WHAT UP?!

I'm in a really good mood right now.  It's great to be out and about again.  I had gotten crazy bored and probably just plain crazy with all that down time I had last week.  It was fun going to all my classes today and seeing peoples' reactions when I walked in.  One girl that I hardly know... in fact... I DON'T know her name...oops... anyway, she looked at me with a gasp and said, "You're not dead?!"  No, random girl.  I survived.  Everyone else told me how weird it was to see me.  It feels good to be missed, BUT shortly after they greet me happily, invariably people then realized "Wait, he might still be contagious!  SHUN HIM!"  Haha, ok, that's an exaggeration.  But peoples' thought processes have seemed to always go in that order; "Great to see you!  Now keep your distance!" 

Anyway, like I said, I'm in a good mood because I feel like I'm getting things back on track.  Both of my history teachers were really cool about me turning stuff in late and getting caught up.  I'm still chugging away at all my law school application stuff.  I want to get those done soon. 

GASP!  I just realized!  While I was sick the basketball team started doing their first exhibition games and stuff.  I'm pumped!  I love going to the basketball games.  I can't wait to go to one!  I hope the Aggies are competitive again this year.  I'm sure they still will be.  Maybe not quite as good as last year, but they'll still do well I think.  Sorry to all you spider-lovers out there... but I just killed one. 

Well, here's a list of the great tunes I listened to whilst writing this amazing blog-post:
"Beautiful" by Moby
"Paranoid Android" by Radiohead
and "Circles" by Incubus

umm... k, bye.

Emerging from my cave...

Hitchcock at Cave In Rock
Originally uploaded by mightyquinninwky©™

Hi! Well, I'm over the Swine Flu. It's pretty well gone. So, I should feel better, right? No. I can't figure out how to reacclimate myself to society. Not that I'm completely mentally broken or anything, I just am really hesitant to go out into society for fear of getting more people sick. I also don't really want to/know how to jump back into all the work I have to get done. I have a paper to write tonight, and a research paper outline to get done. It's a little bit frightening. Not to mention the TONS of projects etc. that I'm behind on. Ugh. Anyway, so I am struggling to be active again. I'll figure things out. I was a hermit for far too long!


Well, I think I've made a decision about what I'm going to do with myself tonight. Wish me luck. I'm venturing back out into the world for the first time!

NBC's Perfect 10

Well, my nose started bleeding randomly (Woot!), and I cannot sleep... what shall I do?  Blog about game shows!  Of course!

Anyone that knows me knows that I love game shows.  I don't just mean new ones.  I even like the old 70s reruns of Match Game '76, Pyramid, and Family Feud on Game Show Network.  (Yes, I realize that it's only me and 70+ year old women watching those.)  Anyway, I have always watched game shows, and want to be on one just once in my life.  So I was just perusing NBC's website and discovered that they are going to air a game show called "Perfect 10."  It apparently requires contestants to complete 10 tasks in 60 second increments.  The tasks are aparently deceptively hard things that might seem everyday.  I'm curious.  Apparently they're giving away (*PAINFUL SNEEZE!*... bless me) 1 million dollars if you can do all 10 of them.  It seems that it's some kind of a kinesthetic Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?  It's amazing that game shows give away SO much money nowadays.  I mean, back in the day on game shows like "What's My Line?" they won like 50 bucks for stumping the celebrity panel.  Today that would be the LAMEST prize ever.  Well, I don't really know where I was going with this, but I think I have lost sight of any point.  K, bye.

The Face of Swine Flu...

I have been diagnosed with the H1N1 influenza virus.  On Sunday night/Monday morning I started coughing.  Then on Monday I got a bad fever.  Ugh.  My body can't make up its mind.  I go from sweating to shivering and then back to sweating.  This is not very fun.  I'm doing ok though.  I just hope that I didn't give it to too many others.  I didn't want my friends that I hung out with on Sunday to know this, but the doctor told me today that one of the most contagious days is the day before you know you have it.  That was Sunday.  I hung out with like 20 people... oops.  Oh well, nothing I could do.  It's funny that we played "Werewolf" on Sunday, as it turns out that I have a virus that is easily transmitted.  Instead of biting people to rally more Werewolves to my cause, I'm coughing on people to rally more swine!

I have to miss a week of school.  So far my professors are being cool about it, but one of them hasn't talked to me about it yet.  There's a paper due in her class tomorrow, and I'm just not doing it.  I can't think clearly enough to write a decent paper right now.  Oh, and I'm missing a test tomorrow.  Ugh.  I'm going to be SO behind.  I hate being behind. 

I'm also SO sick of my bed.  I want to have contact with living human beings.  Everytime I do talk to someone it's hard because they always make me laugh and then I start having a coughing fit.  I'm discovering that I would make a terrible hermit though.  Anyway, I get to just deal with this for the next week.

Oh, I forgot to mention that fevers make me a little bit CRAZY.  My mind races really bad, especially when I try to sleep.  And I tend to hallucinate or think too fast to make sense of anything I think.  (For instance, one time I couldn't sleep because I was feverishly making up equations and math problems in my head that were nonsensical.)

Some Random Swine Flu Thoughts:

• I just watched a 1960s movie of Poe's "Pit and the Pendulum."  It was somewhat interesting.  But mostly boring.  I just can't be scared by such old movies.
• The doctor I went to today was a low-talker.  I hope he didn't say anything too important that I couldn't hear but nodded my head in agreement to:  "You have 3 weeks to live."  -- "Ok Doctor, sounds good."
• Yay!  I just noticed that I don't have a headache right now.
• Hip Hip Hoorah for at least not having diarrhea or vomiting to this point.
• Is it sad that I haven't watched any of my DVDs because they're on the other side of the room?
• I went to the store today to buy groceries after my doc's appointment and I felt super guilty the whole time I was there.  I didn't really touch anything except the grocery cart.  So hopefully they took their time in retrieving it from the parking lot.
• I honestly almost bought a Snuggie today!  How frightening is that?!
• There were two other people at the Student Wellness Center that had to wear facemasks, so I was definitely not the only one with the Swiggity Flizzle.
• Is it sad that I feel a little bit cool for getting the disease that is so famous right now?
• If anyone has any great ideas for things for me to do in all this down time, please let me know!
  

Lagoon and Gauges...

Gauged!!!!!!!
Originally uploaded by Flutterbye_856

My good pal Jenny invited me to Lagoon with a bunch of her friends this past weekend. I'm not going to lie. I had a LOT of fun. It really made me feel like a kid again. Even though Lagoon is certainly lacking in REALLY great rides, it's still a very fun place. I enjoyed the new "Wicked" roller coaster. Although, I've never seen spots so frequently in my life! My head can't handle the pressure of the roller coasters so well as it used to. And it was great that the weather mostly cooperated except for being a bit chilly at night. It was a really good day. Thanks Jenny!

While there, I was reminded of a topic (many, many times) that I've been wanting to discuss on here for quite a while. Gauges. What the poo is going on with gauges?! I first saw someone with these things last year and was just blown away that a guy would want to do that to his ears. I know I'm not totally hip and in fashion or anything, but I can't fathom how this is stylistically appealing at ALL. And for the girls that are doing this to their ears, they CLEARLY never intend to be mothers. When I was a baby, I pulled my mom's hoop earring right through her ear lobe. Ouch, right? Well these girls are going to have a TERRIBLE time with their kids pulling on their ears, if they ever do have kids. All I can think when I see gauges is, "You are going to look SO weird when you're old."

Any gauge experts out there want to explain ANY pros about these things? I can only count cons.

K, bye.

McDonald's Monopoly, My Procrastination, Faults, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Law School, and Pumpkin Flavored Things

it's Monopoly time at McDonald's again...
Originally uploaded by Scorpions and Centaurs

(That is quite possibly the longest blog title I've ever written.)

I have such an addictive personality. I know I've discussed that before, but it's really sad when food that generally disgusts me can be among the things to which I get addicted. I am on a crazy streak of eating at McDonald's. I'm convinced that they've found addictive chemicals to lure me back in again and again. (Yeah Jeff, they're called fat and sugar!) Also, it's Monopoly time and I'm afraid that that is contributing a great deal to my frequency of McDonald's visits. It really is sad. I always regret it after I go, but I keep going back. Random: Since I'm so awesome and am always giving my readership great rewards...(lies, I never give y'all ANYTHING)... here is a free McDonald's Stamp Code! First come, first serve: 8XZ3QDT819J. (I don't think it's against the rules if I give it away for free!)

Uh... so I had a GREAT institute lesson yesterday. It was about repentance and the Atonement of Christ. There was a great quote that Brother Jacobs shared about taking the blame for our own actions. Thomas Carlyle said: "The greatest of all faults, is to recognize none." The whole way home I kept pointing out to myself in my mind how my own actions are almost always responsible for things that go wrong in my life or that make me upset. It's ME! (Currently, my fault of procrastination is why I only got a couple hours of sleep and feel like a zombie today.) Something that is probably also my fault for eating so much garbage is the OBNOXIOUS zit that won't go away on my nose. My struggles with it have made my whole nose red, and hence the reference to a beloved reindeer in the title of this post.

After getting my most recent LSAT scores back (it went well, but I got one point below the range that I wanted to be in), I have been getting all sorts of emails from random law schools. They're law schools that I've never really considered going to. Many of them are pretty nice, and many of them offer to let me apply without paying the fee. However, they are all in locations that I've never really considered living. Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Richmond, Louisville, Iowa City, Philadelphia.... yeah... I've never seen myself in any of these places. But I have to be honest, I'm getting really excited about going to law school. And I think it would be a bit of an adventure for me to go to one of these schools in regions that I've never even been. Anyway, I am a lot more excited about law school now that I get to just start applying and seeing where I end up.

I love pumpkin flavored things. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are my favorite cookies. Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie. I dare say that pumpkin chocolate chip bread is my favorite bread. I LOVE THE STUFF! I don't really understand why, but I'm always very happy about the influx of pumpkin flavored things around this time o' year.

Hmm... ok, bye.

Jeff's Top Twenty Bands/Artists List

 I'm bored.  So I'm back.  I decided to post a list that comes from a mix I made yesterday.

It's My TOP TWENTY FAVORITE BANDS/ARTISTS:

1. U2.  I always think that they'll fall from the number one spot, but no band can ever really top them.  This despite the fact that I don't even like U2's newest album at all.  I saw them twice when they toured after the release of "All That You Can't Leave Behind."  They're an incredible band.  Bono's cool. 
2. Guster.  I really quite love this band.  Many of their songs fit right into my life.  They really aren't incredible musicians or anything, but they're just right for me.  C'mon, you know a band that has a "conguero" (who even plays regular drum sets with his hands) has got to be good!  I saw them over two years ago and really enjoyed the show they put on.
   
3. Travis.  Even Travis is guilty of a most recent album that I find to be a flop ("Ode to J. Smith" -- it does have one good song, but that's it).  Although that wasn't enough to deter them from becoming my new number 3.  (A spot formerly held by Dave Matthews Band.)  "The Boy With No Name" album is really an amazing one.  Provided this band actually takes their time on an album ("Ode" was produced very quickly after the previous album), they'll continue to be in my top 3 for a long time.
4. Coldplay.  Yup.  You know these guys.  It seems to me that everyone knows Coldplay and either loves them or hates them.  Consider me among the former.
5. Ben Kweller.  Ben is chill.  I find among his music so much to love.  Although he ALSO made a recent album that I'm not a huge fan of (He made a random country album?), I can certainly forgive him.  It's rare that I go too long without listening to some BK.
6.  Death Cab For Cutie.  I think this band, like Coldplay, is really incredible at making songs that just sink in immediately.  This band did make a couple sub-par albums way back when they started, but they are absolutely on a roll since then.  "Transatlanticism" is a classic.  "Plans" is also incredible, but that goes without saying when you consider how popular it made them.
7. The Weakerthans.  Like Travis, I wish these guys could really catch on here in the U.S.  (Travis is made up of Brits.)  This Canadian band has really impressed me.  I love when music is about the lyrics.  These guys have a fairly simple rock approach to the music, but the lyrics are what really drew me to them.  Their last two albums have each featured a song that is from the point of view of a pet cat, but they don't sound weird.  I love the stories.  Good stuff.
8. Sea Wolf.  This band would not have made the top ten if I hadn't bought their second album just a couple days ago.  They just released that album, and it cemented the fact that I love this band.  Their first album and EP even before that were FULL of songs that I loved.  It's rare that I can like every song on an album, but this band has done that TWICE!  Matt Pond PA does that to a degree, too, but these albums have songs that I REALLY like and play frequently.  They're very much about the lyrics and somewhat remind me of The Decemberists.
   
9. Nada Surf.  Although I didn't love this band from the get-go, they really grew on me.  "The Weight Is A Gift" is one amazing album that really caused me to like them so much.  I wish people knew Nada Surf for more than just their first hit, "Popular."  I think this band could continue to rise on my list if they keep it up.
10. The Decemberists.  This band is really unique.  They have a theatric flair that is so well executed and that I can't find anywhere else.  Their most recent album, "The Hazards of Love," plays like a dramatic play.  This band is all about story-telling, and doing it eloquently.  I feel like I'm listening to music a century-old, but it's actually very much modern alternative rock.  I don't know if The Decemberists will move any higher into my top ten, but they're a great band nonetheless.
11. Dave Matthews Band.  DMB used to be my #2 band.  They stayed as my third favorite since I discoverd Guster and have always been there since.  But then... I just kinda quit listening.  I don't have any desire to buy their newest album.  They are still a great band, and I'll always enjoy the album "Everyday," but I just quit being really in love with their stuff.  I don't really know what happened.  They still have some great music though.
12. Pete Yorn.  A former top fiver.  Pete is really a great artist.  His music has just gotten progressively slower and slower with each new album.  (He only has 4.)  My appreciation of him dropped after the first 2.  Don't get me wrong, I still really like Pete.  I saw him open for The Foo Fighters a long time ago, and his portion of that concert remains among my top five live performances that I've seen.
13. Matt Pond PA.  Matt Pond PA is unique among the artists on this list because they don't really make individual songs that I REALLY like and listen to all the time like other bands do, but I like almost ALL of the songs they produce.  I can't really explain why it is like that, but that's how it is.  I'm excited for the direction they're going though.  I really like all of the albums they've made.  They've shot up to this spot from not being in the top twenty, and they could certainly move higher.  I love their implementation of strings in their rock music.  Their stuff is often very smooth and relaxing, but not too boring.  It's good music.
14. Grandaddy.  Grandaddy used to be top ten, but they've just been passed up by newer discoveries that I like better.  I still really liked their quirky and VERY unique sound.  I also like music that can make me laugh without being only made for that purpose.  They sadly made one last crappy album and broke up, but their album "Sumday" will always be in my favorites.
15. Carbon Leaf.  Carbon Leaf is an all-around good rock band.  They have their own style.  I don't love all of their music, but they've certainly made enough songs that I really enjoy to earn a top twenty spot.  They're a talented group that is only getting better.  I can't wait to get their newest album.
16. Collective Soul.  This band and Counting Crows are two that used to be top ten bands in my opinion.  However, they've both been so long out of my realm of stuff I listen to that they don't really impress me as much anymore.  I rarely listen to Counting Crows anymore, but Collective Soul still has many classics that I can't resist listening to every so often.  I think they've just been passed by music that better fits my preferences.  Still... they're a great band.
17. Muse.  I quite like Muse.  It's fun to listen to.  I really don't love their lyrics all the time, but I do especially love running or working out to their stuff.  When I get their newest album, we'll see if they'll impress me enough to stay in the top twenty, or if they'll drop out.  They have two albums that I'll always listen to and love though.  ("Absolution" and "Black Holes and Revelations")
18. Badly Drawn Boy.  He's a great British singer-songwriter.  Very unique, but fun music.  Hasn't been writing stuff I love recently, but has a lot of great stuff already under his belt.  His best stuff to date was the music he wrote for the movie "About A Boy." 
19. Cake.  Nerd rock at its absolute best.  I always enjoy a good Cake song now and then.  I wish they'd release a new album sometime soon, but I really like a lot of their older stuff.  Really fun stuff.  "The Distance" is a hilarious and awesome song.
    
20.  Phoenix / Ambulance LTD.  I couldn't choose between these two bands to finish off my list.  They each only have one album that I know and love, but they each very much impressed me with that one album.  While I may still look into their older albums, I only own Phoenix's most recent album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix."  I really like it a lot.  They're a French band that really seems to be growing in popularity with this most recent album here in the States.  Ambulance LTD, on the other hand, only came out with one album and then broke up.  It's a BIG shame.  They could have been a really amazing band, not to say that their beginning wasn't amazing.  Their only major album "Ambulance LP," is great rock music.  I wish they were still around.  I watched their website for months in anticipation of a new album, but it never came.  And then I heard they broke up.  Sad day. 

So that's the list.  I recommend all of these bands or artists.  I love music... as you can tell I'm sure.  I have a bunch of albums that I currently want to buy (see my wishlist) that could change up this list though.  We'll see.  CHECK OUT MY OTHER MUSIC LISTS:  Top 40 Funny Songs, Top 100 Favorite Songs

It's currently my "fall break," but I don't have any plans.  I went and saw "Up" again tonight with some neighbors.  I really like that movie.  I think I might fish tomorrow if it's at all warm enough.  K... cool.... see ya!