what do you mean it's the end?

last night on abc, 20/20 had a program on 7 possible ways life on earth will end.
including the normal asteroid hit, or "yellowstone super volcano" there was one in particular that i hadn't thought of before...a black hole coming into our solar system.

the scientists say that if a wandering black hole ever comes through our area of space we will have 20 to 100 years until the end. this might be one of the craziest ways in which the earth would end.

another way that i have contemplated often is the machines. whether it's terminators, or the robots from Battlestar Galactica, or HAL from 2001: a space odyssey. a little strange, but even Kurt Vennegut predicted that way back when (sort of) in his novel Piano Player.

i haven't been up to too much lately. just reading and getting ready for school still another 25 days until that starts.

also, i have a new found respect for vampires. i just finished reading 'Salems Lot by Stephen King and scaring the hell out of myself. a very well written book. it has to do with the Dark Tower Series. now i am starting the stand (also a relation to the dark tower.)


now a question to the music geeks i like to call my blog friends...

what would be essential classical/contemporary music must-haves for a library for the person entering a life of composition?

outtake

there you go FBB & B, just don't look too close, or with a magnifying glass.

a celebration...

the weekend is here and my wife and i will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. (it was actually wednesday, but we're celebrating it this weekend.)

we only have about 7 episodes left to watch in the second season of lost...good stuff.

so funny story about school. i was supposed to start in French on the 7th and when i went to campus to get books, etc... my friends and i figured out that the section i was enrolled in was 103, completely bypassing 101/102. why the registrar let me in without prerequisites i'll never know.

so i thought i'd fill my freetime with a student job...here i come to find out that PSU doesn't award federal work study to students going for their second bachelor's. nice...real nice.

so i guess i'll write some music...oh wait...i have a little bit of writers block. excellent.

so i spend my days plunking around the piano, brushing up on theory for the placement test, and waiting for some 1 In 9 material.

i suppose i could get a "real" part-time job...but where's the challenge in that?

congrats to Mike S. on getting a job in his field right after graduation!

how is everyone else out there doing?

i'm not mad...just a little bored. i can't wait for school to start!

update on my dad

the police caught all three assailants and they each confessed.
now they go to court where they will be prosecuted with a hate crime (a felony.)
my dad is feeling pretty good. having a little trouble breathing through his nose, and his ribs hurt a lot...but otherwise, good.

themes that don't let go.

once again a "top ten" list of movie themes that have the most impact on me.

10: Star Wars (John Williams): I don't care who you are or where you are from, this theme does something to you. i'd wager that a couple friends reading this who have only a passing interest in music will try to hum this right now.

9: Superman (John Williams): growing up this movie wasn't one of the ones that would be considered a classic for me...in fact i don't think i saw it until this last summer when i found out about Superman Returns. also, herr vogler's love of this movie helped to pique my interest. as a side note, i'll stick my neck out there and say i loved this movie. i think one of the more interesting que's was the choir on "Saving the World"...you know, where superman pushed the huge chunk of kryptonite out into space (like that won't circle around and create a little more havoc.)

8/7: Edward Scissorhands/Beetlejuice (Danny Elfman): Danny will always be my champion. he represents what i know i can do with enough hard work...of course i'll have to start a band called the return of oingo boingo, or something.

6: Sayuri's Theme (John Williams): from the film Memoirs of a Geisha. this is the main theme of the movie variated throughout. this is also a recent one for me. i don't know why but the this theme haunts me. it is so beautiful.

5: End Credits/Avner's Theme (John Williams): from Munich. another Williams work that is very haunting. when i listen to this i feel the agony and the hope, or loss of hope that i think he's trying to portray. wonderful.

4: Indiano Jones (John Williams): excitement, adventure? Indy craves not these things. these movies for me are classics. i am really looking forward to the next installment. i don't know if it will compare to "the Last Crusade", but i heard that Casper Van Dien might be the new indy (or indy-like character) and i don't mind that.

3: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Michael Kamen): I agree with Mikey the Pikey that this is a very rousing que. very memorable and heroic/noble sounding.
honorable mention by Michael Kamen - Theme from Band of Brothers. a great piece that moves my tear ducts just a little bit.

2: Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri): i can't help but wish i had a freakin delorean time machine...and admit it, neither can you. also, while i was writing this (and listening to the theme) in walks my wife, "we've got to hurry Marty." i wonder if this would be on her top ten?

1: Fellowship Theme (Howard Shore): what can i say other than it helped inspire me to go back into music.

these are in no particular order and a little John Williams heavy, but that's because my library is small.

a director has been chosen for HALO

he's a no-name...but from the videos included in this link that may not be such a bad thing.

Thoughts?

updates and responses

Whew...a busy couple weeks.

Our friends Brian and Laura came to visit for a few days and we had a good old time. we went hiking, to the ocean, to the cheese factory, downtown, and too many restaurants to not feel a little ashamed.

i am busy getting school things lined up (which is a mind melter.)

my dad is doing better, and all three assailants have been caught and are now trying not to drop soap.

mikey the pikey gave a challenge to chose the top ten picks of cues/tracks from movie scores...so here are mine. you must remember though that i don't have a gargantuan library, nor do i have a very trained ear. but out of what i do have, these are the songs i could listen to over and over again...in the order they appear in my iTunes:

1. Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis - Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World (Ralph Vaughn Williams)

2. Castle on the hill - Edward Scissorhands (Danny Elfman)

3. The battle - Gladiator (Hans Zimmer) its like the best of 19 different (media ventures) movies.

4. The gravel road - The Village (James Newton Howard)

5. Khazad-Dum - Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring (Howard Shore)

6. Rachel's Party - Paycheck (John Powell)

7. Buckbeak's Flight - Harry Potter & the prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)

8. End Credits - Munich (John Williams) for me its a recapitulation of my favorite themes.

9. The arrival at Tatooine and the flag parade - Star Wars I (John Williams)

10. The Baudelaire orphans - Lemony Snicket's a series of unfortunate events (Thomas Newman)


any questions?

a call to arms, avenging one of the G.P.O.o.t.P.B.

this morning at 4:36 a.m. my father, out on his morning jog was jumped and beat up/mugged by three people who jumped out of a car.
another jogger who happened along called the police who came swiftly. two took off in the car and one by foot. the police took my dad to the hospital where it was determined he had multiple ribs fractured and a broken septum (nose), amongst other now squishy parts.
my uncle who picked him up from the emergency room gave him a brief interview asking what happened?
my dad's main comment was, "i had two of them, but the third one tipped the scale too much. now take me to work bitch."
he should be fine as healing is able to take hold.
I Love You Dad!