Coldplay is one of the bands that I shy away from publicly admitting to be a fan of, mostly because they're so widely followed. I won't lie; I hate it when bands I like get "big and famous." Coldplay is one of those bands.

With that disclaimer aside, I'm in love with the motif surrounding their new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, which goes out in early June, but which I should be able to get my hands on within the next couple of weeks. I've always considered the gentlemen in Coldplay to be artists, not just in their music, but also in their style, their visuals, and their expressions. This new album is an even more impressive step forward.

The website (coldplay.com) is simple and bold. The photographed brush strokes are beautiful. I love the idea of bringing the painted texture to the screen.

Clicking the "Artwork" link at the bottom takes you to the album cover. This may be one of the coolest album covers I've ever seen in my life:



I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the tracks and seeing what Coldplay have come up with this time around.

My lease on the downtown place was up, so I moved in with a couple of friends from my ward. There were pros and cons -- for example, I enjoyed having a space to myself -- but the pros of moving largely overwhelmed the few cons I could find. So now I'm a few miles from downtown, but right next to the freeway. The commute to work is about the same: 5 minutes or so.

Here's a map simulating the move:


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Note that my office is in that clump of buildings near the green area at the bottom center portion of the map. Good old Red Hat... still rocking my world 14 months later.

Many know that I love ice cream. The greatest I've ever had was a special edition horchata-flavored scoop from Spotted Dog Creamery at a Real Salt Lake game a couple years ago. I prayed and prayed for Spotted Dog to make its way to Utah County, but it never did. Once, however, I saw the Spotted Dog Creamery delivery truck on University Parkway in Provo and followed it until I was close enough to dial the phone number on the door. I called the number and asked if I should get my hopes up that Spotted Dog was then available in Provo, but my hopes were dashed when the gentleman on the line told me that the truck was just there to pick up their cream mixture from the BYU dairy/creamery. If you live in Utah, do whatever you can to support Spotted Dog. EXCELLENT ice cream.

As for the national brands, my love for Ben & Jerry's runs deep. It comes from my core, deep inside of me. Not from my gut, no, but from my heart. My two favorite flavors of Ben & Jerry's:



If I'm only buying one pint at a time, it's Cinnamon Buns. If I'm going to a Ben & Jerry's retail location, it's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080402/wl_afp/argentinabritainfalklandsdiplomacy_080402201109

YOU LOST! It's over! You have no claim! You never had a valid claim! And not only was your claim illegitimate before 1982, but it was rendered further so by your defeat. If you want the islands, fine! Take them and hold them. But you'll have to hold them on the strength of your military, not any claims of legitimate sovereignty. The nations of the world will never acknowledge your claim, and why? Because the treaties are in PLAIN ENGLISH. And don't even think that Great Britain would let you get away with it once again.

And can someone send a brief on "self-determination" to the Argentine Parliament? These people don't even WANT to be Argentine. They CHOOSE to be subject to the British crown of their free will and election. Ms. Kirchner brings up the colonial nature of it, but history (and not 1000-years-back ancient history, but 25-years-ago-and-everyone-saw-it-on-the-news history) will continue to show that the only colonial action in the Falklands occurred for 2 months in the summer of 1982.

Oh, silly Argentina... South Atlantic islands are for Europeans!