Friday, July 30, 2010

Blog Challenge Day 12: How'd I ever get here?

i think this day's challenge is kinda lame. i'm supposed to tell you how i heard about blogspot, and why i started blogging. essentially, both of my sisters had blogs, and i started reading some other cool blogs, and i decided to add to the already polluted interwebs with my mumbo jumbo. hooray!

now for something you actually care about, random awesome videos and pics!




live every week like it's shark week:

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Blog Challenge Day 11:Another friendly pic

this is from a hike up rock canyon last saturday, hooray!
this one is from a fire behind my apt a couple of weeks ago. quite the eclectic crew there.
this is one of my favorite pics ever, from the holi festival of colors this spring. colby timed that throw to my face perfectly. and now two of those couples in the pic are engaged. love and colored powder were in the air.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Blog Challenge Day 10: Music for every occasion


wow, the last couple of days have been crazy busy. today is going to be even busier, which is why i decided to bring my laptop to accounting, and actually accomplish something in this class. which means blog.
but that is neither here nor there really. this post is the challenge to list the songs i listen to when i am in various moods. i've been pondering this post for a couple of days, and i really don't listen to specific music for specific moods. i more listen to music as i crave it. i would assume(maybe wrongly, who knows) that many people listen to radiohead when they are melancholic or blue for some reason. but i have been listen to them the last three days straight.
now, when i was a young'un, i used to listen to music by mood a little. really, i had angry music. i didn't really have any other type of mood music, but i was angry most of the time in high school anyway. my favorite angry music was rage against the machine. then they broke up, and the guitarist went to that massively awful band rage garden, i mean audioslave. they really were horrible. now rage against the machine is getting back together, maybe that means i am about to enter an angry period of my life again?
the one type of music that i tend to listen to only when happy is reggae. and when i say reggae, i really pretty much mean bob marley. yes, i have some toots and the maytals and the like, but i really just listen to bob. sometimes, i listen to him when i am stressed too. probably because when bob tells me to not worry about a thing, i believe him. probably cuz he is dead, and he must know what is up on the other side by now.
now, i do have some music that epitomizes certain feelings. zookeeper's boy by mew is just about the happiest song ever. check it out.

also, samuel barber's adagio for strings is the saddest piece of music ever written. makes me cry or at least tear up every time i listen to it.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Nine:Something to be proud of


so this day is supposed to be about something that i am proud of in the last few days. it is kinda tough to think about something in my life that i feel like is remarkable that has been accomplished in the past week or so. that got me thinking at first that my life is boring and lame, and that i am not going anywhere at the moment. but then i thought, no, that is just life. i am right where i am supposed to be right now. just because i haven't run a marathon in the last week(just wait till october), or graduated from college(who knows when that will be), or something super significant doesn't mean that i haven't accomplished anything. heck, just today i taught sunday school. and i am pretty sure that nobody is leaving the church because of it. so that is something to be proud of. in fact, i can even say that i felt the spirit while teaching the lesson. also, i totally rocked my last math test(i have another one on tuesday), and my accounting test. those are worth being proud of. really, my life is pretty awesome, and i am happy/grateful that i accomplish things everyday that i can be satisfied about. plus, i saw inception yesterday. that is something to feel cool about.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Eight: Short term goals


i don't have too many goals specific to this month. especially as this month is ending in a week. so pretty much, in this next week i want to accomplish:

-85% or better on two calculus tests
-go to class every day this week
-win our first tournament game on wednesday
-go to the temple
-finish one of the five books i am in the middle of right now
-watch 2001:a space odyssey again

that pretty much sums it up

Friday, July 23, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Seven: Pic of someone with the biggest impact on me

i could have gone with the most obvious choices on this one. i could have posted about jesus christ, my mom, my dad, one of my sisters, etc. all those would have been excellent choices. i don't want to downplay their roles in my life, but this one is for steve.
steve earl was the advisor of my young men's group at church for a very long time. he knew me back in the day when my voice was much higher. he hired me when i was a teen as a house painter for his company. he is quite the entrepreneur, having run businesses since he was a lil tyke. after i got back from my mission, he hired me as his assistant, which led to all of my work since then. this includes becoming an agent, investor, home owner, market expert, among many other things. he is currently the ceo of a real estate investment company. the man is a rockstar in so many ways. mentor, employer, friend, all around awesome dude. plus, the guy runs ultramarathons. yeah, 50 miles ain't no thing for him.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Six: Favorite superhero

finally, a post in the blog challenge i can really get stoked about. i am something of a comic book nerd, but predating my comic book nerdness was my love for wolverine and batman. i'll try not to geek all over you.
my first superhero love was wolverine. and not this hugh jackman, black leather wearing iteration. no, my love was born with the yellow and blue, massive ear dealy thingies wolverine. i had two wolverine action figures growing up, the only action figures i owned. my sisters would want me to play with them and their barbies, so i would pull out wolverine, put him in my toy jeep that had an american flag on the hood, and proceed to run them over. if they wanted logan to be the dad in their house, i would make sure that he had a rec room. of course, i was young, and thought that a rec room was really a wreck room, and he would pretty much just make a mess of their doll stuff. i don't think they asked me to play barbie house with them too much. when my buds in first grade made an x-men club(alongside our ninja turtles, power rangers, and greek mythology clubs(i was hercules)), i made sure that i was wolverine. plus, how many superheros can go toe to toe with the hulk? that's right. in the comics, they always send wolverine.
as my tastes in heroes matured a little, and i realized that no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't shoot claws out of my hands or heal superfast(i do have some metal bones though), i started to get more into batman. there is something fundamentally intriguing about a guy who uses intellect, skill, and really cool toys to accomplish amazing things(regularly putting the beat down on superman anyone?). see, i could be like bruce wayne someday. theoretically. plus, jim lee's version of batman is just about the sickest artwork out there in comic book land. he did the art for batman hush(amazing), and he worked with frank miller to create the incredible series of batman and robin the boy wonder. oh shoot, there i go, geeking everywhere. sorry, let me get that off your shirt for you.
in the end, i love them both dearly with a boyish sense of glee. can't get enough.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Five: A picture of somewhere I've been

now, this challenge doesn't say that the picture has to be taken by me. but since i can only think of one picture that i have ever taken that looked cool, this one was an easy choice. i've not been blessed with awesome picture taking skills, but this one is super rad.
this was somewhere just of highway 1 between santa cruz and san fransisco. the crazy kids running toward the water are chad devore and cameron brown. we just happened to look to the left as we were heading north on the 1, and saw this awesome cove thingy. inside this cove place was this tunnel of awesome(maybe tunnel of love? i won't say what cam and chad ended up doing after this picture). this trip was really great all over, and random stops like this one were what it was all about. this little beach area is really one of the most perfect, random moments of my life.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Four: A habit I can't stand


a habit of mine that i have always had, and probably will always struggle with, is procrastination. it has to do with my core motivation in life, fun. seriously, if it isn't fun, i've always had no motivation to do it. weather it is homework, cleaning my room, going to work, school, pretty much anything that i see as mundane or distasteful in any way, i find anything to do other than that. this is why facebook and the internet are so dangerous for me. or cable tv(the worst is when there are crazy marathons on, like america's next top model, or futurama. i can't look away!). i have gotten better though. taking responsibility for my actions, and recognizing that the buck stops with me, has helped immensely. still, if i don't want to do something, i will find something else to do until the last second.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Blog Challenge, Day Three: Picture of the crew

the pic above is from capture the flag a couple of weeks ago
above is the fox hollow brigade, current division leaders in the utah soccer assc.
the 12 olympians, runners of the ragnar wasatch back relay
last but not least: burnt toast, provo city soccer 6 v 6 2010 champs

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Blog Challenge Day Two: Why the name?

you just got pilmerized


why did i name my blog some people call me pilmer? well, some people call me pilmer. that is about as deep as it gets. pilmer is the most common thing i have been called my whole life, other than my first name. i've been called many things: rusty, flying banana, and most recently jp. i really like that one actually. but i really like being called pilmer too. in fact, even though my whole family is named pilmer as much as i am, if someone refers to pilmer around them, they know they are talking about me.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Challenge Day One: 15 things about me

to satisfy the challenge, here is a recent pic of me. just fyi, i hate having pictures taken with my shirt off, so posting this online is a huge step forward for me. it is from my ragnar relay. and it is probably a little scandalous :0

15 things about me:
1. if i were a drunk, i think that i would be the kind of drunk that divulges intimate information about my personal life, but nobody can understand. so my secrets would still be safe.
2. very few things make me feel like i'm in junior high again like listening to blink 182: enema of the state.
3. i was obsessed with aliens when i was little.
4. so you think you can dance is a guilty pleasure of mine. this is the best dance of this season:
5. i am super pumped about the newest iteration of the jazz. raja bell is the man, and al jefferson is just what the doctor ordered. now to see if he can pass out of those double teams he's gonna draw
6. my ipod is somewhere in las vegas right now. i hope it is safe, and that i'll see it again.
7. i can count the number of times i have been boating on one hand.
8. your eyes tell the stories of the day you wish you could retell the...
9. somewhere back in my family tree, there are polygamists.
10. paul mccartney is my favorite beatle.
11. i got into the beatles because my dad bought the paul is live cd when i was 10.
12. my first led zepplin album was physical graffiti.
13. the first cd i ever bought with my own money was mxpx the ever passing moment. some days are just mxpx days.
14. in junior high, i used to play starcraft ad naseum. i am glad my parent's computer couldn't handle the warcraft 3 game, cuz then i might have gotten into world of warcraft. then i'd be playing w.o.w. all week, and l.a.r.p.ing on the weekends. if you don't know what l.a.r.p.ing is, click here. luckily, i interact with girls not wearing elf ears and have a tan instead. also, watch this vid:
15. my best friend just got engaged, and i am filled with a mix of joy and sadness. i knew it was coming for months, but now that it is official, it kinda hits harder.

Friday, July 16, 2010

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown Down...

my friend claire posted this about a week ago, and i waited for her to start it before i accepted the challenge myself. here it is:

BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGER CHALLEEEEEEEEEEEEENGE(i like to read that exactly as it is spelled, not how it was meant to be read):

(fanfare, trumpets, drumrolls, etc)

Day 01 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02 - The meaning behind your Tumblr name
Day 03 - A picture of you and your friends
Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05 - A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06 - Favorite super hero and why
Day 07 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08 - Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12 - How you found out about Tumblr and why you made one
Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14 - A picture of you and your family
Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18 - Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19 - Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23 - Something you crave for a lot
Day 24 - A letter to your parents
Day 25 - What I would find in your bag
Day 26 - What you think about your friends
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28 - A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30 - Who are you?

I'm thinking of trying this out. Maybe you should too.

now, i am not even that consistent with my homework, and that stuff actually matters. i'll be pretty close though. i may insert other blog posts when i feel moved, but i'll get back on track with the challenge, no worries.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

In Defense of the Much Maligned 4th Beatle

ringo starr has never been my favorite beatle. in fact, as the movie "(500) days of summer" reminded us, having ringo starr as your favorite beatle is ridiculous. john lennon was the visionary goofball leader. paul was the babyfaced pop sensibility. george was the quiet, sensitive one that pulled out the most intimate feeling songs. those three really created the beatles' music, sound, and image. so what about poor ringo? i had a friend recently rail on him for not making good beats. then my father essentially said he was boring. really, many people feel like ringo is something of a replaceable member.
the truth is, the beatles weren't the beatles until they added ringo. he was older than the rest of the band, and while they were still trying to cut their teeth in the circuit, he was anchoring bands all over england and germany. when they saw him in germany, they knew they needed him. they valued him so much that they created songs just for him to sing in, because they felt he needed to be heard more from. but this post isn't about his singing, it is about his drumming.
indeed, none of the beatles were really all that great musicians, especially early on. some of george harrison's stuff later began to show true skill, but his lead guitar was rarely something to write home about. it certainly wasn't cutting edge. john's voice was unique, but not really technically amazing. his guitar was mostly just maintaining the melody. paul's bass wasn't his first choice of instrument. he really only took it on because nobody else was willing to do it. that being said, his bass work is the earliest of the good skill shown in the band. their real strength was in the song creation. i won't even call it song writing or making, because i really think that the beatles transcend those words in many aspects. they were about the entire world of the music, creating not only the notes, but the entire experience. the only other musicians i can think of that created music in a similar way was the beach boys(their production quality and song structuring on animal noises was earth shatteringly ahead of its time).
ringo's beats often get lost in the mix. the focus on the songs themselves lend focus to the melody and singing rather than any other component. but in songs like ticket to ride, rain, tomorrow never knows, or everybody's got something to hide, 'cept me and my monkey, i can really hear the genius in ringo's playing. my personal favorite of his is come together. that is his definitive drum line. he was just as integral a part of the beatles as anyone else. so here's to you, ringo starr. you may never have sold a bajillion solo albums like the rest of your compatriots, but you made the quirkiness of summer finn a little quirkier, and for that, i thank you.
plus, you narrated thomas the tank engine. that made my childhood awesome before i even knew what the beatles were.


Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Something In the Way She Moves

i can always tell a dancer by the way she moves. she doesn't have to dance, or talk about it, but i can tell. especially ballet dancers. there is a purpose to each movement, born from practice, until there is no muscle that moves without direction. they have thought about it until they don't have to think about it anymore, and it is just part of who they are. from their posture, to the smooth grace, to the light quality, the effortless flow. i admire the capability with which they perform the simplest of tasks.
they also tend to have a vibe, a mojo, a zest, a passionate spirit about life. now, this often borders on shear insanity, and in many cases, is quite dramatic. each of the dance disciplines has its own particular brand of personality. i tend not to be able to handle ballroom dancers for some reason, maybe it is because my little sister is a ballroom dancer. i use up all the patience i have on that brand of crazy with her, so when others come along, i simply have no more left. too bad. the fire with which dancers attack dance spills into the rest of their life. although many times, if they do not have a depth to their character, they slip into being flighty and unreliable. when tempered with discipline, direction, and control, it is a powerful attribute indeed.
now, this is not to say any of this is a rule. there are many dancers that i am sure possess none of these qualities. however, this is based on the many dancers i do know and love. i figure that dancers don't get enough love, so this blog's for you. and here are the two songs that pop into my head whenever i think of the way you move.

also, john lennon's face at 1:30 absolutely slays me

Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Legend of Negro Bill

last weekend, a group of awesome people went down to moab. they didn't have much planned out, just that they wanted to do some awesome hiking. while perusing the maps of trails in the area, one name popped out at them: negro bill canyon.
now, i was in this group, and when we opened that map, that was the first name to pop out at me. if i was in georgia or mississippi, that name might not have struck me as hard. but we were in utah, where racism is just a rumor, and there certainly don't seem to be enough black people around to name places after. i'm not saying that utah doesn't have its bigotry, but there really isn't much true racism, only white people who haven't met a black person and are therefore not mentally geared to deal with it when they interact with one.
while we were in the canyon, we were trying to fill out the story of negro bill (as pictured pondering above). obviously, he was cool enough to have a canyon named after him. our story mostly revolved around him having some sort of restaurant up the canyon for us to eat at (we were hiking this trail just before dinner). there were also tales of him having 6 wives stashed throughout the canyon, him raising pigs for his restaurant, and him setting up traps to catch us for some diabolical purpose. all in all, we envisioned some sort of crazy old man with a ridiculous story. probably something that would be found in this book:
the true story of negro bill is actually seemingly as awesome as we had hoped. upon our return to civilization and technology, we studied it out via the source of all information: wikipedia. this search was done by the amazing lydia stingray on her phone, so i guess we didn't really have to wait for civilization, since all of us on the trip had phones. the tale of negro bill is one of cattle ranching, prospecting, and palling around with his good canadian buddy "frenchie". he had to flee from his canyon after he was charged with bootlegging whiskey to the indians. here's the wiki article. so, it just goes to show you, history is just as cool as your imagination can make it. just like reading rainbow.