Time, pt. 3

Here's something I was thinking about before Calc today. Is having a blog timeless? Or posting, or writing, whatever you wanna call it. What I thought about to support this is the amount of checkpoints we have in the world around us. Many of us are counting down the days until Christmas break, or until finals begin. Sports teams are looking at the next game they have to play, or when the next homestand is arriving. Students with assignments are constantly saying, "I'll do x amount of work before this day." TV shows are beginning to enter their winter breaks. What about my blog? Never have I ever said, "I'll blog some time in the next 3 or 4 days." I've wanted to blog in a timeframe, but that doesn't mean I'll force myself to. Like I said in some earlier post this month, I've only gone more than a week between blog posts once. Will there be an end to my blog? And if so, how, when? Why is the end of this post sounding horribly as rhetorical as my previous post? WHY?!?

Moral of the story: some things have time caps on them. The end in sight. Light at the end of the tunnel. But what about the things that don't?

Walking slanted

It's moderately disconcerting for me to think that the best blog post I could come up with in the six days since my previous one is about the length of my legs, but I'm pretty sure that this utter arbitration is what I intended for my blog the entire time. Anyway. My right leg is definitely shorter than my left one. Not only shorter, but smaller in volume, too. To the point where I have three examples to show how much it sucks:

• Whenever I wear sweatpants, the bottom of them ends up going underneath my sneakers when I walk. And just on the right leg. Leaving the bottom of the right leg of all my sweatpants to be significantly more tattered than the left ones.
• In baseball in high school, we used to sit on the ground and put our feet flat on the grass, with our knees bent, and lean back. This was to work our cores, but every once in a while, for the entire two minutes we would do it, I'd be wondering why I can't get my right foot planted on the grass. Only took me about 50 times of doing that to realize it.
• This is where the volume comes in. And by volume, I mean my left foot is bigger than my right foot. I just started wearing some new (and by new, I mean I got these sneakers in August and have worn them six times since) sneakers, and I can move my toes way more comfortably in my right shoe than my left shoe. Sucks to suck.

What I'm wondering (and I'm legitimately curious about this (which should come as no surprise to anyone who's read a decent number of my blog posts)) is whether or not leg size has to do with hand dominance. I definitely thought I wrote a blog post talking about hand dominance, but after searching to no avail, maybe it never came to fruition. Anyway, is the leg that's longer/foot that's bigger on the same side of you as your dominant hand? Where do you fall into this? Does it mean anything that this [could be] the case? Is there any better way to end this post than with multiple rhetorical questions? (No seriously, I really don't like how that feels. I need me some closure.)

Judging by that parenthetical comment, apparently not. Except apparently so, because I just did it. I need to stop this now. Here's a funny video.

ps. In reference to the title of this post...I had no title until after I was done with the whole thing, and thought about what would happen if the leg that was shorter got increasingly shorter as time went on...and that's what would happen.

High school Tardiff

Funny how things always seem to come back into your life after long enough. I'm sitting at my laptop on Thanksgiving night, no TV on, no music, just me and my asymptotic-towards-atrophy body. I've been trying to think up ideas for the 2012 scavenger hunt me and all my friends from home are gonna do over the summer (we had an epic one in 2010 and I'm hoping SH'12 will be even more epic), so I went back into the archives of my life to find the document containing the list known as "The Ultimate Super Greatest Scavenger Hunt in the History of Forever and All-Time," or better yet, "TUSGSHITHOFAAT." Catchy, right? Anyway, I looked into some more documents in the stuff from my computer from high school, and I came across an email to Ms. T (literally the hero of Watertown High School) where I told her about all the awesome things that the spring of my senior year held. In that email, I said, "rarely this spring have I not known what to do – that’s just because everything seems to have been falling in to place this year." This immediately brought me to a chuckle, thinking about the post I had where a misconception of me is that I know the right thing to do a lot of the time - obviously contradicted in the first part of that sentence. Upon further review, the latter part of the sentence got me thinking some more - after one year of college, I ultimately, at one instant, decided that I didn't have all the answers, that I didn't always know the right thing to do. Does that mean that not everything had fallen into place after one year? Probably not, actually. Sure, I had a seamless transition at Stonehill, but that was from being an awesome, kick-ass, devilishly handsome high school senior to a pretty awesome, run-of-the-mill, devilishly handsome college freshman. And that's not gonna happen until 2014 rolls around.

So I read the rest of my email, tried to put myself in the mindset of "Hey, your last day of high school is tomorrow," and think about the meaning behind the words I typed onto the Word document. On the day before our last day, I was talking with my friend Timm in Physics about the story our Psych teacher told us the period before. The moral of the story was that us, being in the position we were in, were very lucky to have led these lives so far, and to make sure we don't lose sight of where we're headed. Sure, everyone has something to deal with in their lives, but for a lot of people, they can say they truly are happy. In the grand scheme of things, when we go to sleep at night, we don't wish we had entirely different lives. There are people out in this world who are way the fuck worse off than we are, and we don't even see that half the time. And what sucks is that I can't truly understand that being worse off unless I live through it myself. Which isn't something I'm willing to readily accept at any point in my life soon. Catch-22. We can't understand how lucky we are until we live in unluckiness.

The end of senior year of high school was a very high-impact time on my life, as I'm sure it's been for anyone going through that process. As I'm sure graduating college is, and getting married, and having kids, or whatever is super important to you in this life. I still get bugged about what happens when there is no life, but I can't conceive of that. What I can conceive of is my conscious living, and that's something all of us can do. My advice is this. Cherish the fuck out of what you'll remember for a very long time. If you can foresee that it's something you'll take with you as long as you live, well then make damn well sure it counts. Maybe it won't mean anything to us once we're gone, but it will sure as hell mean something while we're still here. And that's good enough for now.

Life is about memories. Surround yourself with the right people, strive for the right goals, believe in the right words, and you will give yourself many opportunities to create memories that you'll have forever.

It's times like these we learn to live again...Class of 2010

Don't regret this life

I forgot my Bose headphones at Stonehill over Thanksgiving break, which is gonna suck. I remember every night over summer I'd end up on my laptop, chatting away on Facebook or whatever, but I'd always have my headphones on. Every song is made 50 times better with those headphones; it's like the song completely surrounds you and encapsulates you. Fulfills you. And of course, the best songs to represent that feeling are the ones with the heavy power chords and tonic bass notes. In other words, Daughtry. There's nothing like listening to Daughtry and having every chord resonate throughout not only the headphones, but my entire body, sometimes. The music literally takes me over with the moment. And that's what we need to have happen in our lives. We have to let those moments happen, and let the music and the moment control us. That's what fulfills us.

One of the many things LOST taught me

I originally had the title of this post as "One of the few things LOST taught me," but after harboring between loving and hating the show, I have to concede to the former. Despite the many times during LOST where I explicitly stated my contempt for the series, it was, in the end, a very good show. Unfortunately, I won't be talking about any of that. Perhaps I will over the summer, if my plan to watch every episode goes accordingly (spoiler: it won't), but for now, I'm going to talk about episode titles.

As with any great TV show (House and "Everybody lies," The Office and "That's what she said"), LOST had its fair share of memorable quotes. However, something that's always stuck with me are the episodes that have Latin instead of English as the title. Examples:

From "Tabula Rasa"

• "Tabula Rasa," 1x03
• "Deus ex Machina," 1x19
• "Ab Aeterno," 6x09

 Respectively, they mean "blank slate," "God out of the machine," and "from eternity." Ab aeterno has never come up for me outside of LOST (and to be honest, I didn't even know that was one of the three episodes with Latin in the title), and even Deus ex machina hasn't been said a lot. Nor have the English translations, is what I'm getting at. Clean slate. That's what I hear every once in a while, and as soon as I hear it, I immediately think to myself, tabula rasa. And think about that LOST episode where some character said you can be whoever you want on this island. No one knows anyone (spoiler: everyone knows everyone), so everyone has a blank slate. Tabula rasa.

I was thinking about that. How a simple phrase immediately triggers something in your mind where you can relate it to something very vivid. This always happens to me with House episodes. There will be an actor or actress in a TV show who was in House, and I'll be like "OH SHE WAS IN HOUSE" and then talk about the entire episode accurately. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing, but it's a thing.

What I haven't done in a while is encourage you guys (yes, I am aware that I have readers) to do something at the end of my blog posts. Probably because I'm not springing philosophy on anyone anymore. But I'll break that streak now. Think about those phrases, people, pictures, that jog your memory. Where you hear "blank slate" and think about that LOST episode, or see someone who was in some movie (I find this to be the most common one, now that I think about it. How many times a movie do you go "WHAT ELSE WAS THIS PERSON IN?"). It might not be practical to anything in our lives, but you have to admit, it is pretty cool.

Values Game #5

Do you believe in life on other planets?

I actually don't remember this one from the summer, but my answer is pretty simple as it stands right now. Mathematically, Earth is not the only planet in the entire galaxy with life. Assuming there are billions of galaxies with billions of planets, there has to be life on other planets. Maybe not in our solar system, maybe not in our galaxy (besides Earth, of course), but somewhere. I chose this question because it gave me a chance to look back on my self-philosophy post, where I talked about this. I thought I had a lot deeper argument about it, but I guess not. Maybe because if the math is there, then how can I refute it?

10 songs from the 90's

Hump Day, thou hast not yet defeated me. Despite my four classes, homework for four classes (of which included Multivariable Calculus), there is one thing to give today that kick-ass feeling: 90's music. (Editor's Note: I always used to be a strong proponent of not using an apostrophe when referring to decades or centuries, but as of right now, I kinda like it.) Thanks to StumbleUpon, a Google search of VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 90's, and immediate rejection at the first 26 songs, I decided to post what I think are 10 songs many people think of when they think about music in the 1990's, while tossing in a couple of my favorites as well. So, here you go: killer songs from the 90's. The number in front of the song is VH1's placement on its Top 100 list.

1. #42: Shine - Collective Soul. Whenever I would go for a run during baseball practice in high school, I'd always listen to this song. Repeatedly. It's just such an awesome, heavy, kick-ass song. Straight up.

2. #27: Mr. Jones - Counting Crows. This was the first song I liked (as a 90's song) on the list (there are plenty I love before #27, they just didn't have that 90's feel), and that's because everyone knows it, it's another awesome song, and fun to pretend you know the words to.

3. #90: You Get What You Give - New Radicals. If I ever do a post on the greatest songs to listen to on Saturday afternoon in the summer with the windows down because it's sunny and 90 degrees, this is going to be at the top of the list. And likely to reappear multiple times on said list.

4. #72: One Week - Barenaked Ladies. These guys have the most ludicrous lyrics which are horribly impossible to sing/learn/understand. However, I think that's what makes them a really cool band. The fast, short words make it seem happy. Even if what I can hear from the lyrics doesn't sound that happy.

5. #45: Only Wanna Be With You - Hootie and the Blowfish. Hootie is another band that I immediately think of when I think of the 90's. A lot of their songs are really singable, and easy to play on guitar. Kinda seemed like a theme of the 90's.

6. #34: Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind. This is pretty much synonymous with the concept of everyone singing this song once it's played. Yet another theme of the 90's. Also really good for the song. It also helps that this song is simply one of the greatest songs ever.

7. #39: Iris - Goo Goo Dolls. Maybe it's just me and my friends, but I feel like certain songs are meant to be sung in one and only one circumstance. For this, it's when you're driving home from somewhere and it's night, and you know that there are only one or two more songs left.

8. #48: 3 A.M. - Matchbox Twenty. Yeah...this is what we play once Iris ends. My favorite part is the end of the bridge, right before the chorus. It's always fun to yell to and pretend you're good at singing. Which should probably left to Rob Thomas...nah...

9. #37: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day. I'm not sure why it's taken me until now realize the contradiction between good riddance and having the time of your life, but, when in Rome... This was also the 5th-grade graduation song for two of the three elementary schools in Watertown. The school that didn't have it was mine. Wanna know what was? Gettin' Jiggy With It. Hell yeah.

10. #33: Wonderwall - Oasis. I was reluctant to put this on the list, only because it's the epitome of "You play guitar? Cool! Do you know Wonderwall?" Not that I don't like the song, but I feel like it's a little more cliché than it needs to be. Although it is always fun to jam out to.

Honorable Mention: Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Nine Days. I'm beginning to think that this might be the greatest song ever. Any time it's on the radio or Pandora, a little more of me thinks this. And it's probably true - there are a handful of different versions with slight differences in intricacies, but the main structure of the song is the same. Basically, this song is the greatest. The end.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

              - Robert Frost

November sunshine

I don't know how, but it's supposed to be in the 60s AGAIN this week. Score one for New England weather, I guess. Either that or this whole global warming thing is legit. Anyway, the non-crappy weather was the first thing to get my last-full-week-before-Thanksgiving-break week off on the right foot. That, and realizing that I only have 2 or 3 classes of each course before the break (despite an exam in two classes). And that my friends are visiting me this weekend, which is totally awesome, because it's always one of the best/most hilarious days of the semester when they visit. I also just sent out an email to the Orientation Group telling them to kick some serious ass in this last week-plus before we go home for a few days, and that obviously got me in a rather exuberant mood.

But to know where you're going, you have to know where you came from. Last weekend was also really great - me and Vicki went to Watertown for a couple of nights, saw J. Edgar (which was well-done and a pretty interesting movie (especially for someone who knew literally nothing about it going in)), went to the Bruins game on Saturday, and then came back to watch Hitch (which is actually a pretty underrated movie. Maybe I'm just drawn to someone saying things, a lot of things, and as he says them, they are immediately true (see: House, Gregory)).

So, yeah. Basically, it's a pretty good month so far. Which is fantastic, considering November is the second most lethargic month of the year (August). Cold, wind, rain, leaves falling, bare leaves...definitely seems like there are a lot more than 30 days in the month. But what's great about this year is that it definitely has seemed like fewer than 14 days have passed by. Guess that means that before I know it, it'll be the weekend before 2 days of class before a 5-day weekend. Can't complain with that.

YAY DUKE

Today is the first Duke game and I'm so excited and I can't wait to watch it on my TV at home and not on my computer at school and turn up the volume real loud and bring my Duke t-shirt back to school with me and Vicki's gonna see me jumping up and down again which will be funny but she'll probably think I'm mad weird...good thing she thinks that anyway. LET'S GO DUKE

 

Jokes With a Guitar

Can't wait to learn this entire thing.

Red Sox Offseason Update: Carl Crawford

Alright, Mr. Crawford. Your turn. You at least get a second year before I go around telling people you suck. You, like John Lackey, fit into a category with Dice-K. Although this one is in good company. Josh Beckett is also in this category, as well as one or two other players. This group of people includes players who were mediocre in their first season with the Red Sox, yet had a significantly better sophomore campaign. Allow me to explain:

• Josh Beckett. Year One with the Red Sox? 16-11 with a 5.01 ERA. Seventy-four walks, eleven wild pitches, and 1.6 HR/9. Not really what we expected out of the World Series champion. But in his second year, Beckett went 20-7, had 40 walks, flirted with 200 strikeouts, cut his HR/9 in half, was an All-Star, and finished second in Cy Young voting.

• Dice-K's inaugural season in America was, well, something we would have totally expected if we'd seen him for 5 years already. He went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA, gave up 100 earned runs, 25 homers, and had a 1.32 WHIP. His next season with the Red Sox was (in some aspects) far superior - he went 18-3 with a 2.90 WHIP, giving up only 12 home runs, and led the majors with 6.9 hits per 9 IP, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting. (Strangely enough, Matsuzaka also led the American League with 94 walks and had a BB/9 ratio of FIVE, but hey...let's pretend that's not here.)

• David Ortiz wasn't really a big-name player when he arrived in Boston in 2003. He quickly made a name for himself by hitting 173 HR in his first four seasons, as well as, you know, winning us the ALCS. His 2004 season was also statistically better than his first season at Fenway. His batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, HR, walks, RBI, hits, and runs all increased, and he also won the Silver Slugger award in 2004.

Point is, I think Crawford will be fine. On a sidenote, there's no hope for Lackey, because he's sucked in his first two seasons with the Red Sox, but there's hope for Crawford. He had significantly lower totals in 2011 for hits, steals, average, and on base percentage, when compared to 8 of 9 full seasons with Tampa Bay (excluded is his rookie season, where he only played 63 games). But I'm convinced that the reason for the discrepancy is the difficulty acclimating to expecting to finish at the top of the AL East, being around the media way more often, seeing sellouts frequently, and seeing an entire pitching staff for the first time, for 18 games (the Rays). Dude's fine. If this happens again next year, then we can talk. But I'm not worried. (About Crawford, at least.)

And, as usual, huge props to Baseball-Reference. Seriously people...all you need is knowledge of baseball and numbers and you can confuse the hell out of people, too.

10 good songs

(No seriously, that's all this post is about.)

So it's been a while since I last put a bunch of music on the blog (precisely September 7th), and with my iTunes seeing a makeover after upgrading to iOS5 for my iTouch, there's been some shuffling around of music (no pun intended (doesn't mean it wasn't funny)). Actually no, now I definitely intend for that pun to be there. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna shuffle through my iTunes and see what comes up, and if it's a good song, bam. It goes here.

1. Untouchable - Luna Halo. Some people might know this as a Taylor Swift cover, but that doesn't stop me from loving this song. If every Taylor Swift song were like this, I would love all of them. Alas...

2. Wounded - Third Eye Blind. Third Eye Blind always seems to have some awesome combination of guitar picking, heavy choruses, and awesome lyrical melodies. No exception here.

3. Lost! - Coldplay. I was never a fan of Viva la Vida, and I'm still kinda not, but it somehow found its way into my iTunes...like the entire album. Violet Hill is a great song, but I haven't come across that one yet, and Lost! is a pretty legit song.

4. See the World - Gomez. This song is just so much fun to harmonize to. Like I bet someone out there wakes up and listens to this song every day. Also it was on House, so mad bonus points there.

5. You Girl - Sam Adams. Sam Adams - the paragon of music that's awesome to listen while driving...by yourself.

6. Satellite - Guster. Goes under the category of "awesome." Done deal.

7. Black Roses Red - Alana Grace. It would complete my life if Daughtry covered this song. It's absolutely PERFECT for him. Major props to this song for sounding badass.

8. Savior - Rise Against. Mmmm...

9. Bad - U2. Despite the fact that you can mash this up with Take a Picture by Filter and Heartbreak Warfare by John Mayer, this song is AMAZING. It builds up perfectly and then Bono yells and everything is so awesome about this song.

10. Philosophia - The Guggenheim Grotto. This song is simply perfection. Electronic keyboard for one, fantastically crafted lyrics, two, and three-dude harmony? GTFO. I listened to this song on repeat for probably the entire month of April last semester while I was working on my Literature final paper, which dealt with the philosophy of the idea of physical evil conveyed by Voltaire in Candide. Everyone download this. Please. Do yourself a favor.