Sometimes We Just Need to Laugh

Lately life has been very busy and very stressful. Too much to do, too little time. Work and school, retail coming up to Christmas and midterms. Then throw in some family events, a bit of regular homework, piano lessons, applications, and a rather long 'to do' list. Not getting enough sleep, not having time to relax, getting run down, and getting sick.

We all have times like this. We all push through and there's light at the end of the tunnel, or metaphorical light in the physical form of a bed to collapse on to. It's a rough time of year for many people, particularly students trying to get through exams. It's easy to get caught up in the stress and fatigue, being grumpy and unenthusiastic day in and day out. So take a night off.

Just one night. It'll make you feel a whole lot better. Forget about studying for a few hours, forget the work you have to do. Go out and have fun. See a friend you haven't seen in a while, or go to a movie, go to a show. Don't pick the heavy thought provoking stuff, pick the happy, fluffy, and comedic.

Smile and have fun. It's said that laughter is the best medicine and it's true. One night of laughter will rejuvenate you and help you get through everything going on. Shed the stress and worries and come back the next day with a smile on your face and a new plan of attack.

And Don't Forget To Be Awesome,

-Kim

It's Not Practical but Screw Practicality

Hey guys :) 

I hope it's alright that I post today, I had a midterm Friday morning and got caught up in studying on Thursday. I think the midterm went fairly well though!

Ambition is a funny thing. Usually when we think ambition we go straight to careers and goals associated with careers. It makes sense seeing as careers are a big factor in how we spend our lives. I do think, however, that ambition applies to not just what we do in life but in how we live it.

My ambition is to live life to the fullest, to do what makes me happy and never waste an opportunity. I want to travel, to see the world, to experience other cultures, to have adventures. I know it sounds wonderfully cliche, but really, how many people aspire to live a secluded life, tucked away in a corner of their town, living on the same schedule day in and day out? I have nothing against the people that do that, there are many different ways to live a happy life and to each their own, but I don't think it's really what anyone wants deep down. Even if we don't physically travel we still read books that take us to far away places, watch the news with stories from around the world, watch TV shows and movies about adventure and drama, read magazines about the rich and famous, and so on, and so on. 

The point is I don't want a life where I am stuck in a 9-5 job, sitting at the same desk, doing the same things day in and day out. This takes us back to careers. I want to go in for Theatre Design, specializing in prop making and scenic art, I love the theatre and I love art and it's the perfect combination of the two. I have had so many people tell me that it's a poor choice, that I wont make a lot of money at it, that it's long and weird hours, that it's difficult to make a go of it here in Edmonton. What people who tell me this is those are practically the reasons why I chose it. I don't care about money, as long as I'm doing something I love I don't need to be rich. As for the "stability" of a normal job I find it monotonous and would rather have the shifting, changing hours of theatre. As for the opportunities here, well I don't really want to stay here...

Edmonton is my home, it always has been and always will be, but as I said I want to travel and see the world. Theatre is something universal, I could go nearly anywhere and find some kind of work in it. And that's what I hope to do. 

There's only really two theatre programs here in Edmonton and neither of them are really what I'm looking for. I know I have to leave to get the education I want so why not go all out? The two best places for theatre in the world are Broadway and the West End. And in a choice between the two I'd rather live in London. So I'm working on an application for Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the Design Realization program. My biggest goal right now is to be there this time next year. It's the starting point for all the places I want to go and things I want to do in my life. 

No matter what nay-say-ers come along never let them get to you. Do what makes you happy because it's your life and no one else's. 

DFTBA,

-Kim

I wanna be...

the very best, like no one ever was!

Just kidding.

What do I want to be? It's nothing particularly grand, but something I really believe in, and I think that's important. You all probably know that music is pretty much my life, right? Well, if you didn't, you do now. My ambitions are all music related. Career-wise, I want to be a music teacher. I also want to continue to play the cello and compose music.

I love music. I want to be able to share music and my love for music with other people, which is why I want to teach. Right now, I'm in college studying music, and my life kind of revolves around it. I'm in orchestra, chamber ensemble, music theory, private cello lessons, and string pedagogy (a class on how to teach string instruments). I also work in the music office at the school. Yeah, it's a lot. I love it.

A rather shorter-term goal for my future is raising the money it will take for our college orchestra to tour China next semester. Although the trip has been confirmed, we still have a lot of fundraising to do, especially if we want to be able to fund the members of the orchestra who can't afford the expense on their own. To help raise money, I played at the local farmer's market with three other students this morning. I've never done street performing before but it was really fun and we made over $100 in two hours, which was pretty nice. (Also, one of the vendors gave us some snap peas for free--won't help us get to China but still).

I'm really looking forward to the China tour, as it will be a way to share the joy of music with people I would never otherwise be able to meet, in a place where I would never otherwise be able to go. The idea of going to China is, I'll admit, intimidating, but hey-- so is life. It'll take a lot of hard work, a lot of stepping out of my comfort zone, but ultimately it will be very very rewarding. And I have such good friends along with me for the ride. :)

That's all I have to say. It's 3am on Sunday morning and I can't sleep. And I have to play a concert in 12 hours... we'll see how that goes.

DFTBA,
Emily

Hopes and Dreams

Hey All,

So theme, well this post is going to be quite short as my main life goal is simple. I want to be an author.

Plain and simple.
All my life writing fiction was the one thing that I kind-of knew how to do and it always made me feel good. In this community where all my friends and family have been trained to say that they want to be, a) A doctor or b) a business person, being able to stand there and say 'I WRITE STORIES AND I WILL DO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!' is pretty darn cool to me.

I think this all stems from my love of literature; books, novels, poems (to some extent), they all hold like this magical key that can unlock closed off sections of your mind. They can help you imagine things you could never fathom before, help you imagine places you'd never thought you could go. This is one of the main reasons I want to be an author, I want to help create scenarios and safe places where people can just go to escape real life, as some of my favourite books have done for me.

However doing this is going to be difficult and is the reason why I am not applying to do an English literature degree at university as so many other people assume. Yes, I have this love and Yes, I would love to that degree but unfortunately it's not practical, much to my dismay. After University having an Eng Lit. degree, it is increasingly difficult to gain a job. I need money to sit and home and write, and so to do this I am following my other passion, Psychology.

I'm planning on doing a Psychology degree so that I can go on to become a lecturer/teacher/experimenter of sorts. Aside from writing, my other favourite thing to do is to learn new and cool things. Very nerdy I know :P
I hope that research that I can undertake in the future will have positive applications to future generations, especially in the fields of abnormalities such as depression and schizophrenia among other mental illnesses. I find that public perception of these topics are very negative and can be debilitating to sufferers and the only way to change this is to teach people so they aren't ignorant any more.

I'll have time to write when I'm not doing that :)

Enjoy the weekend and dftba,

Sim x

Ambitions & Earthquakes

Hey guys! Sorry for last week.. I don't think none of us really know what happened then. Now I know this week is meant to be about ambitions, and I'll talk about that a bit later. But first I'd like to all tell you about something that has never happened to me before that happened at around 2:30 am this morning. An earthquake.

Okay, so before you freak out or anything. Calm down. We're all okay, it was only 3.4 on the Richter Scale and from what I know, no damage of any kind was done. Only my mum and I experienced. I remember waking up and seeing the whole room shake, like everything was moving. Well, I couldn't really see the room shake seeing as it was dark but I definitely felt it. It was like everything was vibrating in a way. At first, I thought I was going insane as it only lasted a few seconds. So I went back to sleep a minute or so after and when I woke up I asked my mum about it and she said she felt it too.. (So thankfully I'm not going insane. Yet :P) But yeah, it was an awesome experience. It was the first earthquake I had been in (seeing as I missed the one earlier this year..) and I guess that if it was bigger and there was damage done and then a tsunami or something to follow? Then I would say it wasn't awesome.. But even still. Pretty cool. So yeah, that's it on the earthquake biz. Now, over to ambitions.

I guess I'm not really too sure about what my ambitions are, but I definitely know what I'd like to do in my life. I'd love to be a triple threat. Acting, Singing and of course, Writing. I've recently gotten into acting and I'm doing it for the full year next year. I've always loved singing and music in general and I've been writing every since I was 7, that's more than half of my life. Though it's not for all the fame and the glory and the money. Sure, that'd be nice. It'd be like winning the Triwizard Tournament. But it's more for me and the thought that if I one day die, I'll want to be remembered by the world through something. Whether it be through a book, a film or an awesome song that wins loads of Arias and Grammys. ^_^ I guess at the end of the day everyone wants to be famous, but for me it's more making my mark on the world and they're the 3 things I can think of that I'm good at, enjoy and get to travel.. Along with helping people. If anything, my ambitions all come back to three things. Travelling, helping people and making my mark on the world.

That's all for now folks ;) DFTBA!

Caitlin x

Blue Like Jazz + The Count of Monte Cristo

Hey guys, sorry I forgot to write yesterday... I hope it's okay that I do it today. Books!

1. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
This is an absolutely beautiful book, so if you haven't read it, I'd recommend it. Its subtitle is "non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality" and it's fitting. Basically, the author just tells stories about his life, relating each event to how it has changed his view of, or influenced his relationship with God. This book is by no means your traditional conservative-Christian way of looking at things-- far from it. The writing itself is simplistic without being dull, and although it can take a little getting used to, it serves the book very well.

I can't recommend this book strongly enough. Even if you're not a Christian and you don't ever plan to be one, it's a moving read. And it's a totally non-judgemental view of Christianity, which is refreshing.  Here's a nice little quote:

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. 

After that I liked jazz music. 

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. 

I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.” 

2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas


This is one of the most epic books of all time, in the true sense of the word. You may have seen the movie; if you have, imagine that...times 10. Seriously. It has that much more action, intrigue, romance, subplots (oh the subplots!) and revenge.

If you don't know the story, it's basically about a guy who gets framed for a crime and his elaborate schemes of revenge. Napoleon is involved. It's probably one of the most unashamedly melodramatic classics I've ever read, in a good way. I can definitely say that the characters are not realistic, that the plot is really far-fetched, and that I'm completely and totally okay with that. (I can't speak for the writing style as it's been translated from French, but I do have what I believe is the Barnes & Noble edition, which contains lots of helpful footnotes giving historical context and whatnot. I like it.)

Anyway, moral of the story: read both of these books. If you want. I gotta go now! Hope you guys have a great week this week! :)

DFTBA,
Emily

My One True Love

Well Hello People of the Interwebs,

I hope your weeks are treating you well and lets just dive into this straight away. Books are like everything to me, the apocalypse could come but as long as I had some books I'd be a-okay.So I'm reading a lot of things at the moment so this might be a lengthy list;

-The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat written by Oliver Sacks who was a psychologist of sorts. This book is a collection of his case studies to do with illnesses affecting your memory and recognition of yourself and of others. It is definitely an interesting read, but is very boring for someone who doesn't understand the psychological babble, it did take me a fair few readings to get it through just the prologue.

- Othello is a play not a book, but I am studying it for English. Written by Shakespeare, this is possible my favourite play of his. I cannot stand Othello as a character and I adore Iago as a villain. If you do not get the chance to read the play, watch the movie with Kenneth Branagh in it (I think its a 1993 version) It is so very dark playing on how paranoid people can be when they are in relationships.

- Doctor Faustus is yet another play I am reading for English, I did get to see it two weeks ago on stage for the first time every and fell in love with the character of Mephistophilis, who reminded me so much of dear old Iago from Othello. I am also organising and directing our schools performance of Faustus and once I've finished this blog I have to go back to tweaking the script.

- Ham on Rye by Charles Burkowski is a semi-autobiographical novel written by a very bitter tainted old man. The book reminds me a bit of Fight Club as during the novel, though disgusted by what is going on you feel sympathy for the main character Henri. I would like to say that this book comes with the warning of 'Mature Content'.

- The Help by Kathryn Stocket, well I say I'm reading it, but it's more like I'm a chapter in and somehow lost the book under my bed somewhere. It seems interesting and I'm curious to read some more. It's not my typical style of book, which are normally gore, death and depression, which makes a nicer, lighter change. Hopefully I'll be able to find it and have the opportunity to read it before the Christmas Holidays.

I am also reading It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, this is not something new I am reading, it's more of a re-read as its one of those books that lifts my spirit when I am getting stressed out. I think it is a must for all students, as should Looking For Alaska, which is why I've managed to make Looking for Alaska the first book for the Sixth Form (College) reading group.

Wow looking back on that, that seems like a lot to be reading at one time, but oh well, at least I enjoy it :)

I'm really looking forward to having a go at some of the books you guys have mentioned, enjoy the weekend
and dftba,

Sim x

Booksbooksbooks!

Guys I have the worst head cold. Actually, no, I've had worse, but still, not fun. I haven't been to school all week, I may or may not have an assignment due tomorrow, I'm not really sure... sick Kim become's highly unintelligent. Sorry, yeah this is going to be a short and highly illogical post. I'm using the backspace/delete key waaaayyy more than normal. Random too. Cohesive thoughts don't work well right now :S

However being sick I've had lots of time for TV, movies, and reading! Yay books! I just finished Goliath by Scott Westerfeld and it was FANTASTIC!!!!! For those of you who don't know it's the third in a trilogy, starting with Leviathan, of steampunk alternate history of WWI and they are SO GOOD. Goliath was in my opinion the perfect ending to the series, probably my favorite of the three. You should read them if you haven't. That is my highly sophisticated recomendation of the day.

Next I'm going to read Maureen Johnson's Name of the Star. I'm so excited for it! It arrived in the mail the same day as my diploma and I'm gonna be honest I was more excited for the book.

My only other reading lately has been excerpts of a translation of one of Marco Polo's travel logs, focussing around the Mongols and Genghis Kahn and all that fun ancient societal stuff. It's for history class of course, though some of it is actually kind of interesting. Also my Prof loves Marco Polo. Also my Prof is like a cross between Horace Slughorn from Harry Potter and Vizzini from the Princess Bride, it kind of makes class a lot more interesting.

Okay it's time for me to retreat back to blankets, humidifiers, kleenex, and Halls.

Keep healthy, best wishes, DFTBA,

-Kim

World War Z & Swimming Upstream.

Hey, Caitlin here.
So, at the moment I'm in the middle of reading two books; World War Z and Swimming Upstream. Both of them are completely different to each other.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

World War Z is a book about the Zombie War. It's written like a collection of interviews. Interviews of this one man, a UN representative, interviewing all these people who were a part of the Zombie War and writing a report on it. I haven't gotten that far into it yet, I'm only up to the parts where it talks about how it all began. And these are the type of zombies that are zombies due to a disease, not the living undead. Personally, I recommend it to anyone who's into Science Fiction, Horror and stuff that's set in today's world but isn't exactly how the world is. And that's all I really have to say about it..

Oh, and after googling it to find a picture, I found out that they're making a film out of it. Set to be released late 2012. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

Swimming Upstream.

Alright.. So, the other book I'm reading at the moment is an Australian book called Swimming Upstream. It's about the life of Australian swimmer Tony Fingleton. Swimming Upstream tells the life of Tony Fingleton, I'm about 100 or so pages in and I started a couple of days ago. It's not the type of book that I usually read but it has this captivating aspect about it that wants me to read more. So far it's good. The story's interesting and so are the characters. But honestly I can't see myself making this book one of those books that you just have to read. It's more of one of those books that you read when you have nothing else to do. 

Funnily enough this book has been made into a film with Geoffrey Rush as one of the main characters. I'll watch the film when I finish and get back to you guys on it.

DFTBA, Caitlin. x

Oh, and I watched this movie the other day with my cousin. It's called Crazy Stupid Love. And it's really really good. You should all go watch it. And it has Emma Stone in it. 'Nough said. 

Wildwood written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis

This week we're talking about books that we are currently reading. Over the summer a children's fantasy novel called Wildwood by the lead singer of the Decemberists was released. Since I'm a huge fan of the Decemberists and I recently bought a nook I figured I would check it out.

My senior year has been so hectic so far so I haven't really had time to read much, but I'm about eight chapters into it and it's FANTASTIC.

Wildwood is basically about a 12 year-old girl named Prue McKeel (Not-so-interesting fact #1 The name Prue kind of reminds me of a mix of Prim and Rue from The Hunger Games...) from Portlandm Oregon who takes her little brother out with her for the day. She goes to a park and some creepy old lady comes up to her and tells her not to leave her brother by himself. He eventually gets stolen by a murder of crows who bring him into the Impassible Wilderness and that's where the story starts.

So far I'm loving it, and I would definitely suggest it to anyone who needs something new to read.

Just in case you've never heard of the Decemberists:

And an excerpt from the book:

How to make 8-bit music in GarageBand

Hey guys, I wasn't sure what to write about, but this is something I did in the music studio at my school today and I thought it would be cool to talk about.


1. Download the Plugin. The website is in Japanese and Google doesn't do a great job of translating, but it's pretty self-explanatory. There are three black download buttons near the bottom of the page; click the top one. 


2. Install the Plugin. This part sounds complicated but it's actually pretty simple. Open the downloaded file, and look around until you find something called "component." Drop it in Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > Components folder. 


3. Open it up in GarageBand. Open GarageBand, and create a new track. It will give you a few options; choose "software instrument." This next part is a little complicated because it's different depending on what version of GarageBand you have, but hopefully this will make sense. When the software instrument track is selected, there should be an option to the right allowing you to "edit" the track. Under "sound generator," select "magical8bitPlug." It should look a little something like this:

Following so far?

4. Play with it! This is the fun part. If you have a MIDI keyboard, it's a fun thing to use at this point; if not, just open Musical Typing (under "Window" on the top) and use your computer keyboard. Click on the yellow/orange circle icon in the picture above, which will open a control panel for the 8-bit sounds you can create. Use the slides to change the sounds, and experiment a bit to figure out how it works. Pretty cool eh?

I installed this plugin on my MacBook shortly after I got it a few months ago, and created a little song. I may have showed it to you guys before, but it's a decent example of what an amateur can do with the Plugin in about an hour. 

For an interesting, but very technical explanation of how 8-bit music works, check out Owl City's blog post on the topic: http://owlcityblog.com/2011/01/24/halcyon/

DFTBA my friends!


Emily