More BugArt!

Elizabeth now has her own art gallery online! It's called "BugArt", and she's really excited about it, it's so cute. (I promised her that tonight we'd scan a bunch of Little Einsteins colorings that she did over the weekend.) The link to BugArt can be found on the right sidebar under "Family".

Musical Monday: Used to Love You.

I just started writing a new song on Friday. I hammered out some of the music over the weekend, and I quickly noticed that some of it sounded vaguely familiar. In fact, it sounded like one of my older songs. Here's that song, another of my favorites -- I've always loved the piano part.

» Used to Love You

duration: 4:12
file size: 3.85 MB
written: 1995
recorded: 1995
instrument: Casio keyboard
recording medium: cassette tape
album art: Kicking the Bucket
lyrics:

Looking at you now
I see all the things I saw before
The smile in your eyes
I could've never asked for any more

But oh, how times can change
Tommorows rearrange

CHORUS:
I used to love you
My skies are grey now
They used to be blue
No more arms to run to
Oh what should I do?

Looking at the past
Imagining what could have been
The love we used to share
And all the things I wish I'd said

But that was long ago
A dream I used to know

CHORUS

Looking at you now
I see all the things I saw before
The smile in your eyes
I could've never asked for any more

But oh, how times can change
Tommorows rearrange

CHORUS (x2)

Musical Monday Archive

Talk about my art!

I've made a couple improvements to my art gallery!

Least impressive (but still nice) is a small change where, upon viewing a particular piece of artwork, an image loads automatically. (Previous visitors may remember that this used to not be the case.)

The best part, though, is that I've now added the ability to comment on individual pieces! When viewing a piece, just click the "comment" link under the thumbnail to view the comments or even add your own. Go crazy!

Book read: Elantris.

(Yes, I'm starting up my book reviews again. I'll try to catch myself back up to where I left off last fall.)

Saturday night I finished off my latest, a 2005 fantasy from Brandon Sanderson called Elantris. I picked the book up on account of hearing Orson Scott Card praise the book on a couple of occasions. Card's one of my favorite authors, and I've picked up some of his recommendations before (Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, and David Farland's Runelords series) and he hasn't steered me wrong yet.

In hindsight, I think my expectations for Elantris were set too high.

It's a good book, don't get me wrong; I think my wife would enjoy it. It's also pretty original for a fantasy book, and has the added bonus of being a self-contained story. Here's the obligatory plot summary:

In the country of Arelon, the city of Elantris used to be a sparkling jewel populated by beings that were, essentially, gods. There was this transformation called the Shaod that could strike anyone at anytime and magically turn them into an Elantrian: wise, nigh-immortal, and capable of performing the magic art of AonDor. But then a terrible event known as the Reod occurred: the Elantrians began dying, the city lost its luster, the runes (called Aons) that powered AonDor stopped working, and the Shaod now turned its victims into walking corpses.

10 years later, prince Raoden is hit by the Sheod, and banished to the rotted city of Elantris, where those taken by the Sheod are condemned to live out their days scrabbling for food and nursing painful wounds that never heal. Shortly thereafter, his betrothed, princess Sarene of Teod, arrives for their wedding, only to hear that Raoden has died. At the same time, a Derethi priest named Hrathen has come with a mission: to convert all of Arelon to the religion of Shu-Dereth in 3 months, lest the armies of Fjordell march on Arelon and Teod and wipe out the last bastion of the rival religion, Shu-Korath. While Raoden strives to uncover the secret behind the Reod and ressurect Elantris, Sarene matches wits the corrupt king of Arelon and the deadly Hrathen in an attempt to save Arelon.

The story itself is fairly compelling, and builds gradually. The invented magic system of the Aons is precisely detailed and handled well. Above all, it was the mystery of the Reod that kept my attention, and there were a couple of nice twists and "ah-ha!" moments that I enjoyed. The first one -- what caused the Reod -- I was able to guess a chapter or so before the characters (the clue was made fairly obvious) but the big secret -- how to restore Elantris -- I was pretty much blindsided with. But in a good, "That makes sense! I never would have thought of that!" kind of way.

So why didn't enjoy it more? It's hard to say. Though the characters were fairly well-drawn, they wasn't a whole lot of depth to any of them, except maybe Hrathen. There was nothing exceptional about the dialogue. In fact, there wasn't anything really exceptional about any of the writing. I may not be fair that I had just finished reading Steven Erikson's latest, but then, I don't like to read a lot of fantasy that isn't extremely well-written. Besides, this was pretty obviously Sanderson's first novel. If he gets better from here, it can only be a good thing.

A solid 3 stars from me:

(good)

Musical Monday: Want to Be.

Here's the song I wrote for brother's wedding!

...What? You say I already posted that? Ah! But this song was written back in 2001, when my brother was engaged for the first time! Sadly, the engagement was broken off, but at least I was able to write this great song -- one of Sarah's favorites of mine.

I actually recorded the piano for this piece back in 2003, and it wasn't until just Saturday that I recorded the vocals, thanks to the excellent Audacity software.

Trivia: the first and second verses were originally swapped. I still accidently sing them in the original order sometimes, but I think they make just a little more sense this way. Also, the interlude for this piece was originally intended to have some sort of string instrument (a viola, or something) which is why it might sound like there's something missing. Hopefully someday I'll finish the string part and dub it back over the top of everything else. Lastly: the key change at the end of this piece remains one of my favorite moments in anything I've written.

» Want to Be

duration: 4:22
file size: 4.00 MB
written: 2001
recorded: 2003/2007
instrument: piano
recording medium: computer
lyrics:

The wait is gone
I've spent so long
Waiting for this day
My love's so strong
Hear what I say

CHORUS:
I say "I do" because it's true
I only want to be with you
I'm free because I see
You only want to be with me
Oh

I think we've grown
These months have shown me
What we could be
I'm yours alone
Eternally

CHORUS

I've no more fears
I'm moved to tears
By what I feel inside
Looking toward years
With you by my side

I say "I do" because it's true
I only want to be with you
I'm free because I see
You only want to be with me
There's nothing I
Wouldn't give away
If here forever you could stay
'Cause you're the one
That I love true
And I only want to be with you
I only want to be with you
Oh
Oh

Musical Monday Archive

Mmmmmm.

Sandwiches are beautiful
Sandwiches are fine
I like sandwiches
I eat them all the time...

This was lunch today:


Extra sharp cheddar, pepperoni, Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh smoked turkey, salt & pepper, lettuce, Gedney's Sweet Garden Cruncher pickles, and Miracle Whip, on white bread. Almost perfect. It would've been if we had had some wheat or multigrain bread. But still...yum yum yum.

Bug Art.

Thought I'd share this. It's been sitting on the desk downstairs for about a month now, and it's too cute not to. These are Elizabeth's versions of smiley faces. She drew it on the back of my latest Roads Less Traveled strip.

Don't tell ME what to eat!

We made Pasta-Roni for supper tonight, and I ended up cooking it. Now, I like to follow the directions precisely as written. While doing so, I noticed that the box calls for "butter, margarine, or spread with no trans fats" (emphasis mine.) In fact, every time butter (or margarine or spread) is mentioned, it's explicitly stated to not use anything with trans fats.

Okay, I get that trans fats are bad for you and all. (Although I'm sure in 10 years or whatever, someone will be arguing that.) But I found it almost...insulting to have a box of Pasta-Roni dictating to me what I should and shouldn't be eating. I mean, cross-promotions like Rice Krispie Treats instructing you to only use Whatever Brand™ marshmallows are understandable. But a seemingly-implied "use only non-trans fat butter, don't you care about your health, you imbecile?" seems to be crossing a line of sorts.

Doesn't it?

I suppose I should mention...

I know, I know, I'm horrible at keeping this thing current. I still plan on doing a recap of our vacation to Wisconsin Dells last month, and I haven't written a book review since November (though I'm planning on getting those up and running again.) So, if this update is less than a week past due, then that's doing pretty good, right?

Last Saturday (September 8th) I attended my high school 10-year anniversary. I brought Sarah with me, to show off and/or (depending on which one of us you ask) to ward off old girlfriends. None showed up (fortunately or unfortunately) and I was actually surprised by how few of my regular group made it. There must have been 100-150 people there -- okay for a class of almost 500, I guess.

Mostly, Sarah and I hung out at one table most of the night, munching on the catered egg rolls, veggies, and chicken wings. We sat and chatted with Eric Trelstad and his wife, Tim Sjoberg, Gert (aka Bryan Gertonson) and his wife Alison, Paul Keeler and his wife, and Liz Stachour. We also talked with George Boomer and his wife, Katie Smith and husband, and Jill Baker. While in line for beverages, I also chatted a bit with Joe Williams and Carrie Bettenberg (who was quite obviously drunk.) I gotta say, there's something rather uncomfortable about talking to drunk people that you haven't seen in a dozen years.

Overall, I was pretty surprised how little most people had changed. (I made the same impression on most people, too, I guess.) But there were a few real surprises, like how slim Katie Smith had become -- I didn't even recognize her when she first said hello!

There was a big group picture, which was laughably executed. The photographer tried to cram all of us on stage at once, and then tried shooting the group in a dim room with just his little handheld camera. He ended up taking something like 4 pictures (left, left-center, right-center, and right) and then pulled the people in the back down into front and repeated the process to make sure everyone got in. I don't know if he plans on stitching all 8 shots into one using Photoshop, or what. It was kinda sad and hilarious all at the same time.

I did win a door prize, which was briefly exciting. They drew my name for an iTunes gift certificate, but upon learning I did not have an iPod (they asked) they had me randomly draw another prize. I ended up with a $25 gift card to any Shell station. So, basically a little less than one tank of gas. Now I just have to find a Shell somewhere...

Well, we decided to cut out of the party about an hour or so early, and Sarah and I followed Tim to Gert and Alison's house in Rosemount. (As soon as Sarah saw their house, she announced that they could never see ours.) We hung out, talking and laughing and drinking and playing Guitar Hero 2, until, after one of the longest "Minnesota goodbyes" I've ever participated in, we finally dragged ourselves away at 12:30 -- an hour and a half after we told our babysitters, Matt and Becca, that we'd be back. We left with an adorable Tigger halloween costume for Alex (though it looks like Elizabeth will be wearing it) and plans to get together again sometime next month. (They have two boys that Elizabeth and Alex can play with.) I'm looking forward to it!

Musical Monday: Reunion.

In honor of attending my 10-year high school reunion this past weekend, I present this instrumental. This title of the song references a family reunion I once went to, where I got a mild (and short-lived) crush on a relative I met there.

There are two versions of this song, the first is the new recording for Primary Key, the second is the original recording for Kicking the Bucket.

» Reunion (2003)

duration: 1:36
file size: 1.47 MB
written: 1995
recorded: 2003
instrument: piano
recording medium: computer
album art: Primary Key

» Reunion (1995)

duration: 1:31
file size: 1.39 MB
written: 1995
recorded: 1995
instrument: Casio keyboard
recording medium: cassette tape
album art: Kicking the Bucket

Musical Monday Archive

Just like you think they'd taste.

Sarah and I had recently fallen in love with the "Garden Salsa" flavor Sun Chips, and came to the conclusion that any flavor of Sun Chips must be great, because...well, they're Sun Chips.

So when I saw the new cinnamon Sun Chips at Kwik Trip a month or so ago, my first thought was, "Those look... interesting. But I bet they taste good!" (My second thought was, "99 cents for a little bag? No thanks." Apparently they come in the standard large bags, but I've yet to see them.) Yesterday I finally gave in and picked some up.

My reaction upon tasting one was that, yes, it tastes exactly like you'd think: Sun Chips + cinnamon. But the flavor combination actually works. You get the sweet cinnamon-y flavor at the beginning, and the salty aftertaste of a normal Sun Chip. I love 'em. I still haven't gotten Sarah to try one, yet -- but they're Sun Chips , darn it!