Saturday, May 31, 2008

Skymall and Carnegie Hall

Alright, Roryx and I are off to play Carnegie Hall on Monday, leaving for NYC on Sunday. So, you won't be hearing from us for a few days. To fill you in: Carnegie Hall is sickly famous, 'n I'm going with my high school elite orchestra as the only male member. Rockin'.

Wish us luck: We're competing in the National Band and Orchestra Festival! Seriously, we're gonna kick ass, though.

In the meantime, to keep you amused while I still have you here, check out this useful Public Service Announcement/freakish cult following on SkyMall!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Roryx the Chem Stud

Well, congratulations to any and all who read this blog. Since the beginning of the blog, you've managed to vote in the poll a phenomenal 12 times! Wow!

The results say that my cello's name is now Ishmael, by a vote of 6-5-1. However, my own opinions have prevailed, and thus, he shall be known as Roryx the Cello now and forever. I needed to name him, though - I'm playing in CARNEGIE HALL in New York this Monday with the high school orchestra elite, and I am pumped.

On that note... check out this vid:

A friend of mine made it. I knew he was white before, but this confirmed him as the whitest guy in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I Hate my Phone

I hate my phone. My RAZR currently can't make it through a 12-hour day after I make like 2 3-minute calls, has bad call quality, and takes several seconds to respond to button-pushing. All signs point to me needing a new phone. Unfortunately, the Verizon RAZR, although sucky, seems to be virtually indestructible...

Guess I'll just need to "lose" it soon. I'll see about that next week, after I go to NYC...

Also, quote of the day, regarding Coldplay's up-and-coming new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (US release June 17th):

[Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends] will cure cancer, solve the energy crisis, and bring 2Pac back to life. Viva La Vida can beat a computer at chess. The simple act of playing it once on your home stereo will increase the value of your property by $100,000, regardless of the quality of nearby public schools or overall trends in the real-estate market. Upon hearing its glorious first tones, all the world's terrorists will lay down their arms and take up baking, channeling their anti-Americanism into the most delicious cookies you've ever tasted.

-New York Magazine, May 27th, 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

The second of my music posts brings us... The Decemberists' The Crane Wife. It's a little more indie stuff, but of a different vibe than The National: More folky, with a more acoustic-centered focus. Nonetheless, it's good stuff.

Standout tracks: The Crane Wife 3, O Valencia!, The Island (A 12-minute, 3-movement epic), When the War Came

The Crane Wife

The Decemberists
Tracklisting
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IUKH87UL

Monday, May 26, 2008

Pennsylvania Blues

Well, I'm back from a fun-filled trip to Wisconsin. There's really not much in Appleton, WI, let me tell you, but if you have some good friends (and tons of "that's what she said"s) then you'll be fine.

Honestly, I kinda realize that coming back home from a trip really sucks. Like, I had a lot of fun on vacation, and it kind of just opens your eyes to how beat the regular routine of life is. Life should bring more exciting surprises and good times with your friends... not just school and business.

Oh, and don't forget...

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Off to the Land of the Cows

I'll be away for a couple of days. I'm leaving tomorrow, coming back Monday to go to the National Catholic Forensics League Grand National Tournament in Appleton, Wisconsin. I'll go to debate some stuff... and see some cows, hopefully. Be back in a couple of days!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

House and the Social Music Revolution

Last night was the season finale of House. Woah, I mean, seriously, woah. Seriously awesome stuff. I highly recommend watching it if you get the chance. Anywhere. It's a 2-part finale. Probably the best hour of TV I've seen all year. Or nearly.

Also, a cool thing to point out: Last.fm. AKA the Social Music Revolution.

Basically, it's a music site with pages for artists and albums and music videos and whatnot. The cool thing: It tracks global music trends by looking at what its members listening to. Basically, you install software, and Last.fm "scrobbles" your tracks to the site, and records them. It's pretty cool, because it encourages a lot of music discovery and sharing between people. Would definitely recommend it. You can also check out my profile. You might've also noticed some stuff on the right sidebar... that's all provided by Last.fm. Check it out!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Ow

Tip of the day: Be careful when listening to the music in your head. You might just learn that the hard way. Like, by smashing your right hand into the banister and opening up two bloody cuts on your thumb and forefinger, and having your thumb swell to the size of a sausage. So be careful. It might bloody hurt.

On another note, check out this video attached. It's from a show called Balls of Steel, on a segment called "Urban Sports". Basically, this British guy makes up a bunch of crazy sports that you can do in the city. So funny. Also, be warned: bit of language.



If you like, search YouTube for "urban sports". Personal favorites are urban skittles, urban sprinting, and big stranger rodeo.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The National - Boxer

Every once in a while, I'll be enlightening all of you guys on a (personally) noteworthy album or song or artist of some sort. Today's featured album is called Boxer, and it's by a band called The National. It's indie rock, if you must know, and it's been hailed by some as one of the best albums of 2007, and one of the best kept secrets. Personally, it's one of my favorites. Cheers!
Boxer
The National
Tracklisting
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QKIDNIE0

Oh, and no, I won't be updating this every single day. ;)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The 2nd Amendment... And You!

A couple of minutes ago I found myself writing a speech protesting the proposed repeal of the 2nd Amendment for a debate competition. For those of you that don't know, the 2nd Amendment provides the right to bear arms. Basically, the bill repealed that, and then went on to ban all civilian ownership of handguns.

I mean, seriously, come on! There are so many things wrong with this. The 2nd Amendment was passed in order to protect a right that the Founding Fathers thought was necessary, and also to provide for self-defense. In reality, this would only cause more problems.

Here's the thing: Murder is
illegal in the US of A. If someone's willing to commit a felony such as that, they're going to be just as willing to use illegal means to achieve their goal. All this does is strip innocent people of their safety net. And the funny thing is, this is being debated right now in the highest levels of politics. Who knew?

On a more lighthearted note, check out this website:
Things Younger Than John McCain.
No, I don't hate John McCain. It's just really funny to think that the President of the US could be older than LSD, the chocolate chip cookie, and spam.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Word of the Day: Defenestrate

Defenestrate: (v.) to throw out of a window.

Thought that some of you might be wondering what in the world the blog title meant, so I figured I'd enlighten you. Since this probably isn't going to be a regular occurrence, why not another, just for good measure. This word actually almost became the title of the blog, but was shot down by the suggestions of friends. That having been said...
Logomachy: (n.) a war of words.

Open for Business


Hey everyone. This is my first attempt at blogging, so please bear with me. ^^

My name is Jon, and I'm just your average above-average high schooler, I guess. This blog will be my pseudo-semi-daily thought dump where I might share some random thoughts about life, music, politics, the world at large, penguins, whatever. You get the idea.

In this blog you'll probably see some cool stuff, links, random bursts of thought, and music. I plan to make music a side focus of this, so I'll try to feature an artist everyone once in a blue moon, and maybe even provide a link to a good album.

That having been said, thanks for visiting, and let's get the party started!