Spook Says What...

What, a Post?

2006-08-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

Don't worry, don't get excited. The only reason I'm making this post is put up a logo for my fantasy football team. Since I'm co-owning a team (with a girl), and my old team neam refers to my facial hair, I've had to mix it up a little. So imply your favorite description for the following picture:

Hostel Review

2006-06-09T22:12:00.000-04:00

We've upped the number of horror movies in our Netflix queue...maybe it's JC's desire to go into the biomedical area. We just received Hostel, which JC's brother dubbed "murder porn." I won't say much about the movie so as not to give too much away, but you MUST experience this movie if you need either a) a movie with some really graphic satisfying kills or b) to laugh your ass off. You'll do both. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You might even learn a little about the triumph of the human spirit over an electric drill. 5/5 stars.

tonsul's myspace page

2006-05-29T16:25:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, my brother and I entered the myspace revolution to promote our old band, tonsul. We posted a few songs from our catalog, and will be posting old video stills and clips for your enjoyment.

So click here to go to the myspace page (also put it in the links section to the right). If you really want to support the cause, you can go here to purchase the CD and other items.

My Hands...

2006-05-23T06:52:00.000-04:00

are small, I know! But they're not yours, they are my own!

Did you ever see the episode of The Mole where one of the contestants was locked in a room overnight and had to listen to Don Ho's Tiny Bubbles over and over again? I wasn't quite that tortured, but Barnes and Noble was playing Jewel's greatest hits last night.

Off to the West Coast tomorrow!

Farewell, Oh Weekend

2006-05-14T19:38:00.000-04:00

Yeah, Happy Mother's Day to you too!

This weekend has been awash in excitement...We saw Pinback on Friday night at Black Cat, and it was an awesome show. I first got into the band over a year ago (went through a brief obsessive period), and have heard about a million bootlegs of their shows. But man, it was another thing to see them actually perform their stuff. For those not familiar with their sound, the rhythms are primarily driven by the bass, with keyboards and guitar accompanying. Zack Smith, their bass player, is amazing and his style kind of reminds me of old Cliff Burton videos that I watched when I thought Metallica was cool...okay, so I still have Cliff 'Em All, but I don't have a VCR to watch it on (true statement)...back to Pinback. They played a long set, about 20 songs, and my appetite was satiated. I even bought a robot t-shirt.

Something always amazes me at shows these days, and on this night, the number of just absolutely plastered people blew my mind. Everyone was drunk! Apparently JC had some beer spilled on her Diet Coke shirt, and you DO NOT mess with that shirt! We did our traditional pre-encore move to the back of the room, but I think if anything, people were just more plastered back there. For some reason, it was just strange, aight?

Let's skip over Saturday, as I was either awake or asleep for the majority of the day, and not much is noteworthy beyond that.

Today, I played a lot of NCAA 2006 Baseball on XBox. It's a great game, and I've started a dynasty with my beloved Yellow Jackets. However (and there's always a however), the disk is messed up (possibly scratched, possibly manufactured by Canadians) and twice crashed my game at key junctures. So it has to go back, and hopefully Best Buy's lovely customer service staff will allow for an exchange.

This week starts a two-week stretch with lots of travel, so probably not much blogging for a while. Hopefully you find something else to do with your time, like this.

Gone Fishin' - Movie Reviews

2006-05-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

Well, Jake Gyllenhall can never complain that this household never watches his movies. Donnie Darko is probably in our Top 5 movies (even own the DVD), and Spiderman was probably the best superhero...oh wait, that's the other guy who had intimate relations with Kirsten Dunst. Cider House Rules, great movie...nah, other guy too...Probably a little known fact - Kirsten Dunst spent some of her youth in New Jersey and attended Ranney School with a high school friend of mine.

Anyway, back to Mr. Gylllllllenhallll. Maybe by happenstance, we watched a couple of his movies this weekend.

Jarhead - Adapted from the book of the same name, Jarhead tells the story of Tony Swofford, a Marine trained to be a sniper and then shipped off for the first Iraq war. Trouble is, ain't much need for snipers when a) you got planes that can blow up everything for miles ahead of you and b) you're fighting a war with no real purpose in the first place. I did read the book before I saw the movie, and the movie gets several of the details right. However, while it's interesting to read an account of a bored Marine, I can't say that it was as interesting to watch a movie about a bored Marine. However, the parts that made me laugh in the book made me laugh in the movie, and Jamie Foxx (who seemingly comes and goes with no rhyme or reason in this movie) turns in a pretty good performance. If you want a good first Iraq war movie, see Three Kings. Overall, movie gets a 3.5/5.

Brokeback Mountain - So now if I tell the wife I'm going "fishing", she's going to think that I'm going to meet up with some guy I herded sheep with 4 years ago so we can go "catch some trout". People joke about and are turned off about the fact that this is a gay cowboy movie. Let me dispel one myth...This is a gay cowboy movie...crap. But how about this...if you're THAT turned off by the fact that two men might show affection towards each other beyond the ol' slap on the ass so commonplace in our professional sports, there's about 3 minutes total (across 3 scenes) of the movie I recommend you skip. This movie is well done and really worth watching. Heath Ledger and Mr. G have a tryst, move on with their lives, and then wrestle (sometimes literally) with the fact that two cowboys, especially one who's less intelligible than Sling Blade, probably can't live a comfortable existence. The emotion felt real, the jilted wives felt jilted, and every awkward situation was exceedingly awkward. Unlike Capote, the soft omnipresent guitar actually adds to the movie, and I think this movie does for Wyoming what the Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand. Overall, 4/5.

Happy fishing!

What Lies Beneath

2006-05-05T23:08:00.000-04:00

Never saw this Harrison Ford movie, but I'm sure it's a real winner worth 100 minutes of my time.

In addition to watching Jarhead (review to come this weekend), I've been paying attention to my downstairs neighbor's musical selection. What else could I do...it's really freakin' loud. It's been a mix of boom-boom rap, techno, some boom-boom salsa garbage (which I really hate)...and REM. What's weird is that the rap seems to be kept the loudest, with the volume being turned down for the techno and the salsa. But man, when REM came on, he turned that stereo down so low...it's like the scene in Office Space when Michael Bolton turns down the rap. It's just not effective to say "Hey, turn down the REM"...but "turn down that crap, you m'fer" is cooler.

It seems to have stopped. For anyone who comes to my complex, this guy drives a black Infiniti G35 coupe that he always backs in to a parking space. Feel free to spit or throw any type of human waste on his car.

Olive Oil Prices

2006-04-30T20:14:00.000-04:00

I couldn't help but notice today that the price of olive oil has soared since I last bought a bottle. The average price of a normal-sized bottle was easily $11-$12. What's going on? Here's an article from last July that explains what's going on. Damn you, rain in Spain, why don't you fall in the damn plans for a change?!?!?!

Okay, back to not procrastinating on my final...ooh, laundry needs to be folded!!

Local News

2006-04-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

So as we're going out to do errands today, we see a charter bus surrounded by about 15 state police cars, and all lanes blocked on I-395 southbound. This was almost worth rubbernecking for. Here's the story (courtesy of Washington Post).

In anticipation of RB's Visit

2006-04-28T20:24:00.000-04:00

In anticipation of RB's first visit to the blog, I decided to make a post that would be relevant and appreciated...so here are some links to some of RB's favorite things. And RB, if you wish to have a creative pseudonym on this and JC's blog.

Cats
Diet Coke, and
Justice

(Okay, so that last one was an attempt to refer to various non-profit agencies, and wound up going a completely different direction.)

Cheers...

Billy Idol

2006-04-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

So hey, it's the only title I can think of that contains one of the words in "American Idol", but somehow isn't "Idol Chatter" or "Idol the Car in Neutral". This isn't an American Idol blog (BTW, say hi to Jessica Simpson's variety show on your much-welcomed way out the door, Pickler), but I wanted to put a link on here to a website that tries to predict who will get voted off, based on the success/failure of attempted phone calls. something somewhat scientific.

Is it right? Hardly ever (they've only nailed it once). Having worked on programs that perform similar functions, I thought this was an interesting (if somewhat pointless) use of technology.

In other thoughts, kudos to Casey Blake of the Cleveland Indians, who has Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be" as his intro music...an actual good Metallica song, hasn't been one of those in almost 15 years.

Coke Blak

2006-04-25T15:50:00.000-04:00

Picked up a few bottles of Coke Blak after reading some mixed reviews out there in cyberspace. Coke mixed with coffee? That's a mix only a certain Uruguayan/Paraguayan from Canada could enjoy.

Now I'm basing my review solely on what amounts to 3 or 4 tablespoons (I shared my first bottle with a couple colleagues in order to avoid any puff-puff-give sensitivities). It's pretty smooth and tastes kind of like Starbucks Double-Shot Espresso. If you get a free sample, try it out...$5.99 for a 4-pack seems a bit steep.

Concert Calendar Update

2006-04-23T15:50:00.000-04:00

Ahh, the wireless LAN working out on my deck on a beautiful 70-degree day, listening to the band that combines the emo-est of emo with Pink Floyd.

JC and I have gone wild in planning for a fun summer of music, baseball, and grad school. Here's an update for some shows we're going to this summer:

May 12th - Pinback @ Black Cat
June 27th - We Are Scientists @ Black Cat
July 31st - Fiona Apple, Damien Rice @ Wolf Trap
August 1st - Guster, Ray LaMontagne @ Wolf Trap

Hopefully, we'll have some type of hearing when all is said and done. Might as well live it up this summer before we go all broke in the condo.

Movie Reviews

2006-04-22T21:35:00.000-04:00

Nothing like sitting on my comfy couch watching the NASCAR race at the end of a long, rainy day filled with watching movies and eating tasty Mexican food. Our Netflix list has been stagnant for a while, and there was a common need for procrastination, so we tore through a couple movies and a TV episode. So here's what we watched:

The Squid and the Whale - Both JC and I are pursuing Master's degrees at Johns Hopkins, but I think this movie is providing enough motivation for us to NOT get PhDs. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney play married academic intellectuals who looked like they had kids so they could write a dissertation on just how to screw them up enough. The characters, including the really messed up kids, are all believable, but there's just not much oomph to the story. I've seen my share of lousy family-centered dramas (Before and After especially), and this movie isn't as bad as those. Overall, 3/5 stars, but probably a B- on the bell curve of quirky everyone-acts-like-a-friggin'-child dramas.

Capote - Philip Seymour Hoffman looks about 400 pounds lighter playing Truman Capote in the story of how In Cold Blood ultimately defined and ruined his career and life. This is definitely one of the best biopics I've ever seen, because the story arc doesn't take you from the rise to the inevitable downfall. There are little hints sprinkled all throughout about what ultimately does Capote in (alcoholism, jealousy, arrogance), but all 110 minutes of the film (not short in my book, Rick) are intently focused on Capote traveling to Kansas, doing research for his book, and ultimately showing how the events cripple him personally and creatively. Very well done film, except for one thing...The background music is intolerable, doing light strokes of the piano any time some type of serious moment came about. Movie gets 4/5 stars, because the piano drove me so mad as to deny this great film a perfect score.

Huff - We're an HBO family, but are starting to get curious about some of the original programming that Showtime is putting out there. We got the first disc containing the first three episodes of Huff, starring Hank Azaria (Moe and Chief Wiggum on The Simpsons). The titular Huff is a psychologist with suicidal patients, an overbearing mother, a drugged-out playboy for a lawyer/best friend...what am I forgetting...oh yeah, and a hhhhot wife. Considering we've only watched three episodes, I can't speak to very many plot points, but the acting is awesome and the dialogue is great (even though the mother can be a tad ridiculous from time to time). To date, 5/5 stars for the series.

A Show I Don't Like...

2006-04-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Please, help me to think of a show that meets the following criteria:
1) Has smug, uninteresting, need binoculars to see off of their high-horse characters
2) Plays semi-popular music in the background as a (welcome) substitute for dialogue
3) Has some heart-warming moment near the end of the show where you just go awwww shucks.
4) Appeals to men, not women

I just want to know if women are as angry at a certain TV show or movie as I am at Grey's Anatomy. What a piece of crap. Through the years of St. Elsewhere, ER, Chicago Hope, Chimps with Scalpels, I think most every hospital scenario has been played out. Give me a procedural that follows a case beginning to end, always bringing the bad guy to justice...oh wait, there are only a billion of those.

Thank the good Lord that The Office is on.

What's New With You? I Can't Hear You!

2006-03-20T21:01:00.000-05:00

Since we last spoke, I've been officially diagnosed with migraine headaches, attended numerous concerts, watched numerous crappy movies, and handed in what have got to be the most accurate, precise answers to a mid-term in history. The wife was pretty much up to the same, except without the migraines.

Let's recap the opportunities I've had to lose my hearing:
3/7 - Mogwai - Skipped the show due to the fact that Baltimore is too far away for a weeknight drive, and having a baseball team in DC rocks.

3/18 - Matt Pond PA and Youth Group - Got there just in time for the start of the show and got a decent view of the stage on the bottom floor of the 9:30 club. Youth Group has decent songs, but are boring for the most part. Lead singer wins the award for Worst Imitation of Kramer Hair Ever. Matt Pond PA, beard and all, did an admirable set of about 15 songs, and you could tell he was happy to see a packed club cheering him on singing the lyrics. You can see how much he liked playing for us here.

3/19 - The Go! Team, Medications, Talkdemonic - Really, this was a really mish-mashed bill, but somehow it all worked. Talkdemonic is a cool, Postal Service-type joint hailing from Portland, OR. I think they could have done more with the live set, like incorporate more of the live instruments from the background track. Still, the drummer and violinist (I think it was actually a viola...what do you call those people) put on a good show. I won't question the drummer's failed attempt to play the world's smallest accordian while walking through the assembling crowd. Still couldn't hear it, dude. Medications are the current Kings of D.C., even having two albums on Dischord. This is the second time I've seen them, and you have to be in the mood for math-rock, and I remember definitely NOT being in that mood the first time. These guys rock, and you have no idea where songs are going, and you can't wait to see what happens next. The Go! Team were just the peppiest group of stoners I've ever seen perform. Based on the crowd, I don't know if their next career move would be the next Powerpuff Girls theme song or a collaboration with Kanye West and Common, but I think they could fit in either role. JC and I had a "We're 26 years old and shouldn't be near the stage" event when the undeniable energy in the crowd resulted in close quarters (for only $9.95, you can get the Weekend at Bernie's reference), thus prompting us to head to sparsely populated territory. For those keeping track, the lead singer is an Afro-Brit (is that the right term?) and that's TWO Asian girls (twice the estimated population).

One addition to the concert calendar:
5/12 - Pinback - Black Cat

Cheers!

It Speaks!!! I'm Lame

2006-03-07T18:37:00.000-05:00

Ever buy tickets to a concert for a band who rarely plays in the U.S. (but you did see them in 2001), but the concert is at least an hour drive away and you got up at 5 for work and were just butt-tired at the end of the day? Sad to say that's happening tonight. Sorry, Mogwai, you were going to rock our world tonight...but you should have planned to rock it in D.C., not Baltimore!!!!

And while we're at it...quick record review. Mogwai's new album, Mr. Beast, is a snoozer. For a band that has made lots of money lulling people to sleep and then jolting them out of bed, their new record is boooooring and un-challenging.

Concert Calendar

2006-02-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

I would like to create a concert calendar, mostly to let you know what shows I'm going to, but also to remind me of where I'm going! Anyone know of a way to do this using Blogger?

Anyway, here are shows coming up over the next month or so...
3/7 - Mogwai - Sonar Lounge, Baltimore
3/18 - Matt Pond PA, Youth Group - 9:30 Club, DC
3/19 - The Go! Team - Black Cat, DC

Will my ears stay intact...stay tuned for this, and mooooooooore.

Preliminary Obit and The Best Headbutt Ever

2006-02-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

The wife and I went to our favorite Sushi restaurant, Koto, in Old Town Alexandria...nevermind that soy and avocados are no-nos on the migraine diet. When we arrived, we saw three words that instantly struck fear into our hearts: "Under New Management." The last time we attended Koto, there was only one other table occupied, so we were concerned for the longtime health of the place. Apparently, so were the owners. Tonight, we were the ONLY occupied table the entire time of our visit. Yikes! Bizzaro Koto featured a staff that seemingly was learning how to make sushi, based on how long it took them to complete our order. However, the wife noted that she was enjoying the company regardless (must have been the Sapporo talking). Sorry to say that Koto is now off our list and we will probably never return, because the sushi was pretty much a nose-dive compared to how it was before. And I now fear that there really isn't a draw to the place anymore, considering it's over three blocks from the water and doesn't really dazzle to the tourists walking by.

But on to our movie selection of the night...Red Eye. The movie stars Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers) and Cilian Murphy (creepy guy of AC/JC favorites 28 Days Later and Batman Begins). McAdams plays a hotel manager on board a red eye flight from Dallas to Miami and is seated next to Murphy, who has some devilish deeds up his sleeve. Rather than get into the plot (and there really wasn't one), I will instead ask a series of questions.
1) How freaking long does it take to fly from Dallas to Miami?
2) Are people really that oblivious to what others are doing on the plane, aside from when they mistake a bathroom encounter for the Mile High Club?
3) Who is the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and how does he afford a two-level ocean-view suite on the 40th floor of a South Beach hotel?
4) Where can I get me some fishing wire that is strong enough to haul up a freakin' rocket launcher from the ocean floor?

So you can guess based on my questions that the movie is pretty dumb. Except for THE. BEST. HEADBUTT. EVER. PERIOD. You don't see it coming and it's just great. Had me laughing for at least 5 minutes. So if you need a crappy second-rate horror movie, see something else. This movie is dreadful. 2/5 stars, only for the headbutt and another act of violence that I won't describe for fear of letting you enjoy the movie.

With a Health System Like This...

2006-02-23T17:05:00.000-05:00

it's amazing that anyone is still alive. I've been suffering headaches for the past four days and took today off in the hope of seeing a doctor, ANY doctor, to get some good medicine. Two neurologists...sorry, wait until mid-March. My primary care physician...sorry, wait until Monday. I'm sick TODAY.

Only option left is to go to express care at the hospital. Got in, got seen by triage, registered, probably all within 15 minutes. TWO HOURS LATER, I'm still sitting there. A baby is hollering in my ear, Oprah's on the TV talking with sex addicts (and I'm sorry, but if Oprah can say "and then the man ejaculated in your face" and not get fined, what the hell)...just all types of unpleasantness. Then a nurse comes out and says that the ER is full of "very sick people," so I guess I don't qualify as such, and therefore should just go home and die. Which is what I did after she said that the wait would be "within the hour and a half." I'm sorry, I won't wait 3.5 hours for some ass ER (sorry...it's ED, it's not just a room) doctor to give me ibuprofen and send me home. No thanks.

So I'm left to over-the-counter medicine, will probably get charged a co-pay for no work, and I'm just a little f'ing furious.

How's your day been?

Patience...

2006-02-22T15:34:00.000-05:00

...is something I've never claimed to have. Anyway, I will be posting reviews of Wicked and the "road trippability" of certain albums soon. The day after we saw Wicked, the wife and I headed to Ohio for a funeral, and ever since we got back, I have been struggling with a headache that won't quit. Perhaps I have migraines...or maybe I'll follow this diet.

In the meantime, enjoy some tunes from the old days here.

Yay Vacation!

2006-02-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

JC and I are hopping on a train and heading up to NYC to see Wicked tomorrow night. She's read the book, and I'm pretty much flying blind, so I hope to enjoy it.

We'll also see family, which will be nice.

I have some good new stuff to load onto the iPod for the trip (Matisyahu, Calexico, Arctic Monkeys). I also have some stimulating reading, should I choose to risk train sickness (can't read on a land-roving vehicle).

I should have done my MATLAB hw tonight, but why do MATLAB tonight when I can do MATLAB during the Daytona 500???

Enjoy your weekend.

Condo

2006-02-14T18:27:00.000-05:00

Check out this site to see pictures of our condo as it gets built. We were joking that they would put a webcam so we can see the workers not working, but this slide show is cool. We also have some pictures that we've taken (none within the past couple weeks), so I'll post those at some point.

I'm about to drive past the condo to go to Oyamel for their Valentine's Day special (not the 8-minute dating).

Movie Reviews

2006-02-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

In an unusual move, we still had all three of our Netflix movies from last weekend (we never wound up sending the Walmart doc back). So we will be diminishing Netflix's profit margin this weekend when we get three new movies. Anyways, on to the reviews.

The Constant Gardener - I have to review this movie based on what JC says. I actually slept through a lot of it, but that doesn't mean I was bored. The acting is first rate, and the movie has a great style to it. The story is about a British diplomat (Ray Fiennes) who is trying to find out why his wife (Rachel Weize) was killed. A lot of the movie is told in flashback, but it still flows. There's not so much a twist at the end as a complete invalidation of what you thought were the motives. 5/5 stars.

My Life Without Me - This movie focuses on how a 24-year-old girl (Sarah Polley) internalizes her pain once she finds out she has two months to live. But in doing so, she does a lot of things that will make life better for her family after she dies. This movie could have been so sappy, but it was very touching, and even makes you think that in some situations, infidelity can be justified! Very unique take on this situation, and handled in such a way that tears were close, but never quite came out (although when they sang "God Only Knows" 100 times, that near did it). Mark Ruffalo, normally solid, is miscast a little bit, so his performance seems a little off. Aside from that, great movie. 5/5 stars.

Hope Everyone in the East Loves the Indoors...

2006-02-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

...because there is no reason to go outside today. How early do you have to wake up to be the first to post about the snow? See Rick and Curt for their takes in Ashburn and NYC, respectively.

It started out with everyone laughing at the weathermen-folk and their crazy-never-true predictions. (See photo from 1700 last night)

And then this morning, we wake up to this...

...and...

Yay...one more reason to stay indoors and work on MATLAB problems today!!!

My first post at work...

2006-02-09T17:45:00.000-05:00

Oh come on, it's 5:45 and I'm waiting for Captain Sawyer to get out of some meeting where our shared uncle is trying to go after business. He's probably wearing a suit. Pretty bored.

I haven't had a chance to reflect on the fact that I'll be moving office locations in 17 business days. The new office is 25 minutes further from my apartment, and there's no real good way to go without having traffic and/or red lights. Maybe once the condo is done, my commute will get better since I'll be near big highways.

I'm now starting to realize that a post at 5:45 from work makes about as much sense and has as much direction as a post in the middle of the night.

Panic! at the Disco sounds like Fall Out Boy (I think they're signed to a label run by FOB's bassist)...at least they're not as annoying or as heavily displayed on Rhapsody as James Blunt, that GIRL who would fit right in with all the American Idol contestants. God, sound off like you got a pair.

Yeah, pretty bored.

The Most Fun...

2006-02-06T23:26:00.000-05:00

I should go to bed...but I've found all these tapes of bands that I was in that I need to master them...I MUST master them. Ah, those were the days. Check out Steve's blog for a couple Tonsul songs.

Weekend Recap

2006-02-06T01:12:00.000-05:00

Been a busy weekend. The highlights will be in a bulletized list.

Food
Friday night, ate at South Austin Grill. Terrible service, but draft Shiner Bock and good cheese enchiladas with tomatillo sauce can make a man forgive.
Saturday night (call it an early bird special for a strange reason), ate at Thaiphoon. Got Thaiphoon noodles (called Pattaya Noodles at Tara Thai). Great stuff, and a lot spicier than at Tara Thai.
Tonight, made three bean chili for a Super Bowl party at our friends' place. I'm sure the wife will write about it in her blog.

Entertainment
Watched the Walmart documentary. They have a evil genius philosophy to running their business, which I'm too tired to get into. They run Ma and Pa out of business, their wages suck, they make their employees go on welfare and Medicaid, and it's really all because they can. I'm wondering if Target does similar stuff though. 4/5 stars.

Purchases
Got a new 300W lamp for the living room...hooray for light!!!

Random
God did that Super Bowl SUCK or what. It wasn't interesting, the National Anthem was an embarrassment, the media covered Jerome Bettis like he mattered (he didn't), the Halftime show was painful, and the end was anticlimatic. At least the Seahawks lost. I hate Matt Hasselbeck and his receding hairline, his argyle sweaters, and backwards caps.

Time for bed.

BROKEN Flowers

2006-01-29T10:51:00.000-05:00

Birthday Boy: "Well, when the cable guy came in to run some cable into the second bedroom, he said that normally rooms aren't this big and he had to charge me another $5 for the extra cable, but I had already gone to WalMart earlier in the day to get heavier gauge cable for my stereo after I had already spent $5 (5 DOLLARS!!!) on regular sound cable, but it was cutting in and out..."

Attendee (silently to self): "Geez, I just asked if the second bedroom was as big as the master bedroom."

And such was the style of conversation at a birthday party JC and I attended last night...Anyways, on to this morning's review.

Broken Flowers - Bill Murray plays an even more depressing version of his Lost in Translation character, as a man who gets a letter from an old girlfriend saying that he fathered a child 20 years ago. But which girlfriend? He sets off on a cross-country trek (I think...all the airport shots seemed to be at Newark) to see his old flames to discretely investigate this son. Each of the old flames, captured in four vignettes, has some quirk to them that makes you chuckle a bit. But which one sent the letter? I'm not going to give away the ending, in case it's on your Netflix list. However, once the credits rolled, JC uttered "That was awful!" I wouldn't say awful, but the movie is dreadfully slooooooooow. I think the only thing that saved the movie was Jeffrey Wright's performance (Angels in America, Syriana). He plays Bill Murray's next-door neighbor, a guy with 3 jobs, 5 kids, and a dream to be a CSI. Overall, I don't recommend the movie. 2/5 stars. That's right, 40%.

We have Constant Gardener and the Walmart documentary on the way, so hopefully this weekend of crappy movies will be put to rest.

Friday Night Revue

2006-01-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

I'll let JC write up the food on her blog. I'll review the movie.
Wedding Crashers: The funny parts are funny, and the rest of the movie is just a draaaaaaaaaggg. The middle of the movie resorts to unnecessary schtick in order to get laughs (a la Ben Stiller chasing the cat in Meet the Parents). The main story revolves around Owen Wilson trying to steal Rachel McAdams away from the guy from Alias. You know, we used eyedrops to send a kid to the bathroom in 7th grade...funny how screenwriters would think grown men use it to win over the hearts of a good-looking girl. Vince Vaughn is far more entertaining and the crazy girl that's after him (Isla Fisher) is hilarious. Will Ferrell's cameo at the end is OK at best (MA!!! MEATLOAF!!!). So all in all, if there's a highlights video, catch that...don't sit through all 2 hours. I give it 2.5/5 stars (rounded to three in the Netflix star whole number system).

Good soundtrack though (Flaming Lips, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie).

Mid 90s Hardcore

2006-01-22T20:54:00.000-05:00

As promised, I've put together some tracks by bands I was really into when I was in high school. There are stories with everyone of the bands, which makes the fact that all of them are available in a subscription service that much more surreal.

Mid 90s Hardcore:
"1. More Hate Than Fear - One King Down (really good guys, headlined a show that Stan put on at the Bates Lodge)
2. Pins And Needles - Dead Guy (again, great guys...stood too close to the stage the first time we saw them in Keansburg...that's when we learned that Dead Guy was actually the "Swinging Guitar Band"
3. Free Mustache Rides (Single Version) - Dead Guy (same band name, but different singer...the new bassist ran a rehearsal studio in Red Bank that we frequented)
4. Deathbed - 108 (Hare Krishna band...broke up before I came on to the scene, but a heavy influence in the scene)
5. Proud To Be Straight - Ten Yard Fight (there was a running email chain between my brother and someone in the band...as their name implies, this was a band of militant straight-edge ex-football players)
6. Cognition (Single Version) - Snapcase (probably the only band that I'd still listen to...definitely the tightest hardcore band)
7. Come And Get It - Fury Of Five (Steve, fill in Fury of Five story here...among the trend-setters in announcing your band name in multiple songs)
8. Through And Through - Strife (straight-edge to the max...never my favorite, but listened to all their crap)
9. Washed Up At 18 - Floorpunch (against, militant straight-edge jocks who thought it was cool to terrorize people who weren't straight-edge)
10. The Saddest Day - Converge (sickest...live...show...EVER)
11. Firestorm - Earth Crisis (god, where to begin...should I start with the fake fur coat causing a riot at Middlesex County College, or the fight outside the church in Northern NJ...these were the most insane vegan straight-edge guys ever, and their fans made Beatle-mania look like the Seventh Day Adventists...I've been to Syracuse, and while it's a quaint town, how could anything so vial come out of it?)"

Two bands that stayed more on the DIY bent that I'd like to add to this list:
1) Mouthpiece - was at their final show in Princeton
2) Arcane - probably the most talented hardcore band in NJ...they could actually play their instruments and had lyrics like "Open your eyes to the lies of the presidency...robbin you blind!!!" And that was during CLINTON!

Enjoy! Spread the hardcore reality!

The Wife Wants In...

2006-01-22T19:51:00.000-05:00

Check out the link to The Wife's (JC) cooking blog on the side. It's called Patently Delicious, which is clever.

Couple of Movies for ya...

2006-01-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

So its 1000 on a Saturday night, so you know someone's on the couch sleeping, and it's not this guy...It's been an enjoyable evening, with a trip to the new Whole Foods in Old Town, and some Rick Bayless for dinner, and Lamar Street Pale Ale (it's organic!) as the drink of choice for the night.

We've watched a couple of movies the past couple of nights:
Grizzly Man - Detailed portrait of a guy who was doing great work for wildlife, but became a little too self-obsessed for his own good, and it wound up leading to his death. The filmmaker (Werner Herzog) could have focused on how INSANE the subject was, but it's a much deeper film than that. Earned 5/5 stars.

The Producers (old version): So you can make more money with a Broadway flop than a Broadway play? I got too lost in the financials of the entire movie. The setup of the movie is, in a word, LOUD. There's lots of yelling and me wishing Gene Wilder could play more roles like Willy Wonka (subdued, judgmental). But once they get to the opening of the play, I didn't stop laughing for a good 20 minutes. I haven't seen the play, nor have I seen the new movie, and this was a good experience. I like Mel Brooks' old movies, and this ranks up there. Earned 4/5 stars.

Listening to Calexico while writing this...Upstairs neighbors are listening to some type of techno-funk, and they have good subwoofers.

Victory is Mine!

2006-01-18T15:29:00.000-05:00

Well, not really. Rhapsody recently reached deals with Victory Records and Equal Vision Records. As an angry youth in the mid to late 90s, bands on these labels provided some type of soundtrack to my Jnco strut. I'll post a playlist soon with some good chugga-chugga tunes for all to enjoy.

Additions to My List

2006-01-15T17:32:00.000-05:00

Check out my review of a couple DC-area Italian restaurants in the Salem food blog (link to the right).

Rhapsody is great, but one of the great limiters is that record companies can keep material from their artists off of the service. I believe that individual artists may be able to do this as well, but I guess it lies with whoever holds the copyright. Notable absences include Radiohead and the Beatles (thanks, MJ!).

So there are a couple of artists that I want to add to that list I posted yesterday:
1. Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
2. Bright Eyes - "Arc of Time" and "Road to Joy"

Also want to add Broken Social Scene's "7/4 (Shoreline)", but I have been weirded out by their music for too long.

Couple of artists I'm searching out right now: Calexico (highly recommend the collaboration with Iron and Wine), and Youth Group.

Rhapsody Playlist

2006-01-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

Here's me trying something new...In the new version of Rhapsody, you can blog your playlists. I figured I'd put up some songs I thought were good last year.

Rhapsody Playlist: "1. Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
2. Constellations - Jack Johnson
3. Gold Digger (Album Version (Explicit)) - Kanye West
4. Black And White Town - Doves
5. Of All The Gin Joints In All The World - Fall Out Boy
6. Brothers On A Hotel Bed - Death Cab For Cutie
7. The Engine Driver - The Decemberists
8. Que' Onda Guero - Beck
9. Grounds For Divorce - Wolf Parade
10. Brooklyn Stars - Matt Pond Pa
11. Give Judy My Notice - Ben Folds
12. Off The Record - My Morning Jacket
13. The Bleeding Heart Show - New Pornographers
14. Woman King - Iron and Wine
15. Mama - Stephen Malkmus
16. Details Of The War - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. Don't Save Us From The Flames - M83"

I don't much get into making playlists titled "Happy Songs for Windy Days when the Redskins are Trailing by 7 and John Hall is thinking about his good-looking wife and misses a kick, but hell I've had several beers already and good vegetarian chili with soy flakes." I usually just pick an artist, pack in all their stuff to a playlist, and hit shuffle. Currently, I have playlists devoted to Ben Folds, Beulah, Cave In. Dismemberment Plan, Death Cab for Cutie, Get Up Kids, Gorillaz, Guster, Incubus, Interpol, Iron and Wine, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Eat World, Mogwai, Our Lady Peace, Pinback, Postal Service, Rage Against the Machine, SDRE/Fire Theft/Jeremy Enigk, Smashing Pumpkins (will probably delete, now that I think about it), Superchunk, Ted Leo, and Weezer.

In Between Three-Bean Chili Servings...

2006-01-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

...we've watched a couple movies this weekend.

Pretty Persuasion (2005) - Ranks behind Heathers and Jawbreakers in the evil rich kid high school dramedy genre. Thought the five-minute explanation at the end wasn't necessary, but the first part is pretty hilarious (and disturbing), the middle is a bit slow, and the end/moral lesson is actually unexpected. Count three uses of the nasty c-word and one of the nasty t-word. 4 out of 5 stars.

Bad News Bears (2005) - What happens when the star of Bad Santa stars in a movie directed by the guy who directed School of Rock? Well, you get a PG-13 movie with just enough cursing (kids included) to make it "edgy", with a good-hearted message at the end. Billy Bob Thornton is probably one of my favorite actors, and he is very good in this movie. It jumps around a little, inserts a pretty random bit about his pseudo-daughter, and picks and chooses which kids to focus on (and the lessons we all can learn from them). The original might have also done this, but I think the original also had the Astrodome at the end. Good flick...a step back if you're looking for a reprisal of Bad Santa, but serves as impetus to rent Bad Santa if you want to see some dirtier cussing. 4 out of 5 stars.

And the Redskins won today!!!

The Melting Point of Polymers

2006-01-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

So this is what you get when two Georgia Tech engineers get married.

Three Kings Day is a tradition in the wife's family, where the person who get some type of plastic toy in their dessert wins a prize (cash is usually a popular choice). The only plastic toy we had around the apartment was a skull that came with a bottle of death hot sauce, so we decided to use that. As this was our first attempt at a Three Kings Day cake, there were obvious concerns that a hot oven could melt the piece of plastic, thus making our cake something that they serve in the Dupont cafeteria (zing!).

While on the phone with her mother, the wife debated that the oven being set to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius) was higher than the melting point of poly(propylene) or poly(ethylene) or polyester (whatever polymer it is)...at which point both her mother and I gave her the "DORK!" line.

...and Sirius still rocks the house.

Merry Christmas!!

2006-01-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's a couple weeks late, and I haven't posted anything in a while, but I'm excited about getting my pseudo-Christmas present from my parents. I say pseudo because it started with me being dumb, and now things are worked out (well, 80% anyway).

So I asked for a Sirius radio, and I put a Sirius boombox on my Amazon wishlist...that's right, a boombox, not a receiver...a boombox that requires a receiver that is next to IMPOSSIBLE to get because it's rarely sold anymore. Well, after nearly purchasing off of the Amazon marketplace, then actually placing an order on Buy.com, THEN seeing that it's not available from the manufacturer, I finally got fed up and went to Best Buy on my way home from work. Well, wouldn't you know, they had one Starmate Replay in the store, as well as the home kit, and lo and behold I bought it (only get a $20 rebate as opposed to the $50 rebate available on the Audiovox model). Thanks to the guy who didn't pay attention to the salesman, thus allowing me to swipe the radio off of the shelf. I think I said "Yoink!"

I've hooked it up at home and it works great. I'm actually getting reception off of the terrestrial repeaters, but I'll try putting the antenna on the deck tomorrow morning...it helps that my apartment faces west and I'm about 25 feet off of the ground. Listened to some classic rock, but found my way to the Indie/College Rock station and have heard two new (to me, which is hard) GOOD songs already (Goldfrapp and Stars). Funny that the wife is dead asleep on the couch.

The big question is whether I will listen to Howard Stern on Monday morning. Umm...yes. It's not the only reason to get it, though (given how horrendous the NFL announcers are...I'll take local drunken broadcasters any day). The main challenge won't be Stern's taste, but me waking up at 0600 to hear him.

Add Broken Social Scene and Futureheads to the playlist...good stuff.

A Random Appearance

2005-12-17T12:39:00.000-05:00

One more random photo from the Redskins shindig the other night...General Richard Myers (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) was in attendance to present the award.

Redskin Player of the Year Awards

2005-12-13T23:22:00.000-05:00

The Redskins Quarterback Club selected their player of the year tonight from four nominees: Mark Brunell, Marcus Washington, Sean Taylor, and Santana Moss. Only the first two showed, so obviously the fix was in. Anyways, it's a great night, and the Uncle Booze sponsorship got us a front row table and a dinner with Marcus Washington (who gracefully accepted my Auburn bashing). Here are some pictures from the event (first of me and Brunell, second with Washington):

The Creation of a Rock God

2005-12-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

(Added a link to Don and Mike's website to the right...)

Since I don't think my surround sound stereo does a good enough job making the neighbors angry, I've found something with even more loud potential to make life interesting.

So last week, I bought the keyboard and the drum machine. Sorry to say that the drum machine is a piece of crap and has since been returned. (I'll figure something out for drums...maybe the little bongo I bought at the straw market in the Bahamas.) The review of the keyboard will be forthcoming, as I just aquired Well, yesterday I spent some hard-earned Uncle Booze reward money at Guitar Center and purchased a Fender Acoustasonic 2x40 Watt amplifier for my acoustic guitar. Review of the amp to come, but first...

You know, Guitar Center is like my FAO Schwartz. There isn't a square foot of space that doesn't have something I want to buy, and the prices (if you hit them on the right weekend) would likely be comparable to other places. What I can't stand is the way they try to sell you one brand of equipment because they would obviously get some type of bonus, even if you tell them what you want. I had a list that had the two brands I'd consider buying (Marshall and Fender), and Jason (my spiky-haired sales guy) goes on about this 60-Watt Roland amp that looks like nothing more than a speaker with a couple of effects...thanks, but no thanks. I think Guitar Center would serve as suitable training ground for car salesman...but with shorter hair and more tact.

So yes, anyway I bought the Fender amp (with a footswitch and extra chord) and it kind of rocks. The effects are all cool, and that Scorpions tribute show I've been planning just got a lot easier (thank you, vibraphone effect!). I think I finally have everything I need to actually record stuff (well), and hopefully the next month (after current grad school class and before next grad school class minus holidays) will allow me some time to do that.

A Black Friday Indeed...For Savings!

2005-11-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

Spending Thanksgiving in NJ brings back memories...that NJ winter chill, good NJ food, NJ hair...all great memories. Of course, I don't have any memories of ever shopping at a Best Buy in NJ, but hey, times and growing real estate/retail needs dictate otherwise. So JC and I ventured to Best Buy around 10:15 this morning to get those decent door-buster sales.
First off, where was the parking hassle? We pulled right into a spot and didn't even have to turn on the blinker. Secondly, where was the hellishly long line to check out? I was through in less than 2 minutes, causing Jen to run back from the $3.99 DVD pile to catch me before I paid.
So what did I walk out with? Oh, just everything an aspiring singer-songwriter needs...a 61-key keyboard (Casio CTK-496) and a digital percussion kit (Yamaha DD-20c). The tough part will be fitting all of this into four tracks, because I haven't quite learned the art of digital recording. We also got DVDs, but I shall not tell since one of them may be headed for your Christmas stocking.
Off to NYC tomorrow to see my niece...no review needed there. She rocks (despite only being 2 weeks old).

Welcome

2005-11-19T00:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome, dear reader...We all have an itch both to be creative and to judge...This blog will be an outlet for both. As I don't venture to comment much about my personal life, I will focus more on reviewing events around me...to include music, movies, concerts, sporting events, the guy at Safeway who yells "Yeah buddy!!!" at the end of every sentence. If I have surgery at any point, I'll let you know since it will probably affect my ability to post.

Take care and talk to you soon.