Step Into the Light // CBC's SEARCHLIGHT 2015

HELLO! Long time no blog... I've been busy in my living room "home studio", grouping gorgeous, grainy synths together in order to enter a song into this year's CBC Searchlight Competition. "Step Into the Light" came into fruition as an extension of sorts to an original piano tune I wrote. It became a canon styled cycle and I couldn't resist polishing it off as its own track. The song "explores life's meaning in all that is positive, spiritual, and existential."

"What the H is this contest?!" you might ask. It is "The Hunt for Canada's Best New Artist". The CBC puts it on every year and receives thousands of original song submissions from aspiring artists across our great nation. It is a round by round contest, so I must rely on votes from YOU (family, friends, and the public) if I am to survive these knockout rounds!

"So how do I vote?!" You will find "Step Into the Light" by Manny Goossen in the Winnipeg region on CBCMUSIC.CA/SEARCHLIGHT!

OR THIS LINK

will lead you straight to my song, where you can listen and vote!

Also, a mobile friendly/quick vote link is:

 http://music.cbc.ca/cbcsearchlight/?id=292147

"WHY SO MANY LINKS, CBC?!"

And the first round has STARTED. You can vote for up to 10 artists per region PER DAY, starting today March 30th till April 13th. That means a vote a day for a total of 15 votes per person, and maybe you can vote on more than one device... Try IT! I think I've made myself clear :)

So I'd lovingly appreciate your support if you'd be so kind! THANK YOU!

If you haven't heard the song yet, beneath holds the light.
Or turn on your sound and it just might be playing already ;)

Cheers and ciao for now!

Hard link: https://soundcloud.com/mannygoossen/step-into-the-light

#300

Update! It is hard to believe, but this exact post will be my 300th for this blog overall. I'm very appreciative of those who have taken the time to read, comment, and give feedback on my stories, opinions, videos, music, and personal experiences over the past 5 years. My postings have obviously slowed down, however I still love to occasionally write and express certain thoughts—which are so often unspoken and unshared with those around me in real time. So thank you, whether you check-in once in a while or have been here since the beginning, my peers, friends, and family!

Much love.

p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'm a little late, but I'm recording a rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" that I performed with a couple friends at our Church for its Christmas Eve services. Hopefully I can share that with you ASAP. 

And stay tuned for my 'Top Albums of the Year' post coming SOOOOON! It's been a fantastic year of music.

Christmas Cheer and a Joyous New Year to you!

Final Term... ?

To go over my Invertebrates Lab 3 outline before my third lab, or not to go over my Invertebrates Lab 3 outline before my third lab? You know what the answer should be, but as I find myself snacking on carrots and typing away at this post, I don't think it's going to happen...

I am on the last leg of my (undergrad) degree! My final term is packed however, so hopefully I don't dig myself too deep in my usual procrastinating trench. Though, since I'm having to endure 4 Biology courses to fulfill a minor in one term (plus my last Psych req.), it just may be bound to happen!

As I gradually come to the end of my undergrad, the constant ever so lurking questions are: "So what's next? What are you going to pursue afterwards? Masters?" Before I attempt to answer these, I always smile and think of how I will finally leave the main campus--overpopulated by those of whom I see as teenyboppers and prepubescent children--and start a new exciting chapter of my life. On the other side, this in turn makes me feel "older" and "not that accomplished"; especially when I see a 17 year-old starting for Liverpool FC, or a 20 year-old signing a 5-year, 31 million dollar contract in the NHL (*fingers crossed for a season this year*)... But I guess it depends on your definition of "accomplished" (and I don't feel like getting that deep here).
So what is next? The truth is: I'm not sure. I live in the moment (maybe too much at times), and have always taken life one step at a time. I'm excited to see what will come my way, but I also realize that I have to meet it (whatever that "what" is) in the middle too. ... I have to focus on graduating first though!

Here are some more things that are keeping me preoccupied from looking over my lab:
All I've heard about in recent days, through friends and strangers, is how Replacement Refs have ruined the NFL, and how the new Mumford & Sons album, 'Babel', is finally out. Both are great news. The NFL Replacement Refs have become a strange, unbelievable phenomenon. The outrageous calls and extremely unlikely mishaps that have happened over the last couple of weeks are an amazing form of entertainment to a pseudo-fan, like myself.
As for Mumford & Sons new album, I can't wait to hear it. It's remarkable how they've reached a fan base that spreads way outside of their genre. They truly are a musical epidemic.

Anyway, now I'm off to my Invertebrates Lab.
Ciao for now.

Boat-Stream Sky

Have you ever had one of those evenings where the sky and lake are one in the same? I just did a couple nights ago. The white horizon seamlessly merged with the silent glass lake, and formed what seemingly felt like a 'Trueman Show' dome.

My parents arrived at the beach on boat, straight from what literally looked like the sky. Their following stream, a pathway, cut so clean. "It felt like we were boating in heaven," my mom proclaimed.

We need more of these moments.

Spray All

First of all, it seems I've settled into the routine of writing a Belize Bound chapter once a month. Wow, and our trip was 6 months ago; time really does fly. Ridiculous. In the famous words of SNL and Kristen Wiig's Gilly... "Ssawry." My apologies to those who read them. I need to get going on the final ones ASAP.

Secondly, today I reached a record high of sprayed listings... 7. SEVEN. It felt good. Hopefully this summer we'll actually have larvae to blast. I'd like to be productive and give ICB a good rep (well, try to).

Anyway, just wanted to backseat blog. Ciao for now.

Backseat Blogging

I'm in the backseat. It's windy and cold in the R.M. of MacDonald. Dusty, cloudy, and most of all... dry. The only thing productive: My prescripted allergy drugs are working. All is calm, yet all is bland.

This will sum up my day at work. "Will", being the key word.

Anyway, sorry for being a downer on this downer of a day. Work and moving has bogged my free time down, and as a result, I've been struggling to settle in and relax. Backseat blogging will help me clear my head, I hope.

Cheers to better days, and the better days to come!