I didn't get to do all that I wanted this weekend. Homework was king.

I've got a lot of work homework to do this weekend, but all work and no play makes Joe a dull boy. Hopefully, if my wife can leave work early enough, we'll be going to see Napoleon Dynamite. It looks hilarious.

On a sad note, Neal A. Maxwell passed away on Wednesday night. My prayers are with his family.

The semester is almost over with! I've one exam to take today. I still have three papers to write (all must be over 3 pages). I've been trying to sit down and write them, but it's been practically impossible. I need to stop procrastinating (cable TV is going to lead to my downfall). I'm not trying to justify myself, but it's been pretty hard to write my papers because I've been so exhausted after work and school. I'm going to write my ethics paper tonight and then we'll go from there.

I've been super busy at work and outside of work. I still have a few papers to write before next week for school. It sucks, but I'll be very happy. I'll finally be a sophomore in college. It's taken me four semesters to get to this point. Exciting.

Can't write. Busy.

My wife bought a People Magazine the other day and I found the funniest interview ever with Clay Aiken. This is the part that I thought was the funniest (emphasis added):

What can't you do? I'm not a Justin Timberlake. I'm not a dancer. I'm not a really hip-hop-type person. I don't want to sing about things that I feel are inappropriate. I'm not going to sing about sex and drugs because I don't feel that's what my responsability is. (as published in the July 26th issue of People)

Has he not read the lyrics to his hit "Invisible"?

Here's a refresher: What are you doing tonight / I wish I could be a fly on your wall / Are you really alone / Still in your dreams / Why can't I bring you into my life / What would it take to make you see that I'm alive

[Chorus ]

If I was invisible/ Then I could just watch you in your room / If I was invisible / I'd make you mine tonight / If hearts were unbreakable / Then I can just tell you where I stand / I would be the smartest man / If I was invisible / (Wait..I already am)

I saw your face in the crowd / I called out your name / You don't hear a sound / I keep tracing your steps / Each move that you make / Wish I could be what goes through your mind / Wish you could touch me with the colors of your life

[Repeat Chorus ]

So, it's all right to sing about stalking? That's not inappropriate? Looks like Mr. Aiken definitely follows a different set of morals. Creepy...

Ticket Stub.
 
Alright. I saw Ben Folds and Guster play last night at the City Market in Kansas City, MO. It was amazing. I, unfortunately, did not get to meet Ben or Guster due to time constraints. The show started late (after 8:00pm) and ended late (11:30pm-ish). We had to leave almost immediately after the show. We drove back to Wichita and got home at about 3:00am.

The venue wasn't great and I couldn't take any good pictures (so I didn't) because I was stuck in the back. I had a perfect view of the stage, but could hardly tell who was on it. There was no way to get any closer. I had a great time regardless.

The highlights of the show were when Guster played "Fair" (Ryan sang the second verse) and "Not the Same" with Ben and when Ben introduced Brian from Guster as Rufus Wainwright then they duetted on a cover of Wham's "Careless Whisper." Oh, and I wasn't impressed with Gavin Degraw at all.
 
Here's the setlist:
 
Ben:  Fred Jones Pt. 2 / Zak & Sara / All You Can Eat / Late / Careless Whisper with "Rufus Wainwright" (Brian from Guster) / Philosophy / Uncle Walter / Army / Selfless, Cold & Composed / The Luckiest / Rockin the Suburbs ("Just like Guster's gonna do...") / Steven's Last Night In Town (with drum war) / Fair (with Guster) / Not the Same (with Guster)

Guster: (Not in order yet)
Rock this B**** / Happier / Amsterdam / Demons / Careful / I Spy / Airport Song / Barrel of a Gun / Come Downstairs and Say Hello / Ramona / Homecoming King ("Back in Kansas City") / Fa Fa

/// Encore with Ben Folds ///
K.C. Masterpiece / Backyard / Boy with the Arab Strap / All the Way Up to Heaven

My short story teacher asked me a very funny question yesterday. Before I tell you the question, I must preface it with a few pieces of vital information (otherwise, you won't get the humor of the situation): First of all, I am a Mormon. Second of all, Mormons no longer practice polygamy (we don't have more than one wife). Third of all, my wife's parents divorced and my father-in-law remarried, therefore, I have two mother-in-laws.

Mormons came up in my short story class one day. It told everyone I was one. I told them we don't practice polygamy anymore. Then, on a separate day, I made mention of my two mother-in-laws. I didn't even think to explain it. This, apparently, confused my teacher.


She asked me to stay after class yesterday just so she could ask me a question. She asked me: "I'm going to ask you a question that might be inappropriate, so you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. What I would like to know is, how do you have two mother-in-laws?" Instantly, I knew what she was thinking. I explained to her about my wife's parents. She told me that she just wanted to make sure and that she was just being curious. My teacher knew I was devoted to my wife, but when I mentioned that I had two mother-in-laws, it threw her for a loop. This was a question that has been bothering her for over a month. We both had a good laugh.

I just barely finished my paper that's due for my short story class this afternoon as few minutes ago.

I'm having a hard time resisting the temptation to buy Ben Folds' latest EP, Super D. It's on sale for pre-order at www.attackedbyplastic.com. The first 500 ordered will be autographed. Why am I not ordering it? Because I promised my wife that I wouldn't. I wish I hadn't now. I'll be over it tomorrow. I wanted to complete my set (I have Speed Graphic and Sunny 16 autographed), but I won't now. That sucks.

UPDATE: The autographed copies of Super D are out.

About bad grammar (you didn't think I'd leave this one alone, did you? If you did, then you don't know me very well):

I got an e-mail at work that read as follows:

Per D:
Her and R have switched lunch times today.

After reading the e-mail I said aloud "[so & so] needs to learn to use good grammar. Bad grammar irritates me!" Then a co-worker (who is always irritated at me for one reason or another) turned around to say (unintentionally using bad grammar): "Not nobody doesn't use good grammar like Nathaniel Goold!"

That cracked me up. Though that was funny, bad grammar is nothing to laugh at. Seriously.

Sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with people. I know that doesn't sound like a very Christian thing to say, but it's true. I just get tired of people. I'm sure they get tired of me.

Also, bad grammar irritates the crap out of me.

I'm feeling bored today, yet I'm managing to keep myself busy. I have a few papers to write for my short stoy and ethics classes. I need to get them done between now and Friday night if I want a completely stress-free weekend. I won't be able to work on my homework at all on Saturday because I'll be going to see Guster and Ben Folds in Kansas City that day. I'm pumped.

I am very interested in what is happening in the music side of the entertainment industry and in what is going on politically here in the United States. This kind of irritates my wife, because she does really care about that stuff. For me, it's equally irritating when I have to try and justify why I'm interested in the things I'm interested in. I'm pretty passionate when it comes to music and certain things about politics. I don't know why. I just am.

I'm surprised I didn't find time to post yesterday. It was super busy at work and I failed to get on the internet at home.

It looks like there's some guy trying to take on Fox News with a new movie called "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism". The Associated Press ran a story about it and it appeared in numerous papers and web sites (Fox News included) across the country. Along with the story about "Outfoxed" they also ran a rebuttal.

This is going to get interesting. It should be noted that "Outfoxed's" major sponsor just so happens to be the anti-Bush group, MoveOn.org. I'm not sure exactly what is going on here, but it seems that we have a lot of upset liberals angry at the fact that there is someone in the media world that refuses to be like them. Most other media channels (*cough* CNN *cough*) have such a liberal slant that it's hard to tell what exactly is going on.

They're either upset that Fox News is going against the grain or that because they are more conservative than the other sources (remember, they are the fair ones) they are not really as fair or as balanced as they claim. I haven't seen any pro-Bush ads on Fox News. I've seen plenty of MoveOn.org's ads on CNN, though. Which news channel being biased again?

I got soaked this morning on my way to the car. I didn't realize that was to be a foreshadowing of my day. The first thing I did this morning was purchase tickets to the concert for next weekend. When I went to break, I got a voicemail from my wife this morning saying that I got shorted on my paycheck. I didn't think she was right. To my dismay, she was right and it was my fault. When I had filled out my time sheet last week, I overlooked one day on my time card. In other words, I did not get paid for one day. My supervisor didn't catch my mistake either. It was all my fault, so I was pretty ticked at myself. I'll get paid for it, but I'm not sure when. The day is looking up, though.

It's been a slow, slow, slow afternoon. It's days like this that make me want to go to school. I am counting down the weeks until this (the summer) semester ends (there's only three more weeks left). I'm looking forward to tomorrow because it's pay day AND I should be getting my student loan check in the mail (Too bad all the money coming in had already been spent). I'm excited about it anyway.

My wife and I are going with another couple to some musical (for free) called "Me & My Girl" which is being performed by Music Theatre of Wichita. I don't know anything about it. How cares? I'm not paying for it anyway. I just hope it's decent.

I've got some homework to do this weekend. I'm not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done.

Oh yeah, for those of you who are (not) interested about my phone, I'm not getting a new one until Monday or thereabout. Thankfully, they'll be able to transfer my phonebook from one phone to another.

I get to go to the Sprint Store tonight after class because my phone's LCD display is no longer functioning. It's driving me nuts. Luckily the phone is not yet a year old and is still under warranty. I hope I can somehow transfer my phone book to another phone (if I need one) because I don't want to have to start over.

I read the following in Guster's Road Journal and I thought it was hilarious. Right now they are on tour with Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds (I will be seeing them minus Rufus plus Gavin Degraw in Kansas City next week).

Transcription of a conversation between Brian Rosenworcel and Rufus Wainwright backstage in Gilford NH on July 1st:

RW: Did you see that there's a chiropractor here?
BR: Yeah, I think I'll skip it. Did you set that up?
RW: I don't think so. I think she's from the venue. Did you know chiropractics are illegal in France?
BR: No .... what else is illegal in France?
RW: I don't know. Murder?

Well, John Kerry picked his running mate. I hope John Edwards is ready. What a team.

It's been a slow day today. It feels like I've been at work for several decades now. After work, I'll be going to school. After losing 8 hours of my life at work, I'll get to lose another 3 hours of my life at school. Wow.

I had a nice, relaxing weekend. I didn't touch my homework at all. We didn't shoot any fireworks off last night. We shot off fireworks on the 3rd, however. It was fun.

I have to work today. I don't know why. Everyone is closed today in observance of the 4th of July. I also have to go to school today even though every college (except for the one I attend) in town is closed. What are the odds?

Work is super slow today. We have less people working today than we normally do and we're still over staffed. I've had two phone calls since 7:00 am this morning. It is now 10 am. As a result, I've been reading a lot of articles on the internet this morning.

I found this really cool article about The 59 Deceits of Fahrenheit 9/11. Also I found that there's a new book out about Michael Moore called "Michael Moore is a Big, Fat, Stupid White Man". It's allegedly being buried in America's favorite book stores (*cough* Barnes & Noble *cough*). Read about it here.

Anyone catch the news on Tuesday? There wasn't a lot of emphasis put on the whole transfer of power in Iraq. Remember when missiles were fired at the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad the other day? The headline read:

EXPLOSIONS ROCK CENTRAL BAGHDAD
(only one person injured)

That's right, only ONE person was injured in the attack. No casualties. The headline made it sound like there was some real action going on. Upon reading the article, I discovered that it was about a few idiot terrorists. These guys were amatures. This is my favorite part of the article (as reported by The Associated Press:

A U.S. soldier at the scene said assailants fired rockets from a homemade launcher in the back of the van. Some of the rockets caught fire before they could be launched, he said, setting the van ablaze.

"After the incident, the car exploded," said an Iraqi police captain who spoke on condition of anonymity.

...Earlier, insurgents using rockets also attacked the area near Marjam Hotel, which is also used by Westerners. One rocket struck a statue in nearby Wathik Square and another landed near the Indonesian Embassy, but did not explode, police said.

If I was only reading the headline, I would have thought something important had taken place. In reality, the situation was almost laughable, except for the poor guy whose leg was smashed during the incident.

The news only tells America about the terrible things that happen. Even worse, some of the things they broadcast aren't even that significant. Talk about media bias...

I can't wait to go home. The work day always seems longer than it is. Unfortunately for me, though I will not be working at my job this weekend, I still have a lot of work to do at home. Most of my work stems from my ethics class. Bah! I have a ton of stuff to read and a six page paper to write, a couple of chapters to read in my more-boring-than-dirt ethics book, and a quiz to study for. I have a paper to write for my short story class, as well. Thankfully, that paper will be much easier to write. On top of my school work, there are a few things (dishes, laundry) I need to do around the apartment. Yay Fridays!

I took a gamble yesterday and left my ethics class 2 hours early. There should be an extra credit question on the quiz that partains to what was discussed in class yesterday. I might not be able to answer it now, because I left early. We had a substitute and I didn't feel like staying the whole time. I told the substitute that I had to leave early. I didn't tell her that I'd go crazy if I didn't. The reason I had to leave early was to go get tickets for Spider-Man 2 (which was amazing, by the way. Better than the original) and to go eat dinner at my parent's house. It was my younger brother's 22nd birthday. All my brothers and sisters were there. It was the first time all five of us had been in the same room together for quite a while. It was fun.