Robin Hood

It's time to jump on the band wagon and post about Robin Hood because I watched the first five episodes with Kat today. First of all http://grooveshark.com/s/Robin+Hood+Theme/1ZuL0u?src=5 = EPIC!!!!!

 Second of all

Why don't I look like that?

Yeah, Robin Hood is officially added to my list of people that I have to be for a day.

Highlights and Skylights

This post really has absolutely nothing to do with skylights, but that is seriously a pretty darn catchy title. Anyway, I just want to talk about a few highlights of my year.

I'm going to start by thinking way WAY back to summer band. That was the first time I got to play bass drum, and I loved it. And I hated it, but that was just because it was heavy. Everything else, I loved about it. I loved my awesome section and I loved the music and I loved feeling cool because I was on bass. One funny experience was when everyone else in my section was at girls camp, so I was the only one in the bass section for an entire week. As summer band approaches again, I can remember the feelings and experiences associated with it.

Secondly, fall band. At first, I was really sad that I didn't make it on bass for fall, but now I'm not so sure that it was a bad thing. The fall music for the frontline was a party! Plus I'm in love with mallet instruments. The thing I didn't like about it most was that the music was too easy. It was super fun, but it was also geared more toward beginning mallet players. I love fall band. Everyone just loves each other so much. Love is what makes music sound good, because music is really just love put in the form of radiation.

Thirdly, Early Morning Seminary. Brother Olivas was basically the best seminary teacher ever in the whole universe. Ever. He was hilarious, he made lessons engaging, he made lessons fun, and most of all when he taught the Spirit was so strong in the classroom, and I can't possibly think of a better way to start off a day.
Brother Pierce was also an awesome seminary teacher.

Fourthly (this could get old after a while,) Percussion class. For some reason this year Percussion seemed so much more fun, and so much easier, and so much happier than past years. I have loved it every single year, but this year is was just amazing! Maybe it's because all the percussionists were so superly friendly.

Fifthly (yep,) Second period. Best time of my life. I absolutely adore all of the people that I got to share this free class period with. I loved the awesome in depth discussions, and all of the hilarious things people would say. Zoe with her chemistry, Kat with her book, Kristen with her Physiology, Jacob with his EHS (just like everyone was supposed to be doing,) and all the random visitors that would pop in occasionally. I loved just talking with all these amazing people, and also randomly visiting Lauren while she was practicing her violin. Definitely my favorite class.

Next, my math class. You know, this class was actually kind of fun (when I was able to actually go anyway so I could understand the stuff.) Ms. Partridge was really good at teaching and making it understandable and fun. Math isn't all that bad. I still won't miss it next year though.

German was interesting. I'm gonna be honest and say I didn't like it as much this year as I did in past years. Probably mostly just because I wasn't able to go very often due to concert band and tech. I still love german. I wish I could speak it perfectly fluently along with every other language ever. I think that language is just spoken music. Anyway, I love german.

English was a great class. I really like english, and I want to be an author some day. I am currently writing a choose-your-own-adventure book because I am extremely mad at the stupid lazy bums that currently write this type of book. I'm sick of having it end after three pages, and I realize that you have to write waaaaay more the longer it goes on due to all the choices, but it's your job to write, so why not just do it?! I think I did pretty good on the English AP test too. For one of the essays I pretended to be asian, but that can't hurt, can it?

AP Biology was actually easier than I thought it would be, but I should have done a bit more studying. I think I still passed the test, but I ought to have done much better. Myrup is a very great teacher. I want to be his TA next year or something.

Ballroom was crap. Just kidding, I really enjoyed some moments of it, but I really just wanted to dance, but there was so much other junk I had to deal with for that class like competing and watching other ballroom concerts and whatnot, so it just wasn't worth it. I'm glad I quit. (Secretly I still dance sometimes though.)

Indepent music study was amazing. I learned a ton and got better at percussion.

Drama was great, but I really wish I could've been in the plays. Speaking of which.....

Man of La Mancha was incredible. It seriously changed my life. I did tell Riley, before we even had tryouts, that he was Don Quixote. Ah, that was such a powerful musical. I still have the script.

Two Gentlemen of Verona was really funny, but I don't really want to write about it right now. Instead, I'll share one memorable moment. That one time when Jake's nose started bleeding while he was on stage, yeah that was interesting. Good thing I had some paper towels with me.

I'm actually kind of glad that I didn't make it into the one-act, because that was kind of an awkward play. And I don't think that it was really all too funny. Mostly cheesy. I'm still proud of the actors though, they did great.

The Drowsy Chaperone was awesome. I really liked that one. It was cute and funny and happy, and I didn't have to spend my entire life to tech it, just a few nights. I didn't have time to get sick of it, so I still love it!

Due to lack of sleep, there is a big blank spot in my memory where there should be happy experiences during the school year, but I know that they were there! I love all my friends! You guys make life so incredibly much better.

Wow, I even got bored reading that through. I hope you guys didn't actually read this post unless you really needed to fall asleep. I apologize. I'll try to be more entertaining in the future.

Summary

Just to get a feel of how much Tech I did this year...

Overall I spent 405 hours doing tech in 180 school days.
That's 2.25 hours per school day.
Each class is about an hour and a half per every other day.
That's .75 hours per school day in one class.
That means I spent 3 times as much time doing tech as I was in any given class, and this is assuming that I was in every single class every single day. Which I wasn't.
This means that tech equates for about the time of every other school day this year.

I quit.

A Few More

I just need to add a couple people to my list.

Ali Harrison can play phantom of the opera on the piano.

Brenna Christensen (I don't think I spelled that right) is a really good singer/actor.

Anne Barry is blonde.

Steffany Bird is a good director.

Christian Garrett is center snare.

Jacob and James Summers are in my ward.

Brandon Deaton relocated.

Ellie Peak has a magical aura.

Alison Memmott is very tolerant.

Mr. Myrup has great puns.

The Van Ordens are just plain amazing.

Dr. Fullmer is intense.

Justin Bieber can't sing.

Brianna Lindsey is hott (drama board.)

Daniel Hawley can be really funny at times.

All the seniors who are graduating, who have been a wonderful example to me, have helped make me who I am (now you know who to blame.) I love them all more than I love Nutella.

Just a Few

I have decided to list just a few of the people who make me happy on a daily basis and why I love them.
Forgive me if I spell your name wrong.

Will Oldroyd is basically just awesome.

Jacob Jespersen is very entertaining

Joseph Moulton is a freshman.

Kat Moulton likes snickerdoodles.

Riley Budd. 'Nuff said.

Shelby Woolf has serious artistic talent.

Daniellamarrella Sowers is always optimistic and happy. All the time. Always.

Kate Cutchings plays the flute.

McKann Hanseen is a great example.

Durrell Larson fractured his pelvis.

Zoe Morgan is way too nice.

Kristen Blair is magnificent.

Lauren Blair makes magical music.

Catie Brown is hilarious.

Yon Soo Park is such a sweet person!

Josh Brewer is a nerd.

Macy Hale is bass 1.

Mallory Jones is bass 2 and a great section leader.

Hannah Johansen is bass 3.

Andrew Peatross is bass 5.

Miriam Bay is my favorite.

Michaela Labit secretly wants to be my friend.

Jessica Stevenson tells really boring stories.

Tressie Rollins likes sugar.

Jessi Austin is.

Brandon Robertson can dance.

Nicole Hopkinson is a drum major.

Bao Ha is bass 6.

Jacob Benfell is nicknamed Benny.

Chrissy Tidwell once taught me how to throw a flag.

Stephany Tidwell is funny.

Ashley LeBaron is the best cousin ever.

Dallas Ashby is really pretty.

Shay Markam says hi.

David Bean is super enthusiastic

Zach Giddings plays the saxaphone.

Eve Smith is insane.

Conrad Smith is Eve's brother.

Parker Christensen is a cool freshman. How is that possible?

Hannah McCulloch is a good friend.

Larisa Jones lurks around corners.

Hannah Thomas makes me smile.

Kent has a cool last name that I can't spell.

Jimmer Fredette wants to be like Daryl Larson.

Jordan Mullen used to exist.

Karli Ellis is adorable.

Grace Dayton has magical powers.

Lea Pokorny is from austria.

Lauren Pope is a real person.

Nick Lewis plays bagpipes.

Emily Lewis is related to Nick.

Macall Weight is really cute.

Mayson Astle has a lot of evergy.

Mckenna Cornilles is short.

Ivan Ottaviano has hairy arms.

Mike Whitney can play snare.

Miranda Brayton has an orange truck.

Nathan McCulloch does abberant things.

Nick Walton is somehow related to me.

Sammy Jones let me borrow her drumline hoodie.

Kristen Santa Maria is mexican.

Sarah Wood has a lovely smile.

Matthew Woodruff is buff.

Andrew Woodruff is tall.

Amy Peterson knows everything.

Tim Davis has awesome hair.

Wendy Nelson inspires me.

Whitney Carlson is happy.

Cami Bailey is really smart.

Alana Jerome is random.

Brett Jaynes plays tennis.

Violin

Today I listened to Lauren Blair play Schon Rosmarin by Fritz Kreisler, Sonata in B-flat Major by Mozart, and Concerto No. 1 in G minor by Max Bruch, and I am absolutely blown away. That girl can really play the Violin. Really, it is a marvelous thing to hear a freshman in high school play music so professionally. It takes incredible amounts of effort and skill and emotion to create music that sounds so beautiful, and for that, I salute her.
Along with this topic, one of the reasons why I love Timpview so much is because Lauren isn't the only magnificent musician around these parts. On any given day I can waltz into a random room in the performing arts section of the school and someone in there will be practicing some song and it will sound like a choir of angels performing perfection. And then of course they go all humble and say something silly like "Sorry, I haven't practiced this song in three years, so it sounds really bad." No. I'll tell you what sounds really bad. A banshee singing a duet with a disabled frog sounds bad, not your musical genius. Keep playing.
Anyway, I basically just really love all my my musically gifted friends and look up to them and want to be like them when I grow up. Thanks for the music you've all given to me, whether it be in a performance, or practicing, or you randomly burst out singing, or even in the form of kindness. I really appreciate every note.

A Long Time Ago...

Yesterday I went outside and outside felt like spring. Do you know when there is just a different feel in the air, and you remember things that happened on days of a similar feeling? Well the same thing happened to me. I went outside during lunch and looked at the pine tree that resides outside the commons, and I remembered this time last year when I got Riley's shoe stuck in that very pine tree. This is really quite an exciting memory. I also remember that we tried to get it down by throwing his other shoe up there, which, obviously, also got stuck. I can't remember exactly how we got them down, but I think we got some other stuff stuck up there in the process, and I know that we did actually get them down eventually. Along with this memory I remember random exciting events that transpired throughout the year last year, and the year before, and many years past. It is so lovely to take just a moment to reflect on happy memories of the past and remember what fun you've had. It can really brighten up your day. Try it.

Until November

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If you know what this means, I love you.
If you need a hint, I'm 4.
If you still don't know what it means, it's okay, I still love you.

Band Council

I wasn't surprised in the least when they announced that I was the Master Technician for nest year's band council. All I have to say is that I hope Allred lets me put band dealings onto my tech crew time card. However, I was surprised when they announced the Historians and my name came up again! In my memory band council has never had people serve double duty before, so it generated quite the reaction when I was assigned to a second position. Well, I'm pretty excited. I have an AP test tomorrow, so this post will need to be cut short like Sampson's hair.

Prom Pictures!

Prom was super fun! And I finally got pictures back.

But may I just ask, who on earth came up with the theme? "A Moment in Time" just sounds ridiculously airy and useless; they might as well call it "A Moment in Time, Just like Everything Else." They could at least call it something epic like "A Special Moment in Time," "A Moment out of Time" or "A Moment in a Parallel Dimension," but no, it had to be "A Moment in Time (you'll forget about it the next day.)" Next year, they should let me pick the theme. But despite this lovely theme, Prom was still amazing.

Karli is really cute in this picture.

She's even cuter in person though.

Karli is really cute in this picture.

Everyone actually looked better than this at the real dance though. This picture does not do justice.

Percussion

A long time ago, it was the summer before freshman year, and my older brother somehow convinced me to join Marching Band. Of course, I didn't play any instruments so I ended up on the cymbal line. I didn't know the most basic of rudiments, and the world of percussion was way over my head. I couldn't even tell you which drum was which. Slowly, steadily, I worked my way up. I learned that cymbals are much, much more than BANG BANG CRASH CLANG and that there is truely an art behind the loud, obnoxious noisiness that was drumming. And then, as summer ended my world expanded exponentially as my musical repertoire opened up to include the keyboard instruments, and hand drums, and timpani, chimes, drumset, temple blocks, toms, bells, and so much more! Instruments galore! So many different things to play, so many different ways to do it. So much to learn and to know, and again, I sucked at percussion. But I didn't let it dishearten me. I learned how to read music, and how to play all of those different things. When drumline tryouts came again, I was ready to move on, away from cymbals, so I practiced my drumline technique, then broke both my arms. So again, I was on cymbals (kind of. I didn't really do much playing them.) Throughout the year, I worked my way up into concert band, trying to catch up with the other percussionists who were so far ahead. And then, tryouts came back again, and this time I didn't fail. Bass for summer band, yes! But then, back to frontline for fall. Bass for pepband! Concert band. Symphonic band! Bass for Pearl Harbor! And finally, Bass for summer band! We'll just see what happens for fall.

Thoughts of the Day

First of all, state band. I love the band so much that even I cannot find words sufficient to express it. Band has always been absolutely wonderful to me, and the feeling of making music is pure joy and happiness. The people in band are always so kind that it's basically rediculous. I am going to miss the seniors way too much, and band is going to be really weird without those wonderful, glorious examples to guide me. Thank you so much to everyone in band. Especially seniors.

Secondly, ballroom. The ballroom concert is pretty cool, and doing tech for it is fun, and I miss you guys a ton, but I'm still glad I quit. I admire you guys though, really; you're pretty legit.

Thirdly, more ranting about punctuation. I think there should be a punctuation mark invented for voice inflection clarification. For example, "Guess what?" is incorrect punctuation, "Guess what!" sounds threatening, and "Guess what." sounds boring. The simple request of "Guess what" needs something that, somewhat like the question mark, adds a slight happy lift to the end of the sentence. This new punctuation mark would also be extremely helpful in clarifying lengthy two-part questions, such as "Would you rather have a steak for dinner,(<---insert new punctuation mark here in lieu of the comma) or a bowl of ice cream? See, the way that is written out, the lift happens at the end instead of in the middle. When you actually speak it it sounds like "Would you rather have a steak for dinner? Or a bowl of ice cream." But that just simply doesn't seem to work when writing it out because it makes too big of a space between "dinner" and "Or." Punctuation was invented for clarification, so why not make it more clear? Those are just my thoughts.

Fruit

I have just ravenously engulfed a bowl of fruit. Why? Because fruit is utterly incredible. I could literally live off fruit. If I was allowed to eat nothing else, I could still be a happy man. Where would a milkshake be without fruit? Where would I be without fruit? Where would any famous painters be without fruit? Some people (RB) can get away with not liking fruit. Please explain to me how this is possible. Think about it for a minute. Fruit is probably the most original food. I mean, plant a tree, and have it grow lumps of sugar and deliciousness with a ridiculous variety of flavorful goodness! I wish I came up with that idea.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there.

Pair-o'-docs

Have you scene this before? (duh dun, crash)

There is a small pause. Both people look at each other slightly, then look away. Wait.

BOTH: Hi.

BOTH: Oh, hi! What’s your name?

BOTH: Haha, I’m Na/Kr
BOTH: Sorry, you go first.
BOTH: Nathan/Kristen

BOTH: Uh, well, it’s nice to meet you.

BOTH: Yeah, um, this is awkward.

BOTH: Ha, yeah, a bit…

They turn away from each other and wait some more.

BOTH: What’s your profession?

BOTH: I’m a Doctor of Psychology.

BOTH: Me too.

pause

BOTH:  Okay, this is getting kinda freaky. I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose.

BOTH: I promise I’m not!

BOTH: ARGG!!!! This is insane!

Paus. Turn away. Slowly turn back.

BOTH: You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?

BOTH: Yeah, probably.

Both raise a fist, then play rock paper scissors.

Both get Rock.

Next round, Paper.

Rock

Scissors

Rock

Paper

Paper

Paper

Rock

BOTH: This is pretty intense.

BOTH: Yeah, I’m gonna leave. Like right now.

Both stand up and walk in opposite directions for five simultaneous steps, halfway turn back, then continue to walk away til they reach opposite ends of the stage.

BOTH: I’ll go back there some day.

Exit.

The Problems with Pronunciation

If someone pronounces their name one way, but the vast majority of people pronounce it another way, who is right? Does the way that the person originally intended the name to be said get overruled by the public and become incorrect? No, some of you think, of course the person in question should get to choose how their own name is pronounced. Well what if they're dead? The public face persists and the private one becomes non-existent? Well, here's one scenario:

Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, actually pronounced his name Soice. He often insisted that it rhymed with "voice" to clear things up.

"You're wrong as the Deuce
And you shouldn't rejoice;
If you're calling him Seuss
He pronounces it Soice."

So here's the big question: Are we wrong, or is he?

I know that I'm going to continue violating his preferred pronunciation and call him just plain "Dr. Seuss" because "Dr. Soice" sounds:
"a. A little bit stupid
b. A little bit drunk
c. Like someone from the west country"

But it will still be a cause of inner turmoil until I can sufficiently answer this question. Please help me out on this one.

Average Post

Well, as with most blogs, this one has some good posts, some lame posts, and some average posts. I'm lazy, so I'll make this one average. But don't judge my blog based on this post, go read better ones. (posts, not blogs.)

Basically, I went to go watch a Timpview Soccer game today, and we won, by an outstanding 1 point! We had double the other team's score! The highlight: Riley's rediculous flippy throw in thingy. The not so highlight: The ref was bald. Random observation: Soccer would be more fun with two soccer balls and no off-sides. Irrelevant addition: I want a milkshake.

Number two: I love hanging out with random people. Especially if it is a random meeting that is not planned. Such as, hanging out with Joseph Moulton at rock canyon park today while waiting for Kate to show up.

Number the third: Books are far too influential. It's a good thing.

Number five: I don't like math very much.

And most importantly, I love you! Yes, you. No, not somebody else, you, the reader of this post. Not the guy reading over your shoulder, you.

Narrowmindedness: a Deadly Malady

Personally, I do not very much like the words "it is" or "they are" when they are used in a manner that does not allow for adjustment. Especially not when they are accompanied by an "Always." There are, of course, exceptions to this, but I generally do not appreciate it when one fails to see that something could be more than it seems, or that something they may have a fixed image about could in fact exist in more than one fashion. For example, when one says that "Unicorns are always majestic creatures with ultimate speed and power and magical properties," I feel bad for the pink, fluffy, wimpy little Unicorns which I'm sure are just as real as the awe-inspiring ones. I just wish people would stop and consider that maybe the plan they're proposing isn't perfect, or that the things they don't like aren't as flawed as they believe. Perhaps this is why I like riddles; riddles require perspective shift. A riddle is not usually designed to just be answered and tossed aside like a math problem, but rather requires examination of many different points of view and much more open-minded thinking. There is always, always, always, another level of depth that could be added to something, no matter how hard it is to find, and finding it is one thing that I simply cherish. It seems to me that some people think about a lot of things in the same manner that they would go through a tunnel. Just go straight through, refusing to bend to either side even a fraction of a degree for fear of colliding with the concrete walls they have put up, refusing to let anything in or out of their position. I myself would prefer to go over the mountain in lieu of plowing straight through it at fifty miles an hour. There is so, so much more to see when the path isn't already set in stone. In addition, one also gets the experience of making the path, allowing for adjustment when desired, and letting many more points of view stream in from the luscious light surrounding them, as opposed to simply that one light, that one, single, solitary idea at the end of the tunnel. Next time you hear the words "No it's not" coming out of your mouth, try to pause and consider that maybe it is. Life isn't always a toss of a coin, with one person being right and the other being wrong. It's possible for both parties to be correct. Even with the toss of a coin example, both people could be right. One votes that the coin will land on heads, while the other says it will show up tails. The coin is flipped, and tails ends up being the side facing away from the ground, so the second person is right, right? Actually, both are correct, because the first person predicted that the coin would land on heads, and because the coin was on top of the "heads" side, the coin was on heads, and it showed up as tails. See where a little perspective can get you?

To sum this all up in a quote, we shall refer to Star Wars.
 "There's always a bigger fish."

Brain Killers

I found this random website with some interesting puzzles, and now that I've solved almost all of them, you should give it a try. And they're actually really fun.

Warning: May cause dizzyness, headaches, nausia, death, boredom, appendicitis, severe burns, low self esteem, unhappiness, grumpyness, halitosis, insomnia, senioritis, cerebral palsy, leprosy, hallucinations, skin cancer, peanut allergy, and in the rare case of a riddle being solved, complete elation. Batteries not included. Answers sold seperately.

Three Dots

(John Banks)
You are travelling in a deep, dark forest when, suddenly, on a dark and stormy night, you are captured by the kind-but-not-so-bright forest people. They keep looking at you and saying to each other, "It be a smart person!"
You are marched to their village and seated in the square. Before you are blindfolded, you notice two other lucky souls seated in chairs facing you. Then you are told that the forest people king is about to die. He previously sent messengers throughout the land seeking the 3 smartest people. You are one, and two others have also been found. He now gives you all a task to see which one is the wisest.
He tells you, "I have seated you in an equilateral triangle so that each of you faces the other two. While you are blindfolded I will paint a dot on each of your foreheads. Each dot will be red or green so that there can be any combination of red and green dots, for example, 1 red and 2 greens, or all red, etc. When I remove the blindfolds each of you must raise your hand if you see _any_ green dots, i.e. 1 or 2 dots. As soon as you have figured out what color your own dot is, tell me how you knew."
So he paints a green dot on all three foreheads. When the blindfolds are removed, all three hands go up. After a long pause, the wisest person, (that's you!) say, "Your highness, I have a green dot. The reason I know this is that..."
How did you know?
Extra credit: assume there are 4 people and all have green dots... can our hero figure it out now?
Note: please don't write,

• "I knew because I saw that two other hands were up!" (Like DUH!) or
• "I guessed!" or
• "I saw the reflection in their eyes!" or
• "I recognized the smell of the paint!" or
• "The other people's eyes were looking at me when they raised their hands!" or
• "The paint dripped!"
• "3 green dots are the only fair test!" or
• "Paint flakes off!" or
• "The forest is green!" or
• "They have no red paint!"
• "There were mirrors in the room!"
• "There was a 50% chance!"

...or any other such drivel! If any of those kinds of answers were correct, it would be a terrible riddle!
Sadly, every one of the above sentences was sent to me as a possible solution!

---

Three's a Crowd

(Clayton Lewis)
After solving the riddle of the three wise folks, three scoundrels claim to be the smartest in the country. So you decide to give them a challenge. Suspecting that the thing they care about most is money, you give them $100 and tell them they are to divide this money observing the following rule: they are to discuss offers and counter-offers from each other and then take a vote. Majority vote wins.
Sounds easy enough... now the question is, assuming each person is motivated to take the largest amount possible, what will the outcome be?
Note: careful... if the answer were that they split it 50% / 50% / 0%, or 1/3 / 1/3 / 1/3, it wouldn't be a riddle!
Note: careful... 96.6523544 % of people who send answers to this have not thought about it for even 1 minute. I guarantee you won't solve it in a minute. (96.6523544% of the time this guarantee is correct.)

---

Lying Defeeted

(John Banks)
After being the ruler of the forest people for a while, you get bored. So you visit an island on which two tribes of natives live. One tribe has purple soles and always lies; the other tribe has green soles and always tells the truth. There are three natives standing near you. You can't see the bottoms of their feet, and indeed you find out it is rude to look at another's soles, but you are curious so you ask the first man,
"Sir, what color are your soles?" Now he happens to understand English, but he can't speak it, so he replies in his native tongue, "Glub Glub". Though you don't speak the language, you know that "Glub Glub" either means purple or green.
You turn to the second man and ask, "Sir, what did he say?" The second man replies, "He said he has green soles."
Now to be sure, you turn to the third and ask, "Sir, what color of soles does this second man have?" The third man replies, "Sir, he has purple soles."
Now the question is, what color of soles does the third native have?

---

Open Door Policy

(John Banks)
On your trip back from the Island people to the deep dark forest, you get lost. A trap door suddenly opens and you fall down into a dark chamber.
You hear a voice, "You are trespassing and the penalty is death. In five minutes you will be buried alive. However due to our exceeding kindness and mercy, and because you were once ruler of the forest people, we will allow you to earn your life back. In this dark chamber there are two doors. You may choose to open either one - if you choose correctly, you will go free. If you choose incorrectly, well, instead of just being buried alive, you will be eaten alive by army ants.
To help you choose a door, you may ask a question. However, you should know that two people will hear you and one of them always lies and the other one always tells the truth. One of them will answer your question, but you will not know which one. Each of them knows which door leads to freedom.
Good Luck, you have four and a half minutes left."
What question do you ask to win your freedom? (At least two solutions.)

---

Trouble in River City

(John Banks)
After asking which door he would send his Mother-In-Law through and choosing the other one (Open Door Policy), you are allowed to walk through the Door of Freedom. After taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, you set out to escape this deep dark forest. As fate would have it, you feel a thud on your noggin and wake up in a dimly lit room with a pool table. You are about to be challenged to a game of 9-ball when the wicked forest people notice chalk on your hand. Wary of the possibility of you turning out to be a pool shark, they give you this challenge instead.
On the pool table are 12 balls of identical size. And all are of identical weight except possibly one, which is either slightly heavier or slightly lighter than all the others, but not enough for you to be able to tell just by holding it. So you don't know whether they all weigh the same, or whether there is one odd one. And if there is an odd one, you don't know whether it's light or heavy.
Now the evil forest people bring a balance scale so that you may compare objects against each other. "No problem" you're thinking. "I'll just compare them to each other to find the exception." However, you are then informed that you may only use the scale three times.
How do you use the balance scales so that in just three comparisons, you determine they all weight the same, or find the one suspicious ball and know whether it is heavier or lighter?
Hints:

• If you think you are looking for a heavier ball, please re-read the riddle.
• If you think you are looking for a lighter ball, and have read the previous hint, immediately box up your computer and ship it back to the manufacturer, because you are too stupid to own a computer.  
• and... if you have sent me your answer in the correct format and I haven't gotten back to you... send me a reminder to check it. I promise to deal with your reminder at a pace at least equal to the original mail :-)

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Asphynxiation

(Eddie Gioia)
After figuring out how to use the scales just three times to find the odd ball, you are released back into the forest. You are walking along minding your business when a snare suddenly grabs your foot and yanks you upside down 30 feet off the ground. When you stop swinging you realize you won't be able to just climb up the rope, because you are right beneath a large platform with no holds on the bottom. You examine the rope and see that there is no way to untie it.
"If only I had a knife..." Then you notice slight movement at the underneath edges of the platform and see that the movement is actually thousands of army ants beginning to move down over the platform to the underside and towards you. They look exceedingly hungry. They don't look like vegetarians.
When things look hopeless, you notice a sphynx couple sitting on a huge branch. One of them throws a knife into the air and when it comes back down, they both reach for it. You cannot tell which one actually grabbed it. All you know is that you need that knife to cut yourself down.
The husband says "The sphynx with the knife always tells the truth." But the wife counters, "He's wrong, the sphynx with the knife always lies." As luck would have it, one of them always lies and one of them always tells the truth. Using only these two statements as data, you get one chance to guess who has the knife.
The ants are approaching, who has the knife?
Note: please don't just say, "The Wife/Husband has it!". Say _why_.

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Hat-Trick

(Bobby Dragon2)
After calmly figuring out who had the knife, you cut the rope just as an army ant reaches it. You are lucky and fall into a pile of leaves, bounce up and land in a chair. As you start to look around you hear a stearn voice say, "Eyes forward!" (some of you have heard that voice!)
There are two people sitting behind you, so there are three people facing the same direction. The other two are the two smartest people in the forest (a scary thought). There are five hats: three are red and two are purple.
While all of your eyes are closed, a hat is placed on each person's head and the two unused hats are hidden. Then all are allowed to look only forward so that each of you can only see the people in front of you (the person in the back can see the hats of the two people in front; the middle person can see your hat; you can't see any hats at all; so you might as well keep your eyes closed!)
When someone figures out what color hat they are wearing, they must call out. No one has called out yet. What color hat are you wearing and how do you know?

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Light Bridge

(various - most recently James Spell)
After you figure out that you were wearing a Cowboy hat all along, (Hat-Trick) you decide to go home. Unfortunately you must take an old, old bridge across a deep, dark chasm. It is dark and there are so many steps missing that you ask to borrow a flashlight. Three forest people approach and offer you a flashlight in return for helping them across the bridge. Now the bridge allows a maximum of 2 people at once and for safety, there must always be someone on the bridge holding a flashlight (of which there is only 1). In addition, the three forest people take 2, 5, and 10 minutes respectively to cross the bridge. You, being highly motivated, need only 1 minute.
No problem, you think, we'll just take turns walking folks back and forth with the light until we're all across. But the bridge is enchanted and every million years, it vanishes for a century and that will happen in exactly 17 minutes.
How will all four of you make it to the other side of the bridge in 17 minutes?
(Note: Call these people #1 #2 #5 and #10. If you and #10 go across and you return, that takes 11 minutes. Then you and #5 could go across and you return; we are now up to 17 minutes... *poof* - bridge is gone.
The light carrier doesn't have to be you. If the light carrier is accompanied by anyone, they must stay together the whole way across - you cannot have one person stand in the middle and shine the light. No piggy-backs, no simultaneous-2-way-crossings, etc.)

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Apairantly Not

(Caroline Koo)
After barely making it across the bridge, you hear two of the forest people arguing. It seems that just before they crossed the bridge, they each bought 10 pair of socks, and in fact, as far as color and size go, they each bought the same exact 10 pairs. Each person has 1 pair of green, 1 pair of blue, etc. etc... But now they have accidentally dropped all their socks and the socks are all mixed up in a pile on the ground.
Because it is pitch-black, they can't see what colors the socks are, but want to divide them up so that they each have the same colors that they bought, i.e. identical sets of green, blue, etc. Luckily the socks are all still in pairs, so they only have to pick up 20 pairs, not 40 individual socks.
The light used in crossing the bridge fell into a bottomless forest pit, so even though it is pitch-black, how can you help the two forest people get one pair each of every color, just like they had before they dropped them?
(Note: no lights, moon, cigarette lighter, etc...)

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Tractor Beam

(Frederic H McFarland)
You watch the sock-hoppers amble off toward a pier and notice a small island about a mile away from shore. Due to your excellent forest vision, you see a Forest person plowing a field with a large tractor. There are no bridges or tunnels to the island and you wonder how the tractor got out to the island.
"That's a good question," says a nearby forest person, reading your mind. "I have the only boat around here and it's not big enough to carry that tractor over. I didn't drop off any parts either so he couldn't have built it there. No one has an airplane or helicopter to drop it off either."
So how did the tractor get on the island?
(Notes:
1. the tractor was not built on the island
2. even with tides, the water is too deep to drive across
3. it was not driven across the bottom of the ocean or under water
4. it was not disassembled)

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No Vacancy

(Brady Smith)
In the forest, a hotel has an infinite number of rooms. An infinite number of forest people arrive and each takes a room. So far so good. Now you would like a room.
Can the hotel accomodate you? If so, how?
(Please enjoy this riddle instead of writing that infinity is the same as infinity plus 1 or some such gibberish! Folks who send me stupid definitions ("Infinity is, you know, like never ending, so, like, sure, they'd all have rooms, you know, like duh.") are almost without exception the least knowledgeable about infinity! So have fun with it; ask yourself what you'd do if you were the inn-keeper. However, you must find _rooms_ for everybody, no doubling up, sleeping in the kitchen etc.)

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No Vacancies

(Brady Smith)
The hotel has an infinite number of rooms. An infinite number of forest people arrive and each takes a room. So far so good. Now another infinite number of guests arrive.
Can the hotel accomodate them all? If so, how?
(see the note above on "No Vacancy")

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Timing is Everything

(Riki Maicas)
A Beanie Baby named Joe comes home from work by train every day. He gets to the train station at 5 pm and from there his dog picks him up in the car. One day Joe arrived at the station at 4 pm and decided to start walking and meet his dog somewhere between the train station and home. His dog drove the car as usual; met him on the road before reaching the station, and took him home.
That day, they got home 20 minutes earlier.
Question: How long had Joe been walking?
(Tips: not 20 minutes; not 40 minutes; of course beany babies can drive; and if beany babies can drive, well, then so can their dogs.)

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Enlightenment

(various)
Strolling through the forest, you hear a muffled shout. Investigating further, you come to a closed, solid, light-proof door. "... need Light! Light!..." you can barely make out coming through the door.
"Use the switches to know which one controls the Light!" you hear the voice say as you notice three on/off switches beside the door.
Inside the cave is an incandescant lamp which is now off. Next to the door are three switches. One of these three switches turns the lamp in the room on and off.
Your job is to figure out which switch controls the lamp. However, you can't just open the door and look. In fact, you can only enter the cave one time and then you have to say which switch controls the lamp. There are no windows, holes, cracks, leaks, bleeding-heart-liberals, etc. You are allowed to set any switches on or off and then enter the cave. That's it.
What will you do to know with certainty which switch controls the lamp?
Extra credit: what if there are 4 switches?

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Ties that Bind

(various)
After discovering it was the third switch which controlled the light (wasn't it just so obvious), you see a forest person carrying a sign which reads, "The Time has Come!"
"What time?" you ask.
"The time to tell you about the String Problem," he answers and then starts to shout, "45! 45! 45!"
You reply, "Caliber?"
"No... Minutes! You need 45 minutes! and all we have are these two strings!"
You have 2 long strings which burn at random rates at different positions on their length. Though they are not identical, they do burn exactly 1 hour each. A string might burn 99% of it's length in 1 minute, then take 59 minutes to burn the rest of the way.
You have no way of telling time; clock, watch, sunset, etc. but need to measure 45 minutes.
Using these string and a lighter, how can you measure 45 minutes?

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Flight Plight

(various)
On Tractor Island, there is an airport. The airport is the homebase of an unlimited number of identical airplanes. Each airplane has a fuel capacity to allow it to fly exactly 1/2 way around the world, along a great circle. The planes have the ability to refuel in flight without loss of speed or spillage of fuel. Though the fuel is unlimited, the island is the only source of fuel.
What is the fewest number of aircraft necessary to get one plane all the way around the world assuming that all of the aircraft must return safely to the airport?
Notes:

• ignore extra fuel consumption as a result of acceleration, evaporation of fuel, bleeding-heart-liberal fiscal policies, etc.
• All the planes have to make it back safely, so you can't give all your fuel away to another plane.

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Heads Up

(Ram)
After flying around the world and touching down on Tractor Island, you're thirsty from the long flight. You walk over to the pop machine and realize you have no quarters.
Then you notice a line of quarters right there on the ground. The line goes on and on, clear into the forest. "There must be thousands of them!" you exclaim.
"Infinite, to be exact." says the voice of an evil forest person. "And you can have them all if you divide them into two piles which have the same number of heads."
"How much time do I have?"
"1 day. You can pick up as many quarters as you want and even flip them over, just as long as you wind up with two piles that have the same number of heads. I happen to know that there are 20 heads, the rest are all tails."
"Do the piles need to have the same total number of quarters?" you ask observantly.
"No, just the same number of heads. If you're ready to begin, here's the blindfold."
"What blindfold?"
"The one you have to wear while solving this riddle!"
Question: Given infinte coins,

• only 20 of which are heads, and
• wearing a blindfold,
• flipping however many you want ...

how can you divide the coins into two piles, each with the same number of heads?
Notes:

• You can pick up, flip, etc. as many coins as you want.
• You can't remove any coins.
• You must make 2 piles of coins.
• No peeking allowed.
• It's not a probababalistical problem.
• If you solve this... write me whether you think it is a "logic" or "creative" riddle.

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Sailor's Delight

(various)
10 pirates are ranked in order, first to last. After finding a treasure chest of 100 gold coins, they are discussing how to divide up the booty. They allow the lowest ranked sailor to divide up the coins and then vote on his idea. If the number of pirates who like the division is equal to or greater than the others who don't like it, then the boss will say, "Make it So." (The proposer of the idea also has a vote.)
Otherwise... well, being pirates their simple solution is to dump the unfortunate sailor into the deep blue sea and let the next pirate in line decide how to divide up the spoils.
Question: How many pirates will be thrown into the sea?
Notes:

• Pirates are smart, want money, and love life, especially their own.
• This one is harder than average. If you are stuck, think of fewer pirates...
• Why would #1 ever vote for any schemes?
• Why would #2 ever vote for any schemes?
• ... hmmmm

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More Hats

(Tom)
Three players enter a room and a red or blue hat is placed on each person's head.
The color of each hat is determined by a coin toss, with the outcome of one coin toss having no effect on the others. Each person can see the other players' hats but not his own.
No communication of any sort is allowed, except for an initial strategy session before the game begins. Once they have had a chance to look at the other hats, the players must simultaneously guess the color of their own hats or pass. The group shares a hypothetical $3 million prize if at least one player guesses correctly and no players guess incorrectly.
The same game can be played with any number of players. The general problem is to find a strategy for the group that maximizes its chances of winning the prize.
One obvious strategy for the players, for instance, would be for one player to always guess "red" while the other players pass. This would give the group a 50 percent chance of winning the prize.
Question: Can the group do better than 50%?

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Lazy Susan

(Tom)
Placed in front of you is a "Lazy Suzan" with four shot glasses placed equally apart around the outer edge. They have been randomly placed either right side up or upside down and it is your challenge to get them all oriented the same way; that is, either all four up, or all four down, as quickly as possible.
Of course you will be blindfolded! You're not surprised...
Each turn the Lazy Suzan will be spun and you may then touch any two glasses, and then decide to keep each as it is or turn either one, or both, over. OK?
You may keep both that you touch the same, turn them both over, or turn just one of them over (your choice, either one). Obviously, as you reach down to grab two of the glasses you will be able to tell which two of the four you are touching - both in front of you; both away from you; the two on the left; the two on the right; or either of the two corner to corners.
You will start with a $10,000 Prize Fund which will be decreased by $1,000 after each turn. I will stand next to you and announce after each of your efforts whether you have solved the puzzle. Of course, there's no chance in the whole world that you will be so lucky as to start with all four in a winning position, but of course you already knew that. And also, if you decide to rely on luck to get you to the final solution you should understand that once the $10,000 Prize fund is gone, you will then have to start paying $1,000 for each wrong guess you make from then on out - No Stopping until you get it right!
Question: What process can you use to guarantee success?

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Eat and Run

(Tom)
Twenty mathematicians are captured by cannibals who want to eat the mathematicians, but they're sporting cannibals who are willing to give the mathematicians a chance to save themselves.
So, they tell them that they will be lined up, single file, and have either a black or white hat placed on their head. Starting with the last mathematician in line and working toward the front, each will be asked to name which color hat he's wearing. If correct he's set free, and of course, if wrong he's an entree. No communication of any sort is allowed, except for an initial strategy session before this all begins, and then the announcement of which color hat each is wearing.
Question: How many of the mathematicians can be saved?