Open My Arms and Fall...

I'll be alone, dancing you know it, baby...

2005-05-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who might be checking in from time to time, you might notice something amiss with the page. The truth is that I got tired of the template that I was using ("Minima" for those who want it), and decided to take another one Blogger offers, but change it up and make it more....me. So if the banner, pics, text formatting, or whatever is messed up, don't worry. I'll be working on it during the weekend and should have it ready to go no later than Sunday. Hopefully.

Bound by wild desires, I fell into a ring of fire...

2005-05-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." by Sufjan Stevens (The neighbors adored him for his humor and his conversation...)
• "A Decade Under the Influence" by Taking Back Sunday (You slept safe and close to the window...)
• "Ghost of Corporate Future" by Regina Spektor (He starts running beneath awnings, trying to save his suit...)
• "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash (Bound by wild desires, I fell into a ring of fire...)

And the letter N.

He starts running beneath awnings, trying to save his suit...

2005-05-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'd hate to do this to my blog, but I must. I must pollute it with one of those "Which type/what kind/what's your favorite" internet things. So here's one that pretty describes me:

YOUR BIRTHDATE: November 8

Born on the 8th day of the month, you have a special gift for business, as you can conceive and plan on a grand scale.

You have good executive skills and you're a good judge of values.

You should try to own your own business, because you have such a strong desire to be in control.

You are generally reliable when it comes to handling money; you can be trusted in this regard.

Idealistic by nature, you are never too busy to spend some time on worthwhile causes, especially if managerial support are needed.

There is much potential for material success associated with this number.

See! I knew there was a reason why I want to open my own restaurant (and why I used to run RRS Productions, my web design company). It's because the internet said to!

EDIT 11-MAY-05:
I had to take out the table formatting of the thing above because it was completely screwing up my blog. And to save you from a perpetual hell from these things, I've decided not to post the link so that you can take the same test. But if for the strange reason you still feel compulsed to do so, leave me a comment and I'll let you have it.

You slept safe and close to the window...

2005-05-11T02:16:00.000-07:00

Disappointment. Hash and I went over to Best Buy today to pick up new TV (HD, no less!). Picked it up without a problem, wheeled it out to the parking lot and then we realized something... it was just a little bit bigger than his trunk. After trying to kinda sit in there (we intended on tying it secure), we then attempted to get it in through the back seat door. Still no luck. Took it out of the box and tried the same combinations. Still nothing. After making some calls and realizing that no one we knew up here had a truck or SUV, we put it back in the box and brought it back inside (BB is now holding it for me until I find another ride). So I did some more calling and it turns out my dad is driving in to work today. So after he gets off, he's gonna come down from El Segundo with his truck and help me pick it up. Three days after purchasing it, I will finally get it.

Been doing some research on the old 8mm video camera my grandparents found in a box and then gave me. Turns out it'a Keystone Capri Model K-25 and was made in 1958 (older than my mom, haha). Also found out that it had some features I didn't know it had, limited as they are. It has the normal "hold down the lever" filming mode, then if you push it harder down, it will continue to film as long as you turn the handle to keep the motor going. Nice. Also if you push up on the lever, it makes a single clicking sound. I thought it was just for advancing the film reel to start it, but it's to be used for things like stop-motion and "special effects". Did some digging around the internet and found some sites where I can purchase some unused 8mm film reels for around $6, which isn't too bad. Supposedly the camera came with a projector (that was housed in a leather box) and you could clamp the camera directly onto the projector without having to remove the film. Next time I see my grandparents I'm going to ask them whether or not they ever came across it or if they remember selling it. I can make me some pretty cool indie/emo films with this thing.

The neighbors adored him for his humor and his conversation...

2005-05-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a random pic of The Prince from "Katamari Damacy" taking up residence on top of my bedroom TV. And for those interested, it's "X-Files" that's on.

I am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar...

2005-05-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Why Do You Love Me?" by Garbage (I get back up and do it again...)
• "In Love With the 80's (Pink Tux to the Prom)" by Relient K (Cause in the 80's all the ladies grabbed his hand and couldn't let go...)
• "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)" by Nelly Furtado (I remember the days when I was so eager to satisfy you...)
• "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths (I am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar...)

And the letter M.

I remember the days when I was so eager to satisfy you...

2005-05-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

God I hope this game gets a US release. If not, it looks like I'll be hitting up LikSang.com for an import (an expensive one at that, clocking in around $70). For those wondering why I'm so stoked for it's release (besides that its a Namco and Capcom teamup), just look at the two characters I've circled in red:

That's right! It's Stahn and Rutee from "Tales of Destiny", hands down my favorite game of all time. I was so happy to see that they are included in the game. And if you watch the trailer for the game, you'll see several moments of them in combat (with their Swordians, no less) and they kept the voice actors ("Yarghh!!!" - Stahn's battle cry). Beautiful.

Cause in the 80's all the ladies grabbed his hand and couldn't let go...

2005-05-03T03:46:00.000-07:00

Today I got a nice little surprise when I woke up: my favorite movie, "Truth or Consequences, NM" was playing on FX. It was one of those times where you can hear whatever background noises are happening and your brain is trying to figure out what it is while you're still half-asleep. When I heard the lyrics to "Heaven's Last Attempt" by Jude Cole, I knew exactly what was playing on my TV, even without opening my eyes. And just now, it's ending after airing once again. Kinda odd for a 7+ year old low-budget movie to be on, but also pretty cool because everyone I tell about it has never seen it. It's one of those movies where if you watch it once, you'll love it. So much cheesy acting in it that you can make nachos! The ending is a nice wrapup to the film (hint, think an ill-fated romance). The only thing I would have changed is the casting of Vincent Gallo, the world's biggest douche/hack/posuer artist. But Keifer Sutherland did a great job acting and directing this little piece of pulp. Oh yeah... it also has Martin Sheen as a crazy assassin guy with a scene ala Reservoir Dogs, minus a certain Stealer Wheel song, but with another pop classic! So funny.

I get back up and do it again...

2005-05-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last night's episode of "Family Guy" was awesome. It was a welcome change from watching the same reruns over and over and all is right with the world. I do know that I'll be first in line for "Passion of the Christ 2: Crucify This!" haha Even "American Dad" wasn't too bad, although seeing both the internet pilot and the one that aired after the Super Bowl, I still don't have high hopes for it.

If anyone is looking for a great album, check out the new Garabge record, "Bleed Like Me". So good it hurts.

When I first saw you with your smile so tender...

2005-05-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Seconds to Midnight" by Bella Lea (Tell you seconds to midnight...)
• "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (Without a noise, without my pride, I reach out from the inside...)
• "Telescope Eyes" by Eisley (I'm just like you, I know you know...)
• "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley (When I first saw you with your smile so tender...)

And the letter Z.

Without a noise, without my pride, I reach out from the inside...

2005-04-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

I did the walkthrough earlier, and turns out that I only had to pay $55 bucks for slight damages and cleaning costs. I think it turns out to be something like $30 for the carpets and $25 for general repairs/cleaning. Not too bad. That means that I get about $1100 back from my security deposit. I was really worried it would be more considering we never got around to patching the holes in the door frame from when I installed my "ghetto french doors" (two thin glass doors from an IKEA cabinet that just happened to fit the door frame nicely). Plus the numerous discolored spots on my carpet from heavy foot traffic; you can literally see where my couch and computer chair used to be, those having light gray areas surrounding them due to my shoes. Definitely means I'm never going to lift my "no shoe in new apartment" rule, because the carpet will probably end up like the Veneto apartment.

I wish I had the powers of time travel or super speed (so I could go around the Earth quickly, thus spinning it into the future ala Superman). I would go to Sunday and watch the new Family Guy episode. I am totally stoked that Fox is finally doing something smart with one of its programs (granted it took Cartoon Network and plenty of DVD set purchases by fans to change their mind). So far the little clips they've shown during commercials look pretty awesome with the exception of the "SLOW DAD" sign scene with the red ball. That seems like they were trying too hard for laughs there, but then the whole "Peter wearing floaties to dinner" made up for it. True FG style. Right on Adult Swim they're playing the episode ("One If By Clam, Two If By Sea")where the The Drunken Clam becomes The Clam's Head Pub, a British tea room (or as Peter first claims, "Holy crap! It's a gay bar!"). Such a great episode.

"Hello, mother. Have you hidden my hatchet?" - Stewie Griffin
"'Ello, mudda. 'Ave you 'idden my atchet?" - Eliza

(Yes, I do know that the pic of Stewie is from the "Lethal Weapons" episode, I just like it too much. "This is my house!")

I'm just like you, I know you know...

2005-04-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

I finally found a pic from the Bella Lea show at The Glasshouse online (actually on the Bella Lea group page on MySpace, haha). Here's the two shots on there:

I'm going to have to guess that ATC of the group was the one who took the pics. If so, thanks man. Oh, and for those interested, the back of her shirt says "Bank of Texas" on it. How indie of Maura. haha.

Anyways, I have my walkthrough in like a hour and a half, just waiting for my father to get here since he co-signed when I moved in two years ago (because I have a speck of credit under my name, how sad). So yeah, gonna do that and then start moving the boxes up from my garage. So many boxes, it's going to take all weekend.

In other news, for those interested, I was able to get Dodge from "My Old Kentucky Blog" to post Chris and Greg's "newer" song, "Everything But You" on his page (that was a lot of quotation marks just then). It looks like he's already made another post, but at the time of this entry, it's the second one down (the one with Kings of Leon in the title). Their song/link is located under the section ADDED BONUS, "North of San Diego - Everything But You". Clicking on "NofSD" will take you to their MySpace page, the song title to a RapidShare page where you can download it for free. And just like "Rabbit" (Eminem) from "8 Mile", I'll end with:

"And f*ck this battle, I don't want to win, I'm outtie. Here, tell these people something they don't know about me."

Word.

(Steve would like to apologize for the excessive quotation marks and parentheses in the aforementioned blog post. He promises to add only one more, to finish this up.)

Tell you seconds to midnight...

2005-04-25T03:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to the Bella Lea show at The Glasshouse. Wow. Greg came along and we stayed for just the first two bands: Consafos and Bella Lea. I had never heard of Consafos before tonight and I'm so glad I now do. They rock hard! I was so impressed with their set I went directly over to the merch table and picked up their EP and full-length albums (didn't have enough for a T-shirt, bummer). Plus it was cool because the guitarist, Billy, was working the table so I got to tell him how much I loved their set. Anyone who sees them will also be drawn into their music. On the way home, their full-length set the perfect tone for a nighttime drive. If anyone is interested, they have one of their tracks, "Tilting at Windmills", on their MS page (link is at the bottom).

And now for the one and only, Bella Lea! Maura is 100 times better/cooler/beautiful live than compared to CDs. She hit the notes perfectly and the band even played some new songs that weren't on their demo or their MySpace page. Truely, worth the 10 bucks for the ticket (in fact, I would have paid way more than that to see them). Even Greg said that he really liked some of the faster songs and doesn't think they suck anymore. If only I could get Chris to see them, he'd change his opinion as well... I picked up a copy of their demo (even though I made my own copy the day the demo was posted, haha) and a shirt. I already know for sure that I'll be rocking my Bella Lea shirt around town today. Oh yeah! Here's some really, really bad quality pics I took on my ultra-cheap cell phone (I once again forgot to bring a camera, digital or disposable).

Consafos

Maura Davis of Bella Lea singing

Bella Lea!!!

LINKS:
BELLA LEA on MySpace
CONSAFOS on MySpace

Sorrow and rage, but it ain't no game to me now...

2005-04-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Made to Last" by Semisonic (Secret, sweet, and sublime, I hope you last a long, long time...)
• "Red Red Red" by Fiona Apple (The harbinger to the words that somebody lied...)
• "Tight Rope" by Papa Roach (We are the twenty-first century dyslexic, glue-sniffing, cybersluts with homicidal minds and handguns...)
• "Lights of London" by David Gray (Sorrow and rage, but it ain't no game to me now...)

And the letter L.

Secret, sweet, and sublime, I hope you last a long, long time...

2005-04-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

My new place rocks. It's definitely a step-up from the Veneto place and my touches are starting to make it look like a home. On Thursday Chris and Greg came up to help move my couch and stuff, then we headed over to IKEA and ACE for a while to get some supplies and random trashcans without lids (stupid Swedes, why can't they sell things as a whole? lol). So yeah, then we headed up to Lakewood and I met Rachel, Chris' new girlfriend. She was pretty chill and really nice... she gave us cookies. haha. Hung out at Westminster Mall and had dinner at Elephant Bar. Turns out she lives like within a mile from some really good family friends. Also stopped at the two-story Target up there. Pretty crazy stuff. Greg took some pics of my place so I'll see if I can get him to email me them so I can post them. Chris and Greg went home, I continued moving stuff. Yesterday, Pat and Kathleen stopped by and we hung out and watched some TV before heading over to Lee's for a late dinner. And since then, I've been finishing boxing/bagging stuff up at my old place because my parents are coming later to help clean the carpets and stuff. And the weekend will culminate tomorrow night with the Bella Lea show (well, actually it's a "The Good Life" show, but they suck). Greg is probably going (he's letting me know later today) and yeah, it'll be awesome. Gonna go see me some Maura, maybe get a chance to talk to her and the band after their set. It'll be great. Oh, and merch galore from what I've heard so I'm definitely bringing my wallet o' cash.

The harbinger to the words that somebody lied...

2005-04-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

Ok four things. I'll start off with my car. After calling the Chrysler dealership in Temecula (who were no help), I ended being recommended to take it over to the dealership in Tustin. And like after 10 minutes of waiting in the service line, a guy who was experienced in car alarms came over and showed me another way to shut off the alarm that is used by mechanics, which disables all security including the alarm. He was surprised that the service department didn't tell me to do that because he said that should have been the first thing a Chrysler serviceman should suggest, regardless of what is actually happening with the alarm because it shuts it all off. That means it's second time the Temecula place has jerked me around (the first being that they jacked some aftermarket parts without returning to me per company policy). My parents are even thinking about taking them to small claims court to recover the cost of the parts because they've gotten rid of them since.

The second thing is also car related, but this time involves my sister's car. Around 6:30pm-ish last night, my mom called me and said that Stacia was stuck in the Ralph's parking lot and that she thinks she just needed a jump. So I go over there and get ready to jump her car. But when I went to lift the cover that protects the terminal, the whole thing justs fall off! Terminal, cover, and all, leaving a gaping hole on the side of her battery (her battery is installed on its side). So I try to reconnect it and whatnot, turns out that she's going to need a new battery. My dad had just gotten home to their house and ended up having to drive back to Irvine because not only did the battery have to be replaced, the terminal needed to be removed from the cover because it had fused with it. So after a little while, we finally got it situated and he ended up just driving up El Segundo where he works and staying at a hotel across the street instead of driving back down to Sun City (which would've been like 11pm by the time he got home).

Third. Disneyland screwed up AGAIN. I got a call back from the lady in charge of my application/interview and she said that there was a no-rehire still in effect, even though the last interviewer had said it was lifted. On top of that, their system is all wonky because it didn't even show my February interview/application on there (it said my last interview was May 2004). So I'm going to have to go back down there sometime this week (probably Friday) and find someone to sit down with me to have it removed. God, I wish their HR computers would just fix it and be done with it (considering I've been dealing with an error that Costuming made for over a year).

And finally, in about 6 minutes, there will be only 3 hours left until I get the keys to my new apartment. I'm stoked! And if my current apartment phone number stops working for some reason, it's because Cox possibly shut it off too soon and has activated my new number. I can't remember off the top of my head right now, but I can give it to those who want it (just call my cell, which is better because I'll be between places until about Friday). Oh and I also made a little purchase last night on eBay. That's right. Tomba! for the first PlayStation!! Hells yeah. I've still got my original game save file for it but I needed a new disc... and now I do.

We are the twenty-first century dyslexic, glue-sniffing, cybersluts with homicidal minds and handguns...

2005-04-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

I am NEVER doing anything for my sister again. Period. First she calls me at like 3:45am saying that she heard someone open her front door to her apartment and she could hear footsteps in her kitchen. So I wake up, throw on some clothes, dart out the door, start the car, drive down the block to the complex she lives in, park the car, go up the stairs, knock on the door..... and of course, the door was locked and no one was inside her apartment. But being the baby that she is, begs me not to leave and pleads that if I sleep in her living room for the rest of the night, that she won't call again. So I reluctantly agreed, got in my car, drove back to my place, grabbed my pillow and blanket and locked up.

When I got back down to my car, Stacia had locked the car from the inside so when she hit the unlock button the alarm went off. But not the regular alarm (which had been disconnected a couple weeks ago because it was shorting the starter electronics), but the backup alarm with its own backup battery. And it's loud. Louder than the normal alarm. And it's now 4:10am. Oh, and the backup alarm and battery are hidden somewhere in the frame so that if thiefs were smart enough to disconnect the main alarm/cut the battery and splice in their own/some other devious plot, they still would have to deal with this one. But I don't know where it was hidden either. Kinda stupid, huh? So after about three minutes of trying to get it to shut off, I decided to quickly drive it across the street into the Ralphs parking lot so it wouldn't continue to wake my neighbors. Drove over there, with horn ablasting and lights aflashing, and parked it. Tried pulling various fuses, disconnecting battery, using old alarm keyfob, nothing. I was able to alieviate the loudness by pulling the fuse for the horn and anti-theft, but the lights still flashed. Turns out the only way to keep them from flashing is to pull the headlamps fuse, thus preventing me from driving my car while it's dark. Which it was. So I walked Stacia back to her apartment and then I came back and kept working on the car, trying to figure a solution. Called my Dad because he was on his way to work in Los Angeles and he suggested the same thing that I knew was my last resort: take it to a Best Buy (the people who installed the thing) and have them find and disconnect the backup alarm. By now it's only 5:15am and I'm bored out of my mind. Walk into Ralphs, buy some 99 cent Teddy Grahams and a bottle of Yoo-Hoo, grab a copy of The Wall Street Journal on my way out, and sit in my car like a bum until it's light enough to drive without getting a ticket (which turns out is 6:10am). I just got in and now I have to leave for class in about an hour and around my mid-day break, drive over to Best Buy in Tustin and hopefully they can find where the BB in Murrieta hid the alarm and have them cut the line so I can put my headlamp fuse back in. AND still finish packing. As if I didn't have enough problems as it is. All this because Stacia is an idiot.

Our lives are better left to chance...

2005-04-18T02:42:00.000-07:00

I was doing some music-related web surfing earlier and came across some very good news (well to me at least). Turns out Keren Ann is going to be doing a couple gigs in the States in June and three nights are in SoCal. Awesome. She starts off doing the CBS Morning News on the 4th, then does a couples shows before heading out here for two nights (13th & 14th) at The Fold and a in-store performance at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica on the 17th. I'm looking at possibly hitting the 13th show and the in-store. I'm totally stoked because I know it'll be an awesome performance by Keren. I can't wait. If anyone wants to come along (Keren's music should be heard by all), let me know cuz I'll be buying my tickets as soon as they go public, which should be any day now.

In other news, there are less than 72 hours before I officially move into my new apartment. And I'm still not done packing. I'm not quite sure what happened to my original plan on having everything done by the 1st, but I'm pretty sure that could never have happened anyways. Tonight, I'm going to have a couple of people over to rummage through some of the stuff I'm tossing/selling/e-baying at discounted prices. Some things up for grabs are a 17" flat screen CRT montior, a dinner table with 4 chairs, a refridgerator, some CDs and DVDs, and various other furniture/knick-knacks. Good stuff.

EDIT 18-APR-05:
Well, I got an email back from the PR people for KCRW and it looks like I may not be able to go to the shows at The Fold because most of the shows there seem to be 21+ (short by a few months, how lame). Anyways, that means that I will most definitely, positively, (something else)-ely, go to the instore at McCabe's because I doubt there will be a high age limit like that at a guitar shop. God, today really sucks (first my car and now this).

Can we pretend to leave and then meet again when both our cars collide?

2005-04-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton (I'm Mr. Lonely, I wish that I could go back home...)
• "Only When I Sleep" by The Corrs (Your breath is just a sea mist...)
• "Helena" by My Chemical Romance (Can we pretend to leave and then meet again when both our cars collide?)

And the letter I.

I'm Mr. Lonely, I wish that I could go back home...

2005-04-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

No, that isn't the line from that really annoying track "Lonely" by Akon, but rather the Bobby Vinton song "Mr. Lonely" from which the coke-induced, sped-up version originates from. In my opinion, Vinton shouldn't have let Akon and his Senegalese-suckiness sampled his work. Because Akon sucks. Hard.

But I digress from the reason I post. So I've been hitting GameStop alot this week, mainly picking up old PlayStation games for anywhere from two to seven bucks. While I normally hate buying second-hand electronics, the draw of having my old PSX collection rebuilt (after losing or damaging the discs over the years) is too great for me to resist. Plus they're dirt cheap, especially if they come without the original cover and/or manual. Some of you may be wondering, why buy only the disc. The answer is simple: I'm making my own covers (to fit blank DVD cases) from image scans of the front and back covers off the internet. Those pictures, combined with my DVD-cover software I use, makes some pretty nice looking cases to fit one where my PS2 and GameCube games reside (the whole reason of making new covers/cases). Also, for those who love manuals, I've found that on eBay you can get a lot of PlayStation manuals on there for like ninety-nine cents and whatnot. I was even able to find one for Street Fighter: The Movie, which for those in the know, is pretty hard to come by for the PlayStation (disc or otherwise); there are plenty copies available for you Sega Saturn people. So yeah, so far I've finished cases for: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Fighter Maker, Street Fighter: The Movie, Colony Wars, Syphon Filter, Metal Gear Solid VR Missions, and Legend of Legaia. When I stop by my parents house next, I'm going to pick up my copies of Metal Gear Solid, Tales of Destiny, InuYasha, and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Fight 22. As Adam Corolla would say, "Good times, good times. Eh, Drew?"

Your breath is just a sea mist...

2005-04-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of pretty decent things have happened since Thursday. The first being I did my interview at the Resort and now I'm just waiting to hear back from my interviewer (she had to contact by business references), which should be either Monday or Saturday; I know that she already contacted my parents on Friday morning (since I work for their property management company). Also on Friday, I helped my grandparents at their garage sale and I got some things I hadn't seen in years from them (several copper platters that belonged to my great-grandmother when I was little among others). I also ended up getting a new fish. It's only a betta (I don't have room or time to deal with a large aquarium setup) but it's kinda cool looking. It's completely dark red and I have it living in a really big novelty alcoholic beverage cup (I couldn't think of a shorter name for it). Just imagine a really, really big wine glass that can hold about a gallon of water (maybe more). I put some beige-colored rocks and a plastic bonsai tree in there with him. I shall name him "NOVA".

I got to give myself one more chance to be the man I know I am...

2005-04-04T03:35:00.000-07:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Jesusland" by Ben Folds (Billboards quoting things you'd never say...)
• "Love Will Show You Everything" by Jennifer Love Hewitt (Take this gift and don't asky why...)
• "An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery (Don't look at me that way, it was an honest mistake...)
• "Kangaroo" by David Gray (I could be your volunteer, we'll make the whole thing disappear...)
• "Laura" by Scissor Sisters (I got to give myself one more chance to be the man I know I am...)

And the letter X.

I could be your volunteer, we'll make the whole thing disappear...

2005-03-31T04:20:00.000-08:00

One of my five wishes came true: I stumbled across a site that contained a plethora of rare David Gray media files (pics, videos, mp3s, etc). And the best part is that all the link still work! None of this 404 error junk that nearly all the other sites have. Just to make sure I don't miss out, I downloaded every single file on that site. Some of my favorite things I grabbed were the mp3 of David's Christmas version of "Babylon" and his "This Year's Love" music video, which has to be one of the greatest (and semi-obscure) songs in the last 10 years. For those who are interested, leave me a comment and I'll send you a link to the site; I don't want to put a direct link here cuz I'm afraid too much traffic will kill the site permanently. I highly suggest that everyone purchase his albums and support him. And in other DG news, I read that he is almost done with his album and it should drop in a couple of months, which besides the fact that it's a new album, it also means that he might be doing a tour. Oh how I would love to be at one of his shows again (last time was at The Shrine in L.A.). If there is a tour, I might just have to sell some of my organs so I can get front row seats. Oh well, who needs a whole body anyways? Why else do we come with TWO kidneys?! To scalp them to get premium concert tickets, of course!

Don't look at me that way, it was an honest mistake...

2005-03-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know this is going to make A LOT of people upset... but I had the most horrible thought after reading this article:

~~PINK~~ FEEDING TUBES ARE THE NEW BLACK

First Terri Schiavo, then the Pope. I would put some serious green down on the fact that in about a month or so, we'll see a new "feeding tube"-clothing line debut in Milan. Oh man, I am sooo going to hell for this post... lol

Take this gift and don't ask why...

2005-03-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

Hmm... packed some more. Again. If it wasn't for the fact that I have to legally vacate my apartment, I would think I'd never finish packing. Played some Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution for the PS2 today, a pretty decent fighter for only fifteen bucks. The thing that made it even better was the new controller I bought. It's a retro looking one from MadCatz and I orignally bought it for it's looks (and its price of only $4.99, hell yeah!). It turns out, it's a pretty decent controller. It's about the same size of the old NES controllers and it's buttons are backlit by 80's looking neon colors. Pretty funny. It works well with most of my games I have (only had a slight prob with GTA: Vice City since the R1/R2 and L1/L2 button are a little close). Besides that, it's a great price for a pretty good thing. Here's a pic I grabbed off Best Buy's site; it doesn't do it justice (in fact this pic makes it look ugly). But at least you'll kinda know:

I finally tracked down the music video for the song from "If Only". It looks like it was taken from some Korean thing (maybe TV, because it's not on the R3 DVD that I have). Whoever ripped it didn't do that great of a job (slight muffled/scratchy areas) but considering it's the only copy on the net so far... well, just check it out. It has a bunch of scenes from the movie, so you can kinda get the jist of it.

Jennifer Love Hewitt - Love Will Show You Everything

So that's all I've got. Yep.

Billboards quoting things you'd never say...

2005-03-29T02:18:00.000-08:00

Don't have much for tonite's post, so this will be short and sweet. I got some old Sony speakers from my grandparents (they came from their old house) and it turns out they match the serials on my left & right channels, so now I have a complete Sony surround sound setup (so many S's!). After cleaning them up and blasting the cones with compressed air, they look and sound like new. I also bought the Fullmetal Alchemist game for the PS2 finally. I'm not too far into it, but it looks decent. It's actually on pause right now in my living room as I write this. And lastly, I finally got my computer up to the settings I liked before the reformatting of the drive. Here's a quick screenshot of what it currently looks like:

Click the picture to see the full image...

If you want to know what I did exactly to make it look like that, just leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

And it`s you when I look in the mirror...

2005-03-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Into the Morning" by The Weekend (Breaking you out through your bedroom window...)
• "It Don't Matter" by Rehab (Rainy days and cold stares, broken love affairs...)
• "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" by U2 (And it's you when I look in the mirror...)

And the letter Q.

Rainy days and cold stares, broken love affairs...

2005-03-26T01:16:00.000-08:00

I have exactly 20 days left until I get the keys to my new place... so why do I feel like I haven't gotten a single thing packed? I've been working at this for the past month, and granted I've gotten plenty of boxes filled, but it still looks like nothing's been done. I guess the problem is that I have way too much stuff that I can't come to throwing out, no matter what condition it's in. If I want to stick to the original schedule that I set at the beginning of the month, I have to have my entire apartment stripped down and boxed up by this Thursday... ain't gonna happen. And with that, is anyone in the market for the following things?

• Audio Receiver
• Unlocked (region-free) DVD Player/Receiver
• 5 Disc CD Changer (for home theaters, not cars)
• Huge Framed Pic of Central Park in the winter
• 17" CRT Monitor
• Glass top dining table with 4 black fully-upholstered chairs
• 4 Foot Tall Mirror (Black frame)
• Laserdisc Player with "Tombstone" disc
• 17" TV with Built in DVD Player

There's probably even more stuff to list but this is what I have piled by my front door. Hit me up if you are interested...please!

Breaking you out through your bedroom window...

2005-03-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks or so have been for moot. Starting with last week, which was my spring break, my car died. Many times. After taking it to a shop down in Temecula and getting the starter replaced, it died again later that night in the Target parking lot in Menifee. So I took it to two more shops and they determined the computer that controls most of my car was being shorted by something. It turns out that it was the alarm system that Best Buy installed. I guess they didn't ground it properly to the harness and it was causing a flux of electricity, which would explain the sporadic dying. Total cost of three shops = $1100. Weakness.

And for the last couple of days, my BofA check card and online banking services were blocked. I called them this morning to find out what the exact problem was and they said the bank put a hold on my accounts for "security reasons." I had the lady I spoke with go through the past five transactions, everything was fine. Then she got to the one that was flagged (and thus causing all the problems): a charge for $2.87 at Del Taco. So stupid. All because a purchase at Del Taco looked "suspicious" (don't ask me how), I haven't been able to go to the store for the past couple of days. Wow.

The only good thing that has happened lately is that Disneyland finally fixed my records and took the erroneous "NO REHIRE" status off (it was due to a clerical mistake that took costuming over a year to deal with). But because it took so long, I have to go back up and turn in another app (even though I already passed the app & interview parts last month). I'm planning on calling up the lady who was in charge of my last app and seeing if she can do something so that I don't have to go through the long process again. I'll just wait and see what happens.

Here's a pretty catchy pop-rock song for you all: The Weekend's "Into the Morning." It's off the soundtrack for that lesbian-spy movie, "D.E.B.S.". I have to admit, this song gets kinda addictive when it's left on for hours on end. I guess MTV won't play this version of the vid because of the many images of guns and whatnot. So check it out.

The Weekend - Into the Morning

I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof...

2005-03-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

This week's entry titles were brought to you by:

• "Summer Wine" by The Corrs feat. Bono (I walked into town on silver spurs...)
• "When I See You" by Bella Lea (Somehow we'll join paths and feelings will last...)
• "Hear Me Out" by Frou Frou (The permanent waves of cue cards and fix-it kits...)
• "All On Black" by Alkaline Trio (I'm just trying to relax as the killer's waiting right outside my door...)
• "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones (I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof...)

And the letter J.

I'm just trying to relax as the killer's waiting right outside my door...

2005-03-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to picking up a copy of Clock Tower 3 for the PS2. I gotta say, while it may be two years old (on the 18th) and is basically another Resident Evil clone, it's still an awesome game. And unlike the "Graphic Content" warning before the original RE games, this one really puts it to use. For instance, not too far into the game you witness a serial killer gouging a guy's eyes out, then grabbing his blind, old mother and throwing her around their house, slamming her head into things. After all that, the killer picks them up and stuffs them into a metal container and then starts dousing them with acid, while they're still alive and screaming. Pretty messed up stuff. Of course, the game revolves around a teenage girl being chased by possessed serial killers, but still... pretty crazy. So yeah, if you're ever at Fry's Electronics, make sure to pick up a copy (I got mine for $12.99).

The permanent wave of cue cards and fix-it kits...

2005-03-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple people ask about the "Total SurfJunky.com Earnings" thing in my sidebar, so I'm dedicating a post to it. SurfJunky is a website that pays members cash to surf the net. But unlike those "Pay-per-click" toolbars or other sites, this one does all the work for you. You simply register, then open the "SJ Browser" which is only another browser window; it will then automatically scroll through their clients' sites. Initially you only make $0.45/hour but soon after you get a raise to $0.50 and then $0.75. I started on Monday at 11:30am and just by keeping it running for 5 hours a day, I should make about $67 at the end of the month. For those wondering about payment, they give you two options. You can either have them send you a check to the address you give them, or in my case, have them deposit the money into your PayPal or StormPay account. They send out the money on the 15th of every month and from what I've heard and seen, it's a completely legit thing: no spyware or addware going on. So if you're interested, check it out here and start earning some easy money.
EDIT 25-MAR-05:
It turns out that SurfJunky is waay behind in paying its users and it may be cheating its clients. I'm starting to think that SJ was just a lame way for the company to profit off people like me, lol. So, yeah... don't do this thing.

Somehow we'll join paths and feelings will last...

2005-03-09T01:31:00.000-08:00

Just found out that Bella Lea is going to be playing at the Glass House on April 24th (a couple days after I move into my new apartment) and the tickets go on sale Thursday morning. I am definitely getting in on this, especially since I missed the last (and final) time Maura's old band, Denali, was in Southern California. Definitely not going to miss out this time, that's for sure. If anyone wants to go, let me know and I'll get an extra ticket. Here's a little something-something for all you TPS fans out there...

The Postal Service - We Will Become Silhoeuettes

EDIT 11-MAR-05:
Oh and for those who don't recognize the "mom" in the video, that's none other than Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, or to those who were obsessed with everything Nintendo in the early 90's, the "He touched my breasts!!"-girl from the truely awesome/horrible film, "The Wizard." Thankfully, the internet is home to many unwanted, but special-to-a-few, nuggets of goodness; if you go the X-Entertainment's "The Wizard" page, you too can view the clip! (hint: it's at the bottom)

I walked into town on silver spurs...

2005-03-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've decided to give another stab at blogging, one that doesn't spawn from the hell known as MySpace (although I've been pretty good at keeping an updated one on there...). Some of you might be wondering why I chose "Open My Arms and Fall..." as the title for this blog. The reason is simple: it's a lyric from a David Gray song and I think it speaks volumes about what I want to accomplish with this... taking the plunge and getting it done. I don't have much to post about tonight, so I'll just leave it as is.