You look more like a Tad than a Chad

The other day a random question popped into my mind about twins and names. I know that parents (mom's especially) are usually really good about knowing which twin is which. But the question I have is when the babies are first born, how do they decide which twin gets which of the two names they've picked out (assuming they have names picked out). I mean, essentially, they look the same. Maybe one's a little bigger, but not by much. Is there a special bond between mothers and children that lets them know which one gets to be Tanner and which will be Taylor? which will be Danny and which will be Manny? which one will be Mike and which one will be Ike? which will be Jin and which will be Tonik?

Albums That I Love #9: Sueños Liquidos

Sueños Liquidos by the Mexican rock group Maná is another of my favorite Spanish language albums. As a missionary, I'd heard a little bit about Mana and was familiar with one of their songs, but didn't really thing much about them. One of my roommates had some of their CDs and I asked to borrow this one from him, as I remembered hearing about it before. I soon found that it was a great rock album with upbeat songs and slow songs and while it does have a Latin feel to it, its certainly not mariachi music by any stretch. Much of the album has a consistent feel to it, and there aren't tons of songs that stand out to me, but I love the vibe of the entire album. I'll add some comments on the tracks that I think are the very best.

1. Hechicera
2. Un Lobo Por Tu Amor
3. Como Dueles En Los Labios
A slow song about how it hurts when one we love is gone.

4. Chaman
My favorite song on the album. It talks about journeying into the jungle and meeting a Shaman ("Chaman") who tells them that "Never stop loving...love is everything".

5. Tu Tienes Lo Que Quiero
A great latin soft rock song. Love the "ah-ah, hooh" and "Dale nina!" in between verses.

6. Clavado En Un Bar
7. Robame El Alma
8. En El Muelle De San Blas
A classic song about a woman who bids farewell to her husband who is going out to sea. When he never returns, she continues to go to the harbor everyday for years and years, until she is old.

9. La Sirena
10. Me Voy A Convertir En Un Ave
11. Como Te Extrano Corazon
12. Amame Hasta Que Me Muera

Weekend Update

This past weekend I went snowshoeing for the first time and ever since then I've been wondering if its really spelled 'snowshoeing'. Something just doesn't seem right about that.

I had always imagined that snowshoes would let you walk on top of snow, and that's not really the case. Your feet actually sink down into the snow (when its powder at least) quite a ways. Also, they don't look like big tennis rackets any more. Maybe that's why you sink in a little. Those tennis racket shoes looked pretty amazing.

Anyway, turns out its a lot like hiking, just in the snow. Which isn't to say it was a terrible experience. I actually enjoyed it as least as much as hiking. For one, you don't have to pay as much attention to the trail, since its all pretty flat and there aren't any holes or rocks to sprain your ankle on. This meant I was free to look around while I hiked and enjoy the scenery. And secondly, it was a good excuse to get out and play in the snow, and take some nice winter pictures, which I will now share with you.

Albums That I Love # 8: The Rising Tied

The Rising Tied by Fort Minor is the first solo-project album from Linkin Park's keyboardist/rapper Mike Shinoda. It, of course, features some guest performances, but the real star of this album is the sound. Shinoda has done a great job with the music of this album, and I think that's where it really stands out. Its not another run-of-the-mill rap album. The sound quality of the music and the beats is a step above average.

I've been a little bit hesitant to include an album that I just discovered this year on this list, given that its yet to stand the test of time like the other album's I've reviewed to date have. But I just really like so many of the songs on this album and I think that it deserves a little more recognition than its gotten.

You might be familiar with songs like "Remember the Name" that was featured prominently in TNT's NBA playoff coverage last year or "Where'd You Go" that got a lot of radio airplay, at least here in Salt Lake. Aside from those two singles, other standout tracks include "In Stereo", "Right Now", "Believe Me", "Get Me Gone", "High Road", and "Kenji". That said, the album is great for listening to straight through.

Please be aware that the unedited version of this album does contain explicit lyrics. If you are looking for clean versions, try Wal-Mart or the iTunes Music Store.

Track Listing:

1. Introduction
Just a quick sound bite of someone (Jay-Z?) talking about how it has "big sound".

2. Remember the Name



A great song about getting respect in the rap game, not for spending money, but for making great songs.

3. Right Now
A song that paints the picture of a city scene, jumping from one person to the next, giving a one- or two-line glimpse into the lives of the people we see there.

4. Petrified
5. Feel Like Home

6. Where'd You Go
A song about being on the road, told from the perspective of those left behind at home. Love the piano playing under the beats. If you haven't heard it, you definitely need to check it out.

7. In Stereo
This song about trying out new beats out on the street has some hot beats.

8. Back Home
9. Cigarettes

10. Believe Me



One of my most favorite songs on this album, it just sounds incredible. I've heard the beats used on the Dan Patrick radio show. Not just electronic beats though, its got good string instruments playing along.

11. Get Me Gone
A brief (one verse) song talking about how when Linkin Park was first signed, their producer tried to convince Mike to just play the keyboard, and the rumor that ghostwriters wrote their songs for them.

12. High Road
Another of my most favorite songs. This one builds a lot on "Get Me Gone" theme of being disrespected. Features some the piano stylings of John Legend and they really make the song sound great.

13. Kenji
This song tells the story of Mike's grandfather and the Japanese internment camps during WWII, something we don't hear much about, especially in rap songs. This one features sound recordings from actual internees.

14. Red to Black

15. Battle
A quick sample from a rap battle. Honestly, I know that the rapper in the clip, Celph Titled, is on the Machine Shop label, but I'm not sure what this track is doing here.

16. Slip Out the Back

Random Thoughts on the English Language #11

So, inside of our bodies we have many organs, right? And if you had to say which one of them is most important to us living, you'd probably pick the heart or the brain, right? Any idea why neither one of those is called the 'liver'?

Albums...er...Songs that I Love #7: Best of 2006

When it comes to albums you can listen to straight through, a large portion of them are Greatest Hits albums. Back when you pretty much had to buy a whole album to get even one song, Greatest Hits albums were like musical goldmines. In that vein, I give you this week's Album that I Love: My Greatest Hits of 2006. You might recall I gave a list of my 2005 faves here. For the most part, I'm using the same rules as last year. With one exception, they are songs released in 2006 or maybe late 2005.

Here's the list:

1. Dream Big - Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band
Talking about Dreaming Big. Ryan Shupe used to play at the LDS Institute during lunch when I was a freshman at the U, and maybe even after I got back from the mission. I've heard this song has been chosen to be the theme song for a TV Show. Even if it wasn't, its still a great song about dreaming big.

2. S.O.S. - Rihanna
Great high-energy pop song set to the beat of Tainted Love in the background.

3. Tell Me When to Go - E-40 ft. Keak Da Sneak
This song took the "hyphy" movement from the Bay Area and made it a national phenomenon. My friend Cameron's been talking about hyphy for a couple years now, and this song brought it all to the table from "going dumb" to "ghost ridin' the whip" to "put your stunna shades on".

4. Such Great Heights - Postal Service
I realize this song was released in 2003, but I'd never heard until recently. And I love it. So it gets to go on this list. Such Great Heights is a great song to listen to on your ipod while you walk across campus. Its a great soundtrack-to-life song. I love the way it starts out and how it builds and grows, and especially how it makes me feel like I'm doing something supercool regardless of what I'm doing.

5. Temperature - Sean Paul
Like S.O.S., a great song to dance and stomp your feet to.

6. Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer
John Mayer has a TV Show totally changed my opinion of John Mayer, although I still thought the way he "jammed out" for 5 minutes after every song when I saw him in concert (he was with Counting Crows) was pretty lame. I like the bells in this song. It makes it feel like a Christmas song.

7. Remember the Name - Fort Minor
Fort Minor is Linkin Park keyboardist/rapper Mike Shinoda's side project and you can count on seeing a more in-depth review of their inaugural album, "The Rising Tied". You might remember "Remember the Name" from TNT's coverage of last year's NBA Playoffs. Great hip-hop song with a chorus that fits nicely for sports coverage and verses that talk about building your name in the rap game.

8. Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray
I'd heard about The Fray for awhile before I finally realized I'd been hearing them sing this song all the time on the radio. I'm still undecided about what this song is about, although I'm guessing its about everyone else knowing your girlfriend's about to break up with you.

9. I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Quiet, sweet, acoustic love song.

10. Ridin' - Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone
A rap song that was good enough to spawn Weird Al's "White & Nerdy" parody. A rap song from a Houston rapper that doesn't overly reek of Paul Wall's signature Chopped and Screwed production.

11. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
What can I say? I just like to listen to this song. Even if James Blunt did look strikingly like Steve Nash. Maybe that's what inspired Steve to get a haircut this year.

12. Where'd You Go - Fort Minor
Fort Minor followed up "Remember the Name" with this more mellow song about family and working on the road.

13. Precious - Depeche Mode
I just love the way this one sounds.

14. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Can't have a list of songs from 2006 with mentioning the ubiquitous "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley, a duo made up of DJ Dangermouse and rapper Cee-Lo. In addition to being a fairly good song, they sold it doing performances that ranged from dressing in bathrobes to dressing as Star Wars characters.

15. Sure Thing Falling - Yellowcard
Yellowcard had a new album out this year, and when I first listened to it, I thought that I hated it. Luckily they came in concert to the U to personally convince me that it deserved a 2nd chance.

16. Daft Punk is Playing at My House - LCD Soundsystem
I actually found this song on a bunch of Best of 2005 lists last year and it made me check it out. It actually appears on the soundtrack of a video game I have, and its tons of fun to sing along with.

17. Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy
While Fall Out Boy was really a 2005 phenomenon if you ask me, "Dance Dance" had the kind of fun, frenzied energy that I've come to expect from emo groups when they aren't being angry.

18. Lights and Sounds - Yellowcard
The title track from the new Yellowcard album. Preceded on the album only by a brief piano solo. This one gets the album rockin'.

19. Cobrastyle - Teddybears Sthlm ft. Mad Cobra
I've been hearing this song on soundtracks and video games all year, but I've yet to hear the name of the group pronounced or to hear anything about them. Its a good upbeat pop/hip-hop song.

20. Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco
Along with Fort Minor's "The Rising Tied", Lupe Fiasco's "Food and Liquor" was my other favorite hip-hop album this year. Lupe puts together rhymes and songs in a way that just flows. Kind of like the skateboarding he talks about on this track.

21. What You Know - T.I.
Not as upbeat and high speed as T.I.'s big hits from 2005 ("Bring 'Em Out" and "You Don't Know Me"), but this ain't no slow jam. Its just T.I. taking his time. The background beats/music are great and T.I. gets the most out of them.

22. Cake - Lloyd Banks ft. 50 Cent
While G-Unit slowly fades into irrelevance (or maybe just incompetence) Lloyd Banks new album included at least one track with a great beat and featuring his smooth delivery. And 50 Cent only shows up to hog the spotlight for one verse.

23. This is Why I'm Hot - Mims
I know the chorus of this song is extremely repetitive and generally I hate songs that sound like they took about 2 minutes to write, but I love the verses of this song (especially the samples of classic regional anthems in the first verse) and the beat and the flow of the lyrics.

24. Upside Down - Jack Johnson
From the "Curious George" soundtrack, very Jack Johnson-sounding, but in a good way. This New Year's Day as I was cooking pancakes in the cabin I had stayed at, someone put on some Jack Johnson and I thought, "Its good that someone makes music that makes great background music."

25. The Instrumental - Lupe Fiasco ft. Jonah Matranga
It was hard to pick just two songs from Lupe's album, but I really like this one for the way the rhymes come so smoothly, overlapping almost. Its like he's using the same words over and over again, but he's not.

26. So Sick - Ne-Yo
Great R&B song about hating love songs after a breakup.

27. Fresh Azimiz - Bow Wow ft. Jermaine Dupri and J-Kwon
Along the way to slaughtering the English language, Bow Wow (he's not Lil' any more) gave us a fun track to ride to. There weren't many songs as Fresh Azthisone this year.

**************************************************************************

Same as last year, if you feel I've missed anything, feel free to comment me about it and if its one that I agree with I'll add it to the list.

Random Thoughts on the English Language #10

So the opposite of 'dark' is 'light'. And the opposite of 'darkness' is...'light'? Why not 'lightness'?

Albums that I Love #6: The Blue Album

As another week has come and gone, we find ourselves again at Friday, and this Friday brings us an album with no official name, or at least no name on the cover, other than "Weezer".

My first brush with The Blue Album came in the form of "Undone (The Sweater Song)" which was heard on the radio and available on the jukebox at Netty's. That song, in combination with "Buddy Holly" inspired me to include this CD in my initial shipment of 12 free CDs. I was, of course, pleasantly surprised with the entire album and its great bunch of songs.

Later, when Weezer released their next album which I've still never heard much of it, I wrote them off as a fluke. Since then they've had some great singles, but I have yet to listen to an album of theirs that pulls it off from start to finish like The Blue Album.

Here's the rundown:

1. My Name is Jonas
Just a great rock song to kick off the album. Who knows what the lyrics are about, but that doesn't make it rock any less.

2. No One Else
"I want a girl who laughs for no one else; When I'm away she puts her make-up on the shelf." Perhaps a bit on the jealous side, but I think we can all relate to the idea at work here.

3. The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
A song about feeling left behind when love has left you.

4. Buddy Holly
A fun little ditty comparing the singer to Buddy Holly and his lady to Mary Tyler Moore. Coming in at under 3 minutes, its a quick one.

5. Undone (The Sweater Song)
As previously mentioned, the first Weezer song that I was familiar with. Great line: "If you want to destroy my sweater...pull this thread as I walk away."

6. Surf Wax America
Apparently Weezer likes surfing? Not sure.

7. Say It Ain't So
Great guitar riffs in this song. Builds to the end. Great for rocking out.

8. In The Garage
Its funny. Practically every year I figure out something more about this song. Having at one point had a Dungeon Master's guide and a 12-sided die, that part made perfect sense. Later I learned that Ace Freley and Peter Criss were members of KISS. I knew who Nightcrawler was, but just recently learned who Kitty Pride was, since she wasn't in the X-Men cartoon we used to watch.

9. Holiday
Nice rock song with a nice accapella section in the middle.

10. Only In Dreams
In contrast to "Buddy Holly", this track comes in at a whopping (by modern standards) 8 minutes. Its a laidback chill out song that closes the album nicely. Its got a few louder moments but for the most part it feels like the album is falling asleep after a long day.

A legal way to watch movies for free

For those of you who live in Utah, or perhaps in one of the other markets where RedBox can be found, listen up. RedBox, in case you aren't aware is a machine from which a person can rent DVDs at the cost of $1 a night, and you are charged an additional $1 for each night until you bring it back (up to a maximum of $25). Often they are found at McDonalds, but also they are showing up in Smith's grocery stores.

Anyhow, my point is that there's a site called insideredbox.com where you can get promotional codes that allow you to get one free night rental of one DVD. You'll have to follow a link that says something about "Looking for RedBox codes?" or you can just click here to go straight to the codes.

The redbox machine has a button right on the front page that says "Rent with a Promo Code", so its not like you are hacking the machine or anything. I'm not sure where the codes come from, but two days ago I rented two DVDs for a night with two codes and didn't have to pay anything. Great for movies you kind of wanted to see, but don't really want to pay money to see.

Albums that I Love #5: Joyspring

Is it Friday again already?

Given the recent Christmas holiday, I decided that today would be a good week to talk about my favorite album of spiritual music. Joyspring is an instrumental album of piano arrangements of hymns by Kurt Bestor. A companion of mine had this tape when I was on my mission, and I was able to trade him for "The Messiah" by the Tabernacle Choir. When I got home, I asked for the CD for Christmas and its definitely an album that stands the test of time. I just really enjoy these piano arrangements.

Given that the songs are all instrumental, I'm not sure I can think of things to say about each track, but here's whats on the album.

1. Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning
2. Nearer, My God, to Thee
3. Love One Another
4. A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
5. I Need Thee Every Hour
6. Sweet is the Work
7. Abide with Me; 'Tis Eventide
8. I Know That My Redeemer Lives
9. The Lord's Prayer

Albums that I Love #4: Ocean Avenue

Yellowcard is a band that I first heard about from a punk rock chick I knew. I thought it was funny that there was a band named after a soccer penalty, and I didn't think much of it past that. Then I heard a song of theirs on a snowboarding game I was playing and thought, "Hmmm, not bad", and then 2005 rolled around and they blew up. They had some big hits ("Ocean Aveune", "Only One") and most people have heard of them by now. However, they are more than just a big hits kind of band. Ocean Avenue is strong from start to finish. With songs ranging from upbeat and loud to pensive I can't think of a single song I don't like.

1. Way Away
This was the first Yellowcard song I ever really heard and its pretty indicative of what you're going to get on the album -- High energy, emotion, rock laced with electric violin.

2. Breathing
Similar to "Way Away".

3. Ocean Avenue
Probably Yellowcard's biggest hit to date, the title track on the album talks about rememebering growing up and wondering if it would be possible to recapture that feeling if you could find the person you spent a lot of time with.

4. Empty Apartment
The first slower track on the album, "Empty Apartment" has kind of a sad sound. Sounds like a breakup song. Or a post-breakup song.

5. Life Of A Salesman
This song is one of my favorites. Its an ode to fathers. You'd think that punk rockers would fall neatly into the "I hate my dad" crowd, but this song is about looking up to your dad and wanting to be like him when you grow up.

6. Only One
A love song that was another big hit for Yellowcard. Sung in true belt your lungs out emo fashion.

7. Miles Apart
I think this song is about being in a band and hitting the road, but remembering and loving people who are far away, even though you're "Miles Apart".

8. Twentythree
A song about trying to move past grudges.

9. View From Heaven
Another more mellow song, this is a song sung to someone who's passed on. "I'm sure the view from heaven beats the [heck] out of mine down here."

10. Inside Out
Another slower song about a relationship ending and how when its over, its over.

11. Believe
A song written in reference to 9/11 about the firemen who risked/gave their lives and their families. "Be Strong. Believe."

12. One Year, Six Months
An acoustic song looking back at memories of the times when a relationship was good.

13. Back Home
The last track on the album continues the melancholy mellowness thats been showing up on the 2nd half of the album. This song is about having success and getting what you think you wanted, but being away from the people you love and not being able to share it with them. "Another sunny day in Cal-i-forn-i-a, I'm sure back home they'd love to see it."

My 2006 Christmas Card

Lately I've gotten a few Christmas cards from friends detailing the doings of the year 2006 and what all they've accomplished and where they've been and the like. Rather than spend a lot of money on postage, I've decided to just type on up here and then it will be assured of arriving pre-Christmas regardless of bad weather.

Where to begin...2006 was a year without anything I'd consider as huge milestones -- 28 doesn't seem like an age when anything extra special happens --, but did have a few noticeable steps of progress and/or change.

With regard to my schooling, I started the year with a brand new advisor, as my old one had just told me he'd be leaving the U to take a position at Columbia in NYC. Luckily, my new advisor is one of the head honchos at the place I'm doing my research and being able to drop his name in my emails asking for help comes in handy. I did a lot of preliminary data collection for my project and got IRB approval for my project from both the place I'm doing it, and from the U. I sat in on meeting with the Referring Physician IT Task Group, which basically meant I was getting up really early to sit in a 2 hour meeting and try to not fall asleep. I traveled to conferences in San Diego, Nashville, and Washington DC. I had my first official presentation (a poster on Academic Podcasting at Fall AMIA), actually started doing some programming (albeit not on the right module) and just this month completed the coursework requirements for my degree. So while most of those things felt like givens, things I expected to do without too much trouble, its still very nice to have them done and taken care of.


HIMSS in San Diego


NLM in Nashville


My poster at AMIA

Looking ahead to this next year, I really hope to get my project up and running, get my qualifying exams done with, and start working on my first paper, all within the first 4-6 months of the year.

Aside from school, I think that my responsibilities with my church callings were probably the second most time-consuming aspect of the year. I started the year as 1st counselor in the Elder's Quorum presidency of my singles ward, and then in May on the same day our presidency was released, I was sustained as the new Executive Secretary. Since then I've spent a lot of long hours at the church, especially on Sundays, but also a night or two during the week. Don't get me wrong I enjoy getting to know all the great people in our ward and being able to work closely with the bishopric has been very educational.

In July, we moved from the University down to a building in Murray that's much closer to our ward boundaries and in August we got a new bishop and a few weeks later our boundaries were expanded. As a result of the above (not counting the new bishop) our ward membership has grown about 50% in the last quarter and we are starting to test the limits of our building. Our Relief Society meets in the chapel and the Elders meet in the Relief Society room. If we continue to grow I would foresee a boundary change coming in the next 6 months or so, which will be sad because there are so many great people in our ward.

Aside from church and school, some highlights of the year included a family road trip (minus dad) to California, attending University of Utah football games, camping with friends, blogging (this is approximately my 88th post this year), and even some dating thrown in.


Camping in Spanish Fork Canyon - April 2006 (Before all the rain)


Utah's Red and White Scrimmage - April 2006


Logan Demolition Derby - May 2006


Family Trip to San Diego - June 2006


Barbecue at the Spruces - June 2006

Yes its true, my records indicate that I've been on 14 dates this year, and if you consider the fact that not one of them occurred during the months from June to August (not sure what happened there, too many BBQ parties, I guess) That's better than 1.5 per month. I know I'm stretching here, but I'd have to go back and compare to see if this year was any better than previous ones. I can say that there were a couple different girls that I was genuinely interested in that allowed me to take them out and while they've decided to not continue allowing me to take them out, its a good reminder that there are still other girls out there.

I don't have tons of pictures from the 2nd half of the year, but I just picked out my new camera yesterday (thanks mom and dad!) so hopefully 2007 will be accompanied with more images.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Albums that I Love #3: Donde Estan Los Ladrones?

Donde Estan Los Ladrones? is an album that will forever and always remind me of my LDS mission to Argentina from 98-2000 during which I heard songs from this album nearly continually, and deservedly so. Its jam-packed with Latin rock goodness. It helped me to know that not all music sung in Spanish is played by mariachi bands. Sadly, ever since Shakira came to the states, almost at the same time that I returned, she's turned in dyed-blonde bimbo who pretty much just shakes her hips or lurches like a zombie while singing whatever it is her manager has arranged for her to sing -- at least thats my take on her English career. I'm sure she's made truckloads of cash that she wouldn't have otherwise, but her pre-peroxide albums are definitely much better.

As an example of how great this album is, I went to YouTube in search of videos from songs on this album and found 5 of them for an album that only has 11 tracks.

1. Ciega, Sordomuda

My love for you makes me a "blind, deaf-mute". One of the things I like best about Shakira's music is the rapid-fire delivery of lyrics. Reminiscent of a good rapper, or "The End of the World as We Know It".

2. Si Te Vas
A great angry song for a cheating lover. "If you go" don't come back cuz I'll be gone.

3. Moscas En La Casa
A song about being in the house alone after said lover leaves, with "flies in the house".

4. No Creo

"I don't believe" in me and a bunch of other stuff. But no one knows me like you do.

5. Inevitable

To continue loving you is "Inevitable"

6. Octavo Día
What happened after God created the world on the "8th Day". Humans screwed it up.

7. Que Vuelvas
I want you to "come back." A great song.

8. Tú

I'll give "you" everything. Just don't go.

9. Dónde Están Los Ladrones?
"Where are the Thieves?" A song saying that there are thieves in high places too, you know?

10. Sombra De Ti
This song about "your shadow" is the only song on the album that I just don't especially care for. I always think, "it can't be that bad, maybe its just not as good as the rest." And then I listen and think, "maybe it really is that bad."

11. Ojos Así

I've been around the world and haven't found "eyes like" yours.

Discontinued Fast Food Favorites Hall of Fame

Some of you who've been reading for quite a while now will remember how I used to do a weekly feature on Fridays about some of my favorite fast foods. Eventually that, like all good things, came to an end. However, the other day I stopped by the last Arby's that I knew of that served Onion Petals still (the one closest to my home having discontinued them a couple years ago), and found that, sadly, they too had stopped serving this delectable side dish. It got me started thinking about other discontinued fast food favorites and so, I present to you the Discontinued Fast Food Favorites Hall of Fame. Just to clarify some of these were only limited time availablity, but really is that any better?

1. Arby's Onion Petals
The aforementioned side dish from Arby's was different than your typical onion ring, as it wasn't deep fried until it was black and was actually more onion than batter instead of the reverse.

2. Taco Bell's Club Chalupa
Probably most famous for the commercials it spawned that talked about going "clubbin", this take on the classic chalupa featured ranch sauce and bacon.

3. Panda Express's Beef and Potato
I'm still waiting for them to come out with something that would deter me from getting a double portion of Orange Chicken in my 2-entree plate. The Beef and Potato was a good one. I always want to ask why they have sweet 'n sour pork, but not sweet 'n sour chicken.

4. Wendy's Bacon n' Cheese Baked Potato
The other day I decided I wanted one of these, only to find out that this dish, essential a potato bowl filled with bacon and cheese soup is no longer available. Apparently only healthy eaters want a baked potato and they don't want it with tons of bacon and cheese.

5. Taco Bell's BLT Soft Taco
This taco still holds a place in my heart. Growing up we never went to Taco Bell. One day in high school I went there with some friends and ordered one of these and found it to be delelectable. Sadly, I then found out it was available for a limited time only. Ah, where have you gone BLT Soft Taco.

6. McDonald's Arch Deluxe
"The Burger with the Grown Up Taste" This burger made the list for two reasons. 1) It was actually a pretty decent burger. 2) It came on the scene while I was in the midst of my 2 years of working at McDonalds. And the PR push on this one was something to behold. We got new hats, buttons, etc. Everything was about the Arch Deluxe. They changed some of the other sandwiches as well to look similar with similar buns, packaging, etc. For fun we used to welcome people to the drive-thru by saying, "Welcome to McDonalds, Home of the Arch Deluxe, the Burger with the Grown up Taste". Anyway it was a decent burger. Too bad it didn't last.

7. Arby's Western Chicken Club
I may be messing up the name on this one, but there's no messing up its worthiness of a spot in the Hall of Fame. This Arby's creation was a sliced chicken sandwich (remember when they had sliced chicken there, instead of just Crispy or Grilled chicken fillets) with lettuce, tomato, and bacon. I remember I was always amazed that it would fill me up and I wouldn't even need to order fries to go with it. Very tasty as well.

8. Wendy's Monterrey Ranch Chicken
This one is the granddaddy of them all. During my freshman year of college, I lived just down the street from a Wendys and this special menu item made its debut. Chicken breast fillet with Monterrey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Ranch sauce. I know it doesn't sound much different than anything else, but there's just something about this sandwich that has to be tasted to comprehend. It made a brief reappearance a few years ago, when Wendy's was cycling through a whole variety of specialty chicken sandwiches (Jazzy Blue, Wild Mountain, Parmesean Supreme), and I was able to show others why I had always remembered the Monterrey Ranch Chicken Sandwich. Sadly it is gone again now. I guess its possible that you could have ordered this sandwich during the period when Wendy's required you to build your own sandwich each time you wanted to order something, but I was always afraid I'd screw that up and get something terrible.

Feel free to leave your discontinued favorites in the comments.

Albums that I Love #2: The Carnival

My freshman year of college, I lived just down the street from a Fred Meyer and fairly often I'd stop in there and listen to CDs in their music department. This was before you could listen to a whole CD on a machine, before .mp3's really. I'd seen the Guantanamera video on MTV, and when I'd stop in, I'd check out Wyclef Jean's inaugural solo effort, "The Carnival", just to listen to the first 30 seconds of the song.

Finally, I broke down and bought the album, and let me tell you its definitely not your typical hip-hop album. There is a broad range of music here, from the aforementioned "Guantanamera" and other more stereotypical raps like "We Trying to Stay Alive", you also get 'Clef playing the guitar, singing with R&B singers The Neville Brothers, and even throwing in some songs that aren't in English or Spanish at the end of the album (I think they're in French or Haitian or something). The skits are all pretty dumb, and oddly enough, iTunes still wants to charge you .99 for something that's only 20 seconds long. I guess it continues a tradition founded on previous Fugees albums, but frankly they don't add anything to the album. Speaking of the Fugees, it is nice to see the former Fugees showing up and playing nice, as later on there was some serious feuding going on.

Please be aware, this album does contain some explicit lyrics although not excessively so, so you may want to look for an edited version of any songs you are interested in checking out.

1. Intro/Court/Clef/Intro [Skit/Interlude]
2. Apocalypse
Despite recently getting bogged down in not really saying anything (see Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" for example), Wyclef actually can lay down some pretty good rhymes when he cares enough to try. This is a good example.

3. Guantanamera (ft. Celia Cruz & Jenni Fujita)
When I was growing up, my parents had a tape of folks songs from the 60s and Guanatanamera was on that tape. It was one of the first songs I knew that was primarily Spanish (not counting La Bamba and Feliz Navidad). I think that's what drew me to the song in the first place, but its got a lot of the classic Fugee rhymin' that I like. I had no idea who Celia Cruz was when I bought the album, but she had a huge Carnival-themed hit when I was in Argentina. Apparently she's kind of a big deal in the Latin world and has been around for a very long time.

4. Pablo Diablo (Interlude) (ft. Talent, Crazy Sam & Da Verbal Assassins)
5. Bubblegoose (ft. Melky Sedeck)
Not my favorite song, but I really love the last bit of the song where the guitar comes in. Funny how this change really makes the song sound better. Should have used that for more of the song.

6. Prelude to "To All the Girls"
7. To All the Girls
Again, a song that gets good right near the end. Not sure why they don't remix these a little better.
8. Down Lo Ho (Interlude)

9. Anything Can Happen

10. Gone Till November (ft. New York Philharmonic Orchestra)
One of the best songs on the album. Strangely the album version wasn't the same as the video version for reasons that I could never figure out.

11. Words of Wisdom (Interlude)
12. Year of the Dragon (ft. Lauryn Hill)
13. Sang Fézi
First of the non-English tracks. Funny that I like to sing along using nonsense words that I'm sure are nothing like the real songs.

14. Fresh Interlude
15. Mona Lisa (ft. The Neville Brothers)
This is a classic R&B song, and generally I'm not a fan of the whole R&B Slow Jam, but this one works for me.

16. Street Jeopardy
17. Killer MC (Interlude) (ft. Pras)
18. We Trying to Stay Alive (ft. John Forte & Pras)
Great rap song that heavily samples the BeeGees "Stayin' Alive"

19. Gunpowder
Another great song. "Do good things come to those who wait?"

20. Closing Arguments [Interlude/skit]
21. Enter the Carnival (Interlude)
At this point the album totally changes. The skits are over and apparently Wyclef just wants to put some more Caribbean-themed, non-English tracks on the album.

22. Jaspora
That said, Jaspora has a great beat and despite not understanding a word of it, its one of my favorite songs.

23. Yele
24. Carnival (ft. Jacob Desvavieux, Jocelyn Berourard & Sweet Mickey)

Guilty Pleasures

I always check the Apple Movie Trailers website to see if any new trailers are up. Today there was a new one for a movie called "Stomp the Yard" about southern black college fraternity stomping. I can tell already that I'll enjoy the dance scenes, but if my experience with "You Got Served" is any indicator, the plot will be pretty painful to endure. Why can't they just make a movie about breakdancing w/o there having to be a plot? I'd still go see it.

Albums that I Love #1: August and Everything After

In the intro to this topic that I gave on Wednesday, I mentioned Columbia House and their 12 for a penny introductory offer. Well in that first 12, came a CD that was destined to become perhaps my favorite of all-time: August and Everything After by The Counting Crows.

I picked being only really familiar with the song Mr. Jones and perhaps vaguely familiar with Round Here. But as I listened to the CD something in the melancholy sound struck a chord with me. To be honest, its kind of a sad album to listen to. But something in the sadness is cathartic for me. At times when I'm feeling down, I like to listen to this album and sing along and let some of the down-ness out. I've owned it for over 10 years and the songs never get old for me.

Here's some quick thoughts on each of the tracks:

1. Round Here
This song is perhaps the epitome of who the Counting Crows are and what their music is about. When they play it live it sometimes goes as long as 12 minutes with bits of other songs mixed in. Not my favorite song, but definitely a CC classic.

2. Omaha
This song was probably my favorite when I first bought the album. I like the resonating hum of the organ. When my brother and his wife moved to Omaha, they bought the album for that reason alone. No idea how they feel about the album as a whole.

3. Mr. Jones
This song, while upbeat still exudes a melancholy acceptance of not being all that you'd like to be. Subsequent versions of the song tend to slow the tempo and the underlying wanting for something more comes through even clearer.

4. Perfect Blue Buildings
Not sure what this song is about, but you have to love the line "try to keep myself away from me".

5. Anna Begins
A song that addresses the topic of love and how it can move a person from just wanting a fling to wanting something more and not being ready for that.

6. Time and Time Again
Again, love the organ, and the singing.

7. Rain King
Another rare upbeat track. Again, I've never been able to really figure out what this is about.

8. Sullivan Street
This song, to me, sounds the saddest of all the songs on the album. Kind of a quiet song, resigned.

9. Ghost Train
My least favorite song on the album. Nothing against it, it just doesn't reach me at the same level as the rest of the songs.

10. Raining in Baltimore
I love this piano-solo song about being away from home, alone, and wanting to have someone to connect with. "I need a phone call." Also has a line that I love, "Three Thousand, Five Hundred Miles Away". Like how the songs builds and then fades out again at the end.

11. Murder of One
The title of this song comes from the fact that a group of crows is called a 'murder'. Another upbeat song with the whole band chipping in. Contains the familiar rhyme about "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy..." Good song to finish the album. I'm always amazed at how just repeating the same line over and over again can work. "I walk along these hillsides in the summer 'neath the sunshine, I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me."

Interesting note: The 'title' track of the album didn't make it on to the album, but behind the words on the album cover, you can see the lyrics. There's no album version of "August and Everything After", but Adam Duritz, the lead singer, was able to get the lyrics put back together and sang the song live in December of 2003. As the Crows encourage their fans to record their shows, the track can be found in various places online if you know where to look.

Albums that I Love

I've been wanting to start doing some reviews of albums that I love for a while now and have been really quite busy and not sure when to start, because I'd like for it to be fairly regular. I've been so busy lately between school and church stuff that I'm not going to promise anything at this point, but I'm sitting here and I might as well start typing.

In way of introduction, I'd like to say that I first started building my music library in 1995, after receiving my first CD player for Christmas in 1994. Given that I started with just a few CDs, I used to listen to them quite a bit all the way through. Probably within that first year, I'd discovered Columbia House and their 12 for a penny deal ("The first 12 were only a penny and then they jacked up the price!"). This allowed/forced me to expand my library quite a bit, but even still this was way before the advent of buying single songs from iTunes, so it was very common to listen a CD all the way through. Listen to every CD all the way through repeatedly made me really appreciate an album that was solid from front to back, that was enjoyable the whole way. It seems like most artists come up with a few solid "hits" and fill the rest of the album with crap. It seems even more rare now in the era of buying one song at a time.

I've decided I want to share some reviews of my favorite albums -- albums that I can listen to in their entirety and really enjoy. I'm hoping this new feature will be more reliable than the book reviews I tried to do. I found it hard to give good reviews to books I hadn't read in quite some time, and listening to an album shouldn't be as much of a time commitment. Look for the first review this Friday.

Random Thoughts on the English Language #9

If you can be "nonplussed" can you be "nonminussed"? or "plussed"? or "minussed"? How about "nontimessed"?

A Nation Divided

Over the last few months, we have seen our great nation become divided, sometimes household against household, as things escalated continually til now we find that a rift has opened that may or may not be healed any time soon. No, I'm not talking about the democrats taking a majority in Congress. Rather, I refer to the Jim-Pam-Karen love triangle on The Office.

Quick recap for those of you who haven't kept up. From the beginning, Jim (salesperson) had a crush on Pam (receptionist) who happened to be engaged to Roy (warehouse worker). Pam's engagement had been ongoing for about 3 years and seemed to be headed nowhere til Roy decided to set a date after talking to a war veteran booze cruise captain. Then, in the season finale, in a courageous move, Jim proclaimed his love to Pam, only to be shot down. Here's some of the dialogue:

Jim: I was just..umm..I'm in love with you.
Pam: What?
Jim: I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but I need you to hear it....Probably not good timing, I know that. I just...
Pam: What are you doing? What do you expect me to say to that?
Jim: I just need you to know. Once.
Pam: Well, I...umm...I...I can't.
Jim: Yup
Pam: You have no idea...
Jim: Don't do that.
Pam: ...what your friendship means to me.
Jim: C'mon. I don't want to do that. I want to be more than that.
Pam: I can't. I'm really sorry...if you misinterpreted things. Its probably my fault.
Jim: Not your fault. I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship.

Jim walks away.

Then, even after that, Jim had the nerve to go into the office, find Pam while she was on the phone with her mom and kiss her, and that's how the season ended. At this point, everyone is excited to see how things will turn out. Jim has solidified himself as the guy we can all relate to, and we are cheering for him for laying it on the line in a way that perhaps we wouldn't be able to.

Fast forward to this season's premiere. We have to wait a bit to get what we've been waiting for, a flashback to when Jim kissed Pam. Here's the dialogue:

Jim: You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that.
Pam: Me too. I think we're just drunk.
Jim: No, I'm not drunk. Are you drunk?
Pam: No...Jim...
Jim: You really gonna marry him?
Pam: Nods
Jim: OK.

Following this final rejection, Jim packs his backs and transfers to the Stamford branch. Meanwhile, Pam did not go through with her wedding to Roy and continues on as the receptionist at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton.

This season Jim's found a new pal/love interest, Karen. It was unclear whether we'd be seeing Jim and Pam back together this season or not, but last week the Stamford branch was closed and its employees were given the option of transferring to the Scranton branch (Jim's original location). Jim and several of his fellow Stamford-ites have come to Scranton, including Karen, who we saw this week scratching his back, and Jim told Pam that he's kind of dating someone now. Now that he's back in Scranton, its safe to assume that we'll see him be torn between Pam and Karen throughout the rest of this season, and in Ross and Rachel like fashion, its probably a safe bet that Jim and Pam will wind up together in the end.

All of which brings us to the debate at hand, should Jim take Pam back, assuming she has the nerve to confess her undying love for him. Pretty much all the girls I know are rooting for Jim and Pam to get back together, while most of the guys I know, who were excited for him and Pam last season, are pulling for Jim to give this Karen thing a shot, and things seem to be pretty well divided down the middle of the gender gap. Us guys are saying that Pam had her chance, and Jim took a pretty big leap of faith and was rewarded with a "lets just be friends". He put himself out there, twice mind you, and got nothing in return. Clearly, Jim has no option other than to pursue other options romantically. Why would he assume that now that Roy is out of the picture that its safe to approach Pam again? He's already misinterpreted things once. Clearly the ball is in Pam's court.

Meanwhile, the new girl (Karen) is on his same level professionally and has shown sparks of developing a good friendship with Jim. She's clearly more attractive than Pam, and while Jim clearly has some feeling for Pam, he really doesn't have an chance to act on them, as its now on Pam to say that she was wrong. She can't expect him to just sit around while she makes up her mind, and if he did that he'd just be beating himself up for just sitting around hoping that things will change.

Am I wrong here? What move does Jim have that doesn't either come across as overly egotistical, i.e. you told me you didn't want a relationship, but I'm going to try to force it anyway, or just foolish, i.e. I know I thought you were interested before and I was wrong, but maybe this time things are different?

Tell me what you think, America (or the very small portion of America that reads this blog).