Thursday, June 16, 2005
Andy Burns' Bachelor Party
I finally got the pictures from Andy's bachelor party up for everyone's viewing pleasure. It was definitely an interesting night to say the least and the next day was even more of an adventure. Here's a small sample of what you can look forward to in Burns' Bachelor Party photo album:
God I Love Coffee
Caffeine has become a staple in my life. I simply cannot function without it. I’ve tried giving it up in the past, but going through a couple of days of intense headaches and then feeling like I’m drowsy every waking minute for the next couple of weeks just isn’t fun. The last time I tried to kick the caffeine was probably a couple of months ago when I was sick.
It was easier to give up caffeine then since I didn’t want to eat, drink, or consume anything and I already felt like crap, but once I recovered from being sick I found that I still felt like I had no energy. I had (and have) such a strong addiction to caffeine that I pretty much need it to function. If I don’t get my usual daily dose I can expect to have a headache and not want to do anything other than crawl into bed and sleep.
Since it’s become such an essential part of my life, I decided to look up some information on caffeine and found out a few interesting tidbits that I hadn’t known before. When searching for caffeine resources, the first site I stumbled upon was this one. The first thing I saw that caught my attention was this:
I thought that caffeine had a more instantaneous effect as I can usually tell a difference in a few minutes, or at least I think I can… Even though it takes effect relatively quickly, once I start getting one of my headaches from caffeine withdrawl, no matter how I ingest right then and there, there’s no stopping my headache. I simply have to let it run its course.
Sometimes in order to counteract, or in an attempt to counteract, my headaches I’ll take a little bit too much caffeine. Usually it wouldn’t have too much of an adverse effect on me. I’d mostly just have to pee a lot more often. Apparently you can have some really adverse side effects from too much caffeine.
Now how come nothing sweet like that ever happens to me when I have like an entire pot of coffee at work? It would make sitting in front of my computer for 8 hours so much more bearable if I was tripping out seeing odd light patterns, thinking I was Buddha, and convulsing on the floor.
I think I may just have to experiment one of these nights and pop like 5 No-Doz tablets while drinking like 3 Red Bulls to see if I can somehow bring myself to see God or Elvis or Tupac or something. Not like I have anything better to do some nights…
It was easier to give up caffeine then since I didn’t want to eat, drink, or consume anything and I already felt like crap, but once I recovered from being sick I found that I still felt like I had no energy. I had (and have) such a strong addiction to caffeine that I pretty much need it to function. If I don’t get my usual daily dose I can expect to have a headache and not want to do anything other than crawl into bed and sleep.
Since it’s become such an essential part of my life, I decided to look up some information on caffeine and found out a few interesting tidbits that I hadn’t known before. When searching for caffeine resources, the first site I stumbled upon was this one. The first thing I saw that caught my attention was this:
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed through the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream, where it takes about 15-45 minutes to reach peak levels.
I thought that caffeine had a more instantaneous effect as I can usually tell a difference in a few minutes, or at least I think I can… Even though it takes effect relatively quickly, once I start getting one of my headaches from caffeine withdrawl, no matter how I ingest right then and there, there’s no stopping my headache. I simply have to let it run its course.
Sometimes in order to counteract, or in an attempt to counteract, my headaches I’ll take a little bit too much caffeine. Usually it wouldn’t have too much of an adverse effect on me. I’d mostly just have to pee a lot more often. Apparently you can have some really adverse side effects from too much caffeine.
Doses of over 750 mg (7 cups of coffee) can produce… a reaction similar to an anxiety attack, including delirium, drowsiness, ringing ears, diarrhea, vomiting, light flashes, difficulty breathing, [and] convulsions.
Now how come nothing sweet like that ever happens to me when I have like an entire pot of coffee at work? It would make sitting in front of my computer for 8 hours so much more bearable if I was tripping out seeing odd light patterns, thinking I was Buddha, and convulsing on the floor.
I think I may just have to experiment one of these nights and pop like 5 No-Doz tablets while drinking like 3 Red Bulls to see if I can somehow bring myself to see God or Elvis or Tupac or something. Not like I have anything better to do some nights…
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Yeah Right, I Doubt It
| Slow and Steady |
 They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it. |
Who'd Have Thought...
...that Wolverine would be the main focus of the next X-Men movie. As if Marvel doesn't whore him out enough in the comics by having him on every X-Men team, in his own book, on the Avengers, and crossing over into at least one book a month, but now it looks like he'll be the focus of X3, the next X-Men movie, or at least that's what the movie poster, pictured below, makes it look like.
On top of it all, Hugh Jackman signed on for a Wolverine solo movie that will come out probably sometime after X3. I'm starting to wonder if movie-goers will get as sick of the character as long time comic readers are. I pretty much dropped all of the X-titles this year, as well as Wolverine's solo book, because I was so damn sick of the character. Well, that and the writing on most of the titles was atrocious.
I'm hoping this is just a clever poster design and that the story will actually focus on the Phoenix or Dark Phoenix sagas like X2 set up at the end. Only time will tell. In the meantime I can't wait to see Batman Begins and I'm slowly losing all hope for Fantastic Four the more previews I see. Oh well, at least there's always Stealth, right?
On top of it all, Hugh Jackman signed on for a Wolverine solo movie that will come out probably sometime after X3. I'm starting to wonder if movie-goers will get as sick of the character as long time comic readers are. I pretty much dropped all of the X-titles this year, as well as Wolverine's solo book, because I was so damn sick of the character. Well, that and the writing on most of the titles was atrocious.
I'm hoping this is just a clever poster design and that the story will actually focus on the Phoenix or Dark Phoenix sagas like X2 set up at the end. Only time will tell. In the meantime I can't wait to see Batman Begins and I'm slowly losing all hope for Fantastic Four the more previews I see. Oh well, at least there's always Stealth, right?
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Busy Packing
Well, pretty soon now I will be residing in Rochester instead of in the ass-crack of nowhere which, if you don't know where it is, is about 5 miles beyond the land of nothing ever happens here. If you can't find either place, take a drive into the middle of a wide open area in southern Minnesota where there are no towns in sight and take a look around. Odds are you are probably close to where I grew up.
Today I'm moving most of my stuff up--my bed, my dvd's, my books, my clothes, my bathroom stuff, my video games, my display crap, and some other odds and ends. I'm leaving the computer and computer desk to take up another day, as well as my couch. I didn't think I'd have that much to bring, but I found I wanted to bring with me a lot more junk than I thought. For some reason as I was going through crap in my room and basement I kept thinking "I really want to bring this with," or "I can't possibly leave this here at my parents' place." So... yeah, I don't know how it'll work out, but I'm sure I'll be able to cram most of my stuff into my room and the basement and I'm sure some of it I'll realize I really didn't actually want to bring with.
Since I'm going to be busy moving, and since I felt like futhering my descent into catblogging, here's a picture of Stitch!
Today I'm moving most of my stuff up--my bed, my dvd's, my books, my clothes, my bathroom stuff, my video games, my display crap, and some other odds and ends. I'm leaving the computer and computer desk to take up another day, as well as my couch. I didn't think I'd have that much to bring, but I found I wanted to bring with me a lot more junk than I thought. For some reason as I was going through crap in my room and basement I kept thinking "I really want to bring this with," or "I can't possibly leave this here at my parents' place." So... yeah, I don't know how it'll work out, but I'm sure I'll be able to cram most of my stuff into my room and the basement and I'm sure some of it I'll realize I really didn't actually want to bring with.
Since I'm going to be busy moving, and since I felt like futhering my descent into catblogging, here's a picture of Stitch!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Sinai Beach - Immersed CD Review
Usually most Christian metalcore acts stick to a few particular labels, most notably Solid State or Facedown. Sinai Beach has, however, strayed from the usual stomping grounds of the Christian metalcore scene and aligned themselves with Victory after having previously put in time at Facedown. Until you actually focus in on the lyrics of Immersed, you’d never have thought that Sinai Beach was a Christian band, which is really how it should be. Being biased against a band simply because of personal beliefs instead of musical merits is beyond stupid, but unfortunately that’s not the type of mindset that many metalcore listeners possess.
Immersed is very much a straight-ahead, slightly southern rock inspired, metalcore album. Driving guitars, crunchy breakdowns, melodic choruses, double-bass pounding, and growling verses can all be found in abundance throughout this release. There is one small addition that Sinai Beach adds to the basic metalcore mix, however, and it is something that you don’t often hear in metalcore—electronics. “To the Church” is a prime example of how a small electronic flourish can actually add to a song instead of it coming off as sounding superfluous. As the chorus kicks in, right after a brutal verse, the electronic flair gives the song an air of modernity in an overplayed genre.
Beyond the electronics, there weren’t too many things that managed to stand out on this disc when compared against other contemporary metalcore releases, except maybe the melodic vocals of CJ Alderson. When screaming he comes across just like any number of metalcore frontmen, but when he’s singing he sounds an awful lot like Danzig. At times you’ll wonder when he’s going to start belting out “Mother…” Most of the time it’s only a passing similarity but on some songs, such as “Obedience through Desecration”, you’ll almost feel like there were guest vocals from Mr. Danzig laid down on the track.
When you really come down to it, this is yet another decent metalcore release in a genre that’s already teeming with a good number of outstanding, as well as many not-so-outstanding, bands. Sinai Beach manage to separate themselves from the pack, but only slightly, and that simply isn’t enough to push them to the forefront of the genre, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Is This What Being Grown Up is Like?
Life sure has a way of keeping me busy. Like I said in my last post, I wish I had more time in the day since I never seem to get what I want done actually done in a day. This week and next week will probably be a couple of the busiest weeks in recent memory.
Work has managed to get extremely busy and I’ve been bogged down in meetings and work associated with said meetings and work preparing for said meetings. I don’t mind it too much, but since I’m a people pleaser I think I get into trouble by agreeing to put too much on my plate that I end up stressing out or not being able to get it done as fast as I’d like. I hate telling people no, but I suppose I’ll have to learn how or else I’ll just burn out.
To add to my ever growing list of things I need to do, I now can add packing and moving. Sometime over the next couple of weeks I will be moving out of my parents’ house and into the basement of a friend who lives in Rochester. It’ll definitely be wonderful to not have the 40 minute commute every morning and every night. It’ll also be great to be closer to the friends I have in town and to be able to have the ability to hang out whenever instead of just after work. On the downside… I really don’t want to leave my home.
Living with your parents may not be the ideal situation for people graduating from college, but I certainly loved it and am glad I did. I love living with my parents. They’re great. We get along great. Everything works out great. It just finally came to the point where I felt like I wanted to be able to be with friends and whatnot more. I’m sure I’ll be back home often enough, but it’ll be different living away from home.
So, yeah, things are busy. I need more than 24 hours in a day. I want things that are ambiguous in my life to be not ambiguous. I want work to not be so busy. I want to just instantaneously be living in Roch instead of having to pack and move. I want a lot of things and I have a feeling I probably won’t get any of them any time soon.
Work has managed to get extremely busy and I’ve been bogged down in meetings and work associated with said meetings and work preparing for said meetings. I don’t mind it too much, but since I’m a people pleaser I think I get into trouble by agreeing to put too much on my plate that I end up stressing out or not being able to get it done as fast as I’d like. I hate telling people no, but I suppose I’ll have to learn how or else I’ll just burn out.
To add to my ever growing list of things I need to do, I now can add packing and moving. Sometime over the next couple of weeks I will be moving out of my parents’ house and into the basement of a friend who lives in Rochester. It’ll definitely be wonderful to not have the 40 minute commute every morning and every night. It’ll also be great to be closer to the friends I have in town and to be able to have the ability to hang out whenever instead of just after work. On the downside… I really don’t want to leave my home.
Living with your parents may not be the ideal situation for people graduating from college, but I certainly loved it and am glad I did. I love living with my parents. They’re great. We get along great. Everything works out great. It just finally came to the point where I felt like I wanted to be able to be with friends and whatnot more. I’m sure I’ll be back home often enough, but it’ll be different living away from home.
So, yeah, things are busy. I need more than 24 hours in a day. I want things that are ambiguous in my life to be not ambiguous. I want work to not be so busy. I want to just instantaneously be living in Roch instead of having to pack and move. I want a lot of things and I have a feeling I probably won’t get any of them any time soon.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
I Wish...
...that my cell phone would ring longer before it goes right to the voice mail. I end up missing some calls because just as I get to my phone, the caller is already kicked to the voicemail.
...that I could work outside. Being in an office during the best part of the day, from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, is sometimes quite depressing. How can you not stare out the windows and wish you were out playing in the beautiful weather.
...that I wasn't so fickle about music. No matter how good a cd is, I usually get sick of it after a week or less so I always need to have new music around to listen to. Then when I do get new stuff to listen to, my fickleness leads me to dislike half of it or be completely unimpressed by anything that doesn't initially catch my ear.
...that I was back in college. I don't think I'll ever stop feeling this way.
...that I didn't get hungry when I'm nervous, anxious, worried, or bored because I'm almost ALWAYS one of the three and trying to shed a few pounds these last couple of weeks has been torture and I'm sure attempting to lose a few pounds the next couple of weeks will be just as bad.
...I had more time to just sit and write. That, and when I think about something I want to write about, I wish I'd remember it later on when I actually got to a computer instead of completely blanking.
...there were more hours in the day. Every day I go to bed not having done at least one thing I had wanted to. Be it not reading a comic book I had wanted to, not getting a chance to talk to someone, not exercising as much as I wanted or at all, not getting to play with the kittens, or any other number of things. There's just too much to do every day and often I am simply overwhelmed.
...some things in my life were more stable. Some things that I've previously depended on and counted on are no longer quite how they used to be and it's hard adjusting, and it's hard to contemplate the possibility that some of the foundational pieces of my life may no longer be as big of a part of my life as I want them to be.
...I could just magically transport my family and our farm to the outskirts of Rochester so that I'm close to the city, yet I'll still be at home. If I move, I know I'll be leaving a big part of my life 40 miles away, yet if I stay I'm going to continue to stay isolated from all of the friends I have in Rochester and the events I like to participate in. Lose-lose situations can bite my ass.
...that God would quick screwing around with me while I sleep. I want one night where I'm not either haunted by nightmares, tortured by being able to dream yet not remember them in the morning, left completely awake with no change of falling asleep, or sleeping so hard that I miss out on calls I promised to get.
...my cd burner at work would stop burning flawed cds. It seems like only one in every three burns comes out ok.
...I had more friends.
...I had closer friends.
...for things I can't have.
...that I didn't feel as small, left out, insignificant, and alone as I do.
...I wasn't as needy as I was.
...I was more attractive.
...for one thing, really--the chance to completely open up, let myself and everything that's inside of me out into the open, and to have it not be a burden on those around me.
...that I could work outside. Being in an office during the best part of the day, from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, is sometimes quite depressing. How can you not stare out the windows and wish you were out playing in the beautiful weather.
...that I wasn't so fickle about music. No matter how good a cd is, I usually get sick of it after a week or less so I always need to have new music around to listen to. Then when I do get new stuff to listen to, my fickleness leads me to dislike half of it or be completely unimpressed by anything that doesn't initially catch my ear.
...that I was back in college. I don't think I'll ever stop feeling this way.
...that I didn't get hungry when I'm nervous, anxious, worried, or bored because I'm almost ALWAYS one of the three and trying to shed a few pounds these last couple of weeks has been torture and I'm sure attempting to lose a few pounds the next couple of weeks will be just as bad.
...I had more time to just sit and write. That, and when I think about something I want to write about, I wish I'd remember it later on when I actually got to a computer instead of completely blanking.
...there were more hours in the day. Every day I go to bed not having done at least one thing I had wanted to. Be it not reading a comic book I had wanted to, not getting a chance to talk to someone, not exercising as much as I wanted or at all, not getting to play with the kittens, or any other number of things. There's just too much to do every day and often I am simply overwhelmed.
...some things in my life were more stable. Some things that I've previously depended on and counted on are no longer quite how they used to be and it's hard adjusting, and it's hard to contemplate the possibility that some of the foundational pieces of my life may no longer be as big of a part of my life as I want them to be.
...I could just magically transport my family and our farm to the outskirts of Rochester so that I'm close to the city, yet I'll still be at home. If I move, I know I'll be leaving a big part of my life 40 miles away, yet if I stay I'm going to continue to stay isolated from all of the friends I have in Rochester and the events I like to participate in. Lose-lose situations can bite my ass.
...that God would quick screwing around with me while I sleep. I want one night where I'm not either haunted by nightmares, tortured by being able to dream yet not remember them in the morning, left completely awake with no change of falling asleep, or sleeping so hard that I miss out on calls I promised to get.
...my cd burner at work would stop burning flawed cds. It seems like only one in every three burns comes out ok.
...I had more friends.
...I had closer friends.
...for things I can't have.
...that I didn't feel as small, left out, insignificant, and alone as I do.
...I wasn't as needy as I was.
...I was more attractive.
...for one thing, really--the chance to completely open up, let myself and everything that's inside of me out into the open, and to have it not be a burden on those around me.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Crack Adventures!
It's amazing how the times change, isn't it? Back in the 50's or so when this was published it was a horror book. Now if you picked up a comic that was titled "Crack Adventures" at your local shop, it would probably be about Snoop Dogg's latest attempt to find some more chronic with his hommies or some stupid crap like that. Yeah, anyways, I thought it was a really funny / interesting comic cover. So there.
Richard Cheese - Aperitif for Destruction CD Review
There’s a reason you don’t hear that type of thing every day—you’d get sick of it pretty damn fast. There’s a fun novelty to hearing some off the wall songs covered by a lounge band, but it’s definitely not something you’d listen to every day, or every week or month for that matter. It’s something you can only take in doses. With that said, Richard Cheese’s latest disc is another fun disc full of lounge covers consisting of a variety of popular songs. From Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta Know” to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” over to 2 Live Crew’s “Me so Horny” and Slipknot’s “People Equal Shit” you have just about every musical base covered.
What’s going to make this cd either an addition to your vast collection of undeniably quirky releases or a disc to avoid like a rabid howler monkey on crack is how much you can tolerate a cd full of lounge covers. Seriously, there’s not a whole lot else to say about this disc—it’s a band covering popular songs… lounge style. There are a couple of fun moments that break out of this mold, but for the most part every song blends together leading this cd to act best as nothing more than a novelty item.
Truth be told, though, this is a fun disc for the few times you’ll probably listen to it. Hearing Richard impersonate Stephen Hawking on “The Girl is Mine” is comical… for a little bit. U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” done as a mambo is seriously a lot of fun. Bel Biv Devo’s “Do Me”, on the other hand, is easily the worst track on the cd since most of it is the voice of the producer telling Richard that “do me” is two separate words instead of one, at which point he decides to go into a 30 second cursing rant. As for the rest of the songs, they all follow basically the same pattern of slow, laid back lounge.
Richard Cheese. Lounge covers. Either you like the quirkiness of his efforts or you don’t. I’m pretty sure the four paragraphs above won’t convince someone who hates lounge to buy this disc or vice versa, so enjoy it if you want to or leave it on the shelf if you choose—you’re making the decision, not me.
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