Monday, April 23, 2012

A Little Catching Up

  In the past few months, there have been world events and personal events to happen that I have been a part of.  These events have gone unlisted in my history here, but I would like to go ahead and round them all together (don't worry, I'll include dates).
  The first I will mention of the possibly three I can remember is a personal event.  On Saturday, March 24, 2012, my best friend and love of my life, Frank, and I journeyed into the mystic jungles of Charlotte, North Carolina to watch the best band in the world perform: The Black Keys.
                         
       
                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                


  What a fantastic couple of guys!!  Their music is grungy and reminiscent of blues and rock and roll.  Dan Auerbach, vocals, can sing a baby to sleep it's like magic.  Pat Carney, although he admits in a Rolling Stone interview that he thinks he's a crappy drummer, can really do a lot more with drums than he lets on.  I love the Black Keys - 'dey my boiis'.  Anyways, as if no one can collect at this point, I don't do well with pop-culture as they tend to destroy everything that they touch.  My fear is that my favoritest band in the world will become a subject of dumb and ingenuine people that will trash them like a rag doll.  I can't bear the thought of this!  However, after seeing them in concert with my darling I decided that, based on the fact that they are pretty selfless people who are merely trying to feed their families - not seeking fame and fortune - I don't think I'll give up on these guys.  They are too good to give up on them - even if they fall to the morons that try and overkill something for the public's liking.  I said it about a year ago today that I call the Black Keys as being pre-pop-culture and so far, they are steadily rising to fame.  I really hope that they continue to stay under the radar of people that don't want them destroyed.  According to an article I read about them, they have not signed yet to be on mainstream JUST yet.  I guess we'll see, but I love this band no matter what.  Frank and I decided collectively that we will continue to support them first-hand because we know for a fact how genuine and selfless they are.  So, that was one important event that went on in the world, but moreso, my life.


  The second in a list of events is Kony 2012.  Cover the Night took place only a few days ago on April 20, 2012 beginning at 11:30 at night and going on until the next morning.  Joseph Kony of Uganda, Africa has managed to kidnap over 30,000 kids from their homes over the recent years to begin an 'army' - once he kidnaps and brainwashes them, he gives the children guns and orders them to find their families and kill them.  Sick.  From Invisible Children, Kony 2012 has jump started based on the promptings of our generation.  It is commonly thought that young adults and other young people don't really care about anything going on in the world.  This theory has been proven wrong.  Because of our generation, over 3.6 million young adults in the United States alone have pledged to "Cover the Night" in America by participating in Community Service, writing letters to Congressmen, spray painting posters and hanging posters up all over their designated regions to get the attention of the public who - moreso than anyone else - pay less attention to these important things than young people do.   

Final thing to mark in my history...



  In secular social news, Pottermore was launched for post-Beta on April 14, 2012.  For Potter fans everywhere (definitely including myself) this finality has come as a relief; for those of us who missed the opportunity to participate in Beta (beginning on July 31, 2011 - Harry's and Rowling's birthday) due to lack of knowledge, most of us have been waiting since early August to take part in this virtual experience.  Earlier, it was listed that Pottermore was to open on Halloween (October 21, 2011) to all non-Beta members.  Unfortunately, those of us who waited up until midnight that night were disappointed to find out that it had not launched.  After keeping an eye open for the rest of Halloween wondering whether we were gipped or not, we soon discovered that Rowling and her Pottermore team were not able to release it to the public yet; it was still in Beta.  The next time it was to open was November; again, disappointment.  Then again after the New Year; do you see the trend?  Well finally, on March 8 (?), 2012, it was announced that Pottermore would open to the public in early April.  Since the very first day of April, I kept my eye on the Pottermore insider and helpfully using the Wikipedia link for Pottermore which was updated daily.  The only day in April I was unable to check for it's launch was the day it FINALLY opened: April 14th.  After midnight on the fifteenth, I created a Pottermore account, got my wand (Beech wood, unicorn core, 10 3/4 inches, quite bendy), was sorted into a House (Slytherin!), and bought an owl.  I finished the first book yesterday, and earned 34 points for Slytherin House, and then found out that the rest of the site was still in Beta.  Great.  Well at least I enjoyed the first book :) It wasn't TOO bad, pretty time consuming, but I didn't mind it, and tricky figuring out how to use Alohomora.  Overall, I'm excited for when the rest of the site finally opens - I'm ready for the third book!!  That's going to be cool.  In the meantime, I encourage you to create an account and have fun QuaffleCentaur6458 ;)


©2011

Friday, April 20, 2012

My own rendition of a Harry Potter playlist :)


  As promised, this is my personal view for a playlist for Harry Potter.  Of course, it could change in preference over time as I find new music that is reminiscent of Harry Potter and my time spent in his world, however, this is my temporary rendition of it.  Love, hate, discriminate - this was just for fun :) 


  Okay, so there are 3 Florence + the Machine songs, oh well.  This was merely for fun, and I think the last song does more justice than any.  For that song, there are tons of renditions in video making for it, and there was a different one I was looking for (oh well), but this one is really really good.  I think you can appreciate it.  
  Again, this was simply because I thought of doing it on the way back to work yesterday - only for fun.  Nothing important.  Golly, I wish Rowling would do more Harry Potter related books...

©2011

Harry Potter Playlist?

  I have recently - and sadly - finished reading the Harry Potter series in its entirety and I am so sad that I finished!!  I really hope that Rowling decides to continue writing about Harry Potter's children and their adventures in the future (like someday soon, Rowling, come on, I know you want to) because I am so caught up in that world!!  When I rad fiction literature, it's not always a good thing for me because I attach myself to it emotionally;  we all know, that as a girl, emotional bonds are no joke.  Unfortunately, I am also aware of how warped the seventh and eighth movies are since I actually read the book - for those of you who don't know: read the books. Seriously, it is worth your time.  Well now that you know my love for Harry Potter and the world he lives in, you might wonder, "why is there a picture of Florence Welch up above?" Well.  Throughout reading a series (whevnever I decide to read them) there's always this one particular band or musician that I just can't stop listening to.  This artist becomes synonomous with whatever I'm reading, like they were made to compliment each other.  Throughout the vast majority of the time I've been reading the HP series, I have been thoroughly listening to Florence + the Machine - to the point where I hear some of those songs and immediately think of them as themes to Harry Potter.  Weird?  I hop I'm not the only one that does that.  Anyways, on a walk I took up into town yesterday, I started thinking about all the songs everywhere that I relate to being a "Harry Potter theme song" and decided:  I'll make my own personal playlist... just because. So...
  Although Florence + the Machine has produced a plethora of songs I could use to help musically explain Harry Potter, I shall only allow myself to pick two.  Other than those two, I'll pick a few really great songs and try to find maybe 10 songs of my own liking that I feel match perfectly with the struggles and emotions of Harry Potter as a whole - this is strictly opinionated, I don't care if you disagree.  I will start composition of this playlist today while I work and listen to music, and by the time the day ends, I'll be able to give you a list of songs (at least ten) that describe Harry Potter for me.  I'll try and figure out how to do that link doohickey thing that directs you to a place where you can listen to the actual song.  Otherwise, I'll just post the youtube link beneath it.
  Not a big deal blog this morning, but that's okay - it will bear fruit soon enough.

©2011


Monday, April 16, 2012

My Relationship - Genesis 1:1-3

  "In the beginning, God..."
Genesis 1:1a

  What?  God, what?  Only recently have I remember my beginning with God.  I don't know if I would call it unfortunate, though some people believe their beginning with God was at the moment of birth; naturally this might be true, however, some people who claim this don't live the life God has called them to.  Of course, this might not make sense to those people.  The beginning with God is when God ceases hovering over that which is empty, and then becomes a part of it. 
 
  "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." 
Genesis 1:1-2

  The earth is us.  We began as formless creatures, empty human beings, made less than God so that we can never be God.  Our features embody the world, rather than a life of righteousness and Godliness, thus we are filled to the deepest corner with darkness.  We begin life this way; as infants we naturally know how to sin; we naturally know how to disobey; we naturally thirst for independence and further meaning.  Daily, our deep darkness grows deeper even still as we hear the Word of the Lord God and the pleasures He has brought into the world so we can be with Him - out of the darkness.  Hearing.  That is where it ends for most of us.  Understanding.  That is where it ends for some of us.  Accepting.  Even fewer end here.  Growing.  Yet fewer continue here.  The more we hear and understand, the darker we become.  Accepting Him is one thing, but growing in Him is what we are called to.  A true relationship with the Lord through Christ has been explained to me in this way:

  I enjoy Johnny Depp movies.  I know of many quirks Depp has in his films and each langual tweek he makes in his trained accents.  I know what he looks like, and even the people he has associated with.  I can tell you almost every character he has portrayed, and recite to you lines from my favorite Depp catchphrases.  I know a lot about Johnny Depp, or at least more than most people.  But.  I have never met him.  I have never spent any measure of time with him.  I have not developed a relationship with him.  I have never sought him out in pursuit of a friendship.  I have never been invited to have dinner with him; he doesn't know I exist, nonetheless, know my name.  He does not care if I'm here or not, and I will never have a close and personal relationship with him.  I have a friend whose aunt has a friend who knows him, but I don't know those people, and I therefore, still do not know the man himself.

  And this is how many of us are with God.  We know of God; we know He created everything; we know the Bible and might have even read it; we go to church and hear more about Him; we know how we are told to live based on what He has told us; we have been told how to love Him - so this we all understand.  We even know about Jesus, who is the only and direct connection to God himself (John 14:6) but we only know OF him as well.  We don't know God.  We haven't taken time to seek Him out.  God wants us to know Him, He knows we exist and He cares for us. We think that owning a Bible and going to church is good enough to be considered worthy of His presence, and yet most of us don't even truly know what His presence FEELS like!  We assume we do because we were baptised at birth, or because we were confirmed in the church when we were 12, or because we have never missed a Sunday worship, and the excuses go on and on...



  God created us formless and empty,with a natural desire to know Him.  He wants to have a relationship with us!  This, so that we would seek Him out in our darkness and ask Him to stop hovering over us, but rather fill us!  He didn't create us to live for a paper god, or to fill our void with materialized dreams and riches.  He did not design us to thirst for mediocracy in His eyes so that we might be praised by those who walk the earth.  God can care less about the six digit figure you make each year, and all the shiny toys you have - He gave you the opportunities to get those things!  And how have you been a good steward of it?  Complained about tithing; given very little BACK to those who need it; not thanked Him for it all.  But are you satisfied?  Or do you crave for more yet? If yes, no matter how vague you believe it to be, God has not filled you - you have filled yourself.  God isn't impressed with suits and ties; He is not impressed with your salary, or the car you drive; God is not impressed with all your good deeds, either.  To be pure, is to live according to original design, and none of these things are what you were designed for.  Things of this world were designed for us, by us; but we were not designed for them.  We were designed to live as children of God; living in a right relationship with our Creator.

  In the beginning, God hovered over the darkness of the earth until the earth could bare to be dark no longer - that is when the Spirit of God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  His light entered my formless way of living when I first realized what it meant to live BECAUSE of Christ and not FOR him.  Christ didn't die so we can live FOR him - he's already living, himself.  This, for me, only happened nearly six years ago - I'm 20 years old.  A relationship with Him does not start at birth - only the introduction of who He is and His world around us.  A relationship with God starts when we ask for the bignning to be filled with light and His presence.  Christ died so that we can live as children of God; He bridged the gap between God and sinner and reconciled the relationship that we lost at the Fall.  God doesn't want our shallow riches and pleas for more; He doesn't want to hear His name being used in honor of yourself, rather than for His glory; He wants to fill you with His light, and He wants you to ask Him for a beginning.  Sure, life has already started at the moment of conception, but life in Him starts when you ask Him to fill your darkness so that everything in your reflests His love and brings HIM glory.


©2011

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Gotye? Mainstream??

This is an amazing song by Gotye (feat. Kimbra) called "Somebody That I Used to Know" - GREAT SONG!!  I found it a few months ago when I was trying to look up something by The Kills (O.o strangely enough) and I immediately thought, "this is an awesome song!!! I can't believe I've never heard this! :D"
  As most people know, I am heavily influenced by the sounds of the Underground, where the "rough 'too cool for pop culture,' don't like wimpy boys and stuck up girls, well known by the rejects" kind of music is played and cherished.  Some can say that I go "over the edge" with it, but hey, there's gotta be someone like me to fill that cultural gap.  I get so upset when I find something really amazing that I can share with a few friends who enjoy being on the outside of the pop culture scene only to find a few months later that the pop culture scene has found it, shook it up, hit it against a tree, then told their friends to do the same thing until there's really no value left in it and move to the next thing they can find; repeat.  It makes me sick.
  This song is such a great song, and this man is brilliant with his indie progressive way of listening and thinking.  He combines the great underground sounds of today and mixes them into a cool vintage/postmodern technique.  There's nothing wrong with sharing music!!  But sending it to its death by making it mainstream is, in my opinion unlawful... Strange, right?
  Anyways, I just wanted to say that I am pretty annoyed with good things like music going to the dogs.  When will the underground finally remain the underground?  Why is it so much to ask for pop culture to leave at least SOME things alone??

©2011


Friday, April 13, 2012

Songs from my walk today :)

  I have recently started walking from my work to the Rooster everyday during my lunch break.  I decided to post a song I listened to on the way over on facebook so that everyone will know that I'm keeping myself accountable for doing at least that much to stay active.  I have only been doing this for about a week, but I remembered that it has been quite a while since the last time I posted a blog.  Today I have few songs that I want to mention that mean something to me today.
  The first one is "Heartbroken, In Disrepair," by the amazing Dan Auerbach.  This is a really good song!!  It's a great one to listen to while walking because it has an edgy sound and rhythm to it.  This song is so easily stuck in my head on a daily basis, it's great at first, but as you know after a while you don't want to hear it for a little while!  I think this song is different though; it's one of those songs that won't ever grow old.



  The second I heard last night.  It is called "Better Together," by Jack Johnson.  Last night, Frank and I were having a time trying to decide whether we should still spend this weekend together (I only get to see him every few weeks - long distance can be really hard!) and I started to feel like I was slipping in his line of priorities with everything he has had going on recently.  I love him so much, but he tends to over-commit himself to things - something I had to learn not to do.  When we got off the phone, I had my playlist on shuffle coming from my computer and I was feeling very upset.  Then this song came on and I started thinking about how hard times get while we are apart like this, but it's so much easier to communicate and be in love when we're together.  Little memories of fun things we've done and jokes we have came to mind as I paid better attention to the lyrics.  I decided that if he still wanted me to come this weekend, I would be more than willing to scrap the plans we already made a month ago to help him in whatever way I could because, after all, it's always better when we're together :) Soon after, Frank called me back and said that he wants to make the little bit of time we have together a priority this weekend and still wanted to hang out so that leads us...

  ...To the last song for the day!  "Home," by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros This is overall a great song that explains exactly how I am feeling today as 5 o'clock draws nearer.  It has some strange little lyrics in there... O.o but overall, I get to go home with my best friend tonight! :D  I am SO excited :)

  So this is my first blog in a while, I'll try to do so every weekday as I walk from work to the Rooster.  It's always such a relief to blog, and it's so much fun!  I don't know why I don't do it more often.

©2011