shazzamber

Author: admin

  • Most Beautiful Songs Ever

    1. Into the West
    2. In Dreams (Lord of the Rings)
    3. Gabriel’s Oboe
    4. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 18th variation
    5. All of the Rigoletto soundtrack
    6. Theme from Rachmaninov’s 2nd concerto
    7. Nessun Dorma

  • Lessons learned from Harry Potter: Eternal Families

    I spoke in church today, and do you know what I spoke on?

    You guessed it. Harry Potter.

    Of course! And why? Well, today is Neville Longbottom‘s birthday, and Harry’s is on Tuesday. So it would only make sense that I’d have to speak about them in church.

    You’re probably wondering how a girl such as I could talk about such a devilish, horrible, sacrilegious, wicked topic in Sacrament Meeting, so I will gladly explain how Harry Potter is a perfect illustration of the importance of family, (which was featured in roughly 87.88% of the talks in this past General Conference) as well as a plethora of other essential gospel topics and principles, and why every human should read the tales of the Boy Who Lived. ….

    THE WEASLEYS: correct me if I’m wrong, The Most Fantastic Fictional Family Ever Created.

    Why are the Weasleys such an amazing family? Well, they gather together for meals and all other occasions, they communicate with each other, they work out their problems together, if they had the gospel in their lives, they would most certainly attend church together, pray together, and read their scriptures together.

    Maybe I’ll get called to the Hogsmeade Mission.

    So, the Weasleys are an example of a strong family that sticks together, takes care of each other, shows LOVE for each other, forgives one another, protects each other, and stands for truth and righteousness. (Obviously that’s what Dumbledore’s Army is all about.)

     Let’s agree that they are just the greatest fictional family ever. Don’t correct me, because I’m not wrong.

    THE MALFOYS:

    Oh them. We thought they were evil, and they were nasty to Harry and the Weasleys and Dumbledore and Buckbeak and Hagrid and Sirius and Lupin and pretty much everyone, and led the Death Eaters in that stupid rampage at the Quidditch World Cup, and allowed Voldemort to dwell in their manor, and participated in the dark works of the Death Eaters. But they were different.

    Do you know why? Because they had love. (Obviously not Bellatrix. I won’t even go there.)

    That single characteristic is what sets them apart from the other Death Eaters, and what ultimately saves them (to a certain degree) in the end.

    Are we seeing a pattern? The most powerful weapon is love, and the most powerful love is the love in a family.

    THE DURSLEYS:

    Yes, I am including these folks. They are cows. We all know that. But I still want to point out that they loved each other and tried to protect each other.
    As Dumbledore said, Do not not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living. Above all, those who live without love. Dumbledore is so great. What a blessing it is to have an eternal family.
    In conclusion, Harry Potter teaches the importance of family relationships. From the example of the Weasleys, we can add our own knowledge of the Plan of Happiness (“happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ”) and prepare for our eternal families. (Yes, I had to add that. I’m a college student. That’s the law.)
    Isn’t Harry Potter awesome? There are SO MANY lessons to be learned from this fantastic series. Siriusly. 

  • Thoughts on Death, the Devil, and Music Cathartis

    Did you hear about the shooting in the Aurora theater in Colorado? Oh my goodness. It’s times like this  that I am incredibly thankful for the gospel and for the Plan of Happiness. It also increases my desire to serve a mission like 10 times.


    We have all this knowledge– we know that there is life after death, we know that families can be together forever, and we know that our Heavenly Father, who is waiting for us to come home to him, loves us. But so many people don’t know that! So many people grieve over tragedies like these (as they should) because they don’t know that they can be together again. But they can be! 


    And I could be the one to bring them that happy message. (2 months until I submit my papers!)

    My first class on Monday, shortly after the news broke, was World Music Cultures. My amazing professor Dr. Kammerer brought up a discussion about Satan, and how we know that he is real, and an actual literal son of God, who can get hold upon the hearts of men, as he has with this particular man. (Those aren’t his words. He didn’t even use them. I just like to quote scripture whenever I talk about Satan. See Helaman 6:30 for a better description.) We know that, and we know how we can fight against him, and we just need to spread the world. Also, Alma 30:60. True statement.

    He also talked about the cathartic powers of music. We listened to “Gone Too Soon”, as excellent song by Michael Jackson. The emotion conveyed through the music, even without the lyrics, but certainly supplemented by them, encompasses the emotions that inevitably come with death. Isn’t music amazing? It is so powerful.

    Also, if we had a checklist of the Signs of the Last Days, which we actually do, pretty much the whole list would be checked off by now. Seriously. I’m starting to wait for an announcement about the temple in Jerusalem.

    My prayers go out to those affected by this horrible event. And I guess The Dark Knight Rises will forever be associated with it, which is unfortunate.

  • Where are your manners?

    Have you listened to Chess in Concert? It is breath-taking. Have you listened to Schlinder’s List? It is sublime. Have you listened to Come Thou Fount by the BYU combined choirs? It is very moving. Have you watched If Guys Were Like Girls? It is hilarious. Have you heard Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in B-flat? It is exhilerating. Have you watched Happy Together, by the Piano Guys? They are so cool. Or Silent monks singing Hallelujah? It is extremely clever. And I could go on and on.

    Do you know what all of these have in common, aside from awesomeness? They all have multiple “dislikes”, and several absurdly rude and un-called for comments! 

    I honestly can’t comprehend how any of those fantastic youtube videos can even bring an individual to have any negative feelings whatsoever, but to go so far as to physically (with a single click of a mouse) proclaim to the virtual world that you don’t like it is completely beyond me. Why do we have a need to give our opinion on virtually (ha) everything? Especially if it’s not nice. I mean, come on. Didn’t everyone watch Bambi? And seriously, NO ONE CARES.

    Also text lingo. I promised myself I would never type these letters consecutively, but I guess I will, for the sake of this thought. LOL. Oh boy. Does anyone even laugh out loud when they write that? I would guess maybe 2% of the time. It seems to me that it can be an excuse to say something insensitive, rude, or just plain stupid. For example “You look so dumb lol.” “This is really ugly lol.” “I hate you lol.” (Of course punctuation would be ridiculous. Who even punctuates anymore? 

    idk if u r still reading this lol jk haha but this is smthng ive thought alot about lol and it just hurts me 2 c mean thngs online lol their r sm thngs i cn handle lol but their is no reason 2 insult ne1 esp. if u dont no them lol 🙂 🙂 🙂 <3 <3 =] 

    These are just my thoughts on our virtual society, which actually sometimes makes me ashamed to be part of the human race.

  • Finally

    Aloha. I have an exciting announcement: I FINALLY GOT MY DRIVER’S LICENSE!!!! I don’t have a car here in Hawaii, so it’s not like I’ll really be able to drive, but it’s just the fact that I’ve finally accomplished what all my friends did 6 years ago. What a relief.

    Can we just take a second to review why this is such a huge deal for me?

    I had epilepsy.
    I had a major brain surgery two years ago.
    I don’t have a right hippocampus.

    I can drive a car!

    Also, I’m working on my mission papers. Have I announced that? Now that info can go on it!

  • It begins

    Can you tell what this is? Probably not. So I’ll tell you:

    This is a screen shot of the beginnings of my MISSION PAPERS!!! The process has begun.

    More to come later.

  • My little sisters… Aren’t so little anymore

    There are a few things I am very passionate about. One is of course music, because it is essentially my life right now. Another is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, another is Chocolate Haupia pie from Ted’s Bakery, and another is my three little sisters– Kristen, Lauren and Sophie. I’d like to think that I’m not a very prideful person, but if there’s one thing I take incredible pride in, it’s these three young ladies. Please let me brag about them to you.

    KRISTEN is my oldest friend, and by that I mean I’ve been friends with her for 18 years of my life. She just turned 18, and she is one of the most spiritually in-tune, selfless, compassionate individuals I know. Whenever I go home, she’s usually not home about 60% of the time, and about 90% of that is visiting other people and giving them cookies she made or something. And let me tell you, that girl can cook! She also just got accepted to the extremely competitive BYU School of Music (round of applause, please) after impressing much of Western Europe with her cello skills. She should commence her world-tour sometime within the next five years. Ticket prices to be announced at a later date. And if her cello skills weren’t enough, she can also sing the socks off of any Broadway musical or Italian opera or what have you. Seriously.

    LAUREN is not only the most popular girl at Timpview, she is also

  • "Old" Age

    I’ve kind of been thinking about how age perspective really changes as you get older. For example, until I was no longer a high school senior, I thought high school seniors were old and awesome. I also felt that way about my age in 9th grade, and 8th grade, and 7th grade, and 6th grade…. I guess every year you feel kind of like you’re on top of the world. 


    But then you go to college, and you find yourself at the bottom of the food chain again, and you realize that you are but a small child. And people that age are getting married! And the Elders, those old, mature Elders I used to see coming out of the MTC and playing on the missionary field, are but children as well. 


    I don’t feel like I can even sound sophisticated enough about my age until I’m 23 at the youngest. Before that is just embarrassing. 

    So, sixteen was always old. (And twenty was ancient.) But I found these movie quotes that make sixteen sound… You know. The way it felt at that age. 


    The Little Mermaid:
    Triton: They’re dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snared by some fish eater’s hook? 
    Ariel: I’m sixteen years old – I’m not a child anymore… 
    Triton: Don’t you take that tone of voice with me young lady. As long as you live under my ocean, you’ll obey my rules! 

    The Sound of Music:
    Liesl: I’m Liesl. I’m sixteen years old and I don’t need a governess.





    So yeah. But then there comes a time when you realize that you aren’t exactly a child, per say, even if you’re comparatively young, as the general population goes. That’s for times like this:

    Sorry if you can’t read that. It’s funny. And I get that I’m still way young, which is the point of this whole thing.


    Also this:

    Ha!


    I also feel this way:

    I really do still think that the ’90s is the “current” decade. 


    Remember this?

    Ah, good times.



    The point is, I don’t feel like I’m getting old. Quite the opposite. But I am starting to realize that time has flown on. Here’s to 80 more years of awesomeness, and never feeling old.

  • Beautiful Music

    Last night, I went to one of the most incredible concerts I’ve ever been to. It was the Honolulu Symphony, performing the Eroica Symphony, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Rhapsody in Blue, and Pictures At an Exhibition. Let me say that when I saw the program, I almost died.

    We studied the Eroica in Music History this past semester, so I already knew quite a bit about it, and it just happens to be one of my all-time favorite symphonies. Very fine performance. Then the Rachmaninov. Oh my word. I am going to make the biggest statement of my life, and say that I think the 18th Variation of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is the most glorious piece ever written. I will qualify that there are thousands of other beautiful songs, some of which I blogged about last March, linked here for your viewing/ listening convenience. Nonetheless, it has been one of my favorite pieces for almost as long as I can remember, and the stunning performance nearly brought me to tears.

    http://youtu.be/bNrVFkBDte8

  • Two Years!

    I have an exciting announcement to make: it has been exactly two years (730 days) since my brain surgery, and I haven’t had a seizure since then. This is the longest I’ve gone without having a seizure in my entire life, so it’s kind of a huge deal for me.

    Primary Children’s Hospital. This is the place where the miracles happen, mine specifically, along with SO MANY others. I can say with complete confidence that I could not have gone to a better hospital, or had better surgeons or doctors or nurses.

    There are angels in this building, ranging in age from newborns to however old the oldest worker is, and including both living and dead. I think I’d like to spend some time over there after I die, as odd as that sounds. I absolutely know I was watched over during my surgery. I don’t really know how that whole deal works, but if it’s possible, I’m doing it.

    Prayers are answered. The priesthood is real. Heavenly Father loves His children.