30 DSC: Day 9

Day 9: A song that you can dance to- Earthquake by Family Force 5...That is assuming that I can and/or am willing to dance in the first place- which is unlikely. I'd rather be playing the music that people can dance to anyway.

30 DSC: Day 8

Day 8: A song that you know all of the words to- How He Loves Us by John Mark McMillan

30 DSC: Day 7

Day 7: A song that reminds you of a certain event-

Rain Down by Delirious? reminds me of BattleCry 2006 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

30 DSC: Day 6

Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere- To Holmgard and Beyond by Turisas

30 DSC: Day 5

Day 5: A song that reminds you of someone

"High of 75" by Relient K most definitely reminds me of my best buddy Josh Estep.

30 DSC: Day 4

Day 4: A song that makes you sad- Thank You by Ray Boltz

This song reminds me of my Aunt Terrie (R.I.P.) and my Grandfather, and makes me tear up every time I hear it. Hope you enjoy it.

30 DSC: Day 3

Day 3: A song that makes you happy- The Ocean by Led Zeppelin

YouTube wouldn't let me embed this video, but here's a link to the page to hear the live version.

The Ocean- Live in NYC '73

What I'm Reading- 4/14/11

So, since I'm still in my fantasy lit. class at PLNU, I haven't had a whole lot of time to read what I want lately (the assigned readings are good, but I was already in the middle of a long book). Here's an update on my reading list.

1. Stone of Tears- Terry Goodkind

Yes, I'm still reading Stone of Tears, but you've got to cut me some slack. You could chop this near-1000 page book in half and still have 2 good sized novels. I'm over halfway through, but I probably won't have much time to really finish it until after finals week in May.

2. Stealer of Souls- Michael Moorcock

Started reading this for my LIT205 class, but we only had to read up to page 82, so I'm planning on finishing it at some point. It's fairly enjoyable, but I've read better novels.

3. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian- Robert E. Howard

I also started this for LIT205, but once again, we only read "The Queen of the Black Coast" and "Tower of the Elephant", so I really want to finish this over the summer. I loved the Conan stories so far- more than Elric.

4. The Worship Answer Book- Rick Muchow

This book was given to me as a high school graduation present by a friend of the family. I skimmed a few pages and liked what I read, so I want to actually read it now.

30 DSC: Day 2

Day 2: Least Favorite Song- Fireflies- Owl City



Here's a parody of the same song that I think is hilarious!

30 DSC: Day 1

So I've decided to do the '30 Day Song Challenge' on Facebook, but I also wanted to share those posts with you guys too, so I'm putting them on my blog. Even though I'm on day 3 on Facebook, I'll still do one per day on here. Here's number one:

Day 1: Your favorite song

This was a really hard choice for me. I've never really been able to pick one definitive "favorite" in anything, let alone music. I like a wide variety of things- it gives me options. So I picked Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. While it's not my one and only "favorite", it is a favorite. Plus, Queen is one of my favorite bands.

Top 10 Movie Soundtracks

10. Braveheart- James Horner

9. The Cowboys- John Williams

8. The Last Samurai- Hans Zimmer

7. Schindler's List- John Williams

6. Black Hawk Down- Hans Zimmer & Denez Prigent

5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- Harry Gregson-Williams

4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- Tan Dun

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl- Klaus Badelt

2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back- John Williams

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King- Howard Shore

Honorable Mentions

1. How to Train Your Dragon- John Powell
2. Aladdin- Alan Menken

Thoughts on Fantasy

As you’ve probably guessed by now, I am really into the fantasy genre- movies, books, games- you name it. I know that everyone has their opinions, and not everyone enjoys fantasy and its sub-genres, but here are some reasons why I love it so much.

For starters, the possibilities in fantasy are endless. Although the majority of fantasy stories are set in a medieval alternate-world (which isn’t necessarily bad, just monotonous) there is still abundant ways to personalize, expand upon, or change the setting or story to something remarkable. The range of possibilities in setting could be anywhere between historical to almost sci-fi, and in some cases (like Star Wars or historical fiction), they mix. By using your imagination, you can create your own world where anything can happen. I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but where else can you do that, other than Fantasy and Science Fiction?

Secondly, reading is a way to escape your daily life and relax for once. I’ve found that even though I enjoy a lot of activities (like video games, movies, baseball, etc.); I can relax so much more by listening to some music and/or reading a good book. Fantasy used to be stigmatized as “escapist”- as if that was a bad thing. Yes, a fantasy novel takes you to another world, but is it so bad to escape somewhere else for a couple hours away from your normal busy life? I agree that running from your problems is not the best way to solve them, but is reading running? I think it is more of a pause button than an escape.

Fantasy also gets stigmatized by conservatives (especially Christians). I can see where they get their opinions, since I’m a Christian as well, but I think their fears are skewed. For example, Harry Potter is deemed “demonic” and involves “witchcraft”. Just because a story involves magic doesn’t mean it is evil. What do you think that people in Jesus’ time thought of his miracles? They also say that fantasy, video games, and things like D&D will drive people to do horrible things, etc. Yes there have been cases where weak-minded individuals couldn’t differentiate between the real and the fake, but do you really think that everyone is like that? I think that there is nothing wrong with fantasy as long as it is not a direct attack or perversion on one’s beliefs. I can make the difference between a story and real life. Just because I watched The Lord of the Rings doesn’t mean I’m going to dress in armor and go on a killing spree at school with an axe or something.

Lastly, I believe that Fantasy is a great mirror for our own lives, but in a different setting. Fantasy authors find that they can deal with tough issues in their books more easily than simply talking to someone about it. These books show the best and the worst life has to offer, and tells us that we can and will conquer anything that is thrown at us. It is never easy, but we can be the hero too. It may sound kind of far-fetched, but we can learn from fantasy- and not just vocabulary.

While I may not be eloquent or crystal clear in my explanations, but I hope you got the point. I’d love to talk with you about fantasy sometime, as it’s one of my favorite things to experience.

My Top 10 Favorite Albums

10. Comatose- Skillet

9. All To You...Live- Lincoln Brewster

8. Dance or Die- Family Force 5

7. The Varangian Way- Turisas

6. Dark Passion Play- Nightwish

5. Drunken Lullabies- Flogging Molly

4. How the West Was Won- Led Zeppelin

3. In Between Dreams- Jack Johnson

2. Greatest Hits I- Queen

1. Mmhmm- Relient K

Honorable Mentions:

1. The Mission Bell- Delirious?

2. Self-Titled- Tree63