Song of the Day (#14)

If you don't know the story of Bon Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago', let me tell you, or let Wikipedia tell you. Following the break-up of his previous band DeYarmond Edison, Justin Vernon secluded himself in a cabin in northwestern Wisconsin for three months planning to "hibernate." Three months of solitude resulted in the creation of For Emma, Forever Ago. There you have it! Anyways, picking one song from the album might be the most difficult thing I have ever done, BUT if I HAD to choose, I think it would be Flume. It's the song he opened with at Sasquatch, and it movies me like no other song. I included the actual performance from Sasquatch below, but the quality is shot so I included MySpace Transmissions live version as well :). I really love the Sasquatch version because, yeah, I was there, but there is also a moment at around 4:10 where he just unleashes and I remember just tearing up and thinking how missing Kings of Leon was so so so worth it. I also love how the girl singing with him, messes up with the timing of where to come in. I never noticed how big of a guy, Justin is as well!

Song of the Day (#13)

It's Justin Vernon week here in the world of Tims. Like I stated in my last post, Bon Iver is my hands down favourite band and I could use any of their songs and it would be ace. Justin is just so diverse though; he has Bon Iver, but also Volcano Choir and his solo stuff. I think it's no surprise that it's a huge week in music, with the release of Kanye Wests new album. It's only fitting that I give a shout-out to both these legends seeing that Bon Iver is featured on many of Kanye's new album. Here's to a good week of Justin Vernon, and guests.

Lost in the World - Kanye West ft. Bon Iver

Stumble Upon

I was just introduced to the coolest site ever. A bunch of my friends here have been finding the most random of stuff, like art, music, photography, etc. I was curious, how does one find random these things?! Here it is!

Stumble Upon - http://www.stumbleupon.com/home/

Be prepared to lose countless hours of your life to discovery!

Now to something I discovered. I haven't been to many concerts or things like that, which is odd seeing how music is almost everything to me, but I have been to Sasquatch! Sasquatch might be the best musical festival in the world! Actually, after watching this video, you might beg to differ... Anyways, it is where I witnessed M. Ward, Devotchka, the Decemberists, Animal Collective, and the most marvelous band to grace this planet, Bon Iver. It's significant also because it marked the end of life for me (a life without Jesus, or a life not acknowledging Jesus) and the beginning of another (life of acknowledgement). I had prom on the Friday, slept a couple hours, and finally a five hour drive to the Gorge, Washington and the rest is history. To take it all in with my sisters as well, man, just made it a weekend I'll never forget. In a blink of an eye, I was on a plane a couple months later, flying to New Zealand. I should add that the Gorge might be the most beautiful amphitheatre ever. Well this video just re-awoke some feelings I felt going to Sasquatch and I thought I would share.

Song of the Day (#12)

Thom and I have gone through all the Harry Potters so we needed a new series to watch through every Monday night. Thom came up with the idea of going through the Matrix trilogy! There were no complaints on this end 'cause I love that series, well, I love the first one, and the latter two are pretty appealing for the eyes, so I was totally game. Something that stuck out, hence the title, was the music. So I was pondering what song I would pick out of the many great songs to choose from in the trilogy. If I had to pick a favourite scene out of the three movies, it would be an easy choice, the car/bike chase in the second one. Most of my liking for that scene is the song choice, so here it is. I must say that it has a Avatar feel to it...

Mona Lisa Overdrive V2 - Juno Reactor

Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Only for Harry Potter, would I stand in the freezing cold for a few hours. To make things worst, I had my ticket bought for me, so I didn't know what theatre it was at. Yeah, I asked, but I was falsely informed! Anyways, I went to the wrong cinema which turned out to be a sign of things to come. By the time I actually got my seat, my hands and feet were about to fall off. After seeing the movie, I know it was well worth it!

It's been a long long long time coming for the Harry Potter series, but it is still very hard to see that it finally is coming to an end. Not just yet though; hence the tittle, this only part one. Some might say Warner Brothers is just juicing the series for all it has, but I couldn't be happier. Looking back, there's not one part in the book that they missed in the movie, not one I could think of anyways, nothing significant for that matter.

Have to say that I will include some spoilers. It's the only way I can really do this.

This movie was a real breath of fresh air. I happened to love every movie after the initial viewing. As I re-watched them, I liked them less and less though. Don't get me wrong, I still love them and everything, but they're just a let down from the books, naturally of course. I know I've only seen this movie once, but it's just a different feeling this time around.

With all that being said, the film doesn't feel like a Harry Potter film. The whole movie revolves around the trio and their journey to find the Horcrux's, and by the end, the Deathly Hallows. If there is one thing I am sad about, it's the lack of everyone else that made these films what they were. I think Neville Longbottom makes a cameo of maybe three seconds long. Man oh man, have the three leads made huge as strides! With a movie that can only work with the acting of the three being topnotch, they portray the strain, fear, and joy that come with such a task like what they have. To be more precise, Emma Watson steals the show, and gone are the days when I would cringe at the sound of some of her lines. Hermione makes this movie for me.

Here is some analysis on some of the important scenes, the ones I liked anyways :). I have two favourite scenes; one of them is actually a scene that was not in the book! It takes part after Ron's outburst, and Hermione cannot be more upset. A song comes on to the radio and Harry asks Hermione to dance. It's very cute and fun, but there's a time during that scene where it might seem too intimate. Definitely comes close to crossing the invisible line, being weird and controversial! To be honest, I loved it; it really shows the chemistry between the two actors and just the brother/sister relationship that has arose not just between the characters, but the actual actors themselves. I had a friend who could of swore Dan and Emma were going to make out. Speaking of Dan and Emma making out, they actually do! It happens when Ron hallucinates while he's destroying the locket. It's suppose to be in the movie and everything, but people will be surprised how intimate the scene actually is with both Dan and Emma being naked. I remember the book describing it as Harry and Hermione trying to eat each other, yeah, pretty graphic. The locket scene wasn't my other fav. though! When the trio travel to Luna's father house and he introduces them to the Deathly Hallows story, director David Yates actually tells it in a superb way. They have a very creative animated short narrated by Emma Watson; it's just so well done and I found it absolutely beautiful. Some other notable scenes include the Godric's Hollow/Bathilda Bagshot one which is very eerie and spooky. Not up to par, in my books anyways, 'cause that part of the book was my favourite in the whole novel. Watching the older movies recently, I could really see that the special effects have hit an amazing peak. The Seven Potters scene really illustrates that. I must say that this film is not for the faint of heart, being very dark and quite sad as well. The one scene where Bellatrix tortures Hermione is hauntingly believable, again testament to the level Emma Watson has come. I found the opening scene with Hermione wiping her parents minds clean pretty emotional. Never got the same impact reading it so props to Yates and Emma in capturing the impact of a decision like that. Of course, the height of tragedy comes with the movie ending, after the Malfoy manor part and the unfortunate death of Dobby.

All in all, I was satisfied, but at the same time a little bummed that I have to wait another six months for the next movie... it's all good though. Some of the magic (no pun intended) reading the book was lost. A couple of examples: when Mudungus is telling the crew who has the locket, and the back of Harry's hand starts tingling and then the realization of who he's talking about comes over you! It's just brilliant! Or when the trio are at Luna's house and Mr. Lovegood is acting shady, but you can't put your finger on it and it finally dawns on Harry and you that Luna hasn't been there for a long time and that they're in trouble. Stuff like that, but then again, it's near impossible to reenact the pure brilliance of literature.

It seems to me that they finally got it right. I can't wait to see the movie again and see if my opinions change. Untill the final chapter is released, peace!

Song of the Day (#11)

Was watching some Departures with some friends recently and a song came on during one of the episodes we watched. It happens to also be on the one soundtrack they released! I was hooked the first time I heard it. Friggin love it. I'll have you know that the screenshot for the video below is actually New Zealand! Beautiful eh?

Prolong - Glen Porter

Black Coffee

How do you like your coffee? Or do you even drink coffee? I wasn't much of a coffee drinker actually. In Cambodia, I drank coffee every morning it seemed. Coffee in Cambodia is a whole different animal though. The standard "cafe dokoe daka" (ice coffee in Khmer) was one quarter coffee and three quarters condensed milk. Let me tell you, it was something you've never seen the likes of... Anyways, since coming here to university, I've been tired all the time. It's not like I haven't been getting enough sleep or anything though. Keeping myself awake is not the only reason for this change, but I actually just like the taste. Not the coffee you would expect though! That's right, black coffee! So delicious... It's not like I need it to live or anything though, not yet anyways. That is all for now :).

This whole conundrum of sorts brings out up some memories involving coffee. The FACT that I will be seeing this person in a few months does help as well! I hope your not expecting a grand story or something like that. It's just pretty funny, thats all... Well, while I was in Auckland, I would go for coffee here and there to work on different things. The thing is, I never actually got coffee, but smoothies instead. Well one time, Janna and I went and she ordered some sort of coffee drink, one of those fancy kinds, and being the smart guy I was, I ordered the same thing not knowing anything about it. A gigantic story short, I had one sip and didn't touch it again. It was like 7 New Zealand dollars! Isn't that the greatest story you ever heard?! I still owe Janna the money to this day and that's where the real story comes in. Like I said before, I will get to repay Janna finally, because I'm going East! And I cannot be more excited!

Funniest Video Ever

Overwhelmed

As of right now, 10:22AM, I am free! I just finished my Chemistry midterm and I feel great. It's weird though because as overwhelmed I was with stress, the stress was trumped by joy. Does that even make sense? Can I say that? Let me try and explain... With all the burden of school and other stuff, life's good and I'm having a lot of fun right now.

My family is not financially set, but that's alright; that's what student loans are for. You know the situation is pretty messed up when the government loan is not sufficient. Long story short, my folks had to help me, but they're hurting as it is. It just makes me so sad because they're working so hard, struggling to make ends meet, but at the same time, providing for us kids with the little they have. Yeah, I know most parents would do the same thing, but it still gets to me. YWAM changed my life and my parents are a huge part of the reason why I was able to do it in the first place; the thing is though, I'm most likely going to look back while I'm slaving away teaching nine to five and say the exact thing about my university education. I love my folks and I can't wait to start providing for them, starting maybe next year! That reminds me! I need to contact the guy I might be treeplanting for! I hope I can still do it... Anyways, that's only half the stress toll... Midterms! My favourite! At least they're in the past. They weren't that bad actually, especially Math, but with my first Chemistry one a month ago being an absolute joke, you can see where the anxiety came from. With these useless first year profs, Chem is total rhubarb for me. Just have to keep telling myself "get through first year Tim!" and I'll be alright. The one I just wrote seemed to be a make up one for the last one, but yeah, I still hate my prof. That's all the time I'm going to waste on writing about my studies.

Like I was trying to say earlier, my heart is in a really good place right now. There's mishaps here and there, but I just feel different, in a nice way though. I've been getting to know my floor really well, and they're just a great bunch of people! It's amazing how turned off I was with virtually everyone here, and how I now find myself drawn to a lot of people. If anything can be learned here, don't be quick to judge. No, I might not be able to connect intimately, shit, I might not have anything in common for the most part, but they're a hell lot of fun. It all started with a haircut by a floor mate of mine, and the rest is history. 'The Game', heaps of horror movies, a hockey pool that could possibly win me sixty bucks, and FIG soon followed. The Game is very fun and addictive; it's a game involving about 10-20 of us playing volleyball in a circle outside. If you make a mistake, you get a point and three points earns you a boot. Way too many hours are wasted I'm afraid... Not the biggest fan of horror movies, 'cause they're usually bad, but we just watched the Orphanage and I got to say that it's pretty damn good. Some of the boys and I started a hockey pool which I'm winning right now! Big Jaroslav Halak is my secret weapon. And finally FIG, the new pointless, but addicting game we made up. It's a mix of volleyball and table-tennis and it can only be played the in the heart of night when Chris and Rochelle, our RA's, are asleep. On the day of my Math midterm, I wasted four hours (12:00-4:00AM) of my life to FIG and I'd do it again. I would tell you what FIG stood for, but I would have to kill you then. I see some serious friendships brewing with my resident buddies, maybe not the ones you would expect after doing something like Youth With A Mission, but I cannot complain one bit. It's going to be weird seeing everyone off at the end of the year, just knowing that we won't be living together again; kind of like DTS all over again. Difference now is that I can say I'm ready for that now though.

Took me a day to finish this entry... Started in the O and finished here in Camrose, Alberta. I'm here visiting my sister before she ventures off to South Africa for three months. More to come in the future! I will say this though, Canmore, Alberta (Canmore, not Camrose!) is one the most beautiful towns I've been too and if I ever started a DTS, that's where it would be! Oh and you know there will be pictures to come!

Song of the Day (#10)

In the electronic mood today. Music scene in Scandinavia is pretty spectacular. I got this song off the cafe, but I first heard it on this Norwegian advert for a school in Oslo. Such a catchy tune and I just love the video (which I could not get the embed code for.....). Another example of my broad musical taste.

Royskopp - Eple

First of Many

Flash Boarding
Originally uploaded by VincentLloyd

The result of a longboard, flashlight, and tripod! Couldn't figure out how to be in the shot myself, but I think I found out why... Next time perhaps!

Song of the Day (#9)

I love love love Jose Gonzalez! So simple, yet beautiful and powerful at the same time. I found the American equivalent of Jose. In this song at least. Pretty funny actually because 'tack' in Swedish means 'thanks' and Jose Gonzalez is Swedish! Small world eh? This guy is quickly turning out to be a favourite of mine, and I've been rocking out to a lot of his tunes lately. His real name is Thomas Meluch, but he goes by Benoit Pioulard and he's a singer/musician/writer/photgoropher. Crazy eh? Benoit comes from Portland, Oregon (I'm telling you! the best music comes out of the Pacific North West! Vancouver/Seattle/Portland... general area anyways) and mark my words, he's going to be pretty big someday. I love discovering this guy when virtually no one else has heard of him! Look forward to seeing him on the Sasquatch lineup in the near future!

Tack and Tower - Benoit Pioulard

Longboarding

Want to hear something messed up? As I spelled the title out, I got a warning, telling me that 'Longboarding' isn't a word. Ridiculous if you ask me... Anyways, I found this very cool video by Original. I'm pretty sure I referenced Original earlier, but if ya don't remember! Original Skateboards is a company started by two brothers in the States who specialize in longboards (<- another spelling mistake!). They have these mini-series' on Youtube where they go around longboarding different places. It's great and it's what inspired me to longboard. I can not stress enough, how fun it is; especially after the serious sess I got in today. I finally know how to carve properly so I've been crusing some of the bigger hills around campus. This South African guy (guessing from his accent?) sums up the feeling pretty well if you ask me. I personally love the watering of the eyes when going down a hill especially in the heart of night when the campus is empty and completely silent. Well, I found this video quite inspiring even though it's quite over the top and dramatic. Odd resemblance to a YWAM video I've seen haha. It does involve photography as well which is also awesome. I actually found a sweet spot on campus where I can do those type of night captures. Look forward to seeing some similar pics like that up here on the blog! That is, if I get somebody to help...

Yeah, I know they spelled Optimistic wrong! Just watch though!

Song of the Day (#8)

Like Band of Horses, there are some other artists/bands that you just know will be on here. If you know me, or know music rather, some of these songs won't be a surprise. Andrew Bird is arguably my favorite artist right now and this is my favourite song by him. Hard to see anyone dislike his music...

Scythian Empires - Andrew Bird

Song of the Day (#7)

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November...". Ah November, one of my favourite months! I love these girls and I hope you do as well.

November - Azure Ray