401K

Sherwood is bloody brilliant. And here's the video they filmed in Salt Lake City. You probably can't see me, but I'm totally in that crowd jumping like crazy and yelling "401K." Pretty freaking sweet.

Homeless

It is official. I am homeless.

On Friday, I moved out of Bountiful Court, where I've spent the last two years of my life. It was a good place to live. A good place for me to live, to be more specific. But it's time to move on. So I bought a contract at Carriage Cove. Unfortunately, I can't move into Carriage Cove until August 24, a full ten days after I had to be out of Bountiful Court. (Don't ask me why Provo housing is so lame like that, because I have no idea.)

So in the interim, during which I am homeless, I moved all of my crap into my grandma's garage in Lehi. So for a week, I get to keep Grandma company. I keep telling myself that this is good because Grandma is often lonely, and she loves just knowing that someone is there to talk to, but it's also hard because I am bored. So bored. I forgot how just having roommates around helps dispel boredom when I've got nothing to do.

I will just keep thinking about the pluses about this arrangement:

1. Grandma feeds me, which means free food for a week.
2. There are no distractions, which means I get to bed at a decent hour every night.
3. I have plenty of time to read, write in my journal, and play the piano, which is nice. I've already finished one book and am halfway through a second (The Book Thief—which is absolutely brilliant, by the way; expect a review of this one).
4. I'm halfway between Provo and Salt Lake, so if I want to escape, I have better options than usual. (However, this also means that I have to drive half an hour to get somplace where I know people—I guess this one kind of goes both ways.)

The bottom line is, I should take advantage of the pluses while I've got them, because those things will most likely go away come next Monday. Unfortunately, I seriously can't wait for next Monday.

Tag, you're it!

What is your current obsession? I often have a couple obsessions running around in my head . . . My current big ones are Sherwood (see post below) and Johnny Depp (see Public Enemies). Sherwood's just plain awesome, and I am completely in love with Johnny Depp right now. Give me a little time and it'll die a bit, but he'll always have a place in my heart.

What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love? I heard a whole lot of good things about Mamma Mia! but never had any interest in it. Then I was forced to watch it, and all my misgivings proved right. I hate, hate that movie. Ugh.

If you could have any other name besides your own, what would it be? That's a hard one...something classy and British or old fashioned, like Penelope or Eloise.

What's for dinner? Probably something from a fast food place.

What would you eat for your last meal? I would definitely have some kalua pork, and Hawaiian mac salad. Then throw in some awesome seafood fetuccine alfredo and garlic bread and lasagna...basically it would be Hawaiian and Italian food. Weird mix, I know. Oh, and I'd definitely have to have some Red Vines.

What's the last thing you bought? Lunch at Noodles & Co. It was yummy.

What are you listening to right now? Matchbox Twenty "Leave." And next on shuffle is..."Gold" from the Once soundtrack.

What do you think of the person that tagged you? Well...Megan didn't technically tag me, I just stole it from her page. But I think she's pretty dang cool.

If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be? London, or close by London. No, I have never been to London so I don't know if I would actually like it, but a part of me thinks that I would fit very well in England. I would love to live there.

What is one of your hobbies? Just one? I have to name just one? Ummm....I would say the most dominant one recently has been watching movies. I love watching movies. All kinds of movies. I probably watch at least two a week, sometimes more. That adds up to a lot of movies.

What are your favorite smells? Good boy smell (i.e. good deodorant/cologne/aftershave/bodywash etc.), baking bread, new books, bookstores in general.

What is your favorite color? Orange. All kinds of orange. Bright orange, pumpkin orange, burnt orange...it's all good. But don't worry, I won't decorate my house in it.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe? That's a hard question. Right now it's probably the Sherwood hoodie I bought at their concert last month, simply because I'm dying to wear it, but it's too bloody hot.

What is your dream job? A book editing position for a major publishing house, or an editing position at a magazine. Those are both equally appealing.

Describe your personal style. Vintage. And classy. When I can, at least. I like looking nice, but nice clothes are expensive, so I don't have a lot. I wish I had more money to buy nicer clothes.

What are you going to do after this? Go pick up my cousin so we can go eat and then go to the Sherwood concert. Woot!

What inspires you? I'm going to steal Megan's response and say other people. Seeing what other people do and create inspires me more than anything else.

Who was the last person you kissed? My niece, Adeline Mae, I'm pretty sure. She's frigging adorable.

What are you currently reading? I've got a few things on this list...A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, and The Undaunted by Gerald Lund. I'm totally going to finish The Undaunted first. I just started it yesterday, and I'm already completely sucked in. I love Gerald Lund.

What delighted you most today? Just thinking about seeing Sherwood live again tonight makes me happy.

By what criteria do you judge a person? Usually, I look at appearance first. I mean, it's kind of hard not to, right? And then it's usually in the tone of their voice and the expression on their face. Then it's by their personality as I get to know them better.

What is something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet? Traveled outside the country. I want to go everywhere. I really do. And one day I will.

I tag: Whoever wants to do it. I don't feel like typing anyone's name. If you read this, consider yourself tagged.

The rules:
1. Answer the questions on your blog.
2. Replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention.
3. Tag eight other people

The Awesomeness That Is Sherwood

Sherwood is my favorite band right now. Because they're pretty much amazing. I saw them in Provo last October, and I thought they were even better live, so when I found out that they were coming to Salt Lake on July 14, I knew that I had to be there. Luckily, I know a few people who also like Sherwood, like my friend Jillian.

Me and Jillian, enduring crappy opening bands . . .

After much waiting, Sherwood finally came on. It took forever, especially since I really didn't enjoy the opening acts. The second band sucked the worst. They really liked the F-word (not in their music, but when they were chatting up the audience), and I really don't like being called a mother effer.

But it was all worth it. As soon as Sherwood came on and started playing, I realized just how much I love this band. I think the best part was that the worst expletive we heard them say was "hell." A nice comparison to hearing the F-bomb 49 times.

Sherwood's finally on!

Dan

Nate and Mikey (Mikey's face is the best)

Nate . . . I really like him . . .

The concert was pretty freaking amazing. I loved it. Sherwood played a couple songs from their new album that were so awesome! I bought their new EP, and I love it. I can't wait for the new album to come out.

We actually got to talk to some of the band members. Not for very long, but for a bit, thanks to the fact that Dan knows my brother-in-law Ben and that my brother Matt is super social and likes to talk to people (especially cool people). The guys in the band are really cool, and they were way nice. Joe, the drummer, even gave Matt a drumstick after the show, which I thought was pretty cool. They all kind of just hang out after the show so they can give autographs and take pictures. There weren't even a lot of people vying for their attention, either, so we got to actually talk to them a bit.

With Mikey

With Dan

With Nate

I wanted to get my EP signed by the whole band, but when I was waiting for a bunch of people who were getting Nate's autograph, his pen ran out. So only Dan and Mikey signed my EP, which was really sad. But Nate told us that they are coming to Provo soon, so I'm taking my EP and my own dang pen! I'm not going to get stuck without autographs again.

My Sherwood loot

I found out today that Sherwood is indeed coming to Provo again . . . in two weeks. On August 3rd they will be playing at Velour, and I can't wait. I'm getting more pictures and autographs. And no, two concerts in a month is not even close to overkill. Stoked doesn't even begin to describe my excitement.

Pictures courtesy of Jillian (minus the last one).

My Book List

For some reason, lately I've been thinking a lot about books that I want to read in my lifetime. I'm doing my best to compile a list of books to read, but it's hard when it seems like just about everything sounds interesting to me. I've even been in the mood to read nonfiction, which is kind of weird to me because I usually limit myself to fiction.

I made the mistake of looking up a list of Pulitzer prize-winning books, and I have since decided that I want to read every one of them. Even those on the nonfiction list. And even some on the biography list.

Unfortunately, this desire to read new books and discover new ideas is conflicting with my desire to re-read all of the books that I know and love. It's been over a year since I've read my Harry Potter series, and while that seems like a very short amount of time, that's quite a feat for me. I really think this is the longest I've gone without reading the series in about eight years.

Another problem I'm having is that I find my attention diverted in all different directions. I want to hang out with friends, and work my way through the movie list that I'm also making, and play Guitar Hero, and write in my journal, and write my own fiction . . . There are so many things calling for my attention that I just don't seem to read nearly as much as I used to. I used to make it through at least a book a week, depending on the length and difficulty, and now I'm lucky if I read a book a month. It's so sad.

It also doesn't help that I like to buy any book I want to read. I figure that if a book is worth reading, it's worth owning. I've got to build up my library somehow, right? Unfortunately I want to spend my money in a million different places too . . .

My goal for the next few weeks/months is to read more. I need to expand my literary tastes. I rarely read something I don't enjoy, so I just need to be brave enough to read things I've never read before. I'm open to any and all suggestions—they'll just end up at the end of my list, and I'll get there when I get there.

Public Enemies

Today I saw the movie Public Enemies. To put it shortly, I loved it. I thought the acting was stellar and the story was fascinating. Part of the reason that I was so gung-ho to see it was because I recently found out that my great-great uncle Jay C. Newman was one of the G-men who helped hunt down John Dillinger and his gang. He was actually shot by Baby Face Nelson. The bullet grazed his forehead and left a scar there for the rest of his life.

I really think that's why I found this movie so completely fascinating. I have some personal interest in the story.

Throughout the movie, I felt conflicting sympathies. I sympathized with John Dillinger and with Melvin Purvis, who was the lead agent who was after Dillinger and his gang. I can't believe how inadequate the police force was in 1933. The police force either didn't have the ability, the knowledge, or the manpower to get these criminals, or they were taking bribes from the criminals so they could stay out of the prisons. It was incredibly difficult for the regular police officers to understand what they needed to do in order to apprehend these criminals.

The acting in this movie was absolutely superb. I love, love, love Johnny Depp. He's amazing and did a tremendous job as John Dillinger. I especially loved seeing him in a role that wasn't a kind of caricature, not that he doesn't perform those roles brilliantly as well. But seeing him as a real person, as opposed to as Edward Scissorhands or Jack Sparrow or Willy Wonka, just proves to me what a talented actor he truly is. I feel a slight Johnny Depp kick coming on after watching this movie . . . I think my slight obsessive tendencies are making themselves known.

Christian Bale also did a fabulous job as Melvin Purvis. He played not only a hard-working government agent, but also a decent and honest man. I loved his character about as much as I loved Johnny Depp's. Christian Bale is also a brilliant actor. (But it's too late for a Christian Bale kick . . . I've been on one my whole life. I've loved him since I was five.)

I think the most fascinating thing about this movie and this story was how the public viewed John Dillinger and his gang. They were celebrities. They took hostages and forced them to ride on their cars as they got away from their bank robberies. Yet the public loved them. At one point in the film, Dillinger refuses to aid in a kidnapping because the public doesn't like kidnapping. He gave the people in the banks their money back before taking off with the bank's money. He was seen as a decent criminal, it seems. He hid among the public who loved him so much. I tell myself that I can't believe people would love such hardened criminals so much, that people would line up just to see John Dillinger at his court appearances, but then I look at our current world and at the celebrities we gawk at. Some of them are horrible people who have done horrible things, yet the public still lines up to see them, sometimes even at their court appearances.

I'm planning on scoping out some books about the 1930s crime wave. I'm completely intrigued by the whole story and I want to know how things really went down.

Public Enemies is rated R for violence. (There are a lot of Tommy guns.)

Art Review Numero Uno--Once

I love art: music, books, movies, paintings . . . It's amazing to me how influential and inspiring and emotional words on a page, or images on a screen, or some musical notes can be. So I decided I wanted to write about some of the amazing things that I love. I would love to make this a series--a weekly review of some work of art that has amazed me recently. So here's the first of hopefully many.

Once is the story of two musicians who meet coincidentally. It stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. It's an independent film that was shot over 15 days with $150,000. It really is a touching story of how these two people touch each others' lives through collaborating on their music.

I feel like this movie is very much about love, though not in the typical love-story sense. I think it is about how two people can love each other enough to do what's right by the other person and what is right for themselves. It took me a little bit to get into the movie, but the realism with which it was filmed intrigued me. Eventually I felt like I was spying on someone else's life, like I was watching them live without them knowing I was there. The fact that I never found out what the characters' names were made me feel even more like I was watching a little piece of two strangers' lives. The dialogue was natural, like it wasn't scripted or outlined at all. They were simply talking like any normal people having normal conversations. It was so simple and so ordinary, yet so poignant and so significant.

A lot of the movie is dedicated to the amazing music they create. I watched this movie last Sunday. On Monday I got the soundtrack, and I haven't been able to get enough of it. The music is absolutely brilliant. I love it. Glen Hansard is a very famous musician in Ireland who fronted the band The Frames. He sings with such passion and such emotion, and as I listen to his songs, I can't help but feel what he must have felt as he wrote them. Marketa Irglova's soft harmonies add depth to Hansard's emotion.

Here's a little sneak peek of the music. I think it's best if you experience the music through the movie with all the emotions of the situation attached, but this is the song that is most well known. It's called "Falling Slowly" and it won the Oscar for best original song in 2008. It is definitely one of my favorites on the soundtrack.



The movie is set in Ireland (in Dublin, I think) and is rated R because they say the f-word a few times. But there's no sex and no violence.