/usr/bin/sven

svenhawaii50 @ 2006-03-30T07:17:00

2006-03-30T13:24:16Z

In this year's exciting season of 24*, Agent Jack Bauer (Steven Merrill) attempts to thwart a terrorist sleeper cell in Peoria, Illinois. With all odds against him, can he save the River City from sure destruction? The only way to find out is to watch.

New Season Starts March 30th, 2006 at 12:00 AM.

Gripping Season Finale March 29th, 2007 at 11:00 PM.

* Years Old

LAST MUSICIAN STANDING

2006-03-27T18:01:59Z

The following is a great quote, and it's source is rather ironic.

Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. In is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and a manly heart.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

The wedding this weekend was a blast. I was the Last Musician Standing, which made it a bit hectic, and nobody's really heard from John Ferguson yet, which is a bit worrying. Someone said he was in Bosxton.

In any case, congratulations to Jeremy and Nikki. It was a cool wedding, and I was tied for the youngest Bradley U alum there.

Plus, the hotel was across the street from both a Wausau Insurance office (unexpected), and the only Fry's Electronics in the Midwest.

Speaking of Wisely improving the Present, here's where I'm at today:

284.5 pounds
42.5% body fat

Let's see what we can do about that.

My Senior Recital

2005-04-03T18:44:38Z

My senior recital was last night. It went great, and there were so many people I didn't expect, chief among them Chris Heeren, Ariel's mom, (okay, so I expected it, but it was still fun) the Adams-Wenger and Wessler families, Peter Ettrup Larsen and his Danish cronies, and so on.

I'll be posting recordings on my website soon enough, but here's some pictures my dad took with the school's ridiculous lens and my new Digital Rebel XT - he did a great job with these!

Whoa - what am I singing right now?

Me and the family. Ummm... the camera adds 15 pounds.

Lee Wenger comes up to me afterwards and says, "So which of the adults here is your dad? Because I can't find one that looks anything like you." He's a funny guy.

A look like this can only come from singing in French.

Mom plots with Chris, Meredith, Molly and Leah.

This is what I love to do more than anything.

Now it's off to sing in my last Chorale concert ever :(

Preach On, Brother (Barrett)

2005-02-10T07:29:08Z

I recently attended a masterclass put on my Dr. Richard Barrett, our stage director for La Traviata, a great guy, and a Sinfonian to boot.

He was talking with Kirsten Mateer, a very talented singer who is currently studying accounting. She said that she plans to be an accountant as her career, and sing for fun, etc. She said that the reason she didn't want to be a professional singer was that she hates rejection, which is a good reason as any, in my book. (Richard also readily admitted that professional singing, especially opera, is the business of rejection.)

To be honest, I'm rather in the same boat. If I keep practicing (and I really am, these days - who saw that coming?) and working, my voice has the potential to turn out pretty nicely. And I, like her, plan to do multimedia 9-5 and sing a decent amount of the rest.

But this is what he said about not pursuing singing as a career choice:

"Well, I get up every day, and, living in New York, I'm thankful that there's a man to come and pick up my garbage in the morning. But you can bet that there's a hundred of them who wish that they had what you have in your throat."

Makes you think. I've still never ruled out Sven the opera singer, but I'll also certainly be a full-time multimedia guy for a decent amount of time.

Also, this is what Fiora Contino, the amazing musical director of Opera Illinois, said to me tonight: "Steven, you're very good. Not just at computers, but at singing, too."

I just wanted to melt right there. Her dad knew Puccini personally. No matter what happens the rest of this week, that ridiculous compliment will keep me going.

Pleasant dreams, all.

I love lamp

2005-01-30T08:54:06Z

Barbeque Kitten was A-MAZING. Congrats to John, Matt and Alex, along with the rest of the Kittens, for an amazing show.

After that, we decided to go to Old Chicago, and I finished my World Beer Tour.

Now I can either go for tour number two or just start drinking what I want - we'll have to see.

'Night, all!

Boilerplate Life-Is-Good Post

2005-01-29T07:23:58Z

So, yeah.

Fiora Contino, the best opera conductor I may ever get a chance to work with thinks that I'm cute, which can't be bad.

I just got a really nice card from my ex-girlfriend. I still miss her unbelievably, but the card was such a nice touch.

And inside the card was her key, which I promptly gave to Erin and Laura, thus giving us two new honorary roommates, which rocks!

Yeah - got another Pirates performance tomorrow morning, and then a little bit of stuff to do this weekend, and then it's back to the regular week. Can't wait to graduate, can't wait to stay here. Good stuff all around.

Hope you all are enjoying the new year, guys!

Never Fails...

2005-01-24T19:49:42Z

Whenever I've been spiking my hair, and I just comb it all forward, people think I got my hair cut.

Four times already today, I've had comments on my "haircut." It's interesting.

Who are you, sir? Speak! I am a pirate!

2005-01-18T23:27:40Z

Okay, everyone, I'm in a production of Pirates of Penzance, and y'all should come see it.

It's this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Woodruff High School.

6:00 dinner, 7:30 show including dessert over intermission.

Starring Pete Wessler, Gina Wright, Shirley Salazar, Pete Driscoll, Debra Austin, Lee Wenger, and of course, me!

I can get you in cheap, and I'm going to bug you all to come, so you might as well sign up as soon as possible.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Time for Bed

2005-01-07T06:54:59Z

The caraway "seed" is not a seed at all, but a fruit.

G'night, all.

Song Lyrics Quiz

2005-01-06T15:06:18Z

Hooray for work snow/internet-outage days!

So I'm doing this song lyrics quiz thing:

On your current playlist, hit shuffle and pick the first ten songs on the list (no matter how cheesy or embarrassing), and write down your favourite line of the song. Try to avoid putting the song title in the line.

Okay, without googling, you web-savvy friends, you, try and figure these songs out.

1. And when it's green it simply means that she is really stressed / And when it's clear it means she's completely emotionless /And that's alright I must confess
2. I play both good and evil parts / I sing to Verdi's grave
3. I had ice in Minnesota and it melted / Please hold the North Dakota MEGA SUPER BONUS POINT QUESTION
4. Being on an elevator when someone shouts, "Hold the door!" / "NO!!" / "Fuck you lady, that's what stairs are for!"
5. So pull me under your weather patterns / Your cold fronts and the rain don't matter / Because the sun burn's what I needed
6. The news has got me paranoid / Papers and the news reports / Casualties of every war / Anchor people keeping score
7. I'm not alone cause the TV's on, yeah / I'm not crazy cause I take the right pills everyday
8. He'll get sniffin' when your fish is gashed / He likes you best when your banana's mashed / He's only happy with your girlfriend's pie / And his bony fingers up your ass
9. You are the promised kiss of springtime / That makes the lonely winter seem long / You are the breathless hush of evening / That trembles on the brink of a lovely song
10. I'm lookin' at my watch / At all the time that's been stolen / When I was carrying you / Seems I've tripped and I've fallen

Wow.

2005-01-01T22:55:27Z

Okay, so I'm addicted to all this reading about MSG and aspartame and the like.

But the truth is, we're all addicted to food, and MSG is the principle reason for it. I knw the next bit is long, but it's really worth reading, if you ask me.

MSG Is Behind American Obesity

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic. So did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo, and spent years working for the government.

Erb made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America. In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies.

No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so the scientists have to create them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with a chemical when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and humans?) to become obese They even have a title for the race of fat rodents they create: "MSG-Treated Rats."

MSG?

I was shocked too. I went to my kitchen, checking the cupboards and the fridge.

MSG was in everything! The Campbell's soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, Kraft salad dressings, especially the 'healthy low fat' ones. The items that didn't have MSG had something called Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate. It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. They hide MSG under many different names in order to fool those who catch on.

But it didn't stop there. When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items had MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn't use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant, even the sit down ones like TGIF, Chilis', Applebees and Denny's use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin, their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so may of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John. In the book he wrote, an expose of the food additive industry called The Slow Poisoning of America, (http://www.spofamerica.com), he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG at http://www.msgfacts.com/facts/msgfact12.html explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people eat more. A study of elderly people showed that people eat more of the foods that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobby group says eating more benefits the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

'Betcha can't eat just one', takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is concerned!

And we wonder why the nation is overweight? The MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn't added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive substance: NICOTINE for FOOD!

Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty years ago, MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the prepackaged meals, soups, snacks and fast foods we are tempted to eat everyday.

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They claim it's safe to eat in any amount.

How can they claim it is safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

--The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity. Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002

--Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats. Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori RC, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug

--Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: an animal model of multiple risk factors. Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima

Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar

--Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity. Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K, Kusunoki Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct

Yes, that last study was not a typo, it WAS written in 1978. Both the medical research community and food "manufaturers" have known MSG's side effects for decades!

Also there are many more studies mentioned in John Erb's book that link MSG to Diabetes, Migraines and headaches, Autism, ADHD and even Alzheimer's.

But what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity epidemic we now see?

Even as you read this, George W. Bush and his corporate supporters are pushing a Bill through Congress. Called the "Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act" also known as the "Cheeseburger Bill." This sweeping law bans anyone from suing food manufacturers, sellers and distributors. Even if it comes out that they purposely added an addictive chemical to their foods.

The Bill has already been rushed through the House of Representatives, and is due for the same rubber stamp at Senate level. It is important that Bush and his corporate supporters get it through before the media lets everyone know about MSG, the intentional Nicotine for food.

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of the highest government health officials in Canada. While sitting in the Government office, the official told him "Sure I know how bad MSG is, I wouldn't touch the stuff!" But this top level government official refused to tell the public what he knew.

The big media doesn't want to tell the public either, fearing legal issues with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry may hurt their profit margin.

So what do we do?

The food producers and restaurants have been addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price for it.

Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I'm just one voice, what can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while guys like Bush are insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us.

I for one am doing something about it. I am sending this email out to everyone I know in an attempt to show you the truth that the corporate owned politicians and media won't tell you.

The best way you can help save yourself and your children from this drug-induced epidemic, is to forward this report to everyone. With any luck, it will circle the globe before Bush can pass the Bill protecting those who poisoned us.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on Nicotine?

Blow the whistle on MSG.

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for us, and you don't believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to the National Library of Medicine, at www.pubmed.com

http://www.pubmed.com. Type in the words "MSG Obese," and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese, lethargic, addicted sheep, waiting for the slaughter.

With your help we can put an end to this, and stop the Slow Poisoning of America. Let's save our children.

Addendum:

Hidden Sources Of MSG In Foods

From the book 'Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills' By Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD

What if someone were to tell you that a chemical (MSG) added to food could cause brain damage in your children, and that this chemical could effect how your children's nervous systems formed during development so that in later years they may have learning or emotional difficulties?

What if there was scientific evidence that these chemicals could permanently damage a critical part of the brain known to control hormones so that later in life your child might have endocrine problems? How would you feel?

Suppose evidence was presented to you strongly suggesting that the artificial sweetener in your diet soft drink may cause brain tumors to develop, and that the number of brain tumors reported since the introduction of this widespread introduction of this artificial sweetener has risen dramatically? Would that affect your decision to drink these products and especially to allow your children to drink them? What if you could be shown overwhelming evidence that one of the main ingredients in this sweetener (aspartame) could cause the same brain lesions as MSG? Would that affect your buying decisions?

And finally, what if it could be demonstrated that all of these types of chemicals, called excitotoxins, could possibly aggravate or even precipitate many of today's epidemic neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease? Would you be concerned if you knew that these excitotoxin food additives are a particular risk if you have diabetes, or have ever had a stroke, brain injury, brain tumor, seizure, or have suffered from hypertension, meningitis, or viral encephalitis?

Would you also be upset to learn that many of the brain lesions caused by these products in your children are irreversible and can result from a SINGLE exposure of these products in sufficient concentration?

How would you feel when you learn the food industry hides and disguises these excitotoxin additives (MSG and Aspartame) so they can't be recognized?

Incredulous? Enraged? The fact is many foods are labeled as having "No MSG" but in fact not only contain MSG but also are laced with other excitotoxins of equal potency and danger.

All of the above are true. And all of these well known brain toxins are poured into our food and drink by the thousands of tons to boost sales. These additives have NO OTHER purpose other than to enhance to TASTE of food and the SWEETNESS of various diet products.

As discussed previously, the glutamate (MSG) manufacturers and the processed food industries are always on a quest to disguise the MSG added to food. Below is a partial list of the most common names for disguised MSG. Remember also that the powerful excitotoxins, aspartame and L-cystine, are frequently added to foods and according to FDA rules require NO LABELING AT ALL

* Food Additives that ALWAYS contain MSG *

Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein (Including TVP)
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Corn Oil

* Food Additives That FREQUENTLY Contain MSG *
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavors/Flavoring
Natural Beef Or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices

* Food Additives That MAY Contain MSG Or Excitotoxins *
Carrageenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Also: Protease Enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins.

Aspartame - An Intense Source Of Excitotoxins

Aspartame is a sweetener made from two amino acids, phenylalanine and the excitotoxin aspartate. It should be avoided at all costs. Aspartame complaints accounts for approximately 70 percent of ALL complaints to the FDA. It is implicated in everything from blindness to headaches to convulsions. Sold under dozens of brand names such as NutraSweet and Equal, aspartame breaks down within 20 minutes at room temperature into several primary toxic and dangerous ingredients:

1. DKP (diketopiperazine) (When ingested, converts to a near duplicate of a powerful brain tumor causing agent)
2. Formic Acid (ant venom)
3. Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)
4. Methanol (causes blindness...extremely dangerous substance)

Common Examples:

Diet soft drinks, sugar free gums, sugar free Kool Aid, Crystal Light, childrens' medications, and thousands of other products claiming to be 'low calorie', 'diet', or 'sugar free'.

A Final Note...

Dr. Blaylock recounted a meeting with a senior executive in the food additive industry who told him point blank that these excitotoxins are going to be in our food no matter how many name changes are necessary...

My faith in this country... getting lower by the minute.

2005-01-01T21:50:34Z

Hey, folks.

It's been a little while since I've posted, and I'm hoping to post more often this year. We'll see how that goes.

Anyways, I'm looking to improve my health this year. For one, I'm working on losing some weight through a low-glycemic-index diet. (Check out http://www.glycemicindex.com/ for information on the glycemic index.)

However, beyond just that, I've been reading a little bit about artificial sweeteners, and as I read about them, moved on to information about how horribly corrupt our FDA is, and that really scares me. Not only that, one of these examples features everyone's favorite guy, Donald Rumsfeld!

Please guys, check these links out:

Aspartame-Gate

Basic gist: Aspartame is a very dangerous neurotoxin, now in wide circulation around the globe. Donald Rumsfled used his position on Reagan's transition team to get it approved over years of protest of the FDA and the National Soft Drink Association of America.

The FDA and Monsanto

I used to think Wal-Mart was a really evil corporation. Man, Monsanto is now at the top of my list, and our own FDA is totally in their pocket. It's rather like Congress and the MPAA and RIAA, it seems, but music piracy never gave anyone cancer or killed someone!

The list goes on, too - how much MSG is in our food under labels like "natural flavoring" or even "spice." It all just sickens me, and I wish there was something I could do about it.

Anyways, after all that, hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year! I'm sure you'll hear more from me, anyways.

Interesting...

2004-11-28T17:47:19Z


minimalism is love
brought to you by the isLove Generator

That means that Piano Phase is love. I like it.

Man, SO MUCH HOMEWORK and so little class left. I'd be really happy about the latter were it not for the former.

Mad-dash-to-the-finish time - luckily I have Christmas music to get me through 12-page research papers on Peter the Great.

I WIN!!!

2004-11-20T05:55:32Z

I won Bradley University's Concerto-Aria Competition!

C'mon out on March 2nd, 2005 for myself, the lovely Melissa Dohn, and the equally lovely fellow Wisconsinite Laura Frymark performing some kick-ass music!

WOO-HOO!

Finally the "Aria" is back in "Concerto-Aria" Competition.

Come for the degree, stay for the people!

2004-08-24T07:57:09Z

I can't believe I'm awake now, four hours before I have to wake up for work in the morning.

Tonight was a hell of a lot of fun, and after my work-a-holic summer, I am so ready to be back at school (which I never technically left,) and hanging out with friends old and new.

I was very happy to have met a lot of new freshmen today, and also very grateful to have hung out with many of my old friends.

Barker Avenue is the place to be. From 1601 to 1617, good times abound. Come on out sometime!

Sven

Textbook, Anyone?

2004-06-07T16:24:33Z

Yeah, so I apparently missed the first day of my History 118 class.

That's just fantastic, let me tell you.

But anyways, the real reason I am posting this is to ask if anyone has the book for the Western Civ class at ICC - the book is entitled The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures Volume II: Since 1560.

If anyone has that and I could buy / borrow it off of them, that'd be great!

Hope everyone's having a great summer - I am worried that mine is going to be busy as hell.

Random

2004-06-03T18:02:45Z

... but it reminds me of how cool my super-senior year will be.

Other quick updates: the house becomes less of a hole every day, my roomies are cool, and working 40 hours is gonna be quite the task, to say nothing of 60 hours.

Have a great summer, all!

LOL

2004-05-28T22:41:54Z

I tried to call the Sprint Store about switching to them from my Verizon phone, and the call was lost not more than 5 seconds in.

CELLULAR WARFARE, I tell you!

Large. Panoramic. Images. FANTASTIC

2004-05-23T22:45:15Z

As a warning: these images are absolutely gigantic, and they're all first-try, unedited photos. But they're still pretty nice. I want to print the first one of the hill. At 72 dpi, it's 20 inches tall by 20 feet wide. TWENTY feet, folks.

The backyard of a fantastic folk high school in Denmark.
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/backcourtyard.jpg

A picture from the inside of Krønborg Castle outside of Copenhagen:
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/castle.jpg

The front yard of the same folk high school near Rørvig:
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/frontcourtyard.jpg

The oldest gymnasium in Denmark. No, I'm not kidding.
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/gymnasium.jpg

The same hill shot from before - this hill was around Rørvig, right near the geographic midpoint of Denmark.
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/hill1.jpg

The same hill, a slightly different panorama.
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/hill2.jpg

A courtyard from the inside of our favorite folk high school:
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/schoolcourtyard.jpg

A room with a cool mural depicting scenes from Norse mythology in the school:
http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/denmark/schoolmural.jpg

Holy Panoramic Shot

2004-05-23T19:41:34Z

Folks,

Denmark rocks. LOOK at it.

http://students.bradley.edu/~smerril7/Hill1.jpg

View that puppy full size.

That is all - many more reports later on.

RrrRrRRRrrRRRrRRrRrgh

2004-05-17T22:05:37Z

Folks.

I worked 14 3/4 hours today on the PACC website.

DAAAAMN.

Happiness is...

2004-05-10T13:52:48Z

... being with your girlfriend for over a month, and making fun plans to meet up over the summer.

... turning on your laptop after thinking your battery is dead and watching it charge.

... being basically done with an arduous semester.

... having three jobs and an opera lined up for the summer.

... getting the score and script for Charlie Brown, and being told I have to grow my hair out.

I'm really excited for Denmark, for the new house, for all the weddings over the summer, the opera, the musical, and more. It's gonna be a lot to do - this summer will be basically as busy as my semester was, I think, but it's all going to be worth it.

Hope everyone else is having a great time as all us Bradley kids run headlong into our last three days of finals.

Forget the countdown...

2004-05-05T14:51:18Z

... I'm Schroeder!

:-D

Almost there...

2004-05-04T13:50:15Z

Yes, folks, only 30 hours remain until the "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" cast list is posted.

¡Excitement!