Wrapped Up In Books

And somebody spoke and I went into a dream [Young & McCartney]

July 4, 2009, 2:06 pm
Filed under: A, Biomusicology, youtube of the day | Tags: 1960s, A, A Day In The Life, Beatles, covers, duet, McCartney, Music, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, youtube, youtube of the day

My dream team – a Canadian and a vegan.

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One thing I know about the rest of my life [For R]

July 1, 2009, 7:46 pm
Filed under: A, Biomusicology, Paying homage, youtube of the day | Tags: A, Canada, Canada Day, indie, Music, R, Rest of my Life, Sloan, Toronto, youtube, youtube of the day

We’ll live together again yet.

xoxo, a.

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The true north, strong and free [O Canada]

July 1, 2009, 1:09 am
Filed under: A, Paying homage | Tags: A, Alanis, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian, hockey, Morissette, national anthem, NHL, O Canada, Stanley Cup

Happy Canada Day, fellow Canadians!

I really can’t say how proud I am to be Canadian. Polite, kind, and loved at home and abroad.

When I was in grade 3 we used to have to sing this song and I found it so annoying at the time (it was between this and Camelot). Looking back, and I’m probably over-emotional due to stress, I could cry because Canada really is as great as these lyrics proclaim.

Canada Is, by Roger Whittaker

Canada is the Rocky Mountains
Canada is Prince Edward Island
Canada is a country made for love
Canada is La Belle Provence
Canada is the Yukon Mine
Canada is a country full of love.

We have love for our neighbour
Of whatever creed or colour
We have love for our cities
And our valleys and our plains
We have a voice that is calling
Telling all the world we’re willing
To welcome them to this great land
For that’s what Canada is.

Canada is the Rocky Mountains
Canada is Prince Edward Island
Canada is a country made for love
Canada is La Belle Provence
Canada is the Yukon Mine
Canada is a country full of faith.

We have faith in our future
We’re ready for tomorrow
We have faith in our children
For our future’s in their hands
We have a voice that is calling
Telling us to keep on hoping
For time will make this wild land great
And that’s what Canada is.

Canada is the Rocky Mountains
Canada is Prince Edward Island
Canada is a country made for love
Canada is La Belle Provence
Canada is the Yukon Mine
Canada is a country loving peace.

We have peace in our valleys
We’re happy and contented
We have peace in our cities
And our boundaries have no chains
We have a voice that is calling
Telling all free men we’re willing
To show them how to live in peace
For that’s what Canada is.

Canada is the Rocky Mountains
Canada is Prince Edward Island
Canada is a country made for love
Canada is La Belle Provence
Canada is the Yukon Mine
Canada is a country full of love.

Peaceful and peacekeeping. Our songs (national anthem included) are so humbly patriotic – no bombs bursting in air (USA), no bloodied banners being raised (France), no being asked to be shown the way of the Lord (Italy), no cannons roaring or rifles pealing (Ireland).

(Blah, ended up crying after all.)

Photo credit to Flickr.

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One month to go [I hate countdowns]

July 1, 2009, 12:08 am
Filed under: A, Rants | Tags: A, countdown, dissertation, mcat, MSc, Rants, revision, studying, thesis, writing

I woke up this morning with the worst feeling in my stomach knowing that I now have just one month until my thesis is due.

Not shockingly, this is the same feeling I had when I woke up on July 19, 2006, which was precisely one month until I was to write the MCAT. I felt like I knew nothing despite studying for freakishly long hours and keeping immaculate notes. In the end, my summer devoted to studying paid off.

But this seems to be a different beast. There is no strategy involved for thesis writing, or if there is (disabling Facebook?), I’m not aware of it. What I am aware of, however, is that probably many sleepless nights and non-nutritious meals (if I can even be bothered) lay ahead of me. At least I’ve got two people helping me out this time round.

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Looking at you now, you would never know. [Athlete]

June 30, 2009, 1:12 pm
Filed under: A, Biomusicology | Tags: A, Aberdeen, Athlete, Deptford, England, Half Light, indie, Lemon Tree, Music, UK

Last night I saw Athlete at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. The venue is really small and probably has the same volume as, say, Lee’s Palace, but it’s more spread out and squat (probably the ceiling is only 12 feet high).

I hadn’t listened to Athlete in ages; I think I was a fan in third or fourth year of my undergrad (spanning years 2004-2006) but hadn’t even bothered to give their ‘newest’ (released in 2007) album a spin. Oops. Thesis writing generates apathy, what can I say.

Basically, I went to see one song, Half Light, which was the third on their setlist. Here it is:

Though I do like the electric version, the acoustic one is, in my opinion, a bit more profound (previously posted here).

All in all, it was a good show even though I sometimes can’t stand not knowing songs being played live… but as I mentioned, that really was my own fault.

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I thought this read ‘Got Muffin’ [Spoon]

June 27, 2009, 4:16 pm
Filed under: A, Biomusicology | Tags: A, Britt Daniel, EP, Ga ga ga ga ga, Got Nuffin, indie, Music, Spoon, Stroke Their Brains, Texas, Tweakers

A new Spoon EP is being released this Tuesday! I will celebrate by toiling at my desk, unable to reach the record store before it closes (I will give you the illusion that I am a moral member of society). Though I kind of (physically vs. otherwise) want it just for the album art (I’m such a fontophile).

Better than 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga'

Track list: Tweakers, Stroke Their Brains, Got Nuffin.

Via MBV Music.

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Fact: I frequently wear my earphones at the office but am listening to nothing.

June 24, 2009, 4:11 pm
Filed under: A, potpourri, Rants | Tags: A, dissertation, Rants, thesis, UK

It’s only so that I can get work done without people bothering me.

So, it’s nearly the end of June which means I have just a little more than a month left to polish off my thesis. I’ve been plugging away at this thing since the first Monday of February (I had just a weekend between finishing exams and beginning this project), and at times it’s been wearing me down.

I’ve run into a bunch of unforeseen issues with my thesis. Whether it’s accidentally including women who haven’t completed the menopause in my analyses (it’s menopausal age that I’m studying, and the factors contributing to it, and some other stuff), realising that I needed to use 99% confidence intervals instead of 95% (and not keeping a syntax file!), running a ton of analyses we later saw as pointless (to be absolutely blunt about it), or whether it’s a near-complete derailment of our original aims.

I frequently use ‘we’ when talking about the progress of the study; I’m extremely fortunate to have two ultra-supportive supervisors. Unlike other people in my programme, I have a standing weekly appointment with both of them. Whenever I churn (or, rather, print) something out, I hand it over for their deconstruction and editing. It’s probably the best learning experience because rather than waiting until I finish this magnum opus, I get to see what they expect of me all along the way.

This, however, has been sometimes irksome. Whether it’s finishing my methods chapter and thinking it’s completely hunky-dory, then getting it back with the margins completely filled with inky scribbles, or finally thinking I’m done with SPSS only to have to re-do 6 of my 15 tables (currently each table has at least 7 previous versions). However, this has taught me patience (which means they’ve cracked me! I thought it’d never happen!) as well as a ton of humility (had some of that before).

Today, I’m in the midst of writing up my discussion chapter. And it’s sinking in how lucky I am to have gotten this topic: my study strengths overweigh the limitations by a landslide and it does seem that most of my findings are congruent with the literature.

Still, I don’t think you’ll find a happier girl at noon next month on the 30th.

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I long for a patio, a pool, and a tan.

June 23, 2009, 1:19 pm
Filed under: A, Domestication 101 | Tags: A, cocktails, drinks, earl grey, lemonade, mixes, recipes, summer, tea, vodka

Trust me that this is the best cocktail you will have this summer. Also, the most unique (though it’s either unique or it’s not… nevermind the technicality).

Yet-to-be-named awesome cocktail:

1 bottle good-quality vodka

4 bags (or equivalent in a tea steeper) Earl Grey tea

1 bottle lemonade (7-Up/Sprite do just fine)

-Steep the tea in the vodka overnight. On Sunday, we rushed things and steeped the vodka with 12 teabags in an hour… while still tasty, there’s a tannin-y taste about it.

-Add whatever measure of lemonade you like. (Probably a 1-part vodka mix to 2- or 3-parts lemonade will do you well. You won’t want to do shots of this stuff.)

I mean it when I say it’s even better than Pimm’s and lemonade(!).

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And I said, ‘I know it well.’