Music: 2021 Edition
Hello NERDS!
So just like last year, since my Decade of Music project is over, I think I’m just going to do a very informal “these are the songs I liked” thing for 2021’s music.
Is that okay?
(If not, too bad!)
Here we go. Top five songs of the year:
♡ by Coldplay
This is a breathtaking song. Chris Martin’s voice hurts my soul in the best way, and the chords here are so…pure. For some reason this song makes me think of Vancouver.
King of Pride Rock by Hans Zimmer
I’m pretty sure Hans Zimmer is not of this planet. From about 3:40 to the end is just packed with so much emotion, and of course 4:21 is everything.
Grapes of Wrath by Weezer
This is the most Weezer song I’ve ever heard. And of course this is from their album where they discovered stringed instruments and there are violins and cellos EVERYWHERE, which I love.
And the music video, like many of their music videos, is great.
RAININ’ FELLAS by Todrick Hall
This is a very Lady Gaga-esque song (and music video). The chorus is banging and is very easy to get stuck in your head.
The Luckiest by VOCES8
Okay, so VOCES8 didn’t write this song, but this is a gorgeous cover of it. The chord at 4:26 is stunning. This group has such strong bass.
DONE!
Book Review: The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
Have I read this before: Yes indeed. Sometime in high school.
Review: If you want to get into Hemingway, DON’T START WITH THIS ONE. Hemingway is a great storyteller, but there must be a story to be told – and that’s what this book lacks.
Like, I get it…it’s supposed to portray that “Lost Generation” vibe, but UGH. It’s like the characters in The Great Gatsby went to France, took too many tranquilizers, and got boring.
Favorite Part: Knowing that practically any other Hemingway work I pick up will be better.
Rating: 4/10
Book Review: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson)
Have I read this before: Nope.
Review: You know those books where you think you’ll know exactly how the story will go because you’ve seen so many adaptations or have heard the story/plot summarized or referenced so many times? Frankenstein is a good example of this. So is this book. I thought I knew the way this story would go because everyone knows “Jekyll and Hide,” but as usual with these sorts of things, the actual story itself is so much richer and more involved. I really enjoyed this one. I like how you get the perspective of what’s going on with Jekyll mainly from others or through what he’s written about his experience. You really get a feeling for his loss of control and his panic as the story progresses.
Favorite Part: More of a favorite line, haha. Mr. Utterson is looking for Hyde (or is at least trying to get a glimpse of him) and is stalking around trying to find him.
“From that time forward, Mr. Utterson began to haunt the door in the by-street of shops. In the morning before office hours, at noon when business was plenty, and time scarce, at night under the face of the fogged city moon, by all lights and at all hours of solitude or concourse, the lawyer was to be found on his chosen post. ‘If he be Mr. Hyde,’ he had thought, ‘I shall be Mr. Seek.’”
Rating: 7/10
Book Review: A Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry)
Have I read this before: Yes! We read this in 10th grade English class.
Review: This is another play with very vivid characters. Hansberry also does a really good job of setting up the tension surrounding the Younger family’s possible move into a white neighborhood as well as the hidden (and then revealed) loss of a significant amount of money by Walter.
Favorite Part: The contrast between Beneatha’s two love interests, George and Joseph, and how they both interact with her and influence her. It adds another level of complexity and struggle to the overall story.
Rating: 5/10
RESOLVE, fools!
Hello, ladies and gents. It’s tradition that I do my New Year’s Resolutions on December 27.
It is December 27.
SO LET’S DO IT
A review of the 2021 resolutions:
- ACCOMPLISHED: The blogs, as usual. Always, always.
- FAILED: Try to be more consistent with actually posting my blogs. HA. I keep making this resolution and never succeed. Says something about me, huh?
- ACCOMPLISHED: Walk at least 4,800 miles. YUP! There will be a blog on this soon.
- ACCOMPLISHED: Run twice weekly whenever possible. Yup! I actually started doing three times a week when I could, and I plan to continue this.
- ACCOMPLISHED: Keep working on my 2020 NaNoWriMo. I did! I actually have a complete (or like 99% complete) draft now. I’m going to leave it alone for a while but then come back to it.
- FAILED: Run a marathon. Nope. Still haven’t gotten my miles there.
- FAILED: Win NaNoWriMo 2021. Nope. Was still working on 2020.
- SORT OF ACCOMPLISHED: Do stuff with my writing. I’ve been working on my 2020 NaNo, does that count?
- SORT OF ACCOMPLISHED: Try once again to get my blogs in a physical format. I got a few more of these done. Still not at completion, though.
- ACCOMPLISHED: Revamp my “200 Books” list and keep reading fiction. I did this back in February!
- FAILED: Respond to all the blog comments I’ve gotten over the past several years. Ha.
- FAILED: Work out my arms. HA!
Not as good as it could have been. Let’s look ahead to 2022:
- The blogs.
- Walk at least…let’s do 5,000, why not.
- Run three times weekly whenever possible.
- Complete a new draft of my 2020 NaNoWriMo.
- Win NaNoWriMo 2022. Maybe I’ll have the draft done by then?
- Run a marathon. I’m going to be able to do it one of these days!
- Continue to get blogs in a physical format.
- I MUST WORK OUT MY ARMS!
Let’s go.
Book Review: The Pickwick Papers (Dickens)
Have I read this before: Nope. I reread Great Expectations earlier this month and that’s the only Dickens I’ve ever read, so I figured I’d go with the next Dickens book when I hit it alphabetically.
Review: This was a great book! I was not expecting this level of humor from a Dickens book, but that’s just because my only experience with Dickens is Great Expectations AND if you’re a guy who’s written a book called Bleak House you’re not going to automatically be seen as someone who injects humor into your writing.
But this was great.
Mr. Pickwick had waaaaaay more patience with Winkle than I ever would.
Favorite Part: There were a lot, but this quote is great:
“There are very few moments in a man’s existence, when he experiences so much ludicrous distress, or meets with so little charitable commiseration, as when he is in pursuit of his own hat.”
Rating: 7/10
Guess who got a migraine for Christmas?
ME!
(I’m so freaking special!)
I also got a book about Coldplay and one of their concerts on DVD! Thanks, Nate!
Are we doing the thing we always do? The survey?
Yes we are. Woo.
What did you do in 2021 that you’d never done before?
Get a COVID vaccine, haha.
Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
There will soon be a blog post regarding this!
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
Did anyone close to you die?
Jazzy. Jazzy died.
What countries did you visit?
COVID = NO TRAVEL EVER YOU FART BAGS LIFE IS MISERABLE
What would you like to have in 2022 that you lacked in 2021?
A lack of a heat dome.
What date from 2021 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day Jazzy died.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not jumping off a bridge. Though whether that’s actually an achievement is up for debate.
What was your biggest failure?
Existing.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nopers.
What was the best thing you bought?
God, I don’t remember. Stuff.
Where did most of your money go?
Stuff.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The COVID vaccines. That’s a big deal, yo.
What song will always remind you of 2021?
Uhhhhhhhhh anything from Weezer’s new album, maybe? In all honesty, I think 2020 through, like, 2024 is all going to be a big indiscernible blur. [Edit from 2024: yeah, basically]
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Copied over from last year: Bought frivolous stuff. Stress shopping is apparently a thing I do, unfortunately.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Opening presents with Nate and Pepper.
Did you fall in love in 2021?
I fell in love with our new kitty.
How many one-night stands?
ZERO
What was your favourite TV program?
Chicago Med is my current crack.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.
What was the best book you read?
I’m going to blog about this soon!
What was your greatest musical discovery?
I’m going to blog about this soon, too!
What was your favourite film of this year?
Did I even watch any movies? Haha.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33. I don’t remember what I did. Probably nothing.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying?
Jazzy would still be here.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2021?
Still as bad as usual.
What kept you sane?
I reiterate: sanity wasn’t a thing this year.
Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
L E I B N I Z
Who did you miss?
My mom.
Who was the best new person you met?
No one. People suck.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2021:
Don’t think you’re immune to vaccine side effects if you had none after your first COVID shot. THEY WILL COME FOR YOU
WHAM! I hate it.
I like Wham!. I like Christmas songs. But the intersection of Wham! and Christmas songs?
Oh dear.
I present to you Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” one of the most grating Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. Why? The chorus, dear child. The chorus.
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)
The shit is this rhyming scheme? Why u no rhyme in an intuitive way? All the other bars have a rhyming scheme: A A B B.
Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye
Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?
Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me
But this?
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This bothers me SO MUCH. Why don’t they rhyme? Why make the chorus a messy set of lines when everything else has the A A B B form?
Like…
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you tore it apart
How hard is that?
And…
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you tore it apart
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone whose love is real
It’s not like they’re hard lines to rhyme. But no, they went with something unpredictable and just downright weird in the context of the rest of the song.
I honestly don’t get it. Am I missing something? ‘Cause I get irrationally angry whenever I hear this song and it’d be great if I’m just not catching on to something about the chorus.
UGH.
OH GOD IT’S BOOSTER SHOT TIME BITCHES
So we’re behind the US in terms of the booster shot timeline, but I saw on Twitter this morning that they’ve JUST opened up booster appointments for my age group. Got in the queue as soon as I could to try to get the optimal appointment time and location and managed to get something relatively close (a mile or so) in January.
We have a pharmacy right across the street, though, that apparently administers the shot; that location would be a LOT more convenient since it’s supposed to stay obscenely cold well into January.
I’ll probably do like I did for my first two shots and end up changing my time and location about 20 times before settling on something.
WOO!
Book Review: Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
Have I read this before: Nope. As mentioned before, I was an idiot and made The Grapes of Wrath my first introduction to Steinbeck way back in junior high and was so turned off by it that I’ve only been able to give him a second chance in the past several months.
Review: I’d only ever seen Family Guy’s interpretation of this story, so I did have a bit of background going into it and knew what to expect (to an extent). Steinbeck, I’m starting to learn, is really good at expressing despair and desperation in all the ways they can be experienced. I know there’s a lot of positive aspirations and hope in this story, but it’s all overshadowed by all the little things that build up to the main event which, in turn, heightens that feeling of despair that, in my opinion, underlies everything in the novella.
Favorite Part: The buildup to that climactic scene. It’s subtle, even if you know it’s coming.
Rating: 6/10
Online?
Ooooooooh so we just got an email saying that the remainder of this semester’s final exams will all be converted to online delivery. I think there was a COVID case in a big chem final room and now everyone’s freaking out because it’s probably omicron and super-spreadable.
I wonder what this means for next semester?
OH THE FUN ROLLERCOASTER OF COVID AT UNIVERSITY, AMIRITE????
??
?
Book Review: Notes from Underground (Dostoyevsky)
Have I read this before: Nope.
Review: This is my least favorite Dostoyevsky work that I’ve read. In both The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, I always felt compelled to continue reading due to enjoying the characters, the story, or both. I didn’t really get that in this one. I understand that this one is much more of an overt philosophical reflection on things, but it doesn’t get carried by the story itself as well as Brothers and Crime and Punishment do.
Favorite Part: There were a few good quotes, though.
“To live longer than forty years is bad manners, is vulgar, immoral. Who does live beyond forty? Answer that, sincerely and honestly I will tell you who do: fools and worthless fellows.”
“I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.”
Rating: 4/10
Book Review: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)
Have I read this before: Yes! We read this in 10th grade, I believe. I remember having trouble typing my essay on it because I kept typing “Claudia” instead of “Claudio” and had to backspace (I actually did it just then, too, haha).
Review: This is probably one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. As always, the witty back-and-forth is there (and the fake death…can’t go wrong with a fake death) and I really enjoyed the characters in this one. It’s also a much easier to read play than, say King Lear, so that helps (in my dumb opinion).
Favorite Part: I love how, after Don John is captured, everyone’s like “we’ll deal with that nonsense tomorrow!” so that Claudio/Hero and Benedick/Beatrice can just all chill together in happiness.
Rating: 6/10
Book Review: Long Day’s Journey into Night (O’Neill)
Have I read this before: Yyyyyes? I think I have. The names of the characters sounded very familiar, as did Edmund having consumption. I actually think we read this in one of my intro theater classes at U of I.
Review: Hey, kids, addiction is FUN! Watch how it ruins a family! Watch how anger and frustration surrounding addiction leads to outbursts of criticism of family members! Watch how shame and fear surrounding addition leads to poor communication and further frustration! I get “Death of a Salesman” vibes from some of this, but on a much more heightened level.
Favorite Part: The buildup of frustration and mistrust is, from my experience, very realistic.
Rating: 5/10
Book Review: Jane Eyre (Bronte)
Have I read this before: No.
Review: This book did not go where I thought it would go. What I mean by that is that every time I thought it would steer in one direction, it went somewhere else that I was not expecting. And this is a longer book, so it did this quite a few times. One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that while it was clear that circumstances were often in control of some of Jane’s larger life events, she was portrayed (overtly or not) as having control over her own narrative. Her independence and intelligence shined throughout, regardless of what was happening to her and around her.
Favorite Part: The way she addressed the reader sometimes. Especially the famous “Reader, I married him.”
Rating: 6/10
Get Ready for a Bunch of Book Reviews
It’s going to get butt-blistering cold here for like three weeks, so I’ll be stuck inside using the treadmill. Treadmill = four hours of reading every day, so there will be many books completed.
You’ve been warned.
2021 feels like a fever dream
Doesn’t it? Like…where did it even go?
2021 has massively sucked for a lot of reasons. It’s definitely been worse than 2020. Hopefully 2022 will be better, but I’m not optimistic.
Bleh.
Let’s Mash Up 2021
This seems to be a well-liked one. It’s not my favorite, though, but that might be because I can’t recognize what song the main background is coming from.
Edit: after listening to it a few times, it’s grown on me a bit. Still not my favorite, but it’s better than 2016 and 2010 at least.
WOO!
5,000 Miles – 2021 Edition
Today I hit FIVE THOUSAND WALKING/RUNNING miles for the year!
I guess it’s not that big of an accomplishment since I’ve done it twice before, but there it is.
Actually, I think I hit 5,000 earlier this year than I did last year and in 2017. Let’s check…
2017: my 5,000th mile happened on December 22
2020: my 5,000th mile happened on December 20
So that’s kinda cool.
Anyway.
Pika Pika!
So two of my students in calculus gave me this bad boy as a present today:
A Pikachu!
…or IS it?
OH JEEBUS IT’S A DITTO
Action, Camera, Lights
I remember when I did that LEGO Mars Rover thingy in elementary school that our supervisor told me that I would make a great engineer. For whatever reason that’s always stuck with me, even though I really had no interest in engineering when I started college (or at any point during the process of getting all my nonsense degrees).
But this quiz was fun anyway.
Interesting. One of my old roommates was studying to become an electrical engineer (one of the others was studying to be a computer engineer). I think being a civil engineer would be cool, actually, but also a bit terrifying. A mistake could harm a lot of people. I guess that’s true about a good number of jobs, but still.
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