NYE in NYC

I know that Christmas is almost here, but that's not what I'm most excited about right now.

I don't want to make anyone jealous, but in exactly one week I will be in NYC. So if you know how to do your math, you'll realize that means I will be there fore new years and I will be partying as hard a Mormon can (e.g. soda, unhealthy food, dancing, laughter, etc.).

I've never been before so as you can imagine, my level of excitement is out the roof and with the anticipation mounting, I kind of feel like a combination between this:

and this:

With that said, I don't want to mess this trip up and miss out on something important. So to all of you that have been to NYC, what do I absolutely need to see/do/eat/buy/experience?

Ummm...true love?

This song is the best of both worlds, a beautiful voice/woman, and a timeless classic...I think I am in love.

Sunday Girl - Where Is My Mind? (Pixies Cover)

Me Gusta

I love movies.

Here are two in 2012 that give me the chills of excitement.

The Dark Knight Rising (Summer 2012)

The Hobbit (Christmas 2012)

Ring that Bell

As you all know, I am a real saint.

This was validated last week when I volunteered to ring the bell and coerce money out of people for the Salvation Army. I was stationed in front of Starbucks on a beautiful street with tons of foot traffic in Los Altos.

When I started at 3 it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was about 70 degrees and I was warm in a short sleeved shirt. I was worried that I would be bored, but I had a real entertaining time for the 4 hours I was there. This is mostly because I love to watch people and this was a particularly interesting type of people watching since everyone knew I was there and knew I was trying to make eye contact. In fact I caught myself laughing a few times as people did all they could to look natural as they took every means necessary to avoid me.

I was often surprised by the people who would actually smile back to me, acknowledge my presence, and donate money. But what I really enjoyed was watching how people acted when they got within about 50 feet. All of a sudden they would begin to lower their heads, search in their pockets, stare intently at their phone or anything they could get a hold of, and do anything to look like they didn't see me standing on the corner with a red apron on ringing a bell.

One of my favorite things to watch was people take really weird routes through the intersection to keep at least 10 feet away from me at all times. They would squeeze between parked cars, make a diagonal route across the intersection, or just walk in the gutter to avoid walking in front of me. I understand tho, my smiling face and bell ringing is pretty intimidating.

I also loved it when people walked by and gave me some excuse why they weren't donating "I've already donated a LOT to the cause. Believe me." Oh, I do buddy. Or they would say "I donated earlier today so..." to which I would respond by shaking my head with an "understanding" look on my face. I just think it's funny people feel the need to justify their actions to me.

In the end, I  had a great time watching people and doing my best to spread the spirit of giving. And I realized for about the millionth time that you can't just judge a book by its cover.


On a side note, I am now officially half way done with law school. Yay for me.

Never get old

Finals have been consuming my life this past week and as a result, I have been listening to a lot of music. And I noticed the other day that there are lots of songs that I like for a few weeks or months while there are other songs that I like for years and years. For some reason, there are a handful of songs that just never get old, no matter how many times I listen to them. It got me thinking why? What is the difference between the songs I love for a few months and the songs that I love for years? Is it the composition? The lyrics? The style? Is it me? I don't have any answers, but I sure think that it's an interesting phenomenon.

With that said, here is just a small portion of the songs that never get old for me.

Radiohead - Karma Police

The Pixies - Where is my Mind

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday

The Cure - Friday I'm in Love

The Cranberries - Zombie

Moby - Porcelain

Beck - Loser

Coldplay - Clocks

Cake - The Distance

Weezer - Island in the Sun

MusIC MMXI

You wanna know what the year 2011 has sounded like inside my head?

Then listen to this: MMXI
50 songs that give a pretty good representation.

#ItMightBeLove

I love bike.

There. I said it. I love my bike. The last 2 weeks or so I've taken this beaut for a daily spin and I've fallen in love.

Not only do I love the bike itself (easily the best $150 I've spent in decades), and the act of biking, but I love what I see while I am riding my bike. I've noticed hole-in-the-wall restaurants, side streets with beautiful houses and landscaping, a lot of cool and weird cars, and the overall beauty of the area I live in.

It's been good for me to slow down a bit and enjoy those things that are around me each and every day.. Maybe it's just the fact that it's fall and everything outside is beautiful, or that we just finished Thanksgiving, but I have been feeling very grateful of late for the beautiful world we live in. All around us there are amazing things and people, and if we slow down for a few seconds we might actually see and experience some of them.

If there is one thing I have learned over my short and unproductive life, it is that when we are grateful for what we have we are content and we are happy. So I admonish all of you, slow down. See what the world around you has to offer. The people. The beauty. The unique. Experience more and enjoy your life more. Recognize the many blessing around you and you will be happier. It's a fact.

Also, my iphone has brought out the inner-photographer in me and here are just a few more of my favorite finds over the past few weeks.

M83 bliss

The M83 album, "Hurry Up We're Dreaming", is pure bliss and I absolutely love this song right now. The only word I can really find to describe it is cute. Or maybe adorable. Or maybe cudorable. Anyway, give it a listen. Rather, give the whole album a listen, it is that amazing.

M83 - "Raconte Moi une Histoire" I don't really understand why it's put to this video, so maybe just close your eyes if it is distracting you.



Happy Decembers!

Things that I love

There are only a limited quantity of things that I truly love in this life.

Here are most of them:

1- Things that are free

 Free concert in SF...really doesn't get much better than that.

2- Winning

 Trivia night at a local pub...needless to say, we won.

3- Making Arts

Major League Facial Hair

3- Quality people watching

Hipster scene in SF is always amazing...and it's even better when you have people to share it with.

4- Good music

 Sick band called Seatraffic I saw fo' free in SF. I could do this every day.

5- Good food

This is Sol Food...best Puerto Rican food I have had. Also, my favorite restaurant in California.

6- Grand friends 

 Off the Grid in SF...best taco truck food ever.

7- Awesome Family

All the boys. They are my best friends.

 And people say we look alike...

 The whole crew. The Zollinger clan. The cool kids. 

To my female readers: On a side note, I will be the only single adult in my family in a few short months...I'd prefer it not to stay that way for too long. So....you catch my drift, eh?

For all of you that fall under one of these categories, thanks for being in my life. I love you.

Dance the night away

I like to dance. Sometimes.

And during those times I especially like it when it is at real "classy" clubs, pubs,and bars in the greater Bay area. Cause then not only is the dancing fun, but the people watching is amazing and I get to have a good time laughing and heckling my fellow dancers.

For instance, about two weeks ago I went dancing with some friends in Palo Alto at a real nice club and, as is evidenced in the photo, I had a great time making a fool of myself and watching others do the same.

You might wonder why I like to dance since it's no secret that I am a tall and uncoordinated white man and therefore genetically terrible at dancing. In fact, it's hard to really classify what I do as dancing. It's more like random movements of my body that sometimes end up being in synch with the beat of the music, but it's the best I can do and I enjoy it. And that is what really matters.

With that said, I really wish that I could dance

I really wish I could somehow learn to dance like this.


Or this.


Or this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxPbgnO81sQ&list=LLPE6IoEkfdjE-oLT78gJ5KQ&index=12&feature=plpp_video


Or even this.


Really I just wish I was coordinated in some way, shape, or form...maybe in the next life, eh?

Phantogram Dreams

As many of you might know I really like the band Phantogram and I might have a slight crush on Sarah Barthel.

Since March of this year I have been attempting to see them in concert, but I would always hear about their shows in SF as soon as they sold out and the only way to get tickets was via Craiglist for about $50 a pop...a price I couldn't justify even to catch a glimpse of Sarah.

With that said, on Wednesday night I had the blessed opportunity to see Phantogram perform in the flesh. It was a beautiful experience and honestly one of the best concerts I have ever been to in my life. It reaffirmed my love for the band and for Sarah.

It's hard to explain exactly why the concert was so great. The music was amazing, it was loud, it was the thumping, the songs were powerful, and Sarah's voice was angelic. Add that to the amazing visual aspects, Sarah dancing and whipping her hair around, the fog, the lasers, and the light show and you've got something that borders on heavenly. Add to that a fair dosage of weed (second hand of course) and it really was magical. I know that my words can't do it justice, so here are a couple of videos I took from the concert so you can get a better feel for what I'm talking about.


Phantogram 2 from Brett Zollinger on Vimeo.




Oh ya, and Sarah Barthel is even more beautiful in real life than in photos...I am truly smitten.

Here are some sick photos I snapped for your viewing pleasure as well.

Artist or Procrastinator?

I don't know what happens, but every so often I get inspiration for some sweet artwork and over a few months time it seems to take up a decent chunk of my time.

The most recent episode began about a month ago when my friend approached me about helping him create some artwork for his new company Denik. They sell notebooks with art on the cover and give a portion of the proceeds to some sort of charity/non-profit, which currently is a great organization called Mali Rising.

Anyway, this pushed me to start thinking about some sweet artwork I could create, for awhile I was stuck, but then I realized that I would love to make some stencils. So for the past two weeks I have been creating stencils, mainly of celebrities/athletes, but I'm debating moving into the realm of other stuff, maybe an owl next? I dunno. Anyway, here are two of my finished projects and I have about 4 more getting close to being done.

 Dennis Eckersley - The Mustache

Brian Wilson - Fear the Beard

The side-by-side

Best part about all of this is that it distracts me from my ever present mountain of homework and allows me to be a more effective and happy procrastinator. So if anyone has any cool ideas, or suggestions on how to make my stuffs better, please send them my way so I can improve my art and my procrastination.

Just rant it out

I feel the need to rant. So here are the things that bug me lately/always and forever:

- Incorrect usage of your and you're, their and there, and then and than. Seriously people, it is not that difficult, if you made it through the 7th grade you should have no problem understanding that all of those words have distinct meanings and usages.

- People who care more about animals than humans. I don't get it, I like animals and everything, but humans > animals.I don't care if you take in every stray animal you see, but don't use that as an excuse to not help the poor and needy humans all around you...

- People who drive slower than the speed limit. I probably need to be more patient, but I think it would be easier if people just learned to drive.

- People who smoke. Do what you want just don't do it in places that makes me walk through your filth everyday.

- People who run into your car with theirs then just drive away. Grow a pair and take some responsibility for your actions.

- Roommates that come home at 2 in the morning then watch a movie with the volume so loud I can hear the actual dialog of the movie. You are inconsiderate and dumb.

- When my toilet isn't working. Ever since scout camp I've known I can "hold it" for at least 4 days if need be, but I really like having a toilet that works and doesn't smell like a porta-potty...

- Roommates who leave their dishes in the sink so that someone else (that would be me) can clean them.

- People who borrow things, then ruin them, lose them, or never return them. You know who you are. I will make you pay.

You might be saying to yourself, "Wow, that's a little too stern don't you think Brett?"
And I would reply with this (just replace "the Russian police" with my name):



So if you do any of these things, please stop. You'll be making this world a better place.

Thanks and I love you all.

Spotify: Enabling an Addiction

I am addicted to listening to music.

There I said it. If I were wanting to overcome this addiction, I would have just made the first step towards recovery. But I like this addiction, and rather than looking for ways to stop, I look for better ways to enable it.

And recently I found a new tool to enable my addiction. I discovered Spotify about 3 months ago, it seemed cool, but after a few days I was over it and back to using a combination of youtube, and itunes. A few weeks later Jo asked me if I had seen some songs he had sent me via Spotify, I said I hadn't really been using it much and he told me I was crazy and needed to get back on it.

So I did.

I then spent some time to really get to know its features and abilities. And then I fell in love.

It is an amazing program. You can send music to people (it connects with facebook so you are instantly connected with your friends), you can share playlists, you can listen to almost any band/album/song with an internet connection and create playlists out of them. And it is all for freeeeeeee. You do have to listen to the occasional ad, but it's worth it.

You can also pay $9.99 a month to take any of that music with you without the need of an internet connection. You can sync any playlist/album with your computer/phone/ipod and listen to it in your car, at school, in the bathroom, in the mountains, or at your mom's house. It's a pretty cool feature that I am trying out for a month (for free) and I think I might have to end up paying the monthly fee cause it is so freaking sweet.

Anyway, if you love music and like seeing what your friends are listening to I highly suggest you at least try the free version of Spotify and let your addiction to music be enabled.

On a related sidenote, if you like Pandora I would suggest you try out Last.fm, it does the same thing as Pandora, but it does it better and offers a lot of cool features like suggesting new bands to listen to, suggesting free downloads, info on upcoming concerts, band bios, and oh so much more.

Mormons and Cults

Recently my religion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), has been forced under the spotlight and received a lot of media coverage due to some not so flattering remarks from Pastor Jeffress. You might think that his comments are "bad publicity" for the LDS church, but I think that it is great. Ya, there might be some people out there who think Mormons are members of a "cult", but the majority of those people decided that long before Pastor Jeffress said anything. But I hope and believe that for the majority of Americans this has merely made them wonder what Mormons are really all about.

And that is the part I think is great. I want more people to know who we are, to understand what we actually believe, and to know that we are normal (or at least semi-normal) people. So we are devoted to our religion, we go to church for three hours every Sunday, we read scriptures everyday, we pray multiple times a day, we don't drink alcohol or coffee, and we don't smoke (or at least we strive to do/not do all these things). But that is only a portion of what we are devoted to. Our true devotion comes in the form of our belief in God our Heavenly Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and  in modern-day revelation thru living Prophets and Apostles.

If that devotion is what it means to be in a "cult" then yes, I am in a cult and I am proud of it. Mormons might be a little quirky or in some instances just plain weird, but we are really just a community of people trying to live the best lives we know how by following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and by sharing that with those around us.

This church has given  my life purpose, drive, and understanding and has brought me only happiness and joy as I have tried to live my life by its teachings. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines who I am and the man I am striving to become.

I invite all of you to ask me if you have any questions about my faith. I can't promise that I have all the answers, but I love sharing what I do know and believe with others. But if you would rather not ask me since you get sick of hearing my voice, I would invite you to go to www.mormon.org to better understand my faith and that of Mormons around the globe.

Nonstop Joy

I have taken a long hiatus from blogging, not because I haven't had anything funny or witty to say, but because I just haven't had time (or made the time). The past month has easily been one of the busiest of my life, but at the same time one of the most enjoyable.

Here is why:

Bachelor Party in Tahoe with some real cool dudes

Hiking Half-Dome

Running Ragnar with ma friends

Visiting Utah for a wedding, family photos, golf, and college football

I'm sad I don't have nearly as many fun things planned for October and November, but I'm glad to finally be able to put in the time I need at school and not feel like I have no leisure time. So here's to straight A's this semester...or more realistically straight B's! Either way, I'd be happy with myself.

My Rationale

School started last week. I'm in my second year of law school and I've now been a California resident for over a year now. It's kind of weird.

So the rational thing to do 2 days after school starts would be to go on a free trip to San Diego with your borther and his family, right?

Right?

Well, that's what I did and I loved it.

The highlights of the trip were documented via hipster photos and are as followed:

 SEA WORLD

 THE ZOO

THE SAFARI

PETCO PARK

CORONADO

LA JOLLA

It was a great trip. A great way to extend the summer, procrastinate my studies, and spend some good quality time with my brother and his family. The only bad part being that I had to return to the real world and start reading law books again...I love my life!