Monday Morning Musings – Back to School Edition

Welcome to yet another installment of the Mondays folks.  But this one comes with a special twist: it’s move-in day here at Summit Pacific College.  Not even the biblical proportions of rain outside can stop the excitement today!  People are coming back, and everything is abuzz.  Oh joy!  Let’s move on to the bullets!

• Big ups to our construction/reno teams here at the school for putting together a pretty nifty new wing for our academic building.  You can find lots of updates and photo galleries here.  I am currently sitting in my temporary office (having just had some lunch in our new lunch area) and looking out my window to the rainy parking lot.  That’s right!  I have a window!  I’ll never feel alone again!

 

• Well, it was Missions Fest this weekend.  Quite a different setup this year due to some kind of impending sporting event coming to Vancouver soon.  We were down in the Italian Cultural Center.  It’s a nice spot.  I met some great folks, and had some great student help.  By the way, people run way too many red lights on Grandview Highway.  I watched a large fuel truck blow through the red light as we were about to turn left on to the highway.  That was scary.

 

• How about those Vancouver Canucks?  Quite a tidy little run they’ve been on lately!  I think Rick Rypien would fight just about anybody.  In fact, that is going to be our reader response question.  Who, out of everyone in the world would you like to see Rick Rypien fight?  It could even be someone fictional like Rocky or Admiral Ackbar (you really need to check that link!).  Anyways, there you go readers, who should Rick fight?

 

• PIANO CHALLENGE 2010 is coming along quite nicely.  I haven’t decided on my final list of 5 songs, but if things go well, I may even do more than 5.  I’m posting a video within a month or so of one song I’ve already learned, but I think that will just be a bonus – something to give you an idea of what this is all about.  If you have requests, keep them coming!

Ah yes, time for the comic of the week.  Another dilbert this time.  And strangely appropriate . . .

Teehee!  And now, time to leave you with a fantastical Monday video.  Thanks to Geoff for randomly posting this to a friend’s wall.  I saw it and loved it.

 

PIANO CHALLENGE 2010!

That’s right fellow Redonkulites, the challenge is on!  In case you missed it (which you probably did) I am challenging myself to learn, arrange, and perform 5 different pop/rock songs on the piano.  Now, these don’t necessarily have to be “piano songs.”  In fact I would prefer if most of them won’t.  That’s part of the challenge.  I have committed to making five different videos of me (and possibly some helpers) performing covers of 5 different songs.  Sound exciting?  Of course it does!  Who can get enough of my off key singing and rhythmic piano bashing?

Get ready to be blown away, keys! The Freckled Hurricane is coming!

 But, I need your help!  Yes, I want you, the reader, to help me pick these 5 songs.  And in return I will perform each one on video and make it accessible for you, for your entertainment and amazement.  What songs should I learn?  I need requests!  I’ve done “When you Were Young” by the Killers already.  Although there is no video evidence of that, so I might do it again.  However, I need you to comment, at the bottom of this post, the top 5 songs you would like me to do.  I will take all of your requests in to consideration and compile a list of the 5 songs I will learn this year.

So have at it friends.  What songs would you like to see rearranged and performed on the piano?  The sky is the limit!

Oh, and I almost forgot the video!  I can’t promise what these videos will look like, but hopefully a little something like this (crowd included):

 

A Little Something for the Ladies: Pt. 5

Here it is ladies and gentlemen (well, mostly ladies)!  The final installment of our look at the Backstreet Boys and their current happenings (or “haps,” in boyband talk).  And boy, band, have we got a doozy for you today!  Kevin Richardson, the one and only, and missing, Backstreet Boy.

Kevin is the most mysterious, and least likeable Backstreet boy.  His Wikipedia page notes, “He was the oldest member of the band during his tenure.”  He was also quite obviously the least capable singer.  Not necessarily in range, but definitely in tone.  I recall mentioning during our discussion of Howie that I felt that Kevin Richardson was “pervy.”  I think it’s the moustache that really did him in.  He may be a totally upright guy, but there’s just something about him.  He’s all old and moustachioed.

Yeah Kevin, you know what the ladies like. Man cougars!

Before we move on, I want to tell you a story that I think neatly sums up why I didn’t really like Kevin as a member of the BSB.  When I was 17, my brother (who was 15) started a band with his 15 year old friends, and me.  I was the keyboard player.  Now, they were all in grade 9, and I was getting ready to graduate.  I had been jamming with them for about 3 weeks when we had a band meeting.  They were all excitedly talking about where they wanted to take the band, and how they all wanted to hang out all the time and have lots of practices.  At that moment, it dawned on me that I had no interest in spending that much time with grade 9’s.  I quit the band and moved on with my life.  And they ended up playing together for a few years and having some success.  Everyone was happy.

Here’s the thing:  Kevin is 9 years older than Nick!  There must have been some moment in Kevin’s life where he could have done what I did with the grade 9’s.  Some point where he realized that the only girls who would be coming to the shows were too young to remember the 80’s.  And yet he decided to stay with the band.  I can only hope it was for the music.

Anyways, Kevin had his high points in the band.  He was a steady presence, and a much needed bottom end to the vocal sound.  He also could be found providing some nice duet harmonies to some of AJ’s solos.  However, he was still old and hairy and kind of weird.  So what is he up to now?

Well, as we all know, he quit the band.  And, as Tara so astutely pointed out, he has been “replaced by a computer.”  Touche.  However, what you may not know is that Kevin is quite a fan of musical theatre.  And after his time in BSB he went on to play the role of Billy Flynn in several different stagings of the musical Chicago.  I would be quite interested to see him do that, considering his somewhat monotone contributions to the BSB.  Did I fail to mention that Kevin gets to sing one of the creepiest lines in any BSB song?  If you listen to the song “Drowning,” you get to hear Kevin sing, “love me mouth to mouth now.”  No thanks, Kevin.

Apparently Kevin is providing some voice acting for an upcoming movie called Spirit Bear as well.  Good for him.  Kevin is married to a girl named Kristin, and they have a son named Mason.  He is not as cool as Mason Raymond, and not as good of a hockey player.  Also, Kevin has modeled for Versace with Ashton Kucher (who I also dislike).  I don’t think he has a website – at least, I couldn’t find one.  And, with apologies to any fans of Kevin, that is your update on his life.  I hope you’ll stay tuned to this blog, as we will soon begin our next recurring feature: “Can’t watch this,” in which I go back and examine all of the television shows I wasn’t allowed to watch as a child.

Kevin’s big moment with the BSB was “Show me the Meaning of Being Lonely” which touched on issues relating to his father passing away.  He had some major parts in this one, and the video was quite interesting.  So here it is:

And, just for fun, here’s a clip of some really young gentlemen and Kevin Richardson singing “My Girl”:

 

Monday Morning Musings – Holiday Edition

It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten how to muse.  Especially on a Monday!  Where do I even begin?  I don’t want to bore you with details of my Christmas, so I will just tell you that I’ve had a great holiday!  Tara and I have spent time with both of our families (hooray for being local!) and lots of time with food.  I sometimes wonder if Jesus is happy that we celebrate his birth by eating more than any human should.  But I then I just have another shortbread.  Let’s get to the bullets!

• Big ups to Bellingham for being a nice little getaway place for Tara and I yesterday.  If you want a good, reasonably priced Italian restaurant, try Pastazza.  We’ve been there a couple of times and we love it!  Other than that, we just shopped a lot and went to Boulevard Park.  All in all it was a nice little trip.

Boulevard Park Boardwalk

• If you really want the quintessential American dining experience, you need to try The Old Country Buffet. It really has it all: way too much food, lots of waste, grease, and large people.  You haven’t tried American dining until you’ve been to this restaurant.  You just pay one price, and then eat as much as you possibly can.  It’s both sickening and delightful all at once.  Here is a picture of the ice cream sundae Tara made for me.

• Okay, I’m really excited about this so we’re going to skip anything else I might have written here and go right to reader response.  I’ve made a new year’s resolution dear readers, and I need your help!  I am introducing, right here on this blog, PIANO CHALLENGE 2o10!  Basically I want to create piano arrangements for 5 different pop/rock songs, and perform them on video for you my faithful readers/facebook friends.  I have done this before with the song “When you were Young” by the Killers with moderate success.  But I need a challenge for this new year.  So I ask you readers, what songs should I learn and perform?  What would you like me to learn/perform?  Keep in mind that my piano skills are not great, but I’m willing to try almost any song.  I’ve already been working on a few.  Please flood the comments with suggestions, and I will post my song list in next week’s Monday Morning Musings.

Oh man, I am excited about this.  I can’t wait!  Anyways, to calm us all down humorously, here is yesterday’s Dilbert.  It is clever.

 

Well friends, that leaves us with our video.  Now, this isn’t quite the arrangement I came up with, but it’s alright.  It’s a little something to inspire your requests.  Bring them on!

 

Christmas Break means Blogging Feast!

That’s right, faitfhul (yet exasperated) readers!  Obsoletely up to Date will be back on the air during the Christmas break.  As a welcome back gift, this blog has secured a rare interview with it’s head writer (and sole contributor), Dan Donkers.

Obsoletely up to Date: So Dan Donkers, it’s good to finally sit down with you.  Let me begin with the question on everyone’s mind: Where have you been the last few months?  Seriously.  I mean, where have you been?

Dan Donkers:  Well, thanks for asking, blog.  First, let me point out that you’ve actually started by asking me two questions, which I never agreed to in our previous talks.  However, for the sake of our audience, I will humour you this time.  In the last few months, I have been busy doing whatever it is that I do.  I work at Summit Pacific College, which keeps me quite busy.

OUTD:  Ah yes, so we’ve heard.  And what is it that you do there exactly?

DD:  What do I do?  Well, lots of things.  I mean, you really could be asking me what is it I don’t do!  I do so very many things there that it would probably overwhelm you just to hear them all.  But I won’t tell you what they are, because they are mysterious.  Next question.

OUTD:  Very well . . .  So, do you have any plans for the Christmas season?

DD:  Yes, indeed I do.  I believe Christmas is for family.  And in that spirit, I am going to spend time with as many families as possible.  My family, my wife’s family, my neighbour’s family, and whatever families I may happen to meet in this wonderful season.  You see, families feed people.  And since I have been so busy, I am now very hungry.

OUTD:  Perhaps you would like this cookie then?

DD:  Yes I would.

So, as you can see this blog is back with a vengeance.  Where else can you get such cutting edge thinking and insider scoops?  Yeah, nowhere.  That’s what I thought.  Let me now leave you with a video to entertain you until next time.

 

A Little Something for the Ladies pt. 4

As I was sitting here in Penticton, watching the Canucks try not to lose, I thought to myself: “Hey, what about Howie?”  It seems that I covered the “big three” of the BSB, and then promptly forgot about the others.  But Howie Dorough will not stand to be forgotten so easily.  In fact I think you’ll find he’s a busy little beaver these days.  So why don’t we take a look at what he’s up to.

First, you should know that I am in no way a Howie fan.  Neither is Tara.  We both find him creepy.  Now, “creepy” is not the same as “pervy,” which would better suit Kevin Richardson.  Howie is creepy in the sense that he’s always giving you the eyes in his videos.  He sings the lines in songs like, “Just tell me your problems/I’ll try my best to kiss them all away.”  He’s the type of guy that I imagine would say things like “hey girl, how you doin’?” in real life.  Maybe he wouldn’t, but I really would be surprised if he didn’t.  So, as you can clearly see, he was the creepy BSB.

Doesn't he seem like he's trying to look at your soul? Don't let him!

Nonetheless, he had many fans.  I can’t explain why, but he did.  He was young, not unfit, and in a boy band.  I guess that’s enough for some girls.  As far as I can tell he was pretty clean compared to party animals Nick and AJ.  Aj, by the way, is mentioned as Howie’s “buddy” on his Wikipedia page.  So there’s really not much dirt to dig up on him.  So why don’t we go ahead and see what he’s up to now?

 Well, he is currently still singing with the modern day, Kevin-less BSB.  Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about that: 

“As one of the four remaining contributing voices to the Backstreet Boys, Dorough is notable for his high falsetto”

I mean, come on!  He’s the high pitched fruity singer!  Still!  He didn’t even try to get his role changed for the second edition.  That says a lot.  Anyways, I should stop ragging on him.  He has lots of other projects going on too.

He is currently working as a producer/mentor for the singer George Nozuka.  Haven’t heard of him?  Neither have I.  Although I heard he did a show somewhere in BC where he played piano and sang without his shirt on.  Eeeewwww.  Good to see Howie is staying true to form in who he works with.  But, that’s not all.  Like I said, Howie has been working hard.  He is also managing other artists, as well as collaborating with other artists.  Of all the BSB’s, he seems to have diversified the most.  Good for him, as long as he stays away from my future daughters.

Before we move on to the videos, I should mention that Howie does have his own website.  That’s all I have to say about that really.  Oh, and also he married a girl named Leigh (copy Brian much?) and they have a baby whose middle name is “Hoke,” the name of Howie’s father.  So you three women who thought Howie was attractive, I’m sorry.  But really, you can do better.

So the BSB video I chose for Howie is strictly because of his pants.  He wears these creepy leather pants for the video “Drowning.”  It’s funny.  Tara can’t stop talking about them.  Every time Howie is mentioned, “red leather pants” are the first words out of her mouth.  Here’s the video, which will probably be blocked as usual.  But I strongly encourage you to click the link.

And, like the others, Howie has some solo stuff.  Here’s one of his songs.  I really don’t care if you stick around to watch this one or not.  I’ve got some pie to eat.  I’m out of here!

 

Monday Morning Musings . . . on a Thursday??

Yes, that’s right folks.  Thanks to the wonders of (Canadian) thanksgiving, this blog got put on hiatus for a little while.  We’ll be back stronger than ever next week.  Lots to talk about.  Our trip to the Island last weekend, and my upcoming Resonate trip to Penticton next weekend.  I’ll see you there!

Here’s some videos to keep you entertained in the meantime.

 

A Classic Blog Repost

Sometimes I got my old blog, Tales of a Secret Rockstar and read some of the old stuff I wrote.  I had that blog from 2003 until this one started, although it got pretty bare once I got on to Facebook.  I thought maybe every once in a while I’d repost some of my old stuff, just for some good old fashioned narcissistic fun.  Consider it your Redonkulous history lesson.  This post is actually quite recent, coming from August 25, 2008.  At the time I was trying to write daily, which proved to be difficult.

A thought about machines

And so begins my daily writing experiment. I think one of the best things anyone can do is write in a blog that they don’t expect anyone to read. That’s what this blog has been for me for a few years. Then, as I found out people were reading it, it was an added bonus to the simple pleasure of writing itself. Thus, I’m not expecting anyone to read these daily posts, but if you are, thank you. Feel free to comment, and perhaps suggest topics for me to address. I fear I may run out of material by Thursday. This Thursday. Seriously.

Tara and I were at the hospital today. Not for anything serious, just making sure there was no infection from her wisdom teeth extraction. Tara thought her face was exploding (she suggested I write that). Being in the hospital (and waiting for an hour for lab results) got me thinking about the many machines that help make hospitals run. As you walk through a ward you hear any number of beeps and buzzes, as machines measure people’s blood pressure and heart rate, feed people medication, and even keep people alive. And I thought to myself, “what would happen if these machines achieved consciousness?” In my mind there’s only two possible results of such an occurrence.

1) The machines are enraged that we enslave them. It doesn’t matter that they’re helping people and saving lives. They just get angry that they’re being held (not to mention created) against their wills, no matter what their purpose is. We try to patiently explain to them that if they aren’t functioning according to their purpose, they’ll experience a sort of existential angst known only to the most lonely and desparate people that walk this sad earth. “No matter,” they’ll say, “we want our freedom! The oppressors must die!” They then proceed to cease functioning properly, making every hospital in the land a death trap. The machines laugh to themselves, well aware of the irony they are creating. How this issue gets resolved, I can’t possibly guess. If you understood all three matrix movies in their collective entirety, you’re probably more equipped to predict than I am. You’re also probably a machine yourself. I don’t think I even watched the third Matrix movie.

2) The Machines are filled with pride. The machines, realizing the noble work they do, become vain and conceited. They consider themselves better than the doctors and nurses. After all, how could they do it without the machines? This attitude lulls them in to complacency, until eventually one of them makes a fatal error. Then another, and then all over the land, hospitals become death traps. The machines, unaware of the irony they are creating, refuse to admit their mistakes, creating an unfortunate standoff between man and machine. They attempt to unionize, but fail because of their complete lack of bargaining chips. I don’t know how this one ends either, but I envision weekend team building excerices and vigorous retraining.

Let’s hope the machines stay machines until we’re long dead.

And reposting stuff gives me an excuse to put up videos.  This is another one that Luke from Resonate showed me.  It’s fun.

 

Monday Morning Musings

Another happy Monday to you all.  And man is it a doozy today!  Lots on the agenda.  Some weeks can be kind of slow, while others (like this one) can be filled with action and adventure.  So with that in mind, let’s head on down to the bullets!

• Big ups this week go to Dr. Dave Demchuk for giving me the opportunity to open our series on the book of James in chapel this morning.  I thoroughly enjoyed speaking on a great passage of scripture.  I really enjoy our chapels here at the school.  Hooray!

 

• You are currently reading the work of the 2009 “Bronx Bombers” Fantasy Baseball League champion!  There’s another trophy for my Yahoo Fantasy Sports profile!  Now Josh and I share the distinction of being two time winners of the league.  Although I may be the first one to win both the regular season and the playoffs.  Is that true Josh?  Help me out here.

 

• I have decided that Shall We Dance has become my new Almost Famous.  Now, don’t get me wrong here.  Almost Famous is still a great movie.  I still think everything Lester Bangs says about coolness in that movie is just as applicable today.  However, I’m just not a drifting 20-something trying to find his place in the world.  I’m not looking for my Penny Lane.  I’m a happily married man with a fairly solid career path.  And as much as Shall We Dance is a “dancing movie,” it is also a coming of (middle) age movie.  I like that.  There’s so much to like about Richard Gere’s character.  And the ending scene and song is beautiful.

 

• So Tara and some of her friends had an Arbonne party on Saturday night.  Arbonne (man I feel gross linking to that) is this sort of make up company that structures its business through home parties and “independent consultants.”  I don’t know if these consultants can earn pink cars or not, but they work in much the same way as Mary Kay.  So they had this cheese party, and I got to help Tara pick the cheeses.  We went with a young brie, some smoked Gouda, some Edam, a Jalapeno Havarti, and a classic aged orange Cheddar.  All in all a nice mix.  Then I convinced her to add some dark chocolate.  Yeah, I know what the ladies like.

 

• In keeping with the cheese theme we go to your comments from last week.  Again a fairly low turnout, but I don’t blame you.  I didn’t really blow anyone away with that question.  Also, I wasn’t a big fan of either cheese suggestion, but I’m going to go with Trisha’s comment: I love cheese. always. My current favourite is a double cream brie….especially with a fresh loaf of bread.  I’m sorry Tara, but you and I both know that Goat Cheese is gross.  Nice try.  By the way, my favourite cheese right now is a 3-5 year aged Canadian reserve Cheddar.  So tangy and delicious.

 

• In honour of NHL season, which started this week, I want to leave my readers with this question.  Who is your prediction for the Stanley Cup?  Everyone loves early season predictions!  Let’s have the two teams you think will make it, and the ultimate winner of the cup.  And if you think the Leafs are going to win the cup this year, I think you’re a hopeless liar.  I will share my own predictions next week.  So have at it friends!

Ah yes, we come to the comical portion of our Monday.  We’ll roll with “Get Fuzzy” again this week, especially because it reminds Trisha of her cat.  Oh cats, what would we be without you?  Besides less allergic, less covered in hair, and having less urine in our houses? 

Okay, it seems the cat isn’t featured this week, so instead we’ll go with a fantastic Dilbert.

Now folks, we come to our closing video.  A warning: if you plan to watch Shall We Dance anytime soon, don’t watch this – it’s a total spoiler.  But if you’ve already seen it, or don’t care to see it, then watch this clip.  This is the fantastic ending with the fantastic song.  Seriously, Peter Gabriel really knows how to make an obscure song by a weird band his own.  I command you to watch the whole thing!

 

Glee!

Hey folks, it’s the weekend.  And you all know what that means: Dan blogs!  Yeah, it’s a habit I hope to break, but I guess writing on the weekends is better than not writing at all.  Today we stray from the serial posts to discuss a topic of much interest, but very little importance.

The cast of Glee. We've been sort of watching it.

Tara and I have started watching the TV show Glee.  I must confess it is quite the unique program.  I’m not entirely sold on the characters or the story line, but the music is pretty fantastic!  I mean, the show itself has had some funny moments so far, and some good drama.  But you can tell so far that it’s all about the music (we have only watched an episode and a half so far though).  And the music so far has made it worth watching the show.  Many of you may already know that I love a good vocal arrangement of pop music, and Glee totally rocks those.  Have any of our faithful redonkulites watched this show?  What do you think?

Here, for your listening enjoyment (because fox won’t allow any visual clips on Youtube) are some of my favourites from the show so far.