vol. 33

so it's 4:32 and i've been up for an hour -- my sleep has been messed up all kinds of crazy all week... i'm exhausted but can't sleep...this morning i was woken up by a dream that really freaked me out -- and why is it that we can't remember the dreams that we enjoy but the ones that freak us out are the ones that stick with us? at least i'm getting the chance to catch up on the dvr...

• as much as i like the office, 30 rock may now officially be the best show on tv -- tina fey's writing is biting -- alec baldwin's acting and tracy jordan's delivery definitely have me hooked -- and i love that you can watch an episode over and over because there are so many quick lines that jump out at you differently each time...
  

• watching the pens has turned into a major frustration -- one game you see them doing all of the little things right -- then the next they'll come out for the first period playing like the game before only to fall flat the next two periods and get thumped --
  

• i'm not really sure whether or not they're going to make it to the playoffs, but playoff hockey is an awesome time of the year to experience in pittsburgh -- of course, i don't know what it's like elsewhere -- but there's just a buzz here every other night --

• i'm trying to figure out if the pens are playing more aggresively because of bylsma or if it's just that they're happy because therrien's gone --
  

on a completely different note -- i was extremely, extremely disappointed in the winner of top chef -- hosea won and in the process it may have brought on the show's downfall -- he just isn't that good -- period -- stefan crushed all season long and in the process, in my opinion, somehow got colicchio pissed at him and that was that --

vol. 32

• apparently somebody has gotten to the bottom of the whole jeff reed paper towel tantrum

• honestly, i'm quite surprised somebody in the steelers' organization hasn't sat reed down yet to explain to him that he's with the wrong team if he wants to keep acting like this...

• then again, he is clutch...

• track starts officially in 3 days -- this is always a crazy time as we wait to see who shows up and who doesn't -- seriously, i could write a book with the excuses we hear for not coming out -- and that's all they are - excuses...

• and on another note... i shudder to even think about this...

• i started playing beat the streak on espn.com finally -- and of course, my streak is still at 0 after i was idiotic enough to pick an nba game -- i don't even like the damn nba! but the cavaliers just seemed like a lock to this guy...

vol. 31

sorry, ran out of 'dan pink-ism's', but this is where it would have gone...

• debbie snider sent me an email with a link to pilobolus' recent performance on conan -- if you don't know who they are, like me before yesterday, just know that we were really missing out on some entertainment and just a general wow factor as well...

• pilobolus on conan (sorry for the ad starting that one...)
  

• pilobolus introducing different movie titles at the 79th oscars (little miss sunshine and the devil wears prada are my favorites -- nick, i think you'll like snakes on a plane...)

vol. 30

leave an imprint...
-- dan pink

• last night, when i was completely unable to sleep, i caught a comedian on the bob and tom show (which i didn't even know was on tv now) -- i'd like to tell you that i remember the comedian's name, but i can't -- i should have written it down for sure -- one of the things he was talking about was his obsession with big wheels -- it was really, really cool to be taken back down memory lane with this guy -- he has to be around my age because the way he was talking about them was just right on for me -- i couldn't tell you how many big wheels i went through in my life, but i would venture to say it's in the double digits -- we used to come flying down the guthrie-side sidewalk then make a monster left hand turn on to oakland, always narrowly avoiding the fire hydrant, but there was very little chance at getting far enough left to miss the piece of sidewalk that had been lifted by the tree's roots -- that slate sidewalk was responsible for many a hole in the front wheel of my big wheels...

• as much as i loved my big wheel, i always wanted a green machine, though...it was to the big wheel what mongoose or supergoose bikes were to schwinn's back in the day...
  

• travis pastrana, who is an absolute nutjob, is currently having some fun on a "big wheel" -- i put that in quotation marks because what he's riding only resembles a big wheel in name -- this thing is all kinds of souped up -- at any rate, he recently dropped in with one on a monster ramp, then proceeded to complete a back flip -- quality isn't that great, but you'll get the idea for sure... that was his third attempt and he nailed it...

• loyal readers (ha, yeah, right...) definitely know of my penchant for dan pink lately -- his blog is great and always has some good links on it -- this one almost had in me in tears yesterday -- i haven't figured out how to embed the video directly to this blog yet, so you'll have to go here, then scroll down to the post titled naming rites -- directly under the banner for boston.com, you'll find a video about steelworkers who are erecting a new hospital for pediatric cancer victims -- if that story doesn't pull at you, i'm not really sure what will...

• my brother nick has started a blog (finally)... he's got a great name and a great look at what it took to get there... very, very important note: i am in no way responsible for nick's grammar and spelling!!!! i definitely failed him along the way... at any rate, go here...
  

vol. 29

make excellent mistakes...
-- dan pink

• last week i provided a post and some pics of the cupcake art at the smithsonian american art museum -- the smithsonian's own website (which is a very good one, by the way) has an interview with pastry artist zilly rosen, who did the exhibit -- it's a great look behind the scenes of this project...her team spent more than 200 hours on everything -- the video can be found here

• i had a great sunday -- went to the apple store in shadyside, rei at southside works (i could spend hours in there -- and i've yet to meet somebody who works there who isn't totally into "it," and then pf changs at the waterfront (mmmm... mongolian beef) -- part of what made it great was the music they were playing on 80s on 8 (sirius) -- some lesser known eurythmics (love is a stranger), the pretenders (brass in pocket), boys don't cry's i wanna be a cowboy and then asia's heat of the moment, which reminded me of a great acoustic version that i found on youtube -- great version -- great voice -- definitely gets you to listen to a song in a different way...
  

vol. 28

killing me softly...

• i wrote in an earlier post about how much i like both roberta flack's and the fugees' versions of killing me softly -- nick went and burst my bubble on this song by sending me this link...thanks, nick...

• tremendous pens-flyers game today with the pens coming out on top 5-4...just a fun one to watch as they both went back and forth throughout

• gotta love advertisers -- especially when they can do things with food like this...

• smithsonian had an interesting article on five films that redefined hollywood -- pretty good read...
  

vol. 27

i truly think i'm cursed in that i'm unable to sleep in -- had the opportunity today and knew that it wouldn't matter -- i predicted 6:30 and it was 6:24 when i looked at the clock...

• i've joked with some kids about creating a new t-shirt with baby jesus wearing a snuggie -- something along the lines of "even baby jesus wears a snuggie" -- the snuggie commercials just amaze me -- so tacky, but they keep your attention, for sure -- i guess a ton of parodies are coming out now -- this one was pretty good, though...

• espn has been conducting a poll asking people to create their mt. rushmore of states -- it's complicated by the fact that you are making choices based upon whether the athlete was originally from the state or just played here -- at any rate, my choices were arnold palmer, mario lemieux, roberto clemente and wilt chamberlain -- i would argue that palmer is in the top 5 all time of his sport and truly brought a whole new fan to the game, lemieux is at least the second best hockey player of all time and saved hockey in pittsburgh, clemente, well, if you know me, you know that i think he's the greatest (and i'm leaving out the humanitarianism end of things...) and chamberlain, even though i can't stand the nba anymore, has to be top 5 of all time as well... espn has just released their "findings" and they have clemente, lemieux and chamberlain -- rather than palmer they have joe paterno -- i just have problems with having a coach on the mountain's face -- obviously, as far as pennsylvania is concerned joepa is THE coach -- i just don't think that a coach should be on it -- anyway... espn is showing the top 5 states and pennsylvania is one of them -- here's rick reilly going over pennsylvania's mt. rushmore...

• i'm a big fan of top chef on bravo -- it's addicting to say the least, and i'm such a picky eater, that i don't know that i would eat any of the food they create -- and they truly are creations... i don't want to give things away, but what they did this week really pissed me off -- i hate when reality contest-type shows obviously have an agenda on who they are trying to get to the finals...hate it...

• nick turned me on to mondesi'shouse -- great blog about pittsburgh sports and events -- and he provides some great links -- got a kick out of this one today: this is why you're fat...unfortunately, i eat way more stuff like that than i do what they're making on top chef...
  

vol. 26

Persistence trumps talent...
-- Dan Pink

• i'm not a big alexander ovechkin fan, but you have to admire this goal from last night -- the clip also shows an even better goal he had against phoenix a couple years ago...

• i think that's a pretty good example of persistence AND talent and what having both can do for you...

• dave matthews is coming to town in june -- if i'm making that one, it'll definitely be the first night -- second night for dmb is almost always a jam night and i had the (mis) fortune of sitting through this a long time ago -- tony and i went and together i think we were the only two sober people in the place -- that didn't help matters --
  

• beck... don't even think for an instant i'm going with you on the second night!

• i got into a "debate" with a student over a pretty heated issue last week over the death penalty -- i don't like to do this sort of thing at all, but the kid just wouldn't leave it alone -- his side was deeply rooted in his religious convictions and he feels as though we have no right to play the role of god -- fine... but this is what cracked me up -- his statement that NO christian could possibly in their right mind be for the death penalty -- so it was brought back up again (by him) yesterday when nathan was back -- now, nathan's a pretty religious guy, and is definitely a christian -- but it was interesting to see how this kid was much less adamant about his position (at least in his argument with me) once he found out that nathan (a person i think he truly respects) was very much for it -- i wonder if he thinks less of nathan now or if he might possibly rethink his stance on it...
  

• it was also interesting to hear how he justified the cops shooting the seton hill student even though i pointed out that they were technically "playing god" when they decided to pull the trigger... (for the record -- i truly, honestly believe the kid got what was coming to him and i feel no remorse for him whatsoever -- pull a gun on a cop -- let alone shoot at them -- and you get what you deserve...)

vol. 25

it's not about you...
-- dan pink

• i tend to spend a lot of time in Barnes and Noble -- i've actually been asked to leave at the end of the evening as i was lost in my music and what i was reading -- really not so sure i should be admitting that -- at any rate -- the two pics to the right were taken there the other night -- now, there's a lot of really cool stuff on their shelves -- but directions on how to use a superball??? the white album puzzle??? c'mon now...

• if you've read this at all, you know that i'm in to voices -- today's voice of the moment is dolores o'riordan -- you might not recognize the name, but she is/was (are they still together??) the lead singer of the cranberries -- there's something very comforting in her voice to me -- saw them in concert quite some time ago and they were actually very good live, which kind of surprised me... their biggest hit, which i still love: linger

vol. 24

Think strengths, not weaknesses...
-- Dan Pink

• finished The Soloist last night -- it was an extremely worthwhile read...in one of the later chapters, Nathaniel, the musician, asks Steve Lopez, the journalist the following: "Does this mean to you what it means to me?" -- that line hit me on so many levels...
  

• just another example of Lopez' ability to describe the way music can reach a person: "It was beautifully evocative, beginning with an expectant swell that suddenly pauses early in the first movement, like an infatuated suitor who stops just short of saying too much. The music was hope and longing, a poem to the idea of romance and the promise of love. My appreciation of music had grown immeasurably through Nathaniel. I felt it as much as I heard it, taking note of the mood changes and wondering at the themes. I marveled at the genius of creations so universal and lasting that they can survive death and war, the clamor of invention, the whims of style, the turn of centuries." -- beautifully written, just beautifully written...

• i had a really weird dream last night (when i was actually able to get to sleep -- fell asleep after the pitt game then woke up at 12:44 -- last time i looked at the clock it read 3:12...) i was in the downstairs faculty lounge and there was somebody (i knew at the time, but i can't remember now) who was lying on the couch over by the pop machines who had a gun trained on me as i sat where i normally sit -- i assured him i wasn't going to shoot him (i guess i had a gun as well...) and then he got up and walked out... absolutely no clue where that came from...

• i am almost mystically drawn to watching mma and ufc fights -- and i almost always turn them off before they're decided, my stomach turning...
  

vol. 23

there is no plan...
-- dan pink

roger hooked me on to dan pink after he saw him at a conference last week -- this is the kind of guy that we should have for an in-service -- not freakin' feedback lady -- i went out, no, rushed out friday afternoon and picked up both of his books -- i finished the adventures of johnny bunko in about half an hour -- it's written japanese, manga-style and was very entertaining, while also a great read for anybody looking for a little kick to the pants...there is no plan is pink's first lesson -- more to come over the next several days...

• many of you know just how much i like pointillism and works done in the pointillistic style -- pink has a blog entry on his front page dealing with something i would have loved to have seen -- and you have to love his shout out to chuck close, one of my all time favorites... pics are now on the side in case that link didn't work for you... i think pink nailed the description by saying "think chuck close meets betty crocker"
  
• i mentioned last week that steve lopez, author of the soloist, has a way of describing classical music in a way that really reached me -- here's a sample: "Napoleon Bonaparte was the original inspiration for Beethoven's Third Symphony, but as legend has it, the composer's opinion of the man changed when he saw the liberator become a tyrant. he called his symphony Eroica, which means heroic, and intended it as a tribute to courage rather than to a single man. This is information I've gotten from Nathaniel, a patient teacher who seems to enjoy being able to offer me the gift of his knowledge. The Eroica begins with two short blasts that blow you back into your seat. Then, having gotten your attention, Beethoven gets the string sections going with a conversation that swoons and swells. There's romance and suspense in the piece, the anticipation of a bold and defining statement... The third was once described as a composition in which dark clouds dissolve into sunshine... The second movement tiptoes into the hall like a rumor of death...
• for emphasis, i've italicized the parts that really strike me...
• i will see that performed live at some point, some where...
  

vol. 22

well, the god i believe in
isn't short of cash, mister...
...okay edge, play the blues...
-- silver and gold, u2

it's weird how things can be coincidental -- i've been jotting some things down while listening to music or watching a movie for upcoming blog entries -- i had those lines above written down -- i absolutely love them -- they came out in a time when we saw tv evangelist after tv evangelist begging for money -- i don't remember what the one's name was, but i do remember him claiming that god had told him that if he didn't raise a million dollars in a set amount of time, then he would die -- and the money came in...i guess i should get to the coincidence -- i got an email from nick last night telling me that i had to check out a video -- it was a youtube clip of u2 and bb king playing when love comes to town live -- keep in mind that, to the best of my knowledge, nick and i have never spoken about this...

at any rate...

• if you haven't seen it already, you really need to do yourself the favor and watch u2's rattle and hum -- it's worth every single minute -- the specific lines above are from a song called silver and gold -- that clip is the section from the movie itself...edge's guitar solo at about 5:50 is just killer...
  
• you haven't heard i still haven't found what i'm looking for until you hear it backed by a choir from harlem...
  

vol. 21

how many times do i have to try to tell you
that i'm sorry for the things i've done
but when i start to try to tell you
that's when you have to tell me
hey...this kind of trouble's only just begun...
-- why annie lennox

• i'm currently reading the soloist -- it's about a reporter who comes across a homeless man in LA who is playing a two-stringed violin -- turns out this musician had attended julliard 30 years earlier and is schizophrenic -- steve lopez is the reporter and wrote the book -- it's an easy read, when i'm able to get the time to read it, but lopez does an incredible job of describing the music that is being played -- never really heard classical music described quite this way... it's soon to be a movie with robert downey, jr. and jamie foxx -- here's the trailer... and take note of what song they have playing through the beginning of the trailer --as i've said before, pretty tough to not love some stevie wonder
  
• it's valentine's day, people - and just in case you didn't take care of the one you love just yet, perhaps you could print out one of these handy dandy cards for that special someone...my personal favorite is number 11 -- yeah, on second thought...i wouldn't suggest doing that...
• i'm currently watching a concert on palladia that i dvr'ed called peace one day -- it's a big fundraiser type concert and has had bryan adams, annie lennox, lenny kravitz, john legend (tremendous voice) and peter gabriel on -- i've seen gabriel before, so i knew he would be good -- he had me almost in tears, though, while singing father son -- lennox was up and down -- but i was really impressed with bryan adams -- his voice is true to what we've all heard -- he played run to you acoustically and a version of heaven with a violin accompanying him that was very, very good --
• having youtube at your disposal makes life much easier (and much more entertaining as well)
  

vol. 20

today's post will deal with a magical set of brothers...(okay, one of them was magical...)

• for yet another demonstration (or psa, if you will) that you shouldn't do drugs, simply click here

• it should come as absolutely no surprise that letterman absolutely crushed him on there - but dave took it to a new level -- and phoenix deserved it...

• i have to admit that i never really bought in to joaquin phoenix's talent until walk the line -- and he killed that, for sure -- the opening scene is one of my absolute favorites -- and his voice sure isn't too bad, either -- i will go on record as saying that his version of jackson (with reese witherspoon) is better than johnny cash's is...

• trying to live up to his brother's legacy has to have just taken over his every move -- he's lost it -- and speaking of river phoenix, if you're looking a good movie to check out, see running on empty -- i don't think you'll be disappointed with his performance... i just found this tribute to his performance in the movie -- pretty cool... and if you haven't seen stand by me, well, then shame on you...

vol. 19

• just in case you were wondering where i am going to be on august 21st, i have but two words for you: inglourious basterds

• have to say i'm pretty excited about this news, although i am figuring that josiah can mess up mexican food for sure...

• angelo, this one's just for you... michael stipe news ... providing that it's true, i'm not sure what's worse -- his behavior or his beard in that pic
  

vol. 18

definitely random today -- i think it took me about 5 minutes to realize that my alarm was actually going off and that i wasn't dreaming it... i kind of felt like this

• is this real life? absolute classic...
  
• i saw that clip a couple days ago and thought it was funny, but didn't spend enough time with it -- i lost it when looking at it again last night -- the christian bale mashup with it is pretty good also, but i'm trying to keep things clean here...
• this leads me to my two other favorite videos of all time -- first runner up goes to the haitian weather man... then i don't need a jacket...
• and, hands down, the greatest ever can be found here -- i have watched that four second clip hundreds, if not thousands, of times -- i have absolutely no clue whatsoever what is being said, but it doesn't matter -- it kills me every single time i watch it...

vol. 17

very sluggish this morning, and not really sure why...

some sites for you:

• read about svein tuft in sunday's ny times -- definitely going to follow him now... pretty interesting story about how he's made it in cycling (well, made it this far, i should say...)
• if you've ever been sucked in to mtv's the real world or any of their other "reality" shows, then you might appreciate this -- heck, you might appreciate it even if you haven't fallen victim to mtv... it's called the district and it's being put out each week by newsweek -- i haven't had the chance to check out week 2's edition yet, but definitely liked the first one
• speaking of mtv and old videos (do they even show videos any more?) -- one of my all time favorites is take on me by aha -- while this isn't exactly new, somebody has been producing "literal versions" of old videos -- another that this same group did was for tears for fears' head over heels -- so you get words to exactly what's going on in the video itself -- pretty cool... (unfortunately, more and more imitators are coming out with their own -- and i've yet to see one that's been done as well as these two...)

vol. 16

had to add another post -- and it's worthy of getting its own...

kings of leon are coming to the palumbo center on april 22nd...it's a wednesday night, but i really don't give a damn...

vol. 15

i got no patience
and i hate waiting...
--jay z

i'm not exactly sure what it is that has me wired this way, but i truly think i have no patience whatsoever...you have no idea how much of a struggle it is for me to calm down at times -- especially while driving -- thankfully, i don't act on it, but i'd like to kill people some times with the way they drive -- i have tried very, very hard, especially since new year's, to address this within myself -- but it's very difficult -- i always ask my kids what superpower they would like to have and you get a veritable smorgasbord of things -- most choose flying, though... if i could have any superpower, it would be to be able to transport myself like they could on star trek --

• i like coldplay and all, but there's a part of me that's glad they didn't win a ton last night at the grammies -- their best work is behind them, in my opinion
• this being said, it's nice to see that kings of leon won for best rock performance by a group for sex on fire -- that link takes you to their site of videos -- scroll down on the left...
  
• i also don't understand how robert plant and allison krauss, whose voice is dreamlike, won again after having won an award last year from the same album...
• i'm absolutely positive that my brother nick is jacked that john mayer won an award for say -- i almost spit out my drink when i heard this song while in new york last summer and nick started going off asking "that girl to just say it already so i don't have to hear him asking anymore" (or something close to that...)
  
• beyond the chorus to that song, i really do like the lyrics -- i will expand on this at a later time...

vol. 14

definitely a good time had by all in dc...

• i've been to the holocaust museum probably 10 times -- every single time i learn something new --
• but every single time the smells of the cattle car and the shoes just crush me...
• it's pretty cool to go through a museum with somebody else, somebody new, to get their perspective on things -- i was much more impressed with the west wing of the national gallery this year due to going through with higg -- his knowledge of the history behind many of the works definitely helped my understanding...
• the voyage of life series by thomas cole never really jumped out at me before -- it was one of the most impressive pieces i've seen in a museum in quite some time, though -- his use of light is phenomenal and trust me, the pics on that website or the ones i've posted along the right side here don't even come close to giving it justice -- created in 1840, the colors have held up to the test of time, to say the least...
• i wasn't as impressed with the works in the east wing as i have been in the past, although they did have a new chuck close on display

on another note...

• nick sent me a pic yesterday that showed one of the print ads for the grammies that i mentioned in a previous blog -- it was a poster bill of thom yorke -- i looked for some more information on his, specifically, this morning and found this... there's the 30 second commercial, which is pretty cool, but you can also click on the print ad and it will enlarge for you...i've put a small version of it to the right, if you're too damn lazy to click on those links...
  
• great to see what many of his influences have been -- and tremendous to see that rem's fall on me is one of them...

and the line of the day? two words: gold teeth...

vol. 13

hard for me to believe that stan lee is 85 years old...

and i really miss dunkin' donuts right about now...

vol. 12

simplicity...

so springsteen was fighting with his record company over lip synching -- they wanted him to do it and he was refusing...he puts out brilliant disguise, my favorite of his, by the way, and they fight and fight and fight over the video for it -- and this was their compromise -- there's a backing track of everything but the vocals being played -- and he sings over it as they're taping -- one take and he essentially threw his middle finger up to the record company execs -- gotta love it...

think he cares about what he's doing??

enough said...

vol. 11

given a chance, i'm gonna be somebody
if for one dance, i'm gonna be somebody
open the door, it's gonna make you love me
facing the floor, i'm gonna be somebody...
-- kings of leon

what a great night -- for two reasons, mainly...

• found out that ray lamontagne is coming to the palace of all places on april 3rd... thank god beck saw this before tix sold out... seriously, other than the kings of leon, i don't know who i would rather see in a venue like this more than lamontagne...
• went to the pens game last night -- the played like crap for 2 periods then malkin put the team on his shoulders and brought them back to win -- again, thanks beck for what you're doing in getting these tickets -- it's really cool to be able to go to these games, but it's even better knowing that you're playing a role in getting kids to a game that they've never seen before -- that's what it's all about -- and it's very rewarding...

other observations from the game...

• jeff reed dropped the puck last night and then ended up sitting 4 rows in front of us -- i gained a lot of respect for what somebody with this level of celebrity in pittsburgh has to go through -- people were relentless, to say the least...
• roethlisberger was there also last night and sat in lemieux's private luxury box -- give's you an idea of where reed is on the food chain...
• jeff reed in pittsburgh is a celebrity(and rightfully so...)
• jeff reed in any other city is a tool bag... (and that's one of the cleaner pics out there of him...)
  

vol. 10

and he stole from the rich
and the poor
and the not very rich
and the very poor...
-- morrissey

three tremendous sites for you today...

• www.jacksonpollock.org man, i could waste hours and hours on there -- wish it were easier to print some things out, though...
• second site deals with a graphic designer and children's lit author/illustrator named christoph niemann -- to be honest, i don't even remember what it was that got me to him -- but i'm glad it did -- he has a blog on nytimes.com and it's a good one -- here's the one that originally caught my attention -- the title for it is i lego ny -- definitely a cool perspective -- you can see some more of his work on the blog (others that i enjoyed were: the boys and the subway as well as new york cheat sheets)
• the grammy's are coming up -- normally, i really don't care -- and, honestly, i really don't care this year, either... however, they've got a pretty cool ad campaign going on -- you can find some examples by clicking here...the ads will be on the left side of the page... the article gives some more information -- kind of like photomosaics made with the titles of songs/artists' names instead of photos...

have a good one...

vol. 9

memories fade
but the scars still linger
-tears for fears

on my way in to school this morning i heard kiss the dirt by inxs -- at one point, after this song came out, inxs was truly on top of the world -- what i was thinking about, however, was how much i loved hearing these guys for the first time -- i can't remember if it was this song or if it was shine like it does, but it was pretty cool to know who they were BEFORE kick came out and they exploded...the album is called listen like thieves... check it out sometime...

and it got me to thinking of other groups that i liked that got popular but who i had been listening to for a little bit prior to their making it...

• first is the most obvious, and the one i'll spend the least amount of time on -- U2 -- while i certainly liked most of their stuff after it, the unforgettable fire was the first thing i had heard of theirs -- and it's still one of my favorites -- especially that song...
• new order found some moderate success with their second album, brotherhood... it was pretty darn good, but i started listening to them with low life and was hooked -- love vigilantes hits you hard to open but the song that really gets me every time is elegia (as much as i love voices, i can definitely appreciate the occasional instrumental -- and if you've seen pretty in pink, then you'll understand my love for this song even more...)
• tears for fears hit it big when everybody wants to rule the world came out -- but they had an album out before it called the hurting that killed me... i used to listen to it almost every morning while delivering newspapers -- my favorite on there is either memories fade or watch me bleed...

vol. 8

wow...still waiting on my heart to slow back down to a normal rhythm...

• so i was going nuts waiting for the game to start yesterday and i went to the waterfront to see the wrestler -- very good -- don't know that it's best picture of the year, good, but it's definitely very good... mickey rourke, on the other hand, was incredible -- it was very difficult to watch him looking the way that he does now, though -- it's almost like he's a caricature of himself...see the pic to the right for visual proof to this...
  
• aronofsky used some interesting techniques throughout, but took his audience to be idiots in what was about to be the best, most poignant scene in a movie in quite some time -- instead it was like being hit over the head with a metaphor... (don't want to ruin it for people who might see the movie -- if you've seen it, let me know -- would love to know your opinion on it...)
• by the way...i absolutely HATE studio wrestling -- don't let that prevent you from seeing the movie...
  
• i'm a creature of habit when it comes to ordering the same exact thing in restaurants over and over... i know that i probably miss out on some good stuff, but if there's something i know is guaranteed to be good, i'm going with rather safe than sorry... that being said, there aren't many meals out there better than pf chang's mongolian beef -- can't beat it -- but i'm sure that there are a ton of other great things on that menu...
• when all else fails, musically, you know you can always go back to a little otis redding
  

vol. 7

something more on voices...

• i remember, vividly, the first time that i heard a sinead o'connor song -- it was mandinka and i heard it on double x, a station that i come to appreciate more and more every single day even though it hasn't existed for probably 15 years... this song was okay, but the voice was what got me -- started listening to her as her career took off -- and then she ripped up the pic of the pope on snl and her career was officially over... for a better representation of her voice, check this one out -- i first heard it in the movie in the name of the father, with daniel day lewis -- the song is called you made me the thief of your heart -- didn't realize it until i just got the above link that bono co-wrote it...

just wondering if this type of thing has ever happened to you...

• yesterday, i finally started listening to this cd that beck gave me -- one of the songs on it was killing me softly by the fugees -- i used to love that song -- partly because of lauryn hill, but also because i remember it being one of my mom's favorites when roberta flack sang it -- she'd listen to it all the time... anyways, i couldn't tell you the last time that i heard either version, even though i have them both on my ipod... so i'm sitting in barnes and noble yesterday listening to music while reading some magazines -- and the flack version came on while i had it set to shuffle (i currently have about 4,500 songs on this ipod -- when i set it to shuffle, i get a very weird mix...) as if that wasn't weird enough, after seeing the movie yesterday and driving around running, doing some errands, the fugees version came on my satellite radio in the car on the 90s station... hadn't heard either version in probably 6-7 years and then in one day, 3 times... weird...

on the topic of cover songs...

• i still make the claim that there are only 2 covers that were better than the originals... kirsty maccoll's version of a new england kills billy bragg's (however, in my opinion, that wouldn't take much -- sorry, angelo) and cake's version of i will survive just absolutely destroys the original... destroys it -- sorry, ladies, your anthem was much better when covered...

• youtube is an incredible thing, but the links i've put up today don't have a tremendous level of quality... sorry...