Guess who I just saw on MTV?

Ok, the first one's easy. Can you see anyone else?

Facebook... It's like Pokemon, with humans

Gotta catch 'em all! So, I finally joined in on the Facebook craze. Seriously, I'm too busy right now adding people to properly concentrate on this blog. What have I done!!

Oh, and to JayMoo and Anonymous, thanks for making three posts ago my most commented post ever. I would love to know who Anonymous is.

Of strobe lights and fountain pens

I'm about done with studying. My mind is a bit fried, and I figured this was as good a time as any to share some of the quirks that are currently forming a part of my life. Don't worry, I'll keep it short and sweet.

• Our (fluorescent) bathroom light has decided it is time to die, and so every time we turn it on, it flickers. Sometimes it flickers for so long, I don't have any choice but to take a "strobe shower." Trust me, it would be much cooler if I could get some tunes in there too.
• I've rediscovered the joy of cursive. After years of denouncing it, I've found that I can write much faster (and prettier) if I bust out the loopy writing. The only drawback - it makes me feel like I should be dotting my i's with hearts.
• I got bored today, and googled the term "Steady Mobbin'." Brigham's blog was the number two hit. Wow. Pretty good. I then proceeded to google "scrumpestuous" expecting my blog to top the list. I found out that it didn't. In fact, JayMoo's blog was on the list, and then Brighams, with mine no where to be found. Surely this is some trick that Google is playing on me.

I'm pretty sure none of that is going to be on the test.

Wish I'd seen it sooner

So, I just barely saw this week's episode of The Office as our cable was out that night. The whole thing was good, but the ending was brilliant. Kudos to whomever came up with that scene.

Something you should know about

I must admit that this information is not NEARLY as cool as what is happening over here, but since I don't have a job that gives me these kinds of opportunities (I'm just trying to find a cure for HIV/AIDS - not that I'm bitter or anything), I'll just have to pass on the info that I have. And I must admit, it's pretty cool.

Some of you may know that the 12th Street Guitar Hero Fancier's Association meetings have more of a "soft rock" atmosphere lately, but Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s might change that. Most of you probably know about this already, but it's set out for release in July and they have finally released a (incomplete) list of songs that will be on it. So, for those of you who might be interested, here's the lineup so far:

• I Wanna Rock (by Twisted Sister)
• I Ran (by Flock of Seagulls)
• Round and Round (as made famous by Ratt)
• I Want Candy (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
• Metal Health (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
• Holy Diver (as made famous by Dio)
• Heat Of The Moment (as made famous by Asia)

I'm going to guess that the lack of a "as made famous by" on the first two means they are the original cuts, but who knows. So far, no one has said how many tracks there will be (I'm guessing around 30), so let the speculation begin. If you really care, the actual press release announcing all of this nonsense can be found here.

Word.

What you are about to see is not a fake. This is real. Please watch on.

I found out about this when B-Money himself came to my door selling his CD and told me about it. I figured that this could be my little addition to your popular musical consciousness. You can thank me later.

Of Roaches

I'm a little afraid to post this, as I don't want to jinx myself here, but we don't have any roaches in my place. I'm not really sure why, but I have a few ideas:

1. My roommate and I are pretty clean guys, though in fairness, my roommate is the cleaner one. I know some may argue, but really, we are pretty clean.
2. I live on the 35th floor, and I've been told that this is the reason why I don't have roaches. I don't know if I believe this. I've heard that cockroaches can survive nuclear holocaust, so I'm pretty sure they can make it up 35 flights of stairs.
3. I don't live in a very popular neighborhood (these are Manhattanite cockroaches, after all).

And here's a new one that I came up with on the way home tonight,


4. There are so many hospitals and medical centers surrounding me, and we all know how clean hospitals and medical centers are, that the roaches just decided it wasn't worth living in this area. My guess is they moved to Williamsburg.

So, I have no idea why we haven't been plagued with roaches, and I'm grateful that we aren't. But, if I had to put money on it, I think I'd go with a combination of 3 & 4.

"My car just hit a water buffalo"

In other news in my suddenly very boring life, Amazon has finally decided to ship an order that I placed early last week, which includes a few great Jazz CDs, and the new "Jane Doe" edition of the movie Fletch. What a great flick. Glad to see it's been re-released. If you haven't seen it, go see it. I'll let you borrow it. Fletch even goes to Provo in it. Convinced?

15 albums worth listening to

OK, so I know that Jazz isn't the most popular form of music among the under-50 set, but I'm mostly fine with that. The only time that it gets to me is when I discover some new album (to me, anyway) and I want to share it with someone else, only to get a look like, "you're kidding me, right?" Yeah, I realize that it's not the most accessible music out there, but anyone that is willing to take the time to listen will find that there's a lot more musical "meat" in Jazz than in most other forms of music. I realize that there is a lot of it that doesn't have words, and there is a lot of it that can sound like random notes, but there isn't much that I can do for you if either of those things is a concern (other than tell you to be patient and keep listening). I also realize that one of the toughest things about Jazz is that, with so much music out there, it can be hard to know where to start. That is something that I can help with, and to that end, I've made a little list of CDs that anyone interested in Jazz should check out. They are in no particular order, and I won't bore you with much description of them. So, without further ado, here are 15 albums that are worth listening to:

1. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis - probably the one on the list that I would most recommend
2. Blue Train by John Coltrane - one of my first purchases and still one of my faves
3. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane - a recording so good, that there is a church built around it (no kidding!)
4. April in Paris by Count Basie - A great album to listen to if you are feeling intimidated by Jazz. Very easy on the ears.
5. Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis - shades aren't necessary, but they help
6. Blues and the Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson - Weird name, good Jazz
7. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto - Sure, it's the album that gave us "The Girl from Ipanema" but that doesn't have to be a bad thing
8. In a Silent Way by Miles Davis - Miles was at the forefront of so many changes in Jazz. Here's an early mix of Jazz and Rock. So good.
9. Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock - Nautically themed jazz, whatever that means
10. Miles Ahead by Miles Davis - This time with an orchestra behind him
11. Out of the Cool by The Gil Evans Orchestra - The title makes more sense when you know a bit of Jazz history, which I'm not going to go into right now
12. Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter - great hard bop, 'nuff said
13. Waltz for Debby by Bill Evans - if you want to hear three people playing as one, this is the album
14. Workin' by Miles Davis - Really guys, are you getting the picture? Miles Davis is the coolest (and he didn't even have to pee his pants to get there)
15. Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk - Really, any one of his albums could fit here, this just happens to be the one I picked.

So, there it is folks. I happen to own all of these albums, and if anyone should be interested, I'm more than happy to lend them out. Really, give 'em a shot.

Two days and counting

So, the M's lost their last game, and the Yanks have won their last two, but I'm not letting that get to me. What I might let get to me is the fact that Jeff Weaver is slated to pitch, and with an 0-4 record and an 18.26 ERA (yeah, that's not a typo, but it is just about the worst ERA I've ever seen) I don't know how well he's going to do on Saturday. So, in order to keep up my good spirits, I've put together a list of great ballpark songs. You know, the ones that you can't help but smile when you hear them. So, here they are, in no particular order:

• "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen - as the unofficial state rock song of Washington State, it's acquired a special place down at Safeco and in my heart.
• "Takin' Care of Business" by BTO - a great blue collar song for a great blue collar sport.
• "Centerfield" by John Fogerty - OK, so maybe a little overplayed, but it still brings back memories of Little League.
• "Centerfold" by J. Giles Band - Not to be confused with the previous entry, Centerfold has one of the greatest riffs for singing along.
• "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond - one for the BoSox fans.
• "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits - another great riff mostly heard after a walk (go figure).
• "Glory Days" by Brice Springsteen - Pure American nostalgia.

Well, there it is folks. Feel free to post any additions to the comments section.

Best Week Ever!

I really don't want to jinx this, but this is turning out to be a great week for me. Here's some of the reasons why:

• Yesterday, through no action of my own, I scored a ticket to the taping of The Colbert Report
• I'm going to see Spider-Man 3 on the IMAX on Saturday
• Guitar Hero last night was a return to it's former glory
• I probably had the best cab ride of my life last night due to a mix of the driver and hitting almost every light just right, which is even more important since I REALLY had to go to the bathroom
• My alarm woke me up this morning to Bill Cosby's "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast." Classic.
• I've been sleeping really well these past few days.
• Last, but certainly not least, I'm going to watch my M's this Saturday at Yankee Stadium, and the weather forecast is calling for mostly sunny and 65. Not too shabby.

So, all in all, this week is looking pretty good. Could this be the peace before the storm of finals?