Best knock knock joke ever

Friend told the best knock knock joke ever:

Knock knock.

Who's there?

To.

To who?

No, to whom.

*chuckle*

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One review!

(Here there be spoilers, yarggg)

The movie I've been counting down until for only the past six months has finally hit theatres! I may or may not have already seen it twice by now...

Things I approve of:

• Dobby. As sad as I am that he was killed, he was so cute! Seriously, how could you not tear up at last a little inside when he said "Dobby is happy with his friends"?


• Emma Watson actually acted a little better. Not much GASP gasping GASP and crying GASP in between GASP every other GASP word.


• Luna dancing at the wedding. I will be incorporating that into all my future dancing.

Things I did not approve of:

• They took out the part where Harry, Ron, and Hermione go into Luna's bedroom and see her drawing on the wall of all her friends. Now it doesn't look like Luna loves her friends as much as she does.


• Not enough Luna. Always needs more Luna.


• Harry zipping up Ginny's dress. Why??


• The Harry and Hermione sex scene. Also why??

I'm kind of obsessed with Luna, if you haven't noticed.

Where'd the doorknob go?

Somebody stole the doorknob to the only entrance to our building. It's impossible to get in without waiting for someone from the inside to come out. Stay classy, stay classy.

Dear Oilers,

I know you aren't known for being a particularly good hockey team, but when you lose, could you at least not lose by five points? Seriously, five whole points! Come on, guys.

Your adoring fan,
Ryan

The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061...

It's not very often that you read a story that makes you totally rethink the entire world around you. Isaac Asimov's The Last Question is one of those rare stories. I just found it, and I truly believe it's the best short story I've ever read. Asimov himself has said it's his favorite work of his own. And even if you aren't a huge fan of science fiction, and you only read one science fiction story in your life, this needs to be it. So if you happen to have about fifteen to read this short story, I'd suggest you do. You can find it here. So yea. Go read it!

I bowled what?

I bowled a friggin' 207 tonight! 207! That's the best score I've ever gotten. Ever. 207. 207!

My juggling, summer 2010

So I just made a video of my juggling. Y'all should totally check it out (you might want to click this link to go to the website, the video player here is kind of small):

I speak a little!

You know what I find funny (in a linguistic geek sort of way)? If someone is asked if they speak a language, and that person does know how to speak it, their response is almost always "a little" in whatever language is being asked about. "Un poco!" "Un peu!" "Chotto!" Try it out on someone sometime. Results guaranteed*!

*Just kidding about the guaranteed part, but there's a pretty good chance :P

Yann Tiersen = required listening

I've listened to the soundtrack of Amélie countless times (quick sidetrack: anyone who hasn't seen Amélie yet needs to go see it. It's literally one of the best movies you will ever watch in your life. It's in French but there are subtitles and it is totally worth it). The score is written by Yann Tiersen, and I just recently went hunting for some of his other works. I wasn't expecting anything too great, cause, you know, no one could create two brilliant masterpieces, right? Boy, was I wrong about that one. I found the soundtrack to L'Absente, and it was equally as brilliant. In fact all of the rest of his stuff is amazing. Do yourself a favor and check some of his music out, pronto!

DCI competition

Carolina Crown is simply amazing.

A couple friends and I went to go see the DCI competition, and despite the distance we had to drive to get there, we only got a little lost (and by "little," I mean "incredibly"). However, we were able to soon find our way back on track (and by "soon," I mean "after about forty minutes going every direction but the correct one").

Anyway, we only missed two corps, and they weren't any of the good ones so it didn't matter. The rest were mostly great shows, especially Crown and the Crusaders. Surprisingly, the Bluecoats were actually really good too. The only semi-disappointing show was Phantom Regiment. But whatever.

Final score: Crown - 80.5, Bluecoats - 79.9

I love this!

Bug bites? Nope!

I don't get how it happens, but I never get bug bites. Spent hours outside tonight at Sarah's, and not a single bite. This is awesome.

Into the city!

I love love love New York City. And Micmacs. And spending time with awesome friends, despite (because of?) the adventures we have (getting lost in Newark; not being able to open the doors to the train, and running off the train to get to a different door, only to watch the train pull away before we could get back on; attempting to fit three of us through through the metal turnstile in the subway at once because two of our tickets didn't work; etc.). Seriously, you guys are great.

I've been thinking about where I want to live after finishing school a lot lately. I know it's still [at least] three years away, but I don't know. I might want to live abroad in Japan, then move to Florida. Or maybe I'll just end up staying in New Jersey (or the city is acceptable, I could picture myself living there). Maybe I'll end up somewhere else, but who knows. Gahh, huge life decisions like this should not be happening yet!

Dear Lost,

That was an amazing way to end an amazing six seasons. Thanks for everything.

See ya in another life, brotha.
Ryan

Things I have learned living in Hawaiʻi for a year:

-Those shirts with the colorful flower patterns are called aloha shirts, not Hawaiian shirts.
-The real hula is so much more beautiful than the stereotypical version mainlanders think of.
-Do not refer to someone as Hawaiian. They're local.
-Hawaiʻi is NOT part of the United States. I saw only two American flags the entire year. Hawaiian flags are literally everywhere. And I have yet to meet any locals who refers to themselves as an Americans.
-Hawaiʻi has one of the largest homeless populations of all the states (if you include Hawaiʻi as a state, for argument's sake).
-...And one of the largest drug cultures.
-Pidgin is not mutually intelligible with English. Ho dis stay ono. You like try gedum yea.
-I can name the Hawaiian islands, and in order! Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, and Hawaiʻi (Big Island).
-Even though there are only eight islands in the official state, the Hawaiian island chain actually consists of 137 islands.
-You can tell which island a local is from by their personality.
-At sporting events, even if you don't sing along with the Star-Spangled Banner, you WILL sing Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi.
-Mauka (towards the mountains) and makai (towards the ocean) and towards Diamond Head or Ewa are so much better for giving directions than north, south, east, west.
-Do not say "Back in the states..." It's the mainland.
-Spam. Oh my god, Spam. It's everywhere. And it's disgusting.
-Contrary what many dumb tourists believe, "mahalo" means "thanks." Just because all the McDonald's have it on their garbage cans, does not mean it is Hawaiian for "garbage." What idiot thought that one up?
-Speaking of garbage... it's not garbage, it's rubbish.
-Other things I will probably accidentally refer to using the pidgin term once I get back to the mainland: shoyu instead of soy sauce, slippas instead of flip flops, choke instead of a lot, pau instead of finished.
-I can now sing the color song. It's in Hawaiian and is taught to local preschoolers. I feel special. Thank you, Hawaiian Studies 107. That's about all I got out of that class.
-"Hawaii" is really spelled "Hawaiʻi". And that is not an apostrophe. That's an ʻokina. I don't think this font shows it, but it's actually a miniature 6 placed where an apostrophe would go. I kid you not, I have seen arguments started over this.
-However, "Hawaiian" is not spelled "Hawaiʻian." "Hawaiian" is an English word. "Hawaiʻi" is a Hawaiian word. The Hawaiian term for "Hawaiian" is "ʻōlelo Havaiʻi"
-I know how to really use "da kine"!

Thanks for a great year, Hawaiʻi.

How did that get there?

I went to take a shower today and when I pulled back the shower curtain to get in, I found ...(drumroll, please) ...someone's mattress. Guys of Mokihana floor three, you never cease to amaze me.

To the top of Diamond Head

I finally got to hike Diamond Head! I've only been planning this since ...spring break? It's just always been rainy or I've been busy with classes or something always. It was pretty awesome. Getting to the top and being able to look all around at the island and the huge ocean just makes you feel so small in comparison. I took a whole bunch of pictures, and you can check them out on my Flickr here.

I miss fireflies

You know what I miss most about the mainland? Fireflies. They don't exist here. What's the point of having summer year round if there aren't any fireflies out?? (Well, beside the whole being warm all year thing, that's a good reason to have summer all year.)

Goodbye, rainy season

I think the rainy season is finally over! It went from cool and raining every single day all winter (hah, I haven't used that word in so long), to being hot and humid and beautiful, all in just a few days. I walked to Walmart today... I could have taken the bus, but it was just way too nice out, and I had nothing else to do anyway. It was a nice walk.

I was also thinking about how cool it is that I know my way around here so well now. When I first got here, I could barely keep street names like Kapiolani and Kalakaua straight, now I'm like "Ha! I know the difference between Makaha, Makāha, and Makaʻaha!" It's almost as if those ancient Hawaiians created their alphabet just to annoy future tourists. I feel so local.

I give mad props to anyone who braves driving in downtown Waikiki. I was scared just trying to cross the streets. I can't imagine what it's like to be in a car in that mess.

In green Manoa Valley...

We just had our last day of concert band, since the concert was Monday and now we don't really have any reason to keep going. The only thing left is the graduation ceremony, but the whole band isn't playing, just one of the six smaller pep bands. Even though only some people are going to be playing, the whole band practiced the graduation music. Now, usually I can't stand practicing graduation music, but there was one song that just blew my mind away. It was a medley of some generic graduation song, Amazing Grace, and Hawaiʻi's Alma Mater. It was beautiful. I really wish I had a recording of it.



^^ I wish I could find a version of the medley we did in band, but this is just the Alma Mater. I'm pretty much just putting it here so I can remember it looking back.

In green Mānoa valley our Alma Mater stands,
Where mountain winds and showers refresh her fertile lands;
The flag of freedom beckons above her shining walls,
To larger truth and service our Alma Mater calls.

Hawaiʻi, we have gathered within your wide-flung doors,
As sons and daughters claiming her freely offered stores;
Our loyal praise we tender, and pledge to hold thy aim,
Till ocean's far horizons shall hear thy honored name.

WELCOME ABOARD

I've been on The Bus more times in the past week than I have the rest of the semester combined with all the rehearsals and everything at McKinley. We figured out that with my radio DJ voice, I can perfectly imitate the announcements made at each stop. The announcements are so funny. You can tell they recorded each word separately, and then just edited them all together, cause there are breaks between each word. "ALOHA ...WELCOME ABOARD ...ROUTE 80A ...STOPPING AT ...KEʻEAUMOKU ST ...AND ...MOʻILIʻILI ...TRANSFER POINT"

時をかける少女 / The Girl Who Leap Through Time Review

I just got through watching 時をかける少女, or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. An animated movie directed by Mamoru Hosoda, I've got to say, it's one of the better anime I've seen.

Makoto is just an average Japanese teenager. One day, she wakes up to find herself late for school. Riding her bike furiously to get to class in time, she ends up colliding with a moving train when her bike brakes fail to stop her on a hill. However, she wakes up to find she is not in fact dead, but was instead transported through time back to right before the accident. She soon found how this new gift (called a time-leap) worked, so she constantly repeats parts of her life to make things better for herself. However, she learns that while making her life better, these repeats could have negative impacts on those around her. When she discovers that she only has a limited amount of time-leaps, this creates a tough situation for her to decide how to use them; decisions that could affect her closest friends. I won't write much more about the plot in case anyone wants to watch it, but it is a great story that is very touching.

This movie has won multiple awards, and it deserves every single one of them. This animation is beautiful, and the plot is amazing. While none of us have probably been in a time-leaping situation, this really hits home with the relationships that Makoto holds with her closest friends. The ending is a bit sad, but it's one of those ending where you know everything will work out well eventually. So if you've got a free hour and a half, watch this movie. You won't regret it.

Asia-Europe Railway

China already has an excellent high speed railway system within it’s own country, but now it may be looking to expand all the way to Europe. According to the South China Morning Post, this could include up to seventeen countries, with some negotiations already taking place.

China is willing to fund the entire project itself; instead, it is asking the participating countries to pay in natural resources. This would be a win-win situation for everyone. A ‘free’ rail system in exchange for resources that China is in great need of? Everyone benefits.

I see this as potentially breaking down many culture barriers. While there is the ability to fly to China from the rest of the world, taking a train is always much less of a hassle than negotiating airports. This could encourage more visitors to China from Europe, and vice-versa. Anyone have any thoughts on this, agreeing or otherwise?

Time Lapse

I came across this video called Tokyo/Glow and I thought I would share it with you. It’s a time lapse of the Tokyo nightlife. We’ve all seen something like this before, right? …But there’s a twist. I wonder how much editing went into making this brilliant video?

Video credit to Nathan Johnston.

Watchers of Lost:

Prepare yourself for the best picture you will ever see.

Double rainbow!

Saw this outside my window today:

MST3K

I've started watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. I don't know why I've never watched it before. For a science fiction B-movie lover like myself, this is pretty much the definition of awesome. And I thought I was going to have free time now that I was all caught up with Lost... ha, apparently not.

Waʻahila Ridge hike

I am so sore. Our hike up Waʻahila Ridge was by far the most strenuous and most dangerous hike I've ever done. We started out in the parking lot, where we walked through a big gate. Immediately, we were in a dense forest of pine trees. We later came to each separate peak, each peak giving us better and better views of Manoa Valley as we got higher and higher up. There were parts where we were literally climbing up sheer cliffs, and parts where we were on all fours scrambling to grab a tree root before falling back down. And there were other parts where the we only had inches to either side of us otherwise we would fall into the valley below. The whole thing took about five hours, and I think the whole group (there were seven of us) really bonded. Nothing brings people together better than the knowledge that these could be the last people you ever see before falling to your doom.

Despite the dangers, the views we were rewarded with were so worth it. I've got a whole album full of pictures on my Flickr, if you want to check them out!

Excuse me now, I'm going to go collapse into bed.

Nostalgia attack

How many of you remember this commercial from back when we watched Nickelodeon as kids?



Best. Commercial. Ever.

The tape is totally the reason I'm buying it

I bought a bag of pretzels today, and on the bag it said "Free! Piece of tape to reseal bag!!" And attached to the back was, true to their word, a piece of tape.

Oh, Japanese companies, you make me chuckle.

Quietness... Haha, jk!

My floor is always the loudest floor in the building. Nonstop noise, 24/7. Even during our "quiet hours." But for some reason tonight was different. Everyone's doors were closed, and no one was blasting music. Even Randy (roommate) was out so I didn't have to listen to him blasting South Park on his tv (I swear, he worships that show). So anywho, it was really relaxing, and at one point, I said out loud to no one in particular, "This is so nice!"

And right as I finished that sentence, the fire alarm went off.

Somebody up there hates me.

Chris Botti concert

I came so close to shaking Chris Botti's hand. So close!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMP4Q5zNf2k