BEST EXCITING NEWS!!!

I just saw this, and had to do a blog on it today!!!! The Hunchback of Notre Dame is coming out on blu-ray in a 3-disc combo on March 12th 2012! Other animated Disney blu-rays for next year include: Peter Pan, and Mulan.

FEBRUARY 5TH 2013

MARCH 12TH 2013

MARCH 12TH 2013

MARCH 19TH 2013

Top Influential Musicians

 

I would easily say that Alan Menken is my #1 influence and also my all-time favorite composer. I cant even begin describing what his music has done for me all my life. His stuff is incredible. Most people are not familiar with his name, but recognize his work. He was going to be a dentist, but i'm so glad he changed his mind. He started doing music with "Little Shop of Horrors" (which included dentistry) and then started his hit score "The Little Mermaid." After that it was "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Hercules," Enchanted," and "Tangled." His chords are so warm and alive. Such an emotional and remarkable musician. Best of them all in this century in my opinion.

Amy Lee I would say is my strongest influence of all time! I look up to her and revere her greatly. I've studied her for many years and feel that my study has not been in vain. I feel like I connect with her the most because we share a deep interest in darker sounds. The way she sings is so beautiful and haunting at the same time. She grew up as a classical trained pianist who enjoys Beethoven and Mozart. Her lyrics are always emotional and powerful. I cant think of a greater example of a true musician today than Amy Lee. She is indeed a role model in music today for a number of reasons. She is extremely determined and hard working in all that she does and displays complete loyalty to music and her fans. None of her work include lip-syncing, auto-tune, or any other type of dishonesty. She allows passion for music to be her one and only reason for her work, and often shares that fame, sex, and money are never the motivation for her work. She has released 3 albums: "Fallen," "The Open Door," and "Evanescence." She's married, plays the harp, and lives lives in New York City.

In my opinion Josh Groban is the best male vocalist alive. Listening to his voice is like having a icy cool breath mint in your mouth. Not only is his voice quality the best, but his vocal abilities are incredible. He has a very wide range and is able to hold notes for a long time. Everybody should hear this guy sing. His next album called "All that Echoes" will be released February 5th 2013.

                    Viktor Uzur is somebody that I've personally met and worked with weekly. I admire him because he doesn't just play music. Every note played is distributed with the educated weight, pressure, speed, vibration, and texture. He also knows every detail of just one note and the theory behind it. It wouldnt be inaccurate to say that he is the best performing cellist in the nation.

        

David Osmond is the son of Alan Osmond, and the nephew of Donny Osmond. He has appeared on "American Idol," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and Liken productions such as "Jonah." I admire him not only for his talents, but for his life changing story of MS and new perspective on life. He has two albums out. "Reflected," and "Road Less Traveled." He sings with EFY singers like Jenny Jordan Frogley and writes his own lds music like: "Today is the Day." He went on a mission, married in the Salt Lake City Temple, and has two beautiful daughters.

Mack Wilberg is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir composer for many years. He is so amazing and his music lifts and inspires all listeners. Every song he writes invites a strong spirit. My goals are to write like him someday.

William Joseph is a child prodigy. David Foster (who found Josh Groban) found this lds guy who plays the piano so well. I enjoy his work because his albums include orchestration. He sacrificed musical opportunities to go on a mission, and returned with many blessings and opportunities because of his choice.

I recently discovered Nathan Pacheco. He also is lds and went on a mission. When I first heard his voice, I thought of the guy on Rigoletto. I dont know much about him, but love how he carries himself as a musician and sounds so good. His style is different, but is still likeable around the world.

Danny Elfman is somebody that i'm still trying to understand better. He has done scores for Tim Burton and other movies.

Randy Newman has a jazz style of writing. My music is not completely leaning towards the jazz genre, but when he writes for pixar scores, it makes life sound so exciting and inviting.

I had a chance to play the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 18 in my orchestra with a guest pianist. When I first heard it, it was honestly the first emotionally moving classical piece of music I have ever heard. It is still my favorite today.

Hanz Zimmer wrote for "Prince of Egypt," "The Dark Knight," "The Lion King," "Inception," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and many more. Such an outstanding composer. I can always recognize his work because of the intensity in his scores. He is amazing.

I really enjoy listening to Bach on spotify and hearing his harpsichord concertos.

New Pictures

Gratitude Talk in my home ward with Brother Hadfield (high council man)

I’m so glad to be back visiting for the day! I was surprised how when preparing this talk, things just came together. I was asked to speak on gratitude and I’d like to begin with lyrics from Josh Groban’s Christmas Album “NOEL.” Somedays we forget to look around us Somedays we can't see The joy that surrounds us So caught up inside ourselves We take when we should give. So for tonight we pray for What we know can be. And on this day we hope for What we still can't see. It's up to us to be the change And even though we all can still do more There's so much to be thankful for.
Look beyond ourselves There's so much sorrow It's way too late to say I'll cry tomorrow Each of us must find our truth It's so long overdue Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected Each of us can find each other's light So for tonight we pray for What we know can be And on this day we hope for  What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change And even though this world needs so much more
There's so much to be thankful for.

There’s a quote I like that says Gratitude is what turns what we have into enough.

President Monson said: “A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort-at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don't get around to it. Someone has said that "feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

The Lord has promised, “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude. You can probably

say from experience that you are happier when you have gratitude.

It is difficult to be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.

We should be thankful for the wonderful blessings that are ours.

Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities you have. Be

thankful to your loved ones, your parents, your leaders. Let them know of your gratitude.

Thank your friends and your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way. Thank your Heavenly Father for His goodness to you.

You can express your gratitude to God by acknowledging His hand in all things, thanking Him for all that He gives you, keeping His commandments, and serving others. Thank

Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Express thanks for the Savior’s great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement.

Thank the Lord for His restored Church. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and family. Let  a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at being grateful. You will find that it yields wonderful results.

When we lower our expectations, we are generally happier.

There’s another quote I like that says: Be thankful for the bad things in life. For they open your eyes to the good things you weren’t paying attention to before. One of my favorite stories gives a perfect example of this. It is a fictional story tale of a recently married man and woman. Here is a little preface. The woman’s royal parents make a deal with a treacherous sorcerer who wishes to become king of the land. He makes a deal with them that he will remove their daughters curse in exchange for the kingdom. Desperate to lift the curse, they agree.  The married man interferes with the sorcerers plans and the sorcerer becomes bitter towards the man.

Back to the present, the man has steadily grown tired of being a family man and celebrity among the local villagers, leading him to yearn for the days when he was single. So frustrated with his present life, he begins to argue outside with his wife and rashly states that he was happier before he married her. His un-thought out words led to hurtful feelings. After storming off, he encounters the evil sorcerer he had never met, but ruined his plans to get the kingdom in the past without his realization. The sorcerer, who had observed his angry outburst with his wife, seizes his chance. He followed him after the argument and arranged what appears to be an accident where he is trapped under his carriage. The man helps him and the sorcerer being "grateful", gives the husband a ride and a meal for his superficial appreciation. When the husband voices his frustrations, the sorcerer offers to give the man a day to live like he used to when he was single in exchange for a day from his childhood that he would not remember being erased. The man signs the contract with the sorcerer and transports back in time to when he was single. He is kidnapped by witches and taken to the sorcerer, who is now the King of the kingdom. Upon inquiry, the sorcerer reveals that the day he erased was the day that he was born. Therefore, the man never met his wife, never had his kids, and never had parents, family, or friends. In the meantime the evil sorcerer was able to get the queen and king of the land to sign their kingdom away, and to cause them to disappear. When the day ends, this single “happy” man will fade from existence. The man begins to cry over his lost past.  After the man explains the situation to a stranger, the stranger helps him find a loophole: the sorcerers contract will be nullified if the man and his wife share true love's kiss. But this is a tough task because since this is in the past now, his wife does not recognize him. The husband does everything he can to gain his wife’s love, but she is too busy preparing an ambush on the sorcerer. She is also bitterly cynical and disillusioned about the power of true love and throws herself into planning the sorcerer’s capture because of how terrible he runs to kingdom as king. While sparring with her, the soon to be wife begins to like this man, but stops short of kissing him. Now the man is discouraged, but his new friend encourages him to continue pursuing her. The man insists that the woman kiss him, saying it will fix everything, but because she does not truly love him it is ineffective. Upon hearing that the evil sorcerer is offering anything desired by the one who captures this single man, the man cleverly surrenders himself in exchange for all the slaves of the kingdom to be released. As the sun rises, the man begins to fade from existence because of the contract. But the woman, having fallen in love with him, kisses him just before he disappears, thereby voiding the contract by the evil sorcerer and restoring him to embraces his friends and family with a deeper appreciation for everything he has, truly living happily ever after. The ending of the story really moves me and has brought me to appreciate everything I have.

A quote is by a greek philosopher says: “A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

A man I admire greatly is David Osmond who is the son of Alan Osmond, and the nephew of Donny and Marie Osmond. Both him and his father battle MS to this day. Alan said that he might have MS, but MS does NOT have him. We all know of the Osmond brothers and their performances everywhere, but the next generation consisted of David and his brothers doing the same thing as his father and uncles. David went on a mission to Madrid Spain. Later he came back home and began to start dating. One Christmas eve he said he felt a pain in his feet like they were being crushed.  Then he said the pain grew up past his knees and then started to take over his whole body. He then ended up in a wheelchair, and he said as he was sitting in his wheelchair, watching his older brother wrestling with his child on the kitchen floor he thought, “I won’t ever have the chance to do that,” and thought “why me?” Later he was able to transfer from a wheelchair to a cane. When he started dating his wife Valerie she was told when he proposed that he would be a cripple the rest of his life, and David was like “Are you sure you want to marry a cripple?” And she said: “Yes, in sickness and health.” She has been there with him from day 1. And just before their wedding in the Salt Lake Temple, a miracle happened. On his wedding day he was able to walk again, and ever since that day he has been healthy and performing all over like a regular person. He travels and gives speeches at MS foundations and societies including doTERRA. He emphasizes that pain comes to all of us at different times, but suffering is optional. He also says that “miracles do happen, and that if you don’t believe it, you’re looking at one because to be walking again is a miracle for [him].” He lives life with “greater passion and greater determination” and stated that he “will never forget the moment [his] toes moved for the first time.” He said “it seems crazy, but this trial is the best thing that has ever happened to [him] because it has given [him] a fresh perspective on life.” He said he is living a “richer and more meaningful life” because he has “learned to focus on the ability rather than on the disability.” In a speach he said “I drove a car today. That was awesome! Because I remembered not being able to. And the little mundane things mean so much to me now. What a gift! I wish that I could give that to everybody!!! That moment that my toes moved for the first time was a miracle! Life is a miracle. And we are so excited to be here right now to experience the things that we are because it is awesome, and there is so much positivity on the horizon for the world with MS.” He wrote a song called “The Last Day” talking about how we can’t take anything for granted and how we have to live like it’s our last day. I would like to close with these lyrics: I got to live like it is the last day of my life live for the things that make it right live for the ones that make me free open up your heart and you will see live to be proud that i made the day
somebody else to make a way I got to live, you got to live like it is the last day of your life.

I hope that we can all choose to be happy with our lives now and have an attitude of gratitude. I know my mission has taught me to be grateful for my blessings here in Perry Utah. I believe the gospel is true and have a testimony of Jesus Christ and His life of service. I hope to be able become like Him. And I say this….Amen.

Black Friday

Yesterday was Emily and I's first Black Friday experience. Amy and Daniel were in line for a TV and surround sound stereo system for 3-4 hours or more. We helped them out when they wanted to leave the line for a break. We ran into Emily's best friend who just went to get eggs, and was caught off guard by the crowd, and then realized why the mess. Emily bled and bled while rushing to the bathroom to fetch some water and a paper towel to survive while pushing through the gigantic noisy crowd of anxious people. Such a tough woman. She survived and didnt have to spend the night by herself in the hospital. I think we made it ok. It was a fun night. I never heard so much noise in a Walmart. It was like Lagoon! We never heard about anyone dying that night although Emily is lucky to still be alive! And may I add that we were able to buy a few good things for ourselves.  

Heading for Destruction!!!

So we are all very pissed about Obama being re-elected as president and so I made this!

First Vote!

Today was my first time voting. I was a Nobama and voted for Romney!!! I created this picture and put it on facebook.We get to find out in a few hours who wins. Hope the nation learns their lesson and votes right!

Ecards and fun stuff.