Evanescence on TRL….. Finally

Evanescence finally broke into the TRL countdown today. All I’m saying is what took so long? The song been out since late January when the first Daredevil trailers started hitting TV. Anyway congrats Evanescence. I know it’s kind of strange for a 26 year old guy to be watcing TRL but what can I say? It’s become a daily ritual. It comes on exactly an hour before I have to be at work so I just turn it one while I’m getting ready for work. No biggy. That’s logical isn’t it? Besides where else would I get to see the new J. Lo video every single day. Ummmm, J. Lo yummy!!!

New Links

Check out the new links. The first new one, Que Sera Sera, points to the clever, funny and totally punk rock blog of Sarah B. Sarah B. is definitely Internet famous. Just check out all the hits she’s gotten. 378,000 and counting. Thanks to Ismat (of The Text Obscured fame) for pointing me there. Sarah can always be counted on for funny, insightful comments that are both hilarious and off-the-wall. Next up is Digitally Imported. I’ve raved about DI in several previous posts. It’s one of the best streaming music sites I’ve found on the web. I mostly go there to listen to their Trance Music stream in all of its 128k streaming mp3 glory. Though the Trance channel is by far the most popular they’ve got a number of other channels to choose from. Of particular interest to some, like Wilson (of Racingmix fame) since he’s a Deep House Soldier, might be the the Deep House Channel. I’m not a Deep House head (at least not yet) but DI always comes correct so I’m sure it’s executed just as well as the Trance channel. Surprisingly the second most popular channel on the site is the Classical channel. No not classic dance music. Classical music. You know Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky…. Classical. Apparently a lot of people have that channel streaming to their desktops while at work. Heck I’ve even jumped over to it a few times though it’s usually all Trance all the time for me at work. Lastly we’ve got Ultratart. This is an intersting blog I came across back in December while visiting my friends Aaron and Carlton in Waco. I don’t remember how I came across it though. Ultratart is always an enjoyable read. Be warned though. The lady that runs it is in love with all things Alias (The TV show). She happens to work in the TV/Entertainment industry herself so a lot of her comments relate to entertainment topics. Plus to top it all off, she’s into sports too. She came in second on her NCAA Tourney bracket last month. That’s better than I did. I came in a respectible yet dissappointing 3rd place in mine. Well that does it for the new links. Enjoy.

Pardon My Dust

You’ve no doubt noticed a few changes in the layout of the blog. They’re mostly just adjustments to the way things are organized. I’ve added a books section, fixed the archives (that is until they break again), and organized the links a bit better. The links have been broken into two sections, the familiar recommended and the new blogging tools. All in all just minor cosmetic tweaks in preparation for the one year anniversary of The Okiblog. Hopefully I’ll eventually get around to totally redesigning the look of the page. Here’s a link to the front page of my “work in progress” personal website. The only thing working there at the moment are the links to this blog and my resume but I envision eventually getting around to completing it. If I can figure out how to do it, hopefully the blog will follow the same color scheme as the site.

Would Somebody Please Put R. Kelly In Jail Already!

It’s very sad that R. Kelly, a known pedofile, is still out walking streets. What’s even worse is his music is still selling like hotcakes. The man is awaiting trial but for a measly bail fee of $ 250,000 he was allowed to fly from Chicago to California to shoot his next music video recently. Both the site and the sound of the man is sickening to me now and yet he’s still everywhere. TV, radio, magazines, everywhere. He turns my stomach but apparently millions of fans still love the man to death. If he’s not convicted for his crimes it will be a travesty. His acquittal would not be a surprise though because he is a celebrity. The double standard for celebrities is annoying. If I were convicted of a crime and was awaiting trial, first off I’d be in jail NOT merely under house arrest. And the judge surely wouldn’t set the bail for me to get out of jail at a miniscule figure that I could easily afford (for me that would be like 50 bucks) so I could go play my weekly soccer games. Yet that sicko gets to roam the streets and get away with murder simply because he’s a no talent, derivative, Isley Brothers wannabe singer loved by millions for some unknown reason. Somebody please put R. Kelly in jail!!

When In Doubt, Go To The Source

(Note: This post refers to the previous post so you might want to read it first so that this makes a little more sense)

Well even though I still want to watch the movie again so I can draw my own conclusions and make my own interpretations, here’s a link to the Director’s Notes (for Better Luck Tomorrow) on what he feels the film is about.

http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com/html/index.php?id=about&ImgId=05&banid=notes

If you’re like me though, you may want to wait until you see the film before you read or check into what others are saying about the film (Of course if you’re reading this and have read the previous post this kind of goes out the window). That method always helps me approach a film without any preconceived notions or should I say without other people’s notions clouding my viewing, leaving only my vague impressions of whatever trailers, previews or synopsis I’ve seen before hand. I usually do this with movies that peak my interest immediately; (non-blockbuster) type movies that I’m sure I want to go see. If I don’t get that tingly sense about a movie but it happens to be one that friends recommend, I’ll read reviews and gather general impressions from others before deciding whether or not to watch. Sometimes times the tide of positive sentiment causes me to go against my first impression and see the film. For the tingly movies though I think I try to go into them as blind and uncontaminated by outside views as possible because I want to see if my initial senses about liking the movie pan out. Sometimes they don’t but most of the time they do. This criteria doesn’t apply to must-see blockbuster type movies though. I’m a movie junky so it goes without saying that I’ll see those. Outside views or not, I’m going to see those. Hollywood must love consumers like me.

Here’s a excerpt from the Director’s Notes:

” ….it was extremely important for me to create a dialogue after the film’s closing credits rather than give the viewer a traditional narrative closure. I’d much prefer the film to raise questions rather than present some sort of “answer.”>

Well Mr. Lin I’d say based on these last two posts, at least from my perspective, you can say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I’ve got numerous questions which is why I want to see the film again.

Better Luck Tomorrow

I’m in an odd mood. Contemplative would be the word to describe it I suppose. My contemplative mood was brought upon, in part because of what I did tonight. This evening I watched a new movie called Better Luck Tomorrow “Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals selectee“. Roger Ebert called it “extraordinarily accomplished and thought provoking”. I agree completely. It was indeed thought provoking. I’m just having a hard time putting my finger on what those thoughts are. In the absensce of concrete thoughts I guess I’ll just go with impressions. I really liked the film. It was fun and engaging while at the same time being jarring and downright disturbing. The visuals were stunning with bright colors and lighting contrasting the dark undercurrent that runs through most of the film. The characters are all likeable and believable. These characters (Ben, Stephanie, Virgil, Han, Daric, Steve and Han) could be real live people that you know. Better Luck Tomorrow is a film written by, directed by, and starring Asians but it’s not about Asians. The director Justin Lin did a good job constructing an atmosphere where the kids ethnicity didn’t matter. Saying that their ethnicity was a non-entity would be a bit much but certainly wasn’t the primary or even the secondary focus. These kids were typical suburban American teenagers dealing with things that typical American teenagers deal with….. with a bit of a twist. I’m going to see this movie again. There’s more going on under the surface that I got hints of but didn’t quite pick up on. Hopefully after a second viewing I’ll be able to nail down the thoughts it’s provoking. I was tempted to attach an overarching, heavy handed statement on the state of our society and our youth to the film but I don’t want to do that because I’m not sure that that’s what it’s saying. That’s what I like about film. Good movies are open to a myriad of interpretations. Bad movies simply suck. Everybody agrees on the suckiness and they move on.

There IS one solid thought that I was able to draw from the movie. Karin Anna Cheung is a beautiful woman. Oh my goodness is she beautiful!! And isn’t that a cool spelling variation of the name Karen? That leads to more reasons to see the film again. A) I’ll get to see Karin on screen again and B) hopefully I’ll be able to focus more on the ins and outs of the movie the second time around. Everytime she came on screen I couldn’t help but think…. Damn! She’s fine. Or Wow! She’s really pretty. Or what a beautiful girl. Let’s hope we get to see more of her in the future. She’s like a smaller, cuter version of Lucy Liu. Like her kid sister maybe….? Nah, I don’t think they’re sisters but maybe distant cousins.

The Snow Falling On Cedars Soundtrack is a good selection to put on when you’re in a contemplative mood.

Jocks to GIs

I’ve just spent the better part of the evening (while hard at work of course) perusing ESPN’s Jocks to GIs site. It’s basically a central point for communication between various sports figures and certain lucky GIs; a Pen Pal program if you will. A lot of the correspondence is really touching. It’s nice to see the human “regular joe” side of the athletes and get a glimpse into the everyday lives of troops participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Topics range from serious to silly. While reading the correspondence I couldn’t help but hear the voices of the some of the atheletes and coaches. When reading John Gruden’s emails I heard his scruffy Chucky voice and pictured the Tampa Bay coache’s sideline scowl. I couldn’t recall NASCAR driver Jeff Burton’s voice so I made up a stereotypical twangy, country boy voice for him. He is in NASCAR after all. Reading Shaq’s words I heard his rare serious tone. The one he only adopts when being truly sincere. I know coming from a military family he takes matters concerning our country’s Armed Forces extremely seriously. Anyway check it out when you get a chance and try to voice thing too. It brings a whole other dimension to the emails. While you’re at it, check out Jennifer Capriati’s (who’s sadly gotten less cute as she’s grown up. I’ll admit having a crush on her back when she was a teenage phenom. That was before the drugs. We’re pretty close in age if I recall) Pen Pal. She’s hot and a fighter pilot to boot. Plus she’s single. What a coincidence. I’m single too. Will you marry me?

No Voice

Smoke + screaming/singing at the top of your lungs = no voice the next morning. Anybody know any quick tricks for coxing overstressed vocal cords back to health? Rachel you’re a singer. I know you’ve got some tips. Of course the #1 tip is probably not to abuse your voice in the first place. But what the heck. Linkin Park only comes to town once a year. If that’s not an excuse to scream you lungs out I don’t know what is. Plus this will give me a chance to be cool for a while. My voice is naturally high but the only way I can speak and be somewhat heard right now is if I speak in a really deep bassy tone. Kind of like Barry White. Hello ladies!!

Be Still And Know…..

I woke up this morning to peace and stillness. My window is open a little bit to take advantage of the early spring weather. All I could hear was quiet. A few birds chirped here and there but they didn’t detract from the stillness. Instead they added to it. Laying there with my eyes closed the hymn “Be Still and Know That I Am God” came to mind. It kept coming up over and over again. It was nice to have about 15 or 20 minutes of peace and quiet. Then gradually noises from our man made world world started creeping in. First an AC unit kicked on. But it was fairly quiet. There was only a subtle disturbance of the stillness. Then a car passed by but it was a quiet car that went away rather quickly. Finally a train rolled through in the distance and that broke the stillness for good. I knew it was time to get up then. I think this morning is further proof that peace and stillness are fleeting in this world of ours. In a world of war, famine, death and suffering peace is out there. God’s peace is out there. We’re just too easily distracted by all the man made impediments we’ve put in place as a substitute for God. This morning was a nice contrast to last evening. Last night was noise. This morning was quiet. I last night’s concert immensely but peace and quiet is really nice too.

Linkin Park In A Word….. ROCKED!!

Linkin Park was incredible. I saw them here last year but they rocked waaaaayyy harder this time around. It was so much fun. I had a blast. If felt good to just let go and go crazy rocking out for over an hour. I’m so tired. Jumping, singing, screaming and waving your arms takes a lot out of you. But it’s a good tired. Almost like after a soccer game or a good, hard workout at the gym. Well I’ve got to get to sleep. The rest of the concert was just okay. Linkin Park more than made up for the opening bands who were mediocre at best. I’m so pumped. It’s taken me a while to calm down but the exhaustion is finally hitting. That’s good I suppose. I need to save some adrenaline for my soccer game tomorrow. It will be my first chance to play in almost a month. I can’t wait. This has been an awesome weekend so far. Hopefully it will come to a close with a win for my soccer team and maybe even a goal scored by yours truly. My eyelids are heavy. I can’t fight it anymore. I’m out.