Merry Christmas!

Hey everyone! I'm taking the week off for Christmas, so I won't be posting again until the new year. Have a merry Christmas everyone, and happy New Year!

P.S. Here's a recording of me playing "Silent Night" on my ocarina. Enjoy!

Craft: Rubber Band Bracelet

Make a bracelet like this!
(For anyone who's curious, the other
wristbands are for Skillet and To Write
Love on Her Arms)

Hello everyone! Just in time for the holidays, I have an easy, inexpensive craft. I'm sure you've seen those rubber band bracelets people have been wearing lately. To make most of them you need to buy a special loom for, known as the Rainbow Loom. However, there is one kind of bracelet that can be made without the loom, known as the Fishtail Bracelet. You can make one using two nails stuck into a piece of wood, or even on your fingers! In this tutorial, I'll show you how to make a fishtail bracelet without using a loom.

For starters, unless you want to use your fingers, you're going to need to make something to weave your bracelet.



Materials
A piece of wood (mine's a scrap piece I found in the garage. Hopefully no one will miss it)
a hammer
Two nails
a ruler
a pencil

Step 1 - using the ruler, draw two dots one inch apart.

Step 2 - Hammer a nail into each mark.

Now you're ready to make a bracelet! Click the jump to find out how to do it.

Christmas Music

It's that time of year again. The time when your local radio station plays the same set of Christmas songs over and over and over again until you're ready to punch Rudolph in the nose. Well, I may have the solution for you.

Now, I have nothing against Christmas music. It's just that... Well, it's often overplayed or repetitive. I've made my own Christmas music playlist of songs by some of my favorite bands, whether they're original or covers of other songs.

For starters, if you like bands like Hawk Nelson, Switchfoot, Anberlin, Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, or Sanctus Real, then you should check out the album X Christmas. It's part of the X series of compilation albums put out by BEC recordings, and it features all of the artists mentioned above, plus a few more. A lot of the songs are covers, but there are a few originals like "His Favorite Christmas Story." You can listen to the entire album here.

Want more Christmas music? Click the jump!

Creative Wednesday: Lexi

Hello everyone! Creative Wednesday is here again, and this week I'm featuring my friend Lexi, who is a great friend of mine and also a published author! She has written two books, Step-Twins and Triplets-in-Law. You should totally check them out! They're available for purchase on Amazon.com, and you can get them in a physical form, or for your Kindle.

Step-Twins
Triplets-in-Law




I have my own copy of Step-Twins, and it's a book I really enjoyed. I really encourage you to check out those links, and you can read some of Step-Twins after the jump!

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However, I Did Not Catch Fire

I went to go see the movie Catching Fire on Monday and it was so awesome! Anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and talk about it a little bit. This is probably going to be shorter than normal, since I've been a bit busy with school and getting ready for Christmas and whatnot. But anyway, I really, really, really wanted to talk about Catching Fire. At the moment, it's my favorite book to movie adaptation I've seen.

For those who don't know, Catching Fire is a sequel to the movie The Hunger Games (released in 2012). Both movies are adaptations of the books of the same name, written by Suzanne Collins. You should totally go read them. (Or, if you're not a that much of a reader, you can check out this for some background information).

For starters, the first movie pales in comparison. If anyone saw it, you probably know that the fire effects on Katniss and Peeta's clothes look like they had been done ten years ago. Not that it was a bad movie, but I think it could have been better. Catching Fire, on the other hand...

Click the jump!

Happy Black Friday! ...That IS why we don't have school right?

Shoppers waiting in line at  Target

Hello world, and happy Black Friday! Oh, what's that? We don't get vacations for Black Friday? It's actually for Thanksgiving? What's Thanksgiving?

This seems like the kind of mentality people have at this time of year. Maybe I'm exaggerating it a bit, but isn't it ironic (don't you think?) that we spend one day being thankful, and then the next day, or even that night, we go wait in line to buy more stuff. It's just... I don't know, it doesn't seem right to me.

Click the jump for more!

Creative Wednesday: Libby

Art by Libby

Hello! I'm back with Creative Wednesday, and this week I have some artwork by my good friend Libby. (Psst -- Check out her blog here.)

As you can see, she's an amazing artist. I love seeing what she draws. What I have here are a three drawings Libby sent me, just a sampling of what she's done. Click the jump to view the other two.

I really hope you enjoy looking at them!

And remember, if you want to be featured on a future Creative Wednesday, you can write me a comment below, or shoot me an e-mail at thechumbles@gmail.com

The Gallagher Girls

Happy Friday! This week, I have a sort of book-review type of thing, except this time, I'm reviewing an entire series. The Gallagher Girls books by Ally Carter has recently become one of my favorite book series, and I've pretty much been dying to talk about it.

So, a short summary: The Gallagher Girls books take place in a small town called Roseville, Virginia, at a school known as the Galllagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. The stars of the series are Cammie Morgan, Bex Baxter, Liz Sutton, and Macey McHenry, all of them spies-in-training. Other characters include Josh Abram, Zach Goode, Rachel Morgan (Cammie's mother), and other side characters.

Since the Gallagher Girls is composed of six books, it would be hard to rate the entire series. However, you can click the jump to find out more of what I have to say about the books!

Craft - Bottle Cap Jewelry

Learn how to make some
awesome bottle cap jewelry!

Hey all! This week, I have a craft tutorial I made. It's for some bottle cap jewelry, and I thought it would be fun to share. The materials are below. I made my necklace using the glitter method and the earrings with the sticker-paper method, but you can do whatever you want!

Materials
Glitter or paper
Stickers (optional)
Circle cutter (make sure whatever you use will fit your cap. Mine are about 1 inch)
Mod Podge
Paintbrush
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
Plain bottle caps (can be found at most craft stores)
Earring hooks
Some kind of string for your necklace (I used craft lace)
Scissors
Hammer

Click the jump to get the instructions!

Creative Wednesday

Alright. First, I apologize for not posting this past Friday. I have no excuses - I just couldn't think of anything. To make up for it, I'm going to introduce a new thing for every week (or every other week, depending on how it goes) called Creative Wednesdays.

Click the jump to read my brother's poetry!

Creative Wednesdays is a feature where I showcase the creative endeavors of a person. This person will be a reader of this blog, or someone that I know personally. If I can't find anyone, then you'll probably get stuck with me. Now, I know you don't want that, so that's incentive to ask about being featured! More information at the end of the post.

This week, I have some poetry my brother wrote. He was nice enough to let me post his writing last-minute, which is awesome. Click the jump to check it out, and find out how you can get featured on my blog!

America's Got Talent?

Want to know a little pet peeve of mine? When people say, "Wow, you're so talented! I wish I could [insert activity here] like you do!" Granted, I am/was one of those people. But let me explain.

When you say something like that, you're putting yourself down. You're telling yourself that you could never measure up to what another person can do because they're just naturally better than you are. That's not good, because what happens is you give up on trying to get better. You think, "I'll never be as good as they are, so why should I even try?"

I'm not saying that talent isn't real. People do have gifts for different things. Me, for example: I happen to really like words. I like to express myself through words, and I know how to make them work. Some people have a natural affinity for a sport, art, or music. They just know where the pencil lines need to go or how to hit a baseball just right. But when you but everything down to just dumb luck, that's not fair to the person.

Click the jump for more!

Dear Diary Outfit

Gasp! It's Tuesday, and I'm blogging already?! Don't worry, the Friday post will come on Friday, just like it always does. I just really wanted to share something really quickly with you guys.

Dear Diary outfit on Polyvore

I was listening to the FM Static album Dear Diary today (on my iPod though, since I lent the CD to a friend), and I decided it would be really cool to make an outfit on Polyvore based on the two characters.

For those who don't know, Dear Diary is a concept album, which means it tells a story. Through the songs and the fictional journal entries in the CD booklet, Dear Diary tells the story of a boy, Aero (I promise, that's his name), who moves to a new town, meets a girl who is known as "E.T." throughout the rest of the story, and other events in his life. I'm honestly not sure how to summarize all of, but there's an interview with Trevor McNevan about Dear Diary that I thought was interesting.

With that out of the way, I suppose I should explain the outfit a little bit. Click the jump for more!

Teens and Trick or Treating

I seriously almost decided not to blog this week. I was at such a loss for ideas lately. I got a lot of great feedback on my E-Books post (thanks guys!!), so I'm going to try another interesting topic like that. It just came to me right now as I'm writing this. And with Halloween right around the corner, I think it's appropriate: Teenagers and Trick or Treating.

From what I can tell, a lot of people think anyone over the age of ten should be banned from trick or treating on Halloween. And this is going to sound cynical, and I'm sorry for that, but who's going to stop me? Am I going to be arrested because I'm fifteen and I asked someone for candy?

Alright. That's enough of that.

My mom and I were actually talking about this recently, because I told her I was going to go trick or treating this year. Then we started talking about how old someone can be before it's unacceptable for them to go door to door for candy. We came to the conclusion that it didn't matter how old you were, as long as you were dressed up and said "thank you," you could get all the candy you wanted.

Click the jump to read more!

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover (But You Will Anyway)

Gosh... I couldn't think of anything to blog about this week. For once, I'm at a loss for words. I guess I'll just keep writing and see what happens!

Well, last Tuesday (the 8th), The House of Hades FINALLY came out! If you don't know, it's the fourth book (or "penultimate" - second to last (yes, I learned that word when the book was released)) in the Heroes of Olympus book series, which is an extension of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series."Maybe I'll review it sometime, but right now, it's so new and I don't want to accidentally spoil anything. I think it's safe to say that it was a great book though. I can't believe I have to wait another year for the next one. Oh, and I also think it's safe to post the dedication of the book:

"To my wonderful readers:

Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.

Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA.

But seriously, I love you guys."

That really made my day when I read it. Probably the best book dedication I've ever seen (so far).

On that topic, did you know there's a book coming out called Percy Jackson's Greek Gods? You can read more about that here. Oh, and the cover is pretty!

You know what? I'm going to talk about book covers, at least to start off. I don't know why, but I need something to talk about. It's Thursday night as I'm writing this, so I got a little desperate. Anyways, click the jump to read more about books and covers!

E-Books Don't Smell Good (But They Are Convenient)

Reading Only the Good Spy Young
on my iPod touch

Lately, I've been reading the Gallagher Girls book series by Ally Carter (great books, by the way. Like Alex Rider, but more for girls). I had just finished reading Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, and went to the library to get the next few books. However, much to my dismay, there were no more Gallagher Girls books on the shelf. After researching the four libraries I have cards for (yeah, I know it's obsessive), I learned that only one library had the next book, Only the Good Spy Young, and it wasn't going to be available until the end of October! Desperately, I tried to find another way to read the book. I soon came to the conclusion that the only way to continue the series was to use a new technology, foreign to me.

E-Books.

(You can all gasp in horror now)

I'll be honest: the E-Book experience wasn't all that bad. At first I was pretty nervous because I was reading from my iPod touch. I don't own a Kindle or a Nook or a whatever. All I had was my iPod and its rather small screen. And then I remembered that I read other stuff on my iPod all the time (articles on the internet, stories I've written with friends, etc), so I figured it wouldn't be too terrible. And I was right. After the jump, you'll see that I wrote a PROS/CONS list for E-Books (like Cammie Morgan does all the time). So read on!

Polyvore

Whoo, another Friday post! I'm so proud of myself!

My Thalia Grace outfit

Anyway, happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a good week. So anyway, I'll be honest with you, I had no idea what I was going to talk about this week until I decided I could share my Polyvore creations with you guys. I know it's kind of a random topic, but it is a topic. If anyone has any suggestions on what I should post about next, leave a comment! I read all of them.

Alrighty then, for those of you who don't know, Polyvore.com is a website where people create different collages using the internet. Many people (including me) design outfits with it. I actually found it through the blog Console to Closet, which features outfits based on different video game characters. You should check it out, while you're here. It's an awesome website, and the ownder does a great job with her outfits.

I haven't tried any video game outfits yet, but I have made some outfits based off of book characters. Right now, I just have Percy Jackson characters, but I'm thinking of doing one for Alex Rider. Oh yeah, and I've done some for my own characters too. Anyway, you can check out my profile and see all the goodies, but I'm gonna post some more images after the jump, so click that "More" button to see them!

Or, if you don't that's fine too. Anyway, see you next Friday!

Uprise Festival 2013

Hello everyone! I'm soooooo sorry I missed posting last Friday! Things got really busy. I had school to do, and then as soon as I was done I had to pack up and leave for Shippensburg for Uprise Festival 2013. It was worth it though - I had a blast! So I have some pictures here, and maybe links to

The main stage.

videos if I can find any.

For those of you who don't know, Uprise Fest is a Christian music concert that takes place at the Shippensburg Fairgrounds every year. It starts on a Friday night and then goes all day Saturday, so it's kind of a condensed Creation Festival. I went last year to see Disciple and Thousand Foot Krutch, and it was great. This year was even better. Altogether it was me, my dad, and my friends: Aaron, Steven, Steph, Brittany, Jordan, Patrick, and Jessica (not the same Jessica as last year though). Click the jump to read more, see pictures, and maybe some videos if you're lucky!

The Post About Writing And Stuff

Oh look, it's Friday.
I should've just saved yesterday's post for today. Oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something to write about. In fact, I think I already have.

Alright, this is going to be short and sweet since I just gave you guys a big book review yesterday. (You should go read it. And the book, while you're at it.) I thought I'd share my little (actually big) writing project, Subject 10. I have the first eleven chapter, including the prologue, in a Google Document. So... It would mean the world to me if you guys would read it and tell me what you think. You can comment on this post if you have something to say, and I take all advice seriously (okay 99% of it). Anyway, click the link below to read it!

Subject 10

Oh yeah, I'll put this in my writing tab too. And since every post needs pictures, here are some pictures of Addison from my story.

For whatever reason, I
can't replicate her hair...
Addison Sparks (c) Me
Art (c) Me

Addy in a dress. This
isn't from the story.
Addison Sparks (c) Me
Art (c) Me

Finally, you can check out my Sketchbook and my other writing! I'll post again soon, I promise!

Book Review: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

I felt like it was time for another book review. That, and I felt bad because I haven't been keeping up with my "Blog every Friday" thing. I'm not making excuses, but I was busy last weekend. That's another story though. ANYWAY, this morning (when I was supposed to be writing a "mini essay" for history) I finished reading The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer. That was a good book. So, here I go again, click the jump to read more!

Summary:
The blurb from the inside of the book cover.
"Riley, an orphan living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, a former illusionist turned murdered, who now uses his conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant assistant along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London - with Garrick close on his heels.

In modern London, Riley is aided by Chevron Savano, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world."

Books and Movie "Adaptations"

This may be a touchy subject for some. Book movies, or movie adaptations of books. I'm going to talk about them. This might get interesting.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because recently (actually about three weeks ago), I went to go see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. In 3D! Long story short, it was a great movie. It still isn't the epicness that the book was, but it wasn't a complete embarrassment like The Lightning Thief. Seriously, TLT wasn't just a bad adaptation of a book, it was a bad movie in itself. Sea of Monsters, however, was better. Like I said, it didn't live up to the book, but then, when does any movie do that?

All in all, I recommend going to see it. I have some other things to say about it, but I'm going to (try) to put it in a "spoiler" (it means you can choose to show or hide the text) in case you haven't read the book or seen the movie.

More SoM Stuff:

- As far as I can remember, it was never explained why Percy resented Tyson. A lot of the campers were teasing him about it, but I don’t think there was anything about him being embarrassed by his father, stuff like that.
- The part where Movie Annabeth said, “Was that Ethan Nakamura, Chris Rodriguez, and Silena Beauregard?” I almost screamed. Just no. No no no no no no.
- It would’ve been nice to see some development in the relationship between Annabeth and Percy. Right now, it seems a lot like, “Oh, a quest? Since you’re so stupid, I’ll come along to keep you in line.” Not like, “Well we’re friends, and friends look out for each other (plusIkindofhaveacrushonyou)”
If they had included the part with the Sirens (Annabeth listens to the Sirens and almost drowns/gets killed somehow, then tells Percy about her fatal flaw) that might’ve helped. I mean, Percy saves her life! Or the part on Circe’s island where Percy turns into a Guinea pig (I would’ve loved to see that). There, Annabeth saves him. And let’s not forget that she hugs him after that.
- Finally, Tyson. If you watch(ed) the movie, you’ll know what I mean.

Otherwise, click the jump to read more about books and movies, because I'm not just going to talk about Percy Jackson.
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Blue Cookies & Coke

(Yes, I see you snickering. I mean the soda.)

I promised I'd try to blog more often, but that really hasn't worked out, has it? Anyways, I am now unofficially done with school, so hopefully I'll make more time for blogging.

A couple of posts ago. I wrote that I need to blog more about Percy Jackson and all, so if the title wasn't enough of a clue... ta-da, here's that post! (And if you have no idea what's going on, you may as well turn back now).

Alright then, I'll try not to spend too much of your time fangirling, but I need to blog more, and this is a good topic to talk about. Not that anyone will read it, but here it is anyway. So... enjoy!

Some time ago, my friend Emily came over for the afternoon, and we made blue cookies. Sure, they turned out a little broken 'cause I put too many chocolate chips in, but they were blue! Also, there was Coke involved (see left). And, for some reason, orange cupcakes? Just ignore those. They have no significance.

If you're looking  to make your own blue cookies, I found a recipe here. Just FYI, You don't need to use cranberries like the recipe says, and instead of using a cookie cutter, I used a pizza cutter thingy. It explains why my cookies are so misshapen.

And um... click the jump for more!

Things Change. Get Used to it.

This might make some people mad at me.
Not that it really matters, because no one really reads this, haha, but still. Anyway, this blog will probably focus on music and other nonsense surrounding it. For starters - GUYS. Rise comes out in FOUR DAYS. Listen to the singles:

Sick of It
American Noise
Rise
Not Gonna Die

...Anyway.

The real reason I decided to blog is this: People complaining about the ways bands sound. I was listening to one of the new Skillet songs for like the hundredth time, so I flipped through some comments on YouTube. People say things like, "I miss the way they used to sound..." or "This is so different from the way they used to be..." And I think, "No DUH." Of course a band is going to sound different album to album. I mean, what do you expect? They get new members, listen to new music, get influenced by different things. Case in point - listen to the following Skillet songs in order. It's the first track off of their last four albums.

Alien Youth (Alien Youth)
Forsaken (Collide)
Rebirthing (Comatose)
Hero (Awake)

To those of you who actually listened to those songs, give yourself a pat on the back. Anyway, do you see my point? The band's sound changed through time. It's perfectly normal for that to happen. There's no use in complaining and saying, "I wish they stayed the same" or "What happened to the old [band]?"

Click to make it bigger!

And yes, I do understand that even if a band stayed the same way, people would still complain. I saw
this graphic (see right) once on Anberlin's Instagram page. Seems about right to me. No matter what you do, people are gonna criticize. Still, I think some fans need to realize that bands will change. That's just the way it goes - nothing can stay the same forever.

Which leads me to my next topic.
Click the jump!

Bookaholicism

The other day I was called a "bookaholic," and I wasn't sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. Whatever it was meant as, it got me thinking that my little blog could use some love, and what better topic to talk about than books? Exactly. There is nothing better. So be prepared to read about books and my obsession with them.

Alright, so I guess I'll start with what I've been reading lately. A couple of weeks ago, I read Define "Normal"  by Julie Ann Peters. It was a pretty good read actually, and not what I expected. The main characters are two girls named Antonia (who seems like the stereotypical "good girl") and Jazz (who seems like the stereotypical "punk girl") who are forced into this sorta peer counseling thingy at their school. And if it's starting to look like one of those "becoming friends against all odds" stories, it's different than that. But if you want to know more, check it out on Goodreads (see the link above). Better yet, read the book!

What else have I been reading... well, other than re-reading a number of Percy Jackson books (we'll get to that later), I read Independence Hall by Roland Smith, the firs in his I, Q series. It wasn't exactly my favorite book of all time, but it was good enough to hold me over until I went to the library next. I picked it up at a used book sale for a dollar or two, so it was worth the price I paid. Anyways, it's about a guy named Q (short for Quest) and his step-sister, Angela. It's a little harder to explain in a few sentences, but I will tell you that there is spying involved, so if that sounds good to you, check it out on Goodreads too.

I guess I'll keep talking. If you want to hear me talk (obsess) more, then click the jump!

Sorry it's Been a While

I've been busy with... stuff. Like school, my birthday, solving the world's problem, and other nonsense. So, what do I have to say? Well, I've decided on a summer writing project, I saw a play, and there are some singles out for Rise. I'll start with the play.

(L to R) Hillary, Stargirl, and Leo.

I recently went on a school field trip to see a play adaptation of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. If you've never read the book (you totally should though), I'll try not to give anything away. Anyway, the play stayed pretty close to the plot of the book (unlike a certain movie adaptation of a certain book that I won't mention aloud), and I really enjoyed watching it. The Stargirl is a great book that I think anyone would enjoy.

(L to R) Leo and Kevin from Stargirl

writer also left the ending alone, which I was grateful for. I'm afraid to say anything else, but I will say that

The photos of the Stargirl play are from The People's Light and Theatre website.

And now... Oh, right, my project. Click the jump for more!

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Blogging Because I Feel Like I Should

First of all, Happy Easter!
Okay, now that that's out of the way, I just felt like blogging because there's a lot of stuff I want to talk about, and just one of those things isn't enough for a whole post to itself. I'll probably jump from one thing to another without much explanation, so hopefully I won't lose you. I've got some stuff about Rise, Kristen May, and some other stuff that I'll think of as I write. So here goes nothing...

Album art for Rise.

If you read my last post, you heard me fangirl about Skillet's new album, Rise. If you missed that, here's what it said: Rise is Skillet's first concept album, it's being released June 25, and the first single from it, "Sick of It" is being released on iTunes April 9. If you want to know anything else, go read my post. :P Anyways, I have more news for you! The album art for Rise showed up on Facebook and Instagram recently! So there it is, on the right. I think it's pretty cool, and for some reason, I think of the album art for Comatose when I look at it. Does anyone else?
On the subject of Rise, Skillet also posted another teaser for "Sick of It," and personally, I think this one sounds better than the previous teaser. I can't wait to hear the whole thing on the ninth!
Oh, just thought of something else! So, click the jump to read about the new Percy Jackson movie and Kristen May singing "So I Thought."

Rise

Well, my Spring Break just got a lot better! Today on Facebook, Skillet posted the release date for their new album Rise, June 25! I don't think I can wait that long though...
Along with the release date, Skillet also added some other information on their website's blog. According to the post, the first single from Rise, "Sick Of It" will be released on iTunes April 9. Also, if you're one of those cool people who has Instagram, you can post a photo of what you're sick of and it might be in the lyric video for "Sick Of It." Cool, huh?
The other thing I found really awesome was that apparently, Rise is going to be a concept album. Now I don't know about you, but I have a small obsession with concept albums. Pretty much ever since I bought FM Static's Dear Diary, I've thought they were cool. Hey, a story told through a bunch of songs? I'm in. But yeah, I'm really excited to hear Skillet's first concept album.
So that's about all I have to say right now. I'll keep you posted if I find out anything else!

Flyleaf Concert (2/24/13)

Hello again! So, two days after that Thousand Foot Krutch concert, I went to go see Flyleaf at the same place. Right now, they're on tour with Drowning Pool, who I hadn't heard of before. It was pretty interesting, because both bands have just gotten new lead singers (Kristen May, replaced former Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm back in October-ish). Anyway, if you want to read more about the concert, click the jump!

Thousand Foot Krutch Concert (2/22/13)

Hey everyone! Yeah, yeah, I know it's late to be blogging... but it's a Friday night, so it's all good, right? Anyway, I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you guys about the Thousand Foot Krutch concert I went to a couple weeks ago. If you don't follow TFK, here's the basic, one sentence summary: They're on their War of Change tour with bands Love and Death, The Letter Black, and The Wedding. I was amazed when I saw my town on their list of shows (this is the first concert I have not had to over and hour to), so of course I had to go. My brother, Paul, my friend Patrick (he had gone to Uprise with us), and I went together, and it was a blast! So, if you're interested, click the jump to read more!

CCM Magazines

An article about Flyleaf from the Feb '06 issue

Hey guys! I never posted about my amazing find (well, amazing to me at least), so I thought I would do that now. Anyway, I was looking through some stuff in my youth group's classroom, and I found a stack (ten total) of old CCM magazines! CCM Magazine is a Christian music magazine that used to be published physically, but they stopped doing that in 2008. You can subscribe to the online version of the magazine now, though. So obviously, my copies of the magazine are pretty outdated (the newest one is from July 2007) but it's still a lot of fun to read through them. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much about Skillet, but there is one article from the February 2006 issue that talks about Flyleaf when they were first getting started. I scanned it, so there it is on the right (you can click the image to make it bigger so you can read it). 

Five questions with Trevor McNevan.

The other thing I found interesting was a short interview with Trevor McNevan from Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static in the December 2004 issue. It's just five questions, but it's pretty fun to read. My favorite is #4, haha.

Anyway, I thought this would be fun to post today. Enjoy the scans, and if I find anything else interesting, I'll let you know!

Note: In order to make the articles big enough to read, you can click them, which will open the picture in a sort of slideshow thing, then right click the picture and press "view image." It should then open up an a way that you can zoom in on the text :)

Book Review: Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

Hey, this is my first attempt at a book review… hopefully it goes well, haha. The book I chose to review today is Guitar Notes by Mary Amato. It’s a somewhat new book (published last year), so it might a little hard to find at a library. However, I really enjoyed this book, and I think it would totally be worth searching for if you’re interested.

Click the jump to read the review!

Sorry about that...

Hey guys, sorry it’s been a while since my last post. So… first of all, happy new year! Haha. Anyway, there hasn’t been very much worth blogging about. I went to a TFK concert and a Flyleaf concert this past weekend, and in January, we went to Winter Jam again. And uh… that’s about it. My life is just so interesting.

But the whole reason I wanted to blog right now was because I decided to start writing book reviews for some books that I’ve read recently. I’ve been going to the library every few weeks and reading a lot of books, so I wanted to start writing reviews. So I’m going to start that soon-ish… probably sometime tomorrow, or late tonight. I’ll write again soon!