Saturday, May 31, 2014

Lindsey Stirling: 1st Concert!

Tonight I went to my very first REAL concert ever! Lindsey Stirling was amazing! I didn't get to meet her, but I did get to meet Dia Frampton, and I got a picture with her. My computer is on the fritz at the moment, so until I can get the pictures off my camera, I decided to just write down some random thoughts I had during the concert. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Everything at the concert was so loud, you could litterally feel the music. These are a few of the thoughts that went through my head as I sat there.

This is Amazing.

My pants are vibrating.

Awesome!

I can feel this in my sinuses!

I think I'm in love. (With Dia Frampton) (But also Lindsey. :p)

I have the BEST headache!

This. Is. AWESOME!

I think I just went deaf. So worth it.

Friday, May 30, 2014

True Facts! 14!

As I've mentioned before, last semester I took a social media class in which I was required to maintain a twitter account for the duration of the class. I decided that the theme of the account would be "True Facts!" and I steadily created new facts for the whole semester.

I really enjoyed coming up with new material, so I decided that I would not stop after the class was over. Instead, I moved the true facts to my personal twitter account, and I am going to be posting there as consistently as possible.

If you'd like to read all the facts as I post them, you'll find the twitter account HERE. If you don't have a twitter account, I will be posting the same facts to my blog's Facebook page, and you can find that HERE.

Today's post will be a mix of facts from my school twitter account, as well as some never before published ones.

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Did you know that George Washington owned the largest cheese farm in Virginia? True Fact!

Did you know that corn is the only vegetable that is also a fruit? True fact!

Did you know that the alphabet was invented by mimes? They had to do something, no one understood their hand gestures. True fact!

Did you know that Teddy Grahams are dehydrated grizzly larvae? True fact!

Did you know that zebras think horses have absolutely zero fashion sense? Horses think the same thing about zebras. True fact!

Did you know that cows invented milkshakes? A herd found an abandoned trampoline and the rest is history. True fact!

Did you know that pickles are the most dangerous breed of cucumber? True fact!

Did you know that Band-Aids are the world's worst flavor of Fruit Roll Ups? True fact!

Did you know that elephants are masters of rhythmic gymnastics? Specifically the ribbon dance, using their trunks. True fact!

Did you know that kiwi fruits are actually the eggs of the kiwi bird? True fact!

Did you know that Pope Paul VI won the first Pope-mobile on The Price is Right? True fact!

Did you know that Glitter Zombies are the most fabulous breed of undead creature in the entire world? True fact!

Did you know that apples are wild, arboreal tomatoes? True fact!

Did you know that fossilized dinosaur bones are actually the skeletons of giant, prehistoric, carnivorous parrots? True fact!

Did you know that llamas are midget wooly giraffes? True fact!

Did you know that the Wooly Neck Constrictor catches its prey by disguising itself as a scarf? True fact!

Did you know that the popular fashion trend of wearing burnt earmuffs year round was started by a violent space princess? True fact!

Did you know that the reason Tigger can bounce on his tail is because he swallowed a pogo stick? True fact!

Did you know that linoleum is fossilized carpet? True fact!

Did you know that pizza was the world's first form of edible abstract art? Hand-tossed is considered both abstract expressionist, AND performance art. True fact!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Life Update: ISU Year 1 done!

I decided to do a brief life update since I haven't done one in awhile. I haven't done much of anything on this blog in awhile. My computer actually is having problems at the moment, and I generally don't like using my iPad to blog. But since that's all I've got at the moment it will have to do. I bought a keyboard for it, so writing on it is not that bad anymore. I'm waiting for some stuff to fix my computer to be shipped to me. Hopefully that will take care of it. If not, I'll have to take it somewhere to be fixed.

In case you didn't know, I am now done with my first year at Iowa State. I am loving it so far. I got pretty good grades all around. One not-so-good grade, but also one very good one, so it kind of evens itself out. I took (a few) pictures and I plan to share them as soon as my computer is working properly again. Next semester I'll be taking a few more journalism classes, as well as introductory Spanish, and Photography. I'm hoping the photography class will start teaching me more about all the hundreds of settings on my camera that I have no idea what they do.

I also quit my job at the Ames Hy-Vee. I was getting barely any hours all semester. A couple of weeks I only got three hours. For the whole week. Which is not enough for anything. So I decided to cut my losses before going home for the summer and look elsewhere next semester. Right now I'm looking into getting a job at the campus bookstore. I've always loved the idea of working in a bookstore or library, so I hope it works out!

Tomorrow I turn into a saggy pile of wrinkles and begin using a walker, drinking prune juice, and going to bed at 7:30. I mean, it's my birthday. I turn 28. Get off my lawn kids.

In related, happier news, my uncle is taking me to a Lindsey Stirling concert for my birthday on Saturday! I can't wait! It will be my first ever "Real" concert, not just a classical performance at the local high school, or at college. I will be bringing my good camera and praying it makes it through security. I want good pictures!

Well, that's about it for now. I'm still working at the Harlan Hy-Vee. I'm getting way more hours than I was in Ames. Later this summer my cousins and I are tentatively planning a trip to somewhere. We're still ironing out the details, but there will be pictures. I've been going to a bunch of movies, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, but I haven't written any reviews. Maybe I'll do that later on. There's still a few coming up. I'll be seeing Maleficent tomorrow with my cousins for my birthday. It looks amazing. I love new twists on old stories.

Okay, that's enough rambling. Look for another True Facts post tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Music Mix

I was getting tired of the old "Video Blitz" title. I'm not even sure why I chose that word anyway. Blitz. It means attack. Was I attacking you with videos? Sometimes I wonder about me...

Anyway, I'm changing it. I'll have to think of something else if I want to share videos besides music, but since that's almost everything I share, I figured this would do for now.

First up, Peter Hollens and his wife Evynne, just released a Phantom of the Opera Medley, and it is SO good.



I have loved the music of the Phantom of the Opera since I first saw it, and this is one of the best covers I've ever heard.

Next we have Lindsey Stirling. She just released a new album, and this is the title song. It's her first foray into lyrical songwriting, and it is a great start! Plus, Lzzy Hale's voice is amazing! And no, Lzzy is not a misspelling. I looked it up to make sure.



The other day she also released an orchestral version of the song. It's just as amazing as the original.



I hope that someday she'll do a whole album of orchestral versions. I love all her dubstep and dance stuff, but these orchestral versions are awesome as well.

Next up is Dear River, from Kina Grannis's new album.



It is kind of strange, with an odd ending, like, what, did they get turned into children? Whatever. I like oddness, and the song is great. :)

Speaking of odd, here is my latest find, World Order, a male J-Pop group.



It's Japan, so weird is almost a given. I love it. I have all their albums. This song isn't on any of them though, which is a shame, because it's one of my favorites. BTW, the girl group they go see is another J-Pop group, AKB48, in case anyone cares. :)

Next is Ariana Grande's latest single, "Problem."



I am usually not all that into "Mainstream Music," but there is something about Ariana's voice that is just hypnotizing. I can't wait for her next album.

I'll end with another of Peter Hollens' videos. It's a year old, but I just found it, and I can't believe I'd never seen it before. I love it!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

True Facts! 13!

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Did you know that elephants are not really scared of mice? They just hate the smell of cheese, and mice have HORRIBLE cheese breath. True fact.

Did you know that the popular video game, Angry Birds, used to be called Happy Birds? The birds decided they needed to be a little more edgy, but "Angry" was as far as the Official US Board of Overprotective Mothers Against Violent Video Games would let them go. They weren't even allowed to use weapons! True fact!

Did you know that the original name for the watermelon was the elephant grape? True fact!

Did you know that baldness is a myth? No one's hair ever falls out. As certain people age their hair slowly becomes invisible. True fact!

Did you know that milk is made by mixing bleached cranberry juice and mashed potatoes? True fact!

Did you know that bananas are a tree's fingers? If you get too close, they'll grab you, and try to peel your fingers as retribution for centuries of abuse from the human race. True fact!

Did you know that in some parts of the world, nose beards are referred to as mustaches? True fact!

Did you know that shampoo is America's least popular flavor of gravy? True fact!

Did you know that lemmings do not commit suicide by jumping off cliffs? The only reason a lemming ever had to jump off a cliff was to go hang gliding. True fact!

Did you know that shoes are disabled roller skates? True fact!

Did you know that walruses are vampire manatees? True fact!

Did you know that the Skunk Glider can soar through the air for up to a mile? That's about four times as far as it can spray its stink juice. True fact!

Did you know that crawdads are hillbilly lobster elves? True fact!

Did you know that scorpions are poisonous lobster elves? True fact!

Did you know that caterpillars are not baby butterflies? That whole "Metamorphosis" thing is just a myth. What kind of a moron would fall for a crazy story like that? Caterpillars are actually baby snakes that have yet to shed their winter coats and legs. True fact!