Music I'm Looking For

If you decide you want to pick me up a CD or two for my birthday at the end of June...here's a few that I'm looking to find --

• The Avalances -- Since I Left You
• Jim Steinman -- Bad for Good
• Deltron 3030 -- Deltron 3030
• Beck -- One Foot in the Grave
• Crush 40 -- Crush 40
• Nick Lachey -- What's Left of Me

I'm sure there aren't that many looking for this information...really, it's mostly so I have a public record of the music I'm looking for to make sure I'm actually able to find it. But, here it is nonetheless.

Story Elements

I’m going to pretend for a moment that I’m Stan Lee around the time Marvel was just starting out. What did Lee do back in those days? He came up with an idea, a general premise for a story, and handed it to an artiest who put a preliminary product together and then Lee inserted the dialogue. So, I’m going to do the first part of that – collect some random story elements and post them. Here are a few –

• Parallel to our world, a world of magic exists. A secret, international body called the “Council of Wizardry” has been helping to hide the world of magic from the non-magical world for centuries. Merlin, in 1990, had taken up an apprentice in secret by the name of Jonathan Modus. Why Modus? Modus has the highest magical potential that the world had ever seen. Merlin passes of natural causes in 1996. After a year or so, fending for himself and avoiding being conscripted by the Council, Modus changes magical history forever…by coming public with his magical powers.
• America elected Ross Perot in 1992. Vice President Stockdale passes away in 1995 from the strains of the position, putting the sick war hero to bed earlier than he anticipated. Perot enters into 1996 after four years of relative peace and economic prosperity as the lead in all the polls. His Reform Party is being built nationally thanks to Pat Choate. And then…Perot is assassinated. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is thrust into the Presidency in March of 1996, throwing off the entire GOP primary and shaking up the entire world. This follows the story of three men, Newt Gingrich, Pat Choate, and Caleb Tollin. Newt, from the perspective of a man who just became Speaker of the House and is now dealing suddenly with the Presidency and an internal battle with his party to figure out what to do with the election. Pat Choate, who saw the vision of Ross Perot work from coast to coast and saw an emergence of a new party, now scrambling to organize his own national campaign for the Presidency as the party chairman and one of the few national figures in the party besides New York State Governor Tom Golisano (who barely won the Governor’s mansion of New York in 1994 with a stronger national Reform Party). And Caleb Tollin is an average voter in Virginia whose life is shaken by the assassination of the President and what happens to the economy and his life as this all happens to him in the background. It also chronicles how he votes in the end.
• Create a musical that combines in a logical fashion the storyline and music of both Wicked and The Wizard of Oz (the 1939 musical movie edition). Some ideas include…the changing of Boq back to his novel persona and creating a new/picking a different Munchkin boy to be transformed into the Tin Woodsman; or show Fieyro and Elphaba reuniting in the Emerald City where the Scarecrow was reportedly made to replace the Wizard (according to the books) OR…perhaps have another Scarecrow in Fieyro’s place that Elphaba raises to follow Dorothy.
• Confederate Zion story. For the background of this “alternate history” world setting, check here. The idea? Tell the story of the end of secession of New England from the perspective of a Confederate Ambassador to the US or UN and a Boston citizen who’s all in favor…perhaps a newspaper writer from the time period.
• A Modern Templar story. The Templar leader dies of natural causes at the age of 75. Sir Caleb is asked by the new leader of the Templar Knights, Sir Ishmael, to go on a secret mission into Saudi Arabia to protect a small, Christian church from some bombing attempts. He arrives to find the church emptied with no one there. Caleb is then attacked from all sides by people who fight like Templar Knights. He fends the five attackers off and finds in the basement of the Church a shrine to Moloch. What Caleb uncovers is that Sir Ishmael is not what he seems; he had been using the power of the ancient deity Moloch to rise up in the Templar order and had sent those loyal to the late Sir Peter to their deaths. Caleb then seeks out proof to stop Ishmael from warping the Templar organization and perhaps to find a way to destroy the demonic source of Ishmael’s power.

So, anyone want to draw/write up any of my story ideas? Anyone find them interesting in the least…

More on Bones Season 3 Finale

So, I've been sitting and thinking again about the Bones Season finale, and I've had some more ideas on Zack and his joining of Gormagon. I know it may seem a little far fetched and maybe I'm thinking too far into it...but Zack doesn't make mistakes and had to know that they'd look at his results to try to figure out how to help him. So, the question is...did Zack get tricked by Gormagon because he has a weak personality and sometimes logic is able to be used to manipulate him...realized the flaw in his logic quickly and purposely became sloppy so that he'd be caught.

Notice that the moment they told him they figured it out, he was pretty quick to tell them exact details about Gormagon and where he's living. Yes, they had to "logic" it out of him...but perhaps he was just playing dumb and playing the "insanity" card already so that he could give them the information, go to a mental institution, and perhaps atone for his ridiculous sin. Maybe I'm thinking too much into this...

Dinner Guest Realization

I just had another startiling realization. I must be a terrible dinner guest, as my favorite conversation items are politics and religion...oh, how taboo.

Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time

As I did with my favorite albums of all time, I'm going to have to go in no particular order. I honestly can not decide which one is better or worse, but I can narrow it down to 10 individual songs that I truly love.

Dexy's Midnight Runner – “Come On Eileen” – This is perhaps one of the campiest little ditties of all time. It's silly and I love every second of it. It's hard not to crack a smile when you hear this song, it just can get an entire room to just immediately start singing along as if out of nowhere – it's almost become a universal happy song for generation upon generation. It's great and there's really not much else to say about that.

Jerome Pradon – “Heaven on Their Minds” – The first number from a musical, written for Jesus Christ Superstar by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Pradon's version was for the revival production of JCS by Gale Edwards beginning in 1997 and filmed for television in 2001. The music is wonderful and Pradon's voice is amazing. The reason for its inclusion in this top 10 is not merely the great music and great singing voice – but the passion inherent in the song itself – and in the vocalist. You almost can feel the true strife of the apostle Judas as he realizes that he's afraid of what could happen to his good friend, Jesus, if He continues down this religious path as opposed to the save the poor path he initially viewed His teachings as. It's the incredibly impassioned tale of a man who is worried about the health and life of his good friend – a friend who happens to be the Messiah of the Christian people. The emotion this can evoke in me is amazing and frankly, deserves a spot on the top 10.

Chris Cornell featuring Eleven – “Ave Maria” – This is the type of risks which I really want more artists to take. This is a traditional Christian hymn which has been sung in Latin for centuries. Cornell took that hymn, developed more modern music with the band Eleven, and used an Old English version of the lyrics making it both poetic and more accessible to the average listener to Cornell's work. His voice has such a range and power that you don't hear in most of Cornell's work, both solo and with Soundgarden or Audioslave. It really makes me want to hear him produce an entire solo album of hymns or power ballads – just those because, frankly, it would sound amazing.

Coheed and Cambria – “Wake Up (Acoustic)” – A strange addition to the mix here is the song “Wake Up.” Originally found on the unnecessarily long titled Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Mad, this version was found on the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack. It doesn't steer too far from the original in tune, but in raw emotion evoked by the lyrics it surpasses the original by leaps and bounds. It's a sad song of love expressing how everything that the narrator was, was for this one person and yet, here he am, leaving and there's nothing that can be done because she's just letting him go.

Johnny Cash – “Hurt” – You know, there are a great many amazing Johnny Cash songs out there and yet, I always come back to this haunting cover of the Nine Inch Nails song of the same name. As Trent Renzor said when he heard this version, “This is the way this song was intended to sound.” The hurt in Cash's life from the loss of his wife is heard in every single note of this song. There's such passion in the old man's voice that comes out as he gets out each and every line that has the power to bring tears to a man's eye. It's an amazing track that shows that Johnny Cash never lost any of his talent as he aged, it merely matured and aged with him.

Jay-Z – “Lucifer”– The first hip-hop track on this list. This track is a collaboration between Jay-Z and Kanye West, which shows in the masterfully put together beats that are simultaneously catchy and timeless. The song begins with Jay-Z asking the Lord to forgive him, who's the him? His friend Bob Law, it appears. The entire song discusses the terrible situation that his friend has been in and ends as it begins, asking the Lord to forgive his friend who appears to have recently passed. He says that it was Lucifer, the Morningstar, who truly was the cause of the bulk of this sin that his friend and even he had committed. This song has powerful lyrics that you don't expect from such a source.

The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Walk Through the Fire” – Go ahead, laugh and laugh and laugh at the Buffy fan for adding this song to the list. Done laughing at me? Okay, now listen to the song and then decide whether or not you can laugh anymore. Inside the episode, this one song proves to me that Joss Whedon knows how to write music, whether he can admit it to himself or not. This song evokes so much emotion in the scene that can all be heard in the voices of the cast. It's a beautiful collaborative piece that really helps build the climax of the episode, revealing the feelings of each one of the characters through a power ballad. It's great fun and great music all at once – I can listen to this one track over and over and over again and never get sick of it.

Beck – “We Live Again” – I rarely have a clue what Beck is talking about in...well any of his songs. The entire Mutations album is no different – except for the sole fact that it's a beautiful compilation of off-beat music ranging from the huge harpsichord tune listed here to other, folksy songs. As a review from Allmusic.com described this album, “...his best songs are simultaneously timeless and modern.” This track is the perfect example of that.

Traditional – “Battle Hymn of the Republic” – I'm going to be honest, this is one of the first hymns I need to place on here and that I have no idea who I'd post as the artist whom I'd like to hear this from. Perhaps Chris Cornell, in a similar fashion to Ave Maria, who knows. This is just one of those hymns that make me proud to be a Christian and an American simultaneously. It's a wonderful marching tune that puts a smile on my face every time I hear it, either as “John Brown's Body” or as the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” either way I'm happy to hear it.

Coheed and Cambria – “The Suffering” – Another track originally from Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Mad, I find myself surprised that I'm placing this track on here as well. Yet, every time I hear this song I find another layer of it which I fall in love with; be it the amazing progressive chords to the masterful verses which span the genres of progressive rock, emo, and alternative rock. This multi-faceted song may very well be one of the best songs of all time, making me more and more excited to hear new music from Coheed and Cambria. Early music from the band was fun and all, but listening to their second and now third album, you can hear the band's music mature beautifully with this track and “Wake Up” being the culmination of their wonderful new sound that is both larger than life and down to earth at the same time.

Top 10 Songs Soon

I just had an epiphany and the 10th song for my top 10 favorite songs of all time has come into my head. Realizing how often the song itself comes into my head and how much I love it made me realize its place there on the list. I'll need to write this one up and add it to the list which I've been working on for well over a month now. Expect hopefully before the weekend is over.

Mr. Pibb v. Dr. Pepper

I've got to say it...Mr. Pibb is much better than Dr. Pepper. Not because of the taste of their respective product, but because Pibb didn't need to spend all that tim to get his doctorate in order to compete with the big boys.

Fondest Video Game Memory

I was recently asked on a forum what my favorite video game memory was...so, I thought about it. Of course, there's the creation of characters such as the Dad from Family Matters and some very homo-erotic wrestler who liked to slap his opponents with JB and Kirby in Wrestlemania 2000 for the N64.

But, I've got to say...the best one was merely hanging out with my younger brother, Alex; dividing up the fighters in Super Street Fighter II on the Genesis and having our own tournaments, our own "belts" to fight for, and our own elaborate WWE-esque story arcs involving the characters. It was ridiculous and fun...and it begs the question, who said video games can't breed creativity?

Crisis of Infinite Me's?

In an attempted spoof on the Crisis of Infinite Earths, I decided to remake myself...in each of the many infinite Earths. Here are a few silly examples --

Earth 1 – Matthew Newman – b. 1953 – Matthew Newman was born of Howard and Cindy Newman, country folk from the capital district of New York State. He was the eldest of four children; Emily (1955), Alex (1957), Anna (1960). In 1970, Newman decided he would attend college. He told his parents that he would pay his own way through it entirely and he did, incurring a great deal of debt as he got his Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Newman was picked up straight out of college in 1974 by General Electric’s new silicone plant in Waterford, New York. He quickly flew up the ranks and by 1978 was manager of half of the factory. In 1976, Newman married his college girlfriend Jennifer Brandice, a native New Yorker who studied teaching at Russell Sage College for women.

In 1980, Newman was approached by the Republican Party in Waterford. They needed a bold candidate for City Council, one who would resonate as a hard working gentleman. They felt that Newman fit that description. He ran against 4 term incumbent John Baldwin and beat him by a two percent margin. Newman served for 4 years and was asked by the GOP in Waterford to run for Mayor, he accepted. His hard working appeal continued to do him justice, sweeping him into Office in 1984.

After serving for a term and a half, Newman quit his job at General Electric officially and ran for State Senator in 1990. He fought a difficult primary match-up against local-boy Joseph Bruno and won by a hair. He took the Republican and Conservative lines. Using both lines to his advantage, he swept into office by a larger margin. The State Senate was an interesting place for Newman, who was not used to the politics on a State level. He found himself more at odds with the Republican Party with each passing day as the memory of Rockefeller was ringing true making many Republicans act more and more like the Democrats. In 1994, George Pataki was running for Governor of the State of New York, he claimed to be a strong conservative Republican who would push for tax-cuts. Also running was wealthy businessman Thomas Golisano. Both men promised tax-relief and both men promised a more conservative agenda. Staying true to his party, Newman backed Pataki and was tapped as such to be his Lieutenant Governor. With the power of Newman from upstate, they defeated Mario Cuomo in quite the upset election.

Newman served as Lt. Governor and watched as Pataki’s views shifted from the Conservative he claimed to be to a more liberal candidate. In 1998, Newman had enough and challenged Pataki to a primary for the Conservative and Republican lines. Thomas Golisano was planning to run once more and surprising most of the State of New York, backed Newman helping him garner the support of the third largest party in the state, the Independence Party. Newman fought a hard primary, defeating Pataki on the Conservative line and barely losing the Republican line. Democratic challenger Peter Vallone attacked Pataki, citing the division in the Republican Party as proof that he did not have what it took to be Governor. Newman kept on issue saying that Pataki failed to cut taxes and failed to bring about the smaller government agenda he promised. The election was one of the closest in New York State history -- Pataki 35.09%, Vallone 28.80%, Newman 35.23%.

With this victory in hand for the conservative movement in New York, Newman pushed for lower taxes immediately. He cut spending everywhere in his first attempt at the budget leading to strong opposition within the Republican ranks who had supported Pataki in 1998. He barely got a budget passed in 1999 and in 2000 the State Government shut down for 3 days before the legislature was forced through the media frenzy to support Governor Newman’s budget. Over the course of 2 years, he cut spending 25% and in his first week in office cut out 10,000 state jobs.

Newman continued his large-scale cuts all across the budget throughout his first term in office. In 2000, he stayed out of the Republican primary saying, “I pray that whomever is elected is a truly conservative choice who plans is serious about cuts government spending.” He spoke to uproarious applause at the Republican National Convention. Disappointment struck the Republican Party with the election of Vice President Gore in 2000.

In 2001, tragedy struck in the wave of a terrorist attack on New York City. Citizens of New York became global citizens, Giuliani became America’s mayor, Newman became America’s Governor. He forced a small enough budgetary increase to pay for the rebuilding of the City and sent in a portion of the State Militia, which had begun being rebuilt in 2000. In 2002, Newman was easily reelected taking nearly 60% of the popular vote and taking the Republican, Independence, and Conservative lines.

In 2004, the Republican Party needed a strong candidate for President. They found that in Newman. He challenged everything Gore stood for ranging from his response to September 11^th to his failure to act on the growing problems with Iraq and Iran. Newman ran a fiery campaign with maverick Republican Senator John McCain as his running mate. He defeated President Gore by 1% of the popular vote and by capturing the State of New York.

Newman is the current President of Earth 1.

Here's another --

Earth 3 – Matthew Neuman – b. 1962 – Neuman was born in the New York of two Soviet spies, Svet-lana and Siergei “Neuman.” They had survived being ousted in the nation after McCarthy and had remained hidden in New York as parents of two children, Emily (1960) and Matthew, they went by the names of Howland and Cindy. The two taught their children to speak fluent Russian and English. In 1971, the couple was found and forced to flee back to the Soviet Union. Neuman, a fast and nimble child, was taken in by the KGB. He was trained as a child in the art of combat while learning about the menace of America and other problems in the world. Neuman became the perfect member of the KGB and at 17, he was dropped into Afghanistan. He was sent on a mission to assassinate the current leadership. He was armed to the teeth, but was sent alone.

He was quick to the task and within a week returned to Moscow a hero inside of the KGB and unknown outside of it. He led troops across the Soviet Empire and in 1985; he was promoted within the organization. He was a quick learner of the politics of the KGB and by 1990 was second only to the head of the Soviet Empire. Yet, in 1992 that Empire fell. Neuman went into hiding for 5 years and in 1997 appeared in the People’s Republic of China. The government used him as a consultant for their secret police and, despite his Russian heritage, he was treated with a great deal of respect. He served in that position until 2000 when he was found by the Russian government. They forced the Chinese to hand over Neuman to the United Nations who put him on trial for crimes against humanity. With no proof of his wrongdoings, as the bulk of KGB documentation relating to Neuman had been destroyed, he was released in 2002

He joined the Russian Communist Party and attempted to help their candidates. In 2003, he took a bullet for their Presidential candidate. This was his last act of patriotism for the Soviet cause, for the bullet killed Neuman.

Ten Favorite Albums of All Time

I was listening to a great deal of music on the ride back from Baltimore this past week and realized how much music I truly loved. Then I began to wonder -- what were my favorite albums of all time. These aren't necessarily the best albums, the most earth shattering -- just my favorite pieces of music that I could listen to over and over again. I narrowed it down to 10 albums. Here they are in no particular order.

• Beck - Mutations -- Mutations is an album very unlike any other album I have ever heard. It combines elements of electronic, folk, rock, alternative, country, and even classical music into this strange compilation that only Beck could create. I'll be honest, my copy of this CD has started to have frayed edges for how often I used to listen to this music. It may lack the major hits of some of his other albums, like Odelay or Midnight Vultures, but what it lacks in radio play it more than makes up for in amazing music. It's the type of music that could sit in the background as mood music, a soundtrack to your life in almost any mood your in. Mind you, I still don't think I understand any of the lyrics on any of the tracks for this album -- but I think that happens to me no matter which Beck album I'm discussing. It's a great album and it's worth listening to if you like any genre of music, period.
  
• Smash Mouth - Fush Yu Mang -- Despite the fact that the title of the album is a slurred version of the F-you as said by Al Pacino in Scarface, this album still rocks my socks off this many years later. Written at a time before Smash Mouth had become happy-go-lucky in their lives with the success of this album and the insane success of the song All Star, these songs were real about their lives at the times and have elements that are both foreign and relatable to most people. It is upbeat with almost a Beach Boys' feel at times -- and other times somber and reflective, yet always containing these fun, ska and punk tunes making it accessible to anyone. Mind you, I wouldn't allow my children listen to this album with the language and content of the lyrics -- but for those mature enough to hear it, this album can be fun, introspective, and just a pleasure to the ears.
• Jay-Z - The Black Album -- If Extreme Behavior is one of the most perfect rock albums I've heard in a long time, The Black Album is one of the epitome of what a rap album should be. Something most don't realize about Jay-Z is that instead of discussing gang-banging and how great it is today, Jay-Z discusses his life, how great its been since he raised himself up, and his family. This isn't gangsta rap, this is real rap about life and it's amazing. Jay-Z shows himself through in each and every track, with each track produced expertly with really great beats and powerful vocals. It's not often that you hear a rap album that's this good that really makes you say, "Wow, this is great music." This is one of those albums and deserves to be in the top list of any music connoisseur.
• Toby Keith - Greatest Hits 2 -- Now, I didn't think that I would actually be willing to post a greatest hits album in my top list -- but let's be reasonable, this is the best that Toby Keith has to offer. It's got his fun songs like "How Do You Like Me Now" and a live version of "You Ain't Much Fun," while including some of his best slow tunes like "My List" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like That." This album also includes some great original songs, despite what the likes of AllMusic has to say about it -- plus it includes the popular "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" which, when you listen to the lyrics, has NOTHING to do with the Iraqi war and everything to do with September 11th and how each and every one of us as Americans felt after that tragic event happened, "You hurt us, and we will make sure that you pay for your crimes."
• Jack's Mannequin - Everything in Transit -- This is the band and album that makes me wish beyond belief that Andrew McMahon never returns to the band Something Corporate. Jack's Mannequin is basically the Andrew McMahon show -- he wrote and produced this album. The entire album discusses a summer after he returns home from a great deal of touring with Something Corporate and was now on his own. He actually spent some $40,000 of his own money to put this album together before Maverick Records picked it up. This is the story of a man -- and the passion and personal feeling shines through in each and every single track of this album. If you go into it looking for the pop punk of Something Corporate, go away -- this is a piano based rock album more along the lines of Meat Loaf than Something Corporate. Basically, I'd say this is an amazing album and worth every single cent that I spent on it.
• The Beatles - 1 -- Ok, apparently I'm a liar, I put two greatest hits albums on here already. The Beatles' 1 spans decades of number one hits from them to bring only the best and classic hits that you can sing along to even if you didn't know it was The Beatles who sang them to begin with. I don't really know what else to say about this album beyond just that.
• Hinder - Extreme Behavior -- Fastly becoming one of my favorite albums is this, the first major album from Hinder. Ignore what the critics say about this album, as usual the critics are idiots. The album contains everything a rock album needs to be perfect -- hard rocking tunes, a few power ballads, and great music all around. Honestly, it is one of the first major pure rock albums I've heard in a long time, and it's perfectly fit into that genre. I would say this about the album -- it's the perfect breakup album. This band must have had a great many bad relationships, because it shows in some of the lyrics. And yet, the music is able to span the beautifully melodic to the harder rock that many on the radio want to hear. All in all, this is a great album -- if not friendly for the kids.
• Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell -- This is the perfect Meat Loaf album. Written entirely by Jim Steinman, this album contains nothing but amazing music. "You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth," "For Crying Out Loud," and "Heaven Can Wait" top this groundbreaking album that borderlines on the verge of being a rock opera. It's an amazing album that really should be everyone's musical collection. It's such a classic that I'm really not sure what else to say about this besides get this album and you will not be disappointed.
• OutKast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below -- The second album in the hip-hop category on this list, Speakerboxx/The Love Below is amazing. The album is divided in two, we have the Big Boi half and the Andre 3000 half of the album which allowed each of them to take all manner of musical risks individually while still keeping that OutKast feel. Big Boi's half is perhaps some of the best rap music I've heard of all time; it has amazing beats, great lyrics that flow off the tongue, and varying messages from discussion of love to politics and it never goes stale. Andre 3000's half of the album is insane, ranging from funk rock to hip hop to classical pop hits in line with Michael Jackson, before he became creepy. It's a great album set that makes hip hop accessible to anyone.
• Billy Joel - The Stranger -- If you want to hear some of the best music written by Bill Joel, look no further than The Stranger. It may not contain some of the hits like "Piano Man," but what it does have is amazing -- "The Stranger," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." This album can be fun, romantic, introspective, and basically everything you can ask for out of Billy Joel -- it's all here. It's another classic along the lines of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell that I really don't know what else to say about it -- the album is great and well worth the price of admission.
  

On a side note, many of these albums contain lyrics which are not good for children so, before you go running out to pick up some of these great albums -- check them out for yourself or at least make certain there's no parental advisory label before playing them in front of your children. I'm sure you all have different opinions on songs, etc -- and feel free to post them here.

Poetry from Class

I wrote this while sitting in Molecular Biology I today. It is an interesting take on my feelings and is barely following a particular rhyming scheme.

Tell me how to feel
Tell me how to heal
How am I to know just what to do
I'm looking for direction
A greater plan for my selection
By the world to get a job like all of you

I want a job
Don't want a career
I need something that keeps me near
To my love
Gives family time
I need a plan that will provide for me and mine.

I sit here in class
Hoping just to pass
And leave all of this behind
I think of my life
Of my family and strife
Of my future and my wife
And so I find

That I want a job
Don't want a career
I need some way to keep me near
To those that I love
Gives that family time
I need a plan for me and mine

I need a plan to let me know
What I need to do so
I can graduate in May...
What to do so I will find
A job that will ease my mind
And help melt my cares away

In the future I will be
A grown man with a family
That for I will need to provide
Yes monetarily
But also lovingly
And the only way to abide

Is to find a job
Not a career
Something which will keep me near
To those I love
Give me family time
I need a plan for me and mine
To find a job
That's all I say
Not a career which takes me away
From my family fun
My beloved ones
With a career I'd be married more than once
Wedding both my wife and job is nuts
I can't imaging loving a job with a larger part
Than the one for othse who occupy my heart.

Chapter One Preview

As I mentioned on my primary blog, I'm in the process of writing a book. It will take me quite some time, especially considering that I don't write on a daily basis, but I hope that it will be completed by the close of 2007. Here is a preview of a section of Chapter 1, which will almost be a biography-esque chapter --

...But what else has happened in the life of Matthew Newman? I was a dork my entire life. While some children yearn to be astronauts, superheroes, or firefighters; I was playing with my “Too Gross” mad scientist set saying that I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. In elementary and middle school we learned about the sciences in lumps, with little to no rhyme or reason behind anything. We'd talk about dinosaurs and fossils one week, followed by a simple chemical experiment. Throughout that time I learned all about mathematics, I absorbed it and when I began to learn algebra in seventh grade, I was enthralled. To me, math had always been like a puzzle – one which I actually had enjoyed doing, unlike those ridiculous piece puzzles that showed pictures of puppies or famous works of art. With the realization that I loved math combined with the fact that I was really good at it, I decided that I wanted to find a way to merge my love of math into my love of science that I carried on from childhood.

In high school we began to delve more deeply into the specific sciences and continue my diving into mathematics. The first of my high school scientific explorations was earth science, or as I liked to call it “Rocks 101.” We learned about rocks of all shapes and sized, we learned about how the rocks were formed, and so on. It was the most boring class I believe I've ever taken and I've taken years of math courses during my undergraduate career. My sophomore year we learned about biology. I thought this would be interesting, but the memorization was all manner of irritating. It did not feel like a science class as nothing appeared to be quantified; everything was observational with little to no structure. I hated it, despite doing well in the course. Following that came the science I had always dreamed of, chemistry. I became enthralled by chemistry; it was a science that I could understand, that was straightforward and easily accessible to one who could figure out patterns, and it was incredibly quantitative. I loved it, so much so that I took physics the following year merely to build a better foundation for my chemistry knowledge. I knew that this was the type of scientist I wanted to be when I grew up – I wanted to be a chemist.

At seventeen, I began looking into colleges. Being the valedictorian of my class, I knew I could get into most universities, but first I needed to know how I would use my love of chemistry to get a job in the real world beyond my schooling. I looked into the chemistry related fields and found chemical engineering – the application of chemistry, commonly in industrial settings. It sounded magical, perfect even. I said to myself, “I'll take it.” I applied all across New York being accepted into all five of the schools I applied. In the end, my school decision came down to money and name recognition, which led me back to the city I was born, Troy, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).