8 hours till the New Year...

Greetings avid blog readers...

Just a quick update and hello. I've been pretty busy with all the fun stuff that you get to do around Christmas Holidays. To top things off Christmas was good, I got a new pair of skis, the Calvin and Hobbes box set and some DVD's I've been wanting to get. Christmas at the Grandparents was good and everybody is doing well and happy. Boxing day was fabulous, had lunch with Sharon, and spent 3 hours in Swiss Chalet acting like children and playing with cellophane straw wrappers. Boxing day night, went to Denis' place for a Boxing day party and enjoyed good food and met some interesting people. Tuesday-Thursday got in some skiing before the rain came, hung out with Bowmnavillians and generally relaxed and watched some tv. Friday went into the city and hung out with Jen. We did the ROM, Dinner at a great restaurant called Tony Balloni's and desert and movie at her house. Today, is New Years Eve. Heading to Ian's for drinking, board games, and merriment.... Boy am I cool! Board games for New Years.

Soon I will post an update with New Years related stories, and more reflective intelligent posts... But right now I can't be bothered to think... I'm too excited to squeeze as much fun as possible into the next few days before I head back to London on January 3rd, and spend till the 9th making up for all the work I didn't do over the past two weeks... Oh the joys of Grad school... On the plus side I've only got 12 more weeks of classes before I'M DONE CLASSES FOREVER!!!!!

WOOT!

Happy New Years!

Holiday Greetings!

Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
Crazy Kwanzaa
Belated Bodhi Day
Respectful Ramadan
Super Solstice
.... and anything else I can't remember.

Best wishes for you and yours during this holiday season...

Since last time on... "Tozer's Less Then Thrilling Life"

Kingston was, as always, a blast. Spent Saturday to Sunday there, camping out at Casa Del Katrina performing yet another pass out due to alcohol on her couch. Kat and I went to Wooden Heads for gourmet pizza and a litre of wine, then back to her house for a glass of wine, then a bottle of wine at QP (The QP's wine list has doubled since 3rd year... they now have TWO different types of wine), a free shot courtesy of the QP waitress who recognized me (which is sad because she didn't work there last year, which means between the summer and trips to Kingston I'm still a "regular" there) and a glass of schnapps. Twas a good evening as Lori and Mike met us at the QP and much fun was had catching up. Kat and I woke up with a hangover, and recovered with a Kelsey's lunch before I took off for home.
Monday was a fairly un-eventful day but Joe, Laura and I took in my old High School's Choir Sing-a-Long and a round of drinks a the Village Inn on Monday night. Tuesday was fairly un-eventful, consisted of running errands and a trip to the dentist. Wednesday was an interesting trip to Toronto. Drove down and met up with Denis and Mike (who was on a lay-over on the way to Prague). Hit up the Distillery, the new local arts hang out type thing in Toronto and then dropped Mike at the airport. Hit up Yorkville mall and had Milestones and saw Fun with Dick and Jane. FwDaJ is an absolutely brilliant film which is hilarious but not in the stupid way but in the whole intelligent witty and slapstick way. Jim Carey is an expert with facial expressions.
Today, was less then eventful. I stayed in PJ's and did nothing till about 5pm. Tonight my Dad and I built a television cabinet for our newly renovated Basement.

Oh what exciting times I lead...

PS. The whole Canadian election stuff is just ridiculous. What the hell is Harper talking about? He is the one who teamed up with the Bloc to take down the government... what a moron! It's infuriating to read about the debates or anything they're saying. Every single one of them is spewing shit and the fact is the whole election is just a waste of tax payers money. It is highly likely that it will once again be a Liberal minority government backed by the NDP and it will be just two months and tonnes of money wasted... stupid Harper... stupid Government...

... of course I'll still vote... Voting, even if it proves nothing, will at least give me the right to complain. And Lord knows I love to complain...

Skullets and Other Such phenomenon

Advanced Warning: This post has nothing to do with Skullets directly but is rather linked to them in an inside joke sort of way. For those of you uninformed, a skullet is similar to a mullet but rather then business in front, party in the back, it is bald in front, party in the back.

I just spent the last two days in Toronto with no prior planning. I had to meet my professor for a meeting regarding my thesis at lunch time on Danforth Ave, and despite the warning for inclimate weather (the giant snow storm which was supposed to last 48 hours and dump 30cm or more of snow) I decided to stick around and see what happened. I managed to do a whole bunch of fun stuff despite no planning. A delicious lunch (breakfast) followed at Futures Cafe with Laura and her housemates, a trip up to Yorkville, hanging with Joe and his OISE buddies in a post conference party, a Christmas party, followed by Curb Your Enthusiasm (Hilarious, Larry David is a genius) and a long long night of chatting with Laura till after 7am. What did we talk about from 2-7am? Life, the Universe and everything. And of course, we talked about nothing. It's strange where your brain can wonder with a lack of sleep. It's like being drunk without the fear of a hangover. Woke up around 1pm today and had delicious meal at the Pickle Barrel and hopped the Go train home. Off to Kingston tomorrow for another unplanned excursion hopefully including much fun and the beloved QP.

What is it about late at night when you're tired, or just when you're with good friends that cause you to be able to talk about anything. You're so much more open at these times. And the conversation can quickly change paths and veer totally off topics. They switch between serious and silly with a drop of a hat. I know everybody has experienced this phenomenon. There's just something about good friends, and the wee hours of the morning that can cause the most intense, interesting and irrelevant points of conversation.

... Unfortunately they also lead to things like reading the dictionary for fun and the ill famed rap of Monnee X featuring Biz Funk & Del Freak.

"Birds are leaving over autumn's ending"

So despite Winter's Solstice still being about 2 weeks away I think it's safe to say Autumn is over. The leaves have not only changed colour but fallen and disappeared under a blanket of white. And with the passing of autumn comes the end of a standard university term. As of 2:30pm today I am officially 25% of the way to being granted the Masters of Composition. It has been quite the term.
Despite initial reservations, the loneliness of living by myself, the challenge of a new city and new friends, something I haven't faced in many years and the unexpected insanity that is Graduate school, I have come out on the other side and must say a small part of me is somewhat sad to be leaving London for the holidays. My little apartment is now my home. I have a small circle of friends and colleagues who I can enjoy a beer with but equally enjoy a discussion on the merit of authentic period instruments versus modern acoustic instruments.
I have learned a hell of a lot about music and my skills as a composer have grown leaps and bounds in only a few short months. It has not been easy (quite the opposite) but I must say, it's been most rewarding.

I know some of you have chosen the opposite of more school and gone to experience something totally foreign. How have you fared after 4 months away from our alma mater? To my fellow B. Mus 05 today marks 4 years since we stumbled out of the MUSC 105 Christmas exam, did you ever imagine then, that you'd be where you are today?

Despite my hang over this morning, this Friday has been great.

Oh yeah.. PS... LOTR is a far better experience then Narnia. But most of you knew that anyways...

Requiem for Pie Hef

A part of my teenage life is dying. It's not a part I particularly enjoyed at the time, in fact I sometimes hated it. But somehow, hearing that it's passing is imminent, is bring up all these fond memories. Pie Hef, or Land Yacht as it is also known, was my friend Laura's car. It was a very very big blue car, with bald tires, scratchy speakers, and very poor control available. It's name Pie Hef came from the fact that it's license plate was 314 HEF, 3.14 being the first 3 digits of pi. It's other name, Land Yacht came from the fact that in sheer size it resembled a boat more then a car.
It slid on dry surfaces, and on snow or icy surfaces it was essentially a death trap. It would break down often, at very bad times. Sometimes it would randomly start spewing smoke into the car through the vents. It had a gas gauge that read inaccurately so you were never sure how much gas you had left. But it was always available, unlike our parents cars, and it, EVENTUALLY, got us from point A to C, breaking down at B of course.
Two specific memories come to mind:
The first is a general one, in the winter Pie Hef would take forever to actually start and once that happened it would take forever to create heat. The 1st half hour of sitting in the car would be almost equivalent to standing outside the car.
The second is more specific. It was summer some random number of years ago. Laura and I decided to take a drive somewhere, and as we sped along the highway, a grayish green smoke started to come in through the vent. I guess the car was overheating, so we rolled down our windows on the highway and cranked the fans into the car to try to cool the car down as we sped towards a repair centre.

Pie Hef, we barely knew ye.

"Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Dona eis requiem sempiternam"

An Open Question

So I've been thinking a lot lately about how I've changed since key points such as the end of high school, the end of 1st year undergrad, and even how I've changed in the last 3 months of being at grad school. My questions is this:

Do you feel like you've learned anything?

And I don't mean learned in just the sense of what you've been taught, though that could be part of the answer. But rather what you've learned about yourself and what you've learned about people in general.

Clearly most of us are smarter and more knowledgeable. But intelligence and wisdom are two different things.

"The fool doth think he is wise. The wise man knows himself to be a fool."

Thanks Will. You're pretty on top of things for a 500 year old dead guy.

Letter Explanation (for Stu and anyone else wondering)

Why London Transit Sucked:
Wednesday 5pm. Snow Storm, Very Cold. Freezing Wind, Frostbite Fun.
Waiting for #10 Wonderland Bus. Supposed to be there at 5:02pm. Bus does not arrive till 5:35.
Normal Bus Ride Home: 10 minutes.
Bus Ride Home that day: 40 minutes
That Day: Time arriving home 6:15.... 1 hour and 15 minutes to get from campus to my house. Approximate distance 4km. Walking time: 30 minutes.... this is why London Transit Sucks

Other News:
As if I wasn't good at procrastinating and wasting time on my own, my professor is now lending a helping hand. Today's 1 hour meeting became a 2 hour meeting followed by being asked to get lunch at the grad club. Always a good idea to join a prof for lunch... hence 3 1/2 hours gone...

Saw Rent at the theatre. Fantastic to say the least. Almost as good as the stage version. Something about that show rings a bell with me. (As much as bohemian life style is appealing...I really hope I don't end up being a struggling artist wondering how I'm going to pay the rent and burning stuff when the power gets turned off for warmth).

Sloan on Sunday. Hopefully... they're playing at the Drink and providing I get enough work done, I will go see them. And enjoy them as they make mistakes and continue to be the ambassadors of Canadian Nerd Rock.

Letter

Dear London Transit:
You Suck.
Get Bent.

Yours Truly,
Matt Tozer

Weekend = Good

I grabbed the 3:45pm train out of London on Thursday and had one of the best but busiest weekends I've had in a long time. A short recap follows:
Thursday: First snowfall of the year, made the train ride kinda nice. Did some counterpoint as the train whipped through the snow covered wilderness. Got home around 8pm for a delicious filling home cooked roast beef dinner, followed by more counterpoint till 4am.
Friday: Went into Oshawa for lunch, despite the horrible weather. Was going to drive into Toronto but decided to take the train in order to avoid the destruction derby the 400 series highway had become. Met Denis at his apartment and went for Indian food. 2 jugs of Sangria and a round of tequila shots followed with Laura at the Green Room (the art student hang out in Toronto). Watched classic episodes of ST:TNG and fell asleep around 4am.
Saturday: Got up early and headed back to Oshawa on the Go Train. Met up with Aunt and Uncle and gave them my housekeys. Took the car from Oshawa to meet my parents at my cousins place in Whitby. Saw my cousin's new baby, Megan, and found out that I'm going to be known as "Uncle Matt". Left and headed back to my house in Port Hope. Aunt and Uncle had done a great job and the surprise party for my folks was in full swing. Lots of goodies, food and wine available. Parents arrived to their family and friends for the Surprise 50th B-Day Party. Needless to say they were surprised. Good times were had. The party wrapped up around 9pm and I headed into Bowmanville to meet Ian, Joe and Laura for cards and food at the Village Inn (sort of in honour of Ian's Birthday). Everybody seemed to be in good spirits and it was nice to be temporarily transported back to the way it was in the year 2000.
Sunday: Headed back to London, parents bought groceries and I've been doing homework since. Took a short break to enjoy the Fox Sunday lineup but missed Family Guy due to a phone call. However, Azereus will solve that problem tomorrow.

Healthier

So I just ate a big plate of chicken nuggets and french fries. I wasn't intending on eating this kind of food tonight. I was under the assumption that when I got home I'd chop up some veggies and have a delicious stir fry for dinner tonight. But I was at school from 10:30-10:00... And I just didn't feel like cooking or putting effort into anything.
You see, when I started grad school I decided to be healthier. I started taking vitamins everyday, flossing and rinsing with listerine everyday. I made a decided effort to eat healthier, more vegetables and more fruit, less unhealthy foods. I decided I would be active, get a gym membership and bike to school until it got cold.
I was doing very well back in September. I was on that bike all the time, back and forth to campus, and around town. I was walking when I wasn't riding. It was good. Then I got sick in October, and decided while I was sick to suspend my riding. When I became healthy again about 2 weeks later I just didn't feel like bike riding anymore. And it had gotten colder so I began to use the bus. I still tried to walk everyday and have been moderately successful at that.
In terms of the vitamins, and tooth care, I've been perfect about that, and haven't missed a day. A pat on the back for me.
I've also been very successful in the eating healthier department. I've had veggies in my diet everyday. At the bare minimum I'm eating more greens and drinking a glass of V8 juice everyday. I've also increased the amount of fruit. I'm eating a piece of fruit everyday at least. Bringing fruit salad in my lunch has become common place.
School has gotten busier and I've been putting in long hours in the buildings and I've been good. Today my lunch consisted of a peanut butter and banana sandwich, fruit salad and a V8. However I seem to have this tendency after being so healthy during the day with my eating, that when I come home and eat I have the nuggets and fries, or something equally unhealthy. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that I'm eating that kind of unhealthy food at 10:30pm at night. If it was midday at least I could burn off a great percentage of it.
As for the gym membership I haven't gotten one because of time constraints due to school and lack of money... Also due to school. But next term I have one less class and 4 day weekends and as well I got a boost in my funding. So in lieu of the more free time and mroe cash next term I have decided the following in advance....

45 Days before New Years Resolutions:
1) Buy a gym membership and go 5 times a week, no exceptions. It's open 24 hours a day so nothing should stop me.
2) Start eating more at regular times. No food after 10pm.
3) Keep doing the stuff I did well above. (to think I actually like the taste of V8 now)

A professional

So apparently I'm a professional in my field now.
Did you know this? I didn't. But apparently I'm a professional.

How delightfully absurd.

I discovered this fact in an interesting discussion I had with Kevin, the other grad student, and professor Omar Daniels. We discussed in details the "creative process" and how different people work to create music. We discussed the "moment" when you realize that you're no longer just indulging a hobby but actually developing a skill. And we discussed what defines a graduate student in comparison to the Undegrad. Apparently the key difference (besides age, skill and experience) is in the mindset. An undergrad composer, no matter how dedicated, may never do composition as a career, as it may just be a hobby. He/She may never ever compose again in what follows after their degree is complete. The graduate student, in coming back, has decided to embrace composition as a career. Suddenly, at Grad school, you are a professional working in your field. It's now a job, a career, not just school.

I never gave that idea much thought till today but it's true. This is like a job, and school combined (which may explain why it's so insanely busy all the time). But it's true, Grad school is a lot like a job, but without the benefit of being paid. But, at least in my case, my classes are essentially taught as an advice based assessment on what I may be called on to do in a future commission or job.

How very interesting to realize that I'm finally learning real world skills I can apply to getting work after this. Whether it be in teaching via the PhD route or freelancing, it's nice to know now I'm actually learning in a "hands on" approach.

2 Other Unrelated Tidbits:
1) For those of you who watch Lost... How cool was tonight's episode? Who do you think is dead?
2) Why are girls so confusing?

Sunset and Soon Forget

So...
It's been over a week since I blogged something... I guess I've found way to fill my time.

I have been incredibly busy as of late, mostly with work but with social stuff too. Which is good. Since my last blog entry I have been really productive in my classes and work ethic. I have logged a lot of hours in the studio working on a cool piece for two oboes and live audio processing effects, committed 300 bars of piano music by Beckwith into an arrangement for Orchestra, got good at minventions, wrote an invention, collected works for the syllabus for MUSC350 next term, and finally got something good done for my composition for piano, french horn, and violin.

I have decided to create even more work for myself by applying to music direct Sweeny Todd next term for Theatre Western. If I get this I'll be applying a large amount of stress opera style and combining it with my insane work load meaning the social stuff I've done as of late will fly by the wayside. But even my professors say I should do it. Despite the exhaustion it may cause.

I saw Elizabethtown yesterday. What a great movie. Makes you feel good about life. Also confirmed the fact that I need to go on a roadtrip at some point in my life. Going on a roadtrip is now a priority to be added to the list of things to do when grad school is dead in 2007.

Started playing through Final Fantasy III (aka VI). What a freaking amazing game and soundtrack. Forgot how much fun video games are. Must remember to rent Soul Calibur 3 and to acquire a copy of Civilization 3 for my Mac.

Mac's are amazing. One day I will write a post on how amazing my Apple computer is and why everybody should switch. Mac's are almost a quasi-religious experience.

Made firm plans to go to New York City for a few days in December to explore the Big Apple. Have never been but am making a list of things to do and see... And trying to figure out how cheap I can make it to New York City for. Got to see MOMA, Guggenheim, Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Broadway show (hopefully Spamalot, Rent or Avenue Q), and etc.

This post was all over the place topic wise. But so am I. The insanity of work is making me lose my mind... I'm operating on many levels as my brain blows fuses and I count the days till classes die for this term.... Only 30 days.... "Pray for mojo"

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yay! Some Semblance of A Life!

SO...

It seems somehow I accidentally did develop a life here at UWO. I"m not really sure how it happened but suddenly I have stuff to do and people to do it with. I think what makes it odd, is that it's not the social life I had been expecting to develop. When I think of social life I think of my social life at Queen's. An example: It's Halloween tomorrow and I keep thinking of last year's crazy 562 Double Keg of Keith Halloween Party in which we had spillover from two parties that got shut down. That was an amazing party with lots of people and costumes and liquor flowing like water from the taps. My social life is not like that here. It is smaller and more conservative and more... um... mature I guess. For one thing with the sheer amount of homework having a social life like before just isn't a possibility anymore. My social life consists of things like going for coffee a lot, watching films, meeting up to discuss music. It's a lot more laid back and suited to the lifestyle of a grad student. I discussed this a lot with Kevin tonight and he agreed that coming to grad school has a sense of isolating you a bit. You come from this place you'd been at for 4 years with lots of friends and a lighter work load. You are suddenly shoved into a new environment with very little time to meet people, no connections and the knowledge that in 2 years you'll be gone. It makes for a feeling of being isolated, and your social life becomes a way to break that isolation through small more mature activity.

That being said, there are opportunities to party and drink they are just less frequent and more risky as the workload never stops. That being said, I like what I'm doing, and the parts I don't like... well they'll be over in a year and a half or less... I find it odd that I'm almost 1/4 done my degree.

Grad students/and those who know Grads take notice of this hilarious comic Ian pointed out to me:

www.toothpastefordinner.com/093004/the-can-factory.gif

Cheers!

Television Worth Watching...

Television.. For the most part sucks.

There is still far too many reality shows, feeding mindless dribble to the masses who seem to suck it up like a fat person with a bowl of gravy. There are also a lot of bad sitcoms and dramas which seem to be unable to come up with the originality and sharp witty writing that made sitcoms like "Seinfeld" so good. And some shows that refuse to be cancelled even though they've long gone past their prime. Sorry "Simpsons"... I loved you but it's time to give it up.

However there are a few shows which still prove that television may yet have a bright future. On the prime time networks the prize goes to ABC and their amazing show "Lost". After being absolutely captivated by the constant mystery which covered the entirety of season 1, JJ Abrahm's and the excellent writers choose a less conservative route and suddenly blow a whole in all the theories about what the island is. Unexpected turns like the discovery of the bunker and the sequenced countdown are the kind of things to shock viewers and make them think. More TV needs to make you think. "Lost" is simply brilliant. However also on the networks FOX does a decent job of keeping things animated with new episodes of the "Family Guy". Though not as bright or satirical as the "Simpsons" or "Futurama", "Family Guy" never the less, is well written a good for a laugh.

What really continues to amaze me is the quality of shows on HBO. Having just wrapped up "Six Feet Under", one of the best and most well acted and written shows I have seen in years. It's actually a lot better then most movies. HBO's new series "Rome" has proven in the few episodes I've seen to be well written and have fantastic production values. Further more going back to the back catalog HBO has had a long string of hit shows that were well written. "Sex and the City", though not my cup of tea, is well written and "Mr. Show" a sketch comedy show pushed the boundaries of what could be considered funny years in advance. Furthermore, I have just begun watching "Band of Brothers" ... And all I can say is WOW! What an amazing show, why can't all TV deliver the kind of entertainment that "Band of Brothers" brings...

Really, all TV could be better if so many people didn't tune in to see what stupid thing Jessica Simpson has to say, to see how much of a dumb slut Paris Hilton can be or to hear that man with the toupee say "you're fired" yet again....

A Change of Scenery

I've been thinking ahead lately. Mostly about what I want to do when I finish my masters in 2007. I suppose it's probably bad for me to be thinking this far ahead and not focusing on my work at the present. It's always a bad idea as my dad says to "put the cart before the horse" (it's amazing how many expressions have become antiquated due to technology), but I can't help thinking about what I want to do when I'm done... Or what I might have the possibility to do.

First on my list of plans is to get out of the country for a while. I'm thinking September 2007 I get on a plane and I go to one of two places:
1) Europe: I get a work visa and fly over to Europe. I travel Europe via the Euro-rail crashing at youth hostels and getting the odd job waiting tables or delivering packages when funds run low. I see the classics which all artist are supposed to revel in; the famous museums, the opera halls, the galleries, the architecture. I study theory with a pedagogical master and take composition lessons across Europe from various composers, soaking in national styles, expanding my musical horizons and growing as a musician. I meet talented people and get wrapped up in artistic ventures. I meet a beautiful intelligent Swedish super model... Well maybe not that.
2) Japan/Asia: I get a work visa and fly over to Japan to teach English and make some money in the process. I travel Japan and parts of Asia seeing the Eastern architecture and soak in this foreign culture. I learn about Japanese musical instruments perhaps even learning to play one and take lessons in composition from composers in Asia learning a whole new style and approach to musical composition and design and grow farther away from traditional Western compositional ideas. I meet a beautiful intelligent Japanese super model....

I've just felt lately that as much as I'm enjoying school right now and I'm learning a lot that I need to take a year or two off and do something totally new. I really think I need a change of scenery and a new direction to really get myself to the next step. What that next step would be, I don't know.

At the very least I'll come back from either place with stories, pictures and pages and pages of music.

Jock U

So after 6 weeks I've noticed one glaring difference between Queen's University and the University of Western Ontario. Without a doubt, UWO is a Jock School. Those people who you called Jocks in high school are all here. Not that UWO isn't a place for academics, I've met many a smart person here, but the sheer amount of sports being played on campus is amazing. Regardless of weather, 7 days a week people are outside playing football, rugby, field hockey, lacrosse and other sports in the fields outside the music building. I thought maybe it was just me, and that most universities are like this, and Queen's was the exception.

So I asked around.

My colleagues, coming from schools across the country and world all agreed with my assessment.

UWO was Jock U.

Seu Jorge is Cool

Seu Jorge is a very talented musician from Brazil. Seu Jorge has been popular for quite a while in his native country, his album "Samba Esporte Fino" won the 1999 Brazil Album of the Year. Seu Jorge has only recently hit it big in North America due to his exposure in the delightful Wes Anderson film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" starring Bill Murray. Seu Jorge is the guy playing covers of David Bowie in Portuguese throughout the movie on solo guitar. These delightful covers (which in a way I actually prefer over the original) are an excellent compliment to this quirky film, and as well inspired me to do more research into the music of Seu Jorge. I am in the process of hunting down his music so I can hear it as I type this. However while reading up on the music of Seu Jorge, I ended up reading all about Wes Anderson movies.

Wes Andreson is cool.

Wes Anderson's other movies include the classic "Rushmore" also selling Bill Murray and "The Royal Tenenbaums" also featuring Bill Murray and an all star cast including Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Luke Wilson. As well as a movie called Bottlerocket which I have not seen but now plan to. Wes Anderson movies are really hip and cool. They have a really dark sense of humour to them and aren't your typical laugh out loud film. Rather they are this amusing blend of stupidity and sheer amazing intelligence. His movies have also provided a spotlight for the deadpan look that made Bill Murray an Oscar contender for his role in Lost in Translation (and if there was any justice, he should have been an Oscar winner.) An interesting fact is that he has ended all his movies with a slow motion shot. As well he is apparently a big fan of wide angle lens shots. This may seem all well and good but when you view his movies you realize how he uses these devices to great effect and subtle laughter (such as the cut out of the boat in The Life Aquatic). Wes Anderson is quoted as saying:

"In big six-camera shots, you're supposed to have six cameras going. And I don't know what to do with the other five."

Despite my medium being music and not film I can sympathize. Sometimes 1 is enough....

My love affair with Euchre.

I have re-discovered my love for Euchre this weekend, and it got me thinking about the reasons I love it.

I learned to play Euchre because my parents and their best friends, the Connors, would play it everytime they got together. There was lots of laughing, and joking and it generally seemed like a great time. So I had my dad teach me over and over again when I was young. But I would always forget it because it's one of those things you need ingrained in your memory. By the time of BSPS (Bowmanville Senior Public School) other people had discovered the card game but more people seemed to be interested in a game of Asshole, which is a fine card game but pales in comparison to Euchre. Euchre became a pastime in high school. I played it obsessively. Many hours wasted in the far south hallway on floor of BHS (Bowmanville High School) playing cards while cutting class with Joe, Julie, Karen, Chris and the Kreck. It was a great joy watching the teachers patrol the hall to make sure kids weren't loitering, but only stopping to ask us what the score was.
Euchre once again dominated a great deal of time during my first few years at Queen's University. A regular Tuesday outing to Queen's Pub (a staple of my undergrad, having continued on the tradition as best I could once Matt and Mark graduated) became a regular Tuesday night of cards, specifically Euchre. Nothing says good fun like beer, pub grub, and Euchre. In my last few years of undergrad I played the game far less frequently but still played the occasional game in the lobby.
Since I graduated I hadn't played the game all that much till this Thanksgiving weekend where quite a few games were played in Laura's kitchen.

There is something about a game like Euchre that just brings people together. It's far more social then most standard card games and it's more then the fact that it's a team game. Euchre tends to breed friendly competition and social out-bursts. It's a card game in which you have to focus but you don't have to focus that hard. It has lots of strategy but even the best laid plans can go sour due to the cards.

I highly recommend to anyone who is not familiar with this game to learn it. And to those who are... Who's up for a game?

style and rhythm

Well, after being sick for a week straight today was the first day I felt really back in the game. I thought today was going to be the day I catch up on all the stuff I should have been doing while I lay in bed feeling like crap last week. Funny thing is, having recovered and finally able to do work, I didn't do any. Whoops. I guess I wanted to enjoy procrastinating in a healthy state.

So not much real news to report. I just felt since I hadn't posted anything in a while that maybe it was time. So besides being sick I've been in good shape lately. I've really adjusted to the whole Grad student thing and have found my time management is a lot better. I eat more balanced meals, take vitamins and exercise in some way everyday. In terms of schooling, my dedication and interest in my subject are still running on high. As well, social life here in London has improved but no where near the hectic action of Queen's (which I suppose is a good thing considering the workload). As well, things seem more normal as I've finally started into my two big compositions for the year. It feels good to be creative in that way again and have large overall goals. Although I have only rough sketches at this point, I think these compositions will be far superior both in the intricate details as well the overall scope from what I did in previous years.
It's funny how over time, if you're critical, you can watch your own style develop in whatever it is you do. No matter what, my pieces and the sketches always end up sounding like me. It's not that I'm not growing or changing, quite the opposite. Since 4th year and into this year, my work has moved leaps and bounds (In fact, I may actually be good at this composing thing). I think more then anything I'm just becoming more and more like me. Inevitably like all composers, a certain palette of sounds, or a particular motivic design tweak my fancy more then others. I suppose this is true no matter what you do, whether you write words, write music, manage a business or anything else. Inevitably you begin to find your style, your rhythm and you go with it.

Decisions

A rider on horse is in a rush to get home. Coming face to face with a swamp, the rider must make a decision whether to go through the swamp or go around it. A young boy stands near the swamp and the rider asks "is there a bottom to this swamp?". The boy replies "yes a very hard bottom" The rider, reassured of the safety of passing through the swamp rides the horse out into the centre. The rider quickly comes to the realization he is sinking. With his head still above water he calls back to the boy "I thought you said it had a hard bottom." The boy yells back "it does. You're just not there yet."

Afterthought

So this morning, after my crazy weekend I woke up sick. I think it's the flu but I'm not really sure. Never the less, I didn't attend school today so I feel bad, but it's probably better then puking on my professors or the students I TA. Those around on Saturday night know how bad puke can get. :)
So I've spent the day popping tyenol and trying to get work done. I've been somewhat successful but I"m finding with the head pain it's hard to concentrate on one thing for too long so I haven't gotten much done. But at least I can say goodbye to my OGS application, and begin praying that I win one. If I win an OGS my life becomes substantially easier. Actually everything becomes substantially easier next year when all I have is my thesis and no courses to deal with. I'm just happy that despite my sickness I managed to complete my application.
This leads to me wonder how much of our body is partially controlled by our mind. I said as off hand comment on the weekend "I'm probably going to get sick after all this" and then I did. Was I foreshadowing my own fate? Being rational? Or did I somehow cause myself to get sick? People always talk about how powerful the human mind is... Why is then that I can't will myself to get better faster? Is there perhaps something humans are missing out on? If we only use 5% of our brain or 10% (I can't remember the actual number) if we could harness more could we cure ourselves. As we study more and more of the human brain perhaps we'll find that the cure to cancer or the common cold were up there all along. Or perhaps we'll just realize that the more we know, the less the world makes sense.
So what caused my sickness? I'm pretty sure the reason I'm sick is the lack of sleep, un-healthy eating and the copious amount of liquor consumed on the weekend... And I'll partially blame the rain. I think it was worth it. If all I have to suffer through is a few days of sickness, so be it.
Bring it on brain, and then once you think you've won... I'll drink some more liquor and mess you up again.



Cheers to Homecoming, good friends, the QP and everything else that makes being sick worthwhile!

Cha Gheill Part 2

Greetings Friends.

This posting is slightly later then planned as when I got home last night I a) missed the train home and had to take the 5am this morning and b) was too tired to care about my blog. That being said Homecoming was worth all the effort to get there. WHAT AN AMAZING WEEKEND.

So obviously, I was pretty wasted Friday and Saturday night, saw a bunch of people and did a bunch of things. But mostly was enjoying being back to the bars and events I'm familiar with. First off, Aberdeen was insane this year. The flipped a car, smashed bottles against fire trucks and generally caused insanity which may lead to it being shut down. Estimates say there was between 5000 to 7000 people on the Aberdeen Street party. The cops tear gassed it and all and it still kept going till almost 3am. Here's a pictre:


A recap:
Friday - Got there late, got wasted at the QP, passed out around 5am at Katrina's after eating copious amounts of beer nuts. A good start
Saturday - Visited some people at Dane's pancake keggar, went for lunch at Chez Piggy, hung out with Beth, met Colleen for coffee at Sleepless Goat, had dinner with friends at Brew Pub, hit up the Aberdeen Street party (or tried too), went to the QP for a beer, went to the Grad Club (it was the 30th anniversary and Sarah Harmer was playing) and passed out again at Katrina's (more beer nuts of course)
Sunday - Delicious lunch at Aqua Tera, relaxing afternoon, missed last train out of Toronto.
Monday - Got up at 5am to make train to get to London in time for class. Currently exhausted but happy.

So before I depart I implore those of you who didn't come back for Homecoming to come back next year... it was amazing and now for the top things this weekend:
1) I'm really looking forward to getting wasted.
2) That hovers around the border of distasteful.
3) Puke in c-word, etc....
4) Why would I give money to a bunch of pregnant babes?
5) Do you like Nirvana?

Cha Gheill Part 1

There are a lot of different ways to get from one place to another. With your body and the help of some equipment you can walk, run, skip, cycle, rollerblade, and even if the mood strikes you, roll to your destination. Further more, you can use bigger forms of transport such as a car.
Cars are a great way to get from Point A to Point B. They're fast, private and have the advantage of having the best audio traveling system available. Only in the car or perhaps a very large room with many speakers can you enjoy your music to the same extent. In a car it surrounds you. However, Cars have the negative aspect of being very costly and bad for the environment. And with the rising cost of fuel cars are becoming a less appealing option everyday.
There is the big long extended car called the Bus. The Bus is a decent way to travel providing you are on a route with many stops and frequent bus occurrences. Going to UWO campus is easy on the bus. However as Kevin, Lyndsey and I discovered on Wednesday night, the bus that goes downtown sucks. I think we waited a good 45 minutes for our bus to come despite the fact it was supposed to come every 1/2 hour. But generally for short distance a Bus is a good option. For long distances I would not recommend it. Although it tends to be the cheapest means of travel it is the least comfortable. Spending your time in the cramped seat of a hot bus with lots of other hot smelly people doesn't really make for a great trip.
And for long distances there is of course the airplane. The airplane is great for traveling really far. As unlike the above options it gets you far faster. Say you were going to Vancouver (one of my favourite places to go), it's the difference of 3 days versus 4 hours.
Now you're probably wondering what this large preamble is about. Well it brings to my favourite form of transportation for going long distances. The train. The train, despite it's slightly higher costs is a great way to travel, at least in Canada. The train is properly air conditioned, the seats, even in the lower classes are comfortable and not squished together and they tilt back. Everybody gets a reading light and a private fan. It just seems like the classy way to travel. It's a mix of business and pleasure. The train is one of the few forms of transport where you can get work done, or enjoy a casual read, and if all else fails, look out the window and watch the scenery pass you by. A large part of the train route between London and Toronto is still un-encumbered by people and so you spend a large portion of the trip whipping through fields and forests. The train also evokes a certain romantic sentiment. I don't know but I think the railway has a great human connection. So much of our lives since the dawn of industry have been intertwined with the train. As we move towards a global civilization, the train is a great artifact of the way in which Humans are able to conquer vast distances and connect people. And as a Canadian I feel like the railway is part of my blood. Which sounds stupid cause I know railways are everywhere. But when you sit on the tracks and you watch the forests whip by, it makes you feel a connection to people who have traveled those routes for years.
Which leads me to the last bit of this: The reason I've been traveling by the means above today (except for the airplane): I'm going to homecoming in Kingston this Weekend! YAY QUEEN'S!
Stay tuned on Sunday for my post-homecoming blog entry!
Same blog time, same blog channel.

Near Fantastica

I'm in a fantastic mood!
I'm not sure why but I guess the last few days have been really good and refreshing, and very promising. To recap what has been going on since my last blog:

Thursday: Did lots of work, spent day at school, explored neighborhood.
Friday: Did more work, spent day at school, learned all about how to apply to OGS/SSHRC (which I need so I can live a more decadent life style)
Saturday: Parents visited, picked up more groceries, saw movie with Jen and was actually out past midnight (first time in London)
Sunday: Woke up late, did hw all day (yay productivity), watched simpsons, ate dinner, watched family guy, watched american dad (simpsons isn't funny anymore, I should just give up on it), had a good conversation with someone via telephone.
Monday: Class, lots of work, delicious lunch, Blog.

So as you can see I do a lot of work. But doing work is good and I'm ahead of the game... I'm sure eventually I'll fall behind though. It's inevitable. Soon procrastination will get the better of me. Today I also started one of the major projects for this term, as part of my new method of not putting things off to the last minute.
On a side note, despite everything, I can't wait till April when I no longer have to go to class.

... Is it wrong to be looking forward to the end of the year already?

Procrastinating

Now at Day 3 of classes my vigor has been replaced by laziness. It's not that I don't feel like I did in my previous post, I still do. But all those sayings like 'old habits are hard to quit' and 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' are proving to be entirely accurate. I don't have any class on Thursday, and because I don't have class on Thursday I can't help but procrastinate today. Instead of doing any work, I lazed around because I knew I had another day to do stuff. I sit here filling guilty because I know I could be much farther ahead and free up more time for myself on the weekend, but instead, I'm procrastinating. I made a really good dinner, I read a book, and now... I'm making a Blog entry.

All this distraction got me to thinking about procrastinating and the way we tend to rationalize certain activities as necessary, so we don't feel bad about doing them, instead of what we are supposed to be doing. The best example would be eating. Today, I made a dish I'd never made before from scratch. I made a delicious pasta dish, which with the exception of the noodles, was all hand done. It was delicious and very filling... but the whole time I couldn't sneak the suspicion that I was creating this marvelous dish to avoid the work I should be doing. But because 'I had to eat' that it was okay not to be doing my work.

When I think about....It kind of gives my dinner a dirty smear.

Revitalization....

So today marks the end of my first complete day as a Graduate student doing Graduate courses. It's a lot of work. A lot more then I expected. I knew there would be an increase in workload but there is so much more then that at the Graduate level. No more easy answer, no more teacher/student relationship. It's a blend now. The teacher no longer treats you as a student but rather a colleague with less experience here to profit from the wisdom of the generation that's been around the block a few times.
It's an interesting change. The increased workload is partially the amount of work expected and the quality expected at the Graduate level but a lot of it comes from the need to not disappoint or live up to your potential. To not get out of the experience of working with these veterans some valuable insights not just into your field but rather to how they have lived their lives. It's here at the Graduate level that I'm finally utilizing all those skills that seemed useless at the undergrad. I've come to realize that besides the base knowledge the most valuable thing you learn in undergrad is the ability to teach yourself, to discipline yourself. No longer are you given examples but rather you must seek the examples to educate yourself.
I feel, despite my tiredness (12 hour days are really really long), a renewed interest and a vigor to immerse myself in the world around me. Not just in music, or school but rather everything that the insight of knowledge brings to you. An increased appetite for things I don't know, and the confidence to boldly state what I do know. And mostly, after a 5 month hiatus I feel the need to create...

So far so good...

So I'm now through my first few days of being a graduate student and so far I haven't failed or been asked to leave. Despite the fact that I have no class I'm having quite the lot of work already. I've done a lot of bike riding (London seems to be a pretty bike friendly town), biking to and from campus as well as to the grocery store and mall. As well I've been busy reading and learning and meeting people. So just quickly to skim over what I've done so far:

Tuesday: Had orientation, met a whole bunch of cool people, had lunch at Grad Club, Stood in line-ups and got my student card, bus pass, etc, went to the wine and cheese (that had no wine). Met all my professors and discussed class times.
Wednesday: Had a meeting with Dr. Daniel regarding electronic music composition and was assigned a bunch of readings and listenings. Got distracted and burnt my sweet potato fries :(
Thursday: Had a meeting with Dr. Myska regarding my TA for his electronic music course. Meeting went long and spent 3 hours in the studio chatting and working on stuff. Started to get sort of organized and figure out when and how to do work.

However during these 3 days I've also been assigned various things by all my professors in passing. So I've been doing a lot of re-reading and hunting through scores and stuff. So far, I've liked the lack of structure but that will all change I'm sure when I start having classes on Monday. Monday is likely going to be my most hated day due to:
1) Have 3 classes on Monday, but only 1 on Tuesday and 1 on Wednesday
2) My first class on Monday is at 9:30am... all my other classes start after 1pm

So tomorrow I'll be heading to campus to try to clean up my office and do a bit of score reading in the library before it closes at 5pm ( it's still on summer hours till September 11th for some stupid reasons) and then that night, the Music Grad students are having a big potluck bbq so it'll give me a chance to try to re-learn all the names I've already forgotten of the people I met on Tuesday.

So that's Grad school here in London thus far...

As per Ming's request...

So Ming has inspired me to write a post regarding a dream I had that is sort of related to his blog.

So Ming was interested in this girl named Jacqueline and another person I know is dating a Jacqueline and I had this really weird dream where all 3 of us got together at Christmas and in the dream I was dating a girl named Jacqueline as well. Well we find out at Christmas that the Jacquelines are all related to each other and we were dating cousins. But the funny part was the Jacquelines didn't look related at all.

So Ming informed me to make this dream reality by:

BC-ing Ming says: (12:26:40 AM)
ok so here's the plan..I'll convince my Jacqueline to dump her bf and go out with me instead; you find a Jacqueline at Western, and we somehow make their relatives marry each other so they'll all be cousins, and we're set

So .... this blog entry was pointless but fun. I'd also like you to note that the plural of Jacquelines sounds really funny.

In Between Days

.... That's a great song.

Right now I guess I'm in between days as well. I've moved to London, and have half of my house set up and am sort of just waiting out the days before I have full internet service and school starts. Bell messed up (not surprising) and so I'm currently on dial up with 10 free hours to surf the web really really really slowly.

Otherwise things are well and I look forward to starting school on Thursday. Until then, and if you're bored you could always call me at my new numbers.

If I didn't email you them (my contact list is much smaller now on my new computer), email me and ill send it along

peace out.

Blog Spam

So...

Apparently even Blogs can be attacked by SPAM.... So hopefully with a change in the settings requiring word verification, spam comments will be a thing of the past.

Stupid SPAM, Lord knows I don't need vacuum cleaner parts!!!

Though... What if my vacuum breaks!!!???

Perhaps deleting those spam messages was a mistake....

:)

Meters and Feet

I've been doing a lot of driving lately, more driving then I've accustomed too. Hours of my life are being spent in an automobile. This isn't a bad thing as I've enjoyed where I've gone... In fact it's awoken a need to travel farther then just around Ontario. As the move in continues I've been driving too and from London with loads of my stuff and am happy to say I'm pretty much done. I'd guess that one more load will completely bring everything I need to London, and then I'm left with the task of setting everything up. So far my kitchen is nearly done as is my living room. My room however is a disaster but less of a disaster then previous... Plus I have a nice comfy double bed there now.

I just spent the past weekend in Niagara Falls taking in the glory and splendor and etc of it all. I hadn't been since I was much younger and it was good to see it again. I crashed there with a good friend in the local HI hostel which was nice enough but didn't have air-conditioning (hence it was tres hot). Took an elevator down behind the falls and took the Maid of the Mist tour into the heart of the falls. The mist it seems is a constant thing for people there. Walking along the first few blocks surrounding the Canadian Falls, if the wind is blowing right you get wet. There is even signs up warning you of "FREEZING MIST"... Which sounds pretty scary when you think about it. With Saturday's nasty weather it was hard to tell if it was raining or misting or both. However the nice weather today (Sunday) made up for it.

Anyways I've spent the past few days driving around on highways that I've never been on and tonight is a brief rest at home before I leave to visit Kingston people one more time before the summer is out... And then I guess it'll be almost Labour Day weekend and time to move to London permanently.

Box Loading Blues

So moving is frustrating.

Aside from the annoying task of packing up everything in Kingston, bringing it home, unpacking it, repacking it, bring it to London, and then unpack it again, there's also the annoyance of setting up cable, internet, phone, etc. There is nothing more frustrating then dealing with those kind of companies. I spent a good hour and a half on the phone with Bell setting up everything... and then in order to get a good deal I have to go to the Bell store and switch around my cell phone spending another hour there. And worst of all there is the extra-charges. Lots of extra-charges. Bell is charging me a bunch of money for installation (even though there is already a phone set up there), and more money to switch my cell phone plan around. But overall I'm getting a pretty good package deal... and it's still better then dealing with Rogers.

Stupid Rogers.

Musings on Matrimony

So today my 19 year old cousin got married to her 20 year old boyfriend and I'm very happy for them. It was a very nice ceremony at the church and good to see some family I haven't seen in a long time. Everybody was relaxed, the food was good, and both the Bride and the Husband were beaming with delight at their special day. And although I'm a little concerned about their young age and their lack of real job prospects, I think things will work out fine... a little adjusting, a much needed reality check but as I said, things will work out fine.
I'm surprised though that people would make a decision to move into a life altering arrangement with another person like marriage without having sound financial planning about their futures. Maybe they do, but most people I know find the concept of moving into anything that big without a firm ground to be a bad decision. Most people I know plan to get married but not before they find out what they want to do with their lives and have detailed plans and fiscal stability.
Not that everything, least of all marriage, should be about money. But the fact is, it costs money... damn money....

On a side note... I find it strange that my 19 year old cousin is getting married before me.

PS. I'd also like to note that Smarties still taste good ( they were part of the centerpiece at the tables today)

The First Post

This being my first post I suppose I should at least try to put something meaningful down. Something to entertain the masses, inspire the lackluster, and strengthen the weak..... but I don't really have anything to say that will do that.
So this really will be quite the pointless post.... but stay tuned for when I'm bored and have something to say... I'm sure it will happen... eventually.... at the very least I'll post some pictures on here anyways....