones might have done better, Neison does an excellent job. The other character to note is Mr. Tumnus, who was played by the very good James McAvoy, who I remember from SciFi's Children of Dune series. He does an outstanding job as the Faun.
The world of Narnia is also extremely well done, and was filmed in New Zealand, but it manages not to look like the world of Tolkien's epic. Instead, we see locations that are shrouded in snow and ice for most of the movie, and some of the locations could be set here in Vermont. The landscape doesn't play as big of a role in most shots, but there are some outstanding visuals in which we see some wonderful countryside.
The other thing about the filming is Adamson's style of shooting, which maintains a very grand, yet artistic at points. There are some sweeping shots with the camera as the children run along an ice river at one point, and some interesting placements at others. One of the very cool parts was after the White Witch was killed, when Peter and Aslan stand almost still, while people streak past them in a blur. Very interesting choice, and very cool looking. At other points, such as when Edmond is gravely wounded, the sound drops out of the battle completely, which was also a very good thing to do. The battle cinematography is very well done, although much cleaner than anything Peter Jackson did with LOTR. It's definently more family friendly than Rings.
But above all, the story is what counts, and what we get is a superb adaptation with a truely wonderful story. I'd highly recommend this to anyone.

Bourne Ultimatum

/

Just read two reports on the Bourne Ultimatum script that's apparently in the works. I must say that I'm really excited about it- I love both the Bourne Identity and the Bourne Supremacy, and I count them among some of my favorite movies. Knowing that it was a book trilogy, I remember reading that they're looking into getting the third one done sometime in the future. Looks like they will be doing that. IGN Filmforce rolled out a report about the assumed plot, essentially filling in all the last questions about Bourne. Who is he really, what was Treadstone, etc. Apparently, this will cover that to some degree.

From IGN:

Jason Bourne is on a mission to get to the bottom of things – the Treadstone project, which created über-assasins like him for the US government, and the conspiracy among those who would like to eliminate the evidence, namely Bourne. Along the way, he discovers his pre-Treadstone past in the military, his mother, and his real name.
In the meantime, Noah Vosen is a government official who wants Bourne dead. Vosen enlists the help of Pam Landry's character and the remaining Treadstone soldiers to get him. There's also a sinister side to the story that involves mind-control techniques applied in Treadstone.
Action in the film ranges from London to Paris to Gibraltar to New York. The story as it currently stands may go through revisions before production begins, but that should give spy thriller fans a good idea of what to expect from The Bourne Ultimatum.

The second source that I read was the Latino Review, which does a lot with scripts of upcoming movies. You can read their review here: Latino Review.

Man, I'm already getting excited over this. I know that Matt Damon, who I really like as an actor, is interested in coming back, and it's looking like they're going to bring back a couple other characters from Supremacy. I guess that this means that I'll go watch the first two back to back.

iPod Problems & Other Apple Stuff

/

I really like my iPod, carry it everywhere, listen to it constantly. So it's a major problem when it decided to stop working, shortly after it fell out of my pocket into a snowbank when I was getting out of my car. When I get home later today, I'm going to call up their customer service department and see what I can do about getting it fixed, because everything that I've tried hasn't worked, from trying to restore it to resetting it. My computer won't even read it now. Gah.

This comes after I get some really cool news about what Apple's done now. They formed a partnership with the network NBC, which allows them to distribute a total of twelve shows through iTunes, including the new Battlestar Galactica, of which I'm a big fan, and run the website: http://galacticacic.blogspot.com. I downloaded the newest version of iTunes at school and installed it last night, looks great, and I'm really liking the way that I can store videos in iTunes. I'm extremely tempted to bring my entire computer to school and download some of the episodes that I've missed, or all of the second season. It's extremely shiny because it costs an entire $30 less than the physical boxed set, which is coming out later this month, and with only half the season. I just wish that I didn't have dialup, and a faster connection.

Still have 4-5 more pages to go on my paper. Hopefully I'll get everything finished tonight, along with the powerpoint for a presentation tomorrow. w00t!

iTV 2: The Next Frontier

/

It would seem that the arrangement between the ABC network and Apple Computers was a success. Indeed, in the first month of downloading video content, there were almost 2 million downloads of music videos and television episodes, the first of which were the hit shows LOST and Desperate Housewives.
Earlier today, it was announced that the NBC network has followed up with an arrangement of their own with Apple, putting a number of new shows on to the program, including the new Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, Surface and the Jay Leno show, among others, all told about 12 new shows to now download and watch on your iPod or computer.
Apple has proved that the world of Television can now enter the Internet, given the huge number of downloads in such a short amount of time. It is not, however, the first foray into the downloading business that NBC has looked into. Shortly after the announcement between ABC and Apple, NBC and CBS both announced that they were starting DirectTV systems, where you can download an episode of a number of their shows for 99 cents, for a twenty-four hour period. The problems with that, is that it’s only a twenty four hour period, and for a dollar cheaper than what iTunes charges. However, with iTunes, you can watch the same thing just twice in two days and make back the extra dollar. NBC seems to have realized this and has moved to this medium.
With their addition to iTunes, users can now download 3,000 separate music videos, short videos, television episodes and Pixar movies.
This represents a big change in the landscape for Television. It’s entirely possible that it can help add to revenue quickly instead of just relying on ratings. Episodes of LOST are placed online after they have aired, allowing for a couple of things:

· While Cable is popular, not everyone has it, either by location or by expenses. Downloadable content gives networks access to a huge number of people who might not be able to watch some of these shows.
· This also affects the timing of episodes. Dead slots might not be as lethal to a show any more, as Threshold and Firefly have shown (Friday nights are killers). The ability to download a show could make an otherwise dead show somewhat profitable if people are able to download it at their leisure.
· Cost. At 1.99 per episode, it’s a very small expense, and iTunes also offers entire seasons as a bundled package at a slightly cheaper price. The entire 1st season of Battlestar Galactica is around $25. The first half of Season 2 is just 20. Compare this to the price of their respective boxed sets at around $50 per season. I’ve decided that I’m going to start downloading all of my music albums because it’s so much more cost effective this way. I can now theoretically download the episodes of TV shows that I want to watch and never have to pay for cable TV.
· No commercials. For the past two years, I’ve caught up on major SciFi shows on DVD, and it’s such a nice thing to watch entire episodes without commercial breaks.

It has been suggested that the direct download market, because of these conveniences to consumers, may have saved shows that have been cancelled, namely Firefly. While the shows that have been put on iTunes have for the most part been highly successful, they certainly aren’t going to be hurt by this arrangement. Fledgling shows that are struggling to survive, such as Arrested Development, may very well become profitable this way should their networks and Apple come together. With ABC and NBC’s push to the web, it’s expected that other networks, such as CBS and FOX, will follow shortly thereafter. As this happens, networks are most likely going to look at how shows will do in the ratings, but also how well they will sell online.

Flight 19

/

60 years ago today, (1945), a group of US Army Avenger Torpedo Bombers set out from the US Naval Air Station in Fort Lauderdale Florida on a navigational flight. All the pilots were highly qualified and experienced, with hundreds of flight hours. There was nothing too abnormal about the weather.
At 4pm later that date, a message between the flight leader and another member of his flight indicated that they were both lost and that they had lost their navigational equipment. All contact was then lost, and the pilots were never heard from again. SAR ops were unsucessful as well, although a report was recieved from a civilan vessel that they had sighted an explosion and oil slick.
This is yet another story associated with the so called Bremuda Triangle, a territory in which has been named as the cause of hundreds of disapearences of aircraft and ships over the years. Indeed, Christopher Columbus himself recorded in his logs at some sort of encounter while passing through the region.

Is this a paranormal thing that's going on? Probably not. From what I've been able to gather, the area doesn't have any more disapearances or sinkings than any other region, and it's got some harsher weather at times. But, it's a fun tale on it's own.

It's appropriate then, that the SciFi channel is releasing it's newest miniseries, The Triangle, tonight at 9 and will continue through Wednsday night, totalling six hours. In the series, a wealthy shipping magnate hires an odd group of people to solve what's going on once and for all after he loses a couple of ships in the area. Looks to be a very fun ride, and I'm getting it taped, in case I can't see it as it happens. It's got a really good creative team behind it, as well as some good actors. SciFi does a great job on their miniseries events, and this one looks to be another good one. A ten minute preview is up at http://tv.yahoo.com as wellas a twenty minute SciFi Inside documentary.

Whiteouts and Meetings

/

I had a very busy day yesterday - Up to Burlington and back, a couple trips around Central Vermont, through all types of weather.Had Math at 9 to 10 and we finally got to things that I actually understand - some geometry and things that I can remember in high school. From there, I drove up to Burlington. My friend Rachel had finished her senior thesis project up at UVM, and was presenting it before a committe of teachers there. She invited me up a couple of weeks ago. So I went up and walked around Church Street for a while, then walked up and met up with her at UVM. I didn't get lost while I was up there, which was a plus, given all the construction that they have on campus there. The presentation went over very well, I think. I'm not entirely sure if I completely understood everything that she was talking about, because it's biology, and I haven't had a bio class for years. But she got through it well enough, and we waited outside for her and the committee to talk privately, while I talked with her roommate for a while. She came out pretty happy and relieved, and we went had some refreshments. I left a little later because I was afraid of getting a ticket where I was parked, (Fortunently didn't get one) and headed home. While I passed Waterbury, I stopped off and visited Eric, who'd just gotten up. We talked for a while and decided to hang out for the afternoon. We drove off to the Berlin Mall and walked around there for a while, then got dinner, headed to Norwich for the Tactics meeting that we had. It actually went over well, with some games locked down for the future, some procedures for those games and some other things like that. Probably one of the most successful meetings that we've had in a long time, which I was really happy about. Then went over to the Library with Eric to show him the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 trailer (Now online at http://movies.yahoo.com) and then we headed home, where we hit a bit of a whiteout. Visibility went down to almost zero and we had to really show down. We got to Waterbury okay, but I ran into troubles as I got home. Backroads were okay, if slightly slippery, but the big hill a couple miles from my house was immpassble and I started spinning about halfway up and couldn't make it to the top. I had to back down a mile or so, almost going into a ditch, and turned around, went back through Montpelier and got home almost an hour later. Wee!

Liar!

/

From Mastadge:

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

Ugh

/

Finals are coming up, and Thanksgiving vacation took all my work ethic out of me for the past couple of days. I've got two huge reports that I'm working on, one on the Civil War and the other on the Congo. Not having fun writing those. And on top of that, I've been having problems concentrating on them and classwork, and I've been really forgetful about things. At least the power's on so I can work on this stuff.
Talked to Lexia today, and it's kinda scaring me at how fast the London trip is coming up. I really can't wait to go, it'll be really something to do. Trying to work out a budget for it, as well as getting a ton of small details out of the way. Gah. Over the break, I went through my music list and came up with a list of travel-related songs to listen to. Here it is:

Traveling Songs
A Thousand Miles-Vanessa Carlton
Across the Universe-John Butler Trio
Alberta Bound-The Wood's Tea Co.
Another Travelin' Song-Bright Eyes
Beautiful Day-U2
Boat Montage-Clint Mansell
Born To Run-Bruce Springsteen
Bridges-Dispatch
Canadian Railroad Trilogy-Gordon Lightfoot
Cars, Trucks, Buses-Phish
Catch Me If You Can- Eric Clapton
Come Away With Me-Norah Jones
Crazy Train-Ozzy Osbourne
Day Tripper-The Beatles
Deliverance Road-Grace Potter
Down By The Corner-Creedance Clearwater Revival
Drive-Dispatch
Drive In, Drive Out-Dave Matthew's Band
Driving Blind-Grace Potter
Drops of Jupiter-Train
Extreme Ways-Moby
For The First Time-Sara Wheeler
Free-Phish
Go Your Own Way-Fleetwood Mac
Going For a Ride-David Newman
Headlights-Dispatch
Hello, Goodbye-The Beatles
Here We Go-Dispatch
High Speed-Coldplay
Hitchin' A Ride-Green Day
Homeward Bound-Simon & Garfunkel
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2
In A Foreign Land-The Kinks
In the Waiting Line-Zero 7
It's My Turn to Fly-The Urge
Last Ride In-Green Day
Long Ride Home-Patty Griffin
Long Road-Rane
Lost In Space-Aimee Mann
Magic Carpet Ride-Steppenwolf
Nowhere Road-Fastball
Nowhere To Run-Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
On The Road Again-Canned Heat
On the Road Again-Willie Nelson
One Headlight-The Wallflowers
One Prairie Outpost-Carbon Leaf
Open Road Song-Eve 6
Out Of Town-Zero 7
Overdrive-Foo Fighters
Pedal to the Metal-Kazzer & Various Artists
Ramblin' Man-The Allman Brothers Band
Run-Around-Blues Traveler
Salt Water Sound-Zero 7
Save Me-Dave Matthews
Slave To The Traffic Light [Live]-Phish
Sweet Home Alabama-Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Engine Driver-The Decemberists
The Horizon Has Been Defeated-Jack Johnson
The Long And Winding Road-The Beatles
The Long Way Home-Norah Jones
The Road Is A Lover-Alison Krauss & Union Station
The Wanderer-Rane
The Wild Rover-The Wood's Tea Co.
Ticket To Ride-The Beatles
Traffic-Carbon Leaf
Traffic In The Sky-Jack Johnson
Truck Drivin' Man-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Walk On-U2
Walking After You-Foo Fighters
Wanderin' Around-Carbon Leaf
Water Stop-Dispatch
Where Are You Going-Dave Matthew's Band
Winding Road-Bonnie Sumerville


On top of that - anyone a fan of RENT? My brother gave me a copy of the Broadway soundtrack, and man, what an awesome musical. I really wish that I had seen it on stage. Haven't seen the movie, but it's on my to see list sometime.

Okay, back to the reports...

Reunions & Friends

/

A couple of days ago, I was messaged by a couple of friends for camp - While most of the staff members in the Burlington area were in town for their school breaks, they decided to get together and have a sort of Abnaki thanksgiving celebration. I headed up and met up with Rachel, who invited me over for a while, and we decided to go out and stay for a while, after we walked down to Church street to get some air. We've both been having our own various headaches, and it was good to talk about them with a sympathetic ear. We walked around church street for a while, ran into my friend Blackwell, which was a big surprise, and he was even more surprised to see me, and I think caught off guard, because he was with a girl - I think the one that he was almost arrested over (Long story) - and we didn't chat long. We also ran into my friend Lucy, who's apparently gotten a new job on Church street. From there, we sought out Billy and Jesse's apartment.I was extremely surprised to see that they had cooked an entire two turkeys and everything else with a turkey dinner - stuffing, mashed potatos, cranberry sause. A lot of people were there too - Billy, Tidd, Mike Wells, Pat, Alex, Lindsay, Dan Schwartz, Sam Hagen, Shane, Kevin, and a couple other random people. I think Rachel felt a little out of place, but it was like none of us had been parted for more than a couple of days - lots of reminising about events at camp, some video games, talking, drinking, eating, smoking and everything else that college guys do when they're on their own. It was good to see a lot of friends again. I ended up leaving early, and walked back to Rachel's apartment to get my car (She left early). Went back up and we talked for something like two hours before we realized what time it was and I left for home, getting back at around eleven. Fun evening. Kyle left this morning, back at school, and I'll be back at class tomorrow. Where did the time go? I still have two reports to finish up. Gah. Started working out my budget for London, watched the first episodes of Season 4 of Farscape, typed up a couple random things and going to do some reading later. Anyone ever listen to the 1812 Overture? Fun piece of music. I got a file of it earlier this year, and while watching Farscape, I found it highly amusing that the main character, John Crichton, was singing it to himself and got a small robot to hum the tune. Very catchy - especially when you're going insane.

Happy Thanksgiving

/

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, hopefully everyone will have a relaxed day with some good food sometime. It's interesting this year, because we're not actually having our dinner until tomorrow - mainly because of the foot or so of snow that we've gotten over the past two days, which is delaying my grandmother's trip from Burlington to come and eat with us, something that we do every year. It's also interesting, because my entire family is here - my brother came up the other day from school, and I've seen him for the first time in a couple of months, which is odd again.
My friend Kyle is also spending the week with us, because he lives in Washington, which is a little too far to go for a week. We've been hanging out, watching South Park, Family Guy or Farscape, inbetween minor work projects that have been handed to us from the parents. Like the tree that we had to clean up. But it's good to have everyone together. My grandmother is coming for dinner, and I think my brother's girlfriend as well, so it'll be crowded.
On Saturday, I've been ordered to go to one of my friend's apartments, because the Abnaki staff is getting together while we're all here for a celebration of our own. I imagine that it'll be fun - and it'll be good to see people again. I'll probably visit Rachel while I'm up - she's been having some random troubles, and I haven't seen her in a while. Hopefully I'll get to visit a couple more times before I go off to London.
My vacation thus far: fairly boring with lots of TV and headaches. On the plus side, my toes are no longer hurting and are healing, which is a huge plus. Now, if only I can get more Homework done.

Selected Artist: Carbon Leaf

/

Okay, I'm dispensing with the Of the Month, and I'll end up doing this more frequently, and when I actually remember to do it.
Carbon Leaf. My favorite band, still fairly new and upcoming, despite the fact that they've released 6 albums, one signed on with a major recording studio. They're from Virginia, and have toured the country a couple times - and have come to Vermont on a number of occasions. I've seen them twice, and they are very good in concert.
Personally, I've felt that their last two albums are the best, and I'll focus more on those, because I have all the tracks and enjoy them more.

Albums:

5 Alive!


Echo Echo


Ether-Electrified Porch Music


Indian Summer


Meander


Shadows in the Banquet Hall

Their music style is a nice blend of rock, folk and Irish (More with Echo Echo & not as much with Indian Summer). Lyrically, they're very creative, with some outstanding songs. Indian Summer is one of the few albums where I can listen to every song, and relate to almost all of them somehow. Life Less Ordinary is the most listened to track on my computer, and the most relatable. However, Changeless, One Prarie Outpost, This Is My Song, Paloma and What About Everything? are likewise as good.

I Hate Stupid People

/

Some idiot woke me up this morning with a wrong number- twice! Missed the first call, got the second, and some old woman asked for someone, who didn't live here. I told her that she had the wrong number, and I got the following, mumbled reply: "No it isn't, you bastard". And then she hung up.

Certainly an interesting way to start the day. Now, I'm off to finish clearing up a bigass tree that we cut down yesterday. Ugh. Maybe I'll get a picture up.

Info on an Unfilmed Firefly Episode

/

I was surprised when I saw this - it's been three years since the show went off the air, and while I knew of one episode script that was up online, but not this concept. It does certainly seem to explain one thing that popped up in the show that was still unexplained with the movie: What was Inara doing with that needle in the first episode just before the reaver attack?

Here's what came up on a couple of websites:

What were some of the Firefly stories you never got to tell? He hemmed and hawed, “Should I tell you this?… Oh well, what’s he going to do, fire me?” The original show was darker and this story was more in keeping with that tone.
It opens with Mal and Inara fighting (as they do). Mal tells her she pretends to be a lady and wants everyone to bow before her and kiss her hand but she’s just a whore. Then the Reavers attack and take Inara. While trying to get her back they learn that she had something that would make anyone who had sex with her die. When they finally track down and board the ship they find all of the Reavers dead and Inara shaking and traumatized.
They take her back to the ship and Zoe guards her room. Mal tries to get in to see her and Zoe tells him he’s the last person Inara needs to see. He pushes past her, kneels before Inara and kisses her hand.
Of course someone asked, “Is that what the syringe [that Inara gets out when the Reavers approach in the pilot episode] was for?” To which he replied, “I don’t know. Next question.”

That is an extremely dark thing, even for Firefly. Also, considering that there was some intentions for a trilogy of movies, and of the various storylines that we had hanging off of the series to movie, one, River's storyline made up the bulk of the movie, two, Book's storyline was ended with Book's death, Inara's/Mal's storyline, along with that needle thing, and a couple other random ones that I can't think of. I'd go and rewatch Firefly this week, but I'm going through the entire run of Farscape. Currently on Season 2 out of Four + the miniseries.