Happy Thursday! I just got back from a Rolling Stones concert courtesy of Fathom Events, that crazy thing you see when you go to the movies advertising live opera and stuff.
Ladies & Gentlemen....The Rolling Stones is a concert film from two shows back in 1972 when they were touring for the new Exile on Main St. album. They've just remastered it and tonight was like a nation-wide (I dunno about anywhere else in the world) cinema re-release. Quite appropriately, the re-master of Exile has also been recently released. So it's a double flashback.
What a show! On the big screen it's something else. But without the screaming and raving fans and being able to see them close up. Wonderful musicians and performers. Great set list. My theater was pretty full, maybe like 130, 150 people, applauding each song.
There were literally less than ten people my age and younger. Everyone else was 30 and older. Mostly 45 and older. Mostly Mick Jagger's age. But still, imagine you're a 20 year old London kid who likes the blues, and fifty years later your little blues band still draws a crowd in a place like tiny Ventura, California.
Beth saw it, too, up in Oregon. She said there were like eight people all told. Haha.
Second best thing to going to a live Stones show, which I still have hope for, yet.
Been practicing my blues harmonica, or cross harp if I want to sound official. I can do it, just not consistently.
You see, diatonic harmonicas, which is what you're looking at most of the time you see a harmonica, are built to play in one major key. Mine, for example, are all in C. But by shaping the air different when you play, you can bend notes down to flatten them and get "blues" notes outside the key you're playing in. So to play cross harp on a C harmonica, you're playing in G.
Now my dad first gave me a harmonica and a little book titled "Country & Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless" for my tenth birthday. I took to it enough that I learned some songs from the back of the book (I can still play you Camptown Races and You Are My Sunshine at the drop of a hat), and I even overcame stage fright to play Amazing Grace at a fifth grade music night. But I was perpetually stumped by this bending business.
So for 13 years I've played Camptown Races and You Are My Sunshine, and generally misplaced all my harmonicas from time to time. Then here comes along Mick Jagger and Brian Jones and their little blues band the Rollin' Stones, and now I desperately need to play the harmonica.
I set the piano to harmonica one day, armed with the info from a dozen youtube videos, and bent my first note. It only took thirteen years to do it. AND I WILL KEEP ON DOING IT AND NO ONE WILL STOP ME LOLOLOLOLOLOL.
Have a harmonica solo!
Or Champagne and Reefer.
Or of course, Brian Jones on harmonica. I realize now that it was this song I heard playing on Mick Jagger's birthday that first sparked the idea that I might get into the Rolling Stones. Thanks, Buddy Holly!
How about some sweet lap steel guitar from Ronnie Wood?
Or Clapton playing bottleneck?
And if you're wondering why I'm suddenly into the blues, remember this lil' show called Cowboy Bebop. I didn't know it at the time, but that slide guitar and cross harp was burrowing into my soul, just waiting for the right time to bloom.
Well, here we go.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 09, 2010
yawn
Happy Thursday! So the weather is back to cloudy foggy wintertime, but our few weeks of summer were good while they lasted. Now it's time for pumpkin flavored things and way too many desserts.
I melted some baking chocolate with a touch of milk, cinnamon, and maple extract and threw in some peanuts to make chocolate covered peanut things. Pretty good. Pretzels will be next.
Over Labor Day weekend we drove up to Monterey Bay for a memorial service. I share a great-grandparent with one of the original founders of Zynga, the company that provides you with all your great FarmVille invitations.
Listened to Bob Dylan's first album all the way up and back, wrote a song. Studied James Taylor's Sweet Baby James. Took some pictures. Developed my thoughts on songwriting and other things.
Today Steven came over and we jammed a bit. I learned a new song. Then we went and got ten tacos and watched How I Met Your Mother. It was a good day.
I'm sooooo sleepy because I left my music on all night so I kept waking up every fifteen minutes to hear some song I really liked. It was tiring.
Me and Carolyn and Steven started watching the Evil Dead series. Lolololololol.
Did I tell you Jacqi's back from Korea? She is. Hanging out with them all tomorrow. It'll be epic.
Now I sleep.
I melted some baking chocolate with a touch of milk, cinnamon, and maple extract and threw in some peanuts to make chocolate covered peanut things. Pretty good. Pretzels will be next.
Over Labor Day weekend we drove up to Monterey Bay for a memorial service. I share a great-grandparent with one of the original founders of Zynga, the company that provides you with all your great FarmVille invitations.
Listened to Bob Dylan's first album all the way up and back, wrote a song. Studied James Taylor's Sweet Baby James. Took some pictures. Developed my thoughts on songwriting and other things.
Today Steven came over and we jammed a bit. I learned a new song. Then we went and got ten tacos and watched How I Met Your Mother. It was a good day.
I'm sooooo sleepy because I left my music on all night so I kept waking up every fifteen minutes to hear some song I really liked. It was tiring.
Me and Carolyn and Steven started watching the Evil Dead series. Lolololololol.
Did I tell you Jacqi's back from Korea? She is. Hanging out with them all tomorrow. It'll be epic.
Now I sleep.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Eyy Thursday
Happy Thursday! Can you believe it's Thursday again? I can.
This week has seen me near the end of my Jagger biography, watch about 14 dozen youtube videos of the Stones, comment on a customer's awesome Stones shirt, dust off my blues harmonica book, and sign up for guitar lessons. And I wrote some blues lyrics for MDMB.
At the thrift store, the magical one that always has what you're looking for, I discovered treasure. A Beach Boys double LP, a greatest hits, I'm sure, in pristine condition. Not even a scratch, and I mean, have you ever seen a record in a thrift store before? This was like, brand new. For a buck ninety!!! !!!!! That's like 12 dollars in savings, say from what it would be in a dusty old record store. I was thrilled.
Next to it I dug out a handful of singles: Clapton's I Shot the Sheriff, B side Give Me Strength; Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'N Roll, B side You Don't Know What You've Got; and Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son, B side Questions of My Childhood. 50 cents apiece.
Whuttafind.
That day was actually all around sweet. I parked downtown and then walked all the way up and back, stopping in at the thrift stores, the druggie music store, up to the library (Gimme Shelter and No Direction Home, Stones and Dylan concert/documentaries, respectively), outside of which a homeless man dug my Starfleet shirt, and then down to Rocket Fizz where I got a cherries 'n mint soda. And it was sunny out and generally lovely.
In the thrift stores I was looking for some more pairs of gray jeans and/or corduroys. Them's my fave now. I've also got my eye out for a corduroy jacket? That or a denim jacket that I can spray paint MDMB on the back. Gotta get my gig outfit together, you know.
Let's see, I'll put it this way. The Beatles made me interested in learning music again (specifically the bass); the Rolling Stones have made me interested in being a rock star. Now I'm not saying I'm going to BE a rock star, but there's a fanning of the flames about this little band of ours, about seriously writing songs and playing songs. I would like to be a good bassist. I would like to be able to play guitar. And blues harmonica. Why can't I? So I will.
Gonna go watch Gimme Shelter. Peace out.
-Steph
This week has seen me near the end of my Jagger biography, watch about 14 dozen youtube videos of the Stones, comment on a customer's awesome Stones shirt, dust off my blues harmonica book, and sign up for guitar lessons. And I wrote some blues lyrics for MDMB.
At the thrift store, the magical one that always has what you're looking for, I discovered treasure. A Beach Boys double LP, a greatest hits, I'm sure, in pristine condition. Not even a scratch, and I mean, have you ever seen a record in a thrift store before? This was like, brand new. For a buck ninety!!! !!!!! That's like 12 dollars in savings, say from what it would be in a dusty old record store. I was thrilled.
Next to it I dug out a handful of singles: Clapton's I Shot the Sheriff, B side Give Me Strength; Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'N Roll, B side You Don't Know What You've Got; and Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son, B side Questions of My Childhood. 50 cents apiece.
Whuttafind.
That day was actually all around sweet. I parked downtown and then walked all the way up and back, stopping in at the thrift stores, the druggie music store, up to the library (Gimme Shelter and No Direction Home, Stones and Dylan concert/documentaries, respectively), outside of which a homeless man dug my Starfleet shirt, and then down to Rocket Fizz where I got a cherries 'n mint soda. And it was sunny out and generally lovely.
In the thrift stores I was looking for some more pairs of gray jeans and/or corduroys. Them's my fave now. I've also got my eye out for a corduroy jacket? That or a denim jacket that I can spray paint MDMB on the back. Gotta get my gig outfit together, you know.
Let's see, I'll put it this way. The Beatles made me interested in learning music again (specifically the bass); the Rolling Stones have made me interested in being a rock star. Now I'm not saying I'm going to BE a rock star, but there's a fanning of the flames about this little band of ours, about seriously writing songs and playing songs. I would like to be a good bassist. I would like to be able to play guitar. And blues harmonica. Why can't I? So I will.
Gonna go watch Gimme Shelter. Peace out.
-Steph
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Like a Rolling Stone
Happy Thursday! So far this week has been warm and clear and quiet...lovely spring weather. I didn't sign up for three seasons of winter and one of spring. I'm disappointed in you, Ventura. :<
So last Thursday my dad and I made an epic trek across the northern LA area. We had to stop in ... some little place I don't even remember, and then on to Burbank, for his work. Then we got stuck in horrid traffic on the way to Ontario, where I was to meet an online friend in the real life.
(Sorry we were so late, again!)
Which was cute and awkward and fun. But too quickly we were off again, across the street to the Citizen's Business Bank Arena of Ontario!
It was a sorta small place, no more than twice the size of our Event Center at APU. 1.5x the size, more like. So I saw John Mellancamp (yawn) in the flesh. He kept throwing picks to the crowd, but they never made it. I wasn't too impressed with him.
And I was sooooo sleepy. I'd woken up sleepy, and then the long long car ride, and having to sit through an hour of that racket....by the time Bob came on at like 9:20, I was almost gone. I really don't have too many memories of it, because I was just concentrating on staying awake and focusing on making him out. The air was really dry and I kept having to blink (also from being tired) so it was like I couldn't see anything clearly.
It was really like trying to stay awake in class. Staying awake is the end result, but you don't get anything for your efforts.
Bob was really growly, and his band very loud. His harmonica playing was brief but to the point. He strapped on a guitar for maybe three numbers but otherwise rocked out on the keyboards. He wore a hat and concentrated on the show. I think it wore him out.
There was a guy down in front of us dancing his little Dylan heart out. He was probably high.
There were two songs I know I didn't know, and the rest it took a long time for me to figure out what they were supposed to be. Some of the longer ones (Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again, Tangled Up in Blue, Like a Rolling Stone) were parsed down to a more bite sized length. I really dug the one with the banjo, whatever that was.
So it was pretty exciting, and now I've seen one of my heroes with my very own eyes. This isn't my video, but a lot of that concert is up on Youtube. Here's Like a Rolling Stone, which was one of the last songs, I think.
On the way down, I DJ'd the radio, presetting my dad's stations to all the classic rock/oldies I could find. At least three Rolling Stones songs played. "I think I want to get into the Stones next," I remarked off hand.
I think it was because of the Dancing in the Street video? I was like, who is this Mick Jagger, really? I don't even know how it started.
The main reason last week's concert seems like forever ago (srsly, it was only seven days??) is that since then I've fallen super super hard for the Rolling Stones. I mean like, as instantaneously as for the Beatles. I'm even halfway through my Mick Jagger biography already.
It's not that I love them more than the Beatles--the age old question of who's better is just completely unfair. They're just too different to compare. But I am totally like, where were you all my life?! We've hit it off real well.
Ugh, I cleaned out some drawers today and threw out a lot of stuff, but all the stuff I have yet to organize is sitting on my bed. How will I sleep?!
Going to sign up for a guitar class being taught just up the street. It'll be on Thursdays, how cute is that? I've been strumming my new acoustic quite a bit, but I really have no idea what to do with it. So I'll go get myself taught. It'll help with song writing?
Me and Beth had a productive day recently where we each spontaneously generated a song. MDMB, we're gonna be big. Bigger than the Beatles?
Here's a crazy thought: There were no gummi bears in America until the 80s. Madness.
-Steph
So last Thursday my dad and I made an epic trek across the northern LA area. We had to stop in ... some little place I don't even remember, and then on to Burbank, for his work. Then we got stuck in horrid traffic on the way to Ontario, where I was to meet an online friend in the real life.
(Sorry we were so late, again!)
Which was cute and awkward and fun. But too quickly we were off again, across the street to the Citizen's Business Bank Arena of Ontario!
It was a sorta small place, no more than twice the size of our Event Center at APU. 1.5x the size, more like. So I saw John Mellancamp (yawn) in the flesh. He kept throwing picks to the crowd, but they never made it. I wasn't too impressed with him.
And I was sooooo sleepy. I'd woken up sleepy, and then the long long car ride, and having to sit through an hour of that racket....by the time Bob came on at like 9:20, I was almost gone. I really don't have too many memories of it, because I was just concentrating on staying awake and focusing on making him out. The air was really dry and I kept having to blink (also from being tired) so it was like I couldn't see anything clearly.
It was really like trying to stay awake in class. Staying awake is the end result, but you don't get anything for your efforts.
Bob was really growly, and his band very loud. His harmonica playing was brief but to the point. He strapped on a guitar for maybe three numbers but otherwise rocked out on the keyboards. He wore a hat and concentrated on the show. I think it wore him out.
There was a guy down in front of us dancing his little Dylan heart out. He was probably high.
There were two songs I know I didn't know, and the rest it took a long time for me to figure out what they were supposed to be. Some of the longer ones (Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again, Tangled Up in Blue, Like a Rolling Stone) were parsed down to a more bite sized length. I really dug the one with the banjo, whatever that was.
So it was pretty exciting, and now I've seen one of my heroes with my very own eyes. This isn't my video, but a lot of that concert is up on Youtube. Here's Like a Rolling Stone, which was one of the last songs, I think.
On the way down, I DJ'd the radio, presetting my dad's stations to all the classic rock/oldies I could find. At least three Rolling Stones songs played. "I think I want to get into the Stones next," I remarked off hand.
I think it was because of the Dancing in the Street video? I was like, who is this Mick Jagger, really? I don't even know how it started.
The main reason last week's concert seems like forever ago (srsly, it was only seven days??) is that since then I've fallen super super hard for the Rolling Stones. I mean like, as instantaneously as for the Beatles. I'm even halfway through my Mick Jagger biography already.
It's not that I love them more than the Beatles--the age old question of who's better is just completely unfair. They're just too different to compare. But I am totally like, where were you all my life?! We've hit it off real well.
Ugh, I cleaned out some drawers today and threw out a lot of stuff, but all the stuff I have yet to organize is sitting on my bed. How will I sleep?!
Going to sign up for a guitar class being taught just up the street. It'll be on Thursdays, how cute is that? I've been strumming my new acoustic quite a bit, but I really have no idea what to do with it. So I'll go get myself taught. It'll help with song writing?
Me and Beth had a productive day recently where we each spontaneously generated a song. MDMB, we're gonna be big. Bigger than the Beatles?
Here's a crazy thought: There were no gummi bears in America until the 80s. Madness.
-Steph
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Cold Irons Bound
Happy Thursday!
Today is just a regular, old Thursday.
Woke up. Got dressed. Looked at the fish. Did laundry. Poked around the internet. Later I'm going out to Ontario to meet an online friend.
And while I'm out there, I might as well stop in and see Bob Dylan.
and John Mellancamp but who's counting
Me and my dad are going to my very first concert ever! The only honest to goodness band I've ever seen live was Something Like Silas/Future of Forestry and that was at camp/a coffee shop my friend was playing at/the courtyard in front of my dorm.
Bob Dylan is like, 69 years old. That's not gonna stop him. I'll see if I can get a picture of him, but our seats are terrible. It's gonna be great.
I was gonna link ya my faves, but they're impossible to find these days. Someone musta made a youtube sweep.
Have this instead!!!!!!!!
DANCING IN THE STREET
I can't stop watching this. It's like...the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Okay I gotta go get readys to go. I'll see you next week!!
-Steph
Today is just a regular, old Thursday.
Woke up. Got dressed. Looked at the fish. Did laundry. Poked around the internet. Later I'm going out to Ontario to meet an online friend.
And while I'm out there, I might as well stop in and see Bob Dylan.
Me and my dad are going to my very first concert ever! The only honest to goodness band I've ever seen live was Something Like Silas/Future of Forestry and that was at camp/a coffee shop my friend was playing at/the courtyard in front of my dorm.
Bob Dylan is like, 69 years old. That's not gonna stop him. I'll see if I can get a picture of him, but our seats are terrible. It's gonna be great.
I was gonna link ya my faves, but they're impossible to find these days. Someone musta made a youtube sweep.
Have this instead!!!!!!!!
DANCING IN THE STREET
I can't stop watching this. It's like...the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Okay I gotta go get readys to go. I'll see you next week!!
-Steph
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Boring stats post
Happy Thursday! Today I found what most certainly has to be relative of Donnie's. It was like, the same cat. Only cat-shaped. (not whale shaped) It was really bizarre.
So let's talk about how tv controls my musical tastes, or else I'll talk about cat clones all day.
I don't mean TV, but if I keep saying "narrative media" I'm gonna keep sounding arrogant. Narrative visual media. TV, video games. Internet? Narrative internet? Hulu? Whatever. Movies. Anyway, Primary interest: Visual media (tv movies games); secondary interest: Music.
Let's look at my Last.fm stats for my top 15 artists.
1 - The Beatles
2 - Bear McCreary
3 - Linkin Park
4 - Kunihiko Ryo
5 - Tokio HOtel
6 - Nobuo Uematsu
7 - Micheal Giacchino
8 - Queen
9 - The Hoosiers
10 - Panic at the Disco
11 - Shigeru Umebayashi
12 - Risa Ohki
13 - Nobuo Uematsu (added with #6 and he'd actually be #3)
14 - Ikimono Gakari
15 - Billy Idol
Okay, how many of those are composers for TV, movies, and/or video games? 6. (2, 4, 6, 7, 11...12--but she's the recording artist of Uematsu's arrangements)
How many of these did I get into from video games? Beatles and Tokio Hotel from Rock Band. Uematsu did the Final Fantasy scores. Ohki Risa sang some albums of vocalizations of the previous.
From Youtube videos? Hoosiers (Heroes fanvid, so TV caused this, too) and Billy Idol. (White Wedding literal video)
Movies? Queen. (Shaun of the Dead ftw) Shigeru Umebayashi. (House of Flying Daggers) The Beatles - Hard Day's Night really kicked off my Beatlemania. Giacchino - see below v
TV? McCreary - BSG. Giacchino - Alias, Lost, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Speed Racer, Star Trek, Up etc etc.
Anime? Ryo - Juuni Kokuki. Ikimono Gakari did a couple intro songs for Naruto or Bleach and I ended up downloading everything they've ever done.
The only two honest bands in here are Linkin Park and Panic, both of which I leeched off of Carolyn. All said and done, 86% of my most-listened to artists were introduced to me by visual media. And 14% comes from the trusted opinion of the best friend.
How about most-listened-to songs?
1 - Nakushita Kotoba - No Regret Life -- Naruto ending song
2 - We Used to Be Friends - The Dandy Warhols -- Veronica Mars theme song
3 - ALONES - Aqua Timez -- BLEACH opening song
4 - Rolling Star - Yui -- BLEACH opening song
5 - Sen no Yoru wo Koete - Aqua Timez
6 - Ketsui no Asa ni - Aqua Timez
7 - Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni - little by little -- Naruto opening song
8 - Edge of the Ocean - Ivy -- from Beth
9 - Re:START - Surface -- Yakitate!! Japan ending song
10 - Killer -- The Hoosiers -- the song used in the Heroes fanvid
11 - ALONES (TV size) - Aqua Timez -- I really love this song
12 - Sora wo torimodoshia hi - ShakkaZombie -- I downloaded this because it says it was from Cowboy Bebop. I'm pretty sure it's not, but I still love it
13 - Everything Goes Dark - The Hoosiers
14 - Aru Machi no Gunjou - Asian Kung-Fu Generation -- this band did a bunch of Naruto/Bleach/FMA openings/endings.
15 - Another Night - Heavens -- research into "emo music" impulse download lol
The anime-heavy influence here is that when I got these songs, a few summers ago, I was listening to probably 90% anime songs 10% Linkin Park. Those three Aqua Timez songs are the ONLY Aqua Timez songs I have, and I really like their band, so I over-listened.
These days, especially +Beatles +Beatles affiliates, my listening is much more watered down. Spread out among many many artists and songs. Like, The Beatles are my #1 artist because they've got 250 songs that I've listened to 12 times each. Aqua Timez has four songs I've listened to a total of 334 times. Timez.
The band Cage the Elephant is #9 out of everything I've listened to in the last 3 months just because their song Ain't No Rest for the Wicked was used in Borderlands. I've listened to that 24 times.
So pretty much before the Beatles, I was just listening to anime/video game/movie music. I'm so geekish.
I was playing Red Dead Redemption today, and realized I needed the soundtrack to that sucker, too. Remember, I played you that song? That cowboy song? Yes. Anime/video game/movie/tv music is a good genre of music. It's music that has a story, and more than anything I need a story.
-Steph
ps
I refurbished this boring stats post with a bunch of youtube links! Hooray for visual aids!
So let's talk about how tv controls my musical tastes, or else I'll talk about cat clones all day.
I don't mean TV, but if I keep saying "narrative media" I'm gonna keep sounding arrogant. Narrative visual media. TV, video games. Internet? Narrative internet? Hulu? Whatever. Movies. Anyway, Primary interest: Visual media (tv movies games); secondary interest: Music.
Let's look at my Last.fm stats for my top 15 artists.
1 - The Beatles
2 - Bear McCreary
3 - Linkin Park
4 - Kunihiko Ryo
5 - Tokio HOtel
6 - Nobuo Uematsu
7 - Micheal Giacchino
8 - Queen
9 - The Hoosiers
10 - Panic at the Disco
11 - Shigeru Umebayashi
12 - Risa Ohki
13 - Nobuo Uematsu (added with #6 and he'd actually be #3)
14 - Ikimono Gakari
15 - Billy Idol
Okay, how many of those are composers for TV, movies, and/or video games? 6. (2, 4, 6, 7, 11...12--but she's the recording artist of Uematsu's arrangements)
How many of these did I get into from video games? Beatles and Tokio Hotel from Rock Band. Uematsu did the Final Fantasy scores. Ohki Risa sang some albums of vocalizations of the previous.
From Youtube videos? Hoosiers (Heroes fanvid, so TV caused this, too) and Billy Idol. (White Wedding literal video)
Movies? Queen. (Shaun of the Dead ftw) Shigeru Umebayashi. (House of Flying Daggers) The Beatles - Hard Day's Night really kicked off my Beatlemania. Giacchino - see below v
TV? McCreary - BSG. Giacchino - Alias, Lost, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Speed Racer, Star Trek, Up etc etc.
Anime? Ryo - Juuni Kokuki. Ikimono Gakari did a couple intro songs for Naruto or Bleach and I ended up downloading everything they've ever done.
The only two honest bands in here are Linkin Park and Panic, both of which I leeched off of Carolyn. All said and done, 86% of my most-listened to artists were introduced to me by visual media. And 14% comes from the trusted opinion of the best friend.
How about most-listened-to songs?
1 - Nakushita Kotoba - No Regret Life -- Naruto ending song
2 - We Used to Be Friends - The Dandy Warhols -- Veronica Mars theme song
3 - ALONES - Aqua Timez -- BLEACH opening song
4 - Rolling Star - Yui -- BLEACH opening song
5 - Sen no Yoru wo Koete - Aqua Timez
6 - Ketsui no Asa ni - Aqua Timez
7 - Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni - little by little -- Naruto opening song
8 - Edge of the Ocean - Ivy -- from Beth
9 - Re:START - Surface -- Yakitate!! Japan ending song
10 - Killer -- The Hoosiers -- the song used in the Heroes fanvid
11 - ALONES (TV size) - Aqua Timez -- I really love this song
12 - Sora wo torimodoshia hi - ShakkaZombie -- I downloaded this because it says it was from Cowboy Bebop. I'm pretty sure it's not, but I still love it
13 - Everything Goes Dark - The Hoosiers
14 - Aru Machi no Gunjou - Asian Kung-Fu Generation -- this band did a bunch of Naruto/Bleach/FMA openings/endings.
15 - Another Night - Heavens -- research into "emo music" impulse download lol
The anime-heavy influence here is that when I got these songs, a few summers ago, I was listening to probably 90% anime songs 10% Linkin Park. Those three Aqua Timez songs are the ONLY Aqua Timez songs I have, and I really like their band, so I over-listened.
These days, especially +Beatles +Beatles affiliates, my listening is much more watered down. Spread out among many many artists and songs. Like, The Beatles are my #1 artist because they've got 250 songs that I've listened to 12 times each. Aqua Timez has four songs I've listened to a total of 334 times. Timez.
The band Cage the Elephant is #9 out of everything I've listened to in the last 3 months just because their song Ain't No Rest for the Wicked was used in Borderlands. I've listened to that 24 times.
So pretty much before the Beatles, I was just listening to anime/video game/movie music. I'm so geekish.
I was playing Red Dead Redemption today, and realized I needed the soundtrack to that sucker, too. Remember, I played you that song? That cowboy song? Yes. Anime/video game/movie/tv music is a good genre of music. It's music that has a story, and more than anything I need a story.
-Steph
ps
I refurbished this boring stats post with a bunch of youtube links! Hooray for visual aids!
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Bounty at the Fair
Happy Thursday! You know how much I love the fair? So much. It's like the AX/Brigadoon in that it's the same year after year and it's like it must always be there, somewhere, waiting. In your heart, perhaps.
I entered 12 things into the fair this year, and placed first with two, second with one. The rest got honorable mention or nothing. :< One got a special award for being such a sad poem. I didn't write it to be sad, but now I know.
My sister is here for a bit, and we went on dollar opening day. But she's sick, so we didn't stay too long. Overpriced slushies and I got a hotdog wrapped in a potato.
I'm writing this on her insanely small laptop, small as in, even I dwarf it. Insanely small, like I said.
A topic I've been wanting to tell you about is how my music/visual media curve works, but I'm so tired it will have to wait another week. It's how most of my musical influences (and also some non-musical) usually--or, generally, come from some sort of exposure to a visual media. Like how I got into the Beatles through Rock Band and A Hard Day's Night, and Queen from Shaun of the Dead.
Non musical include: I drink cocoa with mint from a Star Wars Book (which came from the movies itself), and ...there was something else, I forget now. I first ate curry rice because of an episode of Naruto where it was featured. Etc.
I'm sleepy because last night was inventory, 10 pm to 3. Yay. But hey, no customers, so great.
Been drumming all week on Lego Rock Band. It's such an active activity. AND I did The Final Countdown on Expert bass just earlier today, and it just about killed me. But I saved the aliens who signed Freddie Mercury, so it was epic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_zum97kjE This is a video I like. 1964 Rolling Stones covering Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. Also so epic. Also so much more rocky than Buddy's. It makes me smile.
Okay, good night.
-Steph
I entered 12 things into the fair this year, and placed first with two, second with one. The rest got honorable mention or nothing. :< One got a special award for being such a sad poem. I didn't write it to be sad, but now I know.
My sister is here for a bit, and we went on dollar opening day. But she's sick, so we didn't stay too long. Overpriced slushies and I got a hotdog wrapped in a potato.
I'm writing this on her insanely small laptop, small as in, even I dwarf it. Insanely small, like I said.
A topic I've been wanting to tell you about is how my music/visual media curve works, but I'm so tired it will have to wait another week. It's how most of my musical influences (and also some non-musical) usually--or, generally, come from some sort of exposure to a visual media. Like how I got into the Beatles through Rock Band and A Hard Day's Night, and Queen from Shaun of the Dead.
Non musical include: I drink cocoa with mint from a Star Wars Book (which came from the movies itself), and ...there was something else, I forget now. I first ate curry rice because of an episode of Naruto where it was featured. Etc.
I'm sleepy because last night was inventory, 10 pm to 3. Yay. But hey, no customers, so great.
Been drumming all week on Lego Rock Band. It's such an active activity. AND I did The Final Countdown on Expert bass just earlier today, and it just about killed me. But I saved the aliens who signed Freddie Mercury, so it was epic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_zum97kjE This is a video I like. 1964 Rolling Stones covering Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. Also so epic. Also so much more rocky than Buddy's. It makes me smile.
Okay, good night.
-Steph
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Back to Movies
Happy Thursday! Although it was a touch windy, this was a nice and sunny summer-esque day. I even took a walk in the late afternoon and did not need a jacket! What an improvement over this fake summer we've been having.
You know what I love? Peppermint tea. I remembered because I just had some. It is heavenly.
So most of my activities this week stem from seeing Inception over the weekend with Carolyn and Steven. Disclaimer up front: It is good. You should see it.
Did it rock my world? Nah.
I know that I'll sound like a film school snob, but Nolan makes a great film regardless of story. He's a great and he's gonna be a legend, but I reserve my right to respect him but not be entertained by him. I have seen the latest five of his seven (written) films, and I honestly only loved one.
Memento? Circumstances like film school built it up for me. When I saw it, I was expecting...something that it wasn't. I was underwhelmed.
Batman Begins. I love Batman, so there we are. I love Cillian Murphy. I love that a Batman movie was made well, for once. Do I love this movie? I bought it cheap on fullscreen, haven't watched it once.
The Prestige. Rocked my world. Bought the script and had my world rocked again. Not everyone feels this way about this movie.
The Dark Knight. If this movie didn't have Batman in the title, it would have nothing for me. I acknowledge the level of skill and professionalism that went into the production of it; I acknowledge its artistic merit. It's a beautiful film. I didn't care for the movie.
Inception.
Oh, Inception. Your merits are multitude. Your casting impeccable. Your artistry, incomprehensible. Your story? I wish this was a movie that I could just watch and not be bothered to follow along. I wish it was meant to be that way. Unfortunately, after trying to grasp every bit of exposition (so neatly laid out and clearly stated), trying to piece it together for hours afterward, I decided that I just didn't care to solve it.
And not in a "this is too intellectual for me" or "I'm so frustrated, I quit" or "I love it's complexity and I can think about it for days on end" sort of way. I just was not motivated to spend any more time looking for answers that weren't ready to present themselves.
Which isn't to say that there aren't answers. It's a film of questions, certainly; a film that's meant to be unraveled and poked and prodded. Some one out there is having a fine time doing just that. If I cared enough, I would be that person. But, sadly, I was not given enough incentive to really put my heart into the story. The story didn't give me...what I want in a story, I guess.
Did I like it? Yeah. Was it cool? Yeah. How great was that one scene--you know what I'm talking about? That was #$@#%% awesome. It had a target and it firmly struck home......I was just standing a little off to one side is all.
Now let's talk Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I will see the movie again just for him.andthatonesceneyouknowwhatI'mtalkingabout In the meantime, though, I visited my local Blockbuster store and brought home with me (500) Days of Summer, Mysterious Skin, and The Lookout.
There went my Wednesday.
I did not at all expect to like 500 Days. My reason for this being its indie nature and Zooey Deschanel, an actress who turned me off entirely with her performance in Syfy's Tin Man.
Extended Parenthetical:
(I've been known to collect actors. Wednesday spent with Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a prime example of this phenomenon. I watched Tin Man solely because it briefly included Callum Keith Rennie, whom some of you may know as Leoben. I stooped to watching The Butterfly Effect for him. It was slightly after my Rennie collection phase that I saw Memento, and you can imagine my surprise when he showed up there, as well. He was also in Blade Trinity, which was an even nicer surprise.)
I've admired Joseph Gordon-Levitt in passing since I saw Brick. Brick is a film that I have complicated feelings for. Perhaps we'll go into that another time. Anyway, the kid can act, and after Inception I remembered that. After Tin Man, I decided that Zooey Deschanel could not, and my dislike of her trumped my like of him, which lead me to skip 500 Days until now.
I loved it! It was quirky and I laughed so much and she didn't offend me with her performance at all! It was a neat little thing. By far my worst complaint was the narrator, who I thought was sort of weak in a not-strong application of the device. Oh well. It was cute.
Mysterious Skin and Lookout...no, let me rephrase. Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin and Lookout was also fantastic, top-notch. Mysterious Skin is a good film that is dark and harsh; Lookout is an average film that tries to pack a punch and delivers a...something less than a punch. But it serves as a great showcase of Gordon-Levitt's palette of character acting, so that's wonderful.
Tomorrow I watch G.I. Joe 'cause he's billed in it. I know, right! The things I do for actors.
Today I watched A Single Man (downer!) and Shutter Island (more successful mindtrip!)
Other than that, I've had a standing date most nights with Sam to watch Digimon. We both load up the episode, pause at the title, and then we press play and IM about it. What great memories. Off to do that now!
-Steph
You know what I love? Peppermint tea. I remembered because I just had some. It is heavenly.
So most of my activities this week stem from seeing Inception over the weekend with Carolyn and Steven. Disclaimer up front: It is good. You should see it.
Did it rock my world? Nah.
I know that I'll sound like a film school snob, but Nolan makes a great film regardless of story. He's a great and he's gonna be a legend, but I reserve my right to respect him but not be entertained by him. I have seen the latest five of his seven (written) films, and I honestly only loved one.
Memento? Circumstances like film school built it up for me. When I saw it, I was expecting...something that it wasn't. I was underwhelmed.
Batman Begins. I love Batman, so there we are. I love Cillian Murphy. I love that a Batman movie was made well, for once. Do I love this movie? I bought it cheap on fullscreen, haven't watched it once.
The Prestige. Rocked my world. Bought the script and had my world rocked again. Not everyone feels this way about this movie.
The Dark Knight. If this movie didn't have Batman in the title, it would have nothing for me. I acknowledge the level of skill and professionalism that went into the production of it; I acknowledge its artistic merit. It's a beautiful film. I didn't care for the movie.
Inception.
Oh, Inception. Your merits are multitude. Your casting impeccable. Your artistry, incomprehensible. Your story? I wish this was a movie that I could just watch and not be bothered to follow along. I wish it was meant to be that way. Unfortunately, after trying to grasp every bit of exposition (so neatly laid out and clearly stated), trying to piece it together for hours afterward, I decided that I just didn't care to solve it.
And not in a "this is too intellectual for me" or "I'm so frustrated, I quit" or "I love it's complexity and I can think about it for days on end" sort of way. I just was not motivated to spend any more time looking for answers that weren't ready to present themselves.
Which isn't to say that there aren't answers. It's a film of questions, certainly; a film that's meant to be unraveled and poked and prodded. Some one out there is having a fine time doing just that. If I cared enough, I would be that person. But, sadly, I was not given enough incentive to really put my heart into the story. The story didn't give me...what I want in a story, I guess.
Did I like it? Yeah. Was it cool? Yeah. How great was that one scene--you know what I'm talking about? That was #$@#%% awesome. It had a target and it firmly struck home......I was just standing a little off to one side is all.
Now let's talk Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I will see the movie again just for him.
There went my Wednesday.
I did not at all expect to like 500 Days. My reason for this being its indie nature and Zooey Deschanel, an actress who turned me off entirely with her performance in Syfy's Tin Man.
Extended Parenthetical:
(I've been known to collect actors. Wednesday spent with Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a prime example of this phenomenon. I watched Tin Man solely because it briefly included Callum Keith Rennie, whom some of you may know as Leoben. I stooped to watching The Butterfly Effect for him. It was slightly after my Rennie collection phase that I saw Memento, and you can imagine my surprise when he showed up there, as well. He was also in Blade Trinity, which was an even nicer surprise.)
I've admired Joseph Gordon-Levitt in passing since I saw Brick. Brick is a film that I have complicated feelings for. Perhaps we'll go into that another time. Anyway, the kid can act, and after Inception I remembered that. After Tin Man, I decided that Zooey Deschanel could not, and my dislike of her trumped my like of him, which lead me to skip 500 Days until now.
I loved it! It was quirky and I laughed so much and she didn't offend me with her performance at all! It was a neat little thing. By far my worst complaint was the narrator, who I thought was sort of weak in a not-strong application of the device. Oh well. It was cute.
Mysterious Skin and Lookout...no, let me rephrase. Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin and Lookout was also fantastic, top-notch. Mysterious Skin is a good film that is dark and harsh; Lookout is an average film that tries to pack a punch and delivers a...something less than a punch. But it serves as a great showcase of Gordon-Levitt's palette of character acting, so that's wonderful.
Tomorrow I watch G.I. Joe 'cause he's billed in it. I know, right! The things I do for actors.
Today I watched A Single Man (downer!) and Shutter Island (more successful mindtrip!)
Other than that, I've had a standing date most nights with Sam to watch Digimon. We both load up the episode, pause at the title, and then we press play and IM about it. What great memories. Off to do that now!
-Steph
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sewing and Songing
Happy Thursday! It's been a creative week. As well as re-organizing. A re-organizing week? My mom decided to get rid of the thing the tv was on, so, long story short, we have a HD tv over the fireplace now. Blu-Ray-riffic!!
So while Beth was on her whirlwind tour of the West, we finally managed to record a demo of LIGHT IT UP. Have you heard it yet? When I put it up on Facebook, I pimped it up, but here it is again. THIS is a link to our Facebook page where the song is located; THIS is our Facebook band page; THIS is our listing at last.fm, and you can also listen to it there and boost our play count.
For a demo, it's not half-bad, no? And for a first-ever song? Don't even get me started.
We ended up recording in my garage, all legit like. We tried late Thursday night, because Beth had to get to Berkeley on Friday, but we ended up not using anything we did at that time. So most of Friday morning (some of which was taken up by moving furniture) was re-recording, and trying to finally get it right. If we hadn't been rushed (I know, I know, we had a full three days to do it), it would even be better!!
When we do the rest of the songs and re-record them for the album, I promise it'll be perfect.
I posted LIGHT IT UP soon after midnight on July 20, because I wrote it some time after midnight on April 20 (4/20 blaze it lol). So. It took us long enough, right? We'll see how quickly we'll get any more songs finished. And I promise, there are more.
I also promise the next one is more upbeat!
The days for putting stuff in the county fair starts tomorrow, so today I sewed, lol. You can only enter one thing per class, so I had to come up with a bunch of stuff for multiple classes. (Multiple classes = more chances at $$)
I ended up making a felt Cheez-it pillow thing, a purse thing from the pockets of some old cargo pants, a fleece hat in the style of a Moogle, and the promised lime/lemon apron to match the kitchen curtain. It only took me less than seven hours!
Pictures?
I do so love sewing. I'm so used to language-based art that sometimes I'm surprised at what I make without words. Sewing is like a puzzle, that you have to map out and piece together in the right order. But you get to think about color and shape and function. But you also have to be careful about not injuring yourself. There are so many ways to do that, sewing! It's an exciting craft.
I also have already picked a funny looking lemon. This year, I also hope I will be the only entrant to the class. Either way, I feel confident that that $5 is mine.
YESTERDAY I went in and had another (and much more official) eye exam, and walked outta there three hours later with a new pair of glasses as well as some prescription sunglasses. You can see them in the sewing photos! As for the sunglasses, they're a very nice Stu Sutcliffe style Raybans. Because I have some sun damage in my one eye, so now I should wear sunglasses. :<
But other than that, my eyes are great! And the new glasses have a stronger prescription, but I can see and my eyes haven't hurt at all yet (like they used to all the time). And they're cute, no?
Well that was my week. It was great. How was yours?
-Steph
So while Beth was on her whirlwind tour of the West, we finally managed to record a demo of LIGHT IT UP. Have you heard it yet? When I put it up on Facebook, I pimped it up, but here it is again. THIS is a link to our Facebook page where the song is located; THIS is our Facebook band page; THIS is our listing at last.fm, and you can also listen to it there and boost our play count.
For a demo, it's not half-bad, no? And for a first-ever song? Don't even get me started.
We ended up recording in my garage, all legit like. We tried late Thursday night, because Beth had to get to Berkeley on Friday, but we ended up not using anything we did at that time. So most of Friday morning (some of which was taken up by moving furniture) was re-recording, and trying to finally get it right. If we hadn't been rushed (I know, I know, we had a full three days to do it), it would even be better!!
When we do the rest of the songs and re-record them for the album, I promise it'll be perfect.
I posted LIGHT IT UP soon after midnight on July 20, because I wrote it some time after midnight on April 20 (4/20 blaze it lol). So. It took us long enough, right? We'll see how quickly we'll get any more songs finished. And I promise, there are more.
I also promise the next one is more upbeat!
The days for putting stuff in the county fair starts tomorrow, so today I sewed, lol. You can only enter one thing per class, so I had to come up with a bunch of stuff for multiple classes. (Multiple classes = more chances at $$)
I ended up making a felt Cheez-it pillow thing, a purse thing from the pockets of some old cargo pants, a fleece hat in the style of a Moogle, and the promised lime/lemon apron to match the kitchen curtain. It only took me less than seven hours!
Pictures?
I do so love sewing. I'm so used to language-based art that sometimes I'm surprised at what I make without words. Sewing is like a puzzle, that you have to map out and piece together in the right order. But you get to think about color and shape and function. But you also have to be careful about not injuring yourself. There are so many ways to do that, sewing! It's an exciting craft.
I also have already picked a funny looking lemon. This year, I also hope I will be the only entrant to the class. Either way, I feel confident that that $5 is mine.
YESTERDAY I went in and had another (and much more official) eye exam, and walked outta there three hours later with a new pair of glasses as well as some prescription sunglasses. You can see them in the sewing photos! As for the sunglasses, they're a very nice Stu Sutcliffe style Raybans. Because I have some sun damage in my one eye, so now I should wear sunglasses. :<
But other than that, my eyes are great! And the new glasses have a stronger prescription, but I can see and my eyes haven't hurt at all yet (like they used to all the time). And they're cute, no?
Well that was my week. It was great. How was yours?
-Steph
Thursday, July 15, 2010
10 Minutes
Happy Thursday! Okay so we're playing Beatles Rock Band and I only JUST NOW REMEMBERED MY THURSDAY OBLIGATION. So typing is fast and spelling is poor.
This week I sewed. Sewed curtains. So many curtains. At least two curtains. For the kitchen and my room. They are cute. Yes.
I also have three days off and Beth is visiting. Hooray, Beth. We went to Rocket Fizz and to where our band hangs out. And we bought like every record.
I got
Bob Dylan
CSN
ELP
Buddy Holly LIVES.
Beth got
Disraeli Gears
Lou Reed
Tommy - The Who
Come online and play rockband with us. We need a singer and/or another guitarist. It'll be great.
I also watched a bunch of Digimon with Sam, and that was the best ever. TY, the internet.
AND it was Carolyn's birthday a lil bit ago. We did Zombie tag. And then I had zombie apocalypse dreams. ty.
AND ALSO. Beth woke up with a weird finger, and SOMEHOW I had a dream at the same time where I had the same symptoms. Honest.
Helter Skelter.
Peace and love, peace and love.
-Steph
This week I sewed. Sewed curtains. So many curtains. At least two curtains. For the kitchen and my room. They are cute. Yes.
I also have three days off and Beth is visiting. Hooray, Beth. We went to Rocket Fizz and to where our band hangs out. And we bought like every record.
I got
Bob Dylan
CSN
ELP
Buddy Holly LIVES.
Beth got
Disraeli Gears
Lou Reed
Tommy - The Who
Come online and play rockband with us. We need a singer and/or another guitarist. It'll be great.
I also watched a bunch of Digimon with Sam, and that was the best ever. TY, the internet.
AND it was Carolyn's birthday a lil bit ago. We did Zombie tag. And then I had zombie apocalypse dreams. ty.
AND ALSO. Beth woke up with a weird finger, and SOMEHOW I had a dream at the same time where I had the same symptoms. Honest.
Helter Skelter.
Peace and love, peace and love.
-Steph
Thursday, July 08, 2010
It was the AX
Happy Thursday! How are you all enjoying your mid-summer fall? We here on the coast sure are. Although I guess everywhere else is burning up. Lucky. I mean, it RAINED here on Tuesday.
So Thursday bright and early we set off to the AX, stopping only to pick up our newcomers. Because we always bring someone who has never gone before. Want to come next year?
Carolyn made six Dai Li outfits. I, of course, was Speed Racer. I think it worked out well to have the group and then the auxiliary member (me) because then I got to take pictures of them so they'd have at least one good one. Because people may be your friends, but that doesn't mean they know how to use your camera.
It's nice being at the LA Convention Center for a number of years in a row now, because everything's familiar. We know where the food is and where the panel rooms are and where the cosplay is at.
OH and can I tell you what being at the AX is like? It's like being on both sides of Brigadoon--it's gone 99% of the year, but when you're there, it feels like the sun went down on one AX and rose on the next. Everything is the same. The people, the events, the people AT the events. It's a wondrous haven for "[]our [kind]," as the hotelman (somewhat) put it. (He said "your group," meaning everyone at the AX. I liked the exclusivity of it.)
The exhibit hall was so packed this year, and there seemed to be so little to buy, that we made it through there end to end twice in as many days. Some years, crawling the whole of the exhibit hall is a con-wide process. It's not my thing, anyway. I happened to buy two pieces of Naruto swag: a sweet mug with the Kyuubi and Naruto's seal on it as well as a Icha Icha Tactics wallet. Steven also procured a lil Sasuke thing, which, after careful application of Japanese, was revealed to be a scented bath toy.
I guess it was a Naruto year. My purchases may have been influenced by the fact that all last week I watched like thirty episodes of the thing, trying to catch up. That's the most anime I watched in the entire year. But it was worth it!!!
Between the shops and the cosplay, it seemed a popular move to stick with what worked. I'd say that 90% of all cosplay was from the big titles, Naruto, Bleach, Final Fantasy, Pokemon. And even within those groups it was mostly the same thing over and over; Akatsuki, Ichigo, Cloud, Organization XIII, misc Pokemon trainers. So a lot of things that were iconic and recognizable, but not altogether varied or unique. These are the people I generally don't take pictures of, because there's so many all over the place. If I do, it's because they were my fave or because their costume is super good. Generally I try to take pictures of things that are amazing (like the Pokemon ANBU) or less common cosplays of things I really like.
Here are my pictures, btw.
There aren't too many stories to tell. We tried to watch Chocolate Underground, but it was moved so we watched ICE instead, and boy was that crazy. Full of eye-licking and birds turning into flowers (watch for it @ 1:28). We left early to go to the "Laser Spectacular" from which we also left early because it was a choreographed glowstick dance. But then we watched Ninja Nonsense, and that was well worth it.
If you skip ahead to 5 minutes on this video, you can see Carolyn and them up at the Avatar panel. They won books!
Geez I just spent half an hour looking at youtube vids to see if we were in any more. Not yet.
So now I'm all amped up on sewing stuff?! I made a fleece hat ('cause those are super popular with this crowd) and today I made these lil charm/coin purses. One step closer to an Etsy shop, I'm tellin ya. What else can I make that's super cute?
Well okay, I'mma watch the new Naruto and then it's sleepstiem.
-Steph
PS
I liked the AX. I forgot how much I loved it until I was there.
So Thursday bright and early we set off to the AX, stopping only to pick up our newcomers. Because we always bring someone who has never gone before. Want to come next year?
Carolyn made six Dai Li outfits. I, of course, was Speed Racer. I think it worked out well to have the group and then the auxiliary member (me) because then I got to take pictures of them so they'd have at least one good one. Because people may be your friends, but that doesn't mean they know how to use your camera.
It's nice being at the LA Convention Center for a number of years in a row now, because everything's familiar. We know where the food is and where the panel rooms are and where the cosplay is at.
OH and can I tell you what being at the AX is like? It's like being on both sides of Brigadoon--it's gone 99% of the year, but when you're there, it feels like the sun went down on one AX and rose on the next. Everything is the same. The people, the events, the people AT the events. It's a wondrous haven for "[]our [kind]," as the hotelman (somewhat) put it. (He said "your group," meaning everyone at the AX. I liked the exclusivity of it.)
The exhibit hall was so packed this year, and there seemed to be so little to buy, that we made it through there end to end twice in as many days. Some years, crawling the whole of the exhibit hall is a con-wide process. It's not my thing, anyway. I happened to buy two pieces of Naruto swag: a sweet mug with the Kyuubi and Naruto's seal on it as well as a Icha Icha Tactics wallet. Steven also procured a lil Sasuke thing, which, after careful application of Japanese, was revealed to be a scented bath toy.
I guess it was a Naruto year. My purchases may have been influenced by the fact that all last week I watched like thirty episodes of the thing, trying to catch up. That's the most anime I watched in the entire year. But it was worth it!!!
Between the shops and the cosplay, it seemed a popular move to stick with what worked. I'd say that 90% of all cosplay was from the big titles, Naruto, Bleach, Final Fantasy, Pokemon. And even within those groups it was mostly the same thing over and over; Akatsuki, Ichigo, Cloud, Organization XIII, misc Pokemon trainers. So a lot of things that were iconic and recognizable, but not altogether varied or unique. These are the people I generally don't take pictures of, because there's so many all over the place. If I do, it's because they were my fave or because their costume is super good. Generally I try to take pictures of things that are amazing (like the Pokemon ANBU) or less common cosplays of things I really like.
Here are my pictures, btw.
There aren't too many stories to tell. We tried to watch Chocolate Underground, but it was moved so we watched ICE instead, and boy was that crazy. Full of eye-licking and birds turning into flowers (watch for it @ 1:28). We left early to go to the "Laser Spectacular" from which we also left early because it was a choreographed glowstick dance. But then we watched Ninja Nonsense, and that was well worth it.
If you skip ahead to 5 minutes on this video, you can see Carolyn and them up at the Avatar panel. They won books!
Geez I just spent half an hour looking at youtube vids to see if we were in any more. Not yet.
So now I'm all amped up on sewing stuff?! I made a fleece hat ('cause those are super popular with this crowd) and today I made these lil charm/coin purses. One step closer to an Etsy shop, I'm tellin ya. What else can I make that's super cute?
Well okay, I'mma watch the new Naruto and then it's sleepstiem.
-Steph
PS
I liked the AX. I forgot how much I loved it until I was there.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
GOOD MORNING.
Happy Thursday! It's AX day!!!
It feels weird that it's already here, because my own costume was halfway done from Halloween, so I didn't have to rush about it. That, and everyone else is being something different, so I didn't end up helping with that. So I guess this strange lack of being stressed out is what's so startling.
That and our regular group is all off to college, and everyone's working, so there wasn't any "hang out at Carolyn's house and do AX stuff" either. Sadface. Because like last summer I was working like six hours a week. Those were the days.
I feel like I'm totally forgetting something. Probably, I'm not? Hopefully? Gotta go to the bank before I leave. Yes.
OH so, Colorado. Wait. Already recapped that. Sheesh. I can't remember nufink.
Well on Monday I took my folks to the airport, and ended up making an LA day of it with Beth and Megan. Porto's! A must, if you're hungry in Burbank (or Glendale!) I'm still eating the loaf of fancy egg bread I got.
And then we tried to go to the Getty, but it's closed on Monday! So we went to the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena instead. What a strange day. It was full of shouting and clapping and singing in the car on the freeway.
And then I went to work.
Also, I'd just like to say that yesterday was so totles cold and windy, alllll day. Until like 6:30 when I was getting ready for work, I noticed that it was sunny as heck. 12 hours later, it's still sunny. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.
Well, I'm off. I'll put up pictures when we get back.
-Steph
It feels weird that it's already here, because my own costume was halfway done from Halloween, so I didn't have to rush about it. That, and everyone else is being something different, so I didn't end up helping with that. So I guess this strange lack of being stressed out is what's so startling.
That and our regular group is all off to college, and everyone's working, so there wasn't any "hang out at Carolyn's house and do AX stuff" either. Sadface. Because like last summer I was working like six hours a week. Those were the days.
I feel like I'm totally forgetting something. Probably, I'm not? Hopefully? Gotta go to the bank before I leave. Yes.
OH so, Colorado. Wait. Already recapped that. Sheesh. I can't remember nufink.
Well on Monday I took my folks to the airport, and ended up making an LA day of it with Beth and Megan. Porto's! A must, if you're hungry in Burbank (or Glendale!) I'm still eating the loaf of fancy egg bread I got.
And then we tried to go to the Getty, but it's closed on Monday! So we went to the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena instead. What a strange day. It was full of shouting and clapping and singing in the car on the freeway.
And then I went to work.
Also, I'd just like to say that yesterday was so totles cold and windy, alllll day. Until like 6:30 when I was getting ready for work, I noticed that it was sunny as heck. 12 hours later, it's still sunny. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.
Well, I'm off. I'll put up pictures when we get back.
-Steph
Thursday, June 24, 2010
There and Back Again
Happy Thursday! Yesterday we returned to "sunny" California from tall wide Colorado. What beautiful summer weather east of the Rockies has! Warm AND green. This desert-raised mind boggles.
Let me recount to you one or a couple adventures. It all started when we got to the airport. Our gate was 44F...there was 43, and 45 was across the hall....oh, there's escalators down to 44...no. Escalator down to the street. Where a tram was waiting to take us across the tarmac to the "remote terminal" which housed gate 44.
On our way there, we stopped to let planes cross in front of us. I was afraid we'd end up like that cop car in Casino Royale that gets picked up in the engine wake.
But we made it to our proper gate. Shortly, we were walking out onto the runway towards our plane. We were flying on a commuter flight subsidiary of American Airlines. American Eagle, it was called, and aptly so; our plane was the size of one.
"Mom, I had a plane like this when I was a kid," I said, "I think it's in a drawer somewhere."
In any case, it seemed likely that once we all had boarded, someone was coming along to pick it up and throw it to Denver.
We had seats A and B, which, as we soon discovered, were across the aisle from each other. C was the far window seat. The stewardess was angry. I saw the Grand Canyon.
Right near the far side of the Rockies, we hit some awful turbulence. There was one dip significantly comparable to the first drop into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. My Zune was playing Linkin Park's In the End, and when I noticed I was all "Eff that," and tossed on a one-two punch of Third Day's All the Heavens and Harrison's All Things Must Pass.
I had started My Sweet Lord for good measure, but then the angry stewardess made me put it away and shortly we were arrived alive.
I have four nieces: Ainsley loves dragons, Liberty loves frogs, Melody loves princesses, and Cassidy has this crazy wide-eyes stare at everything. They are 10, 8, 6, and four months.
Oh the adventures we had. Sunday we went to church and had a dedication for the lil one, then we had cake and Kevin barbecued. That was some gentle gentle cloudlike tri tip.
We hiked up a mountain and tried not to fall off of it. We went to Sonic and then saw Toy Story 3 (I fought so very hard not to cry. If I had been in less scrutinizing company I probably woulda bawled through the end).
On one day we went to a candy factory in Denver, a tea factory in Boulder, a cheese import store in Longmont, and a pirate restaurant in Lakewood.
We visited the Air Force Academy, toured the chapel(s) there. We wrapped everything up with a visit to a park that was unrecognizable to me.
It was a great time. It was summery and lovely and freewheeling and they had a cat that was obliging. Oh, and the visiting was fun too.
But alas, we had to return. So we boarded our Matchbox plane and headed for home. (Our steward was not angry--but he had to tilt his head to keep his faux-hawk from scraping the top of the cabin) This flight was ridiculously smooth compared to the first. I played much Professor Layton. On our descent we passed over downtown, and you could see the LED displays from the Nokia theater.
And then we drove home and I slept forever. The end.
I'll be on my way to the AX a week from this morning. Wish me luck.
-Steph
Let me recount to you one or a couple adventures. It all started when we got to the airport. Our gate was 44F...there was 43, and 45 was across the hall....oh, there's escalators down to 44...no. Escalator down to the street. Where a tram was waiting to take us across the tarmac to the "remote terminal" which housed gate 44.
On our way there, we stopped to let planes cross in front of us. I was afraid we'd end up like that cop car in Casino Royale that gets picked up in the engine wake.
But we made it to our proper gate. Shortly, we were walking out onto the runway towards our plane. We were flying on a commuter flight subsidiary of American Airlines. American Eagle, it was called, and aptly so; our plane was the size of one.
"Mom, I had a plane like this when I was a kid," I said, "I think it's in a drawer somewhere."
In any case, it seemed likely that once we all had boarded, someone was coming along to pick it up and throw it to Denver.
We had seats A and B, which, as we soon discovered, were across the aisle from each other. C was the far window seat. The stewardess was angry. I saw the Grand Canyon.
Right near the far side of the Rockies, we hit some awful turbulence. There was one dip significantly comparable to the first drop into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. My Zune was playing Linkin Park's In the End, and when I noticed I was all "Eff that," and tossed on a one-two punch of Third Day's All the Heavens and Harrison's All Things Must Pass.
I had started My Sweet Lord for good measure, but then the angry stewardess made me put it away and shortly we were arrived alive.
I have four nieces: Ainsley loves dragons, Liberty loves frogs, Melody loves princesses, and Cassidy has this crazy wide-eyes stare at everything. They are 10, 8, 6, and four months.
Oh the adventures we had. Sunday we went to church and had a dedication for the lil one, then we had cake and Kevin barbecued. That was some gentle gentle cloudlike tri tip.
We hiked up a mountain and tried not to fall off of it. We went to Sonic and then saw Toy Story 3 (I fought so very hard not to cry. If I had been in less scrutinizing company I probably woulda bawled through the end).
On one day we went to a candy factory in Denver, a tea factory in Boulder, a cheese import store in Longmont, and a pirate restaurant in Lakewood.
We visited the Air Force Academy, toured the chapel(s) there. We wrapped everything up with a visit to a park that was unrecognizable to me.
It was a great time. It was summery and lovely and freewheeling and they had a cat that was obliging. Oh, and the visiting was fun too.
But alas, we had to return. So we boarded our Matchbox plane and headed for home. (Our steward was not angry--but he had to tilt his head to keep his faux-hawk from scraping the top of the cabin) This flight was ridiculously smooth compared to the first. I played much Professor Layton. On our descent we passed over downtown, and you could see the LED displays from the Nokia theater.
And then we drove home and I slept forever. The end.
I'll be on my way to the AX a week from this morning. Wish me luck.
-Steph
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Hi thur, Summer!
Happy Thursday! On days like these it's hard to believe that there's ever a bad day. It's sunny and the AX is coming and there are beautiful tangerines at the fruit stand.
Yesterday I sat outside and painted my Speed Racer shirt. The inside of his collar and the cuffs of his shirt are white, while the rest is blue. SO I PAINTED IT. Earned me a right-arm sun burn (lefty gets driving sun and is a-ok) and mighty stiffness in the legs. Who knew sitting could be so strenuous??
I also managed to paint my white costume gloves yellow, so now I just need to acquire some sort of loafer and find my red scarf and detach and paint the new G on the shirt. Oh, and I guess buy a whole pack of red socks. And get a hair cut.
So, yes. Almost done. Clearly.
Today I supported local businesses, which felt nice. I went out to the fruit stand, (six tangerines for about a dollar) circled around downtown to Rocket Fizz (Dublin Dr Pepper and a Sprecher Cherry Cola) and then swung by Shamsi's Deli for a half curry chicken salad sandwich and a side of Greek salad ($5.95, if the "too pricey!" reviews scare you off).
This week I spent a couple solid days in Red Dead Redemption, which is like Oblivion only cooler. Except apparently it's not like Oblivion, it's Grand Theft Auto in the Wil' West. But there's not much incentive (for me) to do any grand theft...equine, so to me it's more like Oblivion in that I'm running around the world doing good for people and hunting animals.
It also has a stronger narrative than Oblivion, and a tidier side quests system. Although, to be fair, Oblivion has so many more side quest options that I have yet to properly engage in its narrative. As in Oblivion gave me the "further the story!" quest and so far I've ignored it. Whereas in Red Dead, skinning coyotes is only interesting for a while, and then you're seeking out the next story mission.
Although I did spend a couple of hours (in-game days) cleaning up at a poker table in Mexico. Highly satisfying.
AND after a significant turn in the plot, it gifted me with this song echoing out over the twilight desert trail south of the border: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IkvAb6THQY . Instead of spurring my horse on to my destination, I moseyed along as night set slowly around me and this haunting cowboy song whispered my predicament...."it's so far, so far away"...
A little while later, I threw a fire bomb onto a boat, and running back along the dock I missed the turn and fell into the river and insta-died. :<
I accidentally watched some romantic comedies, and had my disapproval of the genre reaffirmed. When in Rome and today Leap Year. The KBell was disappointing--the script quality fell far short of its comedic cast. They were predominately cult actors; people who do their thing and do it well, but perhaps this movie would have been improved by hiring no names and therefore minimizing audience expectations of it? As for Leap Year..............I knew in my soul it was a waste of time going into it...and yet still I was surprised at how right I was.
Next time you hear from me, I'll have been to Colorado and back. Try not to miss me.
-Steph
Yesterday I sat outside and painted my Speed Racer shirt. The inside of his collar and the cuffs of his shirt are white, while the rest is blue. SO I PAINTED IT. Earned me a right-arm sun burn (lefty gets driving sun and is a-ok) and mighty stiffness in the legs. Who knew sitting could be so strenuous??
I also managed to paint my white costume gloves yellow, so now I just need to acquire some sort of loafer and find my red scarf and detach and paint the new G on the shirt. Oh, and I guess buy a whole pack of red socks. And get a hair cut.
So, yes. Almost done. Clearly.
Today I supported local businesses, which felt nice. I went out to the fruit stand, (six tangerines for about a dollar) circled around downtown to Rocket Fizz (Dublin Dr Pepper and a Sprecher Cherry Cola) and then swung by Shamsi's Deli for a half curry chicken salad sandwich and a side of Greek salad ($5.95, if the "too pricey!" reviews scare you off).
This week I spent a couple solid days in Red Dead Redemption, which is like Oblivion only cooler. Except apparently it's not like Oblivion, it's Grand Theft Auto in the Wil' West. But there's not much incentive (for me) to do any grand theft...equine, so to me it's more like Oblivion in that I'm running around the world doing good for people and hunting animals.
It also has a stronger narrative than Oblivion, and a tidier side quests system. Although, to be fair, Oblivion has so many more side quest options that I have yet to properly engage in its narrative. As in Oblivion gave me the "further the story!" quest and so far I've ignored it. Whereas in Red Dead, skinning coyotes is only interesting for a while, and then you're seeking out the next story mission.
Although I did spend a couple of hours (in-game days) cleaning up at a poker table in Mexico. Highly satisfying.
AND after a significant turn in the plot, it gifted me with this song echoing out over the twilight desert trail south of the border: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IkvAb6THQY . Instead of spurring my horse on to my destination, I moseyed along as night set slowly around me and this haunting cowboy song whispered my predicament...."it's so far, so far away"...
A little while later, I threw a fire bomb onto a boat, and running back along the dock I missed the turn and fell into the river and insta-died. :<
I accidentally watched some romantic comedies, and had my disapproval of the genre reaffirmed. When in Rome and today Leap Year. The KBell was disappointing--the script quality fell far short of its comedic cast. They were predominately cult actors; people who do their thing and do it well, but perhaps this movie would have been improved by hiring no names and therefore minimizing audience expectations of it? As for Leap Year..............I knew in my soul it was a waste of time going into it...and yet still I was surprised at how right I was.
Next time you hear from me, I'll have been to Colorado and back. Try not to miss me.
-Steph
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Yeah I'm feelin burned out
Happy Thursday! Dear Thursday, why are you so cold? Why do you make me sad? Boo, Thursday, go ruin someone else's....Thursday.
I was watching Nero Wolfe today, but it failed to hold my attention, which was a tragedy because that was all I had expected from it. But I know being in a bad mood is silly, 'cause if you really wanted, you could just stop being in a bad mood. You know, by just not being grumpy anymore. But then I went to work so that didn't happen.
Why is it all the negative people come in when you're feeling negative? :<
You know how introvert/extrovert doesn't necessarily mean that you're shy/outgoing? It's more about how you spend your energy. Like an extrovert gets charged by being with people and can get down and out by hisself, while an introvert gets tired by socializing and needs to be alone to recharge.
We took the test ourselves, in a writing class, and I scored one point higher for introvert. As in, just about as right-down-the-center as you can get (but slightly introverted).
So I feel like right now, I'm getting only the side effects of both sides, tired and dejected no matter what I do or who I see. Or how much I don't do or see.
There was one night this week were I went to sleep at 10:30! And then I got up at 7:30. It was pretty intense.
Luckily, I'm going to Colorado to visit my brother in about a week, and not too long after is the AX, so those both should be a nice change of pace to knock this.
The other day I put an epic tale about a three-legged rat to verse. My first story to song composition. And I have first-draft lyrics for a love/zombie song, and the first verse for an alien abduction song--me and Beth wrote that yesterday. And then she played me a bit she's been working on, and then I ruined it with lyric ideas that turned it also into a love song.
You know, to balance out the song about a clown with a clock for a face.
Which she painted, btw. I'll scan it or something. It's excellence.
Also yesterday we went to a fruit stand and the radio was going, and then the DJ was all "and Jason Mraz and so-and-so wrote that song back and forth in emails" and we were all "our technique has been validated!"
There were some good tangerines and strawberries to be had there, as well.
Gonna try to make my own peanut butter and nutella and pickles and mayo. I'll keep you posted.
-Steph
I was watching Nero Wolfe today, but it failed to hold my attention, which was a tragedy because that was all I had expected from it. But I know being in a bad mood is silly, 'cause if you really wanted, you could just stop being in a bad mood. You know, by just not being grumpy anymore. But then I went to work so that didn't happen.
Why is it all the negative people come in when you're feeling negative? :<
You know how introvert/extrovert doesn't necessarily mean that you're shy/outgoing? It's more about how you spend your energy. Like an extrovert gets charged by being with people and can get down and out by hisself, while an introvert gets tired by socializing and needs to be alone to recharge.
We took the test ourselves, in a writing class, and I scored one point higher for introvert. As in, just about as right-down-the-center as you can get (but slightly introverted).
So I feel like right now, I'm getting only the side effects of both sides, tired and dejected no matter what I do or who I see. Or how much I don't do or see.
There was one night this week were I went to sleep at 10:30! And then I got up at 7:30. It was pretty intense.
Luckily, I'm going to Colorado to visit my brother in about a week, and not too long after is the AX, so those both should be a nice change of pace to knock this.
The other day I put an epic tale about a three-legged rat to verse. My first story to song composition. And I have first-draft lyrics for a love/zombie song, and the first verse for an alien abduction song--me and Beth wrote that yesterday. And then she played me a bit she's been working on, and then I ruined it with lyric ideas that turned it also into a love song.
You know, to balance out the song about a clown with a clock for a face.
Which she painted, btw. I'll scan it or something. It's excellence.
Also yesterday we went to a fruit stand and the radio was going, and then the DJ was all "and Jason Mraz and so-and-so wrote that song back and forth in emails" and we were all "our technique has been validated!"
There were some good tangerines and strawberries to be had there, as well.
Gonna try to make my own peanut butter and nutella and pickles and mayo. I'll keep you posted.
-Steph
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Origami
Happy Thursday! It looked almost like it was going to rain today, but it's all clear now. If it had rained, I woulda been severely freaked out, 'cause all I've done in the last 24 hours is play (and beat) Heavy Rain. Here, watch a trailer to see how intense it is: TRAILER.
It's like the length and story quality of a tv miniseries, but it's INTERACTIVE 'cause it's a video game. Where your answers and actions (and reflexes) can drastically alter the outcome of the story. By my estimate, it took me eight or nine hours to get through it once...now I'm doing it again to see what other paths I can take.
Let me just say though, I've never fought my way out of so many death traps in my life. So intense, this game.
Let's talk curry. And, as always, you know I mean curry rice. Except this time I didn't make any rice 'cause I wanted it as filling for meat buns. Which I guess are curry buns. (But it was also real good with the French bread)
One time ago, when I was learning about curry, I read something to the effect that in home made curry sauces, apple and/or mango is used to enrich the flavor. My first experiment was to cut up about a fourth of an apple and let it dissolve into the curry mix--but at the time I was still buying the "mild" flavor packets, and the result was that tiny bit of apple cut nearly all curry flavor. So since then I've put some apple into the medium flavor, and it turns out great every time.
And I thought, wouldn't it be cute to use like, cranberry sauce? And use turkey for the meat? Thematic, right? Yesterday I tossed in two boxes of craisins and a slice of cranberry sauce (although I used three hamburger patties worth of ground beef).
It was a thick slice, and the end result is that it's suspiciously sweet. Not too sweet, just, you suspect it might be sweet. You have a slight suspicion. I think a half-thick slice would have been more appropriate, although on the other hand if I had used turkey I think it would have pulled together quite nicely. It would have been something done specifically right rather than something else done slightly wrong.
Curry curry curry, you are my loved one.
That's all, today.
-Steph
It's like the length and story quality of a tv miniseries, but it's INTERACTIVE 'cause it's a video game. Where your answers and actions (and reflexes) can drastically alter the outcome of the story. By my estimate, it took me eight or nine hours to get through it once...now I'm doing it again to see what other paths I can take.
Let me just say though, I've never fought my way out of so many death traps in my life. So intense, this game.
Let's talk curry. And, as always, you know I mean curry rice. Except this time I didn't make any rice 'cause I wanted it as filling for meat buns. Which I guess are curry buns. (But it was also real good with the French bread)
One time ago, when I was learning about curry, I read something to the effect that in home made curry sauces, apple and/or mango is used to enrich the flavor. My first experiment was to cut up about a fourth of an apple and let it dissolve into the curry mix--but at the time I was still buying the "mild" flavor packets, and the result was that tiny bit of apple cut nearly all curry flavor. So since then I've put some apple into the medium flavor, and it turns out great every time.
And I thought, wouldn't it be cute to use like, cranberry sauce? And use turkey for the meat? Thematic, right? Yesterday I tossed in two boxes of craisins and a slice of cranberry sauce (although I used three hamburger patties worth of ground beef).
It was a thick slice, and the end result is that it's suspiciously sweet. Not too sweet, just, you suspect it might be sweet. You have a slight suspicion. I think a half-thick slice would have been more appropriate, although on the other hand if I had used turkey I think it would have pulled together quite nicely. It would have been something done specifically right rather than something else done slightly wrong.
Curry curry curry, you are my loved one.
That's all, today.
-Steph
Thursday, May 27, 2010
An ending no other show could pull off
Happy Thursday! I don't remember the last time I worked night on a Thursday (ever?!), so I'm getting this out the way at a young hour.
The whole right side of my face hurts. From my ear to my teeth. What is this?a center for ants?! It's making me a grouchy old man.
Which probably shouldn't be the mood I'm writing in. Oh well. Through sleet and snow and that.
As Facebook reported, the series finale of LOST had me in tears. Which surprised me as much as it may surprise you. And I think it was less about what was happening in the end--more about that it was just The End, period. But I'll admit it got a bigger reaction out of me than the BSG finale did, at any rate.
Speaking of, let's revisit the end of BSG for a moment. That was an epic sci-fi-action-drama whose finale represented that amalgam well. As in, a sci-fi flavored, action flavored drama. The finale was not about answering mysteries, it was about leaving these characters in satisfying and meaningful ways. Its character-driven plot assured that while, yes, action was all UP in here, each twist and turn was directed by the desires and intentions of the characters. So that while there were still questions left hanging at the end, the emotional impact of the finale was so resounding that you forgot about all this sci-fi stuff. It became trivial.
LOST followed this example to an extent. By the last few episodes I knew that they couldn't possibly answer every question (even though they started throwing explanations out like candy...and forgot some mysteries entirely--but they did that in BSG, too) I think the major explanation about the Island was designed to cover most of these questions, and I guess it sorta does. But it doesn't mean that this explanation doesn't have more questions of its own! I wanted, at this point, to stop caring about the Island and focus more on what was going to happen to these people, but I couldn't quite.
For the first time, I think the flashes in this season stunted the storytelling. Whereas early on, the flashbacks were necessary to round out these characters and set some mysteries/coincidences in motion, then the flashforwards were about raising interest in the journey from A to B and filling in the gaps once time shifts settled down...............the flash "sideways"...s of the last season presented us with a poorly established mystery that eats up half of the season. When they could have spent 100% of each episode answering real mysteries. But they only had a portion, and that's why I feel like near the end they started rushing storylines. The countdown was on minutes left in the show, not any dramatically concocted device.
That being said, the flash sidewayses did allow this show to have one of --no, the most unique series end that I've ever witnessed. It's not an ending any other show could easily pull. Or could ever pull, I mean to assert. It was an ending fully tailored to the show, completely original and --can I say surprising? I know some people called it well in advance, but I'll be honest and I was still trying to figure out how these storylines were going to connect right up to the big reveal. I mean, I knew something was up, but I didn't dare guess.
And what I mean by original is that the ending was rooted in the LOST-specific cast, journey those characters went on, and the "flash" narrative nature of the show. It was an ending dictated by the very foundations of the show itself, on and off the screen, and for that I commend it.
So now that that's over, it leaves me actively watching...what? Flashforward? I caught up on the Office but only online, I didn't watch any of it live this season. I didn't even see a single episode of Chuck or 30 Rock or HIMYM. Heroes has been cancelled and I don't even care. There had better be some good sci-fi hitting the airwaves next fall.
'Cause Flashforward sure ain't gonna cut it.
-Steph
The whole right side of my face hurts. From my ear to my teeth. What is this?
Which probably shouldn't be the mood I'm writing in. Oh well. Through sleet and snow and that.
As Facebook reported, the series finale of LOST had me in tears. Which surprised me as much as it may surprise you. And I think it was less about what was happening in the end--more about that it was just The End, period. But I'll admit it got a bigger reaction out of me than the BSG finale did, at any rate.
Speaking of, let's revisit the end of BSG for a moment. That was an epic sci-fi-action-drama whose finale represented that amalgam well. As in, a sci-fi flavored, action flavored drama. The finale was not about answering mysteries, it was about leaving these characters in satisfying and meaningful ways. Its character-driven plot assured that while, yes, action was all UP in here, each twist and turn was directed by the desires and intentions of the characters. So that while there were still questions left hanging at the end, the emotional impact of the finale was so resounding that you forgot about all this sci-fi stuff. It became trivial.
LOST followed this example to an extent. By the last few episodes I knew that they couldn't possibly answer every question (even though they started throwing explanations out like candy...and forgot some mysteries entirely--but they did that in BSG, too) I think the major explanation about the Island was designed to cover most of these questions, and I guess it sorta does. But it doesn't mean that this explanation doesn't have more questions of its own! I wanted, at this point, to stop caring about the Island and focus more on what was going to happen to these people, but I couldn't quite.
For the first time, I think the flashes in this season stunted the storytelling. Whereas early on, the flashbacks were necessary to round out these characters and set some mysteries/coincidences in motion, then the flashforwards were about raising interest in the journey from A to B and filling in the gaps once time shifts settled down...............the flash "sideways"...s of the last season presented us with a poorly established mystery that eats up half of the season. When they could have spent 100% of each episode answering real mysteries. But they only had a portion, and that's why I feel like near the end they started rushing storylines. The countdown was on minutes left in the show, not any dramatically concocted device.
That being said, the flash sidewayses did allow this show to have one of --no, the most unique series end that I've ever witnessed. It's not an ending any other show could easily pull. Or could ever pull, I mean to assert. It was an ending fully tailored to the show, completely original and --can I say surprising? I know some people called it well in advance, but I'll be honest and I was still trying to figure out how these storylines were going to connect right up to the big reveal. I mean, I knew something was up, but I didn't dare guess.
And what I mean by original is that the ending was rooted in the LOST-specific cast, journey those characters went on, and the "flash" narrative nature of the show. It was an ending dictated by the very foundations of the show itself, on and off the screen, and for that I commend it.
So now that that's over, it leaves me actively watching...what? Flashforward? I caught up on the Office but only online, I didn't watch any of it live this season. I didn't even see a single episode of Chuck or 30 Rock or HIMYM. Heroes has been cancelled and I don't even care. There had better be some good sci-fi hitting the airwaves next fall.
'Cause Flashforward sure ain't gonna cut it.
-Steph
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Holy Batman, Batman
Happy Thursday! We are watching Sky Captain, which is cute for a number of reasons. One is its psuedo-steam-noir WWII + giant robots type style. Exactly the sort of setting I want a story to take place in. The other is of course its pioneering of the acting entirely on green screen. Quite a good effort for the age! Consider how the technology went from this to Avatar in six years. Kinda intense.
Beth is over again, and we have pieces of six songs I think. Seven? LIGHT IT UP, The Lime Song, Bridge to Nowhere, all have words and just need to be polished up. Trapezoid and Mockingbird are instrumentals, variations on D chords, really. Um and then there's a punk rockish song and then another rockish. And there's two more sets of lyrics that don't have any music at all! So that's coming along.
You know what would be horrible? A clown with a clock for a face.
You know what's great? Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. Watch this episode! Death in Slow Motion. It's beyond amazing.
Speaking of superheroes and/or Gywneth Paltrow, Iron Man 2 is action packed. And funny! The plot was more of a straight shot than the first one (whose first act was bogged down in the kidnapping arc) and was full of cool and hip and entertaining episodes. Well cast, too, the new parts (and one of the old). Definitely approve of the Cheadle.
We also hung out with Carolyn one day and played Pokemon Rumble and Speed Racer game! And then we went to Thai food which was sorta amazing. At least mine was.
McArtrey had some screws loose. Literally, since he is equipment. The plate holding the output jack to the side of the guitar kept sliding around, unscrewing the jack until it didn't even connect anymore. So we took him to the guitar doctor who applied some glue and fixed it. And then I said "I don't know if it's me, but it's kinda twangy" and it turned out it wasn't me and he fixed that, too. So now it sounds like a real bass and I'm glad we didn't record anything before I got that adjusted because now I sound a thousand times better.
Rest assured recordings are on the horizon! As Donnie says, any day meow.
-Steph
Beth is over again, and we have pieces of six songs I think. Seven? LIGHT IT UP, The Lime Song, Bridge to Nowhere, all have words and just need to be polished up. Trapezoid and Mockingbird are instrumentals, variations on D chords, really. Um and then there's a punk rockish song and then another rockish. And there's two more sets of lyrics that don't have any music at all! So that's coming along.
You know what would be horrible? A clown with a clock for a face.
You know what's great? Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. Watch this episode! Death in Slow Motion. It's beyond amazing.
Speaking of superheroes and/or Gywneth Paltrow, Iron Man 2 is action packed. And funny! The plot was more of a straight shot than the first one (whose first act was bogged down in the kidnapping arc) and was full of cool and hip and entertaining episodes. Well cast, too, the new parts (and one of the old). Definitely approve of the Cheadle.
We also hung out with Carolyn one day and played Pokemon Rumble and Speed Racer game! And then we went to Thai food which was sorta amazing. At least mine was.
McArtrey had some screws loose. Literally, since he is equipment. The plate holding the output jack to the side of the guitar kept sliding around, unscrewing the jack until it didn't even connect anymore. So we took him to the guitar doctor who applied some glue and fixed it. And then I said "I don't know if it's me, but it's kinda twangy" and it turned out it wasn't me and he fixed that, too. So now it sounds like a real bass and I'm glad we didn't record anything before I got that adjusted because now I sound a thousand times better.
Rest assured recordings are on the horizon! As Donnie says, any day meow.
-Steph
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Coming Soon....
Happy Thursday! Oh Thursday, what is there to say? It's been another week, another Inventory, another band recording session. We tried recording today but there were some technical difficulties and then some performance difficulties so we'll try again later.
But we went to Busy Bee, armed with like 8 quarters, and loaded up the jukebox with songs of our choosing. All Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. A little Elvis for fun. Did you know how much food they have there!? I feel like I've never even looked at the menu before. And cute dinners that include food and coffee/tea/soft drink and a dessert for like $11!! I will be going there more.
Me and Beth had a lil photo sesh down at these rocks where our band hangs out. It was really windy and sad. But people had graffitied peace signs and love and happy faces all over the rocks, so we felt welcomed. And then a pterodactyl ate some dogs.
Can you believe I haven't seen Iron Man 2 yet? I cannot. I mean, I've only been waiting for that movie since the first one came out. But I guess I'm just off movies lately. I did finally see Legion, though, which, as low as my expectations were, still managed to disappoint. Even more disappointment than Twilight 2.
WE WATCHED SOME BRADY BUNCH THIS MORNING. There were lines, like jokes, that were sooooo .... scripted. And they sounded like examples given to me in writing school. Like, the proper way to structure a joke. It made me remember how old my professors were. They need to go out and watch something modern. Like Legion. Good jokes in that.
Not really.
Yalright we're off to write songs. You'll just have to wait for this one we have. I've photoshopped up an album cover (and back) so there's that to look forward to, as well.
I'm lobbying for us to sit down and just record some of the covers we know, just so there's something to post to the facebook page. But we'll see. We're a little loopy at this hour. Wish us luck.
-Steph
But we went to Busy Bee, armed with like 8 quarters, and loaded up the jukebox with songs of our choosing. All Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. A little Elvis for fun. Did you know how much food they have there!? I feel like I've never even looked at the menu before. And cute dinners that include food and coffee/tea/soft drink and a dessert for like $11!! I will be going there more.
Me and Beth had a lil photo sesh down at these rocks where our band hangs out. It was really windy and sad. But people had graffitied peace signs and love and happy faces all over the rocks, so we felt welcomed. And then a pterodactyl ate some dogs.
Can you believe I haven't seen Iron Man 2 yet? I cannot. I mean, I've only been waiting for that movie since the first one came out. But I guess I'm just off movies lately. I did finally see Legion, though, which, as low as my expectations were, still managed to disappoint. Even more disappointment than Twilight 2.
WE WATCHED SOME BRADY BUNCH THIS MORNING. There were lines, like jokes, that were sooooo .... scripted. And they sounded like examples given to me in writing school. Like, the proper way to structure a joke. It made me remember how old my professors were. They need to go out and watch something modern. Like Legion. Good jokes in that.
Not really.
Yalright we're off to write songs. You'll just have to wait for this one we have. I've photoshopped up an album cover (and back) so there's that to look forward to, as well.
I'm lobbying for us to sit down and just record some of the covers we know, just so there's something to post to the facebook page. But we'll see. We're a little loopy at this hour. Wish us luck.
-Steph
Thursday, May 06, 2010
MDMB
Happy Thursday! I’m sitting in the parking lot on West Campus!! In my car, not anywhere skeevy. Beth is here; this is her computer. I was going to use the computer lab, as per usual, but Beth said the Dead Sea Scrolls were in there.
“What, it’s not like they took the computers out and installed scrolls,” I said.
“You’d be surprised,” said she.
So here we are. CSN&Y is playing gently on the stereo, there’s a best of Clapton album waiting in Beth’s car, we screened the demo of our song for Megan, and it seemed to go okay. Oh hey. Have I told you?
You know how I said that me and Beth are in a band? MDMB? Minor Delta Major Bravo? Well we are. And not just in a “lol a band” sense, I mean we’re writing a song and playing it and recording it and making it sound wonderful. And by wonderful I mean legitimately legit. When it’s polished it’ll go up on youtube etc.
In the meantime you can become a fan of our page on Facebook. Just search MDMB, or go to one of our profiles. Be caught up on all our latest news!
And not like this is suddenly our careers and we’re going to get signed and make a million dollars as rockstars. But we have instruments and we are putting them to use. And for three month old musicians, we don’t sound half band. You probs don’t believe me, but you’ll see. Not like we’re out to turn the music industry on its head, but I think our output is a lot better than you might expect from us.
At least, I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
I wrote the lyrics late one morning, scanned and emailed them to Beth. A while later, she sends me a demo she recorded on her computer, putting a melody and chords behind it. It was shockingly good. So I added a bass part and sent it back and so on and so forth, both of us adding something or changing something and generally furthering the recording process. And never once were we in the same room together! We are now, though, and we’ll probably play through it live, which will be fun. But overall, this song writing process is pretty entertaining. I can’t wait to do more.
So Megan moved to Glendale, and I had two days off, so that’s why I’m here. Yesterday we drove around Glendale and saw her apartment and then we went to Pasadena and found Beth and went to A’float. And then we went back to get my car from Megan’s, and in order to get out of her parking spot, I literally did a 15-point turn. It was the funniest event of ever.
Then I crashed at Beth’s where we laughed ourselves to sleep. And we wrote our next song, the B side of our first single. Look for it!
Today we drove some more and had some coffee and Beth had TWO finals. And Megan got stuck in traffic for ever. But then we looked at Ikea and went to Legends, which is like mandatory.
So that’s about it. Song writing and socializing. Quite a bit of driving. Yes! Maybe we’ll world-premiere our song next Thursday??
-Steph
“What, it’s not like they took the computers out and installed scrolls,” I said.
“You’d be surprised,” said she.
So here we are. CSN&Y is playing gently on the stereo, there’s a best of Clapton album waiting in Beth’s car, we screened the demo of our song for Megan, and it seemed to go okay. Oh hey. Have I told you?
You know how I said that me and Beth are in a band? MDMB? Minor Delta Major Bravo? Well we are. And not just in a “lol a band” sense, I mean we’re writing a song and playing it and recording it and making it sound wonderful. And by wonderful I mean legitimately legit. When it’s polished it’ll go up on youtube etc.
In the meantime you can become a fan of our page on Facebook. Just search MDMB, or go to one of our profiles. Be caught up on all our latest news!
And not like this is suddenly our careers and we’re going to get signed and make a million dollars as rockstars. But we have instruments and we are putting them to use. And for three month old musicians, we don’t sound half band. You probs don’t believe me, but you’ll see. Not like we’re out to turn the music industry on its head, but I think our output is a lot better than you might expect from us.
At least, I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
I wrote the lyrics late one morning, scanned and emailed them to Beth. A while later, she sends me a demo she recorded on her computer, putting a melody and chords behind it. It was shockingly good. So I added a bass part and sent it back and so on and so forth, both of us adding something or changing something and generally furthering the recording process. And never once were we in the same room together! We are now, though, and we’ll probably play through it live, which will be fun. But overall, this song writing process is pretty entertaining. I can’t wait to do more.
So Megan moved to Glendale, and I had two days off, so that’s why I’m here. Yesterday we drove around Glendale and saw her apartment and then we went to Pasadena and found Beth and went to A’float. And then we went back to get my car from Megan’s, and in order to get out of her parking spot, I literally did a 15-point turn. It was the funniest event of ever.
Then I crashed at Beth’s where we laughed ourselves to sleep. And we wrote our next song, the B side of our first single. Look for it!
Today we drove some more and had some coffee and Beth had TWO finals. And Megan got stuck in traffic for ever. But then we looked at Ikea and went to Legends, which is like mandatory.
So that’s about it. Song writing and socializing. Quite a bit of driving. Yes! Maybe we’ll world-premiere our song next Thursday??
-Steph
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Lord McArtrey
Happy Thursday! This week is still cold and windy and what is up with that?! I can has summertiem? kthxbai.
On Friday I picked up my very own Hofner violin shaped bass, affectionately christened Lord McArtrey. At first he was a little standoffish and particular, but we've warmed to each other in the course of the week. What a mellow sound he holds within. And so accommodating to my limited grasp! A perfect match.
Somewhere late last week I fit in three movies and several hours of Bioshock 2. The movies were equally dystopian: 12 Monkeys, Enemy at the Gates, ....oh, and 20 Years After, but now I remember I didn't even watch that one. The the ones I did see, they were good. As for the Bioshock sequel, it's really more of the same. Which is great if you liked the first one.
Beth came and visited Tues and Weds. We jammed, we ate pitas, we went to Rocket Fizz (accidentally identified as "Hot Fuzz"), we walked all the way down to the river (it was very cold and I spilled my cherry soda and my littlest toe hurt), and the next day we Rock Banded and discovered a cute and cheap record shop. I helped tote a stereo!
Yesterday was also my mom's birthday! Now she is the ripe old age of fourteen. Congrats, mom! High school's gonna be the best days of your life.
I made Italian dinnertimes. The meatballs did not hold their shape, but they sure were flavored. Quite timely I ordered this British miniseries "Lost in Austen" for my mom, and it arrived and we watched it yesterday. This modern type girl sort of exchanges places with Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, and then she mucks up the story all kinds. It was great. I recommend it, especially to a P&P fan.
I rented the Jane Austen Book Club today, but we ended up just watching the Keira Knightly P&P instead. My favorite book. (Yes, I love cooking, sewing, and Pride & Prejudice)
Oh I guess also the other big thing this week was that that fool Donnie got hisself stuck up in the tree again. THREE DAYS he whines about it. Finally we borrowed a ladder and someone to climb it and the fool was coerced down. The highlight was, after Josh managed to pluck him from the tree, Donnie immediately put his little arms around the next nearest branch and continued to do that all the way down.
But I'm glad to report he's back to stretching and rolling as expected.
Flashforward continues to make me want to do violence towards the first thing I can physically overpower. They think they're sooooo clever. Ugh. Get a grip. James Callis is a pleasant surprise, but at this point his role is that of an unlocked liquor cabinet on the Titanic.
-Steph
On Friday I picked up my very own Hofner violin shaped bass, affectionately christened Lord McArtrey. At first he was a little standoffish and particular, but we've warmed to each other in the course of the week. What a mellow sound he holds within. And so accommodating to my limited grasp! A perfect match.
Somewhere late last week I fit in three movies and several hours of Bioshock 2. The movies were equally dystopian: 12 Monkeys, Enemy at the Gates, ....oh, and 20 Years After, but now I remember I didn't even watch that one. The the ones I did see, they were good. As for the Bioshock sequel, it's really more of the same. Which is great if you liked the first one.
Beth came and visited Tues and Weds. We jammed, we ate pitas, we went to Rocket Fizz (accidentally identified as "Hot Fuzz"), we walked all the way down to the river (it was very cold and I spilled my cherry soda and my littlest toe hurt), and the next day we Rock Banded and discovered a cute and cheap record shop. I helped tote a stereo!
Yesterday was also my mom's birthday! Now she is the ripe old age of fourteen. Congrats, mom! High school's gonna be the best days of your life.
I made Italian dinnertimes. The meatballs did not hold their shape, but they sure were flavored. Quite timely I ordered this British miniseries "Lost in Austen" for my mom, and it arrived and we watched it yesterday. This modern type girl sort of exchanges places with Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, and then she mucks up the story all kinds. It was great. I recommend it, especially to a P&P fan.
I rented the Jane Austen Book Club today, but we ended up just watching the Keira Knightly P&P instead. My favorite book. (Yes, I love cooking, sewing, and Pride & Prejudice)
Oh I guess also the other big thing this week was that that fool Donnie got hisself stuck up in the tree again. THREE DAYS he whines about it. Finally we borrowed a ladder and someone to climb it and the fool was coerced down. The highlight was, after Josh managed to pluck him from the tree, Donnie immediately put his little arms around the next nearest branch and continued to do that all the way down.
But I'm glad to report he's back to stretching and rolling as expected.
Flashforward continues to make me want to do violence towards the first thing I can physically overpower. They think they're sooooo clever. Ugh. Get a grip. James Callis is a pleasant surprise, but at this point his role is that of an unlocked liquor cabinet on the Titanic.
-Steph
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)