Everything is wonderful

Just left my 5th grade class absolutely beaming. Sign of a class well done, I think. I've been working on teaching numbers the last few days and today was the first day I went nearly 100% in the target language and the kids really picked up on it! By the end of class, we had counted up to 100 and they were even using plus, minus, and equals auf Deutsch. :'] I've got a 40 minute break at the school so I figured I could squeeze in a blog post!

It's needless to say I've been busy. But this past weekend was especially fun. I've had so many great music experiences lately! Friday night WUD Music brought Astronautalis and Why? to the Sett and they all put on a fan-freaking-tastic show. Front row-ed it, got a set list, great concert. On Saturday, I finally got my game together and saw Argo (just in time), which I thoroughly enjoyed. I feel like Argo was Ben Afleck's taste at filming an Ocean's movie. It's produced by Clooney, Alan Arkin plays the Sol-character, and the whole plot is basically a human heist. I dug it. On Sunday, I super cleaned my apartment and did loads of laundry (heheheheh) because we've got inspections and showings today and tomorrow, I hate my landlord, but I also want random people to be impressed by my beautiful massively decorated living space :D Bess and I kicked ass at our intramural basketball game which was super fun, then we quick changed in the locker rooms and headed to the WUD Film Oscar Party. I thought it was a great event, great Oscars, great everything. I'm really glad Jennifer Lawrence won (she's so great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7SFtdOjcUw&feature=player_embedded), and William Shatner was there, and Michelle Obama!, and the Avengers boys, and I got free dinner. Awesome night.

This morning I was back up again bright and early to pack into our Cohort clown car, where we proceeded to belt out N*SYNC's No Strings Attached the whole ride to Leopold. We're leaving in a half hour and I'm super pumped because we were just at the Lisa Left Eye Lopez verse in Space Cowboy haa. You know that's what's up.

What's on my horizon? Film meeting tonight. my beautiful Bonn buddy is here on Thursday (!!!!), got my radio show heute Nacht, and uhhh an exam tomorrow whoop.

Oh, the other day, a kid in my class got a haircut with two lines buzzed into the side of his head and when the teacher asked why he did that, all he said was "swag." I speak the language of 5th graders, yo.

swagswagswagswagswag

Near Perfect Albums

Blah blah, nothing's perfect. Ignoring this truth, these are some damn awesome albums through and through, and I consider them near perfect. To preface this list, these are according to my personal music tastes, obviously. I'm the first to admit that there are whole genres that I know very little about because I listen to them rarely, so there might be an amazing album out there that I just haven't discovered (yet). A lot of my favorite overall artists aren't on this list because while they may consistently make awesome music and I love it all, there's no single album that gets it perfect.
In no particular order:

1. Gasoline by The Hard Lessons.

I've been in love with this band since the first time I ever saw them in 8th grade. Now, 8 years and four albums later, I still think THL are some of the rockingest musicians out there. Gasoline is by far their least produced sounding album and I love that. Every song has some little thing, some creative hook or harmony or weird playing with the beat, that sets this album above and beyond your typical blues/rock set. THL have that White Stripes quality of making a really big sound out of not many people.

Stand out tracks: Milk and Sugar, That Other Girl, Inspired/Admired, Love Gone Cold.

2. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.

I feel like I don't need to say much about this album it's so ubiquitous with classic, awesome music. The reason's it's on my list, is that I'm a sucker for albums that blend together so they sound like one continuous track, and Dark Side does that well. Pink Floyd used techniques that people had never really done before to give their music out of this world qualities. One track will be a sped up electronic device, and the next is an improvised piano + vocal piece (which also happens to be my favorite song in the history of music). 

Stand out tracks: On the Run, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like.

3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Another album with some fantastic bleed through from song to song. There are so many things I love about this album from the Anne Frank-esque concept to the cover art to the fact that my favorite track, Oh Comely, was recorded by Jeff Mangum in one raw take. This album will make you rock out, sing at the top of your lungs, and cry, all within the span of a dozen tracks.

Stand out tracks: The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two and Three, Holland 1945, Communist Daughter, Oh Comely. 

4. This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem.

Sound of Silver actually has more of my favorite single songs by LCD, but This is Happening hit me like a train the first time I heard it. It's James Murphy's last CD as the band, and it's driving and danceable and fun the whole time, if you're into weird electro-y intellectual alt rock. Each song is so unique, but unlike their previous albums, they are fit so perfectly together as an album. I like the cohesiveness, plus every track is fantastic.

Stand out tracks: Dance Yrself Clean, Somebody's Calling Me, Home, Throw, I Can Change.

5. The Way Out by The Books.

No joke, I probably listen to this album all the way through once or twice a month, every month. Why? Because it is one of the most soothing, entrancing, creative, and engaging albums released in the past forever. From the very first track, you know this is something unlike anything you've ever heard before. Audio verite at its finest. The Books balance the weird, the scripted, the electronic, and the real instrument so so well, and on this, their last album as a group, they've hit the bullseye. 

Stand out tracks: Group Autogenics I and II, A Cold Freezin' Night, I Am Who I Am, Free Translator. 

Okay, that's solid enough for now. More to come, I'm sure!

Living Sitch Update

I've had quite the array of bizarre only-in-college living situations the last four years. First the dorms, with a roommate who spoke Thai and was not fond of me. Then was the closet in Bromansion 1 with 8 housemates, a shared sliding door wall, and no heater. Last year was kick ass living in my own arcade at Bromansion 2. It was 11 people total and I had a pool table in my room, a couch, a big comfy yellow chair, a porch, and two closets. I lived in a one bedroom with a bunk bed for 5 five months last semester, and now I'm in Buttercup, a closet with the bathroom down the hall and shotty electricity but overall fantastic. :]

This is Buttercup

I have my own crawl-in closet!

Behind that rack of cloths is a whole Ikea dresser. 

Tadaaa. It ain't a Rayna room without at least one X-Men poster.

Germany,  my grandfather's photograph, Toler's travel buddy, and Crego's 'r'

My pride and joys

And that's that!

Was höre ich

Wisconsin just awesomely beat Michigan in basketball and the whole union exploded! Nearly gave me a heart attack chilling here doing my German homework. I'm going to take it as an excuse to take a little break and post a blog- about music! I love music. I love music a lot. I'm a firm believer that there is the right song/artist/genre for every minute of every day. The only time I'm earbud-less is if I'm in class or at a meeting. Here's what I'm jamming to recently (or in real time, if you check out my last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/rainerlegreat).

Dead Kennedys. I'm on such a kick. I need to get my record player fixed if solely to listen to them. Right now, In God We Trust, Inc is being the best homework music.

Nelly. Why not? I remember absolutely loving Nellyville when it came out, and I recently listened to it all. Still awesome.

LCD Soundsystem. They've become a staple for me. Right now I'm loving the London Sessions album, All My Friends, Us v Them, Get Innocuous!, and Losing My Edge the most.

Soul Coughing. I found this website with an archive of old Soul Coughing concerts available to download, and I listen to a 1995 gig at the Mercury Lounge as much as I do their studio albums. It's so interesting listening to how the songs have evolved, and there are some tracks that were never professionally recorded! My main digs are The Incumbent, Wooly Imbibe, Lemon Lime, Blow My Only, and You Lucky Dog. (Shut up, when looking up pictures for this post, I saw a ticket stub with Soul Coughing opening for Dave Matthews Band. AHHHH Best Concert Ever!)

Sherlock. My friend Bess gave me the Sherlock soundtrack and it's so beautiful. They're filming the third season soon and I'm already so excited for it. Anything Sherlock Holmes related usually has fantastic music. See: both Guy Ritchie films + BBC show.

Busdriver. One of my favorite rappers because of his style, speed, lyrics, funkyness, hilarity, everything. His entire discography is great, but I'm in a The Weather phase. It's a collaborative album and it's perfectly bizarre. 

editing to add The Books, specifically their last album The Way Out. The first and last tracks, Group Autogenics I and II, were the first two songs I played on my radio show this semester. I listen to this album any time I need to focus, relax, study, feel better, anything. It's brilliant, beautiful, and intriguing. The Books as a whole, as my dad often attests, are one of the most creative bands I've ever heard, and if you want to discover them, I'd start with this CD. 

So yeah, discover new music, listen to genres that make you uncomfortable, and keep your ears happy! 

On my bookshelf

Due to a combination of influences, chiefly being a horrible AP Literature teacher Senior year, a sometimes short attention span, and a semi-irrational hatred for all thing narrative, I don't read typical books often. But since entering college, I've gotten really into the new atheism movement (Pharyngula + every book I could get my hands on, as you'll see below). Somewhat ironically I guess, I got a really great haul of books during Hanukkah and Christmas this year (to preface- I was raised Jewish, celebrate Christmas for traditions' sake, but am and always have been a non-believer), and I'm so excited to get through more of the classics. Religion and non-theism are my favorite topics to read about, debate about, learn about. I said before I'm a member of AHA, but I also used to attend a weekly bible study (which was actually disappointingly timid and unfruitful). Here's a list of books I've been reading and want to read lately.

What I've read:
God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
Good Without God: What a Billion Non Believers Do Believe by Greg Epstein
Atheism: The Case Against God by George Smith
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend by Christopher Moore

In progress:
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Bible by Various
Jesus Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible by Ehrman
The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever by Various

On my bookshelf (coming up):
The Last Testament: A Memoir by God with David Javerbaum (behind @TheTweetOfGod)
Skeptics and True Believers: The Exhilirating Connection Between Science and Religion by Chet Raymo
A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett (my dad stole this to read first, so I have to wait until he mails me it back)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (as a fan of the films and television series, I feel remiss not having read any of the original stories, and I received a hard cover collection this break :D)

 

Semester update

There at times during the year when everyone has their canned small talk responses down pat. We've just finished the "How was your break? What are you taking this semester?" phase and moving into the "How are classes going?" part of the year. I, personally, love small talk and hearing details about peoples' lives, so here's my beginning of the year update! 

My main job is the WUD Film Committee Director. I've been in this committee since freshman year, ranging from 'personal assistant' to Associate Director to Summer Coordinator and finally Director. I love the group of kids in this org and we're in the process of putting on another busy exciting semester of film programming. I also get to be a part of Directorate as a whole, along with all the other committee directors and presidents of the union. We're a really really attractive bunch. 

You know we're classy because it's in black and white

I also very recently got hired as a media assistant at the Instructional Media Center in Vilas. So far, working at the IMC kicks ass. There's no real set list of tasks for each day. I'm either running a screening for a comm arts class, checking out camera equipments and editing suites, running various engineering equipment all over the building, or rocking out to Spotify. I hope to be working there for the next year and a half. 

But wait, there's more! I rock out during my radio show at WSUM every Monday night from midnight to 1 am. My show concept is the first and last song from an album, and I'm really enjoying it. I want to give people a taste of an album as a whole, because in the modern era, I feel like people rarely purchase a whole album and stick to just the radio single, or forget to ever listen with shuffle off. (I know I used to be guilty of that second one). Besides, I absolutely love when the first and last songs correlate and are perfect bookends (See The Way Out by the Books and Mirrored by Battles). Here's my show site: http://wsum.org/shows/Monday/2400/start-and-finish/

Now that I don't have that pain of a 3-hour Wednesday night class, I can make AHA meetings again. We're the UW Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics, and the only secular student group on campus! Last week's discussion centered on whether you can reconcile being religious and being scientific. I love how tangential and serious and funny we can be.

Can you spot me? 

Improv is still going. We've got a show this Friday, actually! I had to miss our first shows of the semester due to being away for Sundance, but I'm really looking forward to performing again. The has changed, with Ethan graduated and Emilio back from studying abroad, so I wonder if our style/humor will change again.

Class wise, I'm taking a 600 level German seminar 2.5 hours once a week about Literatur, Kultur, und Migration, a comm arts class about the history of documentary film, and an education policies class about school and society, and an ed psych class about adolescents and development, along with my practicum student teaching out in the field twice a week. My first lesson plans are due on Wednesday :3  Very exciting. Very busy.

Winter Break

I'm rarely in my hometown anymore since going to school ~9 hours away, but when I am home for break I love catching up with friends and seeing my family's beautiful crazy faces. I found this pics (mostly from driving through Chicago) on my computer that I never uploaded from winter break!

Billboard outside a synagogue. They know what we (Jews) want.

Despite having a normal-ish digital camera, I caught this cool shot through the puka shells of the Chicago skyline. 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa! ... in Chicago.

Family trip to the Toledo Zoo for the Lights before Christmas. They had one of the biggest and best Christmas trees in the country!

At the entrance. I love polar bears

ANDREA WATCH YOURSELF!

Bright lights

Oh heyyy

Family photo