The Loser and the Lethargic Nature of Being

Once again, it’s time for a patented Dave’s Wasted Time Update.  Much has happened.  Ok, so that’s a lie.  Anyone who has ever read more than two entries of this would know that.  But for me to say much has happened means that actual things have happened, as opposed to the normal very little to nothing.  Onward ho.

Last Saturday night, I went to a keg party.  Yep, that’s right.  I went to a kegger.  One of the guys from work was having it at his house and invited a bunch of people.  It was quite a hilarious night.  Drunks everywhere, which is always a fun time.  And, yes, I did partake myself.  Not enough to get drunk, mind you.  Just a really nice buzz.  And I stopped early enough to be able to drive home by four in the morning.  But, seriously, it was fun as shit.  Seeing people from work, many of which I didn’t know all that well, but some I did, sitting around and getting blasted was great.  As was watching (and eventually joining in on) kegstands.  Y’know, where you do a handstand on the keg and have someone pump beer into your mouth until you can’t take anymore.  My lack of balance and I even managed a couple of those.  What’s funny is how the number of people I talk to at work has expanded solely because of this party.  Just people I had never spoken to before, but now regard as something better than an mere acquiantance, but far short of a friend.  But, yeah….a very good time was had by all.

Now Playing in Dave’s Mental Jukebox:  "Quote" by Evans Blue, "Otsegolectric" by Static-X, and "Cassie" by Flyleaf

There’s an area where I’ve really been falling down in lately in this here space, and that’s a nice CD review.  And I can’t believe I haven’t done one for this yet, considering how much I’m completely addicted to it.  So now to rectify that situation.  The CD is The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume by Evans Blue.  Quite frankly, the CD is perfect.  I’ve said that about very few CD’s before, because even some of the great ones have an iffy or bad song here and there, but this one has none.  All eleven songs are single-worthy and downright fantastic.  It honestly seems like a different song gets stuck in my head everyday.  The lyrics, while occasionally cryptic, are very well written.  The instruments are played to perfection.  The vocals mesh with the music beautifully.  Evans Blue’s sound reminds me a lot of Onesidezero, except infinitely more refined, polished, and just….better.  The song you’re most likely to have heard is "Cold (But I’m Still Here)," as it is the first single, and, indeed, the song that hooked me.  The second song to hook me was "Possession," which is a flawless remake of the Sarah McLachlan song.  Then it was the opening track, "A Cross and a Girl Named Blessed."  Then another, and another, and another.  Basically, what I’m saying is that, if you like rock music at all, you must have this CD.  These dudes are going to be huge.  At least they should be.

While I’m at it….a movie review…

Tuesday night I bought and watched Memoirs of a Geisha.  I’d wanted to see it in theaters, but it was only out for a minute or two around here, so I didn’t take the opportunity to go.  The movie itself was beautifully filmed, though I believe it is impossible to film an ugly movie set in pre-1945 Japan.  The scenery was just breathtaking.  The script was solid (though I can’t comment on its faith to the source material, as I’ve never read Arthur Golden’s book…at least not yet), and the acting was also quite good.  Really, my only gripe with the movie was the casting of Chinese actresses to play the parts of the main Geisha (or is it "Geishas" in the plural?  Whatever…).  Trivial gripe?  Absolutely.  Mostly because I know the average American wouldn’t notice, nor would they care.  But it bugged me.  Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Gong Li were all amazing in the movie….but just seeing a nearly sacred Japanese traditional figure played by Chinese actresses didn’t set right.  I know why it was done (money!  better acting!  name recognition!), but it was distracting.  Also, the movie should’ve been spoken in Japanese instead of English.  There are parts where you almost need subtitles anyway because the accents are so heavy, so why not just film it in Japanese anyway?  That’s what all the characters were supposed to be.  But, again, these are just minor gripes on my part.  Overall, the movie was very, very good.  I bestow upon it a high recommendation.

I finally bowed to the urge a few days ago…  I have thus begun my fifth play through of Star Wars:  Knights of the Old Republic II:  The Sith Lords.  And on a side note…….how can one title have two subtitles?  Funny.  Anyway…  I love this game dearly.  As I’ve said a billion and a half times…if Obsidian (the developer) had been allowed to fully complete the game, it would’ve been the greatest game ever made, far and away.  Instead….it’s just lower half of the top ten.

And, no, I still haven’t finished Grandia III.  I’m going to have to do a lot of leveling up before I can actually beat the final boss.  I’m just not interested in doing that right now, so I decided to move on.  Beating Xorn is all that’s left for me to do, so, once the motivation to play it returns….I’m all over it.

I’ve worked my way into having a three day weekend starting tomorrow.  I don’t even know what the hell I’m going to do with myself for three days.  And I can’t fathom what I used to do when I didn’t have a job and just sat on my ass all day.  Maybe that’s why I was always so angry all the time.  Who knows.

I’ve undertaken the task of transcribing the story I started writing a year ago when Will left for KC into my old alternate diary…the one I used for collecting various writings.  Part one can be found here.  After watching Lost in Translation last night, I’ve realized that, instead of just making thins thinly veiled autobiography, it is much better to interweave fiction and reality so closely that no one can really tell one from the other.  And I think this story will reflect that when it’s complete (I’m not quite done yet….but the end is in sight).  Hopefully I’ll actually bother to type the whole thing up, unlike every other story piece in that diary. 

And I do believe I’m’a call this complete.  I’m considering watching King Kong before bed (188 minutes?  Yikes).  It’s either that or more KOTOR II.  Only time shall tell which wins out.

Sayonara.