Pray for me

Today (though I am still feeling crappy) I'm going to an all-day Bridal show with Leah and *gulp* her mom. Pray for me (to whichever deity you prefer).

Chili

I ended up cooking dinner after all tonight (don't ask). I'm in the process of making Turkey Chili (don't like using ground beef). Every time I eat/make chili, I think about my Dad. He likes chili, but is somewhat wary of it. I remember him telling me (a lot) growing up that chili was one of those things that was "good, but you have to know the people making it."

Weird.

Well, I'm good tonight--I'm pretty good friends with the chef.

Blah...

Woke up feeling sick. Yesterday me and Leah raked leaves for her parents (made $60). I enjoyed the physical activity, but I think being outside in the cold and wind was a bad idea. I've been staying up way too late lately, and that's what I did last night. I think the combination of those two things did me in. Last night, after we finished raking, we went to Blockbuster and I rented BIOSHOCK for XOBOX 360. It's really good, but really...really...really creepy. It's a horror/first person shooter (not usually my cup of tea) but this one is very well done. I think it's pretty much universally acknowledged as the best game of 2007. It's one of those games that messes with you while you play--hallucinations, the lights go out and all you can see is darkness. It's very literary (despite being such a bloody/horror mess). Very much influenced by Orwell and Rand. It also makes me think of Orson Welles. Imagine if Charles Foster Kane was trying to kill you in an underwater metropolis--that's BIOSHOCK.

Anyway, I've been playing through that...and that's about it. I applied for some more jobs today (not feeling very confident though). Next week I'm going to find a service before Leah leaves again for New Mexico. Which reminds me, CLOVERFIELD is about to come out, is everyone excited? I am. My new roommate is excited about it, too. All Meemoe's been talking about is "Cloverfield this" and Cloverfield that." The little scamp actually just got back home. Apparently there was a dinosaur jamboree/reunion or something...he took my digital camera with him. Most of the pictures were of clouds and blades of grass (and other things close to the ground), but this one (of him with his Uncle Rex) turned out pretty good:



It looks like they had a good time. He's been a little grouchy lately, so I didn't bother asking what he was doing with Leah's penguin oven-mitt. I didn't feel like getting into it with him. But from now on, me and Leah are keeping our stuff picked up...he has "stick fingers(paws)."

You Should Probably Go See JUNO

Stayed up way too late last night...I was relieved that Conan is back on the air. Anyway, when I got up I did my morning thing--then got crackin' on those job applications. Once I had that done and out of the way (I have a quota...I meet it sometimes). Me and Leah played RESIDENT EVIL for the Wii (the light-gun one, not RE4). It's fun.

Then we had to "go to work." I'm not sure if I've talked about it before, but Leah and I "mystery shop" now. She has a company that pays her, I must confess I know nothing about it...I just go with her. Today we were at some mall, I was hiding in a magazine rack with a stop watch--timing some poor bastard while he made a latte for Leah.

*Sigh* The things I do for $10.

Anyway, the mall we were at had a theater so we decided to go to the movies. We saw JUNO. If you haven't seen it (or don't know what it is) stop reading this and go look it up (then go see it). It was the perfect diversion for a cold day--funny, moving, quirky. It's not a Farley Brothers "gross-out-comedy"...nor is it an over sentimentalized, standard Hollywood "coming-of-age" story--it was just really good. Nice and indie, but very approachable. Had a few big names (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Gardner, and J.K. Simmons--if you know who that is, you rock (and love character actors like me)). Anyway, it's about a 16 year old girl (Juno) who gets knocked up and decides to not abort it (but not keep it either). Things get messy, things get funny, things get worked out...all and all it was very good. I've been hearing a lot of good things about it, and when I saw THE DARJEELING LIMITED a while back they showed the trailer and it looked entertaining. It was.

I can't recommend it enough.

Meemoe

Have I told you about Meemoe, the dinosaur that is living with us now? Oh, sorry...I've been busy lately. I don't know if you heard, but I sorta have a lot on my plate right now. I've been distracted.

Anyway, we have a dinosaur living with us now. His name is Meemoe, and he likes country music (I know...not even the cool "classic" country either--he likes that shitty contemporary Wal-Mart country) and Japanese food (sushi). It's kinda hard on him right now because me and Leah don't really have a lot of money to spend on raw fish (I've been feeding him raw chicken wrapped in ice cubes (he either hasn't noticed or is too polite to say anything).

Here are some pictures of him (in his new habitat):

Meemoe, the professional-a-saurus


Playing my XBOX 360 (he's pretty good at HALO 3)


This is where he sleeps at night, in Leah's drawer...


I bet him $5 he couldn't use the toilet...I thought his butt was too small, now I owe him $5!!!

In Rainbows

If you haven't heard, Radiohead put out a new album yesterday. Well...sort of. See, it came out in stores yesterday, but people have been listening to it online for a long time. They downloaded it from Radiohead's website--where the band let fans decide how much they wanted to pay for it. Want to give them $100? Okay, cool (weird, but cool). Want to give them a penny for it? Great!

You can't download it anymore from their website (I guess it was on a pre-order only basis), still this whole experiment is being hailed as a glimpse into the future by many in the media. I'm not sure what crystal ball they're looking into...but they need to polish it up or something--I find the whole thing ridiculous. Given the choice, what idiot would pay for something he/she could get for free? Radiohead knows this, that's why you can't get it for free anymore off their site. That's why it came out in stores yesterday.

Full disclosure: I didn't pay for this album.

Now onto what's important, what really matters--the music:

I am not by any means a big Radiohead fan. In fact, the only album of theirs that I have (and paid for) is their second well known record, THE BENDS. That record is a brilliant piece of 90's Brit-Pop. There are great, catchy tunes that have a mysterious/somber attitude that set Radiohead apart from fellow Brit-Poppers Blur, Oasis, and Supergrass. Radiohead always struck me as very literate, "serious" music. Then something happened, and the band started putting out all these (critically acclaimed) weird techno-experiments--calling them "albums." To be honest, I've only listened to bits and pieces of them...but frankly, they're not my cup of tea.

Still, with all the news/press surrounding Radiohead's latest "innovation" (the music press is always calling them "innovative" I don't know why...trance/techno music has been around for years) which is of course not music related at all but rather, a boring bit concerning distribution. Call me a sucker, but I fell for Radiohead's trap and became interested in a record I probably wouldn't have cared about.

And so, how is it? It's pretty good. The big news is--this is very much a "rock band" album. There are drums, bass, guitar, piano...you get the picture. Though there are some trippy-electronic elements involved, you can tell that there are actual human beings behind the sound. The record opens with the funky, techno-groove "15 Step." Like most of the record, it sounds a lot like U2's brief foray into techno POP. The track is pleasant and reminds me a bit of breezy island music (no idea why...maybe it was the gentle guitar). I really liked the second track "Bodysnatchers" as well. It has a very nice, crunchy guitar riff. There is a very nice, quiet element to the record that caught me off guard. I'm thinking specifically of "Faust Arp."

I confess, I'm not sure what most/all of these songs are about...but they sound great. I came in ready to hate it--but IN RAINBOWS is actually really quite good. A solid album from a band I lost track of many years ago. Thom Yorke's somewhat whiny vocals are still a bit underwhelming , but if you like vintage Radiohead you'll probably like this album. And if you're new to band, I can't argue with you checking it out either. While my gut would like to recommend the un-initiated to check out the band's earlier (more rock) efforts like THE BENDS or PABLO HONEY...I can't help but see that this more experimental (less rock) stuff is what Radiohead is all about these days.

If you like pretty sounds or are curious about Radiohead's new album I suggest you hit iTUNES up and give the samples a listen.

Jason gives IN RAINBOWS a B+

I Need A Job

Okay, Wow.

That's all I can say "wow." Why did I go to college? I've been trying to find a job today...browsing multiple job-type websites--and boy am I in trouble. For starters, trying to find an entry level position sucks. If I had some experience (or had some sort of direction) then maybe this would be easier. The only jobs in the "entry-level" category that I keep finding are "sales" jobs. Now, I wasn't too sure what that meant...so I did what any young person would do, I went on Wikipedia. "Sales" (besides sounding boring as hell) is basically just trying to convince people that they need to buy whatever you're selling. Great, gee sign me up.

I have a lady (who keeps calling me) that's supposed to call me sometime (maybe this week) about an entry level sales job. I honestly would rather puke up all my internal organs.

I have three problems:

1. I'm still in a "kid" mindset (I don't see myself as qualified to do anything).
2. I have no real experience (other than basic retail and security).
3. I have no idea what I want to do.

On top of that, I also need money. Now, I know I could go find a random security company and have a job in less than five days...but I really want out of security. I hate it (and it hates me). I don't want anything to do with retail (which in this country, in this day and age is pretty much impossible for someone like me). So where does that leave me? I don't know. I do know that whatever optimism I once had is pretty much gone, and I'm seriously regretting graduating.