The forgotten verse of a remembered carol

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heav'nly Lord
That hath made heav'n and earth of naught
And with His blood mankind hath bought
Noel!

My junior year of high school we sang The First Nowell arranged by Mack Wilberg and it had a third verse which I'd never seen before anywhere. I didn't think much of it.

Later that Christmas season our Chamber Choir (Legacy) sang at the Church Administration Building, which we had been invited to a few months earlier and had been eagerly anticipating the opportunity. Of course we were all hoping to see Apostles and President Hinckley but most of the morning was Mormon celebrity free. Then we began to sing this song which I always loved. Between the second and third verses there is a musical interlude which our choir director Mr. Anderson played beautifully and as the chords swelled the mood in the room completely changed. The prophet was there. We didn't see him, but we knew he was there.

In fact, we couldn't even see him until the end of the song. He stayed in the doorway while we sang. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye but refused to look over for fear of crying. It was then that I listened to these words for the first time. I realized that the first two verses were lovely, but this third verse, for me, is what cements them in importance and beauty.

Ever since then this has become my favorite Christmas carol, but I always feel unfinished without this verse. But  I ponder on its words often. And this Christmas, with this amazing holiday falling on a Sunday, I have thought about them even more. I am realizing that I wish Christmas was on Sunday every year. I have forgotten about the worship component attached. I am realizing that remembering Christ and worshiping Him are not always the same. Perhaps I'll pretend every Christmas is Sunday from now on.

This is the best video I could find with my favorite lyrics. For some reason in all the MoTab videos they sing a different penultimate line (they sing "That He this glorious world hath wrought"). It's nice and all, just not what I sang. The above version is lovely (the strings especially sound beautiful) but no one has the spirit of MoTab.

But I'll still include MoTab. :)

Merry Christmas. 

Kim Jong Il: I can't help it.

So I can't help but be intensely fascinated by Kim Jong Il and his recent death. Seriously. Ask my coworkers I wouldn't shut up about it today.

I took a course a couple of years ago just about current events. It was probably one of THE best classes ever on campus. This class is also something I don't shut up about (especially the professor, Valerie Hudson who you can coincidentally read an article about in the Student Review. That's where I was going to be cool and give you a link but for some reason it is unfindable on the Student Review website). It was in this class that I first learned about North Korea and the incredible anomaly that it is in the world. Wow. One of the students in the class found this treasure with some fascinating facts about North Korea and the Dear Leader.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm chillaxin' in an AP World Civ class at Timpview High School, observing a teacher. She shows a documentary on North Korea made by National Geographic. The class didn't finish the video and I didn't go back the next class period. I was hooked so thankfully I found it online. Give it a watch, it's only 45 minutes and I swear to you, you will sure wish it was longer.

Then a couple of months later, there I am checking my news on Google Reader (ps I recently learned about RSS feeds, who forgot to tell me about that?) and there it was. Kim Jong Il has died. I immediately wanted to be happy but then I couldn't because I had no idea what would happen next. His son Kim Jong Un will succeed him and like everything else in North Korea, we know next to nothing.

HISTORY IS HAPPENING PEOPLE. This is fantastic. And it could be terrible. Real life is so much better than t.v.

If you want to know more about this. Go here. The New York Times has put together an assortment of articles, videos, and other materials for educators to teach their students. Oh man, if I was a history teacher today, all my lesson plans would have been abandoned to talk about this.

Alright. Current events binge over. At ease.

Mmmm...Books.

At the end of every semester a wonderful thing happens. Textbook sell-back. Now I know most people complain about textbook sell-back because they don't get back the money they paid for their overpriced books. Believe me, I also feel that textbooks are overpriced (secret combinations anyone?). However, I have such a weird sense of money that by the time I sell back my textbooks it has nothing to do with paying me back for those books I already bought. Instead it is a "you-finished-finals!" bonus.

After selling back my books in order to exit the building I have to pass this evil/amazing section entitled "Bargain Books". I usually spend at least an hour there. My loot this year includes:

After The Darkness: Reflections on the Holocaust by Elie Wiesel (and it's illustrated with pictures from the US Holocaust Museum!)
Words That Ring Through Time: From Moses and Pericles to Obama, Fifty-One of the Most Important Speeches in History and How They Changed our World
P.J. O'Rourke on the Wealth of Nations
Great Issues in American History Volume II (collection of primary documents, win for the history nerd!)
Time-line History of the World by Gordon Kerr
Mesoamerican Myth: A Treasury of Central American Legends, Art, and History by Anita Ganeri
November General Conference Ensign

This is a great haul. All for $30!

Of course as soon as I left I saw Daniel Pink's Drive for $16. Do you know how much I want that book? You want it too you just don't know it yet.

Also.

Cobrastyle by Robyn.

Things I do when I'm not doing schoolwork/preparing for finals.

When I am not preparing for finals I think of things like music, and what my all-time favorite songs are. I've also been prompted into thinking about this by an unknowing friend who recently commented on my great musical taste. So here it is. SOME of the best songs that I feel exist on this planet. Songs that, when they come up on iTunes/Spotify/Marge(my iPod) I usually repeat them at least once.

1. Advice from Them - Aaron Espe
    This might be the best bad day song everrrrrrr.

2. In Caelum Fero - Adiemus
   My dance studio did an epic pointe dance to this when I was younger. Epic.

3. If All She Has is You - Anuna
   This is a recent love. I don't know why I love it. I'm not even sure what it means. My poetic senses don't exist. Is he sad? Is he a jerk? Did she do something? No idea.

4. I Want it All/A Night to Remember/High School Musical - High School Musical 3
:)

5. You're the Top - Barbara Streisand
   Love Barbara. Love this movie (What's up Doc?). LOVE this song.

6. Old Joe Clark - Barrage
   Just because it brings back wonderful European tour memories.

7. City is Ours - Big Time Rush
  I may or may not wake up to this song every morning. It never gets old. Infectious Bubble Gum Pop.

8. American Wake (Nova Scotia Set) - Riverdance
  My studio also did a pointe dance to this. Of course now that I know Irish I have no idea how they accomplished it...

9. Ain't no Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant
You should all buy this song now. This song will be a wicked dance one day. It looks pretty great in my head.

10. I'll Make a Man Out of You - Mulan
Okay, this is just a classic. I always listen to it at least like 5 times in a row.

11. Viva la Vida and Strawberry Swing - Coldplay
I will never stop saying that this is just about the best album ever to exist on the planet.

12. For You - Duncan Sheik
Fantastic love song. Men, take note. (For all girls in general not just me sillies)

13. Stiff Jazz - Dzihan and Kamien
I can't describe this song to you. At all. Not in real words at least.

14. Let's Groove - Earth, Wind and Fire
There is nothing better than a good disco song.

15. Best of My Love - The Emotions
Disco & love? Two of my favorite things.

16. At Last - Etta James
This requires no explanation

17. Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
Mostly because of this video. And it makes me think about graduating. And they made it for last year's class which I was kind of supposed to be in technically...so really...they made it for me.

18. Christ the Lord is Ris'n Today - Geslison & Groberg arrangement
I played this a lot in the last year with the beautiful Alina Geslison and Ashlee Carroll, and the arrangement is so gorgeous.

19. Don't Stand so Close to Me/Young Girl - Glee Cast
Partially because I have a slight fear of this general situation happening to me as a young/single teacher. And because these songs are awesome.

20. We Could Love - Goot
"If we could just free up the laws that bind our lives then we could love."

21. Ice Cream Freeze (Let's Chill) - Hannah Montana
It's better than the Hoedown Throwdown. Promise.

22. Your Biggest Fan - Nick Jonas
From the delightful and short lived Jonas L.A. I love those boys.

23. Divide Me - Kalai

24. Stronger - Kanye West
I can't stand Kanye. But man this song is fantastic.

25. Love Today - Mika
Is this a music video yet? It needs to be one. If it isn't one, I'll gladly choreograph it.

26. This Will be An Everlasting Love - Natalie Cole
Oh hey guess what, also a dance number from my studio. And it was also amazing. Two of the three of three girls who were in it are now Utah Jazz Dancers.

27. Young - Nickel Creek
There is nothing better than good bluegrass.

28. High of 75 - Relient K
This dance is almost completely choreographed in my head. One day...

29. Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh - Say Hi
I may have missed some oh's.

I never told you when this list was going to end did I? Sucka's!

30. Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) - Shakira
Also because of a Divine Comedy skit

31. Dora the Female Explorer - Stackridge
You guys. This song is so good. I can never decide if these people are for real or not. Like, is this song bad-good? Or good-good?

32. That's Not my Name - The Ting Tings
I flipping love these ladies. This is such a great girl power song.

33. We No Speak Americano - Yolanda Be Cool & DCup
Another choreographed-in-my-head dance. And isn't it required for folk dancers to love this song? I think it might be.

34. Come Get it - Aaron Carter
Admit it. You love it too.

PHEW. You made it. And I didn't even look at my Spotify playlists.

Oh wait. 35. Can't Touch This - MC Hammer.
You know why Lar'n. You know why.

Is that you Mitt?

So one time, during the last presidential elections/nominations (uh-oh, this is showing how long I've been in college...) on 820 N. in Provo, right above Thai Ruby, there was this empty office that filled itself to support Mitt Romney and later the Republican party when he didn't get the nomination.

Don't worry guys, this isn't even going to get political. Promise.

So, another time, about two days ago, I was walking down 820 N. to my apartment and there was a man standing in the window of the aforementioned empty place that was once a Republican haven, and he was waving at people. Even though I knew this space had recently been converted into restaurant, I definitely thought it was Mitt. For a good 20 seconds.

Oh hey Mitt! Just waving to me on my walk home from campus? So thoughtful, that's some real good campaigning right there.

Don't worry guys, it wasn't really him.

But if it had been him, he probably would have looked like this.


With the flag in the back and everything I'm sure.