|
|
About Justin: One of four boys ranging in age from 19 to 41!
High school: Attended a medium sized high school, but took a few years off before going to college
Major: Library Science, primarily takes online classes
Goals: After graduation he'll transfer to a four-year school to finish his bachelor's degree and start on his master's
April 29, 2008
So here we are, less than two weeks left in this school year. For some of you it means a nice long break away from classes, for me it means two weeks and then right back into the fray in my attempt to graduate in December.
At the moment I am looking at everything I have left to do for class and wondering how in the world I am going to fit it all in around my work schedule. For your sanity I hope you have managed your time better or are at least coping with the end of semester stress better than I am.
This is by far the most boring posting that I have written thus far and I apologize for it, but the time right now is 4:15 A.M. and it’s a little difficult to get inspired at this time of night/morning. I will however say this, if this is the last posting of the year for me I would like to thank all of you who have taken time out of your schedules to get on here and read my little rants. I would love to hear from you if you have been following my postings and have found them helpful or entertaining on any level.
Just in case this is the last time you hear from me I will leave you with a few musical treats, honestly it’s just because I bought $50 worth the CDs at a sidewalk sale a couple weeks ago. First off is a band named The Kooks and their new album Konk. The British pop band’s sophomore release doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel but instead stays true to their first album Inside In/Inside Out. In many cases people slam bands for not trying something new but in this case I will let it slide because I absolutely love both albums.
For you country fans out there I would suggest Justin Towne Earle’s The Good Life. Earle, who is the oldest son of country and rock and roll legend Steve Earle, brings a voice and songwriting ability that seems almost incapable of coming from someone so young. The album provides a classic southern country sound and just goes to prove that even young artists can appreciate the older stylings.
Finally, an album that is a couple years old and that I was very late getting in on, Some Cities by Doves. The indie rockers manage to create an indie rock album that doesn’t wear thin after a few listens. While this album whon’t change the way you listen to music for someone like me it was refreshing to hear a solid from top to bottom indie rock album.
Again I thank anyone that has read the junk that I have written over the course of the last year. I would love to hear from anyone that that has read any of my postings or picked up a CD that I suggested, and even if you have a band that you think I need to check out.
To everyone, have a great summer.
Justin
April 3, 2008
Hi Everyone,
The end of the semester is so close that I can almost taste it. The last minute push is starting to kick in and some of my classes are becoming a little more stressful. This semester for me has been a learning experience, I have been settling into a new job that hasn’t worked as well as I would have liked, and I have slowly learned how to budget my time so that I can carry five classes with my job. While a couple of my classes have started to slow down a little the other three are really starting to take off. My most difficult class by far is OAD 218 which is spreadsheets, for 16 weeks, nothing but spreadsheets and it is getting more and more difficult by the assignment.
This week I went ahead and signed up for my summer classes. I know I will be taking two classes and may add a third if I find the right class. The two I’m in for sure are Introduction to Libraries and Introduction to Library/Public Services. I have worked in a library for the last three and a half years so I am hoping that these classes will be a little easier than some of the ones I have had this semester.
My musical treat for this post is The Black Keys. They just had a new album come out on Tuesday called Attack and Release and it is hands down one of the top 5 albums that I have heard this year. The Keys are a two person band with only a drummer and guitar player that sings and they are from Akron, OH. Their sound is a mix between light rock and Mississippi blues and on this album I feel like they come away with a more creative and consistent sound. Another little tidbit of information, this album was produced by Danger Mouse who, for those of you that don’t know, is one half of the hit band Gnarles Barkley that struck it big with the song Crazy. Well, that’s all I got for ya this time kiddies, I’m tired and am going to bed tomorrow is Friday and I am ready for the weekend.
Good luck to everyone as the end of semester crunch starts to set in.
February 8, 2008
Hello to everyone again I am back with another blog posting. I will tell you right off the bat that I have nothing exciting to pass along. The semester is progressing nicely and my classes are going well, work is, well work and everything away from those two parts of my life is just fabulous.
I guess the one big thing in my life was the Super Bowl. I don’t know that anyone was happier to see Eli and the Giants beat the Patriots. As great a game as it was, it was the most widely viewed Super Bowl ever, the hype leading up to it was too much. If I had to hear about Tom Brady and his gimpy ankle one more time I probably would have snapped.
I’m going to get on my soapbox here for a second. Regardless of whether you like Peyton or Eli Manning as players you have to absolutely love them as people. Here are two professional athletes, and great ones at that, who buck every trend in professional sports today. In a society where athletes are paid millions of dollars to play kids games because they are bigger, stronger, and faster then your average person these two guys stand out. You will never hear of them beating their wives, starting a fight in a night club, or using drugs. You will never hear them trash talk on the field, criticize their team, or blame mistakes on other people. These two guys are all that is good and holy about sports.
One year after Peyton silenced critics that said he would never win the big one his baby brother did the unthinkable and knocked off the unstoppable Patriots to win a ring of his own. When Eli scrambled away from being sacked three times and throws that miraculous 32 yard pass to keep the drive alive, who was the one celebrating wildly? Big brother Peyton. When he threw the game winning touchdown? Peyton again. Finally, at the end when the team is celebrating their victory Eli is nowhere to be seen, he accepts the MVP award and steps aside. The kid just reached the pinnacle of his profession, played the best game of his career, and beat wunderkind Tom Brady and the Patriots and yet he is willing to step aside and let someone else have the spot light.
Here they are, two brothers from Mississippi, that have accomplished things that most little boys only dream of and yet they remain as outstanding human beings. If you have kids of your own have them watch the Manning’s, because they are one of the few real role models in our society.
If you were willing to read all that then here is my musical selection of the week. Jason Collett is a Canadian born musician that plays guitar for the band Broken Social Scene. When he is not with BSS he moonlights as one of the best up and coming singer songwriters in music today, his new album Here’s to Being Here came out last week and is his best work yet. His fourth solo release shows the growth that so many musicians lack from album to album, and in my opinion is the one that is going to bring him to the mainstream audience. So give the guy a look and I think you will be glad that you did. Until next time everyone, good luck with classes and life.
January 25, 2008
Okay, so we are a couple weeks into the semester now and things are starting to pick up. The good news so far is that it looks like I will only have one final this semester, and that alone makes me a happy kid. All of my classes have been enjoyable thus far and don’t seem like they are going to make me pull my hair out.
Away from class everything has gone well for me since classes started up again. I took some time last weekend and tried to work ahead in a couple classes. Also, my brother and I went and saw the movie Sweeney Todd on Saturday and I definitely have to recommend this film. Aside from being a huge Johnny Depp fan, the music is great (yes it is a musical), and the supporting actors are fantastic, see Sacha Baron Cohen a.k.a. Borat, playing the role of street peddling barber who tries to sell people a magic hair growing elixor.
For Christmas I got an XM Radio as a gift so I haven’t been listening to as many CDs, although I’ve made an impressive list of ones to pick up from what I’ve heard on the radio. My musical suggestion for this week is Mike Doughty, a singer songwriter based out of New York. Mike has a new album due out in February titled Golden Delicious as I am patiently waiting. You may have heard some of his music on TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and so on. I don’t look forward to many albums but I am literally counting the days until this comes out.
I hope everyone else’s classes are going as well as mine and I will see you all again in two weeks.
January 14, 2008
After a long and restful break I headed back to class today. I, like everyone else, wish that break could last just a little longer but none the less we head back into the daily grind of school.
This semester I’m taking five classes in what I’m sure will be my most challenging semester yet. All of my classes are online with four being computer classes and one science class. I know that I have said it before, and I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but online classes have been a savior for me. With the flexibility that online classes provide I have been able to take a full load of classes and still keep my full-time job. If there are people out there looking for a way to reach graduation day a little quicker online classes might be worth taking a look at.
I wish I had more to say but the thought of all the class work that lies ahead in the next four months is dragging down my writing. I will leave you with my musical suggestion for the week, Pure Cotton by the James Cotton Blues Bland. This is just really, really good deep southern blues. I picked this up in Indy over break and my dad and I both fell absolutely in love with this album. For now though I’m going to call it quits and save some of this typing energy for my school work, I’m going to need it!
December 20, 2007
The semester is over! I don’t know about anyone else but I was in dire need of a break. From what I can see it looks like my grades will end up being good and I know that the time to recharge for next semester will be taken advantage of.
Over break I am going to take time to work on some projects that I haven’t had time for recently and just take time to relax. Of course the holidays are right around the corner and I have a birthday coming up as well, so I will have plenty to celebrate. I have friends coming to town on the 23rd that I haven’t seen for about four or five months and I can’t wait to spend some time with them as well.
I don’t really have much else going on, I have work, and maybe taking some time off there but the plan is to unwind over break. In light of the holidays your musical listening is The Vince Guaraldi Trio with their Soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. In my opinion some of the greatest Christmas songs out there. I hope everyone has a great break and a wonderful holiday season.
December 5, 2007
Well we are inching ever closer to finals week and I for one am ready to be done for the semester. During this last month I have run out of steam. The energy that I had built up throughout the semester is gone and I’m doing my best to get through this last week and a half of classes.
Away from school my new job has suddenly turned into a huge headache. I think everyone has worked someplace where their supervisor micromanages and has their hands in everything. Well, my boss has to be the queen of micromanagement and I don’t know that I’ve ever been this stressed out by a boss. I’m only a month into my new position so there is still hope that it might get better, but at this point I’m not holding my breath.
The upside to all of this is that Christmas is a mere 20 days away as I write this. I’m looking forward to no schoolwork and some time away from my job. I don’t know how other people have managed to work full-time jobs and be full-time students but I tip my cap to them. This has been by far the most tiring and stressful semester I have had thus far.
I haven’t really had a lot of time for music in the last few weeks, but I will leave you with one of favorite artists. Damien Rice is an Irish singer/songwriter whose two albums 9 and O have been met with critical acclaim here in the U.S. You have probably heard his song “The Blower’s Daughter Pt. 2” either as the theme to the movie Closer or as background music to random TV spots. A great writer who puts a lot of emotion into his lyrics, he is definitely worth a listen.
November 19, 2007
Hi All! It seems like it has been ages since I wrote an entry, and from the looks of it I missed an entry or two. The end of the semester is slowly creeping up on us and I don’t know about you but I’m ready for a break. Over the last few weeks the chaos of starting a new job, school, and outside duties have just worn me down. My hope is that with the Thanksgiving Break will come some much needed R and R as well as a chance to put the finishing touches on my last couple assignments and some time to begin preparing for finals.
As far as Thanksgiving plans go I will be spending time with my grandparents on Thursday and then my older brother and his family on Sunday. The holiday is far and away my favorite time of year. Forget about gifts and things like that, this time of year provides one of the few times that I can see most everyone in my family all at one time. As I have gotten older I have come to realize how much more difficult it is to get the entire family to one location for any kind of get together. I have also come to realize that I need to cherish this time with family because I have reached a point in my life when there are no guarantees that everyone will still be with us next year. Recently my great grandmother has been in and out of the hospital and my grandfather has had two major neck surgeries this fall. So, if nothing else, cherish these next few days with your loved ones and enjoy the holiday.
Musical goodie for the week is a band called Yeasayer. From Brooklyn, New York one of the many bands that have risen out of the boroughs of New York City to shape the Indie music landscape. Pay close attention to the song 2080.
Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Break.
October 28, 2007
Hello, I hope that everyone who is reading this is doing well. The last couple weeks have been pretty busy for me between school, work, and SGA events.
Last week I took my only midterm and well it didn’t go so well. The entire class seemed to do poorly on it so I get some comfort from knowing that I’m not the only one that struggled. Everything else in my classes is going really well so I can’t really complain about one bad grade.
Away from classes I am getting ready to start a new job. After three years of working the same job I received a promotion of sorts and will be taking on new duties as well as getting a little raise which is never a bad thing.
In Student Government we are starting to nail down the finer points of The Den which is an event that we put on every semester during finals. SGA will rent furniture, a big screen TV, and invite different food vendors onto campus to try and make a place where everyone can go to unwind in between their finals. It’s really a nice thing to have for people that spend most of their days on campus or for those people that have longer then usual breaks between class times.
My music suggestion for this week came to me after watching a rerun of Saturday Night Live. The band Spoon, out of Austin, TX, has continuously put forth stellar albums over the course of the last few years and this year’s release Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is a worthy addition to their already impressive catalog. An easily accessible rock band that many of you might already know as a couple of their songs from this album has made their way onto TV via commercials. Like I said a great band and a rock album that just about anyone can get into.
Hope everyone continues to do well in classes as we start to press into the last weeks of this semester. Bye everybody.
October 15, 2007
Alright, I don’t have much going on at this point in the semester. I have my first paper due next Tuesday and my only midterm is next Thursday.
Along with the class stuff I mentioned above our Student Government Association is starting to plan for The Den at the end of the semester. For finals week we rent furniture, a big screen TV, and have food vendors set up in our community rooms to give students a place to hang out and unwind between finals. The downside for me is that all this has to be planned by November 1st and I haven’t started calling vendors yet.
Away from school the biggest change is that sometime in the next month or so I will be starting a new job. I will be staying in the same area, just moving about 30 feet to a new desk. I’m excited about the new job and everything that comes with it, but I have that weird feeling that comes with stepping into a new unknown situation.
Your listening homework for this week is Iron and Wine. Don’t let the name fool you, Iron and Wine is one man, Sam Beam and he is one of the best songwriters you may have never heard of. His new album, The Shepard’s Dog, is easily his most ambitious yet and begins to show what he is truly capable of when he uses all his ability.
Take it easy everybody.
September 28, 2007
Hey everybody, I hope all of your classes are going well. Can you believe we’re already coming up on midterms already? My classes have gone really really well so far, I have three distance education courses and one face to face class and I have enjoyed all of them thus far.
I wanted to talk about distance learning at Ivy Tech because of my experience so far. Unlike classes that meet face to face a couple times a week Distance Ed classes allow you to login any time and work when is convenient for you. Last weekend, and most of this week I didn’t have a lot going on so I was able to work ahead and because of that I will probably be able to finish my online classes a little early. With working a full-time job and trying to take four classes the flexibility that online courses have given me has been invaluable. If you are worried about not being tech savvy enough to be able to handle a strictly online class I assure you that it is easy to use and that the instructors do an excellent job of helping you figure the whole process out.
In other news our Student Government Association held candidate open houses this week for the upcoming November elections. We had a really nice turnout, on Tuesday we had about a half dozen Republic candidates here to meet students and on Wednesday we had ten members of the local Democrat party. We had a really good turnout from students and all the guests did a great job of letting us in on what they hope to accomplish if elected.
I couldn’t decide on a new music selection for this entry so I have decided to share with you one of my favorite bands ever. I present to you The Decemberists, from the northwest United States The Decemberists focus on a mixture of folk rock with a sprinkle of progressive rock here and there. In 2006 there album The Crane Wife was named album of the year by National Public Radio. With an eclectic sound, lyrics that sound like they are straight from an old English novel and an amazing live show you owe it to yourself to listen to this band.
Also, if anyone has questions about online classes, or anything for that matter, send me an email by clicking the email Justin link underneath my picture. Later everybody!
September 14, 2007
So, for the Labor Day weekend my girlfriend was nice enough to take me to Atlanta, GA for a surprise weekend away. Since I was in second grade I’ve been a huge Atlanta Braves baseball fan, so the weekend was centered around a Saturday afternoon Braves game. While the Braves lost, it was still a great weekend and Atlanta was awesome.
The second highlight of our time in Atlanta was the annual Dragon Con event. Dragon Con is the world’s largest science fiction convention and brings people from all over the world to share their love for the science fiction genre. Among the things that you might have seen if you were attending, a parade of Storm Troopers, Obi Wan Kinobi, Gandalf (from Lord of The Rings), and lastly, my favorite, a slightly overweight Batman and his female sidekick Robin.
While the trip was fantastic it symbolized the “real start” of the semester, the first couple weeks of class didn’t pose much of a challenge but my classes started to pick-up with this last week. All of my classes seem like they will be interesting but also very challenging at the same time so I am preparing myself for the hard work that’s ahead.
On Wednesday of this week we had our annual Student Government Association Fall Kick-off. The event is a welcome back and start to the new academic year, this year we had a caricature artist, a booth where you could make your own movies and representatives from local organizations and school clubs. This is the second year that I have been involved with the kick-off and both years it has been a great time.
I hope that everyone’s classes are going well. I will leave you with my musical suggestion of the week. I must credit my friend James for this one, last time we talked he said that this album was in his top 5 for album of the year and that is saying something coming from him. This week’s album is by Okkervil River and is entitled The Stage Names, listen here http://www.myspace.com/okkervilriver.
August 30, 2007
Well, one week down fifteen to go. First week went pretty well, everything seems like it should be relatively painless and my classes look as if they are going to be interesting. I’ll give ya the run down on my schedule, Humanities I and II, Psychology 101, and last, but certainly not least Math 118. If I’ve learned nothing else in college it is that I will always hate math and that a majority of Americans between the ages of 12 and 100 tend to agree with me.
I guess a little bit of background is in order since all you know about me is my name, that I go to Ivy Tech, and that I’m amazingly good looking as can be seen in the wonderful picture that’s been posted of me. So, I’m 23 years old, work full-time at night in a Library, and am in my first semester as a full-time student. Since the summer of ’06 I had been taking classes part-time and recently decided that I liked the idea of finishing school before I turned 40. So, I took a deep breath and entered the realm of full-time academia.
This is a very dull first posting for my blog and I promise to try and make it more entertaining. As the year goes on I’ll throw in some pictures, funny stories, and I’ll let ya in on more of who I am.
This is going to be the space reserved for my music recommendations. In light of the warm summer season I am recommending Rooney’s Calling the World. A very happy, fun and upbeat album that will make you long for days on the beach with good friends and good times.
