9.30.2014

Loving Composing...

Here's a song I found buried deep in my computer. I dusted it off and published it to SoundCloud. This is the second movement of the World War II Symphony, Brittaniarum Regnum depicts one of many raids on London during the Blitz.


9.22.2014

Tagged


Greetings, oh blog land.

I currently find myself in the unhappy state of being-reminded-that-I-haven’t-posted-for-forever, and it is most traumatizing. However, as another blogger is now depending on my writing ability to answer his challenge, I shall proceed. I was tagged by my brother Josh to partake in this activity (and a good one, at that); therefore, I shall first lay out the rules so that all present may be aware of the guidelines by which this is to proceed.

1.       Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog

Why, thanks Josh!

2.       Answer his/her 11 questions.

Which I plan to do below in this post

3.       Add to these 11 random facts about yourself.

Which I also plan to do in this post

4.       Come up with your own 11 questions.

This, I fear may take a very long time, though I am willing to attempt it (in this post, no less)

5.       Tag (up to) 11 other blogs (with under 200 followers) to answer your queries and follow the previous 4 steps.

This, I fear may prove to be the most difficult of all, as many of my blog-friends have already been tagged. However, I shall attempt to do so to the best of my ability... in this post

And now, I shall proceed with answering Josh’s questions!

1.       What is your favorite board game?

At present, I find myself engrossed in the 15-game sequence of Risk Legacy, where current political boundaries have absolved, and 5 factions fight for control of the planet. While it maintains standard Risk Combat, there are cards, rule changes (yes, changes mid-game), and board manipulation that prove to make it quite interesting. For Imperial Balkania!

 

2.       A favorite quote of yours (humorous or thought provoking)?

Action without wisdom is reckless; wisdom without action is worthless; action and wisdom without God is dangerous - Anonymous

3.       A book/series that disappointed you?

Eragon – wouldn’t recommend it for other reasons, but the series was basically a fantasy version of Star Wars… what a rip-off…

4.       Furthest place you've traveled from home, and why?

Chongqing, China – I travelled to the largest city in the world to direct a factory setup for a new printer for HP. VERY spicy food… not for the faint of heart…
 


(yes, this is consumed completely... head to tail...)

5.       Your favorite non-board-game activity (sports, reading, card games, eating, etc...)?

Despite my lack of skill, Frisbee and volleyball with friends; definitely not as fun with strangers… must be with friends J

6.       A favorite character from a book/movie, and why?

Ooh… if I could remember the last book I read, this might be easier… I would have to say Edmund from the Chronicles of Narnia. Even the movies (except the Voyage of the Dawn Treader) depicted him well: he has experienced first-hand redemption, he is completely supportive of his authorities, and while he isn’t “the best” in many situations, whatever he does, he does as well as he can.

7.       If you could have any car, which one would it be?

Bleh… I suppose that as a guy, I should have a better answer for this… something with fuel efficiency, good acceleration, and little requirement for maintenance. Doesn’t need to be flashy or really fast…

 

8.       If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Ooh… Warwick, England; St. Petersburg, Russia; or Jerusalem, Israel

9.       How many states have you been in (driving through, staying at, but not flying over)?

Around 25… I don’t remember my exact route on some car-trips

10.   What is your favorite type of pizza?

Whichever bears the most animal flesh… that, or chicken ranch

11.   What's the story behind your favorite (or most infamous) nickname?

The name is “Boo”, derived by my dad from the VeggieTales “Song of the Cebu”… don’t ask…

11 Random facts about myself? Gracious…

1.       Despite being an engineer, I have actually composed 3 musical pieces that have been performed and another that won an award

 

2.       Many of you know this, but I am a volunteer at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, taking on the personalities of various gentlemen from the time

3.       Despite my lack of skill, I love to sing songs in a group – choirs or quartets/small groups are so fun!

4.       I am an avid gamer – no, not the video-game type, but any type of strategy board/card game I love. These include, but are not limited to: Risk (all strains), Axis and Allies (all theatres), Dominion (all expansions but Alchemy), Carcassonne, Arctic Scavengers, Euro-Rails, and Power Grid

5.       I am a pack animal – I would much prefer to be in a group than by myself

  
         ... as this poor fellow would doubtless agree...    

6.       I throw tomahawks for fun (not at my house, alas, but nevertheless…)

7.       I am a huge fan of BBC’s radio drama Cabin Pressure – starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it has my whole family in stitches every episode
 

8.       In college, I held the positions of Officer at Large of Alpha Sigma Phi, Vice President of Leadership of Alpha Sigma Phi, and President of WSU-V ASME.

9.       I have been to the midnight showing of all 3 Chronicles of Narnia movies released since 2005; once as a normal human being, and the other times, dressed up in full Narnian garb

10.   I am currently listening to a song I wrote to personify Japan during WWII – if you like, you can hear it below… (in it, you catch bits of  the Japanese national anthem, as well as the bombing of Pearl Harbor)
 
 
 
11.   I am currently on a Facebook fast! (hence why you find me back here in blog-land…)

As far as who to tag, I fear that I am somewhat limited on my number of blog friends. I shall, however, attempt to tag those such as I may!
I choose to tag my friend Jonathan Stephan (who, like me, has yet to revive his blog from near-death)

His sister Joanna Stephan (who can hopefully publish, despite unreliable electricity…)
And Rachel O’Dell (who hopefully can convert back to English from Japanese for the sake of us readers…)

The questions for you to answer, oh challengees, are as follows:

1.       If you were stuck on a desert island with only 1 song on your iPod, which would you choose?

2.       What is your favorite drink?

3.       Aside from English, what languages have you studied?

4.       What trip/journey made the biggest impact on your life?

5.       Introvert or Extrovert?

6.       Hot or cold weather?

7.       Favorite pastime by yourself? With a group?

8.       Do you currently own an HP printer?

9.       Who do you consider the most despicable fictional character that you have ever encountered?

10.   Who do you consider the most heroic mortal in history?

11.   Has God ever changed your plans? How?
 
Gracious, this was a long post. Kudos to you all who made it through it!