Fair Sweet Morn: #10!!!!!

Fair Sweet Morn: #10!!!!!

Not to rub it in Justin, but Kansas is only a measly few spots ahead of you in 2nd place. Go ahead, be proud. The Huskies haven't had much to cheer about in a while! And that Robinson kid is pretty amazing. I'll give you guys that.

album update

Yesterday I took an hour while Sarah was at the Y to work on the album. Since I'm working on it at the house, I'm either on headphones or monitoring through my stereo, neither of which is ideal for doing a final mix. My hope is to move back to the church to finish the mixes on studio monitors (speakers), which give a clearer picture of what it sounds like than home audio equipment.

I got close to a final mix for "Awake My Heart". My biggest problem is how to get Nathan's congas to sound right. They have a great *smack* on the head, but it's followed by a *whump* from the low end of the drum. It's much more pronounced on my sub than it is in the studio, so I need to fix that. Perhaps Rick Jensen has some advice. Anyways, I think the vocals and instruments are balanced pretty well, so we'll see what it sounds like at the studio.

Then I got to "Faint Were We". I would have to say that song has been one of my best recording experiences to date, mainly because I was allowed to just engineer. Luke and Kristen already knew the song and had rehearsed their harmonies and everything before getting there. We set up in the upper room of Camp David at GLPC, and they recorded their parts separately but only in the span of an hour. I set up mics in the hallway to get the natural echo of the hardwood, which I think I got the right balance in the mix to give this haunting "down the hall" effect. I also recorded it at 48 kHz instead of the typical 44.1 kHz, which in most basic terms means the tracks were recorded at a higher resolution, so there's better detail to the recording. I think I'll try to do that more often, I've been very happy with the results.

So that's your update. Hopefully I'll have more to talk about the album soon!

update on my mobility

If you read the below post (dislocating news), you might be wondering how I've been holding up, so here are a few random thoughts concerning my knee:

• I'm almost off the crutches! They're more of a nuisance than anything right now, but they help to get around campus and other long distances, and to get people to hold the door for me, give me sympathy at the cash register, and to trip miscellaneous pedestrians, either by accident or on purpose.
• I'm still wearing the immobilizer brace (which I just got the bill for... and it makes my wallet ache a bit... wonder if they make a brace to nurse that back to health). Anyways, I'm about to move to a patella restraint brace. I own one from my previous surgery and subsequent rehab. Only problem is that the last time I wore it was at least 5 years ago. When I put it on my right knee this week to try it out, I found that it didn't fit. I actually couldn't get all the way up my quadrecept. So thanks to 5 years of weight gain, I have to buy a larger brace.
• To top all of my fictitious stories of my accident (another post perhaps) I was talking with Stacy Solano who is a physical therapist who attends Green Lake Pres. with me, and she informed me that she was quite astonished that I was suffering from this malady. It seems that she doesn't usually see a lot of active, young men (like myself... she flatters me to think I'm 'active') that need to rehab a knee problem like mine (specifically the surgery that I had on my left knee; what is called a 'lateral release'). She typically sees this surgery done on elderly, obese women whose legs bow in because of the weight. I got a laugh out of that. Can't say I've been compared with an elderly, obese woman in at least 3 or 4 months tops.
• And I found out that I don't have the silliest injury story. The gal who sold me my Barq's root beer at the HUB Newsstand said that she had a friend that slipped on a piece of wrapping paper, fell down the stairs, and messed up something pretty badly in their leg. I can sleep easy now, there are other klutzes out there!

Keep smiling... and if that doesn't help, visit your nearest Starbucks. I'm sure there's one just around the corner.

the i is for idolatry

ouch, it's been nearly 10 days since my last post. hope this doesn't put anyone off that might wish I posted more frequently.

Sarah & I have joined the revolution. I asked Santa Claus for an iPod for Christmas, but someone forgot to tell me that Santa isn't real so he didn't give me the latest gadget that all the kids are using. Ficticious benefactors aside, we did save up our Christmas money and bought one.

I've been wanting one for a long time... a long, long time... and probably not in a good, "I want this becuase it'll make life easier" sort of way. No, I really wanted one because I was jealous of all the folks walking around Seattle with the little white earbuds, jamming in their own little world, soundtrack to their fast-paced lives. And I wanted that. The ear buds. The personal soundtrack. The making other people jealous of my fashion... er, technological style.

And then, even worse, they came out with the U2 Special Edition iPod. Not only for the U2 fan in me, but also for the aesthetic "black is better than white" in me, and once again, the "make people jealous of me" in me.

Until someone jokingly (but I think rather seriously) posed the question to me, "Is the I in iPod for idolatry?" "For goodness sake no!" I replied quickly, recoiling to my hobbit hole with my dream... my precious.

But finally, I became more and more convicted of the throne that I was bowing to, that of Apple and Steve Jobs. I resigned myself to never want one again. This was then followed by the undelying desire to organize my music, which the iPod actually is helpful for. Sarah and I talked about it some more, and found that we both had uses for the iPod: she wanted one for working out (they're darn light and don't skip to the beat), and I could use one when I'm commuting this fall to seminary.

We ordered it at the end of last week, and even got it personalized for free. I signed for it this morning, and now I'm about to head home to get it set up and enjoy it on campus tomorrow!

So the moral of the story is don't get caught up in the advertising culture that we live in. It's pretty easy to come to think that you need more stuff to make you more satisfied with your life.

new year's wisdom from dr. johnson

Happy New Year Everyone! If you're looking for New Year's wisdom, you've come to the right place. I wanted to post some of my own wisdom acrued over the past 25.5 years of my life, but then I was thinking that I don't have much intelligent to say that someone else hasn't already said before, and they were probably more wise, more well-spoken, more famous, and/or more attractive than me.

The following quotes are from Samuel Johnson (1709-84), who was "one of the towering literary figures of his age... a lexicographer, dramatist, novelist, critic, poet, editor, and conversationalist" (Schott's Original Miscellany, pg. 22). So be wise as you encounter the first day of work/class of 2005, and perhaps don't take yourself so seriously...

As peace is the end of war, so to be idle is the ultimate purpose of the busy.

All intellectual improvement arises from leisure.

Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero... must drink brandy.

How few of his friends' houses would a man choose to be at when he is ill.

Almost every man wastes part of his life attempting to display qualities which he doesn't possess.

It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.

He was dull in a new way, and that made many people think him great.