HD

I guess I haven't told you all (whoever "you all" is, if anyone...) that for the last week or more I've been seriously delving into various websites, trying to figure out what the best HDTV available to buy is - within my budget, that is. I went to Amazon, looked around at WalMart, Sam's Club (my mom's a member and she brings me with her sometimes, although I don't buy a lot there...), and some other stores, but just a couple days ago I found the ULTIMATE deal at - get this - BestBuy dot com! It's a Dynex 26" and the only thing bad about it is it requires an "HD antenna" (??) to receive broadcast television...idk, I guess they're all like that, so maybe that isn't a "bad thing"...idk...but it looks good, it's not all bulky and cadywampus (sp?) shaped like the old fashioned TVs (don't get me started on how DUMB just about everything pertaining to the old fashioned TVs was; the shape of the screen, the shape of the back, the SIZE of the back...need I say more?...) AND it's "HD", which really doesn't mean a whole lot to me, maybe it will when/ifI ever get a Blu-Ray player...GHOSTBUSTERS actually looks noticeaby worse on this new TV I have, whereas it looked like a film from the late 90's on my old TV...but I really don't need all my movies to look all glossy; if you ask me, that's what's wrong with 99% of horror films these days...at least partly; the MAIN problem with today's horror movies is they don't TRY to be scary, except to those who are easily scared. They try to be funny, hip, conventional, ANYTHING but nightmare inducing shreikfests that people under 17 ACTUALLY SHOULD NOT see...most "R rated" films aren't really that bad for viewers under 17, unless they're like 6 years old or whatever; by the time a child gets to be 13 or thereabout, most "kids" are able to watch R rated movies, provided parents are there to guide their children through them...the MPAA stamps the "R" rating on movies that Christian fanatics don't even believe should be legal. The children are just used as an excuse to bypass the "freedom of speech" aspect of the constitution...
But anyway...I feel much better now...well, I still feel the same, but in a different way...idk...I haven't posted any reviews of my purchase, because I haven't even had it for a day! What if it breaks down in 4 months or so? Or 3 days? Or 1 month? Na, I'm gonna write an INFORMATIVE review...this blog is where I shall bask in the glow of having my VERY FIRST HDTV, something I've been wanting to achieve for about 5+ years now...

my inner bookshelf...

I failed to take my pills yesterday. I just kept putting it off and I was gone for half the day, asleep for most of the other half. I took them around 8am today, and I felt weird for a few hours afterward. I know the fact that I've been doing much better at remembering to take them makes not taking them show the "may cause"s more evident, but I've been doing better for over a year now, and this doesn't happen, at least not very often. So I wonder if the fact that yesterday was the last day of the week and today is the beginning of a new one has some impact on the impact of the medicine side effect(s). I mean, I don't know much about why days are how long they are and why a week has the amount of days it has and so on and so forth...but at least part of it is astrological, and astrology is very important to how the Earth functions and how the Earth functions (i.e.: weather) seems to have quite a lot of impact on a human's brain. It's intriguing to think about, 'cause I'm usually not very interested in astrology...

NOT ANOTHER LIST!

this is my Genesis "Anthology" track list; I'd hurry up and make it a CD-R, but my CD/DVD drive on my computer is messed up.

DISC 1
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Land of Confusion
Mama
Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea (Live from THE WAY WE WALK)
Hold On My Heart (Live from THE WAY WE WALK)
Dodo (Live from THREE SIDES LIVE)
Abacab (Live from THREE SIDES LIVE)
Man On The Corner
Turn It On Again
Duke’s Travels
Never A Time

DISC 2
Robbery, Assault & Battery (Live from SECONDS OUT)
Firth of Fifth (Live from SECONDS OUT)
Supper’s Ready (Live from SECONDS OUT)
The Cinema Show (Live from SECONDS OUT)
No Son of Mine
Throwing It All Away (Live from LIVE OVER EUROPE)
Taking It All Too Hard
Follow You, Follow Me

WHEN WAYNE & GARTH WERE COOL

My mom had a "boyfriend", who she, as well as me and my sister, lived with for a couple of years and he had a daughter (from before he even knew my mom) named Monica, who, believe it or not, seemed to think she was the epitome of "cool"; she was stuck in the days of hair metal and was also "hip" on the new stuff, which at the time was stuff like Collective Soul, Bush, Green Day etc.;...
But it is strange how people talk like grunge music replaced hair metal overnight, when, really, there were a couple of years there where bands like Slaughter, Guns N' Roses and KISS were still kings of the mountain(s), selling records and doing fairly well on the charts. I'd say this phase of pop culture lasted until about 1993, maybe '92.

Here's a playlist for those days from 1984, when Van Halen introduced rock to the world and 1992, when KISS, Bill & Ted sang farewell to the old and hello to...a million Nirvana copycats...

Walk of Life - Dire Straits
Animal - Def Leppard
I’ll Wait - Van Halen
Don’t Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Janie’s Got A Gun - Aerosmith
Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) - Motley Crue
Monkey Business - Skid Row
You Could Be Mine - Guns N’ Roses
Cats In The Cradle - Ugly Kid Joe
Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Jane Says - Jane’s Addiction
Feed My Frankenstein - Alice Cooper
God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II - KISS
Wild Wild West - The Escape Club
Stand - R.E.M.

B&N SUX

I hate Barnes & Noble. There's this dude that works at the music department who I never liked a whole lot anyway, and I called B&N (the one in Cape Girardeau, for those of you possibly reading this who don't know where I live...) to find out if R.E.M. 1983 classic MURMUR was the same price as their website was selling it for. The front desk clerk was obviously exasperated with me 'cause she either didn't know what I was talking about or what I was saying, except when I said "it's a CD", then she transferred me to Mr. A-Dole who, after me stating my inquiry, said "just a minute" then hung up on me.
This dude has worked at Barnes & Noble for at least a few months, about as long as they've been open in their new location, and if B&N thinks he's that good, then F*** Barnes & Noble and their high prices and stuck up self/selves. I was going to buy a $25 membership in January, when I got enough money to do that, but this kind of behavior is just intolerable. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. I'm not even going to use their "10% off coupon" that I got via email; I can get AT LEAST 10% off just about everything Amazon.com sells and if that wasn't enough reason to shop at Amazon, they also have great customer service.

always something

Man, I've written a lot of lists. I've written a few at least while I was unable to connect to the internet for a day and a half, but I don't see the point of posting them here; any list is incomplete by nature, unless you're dead already, since the future is ongoing and everchanging. New CDs come out every Tuesday, and I don't forsee becoming some old fart who complains about "today's music" anytime soon. Music has always been comprised of some good, a lot of b.s., and a small handful of truly special gifts. Of course, unlike a lot of people, I happen to have an actual opinion of music and a basis for it. It's not based on nostalgia or some ideological standpoint or what my friends think of it. If it moves me, it's good. A lot of people treat artists such as Bjork and Radiohead like they deserve some sort of award for being different, when their music does nothing for me, with the exception of a very small handful of songs. Artists like Nickelback and Fall Out Boy get awards and tons of sales (neither of which impress me or encourage me to buy their music, BTW) and they don't deserve it, although there's probably a bigger handful of their music that moves me, but that can be said of just about any pop-punk/anthem-making artist/band; their music may be good, but it's not GREAT(++).
My lists are mostly based on a mood or a theme anyway. It's difficult to think of even 5 CDS that I feel like I can't live w/o. If I put 1 or 2 on a list, then what's the point? I can't listen to both ALL THE TIME, I'd get bored and then I'd end up even more bitter than I already am. I can definitely think of at least 5 CDs that strongly moved me, but those are the kinds of CDS that moved me more b/c of my current circumstances at the time they happened to be there for me to listen to than the music it/them-selves.
And really, what's the point of having a "CD collection"? It's nothing more than a hobby. If I want music, there's always the radio, even though it offers a highly narrowed selection of music, especially in this town I'm living in. And, of course, INTERNET radio is free and highly available, unless I have my computer off for some reason...

20 is the new 11

My CD collection is now almost 20. I think I have like 16 or 17 in my entertainment center, and I have 2 more that should be arriving in the mail either today, tomorrow, or...sometime soon (hopefully!). I'm gonna wait until my entertainment center can't hold them anymore, then get a media tower-thingy, or a media shelf or whatever...I have a book shelf, but I'm thinking I should get rid of it. I'm not real into books, and I don't know where I would put the media shelf/tower/rack/whatever with that big ol' book shelf taking up the space it takes.

It's probably gonna be AT LEAST another month before I have that many CDs though. The first shelf of my entertainment center is a little over halfway full. I still have a 2nd shelf vacant. And, of course, I can put CDs behind other CDs, 'cause the shelves are even deeper than they are wide.

u-reak-uh!

("speak for yourself", you say. "I am", I say...anyway...).

Columbus Day, to some, is a celebration of this society's/country's origins. To others it is a condoning of many atrocities, including the rape of the Native American culture and its people. I'm one of the later, being of a bit of a cynic and non-conformist...

The holiday wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't a "national holiday", observed by our gov't and enforced by its offices and business partners (i.e.: the bank, health centers that receive gov't funding...).

But there lies the irony; the government (i.e.: Christopher Columbus) is not always right. The government makes mistakes, and, if we let them, they intentionally harm us, the general population.
Is that a good thing? Hell no. But it is a reality, which is why we have laws and which is why those laws are enforced. Bad people, or people who do bad things, will always exist. It is the government's job to, as best as possible, shield the public from these things, or at least condemn them by enforcing these laws with sometimes seemingly vengeance-like consequences.

THIS government is "of the people, by the people, and for the people". I've always argued that if the people of the U.S.A. want communism, they should have it. Likewise, if they want to let the Muslin Extremists take over this country, so be it. However, I don't think the MAJORITY (even half, really) of this country would stand for Muslin Extremists taking over our culture. However, one could argue, that's exactly what the Native Americans did. However, such an argument would be rather weak by itself, since much of the fall of the Native American people was due to deceit (i.e.: spreading diseases...), which can be hard to detect...

The sad fact is we put so much trust and respect in our government, when most of us don't even know much of anything about our leaders. Most vote based on the candidate's Republican vs. Democrat status/label, in most cases w/o even listening to other side's case/plea. If one were running as a Democrat and wanted to lower taxes and better enforce the laws against sex offenders and murderers, the Republican-voter wouldn't even be aware of the aformentioned Democrat's stance.
And, I must admit, I don't know a whole lot about our candidates either, except 99% (or almost) are not running for the good of the country and they, more or less, have some shady business going on behind the public eye.
Even worse, despite how much trust we put in our government, most of us don't vote. I do, but most don't even bother. I heard one guy I used to go to high school with, saying he didn't/doesn't vote b/c there's too many things going on behind closed doors. I agree that is the truth, the little I know about the Bush presidents, J.F.K. (the president, not the film), and that justice who died a few years ago (was it Burger? I think this was around 2004 or 2005...) just reeks CONSPIRACY! And the L.A.P.D. practically brags about their corrupt existence.
BUT WHAT DOES ANYBODY DO ABOUT IT? We just let it happen. Many of us are too busy trying to rake in as many latest-and-greatest video games and toys for our children and the newest chic clothing for ourselves and all the up to date technology to look up the potential fate of this country. Being noble just isn't as important as being rich is it? But then again, I'm poor, so maybe I'm just jealous (I'm not really, I know I don't deserve a penny that you haven't already given me - I live 0n "welfare", FYI).

Anyway. I guess all I'm saying is that Columbus day IS important, b/c it gives us a "reason" (as if we need one anyway...) to reflect on the past and use its lessons to determine our future. Isn't that what every Holiday is about?

LET'S PUT THE "S" IN LIST!

CDs

1. Aerosmith - Big Ones
   
2. Aerosmith - Aerosmith's Greatest Hits
   
3. American Football - s/t
4. Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
5. Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
   
6. Blink 182 - s/t
7. Cold - Year of The Spider
   
8. Phil Collins - Both Sides
9. Phil Collins - ...But Seriously
   
10. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
    
11. The Cure - Pornography
12. Finch - What It Is To Burn
13. The Fray - How To Save A Life
14. Genesis - s/t
15. Genesis - Abacab
16. Genesis - Duke
    
17. Genesis - Invisible Touch
18. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts
19. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume Two: The Longs
20. Genesis - Seconds Out
21. Genesis - We Can't Dance
22. Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
23. Gentle Giant - In A Glass House
24. Gentle Giant - Octopus
    
25. The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
26. The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
27. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
28. Whitney Houston - Whitney
29. Michael Jackson - Dangerous
30. Michael Jackson - Thriller
31. Judas Priest - Stained Class
32. Avril Lavigne - Let Go
33. Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
34. Metallica - s/t
    
35. Metallica - ...And Justice For All
36. Metallica - Kill 'Em All
37. Metallica - Master of Puppets
38. Metallica - S&M
39. Nirvana - Incesticide
40. Nirvana - In Utero
41. Nirvana - Nevermind
    
42. Number One Fan - Compromises
43. Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
44. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
45. R.E.M. - Murmur
46. R.E.M. - Reckoning
47. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
48. Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
    
49. Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed
50. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
51. Trespassers William - Different Stars
52. Trespassers William - Having
53. Trespassers William - The Natural Order of Things
54. Trespassers William - The Noble House Sessions
55. Virginwool- - Open Heart Surgery
56. "Weird Al" Yankovic - Even Worse
57. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
    

DVD/movies

1. Bringing Out The Dead
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. Eraserhead
   
4. Forrest Gump
5. Ghostbusters
6. Ghostbusters II
7. Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer
   
8. Heathers
9. Heavenly Creatures
   
10. The Last Unicorn
11. L.I.E.
12. Lost Highway
    
13. Mysterious Skin
    
14. nowhere
    
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    

BOOKS

1. Dennis Cooper - Guide
2. Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
3. Justin Evans - A Good And Happy Child
4. John Fowles - The Collector
   
5. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird
6. Don Shay - The Making of Ghostbusters
7. Various - Batman: Bloodstorm

MP3s/SONGS

CD-R#1: TEEN SPIRIT/GROWING UP

1. Thank U - Alanis Morissette
2. Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
3. Angel - Sarah McLachlan
4. Get What You Give - New Radicals
5. Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
6. Real World - Matchbox 20
7. Eyes Wide Open - Goo Goo Dolls
8. Letting The Cables Sleep - Bush
9. 6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps
10. Everyday Is A Winding Road - Sheryl Crow
11. No Such Thing - John Mayer
12. The Game of Love - Santana Ft. Michelle Branch
13. Fat Lip - Sum 41
14. My First Trip To Mars - Atticus Fault
15. Life On A Chain - Pete Yorn
16. Last Defense - Year of The Rabbit
17. I Miss You - Blink 182

OOOH!

man, I'm so digging this Armor For Sleep WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DEAD (2005) CD. I've been listening to it all late morning and this afternoon thus far.

so, yeah, like I need anything that I don't already have...here's to shopping!

1. American Football - s/t
2. Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
3. Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
4. Peter Gabriel - Up
   
5. Genesis - Duke
6. Genesis - Invisible Touch
7. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts
8. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume Two: The Longs
9. Genesis - We Can't Dance
10. Gentle Giant - Octopus
    
11. The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
12. The Grateful Dead - Europe '72
    
13. The Grateful Dead - Two From The Vault
    
14. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
15. Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
16. Number One Fan - Compromises
17. Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
18. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
19. Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed
    
20. A Skylit Drive - Wires & The Concept of Breathing
21. Trespassers William - Different Stars
22. Trespassers William - Having
23. Trespassers William - The Natural Order of Things E.P.
    
24. Trespassers William - The Noble House E.P./Sessions
25. Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery

PLAN D

well...my Deep Discount order was canceled.

so...idk...NOT HAPPY...don't feel like shopping...

ten CDS is plenty anyway...it's kinda nice to be back to having some $ again...but...I feel flat...calm...to the ground...ummmmmmmmmmmmmm....rgg...

(sigh)

TOTAL! TOTAL! TOTAL!

wow, I am now the coolest stuck-in-the-'70's dude in the town!

I just bought almost $50 worth of Grateful Dead CDs from Deep Discount (dot cooooom!) and signed up to some shopper discount thingy so I could $10 cash back on my NEXT order from DpDscnt.cooooooom! and then I ordered $18 MORE worth of stuff from them. I probably would steer clear of them, based on their poor-fair feedback on the Amazon Marketplace, except Microsoft has this cash back thing that gives 4% back on top of their already lower-than-Amazon prices...

so then I ordered the "next" order and got ANOTHER "cash back" offer (from a different company...), except I can't use it 'cause I don't have any more $...

at least I got 4 CDs (8 discs, one's a 4-CD set and ones a 2-CD set) of Grateful Dead comin' to me...well, at least I dang well hope...last I heard from Amazon, my card was having "difficulty" being processed, which usually means the $ that my sister transferred to it hasn't posted yet (she initiated the transfer from her bank acct to the card on the 30th)...hopefully they won't cancel everything...oh, yeah, my Microsoft cashback is over $2.50! cannot believe this!! of course, that won't be usable until probably March 'cause a) i have to have $5 to even ACCESS the cash-back and then b) it takes 60 days for each transaction to go from pending to non-pending (and i don't have the ability to buy double what I've already bought thus far...as I said b4...).

oh, and unless you count each individual disc as its own album/CD, I have/will-have, once the 4 albums ship and I rec' them, FOURTEEN CDs! I know, seems like I should have almost 20 by now, right? So much excitement!!

in a song...

SONGS

1. Thank U - Alanis Morissette
2. Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
3. Angel - Sarah McLachlan
4. Everyday Is A Winding Road - Sheryl Crow
5. Eyes Wide Open - Goo Goo Dolls
6. Real World - Matchbox 20
7. You Get What You Give - New Radicals
8. Letting the Cables Sleep - Bush
9. Until She Comes - The Psychedelic Furs
10. No Such Thing - John Mayer
11. The Game of Love - Santana Ft. Michelle Branch
12. My First Trip To Mars - Atticus Fault
13. Fat Lip - Sum 41
14. Life On A Chain - Pete Yorn
15. I Miss You - Blink 182

NEW

I just bought 4 CDs from Hastings

Armor For Sleep "what to do when you are dead"
Genesis "we can't dance"
Nirvana "Incesticide"
Silverstein "When Broken Is Easily Fixed"

the Silverstein one is HORRIDLY scratched, huge scratch running down...ugh...man...anyway...the Nirvana one was BRAND NEW, on sale for $5.99 (same price as Amazon!) although I ended up stacking a bag of groceries on top of it so the case is now cracked. The Genesis CD was only $1.99 and the Armor For Sleep CD was used at $7.49 which I think is a reasonable price for a CD as good as that one.

all together, it was less than $24, although I do intend to return the Silverstein one; which really sux 'cause I really looking forward to listening to it when I got home.

oh, yeah; dear mother also got me a couple CDs online over the weekend. Genesis DUKE and Judas Priest's STAINED CLASS (I'll be paying her back, not like she "gave" them to me or anything...).

so all together, I now have TEN CDs (counting the ones coming in the mail...). Would be 11, but dang it! My DVD/CD player MIGHT be capable of reading the Silverstein CD, but what about if I ever get a better sounding stereo system? Will the component(s) read the disc? Somewhere along the line I'm gonna be at least mildly annoyed by its (lack of?) presence and I don't really feel like ATTEMPTING to listen to a CD so obviously scratched when time and time again I have tried selling CDs to Hastings and they rejected them b/c of scratches way less noticable than this/that...

hopefully they won't give me any hassle over it...they have lousy customer service (see their feedback on Amazon under "gohastings").

mountain of media/shoppin' makes me feel good...

DVD

Batman Begins
Batman Returns
Born On The Fourth of July
The Breakfast Club
Bringing Out The Dead
A Clockwork Orange
The Dark Knight
End of Days
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
The Green Mile
Heathers
Heavenly Creatures
The Last House On The Left
The Last Unicorn
L.I.E.
Lost Highway
Panic
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

CD

Soundtrack - Ghostbusters
American Football - s/t
Cold - Year of The Spider
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
Counting Crows - Recovering The Satellites
The Cure - Pornography
The Fray - How To Save A Life
Peter Gabriel - Up
Genesis - s/t
Genesis - Abacab
Genesis - Duke
Genesis - Foxtrot
Genesis - Invisible Touch
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. 2: The Longs
Genesis - Seconds Out
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Genesis - We Can't Dance
The Get Up Kids - Something to Write Home About
Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
Michael Jackson - Dangerous
Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
Our Lady Peace - Gravity
The Psychedelic Furs - World Outside
R.E.M. - Murmur
Rush - Power Windows
Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery

BOOKS
Dennis Cooper - Guide
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
Justin Evans - A Good And Happy Child
Various - Batman: The Killing Joke
Various - Batman: Year One
Various - Saga of The Swamp Thing Vol. 1

a different day of paradise

I'm listening to Cold's YEAR OF THE SPIDER, in case anyone wants insight into why I'm writing this list...earlier today I listened to part of SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT by The Get Up Kids and I just listened to 1 1/2 songs from WE HAVE THE FACTS AND WE'RE VOTING YES by Death Cab For Cutie. YOTS is good. the other two are either TOO SLOW (for how I feel today, which is kinda tired...in a metaphysical way...idk...) or...just maybe...INFERIOR...I remember when I moved out YOTS fit perfectly how I felt...which was...weird...very weird...very difficult to describe...kinda like the sky was metallic blue and the wind was a bleak-ish white...and I was filled with a sense of loss and mis-direction...hard to describe...like I said...'was also almost 5 years ago...which makes it even harder...

well, here it is...for better or worse...

Cold - Year of The Spider
Hidden In Plain View - Resolution

dang...can't think of anything else...rrrg...

HOW MANY TIMES...(can I say I'm sorry)

Arg. I DON'T LIKE Sunny Day Real Estate. Their live CD is okay (aren't all live CDs?). Yet I'm consistently drawn toward their CD DIARY (1994). Perhaps 'cause the early/mid 90's were such an awesome time in history that was so recent that I COULD have lived through it, yet I missed out on it, partly 'cause I'm a basket case who wouldn't have been able to really "be there" anyway, and partly 'cause if I WAS "old enough" to experience Woodstock '94 or have gone to a Nirvana concert, my mother wouldn't have let me. Around 1996, my then-therapist, at my request, recorded 6 hours of VH1. Of course, me always having one foot under a rock and another in the clouds, wasn't quite aware how SELDOM VH1 actually played music videos. Luckily, they were having a Fourth of July music video marathon in celebration of the then-upcoming film INDEPENDENCE DAY. Watching that 6 hour tape provided me with a small taste of what I'd missed out on the previous 4-5 years as well as a good portion of the 80's (which I did experience, in my own "special" way...)...and a few years later I met a guy named Brad Jennings who was mostly into roots rock like Better Than Ezra and other bands I don't really care for...(he was also a big Pearl Jam and Radiohead fan - put 6 of each of those 2 artists on a "best of" CD and you'd have a masterpiece; but 6 more songs by each band and you have an OK record...). He also was constantly listening to the radio, so he knew songs I'd never heard OF/heard period, as well as pretty much every other song. He'd see a CD at CD Warehouse (now known as Pmac) and he'd point it out and say "hey, those are the guys that sang [insert any song title by a popular rock/pop artist]".

So even though I wasn't "around" in the early 90's, I do have some idea (however false...) of what it would have been like to catch Sunny Day Real Estate back in 1994 or even 1995...and then there's the critical acclaim they get from just about everybody. And then there's the "emo" factor; they even played SDRE on RAGE 103.7 before they turned into a lame "alternative" (aka alt metal) station and I had no idea what I was listening to at that time...

so here's what I guess you could call my "wannabe cool" list of CDs I want to own, 'cause deep down inside, somewhere I can't reach to scratch, I feel like owning these CDs would make me cool. Of course, if only I could reach to scratch...I'd die of intestinal bleeding...anyway, here it is:

1. Soundtrack - Ghostbusters
2. American Football - s/t
3. Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
4. Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
5. The Beatles - Abbey Road
6. The Beatles - Let It Be
7. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
8. The Beatles - Revolver
9. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
10. The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
11. Blink 182 - s/t
12. Cold - Year of The Spider
13. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
14. Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet
15. Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
16. Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes
    
17. The Fray - How To Save A Life
18. Peter Gabriel - Up
19. Genesis - Genesis Live
20. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume Two: The Longs
21. The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile
22. The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
23. The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
24. The Grateful Dead - Blues For Allah
25. The Grateful Dead - Europe '72
26. The Grateful Dead - Steal Your Face
    
27. The Grateful Dead - Two From The Vault
28. Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I
29. Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II
30. Hawthorne Heights - If Only You Were Lonely
31. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
32. Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows
33. Michael Jackson - Dangerous
34. Elton John - Greatest Hits
35. Joy Division - Closer
36. KISS - Alive!
37. Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
38. Matchbox 20 - Yourself Or Someone Like You
39. Meat Loaf - Bat out of Hell
40. Metallica - Master of Puppets
41. Nirvana - s/t
42. Nirvana - Bleach
43. Nirvana - From The Muddy Banks of The Whiskaw
44. Nirvana - Incesticide
45. Nirvana - In Utero
46. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York
47. Nirvana - Nevermind
48. Nirvana - With The Lights Out
49. Number One Fan - Compromises
50. Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
51. Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad
52. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
53. Our Lady Peace - Gravity
54. The Psychedelic Furs - World Outside
55. R.E.M. - Murmur
56. R.E.M. - Reckoning
57. Rush - Power Windows
    
58. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
59. Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
60. Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed
61. Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union
62. The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
63. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
64. Sunny Day Real Estate - Live
65. Sunny Day Real Estate - LP2
66. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
67. Tonic - Lemon Parade
68. Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want
69. Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery
70. The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse

P.S.: this list also includes CDs I occasionally enjoy, and CDs which have artwork that makes me think think "gotta have it" when I see it...

hope escapes

Ok, my "Pandora's Box" stayed open too long...yesterday (was that it? Or maybe it was the day b4...) I was listening to Genesis "Live/The Way We Walk Vol. II: The Longs" and heavily enjoying it. I've also been listening to a mix of Genesis songs on CD-R off and on. INVISIBLE TOUCH has failed to spark any feelings in me...thinking about selling it (again). Also thinking I could/should sell GHOSTBUSTERS...the film is not perfect and my prior notions of the film being beautifully filmed and whatever were a bit exaggerated; it's a nostalgic film, and I haven't been feeling much sympathy for that concept even though it's almost winter (I would say it IS winter, but today is remarkebly hotter than normal...).

For the moment, I'd have to say A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and FORREST GUMP are 2 of the BEST films ever made. A lot of people might disagree, saying films like CASABLANCA and BRAVEHEART, and all those long drawn out, ultimately underwelming "epics" are what cinema is all about, but I guess I'm just "too" picky...to declare 2 hours wasted with half an hour or so of compelling featurism sprinkled here and there just seems absurd...

It's hard to say what THE BEST cd ever is....I'm listening to The Grateful Dead's AMERICAN BEAUTY and it's pretty boring...the 1st song "Box of Rain" was pretty cool..."Sugar Magnolia" was OK, but right now I'm listening to "Candyman"...gosh, I almost wanna go back to bed...but it's sunny outside and I gotta go to my Gramma's for Thanxgiving in about an hour...
it's hard to say that Genesis' LIVE/THE WAY WE WALK VOL. II: THE LONGS is THE BEST cd, 'cause a) it's not an "original" recording, and b) it gets boring after awhile...and a CD that sounds like that (if there is such a thing or ever COULD/would be...) could very well miss the mark.
American Football's CD was a really good one, but not an everyday treat...it's gotta be used sparingly or it gets boring...same thing w/ Virginwool's CD. Michael Jackson's DANGEROUS is indeed a pop masterpiece, but how can one say it's THE BEST b/c of that and ignore the quirky dark delight of Oingo Boingo's SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET?

pandora's box

I've been listening to Pandora radio since about 5am this morning...it's now 6:59...

IT'S SOOO GOOD! The seeded artists are Armor For Sleep and Trespassers William, both of who I've gotten a bit tired of, but I don't even think I need to own any CDs period, except that CD Chris Gipson got for my birthday last year, he'd be MAD at me if I got rid of it and I see no real reason to get rid of it...

they play some 80's dance-pop ala Depeche Mode since "Blasphemous Rumours" by them is one of the seeded songs, and they also, of course, play emo and dream pop (Armor For Sleep/Trespassers William), and also some celtic/new age/??/? since "Fallen embers" by Enya is another seeded track, and that's basically the perfect mix!

Wooooooooo!

best songs in the world!

mp3s

That's What You Get - Paramore
Island (Float Away) - The Starting Line
Dream On - Aerosmith
In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Last Defense - Year Of The Rabbit
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

music videos

True Faith - New Order
Land of Confusion - Genesis
Wild Wild West - The Escape Club
Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison

other video worthy of preserving:

1988 California Raisins commercial
the Noid commercial for Domino's Pizza
the Coca-Cola polar bear commercial(s)
the Macintosh Super Bowl (1983) commercial
New Year's 1999/2000 on ABC
MTV 1994: Year In Rock documentary

it lists again!

DIGITAL AUDIO DISCS

1. Ghostbusters OST
2. American Football - s/t
3. Peter Gabriel - Up
4. Genesis - Invisible Touch
5. The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
6. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
7. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
8. Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery

DIGITAL VIDEO DISCS

1. Beetlejuice
2. Bringing Out The Dead
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Ghostbusters
5. Ghostbusters II
6. The Last Unicorn
7. nowhere
8. Short Circuit

VHS

1. An American Tail (original cover)
2. Batman/Batman Returns Set (1992?)
3. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1988)
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Letterbox)
5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
6. Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood
7. Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
8. Ghostbusters (1994 "PG-13" version)
9. Ghostbusters II (original cover)
10. Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II Collector's Edition (RCA/Columbia circa 1990)
11. Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters II Gift Set (Columbia/TriStar 1995? re-issue)
12. The Godfather (original black cover)
13. Goodbye Cruel World (w/ toilet & hand flushing itself)
14. Graveyard Shift (1990)
15. Halloween II (w/ freaky pumpkin)
16. Jurassic Park (black w/ JP logo)
17. Maximum Overdrive (original cover)
18. Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear (1988!/original cover!!)
19. Short Circuit (original CBS/FOX)
20. Short Circuit (1996 re-issue)
21. The Terminator Collection (silver box)

another ill fated (?...) list.../..........

DIGITAL AUDIO DISCS

1. Soundtrack - Ghostbusters
2. Soundtrack - Halloween II
3. American Football - s/t
4. Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
5. Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
6. Crosby Stills & Nash - Daylight Again
7. Peter Gabriel - Up
8. Genesis - Invisible Touch
9. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume 2: The Longs
10. The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
11. The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
12. The Grateful Dead - Two From The Vault
13. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
14. Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I
15. Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II
16. Steve Hackett - Voyage Of The Acolyte
17. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
18. Michael Jackson - Dangerous
19. Michael Jackson - HIStory: Past, Present & Future Book I
20. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
21. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
    
22. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
23. Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
24. Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed
25. A Skylit Drive - Wires & The Concept of Breathing
26. The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
27. Toto - Toto IV
28. Trespassers William - Different Stars
29. Trespassers William - Having
30. Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery

DIGITAL VIDEO DISCS

1. Beetlejuice
2. Bringing Out The Dead
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
5. Forrest Gump
6. Genesis: Live At Wembley Stadium
7. Ghostbusters
8. Ghostbusters II
9. The Last Unicorn
10. nowhere
11. Short Circuit
12. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

...hmm...

Well...

My CD drive isn't working. So I CAN'T listen to music via my computer. My mother FINALLY decided to tell me that computers aren't meant to be used as a CD player substitute, as it wears the computer out...well, the computer isn't worn out, but the CD drive apparently is...maybe it'll recover someday...but now I know that a computer isn't meant to be a media center...so what IS a computer meant to be? A way to access the internet and type...and burn CDs...hmm...can't believe it cost'd my sister $500+ just so I could do those things. I hardly ever type, paper is recyclable (I mainly write/type lists...nothing i ever really need to keep...), and burning CDs? Hmm...I guess there's maybe 2 or 3 occassions a person could/would save $40 buying an out of print album on iTunes for $10 vs. buying it used for $50 via the Amazon Marketplace...so if you ask me, a computer isn't worth more than $200 TOPS!

Gotta get some kind of audio system.

NEED MORE SOURCES

MEDIA PLAYER: VLC Media Player (why haven't YOU tried VLC today? HMM???)
RADIO: Launchcast
CINEMA COLLECTION (+)

1. Beetlejuice
   
2. Bringing Out The Dead
3. Candyman
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
6. Ghostbusters
7. Ghostbusters II
8. The Last Unicorn
9. Short Circuit

ALBUMS (*):

1. Aerosmith - Greatest Hits (1980)
2. American Football - s/t
3. Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
4. Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
5. Chicago - Greatest Hits 1982-1989
6. Cold - Year of The Spider
7. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
8. Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
9. Peter Gabriel - Up
10. Genesis - s/t
11. Genesis - Abacab
12. Genesis - Duke
13. Genesis - Foxtrot
14. Genesis - Genesis Live
15. Genesis - Invisible Touch
16. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
17. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. 1: The Shorts
18. Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. 2: The Longs
19. Genesis - Nursery Cryme
20. Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
21. Genesis - Trespass
22. Genesis - Wind & Wuthering
23. The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
24. Steve Hackett - Voyage Of The Acolyte
25. Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
26. Whitney Houston - Whitney
27. Michael Jackson - Dangerous
28. Michael Jackson - HIStory: Past, Present & Future Book I
29. Joy Division - Closer
30. Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
31. Number One Fan - Compromises
32. Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
33. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
34. Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
35. Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed
36. A Skylit Drive - Wires & The Concept of Breathing
37. Sleepaway- - s/t
38. The Starting Line - Say It LIke You Mean It
39. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
40. Toto - IV
41. Trespassers William - Different Stars
42. Trespassers William - Having
43. Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want
44. Virginwool- - Open Heart Surgery
45. "Weird Al" Yankovic - s/t
46. "Weird Al" Yankovic - Even Worse
47. "Weird Al" Yankovic - Off The Deep End

+ ;I do not have a DVD burner as of current, and I don't know if/when I'll ever get one. Also, if/when I get one, I may need to keep the movies/films on DVD, as video takes up a lot more memory and using computers to play video can very well result in unstable playback.

* ;"albums", to me at least, usually brings to mind images of physical objects, like a vinyl or "compact" disc, or cassette tape, as well as cover artwork and covers/cases...and the idea of MP3 technology at one time, not long ago, I scoffed at, since so many people said/say that it's an inferior technology; I don't notice any difference, but I someday hoped maybe I could if I ever got the right technology...well, I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a TRULY audiophile-quality system. True, I could get an "infantry" or "budget" audiophile CD player for $300 (which is in itself a lot of $...), but I would need to buy speakers ($200+++), an amplifier (another $?????,????????,XXXXXXXXXXXX), and the list probably goes on to an end I have no ability to say where...
Bottom line, I'll never be able to afford to tell the difference between MP3/vinyl/CD.

So, for the most part, all "albums" referred to above are/will be in MP3 format. I don't have all of the albums referenced above, although I have heard them before (owned most, if not all, of them, just didn't keep them 'cause I'm crazy and/or stupid...); there may be albums that I WILL hear that are not on this list, but I don't know of their existence. I also may have overlooked some choices...but, for the most part, with the exception of albums I haven't heard/haven't been ABLE to hear (b/c of their current non existence...), this is my IDEAL collection of albums.

Happy Birthday To Me

Wow. I'm a quarter of a century old, yet still "young" (right?)...I had a good birthday; neither my sister or my mother got me anything (although my mother did make me a satisfactory cake w/ a healthy icing substitute), but it didn't bother me any, since my Gramma gave me double what I thought I *might* be able to expect (she gave me a whoppin' $20), plus my mom DID promise to get me something on or around the 25th (she gets more $ at around that time...). I don't know what my sister plans to get me, if anything, although I wouldn't blame her for not getting me anything, since I neglected her birthday last year (2007).

My mother was very hospitable, and more tolerant than usual (I tend to get on her nerves, although I don't know the scientific basis for that...).

I also got foodtsamps yesterday, which made me kind of happy ($107 worth of any kind of food I can get my eyes on!, although I only spent about $53...).

I guess I can say it wasn't THE BEST birthday imaginable (or even the best birthday I've experienced as of yet...), but I don't think that matters and I did very much appreciate what little I got that day. Surprisngly, I awoke at 4 in the morning to a "happy birthday" email from my father AND my mother. It seems my online friend forgot my birthday though. At least I hope he forgot...hopefully he doesn't resent me for not being "available" to chat for about 2 months...he seems cool with my sometimes hostile/flaky attitude towards life, but seemingliness can be deceptive...

Nov so far

It took until the most recent Tuesday for my leisure spending $ to show up on the debit card that my sister gave me. Since then I've bought 3 CDs and a gift for my sister + ...well, that was about all I bought with the $ that my sister transferred to the debit card, but I did have money that she didn't transfer, and I used that to buy me a Pizza Hut pizza the night before yesterday + french toast ($2.99 for a plate!!) at Socials on 119 Spanish.

I had $11.00 until earlier this afternoon, when I bought 3 fat-filled Fudge Brownies (72 grams of fat + the 3 grams of fat in the oatmeal & 16 grams in the chicken I had for lunch...is that legal???!!!). So now i have $9.14 (the brownies were Little Debbie; I was gonna splurge on some Twix, but I saw how cheap gas had gone down, and figured if my MOm and/or sister were down to NOTHING, I could help them pay for as much gas they could while it's cheap).

I already got one of the CDS in the mail - Chicago 17 - and I'm listening to it now. It's OK, not like I paid a lot for it ($2.99 w/ S&H from the Amazon Marketplace!!).

I look forward to receiving Joy Division's CLOSER, although I got it from some seller with 89% positive feedback, so I'll be lucky if it shows up in good time, or at all...it's a European import, since for some reason USA manufacturers are no longer producing copies of it that don't come with a bonus CD, which is fine; I would spring for the 2 disc edition, but why? the 2nd disc is just some live performances, which are OK, but nothing to pay an extra $10 for...basically, the original album, without all this excess flash, is OOP in the USA. I'm not sure if the seller I bought from will ship the European import, but the listing page (I think) specified that it was from Europe...the seller very well may ship an Argentina import, since, for some weird reason, they tend to sell pretty cheap, at least at USA-based internet retailers.

gosh, I can't think of much else to say...

toodles

this is ticking me off

I'm getting really ticked off with these people slamming others for not wanting to make English the "official" United States language. Making such legislation does NOTHING except make it "official" that the United States doesn't like it when non-English speaking people live here. Oh, poor America; having its children being exposed to other cultures...boo hoo hoo!

I think if people have such a problem with non-English speaking folk living in the United States, that instead of making English the official language in our country, they should just go back to England, where English originated and has been the official language for centuries. If they don't like that idea, just think how all these Germans and Mexicans and Chinese people (...) must feel to have to be told to go back to their homeland or learn English.

We already have the conveniences that come with NOT being a minority; if listening to other people speak an other language is discomforting, there's a simple solution: GET OVER IT! It's not that difficult and it's not even all that time consuming. You can support narrow minded thinking all you want, that doesn't keep the non-narrow minded from having enough courage and integrity to do the same thing with their way of thinking.

Case in point; the identities of adults are formed by the influences from their childhoods. These influences vary from city to city and state to state and from county to country. We live in a world where families often have to move to new environments to find good jobs, and these families interact with their new surroundings and learn new things about other people.
In other words, LEARNING is required, unless you live under a rock. LEARNING equals a less narrow mind and until LEARNING becomes outlawed, these "radical liberals" are not going to back down to you people! Thankfully Barack Obama is protected by a vast array of open minded (although decidedly corrupt...) media officials and the like, as well as a bigger campaign budget, so that the ordinary uncaring unconcerned selfish idiot who MIGHT vote for either candidate will most likely vote for the dude who DOESN'T position himself with a bunch of narrow minded and hateful dudes.

i found the cure for getting older...

[that's a Fall Out Boy reference FYI]

this is the best I've done so far at creating a playlist:

2001-2002

1) Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears
I remember seeing the video for this on VH1 Classic
2) In My Head - the Psychedelic Furs
This dude hired as a mentor (I would just flat out say "mentor", but he kinda sucked at his job...) had a huge collection of 80's music and music made by bands who were famous, more or less, in the 80's and WORLD OUTSIDE was one of them.
3) Gone Away - Cold
I remember hearing this and wanting to sing it to Megan Irvin, the biggest and twistedist crush in the history of mankind.
4) Hard To Explain - The Strokes
This band was all the rage back in the summer of 2002. I never got into this band the way all the critics and anti-emo/popsters did...but this song was pretty good.
5) Undercover - Pete Yorn
This is from the SPIDER-MAN soundtrack, which was OK, but I hated the film 'cause the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane just didn't come across that clearly to me.
6) Seein' Red - Unwritten Law
A perfect song for my hazy state of mind back in those days.
7) My 1st Trip To Mars - Atticus Fault
I've always been weird. But that year(s), I felt like I was almost levitating...
8) The Question - Familiar 48
This and the one immediately above it were both semi-popular in spring-fall 2002, they were constantly being played on MusicChoice, which is/was a series of channels on digital cable that play music while showing you the cover art of the CD its from as well as displaying the artist/album/track info, which comes in handy if you buy CDs...but after 2002, both these songs just kinda got buried under the rug...not sure what's up with that...
9) Forever Young - Alphaville
One of many songs I discovered via VH1 Classic. This one I actually remember clearly though...
10) Time Stand Still - Rush
I sang this to myself on the way home from the last day of school.
11) I'd Do Anything - Simple Plan
You hear me Megan?! I'd do anything!!!!
12) A Long December - Counting Crows
I heard this on MusicChoice and balled my eyes out so friggin' hard, thinking I'd someday soon be rich of my wonderful screenplays and be living in California without Megan. Gosh, my life has sooooooo changed since then. I hardly ever mess with fiction anymore, of any format, and I don't have any interest in living in California.
13) Fat Lip - Sum 41
"I don't wanna fall in love, be another victim of your conformity and back down"
14) In This Diary - The Ataris
I used to hate this song, but, really, it's pretty good. Granted, it's not the most articulate song, but you get the idea more than well enough. "Being grown up isn't half as fan as growing up. These are the best days of our lives".

poem...

Well, it's not really a poem; I was writing it hoping to make it a song someday...but there's no music, written or performed, to go with it, so I guess for now it's just a poem; a work in progress at that; but it says most, if not all, of what I want it to...I'm struggling to add more to it, so here it is for now...

The world is empty, I’m alone
Buildings and postcards pass me by
My mind keeps spinning thoughts and observations
But why? What’s the point?
I reach out to hug a tree, but it’s all so fake
My love is useless, ‘cause I’m too far up
I wonder what’s beyond this world
If there’s a place where my heart can run free
‘cause it’s the only thing my imagination seems to fancy

boo!

Yeah, right; I scared you good - NOT!

THERE'S NO HORROR FILMS SHOWING IN THE NEXT 14 DAYS according to TVGuide.com. THIS IS BLASPHEMY!

I mean, yeah, they MIGHT (I really don't care either way) be showing some stupid faceless slasher film from the 2000s, or some "modern classic" (?) like SAW or SAW II or whatever, but what about the CLASSICS!??!! What about the tried and true thrills and chills of films like THE SHINING (1980), DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), CARRIE (1976), CANDYMAN (1992), HELLRASIER (1987), or HALLOWEEN II (1981; I personally prefer that over the original, although I know a lot of people descent on that opinion), or PET SEMATARY TWO (1992?; they both suck, amauturish camera work and whatnot, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd pick the sequel; I like how they took the original and blew it out of proportion or whatever...added a bunch of stuff, more serious subplots, like child neglect and abuse etc.)...I mean, I guess I don't need to list 'em all...I searched for SEVERAL and the only one that was showing was END OF DAYS on Starz, which I don't have, nor do I know anyone (such as my mother/sister) who does. Actually, I think there was another film, I don't remember which one, but that too is on a station that I don't have easy access to (HBO).
It seems like people have grown ashamed of celebrating the fun and spirit of the macabre. Of course, I know there's always been and still is and always will be a segment of the population who considers Halloween to be some sort of pegan holiday that represents evil, but either that segment is growing or...I don't know. I guess in a post 9/11 world, people a) don't feel as easy having fun and/or b) feel more catious about how they have their fun. I've said this for awhile now and I'll say it here and again: unless you ARE one of those heavy-Christian-types who scorns the idea of Halloween, why the heck don't you put your decorations up in AUGUST!! There's NO HOLIDAY in between the 4th of July and Halloween! That gives us 2+ solid months to savor the thrills and chills of the macabre and delight in such "morbid" spirits! Even if that's too much wickendess for your soul to take, that's beside the point. IT IS OCTOBER! - WELL INTO IT! Gimme some blood dang it!
Amen

pretty good day

I think my string of bad(+/-) days is over. It's a shame to admit it, but I really don't know why, so I guess honesty is what this is all about, right?...anyway, as I was saying, that "leech" I was talking about a few days, she just makes me feel weird. I don't know why. I know I don't like her, she's clingy, stupid and seems kinda kooky. But I don't know why hanging around her makes me feel so gloomy. She was knocking on my door at the middle of the night the last 2+ days, but last night she didn't knock. I didn't answer when she did knock those 2+ nights, so I guess (hopefully?) she's gotten the clue. I guess "survival of the fittest" has its place in the world. You gotta have what it takes to make it in the world. She lets too many people take advantage of her. She gets $637 a month like I do, but she ended up with only $300 or so 'cause someone stole almost+ $300...and she wasted $275 or something like that on a friggin' HO-TEL! She's been homeless for awhile, so it's not like she couldn't rough it out for a few days or so until finding an apartment. Now she IS homeless and she'll have to remain so for who knows how long, at least 'til next month. On top of that, she wasted pretty much all the other $25 (?) on cigarettes and liquor (sp?).
So I got her out of my life. And I feel fine now. Not much to be proud of, except I did what I had to do, which I guess is the least anyone can do. If I could save the world, it's hard to say weather I would. People who CAN save the world usually refuse. Am I really any different than all the rich people?
I spent about 5 or 6 hours with my mother. that was cool. the weather was amazing. I really hope the winter isn't murderous. last winter was relentless.
I exchanged 3 of the mail-in movies @ Blockbuster for in-store rentals. I got 2 old releases and 1 new release. I was kind of looking forward to the new release, so I got it done. It sucked. It was THE LOVE GURU, from the makers of the AUSTIN POWERS trilogy. I guess I just can't pretend it's 1999 again. It'd be nice if I could.

no longer raining & more

My nose is not stuffed up anymore. I hope I didn't pass the cold onto my mom or sister...the weather today is kinda gloomy, but at least it's not raining...might clear up later today...I got out of the house yesterday, but it wasn't a whole lotta fun. It wasn't like prison or anything flat-out bad, it just wasn't as fun as what I invision when I think of "getting out of the house". My mom fell over a week ago, and she's in a lot of pain b/c of it. She came with my sister and myself to WalMart and Sam's Club.
My sister's at work today, which is cool in some way(s) b/c she's ON a PAID vacation right now, so she's making what I guess you might call "time and 2/3"...not quite double what she'd normally get in a day...it'd be nice if she could stay home on her vacation, but her financial state is really tough. Hopefully things will look up within the next 10 years.

better now (I think...)

I feel a bit better today. It's raining, but I kinda like the rain; just don't like to be out in it...I do have a cold I think, which I picked up from that woman who spent the night the night before. My nose is stuffed up, but not to the point I can't breath, so I'm not too bothered by that. I went to bed before 7pm yesterday and got up around 5am b/c my cats were sooo hungry, ate something, then went back to bed. The phone woke me up less than half an hour ago, and I'm expecting a package via UPS, so...better stay awake for that. I also did not intentionally stay asleep for 12+ hours; I don't know I did that...I don't agree with the idea of sleeping the day away...so...

feeling weird

Today I feel weird; it's like the world is tiled the wrong way or something, idk...I wanted to visit my mom earlier today and had to wait like half an hour before leaving 'cause this leech decided to visit me last night and ended up sleeping on my couch overnight and wouldn't leave in a reasonable time. And the only reason I know this person is 'cause she was knocking on my door looking for someone who had a couple cigarettes. And then I found out my sisters hours have been cut...and then there's all this jagged wind crawling over everything. I didn't take my pills until less than half an hour ago, so maybe I'll feel better latter now that I've taken them.

wazzuuuuuuuuuuuup?????

Gosh, you (whoever the heck you are, aside from Mom and Danielle...) are prolly wondering that about ME(!). I cannot believe it's been over 10 days since my last update..

I saw A CLOCKWORK ORANGE a couple nights ago. It was GREAT! I don't think there's any other film you can really compare it to when it comes in terms of originality combined WITH emotional impact. It's got a great message and it does a fantastic job at conveying it. I think when it all comes down to it, the film is about how raising your children is important - no jail, no medicine, no religion will make your kids behave with regard to other human beings.

My CD collection has (again) shrunk. I have two CDs that I KNOW I want/want-to-keep. There's a couple others I'm considering buying, both by 70's prog-rock band Gentle Giant (ACQUIRING THE TASTE & OCTOPUS were the ones I had in mind...). I think they define "original" more so than any other band out there. The other 2 on my list are American Football's self titled album and Hidden In Plain View's RESOLUTION. I have other CDs, but it is my intention to get rid of them. I have two of them listed on Amazon, and 2 others that I'm thinking I might either sell locally or...idk...

My list is titled "sh!t I can use", which is the only reason I have for KEEPING whatever I buy. I buy stuff b/c I like shopping. I KEEP what I buy b/c I know it will benefit me to have it. If I have any doubt of its benefit (or shall I say "reasonable" doubt...or doubt that seems reasonable at whatever time...) I get rid of it.

I sold my 2 Trespassers Williams' CDS. They aren't BAD cds, but I don't think my emotional or mental state is enhanced by listening to their music.

Which leads me to think buying the GG CDs is kind of a bad idea...do THEY enhance my emotional or mental state? I semi-highly doubt it...

arrrm...

like the weather

the weather's been really awesome since two days prior to today...around this time of year, there's this scent that I keep smelling, like it's in the air or something, but it's also in my apt or house or wherever I happen to be living this time of year (I've been living in my apt for over 4 1/2 years, but I used to live in a house...). I like that scent, I don't know how to describe it, other than it's kind of a minty wintery smell...well, I'm not even sure that's accurate...but anyway...I hope when winter actually gets here, I don't get too depressed from the whatever has a 85% chance of causing "bitterness"...I like winter, usually. But then again, I like overcast mornings and such...rainy days when it hasn't yet started to rain are awesome.

My music collection is still really thin, although it's slowly getting better. I now have 5 or 6 CDs instead of 2 or 3...it's been this way for about a month...I got 2 CDs earlier this month - Michael Jackson's BAD and American Football's self titled full length. They've stayed in my collection so far...I also re-obtained a CD that I sold to my mother for $1 to give to my sister (my sister was at work when I sold it to my mom). I didn't buy a whole new copy, although if my sis ever listened to the copy my mother gave her, I would have...I just repayed my mom $1 and took the CD back.

Right now I'm listening to a CD-R mix that I'm not too in awe of...it's a nice steady mix of goodness though. I don't usually listen to it, but I've kept it 'cause it has 18 songs that I paid $0.89 each for...that's $15+ down the drain if I throw the CD away, 'cause they're no longer on my computer...if I could figure out a way to make this CD better, I'd import the songs from it onto my computer and get it done...but I guess blending songs isn't a talent I have...they pay people good money to do that, BTW...

so...

I guess that's it...seems like I had something else to say, but I don't remember what it is/was...

I used to own this...

BATMAN: YEAR ONE DELUXE HARDCOVER;

My sister used her Amazon acct a couple months after this was released in May 2005 (?) so I could have this, since my bank acct had been closed down by then and I didn't have any credit card(s) back then...well, I tried reading it and wasn't at all enthralled by it, so I got rid of it for $5+ less than what I paid for it. And I only paid about $15 for it...well, if I only had a little bit of patience, I could have kept this on my shelf for a couple years, for the coolness factor if nothing else, and then sold it for the minimum going rate on Amazon - $35 + S&H. My intention is to buy the recently re-released THE KILLING JOKE and hope I can avoid making the same mistake...

BRINGING OUT THE DEAD

This quote pretty much sums the film up, IMO.

"The street's not like the ER; there's no walls, no control. To make up for that, they train me to act without thinking. I've come to realize that my training is useful in less than 10% of the calls and saving someone's life is rarer than that. I was a grief mop. It was enough that I simply showed up."

BOTD is probably the most convingly melanchollic and haunting film I've seen ever. A lot of films deal with sad stories, but the people in charge of the visuals and the audio techniques don't bother trying to draw the audience into the stories; they simply put some sad story on paper and then film it. I think it's presumptious of a filmmaker to think that anyone has any REASON to automatically give a care about a film's subject matter or story. Yet that's what filmmakers do most of the time. It was much worse before the '60's; films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange (especially the latter) really opened up the world to cinema as an art form and not just a bunch of meaningless matter. Films like The Manchurian Candidate (the original) are still being made, but they often just clutter the shelves of videostores for people looking for lite entertainment and don't really impact anyone emotionally or otherwise. It's really a mystery to me why Hollywood or anyone else invests money into those films, but then again, Bringing Out The Dead didn't really fare very well at the box office either. Perhaps if filmmakers didn't rip off other people's techniques and stories, making the audience think they can EXPECT anything other than the unexpected, the audience might not have looked away so much from Bringing Out The Dead. Granted, there's a portion of today's world that just doesn't give a care about the subject matter of BOTD, some who think it's too negative, some who have better things to do with their time than mope away 2 hours of time, and a lot of people who are too freakin' hyper to sit through a slow-paced 2 hour film. In fact, as expensive as films are to make, and as much as they cost to see in theaters, I wouldn't have expected this film to do well at the box office. But even on Amazon, the avg customer rating is less than glowing. The same can't be said of such tripe as JUST ONE OF THE GUYS (1985) or BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984). Don't get me wrong, I love the 80's, I love some of the contemporary films of the 80's, that could have only been made in the 80's, but Beverly Hills Cop is just plain stupid! There's very few comedic moments in the film, the story is weak, there's no other emotional elements that really jump out at the hearts of the audience members, so why the heck does/did everybody go crazy over that film? Of course, I think MANNEQUIN (1987) and ZAPPED AGAIN (1989) are very good examples of contemporary 80's films - light, fluffy, full of color and synth-laden background music, what were we living for in the 80's exactly? But then such a dark and unhappy and just overall GRIMY excuse for a comedy like DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD (1990) is like THE biggest teen comedy of the year, just like the TV Show the film's star got her start in (MARRIED WITH CHILDREN; w/ Christina Applegate, if you're too young or have some other excuse for not knowing these things...although MARRIED WITH CHILDREN had its charm, however grimy it was...and who can't identify with the show's core concept? DON'T TELL MOM... on the other hand was about children, and there's nothing more depressing than seeing a bunch of children living in a world of trash and loving it; maybe that's just me though...I didn't care too much for the 1993 adaptation of DENNIS THE MENACE though either for similiar reasons...).

I guess the 80's was just a bad time for films. a lot of the films I cherished on cable in the late 80's and early 90's have gone down in the history books as "box office bombs". THE GREAT OUTDOORS (1988) is a perfect example. Even most casual film goers will admit to some of the finer moments of 80's cinema being films that didn't do too well at the box office. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) and SIXTEEN CANDLES (1983) are both considered classics to anyone whose familiar with them. Yet their box office success was minimal if not non-existent.

But this day and age, with the internet and the cautious tone of the world today, what's stopping people from weeding out all the stupid irrelevent filmmaking and just concentrating on the stuff that makes life worth remembering? But then again, even FORREST GUMP (1994) has its fair share of enemies, cynical cold hearted jerks they are...it's hard to know what really captured the hearts of audiences and what everyone just went to see 'cause their boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife wouldn't mind seeing it...TITANIC (1997) is the highest grossing film, and it seems like it got that way b/c of that reason; guys tolerated it for its action aspects and women tolerated the action for the romantic undertones. It had something for everybody but nobody LOVED that film.

Well...I can say I'm glad BRINGING OUT THE DEAD got made...it had something for very few, but I suspect those very few people LOVE(D) that film.

Ok, now it's time to quote the Alanis Morissette song...wait, we've heard that one before, haven't we?

life in mono

Well, I've decided to just deal with having nothing but a TV & a DVD player until I can get a TV that has better sound quality. I bought a $30 boombox on Friday, and returned it last night (feel so much better with an extra $36 in my pocket!) 'cause the sound reminded me of a part of the GHOSTBUSTERS "Collector's Series" DVD menu, where it asks you what trailer(s) you'd like to watch, and there's an image of a movie-theater with 3 movie posters on it, and you can click on whatever movie poster to see the trailer for the film that movie poster is advertising...but, as I was saying, in conjunction with this imagery is a sound of the GHOSTBUSTERS theme song by Ray Parker, Jr. playing, and it sounds like its coming from a distance, like from someone's (really old) car stereo or something...ya know, retro? Old? Outdated technology? The actual movie doesn't sound anywhere near that bad, and that's what I like about the DVD itself; it's a very sleek and elegant and well put together presentation of a great film. And while thinking about this, I realized my DVD player has much better sound than the boombox that cut $36 out of my $90 "play money" portion of my budget for this month, and so I returned it. If I wanted to cough up $100 or almost or more, then I could get HALFWAY-DECENT sound reproduction, but halfway decent is as far as it would go. Like I said, I might get a better TV in a year or two from now, and maybe get a home theater system added to it (maybe that BRAVIA thing from SONY would be cool, since you can play SACDs on it...although as to where I'd get the money to pay for it, who the heck knows?). This is all way down the road, it may never even happen; but that's fine, 'cause, really, it's not about the sound quality, it's about the music itself.

a pretty amazing album cover

I don't remember what prompted me to think about this CD and its album cover, but I was actually hoping to find a poster with this image on it, 'cause I used to have this CD set back when I was in high school, and I didn't too much care for it. I guess back then I had EXTREMELY "unrealistic" expectations when it came to music. These days there's still a lot of stuff I don't like that many consider me stupid or "closed-minded" for not liking, but I've learned to pick from what's available and sort-of put up with it, so to speak...but anyway...I was listening to Disc 1 on Rhapsody (just a few or so minutes ago) and found myself strongly enjoying the sweet grooves and beats. Now I'm on disc 2 via Rhapsody and I'm thinking it's not as good as Disc 1, although I'm only on song 2...but seriously, ain't this a BEAUTIFUL image? I like the different neon(ish) colors and the desertedness of the scenery; I would make a comparison to taking a walk when the sun is coming up and there's but a few cars on the road(s), but firstly, that's a rather small scale comparison to this image, since this image is almost out-of-this-world, and 2ndly, if such things don't compell whoever may be reading this, then there's nothing I can do to make such things compell X person(s). So I guess I'll just leave it at this...

monstorous

I don't have even have 1/2 of the money it takes to get a "budget" audiophile set-up and I paid $100 for the SONY EC55 almost a month ago and that was a big purchase for me. I dropped it off at the UPS Store earlier today for return to Amazon, 'cause at $100, it just sucks. I suppose it could be worse, but why would anyone buy it, at any price, if it were? The only thing that could POSSIBLY make it worth $100 is the excess bass, which a lot of people (excluding me) apparantly go crazy for. Music is A LOT more than bass, but a lot of/most people don't seem to care. So I'm just looking for the cheapest boombox I can find that will last more than a few months (preferably 6 months minimum...) and when I settle on something, I'll just twiddle my thumbs in anticipation until I receive my Amazon refund or a notice that I did something wrong and thus they can't issue one...if that happens, I guess I'll be fine with my computer until November, when I'm not paying $40+ for a bed that I got from my sister.

perfection through silence

As I was debating weather or not I should buy the new The Academy Is... CD, there were a couple ideas I had to consider; a) it's a pop-punk CD (00's pop-punk ala The Starting Line, not 90's pop-punk ala Green Day...) and I know I've heard A BUNCH of those that I thought about buying when I first/second heard them.  The crazy thing is/was I couldn't think of anything except THE BEST cd in the freakin' world (Hidden In Plain View's RESOLUTION) which I already own, dur (or not so dur; I tend to sell just about everything eventually; but I am getting better at that, and my continued ownership of that CD is proof of that; although it was given to me by one of those "it's a gift, so you have to keep it" philosophy-types, which makes it so that even if I didn't want it, ever, I'd still have to keep it...but anyway...)...as I was saying (have you lost track yet?  I have...I'll catch up though...just a sec...).

Thing is, I can think of at least a couple pop-punk ala today that I did actually think about buying; but I KNOW I don't want to buy them anymore, and I know why; the stuff is catchy, toe-tapping, happy-go-super-lucky music, but it gets SICKENING after 2 or 3 listens.  WE THE KINGS self titled album - perfect example.  It's the only one I can think of right this moment.  Oh wait, yeah, Forever The Sickest Kids - UNDERDOG ALMA MATTER, which I was listening to at about the same time.  In all honesty, if I wanted to hear a bunch of jock-ish macho music with lots of full-of-it lyrics, I probably wouldn't mind hearing FTSK again.

But, really...ALL music, more or less, is like that with me.  Last night I heard LET GO by Avril Lavigne and really dug it.  I even found myself enjoying one of the songs I used to not care for a whole lot ("Too Much To Ask For" or something like that...), and I actually felt like I was plunged deep into a dark, brooding diary entry (perhaps Avril Lavigne's?); it was like a dark homage to that time not so long ago that at the same time seems so far away...ya know; that time?  Spring/summer 2002, when I had-just/was-about-to graduate high school and "Complicated" was fast picking up steam on the radio...and then I finally did graduate and my mother got me digital cable and I was able to witness the middle part of the pop-punk & emo underground overflow on my TV screen...my emotional state was also elevated by a HUMONGOUS crush on this girl I took biology class with, who for a short time sat next to me...and I had an aquaintence(sp?)/friend who, although kind of dumb (dumb to the point of psychosis, it seemed...he was EXTREMELY homophobic and he'd make up facts to "prove" how rightfully homophobic he was/is...) was really encouraging of my feelings toward/of her...

but as I was saying...I tried listening to the Avril CD this morning and was SOOOO not interested in it.  So why spend $4 on it at Amazon?  And, for that matter, why pay $14 (or almost...) for the new Academy Is... CD?  Perhaps I should mention, so you quit thinking I illegally downloaded these CDs I mention above, that I heard these CDs on a very valuable music subscription service called Rhapsody, where you can listen to as much music as Rhapsody can possibly give you, within the time available to you, for $13 a month.  And I use that service quite frequently.

so...basically my point in all of this is that I feel like I should quit trying to have the "ultimate" CD collection; there's no such thing, and if there were, it would be a never ending quest that would cost more money than its worth; take the Avril Lavigne CD referenced above for example; when's the last time I bothered listening to that prior to last night?  6 months ago at least...I think...it just isn't worth it.  and it's not like I've been listening to Rhapsody all my life either.  All throughout my teens and even now-a-days, I have bought CDs IN DROVES; I used to consume music like it was a race!  Now that I know the budget, I'm more hesitant to buy any CD, and the last few++++ days, that has increased quite some.  When I DO buy a CD, it's usually something I feel "cool" for buying; and I don't mean "cool" as in "everyone else is jumping off the cliff, so...", I mean "cool" as in...novelty I guess...some CDs, certain editions thereof, just strike me as...kind of a novelty.  The ones that don't fit under "novelty" are usually CDs I buy without thinking about it a whole lot, then by the time I ask for a refund it's too late, they've already shipped it, so I'd have to pay $2 to return it AND put up with wasting $3 on the S&H...not worth the time, and in many cases not even worth the refund itself (depending on how much the CD cost'd...).

But anyhoo...IF I buy a CD in Sept (I'm currently out of dough) it'll be American Football by American Football (an emo CD from 1999...).  It's a fantastic emotional trip, but: I've bought it b4 ($11 at Go Hastings dot com) and Rhapsody has it...I bought it, paid my dues to the artist, and there's no reason I need to own it again.

See, this is a perfectly rational argument for me to QUIT BUYING cds, but...in all honesty, I feel kinda hopeless and suffocated saying all this; it's like giving up foods that are bad for you (which I'm also trying to do, more or less...); sometimes its hard to let go and...move forward.

CURRENT LISTENING

I got a refund for a CD that I bought and then changed my mind about paying $6 to have...

I had asked the seller like 3 days before he shipped the item to refund the payment before he shipped the item/cancel the transaction...he did not respond; and I had emailed him several times...

After I'd figured he'd shipped the item, I asked him when he shipped it, since I hadn't gotten it yet and it'd been almost a week since I got the item.

He didn't respond.

So I got the item (in stated condition) and decided to damage his feedback.  I mean, heck, there's NO excuse for treating customers (or non-customers) like that.  If someone doesn't want an item, what grounds does a seller have to ship it to that "someone"?  I mean, yeah, I bought it, but, ya know, I bought it on Amazon, not eBay.  eBay purchases are legally binding contracts that you HAVE to follow through with.  Amazon purchases are the COMPLETE opposite.

So I left neutral feedback, and he emailed me a couple hours later telling me he hadn't got my emails and that he was sorry for the mix up or whatever and thus he would be refunding my money.  And me being a righteous dude, deleted my feedback (you can't modify feedback on Amazon, but it can be removed...).

But it turns out the CD is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.  It's called RELAYER by Yes; came out in 1974, way before they did that stupid song "Owner of a Lonely Heart"...

I've also been listening to Trespassers William's HAVING (2006).  Track #8, "My Hands Up" is SO deep!

I got Hawthorne Height's new CD FRAGILE FUTURE in the mail on Thursday (I think...mighta been Friday...).  It's pretty darn good, although I've gotten tired of it.

Later-

SONY EC55

Had I not told you "all" (yeah, right; like anyone's reading this except my mom...) that I got that CD player I'd been drooling over for the last few months on Friday?  No, not the Friday that we most recently experienced, but the Friday before that.  I got the EC55 via UPS around noon on the 1st of August.  The sound quality could be better, but it's still an improvement over my computer sound...I'm not sure if it uses less energy than my computer, 'cause it puts out 130 watts of power.  Guess I'll have to wait & see.  I'm just glad to have it.  I get scared just using my computer for EVERYTHING.  Music, movies, reading etc... (I don't read books most of the time, I just read various online pieces; product reviews, news articles, etc....).  It seems pointless, glutenous, boring...I mean, what's in a life anyway?  Ya know?  Ok, maybe you don't...but anyway...

More cool beans; the following Tuesday I got some matching CD-Rs to make CDs I can't afford with - SONY!!!!!!  Ya hear that?  SONY!!!!!!!

Oh, and some more recenter good news is that Amazon now has the GHOSTBUSTERS 1 & 2 (non Blu-Ray; Blu-Ray's are a bit out of my price range to say the least...) boxed gift set for pre-order.  It comes out in late October.  For some dumb reason I had sold my GB2 DVD that I bought with my grampa's WalMart gift card that he gave me for Xmas (I sold it like in the spring I think...) a few months before hearing about the GB1&2 boxed gift set - oh, you're telling me there was ALREADY a GB1&2 gift set?  Oh, you don't know the half of it...THIS one has a STAY PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN figurine PLUS some trading cards AND a bag of SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!  You hear that?  SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, I'm mixing everything together, who cares?  As I was saying, I'd heard this was coming out via protoncharging (dot coooooooooooooooooom!) a month or so ago, around the same time I started feeling remorse for having sold my GB2 DVD...Iiiiiiiiii'll just wait...juuuuuuuust waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait...it wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill be miiiiiiiiiiiine...it WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL BE MINE!!!  THE SOW IS MINE!!!

Ok, I guess I'm hyper 'cause I haven't taken my pills yet...

XX

got my ROCKS

well, I already got ROCKS by Aerosmith in the mail; that was fast, I swear; took 2 days! Here's hoping my INVISIBLE TOUCH by Genesis can hold a candle to that ideal transit time(!). I was thinking I might sell it (ROCKS, not IT), but, even though it's a got a very old and dusty sound, there's still something very fascinating about the CD. Just not sure its worth letting go of (again...!!!).

tpw returns!?

I used to say (sometimes) that Trespassers William is my favorite band...for the last six months or more that notion has taken a back seat since they only have 2 CDs (plus an EP and a CD they made way back when that they practically condemn...) and I was listening to them CONSTANTLY. Basically, I got tired of them. But I'm listening to trk #11 on DIFFERENT STARS (2004), and it just brings back those feelings of...2004, except I didn't even know who TPW was until after their 2nd CD HAVING (2006) came out...wait, I guess that woulda been a good time to explain what "feelings of 2004" means...

Well, I don't know when indie music started rising up, but if it weren't for Hot Topic coming to Cape Girardeau during my senior year of high school (2001), I probably would have felt just fine sticking to commercial radio. They had CDs that you could listen to for free (and buy them if you wanted to...), CDs mainly falling within the EMO category (as much as I love/d it, I still didn't know what that term meant until a few+ years later...) and the pop-punk category. I remember hearing Saves The Day's STAY WHAT YOU ARE and thinking "wow, this is independently distributed; and it's better than most of what I've been hearing lately!". And then around 2003 the local "college radio" station started broadcasting with more power, enabling more people to listen in...and in 2004 I moved out of my mom's house and started walking to the Kent (college) library, feeling semi-a part of the college community and feeling independent finally...

I felt a warm chill, so to speak, going through my body at those times, from about 2004-2006. Then I was no longer even ABLE to go to the college library and sometime after the kick off of the year 2006, RAGE 103.7 (the local "college radio" station...) decided to mainly stick to Godsmack/Limp Bizkit-esque type music and play more of the same songs more often...now I don't even listen to the radio PERIOD (except for online radio...) unless my computer's off and I happen to be out of CDs or tapes that I'm not sick and tired of...(sometimes the radio can be good background noise that you end up singing along to - so to speak...).


Of course, now DIFFERENT STARS is long gone...well, not literally; I mean, the "CD" (I'm listening to it for free on Rhapsody, you got a problem with that?) ended about 15+ minutes ago, while I was writing this...I think I'm gonna listen to their follow up, HAVING.


BTW, a couple points to mention if you wanna check out TPW yourself; SONYSTYLE.COM has both TPW CDs for $12.99 each (free S&H, I think...) and if you join BIGCRUMBS.COM (just follow the link on the side and I'll get a few cents from you signing up and using me as a referral...) you can save 3.15% off the already low price of those CDs. I know, $12.99 isn't that low of a price for a CD(s), but Amazon, for the most part, has the lowest prices on pretty much everything and TPWs CDs go for about $15+ each on Amazon. I've looked at other websites as well, it's about the same...


Until next time...

I just bought Aerosmith's ROCKS and Genesis' INVISIBLE TOUCH today, via my sister's Amazon account (well, technically, she bought them for me with my money...). I think those "compact disc digital audio" logos that they used to put on CDs in the early days were cool. Hopefully, the seller doesn't mail the 1993 remaster instead of the edition he was supposed to be selling...I think cover art for CDs is kind of important, b/c it gives the CDs on one's shelf or whatever a sense of identity. I'm also a very visual person, so it's kind of like the CD is the heart/soul and the album cover(s) is like the body...looook into my eyes!

dark

I saw THE DARK KNIGHT Monday. On Thursday I got an email from Kmart telling me that if I bought 3 bags of Reese's candy by the 19th (the end of;) that I would be eligible for a free movie ticket for THE DARK KNIGHT. So on Saturday I did that, bought the candy and redeemed the code online, and brought the certificate to the movie theater. I didn't want to go on Saturday, 'cause the theaters are usually quite crowded then. It's bad enough in a small theater, 'cause you still never know whose gonna start talking to the screen like a dang maniac or whose gonna depend on the person sitting next to them to explain the movie to them while they're watching it. And before the film starts, IF you look at the screen then, you'll see SEVERAL warnings like "silence your cell phones", "silence during the film" etc. etc.,; but does anybody actually pay any attention? It wasn't too bad on Monday, prolly 'cause everyone there felt the same as I do about that kind of stuff, which may explain why they chose Monday to see it. It as eleven 0'clock in the morning too, although it was like 1:30 or after when I got out, 'cause the film was 157 minutes long plus the trailers.

But alas, I was not too terribly pleased with the film. It just seemed like a big mess of scenes put together without any cohesive narrative style. The trailers for the movie made it seem like it was going to be GREAT, 'cause they a) took parts of the movie out of context and b) took the few would-have-been good scenes (such as the scene where The Joker's stolen semi-truck was turned upside down) and made them look better than they were.

This wouldn't be such a big disappointment, but the last time I went to the theater prior to THE DARK KNIGHT was to see BATMAN BEGINS and that was over 3 years ago. I had all my money riding on this thing and it fell flat. At least I got the ticket for free...well, sorta; it'd also been awhile since I'd bought candy bars in bags...

wildfires

I just saw the one sentence description of a news story: Bush set to survey Northern California wildfires. I don't know why he even bothers. 75% of the population hates his guts for some reason(s) or another, and the man obviously would rather be dictator than president...just sickens me seeing him trying to act like a decent person...what good is this gonna do for him or anyone else?

arg

PROLOGUE: Technology Is Evil

Ok, what the Hell is an "output"??? an INput, as far as I sorta-might-know, is a hole in an electronics device that a cable goes in to connect two pieces of electronics...is that not the right definition? IF it isn't, then fuck you, 'cause that's what I think it is...if that's not the right definition, tell me the word that fits it or go to Hell, 'k?

CHAPTER 0: VCR gives, VCR takes away...

Ok, well, I hooked up the VCR that my aunt gave me, and it appeared to be working...the only problem was the cord situation, totally messed up, had to re-arrange the electro-furniture...

Basically, the VCR and the TV were/are too damn far apart from another for the cords to connect properly, 'cause the cords are too damn short. I HAVE an entertainment CENTER for a reason so I didn't want to just put the VCR any ol' place...so I tried switching the cords that were with the DVD player, but for some stupid reason the DVD player cords are designed with two RCA-ish-cables + a yellow S-Video cord. My VCR doesn't even HAVE an S-Video jack (is THAT the right word? Or are they both correct to use in this instance?), so the white cord is all that would fit in the VCR, but I thought since the invention of these cords is/was the most retarded thing in the world, maybe the red cord would/could substitute for the yellow cord. Now that I remember doing that, I guess maybe that's why the VCR doesn't work...I woulda just waited, but I don't have any freakin' money to buy another set of cords!!! And whose idea was it to make an S-Video/RCA-cable combination??? S-Video doesn't even perform as well as RCA-cables,...

Well, hopefully time will give it something it doesn't have enough of now to make it work later...or maybe it's just permanently dead...

But I guess it's no big deal. I have a couple VHS tapes, but I don't think too highly of sitting back and watching movies all day when the world is killing its feet trying to bend over for its Money-Gods...movies are a waste of time unless you find one that you REALLY REALLY love, one that gives you high doses of stimulation and satisfaction. Neither of the VHS tapes I have provide that for me...in fact, I've been considering selling my DVD collection for the same reason...but nostalgia's a weird thing, at least to me...sometimes it's there and others, it's like it never happened...I don't know about most people, but my memory doesn't keep feelings/emotions like it does actual things that HAPPEN...

oh, no!; the animals have escaped!!

I think it's interesting how the indie labels have risen in esteem since the music industry started crying about its low sales. Yet instead of find way(s) to work WITH the consumers, they try to eliminate the competition. Kind of like Jim Carry's line in LIAR LIAR: "I object!/This tape is devastating to my case...".
Face it Hoffa: you can't control the minds of the people any more. They know what they've been missing and they're sick of worshiping the idols that you try to put in front of their faces. The old days where you get filthy stinkin' rich by repackaging the same old crap is over, and it's probably going to get worse.
The ONLY thing you can do about it is to SHOCK people; and there's nothing more shocking than a deeply emotional experience, b/c people have never HAD one. Sure, there's an occasional teary eyed moment on the radio, a few songs here and there that appeal to the "indie rockers" that have that label, but you gotta DIG, high and low, across the mountains and oceans every rock in between; you gotta GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY CRAVE, which is SUBSTANCE. The items on your shelves aren't moving. REPLACE them!

this is just rediculous...

On Amazon.com, there's the opportunity to sell your items or buy from people who choose to do so. When you list your item for sale on Amazon.com, they ask you a) what condition is your item in? and then b) comments. You don't HAVE to have any comments, but people put some of the dumbest comments on their listings. Some sellers say "great CD" or "great price" as if any potential buyers can't figure that out by either LOOKING AT the price and deciding that on their own terms, or reading the avg customer rating of the item on the PRODUCT PAGE. Some sellers waste a lot of time typing out the track listing which again is found on PRODUCT PAGE.
If any of you people are reading this: listen carefully;
there are THREE parts of a compact disc (CD) unless you personally remove one or more of them or buy from someone who did that; a) the disc b) the cover art (front booklet/sleeve/insert & back tray) and c) the jewel case.
That's all there is to it. People can ALTER those parts any number of ways; they can let their 5 year old spill orange juice on the item or any part(s) there-of, they can write their friggin' initials on the item (or any part(s) there-of), they can eat messy food then leaf through the booklet/sleeve/insert (I don't know why anyone would leaf through a one page insert, but this isn't a dictatorship; if someone wants to do something totally pointless, that's up to them...), they can get in a fight with a family or friend and start pulling at one end of the item to the point of ripping it; they can very ROUGHLY leaf through the front cover art, and bend it or part of it...
LIKE NEW SHOULD mean EXACTLY as it was bought at the store. a lot of people say "like new" when there's fingerprints on the item, although honestly, how could there not be? I'll forgive that bit of technicality, but for pity's sake; I've actually looked at sellers' feedback where someone COMPLAINS about stuff like this and there's no reply from the seller with an explanation or apology or both! Obviously, there's at least a few sellers on Amazon who are like eBay sellers that simply DON'T CARE about customer service. I don't know how Amazon lets sellers like that continue selling except perhaps people are just too "rational" to care enough about that kind of thing and thus don't complain to Amazon to let them know and keep future buyers' from buying from bad sellers.