Saturday, February 28, 2009

You Tube Video of the Day

Once I saw this I knew I had to post it. Enjoy.

Friday, February 27, 2009

You Don't Nomi


Last night I watched a documentary about Klaus Nomi called The Nomi Song. For having only known very little about his life and music before hand this documentary really made me a fan. I first learned of Nomi when I heard his version of The Twist. I instantly loved it because it was way out there. Upon finding out that he did this in the late 70's early 80's I was astonished. His music was and still is way ahead of its time. He was an opera singer who had the voice of an angel. His falsetto was a head turning soprano. If you never head him before you would think it was a woman singing. His voice was only part of what made Klaus, Klaus. His presence, cloths, and personality added to his mystery. Klaus did an amazing job of making us believe that he descended upon Earth from outer space. He even performed with David Bowie on SNL!(thats where the Venture Brothers probably got their tie in) Unfortunately, Klaus died from AIDS in 1983. I can only imagine how scary it was to have AIDS back then. It must really have felt like a death sentence.

I would give a few thoughts and opinions about his music, but I only know a few songs by name and the rest by tune. Sometime in the near future the internet will have bestowed it upon me so after listening to it I will let everyone know. I do recommend watching the documentary if you are at all interested in this amazing person's life and music.

Here are a few videos of Klaus, the only way to truly get his whole performance:


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Ultimate Judas Priest Playlist


Recently I have been listening to a lot of Judas Priest's discography. I have spent a few days trying to assemble an ultimate Judas Priest playlist for my ipod. Here is what I have gathered so far. Just as a disclaimer this list is in no particular order and is incomplete as are all good playlists. You will notice some albums have multiple songs that made it to this list while others have a few or none. It is not that I hate the tracks that didn't make the list. On the Contrary, if a song isn't on here it is because it didn't stick out to me when I was creating this, so please let me know if I passed over a great song. I am always striving to add to my playlists.

Format: Song title(album title)

Deal with the Devil (Angel of Retribution)
Breaking the Law (British Steel)
United (British Steel)
Living After Midnight (British Steel) <-- My favorite Priest song of ALL time
Freewheel Burning (Defenders of the Faith)
The Sentinel (Defenders of the Faith)
Defenders of the Faith (Defenders of the Faith)
Evening Star (Hell Bent for Leather)
Hell Bent for Leather (Hell Bent for Leather)
Take on the World (Hell Bent for Leather)
Green Manalishi -With the Two-Pronged Crown (Hell Bent for Leather)
Prophecy (Nostradamus)
Awakening (Nostradamus)
Revelations (Nostradamus)
Four Horsemen (Nostradamus)
Nostradamus (Nostradamus)
Pain Killer ( Pain Killer)
Rocka Rolla (Rocka Rolla)
The Ripper ( Sad Wings of Destiny)
The Hellion (Screaming for Vengeance)
Electric Eye (Screaming for Vengeance)
Riding on the Wind (Screaming for Vengeance)
Bloodstone (Screaming for Vengeance)
Screaming for Vengeance (Screaming for Vengeance)
You've Got Another Thing Coming (Screaming for Vengeance)
Diamonds and Rust (Sin After Sin)

Please let me know what you think, I am always open to opinions and suggestions.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Websites to view instead of work

I came across this website by hearing of it from several different people, as well as Internet musings. It is www.fmylife.com . Fuck my life is like a micro blog that people pose situations that they were/are in which they state how fucked their life is because of it. You as the viewer can either just read them and laugh or cast your vote to either agree that their life is fucked or that they deserved what has happened. Simple enough premise with endless work hours of hilarity. Topics range from sex to everyday events, the possiblities are endless! So why not waste the next 4-5 hours after lunch on a few good laughs at others misfortues!

Here is an example post :
Today, a customer that I've been waiting on for years came into the restaurant after a long absence. I said to him, "Hey man, it looks like you lost a lot of weight! How'd you do it?" He replied, "I got cancer." FML

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Free Gmail Stuff

So a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Gmail's blog in which I learned that they were giving away free stickers! I promptly wrote out a self addressed, stamped envelope and sent her down range. Around three weeks later I had a little package of joy waiting for me on my desk. "They have arrived!" I proclaimed to no one in particular. The stickers included are: one glittery looking Gmail logo about 2 1/2 inches in length (my favorite one), a unicorn rainbow night scene with this belongs to ___@gmail.com written on it. I'm sure it was a nod to the 90's era children stickers that adorned everything in my school back then. And a gmail keyboard shortcuts sheet of stickers for me to make my boring HP keyboard all pretty like and important looking. It was topped of with a preprinted post-it note stating "Enjoy the stickers! - the Gmail Team" with the logo stamped on it. All in all I must say I am very happy with this marketing idea they have. It has brought a bit of joy to a regular hum drum average day at the grind. If you want your very own set of Gmail stickers just send a self addressed, stamped envelope to:
Send me some Gmail stickers already
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, CA 94039-1420

I highly recommend getting yourself a set while the getting is good. Here is a pic of mine.


Monday, February 23, 2009

Brad Van Pelt



Last week former Giants player Brad Van Pelt passed away due to a heart attack. He was 57. He was drafted by the Giants in 1973 as a standout linebacker. He and Lawrence Taylor, Brian Kelly, and Harry Carsons made up the "Crunch Bunch." Van Pelt was elected to the Pro Bowl 5 times.

A few interesting facts, Van Pelt wore the number 10 despite the rule that linebackers had to choose from a number in the 50s or 90s, due to the new numbering system the NFL instituted. He chose the number 10 because that was his number for all sports in high school and college. The reasoning behind giving him the number 10 was he would be an alternate kicker who would play as a linebacker sometimes. The Giants stuck with the latter. The number 10 is what got him noticed as it was a weird sight to see it on a defensive line. After college he was fortunate enough to either play in the NFL or in MLB. He had the choice to be drafter by the St Louis Cardinals( baseball) or the New York Giants (football).

Van Pelt had the distinct pleasure of having played in four differnt home stadiums as a Gaint, Yankee Stadium, the Yale Bowl, Shea Stadium, and Giants Stadium. He left the Giants in 1983 a full 3 years before their first Super Bowl victory season. In 2005 he was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Below is a picture of the Crunch Bunch, an essential poster for any Giants fan growing up in the 70s and early 80s. Rest in Peace Brad you will be missed. Photos are taken from Giants.com, I hope they don't mind.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Fitness Update

An update on my fitness progress. Since I started this get fit mentality a few weeks ago (somewhere between 3 and 4 weeks ago) I have lost a combined grand total of 7 lbs. This makes me happier than a pig in shit because it shows that everything I am doing is actually working. I have had people come up to me and say that they can see a difference in how I look. My routine isn't all that complex either. I try to run at least one mile and then walk one mile every other day. Daily I do around 100 sit ups on my fitness ball (everyone should get one it rules), 25 push ups using push up stands (which hurt like hell!), and side bends with 25 pound weight to help get rid of love handles. I have been thinking of adding more exercises to the routine as well as upping the current ones. Eating right is also doing its share. I really am amazed at how well I am sticking to this new mentality and how it is actually paying off!

I am getting closer and closer to my goal of 165lbs and a flatter stomach. I even noticed that my biceps are starting to come in better, and even doing random things throughout the day I can see the definition lines in my arms. When I do eat garbage food it actually makes me physically sick to my stomach and I can feel it moving around in there. This is a wonderful deterrent because most of my life junk food was a huge staple. I haven't even been drinking too much since my self imposed rule of no booze on weekdays. Half the time on the weekend when I allow myself some hooch I drink very little or not at all. This is a huge step for someone who was looking for any occasion to drink during the week and get wasted whenever. Sometime in the future I will post some pics of my progress for those who wish to see. (i.e. me in a few months to see where I came from)

If anyone has any helpful pointers or tips on fitness, weight loss, or healthy eating please share them with me I am always eager to learn what more I can do to make myself better.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

In the pipe 5x5

As I sit here on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, I think to myself what will I blog about today? I have many ideas for posts but they all rely on me having completed something. Since these ideas are in their infancy because I have not finished wathing, reading, listening, or doing I will give you a taste of what is due to come down the pipe in the near future.

Reviews of the anime series Heat Guy J and Iria:Zeiram.
Review of last nights Battlestar Galactica (hasn't finished downloading yet, I don't do commercials)
Picking a random album off my ipod and reviewing it.
My thoughts on the books that I am reading.
My thoughts on some books I have read awhile ago.
Possibly a sentence or two about my fitness progress.
And maybe some random internet ramblings.

I know, I know I can hardly contain myself too with the amount of awesomeness I have just laid before you but we have to wait till the time is right.

Cheesy filler entry I know but here are your parting words, in picture form!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Talking Baseball

Hey look at the top of the page. See the new logo? I made it pretty fast so please tell me what you think of it, if anything needs to be changed or just general comments. Depending on what you write I may heed it or flat out ignore it.

I am a huge Yankees fan. During baseball season if you cut me I bleed pinstripes. (during football season my blood is Giants blue, go G-Men!) Needless to say that when I found out that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids I was hurt. Upon hearing that news I instantly thought of when he hit his 500th home run in 2007 how excited I was, and how from that moment on I would tell people that he did it without cheating because he is all talent and that is what baseball needs. Now I feel kind of embarrassed having said that, which is a shame. However, I for one do accept his apology.

He claims to only have done it from 2001 - 2003 when he was with the Texas Rangers (pre drug testing years). It is unfortunate that he did it then, but in my eyes as long as he didn't use them when he because a Yankee in 2004 that softens the blow a bit. For those who are unaware in 2003 Major League Baseball decided to do a ramification free anonymous drug test of all it's players to see if there really was a steroid problem, and depending on the results they would start mandatory testing the following year. 103 tests came back positive forcing MLB's hand into a full on testing program. Here is what gets me this test was supposed to be anonymous, but each player had to write his name next to a number that would be used to identify their sample. Not very anonymous to me. Here is the clincher this list was not destroyed, no, it was given to the players union who by rights shouldn't have access to that at all. It was from here that A-Rod's name was leaked to the press, (someone's bank account just got padded). I feel it is unfair for A-Rod to have to shoulder the blame for the other 102 players who also popped for steroids.

As much as you assign the blame to the individual players for jucing, I place the majority of it on MLB itself and the clubs for allowing, even pushing for jucing to happen. In the Steroid Era (early 90's - 2003 or present) Everyone knew about steroids being in use even though it was banned from baseball in the 70s and reiterated in 90 or 91. Just look at the home run spree that Mark Mgwire and Sammy Sosa had a few years back. They were jucing and MLB and the clubs took a blind eye to it because baseball was getting media attention and it was putting asses in the seats. So the average joe player who is struggling to stay in the majors is forced to compete with juice heads who are getting payed tons more than he is because of their juice enhanced performaces. They wind up taking performance enhancing drugs just to keep up, and since all of this is illegal in baseball but rarely enforced everyone gets away scott free. This is why it was so previlent in the steroids era. Most players were doing and getting away with it while others felt they had no choice but to use them in order to stay where they were at. I think MLB and the commisoners office itself should have to answer to congress not the players. MLB is supposed to be enforcing it's anti-drug policy not tipping of players that they will be tested on "X" date so clean out your system. ( I'm looking at you Orza) It makes me sick when I think that players are using drugs but it makes me feel even worse when it's MLB who let it happen and is running a shoddy ship. Your job is to watch for these offenses and exact appropriate punishment for those who commit them. Not tip off players and turn a blind eye just because it generates revenue.

Anyway, back on subject. I believe A-Rod is sorry for what he has done. I can see how both sides point of view. In a time of low morals and basically lawlessness not everyone has the fortitude to take the high ground and stay pure especially when the powers that be don't care about what is right and what is wrong.

I have read the Sports Illustrated article that broke this shit storm and it is kind of weak. It doesn't live up to the hype or the PR that the 24 hr news cycle has created around it. To summarize my thoughts on this before I go deeper into a rant.

-Alex took the roids from 2000 - 2003.
- He poped on the anonymous test that was ramification free.
-He hasn't failed one since that initial test
- I can see both sides of the story when it comes to him not knowing his results
- The media needs to stop going after the individual players even if they deserve it (BONDS!) and focus on Bud Selig and his administration's short comings on this issue.
- I still like A-Rod as long as he has never done and continues to never take steroids while wearing pinstripes.

If anyone reading this feels I have missd a few points or has some new information I would be more than willing to listen and tender a response. I still love baseball, and I still love the Yankees. We as fans of this great sport need to find a way to put this behind us and learn its valuable lessons so we may never repeat them again.

I want to end it on a good note so I am going to modify Joe DiMaggio's quote.

"I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankees Fan."

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I am Nostradamus!


"I am your witness
The one who can tell
Bearing the sword - the shield
To your heaven from Hell"



That is a lyric from the song "Prophecy" off of Judas Priest's album Nostradamus. It is the bands first concept album and is about the life of the prophet Nostradamus. It starts out very heavy with visions of various prophecies from the future and Armageddon. These revelations eventually lead to him being exiled. As the album takes a turn into the realm of sadness with slower songs we find out how much it bothers him having these visions and being shunned. In a sick twist of fate, after Nostradamus' death, humanity finds out just how right he was.

This is a very well constructed and thought out album. It transitions well from a heavy metal opening into a more somber second act, and finishes back on top with the return of the metal sound. Rob Halford does a great job of making it seem like he is telling this tale around a campfire as a warning to future generations. The songs run the gamut of Halford's vocal range from the high notes ala Screaming for Vengeace to the low growl chanting from Hell Bent for Leather and Breaking the Law.

Clocking in at over 90 min. make sure you have ample time to dedicate to this epic album. A few of the tracks that stick out to me are "Prophecy"(my favorite off this album), "Awakening," "Revelations,""Four Horsemen," "Visions," and "Nostradamus." I am patiently waiting for the day when it is made into a movie like Pink Floyd's The Wall and Daft Punk's Interstella 5555.

I rate this album: Dripping with epic win.

Take a listen.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Load up on guns...

So I have been sitting here most of the day trying to think of a blog post to write. I was mulling over a few different ideas. I want to make a post regarding my take on the whole A Rod steroid situation, but I still have a few more sources to read in order to reinforce my forming opinion. So you have that to look forward to in the near future. (probably before the week is out)

Today I listened to Nirvana's Nevermind album in its entirety. Now being at work I can't really blast the songs at their intended volume, but I believe I can give my opinion at the level I was enjoying it at. First off my favorite Nirvana song of all time is on this album. Can you guess it?(Psst it's In Bloom). This whole album is Amazing with a capital A. The tracks that stick out for me were, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "In Bloom," "Breed," "Come as You Are," "Lithium," and to a lesser extent "Polly." This whole album transports me back in time to my childhood in the early 90's. I remember watching the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on MTV and enjoying it. I didn't realize how much of an impact it had on music back then until I was a bit older. Watching Kurt Cobain thrash around in the video, and hearing the messages he was saying through the unique lyrics I knew that rock music would have a huge bearing on my life. Nirvana was one of the bands that helped formulate my own musical taste; in that critical time in every young ones life when they start to leave the comfort of the music that their parents or siblings have exposed them to and embark on a journey of discovery for themselves. As I got older I would start to understand the significance of this album and how much I identified with the beats and phrases of the tracks.

I could sit here and go on and on about what each track does for me but I will shorten it to just what I think about In Bloom. Hearing the opening riff makes me think about driving on a sunny day down the highway on a trip to anywhere blasting music (which I have done plenty of times). The first chours reinforces this though as well as reminding me that I am a young man with the majority of my life left to live and to sit back and enjoy the ride. The solo is gritty and dirty as grunge music should be. It makes me think that the guitar is in its death throes and squealing in pain. Most importantly of all it reminds me of being alive in the 90's just kicking it as a kid discovering different styles of music.

If there ever was a list of great albums to give to kids/early teenagers to help guide them through adolecense and young adulthood Nirvana's Nevrmind would be on it, if not in the top 10.

See for yourself:

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hell Bent, Hell Bent for Initial Posts!

Well, well, well look at this,I am blogging once again. Hopefully this will actually stick around as opposed to my LJ which had its peaks and valleys until its ultimate demise of me not caring about it. I guess I should start some sort of goal for this blog in order to keep my attention. I think it is going to start out as random thoughts, my opinion on what music I am listening to, on what TV/movies I am watching, and the like.
Lately, I have been bringing my ipod to work as opposed to leaving it in the car. This has caused me to accomplish a good amount of the goals I have set for my ipod. Complete discographies are falling by the wayside as my listening pace increases each day. Maybe one day I will have "run the taps" on my Ipod and have listened to all the mp3s on it! (Fat chance I have a lot). A few thoughts on what I have been listening to will fall here as well as maybe a review or too.

I have been on a fitness kick the past month. I resolved myself to lose the small keg manifesting in my stomach as well as get back into the shape I was in when I was with the Marines during the time I actually cared about it. I have to say I am surprising myself with my progress. Normally I get an idea in my head that I want to do x. I usually start off OK and a few days later I start to make excuses as to why I can't do x today, and eventually it just fizzles out completely. All this takes place within the span of 1-2 weeks. However, this time is completely different. I actually want to do good. I cannot wait to do my exercises each day and genuinely enjoy the feeling of pain and tightness that follows the session. I thought it would be a giant feat for me to eat healthy and stick to it, on the contrary, it has been completely easy for me to switch. It has gotten to the point that on the weekends when I am allowing myself to drink hooch and eat garbage food I get upset about it( the eating not the drinking). Each week I have been kicking it up a notch and trying new routines. I essentially try to go to the track and run every other weekday, i.e. mon, wed, fri. Tuesdays I started going to a martial arts class because it is a good total body workout and it teaches me new fight/defensive techniques. This may not seem like a revelation but ask my friends and they will tell you that this is a new me. I had a simple goal set for my fitness routine: Lose beer belly and body fat in time for april/may (start of pool and outdoor season). Get to the point of when I take my shirt off to go in the pool people will say damn he looks a lot better than last year.I started out at 180# and have currently lost a net total of 6#. My target weight is to get around 165 and tone what muscle I have. Wow, that is the most I think I have ever written about fitness in my life,ha!

I have a Netflix account and a broad taste in movie/tv so you can expect to get some random diatriabe about why I particularly enjoy some romance themed anime or action packed space oprea.

Also, I am a horrible speller and I think I fall prey to the comma disease so if there are grammer and spelling errors sorry in advance.

GASP! Almost forgot here are your parting words from me, in video form :


This thing is incredible! Check out the other monstrous things it grinds up.