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Snapshot
17 Jan2010
Ever I since I started this blog, I haven’t really documented stuff that’s been happening in my life. Maybe it’s because I feel that nothing significant ever happens to me. Or just that when they do, blogging it isn’t the first thing that comes into my mind. In any case, I’ve decided to give a snapshot of what life is like on this date, January 17, 2010.
A few days ago, I was involved in a public bus accident. I was about to get off at my stop when, all of a sudden, the bus comes to a screeching halt. Now in Taiwan, this is not uncommon. Public buses drivers slam on the brakes like there’s no tomorrow pretty much every time I ride the bus. But this time, they braked especially hard. Apparently some senior citizens flew around on the bus like clothes in a washer, but I didn’t notice. I got off the bus and looked at the damage. Four cars. Niiiiice. And then I walked away (Not very eventful, no?).
I’m in day 4 of treatment for my toe infection. After years of constant toe stubbing, my toe has decided to screw me over with an infection. And it hurts like a bitch. Hopefully in 2 or 3 days it’ll be back to normal, but at the moment it’s not too promising. It’s still red, bleeding, and still hurts like a bitch. Hell, I can hardly walk. Again, not very eventful.
With schoolwork largely out of the way as a second semester senior, I’ve taken it upon myself to watch a bunch of movies I haven’t been able to watch normally. In the past few days, I’ve watched Abre los ojos, [REC], You Only Live Twice, Being John Malkovich, and right after I press “Publish,” I’ll be watching The Hurt Locker. I tried watching Avatar on 3D IMAX yesterday, but little did I know that the tickets would be sold out. And I thought Taiwanese people didn’t watch movies! Or at least that’s what I inferred after watching This Is It in a half-empty theater during the first-showing. Shows how much I know.
I’ve also been having these crazy dreams lately. But of course, I’ve been having so many that I can’t really separate them from each other. But I recall…getting shot by a Yakuza gang…that was strange. I’m racking my brain to try to remember some more, but alas, I cannot (UGHHH THIS IS KILLING ME!!!).
And at the moment, I’ve been playing the Jason Mraz: Live at Java Joe’s album on repeat. I never liked Jason Mraz too much, but after listening to his early live albums, I’ve gained a newfound respect for his music.
I’m pretty much too lazy to come up with anything substantial to blog about, so this is the best I can do for now. Bear with me.
- In: Random Musings| Self
For a split second
8 Dec2009
I was in the shower washing my ears when for just a split second my ears were covered and I heard the sound of the water hitting my head. For just a moment I was transported back to when I was 7 (or any other arbitrary little kid age). I can hear the raindrops smacking the metal gutter on the other side of my bedroom wall. I can feel the rain hitting my rain jacket, like bullets pelting me. I stick my tongue out and drops of rain fall into my mouth. I can see the miniature ripples in the puddles, white bubbles scintillating in a frenzy. “Don’t jump in the puddle!” For just a moment all my worries disappear as I stare at rain drops overtake other rain drops on the car window as we’re driving down 101. Going nowhere. And everywhere at once. For a second I feel safe. And in a second I’m transported back to reality.
- In: Random Musings
This Is It.
28 Oct2009
After much anticipation, the day finally came for the This Is It premiere. First off: The film starts off with a “disclaimer” of sorts: “For the fans…” This is very true. It truly is for the fans primarily. As seen in my previous blog post, I was at first a bit hesitant about what the film would ultimately be like. Concert movie? Documentary? Director/Producer Kenny Ortega was right when he described it as a “musical mosaic.” Wall-to-wall music? Check. Concert experience/rehearsal footage? Check. Documentary-style interview? Check. And with perfect balance. Everything said about the movie in the press was very true. The audience gets sucked into the reality of the movie and is suspended within it. It is very easy to forget the tragic end to the story while watching This Is It, as no mention of it is made. The movie makes you wanna groove while watching it; it gives you a feel for what he was soon going to show the world. All the classics were there: “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” “Smooth Criminal,” “I’ll Be There,” “Black or White,” “Thriller,” “Billie Jean;” they were all present. With pieces of various rehearsals strung together seamlessly, the movie flowed together flawlessly. My only gripe was that Michael wasn’t in his full fighting mode. That isn’t to say he didn’t look fabulous — he did — but for example, in “Billie Jean,” the moonwalk in the bridge was completely out of sight. The fedora was nowhere to be seen. But alas, “that’s why we have rehearsal.” A moving tribute, This Is It is enough to (temporarily) satiate the fans’ hunger, and even for the casual MJ-listener, it is an interesting view inside the mind of a perfectionist, detailing the intricacy of the planning behind his comeback tour. Worth it to watch in theatres? For novelty and if you’re an impatient fan. Worth it to watch on DVD? Definitely. 4/5
This Is It?
25 Oct2009
Mark your calendars. Next Wednesday, October 28, 2009, is the world premiere of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which will either be the most amazing concert movie experience of all time or another crappy rehash work on the part of Sony. Honestly, I have no idea which of the two it’s going to be. The way Sony’s been handling the marketing for this film makes no indication of what to expect. So far, the clips they’ve released show some cuts of rehearsal footage mixed with intermittent interviews from producers and choreographers, which leads me to suspect it’s going to be mostly documentary rather than a run-through of the entire production. Maybe they’ll save that for the DVD release? The title track off the soundtrack, “This Is It,” is so sub-par Michael Jackson that I was shocked when I heard the song. Michael definitely would not have intended this to reach the public’s ears. Why else did it go to Safire? Just because of the eponymous first three words of the song, Sony decided to release this track? I’m going to go into the first showing of This Is It at 5:05 PM with an open mind. Hopefully, Sony and their people will get their act together and not screw up what could potentially be one of the most memorable movie events of the year. Or they could screw it up, like Invincible or Visionary. I’m certainly hoping otherwise.
It’s over.
16 Oct2009
Tuesday night was the season finale of Hell’s Kitchen Season 6. If you know me, I am an unabashed Hell’s Kitchen fan. To say I was slightly disappointed with the finale would be an understatement. Where’s the drama? Where’s the barrage of cursing? Where’s the tension? And most importantly…Where the hell was beef wellington this entire season?! I don’t really mind that Dave won. In fact, I was rooting for him from the get go. Then again, there wasn’t very much to choose from. The final two was down to 1) one armed bandit with a fiancé to support and 2) Kevin, the family man with a cute kid. Damn. How can you decide without feeling like an insensitive bastard for not supporting the other guy??
Next, where the hell was Tennille in this season finale? I was just dying to see her come back and complete sabotage her team (throw them under the bus, in her own words). But instead we were treated to Suzanne, this season’s answer to Lacey. Too bad Suzanne didn’t really do anything. What was the point of having the old contestants come back if they didn’t do anything? Why not just give them more sous chefs?
Overall, season 6 was…bearable. From the season premiere back in July, I was not all that impressed. I can’t wait for season 7 to come because, well, because I’m not sick of the format yet, and also because I’m hoping that Gordon Ramsay and the writers at FOX are going to change things up so every episode isn’t just another neck-to-neck-win-by-1-point challenge and a dinner service that goes awry after good starters. And then the person who gets eliminated is the one who doesn’t get nominated. I pretty much described every episode in season 6. Alright, Fox. Time to get your act together and make Hell’s Kitchen season 7 actually sizzle, unlike the cold pan that was season 6.
(Damn. Nothing to look forward to on TV every week now.)
- In: TV
We Be Trippin’
10 Oct2009
Road Trip: June 2011
Planning map after the jump Read the rest of this entry »
- In: Road Trip
[Music Review] This Is Us – Backstreet Boys
9 Oct2009
Well, I finally got my paws on the latest Backstreet album. I’ve learned one thing in the process. New releases in Taiwan come out the afternoon of the release date. How messed up is that? Not only is it counter-intuitive that one the release date, the actual CD isn’t out until the day is half over. Weird and annoying!
Now onto the album itself. I don’t know why people railed on their last release, Unbreakable, which I found to be a pretty decent album. Way better than Never Gone in my opinion. Almost on par with their debut US album in terms of sing-song material. This Is Us completely strays from the pattern of the past two albums, abandoning the light rock sound in favor of autotune. They say it’s more true to their roots (Europop), but the resemblance is slight. With that said, the new sound isn’t bad per se, but it’s different, and only two songs on the album would I consider to be appropriately titled under an album titled This Is Us. The autotuned songs are good, but the real gold here are the songs “This Is Us” (surprise?) and “Bigger,” which hearken back to the Black & Blue era, or at least sort of. Nothing since Black & Blue has every gone back to the Millennium sound. I don’t even think they could replicate that, or would that even be desirable in the current pop music landscape. It’s a shame that with the autotune, the harmonies can’t come out as effectively. That’s what they’re known for, isn’t it? Now don’t get me wrong, This Is Us is another solid effort from the BSB. I can’t wait to see them on tour next year. But for the next album, either go back to the Unbreakable sound or the Black & Blue sound, I think one album of autotune is enough. 3.5/5
- In: Music