Friday, May 25, 2012

Cold

I brought my jacket into the theater when I dared to go and see The Hunger Games. It was a smart move. But I don't think it was the AC that gave me the shivers.

Watch it.
But feel the prick.
Whatever you do, don't go numb on me.

Don't go numb.


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Someone Hold Me

So is it weird that this cracks me up?

The new EP album:

Today is the day that I immerse my faithful readers into a musical city of wonderfulness. Semi-literal speaking.

I haven't been an Owl City fan for very long. I think it all started last year in November. I recall that I was stranded in a fitting room at Kohl's department store with a bucket load of jeans to try on for the "winter". -_-
Before I go any further into this narration, I must first explain to you that I was very tired. And feeling like I had already visited this particular fitting room about six point eight billions times that afternoon. This feeling could very well be closely associated to the experience of waiting a half eternity for the bank teller to finish up with the guy with the Silverado in front of you at the drive through bank deposit sight.
As I stood waiting for a vacancy in the prison fitting room, it just so happened that I was standing directly underneath an annoyingly clear speaker system (ya'know---the ceiling speakers that they have in all the department stores these days). It played the usual, along a seemingly un-humane amount of Taylor Swift.

But suddenly my ears did this strange little perky thing. And the denim in my arms felt just a tad...lighter. I listened as a simplistic techno melody filled my brain (this time literally---the volume could have been lessened a few notches).
I knew I had heard this in other public places before. And I had thought it was catchy enough, but I never did listen to music much, so I never had the compulsion to look up who, what, and when.

"You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies..."

Cutesy lyrics but not a masterpiece.
---Such was my response. I clearly remember rolling my eyes at the

"Why do I tire of counting sheep? When I'm far too tired to fall asleep."

verse, and mumbling aloud to myself:
"This guy seriously makes no sense." (Yes. Really. I said that. Aloud.)

...This was obviously before I began to---strangely enough---have these same sleeping habits. Now I say with defiance that it is INDEED possible to be too tired to fall asleep. But save the thought for a rainy day.

So I smirked a little, finished my duties of shopping, and didn't think much of it.
---Actually, that's not completely true. I did think about it. In fact, I recall asking my brother if he had that song in his possession, to which he firmly stated "NO. I don't like Owl City."

And that was that. Or so I thought.

An X amount of days later, I mentioned Owl City to two friends of mine. Coincidentally, they happened to be loaded with a number of All Things Bright and Beautiful (2011 album) tracks on their handy dandy iPods. So I listened to the beginning of Alligator Sky (feat. Shawn Christopher).

Surely, you must guess that it was love at first hearing---do you not?
Surely, I must have rocketed into the air (pun slightly-intended) with my fist above my head and shouted: "THIS IS THE GREATEST MUSIC I HAVE EVER HEARD SINCE THE VEGGIE TALES THEME SONG!"
Surely I must have raced over to http://www.owlcitymerch.com/ to buy a lime green custom t-shirt that says "I <3 OC" all over the front.

But nay.

My first reaction: (in traditional Kismint style)

"Meh. It's kinda weird. His voice sounds like a girl."

*headdesk*
...Yeah...

Okay, so not the most generic way to describe your favorite music artist. But it was a start. And everything has to start with a start. No matter what (I dare you to try this for yourself).

That week I got a little curious. The little taste that I had just kept coming back to me. Naturally, I checked out Owl City on Playlist.com (cool site).

And that was when I became a fan.

Of the first songs from Mr. Young that I heard were...

-Peppermint Winter
-Rainbow Veins
-Strawberry Avalanche
-Hot Air Balloon
-Vanilla Twilight

I soon found that this guy had a HUGE variety. Fireflies was not the high bar. Compared to songs like To The SkyLonely Lullabies, and Plant Life, the glowing insects don't hold a candle. Or a match. Or anything light-related.

All that was the background.

Now to the foreground.

But before I continue, you haffta promise me that you will listen to each and every one these tracks, from start to finish. If you don't have time at the moment, leave now, and come back to it when you're in your pajamas and poured a cuppa coffee for yourself.

It is time to take a little stroll through melody and rhythm.

And by doing that I will share a smoall plot of my own thoughts and opinions.

First, I must announce to you that the following is my old new favorite (I know what you're thinking, and no---it's not my new old favorite. If it were my new old favorite, it would have to be a new song but an old favorite. As it is, it turns out to be an older song but one of my new favorites.).

Entitled: "The Airway" (from Owl City's 2007 EP debut: Of June)



This is a perfect example of what Owl City sounded like on it's first time out and about. Notice the monotone, and the simple, clean lined electro sounds. I know nothing of this sort of thing, but I'm guessing that the number of different soundtracks playing at once is relatively few.

This is what caught the first net of Owl City lovers. His dreamy lyrics that have a rather obscured meaning---combined with catchy but muted instrumentals is rather inviting to a majority of the public.

Now, moving forward a bit to 2008 we find his first full-length album, "Maybe I'm Dreaming". This time Mr. Young brought in a few back up singers, including Austin Tofte and Breanne Duren for a number of songs.
As afore mentioned, the following song was one of the first I listened to in the Owl City genre.
Here is "Rainbow Veins" (Feat. Austin Tofte).



And now, as we prance upon this trip of memory lane, we come to the ever referred to 2009 "Ocean Eyes".

Lemme tell you now: Every time someone has asked me what music I enjoy, and I say "Oh, I like to listen to Owl City", the reply with something like this "Ohhhh...Mr. Fireflies...tsk tsk."

;) Just kidding.

The truth is, you either like that song or you don't think it's so hot. There's not much of an in between. But it made him famous, and topped the charts, earning him a whole lotta publicity. However, I'd like you to hear something less bubbled about off of Ocean Eyes.

Here's Tidal Wave (With Matt Thiesson [from Relient K!!] on the back-ups)



Okay, so it's lighthearted, and catchy---but we haven't gotten to the good stuff yet. Notice the contrast between Tidal Wave and The Airway. With Ocean Eyes we start to see Owl City moving further up and further in.

And finally, we come to his latest full-length album, appropriately entitled "All Things Bright and Beautiful."

Yessiree folks, this album is really and truly "all things bright and beautiful" (and it also happens to be in my CD player at the current moment). This twelve-track album, release last year on June 14th, 2011 is really a work of art. All of the songs are beautifully sung---with highs and lows and everything in between. You will also find a remarkable blend of electro-meets-acoustic-in-a-awesomely-fantastic-sort-of-way stuff.

So with that said, I give you a double decker of greatness:

-Kamikaze
-Hospital Flowers (feat. Joann Young in background vocals)





The contrast between these to is just fantastic.

On one hand you have some harsh vocals that blend effortlessly with the synths---while on the other hand you have a soft drawn out tone that glides along with the gentle beat.

Really great stuff.

"BUT WAIT!" You ask. "What about the newest EP?! What about "Shooting Star"!??"

Yes, about that.

This song was released just a few days ago. I'm a little torn with my reaction to it. Mr. Young has made a HUGE leap into the pop side of things, and reverberating from the electronic side. Part of me wonders if this has anything to do with the co-writers and new studio[s] in New York/LA that he's been working in (alas! I miss the basement!).

Now I bring you: Gold (which incidentally was not written by Adam Young, but by someone else...which makes me a little put off...but I still think it's great ;D )



Admittedly, I get a little sad when I listen to this and then go back to The Airway.
They're just so...different.

A bit of nostalgia blows through.

But we're ain't done yet.

Dear friends, it has come to my attention that it is not in his albums that Adam Young shines, but in his singles. I give you now the two greatest samples of art of Owl City.

Lonely Lullaby (Released to iTunes July 19th, 2011)

You have no idea how much writer's inspiration that song has pulled outta me.

But we come to the end. And I end this post with final words and a final song.

Adam Young isn't an inspiration to me for the mere sake of his knowledge of music and perfect-pitch voice. It's because he knows who his Father is. Really and truly. And I pray that he---WE---will never forget that.

And that's why I've written all of this.

In Christ Alone (Released via blog on October 25, 2010)



Amen.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Because It's Not Sleeping On The Floor That Kills You---It's The Getting Up Part That Does That

Speaking from experience.

I'm feeling rather musical now. My beloved Owl City has a new EP out!
Oooohh...Ahhhhh.. Blessed electronic synth pops! However, those lil' electros are getting rather sparse. Mr. Young seems to be gravitating towards sophisticated rock then his home field of creative basement mania. Which is rather sad. But nice. All in the same milk crate.

Anyway, look forward to an upcoming Owl post (shattered with actual music samples! WHEEEEEEEEE!! :D ), and if Owl City's not your thing: Run for the hills.

But enough of the spoilers.

I have randomness to conduct!

Okay, so first off, you all should know that I often sign as "Kismint wielder of Sword and Lampshade". If this makes you go "Huh??" and scratch your head, then I am proud of myself.

In explanation:
I have a sword. I have a lampshade. Both within ten feet of myself at the current moment. Thus, the name.

Got it?

Anyway, for the first time ever, I give you PICTURES OF MY SIGNATURE ITEMS!!

(...heavily edited, of course ;D )






 No it's is NOT Sting! It's...ummm....another sword.
MY sword.
I did NOT steal it from Bilbo.
Don't listen to the hobbit. He knows not what he speaks of.

And the lamp/lampshade.

(...admittedly, lamps are not as fun to take pictures of in comparison to swords)


But it gets really epic when you put the two together (no---really!).
So, finally---what you've all been waiting for...!


....No, no! Not that!
THIS:


THE SWORD AND LAMPSHADE!

*sigh*. There it is.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

In another line of postiness, I must exclaim to all the world that I had noting WHATSOEVER to do with the previous post. That is my disclaimer. Believe it.

Now I must dine on my lunch. I have more to say and I'll say it later.

Goodbye.

PS: Don't burn your mouth on the taco soup that your feasting on as you read these words. It hurts.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Blog hacking!
This is Ejai here, author of Diving into Chaos.  Kismint just left me alone in her room, so I thought I'd just make a short little post!  Hopefully she doesn't have a problem with it, I have let her hack my facebook a lot.  So, yeah.  That's it.

NOT...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

May Days


I really hate this. ^

Apart from that, I'm doing just fine. Though I'm torn between a few things.

As ya'll know, I'm going to be changing the name of this site to http://www.kismint.blogspot.com/. Yeah, well that's all good and jolly, but I'm thinking of doing a few more DRASTIC things.

...Like (*gasp*)
make it a completely new blog and leave this one entirely!!

In addition to that, I'd make one ginormous collaboration of http://www.thelionsgaze.blogspot.com/, and http://www.saladbug.blogspot.com/ into this one blog---making it (as Adam Young once said) a Literary Sandwich of Epic Proportions.

Yes, faithful readers, I believe I have reached a turning point. A sudden urge to reform what I've made myself as a blogger. A sudden aspiration to reach my writing goals through a web log!!

...*sigh*...It all sounds so beautiful... [enter: dreamy look while I sit thoughtfully in my spinny chair]

So maybe I'll be doing that.

Please tell me if you hate the idea.

I'd be moving out, and finding a new space in cyber world to settle into. I'd have new walls to paint, new roofs to fill, and new places to through mish-mashes of posters, pictures, and fish ponds.

Sounds exciting doesn't it?


I read the local comics outta the newspaper every day. You should know that about me. Mutts is one of my favorites.

Yesterday Get Fuzzy caught my attention.

Get Fuzzy
(click to get to where you can actually read the tiny print)

Somehow, Bucky speaks perfect sense (for once), so I decided to write a short story last night (at like 11:00pm---hey, this sort of thing helps me sleep).

Once upon  a time, there lived a guy named Hammie. Hammie was from Hungary. His family lived on a farm. His sister's name was Ryebrynn.
One day Hammie and Rye were walking to the neighbor's to borrow some mayo. The neighbors were called the Thompsons. The Thompsons had a son and a daughter named Soy Lee and Brice Leonard.
Eventually Hammie decided to go to college. At first he wanted to go to school in Turkey. However, he had a crush on a Swiss girl named Brie---who he had met through their church grapevine---so he decided to go to Switzerland instead.
While Hammie traveled to Switzerland via train, he saw very pretty parts of the country. His favorite point of the journey was when the train passed through Black Forest.
During the long ride, Hammie was able to finally finish The Ingredients Cycle, by Christopher Pannini. He also met a nice old man named Mr. Pumper who was going to Switzerland to catch a flight to his club in California. Mr. Pumper insisted on Hammie calling him "Pumper" without the Mr. He said he didn't like formality.  
When Hammie finally got to Switzerland, he unloaded his luggage from the train. Unfortunately, Hammie had forgotten to bring enough change for bus fare. He was one nickle short. While he was standing alone at the train station, Pumper came along. Pumper asked Hammie why he was standing alone. Hammie explained that he needed five cents. Luckily, Pumper was kind enough gave Hammie a nickle. Pocketing Pumper's nickle, Hammie headed off to college.
At Havarti University, Hammie met his new girlfriend Brie, and enjoyed his culinary classes. He liked his teacher, Mrs. Ella Mozzar. After graduating from cooking class, Hammie decided to marry Brie and open up a bakery. They hired an employee named Garbanzo, who became a good family friend. They also adopted a Hamster and named him Munster. 
And since then, they lived happily ever after, making sandwiches and serving baked goods. 
The End

Hehehe...funny what you can come up with while you are half asleep.

(...You do realize that all of that junk above is NOT the normal writing quality of Me, Myself, and I right??)

I found brilliance in blog form.
Apparently the owner of this blog goes around sticking random sticky notes on the world.

Is this sheer awesomeness or what??

So make sure you check it out at http://www.thingsweforget.blogspot.com/.


Now, before you even started reading this post, you should have already known that it was going to be rambley (if that's not a word, I'm gonna have a fit on the inside). So to add more randomness, I present to you...

...MY FIRST EVER SUCCESSFUL ANIME DRAWING!!


This is Charley (Yes, E-Jai/THC, this is what I meant by anime and hedgehog look ;D ). She will be staring in the newest story that me and E-Jai have cooked up, along with two others: Leanne and Dekker (I'm now hoping it is okay to release this top-secret info to the public).

Please notice the bandanna atop her head.

As you know I am prone to doing, I tinkered around with this sketch on Picasa. Pencil and paper doodles have LOTS of colorful potential.


LOTS isn't an overstatement, is it?

Anyway, the cool ones are these.


And these.


I'm thinking about converting my profile picture to one of these (---not that it looks like me, mind you), but I like my puppo dog as my pic. too...

...At times like these, I wonder (once again), why I am wasting your time with such blab.

By golly, I'm wasting my own time!
Do you realize that I've been writing this post for hours??

Should I be saying 'yikes'?

Or should I just be worried?

Maybe I'll be both.

But the May Days will just keep comin' (until the 31st that is...and then...). I'mma ready for summer to swing by.

There is always so much that I mean to tell you, but always something to keep me from doing it.

And on that note I exit stage right.


Monday, May 14, 2012

We Will Return You To Kismint Plink-a-Dink's Normally Scheduled Posts After These Messages...


I call him "MIKE"
(Regollin, I couldn't help myself ;D )

(Yes TeeDee, I stole it ^_^ )

*nods head*

Later.

*waves while sailing up in a hot air balloon*

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

I Like Cream Cheese

Y'know when you start hearing voices in your head, and they start writing a story for you? And then you realize that it's not a voice, it's your voice? And then you're head just starts rattling off strange phrases and random ideas, and you have to paddle your arms off just to keep your head above the rush and waves of words?

Seems to happen a lot.

My mind is so filled with ideas, so bursting with figments of blog posts, poems, riddles, and pointless phrases that somehow have a point.

And if you think that is weird, listen to what happened a few minutes ago.

Okay, so I'm doing math, right? And I look at my blog (I'm telling you, my hand just slipped to the mouse---those fingers have minds of their own), then close the window and star back at my scribbles. I start to here clicking---like the kind of clicking you hear when you mouse onto a link or something. I ignor it.

More clicking.

Finally, I look up, and I see my blog window on the screen (yes, I'm quite sure I obliverated the page).

Seriously creepy.
My computer is tempting me, and it knows I'm stuggling to avoid it's wretched clutches.

Yup. I'm paranoid.
So paranoid that I literally have the little voice in my head go into full detail about what I'm going to write for my next blog entry.

Sometimes that little voice is a whisper, sometimes it's a shout. I wonder if it's my conscious. But my conscious seems to be more of a feeling then a voice.

This doesn't make any sense, does it?
Eh, oh well. I'm just killing time before I haffta hit the books again. I think I've hit them so much I'm beginning to get Shell Shock.

I'mma in a daze.
As the daze go by...

Don't mind me, I'm just lulled out on the floor with a rank of history books attacking from every direction as I think: "This can't be what afternoons are meant for..."

Thanks for reading.

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