What I Did Last Year

Last year, I went to First Night with my friend Sam, lost an aunt due to a lengthly illness, got ready for London, said goodbye to people, boarded a plane and flew to New York, spent the night and then flew to London. Met Barbara, Fran and Will and Flat 9 of 5 Doughty Street, took a tour of the city, got lost with Will, learned how to get around the city, walked all over the place, visited the British Museum numerous times, learned to love Indian food, visited Cambridge, Canterbury, Stratford-Upon-Avon, York, Oxford (x3), Bristol, Bath, Norwich, saw a Tintin play, drank in the Eagle and Child, watched as the muslim world erupted after some cartoons were published, watched the Olymics, went to Scotland and went hiking, saw the London theatres are much cooler than their American counterparts, saw some musicals and plays, got hooked on House MD, Supernatural, Green Wing and Prison Break, missed Battlestar Galactica and Stargate, had roommate problems, learned to live in a city, met Philip Pullman and Brian Aldiss, learned about Alexi Murdoch, KT Tunstall, the Arctic Monkeys, went through two iPods, got my heart broken, Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell, learned that a camper from camp died, worked at an innercity London School, went to Athens, Marathon and Pireus, Greece and met Megan, Heather, Emily, Todd and Christopher, learned that Stanislaw Lem died, got rehired to camp, walked London at night, pub crawls with Zach and Jason, went on a trip to Eastbourne with Katherine, met up with Sara and her friends, went on long tube rides, packed to go home, said goodbye to the roommates, flew New York, then to Burlingto, met my dad at the airport, missed London terribly, went back to Norwich, was elected the President of the Tactical society, got an apartment, packed up everything in my room and moved to 46 Catamount Drive, got my movies back from Rachel, saw Mission Impossible III, got a job at the Y as a lifeguard, bought a car, got the entire series of Dr Who from Beep, went to X3 with a bunch of Abnaki people, got a mobile phone, got hooked on Veronica Mars, won a backpack from a hiking store, moved out of the apartment and up to camp as a village director for Tamakwa, went through Admin Staff training, met the two British counselors and a whole slew of new ones, sketchy Dave was fired, geeks ruled camp, we lost Grandpa Raymond from Camp, went to the funeral for that, watched as it rained for the first couple weeks, went to see Superman Returns, getting used to paperwork, switching cabins, Abnaki hated Hochelega, designed a campwide activity that went off extremely well, Carbon Leaf announced their newest album, went to see Carbon Leaf for free!!!, my friend Eric became engaged, got stressed and burned out, camp ended, went back to Northfield, scared the crap out of my roommate, grandpa died, I really messed up an oil change, went through a comic book kick, got a TV and cable and high speed internet, was hired to Walden Books in the Berlin Mall, got Carbon Leaf's new album, as well as Amos Lee's, watched the Tactics club quadruple in size, rode my bike to school, crashed three times, broke my arm once, Smith was cancelled, I got hooked on Heroes, and Studio 60, late night talks with Sarah, the halfmile walk in the rain to the telephone, missed papers, won a photo contest, watched Galactica kick ass, made impromptu plans to visit Sarah that panned out, saw Carbon Leaf for the second time with my Sister, fell in love, dressed up as a Stormtrooper for Halloween, got bored at Walden books, saw lots of sketchy people, watched as the democrats took control of the government, started a photoblog, my friend Sam and Miranda got engaged, I listened to every song on my computer, learned to make bread, managed to accomplish no work during vacation, Sam Cohn died, the funeral was depressing, Work at the mall picked up, the Beatles released a new album, and I found a band called Trilobite, I got hooked on Life on Mars, still missed London, went insane as finals came and went, went to a bar with some friends and had to pull their car out of the ditch, went on a weird trip to find a christmas tree that proved to be far more complicated than it should have been, found time to actually read, and then found that I have ten books to go through, got all As and Bs for the semester, got some cool things for christmas, making plans to go to Ohio, and went to First Night in Burlington with Sam and Miranda.

It was a good year.

The Best TV of 2006

Now that Christmas is over and it'll be the New Year tomorrow, I figure I'd do a bit of looking back on things. So, the best TV of this year:

New TV

This was the year that the television networks picked up on the fact that serialized TV might sell really well. Following the sucesses of LOST and Prison Break, it seemed like a no brainer. Odd thing is, it didn't really work as well as people'd predicted. Critic favorites like the Nine and Six Degrees bombed and were cancelled, although a couple held on nicely.

1- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - I like TV, the industry, writing, everything. I'd heard about the show earlier on in the year and thought that it sounded bad, but when I saw the pilot episode online, it hooked me from then. This show's the most important one on there. It takes on religous, governmental, politics, broadcasting theory and ethics in its episodes, stuff that you don't really see. This is smart TV. The dialogue, characters, plots, all fantastic stuff, and it's a shame that this show didn't catch on as well as it should have. Hopefully, we'll see a season 2 to this.

2- Heroes - This is a fun show. Can't take it too seriously, but it's just one of the best geek shows out there. There's a good kick back to the community with references and things like that that makes it fun to watch, as well as a really cool storyline and characters to match it.

3- Day Break - This was cancelled just the other week, which makes me very unhappy. The good news is that this show's got all the 13 episodes filmed, or so I heard, so they'll be out sometime. Detective Hopper's reliving the same bad day, and while this show couldn't last very long, it's got the strongest of all the storylines of any tv show. They should have just billed this as a miniseries or something.

TV That Came Back

Battlestar Galactica - I didn't think that it could get any darker, but it did, and man, the opening five episodes just blew my mind. There's been a couple of episodes that I wasn't thrilled with, but on the whole, Battlestar's back and kicking ass. Can't wait to see the next ten episodes. As far as Season 2 went, this year's half of the episodes was weaker than season 1 and the first half, but they really pulled themselves together towards the end.

Veronica Mars - Season 3's on a new network and doing pretty well, although they're not going to be doing an overall mystery this time around. The rape mystery was brought to a conclusion, which was pretty good, and the writing and characters are just as good this time around. Can't wait to see the next half of the season.

House, MD - House was cured! Sort of. After getting shot, he could walk for four months. Then he's back to drugs again, and he's got a cop after him, a former actor from the show Hack, who's one of the cooler new characters that's been in the show, much better than Vogler from season 1. House is sarcastic still, and downright mean at times, and they're really pushing his character around, which doesn't happen that often.

Prison Break - Okay, they broke out of Fox River, and they're on the run. A good chunk of them have been killed, right from the first episode. It was good to see the show change gears so quickly, but I don't think that this has much life left in it. While they're still alive, they're still running, and they've done a terrific job with it.

Other good ones this year - Supernatural, LOST, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis. Supernatural's gotten into more of an arc, which is interesting, and they've really forced some characterizations out of the brothers, LOST has been interesting and Stargate's really gotten into it's stride again, only to be cancelled.

Foreign TV

1- Life on Mars - Aired earlier this year on BBC1 while I was over there. I didn't catch the show while I was in England, but I did recently. It's one of the more imaginative and interestin series that I've seen, mixing police drama with science fiction and the 1970s. Brilliant show.

2 - Green Wing - This show is hilarious. Simply brilliant show, great acting, really fun sense of humor there.

Misses this year were The Nine, which should have been a movie, Six Degrees, which had an interesting concept, but handled poorly with some bad characters. Smith was promising, but it never took off, which was a shame, that one I actually liked.

In the upcoming year, I'm only looking forwards to one show, and that's The Dresden Files, airing on SCIFI in January, based off of the books by Jim Butcher. It looks really good, and I can't wait to watch it.

Obligatory Post-Christmas Post

So, christmas is over, the shoppers are returning things and everything is back to normal right? Wrong. The mall is still playing christmas music. Did I miss something and is christmas still a couple days away, or is our mall manager just extremely forgetful? Whatever it is, it's irritating and annoying.

Christmas was fun - spent a couple days at home with the family, which was nice. We haven't all been together for a while now, given that I've moved out and my brother is away at college. It was good to get together with people.

Things I aquired:

• A Crack in the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester. I was thrilled to get this - I loved Winchester's Map that Changed the World, about the first geologic map, which was a fantastic read into the history of geology. This one looks to be just as good.
  
• Love, by the Beatles. This album is amazing. 'nuf said.
• Very spiffy framed art piece with books and a cool quote. That went up on my wall the minute I got back.
  
• iPod Charger. Which is fantastic, because my other one was stolen walked off during the summer.
  
• Random articles of clothing, which were needed
  
• Money, a couple of gift cards - Have several plans to use those tomorrow. Planning on getting Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross and Broken Angels by Richard Morgan, and adding them to my reading list.
  
• Things for my car, which will be handy

All in all, it was a pretty lowkey day, which was nice. Got through to Altered Carbon, caught up on some sleep, all of which was nice. And now I'm working every day of the week through to next Thursday. Ugh.

Merry Christmas!

Hope that everyone's having a good Christmas eve or any other holiday that you happen to celebrate at this time. I'm off for the next couple of days from work, which is nice, because I'm working straight through for the rest of the next week and a half. I'm off to my grandmother's and parent's house for the evening and next couple days, respectively.

Merry Christmas!

Reading List

Now that I'm finally on vacation, and without school work, I have time to read! It still boggles my mind that I managed to burn through sixteen books while I was in England, but given the amount of travel time that I spent on trains and the tube, it's not too surprising. But now, I can actually take a chunk out of the pile of books that's built up over the semester.

My reading list:

• Bloodlines, Karen Traviss
• Singularity Sky, Charles Stross
  
• Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds
• Dead Beat, Jim Butcher
• The Gunslinger, Steven King
• Trading in Danger, Elizabeth Moon (Still need to pick this one up)
• Marque and Reprisal, Elizabeth Moon (Have this one, but it's book 2 in the series)
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay , Michael Chabon (Yes... still...)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence, Robert Pirsig

There's probably another one or two that I've forgotten. But that's a good list thus far anyway.

The Top 20 Songs of 2006

I read through a lot of music blogs, and a number of them have been going back on the year and finding the best songs that they've heard. I'm doing the same thing. I listen to a lot of music, and I figured, being in the holiday spirit, here's my top picks of 2006:

Fidelity, Regina Spektor - This is a light pop-ish song, but Spektor has very good command over her vocals, and it really stands out from much of the other pop music that I've heard. You can't hear this and not feel slightly uplifted.
Another Place To Fall, KT Tunstall - This has a great sound to it. Tunstall was one of the best breakthrough artists of the year, and her debut album, Eye to the Telescope was utterly fantastic. This song in particular has drive to it, it's tight, has fantastic lyrics and a great sound.
People Gonna Talk, James Hunter - I'm kicking myself for missing this guy while he was here in Vermont for a free concert. Hailing from the UK, Hunter has an old school soul sound, very easy going, with an outstanding voice to back up the lyrics.
I Bet You Look Good On the Dance Floor, Arctic Monkeys - These guys rock, hard. A Manchester group with no musical training and using the Internet to get their music out became a huge hit over in the UK - There was a lot of press for them when I was over there. They've got a fast sound, with something between ska and rock, and they sound like they're having fun.
Someday Baby, Bob Dylan - Dylan's got another album out this year, and it's the first thing that really got me to touch his music. I've never really liked Dylan's music, but he's starting to grow on me, slowly. I like the laid back sound here and musical style here.
Texas Stars, Carbon Leaf - These guys are my all time favorites. And this song just makes me stop every time I listen to it. It's got a slightly different sound from what they usually play, and the lyrics could fit the theme of a number of SciFi shows. I still get chills listening to this one.
Comfort, Carbon Leaf - Again with the Carbon Leaf music, I love this song just as much, for different reasons. One of the big things that I have with Carbon Leaf's music is the degree to which I can identify myself with many of their lyrics - this one just fits, exactly with everything. They've changed their sound since their last album, not a whole lot, but fuller, and richer. Their Last album, Love Loss Hope Repeat, just flat out rocked.
See the World, Gomez - If only I had this song going to London. It's a travel song, and the video is just fantastic for this one. The music and voices of these guys is something different, and it sounds fantastic. This is a laid back piece, smooth and makes me want to pack a bag and go somewhere.
Heartbeats, José González - González has been big in Europe for a little while, where I first heard his music, and he's starting to come over to the US now. This song is actually a cover that he did - and a huge improvement - of a Knife song. The acoustic guitar and his voice are just beautiful, and the rest of the album is simply an amazing sound.
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, KT Tunstall - Another of KT's songs, this one has the same drive and sound of the rest of her album, with a great beat and lyrics. It's nice to have a woman finally play rock, rather than pop music, as what seems to be the case with the radio these days - I think that Tunstall's the next Alanis Morrisett.
Typical, Mute Math - A friend of mine recommended this band to me, and these new guys have such a cool sound and energy to their music, and they'll amp up the sound and energy throughout the song, between the lyrics and chorus, and it works.
Be Here Now, Ray LaMontagne - This is LaMontagne's second album after his fantastic debut, Trouble. This song is quiet, beautiful, and is really touching. This entire album 'Til the Sun Turns Black, uses instruments more than his last one, but it really enhances some of the songs in there.
Set Fire to the Third Bar, Snow Patrol - Snow Patrol's followup to their last album, Final Straw, and it sounds amazing, this song in particular. They pair up with Martha Wainwright, and it's such a brilliant combination. The lyrics here are what hits me the most, and like Carbon Leaf's music, it fits perfectly.
Get Back, The Beatles - This isn't really new, but it's on the new Beatles album, Love. I ranted about it before, with a number of the remixes and remastering of the songs, and this one just sounds amazing. The energy soars here, and it's The Beatles. You can't get better then them.
Sons and Daughters, The Decemberists - The Decemberists broke through with their first major record this year, and the entire thing sounds brilliant. I really disliked these guys before, but like Dylan, they're really growing on me, starting with this album and some of their later stuff that came just before. Their lyrics are amazing and their sound is just unlike anything else we've got.
Shut Your Eyes, Snow Patrol - This is a good song to wake up to. From the beginning to the lyrics, it eases right in and builds up to a fantastic sound. Doesn't have as much of the emotional resonance that
Orange Sky, Alexi Murdoch - The orignal version of this song was on Murdoch's EP, Four Songs, and it's been returned here with some slight changes to Time Withough Consequence. It's been featured in a bunch of TV shows and movies, but despite that, the song is simply amazing. It's soft, moves and has some fantastic lyrics. It's one of my favorite songs ever, not just of 2006. And on top of that, it reminds me so much of London.
Supply and Demand, Amos Lee - Amos Lee's second album by the same title was a great followup to his self titled debut. He's the male equivelant of Norah Jones with the first, but takes his sound and changes it a little bit. These songs are a little more moody, lyrical and the pacing varies a little. This one is smooth and very, very good.
How We Operate, Gomez - From their fantastic album of the same name, this one brings in some really cool sounds and vocal work. The song feels like it stops and starts again at various points, with a really good feeling of movement to it.
Song for You, Alexi Murdoch - Murdoch's songs are very reminicent of Nick Drake's music, soft, acoustic, fantastic lyrics. This song is no exception, and it's got just a fantastic sound and feel to it.

Next year's shaping up to be good as well. Norah Jones has a new album, as does the Shins and Grace Potter and the Notcturnals. Here's a listen to what The Shins have been up to for the 20th song: Phantom Limb.

Just FYI - These are going to expire in 7 days. I recommend going out and purchasing the actual albums. They're worth it.

Done!

All of my exams are finished. One more semester to go, and I'll be done with Norwich.

Life on Mars

So a while ago, I posted up about a new show that I'd found, called Life On Mars and I figured I'll get all my thoughts down on it in a review, now that I've watched the entire first series of 8 episodes. It's a fantastic BBC Detective drama with a hint of Science Fiction or something like that to it.
The story follows Detective Sam Tyler, who's a DCI in London. While on a murder case, his girlfriend goes missing while trailing their suspect. While venting over her disappearance, he's hit by a car. When he sits up, he's wearing different clothing and sitting in the same spot, but the year is now 1973. He learns that he's recently been transferred to the department that he'd later be in in 2006, and he now has to reconcile everything he learned, with what's considered regular procedure in the 1970s. Issues such as prisoner abuse and cover ups, interrogations, forensics, prisoner rights and evidence are all presented in the 1970s fashion, with Tyler trying to do things the proper way. It's a stark contrast between the two worlds, hence the title, Life on Mars. This is where the show really excels.
The other interesting point is how it's unclear as to how he ended up in 1973. The two main theories are that he's either travelled back in time, or he's in a coma, while there's certainly enough to make either theory plausible. The second series is supposed to be the last, with a spectacular ending that will explain exactly how he got into the 1970s in the first place.

What's also really interesting is the way that they filmed everything. In post production, they've done a spectacular filter that gives everything a sort of yellow/tan image that looks sort of like any picture you'll find from that time period. The result is a gorgeous image, look and feel to the entire show. The background objects, clothing, cars and everything is an exact period feel, which is amazing.
I'm looking forwards to the next series, very much. If this season was any indication, the next should be spectacular.

The main worry that I have is the US's tendancy to take shows from England and make them our own. The Office is a spectacular sucess, while there are some other shows that haven't survived the leap over the pond. Fox has optioned this as a pilot for a regular show, which has me extremely worried. This show is so good, it requires the British feel, story and everything else that would be lost if it came over here. I just can't see this working as well if it's a 1970s New York policeman, although I'm sure the result would be somewhat interesting. If it does come over here, I'll at least give it a chance, but I don't have any high hopes for it.

Liptak Christmas Trees

This morning, I got up early again and did my last English exam, which came out pretty well, and turned in on time. One more exam to go - Can't wait for that to be completely over with. I've had enough Economics to last me a while.
After that, I went home, and arrived just in time to catch my dad and sister before they went out to select a Christmas tree for the holiday. We don't buy our trees - we live on 27 acres of mostly forested land, so there's a lot to choose from, and we usually get some good ones. The only problem - the good trees are usually around 40-50 feet tall. Too tall for our house, so we usually take the top six feet out of the whole tree. Sounds wasteful, but it opens the forest up a little, and there's more trees that'll fall down on their own anyway. So our usual tradition is going out to find a tree, cutting it down and dragging it out.
We had fun today - took us about half an hour of walking around in the woods before we found what looked like a good one, a 40 fir tree with a good top. We went back, got a chainsaw and cut it down, only to have it land in a second tree, in a fork, where it got stuck. We tried pulling it out from the base, after cutting some of it away, but trees are heavy. And this one was spectacularly stuck in a maple tree. So we cut the maple tree and managed to get it down without damaging the top. It's a bit of a goofy looking christmas tree. It's extremely tall and thin, but it's pretty dense. For the first time in like ten years, we've stuck the tree in the main living room, with a very high ceiling, so the tree is about 14 feet tall, but it looks good with decorations on it.

In other news, ABC pulled their show Day Break from the schedule. I've been reporting on it in my TV Recaps, which I skipped last week because of time, and I'm incredibly annoyed by this. 1 - It was one of the best plotted and acted shows on TV, even though it didn't get a whole lot of attention from the media. 2 - Black main character, which doesn't happen too often. 3 -Serial storyline, tight plot, with only a 13 episode order. It was to be a closed off series with a possibility of a sequel, but the main story would be just that 13 episodes. That should be done more often. The good news is that is seems all the episodes have been filmed already, so they'll be airing all of them on ABC.com. At least we get the complete run, unlike with Smith. Arg

So there we were...

So this is how it happened. I finished my history final almost an hour and a half early, along with my friend Rubleman. To celebrate, we decided to go to the Fiddler's Green, a new bar in Northfield, one that was popular with Norwich students, mainly because it's an alternative for the Rustic, the other sketchy bar in town.
Greg said that he'd pick me up from my place at 8:30. That rolls around while I'm waiting for him, and about five, ten minutes after that, he walks up to my place. He needed to make a call, because he got the car stuck in a ditch. He can't get cell service from here, so we walked down and roused a neighbor to call a tow service.
I got a look at the car. The rear left tire was completely off the ground by two feet, the front right one was way in the ditch and the rear right was completely flattened. I'm still not entirely sure how he managed to do it, but the next 40 or so minutes was us trying to get the car out. The neighbor had a tractor and we eventually got it, and went down to the bar.
It was fun. Pretty empty, I'm guessing because people had finals, but they had Battlestar Galactica on the TV, some good beer, and some of our other friends were there, so we spent the next hour or so talking about random things. Fun stuff. I had to go back and rewatch Galactica, because I couldn't really hear the TV, but there's a good bar in town that I need to get to more often.
Now, for my English exam. Ugh. At least I'm not working today.

When We Collide

I'm going insane.

Between my mad rush to get my final papers in and my co workers at work, I think that I'm going to be insane by the end of the year. If you see a babbling idiot in the corner, that'll be me.

My final exam for Gothic lit was pushed back a day, which was nice, because I got some extra time to polish it up a little and get some things done with the assignments. I did have a scare when I went to print off my Reading Journal - turns out the copy that I was saving was somewhere else, while the one that I printed off was somewhere else. Arg. However, it gave me some extra time to slack a bit and I essentially lost a day to study for History and work on my remaining English project for American Short Stories. I'll be doing that tonight, and probably pretty early in the morning, before I go off to work.

And I have nothing against my co-workers. They're nice people, but just too damn hyper. And immature at times. It's just... arg. Too much stress to think about.

It'll all be over soon, when exams are finished on Sunday, which will be a huge relief for me. I'm more than ready for this semester to be over.

New Galactica tomorrow night, then a break. I was just reading an article on what'll be happening in the next part of the season. There's supposed to be a major death - something that'll shake up the entire season. I'm betting it'll be Starbuck, because... I have my reasons. I'm just guessing that'll be her that'll bite it. Which'll suck, because I like her, if it does happen like I think it will, and for the reasons that I suspect it'll happen.

In other news, Gateworld just announced that there's a third Stargate series in the works! Good timing too, because SG-1 is going off the air after ten seasons. AND, Jewel Straite, best known for her work as Kaylee from Firefly, will be a regular in Stargate Atlantis!

Bliss!

MY PAPER AND READING JOURNAL DEADLINE WAS EXTENDED! WOOHOO!

Panic

So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's probably a bad idea to completely change the focus of my 10 page research paper the night before it's due.

At least I'm getting more results for my new topic and can reasonably write about it. It's just frustrating to go back after already doing some of the research. The new topic is Gothic influences on films, and I'm going to write about Alien, The Jacket, Nightwatch and The Matrix as case examples. I've actually found info on a couple of these, so here's to hoping that I'll have more luck with this topic.

Feelin' the Same Way All Over Again

My desk is clean. My room is clean. My bookshelves have been dusted off, random books have been put back in their slots, the bed is made, closet straightened, school work is being done and I can see the flat surfaces in my room once again.
Okay, so I was avoiding homework for a little while, but I've gotten some things done, like my reading journal, starting research for my final in Gothic Lit and will be getting other bits of work done shortly. Even if I had to skip history to get into a good work ethic. Why do my productive habits kick in now?
I'm also going to go rock climbing for the first time in months. Between work, school and other random things, I haven't had a chance to get out to the rock gym since Camp. I guess nobody else has been either, because they've called a meeting to gauge interest in the club, and hopefully there will be something next semester, and hopefully, I'll have more time later on.
After that, I'm going to be sitting on my second honour committee. Hopefully that won't be too bad.

Nostalgia

I'm almost done with the entire first series of Life On Mars, and it's making me horribly nostalgic for my time back in London.

It's not just the big things about London, or just being there in England, but mostly the very small details and things that I miss. There's the King's Arms just down the street from my flat, sitting on the bus, the announcer coming on at the end of a television episode, the white street signs, red telephone boxes, the accents, food, the sun coming over the buildings, so much.
I've pulled out my journal entries that I kept while I was over there, looked over my photographs and have talked to several people that I met while I was over there. I wonder if I'll ever return there, and it hurts so much to see it in my memories, but not my eyes.

Life on Mars

No, this isn't in regards to the recent news of possible evidence that there's water on the planet Mars, this is for a new TV show that I found - Life on Mars.
It's from the UK, which gives it a bit of good press right there, but it's a very tightly scripted detective drama mixed with a bit of time travel. Here's the blurb from Amazon.co.uk:

Life On Mars is the smash-hit cop show starring John Simm as a detective who is involved in a car accident and wakes to find himself transported back to 1973 – a world dominated by Ford Cortina’s, sheep-skin jackets and very hard coppers.

It's got a fantastic look and feel to it - the look of the episodes look like the 1970s, if that makes any sense. I love it.

Trilobites!

I would be remiss not to talk about these guys for a while. Trilobites are fossils, my absolute favorites, ever since I was a little kid. They're essentially what got me interested in geology in the first place, and fossil collecting in general. I've got a number of them in my collection of fossils, some bought, some found around Vermont. They're cool little critters.

Basically, Trilobites first appeared in the fossil record during the Cambrian (about 530 million years ago) period before vanishing during the Permian, (250 million years ago). While on the planet, they represented one of the most prevalent and extensive species in earth's history, with over 15,000 species identified to date. They were fairly complex creatures, with delicate eye structures and legs. They could curl up into a small roll to avoid predators, and it is suspected that they were mainly bottom feeders, although some might have been carnivorous.

Look at my name, JediTrilobite, for this blog, and you can probably tell that I like these guys. So it was a huge delight that I found a band called Trilobite. They're a bluegrass group out of New Mexico, with an album up on iTunes already, and a couple music blogs saying that these guys are to be looked after. I'll certainly be doing that.

Two of their songs:
Trilobite - "Pumpkin Farmer" (MP3)
Trilobite - "Hunky Kentuckian" (MP3)

Their myspace page is: http://myspace.com/trilobite, where they have a couple of other songs up to listen to. Wee!

Finish the Fight

Oh my gods. I'm a fan of Halo, and while I don't play that often, I've been very dazzled by the new trailers that've come out for the upcoming third installment, due sometime next year.
Last night, Bungie released a short trailer for the third game, here it is:

I'm glad that there was nobody around me to hear me just yell as the Chief runs and jumps into the group of elites. The coloring of the trailer, the camera angle and oh man.

Hell with Universal and Fox, Bungie, make a movie like that. Just like that.

Love! And Snow!

Anyone here a fan of the Beatles? Who isn't? Recently, they've released yet another album - this one entitled Love, which is the soundtrack to a Las Vegas show. Sounds very tacky, but with the former Beatles producer at the helm, and with the blessing of the two remaining Beatles, this is a simply amazing listen.

What they did is take 26 tracks from the album and went back to the original outtakes, as well as mixed in a number of other elements from other songs. There's something like 48 of their songs wrapped up here in this album, whether it's a drum beat or something.
The result is phenomenal - this is the Beatles as you've never heard them, and the sound is great. It's fast, deep, rich and created with quite a bit of care. Unlike their Beatles 1 album, this is a better spectrum of their works, and the album flows from song to song almost effortlessly. I've asked my sister for this for christmas, and plan on getting this for a couple of other people. If you haven't listened to it, do so. It's really, really good.

And I woke up to one of the best things that I can think of- the ground is covered in an inch or so of fresh snow. It's quite something to wake up and see the landscape an entirely different color. And you can't go wrong with snow.

Just a couple more weeks of school, and the semester will be over. It's going by fast.

And the Light Shines on, While we all Ride On

The viewing/funeral was depressing. There was probably over a hundred people there, packed into the house. Sam looked different, like plastic, which was hard to see. Looked like Sam though, with snowboarding goggles, a Flogging Molly shirt, headphones and a couple cans of Red Bull. Good for him. I saw a couple of other guys from camp, and Sam's brother Gabe, who's been either in my cabin or village for the past four years. He looked good, as did his dad. They're opening up a scholarship for kids to go to camp in his name.I broke down in the car on the way back. This shouldn't happen.

I've had a little to divert me though. I called Sarah, which always seems to help. Watched Daybreak and got pissed off at the recent Veronica Mars news*, ate dinner. It's been a crappy day.

* Turns out that they're going to be abandoning the Season-long mystery thing after the second arc this season, and going with standalone episodes. They'll also be doing some overarcing romance things with the show, which is just plain annoying. Hopefully the show'll still be good after that.