Oh my G@d!!!

I'm so sorry to any faithful readers out there!
I've been a bad boy, and I haven't written in my blog for over a week. Multiple factors have had a play in this.
1.) Work (even if I don't do too much of it) is particularly draining, especially when you make it a 10 hour day.
2.) My sister, who insists on going out to concerts in little clubs and bars when I don't have too much of an interest to go. Though Jude and Duncan Sheik do put out some pretty good music (though Duncan, you really need to get rid of the beard. It doesn't suit you!).
3.) School (yes, I'm taking an online class), where I have to try to make the time to self-study, which is hard because I never studied in school. I only needed to go to classes, and somehow I osmosed what my teachers were lecturing about. If I miss a lecture, I never really learn that material. So we'll see how my online class goes.
4.) Video games. Yes, that's a pluralized "games." Why do they decide to release three video games that I was interested in buying all in the same week? It's madness. They could have spread out the releases a little better so I wouldn't become a shut-in in my bedroom glued to my Playstation 2! (In case you are wondering, the games are "Ultimate Spider-Man (Limited Edition)", "X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse" and "Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects")
5.) Nothing to really write about since that hateful witch Kelly Monaco lost the Dance Off competition, and John O'Hurley rightfully assumed the throne as the best dancer on "Dancing With The Stars."
6.) Because of the aforementioned Duncan Sheik concert, I missed the first episode of the second season of "Desperate Housewives," because I forgot to time record it, and time recorded "Family Guy"/"American Dad" instead, so now I'm out of the loop again (no spoilers please).
7.) Too much money spent on e-Bay. Too many darned Marvel Legends/Spider-Man/X-Men/Fantastic Four figures coming out for me to either try to find in stores or bid on.
8.) I'm a bad bad person who gets lazier with every waking moment, and I haven't made the time to write in here, much less clean/straighten my room, fix my broken computers, exercise, learn to cook, etc.

So there, that's my past week in a nutshell. See you in the morning!

There is justice in the world

In a time of crisis (Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, planes with stuck landing gear), there's nothing like a little escapeism into "reality television." So on that note...

It's official! John O'Hurley has proven that he has what it takes on the dancefloor, and won the rematch. He should have just won this thing in the first place. It apparently was a close match though, with only a 1% difference between them. I could tell Kelly was desperate as a housewife when she came out in that red getup that looked like someone took some scissors to some bondage gear that she had hiding in the closet. Though it was a little disconcerning seeing John in that much spandex with Charlotta in that "disco" leotard.

But John and Charlotta was the only couple to get a perfect score that night. And I do agree that the judges (that had no direct influence on the votes, but just an indirect effect on the voters) were all over the place, liking some things, and not liking others at the drop of a hat.

So here's to the next group of celebrities to dance off.

Oh, and here is a link to the USA Today article on the results.

Come on people!!!

John and Charlotta just got a 30 out of 30 (PERFECT!) for their second dance (the waltz). Come on people, there's only 40 minutes left to vote for them!!! Please, I beg of all three of you that may happen across my blog!

Rumble!!!

Cue up the West Side Story dance music! There's only three more days until Tuesday, when my favorite John O'Hurley, and the Wicked Witch of the West, Kelly Monaco, reunite for a no-holds-barred dance off competition. Even though all the supporting players will be back (all the past contestants and judges), this one will be decided by only us, the audience. So please don't fall for Kelly's "I'm so innocent" statements and demeanor, or her ever shrinking dresses (she's all "John will probably win because he's doing Broadway now" when I know she's saying it as a desperate plea for sympathy. Don't fall for it!!!). We all know who really should have won the first time around. So don't dissappoint me for voting for Miss Congeniality by voting for the person who has consistently danced well and gave all 100% of himself in every performance.
And most of all, ABC, please disclose the final voting numbers by the audience this time around. Even though you can actually screw around with the numbers, at least give us some numbers that we can argue over, over that crock of you know what the last time around, when you wouldn't reveal the numbers for the audience votes.

Style and Substance

Here's just a little plug.
I would highly suggest that you all pick up copies of the new "Directors Label" series, this time with four volumes of DVDs featuring the works of Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, and Stephane Sednaoui. I would like you all to pick these up so that more directors will release DVDs. I love music videos, and I do believe that these are a dying art form. Well, music videos will always be around as long as there are artists to promote, and a TV screen to watch (or internet, or cell phone, or...). But making a good music video that isn't just people running around with girls clad in bikinis, shaking their boobies and bottoms, all while dousing themselves with $300 bottles of champagne is a lost art. I like it when the video complements the song by adding another dimension to the song, or places the song in context. It doesn't necessarily need to tell an explicit story, but it puts moving images to convey the feelings and emotions to what is portrayed in the song.

I always thought Mark Romanek was one of the masters of the music video form. He created videos with extreme style and sophistication, and used effects to enhance a video, not to be the effect for the sake of being a cheap effect. I am happy that we will get videos for Janet Jackson's "Got 'Til It's Gone," Madonna's "Bedtime Story" and "Rain," Beck's "Devil's Haircut," and Nine Inch Nail's "Closer (the uncut directors version!)" preserved on DVD format. Even better is that you get his commentary on all of his videos, and the artist's commentaries on most videos.

Stephane Sednaoui's videos have been cute and quirky (like many of Michel Gondry's), sometimes going with black and white (Bjork's "Big Time Sensuality" and Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Give It Away"), but when he does color, he's almost like David LaChapelle, with gigantic bursts of color and imagery (REM's "Lotus" and U2's "Mysterious Ways" and "Discotheque (though it says that "Discotheque is a new version, so we'll have to see. Hopefully they won't use the "rock" version of the song and use the original "disco dance" version). The only thing missing is the inclusion of Madonna's "Fever" and Towa Tei featuring Kylie Minogue's "GBI (German Bold Italic)," two more great videos that should have been included, but omitted because too many similar elements are used in Massive Attack's "Sly."

When I think Anton Corbijn, I immediately think of U2, as that band and him go hand in hand with a very long history together. But he has done a lot of other videos too, for other bands songs that I really have never seen on MTV. With U2's "Best of 1990-2000," I'm glad that he's only featuring two of their videos, and is showing many of his other works, including Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" and The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done." He's great at letting his videos tell an abstract story that goes along with the music. I especially love what he did with Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence." The almost surreal image of Dava Gahan running around the rolling countrysides decked out in a king outfit and hauling around an adirondack chair is comical, mysterious, and interesting.

And a last surprise inclusion is Jonathan Glazer, who I don't really think of as a music video director (he's actually done a lot of commercial work, and directed films like Sexy Beast and Birth), even though his video for Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" was played everywhere when it first came out. Also, he directed the very disturbing video for UNKLE's "Rabbit in Your Headlights" (you'll have to really see it to believe it, but it is a little upsetting. Even I was a little taken aback when I first saw it on MTV very late at night.) He's the "Chris Cunningham" of this set.

So anyways, these come out today, the 13th of September (time goes by so fast doesn't it?). Also don't forget to pick up the first three volumes that include Spike Jones (lotta Beastie Boys stuff), Chris Cunningham (Bjork's "All is Full of Love" and Madonna's "Frozen," along with that "Come to Daddy" video by Aphex Twin), and Michel Gondry (Bjork's "Human Nature" and a bunch of White Stripes stuff). You can also get a Hype Williams DVD, which isn't officially a part of this set, but it does collect 10 of his videos (I hope they will release him as a part of this collection, but with more videos like No Doubt's "Ex Girlfriend" and Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson's "What's It Gonna Be")

And here's hoping for future volumes with Jonas Ackerlund (Madonna's "Ray of Light" and Prodigy's "Smack My B*tch Up," with a full original version of Madonna's "American Life"), Matthew Rolston (Garbage's "I Think I'm Paranoid"), Francis Lawrence (Gwen Stefani's "Whatcha Waiting For," Jennifer Lopez's "Waiting For Tonight"), Floria Sigismondi (Marilyn Manson videos, Christina Aguilera's "Fighter," The White Stripes' "Blue Orchid," with bonus director's cut of Sarah McLachlan's "Sweet Surrender"), David Fincher (Madonna's "Bad Girl," "Express Yourself," and "Vogue," Nine Inch Nail's "Only"), and Joseph Kahn (way too many videos to remember them all right now, because it felt like he was directing everyone from Britney Spears to U2 for a while there!). It would also be cool to see Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Smashing Pumpkins' "Perfect" and "1979", Red Hot Chili Peppers's "Californication" and "Otherside"), Big TV! (dido "Here With Me," The Wallflowers' "Three Marlenas"), Jake Nava (Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," Mariah Carey's "Shake it Off"), Herb Ritts (Madonna's "Cherish," Chris Issac's "Wicked Games"), possibly Mary Lambert (many Madonna videos, and some Janet Jackson videos), and David LaChapelle (Moby's "Natural Blues," Christina Aguilera's "Diirty").

Stuff I was gonna do

I was thinking about writing a post about the Jude concert I went to last Thursday. Or I could have talked about the anniversary of 9/11. Or I could have gone into something deep and meaningful about the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Or I could have gone into my personal review of Sin City (which I finally was able to watch today). But instead, you the reader will have to put up with my whineing and moaning about how my main computer is being a major pain. I have yet to pinpoint what is exactly wrong with the darned thing.

I have rounded it down to two major hypothesis. It could either be the two extra sticks of memory I have added are bad. But it seems like I am having too many software problems for it to just be a memory problem. It could also be that some really bad spyware/worm/virus has corrupted the registry file to the point that I may have to restart my whole system from scratch. I am hoping it has not come to this, but it is getting very annoying to not be able to use my printer, not being able to install programs successfully, not being able to shut down my computer, and a general sense of lagging of the entire system.

I wish I was more computer literate so I can actually find out what's wrong with greater accuracy, but I think right now, even if I did know the answer, the solution would still probably involve me reinstalling something, if not outright wiping everything clean and starting over.

I wish the stupid thing would just work!

You're getting very sleepy...

I'll write a new post later today. I PROMISE!!! CROSS MY HEART!!!

I just need to get some sleep now. It's been a luxury that I've not been able to enjoy the past couple of days. Maybe if I get off those Madonna message boards to try to glean some new info (or maybe new song snippets) on her upcoming song and album (note, it is rumored that the album release date may chance from November 15 to November 8), I could get some sleep.

Steve Jobs is after my money again!!!

Well, in case you haven't heard, Apple Computers is at it again! Steve Jobs is slowly turning my sister and me over to the world of Macs, one gizmo at a time. (I predict we will have a Dual 2.7Ghz G5 by the end of next year! That's about $3000 folks! And that's not even including the price of a monitor and keyboard/super mouse!)

Today, Apple is beginning to stream a press conference that announced many new and exciting things, sure to thin my wallet and shrink my bank account.

First, there will be a new smaller iPod, called the iPod nano. It is less than half the size of an iPod mini, but with all the current storage capacity and functions and even more features than it's lumberous brethren. Makes my original monochrome screen U2 special edition iPod look like a monolith in comparison. And to believe, it's only been a mere four years since the very first generation iPods came out. The worse part of it, is that in addition to being released in Apple trademark white, it will also be released in sleek and stylish black. Well, there goes $249 from me. Why did I even bother getting a shuffle? Oh well, it will make a great present for my dad.

Second, all of Madonna's albums are now available on iTunes. No small feat, coming from a woman who resisted till the bitter end about releasing her catalogue on downloadable digital format (now if only she would release all her remixes (including rare "white lable only" ones) in a big "digital box set" like U2 did, I would be a happy camper!) It seems that you'll be hearing her ABBA sampling new single, "Hung Up," everywhere in the coming weeks, as it is also being used for money grabber number 3.

Motorola and Apple are releasing the ROKR E1 phone, which is a new cell phone with iPod shuffle like capabilities. This little baby will store 100 songs, come with a color screen and full connectivity with iTunes, and probably be the next big thing since the Motorola RAZR V3 (which I only purchased about a month ago). And in tying everything together, the commercial for the ROKR will be featuring "Hung Up" as the main song, with Madonna and a bunch of other musicians, ranging from Iggy Pop to a facsimile of "Biggie" Smalls, in the commercial.

To get a preview of Madonna's new song, as well as info on the new ROKR, go to the main Motorola webpage, or to listen to the instrumental version of the song, head on over to "Hello Moto." (Edit 9/13: It looks like the websites took down the song samples (probably because it is still about a month before the song goes to radio). I'll let you all know when they put them back up again.) To see the full Steve Jobs press conference, which includes news about Harry Potter books on iTunes, a chat with Madonna, a preview of the new ROKR commercial, and a performance by Kanye West, follow this link here.

"I'm hung up on you"

Sorry that there was no recent updates. I've had a busy week, working my usual 40 hours (four tens), plus an extra 12 hours for the holiday. I don't know about you, but 52 hours in a row (when you don't normally work that much) can be very taxing, especially with it being as busy as it was on Labor Day. Boy, did I labor!!!

Anyway, I did something naughty today. I've downloaded and listened to two clips of the new Madonna single, "Hung Up." I really shouldn't have, but I did. And I am excited as hell for this song to hit. It sounds kinda like a harder version of Gwen Stefani's "Whatcha Waiting For." But it is also a throwback to Madonna of the 80's. It's gonna burn up those dance floors (of clubs that I never go to, since I'm such a wallflower). I can't supply links to the clips (if you really need them, I guess you can find them yourself), but don't wait to get it when it comes out in mid-October, and the whole album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, drops in November!

I should be sleeping

Hello all. Sorry no updates recently. I've been kinda tired.

My sister and I saw the Bob Dylan exhibit (among other things) at the "Experience Music Project" the other day. I really can't say I gained any new insight or appreciation about him, other than what I already know about him from my "History of Modern Popular Music" class at the UW a few years ago. I maybe would have if we had more time. I wasn't expecting the both of us to take so long in there. I was thinking two and a half hours tops, but we ended up staying a little over three hours. It was about 45 minutes until closing time. We still had things to do afterward, so we had to rush through a bunch of stuff. The only real insight that I learned is that I cannot play the piano. The way that you are supposed to position your hands and fingers, it seems like my thumbs are just not long enough. I am, however, able to keep rhythm well enough to play drums, and I can also play guitar if I strengthen my left hand ring and pinky fingers. But I knew that ever since my days in orchestra, where I had trouble with those same two fingers while playing the viola.

O.K., now I'm rambling on about something that absolutely no one really cares about, so I guess I'll log off and go to bed! 'Night!