A Happy Place

A Happy Place- Katie Melua

I'm back!! Sorry for the delay in my blogging, I got a little busy with married life and figuring out that it is better to have two separate tubes of toothpaste, than to have to worry about the proper way to get the toothpaste out. Toothpaste aside, this months blog is about epic music. I'm here to promote some of my favorite female artists of this year. They are fantastic and going places with their music. They all have very creative lyrics, meaning to their messages, a unique sound, and their music videos are wonderfully aesthetic. I'll name each one and then tell a little bit about why they're awesome.

Katie Melua http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E4-9yKTv_I&ob=av2e
Blues/Jazz/Folk Pop
Her voice is very calming, sultry, acoustic, and a little jazzy. The messages in her songs have meaning, and are more than just typical love songs.
The video clip I posted the link to is called The Flood. This song is about trials in life; they happen. In a great many cases, no-one is to blame, you just have to let the flood wash over you and move on. It has an exotic sound and changes tempos halfway through the song. It is very moving.

Janelle Monáe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s9iZFwUnqI&feature=artist
R&B/Soul/Funk/Motown
Her voice is clear, fun, and full of funky soul. She dances like Michael Jackson and has a very androgynous fashion. What I find most amazing thing about her music is in her production and story line of her albums. Listening to the album Metropolis, I was amazed at this sci-fi opera style of story telling. In order to have the best experience, you have to listen to the songs in order from beginning to end. I recommend listening to her album, available at http://www.jmonae.com/album

The Bird and the Bee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMy6X5cQul8
Indie/Synthpop/Alternative
Her voice is vintage and breathy. Her music is very vintage 60's and the production makes it have an all over quirky psychedelic sound. Fun fact, the man in all of the music videos is Greg Kurstin. He's a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Lily Allen (another great female artist,) Beck, Barenaked Ladies, The Flaming Lips, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. This dynamic duo makes a great sound. The lyrics are usually quite simple, but very interesting in describing life through different ways. Again and Again, the music video I posted, is about life's repetitions and how we as humans crave them and hate them at the same time. Very interesting.

La Roux http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8eJh4i8Lo&ob=av2n
Electro Pop/Synth Pop
Her voice is powerful, electronic sounding and very much like a computerized version of Madonna. Also very androgynous in her fashions, she is certainly something to behold in her videos between her masculine fashions and wild make-up. Like The Bird and The Bee, La Roux is a duo of a group as she co-writes and co-produces with Ben Langmaid. This video, Bulletproof, is an exciting and empowering song about getting over a relationship. The shapes and visuals in this are quite amazing and very computerized. La Roux's music is fun, electrifying, and reminds me of my video game days in the 90's, growing up by having to blow the dust out of the game cartridges to get them to work.

These next 2 artists are local and well on their way to making their name in the music world. I love both of their sound and their ideas are very interesting a fun.

Stephanie Maybe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ALs-Mf5CE
Indie/Acoustic/Folk
Her voice is acoustic, folksy, and the way she phrases and emphasizes words is pleasantly unique. The majority of the music I've seen from her has been live, and it has been wonderful. She has a great stage presence and interacts well with the audience. The music she tends to write are witty and have a fun twist or an untypical story. For instance, the music video I posted above is about a comic book artist who works in an Office Max. Some other awesome songs of hers talk about Zombies and romance, and being the villain instead of the princess. She also plays an Omnichord. Her album, Wake Up Dreaming, is soon to come out about November-December.

Jenessa Buttars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH86xIE4YR8&feature=related
Indie/Acoustic/Folk
Her voice is also acoustic, folksy, and very pleasant. Her sound has influences of Regina Spektor and Florence and the Machine. She plays the harp to accompany herself on some of her songs. She's even done a few covers on the harp of popular songs ( there's a cover on Youtube of Snow Patrol.) The lyrics to her songs are witty and clever. One I've heard her sing is called Dark Spotlight. She wrote it for a songwriting class and I absolutely loved it. I'm not aware of any albums yet, but she has done some music for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm excited to see where she goes with her music and her harp accompanying.

These are all female artists that I absolutely would promote and share with the world. I love their stuff and I have a feeling that they will be around for a while, doing the music they love.

Bad Boys -Bob Marley

Not only is Bob Marley one of Brandon's favorite artists, but this song is also very fitting with the story.

Brandon's Version:
I formally proposed today.

Kristina and I had gone to Shane Co. jewelry to pick out a ring about a week ago. After selecting a beautiful band with smaller diamonds all along the sides, we picked out a beautiful diamond that complemented it, then sent it to the sizing department. Today we were supposed to go and pick it up. Little did Kristina know, I had called Shane Co., asked if I could have my room mate Kyle pick it up, then sent him to get it while she and I were still in class.

At 2:30 Kristina and I prepared to go to pick up the ring. I was very insistent that we leave at 2:30 with the excuse that if we didn’t I would not be able to make it to work on time. We got in the car and were driving to Shane Co. when I saw my uncle waiting exactly where he said he would be in an unmarked cop car. He pulled out of his hiding spot and followed us for about a minute before turning on his sirens and pulling us over. Thanks to a hat and a pair of aviators, Kristina didn’t recognize him.

“Are you Brandon Bishoff?” he asks. “Yes, sir.” I hand him my license, registration, and a carefully concealed ring box. “I’m going to need you to step out of the car son.” I step out. Kristina stays in the car, silent. I follow him to the back of the car where he puts my hands behind my head, hand cuffs me, and walks me to the passenger side of the car. He knocks on Kristina’s window. “I’m going to have to take him down town. Usually we’d impound the car, but since you’re here, I’m going to let you all figure out what you want to do with it.” He hand cuffs me to her, explaining that it’s a precautionary measure to make sure I don’t run away, then steps away to give us some privacy.

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “The timing couldn’t be any worse. I’m sorry that this happened on the day when we were going to get the ring.” Her face is emotionless. I can’t tell if she’s about to cry or if she’s really just serenely calm about this whole thing. “There is something that I should probably ask you though before I go.” I kneel down, “Kristina, will you marry me?” She laughs a careless laugh, a laugh like I’m not going to jail and this whole arrest thing doesn’t mean anything to her because she’s so in love laugh. “Of course I will, you punk.” “You might need this,” my uncle Terry says as he produces the ring from his pocket. Kristina was thrilled. She had no idea that I had already had Kyle pick up the ring and bring it back.

I put the ring on her hand. We take pictures there, handcuffed, beaming on the side of a busy road. My uncle Terry uncuffs us, sounds his sirens, and drives away, leaving Kristina and I standing on the side of the road in a rising wind storm. We hold each other and kiss on the side of the road, cars whizzing by, honking their cheers and congratulations. “I love you Kristina Austin,” I whisper. “It’s Kristina Bishoff,” she says with a smile, and kisses me firmly.

Put A Ring On It

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
And he DID! Brandon Bishoff gets the privilege of marrying me and standing by my side forever! And also mainly, vise versa. I love him dearly and am so blessed.

NOW! For the grand story of epic proportions. It was a typical Wednesday, or so I thought as I woke up. I met Brandon downstairs and we headed off to school. "I'm so excited for today! We're getting my ring," I happily remarked. (You see, a week beforehand, we had driven up to Shane Co. in Salt Lake to pick one out. We were in and out in record time: one hour, ring chosen, and half paid for. It was to be ready the following week, which brings us to the present.) He smiled back and kept driving.

We parted for class and met up again so that we could get ready and leave for Shane Co. at 2:30. Both of us had stuff to do at 5:00 (work for him and class for me.) That doesn't give us a lot of time to go up to the jewelry store and drive back because it is about a 45 minute drive. So he rushed down to his apartment and I up to mine so that we could gather what we needed, grab lunch and head out the door.

At 2:25, he was up in my apartment with lunch for both of us in his hands. "Please eat these," he stress fully said as he gestured to the chicken and ketchup sandwiches. I wasn't really hungry, I was too excited to get the ring, but I took a few bites for his sake and we ran out the door. "Are these the directions?" Brandon looked at me for the answer as he grabbed the Mapquest papers from the dashboard. "No," I said, "those are to The Canyons, but I have the right ones to Shane Co. right here in my bag." He grinned, "You are always thinking ahead." And with that, we headed off.

The conversation flowed easily like it always did as we discussed life, classes, clothes, plans. It was a lovely drive. Then, I began to notice him glancing nervously in the rear view mirror every few seconds or so. "That car behind us is making me nervous." I looked back to see what he was talking about. It was a black car, not really ominous looking until the dreaded red and blues lights went off. DRRRiiiirrrwwww, DRRRiiirrrrwwwww, DRRRiiirrrrwwwww, DRRRiiirrrrwwwww, etc. TYPICAL!! We would have an undercover cop pull us over on our way to getting my ring!

"Oh, shoot... okay, I'd better pull over." Poor Brandon, this must have been embarrassing for him. As we pulled over, he had me reach into the glove compartment and search for the vehicle registration. My mind was racing. "This shouldn't take long," I thought to myself, "as long as we give the cop exactly what he needs and just answer straight forward and honestly, he'll let us on our way and we'll only be 5-10 minutes behind schedule." Calmed for the time because I had a plan, I handed Brandon the registration as the cop walked up to the window and gently rapped on it. Brandon rolled down the window.

"Are you Brandon Bishoff?"
"Yes sir, I am."
"Alright, I'm gonna have to have you step out of the car please."
Brandon obliged calmly and I was assured that this wasn't a big deal. The cop wasn't scary from the looks of it, and it seemed like just a routine thing for this guy. Content to sit in the car, I began changing the station on the radio, because if I was going to sit there and be bored, I may as well do it with great music to listen to. Every so often, I'd glance up in the rear view mirror to see how the conversation was progressing. After about five minutes or so, Brandon raised his arms to put them behind his head.

"What the crap? Okay, this means one of two things: either he has a warrant out for his arrest because he didn't pay a fine or ticket, or the second would be that there are drugs involved. More likely the first." As I'm thinking all of this, the cop brings Brandon, now handcuffed, around the car to my side. He knocked on the window and I opened the door.

"Ma'am, I'm going to be taking him to jail. If you would drive his car back to his place, we won't tow it or anything..." And that is where my mind blocked everything else out and focused on finding a solution. "So Brandon was being taken to jail.  His parents won't like that at all. If I called them, we could probably have him out tonight, at the very least by tomorrow morning. What did he even do to deserve jail? I'll drive the car and follow the cop to jail instead so that..." and on went my thoughts. They got interrupted when the cop stopped talking and handcuffed me to Brandon.

"We need to handcuff this man to you so that he doesn't escape." He walked back to his car to do the report or something and I finally had a chance to talk to Brandon and figure out what was going on. He looked at me and pulled me in close.

"I'm so sorry Kristina. I didn't expect for this to happen, especially on the day we're off to get your ring. You know that I love you and before he takes me to jail, there is something I need to say."
He got down on one knee, his left arm handcuffed to my right, looked up at me with his amazing eyes and asked "Will you marry me?"

RELIEF!!!!! This was a prank! I probably had the most interesting face on as my emotions went from serious and brave to ecstatic and relieved. "Yes, of course I will. Haha, you punk!!" He gave me a huge hug and the cop came back.

"You might need this." It was the ring! So Brandon put it on my right hand. I grinned, took it off and placed it on my left hand. The cop offered his congratulations and I finally recognized him! There are not many 50 year olds with braces, so after I saw them, I realized this cop was Brandon's uncle. What a fun and wonderful prank for Brandon and his uncle to pull on me. As his uncle drove away, I took Brandon's face and asked him, "Guess what?""What?" He replied. I smiled and kissed him with every reply of mine. "Yes, yes, yes!" (etc.)

So there I was, on the side of a busy intersection kissing the love of my life. Cars were honking at us in approval. The wind was blowing everywhere and it felt like a movie (like Gone With the Wind, except a happy ending.) If I could compose a score for this day, it would be epic and wonderful. I get to marry my best friend. Brandon Bishoff, I love you and am looking forward to living happily ever after.

-<3 Kristina Austin

The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny -Lemon Demon

My New Year is going to be great! I began it in the arms of my wonderful boyfriend, on top of our apartment complex as fireworks whizzed around the city. We went to see some of my best friends perform Blues music and celebrated at Village Inn with some more best friends. Yes, a great start to the year of 2011. Before I begin with my resolutions for this year, I will revert back to last years and see if I accomplished things. 
1- Definitely maintained my weight this year.
2- Composed way more than 10 songs. I got some tall orders like a waltz for my friends wedding, rock music for a TV series, my classes at school, and many more jobs. This year starts off with some more tall orders that I am excited to take on.
3- Threw things upon the ground. On last night, instead of watching the ball drop in New York, we threw a basketball down from the roof onto a huge snowman. It was great.
4- Earned more money.
5- Got a job. Three actually at one point.
6- Didn't learn to fly, but that is alright.
7- I didn't die, so check that off the list.
8- Increased the amount of reading spiritual material (scriptures, church magazines, etc.)
9- Didn't learn to pray in a different language, but I learned a greeting in Japanese!
10- I got a new phone. It was an orange razor. Then it became lame so I reverted back to my red samsung.
11- Defeat a bad guy... hm, what bad guy have I defeated? Ope, yep, defeated a bad guy. Sorry no story guys, but just know I did.
12- Polish up on my jedi mindtricks and manipulation of objects. I did, and now, I'm Chuck Norris! Just kidding... but really.
13- I didn't meet John Williams this year. :( Hopefully, I can do it in his life time, so instead of a New Year's resolution, it will be a life goal.
14- Looked up punctuality in the dictionary. Didn't change much, but I have been a little better, mainly because I have great friends who keep me focused.
15- Everyday, make someone else's day better. I certainly hope I did. I tried and if anything, someone would make my day better, even if they didn't do anything special. I have such lovely friends and family that it is hard not to smile everyday.

Okay, so I'd say a success. I accomplished a lot of things, and in most cases, I accomplished more than I expected or planned. When I look back, I am happy with where I am and how far I have come. A lot has happened in a year, and I am excited to see what this next one brings. Here are my resolutions for this year:
1- Get grades I can be very proud of. If my boyfriend can get all A's (and he's taking intense classes) then so can I.
2- Compose music and be constantly moving forward on talent, time, and business tact. Now that I'm getting business and paid for my work, I need to make sure that my image is professional and consistent.
3- Read five books. I used to be such an avid reader, but with music and school and social activities, I've had very little time to sit down and read.
4- Make sure my sister grows and moves forward with her life. She just moved into my complex and is barely starting college, so as the older sibling, I have the charge to look out for her (without being too overbearing of course.)
5- Cook a fancy meal at least once a month. Something ethnic or challenging, like sushi, german rouladen, lasagna, etc.
6- Get a lot better at Halo. I know this isn't a typical resolution, but I am tired of being lame at Halo. I used to be very good when it was Halo 1 and 2, but now that 3 and Reach are out, I have lost touch with my game playing and am at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to video gamers. I intend on breaking that sad reality.
7- Learn more words in Hindi, German, and Japanese.
8- Get better at dancing, especially blues dancing. It's easy to move your body in funky ways to 80s music (which I do oft,) but moving slow and sultry with a partner to a slower music with a less established beat is a lot harder.
9- Move out of shared room apartments. I'm tired of sharing rooms, so I'm either moving into private room accommodations or a house.
10- Continue with my efforts toward making someone's day better.


That should be good for now. Many things can be accomplished in a year. I've seen four friends get married (three weren't even engaged at this time last year) and have a few more getting married within the next few months. Some are pregnant, some have graduated, some have a job in the real world. Life is so unexpected and so much can happen by this time next year; and I'm meeting it head on!

It's My Life

Stress happens, it's my life. It's everyone's life. And it is also my excuse as to why I have not posted anything this month. I apologize my avid and supportive readers. For now, I will suggest you look and listen to the music on the left of this page. It is mostly what has been the cause of my stress because I have been composing one thing after the other. Enjoy the music guys!

Since this is a month to be thankful, I am going to put out my gratitude:
I am grateful for the opportunity to compose for people and the fact that people want my services. Also, I am grateful this semester of school ends in two weeks.

The Steward of Gondor

Now this is going above and beyond. My short thought for this month is: 

Going above and beyond always makes whatever you have done more epic; however, is the time you spent on it used well, or wasted?

This guy was obviously bored. That amazing replica of Gondor is made completely out of matchsticks. Where do I even begin on the questions? How long did this take him? How many match sticks did he have to buy? Did anyone pay him?

In my opinion, this is awesome; but, unless he had some great purpose for it (pay, a museum, Peter Jackson is his brother) I think that this was not worth the time he had spent. I cringe thinking of the tedious hours of getting the mountain just right. This project is definitely an obsession.

I'll give an example now on the other end of the spectrum: I spent the last few days working on a Shakespeare project. It was a performance and so our group got together and decided to do a video web chat of the scenes from As You Like It. I volunteered to do the editing. So I filmed everyone, put it on my computer, and since I only had basic effects, I had to spend at least twice the amount of time making the film look good. Once the editing was done, I decided to go above and beyond. I added special effects, credits, and composed music for the majority of the 10 minute film.

Now, was it worth no sleep? Yes, it was, because it is a project I am proud of. It is not perfect, and there are so many more things I could have done to it to make it win Independent Film of the Year or something; however, I made the decision that I would go above and beyond, but only so much. There is a fine balance between an excellent product, and obsessing to the last detail for a 'perfect' product. The time I spent was well used and I don't think any was wasted.

Here is the my Shakespeare project:

Right Here, Right Now- Technology and Humans Merge

Live: Right Here Right Now- Fat Boy Slim

Bionics. Usually, this word brings images of science fiction characters like the Terminator, the Bicentennial Man, Inspector Gadget, and many other futuristic ideals of technology and humans. When looking up the actual definition of this word, the typical association is not far off.


Bionic:
1. Having anatomical structures or physiological processes that are replaced or enhanced by electronic or mechanical components.
2. Having extraordinary strength, powers, or capabilities; superhuman.

Little do people realise how much of a reality bionics is to some people today. The day and age where technology and humans merge is here and now. People who experience car accidents an lose their arm can get a prosthetic one where the fingers and joints function like the original. "Kitts [a women who oversees a daycare] is one of those "Tomorrow's People," a group whose missing or ruined body parts are being replaced by devices embedded in their nervous systems that respond to commands from their brains." (Josh Fischman, National Geographic) These "Tomorrow's People" include blind people embedded with tiny cameras, the deaf who have electrodes that translate auditory signals into sound the brain recognises, paraplegics who hold electronic devices under the skin enabling them to grip and move, amputee soldiers returning home from the Iraqi war in need of limbs so they can work. Being part machine has become their reality.

There are many benefits to biotechnology, but is the human race ready for the leap into science fiction? When Kitts shows up for work, several children cry "The robot arm!" This is not an uncommon reaction. As a race, humans are leery about the unknown and unnatural, and being part machine falls under both categories. With all the movies about machines taking over the world, who can blame us? People label new and inhuman as scary, and until it is learned otherwise, will stay that way. The older a person is, the less likely to accept change and innovative technologies. For example: my mother refuses to get a Facebook and some Grandparents I know don't know the first thing about how to work the Internet, and refuse to learn. They argue that technology is taking over lives. An extreme example would be from the movie Surrogates; although, it can be argued that it is not such an extreme example when the addictive effects from World of Warcraft is seen on the average person. Technology and knowledge both grow exponentially every year, so it is only a matter of time before bionic people and robots will be walking on the street (at least, that is iRobot's rendition.) 

However, there can be a way to bring technology and humans together without people rioting. There should be technology classes readily available to everyone so that it can eliminate the fear of the unknown. Bionics should become more affordable so that it is more of an option to the many people in need of it. Films should reflect the benefits of technology rather than the question of 'What if the technology went wrong?' When it is broadcast and bionics is shown for the benefits to society, it will become the norm and our race will leap forward into the not so distant future. In that future, people can even get enhancements to run faster, retain knowledge quicker, breath underwater, etc. Firefighters could become fire resistant, Police officers bulletproof, Surgeons more precise in their surgeries. The blind can see, the lame can walk, and the deaf can hear, and some of that future is right here, and right now.


Works Cited:
Fischman, Josh, National Geographic, 00279358, Jan2010, Vol. 217, Issue 1
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bionic
References to movies- iRobot, Surrogates, Terminator, Bicentennial Man, Inspector Gadget
Right Here, Right Now-Fat Boy Slim