Pertaining to Music, Life and Education

Hiya. As I said earlier I was hoping on doing a more extensive blog if I had the proper inspiration and indeed I do. In some unlikely forms. Disclaimer: I've tried to make this not be boring. Don't get put off by the volumes of text :P. I listened to some new music today. Two new albums in fact, as my lastfm links over there on the left would be recording. I will attempt to 'review' them by comparing them to other bands. But this isn't really a good way to tell if you'll like them, unless you're Ben (jks, just referencing his comment about expanding horizons :P). They aren't metal. So if this disinterests you then skip down a little bit until you see a bunch of squiggly lines. The first album was recommended to me by a good old friend by the name of Laura. The little indie chick who likes hats, Fremantle Dockers and bands like Eskimo Joe and Franz Ferdinand. It is by The Long Blondes and it is hilariously called "Someone to Drive you Home" (I feel guilty every time I read that title, I'll hopefully get my license soon and nobody will need to go so far out of their way for me again :D). Basically it is The Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets The Dresden Dolls. In some cases I swear it is Amanda Palmer singing. It isn't. It has some nice tracks and is definitely worth listening too. The second album came from a newer friend. Two of them actually. Paulo, a Brazilian guy and Memo, a Hispanic dude from LA. The album? It Won't Be Soon Before Long by Maroon 5. The guys who did some pretty annoying but good songs a number of years back. So far I'm actually surprised by how good it is. Some of the songs touch really close to home (Can't Stop, Back at Your Door). The best way to describe these guys is Eskimo Joe fed red cordial so they aren't as mellow or dark. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that the music part is over with what's going on in my life? What's the goss? What's new, man? Nothing! I'm over my cold which I had last weekend. Enjoyed my 2 days off by doing absolutely NOTHING constructive (which is good because now I'll do constructive things on my days ON :P). My brother said he nearly died today on his bike to work. That would've sucked. Oh I dyed my hair too! I'll leave you to guess what colour it is now :P. Most of my time has been spent playing music (rediscovering my saxophone, which I love, as well as slowly becoming more proficient at guitar.), working on assignments and browsing forums and blogs to learn about what's going on in the world without having to watch The News which puts a story about Ben Cousins and how he somehow wasn't arrested for illegal substance abuse/possession before ANYTHING else. At all. My assignments aren't going anywhere fast. I haven't begun to write either. I'm actually planning them out and researching before I dive right into them for a change. See how I led that into talking about education? I'm the best writer ever. *ducks rotten vegetables* I got a credit (65%) on my essay about Mushrooms (Sylvia Plath). Disappointing but it was only a small one and I'm psyched about my next essay which will probably be on either Dickinson or Pope. I haven't decided. So much for sitting on Distinctions this semester. I'm sure it will turn out fine. On Monday I was talking to my friends about education and what we're getting for our $660 per unit. I came to the conclusion that I'm not really worried about being the best. I'm fine with a Credit average academic record with a few distinctions thrown in for good measure as long as I get something out of every unit, whether it is in the course framework or not. So far at Murdoch this is been the case for everything except Japanese. The specific purpose of a unit isn't why I'm at uni, it's the thirst for knowledge of any sort which interests me. I can list the sort of things I've studied this semester alone: The evolution and science of the states of the brain Shakespeare The Renaissance Romanticism Modernism 18th Century Social Theory Neo Social Theory Structuralism Tribes all over Africa, The Pacific Islands, South America and Indonesia The Subconscious The 'Other' in Creative Arts and in History There's a whole bunch more. However what I've learned at uni outside of the classroom is probably just as valuable. I don't stick to first impressions anymore. I find I can easily talk to people I don't know without freaking out or spazzing at them like I used to. It's so strange walking into a place and bumping into a friendly face around every corner. Things are pretty good right now. :) If you read all the way through that then I love you and you're amazing :P Peace Out Bitches :D