Current Tunes: Corrosion of Conformity - Kiss of Death
Favorite activity I participated in today? I deleted the hard drive partition on my Macbook. What this means is I no longer have a Windows operating system on this laptop and it is now 100% Mac OS X. Ever since I updated to Snow Leopard on my Mac, the need to have Windows boiled down to one single service: gaming. But on further elaboration, I determined that wasn’t much of a reason to keep Windows around, so I banished that evil Microsoft product from my system forever. I don’t intend on looking back.
I’ve been playing video games for pretty much all of my conscious life. I remember getting an original Nintendo Entertainment System when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, and that insidious little device dominated a good portion of my young life. That was the start of this behavior that’s persisted for all these years. Slowly though, as month on month has gone by, I’ve grown more resistant to the charm of video games, enough to safely say that I think their hold on me is gone. I no longer own even one console system, I’ve quit all of those foolish (and addictive) Facebook games, and now Windows is gone.
This isn’t to say that I’ll never spend another second playing video games again. I’m sure I’ll pick one up from time to time, and that’s ok. I just don’t feel myself as attracted to them as I used to be. In social situations, I think it’ll be acceptable to indulge in a little gaming time. Or even on my own, as something fun and relaxing to do to bring a little variety to the daily routine. I’m happy about this though. I’m glad I’m giving them up.
When I go to an electronics store, let’s say Best Buy, I often have this experience that I keep repeating. I’ll walk by the video game section, and I’ll see a game that appeals to me on some level, and I’ll pick it up and look at it and think to myself how I want to play it. But very quickly that feeling subsides when I think about both the financial costs of the game, and the unseen cost: the time I would spend on that game that could be spent reading, writing, learning, growing, being. I don’t know if it’s possible to completely eliminate that urge to pick up a game, drool over it, and become enraptured by the desire to play it and escape from the world inside the game. But if I could indeed eliminate those desires, that’d be nice I believe. It would simplify my life a little more.
After deleting the partition, it dawned on me I’ve completely unconsciously been devoting significant money to improving my computer experience in different ways. There was the new operating system software, which really wasn’t much money at all. I also purchased a Bluetooth mouse the other day, which should arrive in the mail next week, in order to free up one of the only two USB ports I have on the laptop. Now, after deleting Windows and going back to only one operating system, I have significantly more hard drive space. That’s almost a greater boon than the whole “no more video games” thing.
I had been meaning to delete the partition about a month ago, but I kept putting off. I kept living under this silly delusion that I still needed to hold on to Windows in case of whatever unforeseen circumstances might arrive. That was just worrying over something that won’t happen. This was just another case of me overthinking things, and letting that process bog me down and inhibit me from getting important thing done. But again, I triumph.
02 January 2010
01 January 2010
Free Speech Under Attack in Ireland
Current Tunes: Rose Bowl on TV
Well according to this article in The Guardian, as of today in Ireland it is a punishable offense under the law to commit blasphemy. I’m absolutely baffled. How do people in civilized nations allows laws like this to be passed? If I were a citizen of Ireland, I would be ashamed for my country, whether I was religious or not.
Well the law, which was passed all the way back in July, states that blasphemy is “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion." If you look at a textbook definition of blasphemy though, you get a significantly different view of this word. The definition I found on Merriam Webster says it is “the act of showing contempt or reverence for God,” but my favorite is the 2nd definition given which simply says blasphemy is “irreverence toward something considered sacred.”
Working with that 2nd definition, you can see some disturbing psychological implications going on here. The major one for me being that the law is essentially forcing all citizens to pay reverence to major religious institutions or else pay a substantial fee. So you’re essentially making it law that all people must hold a specific opinion about religion (or at least pretend to). What’s especially frustrating too is I’m sure this law pretty much only applies to Christianity, given how Ireland is just about 100% Catholic, or comes from a Catholic upbringing anyway. I’m sure if you ran around making ‘blasphemous’ comments about Buddha or Vishnu or something no one would raise a stink, which to mean reeks of hypocrisy and shows just how invalid and prejudiced this law is.
Forget event talking about what constitutes 'offensive', you really have to ask yourself what constitutes something as sacred? The answers are near limitless. Hell, in Ireland I'm sure you could find a significant portion of the population who considers the national soccer team "sacred." Does that mean its a religious institution that you therefore can't speak offensively about?
This is a limitation on free speech though, pure and simple. But luckily, from the looks of the article, not everyone in the country is taking this lying down. My hat’s off to Michael Nugent & the Irish Atheists for combating this ridiculous law. I especially like this quote in the article from Nugent: “You would think that after all the scandals the Catholic Church endured in 2009 the introduction of a blasphemy law would be the last thing that the Irish state would be considering in terms of defending religion and its place in society.” Good call Nugent, good call.
Come to think of it, under this law it might be blasphemous to bring up the church’s past if you talk about it in any negative light whatsoever. Such an act might ‘offend’ someone, and we just can’t have that, can we? Absolutely disgusting.
Well according to this article in The Guardian, as of today in Ireland it is a punishable offense under the law to commit blasphemy. I’m absolutely baffled. How do people in civilized nations allows laws like this to be passed? If I were a citizen of Ireland, I would be ashamed for my country, whether I was religious or not.
Well the law, which was passed all the way back in July, states that blasphemy is “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion." If you look at a textbook definition of blasphemy though, you get a significantly different view of this word. The definition I found on Merriam Webster says it is “the act of showing contempt or reverence for God,” but my favorite is the 2nd definition given which simply says blasphemy is “irreverence toward something considered sacred.”
Working with that 2nd definition, you can see some disturbing psychological implications going on here. The major one for me being that the law is essentially forcing all citizens to pay reverence to major religious institutions or else pay a substantial fee. So you’re essentially making it law that all people must hold a specific opinion about religion (or at least pretend to). What’s especially frustrating too is I’m sure this law pretty much only applies to Christianity, given how Ireland is just about 100% Catholic, or comes from a Catholic upbringing anyway. I’m sure if you ran around making ‘blasphemous’ comments about Buddha or Vishnu or something no one would raise a stink, which to mean reeks of hypocrisy and shows just how invalid and prejudiced this law is.
Forget event talking about what constitutes 'offensive', you really have to ask yourself what constitutes something as sacred? The answers are near limitless. Hell, in Ireland I'm sure you could find a significant portion of the population who considers the national soccer team "sacred." Does that mean its a religious institution that you therefore can't speak offensively about?
This is a limitation on free speech though, pure and simple. But luckily, from the looks of the article, not everyone in the country is taking this lying down. My hat’s off to Michael Nugent & the Irish Atheists for combating this ridiculous law. I especially like this quote in the article from Nugent: “You would think that after all the scandals the Catholic Church endured in 2009 the introduction of a blasphemy law would be the last thing that the Irish state would be considering in terms of defending religion and its place in society.” Good call Nugent, good call.
Come to think of it, under this law it might be blasphemous to bring up the church’s past if you talk about it in any negative light whatsoever. Such an act might ‘offend’ someone, and we just can’t have that, can we? Absolutely disgusting.
31 December 2009
Goodbye 2009
Current Tunes: Converge - Last Light
Nothing major to see here today folks. Just saying a friendly goodbye to the year 2009 and preparing myself for a new set of 365 days to better my life with.
This past year has been a major growing period. About two years ago when I first started grad school, I knew I would do a lot of growing, and it's so encouraging that I have. Not that things were easy at all, and not that I'm a great person now, but improvement is something to be sincerely grateful for. I still have lots of work to do.
This was pretty much my last year spent outside "the real world," that place where your career really comes into focus and becomes such a pivotal part of defining your life. The time for carefree partying and slacking is drawing down to an end. True responsibility is just around the corner. While in the past the thought may have been frightening, I have learned to master that fear and instead embrace it openly and happily.
See you all in 2010, may it be a prosperous year for all of you.
Nothing major to see here today folks. Just saying a friendly goodbye to the year 2009 and preparing myself for a new set of 365 days to better my life with.
This past year has been a major growing period. About two years ago when I first started grad school, I knew I would do a lot of growing, and it's so encouraging that I have. Not that things were easy at all, and not that I'm a great person now, but improvement is something to be sincerely grateful for. I still have lots of work to do.
This was pretty much my last year spent outside "the real world," that place where your career really comes into focus and becomes such a pivotal part of defining your life. The time for carefree partying and slacking is drawing down to an end. True responsibility is just around the corner. While in the past the thought may have been frightening, I have learned to master that fear and instead embrace it openly and happily.
See you all in 2010, may it be a prosperous year for all of you.
30 December 2009
StagNATION: A Decade of Backward Steps in U.S. Politics
Current Tunes: Doomriders – Crooked Path
Looking around the web for the past few days, lots of news outlets are putting up cute little features about the past decade in politics, and it seems like most of them have a quite negative view of the past ten years. Rightly so, I’d say.
Ever since 2000 we’ve been given barely any reason at all to believe in our leaders. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m only talking about Dubya here either. It’s everyone. There’s been what seems like a literal avalanche of contemptible behavior in the American political landscape. There was the Valarie Plame incident, the failure of John Kerry, the impotency of the Democratic Congress (under Bush AND Obama), the heinousness of Jack Abramoff, the torture of Abu Ghraib & Guantanamo, illegal wiretapping. It’s been a played-out joke for a while now, but to say that it all makes me wish for the days of Bill Clinton isn’t so much of a joke anymore. And I don’t like Clinton at all.
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about all of this is it’s not like this is just me being Sad Sally about our system. Everyone is pissed off. The whole country knows its getting screwed over left and right and this feeling didn’t just start yesterday or anything. It’s been building since midway through the decade. A lot of people thought the answer for all the negativity and corruption of Washington was Barack Obama, and I hate to break it to you, but he’s not the answer at all.
In my view, there are a few very specific causes of the majority of problems with the operation of our government. The foremost of them being the Democratic and Republican political parties. These two parties are meant to serve as opposing sides of a system that hinges on a very tight balance. Instead of acting as a liaison between their candidates and the people who they will represent, they are in actuality and facilitator between candidates and pure power. That’s what the political parties truly care about. They don’t care about classes, or demographics, or regions. They care about running the show, those other things are just keys to their end goal.
Another main key for the parties to keeping control is the second major cause of our government’s ineptitude: corporate sponsorship and lobbying. Every politician, every single one (except maybe independent/socialist senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont) has taken money from large corporations and they depend on them to fund their campaigns. They listen to those companies more than they listen to actual people.
Electing Obama didn’t address either of these issues at all. Obama took money from major corporations and he’s indebted to the Democratic Party, obviously. So the system marches on, free to continue exploiting their unbelievable power and influence to benefit only themselves. Significant progress will happen when the parties reform (fat chance, I say) or a new 3rd party establishes itself as meaningful and influential enough to back an alternative campaign and set of policies. A noteworthy 3rd party I think could happen, if people would wake up and stop blindly following the Republicans and Democrat parties all the way off the cliff.
It’s been a very uncomfortable ten years of politics for me. As the years went on and things became more and more corrupt, the more disgusted and apathetic I became about it. A decade ago, I had a fierce, decisive viewpoint on any topic but was still willing to listen to opposing sides. Now I just don’t care; or I do care but I find it hard to do anything about it.
Looking around the web for the past few days, lots of news outlets are putting up cute little features about the past decade in politics, and it seems like most of them have a quite negative view of the past ten years. Rightly so, I’d say.
Ever since 2000 we’ve been given barely any reason at all to believe in our leaders. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m only talking about Dubya here either. It’s everyone. There’s been what seems like a literal avalanche of contemptible behavior in the American political landscape. There was the Valarie Plame incident, the failure of John Kerry, the impotency of the Democratic Congress (under Bush AND Obama), the heinousness of Jack Abramoff, the torture of Abu Ghraib & Guantanamo, illegal wiretapping. It’s been a played-out joke for a while now, but to say that it all makes me wish for the days of Bill Clinton isn’t so much of a joke anymore. And I don’t like Clinton at all.
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about all of this is it’s not like this is just me being Sad Sally about our system. Everyone is pissed off. The whole country knows its getting screwed over left and right and this feeling didn’t just start yesterday or anything. It’s been building since midway through the decade. A lot of people thought the answer for all the negativity and corruption of Washington was Barack Obama, and I hate to break it to you, but he’s not the answer at all.
In my view, there are a few very specific causes of the majority of problems with the operation of our government. The foremost of them being the Democratic and Republican political parties. These two parties are meant to serve as opposing sides of a system that hinges on a very tight balance. Instead of acting as a liaison between their candidates and the people who they will represent, they are in actuality and facilitator between candidates and pure power. That’s what the political parties truly care about. They don’t care about classes, or demographics, or regions. They care about running the show, those other things are just keys to their end goal.
Another main key for the parties to keeping control is the second major cause of our government’s ineptitude: corporate sponsorship and lobbying. Every politician, every single one (except maybe independent/socialist senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont) has taken money from large corporations and they depend on them to fund their campaigns. They listen to those companies more than they listen to actual people.
Electing Obama didn’t address either of these issues at all. Obama took money from major corporations and he’s indebted to the Democratic Party, obviously. So the system marches on, free to continue exploiting their unbelievable power and influence to benefit only themselves. Significant progress will happen when the parties reform (fat chance, I say) or a new 3rd party establishes itself as meaningful and influential enough to back an alternative campaign and set of policies. A noteworthy 3rd party I think could happen, if people would wake up and stop blindly following the Republicans and Democrat parties all the way off the cliff.
It’s been a very uncomfortable ten years of politics for me. As the years went on and things became more and more corrupt, the more disgusted and apathetic I became about it. A decade ago, I had a fierce, decisive viewpoint on any topic but was still willing to listen to opposing sides. Now I just don’t care; or I do care but I find it hard to do anything about it.
29 December 2009
Protest in Iran
Current Tunes: Cave In – Stained Silver
While the recent attempted plane bombing has most people’s attentions right now, I can’t help but keep my eyes focused on Iran instead. It feels so strange for all this to be happening all in the last week of the year. Maybe my memory is bad, but I don’t particularly recall having many terrorist attacks on our soil in the past year, at least none that we were told about. It’s like we went so long without any of this business and it has to come along at the tail-end of the year and ruin everything.
In contrast to that, this madness in Iran has been bubbling for quite a while, and these recent protests and killings is only further testament, in my mind, that the situation in Iran has to change and soon. I can’t really act like I have my finger right on the pulse of the average American’s thoughts and perceptions, but it seems to me most of us here in the USA don’t really get what’s going on over there. If I’m right, we might have the press and media to thank for that.
From a purely political perspective, what does that say about U.S. involvement overseas if the average citizens of Iran actually do force out these theocrats and establish a free nation? On one hand you’d have Iran, who fixed its own problems (probably not without internal bloodshed) and stood its ground on its own. On the other hand, you’d have Iraq, which had to have its dictator forcibly removed and years later is still in total disarray (though things are steadily improving from what we hear). I suppose I’m extrapolating much too far into the future. I don’t know how we in the U.S can help, given how stretched we are already between our two wars and the struggling economy, but I’d like to know how we could.
I sincerely hope we can see dramatic, sweeping change in Iran in the near future, if not in the next year. Again, I’m not exactly a foreign policy expert or anything, but from my vantage point it looks to me like a non-theocratic, possibly democratic, Iran would have more impact for the U.S. in the Middle East than an end to the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Back in June, I was excited to see the protests going on, it gave me hope that the country might be seeing change. But when the protests died down after all the violence, I feel discouraged. Clearly the people of Iran aren’t so easily dissuaded. It’s inspiring to see people who are so sick and fed up with their country being driven into the ground and they finally decide to do something about it. I sincerely wish the people of Iran the best of luck. They’re overdue for a miracle over there, and perhaps in 2010 they’ll finally get it.
While the recent attempted plane bombing has most people’s attentions right now, I can’t help but keep my eyes focused on Iran instead. It feels so strange for all this to be happening all in the last week of the year. Maybe my memory is bad, but I don’t particularly recall having many terrorist attacks on our soil in the past year, at least none that we were told about. It’s like we went so long without any of this business and it has to come along at the tail-end of the year and ruin everything.
In contrast to that, this madness in Iran has been bubbling for quite a while, and these recent protests and killings is only further testament, in my mind, that the situation in Iran has to change and soon. I can’t really act like I have my finger right on the pulse of the average American’s thoughts and perceptions, but it seems to me most of us here in the USA don’t really get what’s going on over there. If I’m right, we might have the press and media to thank for that.
From a purely political perspective, what does that say about U.S. involvement overseas if the average citizens of Iran actually do force out these theocrats and establish a free nation? On one hand you’d have Iran, who fixed its own problems (probably not without internal bloodshed) and stood its ground on its own. On the other hand, you’d have Iraq, which had to have its dictator forcibly removed and years later is still in total disarray (though things are steadily improving from what we hear). I suppose I’m extrapolating much too far into the future. I don’t know how we in the U.S can help, given how stretched we are already between our two wars and the struggling economy, but I’d like to know how we could.
I sincerely hope we can see dramatic, sweeping change in Iran in the near future, if not in the next year. Again, I’m not exactly a foreign policy expert or anything, but from my vantage point it looks to me like a non-theocratic, possibly democratic, Iran would have more impact for the U.S. in the Middle East than an end to the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Back in June, I was excited to see the protests going on, it gave me hope that the country might be seeing change. But when the protests died down after all the violence, I feel discouraged. Clearly the people of Iran aren’t so easily dissuaded. It’s inspiring to see people who are so sick and fed up with their country being driven into the ground and they finally decide to do something about it. I sincerely wish the people of Iran the best of luck. They’re overdue for a miracle over there, and perhaps in 2010 they’ll finally get it.
28 December 2009
My Film of 2009 Rundown
Current Tunes: Disfear – Get it Off
Another year in movies has come and gone. I wish I could say it was an exciting year, but in actuality I was left completely listless and bored by this year’s fare. I could barely put together a list of 10 films I saw this year that I actually considered worthy. I don’t know if it’s just me getting old and crotchety, but if I didn’t like it, I didn’t like it.
I’ll grant part of the problem was that I didn’t exactly have tons of cash sitting around to spend on tickets. Being thrifty meant it was especially important to choose my films wisely, and I don’t believe I did that at all. I kept making poor decisions. Well, enough moaning and groaning. What films did I enjoy this year? Here you go…
1. “District 9”
2. “Zombieland”
3. “Up”
4. “Avatar”
5. “The Hangover”
6. “Where the Wild Things Are”
7. “Up in the Air”
8. “The Princess & The Frog”
9. “Watchmen”
10. “Inglorious Basterds”
Well I covered my opinion of “District 9” a week ago, so I’ll forego explaining that one. The presence of not one or two, but three whole family/children’s films on the list surprised me. Well, whether or not “Wild Things” constitutes a family film is another debate entirely. To give you a more precise idea of how little of thought of this year’s crop of films, I can look at every film (save #1 & #2) on this list and point out very specific problems these films had that held them back from being truly great.
Speaking of that, here’s a brief list of films from 2009 that really let me down. I could have made a much longer list, but I’m keeping it short in the name of not appearing like a total killjoy…
“G.I. Joe”
“Terminator Salvation”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
“Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince”
“Inglorious Basterds”
Now, you’re probably saying “Matt, wait, wasn’t ‘Inglorious Basterds’ in your list of best films for the year?” Yes, it is. “Basterds” was a strange case for me this year. I enjoyed it; I laughed hard, it had cheerful, triumphant moments. However, it’s a seriously flawed film. As the months have gone by, I’ve even come to question the necessity of this film, but that’s a discussion for another time. I expected “Basterds” to be Quentin Tarrantino’s best film yet, and it wasn’t. Far from it actually, I still stand by my statement that it’s the least-good film he’s made yet. That’s why it’s a disappointment. I hope my standards weren’t too high; I really don’t think they were.
“G.I. Joe” and “Transformers: ROTF” I enjoyed as well, but you’ll never ever catch me saying those were well-made movies either. Put together, they may have made an OK movie. This year’s “Harry Potter” disappointed me because everyone told me this was the film where the baddies in the story would finally have a chance to shine, when in the film all the baddies just depressed me with their flat acting.
Despite my underwhelming attitude toward the cinematic output of 2009, I am quite excited about 2010. It’s always nice to be able to look towards the future, isn’t it? Here’s a list what’s got me buzzing for 2010, with short explanations of what to expect or what has me so interested in these films:
“Tron: Legacy” (been waiting about 20 years for this, I want it 3x more than anything else)
“Cop Out” (Kevin Smith directing Bruce Willis? Yes, please!)
“Inception (Christopher Nolan’s new drama. Possible it could exceed “Dark Knight”)
“The Expendables” (Stallone, Lundgren, Statham, Li, Schwarzenegger, Willis, & Randy Couture?!)
“The Rum Diary” (Hunter S. Thompson adaptation finally happens!)
“Jonah Hex (For the Mastodon-written soundtrack alone)
“Clash of the Titans” (original will always be better, but this looks fun enough)
“Machete” (Danny Trejo gets his chance to truly shine in the spotlight)
“Daybreakers” (interesting twist on vampire lore)
“Predators” (Robert Rodriguez’s look at my favorite extra terrestrials)
“Legion” (Crazy possessed grandma climbing the ceiling. I’m there.)
“Salt” (Spy flick meant for Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie instead)
“How to Train Your Dragon” (Vikings!)
I certainly anticipate having a much better time in theaters next year. If anything, 2010 will be interesting to see if the success of “Avatar” pushes 3D filmmaking into the next realm. There are already rumors flying around about 3D re-releases of “Star Wars” and a host of other popular favorites. Well whatever happens, I’ll see you in the theater (in the back row) in 2010!
Another year in movies has come and gone. I wish I could say it was an exciting year, but in actuality I was left completely listless and bored by this year’s fare. I could barely put together a list of 10 films I saw this year that I actually considered worthy. I don’t know if it’s just me getting old and crotchety, but if I didn’t like it, I didn’t like it.
I’ll grant part of the problem was that I didn’t exactly have tons of cash sitting around to spend on tickets. Being thrifty meant it was especially important to choose my films wisely, and I don’t believe I did that at all. I kept making poor decisions. Well, enough moaning and groaning. What films did I enjoy this year? Here you go…
1. “District 9”
2. “Zombieland”
3. “Up”
4. “Avatar”
5. “The Hangover”
6. “Where the Wild Things Are”
7. “Up in the Air”
8. “The Princess & The Frog”
9. “Watchmen”
10. “Inglorious Basterds”
Well I covered my opinion of “District 9” a week ago, so I’ll forego explaining that one. The presence of not one or two, but three whole family/children’s films on the list surprised me. Well, whether or not “Wild Things” constitutes a family film is another debate entirely. To give you a more precise idea of how little of thought of this year’s crop of films, I can look at every film (save #1 & #2) on this list and point out very specific problems these films had that held them back from being truly great.
Speaking of that, here’s a brief list of films from 2009 that really let me down. I could have made a much longer list, but I’m keeping it short in the name of not appearing like a total killjoy…
“G.I. Joe”
“Terminator Salvation”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
“Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince”
“Inglorious Basterds”
Now, you’re probably saying “Matt, wait, wasn’t ‘Inglorious Basterds’ in your list of best films for the year?” Yes, it is. “Basterds” was a strange case for me this year. I enjoyed it; I laughed hard, it had cheerful, triumphant moments. However, it’s a seriously flawed film. As the months have gone by, I’ve even come to question the necessity of this film, but that’s a discussion for another time. I expected “Basterds” to be Quentin Tarrantino’s best film yet, and it wasn’t. Far from it actually, I still stand by my statement that it’s the least-good film he’s made yet. That’s why it’s a disappointment. I hope my standards weren’t too high; I really don’t think they were.
“G.I. Joe” and “Transformers: ROTF” I enjoyed as well, but you’ll never ever catch me saying those were well-made movies either. Put together, they may have made an OK movie. This year’s “Harry Potter” disappointed me because everyone told me this was the film where the baddies in the story would finally have a chance to shine, when in the film all the baddies just depressed me with their flat acting.
Despite my underwhelming attitude toward the cinematic output of 2009, I am quite excited about 2010. It’s always nice to be able to look towards the future, isn’t it? Here’s a list what’s got me buzzing for 2010, with short explanations of what to expect or what has me so interested in these films:
“Tron: Legacy” (been waiting about 20 years for this, I want it 3x more than anything else)
“Cop Out” (Kevin Smith directing Bruce Willis? Yes, please!)
“Inception (Christopher Nolan’s new drama. Possible it could exceed “Dark Knight”)
“The Expendables” (Stallone, Lundgren, Statham, Li, Schwarzenegger, Willis, & Randy Couture?!)
“The Rum Diary” (Hunter S. Thompson adaptation finally happens!)
“Jonah Hex (For the Mastodon-written soundtrack alone)
“Clash of the Titans” (original will always be better, but this looks fun enough)
“Machete” (Danny Trejo gets his chance to truly shine in the spotlight)
“Daybreakers” (interesting twist on vampire lore)
“Predators” (Robert Rodriguez’s look at my favorite extra terrestrials)
“Legion” (Crazy possessed grandma climbing the ceiling. I’m there.)
“Salt” (Spy flick meant for Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie instead)
“How to Train Your Dragon” (Vikings!)
I certainly anticipate having a much better time in theaters next year. If anything, 2010 will be interesting to see if the success of “Avatar” pushes 3D filmmaking into the next realm. There are already rumors flying around about 3D re-releases of “Star Wars” and a host of other popular favorites. Well whatever happens, I’ll see you in the theater (in the back row) in 2010!
27 December 2009
My Music of 2009 Rundown
Current Tunes: Corrosion of Conformity – Wiseblood
Such a good year for metal! I could have easily done a top 20 list this year, but that’s a bit drawn out don’t you think? I enjoyed this year musically; there were many strong releases and plenty of awesome concerts to go to. So, for 2009 here were my top albums:
1. Isis – “Wavering Radiant”
2. Mastodon – “Crack the Skye”
3. Warbringer – “Waking Into Nightmares”
4. Kylesa – “Static Tensions”
5. The Black Dahlia Murder – “Deflorate”
6. Revocation – “Existence is Futile”
7. Pelican – “What We All Come to Need”
8. Narrows – “New Distances”
9. Baroness – “Blue Record”
10. Slayer – “World Painted Blood”
Honorable mentions: Megadeth – “Endgame” / Immortal – “All Shall Fall”
Also, here are some links to my choices for best songs of the year. A few of these are seriously NSFW, so be careful and all.
"20 Minutes/40 Years" – Isis
"The Last Baron" – Mastodon
"Pussy" – Rammstein (NSFW)
"Into the Grey" – Darkest Hour
"Oil Upon the Sores of Lepers" – Anaal Nathrakh
"Ov Fire and the Void" – Behemoth (NSFW)
"Ocean Metal" – Dagon
"Battle Slut Drinking Song" – Destroy Destroy Destroy
"Gypsy Kids" - Narrows (NSFW)
Such a good chunk of material this year. I fully acknowledge my top albums are a little heavy on the sludge/stoner genre, but those are really the bands that I think produced the most interesting stuff this year. My top album, “Wavering Radiant,” I can conclusively say over the course of the year I’ve listened straight through 40+ times. I wasn’t exactly the world’s biggest Isis fan, but that album put me over the top on them. Now for my top live shows:
1. Neurosis
2. Trap Them / Narrows
3. Baroness
4. Dethklok
5. Mastodon
6. Warbringer
7. Kylesa
8. Torche
9. Skeletonwitch
After getting to see Radiohead twice l and seeing the reunited Rage Against the Machine, I think it’ll hard for any year to stack up to the level of awesome I got in the live show department last year. But this year did me real well, a lot of it on the strength of Scion Fest, which was a real blessing for Atlanta. Out of the ten total bands listed above, I saw seven of them at Scion Fest. I had an especially Mastodon-influenced year; I saw them four times in 2009. Once they fix their live vocals problems, they’ll be legendary.
Now while this year saw lots of fantastic releases, there were also a slew of albums that just fell flat on their faces, and left me utterly disappointed:
Pearl Jam – “Backspacer”
Street Sweeper Social Club – s/t
Municipal Waste – “Massive Aggressive”
Alice in Chains – “Black Gives Way to Blue”
Priestess – “Prior to the Fire”
Rammstein – “Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da”
Skeletonwitch – “Breathing the Fire”
Now everyone knows there are varying levels of disappointment, and this selection of albums definitely embodies that. Pearl Jam disappointed me because I know they’re capable of so much more than putting out mediocre fluff like this. Priestess disappointed me for pretty much the same reason, but they’re worse off because they’re in a position where they need to prove themselves and this year was a step back. On the other hand, Skeletonwitch and Street Sweeper (aka Rage Against the Machine Jr.) albums were enjoyable enough, but they still fell short of my expectations. I would say the same thing about Rammstein’s effort this year, but I can’t exactly say what my expectations were for that band. Rammstein, as corny as they are, usually manage to keep doing something new, but it didn’t feel like that this time.
Now as good as this year was for music, there’s still oh so much to look forward to in 2010 for me. Here’s a list of known (and some speculative) albums that could or will surface next year that I’m excited for:
Dillinger Escape Plan – "Option Paralysis"
Overkill – "Ironbound"
High on Fire – "Snakes for the Divine"
Ihsahn - "After"
Living Sacrifice – "The Infinite Order"
Deftones - ?
Finntroll – "Nifelvin"
Decapitated - ?
Anthrax - ?
Nachtmystium - ?
Radiohead - ?!?!?!
Rage Against the Machine - ?!?!?!
There are still some rumors here and there swirling about Rage doing a new album, but I don’t know what to make of that. Radiohead I do know for certain are going to the studio in early 2010, so that’s promising. Deftones have been through a lot this past year, what with their bassist being in that horrible car wreck that left him in a coma. The whole experience has led to perhaps the strangest thing I’ve seen in a band’s career. They have an entire album done, mixed, recorded, everything (titled “Eros”). But they’re sitting on it, and they’re going to record an entirely new album instead to release in 2010. I’m all for whatever they decide to do, but I think they should reconsider what to do with “Eros.” I want to hear it.
So that’s my music rundown for 2009. Be sure to come back tomorrow for my best of film for 2009!
Such a good year for metal! I could have easily done a top 20 list this year, but that’s a bit drawn out don’t you think? I enjoyed this year musically; there were many strong releases and plenty of awesome concerts to go to. So, for 2009 here were my top albums:
1. Isis – “Wavering Radiant”
2. Mastodon – “Crack the Skye”
3. Warbringer – “Waking Into Nightmares”
4. Kylesa – “Static Tensions”
5. The Black Dahlia Murder – “Deflorate”
6. Revocation – “Existence is Futile”
7. Pelican – “What We All Come to Need”
8. Narrows – “New Distances”
9. Baroness – “Blue Record”
10. Slayer – “World Painted Blood”
Honorable mentions: Megadeth – “Endgame” / Immortal – “All Shall Fall”
Also, here are some links to my choices for best songs of the year. A few of these are seriously NSFW, so be careful and all.
"20 Minutes/40 Years" – Isis
"The Last Baron" – Mastodon
"Pussy" – Rammstein (NSFW)
"Into the Grey" – Darkest Hour
"Oil Upon the Sores of Lepers" – Anaal Nathrakh
"Ov Fire and the Void" – Behemoth (NSFW)
"Ocean Metal" – Dagon
"Battle Slut Drinking Song" – Destroy Destroy Destroy
"Gypsy Kids" - Narrows (NSFW)
Such a good chunk of material this year. I fully acknowledge my top albums are a little heavy on the sludge/stoner genre, but those are really the bands that I think produced the most interesting stuff this year. My top album, “Wavering Radiant,” I can conclusively say over the course of the year I’ve listened straight through 40+ times. I wasn’t exactly the world’s biggest Isis fan, but that album put me over the top on them. Now for my top live shows:
1. Neurosis
2. Trap Them / Narrows
3. Baroness
4. Dethklok
5. Mastodon
6. Warbringer
7. Kylesa
8. Torche
9. Skeletonwitch
After getting to see Radiohead twice l and seeing the reunited Rage Against the Machine, I think it’ll hard for any year to stack up to the level of awesome I got in the live show department last year. But this year did me real well, a lot of it on the strength of Scion Fest, which was a real blessing for Atlanta. Out of the ten total bands listed above, I saw seven of them at Scion Fest. I had an especially Mastodon-influenced year; I saw them four times in 2009. Once they fix their live vocals problems, they’ll be legendary.
Now while this year saw lots of fantastic releases, there were also a slew of albums that just fell flat on their faces, and left me utterly disappointed:
Pearl Jam – “Backspacer”
Street Sweeper Social Club – s/t
Municipal Waste – “Massive Aggressive”
Alice in Chains – “Black Gives Way to Blue”
Priestess – “Prior to the Fire”
Rammstein – “Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da”
Skeletonwitch – “Breathing the Fire”
Now everyone knows there are varying levels of disappointment, and this selection of albums definitely embodies that. Pearl Jam disappointed me because I know they’re capable of so much more than putting out mediocre fluff like this. Priestess disappointed me for pretty much the same reason, but they’re worse off because they’re in a position where they need to prove themselves and this year was a step back. On the other hand, Skeletonwitch and Street Sweeper (aka Rage Against the Machine Jr.) albums were enjoyable enough, but they still fell short of my expectations. I would say the same thing about Rammstein’s effort this year, but I can’t exactly say what my expectations were for that band. Rammstein, as corny as they are, usually manage to keep doing something new, but it didn’t feel like that this time.
Now as good as this year was for music, there’s still oh so much to look forward to in 2010 for me. Here’s a list of known (and some speculative) albums that could or will surface next year that I’m excited for:
Dillinger Escape Plan – "Option Paralysis"
Overkill – "Ironbound"
High on Fire – "Snakes for the Divine"
Ihsahn - "After"
Living Sacrifice – "The Infinite Order"
Deftones - ?
Finntroll – "Nifelvin"
Decapitated - ?
Anthrax - ?
Nachtmystium - ?
Radiohead - ?!?!?!
Rage Against the Machine - ?!?!?!
There are still some rumors here and there swirling about Rage doing a new album, but I don’t know what to make of that. Radiohead I do know for certain are going to the studio in early 2010, so that’s promising. Deftones have been through a lot this past year, what with their bassist being in that horrible car wreck that left him in a coma. The whole experience has led to perhaps the strangest thing I’ve seen in a band’s career. They have an entire album done, mixed, recorded, everything (titled “Eros”). But they’re sitting on it, and they’re going to record an entirely new album instead to release in 2010. I’m all for whatever they decide to do, but I think they should reconsider what to do with “Eros.” I want to hear it.
So that’s my music rundown for 2009. Be sure to come back tomorrow for my best of film for 2009!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)