"They Plant Crops...

...as we prepare for war!"

If anyone can name where that quote came from, I will give you a dollar. Yes, a whole dollar.


Speaking of quotes, I saw The Weather Man and it is amazing. Absolutely amazing. I stole Dan's write up about it, because if you can't tell by now, I believe that there is no need to come up with your own way to say something, if someone else said it better, already. Here is his review:

"And another thing. Go see The Weather Man. Its a brilliant movie, and upon first viewing, its vaulted into my 10 most enjoyable films. Its a character study in how at any given time, one part of your life can be comepletely falling apart, and in another part of your life things can be going like gangbusters, and yet, through it all, you're completely unfufilled. I related to a ton of things in the movie, and it was one of the great times that a movie really hits home. That being said, I'm buying it as soon as it comes out."

It was also absolutely hilarious. Many times I was the only one laughing in the theater (only seven or so people were in there) so it reminded me of that one "McJoke" from Eternal Sunshine. Wolfman highly recommends this film.


Recent purchases:

Neil Diamond "12 Songs" Brilliant. Rick Rubin produced and the album is amazing all the way through. The first track has to be called "Oh Mary" of course and be the saddest song ever written, coupled with the fact that it is about "Mary." Neil, you bastard...but I still want to party with you.

Beloved "Kiss It Good-Bye" Their farewell concert, with a couple extra features. It was only 6 bucks and it was well worth it.

Green Day "Bullet in a Bible" It's Green Day, live. It has a CD and a DVD. Need I say more?



Working at Media Play continues to be awesome. I've been training new people lately. I keep having them go look in the basement for things for me. We don't have a basement!! Today the kid I did it to didn't think it was funny and I think he hates me now. No one should go through life without having a sense of humor, even if they are the butt of the joke. Yesterday I worked in the backroom, which is awesome. We break down boxes of products, play Kanye and talk about metal and other topics of interest, like Jim Henson Productions, why people go to Media Play to buy porn, why people go to Media Play to buy Anime Porn and how delicious 3 Cheese Nacho Burritoes are.

Speaking of Media Play, it looks like on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving for all of you who live under a rock) I will be doing Security! Awesome. I'll stand at the exit and intimidate people. This may be a new career path.


I am still loving Student Teaching. The kids seem to respond well to me and respect me. I like that. I think the Hot Art Student Teacher Down The Hall has a boyfriend, so that is hella lame. She still talks to me a lot, but I'm getting that "vibe." I don't like that. My teacher invited me over for Thanksgiving and that was nice, but I'm going home.


Walk The Line is a great movie. If you are looking for something to do, I would go and see that, even if you are not a Johnny Cash fan.


Random:

Dan told me that no one breaks out into song with me because I make up songs as I go and no one knows the words. Then at work my manager told me that while I was in the backroom, her and all the new people she was giving orientation to heard me singing to myself. Apparently I sing to myself too much.

My Life, Put To Music

I was stocking CDs at work yesterday and as I was doing the Soundtrack section I thought about what the soundtrack to my life would be. Instead of doing the whole span of my life, I'm only going to do a "day in the life" take on it. I think this may be more fun than picking who would play me in a movie, based on my life (although that would be fun too).

So here it is, the tracklisting to my life and the reasons why:

1. Mama Cass "Make Your Own Kind of Music" Ever since I heard it on the Season Two premiere of Lost I instantly fell in love with this song and the lyrics. It's upbeat music, juxtaposed with a strong message of being on your own and having fun with it. Usually this song, or BJ Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" are the first things I listen to when I wake up.

2. Shai Hulud "Being Exemplary" The title says it all. It's a good song about doing what is right to be a model for others to follow, specifically here, for children.

3. Slick Shoes "Last" The music is fast and the lyrics ring so true to how I often feel. The song also takes me back to High School. Perfect track for this moment.

4. Stylez D. "New Shit" If Will Smith can rap on his own movie soundtracks, than I can too.

5. Emery "Walls" The song deals with building up walls around yourself (clever title, huh?). I think I do that a lot to avoid letting people in, which probably explains why I sit home alone most weekend nights. Also, one of the last lyrics rings very true.

6. Ducktales Theme Song (in German) The greatest 30 seconds you will ever hear.

7. Thrice "Ultra Blue" Really I could pick any Thrice song and could relate it to my life, but this one is about pursuing what is true, and I am constantly on the search for truth.

8. Talking Heads "Once In A Lifetime" Awesome song with great lyrics. I would use this song for the same exact reason the Truman Show used it. When that movie came out, I asked my cousin Ryan to tell me if my life was like the Truman Show and he was just an actor, and he swore to me that he would tell me if it was...he never has. Despite that, I still think someone is watching my life and getting enjoyment out of it.

9. Slick Shoes "Feeble" Both these Slick Shoes songs came off of their first full-length, and I think the headspace that the lyricist was in is more similar to where I am at, than in their later albums, hence two song selections from the same album. Good sound byte from the Goonies at the beginning of the track, explaining where the band got their name. Also, again, the song is fast and the lyrics are so accurate it is creepy.

10. Killswitch Engage "A Bid Farewell" I had to throw at least one metal song on here to keep up my cred. This song starts off their lastest album and definitely sets the precedent for the rest of the album. The song deals with getting rid of the bad things in your life. "Severing the ties" as they put it. Best lyric, "This is all I am, this is all that's left. Turn from deceit, the love of self is death." People need to care less about themselves and more about each other. Wolfman approves. This goes back to being exemplary (see what I did there? A "call-back" or to some a "holla-back").

11. Glory Of This "Circle Yes or No" No song on their album, lyrically, fits in perfectly, but a lot come close. The mood of the music throughout the album does fit well though. I decided on this song because it feels like it has the most raw emotion to it and there are certain parts that fit perfectly. Most notably, "Why settle for less, when you could have the best?" Maybe not the most original line, but it is very pithy.

12. Chiodos "Baby, You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek" Fantastic song with great lyrics. I highly recommend this band. They have great song title, such as "No Hardcore Dancing in the Living Room" , "There's No Penguins in Alaska" and "One Day Women Will Become Monsters."

13. Blink 182 "Carousel" My favorite Blink song. I love the bass intro and the lyrics. I was glad to see that they included it on their greatest hits.

14. Kanye West "Jesus Walks" Kanye walks the line of being goofy and extremely serious very well, and I respect that. He'll do songs like "Workout Plan" but then he will do a serious song like "Heard 'Em Say." This song has balls. I particularly appreciate the following lines, "I wanna talk to God, but I'm afraid cuz we ain't spoke in so long" and the facial features line, which is really smart, because any person who isn't mentally retarded should understand that Jesus wasn't white, like the picture we see of him show. I also like how he admits rappers are role models and they don't think about what they say, along with calling out the music industry about not playing this song because it talks about God. Good use in that Jarhead commercial too.

15. Beach Boys "Wouldn't It Be Nice" This or Sloop John B are probably my favorite Beach Boys songs. Just picture the scene in 50 First Dates where Adam Sandler is on the boat singing along, alone...just like the Truman Show, I'm stealing this moment too.

16. Digger "String in My Throat" Fantastic band. One of the best lines in the history of music, "My heart's heavy like sand, you heat it up and then, it just turns into glass, and it's easy for you to smash." The song is about trying to talk to someone and you get that "string in your throat" from being chocked up.

17. Joey Ramone "What A Wonderful World" I couldn't decide between this one or the original, but ultimately I decided on this one because it's Joey Fucking Ramone. I'm happy with my choice. I think this is a good song to end the soundtrack, on an optimistic note, when most of the tracks were not.

I could have kept going, but I think this is enough. Enjoy the list.

The Great Divorce

I got the newest Twista CD and the Paul Wall one for free the other day at work. They were free promos and they were the best things Media Play had, so I took them. I listened to half of Twista and it is good, but not as good as I expected it to be. Paul Wall is a double, with the regular CD and a Screwed and Chopped one, and I haven't listened to it at all. Probably the next couple of days I'll get to it.

I also bought the Glory of This album, after putting it off for over a year. I listened to it today on the way to and from work, and it is amazing. Good buy.

I went to a Halloween party last weekend and it was a lot of fun. The four guys hosting it dressed up like the dudes from Anchorman...it was awesome. This guy and girl came as Mr. and Ms. Incredible, and they looked perfect. I bought an escaped convict costume and it was way too tight and didn't show off my package, so I stuck a wool sock, stuffed with a regular sock, in my pants. It looked ridiculous. After the party Dan and I went to ETS to get some tacos. As I am standing there waiting for my food, this girl comes up to me and says "This is weird, but are you Liquid Rhythms?" I said "What?" She said, "I see your Solid State hoodie and heard you talking, and I put it together. You are Liquid, aren't you?" "Uh, yeah I am." "I knew it! Wait, it's really you from New York City?" "Yeah." "If it is you, what did you do down there?" "I was/am a DJ." "Oh my God. Wait, what kind of music did you play?" "I just call it house music, but I guess just dance/techno, some industrial. Usually I pick half of what I play and the station picks the rest." "If it is you, what station were you on?" "I had a lot of stations on the East Coast. I don't know which one in the city, but it was in the 90." This conversation went on for a while and she kept trying to figure out if I was really this guy. Eventually she asked me to take a picture with her and as I stood there, she kept rubbing my stomach and shit. Then I asked if she wanted anything else and Dan and I left. This poor girl thinks she has a picture of her and this DJ, but it's only me. I'm a bad person.

Last night I hung out with Greg and we went to William's apartment. It was a lot of fun seeing those guys and catching up. We almost watched Moonskuad the Movie, but it never made it's way to the VCR, which was probably a good thing. Met some cool people, played some cool drinking games, and only acted moderately gay (in comparison to how I usually get when drinking).



Sorry if my last post come off as too harsh to people reading my journal. The whole thing just confused me and I guess I could have reacted better.


Did anyone see that special on MTV with Kanye, where he sang and talked about his songs? At one point he brought his mother on stage and sang "Hey Mama" to her. If I was a pussy and actually cried, I may have shed a tear. It was pretty powerful.

What's funny?!? I'll beat your ass!

Random:

The "Hot Subway Chick" is the same girl as the "Hot Art Student-Teacher Down the Hall." Now I have to find out if she is the "Single Hot Art Student-Teacher Down the Hall Who Is Into Bald Social Studies Student-Teachers Who Eat a Lot Of Subs."