bam

blindstar

Amadou et Mariam
Song: Teree La Sebin
Trans. by ?

But no one can escape his lot
I say that illness of the eyes isn't good
But what can I do?
Amadou plays the guitar, Mariam sings...
I said sorry to everyone but they accuse me of everything
I apologized to everyone
But they called me every name under the sun
My older brother...my brother I am not the only one
They put the evil eye over my head
What did I do to God for Him to take my eyes?

movingstar

rockstar

Feel the power...
of M.S. paint

...

(It's an old photo. But I like it.)

1) http://recreationalphysics.blogspot.com/ muahahahaha

2) Turned in my final thesis on Friday. "Diffraction correction and low-frequency response extension for condenser microphones." 235 pgs. It sounds complicated and long, but its not. It's mostly pictures. And it is easy to read. Once you get the terminology down, its not that difficult. If you are interested in making digital models of simple analog circuits and doing basic digital filtering, you might get something out of it. So if you are interested and I know you and know that you aren't going to rip off my research because it's not published yet, I'll send you a copy, maybe.

3) Playing music w/Matt Carleson (fiddler) for Ed and Ellen's wedding this weekend. Good times.

4) Moving Friday. Sometimes I look at my stuff and really wouldn't cry if it all went up in flames. Its like, if it all burnt to ashes, I wouldn't know what I'd lost. But when I take time to sort through it I'm like "no, I might need that later." I don't even have that much stuff. It sucks how "things" can tie you down, you know? Sometimes I think it would be so great to have nothing more than the bare essentials of life (a pair of shoes, a set of clothes, and food). Hmmm....

5) I think that today I might have figured out why the experimental measurements for the adiabatic to isothermal transition that I've taken in my pistonphone seem to deviate from the theoretical model. But I can't be sure yet. If I did, it would be a big relief, because it has been stumping me for about half a year or more.

6) I will probably be studying in Japan next year. But not as a student, as a "research scholar" and I have no idea where I'm going to live. And it is going to be difficult trying to find a place to live in a place that you don't know the major language. (fun)

7) Still hope to end up in China some day. And man... Japan and China are waaaaay different from eachother so don't confuse the two.

8) I haven't been doing art recently. Really busy.

...

AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhhhhh I AM SO BORED WITH CORRECTING MY THESIS

I am beginning to think randomness is an illusion

If I made a blog of all the really... *weird* coincidences and strange things that occur in my life, it would not be a short blog. I've posted some before, but here are some more:

1)
Doris Heritage was my SPU XC and Track coach. I sucked at XC to be honest, but she was really great. Tough as nails, and an un-surpassable list of records and championship titles. Supposedly, she ripped off her ear when she was a kid, and laughed, cause she thought it was funny. (I guess they sowed it back on). Anyway, she was one of my dad's best friends at Seattle Pacific. So, even though I was slow as molasses when I ran for SPU, she seemed to like me anyway.

FF to now. I have been franticly trying to find a place to stay for a couple months, cause my lease ends soon but I might be leaving to study abroad in a couple months. Nobody rents for a couple months, but a dear lady at my church found out about my problem, and offered to let me rent a room from her. Its a little out of the way in a nearby town, (Boalsburg) but I went out to take a look, cause it sure would beat staying in a tent. Anyway, I started talking with her, and found out that she is one of Doris' best friends and was also a national track star. She emails her every day.

Do you know how weird it is, to travel to poe-dunk-ville Pennsylvania, and run into one of your old XC coach's best friends? Just cause she was offering you a place to rent?? That is so... weird.

2)
I was arguing about something with God (not recommended, btw). I knew something was right, but I did not want to do it. I was grocery shopping, and it occured to me that one of my friends was leaving State College, and it sucked that I never got to say goodbye. So I started praying "Lord... may I please see so-and-so before she takes off." But I stopped mid sentence cause I remembered that I was still arguing with God, and everyone knows that God's not gonna listen to you if you've been bad, right? Or, atleast, I figured he SHOULDN'T. Cause I wouldn't, if I wasn't at peace with someone. And so I hung on to my stubborness. Then, after I finished and was walking out of the store, there she was, comming in. And she was very happy to see me before she took off, and it was great.

That is so weird. That never happens. I hardly ever run into anyone, much less anyone I was thinking about just prior to running into them. Nor in the context of a larg-ish town where there are certainly enough people (80,000+) to keep those sorts of things from occuring.

So, yeah, I repented. With much joy and thanksgiving, too. That was so cool.


It's almost like... Magnolia

I'm no poet

今天今天
每天我等你
恵子,他們都說:
深情, 愛情
是悲詩

but I still try

Now playing

So, a long dryspell just ended in my never-ending quest for great music, and here are some bands or song collections that I have recently discovered are really excellent

Amadou and Mariam
Album: Sou Ni Tile
- Blind husband and wife duet from Mali that make incredible music. Like Habib Koite but rougher on the edges, and with more punch and energy.

Howl
Album: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
- Birthday present from Josh. Being the pop king of the world, his approval probably means more to you than anything I could come up with, so I'll leave it at that.

Firefly
Album: soundtrack
- Introduced to this TV series by long time buddy John Lang (fatty). Not only does the series have the most interesting vision of the future I've ever seen, but the soundtrack is a smooth blend of bluesy slide-guitars, fiddles and... shakahachis??

婚禮以後

I don't think they could have asked for a better wedding. It was incredibly excellent. What was most amazing was how the entire Evengelical Free Church community in Pullman pulled together to make it the way it was. I couldn't believe our warehouse-converted church could look that nice. Somehow, (well, through a lot of effort) they made it work. The bridesmaids were beautiful, but Marian was absolutely gorgeous. Jacob and the groomsmen looked sharp too... Pastor Busby's words were heavy and pointed, but the whole process was so full of rejoicing that even at the most solemn parts the atmosphere of joy was barely contained. The reception afterwards was fantastic, and there were people from all over that we hadn't seen in a long time. Really... it was great. Decorating their car was fun too.

And being that now both my sisters are married, everyone was asking me when I'M gonna get married. Ugh. Look... I got a lady I'm working on right now, but since my history with women looks more like a freight train pile-up than anything else, it might take a while. But this is the kicker [should even post this?]: at the reception, a man that I have really respected for years offered me his daughter in marriage (he laughed and said she'd be horrified at this).

????????????!!?!?!?!

That was, uh... weird. I have always thought that earning the respect of the father will be the hardest and most terrifying aspect of courting a woman. So, to know that someone already respects me enough to say "I'd be happy to have you as a son in law" almost knocked me off balance. But I don't take it as a personal compliment so much as a comment about my parents and family in general. I wish I could be as respectable a man as my dad... but not even close, yet, and the path looks to be a long one