Gingerbread Man

(Sing to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock)

Gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread man,
Circles for eyes and mittens for hand.
Making and baking is dough-tally fun
Now the gingerbread's almost done.


Gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread man
Looking delicious like gingerbread can.
Everybody's giving me the "you-ate-it" stare.
No, I didn't, I swear!

What a bright time, it's the right time
To eat those arms and legs.
Gingerbread time - now it's head time!
We go chomp, chomp, chompin' away!

For your karaoke-ing pleasure:


Bonus, a song to be sung by your pet rodent:

Gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread house,
Just the right size to be home for a mouse!
When I get hungry, I chew on the wall,
Food is free for all!

Happy holidays :)

Fate of the Updates

We played this song in band in middle school, and for some reason, I remembered it today. It's pretty epic, and pretty too. I don't remember if I played first or second flute, but I think I still have a copy of it in my music folder at home.



Now that I have bribed you with a song, I apologize for the infrequent posts of late (please put down that tomato!). I have returned to the USA, but my frequency of posting is still not very high. Mea culpa.

Right now, though, I'm trying to focus on studying for my GREs. I have a month before the General test and 6 weeks before the Biochem subject test, but I have a whole lot of material to cover for the Biochem test and I'm pretty sure I won't have nearly as much time a week from now.

Hell, I'm busy already. School started Thursday and I had a Japanese vocabulary quiz on Friday. Not review, but new words. Tomorrow (Monday), I have a kanji quiz, with a whole new set of kanji as well. Once we get into the listening quizzes, oral quizzes, written quizzes as well as reading homework, grammar homework, and kanji homework, it's going to get even busier.

Plus, because I can't bear the thought of dropping either one, I'm taking two language classes! Intermediate Telugu and Intermediate Japanese. This, in addition to Mammalian Neuroanatomy, the Psychology of Sleep, the Global Poverty reflection course for my practice (which only meets every other week), research, yongmudo, and salsa is probably a bit much...

It's okay, I'll take Telugu P/NP.

I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars

As Kevjumba pointed out in his latest video (please don't play this at work at full volume), the lyrics in songs these days are ridiculous.

I enjoy catchy songs like the rest of the American populace, but smart lyrics are what really hook me onto a song. Lyrics that are poetic, or clever, or that carry a message - those are the ones that stay with me.

I heard the song Handlebars by the Flobots in a store at the mall a couple days ago, and it's been stuck in my head ever since. I looked up the song, looked up the rest of the lyrics, and found the video. The end of the video is sad, in a way, but it's powerful, and in my opinion, brilliant.



I know songs mean different things to different people, but based on my own multiple listenings and a quick google search of the intended meaning, I've come up with this interpretation: People have great potential to be good or bad. We all start out wanting to be good and do good (it's true - abused children still try to help and play with others in the sandbox, but don't know how to do it, and eventually give up when their efforts go wrong), but we can change.

It's easy to get caught up in a feeling of success and accomplishment, but when you start needing bigger and bigger things to feel satisfied, back off a little. Stop and take time to smell the roses, to find happiness in the details.

And most of all, be aware of how your actions affect those around you. Even if your loved ones are not directly affected, other people's loved ones may be within range.

But the whole point is that you have the power to change things. So use it for good.

Why I Do Science

"There's real poetry in the real world. Science is the poetry of reality." - Richard Dawkins

To me, science is indeed poetry.

Grace, beauty, and harmony, the characteristics that define poetry outside of literature, abound in nature.

For a scientist, as for a child, the world is a puzzle to be fit together, and the beauty of that lies in the ways these complex four-dimensional pieces join.

It shows in physics -
Atoms are made up of protons and neutrons, and if you can characterize those, you can attempt to decipher the behaviors of these tiny particles, despite having no way to sense them directly.

It shows in chemistry -
In high school, you learn that certain chemicals react. As you delve deeper and deeper, you begin to see how the orbital distribution of electrons not only affects but effects those interactions.

It shows in biology -
Enzymatic interactions require not a simple lock-and-key fit, but rather, a spatial positioning that can become a lock-and-key fit, which helps to drive the reaction. Cells and organisms have complex feedback pathways for regulation that work based on the activities of these enzymes.

It shows in the way those fields fit together, in how you find chemical reactions happening because of physical properties, and biological reactions happening because of chemical properties, and psychological reactions happening because of biological properties.

Could there be anything more beautiful?

Are You Noteworthy?

Don’t worry, I’m not calling your worth into question.

Noteworthy is a UC Berkeley a cappella group (i.e., their vocals act as the background instruments) that somewhat recently went viral on the nets for their antics in their rendition of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face.

At any rate, one of the members is my roommate’s friend from Taekwondo (and boyfriend of our possible future roommate). And I only knew him from the context of Taekwondo. So imagine my shock when I saw him on Sproul, performing this:



I'm going to leave you hanging on which one he is, but to make up for that, I'll give you another video. They've got a few other gems, like this slightly-difficult-to-hear version of my favorite song from Mulan:



According to my inside sources, until the sudden spike in popularity of Poker Face, the boys were working on an arrangement for Bad Romance. So keep an eye out for that, and I'll let you know when they start performing it.

Owl City

Have you heard this guy? You’ve probably heard Fireflies, but listen to some of his other songs as well. Critics say they all have a similar sound, and I have to agree with that. But for me, it’s really the lyrics and imagery that make it worth it.

Owl City is simply awesome. As a scientist though, I should back that up with evidence.

Evidence:

• “I’ve been to the dentist a thousand times so I know the drill –“
  
• “We’ll take a long walk through the cornfield, and I’ll kiss you between the ears –”

Who can resist such clever punniness? And it just makes you feel happy – I don't need realistic (i.e., depressing) songs all the time.

Flute

I finally picked up my flute again. It’s been 3 years since I really played it– not since high school marching band.

And wow, I suck.

I’m going to have to practice again. My fingers don’t move that fast anymore.

But on the bright side, I found a website that has free sheet music for flutes, with a good selection of warm-ups and more difficult pieces. And all for solo flautists, not a whole band!

Michael Bublé

I’ve been listening to Michael Bublé all day, his voice is just so soothing and beautiful. Thanks to my lovely Italian summer roommate for introducing us!

I love the jazz standards, of course. My roommate from first year is a jazz singer after all, and she taught me about them. I think my favorite song, however, is still the one our Italian originally posted.

It’s just such a feel-good song - Haven’t Met You Yet!

Music

Lyrical quality be damned, this song has been stuck in my head for a week!

Link redacted.

Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf

...oh right, I'm supposed to be working on that paper, oops.