greetings from 214 hale.

i'm currently sitting on a computer in 214 Hale Library next to the IT Help Desk. I've been here for about an hour and a half now waiting for my computer to be fixed. i have a strong wireless connection all the time, but it is accompanied by a cute little yellow yeild sign with an "!" on it and the following message:

Limited or No Connectivity

this adorable message is linked so that i can go to another screen and read the details about why it isn't working. which, surprisingly, tells me nothing at all that i can understand let alone anything that could point me in the direction of it being fixed. it apparently (and more surprisingly) tells the tech fellas here in 214 Hale Library nothing as well.

this is mildly frustrating. i've been without internet in my room for 9 days now and i've spent somewhere around 4-5 hours on the phone with all sorts of wonderful people. none of which have helped one bit:

brad from d-link told my my router was working properly. (1.5 hour)
kathy from linksys told me my wireless card was working properly. (1.5 hours)
gunther from cox cable told me my cable internet service was workign properly. (1 hour)
douglas from the geek squad told me he'd have to charge me 99 bucks for his services cause i wasnt under warranty. i said no. as if he could fix it anyway. (30 min)

and now the IT guys have confirmed all of that and proceeded to do nothing else.
awesome. good thing i brought a sleeping bag. sigh.

-ap.

Remedy/Crowder Live at Mccain

it is moderately annoying that once i have something that i feel like blogging about my internet goes out for a week straight and i don't have enough time to walk to campus for the sole purpose of blogging. that's a little lame maybe. this isn't THAT essential to my life.anyway. david crowder stopped by kstate on thursday night. mccain auditorium.

and he and i have the same shoes.
holler. what a stylin' fellow.

crowder is able to accomplish something within me that most/all other christian artists can't do. perhaps it is because i just like the sound of his music more than others. possible. but i really feel like he has the whole worship/concert balance truly mastered.

first off, his lyrics are so simple yet every simple line is so passionate. i bought his new cd, Remedy, last monday. It would be shocking if i were able to learn the lyrics to the cd by tuesday or wednesady. that would show that i have a terrific ability to memorize things. but it is something completely different for me to pop in the cd and be able to sing along with the praises before the song is even half over. when it comes to worship music, that is what is important. being able to connect is crucial, and crowder's lyrics are perfectly simple yet powerful. He takes repetition and simple lyrics and surrounds them with a mood or style of music that focuses the mind and draws you in. or at least draws me in.

he is also able to put on an incredible concert (and album) while not losing the Christ-centered focus. difficult to do. I get pumped about his music, but not because of the sound or the hype, but because it points me to God. they're not concerts. Crowder's albums/concerts are truly worship experiences.

needless to say it was a legit experience.

like i said, DC*B has a new cd out too, Remedy. It's an all around worship album. Songs about prayer, worship and praise (as expected and executed), but what surprised me and impressed me on this album is his later tracks. The overall focus (and name of the cd) appears to be what we can do as Christians to change the world. crowder understands that the Christian culture is changing and that the questions being asked today differ greatly from those of 30 years ago. Today's Christian youth is about action and movement. What can we DO to further God's kingdom - that is what Crowder has directed this cd toward. even if they are the last two tracks on the album."Remedy" and "Surely We Can Change" are the heart of this cd i think.

"Remedy" = Jesus is the Remedy.
"Surely..." = We can show others Jesus.

be on guard for a handful of new worship songs hitting churches everywhere.

-ap.

moments in education.

being an education major can occasionally place me in slightly interesting situations.

three examples:
1. today i found myself reading a powerpoint for class about how to use powerpoint for class.

2. and last week i had to take a test to find out what i'd learned about summative feedback (summative feedback = things like testing students to find out what knowledge they've retained about a certain subject).

3. and a few months ago i was sitting in class having a discussion with my professor and thirty other students about how to facilitate discussion in the classroom.

good thing i really want to teach someday so i can push myself through these classes. hm.

-ap.

graduation.

so kanye's new cd is legit. different than college dropout and late reg, but still great.

other than stronger - which i'll basically ignore for this review - its play count on itunes was 63 BEFORE i got the cd...so its not even considered as part of the cd to me - but anyway - there were obviously a few standout tracks for me: flashing lights, homecoming, good life - but - as is the case with most cds i listen to - songs just keep impressing me.

the only songs on the cd that i haven't enjoyed much are big brother and drunk and hot girls. i'm big time disappointed in big brother - it's kanye's thank you to jay-z basically. telling him all about how great he is and how much kanye looks up to him. a solid idea i guess...but it just doesnt impress me at all. which is sad. cause i doubt s carter was all that grateful. eh. debatable.
drunk and hot girls is crappy for obvious reasons.

the rest of the cd (11 other tracks) i'm suuuuuuuper pumped about.

my initial favorite was homecoming. featuring chris martin from coldplay. one of my dearest friends has turned me into a rather large coldplay fan. actually. i'm still my normal size...i just really liek coldplay. but anyway. this track has some seriously fun piano which, when joined by KW and CM, is probably one of the greatest sounds ever. but its almost too catchy - i love it now, but only in moderation. i may have burnt myself out on it. oh well.

i can listen to the first 7 tracks straight through without stopping. thats the sign of a great cd. and if it wasn't for drunk and hot girls - i'd make it all the way from 1-12 without stopping i think.

i guess if i had to rate it....11/13 songs are great....so thats a 4.23/5. but thats if i give every single song a 0/5 or a 5/5. so lets do this right.

good morning 5/5
champion 5/5
stronger 5/5
i wonder 5/5
good life 5/5
can't tell me nothing 5/5
barry bonds 4/5
drunk and hot girls 0/5
flashing lights 5/5
everything i am 3/5
the glory 4/5
homecoming 5/5
big brother 1/5

totaling......52/65

which is 4 out of 5.
love it.

-ap.

ps. down with curtis.

not to mention.

i would like to bring everyones attention to the fact that the phrase "not to mention" is completely useless.

not to mention a total lie.

but i just did. i mentioned that it was a total lie even though i said i wasn't going to.
you see?
maybe i just don't understand what it means, but it strikes me as a waste.

postseason baseball.

so october is here, which means that post season baseball is here. this time last year i had quit pretty much everything i was involved in, only went to morning classes, and holed up in my room every night of the week. at the time there was a slight pang of guilt, but in retrospect - it was the right thing to do. i watched every cardinals' game in october last year. and, in case you didnt know, the cardinals played more games in october than any other team. oh, cause tehy were in the world series. oh, and they won. holler at cha boi.

unfortunately, this is not the case in 2007. i am forced to live my life in typical fashion - checking espn.com at the end of the day for scores and recaps. probably good news for those who enjoy seeing my on a regular basis; conversely, this is bad news for those who despise my company (you may make yourself known in the "comments" section of this post - haters). the cardinals finished 78-84. sigh. oh well, they had a rough year...i'm over it already for three reasons:

1. kstate football is here. (what up texas?)
2. dwayne bowe is a stud.
3. i don't have time to ignore the world and focus on the playoffs.

anyway. but i would like to post my thoughts on the post season match-ups:

Angels/Red Sox:
Curt Shilling is the number 3 starter on this team? thats disgusting. The Red Sox are so loaded. if they finished anything other than first it would've been shocking. I'd like to see Vlad win a series, but three games against Beckett/Dice-K/Shilling? While the Angels counter with Lackey? pitching wins series. and games period. which is why i can't see LA taking any of the three.
Red Sox in 3.

Yankees/Indians:
I like this Indians team a lot. they ran away with it in a pretty tough division. beating out the Tigers and the Twins is a tough assignment. I watched them close out the regular season in KC on sunday afternoon and they're a legit team. (Cleveland - not KC.) Plus they having home field advantage i think will help them too. they've got solid pitching and a few beasts in the order - plus i hate the yankees - this is probably the toughest series for me to pick, but i think the Indians will take it at home in game 5. they'll throw Sabathia twice for two of the three wins. As long as A-Rod doesnt mess it all up.
Indians in 5.

Cubs/Diamondbacks:
i just hate the cubs so much. freaking zambrano. i dont want them to win a single game. the cubs are so worried about whether Marquis is a decent #4 starter? please. he's not even going to get to pitch.
D-Backs in 3.

Rockies/Phillies:
first of all, i'd like to point out how completely hilarious it is that the Mets aren't in the playoffs and the Phils are. talk about a terrific collapse on the part of New York. Up 7 games with 17 to play. so awesome.

to be honest - i don't care who wins this series. i neither hate nor like either team, and both of them are on a roll. i wouldn't mind seeing the Phillies take it...but i think thats just cause i hate the cubs and just in case the cubs win it means chicago wouldn't have home field advantage in the NLCS. but, since the Cubs wont be winning a single game in the post season - i'll root for Colorado
Rockies in 4.

World Series: Indians over Rockies in 6.

this is what i both want to happen and what i think will happen. i'd like to see the Rockies win it all...but they've won 16 of 17. they cannot keep it up all the way through october. the Indians have been the most consistently good teams in baseball this season and are going to prove that in the playoffs. They won't sweep teams (mostly because they have the hardest trip to the WS - ny and boston) but they'll beat teams.

but, i'm not glued to baseball this year.

and that having been said - kstate is going to destroy ku on saturday. love it.

-ap.

not your optimal halftime show.

i feel so bad cause some of these people may have gotten seriously injured, but oh man i also can't help myself. some of these are way too great.

i think my favorite is when the group of girls completely collapses and one girl throws her arms up as if to say "tada! planned it!" (about 19 seconds in) either that or like three clips after that when BOTH girls totally biff on their back handsprings. awesome.

happy viewing.

-ap.