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Moving on up...

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:36:44 GMT

Okay, so when I started my great Bass Journey about a year ago, I was pretty sure that I was not going to be the next Geddy Lee.

He's of course had a 40+ year head start on me and all.

But that doesn't mean I don't want to challenge myself. Ergo, after 10 months of lessons, I finally decided that it was time to try and attempt to tackle some Rush.

Lord help me.

Anyway, Much like I tackled "Something" over the course of several months and in bits and pieces, tweaking, learning new techniques as I went, etc., I've picked my next project song.

Viola!

I'm up to about a minute into the song. through the intro, the first verse, and the first pre-chorus.

This song entails over 50 time signature changes, about 10 tempo changes, & multiple fill substitutions depending on what verse and chorus you're on.

The scary thing?. I picked this song for two reasons:

1. I am convinced that this would make a most kick-ass Evangelion AMV.

2. This is one of the SIMPLER Bass songs I am familiar with from Rush.

See you in the Spring.

I'm kinda like a musician. Kinda.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:14:57 GMT

Hey Boys and Girls, hows it goin'?

Been awhile since yinz all heard from me, n'@. I think it was right around the time when Sir Sidney was skating around with 35 lbs of silver.

So, what's gone down since then?

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllll...

^_^

No, this is not my month delayed recap of all things wedding. Just wanted to let the few folks that don't share a mutual friends-list with Sarah that we're both now ringed, blinged, and enjoying the matrimony thing.

Anyway, this post is more about musical endeavors and the such as I continue the Bass odyssey I started last January.

I can now play, from start to finish, four songs successfully on the Bass And by successfuly, I mean that I am playing the Bass part of said song and am able to keep time with some success with the original song.

The first song I learned was Ben E. King's "Stand By Me"

Honestly, this was my gimme song. It's only 32 notes stretched across 8 bars and there is no change in key, no change during the bridge, etc. It was a good learning song for timing, rhythm, and rests, though.

The second song I've learned was Otis Reddings "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"

The hammer-ons at the beginning are still a sore spot with me. I can do 'em, just not particularly well or clear or proficiently. I any case, there's multiple parts to this song to practice and while the riffs are not particularly complicated, it does have an intro (the before mentioned hammer-on section), a main riff, a change-up in the refrain, a bridge section, and outro (more hammer-ons.)

The third song was learned in the last 2 weeks or so. This is Fats Domino's "Blue Monday"

This one was useful in teaching me about a song's key signature (B in this case), and using the major chords of said key. This song is mainly about keeping the order of those chords right, remembering the slight change in order after the first refrain. Also the refrain using a much faster riff comprised of triplets, which is fun, but if you lose count in your head, it can throw the whole timing of the song off.

The main riff in B is B B D# F#. The refrain seven bars comprised of 4 sets of triplets followed by a 8th bar that brings you back down to the root.

So, using roman numerals to indicate the chord, here is the progression of Blue Monday:

I I IV I I I V V I I IV I I V I I (refrain) IV #IV I I IV #IV V V(Back to root for start of next verse) I I IV I I V I I (Bridge) I I IV I I V I I (refrain) IV #IV I I IV #IV V V(Back down to root) I I IV I I V Final note is the root held to end.

Now, mind you, these are not the only songs I know or the only basslines I know. Using the Bass to play Melody instead of rhythm, I can play some standards (Happy Birthday, Star Spangled Banner, Ode to Joy) and I've picked up some bass riffs from assorted songs, but not the entire song. "Day Tripper", "Don't Stop Believin'" "One of These Nights." "Cars" "Godzilla", etc. Just stuff I'm picking up as for a change of pace when my exercises start to get a little monotonous, but too far away from being able to jam with a group playing those songs.

There is a fourth song that I can play from start to finish, but not in the traditional Bass sense. This was a psuedo-original composition put together with the help of my Bass teacher Al.

The song is question is George Harrison's "Something"

However, instead of playing the bass or the traditional guitar part, I created a Bass piece that was an amalgamation of the guitar, vocal, and bass, to create a stand-alone instrumental. I broke down each section with Al and with his help added a bass-bridge and some flourishes (Slides, Pull-offs, etc, arpeggios, etc.) and worked on it over the course of 4 months before the wedding.

I also had my brother secretly transport my Bass to Saxonburg (with amp and stand)and my cousin the DJ camouflage it during the reception, just so I could do this:

and it was worth all of it. It was my first public performance and I wanted the reason for it to be to thank the wonderful woman who not only has helped me finally move forward with that long-ago dream of trying to learn to play music, but to thank her for how incredibly wonderful she has made my life.

Thank you.

The Ant and the Grasshopper (as told from the Beetle's perspective)

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:42:18 GMT

Once upon a time there was a community of insects made of many different types ants, grasshoppers, and beetles. Every few years they would elect a new leader to guide this community.

Things were okay at first and elections seemed orderly enough. But soon a problem began to creep up more and more often. Every time an ant won the majority of votes, then the grasshoppers would pout and mope and claim that the ant would destroy everything that the community worked for and lead them on the path to ruin.

Eventually the grasshoppers would sway enough of the community to eventually elect a grasshopper. Unfortunately, now the ants would pout and mope and claim that the grasshopper would destroy everything that the community worked for and lead them on the path to ruin.

This cycle seemed to go on and on and on...

and on and on...

and on...

Meanwhile the beetles, whom actually made up the largest majority of insect community were rapidly growing more and more aware that the ants and the grasshoppers were only really interested in appearing to be in power and that everyone knew that the ants or the grasshoppers were great and awesome and special.

Many beetles wondered if it was really worth sticking around especially since they appeared to be the only ones actually working at storing food for the winter while the ants and grasshoppers bickered over who had the beetles' best interests in mind.

Eventually a spider came along and ate the grasshoppers and a aardvark ate the ants and the beetles enjoyed the long winter in peace and quiet.

The moral of the story is this: Ants need to stop being douches to Grasshoppers and Grasshoppers need to stop being douches to Ants or soon the Beetles won't give a flying fuck about them when they get eaten by spiders and aardvarks.

The End

OM-G20... WTF Mate?!

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:47:33 GMT

Yay! It's over. The politico's are done self-congratulating themselves for maintaining the status quo for another 6 months and are jetting off to wherever it was from whence they came.

4 quick observations:

1. It only took shutting down a large American city to a point of being a ghost town to make my evening commute the easiest it's ever been EVAAAR.

2. The only universal language is stupid.

3. The best way to tell the most powerful people in the world that your opinion is valuable and must be heeded is by smashing out the windows of a Boston Market... 3 miles away.

4. No dumb-ass, we don't live in a fascist police-state. If we did you would never have the opportunity to don masks, use fake names, and use the anonymity of a large group to chuck rocks at windows and tell off cops, whilst knowing that you'll never be held responsible for the damage you caused.

If we lived in a fascist police-state, before you even got to Pittsburgh, hell probably after you signed into a "anarchist" message board for the first time, you would've been snatched off the street by a unmarked van and never heard from again and your very existence erased from all public record.

It's real easy to be an anarchist when you got a mask and 50 buddies. Grow a set and chuck a brick at a shop window when you're by yourself. You've wouldn't want to appear like a giant hypocrite now, would you?

God, I'm a tool.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:53:59 GMT

Yeah, with all the craziness that has been work, Otakon, Wedding, and life in general, I pulled a total dick move.

Allow me to rectify it here.

Happy 30th Birthday to my best friend, Trav a.k.a. worlds_unseen.

Dude, I'll call you this evening if you're free.

Also, happy birthday to Nicky who happens to also share Trav's birthday as well.

I'm a douche.

What's better than walllowing in sweet, sweet vicarious achievements?

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:44:40 GMT

...rubbing it in everyone elses' faces.

Yeah, I think I'm allowed a moment of total douchery. I promise to not make it any more of a habit than my regular brand of douchery.

Lord Stanley, Scratch their names on your fabled cup!

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:22:20 GMT

If you missed this one, shame on you for 6 weeks... no, scratch that, 6 YEARS.

If you're heart didn't skip beats at least once, you're either A.) Dead or B.) Chuck Norris.

For those who still don't believe it actually happened and it might have been possibly some sort of group hallucination, here's the down and dirty...

As I said just a few days ago. Game Sevens are weird. You never know who was going to stand up and say "This is MY TIME. I will become an Immortal tonight." Everyone expects the superstars to do it, time and again. Sometimes they do. Sometimes, they fall short. Sometimes, however, it's that guy... the guy you had a inkling might one day be THAT Guy, but you never honestly believed it would really happen.

Honestly, folks. Did you REALLY expect THIS man...

...to be the hero in Detroit for not one but TWO straight years?

Max, forget superstar treatment. With this, expect to get LEGEND treatment from A & L Motors as well as every man, woman, and child in the Burgh.

Back in February, I said I was still keeping the faith. When they were down 3 games to 2, I said that until someone was awarded 35 lbs of Silver, I wasn't conceding shit.

I've watched this team when Mario was making guys like Warren Young into productive players.

I've watched this team lose heart breakers in Philly.

I've watched Mario and Jamir and Ron and Troy and Phil and Tommy win Back to Back Cups.

I've watched F'n Volek deny the world of Mario Vs. Gretzky in '93.

I've watched those damn Rat throwing bastards in Florida deny Mario his third.

I've watched as Mario put down the sweater and put on the suit to save the Franchise again.

I watched as he put the sweater back on over the suit to lead this team again.

I've watched Marty Broduer deny Mario his third in between snacking on a glazed Ham.

I've watched Mario bang his head trying to do right by his team while bureaucrats twiddled their thumbs.

I've watched Eddie O try to will guys like Ramzi Abid, Dick Tarnstrom, Konstantine Kolstov, and Kris Beech to something above mediocrity.

I've watched as a gambling board did everything short of backing up the Mayflower Truck in trying to force the Pens out.

I've watched as a lottery Ball failed to bounce our way and we ended up with the "consolation prize" in 2004 - Geno Malkin.

I've watched when the ball bounced our way when it was needed most and Sid came to our city, carrying with him not only the weight of a franchise, not only the weight of the entire league, but the weight that the very sport of Hockey in Pittsburgh might not survive lest he personally saved it.

I've watched this team return to where it hadn't been in 4 seasons, the post season.

I've watched this team make a ahead of schedule run to the Cup, only to watch their foes skate on OUR ice with that treasured trophy.

I've watched as Hossa walked away, but not before flipping the team off on his way out the door.

I've watched as this team sat in 10th place in February, with a new coach with no NHL experience, and looking like it was another victim of the runners-up curse.

And last night, I watched as Flower bloomed, Max proved he was a superstar, Geno showing who the REAL MVP was, and Sid showing that sometimes a leader has to sit back and let the others carry the load.

I wouldn't trade one god damned second of any of that time for Detroit's 11 Cups, Montreal's 25 Cups, or even a 100 straight Cups.

Because it was all those experiences that make this team special. It was all those experiences that make this franchise special.

YES YOU DID.

THANK YOU.

2009 Stanley Cup Champs

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:54:57 GMT

That'll do, Pens. That'll do.

Nothing left to say...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:27:01 GMT

DO IT.

Good Lord, here we go again...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:53:29 GMT

Remember everything I told you guys about Game Sevens? Yeah, multiply that by about 15 million.

All game sevens are weird. Sometimes the best team wins. Sometimes the luckier team flukes one. Sometimes, the game's brightest stars shine and sometimes, it's the most underwhelming personalities that make their mark...

Kasparitis
Volek
Bream
Fedotenko
Mazeroski

Game sevens turn the unknown into legends. Both the good kind and the bad.

But in the end, all that matters is the W. We gots 15. They gots 15. You don't get #16 and the other 15 were just an excruciating exercise in futility.

Lord help me survive Friday night.

Now, all the conspiracy theorists out there, they'll fill your heads with tin-foil hat fantasies of a secret league conspiracy to fix this entire season for the Penguins. After all, Crosby is the chosen one and Bettman is in hot, hot man love with him.

Those theorists also believe 911 was an inside job, Elves live in the sewers of New York City, and that PopRocks and Coke killed Mikey from Life Cereal.

In other words, it's bullshit.

Both teams have gotten their share of favorable and unfavorable calls from the refs and both teams have had things happen to them that would imply some grand conspiracy.

Those things are called coincidences. But then again if you look at something long enough expecting to see something, you probably will.

Their biggest argument as to why the league wants the Pens to win is because it's the Better Story. It plays better on TV. It's like some great movie script.

They're right about one thing, actually. It IS like a movie script. Just not like the ones their thinking of.

No, this is not like some sports movie script. Those are the highest form of cliched tripe. The script that this season is like is much, MUCH better...

The movie this season most resembles? Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. HowevAH, this movie is called...

Playing the role of Michael Corleone is your Pittsburgh Penguins. Young, smart, and yes, handsome. Thrust into the center of the story by a series of fated twists and turns, forced to be the 'face team' of the league when all they wanted was to just play hockey.

His opposition? None other than the rest of the infamous 5 families played to perfection by the Philly Flyers, Washington Caps, and Detroit Red Wings.

But the story's similarities don't end there. Not by a long shot.

Playing the role of Sonny Corleone is Iron Mike Therrien. Thrust into leadership because the circumstances demanded it, ultimately his personality was not what the family needed and eventually he ended up whacked.

Playing the role of Tom Hagen is former defenseman Ryan Whitney. Whits was a loyal member of the family, but he was never respected by the other families and while he did his job well, ultimately he was pushed out by Michael because he was not a wartime consigliere.

The poor Carolina Hurricanes. They are Moe Green. It was really hard to hate them like the other teams so far. There just wasn't the history. Ultimately, the only reason they were whacked was simply because they were in the way. Nothing personal, just business.

Playing the rolls of Clemenza and Tessio are none other than Bill Cowher and Jim Leyland. Associates of the family, that both had things to benefit from if they joined with the Corleone's enemies. While Tessio (Cowher) had every reason to stay loyal, he ultimately got in bed with the enemy, while Clemenza(Leyland) who would most likely be the traitor was loyal to the family, or at least more loyal than Tessio.

and finally, there's Marion Hossa. He's Carlo Rizzi. Michael's rat-faced Brother-in-law who lucked ass-backwards into the family. But when times got tough, he sold out the family in hopes of getting a better deal from his enemies.

In the end, Michael gets his revenge on ALL his enemies. The heads of the other four families end up whacked and their families left powerless. Moe Green gets a bullet in the eye. Tessio gets an bullet off-screen and Carlo ends up dead in a car.

That's the perfect ending.

But that only happens one way.

The Pens win Game Seven on Friday night.

Friday night, the Penguins settle all outstanding Corleone Family business.

DO IT.

YES WE WILL.

Sweet Jesus... thud

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:51:55 GMT

If there was ever a word for this game, it would HEARTATTACKARIFIC.

Right now, my arm hurts, I'm tasting copper, and I just had a nice conversation with Grandma.

I can't talk about Game 7 right now. I will, no worries.

but right now, I gotta head to the hospital...

...or the bar...

...whichever I pass first on the way.

Step back from the bridges folks...

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:02:37 GMT

Srsly folks.

I didn't throw the team under the bus when they were in 10th place, just fired the coach, and were looking to drafting in the top 15.

I didn't throw them under the bus when they dropped the first two to the Caps and Ovechmutant.

I didn't even bother to post a rationalization or try to rally the troops when they dropped the first 2 in Detroit and were looking to vomit all over themselves like they did last year.

If you think I'm gonna be looking for a bridge to jump off of while throwing them under the bus now, then where the fuck have you been?

If you're jumping ship now, go ahead and drown like a rat. You're the worst kind of bandwagoning frontrunner trash a fanbase can have.

Me? Until I see someone skating around with 35 lbs of silver, I ain't conceding shit to nobody.

You still need four. They only got three. Disco is gonna set these boys straight and Tuesday will be a reminder that no matter how many times this squad looked to be out, they kept firing shots until they run out of bullets... and then they use the guns as clubs.

This team only has 2 goals right now.

Game 6.

Game 7.

DO IT.

YES WE CAN WILL.

Last year is last year. This year is this year.

Sat, 30 May 2009 04:34:36 GMT

Last year, I could deal with the Flightless Birds losing in 6 to the Red Wings. The whole run was a surprise, one that many thought was a few years ahead of schedule. They were young and they had never played on that big of a stage before. The Red Wings were the savvy vets and they looked it.

That was last year.

This year, I am not as accepting of a defeat, especially not at the hands of them.

Last year was a hard lesson. Lesson learned. Brush self off, start again.

I want a win, if fact I want 4 of them. I want a third Cup.

I'm not going to rant and rave about how much a large portion of their fanbase royally annoys the hell out of me. I'm not going to type a dissertation to point out some blatant hypocrisy that has been regurgitated my way the last 2 years. That will be for another time.

No matter what happens, someone is gonna bitch. Someone is gonna cry conspiracy, etc. etc. etc. It's the internet. That's to be expected. It's full of fail.

Whatev.

That's not what is gonna affect what happens on the ice. The players will do that.

I believe the Penguins have better players who will play better than the Red Wings at this point in time.

The Wings got Marion Hossa this year. Good for them.

The Pens got the 3 I's.

Play Hard. Play Honest. Play Smart.

Win Four.

Raise the Cup.

DO IT.

Guess I can be wrong some of the times...

Wed, 27 May 2009 02:15:17 GMT

This will not be a cakewalk. This will not be a sweep. These are two teams that are both headed for a collision and there may not end up with a winner. Only a survivor. - Some dumbass, 16 May 2009 @ 08:19 pm

Okay, so I either extremely overestimated the abilities of the Canes...

...Or I extremely underestimated the power of the teachings of the this man:

The 3 I's beats a Class 5 any day of the week, my friends.

I don't care who we play next. I don't care about favorable match-ups, or revenge, or whatever bullshit storyline they'll come up with to sell commercial time on NBC.

I only care about one thing in regards to the next series.

Win Four More.

Bring Home Lord Stanley.

Oh, and hey Nicky...

DO IT.

[Edit: 11:22 PM]

Okay, yeah, one last thing. Before we even get to the next series, let's all enjoy this one a little.

Wooooooooooooo!

My fandom +15...

Fri, 22 May 2009 01:14:01 GMT

A weird thought dawned to me today. Looking at the calender, I realized that this month marks 15 years I've been an anime/manga fan.

15 years. Quite literally, half my life.

And in those 15 years, the fandom has changed so much and I guessed I've changed with it. Frankly, I cycled around almost as many times as a Pens power play.

Things I still remember...

"Japanimation"
VHS
Dubs vs. Subs
Carl Macek
P-Anime
Sci-Fi Channel's annual animation festival
Sci-Fi Channel's Saturday Anime
Apollo Smile
Ani-Mayhem
Mixx-zine
Ippon Bang
Son May & EverAnime
Studio Ironcat
Crystal City Hyatt Regency

The industry has changed quite a bit in the last 15 years too.

It used to be that a series in Japan wouldn't see a VHS release in the states until at least 1-2 years had passed and then the release schedule would be over the range of several months/years.

Now, with the advent of BitTorrent, peer-2-peer, DVD, etc. - series are seeing DVD box sets released within a few months of a show's Japanese run. Hell, some series now are being released simultaneously online as they air episodes in Japan.

Hell, if you brought up such notions 15, hell, even 10 years ago, you'd be laughed at.

The times, they are a changing.

But, that's neither here nor there. This is introspection with a heavy dose of celebration.

The fandom has been good to me despite occasional run-ins with the seamier underbelly of it. For every negative thing that's ever happened to me because of the fandom, I can think of at least 10 things that were good.

The bestest thing being the people I've met directly and peripherally through the fandom, including 2 guys whom I consider amongst my closest and best friends and a pretty damn incredible woman whom I just happen to be madly in love with.

So, for all the talk of being the "Grizzled Old Otaku," I still do enjoy it for what it is. Cartoons from Japan with weird interesting characters/situations/places/etc.

So, with that thought, I wanted to share some of my favorite titles that's I've come across the last 15 years. I remember something like this a few years back, but this isn't so much a top ten list, but more of just a random sampling of some of the stuff I've dug and think you might like too...

El-Hazard: The Magnificent World

Yeah, yeah, like THAT wasn't predictable. Y'know despite AIC's best efforts to water down this series toward the end, it doesn't diminish my sheer enjoyment from watching the first series. I can still pop it in now and I still enjoy it as much as when I first saw it.

Paprika

Satoshi Kon has made some really interesting, abet confusing, stuff. But I really like Paprika because it was just a pure delight of interesting visuals, character designs, and story.

My Neighbor Totoro

Seriously, if you don't have a smile on your face when you see this, you're just a bitter poopy-head (and yes, that is the technical term.)

Read or Die (et al)

I just find it amusing for a series to be set around someone who can kill you with a Washington. Bibliophiles FTW.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Gainax. Spoofing of multiple genres. Kinda coherent plot. I like.

Kalaido Star

I haven't see the entire thing yet, but it is very visually pleasing with very nicely done acrobatic sequences.

Yakitate!! Japan.

Okay, so the end credits are kinda deceptive, but I had to use them for this one. This is so bizarrely awesome I had to share it. It's a shonen series. A shonen series about the world of high stakes competitive bread making. Yes, that IS what I said. It's made of win, trust me.

and finally, something a little darker, but very good.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

This series a combination of MOE and Psychological horror thriller. Two things that should not be combined. It ends up like dropping a chocolate bar in your jar of peanut butter...

...and then the peanut butter stabs you.

Okay, this is going on long and the game is tied, so I'm going to wrap it up, but before I do. I have one last video and this one is my find of day.

It's not so much the movie it was connected to. Honestly Roujin Z was kinda "meh" as a movie. But I absolutely loved the ending theme. After almost 15 years, I have finally found a full length version of it and I honestly am very happy that I did. It's still as poppy and happy and juts plain fun as it was when I first heard it.

Hopefully, it will make you smile too.

Kay, I'm outs. I'll talk to y'all on this subject again when I hit an even 20 years. ^_~.

Stand Back!

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:44:52 GMT

There's a Hurricane comin' through!

Okay. Alex the Elimin8d is off to the links and Philly fans have been been drowning their sorrows in cheese-steaks and naked pictures of Scott Hartnell for over 2 weeks now.

Philly - Done.

Caps - Done.

Not too shabby, right? Surely this is a post-season to hang your hat on, no doubt.

Not quite.

We're only halfway there.

Beating DC and Philly mean nothing if, in the end, you don't capture those 30 lbs of silver and bring it home.

We're 8 wins down. We still have 8 more to go before we hang our hat on anything.

Standing in our way? These guys:

Anyone who thinks these guys are gonna be an easy out are whistling through the graveyard.

Fact #1:

You don't get to the final 4 in any playoffs by being an easy team to beat. They're here. They're good. Disrespect them at your own risk.

Fact #2: The Pens were the 2nd hottest team during the final 8 weeks of the regular season. Guess who was the hottest. That's right, the Canes. They're rollin' at the right time, just like the Pens.

Fact #3:

Last year, the Pens' young core, while not winning the Cup, did earn something else valuable - Experience. They learned what it takes to get through three rounds of playoffs and they learned some important lessons in losing to the Red Wings

Guess what? The Canes are only 2 years removed from WINNING the Cup themselves and most of the core pieces of that team are still there.

...

This will not be a cakewalk. This will not be a sweep. These are two teams that are both headed for a collision and there may not end up with a winner. Only a survivor.

We need something big. Something special. We need a mentor, a teacher, a wise man to guide this group past a very difficult foe. Someone, like an Olympic Gold Medalist...

Um... okay, good guess, but not quite...

This man.

This team needs the 3 I's.

Intensity

Integrity

Intelligence

Play hard. Play honest. Play smart. Move on to the final stage.

DO IT.

Game 7.

Wed, 13 May 2009 21:58:04 GMT

DO IT

[Edit: 9:44PM]

DONE

Next up: Canes or Bruins. Correction - Next up: A decent night's sleep.

Random Thoughts and stuff for things not related to the flightless birds that walk on water...

Wed, 13 May 2009 01:25:51 GMT

Man, 8th's and 16th's are HAAAAAAAAARD! I'm starting to get used to 8th's but since I usually practice at 80 BPM, I'm not sure yet if I really got a grasp on it.

I can handle the rhythm when adding in 8th's and 16th's but as soon as I change the note, I end up off beat. I need to work on my finger speed on the fretboard so I can transition notes and not lose the rhythm.

* * *

Been watching a lot of anime lately. Right Stuf sales are virtual gold mines to pick up whole series at huge discounts. We ended up picking up several series, I started but never finished or have been wanting to watch. Luckily, since we have no cable and there'll be no new Heroes eps until the fall, we'll have time to work on some of our backlog. Beck, Vandread, Nadesico, Ouran Host Club, Chrono Crusade, Bleach, Kalaido Star( 1st and 2nd seasons), Welcome to NHK, etc. Still waiting for Higurashi and the follow-up to come out as box-sets. Already seen the whole thing, but having the full series in non-fan-subbed form would be nice.

* * *

Got our 360 back after we Red-Ringed a few weeks back. I kinda understand the need to redownload all the DLC again when you get a new unit so that way you can't copy materials from your HD and give them to friends, but seriously Microsoft, couldn't you have added some sort of "Re-Download All" option? We have like over a hundred songs for Rock Band 2 and having to redo all those files one at a time was a total pain. Fix this. Better still, make a system not designed to systematically break. Kthnxbai.

* * *

Speaking of Heroes, I'm starting to be really on the fence about this series. This is starting to turn into another case of Thing I like that starts off great and is slowly killed by creators.

Okay, one of my biggest gripes the last couple chapters is revolving door of characters the show seems fixated on perpetuating.

Okay, I understand that sometimes, in a story, a character's death can be a startling event that drastically changes a story and sends it off in surprising new directions.

If...

YOU ONLY DO IT ONCE IN A WHILE. The Average lifespan of a Heroes Character seems to be a lunch break. Seriously, in four seasons, they've gone through characters like kleenix.

Here's a list of the fallen:

Charles Deveaux (Shaft)
Simone Deveaux (Shaft's Daughter)
Isaac Mendez
Nicki Sanders
DL Hawkins
Tracy Strauss * (Maybe... but until's spelled out, I'm assuming it's another sister)
Bob Bishop
Elle Bishop
Adam Monroe
Meridith Gordon (Claire's Bio-mom)
Daniel Linderman
Kaito Nakamura (Hiro's Dad)
Eden McCain (Company Girl with obey-me-voice action)
Arthur Petrelli
Ted Sprague (Nuclear Ted)
Zane Taylor (Melty Boy)
Dale Smither (Super Hearing Mechanic Lady)
Candice Wilmer (Illusion Girl)
Alejandro Herrera (Maya's other Wonder Twin)
Maury Parkman
Victoria Pratt (Company BioEngineer)
Stephen Cabfield (Vortex lad)
The German (Magnet Man)
Knox (Fear=Strength Dude)
James Martin (Shapershifter)
Daphne Millbrook (Speedster Girl - AKA Parkman's Rebound Girl)
Tom Miller (Clint Howard, disintegrator man)
Hana Gitelman (More on her later)
Usutu (African Isaac)
Trevor Zeitlan (Fingerbang man)
Future Hiro (x2)
Future Sylar
Future Peter
Future Hatian
&
Nathan Petrelli.

Okay, discounting the obvious Sylar-bait characters, you still have a hell of a death toll mounting. Hell, I know I'm missing a few but I'm not going to bother looking them up right now.

So, whenever they advertise a episode and they try to build it up by saying "This week, someone will make the ultimate sacrifice" it's kinda hard to take seriously since someone dies EVERY week, hell usually 2 or 3 people die.

The 3rd season finale was particularly frustrating because once again they used the tagline of "Ultimate sacrifice."

Sacrifice, to me, means that a character willingly gave his or her life so as to achieve some greater purpose (save someone else, stop the villain, etc.)

So, when it was Nathan's turn on the wheel of death, you would think he'd make some noble sacrifice to redeem himself for the general douchebaggery he's been perpetuating since...well, season one.

Nope. Nathan's death was as anticlimatic as can be. Nathan and Sylar fight (of course after everyone else already left the room.) Nathan stands up. Sylar slits his throat. Nathan watches himself bleed and dies.

But at least if you die in this series, you usually die ON SCREEN, which is a better fate than those poor characters who simply vanished for no readily apparent reason.

Anyone remember Micah's cousin, the muscle mimic? Or how about his Aunt, Lt. Uhura? Micah shows up again but apparently the rest of his family was sucked into a black hole. Man it really sucks to be him (Also puberty slammed him like a sledgehammer, so he lost the cute-kid thing he had going for him.)

Molly Walker. Last seen getting on a plane off the series. Considering she had no next of kin(or at least none that worried about her living with Matt and Mohinder and their infinite capacity for bad decisions for a season) I am left to wonder where exactly the hell she was going.

The most blatant was Peter's bestest girlfriend from Ireland. Yeah, apparently getting trapped in a future that DOES NOT HAPPEN doesn't create any sort of universe destroying paradoxes or anything. Nice to see Peter still thinks about her... oh wait, Nathan's being a douche again. To The Emo-Mobile!

Finally we have Hana Gitelman. She was the Jewish agent who could navigate the web and telecommunications equipment with her mind. She was last seen toward the end of Season One conspiring with Ted, Matt, and Noah to "Bring down the company." (Remember, they were against the company before they were for it or were they for it before they were against it, or... um... can I get back to you on that?) We know what happens to Matt, Ted, and Noah, but Hana is never mentioned again.

Yep, she snuffs it. Big surprise there. But in order to know this you would've had to read the supplemental comics from the web-site. Oy and Vey! When your character doesn't even warrant an on screen death, you know you're screwed.

And ultimately, I think that's what's hurting Heroes. It's trying to do too much. You got a comic, web exclusive content, fake websites with clues to what's going on, etc, etc. Meanwhile the actual show's writing is going into the tank to the point that's starting to look like WCW circa 1999.

I think the writers need to remember that it's a show first and everything else is secondary. If the secondary stuff is affecting the main product then that's what needs scrapped, not the show.

I'm willing to stick with it. There's still enough for me to want to see where it's going and I still like Peter and Sylar (Nerfing and God-Modding aside.)

and that's all I gots to say about that.

Okay, this one ran a bit long. So, I'm gonna take a break here and reload with new thoughts later.

I'm outs like Sulu. Classic, not Kumar.

Seventh Heaven. Seventh Hell.

Wed, 13 May 2009 01:18:47 GMT

There's the easy way of doing things. Then there's game seven.

Oy.

Before this all started I said throw history out the window. It don't matter. Throw the regular season out the window. It don't matter. Throw individual performance records against each other out the f'n window. It don't matter.

This is simply two teams who simply do not want to lose to each other and are doing everything short of armed combat to prevent giving one inch to the other.

Look, it's hard to take off the fan glasses and look at it objectively. I hate the Capitals. If you don't bring the hate to the playoffs you might as well be attending a tea party.

But seriously, and honestly, this has been some of the most entertaining and most competitive hockey I've ever seen. When it's all said and done, win or lose, I'm going to tip my cap (ugh, pun, fail) to the Caps for bringing it every game, every period, every shift.

I don't want to think about a loss. It's not simply a matter of going home early. This will be much more personal. This is losing to a rival. This is knowing that a loss gives their fans something to hold over you. That's a sting that's hard to erase and only one thing can erase it fully and that's doing the same thing back to them the next time they meet.

It took 4 years for this match up to happen. Who knows when, or even if, it will happen again. So a loss may mean that sting is never healed.

That is sports fandom. You take the highs. You also get the lows.

Game Seven.

Flip a coin. That's about the best you can do for predictions.

Hope.

That's about all you can do.

You hope for a win. You hope for it to be conclusive and definitive so it cannot be questioned. And if they lose, you hope for a chance to rectify it in the future.

Lets. Go. Pens.

FINISH IT.

Mon, 11 May 2009 22:18:16 GMT

Gameday. No trash talk today, folks. Tonight, is the time for ending this.

Scuderi, your job is simple. Shadow Ovechkin. Breath down his neck. When he's in the shower tonight after the game and he turns around expecting to see you standing behind him, then you've done your job.

Satan, continue to block shots as if you're Secret Service, the pucks are bullets, and Fleury is Obama. You're not going to con anyone into giving you another 3.5 million deal next year, but maybe you might convince someone you still belong in the NHL. There's a huge difference between flying first class on an NHL roadtrip and riding a bus in the AHL.

Sid and Geno, you only have to look to one man and he sits in the owner's box. He wore 66. Sid, you might remember him, you shared a line with him for a few months your rookie year. When the money was on the table, Le Magnifique was at another level. You play for that man. You inherited that legacy.

Your team's owner has won the cup.

The only cup Ted Leonsis has held is the one he pours his morning tequila into. If Ovi ever wins one, he'll probably spit a big wad of chaw into it.

MVP's are popularity contests. Let Ovi have his popularity award.

Be more interested in winning the games that matter. Be more interested in getting the job done.

DO IT.

All Hail Yanni!

Sun, 10 May 2009 19:25:38 GMT

It's not over yet. Not by a long shot. Three straight don't mean nothing. You still got to win four to move on.

Game six is Monday in the Burgh. Lose there and you lose more than a game. You lose Momentum. You don't lose the series, but you're going back to DC for Game Seven and then there's quite literally no tomorrow if you fuck up.

No one wants that. Well, Washington wants that, but fuck them. You don't always get what you want.

Some will point to putting Scuderi out there to Shadow Ovi has been a major reason why we've one 3 straight.

Some will point to secondary scoring suddenly coming back to life as the reason.

Some will say that the motivation of getting revenge for Gonchar by sending them to the links is the turning point.

But we all know better.

The real reason we won Saturday was because of Yanni coming to town Tuesday. I mean, that makes sense. You win Saturday and then you win Monday and finish them off and then you don't have to travel to DC and miss what is surely to be the concert event of the season. It was obvious all along. I mean look at Sid's mustache. That is definitely a tribute to Yanni, no doubt.

All Hail Yanni.

Ted, This one's for you...

Lets. Go. Pens.

Next Verse, Same As The First.

Sat, 09 May 2009 15:00:43 GMT

You tied it up. That's good.

Gonchar may be out. That's bad.

It's best of three now and they still have home ice.

You've won two straight and momentum has shifted to you.

Game 5 is tonight, less than 24 hours after game 4 finished up. Both teams will be tired. No advantage for anyone there, everyone has to play under the same rules.

Ted Leonsis is bitch'n about Yanni. I think he's mainly pissed because he wasn't be able to get tickets. Seriously, this could've been avoided if they had scheduled the START of the series on Thursday or Friday of last week instead of Saturday, but then that means NBC wouldn't have gotten game one and seeing as what NBC says, goes. Amazingly, you didn't see Ted Bitch'n when his team got an extra 1-2 days' rest after a 7 game series with New York. Shocking.

Fuck Ted and fuck his noise hole.

Guys, you only have to worry about one thing tonight.

DO IT.

DO IT. AGAIN.

Fri, 08 May 2009 10:42:41 GMT

They're not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. But... They are starting to see some daylight and are walking in the right direction.

But that can all change in an instant if they don't bring it again tonight.

Don't let off the gas, guys.

DO IT.

Wed, 06 May 2009 23:12:04 GMT

Game Three.

Down in the series 0-2.

You still need 4 to move on.

No trash talk. No photoshops. No excuses.

Tonight.

DO IT.

AIC: Lowering your expectations one series at a time...

Mon, 04 May 2009 21:57:44 GMT

j_alan_b used to tell me that whenever he found something he liked, it would inevitably be canceled.

Yeah, that sucks. But there are worst fates for your favorite properties.

Mine is that fandoms I like start off great and then are slowly, torturous driven into the ground in the ways that make the audience ask why they even liked it in the first place.

AIC, in particular, seems fond of this practice. They’ve even gotten it down to a science.

1. Produce new and exciting property with excellent character designs, varied cast, good story, and great musical score.

2. Profit.

3. Realize that initial profit could be doubled, tripled, etc. Expand the property with sequel stories, reboots, & alternative retellings. Make sure to focus more on characters who were the most popular in initial story. Less popular characters will be shoved into background as expense of more popular characters getting more screen time and story involvement.

4. Profit (a lot, but for some reason, less than before.)

5. Continue expanding property even further. In fact, if original story is still ongoing, disregard it and start a new story, completely unrelated to the original story, using one of the more popular characters as the central basis of the plot. Any other characters from original story that are brought over will now be completely different in either character design or characterization or more often than not, both. Fans of the original not enamored with the popular character will start to avoid all spin-offs, retellings, reboots, alternative timelines, etc. in hopes that one day AIC will do right by the fans and the story and continue the original story to some sort of conclusion.

6. Profit (a lot less than before, but still enough to warrant further titles in line.)

7. Start new franchise in original story’s universe, completely unrelated to original story. All characters will be pretty much imitations of original characters with obvious character flaws amplified. Devote one episode to cameos from characters from original story in order to spur the audience into thinking that this is a prelude to finally finishing original story.

8. Profit (barely.)

9. Announce that franchise is returning to roots and will finally complete the original story. Be sure to make grand promises that all loose plot threads will be neatly tied up and that all secrets will finally be revealed.

10. Release latest installment of original story. Completely neglect beloved original characters and instead shift all focus on new character(s) with no prior history in the story. All hanging plots are resolved in slapdash fashion with no grand impact on the story itself. Large revelations will be mediocre and disappointing and in most cases will make you care even less about the characters you originally liked. Final resolutions that were promised are non-existent or cop-outs thus not actually moving any of the characters forward so as if series makes enough profit, it can be continued again at some later point.

11. Fans get tired of being jerked around and abandon franchise realizing that it will never again be like it was in the “good old days.” Fans write angry diatribes in blogs about how franchise was ruined.

12. ???

13. Profit.

If you really liked the original Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (a.k.a. OVA series), you’ll probably be disappointed with the 3rd series. I mean, really, really disappointed.

If however, you really care about Mihoshi’s brother’s love life. Then, by all means, pick it up. Yes, that is one plot point that gets more focus than the entire 3 Goddesses plot that was the entire build-up of the second OVA series.

Man, this needs an entire “Grizzled old Otaku” panel dedicated to it. I will call it…

“AIC: Ruining Anime series is ways that makes 4Kids and Carl Macek envious.”

Then again, who am I to criticize anything. If you liked it, more power to you.

The Most Awesome LiveJournal EvAr!

Moving on up...

I'm kinda like a musician. Kinda.

The Ant and the Grasshopper (as told from the Beetle's perspective)

OM-G20... WTF Mate?!

God, I'm a tool.

What's better than walllowing in sweet, sweet vicarious achievements?

Lord Stanley, Scratch their names on your fabled cup!

YES YOU DID. THANK YOU.

2009 Stanley Cup Champs

Nothing left to say...

DO IT.

Good Lord, here we go again...

DO IT.

YES WE WILL.

Sweet Jesus... *thud*

Step back from the bridges folks...

DO IT.YES WE CAN WILL.

Last year is last year. This year is this year.

Win Four. Raise the Cup. DO IT.

Guess I can be wrong some of the times...

Win Four More. Bring Home Lord Stanley.

DO IT.

Wooooooooooooo!

My fandom +15...

Stand Back!

IntensityIntegrityIntelligence

DO IT.

Game 7.

DO IT

DONE

Random Thoughts and stuff for things not related to the flightless birds that walk on water...

Seventh Heaven. Seventh Hell.

FINISH IT.

DO IT.

All Hail Yanni!

Next Verse, Same As The First.

DO IT.

DO IT. AGAIN.

DO IT.

DO IT.

DO IT.

AIC: Lowering your expectations one series at a time...

YES YOU DID.

THANK YOU.

Sweet Jesus... thud

DO IT.

YES WE CAN WILL.

Win Four.

Raise the Cup.

DO IT.

Win Four More.

Bring Home Lord Stanley.

Intensity

Integrity

Intelligence