I like Simian Mobile Disco

They have been releasing some seriously awesome videos lately, this is the most recent:

Transformers 2 reaction

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen was released at midnight last night/this morning and unfortunately I was not as impressed as I was with the first installment. This sequel was fun, obviously action packed, visually stunning, dramatic, etc. etc. etc. but it was almost too much. I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary aspects here including exploitation of Meghan Fox's good looks, the fulfillment of racial stereotypes via two of the new Autobot characters, and lots and lots of cheap humor. Yes I agree, Meghan Fox is quite attractive but does that validate the need for multiple camera angles that scan her entire body while she changes outfits, runs in slow motion, or works on a motorcycle while bending over it with short shorts on? Do robots really need to have obvious resemblances to the races they are negatively portraying? When did Transformers become a comedy? Maybe I am just getting too old or something, I honestly did feel like I was in high school again given the amount of youngins in the theater. Maybe if I was in 10th grade I would laugh at everything and let sex and product placement sell the movie for me too. Don't be discouraged though, the film as a whole was still pretty decent. The bar was set very high by the first film so I think my expectations were just too bold this time around.

Brain picking

I am considering getting a tattoo, I'm not sure when but I have wanted one for awhile now and for the past few months I have been pretty much set on getting a simple cross on the inside of my forearm, something that looks like this but higher up and without a matching friend. I feel like it would be pretty inexpensive, tasteful, and somewhat original compared to the over the top elaborate cross tattoos I see so much of. I guess the only thing making me wait on it is the fact that I don't really have a need for it or a cool story to back it up. I'm not very religious either so it wouldn't be much of a God thing of sorts. I am an uber fan of Justice who's logo happens to be the Christian cross although they claim there is no affiliation between their music and the faith. They use the cross as an icon for interpretation, "everyone can read it as they wish and make their own meaning of it", I like that. I think that plays a lot into why I want to get this simple tattoo but at the same time I don't want it to strictly be a "band tattoo", but then again I guess that wouldn't be so bad. I have a feeling it might get done while I am over in England...

I really hate when people say that they want to see you/hang out with you and don't follow through. I hate it more when I look forward to it and plan my day or time around whatever plans me and the person made and then the plans never happen. It's understandable that "things come up" and plans can change but what I'm talking about is people bailing just "cuz" and not for any valuable reason. This is the type of thing you can lose "friend points" over in my book. I won't hold a grudge but it's a pet peeve nonetheless. If you know that you don't want to do something don't say you want to, it's simple :)

Another thing I hate is the "bro" image aka guys who wear Ed Hardy and Affliction among other overly priced brands and act like they are hot shit because their t-shirt set them back $200 and their jeans are so "premium". These clothing lines are somewhat respectable on their own, I'll admit I have seen some nice Ed Hardy tees. For the most part however, the common consumer of such clothing can be summed up as attention hungry, insecure tools and/or "scene girls" trying too hard to be appreciated. I don't know what it is about the apparel but i see so many of it's wearers overly induced with high levels of testosterone and inflated egos, it's disgusting, please grow up. My opinion isn't uncommon either, a lot of my friends feel the same way but if you want a more blunt point of view read this. (Disclaimer: Apologies to the few friends of mine who purchase these products, you know who you are, you are not the definition of what I explained above haha, I am not friends with tools)

There are also things I love... more on that later

Currently...

I really wish I was at Sonar 2009 to witness SebastiAn's first ever "live" performance. I have always been a huge fan of his work and it's pretty awesome to see him performing live now and branching out from only doing DJ sets. There are not a lot of videos for it yet but I found some that are pretty epic. This first clip shows the start of SebastiAn's show as he steps on stage and starts to destroy. I really like his set up here, there's something about how simple it is and the incorporation of a podium style booth that makes it look powerful.


This next video shows a brief glimpse at SebastiAn wearing a mask resembling the white face logo from his "Ross Ross Ross" EP. A ton of these masks were also given out to the crowd as seen in the second video below. It is kind of a haunting site seeing everyone with these emotionless white faces while the chilling chords are being played but I love it! The third video shows a bit of "Dog" being played and to close out the set in the fourth video, the slightly intoxicated and nicotine filled SebastiAn steps down from his gear while letting the final track fade out so he can make his exit as if it hadn't come soon enough. Still amazing music and a great first "live".

Stumbling

My friend Amy told me about this site called Stumbleupon awhile back and every now and then I will use it to dig around on the internet. It's pretty cool actually and it has taken me to a lot of sites I would probably never normally find. My favorite stumble so far tonight is http://www.onesentence.org/. Take a look, some of the stories are really interesting.

Recent randoms

Backyard, backyard, backyard, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, St. Paul. Was hoping to get to the cities during some wicked lightning but by the time we got there the storm had passed and the skyscrapers had been turned off :( oh well. BTW these look a lot better in original sizes and full quality.

I love The Bloody Beetroots!

The Bloody Beetroots are back again with another crazy video clip to pick up where the extremely over the top music video for "Cornelius" left off. This new clip is a preview for Smash Your Stereo and the release of The Bloody Beetroots heavy remix to the already heavy soon to be released track "Who Are You?" by The Proxy. Even for how short this video is I had to watch it over and over because not only does it offer a great tease of their "Who Are You?" remix but the style of the footage is quite compelling to me. The Beetroots have always been near the top of my list and I love their music, their style and the pure chaos that ensues during their DJ sets. To go along with all of that, I also love their personal brand and how they are building upon it with recent releases and videos. If you have not seen the video for "Cornelius" you can watch it at the bottom of this post but let me warn you, I wasn't lying when I said it's over the top! In the meantime, "Who Are You?"

Ramblings on life

Here I am again, up late at night when I should have gone to sleep a few hours ago. Might as well ramble on the robosphere for a bit. Today is the 18th of June 2009 and I leave the U.S. on a flight to England on August 18th. This summer is already cruising by at an unbelievable rate and I will be living in Hogwarts before I know it. Even though I am beyond excited for the experience that is about to unfold I still wish summer would slow down. I feel like life goes by faster and faster each year and it's hard to believe that I will already be a senior this fall. A lot of thoughts cross through my mind when I think about how fast life is moving. It makes me think of all the things I have been through, all of the things I have yet to experience, all of the hard work I have accomplished and still need to accomplish, all of the life goals I have had, all of the people I have met, how much I have changed in certain areas, how much I am going to change still, the relationships that have come and gone, the many things I am grateful for, etc. This probably sounds awful but I have even been noticing elderly customers more often at work and thinking to myself how afraid I am to turn old. There is so much I want to experience and accomplish in life, so much I want to do for myself and others in what seems to be such a short time.

It feels like just yesterday I firmly decided which major I want to study at school and now I only have a year to a year and a half left to gain the knowledge and skills necessary before I'm off to the "real world." I used to hate St. Cloud State so much too. Freshmen year was not very enjoyable at all and sophomore year, although a bit better, was not my idea of a great time. It was not until this past year, halfway through my college career, that I finally started warming up to St. Cloud and actually loving it there. It's sort of ironic too being that this past school year had its fair share of negative happenings. Regardless of some hiccups along the way I am now really enjoying my time at SCSU and life in general lately has taken a big turn for the better.

As the title suggested, this has been nothing but ramblings. No rhyme or reason really, just some stuff in my head at the moment. There's a ton of things on my mind right now that I could spill out but I'll save the rest for another time so I don't get too blah blah blah on you. If there's anything to take away from this post it would be this... I recommend living your life for the good and not dwelling on the downfalls, mistakes, negativity, whatever. Don't allow stress to consume you, if you want to pursue something you love then go for it (more on that later), if things are not working the way you think they should or the way you think you deserve then try to fix it. Life is way too short not to be happy. I have been trying to live by this for awhile now and even though it can be hard, it's totally worth it.

Etienne de Crecy

I'm a big sucker for live set ups and light shows, especially if they are cutting edge and unique. My friend just told me about this band and I thought this video was pretty awesome. This cube light show is probably one of the better stage set ups I have seen since Daft Punk's Alive 2007 world tour (see below).

FOETOES

The above photos are some of my recent random shots (my friend's EVO, Chicago traffic, downtown Minneapolis, Chicago skyline) using my Nikon D60. I have always had a passion for photography and often received some nice compliments on my pictures from back in the day. Now that I finally have a professional camera I have been wanting to take pictures more and more. I am still learning the essentials as well as some cool tricks thanks to my buddy Drew who has been pumping out some serious photography work for awhile now. I think it is more fun to learn as I go first hand like this rather than in a classroom but I think I might take a photography class down the road, couldn't hurt right? I just want to learn more technical stuff, I think I have always had an eye for good shots/angles/points of interest, etc. but now I want to take things further. Do any of you out there enjoy taking pictures? What are your favorite things to shoot/what motivates you? I think photography is such a powerful and fun art form. I can't wait to bust out the D60 in Europe this fall!

KanYe West: Paranoid

What does working do for you?

I was at work today and it was another day in "paradise". I got in trouble for bringing Taco Bell into the back room and eating it before I started my shift. As a result, my store manager felt it necessary to call my supervisor and I up to his office for a chat. What ensued was a rant against my work ethic and a threat of termination. The store manager held his thumb and pointer finger up in the air at roughly half an inch apart and informed me that he was that close to letting me go. All over some Taco Bell? This sort of thing is far from new for me. I am reprimanded quite a bit by my store manager for tedious things like this. Just the other day I was scolded for wearing my name badge under my apron. Not long after that I was called out for wearing my radio without the earpiece in my ear... the list goes on. I understand rules and I understand work ethic. I have been working for this company for five years now, the past two of which have involved this new store manager. Since his arrival a lot has changed and no matter how hard I try to adapt I am constantly treated like a child. Today's events really got to me and I started contemplating a lot of different things, some work related, some not.

I started thinking about my time at Cub Foods and work in general. Specifically, I was thinking about how much stress I have let such an easy job bring upon me. I try to be a pretty calm and collected individual as much as possible but I just have a really hard time tolerating people that put me through things like I mentioned above, especially when I am a hard working and responsible employee. I wouldn't go as far to say that I have a problem with my superiors and company policies but what I do have a problem with is how my superiors handle these issues. Life is too short to be looking down on people and throwing around threats. At the end of the day there a far worse things that I could be doing on the job or to the company I work for. Anyway... I don't know what I am even trying to accomplish with this post. I guess I just needed to vent about it somewhat constructively rather than verbally having a fit or trying to discuss it face to face with someone who wouldn't understand. I will just continue to be a mindless drone in the eyes of my store manager and take the hits for the money. There's not much else out there for other options right now so I will just have to work extra hard to keep my cool.

Art Robots

I could see myself spending a lot of time with these things. It is interesting to see how advanced technology is becoming and how we can use it in so many uncommon ways that might not come to mind at first.