Dearest Samalamadingdong

I decided that the topic for this post shall be music. Lately I started listening to The Killers and Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay. Coldplay is especially good for walking to. I get home from church two hours before the rest of my family does because I go to a different one than they do. Two weeks ago It was so beautiful outside that I decided that I had to get out and enjoy it and soak it up before it disappeard. So I leashed my dog, put on a jacket and some shades, popped in some tunes and set out to breath. Let me tell you, that was the BEST walk I have ever flown solo on. I happened to be listening to Coldplay and the songs were perfect for my surroundings.

Music is such a wonderful thing and there is a song for every single thing you may be feeling. Classic, pop, country, techno, jazz, rap, acoustic, alternative, world, rock. And the ability to hear is amazing as well. How all those little sound waves are transducted into brain impulses and you register it as what it is. How fast it all happens and how tremendously it is able to impact how you feel.

And how you can distinguish so many different sounds. Different instruments, favorite song by just a few notes and people's voices. As Juliet does say

"My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words
Of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound."

So I shall list my 10 favorite musical groups and a little blurb about them along with my favorite song of theirs.


1. Jack Johnson Better Together


Johnson was born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The son of well-known surfer Jeff Johnson, he took an interest in the sport from a young age - he began surfing at the age of 5. At 17, he became the youngest invitee to make the surfing finals at the Pipeline Masters on Oahu's north shore. One week later, however, his stint as a professional surfer ended when he suffered a surfing accident at the Pipeline that put over 150 stitches in his forehead and knocked a few of his teeth out.


2. Brett Dennen Heaven


He has traveled extensively across the U.S., serving as stagehand and to tour and/or play on bills withfor musicians such as John Mayer, Michael Franti, and guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, ALO, Jackson Brown, Taj Mahal, Ziggy Marley, Xavier Rudd, Corinne Bailey Rae. In 2007, he introduced Guster and singer-songwriters Meiko and Joshua James.


3. Coldplay Rainy Day


The members of Coldplay met and became friends while living in the same dormitory at the University College of London (UCL) in the mid-1990s. They formed a band, originally naming themselves Starfish. When friends of theirs who were playing in a band called Coldplay no longer wanted to use the name, Starfish officially became Coldplay. The name was taken from a book of poetry called Child's Reflections, Cold Play.


4. Death Cab for Cutie Crooked Teeth


Plans is Seattle quartet Death Cab For Cutie's fifth album, but in many ways it's an album of firsts. It's their first for Atlantic Records, after a long and productive relationship with Seattle-based indie Barsuk. It's their first recorded on 48 tracks, their first recorded on the East Coast, and their first with a song originated by a member other than Ben Gibbard. Plans was recorded over 28 wintry days in early 2005 at Longview Studios, housed in a converted barn in Massachusetts. Chris Walla, as always, served as producer--and claims not to have seen daylight once during the recording. Perhaps that's why he suddenly blurted out the album title to Harmer during a lull in conversation over burritos.


5. Straight No Chaser Can't Take My Eyes off of You


If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image fo students in blue blazers, ties and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses… think again. Straight No Chaser (SNC) are neither strait-laced nor strait-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. As original member Randy Stine Comments, “We take the music very seriously; we just don’t take ourselves too seriously.” In the process, they are reinventing the idea of a capella on the modern pop landscape. Originally formed over a dozen years ago while students together at Indiana University, the group has reassembled and reemerged as a phenomenon - with a massive fanbase, more than 20 million views on YouTube and numerous national TV appearances.


6. Neon Trees Animal


Neon Trees is a rock band from Provo, UT, with origins in Southern California. Formed initially by neighbors Tyler Glenn (lead vocals/keyboards) and Chris Allen (guitars), the band made its first home in Provo, eventually adding Branden Campbell (bass) and Elaine Bradley (drums/vocals) to the lineup. Although a well known band in Provo, the band didn’t receive nationwide exposure until late 2008 when they were chosen as openers for several of The Killers’ North American tour dates. [1] Not long after, the band was signed by major record label Mercury Records in early 2009. Additionally, the group was voted Band of the Year in 2009 by City Weekly, a popular Salt Lake City publication. (Totally didn't know they were from utah!)


7. La Roux Fascinations


La Roux is an English electropop and synthpop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson (born 12 March 1988) and keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Sales of the group's song "In for the Kill" spiked 600 percent when it was played on the HBO show Entourage in August 2010. Later that month, it was announced that an EP remix has been released in tandem with the November US tour. In October a second video for the song was released that was shot at New York's landmark Hotel Chelsea. The song was released in the United States 7 October. Elly Jackson's first interest was in folk music. She was particularly interested in Carole King and Nick Drake whose music she discovered in her parents' record collection. Ben Langmaid is the second half of La Roux but he does not participate in the music videos or live performances with the band. Langmaid, a London-based producer and composer, has been involved with various other music projects in the past.


8. Ben Folds Losing Lisa


Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and the former front man of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five who now performs as a solo artist and collaborates with many other musicians. Folds became attracted to piano at age nine. His father, a carpenter, brought one home through a barter trade with a customer who was unable to pay. During this time, Folds listened to songs by Elton John and Billy Joel on AM radio, and learned them by ear. During his years at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Folds played in several bands as the pianist, bassist, or drummer.


9. The Killers I Can't Stay


The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada that was formed in 2001.The band consists of Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboard, occasional bass guitar), Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, occasional rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion).As an alternative rock band, The Killers draw some of their influences from the music styles of the 1980s. The group's debut album, Hot Fuss (2004) brought the band mainstream success. The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in 2006, and compilation album Sawdust containing B-sides, rarities, and new material, was released in 2007. Their third studio album, Day & Age, produced by Stuart Price, was released in 2008.The band has sold over 6 million albums in the United States, over 5 million albums in the United Kingdom and over 15 million worldwide.


10.Flight of the Conchords Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros


Jake and I watched an episode of this together in the cast room during rehearsal one day. I thought it ridiculously funny so when I got home I bumped the first season up to the top of the Netflix list. I've spent the past three nights watching the first season. It's witty and completly a joke about two guys from New Zealand, Brett McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, and their brainless escapades and simple mindedness. It's wonderful :) I must warn you though, that it can be pretty crude and dirty often, but it is awesome nontheless.

Dear Jess,

Originally I had wanted to write about the various Christmas presents, and Christmas things I’ve done over the past two days (Christmas at moms, then at dads) but something extremely appalling came up and, not to put a damper on the Christmas spirit, as I wish you a very merry Christmas, but its something that’s on my mind and incredibly serious.

Two days before my oldest step-brother, Holden, turned 19, and a few weeks before Christmas itself, he was served legal papers from his own father, whom he’s lived with 50% of the time, stating that all of his human rights were going to be taken away from him. I never knew that was legal, and currently think that its completely immoral, and unconstitutional. His father, Eric, claimed that Holden was incapacitated, and unable to function in the adult world, thus Eric would become his guardian for life. With this legal process these rights could potentially be stripped from Holden:

• To marry or divorce
• To vote or hold an election
• To enter into a contract or make or revoke a will
• To appoint someone to act on your behalf
• To sue and be sued other than through a guardian
• To possess a license to drive
• To buy, sell, own, mortgage, or lease property
• To consent to or refuse medical treatment
• To decide who shall proved care and assistance
• To make decisions regarding social aspects of your life.

This sickens me to have those rights taken away has in simple terms made you a slave of your guardian. Not only is Holden an entirely capable person but he excels more so than I do in countless areas. Evidence presented by his father as to why Holden is capable were along the lines of-- he scored 177 on his PSAT, and was above average in two sections, but since on the third section he was average (not even below average) he will be unable to sustain himself in the adult word. Holden drives himself to and from school every day, this being a 50 mile round trip. He has a 3.8 GPA. The only thing about Holden that people judge is how he portrays himself socially. He doesn’t like to socialize and instead spends his extra time on the computer or with video games. 90% of all teenage boys do that too!

The first statement made in the documents to the judge had the world “autistic” in it, so the case was accepted. Holden is a highly-functioning autistic. Meaning he functions better than most and even so, the word autism shouldn’t determine the rights that Holden is given. This to me is discrimination in one of it’s ugliest forms, used to strip rights away from someone. I’ve seen many times people without mental disabilities that have less a right to live without a guardian than Holden.

All in all, the next few months will be spent supporting Holden (due to the fact that he’s legally an adult now, he must work with the attorney on his own) and molding him to be the legally accepted average 19 year old man. It makes me so sad that his own father, rather than giving as people typically do for birthdays and Christmas, served him papers saying he will be taking everything away from him. I love Holden so much, and have bragged about how smart he was on many accounts. We’re going to win this so Holden can live his life to the fullest and with all the potential Holden has, he’s going to make something of himself.

Again, I’m sorry for putting a damper on the Christmas mood, but this was just revealed last night. I do sincerely hope your Christmas is fantastic and feel free to blog about it as much as you want (I’ll post again, eventually, with the presents I got and things that I did over Christmas as well.)

Love always,
Sam

Dear Sam

I promise that this will be the last post about "You know who."
It makes me sad that poetry has such a sappy rap. But either way I wrote another one because I really want to tell him, but I think that it may be too cheesy and weird and stuff. And I don't want to cause drama or weirdness and the thought that he might stop liking me as a human being is paralyzing. And I don't know why I want to tell him and what I think I'll accomplish except maybe find out that he might like me too (which is super unlikely, but still)...
So here it is:

I don't know how to phrase this

dearest Jake

What I think of you

and what approach to take

But maybe, just maybe

if I put it in verse

It won't be too cheesy

or upfront and terse

Plain and simple

the story goes like this

I really think you're cool

One, no one should dis

I hope we can still be friends

(though I can't see why not)

'Cause I'm lots of fun

and you're smokin' hot

JK JK JK JK

Sorry! I couldn't resist...

But you can't deny

it did add a funny twist

Anyways, hope your holidays are filled

with many moments of cheer

and you have a super blast

ringing in the brand new year

----------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I need help with math still and Coraline is a really good movie and I will try harder to think of ideas for the sketch book, which we WILL FINISH!

Love,

Jess

Dear Sam

So here is my post and I'll write what I already told you and then tell you more. I like to post positive things that happen so that when I get into the "My life sucks beyond worth" funk I can come back and read these things.

So I started praying about a month ago because I just felt like maybe if I ask someone for help that supposedly controls the universe, then the helpless feeling I was feeling would ease. Then I could just turn the problem over to the supreme being of everything and then I could say that I truly did all that I was capable of and let it go. It's like having a conversation with an imaginary friend and at first it sounds weird talking out loud to yourself but after a while it starts to be fine. Like reverting back to being a little child again. Anyways. I started praying for Jake because I felt so sad about him being so downer all the time. The fact that he's a senior and has a toilet GPA, doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, feels like his family doesn't like him and he doesn't fit in. Doesn't have friends, no motivation for anything, never had a girlfriend. The list just goes on and on. So I said hey, if anyone can do something about this mess its GOD.

So I did. And the 3 days in a row I prayed for him he seemed decently happy. Then I stopped and a few weeks went by. The other day we were in groups in AP Psych and he and I were in a group together and he was the lowest I have ever seen another human being. But it wasn't where all he talked about was death and dying, he was more matter of fact. We talked about not fitting into our families and how he doesn't want to be around Lloyd anymore and how he hates the show and wants to drop out and how hormones are nuts and stuff. And that day I came home and was feeling ridiculously sad for him and I just wanted to cry. Because I wanted to hug him and tell him that I liked him as a human being. That he was so amazing on stage and that he was funny and that he can do it. But I didn't.

Because I feel really happy most of the time and it's hard to see others sad and not be able to give them what you feel. So the other night I started praying for him again. I told GOD that I was done and that he either needed to somehow let me know to give up and let it go and stop being friends with this kid, or he needed to show me that there is still something there that is salvageable as a friendship. Yesterday was better, and today was perfect.

Yesterday at set building he came at 4 and then Nick Santiago showed up. We worked together for the entire time they were there. And it was so much fun. Nick is hilarious and my abs hurt afterwards. Jake just followed us around and didn't do anything unless he was directly asked to. The conversation bounced around and made no sense and was unpredictable. Jake and I didn't talk very much but I caught him looking at me and it made me laugh inside. CHEESY WARNING: I really enjoy looking at him :) And sometimes we look at each other for no reason...

The conversation somehow got to hair and Jake challenged me to a hair off because we both said we had soft hair. Nick was the judge but he never passed a verdict. Both of our hair is really soft. And it's funny because I sit behind him in Psych and for a long time I thought about how soft and shiny his hair looked and I wondered how he got it that nice and I really wanted to feel it. And I got to yesterday.

The other thing was that when the left, Nick waved me over to tell me what the instructions were for the project we had been working on. Then he gave me a hug and walked towards the door. Jake was behind him and he walked towards me and opened his arms and said "hug" and I realize that it probably sounds really immature and awkward but it wasn't, it was more telling and matter of fact than asking. And it wasn't a short hug either. And back when they were blocking the Friar Lawrence and Friar John scene where Friar John tells Lawrence that he didn't deliver the letter to Romeo, they were supposed to greet each other with a hug. She had Jake hug Navid over and over because he was so awkward and she wanted him to get it right and I thought "Wow, that would be sad to be so physically awkward when accepting affectionate gestures..." but hugging him wasn't awkward. Normally it should have been a huge endorphin rush, but it wasn't. But I take that as GOD's sign that he isn't hopeless. So I'm not going to give up just yet.

Today was even better. We walked together from 1st to 2nd period and he told me about this game called Fallout Los Vegas that he was going to get Nick so that he could go over to Nick's house and play it on his x-box... Which I thought was pretty funny. Then after 2nd period (because we're on opposite sides of the new building ground floor) He made it to the door a little before me and he saw me. He was already walking with Thad Allen, but he looked back at me a bunch of times and then when we got outside he walked REALLY slow for me to catch up, which I thought was a nice. And all the way to Psych he kept looking back as though to check that I was still there, but not all the way back. More of like sneaky glancing and I walked right behind/next to him the entire way. Thad kept talking. Then at Psych he walked in first, but held the door for me. He told me more about Fallout LV and then in drama Jon wasn't there so we sat in the very back alone. And after the movie was done we walked up to the stage to talk to Lloyd. I was last to walk up because I had to turn off the projector and stuff and I was behind him. He went to walk to the back of the group, and then he backtracked and sat down right near where I was walking up so all I had to do was sit down. Then She told him to pull up the screen and he said that he didn't know how, so I went over with him and showed him. He did a good job and I told him that.

I think that he's finally seeing that I mean good and am extending an olive branch and I think that at first he didn't believe me, but he's seeing that I'm genuine and serious and stable.

So we'll see how all of this goes. Hopefully tomorrow will be good too and even when his bipolarity takes him down that he will still see me as a friend.