school. still fun? of course, what else would it be?

so i am getting quite busy now. i am still only taking fourteen credits, but as i'm sure most if not all of my music friends can attest, it turns out to be closer to 20 (without the actual number showing up either on your transcript or (thankfully) the tuition bill.) however, the time spent on school things is quite disproportionate to what you get credit for.

anyways, i haven't been able to do some of the things i want, or maybe, need to do (sorry Sherwood. i'll get your computer sent out this weekend! i promise.)

so what have i been doing? well i have a choir concert in a week and 3 days. the music we have had in our hands roughly 3 weeks. also, i am composing a string quartet for class. i had a good chunk composed and ready for show and tell. when i ran it by the prof, she encouraged me to re-write with a more modern style. because i am a great fan of all things romantic (i.e. Sibelius, Chopin, Brahms) and not such a big fan of some contemporaries (i.e. Crumb, Messian) i have a much harder time composing in the style.

maybe its not that i'm not a fan, but that i've never taken the time to learn/appreciate that style. right this second i Bartok's 4th string quartet playing and it sounds so foreign to me. non-diatonic just isn't colse to my soul...yet.

it definately isn't the Portland Rep. Singers (that one's for you Buck...where are you?)

so yeah...other than that, just trying to stay on top of homework and everything else. taking a class called cartoon music which is very, very fun and quite enlightening as far as arranging music in that style. it is really crazy and quick paced, i wouldn't mind trying to tackle something like that once or twice!

i will be back in North Dakota / Minnesota over the summer (June 17 - Sept 16) building railroads again (unfortunately for Ruth and myself, but very good for our savings account.) so if any of my compadres are going to be around, and i'm on one of my weekend breaks, lets break some bread or drive downtown with Kelly Clarkson blaring! bocce ball, i don't know, whatever comes up. tattoos? sure, why not?

how's everyone else out there doing?

SNOW DAY. YAY!

Today it snowed in the Portland area. most schools closed right away. mine didn't, however, i decided that i would rather be safe than sorry.
so i drove Ruth to work passing several stalled cars, and city buses (including my own) that were sideways in the road. i'm glad i decided not to go. when i got back home i saw that PSU cancelled their school today too.

what to do, what to do. homework. i have a piano quiz tomorrow, and i am having an abnormal amount of fun composing my string quartet. in 2 weeks we are supposed to have at least 15 measures. i think i can do that. i have 41 so far, but they need a little tweaking.

how's everyone else doing?

the things i've done (recently)

before christmas began i got to go to GF, ND to visit the folks and friends. it was really fun, but definately not long enough. went to see Borat, Tenacious D, and Eragon. all fun to see. got to see a close to locked version of 1 in 9 and am very excited to see what comes of it once it is completely finished and entered into some festivals (by the way, Mike S., if you read this, my sister in law says you should enter it into the Tucson film festival, and she will be your street crew spreading the word.)


Christmas was very good to me. i was granted the opportunity to update both of my computers at minimal cost. for my laptop i went from a 1.6 ghz 17" powerbook to a 2 ghz 12" intel macbook. for my desktop i went from a dual 1.8 powermac G5 to a dual 2.7 powermac G5. i can't wait to see how many instruments i can run at that speed with 4 GB of RAM.
with various other things including an iTunes gift certificate, a Dane Cook HBO concert DVD, also a speaker system dock for my iPod (for the bathroom), i made a good haul. then, as if it couldn't get much better best buy had a one day 50% off sale on all HBO dvd's. so we got all Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Carnivale. wow. so much to watch, so little time. school begins again on the 8th, and now i have to do well. i ended up getting a 4.0 for the first time ever in my life, so why stop now.


christmas at the inlaws. good times. no conventional turkey/ham here. nope. straight up lobster/shrimp/steak. i was ready (if you can't tell.)


we went for quite a few walks, mainly to work off all the garbage i ate, and all the sodas that went down so easily. didn't see any mountain lions, or scorpions, or black widows, or rattle snakes, but i did see a roadrunner (no coyote) and a lifetimes worth of cacti.


Sabino canyon. if it was just a desert i wouldn't like it, but when you add a dash of mountains anything is possible. would i ever move here? only time will tell (and a great offer from the U of A.) i won't say no.


the lefse grilling master. using my black magic to draw the mojo out of the potatos. perhaps one of the most important of the five parts of magic.


then it was time to take a dip in the 52 degree pool. AZ in winter is about as decent as you can get.

1 quarter down, 29 left to go.

wheeeeee. that was fun.

first quarter of directional learning (school with a goal) in the books. 6 days until i can access my grades, but i'm going to go "professor Trelawney" all over this and predict a 3.999 average.

i have a couple days of relax time until i fly back to Grand Forks, ND to visit family and play some Gears of War with my cousin, and my brother (online).

then when i get home from that i leave for AZ to celebrate baby Jesus' birth with the in-laws.

so basically i have a month off in which to get a little ahead of the game. i plan on working on my piece for 8-part choir. also working on a few cues for "1 In 9" (especially if i can meet up with Michael S. on my adventure to the central plains.) and also studying up on string quartet.

if either of my two blog readers are going to be in GF from dec. 11-20 give me a shoutout and we'll go and have some paradiso spinach dip.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

this is a pretty cool little vid.

i died and went to heaven. upon arrival, they said to "go back. i have work to finish."

i don't even remember the last time i was on here. wait i'll check. the last remaining post was Nov. 2. the post that used to be more recent had to be taken off for personal reasons.

you remember the post with the puppy. well, it turns out that i am quite the weak one when it comes to multi-tasking and being responsible for something else (that breathes.) we brought the puppy back to the Oregon Humane Society where she was almost immediately adopted again. so no worries there.

so what else have i been up to you ask. well, i'm glad you care.

i finished the first version of the score for "1 In 9". if you want to check out one of the more major cues in the film go here to my music myspace and click on the song titled "final drawing." tell me what you think.

also, i've been busy with school (of course) but for real, this is the hardest i've worked at school, ever. and i think that my grades will reflect that, so that's good. one very positive side effect of the work i'm putting in is my music theory prof, who is also one of the composition professors said that i am a go to enter the composition class this winter term. for me that's a pretty big thing because i would have otherwise had to wait until next fall to do any composition (in school.)

my family came to visit for thanksgiving during which time we also celebrated our commercial christmas. i received an xbox 360 and Gears of War...a very fun game, that makes me grateful our world will never be invaded by an alien locust horde, or some sort of viral infestation (I HOPE.)

i also celebrated my 26th birthday also. it was awesome. i recieved from my parents perhaps the greatest guitar known to man. a taylor limited edition electroacoustic priceless piece of wood.

i am currently working on book 5 in the harry potter series.
checking out some music to prepare myself for composition. i learned that we will be writing a piece for string quartet to be played (if it's good enough) by a guest quartet. sweet!

am currently saving my scratch (or money for you non-street savvy peeps (people for you non-street...)i think you get the idea) for the new complete recordings of the Two Towers, Elfman's Serenada Schizophrana, and Navarrete's Pan's Labyrinth...which you can check out here if you go to the "interact" button and go to soundtrack. it has full stereo cues, in what i think is full quality. weird. i wonder if they're worried about people recording the stream? oh, if you record the stream. email me because i would like a copy.

so...sorry to keep everyone in the dark like that. i will try to make that a less frequent occasion.

everything that's happened in the last two hours

at 7:30 i had just gotten out of the shower and was eating a bowl of frosted flakes. i then walked to my bus stop to get on the 7:57 bus, but it didn't come. so i waited for the 8:23 bus. when that didn't come it become quite nonsensical to wait, because i would miss class by the time i got to school (i only have one class on Thursday), so i walked back home and proceeded to open Logic Pro to work on 1 In 9. so while that was opening and loading all my virtual instruments, i updated my iTunes and looked for a photo to use on this post. then Ian called me and told me he got a new job as a flying ambulance pilot for the Mayo clinic. congratulations! which reminds me, if anyone that reads this prays, and you have spare room, pray for Ian's brother who found a tumor in his brain about three weeks ago. and also, pray for my grandma who was just diagnosed with cancer...again.

alright, now i'll fill you in on the rest of the things that are happening.

school is going really well. so well that even when i got the flu on Tuesday, i still went to class on wednesday.

the court hearing i was supposed to testify at, i didn't have to go to because our company was dismissed.

i am working on an eight part piece for choir, which i showed to my theory/(future) composition professor for guidance/pointers. this in combination with the good job i'm doing in theory I allowed her to grant me access to join the composition class beginning winter term. YAY!!!!

i'm kicking my own ass as far as scoring 1 In 9. i have about 24 hours a week that i am devoting to it. i try to get at least 5 minutes done a week (out of 62 minutes total) and submitted for approval/dislike email/place holder for future improvement. by Michael (who by the way has a myspace blog now and has forsaken all of us "blog" bloggers.)

the rainy season began this morning. so i suppose my wife will want to turn on the heat more often now.

today the comcast cable guy will be stopping over to install limited basic cable and higher speed internet than what i have now, all for less than we're paying verizon.

Reading Harry Potter, book 4. good times.

as far as new music, i am listening to Bernard Herrmann's score to the 7th Voyage of Sinbad (for which i am writing an analysis paper for class.) and i've been listening a lot to Gladiator, i really like the cue "the Might of Rome." also, i hope that i am able to get Danny Elfman's Serenada Schizophrana, and Howard Shore's Complete Recordings of The Two Towers for my birthday or Christmas. i also like Sting's lute version of "fields of gold" which was aired on Studio 60. new Muse, Mastodon, and the last album from Coheed & Cambria. Brilliant.

thank GOD in all his/her glory for music and my good fortune and ability to study it!

good wishes to you all!
also, please don't drink and drive, because the island will kill you.

observations in the PSU music dept.

so its been awhile. i've been just a little busy.

school has been really good. i'm happy to return. i've been studying and so far doing most of the homework (even if it's not required.)
within the next two weeks i have my first 5-10 page paper of the term due.

so guess what lands in my lap? a film called "1 In 9" pretty much ready to score.

then my dad calls up and says i get to go to court in Minnesota to testify against some real smart guys that used to work for the company. i'm being sarcastic with the word smart, because they took the company truck after work hours out to a bar (neither of them were of legal age, and one didn't even have his license) and proceeded to get into a nearly life ending accident. now they are suing the bar that served them, and the company we worked for who they allege allowed them to use the truck.

so i have to miss a couple days of school. it will be worth it if those guys don't win.

school is good. the people and professors are good.

one thing, the music building is a very old building (it used to be a high school) so i guess it's one of life's ironies when the music building is the most active acoustic buildings on campus. and the water is very bad because the pipes are so old.

oh well. i hope everyone's enjoying, whatever.

comfort eating helps to keep me comfortable

alright, the first week of school is 4/5ths complete and there have been some minor...major changes. ha, punny.

if you all remember what i had for a class schedule in my last post (okay, sorry, that link was really unnecessary (i'm not sorry)) it has changed a little bit.

originally i was going to be in the amateur university choir, but after auditioning for the choral director was asked to be in the top choir. SWEET. i hadn't hoped for that because i was going to commit more time to composition, but the prof wouldn't let me be in the class on account of unpreparedness and pre-requisites. honestly, i would rather be in the "elite" choir and have a good performance base.
so because of the new choir situation i had to drop world music and find another class to take it's place of 4 credits. so i found "music for film". it seems that this choice is a little more up my alley anyway.

i wonder if my higher power is trying to push me somewhere?

so far during this first week there have been some different emotions. of course there was the "overwhelmed" emotion. then there was the "how do i take notes, and study again?" emotion. at one point i felt the "i feel like a leech and am not contributing to society" emotion, which was directly followed with "holy hell, i'm actually doing music again. life kicks ass and i wouldn't not want to do this for anything else, even if i leave school heavily in debt and killing myself with what i will eventually do for a paycheck (hopefully)" emotion.

slowly i am getting back into the swing of things and remembering some of the theory and technique. my biggest and best surprise of the week would have to be being asked to join the advanced choir. and my biggest letdown would be...nothing...yet.

also, i won't have to worry about being the "old guy" in class, because on the first day i saw a man who was probably in his late 60's. and yesterday a lady, in what i would bet is her early 70's (paper thin skin and all), sat next to me. i asked if she was full-time or part-time, and she said she was auditing to brush up on her theory, that she was a teacher. i asked her not to set the curve.

well, i better go and practice my pentatonic scales and do some enharmonic spellings.

i hope you all have as good a day as i'm having!

excitement abounds here in the Reimer household

so a few of you might be asking, "what the shit does Reed have to be so excited about?" well let me tell you...SCHOOL.

here's where the eyebrows raise and you say, "school. why would anyone in their right mind be excited to go to school?"
to which i would respond, "who ever said i was in my right mind?"

anyway, i am really excited. very, very excited. i got a couple of my textbooks in the mail (saved almost 100 dollars) and perused them a little. also in the mail i received a letter from the PSU music dept. i wondered what it could be because i had already received my acceptance to the dept. and a letter saying that i wouldn't be awarded any scholarships at that time.
upon opening it read that i had been awarded a scholarship to pay for a portion of my tuition. SWEET-ASS!!!! talk about your unexpected surprises. now all i have to do is maintain some kind of GPA and attend class. okay, i guess i can do those things.

my class load will be pretty normal (i hope) for any freshman. i am taking:

Music Theory I (refresher)
Ear Training and Sight Singing I (refresher)
Class Piano (possibly the most difficult class for me that i am taking)
Music Composition I
University Choir
World Music - Asia, the middle east, and Africa (300 level course, very interesting)
Voice Lessons
Music Attendance (i have to go to so many concerts every quarter)

it all boils down to 15 credits and a lot of stuff that hopefully will jar my memory so that i can set the curve and be that one student all the other students want to copy off of, or at least study with.

of course one thing i can look forward to is having the nickname "gramps" or something along those lines. i looked at the myspace profiles of the other students signed up for theory and they are all almost 18 year olds. i'm only 25, but that will be a little strange at first. i'm just glad that i have the "freshman experience" out of the way so i can put my full concentration to studies, where it belongs! i have a lot of catching up to do.

anyways, other than that, not too much new stuff on my end. my mother-in-law is visiting and at this moment baking a bunch of monster cookies!

yay for music!!!!

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!

my apologies, Lou...

what did i do last week? i went to Florida.
originally i went to conduct a "safety for forklifts" course, but after being replaced, i was there to hang. so hang i did. with my brother as a local there was no shortage of excellent restaurants to partake in.



the first full day we had we went to the beach to bob around in the waves. it was awesome, especially since the water was sooo warm. i told my brother not to pee before we went in case i was stung by jellyfish. the above picture is my good looking "old man."



this is my baby brother and i. no better person to have watching after you in case sharks attack!



here's me showing off my one true god given, unpractised talent.



the next day, my brother and father each got a tattoo of "the polar bears." i think it can now qualify as a family crest. i got mine over three years ago, and IT is on the left. my brother's is in the middle, and my dad's is on the right.



while at the parlor i had a very tough decision to make...get a tattoo, or get a big tattoo? i chose a descent size (however, the wife thinks its huge...and i do admit that it is my biggest yet.) the design is of a european eagle crest. i've had this design in mind for a while (sorry Lou(i promise this one won't attack you (unless you make it made) because i have complete control over it)). here it is in its first stage.



here is my new favorite artist, Matt Williams, working on it. at this point he is about halfway through the amazingly short 3 hour session. his skills are quite undeniable and he has quite a bit of experience.



here is the finished product. i am so stoked on how it came out. i know most of my readers aren't into tattoos for themselves, but if you ever change your mind, you will never go wrong with any of the artists at Hula Moon Tattoo.

15 days until reunitation!!!! too long

how does one gain access to heaven anyway?

this is a picture of my buddy Brian McG. in Lake Andrusia. that is one of the things we did over the fourth of july weekend. it was really fun, tubing, wakeboarding, swimming, eating. what wasn't fun was hyperextending my elbow. Seeing the wife my have been the highlight. a close second was learning how to play Coheed & Cambria's "Always and Never" on a borrowed guitar. if you haven't heard that song i recommend trying to listen to it as it is maybe the most sadistic lullabies i have heard.

back to brian. when we went to x-men 3 he said we have to wait until the hidden scene after the credits, little did i know that "little latin loopy lou" (his future wife?) recommended he say that. happy now Laura?

as far as St. Cloud being on my list of least favorite communities, i do not regret this decision. even though the hoovers now hail from there. you should also know that ruth's grandma resides there, and Ruth feels the same way about "the cloud" as i do. Sorry Hoov.

here is a challenge for the crew (herr vogler, mikey the pikey, warrior bard, michael s., and anyone else who is privy to the information i seek. which is better or worse or equal (and why) finale 2006 or sibelius 4? i am in the market and the info i've read doesn't seem decisive enough.



23 days until my wife and i are reunited.