Oh Helm & Hammer

Here is a poem I wrote for a collection I'm in the process of making that are mythological and/or historical in nature. The funny thing is that up to high school, I hated poetry! This one is meant to be like a song; so think something like to the tune of "To Holmgard And Beyond" by Turisas (http://tinyurl.com/dn74lp). I hope you like it!

Oh Helm & Hammer!

Oh Thor and Odin protect us

Let us be swift and mighty

Give us gold, mead, and women

Bring down the helm and the hammer

Oh Heimdall and Baldr be with us

We sail on the waves to green isles

Send winds to blow in our sails

Bring down the spear and the sword

Oh Loki and Hel don't betray us

Wreak havoc on those we attack

Let us die with a sword in our hands

Bring down the arrow and the axe

Oh for the helm and the hammer

Bring us strength for the fight,

Peace in the night,

And keep the shore forever in sight

May the helm and the hammer

Be with us 'til we die

Be with us 'til we die

The Greatest Salesman in the World

This is an excerpt of an excerpt of “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino. I first read this from a handout given to me in a freshman music class by one of my favorite teachers of all time, Dr. Dan Nelson, who passed away a couple months ago. This has really effected me, just like the man himself did. I had it pinned up to my bulletin board, and I randomly decided to read it again. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life, but only the unseen power of love can open hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the marketplace. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I can can defend against its force.

My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may mistrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they may reject; and even my bargains may cause them suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I do this? Henceforth I will look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I speak? I will laud my enemies and they will become my friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs.

It is not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? Henceforth will I remember this secret and it will change my life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls.

I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

But how will I react to the actions of others? With love. For just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger. Adversity and discouragement will beat against my new shield and become as the softest of rains. My shield will protect me in the marketplace and sustain me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments of despair yet it will calm me in time of exultation. I will become stronger and more protective with use until one day I will cast it aside and walk unencumbered among all manners of men and, when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid of life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And who is there who will say nay to my goods when his heart feels my love?

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And most of all I will love myself. For when I do I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul, and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate, only time to love. From this moment I take the first step required to become a great salesman. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skill of the world.

I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.

-Og Mandino

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I went to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” the other day with my mom and youngest brother, and overall, I liked it. I found it to be an entertaining movie, even though they changed the plot line completely. I realize that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader wasn’t much of an ‘action-driven story’ like the first 2, but it was definitely an adventure story. It was more about the journey than the destination.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Normally I don’t like it when directors, producers, and script writers take too many liberties or “artistic license” with book adaptations, but with Dawn Treader, I didn’t mind so much. They basically took the small section C.S. Lewis wrote about Dark Island and made it the antagonist of the movie. All of the major sections of the book were in there, they just didn’t necessarily happen in the same order.

I liked how they went about changing Eustace back into a human. In the book, Lewis wrote that Aslan changed him back by removing his dragon scales with his claws. You obviously can’t show something that gruesome in a children/young adult movie. I like that they had Aslan pawing at the sand, and magical “scratch lines” appeared on Eustace’s body. Speaking of Eustace…I instantly hated him when he came on screen (which was kind of the point, I guess), but came to like him more after his dragon incident. I’m interested in how “The Silver Chair” movie plays out (if it ever gets made). I don’t like how they made him cry at the end when Reepicheep goes to Aslan’s country, it makes him look like a blubbering baby. I really liked the art design of the Dawn Treader itself. It’s a really good looking ship, however practical it might or might not be.

*END SPOILER ALERT*

In other words: go see it, but read the book too. :)

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

As a special treat this Thanksgiving break, my mother took my brother Matthew and I to go see the newest Harry Potter movie. It had been a long time since I had read the books though, and I wasn’t sure how much I had remembered about the book (which is one of my favorites, along with books 1 and 4). I would have liked to reread the book before seeing the movie, but then again, I had neither the time nor the energy to do so, so I went.

I liked the movie, more than most of the other ones. I could only point out a couple of mistakes (that I could remember…apparently my reading comprehension/memory skills have been in decline). The last HP movie I enjoyed this much was #4, even though they left a ton out of the movie.

As a general rule, I love the books and don’t like the movies, but if they had made them all this good, I think that might have changed. They certainly could never have made me like the movies better than the books, but I would have enjoyed them more than I currently do. I will say that the DVD releases have a lot of cool extras on them (not anywhere close to the LotR Extended Editions, but hey, most other DVD’s don’t either).

In my book (hehe, get it?), the best movie adaptation of a novel is still held by the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I think I’ll give it a 4/5 stars. GO SEE IT WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE! =)

So, Yeah...Hi

I haven’t really posted anything with real substance lately, so I thought I would put up a “How I’m Doing” post.

School has been REALLY busy and REALLY stressful this semester. Besides the fact that I’m taking over 6 classes (plus 3 performing groups), most of said classes fall on either a Tuesday or a Thursday, making my class load disproportionate. I’m stressing out about the piano proficiency test I have to take at the end of the semester. While I enjoy playing the piano, I am by no means proficient at it. Fortunately, the professors split it up into multiple parts and you can pass sections of the test. So if I take the test, and only pass 3 parts, I can retake it next semester, and only have to play the remaining sections. That helps a bit with the stress, but I’m still anxious as to how I’ll do, and how many parts I’ll pass.

I haven’t had much time to spend with my girlfriend, Michelle either, which sucks. We both have busy schedules this semester, and she lives off campus, so we really only get to spend quality time a couple days a week.

The good thing is that Thanksgiving break is next week, and the semester ends on December 19th. I need a break right now…

Calvin & Hobbes Wall Art

Simply amazing. If I had the artistic talent, I would totally do this to my room!

A New Beginning

A new semester, a new dorm, a new room, and new roommates. This is going to be a good year! I’m taking 6 classes and participating in 3 performing groups. I’ll be pretty busy, but it should be fun and rewarding.

• Beginning Conducting
• Music History III
• Hymnology
• Instruments in Worship
• Piano Proficiency (aka Class Piano III)
• Problem Solving
• Concert Band
• Concert Choir
• Jazz Band

The Truth

'nuff said.

Is it Good, or is it Just Cool?

I’ve always kind of wondered why people like the things we do. Other than genetic disposition, or even how we were raised, questions like “How the hell did _____ become so popular? They’re not even that good!” come up all to often in my mind. Through this last week or two, I think I’ve found an answer.

I finally got to reading Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz” last month (and I really liked it, btw) and he talks about this issue (I can’t remember which chapter). Also, out of the blue, Andrew Wasson (he’s an amazing guitar teacher on youtube, check him out) talked about the same thing in a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZQ2fnXU1o&playnext_from=TL&videos=_ZLdseiz-Ao).

I feel that people today (especially children and teens) have no musical frame of reference, nor musical taste. They buy albums because they are told by society that it is ‘cool’. And us as humans, who have an innate need to be liked/loved will buy said album to connect with other people whether the music they bought is good music or not.

The big culprits I feel are pop and rap “artists”. Most of them don’t write their own songs, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but many of them are cut & paste songs that their producers make for them, and are generically bland. Then the record company takes these bland songs and puts them on the market, and they know exactly who to market it to: Children and Teenagers. These age groups have not fully developed their musical tastes yet, and their musical frame of reference is defined by what their family and friends listen to, not necessarily what they like yet. This is how (I think) people like Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Ke$ha, Owl City, and Lady Gaga (I could go on) got so popular.

Really, what Adam Young a.k.a. Owl City does to “write music”, an 8 year old with a Mac can do in Garage Band. His most popular song (Fireflies) wasn’t even written solely by him, Matt Theissen of Relient K had to help him (who you should check out!). Speaking of Owl City, you should watch this YouTube video about them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyasBBoQqCA

I urge musicians out there to strive to make music that is both good AND cool, so that us as listeners will be happy, and they’ll be happy when they’re making a lot of money (which seems to be a driving force in the music industry, not making a quality product that people will enjoy, but a piece of crap that will make them millions). I also urge us listeners to think before they buy! Don’t buy music just because ‘everyone else’ likes it, or that it will make you cool if you listen to so-and-so. Listen to samples first and decide for yourself “Do I like this? Would I listen to it again? Does the message of the song fit in with my world view?”. You should like a song because you like it, not because you think they’re good looking or because the coolest person in school likes them. Shoot, there are a lot of ugly musicians who are really good (AC/DC and The Rolling Stones for example).

There’s my two cents for the day… I’ll stop now. ;)

An Irish Blessing

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds,

nor a life on a bed of roses,

not that you might ever need regret,

nor that you should feel pain.

No, that is not my wish for you

My wish for you is:

That you might be brave in times of trial,

when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.

When mountains must be climbed and chasms be crossed,

when hope scarce can shine through.

That every gift that God gave you might grow along with you,

and let you give the gift of joy to all who care for you.

That you may always have a friend who is worth that name,

whom you can trust, and who helps you in times of sadness,

who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.

One more wish I have for you:

That every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you.

This is my wish for you, and all who care for you.

This is my hope for you, now and forever.