A gallimaufry of recent thoughts

So far, each of my posts has been about a single topic; this post consists of several thoughts.  One day I'm sure I'll write a post about what I'm doing instead of what I'm thinking.


1.  Save the Core
It took me a while to come up with the name of this blog.  For those that don't know, I served for two years as a full-time missionary in Paraguay for my Church.  (I carefully planned the placement of the previous sentence's prepositional phrases.)  While there, I found some materials used to teach English to the Spanish-speaking Paraguayans.  Among these was a kit that had several children's poems written out on strips of thick paper, one line of a poem per paper strip.  One poem had a couple lines that read something like "eat an apple / save the core".  I thought "save the core" was a funny phrase by itself.  I took that strip of paper (as well as one that read "I like to sleep") home with me - the kit appeared to have been there for a while and there were no future plans for its use.  Those two strips of paper have been hanging up in my apartment ever since I've returned from Paraguay.  I love watching people's reactions to the ambiguity of "save the core" - it's hilarious.


2.  External links
Another note about my blog:  within the text I include links to other sites that may explain or relate to what I'm discussing.  Most websites underline and change the color of the text, denoting a link.  I have intentionally NOT underlined or changed the color of the links in my blog.  The only way you can tell if one of my words is a link is by rolling over it with your mouse - as you do this, the links will be underlined (for example:  gallimaufry).  Most of my previous posts include these links.  Consider them as a "hidden treasure" of sorts!


3.  Window washer
A funny thing happened to me a couple weeks ago that hadn't happened since I was in Paraguay on my aforementioned mission trip.  I was driving home from work at midnight-ish.  (For those of you that are familiar with Houston, I exited I-45 North in preparation to turn left onto 249.)  While at a stoplight on the feeder road (I was the only car around), a man walked up to my car and started cleaning my windshield.  I wasn't frightened; I'd experienced this in Paraguay and I wasn't in a bad part of town (although it's more urban than where my house is).  I started to signal to him that I didn't want it done, but then realized that the windshield actually needed a washing.  When he finished, I gave him a couple bucks and he said "God bless."  I figured that someone sitting at an intersection in the middle of the night waiting to wash windshields is really in need of money.  The most haunting part was that he was about my same age, or a bit older.  This experience made me grateful for the blessings that I've been given.


4.  Warning
Don't accidentally fall asleep on the toilet.  You might end up there for 45 minutes.

5.  Picture
Here's a cool picture advertising the final Harry Potter movie, which I saw today (I guess it was yesterday, technically).  I thought it would spice up an otherwise very wordy post.  "The brain loves color!" as my seventh grade English teacher would say.  Make sure you click on it to see the full-sized image.  I plan on posting a review of the movies I will have seen this summer, which definitely includes Harry Potter, so there's something to look forward to.

Sunday Comics Review

I love reading the Sunday newspaper, and I believe that the Houston Chronicle is a fine piece of journalism.  However, I have some comments/complaints about the comics.  Here's my Houston Chronicle Sunday Comics Review!

(in order of appearance)

Classic Peanuts

Well-loved, truly American, and indeed classic.  Certainly deserving of its front page, first comic status.  But I don't think it needs as much space as the Chronicle gives it (virtually the top half of the front page).  And a deeper question:  For how long should a cartoon be published after its author has passed away?

Pearls Before Swine

I generally enjoy this one.  I like how the characters are conscious of and poke fun at the cartoonist, Stephan Pastis.  I can think of better comics to put on the front page, though.

Mutts

Usually not very funny.  It's also given too much space on the page - there's not very much dialogue.  Definitely doesn't belong on the front page of the comics.

Zits

This is one of my favorites!  Zits is one of the most accurate portrayals of adolescence that I know of.  Very funny.  Sometimes I like to think that Jeremy is an older version of Calvin.

Luann

Another funny one about adolescence, this time from a girl's perspective.  It's a keeper.

Baby Blues

Usually pretty funny - I like this one.  Good family values.  Also, it's one of the only comics whose characters actually age.

Get Fuzzy

This comic isn't as funny to me as it used to be - I don't know why.  I like the characters (especially the cat).  It has a lot of good puns and wit.  This review is based solely on the Sunday comics, but I think the daily strips of Get Fuzzy can get too repetitive and boring with drawn-out plots.

For Better or for Worse
Not my favorite.  This one's kind of been around a long time, so I think there might be some loyal readers.  I'm not one of them.


Beetle Bailey
This is a pretty good one - it's unique and I like the style of drawing.


F Minus
I give this comic an F minus.  Very bland drawing style and not very funny.  It's also given too much room for the small amount of dialogue and simplistic drawings.


Sally Forth
I don't read this one often.  It might be funny, but the artwork frustrates me - it looks like it was drawn in the 70's and the color scheme is too pastel.


Funky Winkerbean
I've given this comic lots of chances - I read it every now and then to see if there's something good.  Usually there's not.  I still don't know any of the characters - there's too many to keep track.  Plus there's a lot of background and plot that you kind of have to know.  At times it's too sentimental - I mean, these are comics. On the other hand, I do appreciate the detail and style of the drawings; it deserves more space on the page for that reason.


Dilbert

This one's a favorite.  I didn't get it when I was younger, but it's a gem now that I understand the jokes.  Great characters and a fun, distinctive drawing style.


Prince Valiant
Does anyone even read this?  I enjoy the occasional drawing of a dragon, but come on!  Too serious, too much plot.  I think it should be removed.


Doonesbury
If you expect something to happen in a cartoon, prepare to be disappointed.  Usually it's just a conversation.  Usually about politics.  I'm of the opinion that political views in comics should be subtle and allegorical.


Baldo
This one's ok.  I appreciate the occasional attempts to be bilingual, but think that the translation takes up too much space.  A Spanish speaker isn't going to buy an English newspaper just for one comic.


The Argyle Sweater
This one's relatively new, I think.  And it's one of the better (if not the best) comics that's recently come out.  It's kind of like a mix between Mother Goose & Grimm and The Far Side.


Tank McNamara
Not very funny.  Maybe if I were more of a sports fanatic it would be.  Well, maybe not.


Crankshaft
This one's decent - I like it pretty well.  I appreciate the use of flashbacks.  More could be fit into the strip, though, if a quarter of the space weren't used for the title in big, red letters.  Also, it deserves to take up more space in the Chronicle due to the detail of the drawings.


FoxTrot
I love this one!  It has a very fun style of drawing.  There are a lot of physics and math jokes, though, so you have to be somewhat of a nerd to fully enjoy it.  Something cool I've noticed about this one:  pictures or posters hung on the wall in the background sometimes change from panel to panel.


Lio
I don't understand this one at all.  It kind of creeps me out.  I vote to replace it with something better.


B.C.
Good one.  Kind of philosophical every now and then.  I'm generally against religion in a comic strip, but for whatever reason the occasional Christian references in this one don't really bother me that much.


Rex Morgan M.D.
Seriously - what the heck is this doing in our paper?  They're called comics!  CARTOONS, not soap operas!


Sherman's Lagoon
Good one - no complaints.  On our old computer we had a Sherman's Lagoon screen saver that was pretty cool; the characters and various fish would swim across the screen.


Blondie
This one's decent.  Kind of old school, but funny enough.


Hocus-Focus
This is a brainteaser that takes up space that a cartoon could be using.


Garfield
I think at one point this cartoon used to be funny.  Now they're just old and unoriginal.  Step it up, Jim.  I heard he doesn't even draw them anymore... but don't quote me on that.


Jumble for Kids
See Hocus-Focus.


Hagar the Horrible
It's ok - no complaints.


The Family Circus
Not very funny, unless you like cheesy, feel-good comic strips.  Lots of Catholic overtones; I'm not anti-Catholic, but as mentioned earlier I don't really like religion in comic strips.


Heart of the City
Good enough - no complaints.


Mother Goose & Grimm
This one's funny.  Enough said.


Dennis the Menace

This one's another classic.  Pretty funny.


Shortcuts
I just tried several times to put my feelings of anger and frustration at this comic into words, but none conveyed accurately what I feel.  Why is an educational comic being given more than a third of a page?!?!  Two or three other cartoons could fit into the space that this uses!  Get rid of it!  GRRR!


The Amazing Spider-Man
Don't get me wrong, I like Spider-Man just fine.  But his place is in comic books and cartoon shows on TV, not in a newspaper.


Red and Rover
This one's ok, I guess.  It's like a not-as-funny, more simplistic version of Calvin and Hobbes.  Also, more than a quarter of the strip is taken up by the "title panel".


Curtis
For being a 9-panel cartoon, it definitely doesn't have as much space as it needs.  I always feel claustrophobic when reading it.  It's ok, but very repetitive.


Hi and Lois
This one's pretty good.  No complaints.  (By the way, I figured out the play on words just now.)


And THEN the last page is entirely taken up by ads!  That ticks me off too.  Anyway, there you go.  My opinion of the Houston Chronicle Sunday Comics.  This would feel incomplete if I didn't mention my favorite comics of all time:  Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side.


I'd be interested in hearing your opinions - whether you agree, disagree, etc.  Feel free to comment.

My Favorite Sport

So fútbol (soccer) is basically the king of sports in South America.  My querido Paraguay is no exception; however, there's another popular sport played there called piki volley.  If soccer and volleyball had a kid, it would be piki volley.  It's played like volleyball except you can't use your hands - you must pass the ball back and forth using your head, shoulders, chest, knees, and feet.  There are only two players per team; there must be a minimum of two but no more than three hits by a team before it's passed over the net, with no consecutive hits by any player.  It's pretty much awesome!


(I think there's a similar (but more mainstream) sport called footvolley - as far as I can tell the only difference is that it's played barefoot in the sand.  It's most popular in Brazil.)


Here's a clip of some VERY skilled piki volley players on a typical Paraguayan cancha (court or field used for sports).  It's kind of long but you get the idea pretty quick.  Enjoy!

Fun fact:  the word for ball (the kind used in sports) in Guaraní (one of Paraguay's official languages) is vakapipopo.  It means cow (vaka) skin (pi) that bounces (popo).

"Y'all"

When I first moved to Texas with my family more than ten years ago, I was against using the word y'all.  I wasn't completely happy about the move, so I tried to resist the culture.  (N.B. - Y'all is not just a Texas thing, but used throughout many parts of the United States and other places).  Then one day, a couple years later, it just slipped out - I said "y'all".  After an inner struggle, I sorted out my conflicting feelings and came to accept and embrace the word.  Since then, I've realized that using y'all is actually an improvement of the English language (and I'm kind of a grammar Nazi, so there you go).

Every language that I'm aware of (other than English) differentiates the singular and plural personal pronouns in the second person.  For example, Spanish uses tú and vosotros/ustedes, whereas in English, you can be singular or plural.  Using the word y'all eliminates the ambiguity.

In addition to clearing up subject pronouns, possessive pronouns are made easier.  How many times have you heard the awful phrase "your guys's" (pronounced [ʎɻ gäizɪz])?  You becomes your, and y'all becomes y'alls (a nice monosyllabic word instead of the unwieldy your guys's).  (Alternate spelling:  y'all's.)

I don't care if people don't like or want to use y'all - I was once one of them.  HOWEVER, if you're going to use it, use it correctly!  I've seen it spelled ya'll (by native Texans, no less!), which is just plain wrong.  In contractions, the apostrophe replaces the letters not written.  For example, in can't, the apostrophe replaces the o of not.  Ergo, the apostrophe in y'all replaces the ou of you.

Some people will ignorantly claim that y'all is singular and all y'all is plural.  Singular and plural what?  Y'all is plural already:  you + all.  Y'all can be used while speaking to a single person when referring to a group or institution ("Y'all have a nice bookstore, Mr. Smith."), and all y'all can be used for a group when you want y'all to refer to a subset of the group.  PLEASE USE IT CORRECTLY.

Don't be a y'all hater - you don't have to like it, but please understand why it's used.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I first heard about Eric Whitacre my senior year of high school.  His piece 'Sleep' was one of the audition songs for the region/area choir.  I made the audition and was able to sing this incredible piece of music with that choir.  Singing my part alone for the auditions was interesting - I couldn't quite get a feel for it, even when I played the other parts on the piano.  It wasn't until we started rehearsing with the entire choir that I realized there was something special about the music.  I had never heard chords and dissonances put together like that before - it was beautifully hypnotizing.  Our performance of the song was one of the few times in my life that I've witnessed an ture, legitimate standing ovation.  As soon as the conductor's hands went down, the audience shot up from their seats clapping.  And it wasn't even our last song.


My next encounter with Whitacre's music was my freshman year at Brigham Young University.  I learned that the top choral group on campus had produced a CD with all of his a cappella works from 1991-2001, and bought a copy immediately.  As I listened, I fell deeper in love with his music.  Over time I became more familiar with his other works, including pieces for bands and orchestras as well as choirs.


Last year I was delighted to discover a project of his, something he called the 'Virtual Choir'.  I'll let him explain it:

I was completely amazed by his first video - a virtual choir made up of 285 members from 12 countries singing 'Lux Aurumque' (lyrics here).  Watch it:

Today was the premiere of 'Virtual Choir 2.0', this time made up of 2000+ singers from 58 countries.  It's received significant attention recently:

• Eric Whitacre speaks at TED
• Virtual Choir featured on CNN
• Virtual Choir featured on NPR

You can now watch the new choir singing 'Sleep' (lyrics here), the one I sang my senior year of high school (and probably my favorite song of his).  It's an incredible experience - for me, the climax of the song was literally jaw-dropping and breathtaking.  But it's not just the music that's beautiful - the concept behind this choir is meaningful and important.  Thousands of people from all over the world come together to produce something amazing.  They put aside racial, ethnic, political, religious, and social barriers to unite and create harmony.  It conveys a message of peace and tolerance - that everyone on this planet is a part of something bigger.  Let it change you; let it make you a better person.  Here it is:

When I was a member of the BYU Men's Chorus, we had an unofficial motto to "change the world" with our music.  That's exactly what Eric Whitacre is doing.  Music can be used to spread harmony (literal and metaphorical) throughout the world.  Here's an excerpt from Joseph Eger's book 'Einstein's Violin' that conveys this message:


Before I became a conductor, I played solo first French horn in the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Israel Philharmonic.  In the first two of these prestigious orchestras, the solo first flutist and solo first oboist, who customarily sit side by side in the center of the orchestra, just did not get along.  To be more accurate, they hated each other.


For more than twenty-five years, these superb artists on flute and oboe, which instruments have key roles in all symphony orchestras, did not speak to each other!  So what could they do?  Let us imagine diabolical schemes they might concoct to vent their mutual dislike.  How about one sabotaging the other by playing wrong notes?  Or out of tune?  Or not together?  This would hardly be a solution, for they would succeed only in sabotaging themselves.  So for all those years they managed to play together.  Magnificently!  After all, these four artists were also first-class professionals.


The moral is obvious:  regardless of differences among people, enlightened self-interest can unite by providing a common goal, in these cases keeping their jobs and, above all, making splendid music.  At least that is what Beethoven said in his Ninth Symphony, setting Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," with its line "Alle Menschen werden Bruder" ("All humankind shall be as brothers") - Beethoven musically emphasized the "shall."