Alright, my last blog of 2010! I'll do what I do every year at this time, and name off my favorite tunes. Some of these are not ranked in any order.
1. 'Dynomite'-Taio Cruz. A song good for any occasion. And I still don't know what ay-oh means! No matter, this song is uplifting for anyone.
2. 'OMG'-Usher. I hate the artist, Usher, the producer, will.i.am, and I definitely hate Auto-tune, but somehow this song still grabs me. Maybe its the crowd cheer or the beat, I dunno....
3. 'The Cave'-Mumford and Sons. My favorite group to break through this year. The Brits, or the Irish, are coming!
4. 'Stylo-Gorillaz. Great album, and who else would include soul legend Bobby Womack?
5. 'The Resistance'-Muse
6. 'How Low'-Ludacris
7. 'Animal'-Neon Trees
8. 'Internet Killed the Video Star'-The Limousines
9. 'Dominoes'-The Big Pink
10. 'Holiday'-Vampire Weekend
As always, I like to critique about how the music industry as well as what radio people are playing nowadays. I'm no fan of Gaga and Katy Perry, because its all about looks and appearance. I still have yet to see their talent, despite of what everyone else says. I have taken a liking for Ke$ha, as she is definitely about the music. I'm also glad that rock radio has finally turned its back on 'corporate rock' bands, and playing more indie. Maybe I'm naive, but its starting to sound like 'alternative' music again. Rap still sucks as long as 'auto-tune' is in. I don't like Glee, so that's why you never saw anything from the 'Glee Cast' on that list.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
good times lay ahead
So.....I thought I'd put a positive-themed title for my latest blog. Just the other day I was thinking about my close friends and peers around me and what they went through this year, both positive and negative changes that happened to them in 2010. Was it a good year for some? Probably not, but maybe it was all for the best.
I'm a bit self-conscious about my image to all people, and some people may get the feeling 'I don't want to change' about me. Mostly because I've been working in the same place since high school, and its like I never went to college (despite of the fact I wasted 7 years of my life there). Hey, I keep an open mind, and I practice what I preach, and look towards my options. Everyone is uncomfortable with change. I hope to make a huge step in 2011, so look out.
And speaking of high school, since the last blog I attended my 10th high school reunion. After being reluctant about going for the longest time, I was actually talked into going from a couple of my peers, and I never thought I'd say this, but....I'm actually glad I attended. From what I remember, there was a little over 525 people that graduated out of my class. I would say at least a quarter of those people attended the get-together, with several of them bringing their spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. But it was good times, and I got to catch up with just about everyone. The music, the weird 'fish-eye' photobooth, and the alcohol made it really fun too. I would hate to include alcohol in the mix, but it was the only way to get everyone loosened up! Some people have really changed, while there was the 'other half' that haven't. Some of those people I have not seen or talked to in, well...10 years. Just think, where did the time go? In the end, we all agreed that we shouldn't have to wait another ten years for our next reunion.
Getting back on facing challenges (sorry, I got too carried away with the whole h.s. thing!), I do find myself extremely lucky to be employed. I don't want to talk about the depressing economy, but it has had an effect on just about everyone. You pretty much have to be Amish not to be affected by it. Some of my friends were recently laid off from their jobs. Of course, they were disappointed, not discouraged. The lesson here is to hold on to what you got, until its gone. And of course, have a backup plan. Unfortunately, I was raised more about security over freedom. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
So, 2010 wasn't that bad for me, fortunately. I admit, I have slacked off on writing blogs. Blogging was more fun when more friends were involved. Now for some reason people are into 'microblogging' or simply statuses on Facebook. As for 2011, on the other hand, will meet tougher, if not greater, challenges. Just remove the 'lle' from that last word, and what do you get?
I'm a bit self-conscious about my image to all people, and some people may get the feeling 'I don't want to change' about me. Mostly because I've been working in the same place since high school, and its like I never went to college (despite of the fact I wasted 7 years of my life there). Hey, I keep an open mind, and I practice what I preach, and look towards my options. Everyone is uncomfortable with change. I hope to make a huge step in 2011, so look out.
And speaking of high school, since the last blog I attended my 10th high school reunion. After being reluctant about going for the longest time, I was actually talked into going from a couple of my peers, and I never thought I'd say this, but....I'm actually glad I attended. From what I remember, there was a little over 525 people that graduated out of my class. I would say at least a quarter of those people attended the get-together, with several of them bringing their spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. But it was good times, and I got to catch up with just about everyone. The music, the weird 'fish-eye' photobooth, and the alcohol made it really fun too. I would hate to include alcohol in the mix, but it was the only way to get everyone loosened up! Some people have really changed, while there was the 'other half' that haven't. Some of those people I have not seen or talked to in, well...10 years. Just think, where did the time go? In the end, we all agreed that we shouldn't have to wait another ten years for our next reunion.
Getting back on facing challenges (sorry, I got too carried away with the whole h.s. thing!), I do find myself extremely lucky to be employed. I don't want to talk about the depressing economy, but it has had an effect on just about everyone. You pretty much have to be Amish not to be affected by it. Some of my friends were recently laid off from their jobs. Of course, they were disappointed, not discouraged. The lesson here is to hold on to what you got, until its gone. And of course, have a backup plan. Unfortunately, I was raised more about security over freedom. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
So, 2010 wasn't that bad for me, fortunately. I admit, I have slacked off on writing blogs. Blogging was more fun when more friends were involved. Now for some reason people are into 'microblogging' or simply statuses on Facebook. As for 2011, on the other hand, will meet tougher, if not greater, challenges. Just remove the 'lle' from that last word, and what do you get?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
catching up!
I say this all the time but I'm wayyyyy overdue to write something on here. What I need to do is set a time where I can write exclusively on here. There's so much I would like to write about, its not even funny. Like always, I have been very busy. I mean, extremely busy. I'll explain in the next paragraph.
Most of you know how political of a guy I can be (lol), and thankfully the long-anticipated mid-term elections are over. I spent a lot of time in October volunteering on my days off as well as filling in shifts on my days off from work. What did I do? I was pretty much your worst enemy. I'll put it this way: if you don't like political calls coming to your house, then yeah that's what I'm talking about. My family always hated those calls, especially the recorded ones. But I actually talked to the people asking them: 'Hi this is Jason of the Illinois Victory Center and I was wondering if you can support the Republican team of Bill Brady (GOP Governor candidate for IL), Mark Kirk (GOP IL US Senate) and (local GOP candidate inserted here, mostly John Shimkus and Dwight Kay)?'. What was it like? I had a lot of fun, believe it or not. I wasn't crazy about it at first, because I saw it the same way as telemarketing or selling over the phone, something I never wanted to do. But all I did was ask for support (and their vote!), and it wasn't a problem at all. As for the negative feedback, I got used to it. And believe it or not, I actually came across some conversational people while helping campaigning.
And now the results: I was actually satisfied 70% with most of the outcome for the elections. I always figure: Hey, you can't win 'em all. The only two that disappointed me was the IL Governors race and the NV Senate race. I'll start with the IL Governors race. Most of us already know, because of the highly publicized matter, about the whole Rod Blagojevich thing. I still can't believe we're still waiting for the trial to happen. I just hope this guy gets what he deserves. His #2 guy, Pat Quinn, took over as Governor in Jan. of '09, and by that time the state of IL has plunged into billions of debt, as well as several job losses. These are just a couple of issues that tried to be played in the election. Earlier this year, Bill Brady won the GOP primary and one of my friends Jason Plummer (from Edwardsville) won the Lieutenant Governor race. It was quite a busy year for both of them, as they traveled around Illinois campaigning tirelessly, as well as knocking Quinn. I honestly thought Brady/Plummer would have won. And they almost did, by not even 50,000 votes. It turns out that Pat Quinn only won a large handful of Cook County and Brady won just about every county in IL. It makes a lot of people sick hearing about it, that Chicagoans make some of the decisions for downstate Illinoisans.
I will hand it to IL voters on one thing: replacing a Republican in President Obama's old Senate seat. The national media considered it an 'embarrassment' for our Prez, but to me, just because he had an 'R' next to his name does not necessarily mean he's entirely conservative. I did help campaign for Kirk, but there were a few things that he agreed with Obama on, such as cap-and-trade. But I do hope he does his duty well. As for Quinn, I of course was very disappointed. I was even embarrassed when I heard a national talk radio pundit say 'Illinois didn't want change'. I actually debated with a few people about it too. Many people thought Plummer to be a 'silver spoon', but if anyone can name anything positive that came out of Quinn while he was Governor, be my guest. (lol) I was amazed that Nevada didn't want change either as they re-elected Harry Reid. I don't know much about Nevada, nor have I ever been there, but from what I hear the state has been in financial trouble as well as its flagship Las Vegas.
Well, getting off politics, not much has been new with me. I only attended one show since my last post and that was Vampire Weekend. Great show, and easy to say my favorite band to have come out within the last few years. It was just announced that U2 will be at Busch Stadium in July, and Girl Talk will be in January. I'm very excited, that's all I can say. I almost attended the Suicidal Tendencies show last week, but it was the same night as election night.
I'm also in the process of buying a new car! A girl I work with may sell me her Mustang. I'm very excited about that too. There's a lot of things I'm still eagerly awaiting, but there are still challenges to meet before 2010 is over. I'll be again working Thanksgiving, which I'm not happy about. I'm very likely to spend it with my maternal side of the family like last year, and perhaps taking in Black Friday. Last year was the first time I worked on such day, and it was different watching hoards of people get in line for the big sale. The only thing I'm splurging myself on this year is an electronic reader. I'm definitely torn between the Kindle and the Sony E-Reader. Both have their pros and cons, not even outweighing each other. I definitely can't wait to buy something I can finally take with me everywhere I go, book-wise! On Thanksgiving weekend is my 10th high school reunion. For the longest time I didn't want to go, but a few people encouraged me to go, so I just thought 'Oh, what the hell....'. Truth be told, I'm very nervous about it.
I hope this gives you an idea about my current life. Catch ya all later!
Most of you know how political of a guy I can be (lol), and thankfully the long-anticipated mid-term elections are over. I spent a lot of time in October volunteering on my days off as well as filling in shifts on my days off from work. What did I do? I was pretty much your worst enemy. I'll put it this way: if you don't like political calls coming to your house, then yeah that's what I'm talking about. My family always hated those calls, especially the recorded ones. But I actually talked to the people asking them: 'Hi this is Jason of the Illinois Victory Center and I was wondering if you can support the Republican team of Bill Brady (GOP Governor candidate for IL), Mark Kirk (GOP IL US Senate) and (local GOP candidate inserted here, mostly John Shimkus and Dwight Kay)?'. What was it like? I had a lot of fun, believe it or not. I wasn't crazy about it at first, because I saw it the same way as telemarketing or selling over the phone, something I never wanted to do. But all I did was ask for support (and their vote!), and it wasn't a problem at all. As for the negative feedback, I got used to it. And believe it or not, I actually came across some conversational people while helping campaigning.
And now the results: I was actually satisfied 70% with most of the outcome for the elections. I always figure: Hey, you can't win 'em all. The only two that disappointed me was the IL Governors race and the NV Senate race. I'll start with the IL Governors race. Most of us already know, because of the highly publicized matter, about the whole Rod Blagojevich thing. I still can't believe we're still waiting for the trial to happen. I just hope this guy gets what he deserves. His #2 guy, Pat Quinn, took over as Governor in Jan. of '09, and by that time the state of IL has plunged into billions of debt, as well as several job losses. These are just a couple of issues that tried to be played in the election. Earlier this year, Bill Brady won the GOP primary and one of my friends Jason Plummer (from Edwardsville) won the Lieutenant Governor race. It was quite a busy year for both of them, as they traveled around Illinois campaigning tirelessly, as well as knocking Quinn. I honestly thought Brady/Plummer would have won. And they almost did, by not even 50,000 votes. It turns out that Pat Quinn only won a large handful of Cook County and Brady won just about every county in IL. It makes a lot of people sick hearing about it, that Chicagoans make some of the decisions for downstate Illinoisans.
I will hand it to IL voters on one thing: replacing a Republican in President Obama's old Senate seat. The national media considered it an 'embarrassment' for our Prez, but to me, just because he had an 'R' next to his name does not necessarily mean he's entirely conservative. I did help campaign for Kirk, but there were a few things that he agreed with Obama on, such as cap-and-trade. But I do hope he does his duty well. As for Quinn, I of course was very disappointed. I was even embarrassed when I heard a national talk radio pundit say 'Illinois didn't want change'. I actually debated with a few people about it too. Many people thought Plummer to be a 'silver spoon', but if anyone can name anything positive that came out of Quinn while he was Governor, be my guest. (lol) I was amazed that Nevada didn't want change either as they re-elected Harry Reid. I don't know much about Nevada, nor have I ever been there, but from what I hear the state has been in financial trouble as well as its flagship Las Vegas.
Well, getting off politics, not much has been new with me. I only attended one show since my last post and that was Vampire Weekend. Great show, and easy to say my favorite band to have come out within the last few years. It was just announced that U2 will be at Busch Stadium in July, and Girl Talk will be in January. I'm very excited, that's all I can say. I almost attended the Suicidal Tendencies show last week, but it was the same night as election night.
I'm also in the process of buying a new car! A girl I work with may sell me her Mustang. I'm very excited about that too. There's a lot of things I'm still eagerly awaiting, but there are still challenges to meet before 2010 is over. I'll be again working Thanksgiving, which I'm not happy about. I'm very likely to spend it with my maternal side of the family like last year, and perhaps taking in Black Friday. Last year was the first time I worked on such day, and it was different watching hoards of people get in line for the big sale. The only thing I'm splurging myself on this year is an electronic reader. I'm definitely torn between the Kindle and the Sony E-Reader. Both have their pros and cons, not even outweighing each other. I definitely can't wait to buy something I can finally take with me everywhere I go, book-wise! On Thanksgiving weekend is my 10th high school reunion. For the longest time I didn't want to go, but a few people encouraged me to go, so I just thought 'Oh, what the hell....'. Truth be told, I'm very nervous about it.
I hope this gives you an idea about my current life. Catch ya all later!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
birth days and online social networking
I wrote a similar blog like this on Myspace about oh, 3 years ago, but here's a revised edition. Today is my birthday (I'm IXXX, I think, in Roman numerals, lol). And if you're reading this, thanks in advance (laughs).
But I came on here to relate this special day to online sites like Facebook and Myspace among others. Actually, Myspace is pretty much dead so Facebook we'll stick with. For everyone, birthdays come once in every 365 (or 366) days. Seems like a long time, until we find out how fast we're getting old!!! Everyone has their own birthdays traditions and celebrations. But one thing that always sticks out in my head (and apparently everyone elses) is how many birthday wishes they will get on their Facebook wall. Every year its gets better for me, but every year I also tell myself enjoy it while I can while its still popular. More and more people go on Facebook every day, at least that's what I believe.
I personally don't like to wish people happy birthday on the Internet. If I do, I will make sure they know in person or through text, if I was really good friends with them. There's always that feeling in me that if someone wishes me a happy bday on Facebook, I feel that I have to return the favor and then I have to check the birthday listings day-by-day on Facebook. I know this makes me sound like a snob or bad person, but I hope you get kind of an idea where I'm coming from. I just like being fair and treating people the same way back. There's many different groups of friends on Facebook (family, close friends, people you never talk to, people you never met, etc) and sometimes I divide it that way. I believe we're all guilty of that :). The wrong way of thinking is 'who your real friends are' are the ones who actually wishing you a happy birthday. Some girl at work told me this recently. I can understand that most people are like me, they shouldn't feel the urge to wish someone a 'Happy bday'. I get that way too, all the time.
I'm not saying you shouldn't wish me one, but I will definitely try to do it when your special day comes, that's what I'm saying. Well, what's my plans for today? Maybe catch up on sleep, thinking about City Museum, Lumiere Place and definitely a big dinner! Or organize my music catalog on my computer....
But I came on here to relate this special day to online sites like Facebook and Myspace among others. Actually, Myspace is pretty much dead so Facebook we'll stick with. For everyone, birthdays come once in every 365 (or 366) days. Seems like a long time, until we find out how fast we're getting old!!! Everyone has their own birthdays traditions and celebrations. But one thing that always sticks out in my head (and apparently everyone elses) is how many birthday wishes they will get on their Facebook wall. Every year its gets better for me, but every year I also tell myself enjoy it while I can while its still popular. More and more people go on Facebook every day, at least that's what I believe.
I personally don't like to wish people happy birthday on the Internet. If I do, I will make sure they know in person or through text, if I was really good friends with them. There's always that feeling in me that if someone wishes me a happy bday on Facebook, I feel that I have to return the favor and then I have to check the birthday listings day-by-day on Facebook. I know this makes me sound like a snob or bad person, but I hope you get kind of an idea where I'm coming from. I just like being fair and treating people the same way back. There's many different groups of friends on Facebook (family, close friends, people you never talk to, people you never met, etc) and sometimes I divide it that way. I believe we're all guilty of that :). The wrong way of thinking is 'who your real friends are' are the ones who actually wishing you a happy birthday. Some girl at work told me this recently. I can understand that most people are like me, they shouldn't feel the urge to wish someone a 'Happy bday'. I get that way too, all the time.
I'm not saying you shouldn't wish me one, but I will definitely try to do it when your special day comes, that's what I'm saying. Well, what's my plans for today? Maybe catch up on sleep, thinking about City Museum, Lumiere Place and definitely a big dinner! Or organize my music catalog on my computer....
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fall is here....
September has already gone by quick, which I guess is a good thing? Well, closer to summer 2011, lol! I definitely can't wait for Halloween to be overwith. Thanksgiving and Christmas will definitely fly by quick, unless there's a snowstorm. That would be the one thing I never look forward to, weather-wise. But for now, its always about the change of temperature and atmosphere. Usually around my birthday (which is in 9 days) I start catching a real cold, but luckily the last two years it hasn't happened. Maybe I just learn from my mistakes, I don't know :).
I haven't even taken my jacket out of the closet yet. I just don't wanna do it. If it hasn't been mid-September yet, I would definitely say its too early. It has been chilly late at night as well as early-morning here in the StL area. We still usually get great weather during the day. In fact, yesterday it was 82 degrees. Every now and then I do catch allergies, but it don't irritate me that much.
There's plenty of things for me to look forward to this Fall. Last week, was my night with Seether (blog post coming soon!), and I'm going to KSHE 95's Pig Roast Festival this Saturday. Vampire Weekend will be in October, and I'm considering going to see Suicidal Tendencies and Papa Roach. Nothing's written in stone about either one, but they're both a month ahead from now. I also received an invitation to go to Chuck Berry's statue dedication ceremony, but the date is TBA. I also like to watch the Cards play in the last stages of the season, that is if they make it to the post-season. Unfortunately, its not looking good for them :(. And for current events, the first week of November will bring the long-awaited mid-term elections to see if certain Congress people will get kicked out of office. It will also be a thrilling time to witness the battle for Illinois: Bill Brady vs. incumbent Pat Quinn. (Edwardsville-an lumber heir Jason Plummer is running on the Brady ticket for Lt. Governor)
I haven't even taken my jacket out of the closet yet. I just don't wanna do it. If it hasn't been mid-September yet, I would definitely say its too early. It has been chilly late at night as well as early-morning here in the StL area. We still usually get great weather during the day. In fact, yesterday it was 82 degrees. Every now and then I do catch allergies, but it don't irritate me that much.
There's plenty of things for me to look forward to this Fall. Last week, was my night with Seether (blog post coming soon!), and I'm going to KSHE 95's Pig Roast Festival this Saturday. Vampire Weekend will be in October, and I'm considering going to see Suicidal Tendencies and Papa Roach. Nothing's written in stone about either one, but they're both a month ahead from now. I also received an invitation to go to Chuck Berry's statue dedication ceremony, but the date is TBA. I also like to watch the Cards play in the last stages of the season, that is if they make it to the post-season. Unfortunately, its not looking good for them :(. And for current events, the first week of November will bring the long-awaited mid-term elections to see if certain Congress people will get kicked out of office. It will also be a thrilling time to witness the battle for Illinois: Bill Brady vs. incumbent Pat Quinn. (Edwardsville-an lumber heir Jason Plummer is running on the Brady ticket for Lt. Governor)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
top 80s one-hit wonders
Tonight I'm playing one solid hour of 80s one-hit wonders. As most of us music enthusiasts know, the term 'one-hit wonder' is often controversial. See the wikipedia article about 'one-hit wonder' if you wanna know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions, and boy did they come up with some! Here's a sample of the playlist I put together for tonight:
Nena-99 Red Balloons (English language version of her German-language US hit. It's less confusing than you think!)
Benny Mardones-Into The Night
Baltimora-Tarzan Boy (passed away in '94)
After The Fire-Der Kommissar (an English language version of Falco's overseas hit song)
Danny Wilson-Mary's Prayer
Kajagoogoo-Too Shy
T'Pau-Heart And Soul (group named Star Trek character)
Taco-Puttin' On The Ritz (Irving Berlin penned tune)
David & David-Welcome To The Boomtown (I had a guy call me up while I played this song and he says he still listens to his David & David cassette tape! I love hearing memories, especially when they're not mine....)
JoBoxers-Just Got Lucky (one of my Facebook friends posted this song on her newsfeed and said she owned this on 45! Hey, gotta love randomness)
Plimsouls-A Million Miles Away
The Style Council-My Ever Changing Moods
Boys Don't Cry-I Wanna Be A Cowboy
Honorable mentions (but did not play):
Frank Stallone-Far From Over
Stars on 45
Jules Shear-Steady (wrote 2 of Cyndi Lauper's hit songs as well)
Re-Flex-Politics of Dancing
Musical Youth-Pass The Dutchie
Gary Numan-Cars (to many, he's a one-hit wonder, but I like his other song that was a hit overseas, which was 'Are Friends Electric?')
Jan Hammer-Miami Vice Theme
The Blow Monkeys-Digging Your Scene (don't ask about the name! lol. Also contributed a song to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack)
Device-Hanging on a Heart Attack
Opus-Live Is Life
Frida-I Know There's Something Going On (its fair to call her a one-hit wonder, should her previous career with Abba be disqualified)
Toni Basil-Mickey (how could I leave her out? Basil is also well known for her chorerography career as well as playing a prostitute in Easy Rider)
Tracey Ullman-They Don't Know
Living In A Box-Living In a Box
When In Rome-The Promise (most people now know this song as 'that song at the end of Napoleon Dynamite')
....I know there's several to mention but these just come to mind :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
book ideas
Your ideas/comments/suggestions are welcome on this one. I've been wanting to write a blog-type book for the longest time. I've got 2 major ideas.
1. I've always been interested in black history in America. All my life I've always wanted to hear a full perspective from several black people about what it is like living in modern America today. Back in college three years ago, I had to do a project where I interviewed 2 older African-Americans about life in America during the pre-Civil Rights era. Of course, I learned a lot. But I also want to get opinions from several A-A's of all generations, focusing on what their favorite stereotypical views from the majorities are, and what they expect from people in society. I want to interview famous black people as well as lower-class African-Americans. There are several areas to choose from.
2. Another area of interest is the music industry. I've written a lot of blogs about it, and now I want to put it in book form. Everyone has their opinions (mostly negative) about how the music industry is going. I keep up well as a matter of fact. I always like to read blogs from professionals, especially the Lefsetz Letter. But I like hearing it from the artists and bands themselves. I've talked to a few musicians about it and their views were very mixed. I'd like to put all of them in one place.
So there you have it. Let me know what you think!
1. I've always been interested in black history in America. All my life I've always wanted to hear a full perspective from several black people about what it is like living in modern America today. Back in college three years ago, I had to do a project where I interviewed 2 older African-Americans about life in America during the pre-Civil Rights era. Of course, I learned a lot. But I also want to get opinions from several A-A's of all generations, focusing on what their favorite stereotypical views from the majorities are, and what they expect from people in society. I want to interview famous black people as well as lower-class African-Americans. There are several areas to choose from.
2. Another area of interest is the music industry. I've written a lot of blogs about it, and now I want to put it in book form. Everyone has their opinions (mostly negative) about how the music industry is going. I keep up well as a matter of fact. I always like to read blogs from professionals, especially the Lefsetz Letter. But I like hearing it from the artists and bands themselves. I've talked to a few musicians about it and their views were very mixed. I'd like to put all of them in one place.
So there you have it. Let me know what you think!
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