minutes to midnight

Okay I lied. I had to make another post today.

So i reviewed the Korn album the other day. while i have another review for you...but dont worry its much less detailed.

Linkin Park - Minutes to midnight,

This is LP's third full studio album, its been 4 years since thier last offering....AND IT SUCKS.

Okay so I have only listend to it once, but it was all i could do to get through that. I have been waiting for this album for a long time (previously stated 4 years)/ and even though I knew it would happen I was hoping I would not be terribly dissapointed. There is far less "rocking" than previous offerings. Chesters "rage" voice is all but missing. while his singing time is greatly increased. I have always been a fan of both , but with the balance shifted the other way. lots of rage with some owsome singing bits.W

ith thier first 2 albums I found myself listening to them over and over again right from the start. i didnt even want to finish this one.

Which is a real shame because my one complaint I have always had about linkin park is both albums are just 36 minutes long. This one is almost 10 minutes longer, which is a nice improvement...or at least it would be if it wasnt 6 more minutes of suck

Your telling me that in 4 years all you could come up with was 42 minutes?

anyway, I will listen to it some more, maybe my judgment is a little premature. we'll see. But notthing really caught my ear enough to warrent it. I am only giving it more time to maybe "grow on me" because I have been such a fan. I will let you know if my oppinion changes.

But at this time i just have one more things to say. I am so glad I am a Pirate and didnt just buy it on Tuesday like i normally would have.

Update before the storm

Okay so here's the news.

My girlfriend is FINALLY officially my roommate. Since Sunday and its been great. I have some one to talk to and to hang out with. its awsome.

This last week has been crazy getting as much out of the way before my trip as possible.

I am leaving for 2 weeks, part of which is over the start of a new month. So basically i had to try and have as much of the next 2 weeks done ahead of time. I think I have done a pretty damn good job, so my coworkers will have a minimum of stuff to cover for me.

And this week has been all the finalizing of plans, and details and making sure i have EVERYTHING I need for the trip. Its been a crazy run. but We leave on Saturday. I am now incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. Its been a lot of planning and there are a lot of things that could potentially go wrong. But I am sure it will all be fine.
I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here eventually.

Other than trip planning, working and Moveing My girlfriend in, I have been playing lots of video games, and working on the house.

See you all after the trip.

Freaky Friday

Well, not really anything freaky about it, i just needed a title.

Its after 5, work is over, but I am waiting for Amy to arrive in town before we go to Spider Man 3 with M & M.

I got a new cd today..it acctually came out back in feb/march, but I just got it.

So i am going to give you a review of it.


Korn MTV Unplugged.

The MTV Unplugged series is a little hit and miss. Some great shows have been recorded but never released, others have been released but sucked. Luckily there are also those that kicked ass and were released. Luckily, I feel that Korn is one of those.

Now many people have been less than impressed with Korn most recent string of albums...basically anything since Follow the leader. I on the other hand like all of it.

Now and accoustic albnum is somthing of a differant story. This is a band that collectivly normally has 19 strings, a drum set and a dedicated singer, all of whom deffinetly have thier dials turned up to 11. and are considered the fathers of "nu-metal"

The albums starts out with a signature track and one of Korns most popular. Blind,. there is heavy emphisis on the percusion element of this song, I found Johnathans voice paticularily stong on this track, its nice to here a track from the early angry screaming korn. love the instrumental at the end.

With out a break the band moves right into Hollow life, which takes on a very errie, melodical sound, even more so than the original. by being slowed down and having the volume dropped, this song while keeping the original idea, takes it further and to a simple and at the same time more complex place

Amy lee from Evanescene is introduced for a duet version of korns biggest hit, Freak on a leash (see previous posting), which is also the only single thus far. As much as I love korn, and as much as I love Amy lee. this colaberation had much more potential than result. Not to say I dont like it, i do very much. but it could have been even better. For me the song kind of falls apart from 2:45-3:10, when normally john goes nuts All we get is him saying "go" over and over again, while amy does her opera-chanting that see is so damn good at....I felt a little ripped off by the lack of john involvement, but the rest is about as good as it gets.

the next track in Falling away from me , this song began as a powerfull anthem about anti-abuse (the video had the number for the kids help phone at the end). Although the errieness returns and the power of the message is presented in a differant way, i felt that it lost the same impact. However the entire band player very well on this track.

This is like a dream come true. a fave band covering a fave song. Korn singing Radioheads Creep after a small dedication from Johnathan. This is notthing short of amazing. They capture the original as only korn could., sad, strong, defient..amazing.. i would love to here a studio version of this.

Love Song a track from the most recent Korn album. Hard, heavy, angry, just unplugged, not much else to say about it.

Got the Life: I have to admit that my expectations for this song may have been a little high. This was THE song that got me into korn. I love this track, its one of my faves. It was performed well, but i think the percusion and everything became to cluttered, there was too much going on for an accoustic track....maybe its just not the same with out John wearing that bright green fur trench coat and it lacked the "rum-biddy-boo" thing

Twisted transistor /coming undone these 2 songs are newer songs, so havent been around as long to have developed as much of a place in my heart , so i cant critique them as much. hoever Twisted transistor lent it self paticularily well to the accoustic intruments, the rythem was perfect for it. of the 2, TT was better.

The next track is a medly of sorts, Make me bad, and In between days.The second colaberation of the set, this time with Robert Smith and the Cure. Not sure waht exactly to say about this one. John Davis had a marilyn manson esqu drawl for parts of the song, it started out as make me bad with Roberts smith on background then flawlessley moved into "in between days", with John on Backing vocals, then back again. it could very well have been one song originally. Beautifull. (as a side note I make a great Roberts smith for 80's parties.)

The final track was Throw me away. It starts out with a japanese taiko drum set. which was very cool. I felt this was an odd track to finish the set with. but it was done very well, again though, maybe a little too much going on with the percusion and other stuff. COuld have been toned down.

and thats how the disc ends. There were a few more track recorded that for one reason or another are not included: thoughtless, dirty, and no ones there. I would have liked to seen thoughtless if notthing else. All in all i quite like the disc and think it was a fitting rebirth to the MTV unplugged series....now i just want the dvd.

I promis ethe next review i do will not be a complete track by track break down, i just had lots of time tonight.

Heros heros heros HEROS

Seriously if you dont watch heros...WHATS WRONG WITH YOU.

I admit I was a late comer to the series...not for lack of interest, but for not being a big TV watch, so I downloaded them all to get caught up.

Let me list some of the things thats make this show great

Super powers, a huge cast, time travel, exploding cities, star trek referances galore, people ripped in half, swords, awsomeness, malcom macdowel, cliffhangers, flashbacks,uber-coolness, semi-canabalism, people being throw off buildings, comics books,george takai, sulu (yes he needs mentioning twice) cross promotion, its kicks ass, lost is the equivilant to the Geico cave-man pilot in comparison, and that only describes the average episode...never mind the best most awsome one.

Seriously, find a way to watch this show... this is seriously MUST WATCH televisin (or at least download)

Something vexes me

Somthing has been bugging me recently...okay its always bugged me, but more so lately.

Its no secret that besides my girlfriend i have little to no social life. Never have. This has been made more pronounced by the fact that I live in a differant town from where I work. Any friends that I do have live in the town I work in. So its virtually impossible to convice ANY of them to venture a short 20-30 minute drive to hang out at my place. This is endlessly aggrevating.

I have many things to do at my place and I am always adding to the options. I have a pool table, countless video games, and a full cubboard full of board games. Over the last year I have made sure to expand my multi-player video games and purchased extra controls for friends to use.
I have also spent a decent amount of money on board games.

Recently I went on a crusade and had a 3 foot by 5 foot risk board custom printed. (somthing that i am often critisiced and ridculed for)
I have also purchased a Nintendo wii system.

The reason I have been doing these things and buying these things is in hope of. hopefully, maybe at some point, one day being able to convince people to have a little get togther for some fun and games....TO NO FUCKING AVAIL. I spent weeks trying to arrange game of risk with co workers. I have since given up that idea.

So all i can feel is that I have wasted so much money in the 12 months, because all i have accomplished is more games for me to play by myself and a smaller bank account. its VERY frustrating.

on top of that, there is part 2 of my vex'ed'ness

At work we have sports teams, joining local leauges and such (softball, footbal, vollyball, etc)
I have NO interest in any of these sports and I suck at all of them.

Coworkers also get together at the bar for drinks and wings or what ever. I dont drink and people who know me, know that spending money on stuff that dissapears instantly (food, candy, etc) is not my thing.
Not being part of these teams or going to the bar for a "staff function" is something that I am also often critisiced and ridculed about...

here is an example:
Are you coming out to "Event x"
no
why not
dont feel like it
why not
oh i have stuff to do
oh come on, your not doing anything
i have company coming for the weekend
so bring them along
nah, we have plans
like what?

and it goes on and on like that, or I simply get accused of being anti-social.

So i dont play your damn games , well, you don't play mine either.

Sick of the wait

In October of 2005 I met my girlfriend, we got to see each other pretty much every day until the end of April 2006. School was over, I came back to innisfail, she to St.Paul.

We for the most part managed to see each other every couple weeks and then only on weekends.
it has had to continue that way ever since, because I graduated and she had another year.

All along its always been "just until the end of april", "we only have to keep doing this until you graduate"

I am so tired of having to say goodbye, only getting to talk to her in email or on the phone and I am SO sick of missing her. At one point it not so bad, 2 weeks was long but it was manageable, but it soon got to a point where 1 week was barely tolerable, and at the end of the semester it got to the point where we missed each other by tuesday at the latest (after seeing each other sunday)

But now here we are, its the end of April, in fact its the begining of May, and she is graduated. and i still have to wait to see her.

All of her stuff has been moved in, but she has not. We decided that before she moves in,. we go on our trip and she has to get a job that she should go home and visit with family and friends for a couple weeks.

so now "the end of april" has turned into the "middle of may", and then we quickly leave for our treip, which is great, its together constantly, but she is still not really moved in.

I am just so impatient for it, but its ALMOST over.

Her and her brother should eb down this weekend, bring some more stuff that she needs, and taking alot of stuff she doesnt when theyt leave.
the following weekend I will be going up there for a visit, and for her brothers bitrhday, and I will be taking mor eof her stuff we dont need. then bringing her back with me to stay.

and then we start our trip.

all I can say is i am SOOOO glad the wait is almost over.