Hawaii, here we come!

We leave tonight to go to Hawaii for Lindsey and Todd's wedding!!!

Metal Rulez!

I just turned on the ol' mp3 player and cued it to random and the first thing it spit out was "Rainbow in the Dark" by Ronnie James Dio. This the second time in the past few days when this song has come up, and it really fuckin' rocks my world.

"Just don't let me fuck up will you/cuz when I need a friend it's still you"

(yeah, the mp3 player in its infinite wisdom chose to play "Freak Scene" by Dinosaur Jr. shortly before I began typing this, hence the titular citation... somehow it seemed appropriate, if only vaguely...)

1. We're sick. Both me and Holly. It's just a cold type of thing, but not quite enough to make you want to call the doctor. It's shitty though, definitely bad enough to prevent me from enjoying the weather which has cooled nicely as of late. It's also prevented me from doing much interpreting. That's good, because I need a break from that anyway, but it's also bad, because we need every scrap of cash that we can scrounge up.

2. Guitar Fucking Hero. I've mentioned the awesome Playstation 2 game Guitar Hero game a couple times before here, but I haven't properly explained for my friends back in Wisconsin and Chicago. As you may know, basically it's a video game where you play along using a "guitar" like controller to metal and classic rock songs. Kind of like those Dance Dance Revolution games, but for rock geeks instead. Bottom Line: It kicks ass. And it's addictive. Thanks to this dude Shannon who had set up weekly Guitar Hero tournaments at the bar formerly known as Lunch Paper (RIP), Holly and I, and our friends Todd and Lindsey got hooked on it. Now not only do I own the game (we've had a Play Station 2 for a few years now but hadn't played it too much until recently) but I have a custom guitar controller and have beaten all of the songs on the "Hard" setting except for Bark at the Moon. As you can plainly see by my banner and the links at the top of this page, the local tournament thing has moved on and expanded, and we're pretty psyched for what's to come. If you like video games, or if you like metal and classic rock, and especially if you like both video games and such music, you owe it to yourself to try this game.

3. Hawaii. And Todd and Lindsey. They are getting married. Soon. In Hawaii. And we are going to be there. It's definitely going to disrupt my classes, especially the ones I teach myself, but only for a couple days. I've already got subs arranged, and have told my professors that I will be missing one day of their classes, so it's all good. It will be a little hectic, but it will be totally worth it. Next week Friday we fly to Los Angeles, stay over night in a hotel by the airport, and leave for Hawaii in the morning. We won't be back in Atlanta until the following Thursday morning. I'm definitely looking forward to it. And to bringing back some primo quality Hawaiian coffee. (Yeah, I know, you probably were expecting something else until you got to the end of the sentence; I'd no doubt bring that back too if it were only legal.)

4. Music. I've been actually buying CDs for myself quite a bit lately (thanks, financial aid). One recent purchase that I absolutely love is the latest Mission Of Burma album, The Obliterati, and it's easily as good as anything else they've done. That is to say, it's fucking brilliant. Also outstanding is We Will Bury You: A Tribute to Killdozer. The title speaks for itself, but if you haven't yet, do visit the greatest rock band from Madison, WI's myspace page. I think this disc deserves a proper review in a separate post, but who knows if I'll actually get around to doing that. Suffice to say that this double CD is pretty fucking cool. Despite much redundancy (bands that are really not doing anything new with the cover), this disc was exciting to listen to. I don't know, maybe I just need to listen to more Killdozer, but this album really hit the spot for me. I need to hear it a few more times and let my thoughts percolate some more but maybe I'll churn out a more profound and coherent post dedicated exclusively to this recording.

5. Old friends. I owe several of you emails. Please be patient with me. As you know, I don't always reply right away, and when I do reply, I'd rather write something more than just a couple lines that don't say much. And of course there is the school thing, which doesn't prevent me from writing, but at any given moment when I have the potential to write, there are probably several school related tasks that are breathing down my neck.

6. Tired. That's all for now.

(currently rockin' on the mp3 player: Is it my body? (cover) - AluminumKnotEye)

fuck off

My wife works with several people, a few of whom are totally evil bitches and assholes who ruined her day, and consequently part of mine. I believe in karma, or at least "what goes around comes around" so I guess they'll get what they deserve. But man, they make me OH so mad. I'd love to just waltz in there and wring someone's neck but good!

Didja ever notice...

...that sometimes (most of the time) MySpace is really, fucking
S L O W !"

a caffeine defecit

I'm going to have to go somewhere to refill my travel mug because I'm really dragging and I've already finished the coffee I brought from home.

We ended up not going out last Thursday because the show was too late for a weeknight... (Which reminds me... wouldn't it be awesome if there were more weeknight shows that started earlier. I can't be the only one who thinks so.)

Thanks to Battle Royale comrads Ron and Brian for hosting a kick-ass Guitar Hero get together on Saturday. We even ended up busting out the Karaoke, although Holly and Lindsey refrained from participating that time. And of course, it was capped off by the UGA game. The Dawgs totally beat the Cocks.

Now back to work with me...

stuff

1. If a (presumably teenaged or freshman) young university student is speaking VERY LOUDLY on her cell phone in a (admittedly public) hallway across from a bank of computer workstations where some of us are trying to work (or at least check our email and myspace and blog a bit, quietly), would it be rude to bring her obnoxious volume level to her attention?

2. The Shellac show was awesome, despite what Flagpole music czar Gordon Lamb wrote this week.

3. Everything is pretty good. I'm so glad I only am in two classes because with teaching two on top of that and trying to prepare for comps (not to mention interpreting for approx. 15 hours per week) I have more than enough to do.

4. Lunch Paper, my favorite bar, is closing in about a week and a half. The owner sold to an out-of-towner without consulting with his dedicated staff (among whom there were some or at least one who would have bought it from him and kept as is or made it better). Anyway... these things happen from time to time and I'm sure the guy had his reasons... Tonight there is a show with some local garagey/punky/loud guitar bands that we are going to check out. Should be fun.

5. I'm getting better at Guitar Hero. I can play all of the main songs on hard except Texas Flood, Cowboys from Hell, and Bark at the Moon.