A Week Late! /// Music Monday #48

Gulp . . . I think I might be a little late.

Like, by a week.

Sorry about that, folks! When I didn't post on the last two Fridays, it threw me off my schedule. But I'm back with another great song!

"Iron Man 3" from Iron Man 3

Composed by Brian Tyler

I decided to do a Marvel track in honor of Avengers: Endgame coming out this last weekend. The Iron Man 3 soundtrack means a few things to me. It's special because first, it's my seventh soundtrack that I've ever bought; second, it's the first soundtrack I bought off of iTunes (I even remember the day I bought it); and third, it's my first Marvel soundtrack.

People give a lot of flack to Brian Tyler because they say his music is too boring or unimaginative or lackluster or whatever. And while one or two of his soundtracks have been that way for me--looking at you, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--I've thoroughly enjoyed his three Marvel scores. Besides this one, he also did Thor: The Dark World by himself and Avengers: Age of Ultron with Danny Elfman. If you haven't listened to them, you should. They're great albums.

Something I like about the Iron Man 3 soundtrack is that it's a great mix of bombastic action accompanied by quiet atmosphere. When you get the intense track,s they're big and bold, with that nice touch of clashing metal strewn throughout. Then you'll get ones that are a little calmer. Sometimes they're emotional, and sometimes they sound like they're meant for covert operations. It's just great variety all around. (Also, I love the creepy strings in the Mandarin's theme!)

I have actually not seen this movie yet and don't know much about it, so I really can't say anything on what the music is like within the film. All I can say is that Brian Tyler created a score that fit perfectly with the struggle Tony goes through after the events of The Avengers. I think this is where we see some real growth and change within the iron-clad hero, and the songs convey that feeling with vim and vigor--especially this one. Well done, Mr. Tyler, well done.

What did you think of today's music? Have you listened to the soundtrack or watched the movie? What're your opinions on both? Do you like or dislike Brian Tyler's scores? Also, I'll be posting again next week just to stay on schedule!

Quick Update

Hey, everyone! I hope your long weekend is going great so far.

I just wanted to quickly let you know that there's going to be no actual post today, and probably next week as well. I've been focusing a lot on my writing this month--what with me participating in Camp NaNoWriMo--and because I had no ideas for what to post about today, I decided to just skip it. I also need to catch up on replying to comments and take some time to explore other people's blogs.

Yeah, I know, I didn't do a post last Easter either, but it wasn't intentional that this happened for the second year in a row. Hopefully this won't be the case next time!

I'll leave you with this: take some time to relax this weekend, do things you enjoy, and hang out with your family. Most importantly, set aside even just a couple minutes to remember all that Jesus did for us. His sacrifice on the cross still blows my mind, and I need to thank Him for it more often. His love for us is so immense, and this holiday is a big reminder of that.

Happy Easter, guys!

Struggles of an Artist: Devotions

We've been on a series where we discuss some of the struggles we face as creative artists. We've talked about time and our management--or perhaps mismanagement--of it. In the last installment, we chatted about self-care, how we need to look after ourselves if we want to actually help others. There are several areas of our lives that we have to tend to, and one of those is the area of spirituality. That's where today's topic fits in.

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I enjoy going to church on Sundays. Participating in a community of fellow Christians is refreshing, I find. The time of worship helps me focus on God, and I learn so much from the messages. Teaching the kids once every four weeks is also fun, and something I don't take lightly. I wouldn't replace my going to church for anything in the world.

But it isn't enough. Some people are of the mindset that all you need is a Sunday morning service, and you're good to go for another week. That is not the case. You might get by, sure, but there's more to life than simply "getting by." We need to have our own personal devotional time.

It's a bit like college or university. You get taught by the professor at his class, but imagine what would happen if you did no studying on your own time, if you thought that you need only attend the class. The chances of you failing would be very high, indeed. Unless you're a brainiac or something, but that's not the point here.

Taking the time to do devotions is very important, and I'm discovering the truth in that more and more. By no means does this make me perfect, as I still struggle to have my devos every day. It just means that I'm trying to make more of an effort to do the things I need to do.

"How do devotions help with my art?" you might be asking. There are a couple of reasons, I think. The first is that God is the greatest artist of all time. He inspired many people to write the Bible; He created everything in existence. He is the source of our imagination and the origin of our ideas. Doing devos helps you strength your connection with Him. Why would you not want to be rooted firmly in the fountain of creativity and inspiration? If a car isn't connected to the engine, it ain't going anywhere fast, and not without struggle. Things get easier when the engine is in use.

The second reason is going back to self-care. If you don't take care of yourself spiritually, it really does affect your creative outlet, as well as the rest of your life. I recently-ish went through a season where I hadn't done my devotionals in a while, and it impacted me in a negative way. When I went back to doing them, my life changed for the better. Spending time with Jesus gives me hope, peace, and joy.

As for how much time you should spend and what you do during that time . . . honestly, it's up to you. There are no rules dictating what you're supposed to do and how long you should do it. I prefer to read one chapter of the Bible (I'm currently reading through it in the Voice translation) and one chapter of a teaching book. What's nice about the devotional book that I'm reading is that it has a couple of questions at the end for reflection. I also want to start doing a bit of writing for my devos too, such as when I find a verse or passage that God directs me toward, or for me to actually pen my answers to those reflections. Like I said, you can decide what works best for you.

One precaution: be wary of simply falling into the habit of doing devos for the sake of doing it. When it becomes a chore, it becomes a bore. Cheesy, I know, but it's true. It's the same thing for my writing. If I fall into the doldrums of merely doing it because I'm "supposed to," then it shifts into something tedious. What's the solution? Go to the heart of it all. Doing devotions is all about strengthening my relationship with Jesus, so that I may know Him better and trust Him more. Likewise, my writing is something that I feel is my calling, something that brings meaning to my life.

In fact, why don't we tackle the subject of meaning next time? I like the sound of that.

What did you think of this post? I hope you didn't feel condemned if you're not currently doing devos, because that wasn't my intent. When you do take the time to have devotions, how does it impact your life personally? Do you agree or disagree that it affects our art?

Some Relaxing Tunes /// Music Monday #47

Well, well, well . . . That's a deep subject.

*awkward silence*

Ahem . . . moving right along. It's time for some more music!

We've got a chill song today, one that might even put you to sleep if you listen to it long enough.

"Grape Garden" from Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Composed by Hirokazu Ando and Jun Ishikawa

Now, I personally think that the Kirby series has some of the best soundtracks of all the Nintendo franchises. Seriously, Nintendo and HAL have got to give some awards to their composers for being so talented, especially with creating new songs while blending in old ones. This track is a perfect example of that, and I think it might be one of my favorite Kirby songs of all time.

We start with a gentle piano melody with more instrumentation being added as we go along. (I'm not an expert in music, so don't ask me what all the other instruments are called, because I have no idea. It just sounds good.) What's really interesting to me is how the song loops. It doesn't do it in the same way that Nintendo music normally does. It seems to throw in different things, like the violin at 2:51. Really makes for an interesting song.

If you're a Kirby gaming nerd, you'll probably realize that this is a remix of the song with the same title from Kirby's Adventure. But man, what time does to change music! Obviously the older systems didn't have the same sound capabilities as the Wii does, but still. I can't help being impressed that we went from retro, chiptune music to this orchestral masterpiece. It's crazy how far we've progressed.

Also, this song has literally nothing to do with the Grape Garden level in Kirby Super Star. I'm not sure why they called it when the level in Super Star is not located in the sky--it's by the ocean instead--and the music is not a remix of the original Grape Garden's theme. *shrugs* Go figure.

But if you enjoyed this song and found it relaxing, and you want more stuff like this, I've got you covered. I've been slowly working on a playlist of relaxing music on YouTube, which you can find here. It's gotta be at least a few hours long by now, so you'll have plenty to listen to when you're studying or napping or whatever. Shameless self-promotion, I know, but I figured I'd just throw it out there.

Thanks for stopping by and listening! Did you like the music this time around? Would you agree that Kirby has some of the best Nintendo soundtracks? (I know Christine will say that Zelda does.)

Monthly HapPENings: March

*looks up from my laptop* Oh . . . a quarter of 2019 is gone.

. . .

Okay, someone needs to fess up and tell me why you injected this year with super speed serum!

So, for life stuff this month . . . *hems and haws for a while* I dunno, I don't have a big social life, or do anything too extravagant outside of work and chilling at home. I'll see if I can dig a few highlights out of the ol' memory box.

One such special event was that one of my cousins--the same one who invited me to watch Aquaman back in January--texted me and asked if we could hang out again. So we did, by first catching supper at a local restaurant that served some cultural food, as well as other "more normal" dishes. He'd never been, so I insisted that we go. Then we went for a walk afterward for half an hour to an hour or so. The wind was very nippy that evening, and I hadn't worn the proper clothing for it, but we had lots of laughs. We ended by going to a place that had European food, and I had a delicious strawberry cream cheese crepe. We always have a good time nerding out over soundtracks and Marvel and whatever, and I walked away feeling happy and refreshed.

Another occasion was the birthday of Preston, one of my Kiwi buddies. I had messaged his sister, Megan, back in February or maybe even in January about getting him a birthday present. He had totally surprised me with a YouTube video for my birthday that both knocked my socks off and had me laughing very hard, so I wanted to return the favor. I told Megan that I was planning to get him a 2DS XL--which I was fully prepared to pay for myself. She was like, "Well, it turns out that I have no idea what to do for him, so let's split the cost and give it to him as a gift from both of us."

I had no problems with that, so she went out and got him the system, which came pre-installed with Mario Kart 7. When I sent Megan the money, I also sent a birthday card and a copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (unfortunately, the game was region-locked and he had to send it back). Suffice it to say that he was quite shocked by the gift, and that he's definitely enjoying it!

Aside from that, there were just fun little things like laughing and hanging out with Chloe and Kaitlyn while we watch episodes or play Wii U, talking with Tracey about writing and Marvel, relaxing and joking around with my family, that sort of thing. I was going through a bit of a slump last month, but talking about it has really helped. I feel I'm in a better place now than I was then. Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement!

Bookish HapPENings

I didn't finish any books in March, because the novel I'm currently reading is kinda meh. It doesn't exactly make me feel desperate to go back in and read, but at the same time, I wanna get it done and over with so I can move on to the next book on my to-read stack. Hopefully I can complete it within the next couple weeks.

HapPENings on the Screen

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What movie had me either laughing or crying nearly the entire time? Christopher Robin, that's what! This was such a precious, wholesome film. It made me so nostalgic . . . honestly, Winnie-the-Pooh gets better with age. I think I love the franchise more now than I did when I was a kid. Ewan magnificently played a grown-up Christopher who'd forgotten about his best childhood friends, and hearing Jim Cummings play as Pooh and Tigger again was nothing short of magical. I didn't care as much for Rabbit's and Piglet's new voices, but you can't win them all. It doesn't change the fact that this is an amazing movie.

If you haven't gotten a chance to see this one yet, DO SO! It is more than worth your time. As Larry the Cucumber once said, "I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob."

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I walked into the theater to watch Captain Marvel with uncertainty. I'd heard all sorts of negative things about it, so I had no idea what to expect. I tried to clear that all away, but one of the main reasons I decided to see it in the theater was because I wanted to be prepared for Endgame.

Honestly, this movie was very enjoyable! I didn't think it was Marvel's best, but it definitely doesn't deserve all the hate it's gotten. Should an SJW actress determine whether or not you watch it? I don't think that should be the deciding factor. The film was interesting, the humor on-point (Samuel L. Jackson killed it), and the twists unexpected. I'd definitely recommend it.

I rewatched Aquaman, and it was still a great film! While the D-Box and the 3D added a level of enjoyment, they weren't the only reasons I originally loved the movie. If you're looking for a great DC title, this is certainly one.

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I finally started watching S4 of The Flash (as in, I've seen one episode so far), and I'm loving it! It's already got me hooked, and I hope the rest of the season continues to be as good. The actors have such good chemistry, it's unbelievable. Whoever did the casting needs to get an award or something. And even though the main villain of the season was on screen for, like, thirty seconds, I'm liking him already. I can't wait to watch more!

Also, I did watch my other shows (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ninjago, and Trollhunters), but I'm feeling too lazy to add all the pictures this time. Suffice it to say they're all continuing to intrigue me, and each of them are getting intense in their own ways. Highly recommend all those shows!

Gaming HapPENings

As you all know (or probably know), I finally got around to finishing Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. I already reviewed it here, if you're interested. Man, what a killer game it was! More than deserving of being on my list of my favorite games of all time. But even though I completed it close to a month ago, I'm still not nearly finished with the "excellent story" hangover. Even just listening to some of the songs on the soundtrack--especially the ending theme--leaves me with a hollowness inside. I just want to relive the adventure all over again! Play this game if you have a member of the 3DS family of systems. If you don't have one, buy one, then play the game. It's just that great.

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I've played a lot of Mario Kart 7 with Preston lately. It's always a lot of fun. We say some of the stupidest stuff and find it absolutely hilarious. Then we'll taunt each other during the races and complain about the people who always seem to be winning. We even had one race--on the Rainbow Road course, no less--where we had a hacker in our midst. This person kept using infinite Blue Shells to make life difficult for everybody. That was quite the experience, lemme tell ya. I really hope Nintendo doesn't stop supporting the online stuff for the 3DS for a long, long time.

Writerly HapPENings

I wrote 3,504 words in March, which was better than what I did in February. It won't be long now until my boys begin their globetrotting, but I had to first get them into Esserstead, the capital of the human race, so that they can be questioned by the Houses. I definitely think they'll be on their way this month, as I joined Camp NaNo! If you follow me on Twitter, you can get daily updates on my progress. It should be fun!

That's all for me! How was your March? Any highlights, big or small? Are you joining Camp NaNo?