5/31/2005

Top 10 Guitarists

Everybody's got an opinion, and if this blog is nothing else, it's to state my opinion on things. This a list of my top 10 guitarists, with some extras on the side. Feel free to agree/disagree as you please. I don't really care who you like.. if I did, then I'd put up a poll. Again, this is just my opinion. I refuse to rank them because it's just too stinkin hard! This is not an exhaustive list, just the ones that I have heard, and have been influenced in some way by. So, here they are:

Top Ten
(in alphabetical order):
Angus Young of AC/DC -- the dude just rocks!! plaid shorts and all

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top -- diggin the beard and killer licks!

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd -- piercing riffs to my soul!

Eddie Van Halen -- the name says it all; did you know he played guitar on Michael Jackson's "Beat It"?

Eric Clapton of several bands, but best on his own

Joe Perry of Aerosmith -- as if you didn't know; ROCK'N'ROLL!

Jimi Hendrix -- impossible to compare

Kenny Wayne Shepherd -- soulful and inspiring riffs, the best of the blues genre alive

Slash of Guns'n'Roses and Velvet Revolver -- you know the songs rock; how does he see his guitar? maybe he doesn't have to...

Stevie Ray Vaughan -- r.i.p. dude... you rocked!


Honorable mentions:
Brian May of Queen
Carlos Santana of Santana
Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche (my all-time favorite band!)
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
Lenny Kravitz
Prince
Steve Vai

If there were any of these you don't know, shame on you! Google them or something.

5/29/2005

Movie Review: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Well, in my latest edition of my commentary on one of my biggest hobbies, I dive into Star Wars Ep. 3. This movie, as many well know, has been a long time coming. I've always been a huge fan of Star Wars. I'm not the extreme, face-painting, dressing-up kinda fan, but it is fun to get into.

So, let's get down to it. First, I was very skeptical, as many were/are of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. I just don't think he had the right image or expectation of what I thought that he should look like (geez, his ridiculous hair style alone cost him). However, I did find that the character he showed had the necessary potential of turning to the dark side, as only Anakin could. I could see it building up, and I was hoping that his turn wasn't so blah. I mean, the scene where he saves Palpatine was crucial, but does that mean that he all of the sudden is gung-ho? Why does he go straight into killing like 15 jedi kids without thinking twice about it? I could justify that he was "so overtaken with fear over Padme's coming death" or "angry that the Jedi council 'betrayed' him", but there was no explanation. You kinda had to read into it. So, the scene was good, just the actual turn to the dark side seemed to abrupt.

Second, let's look at Padme'. Is this the same girl who was Queen of Naboo? The now seemingly meek motherly figure is a mere shadow of that character from episode 1 and some of 2. What's up with that? Was it the constant worry of Anakin? Who knows, but her abrupt character tranformation sucked.

Those are some pretty harsh criticisms, you might think, but there are some things I do like about it. Easily the scene where Anakin's legs and left arm are chopped off by Obi-Wan in their last encounter was breath-taking. His dark red eyes glowing while he was trying not to slide into the lava pit -- Obi-Wan's abandonment of his former apprentice -- Sweeeet.

Some other cool points -- Count Dooku's death (classic), Yoda going off on Palpatine (priceless), Palpatine's deformity (wicked), the double sunset with Owen and Beru holding young Luke (awesome), the two-second glance of Commander Tarkin (Governor/Grand Moff Tarkin in Episode 4), the starting of the Death Star (niiiice), and the emergence of the Darth Vader suit (justifably done).

Other sucky points -- Padme's death bed/stirrups, naming Luke and Leia in her dying breaths (dumb), seeing two seconds of Chewbacca (could've been way more), Anakin's lack of emotion besides his 'mean face' (underplayed), and Padme's character transition (lame).

So, overall: B- -- Good story, great action, cool scenes, but with details that needed help.

5/23/2005

my arch rival

All heroes have an arch rival. Someone who likes to do the opposite of what they want to do. Though I'm not much of a hero, I do have an arch rival. At work, I try to simply tape on something to a box to be shipped out. My enemy, the "tape gun" never quite likes to tear off at its given moment. It, instead, likes to pull more tape, thereby uselessly wraps most of the box that is well enough on its own. After that fiasco is over, the tape likes to fold over, sticking to the gun like it doesn't want to ever let go. Maybe it has some kind of love-bond with the brown plastic that gives it its power. Nevertheless, this sticking makes mehave to put down the box or whatever it is I wanted to tape up, and release the bond it has fixed onto the gun, so that I can over-tape another box. The rivalry begins... TO BE CONTINUED...

5/19/2005

and the grades are in... parte dos

last semester I posted my grades for the fall, so now I'm back once again to reveal the grades for the spring semester of 2005! And again, without further ado:

Marriage and Family Issues: A
Integrating Academics and Ministry: A
Music Theory II: A
New Testament Survey: B
________________________________________

Semester GPA: 3.75
Cumulative GPA: 2.89 (up from 2.67 last semester!)

WOO HOO!!! 2 down, and 6 more to go (counting summers)! Summer school starts Memorial Day! (If it seems I'm excited, I am... at least, that I have a two-week break from the vigors of school, but not so much that I have to go back so soon... gratefully, it's just a 2-week class).

5/18/2005

big momma

Yesterday, at work, they had me deliver some scaffolding pieces to a company, that wasn't far away. The delivery guy was out, so it was no problem. On the way out, I heard that it was a company doing construction on the set of "Big Momma's House 2". Yeah, I missed the original, but I thought it was cool to be on the set, even though it hadn't been finished.
The whole thing was raised up 5 or 6 feet high, and it was a huge maze! There was even a room that was completely encased by glass! It was fun to get to see it. If you have the chance, I recommend it.