typing

People sleep in all kinds of ways. I'm accustomed to using 2 pillows, otherwise my neck has a severe pain in the morning. Recently, I've noticed that my bottom pillow tends to move steadily toward the side of the bed. I have to re-adjust it every night before I go to sleep. It may be all in my head, but the pillow seems to be going further and further off the bed.

It got me thinking that maybe my obsession with typing has gone too far. When I was in high school, I took typing my junior and senior year. When Jessica and I were dating, and just hanging out with friends or whatever, she would feel my typing words (of course, without a keyboard) on her arm or shoulder. She finally asked me about it, and I had no idea that I was even doing it! I don't do that as much, mainly because I get my typing quota from work or email or blogging. Now, apparently that my fingers are getting their quota, is my head typing while I sleep?

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of journaling or doing research papers without a keyboard, we use to have to use typewriters. And with typewriters, when you get to an end of a line on a paper, you hit enter, and the whole middle part (called the carriage) moves over to the next line at the left-hand indent. Is my head actually doing this at night?? Have I turned into.... TYPE WRITER HEAD!?

Movie Review: Glory Road

If you're like me, you haven't seen the previews, and have no clue what this movie is about. So, if that's you, then check it out the preview. If it's not, then you're probably wondering how I've seen it already. Well, let me tell you! Jessica heard on the radio about free movie passes, and we never miss our chance at those, so she picked them up. Radio Disney was giving them away, and it was a very packed house. We got there an hour early and there were still about 50 people in front of us.

Going into this movie, I assumed that it wasn't going to be much of anything. When I think of a Disney movie, I think it's going to be hokey, less than exciting and goofy. It's rated PG, after all -- how good could it be? You might feel the same way, but you'd be wrong about this movie.

The story is basically a 1965 near-historic account of the first black NCAA team to start and go all the way to win the national championship, which they did their first year. The movie shows you a lot about what racism the players went through, and their battle to become champions and prove to the world that black men could play basketball.

This is the part in a review where I talk about some parts of the movie I might be critical about. After conversing with my wife, it seems that there aren't any. I'm not saying this movie is perfect by any means, but it's high quality.

Highlights of the movie include updates of the players at the end. The even more special treat was the interviews with the real players and even Don Haskins himself. That's really what made the movie for me. It was also amazing how well the casting was. John Lucas played the coach and he really did a great job. Even the players' likeness to the original players are quite uncanny. If you do happen to see this movie, listen for anything you might hear about Pat Riley... yes, the NBA coach... he's been around awhile, but he's actually a player in this movie :)

Overall: A+

I would definitely recommend to anyone. Whether you love basketball, sports in general, or any uplifting type of story.

down with the nemesis

Take that, Arch Nemesis! Earlier in the year, I posted about my arch rival. I think, after all this time, I've finally come to the point of justification by domination. This villain of aggravation has been taunting me my entire span as an employee at my current company. I had come to grips with the fact that it would always outwit me in my goal of taping up boxes and various other shipping items. But, today, that is a thing of the past! I've found a way for it to do my bidding, without back talk or lip of any kind! So, take that Arch Nemesis, your days of glory are done!

bad ears, bad

As some of you may already know, there are lyrics in songs, some very popular, where it is hard to understand a word or two in any given phrase, and can sometimes be miscrewd to be something that it's not. For example:

Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Scar Tissue", I thought what he was saying was "with the purple shed, it's a lonely view..." Jessica thought it was "with the burning shed, this lonely view...", but it's really "with the birds I'll share this lonely view..." weird huh?

Here are some others that are humorous that I've heard of or have thought myself (*hint: it's funnier if you know the song and can sing along with the wrong words*):

AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds":
wrong: "dirty thieves and the thunder chiefs..."
right: "dirty deeds done dirt cheap..."

Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze"
wrong: "excuse me while I kiss this guy"
right: "excuse me while I kiss the sky"

John Mellencamp's "Authority Song"
wrong: "I frighten Dorothy, and Dorothy always wins"
right: "I fight authority, authority always wins"

Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water"
wrong: "Slow talkin' Walter, the fire engine guy"
right: "Smoke on the water, the fire in the sky"

The Police's "Message In A Bottle"
wrong: "I'll send an SOS to a squirrel"
right: "I'll send an SOS to the world"

You can find some more here.

What are some that you've heard?

I've done it!

Fellas, I have done it! I have created the ultimate way to travel back in time! How did I do this, you mask ask! Well, all you have to do is grow your hair really long and let your beard get shaggy for as long as you can stand it over a period of a few years. After that, you can instantaneously make yourself look 10 years younger! Just look at what it's done for me!




For those of you who didn't know me back then, the 2nd picture is what I looked like at 19.

loyalty

I guess I consider myself to be critical of music. I know what aspects of music I enjoy, and I don't listen to the other crap (sucky slide steel guitar -- you can have that). On the most basic of scales, that's how I measure what I like. Being a musician, it's musically-healthy to be critical of what you hear.

So, with that out of the way, I can say that I love music. If I could, I would have the mp3 player constantly hearing stuff, if not, then playing it. I like many kinds of genres, rock (goth, classic, metal, alternative), selective hip hop, classical, new age (world), blues (classic and modern), and selective jazz... just to name a few. My bias probably stays in the rock field, however.

There is the issue of loyalty. Some people like the sound of a few bands, and buy their albums, no matter what it sounds like. While some others like songs that come on the radio and have no idea who they are, or what else they sing. Not me. When I hear a song that I like, great. That by no means that I become loyal to that band. I might go to B&N or Yahoo Music to check out the album. But that's it. I also might like a band/musician and never buy any of their stuff, like Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, Busta Rhymes, or any one-hit wonder. I may like one or two of their songs, but for the most part, I enjoy their artistic talent.

I will state, however, that there are bands that really have some great stuff over the years that have more good stuff than not: Sixpence None the Richer, Sarah McLachlan, and Disturbed. There are more, but I'll save that for later.

Halloween

The season is upon us! I think maybe it's a mix of football season in there, but I love this time of year! There's a mystery in the cool breezes that finally comes down to Southern Louisiana. I love seeing the new line of costumes, and make up FX. It also is a season of horror movies!!! If you're looking for something scary to watch, then check these movies out (in no particular order):

Serpent and the Rainbow
Nightmare on Elm Street (best of series: 1,3,4)
Halloween (best of series: 1,2,H20)
Freddy vs. Jason
Friday the 13th (best of series: 6,7,Jason Goes to Hell)
The Exorcist
Poltergeist
Salem's Lot
Dracula (1931,1979,1992)
Saw
Van Helsing
Sleepy Hollow

let me speak on this...

Does anyone hear hymns on the radio? Maybe on Christian stations, or elsewhere at Christmas time. But what about the top 40 stations? Why not? Maybe it's because the music is out-dated. Maybe people just aren't into that style anymore. If that's true, then why sing songs that are 100 years old in church? Are they considered too sacred to disregard? Has it been done so long that we dare not change it? Do they even hold meaning anymore? These are just questions that came to mind when I originally wrestled with this matter.

Psalm 98 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song". God wants to hear new praises from His people. In recent years, it seems to have caught fire. And if that's what we ought to do, then why rehash old, played out tunes? Why continue on the way we've always done it? Do we assume that because God doesn't change that He doesn't want music to change? I've heard the argument that the style of traditional music represents a more pure time. I think that theory is about as solid as topsoil in New Orleans.

Is it the change? By nature, people fight change, but it's just as inevitable as death and taxes. Why not embrace it? Welcome it in to learn from and in-turn be changed by it!

If the songs we sing are for God anyway, then does the style matter? To God, I don't think it does. He enjoys the praises of His people, no matter what the medium. I believe God wants us to worship Him from our hearts, and when we do that, God smiles.

The style more has to do with creating a condusive enviornment for the worshipper to enter God's presence with joy in our hearts and repentence on our lips. Worship leaders are doing their job when that happens. This can be done in multiple arenas: music, art, drama, scripture reading, prayer, etc. The possibilites are endless, as long as the heart is open.

So, can people worship with the "old school"? Yes, but I think it stifles your expression to God. This also goes for songs that you've "known your whole life" and are not traditional. Those songs can just as much stumble out of your mouth without meaning because of it's repetitiveness.

Here's what I'm *NOT* saying: Hymns suck and should never be sung in church. Every song we sing in church should be brand new.

MY POINT: Keep worshipping and do it with your heart, soul and mind. Keep it fresh and fun. God deserves it.

what the crap?

That phrase and others like it get on people's nerves. I'm sure that everyone can comment on this, so I'll just start the ball rolling with 2 of my anti-favorite sayings of the everyday man... or woman:

"...irregardless..."

"less is more"

Gimme some of yours

getting my composure

At last, we've heard the words we've longed to hear since the ordeal has happened: "Metairie is open!"

That's right, we'll be moving back into our house in Metairie on Wednesday, Sept. 21. As you know, our house was not damaged or looted during the happenings of the past 3 weeks. We are amazingly blessed in this time of crisis, and we have no one to thank more than God for helping us through wonderful family and friends.

So, the time has finally come to return to our normalcy. It will be in the fact that we'll be back home, but not quite normal yet. We may be having guests with us -- family that was less fortunate than ourselves -- so that should be fun... seriously! We love to entertain and Jessica is close to her family anyway, so we're excited.

You'll have to read her blog to find out about her job (I've gotta leave something for her to post). I will be working again with my company as soon as they set up shop again.

My school, unfortunately, was devastated by flooding, as most of New Orleans East was. So, I'll be continuing this semester, if not next semester as well, online. Graduation date is still set for the spring, 2007.

END OF LINE (Extra kudos to whoever recognizes this tag line!)

a new chapter

As you may have read in Jessica's previous post, we have evacuated and have landed in Lafayette for the time being. There's no telling as to how long our stay will be there, but we hope to have a plan in place by then.

Anyway, for now, I get to start back, finishing up my semester at school, which will be through correspondence/internet classes. I believe my school has temporarily relocated to Atlanta, GA, and I guess they'll play it by ear (as everyone from New Orleans is doing) to see when they will resume classes there. In any case, I will graduate on time, dang it!

Just for a side note, for those wandering, we made it out fine. Some of have seen living proof of this. The place we are renting in Metairie turned out ok. There was no structural or water damage to the place, but there are tree limbs that have filled the yard (which is extremely minor comparitively -- our relatives in the area were not so lucky). We were able to go over there on Labor Day and see the effects, of which I'll have pioctures of shortly. We grabbed some clothes, a few electronics that we didn't want stolen, and after almost 8 hours of total time going, being there, and coming home, we called it a day, and made our way to Laffy.

It's cool because we have gotten to see friends, family, which has been good. It's also been god that Jessica still has a job to go to so we can still have an income. That definitely puts me with less to do with a whole lot of time to do it in. So, I guess i'll be catching up on my reading for classes I should be able to get finished. Oh well, I guess I'll try to get a little smarter in the process.

All in all, I can't complain. With the biggest disaster to hit America landing in my backyard, God is still good. He spared us and blessed us tremendously. What more could I ask for?

what now

speechless

not a good way to diet

Ok, so vacation was awesome this year, as you can read on Jessica's Blog. Wednesday of that week, us men decided to go deep sea fishing. We got about 45 minutes into the boat ride, and I realized that it would be another 45 minutes until we stopped to fish. Apparently I had too much to eat for breakfast, and my stomach decided that it wasn't such a good idea after all to stuff my face. So, I tried to talk down my stomach by sitting down and forcing myself to think that it'll go away. It did... for about 5 minutes. Cold sweat was forming on my brow when I decided to get up and go to the back of the ship. I felt it coming and sure enough, I threw up... and it tasted like coffee. And I did it 4 times.

Cold sweats aside, I felt better. I moved to the cabin and got some cheez-its and a coke because you're supposed to keep your stomach full. Una palabra: Mistake. Not 10 minutes later, i'm back port-side, letting loose the stomach juice. I decide to hold myself up on my elbows on the side, which seemed to help... until we stopped. I think to myself that I would be much better off if the engine kept running. Without the engine, even in calm waters, the boat seemed to almost bounce from side to side, to where I could barely keep my balance. I proceeded to let more juice loose til I could conjure enough strength to just cast one reel. I pull it together, and cast about 3 times. I caught a fine red snapper, about 2 feet long. I also saw some dolphins coming along the side, eating what most people were throwing back because of the fish's size. That was a cool site to see them within petting distance. The thought of petting them or swimming them was heavily out-weighed by more thoughts of my impending water pollution from my mouth and its opposite end.

When I couldn't spew anymore, I finally laid down in the cabin and stayed there the rest of the 6-hour trip. The few moments that I got up, my brain alarmed itself and told me that if I got up again, my organs would be the next thing to leave my body. So, I gave in and laid down again happily.

The worst part of it really was that my father-in-law paid for me to go, only to lose my entire insides to the gulf. But at least I caught one fish right? Next time, I'll just take a double dose of dramamine. I've learned my lesson there.

ribbed

Ok, so I wake up this morning, just as usual. I slide down to the end of my bed and turn off my alarm. (I put it that far away so I actually have to get up to turn it off, and once I'm up, then I'm up.) This is at 6:45am. Jessica, like most people, is not so happy to get up in the morning. She usuually tosses while I scramble to get dressed and go take Coca out.

Usually violence doesn't precede me getting up in the morning, but today was just different. When Jessica turned over, putting more sheets over her head to block the sunlight, her right foot decided to say 'good morning' by nudging, nearly cutting, my rib cage. I almost fell off the bed, and would have if not for being able to touch the ground. I looked back, not so wounded, thinking I'd see her smiling, as if she was playing a joke. She was covered with sheets, so I couldn't see her face, so I said "hey". I get a cute giggle, and I ask, "Why do I get kicked in the ribs in the morning?" I was answered by another giggle and apology. We got a good chuckle out of it. Good times.

new blog

I started a new blog on xanga, where I talk about issues surrounding modern music. You might find it interesting: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=daskoontas

Promise, the link works.

ventrilo-fart

Ok, so I'm sitting in class, on the last day, and I'm listening to the professor, like everyone else is. I have my arms folded, and I notice that my finger-nails are a bit rough on my thumb. For some reason, I rub my two thumbs together, with my arms folded, and it makes a sound that anyone would hate to make in the middle of any social setting. If you haven't figured it out yet, it sounded like a muffled gas-passing... a social faux-pas. So, I thought to myself, "Don't act like it was a fart. No sudden moves.. no sudden moves... stop moving!" I moved my arms, and I thought it was too fast, so I'm sure my neighboring students were wondering if it was real or not. Of course, no fart = no smell, but not all farts smell, so I tried to ignore it as best I could.

It reminded me of something in the game, The Sims 2, where one of the new interactions in the game is to "ventrilo-fart". It shows your sim, farting (passing some weird yellow gas from their goolah) and pretending like it was the other person. Then, they both laugh it off. Good times.

slap you naked

Today, in my New Testament Interpretation class, our professor was talking to us about how stern his father was, as he was growing up. He emphasized something about admitting your weakness (I don't remember, but I wrote it down!), and he tried to imitate what Paul's father may have reacted when Paul was young. He said, and I quote, "It makes me wanna slap you naked and hide your clothes!" I seriously laughed out loud with the rest of the class, and couldn't stop thinking about it... obviously. I just thought I'd share that dose of comedy with you. If you don't get it, then you'd have to be there :-P

New Pictures

I'm not usually one to post pictures, but because I'm sure a lot of you won't be visiting our house any time soon, here are some pics of our place in Metairie. Enjoy :)

Metairie Pics

Hurricane Madness

Well, chalk another one up for New Orleans. This makes two years in a row that "the sky is falling" cries came from the media, and again, no storm. Last year, it was Ivan, that finally went back east. A whole week of school was cancelled! I have no quams with missing a few days school for a small vacation. Of course, I think half my life is wasted away sitting in traffic, just getting to Baton Rouge! In the chaos that ensued with the evacuation of this area, traffic was backed up going any direction out of New Orleans. I think it took one of Jessica's aunts to get from her house in Kenner to Zachary in just under 12 hours!! Ridonkulus!

This year, Dennis moved the same direction. There were no evacuations. The most we had over here was a few gusts and some rain. Nothing big... I've had heavier thunderstorms. Some people were "smart" this year, and stayed home. Good for them. We went to Zachary... just in case... and we were going anyway. So, just to let you know, of course we're fine. So is New Orleans. Gulf coast beaches on the other hand, may be a different story.

Stop it, media! I'm trying to sleep!!

Movie Review: Batman Begins

May I say that when I originally heard of a 5th Batman movie, a few years ago, I can't say I was eagerly awaiting. If it was going to be anything like the last two disasters (Batman Forever and Batman & Robin -- if anybody comments anything good about George Clooney, I will delete your comment and maybe stone you), it was probably going to flop. But then I thought, who the crap is going to play Batman?? Is there anybody who could step up? Keaton was great, but I doubted that he'd even consider coming back. So, I knew they had to start from a clean slate.

So, that's what they did. They got some great actors, some old faces, some new, and really put it together. I'd like to start by talking about the authenticity. The writers, director, etc went all out, it seems, to be as correct as possible... and they were! Kudos to the purists who had this thing running, and I tip my hat to the dedication to bringing Batman out in a way that was true to the story.

His humble beginnings as a young boy, and his fear of bats, to his training by Ras-al-ghul. Speaking of which, Liam Neeson rocked. Very true to his character, and I dig the Orientalish-goatee deal. Check it out.

Gotham City was exactly like it was suppose to be. I'm not sure about the whole "island" deal... which makes it look a lot like Manhattan, but there were definite parts that gave the city a comic feel... kind of larger than life feeling, that only the world of Batman could bring.

I've already started this, but I'll give a character review:

- Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman = Solid! I'm not sure they could've gotten a better fit. He was very believable, as both the dark knight and a billionaire. Good job big wigs!

- Liam Neeson as Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul = Again, rockin! He has this mentor aura about him that puts him exactly in the right role.

- Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes = She played a part, I guess. Her character is made-up, I think. I don't ever remember seeing her in any comic. I may be wrong, but she didn't need to be in it. I guess she was to bring in some kind of love story. Although, who knows whether or not they're really together at the end... very ambiguous.

- Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon = He's definitely a great actor (The Professional, Bram Stoker's Dracula [1992]), and I guess it was the mustache, but I thought he was almost an exact duplicate of what I pictured Jim Gordon to look like.

- Michael Caine as Alfred = Michael Gough portrayed the Wayne care-taker in the Tim Burton versions, and did a great job, but I think Michael Caine, a veteran and accomplished actor, was better suited. I bought that he actually cared for the family and was willing to do anything to take care of them. I dunno, probably has to do with him being a better actor all around.

- Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow = Again, true to his character. Might not have gotten as much time in the movie as some purists would like, but he definitely was an intriquite part of the story, and was true to the story of how he affected his victims, and how he fell victim to Batman. Good stuff.

- Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone = I think this guy was made up, but it doesn't matter. He was kinda symbolic of big crime in the city that Batman was supposed to rise up against. Wilkinson did a great job because he stereotypically always plays a bad guy because well, he's good at it.

- Rutger Hauer as Earle = Another veteran actor that made the grade and kept the movie at an all-star cast status. Another great bad guy.

- Mark Boone Junior as Flass = Another comic-true character. The actor isn't that well-known, but he's been around a while. He'll be a typical bad guy but this is his chance to prove himself.

- Linus Roache as Thomas Wayne = I love how they showed lots of flashbacks to him and his connection to Bruce. I really brought to the surface the real anger that Bruce has for his parents' killer, and made you feel that with him. It helped that the actor was more of a father-figure kinda guy too.

Final Grade: A -- for sweet effects, great acting, true to the comics in story and characters, and all-star cast. I would have given it a A+, but it lost the plus because the fighting scenes were hard to follow and trying to push a love story.