How to lose a guy in ten days

Sorry, long time no post.... so lets get started.

Catherine was telling me about this phenomenon called "Mercury Retrograde" (yeah... she's into all that astrology stuff.) I already forgot what it means, so, according to astrology.about.com Mercury slows down and Since Mercury rules communication, it's said that everything goes haywire in that area -- emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc. Some people find that their computers go on the fritz or phone lines go down. Well, it ended on October 15th. Since then my car's maitenance light has come on, my computer completely died(which would explain the delay in posts) and my cable box no longer shows the time. So much for Mercury Retrograde, not that I bought into it in the first place.

On Tuesday Cat and I went to Hollywood to see a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel show, with the Alkaline Trio performing. It was pretty boring. The crowd sucked, the Trio played five songs, two were good (not great, but good) one was decent, and two were forgettable. Matt Skiba looked like a cross between Heath Ledger's Joker, Mike Ness, Willy Wonka, and a salamander. Sigh, at least he's not dressing like a Vampire or A Clockwork Orange anymore.

So I'm the only one working today at my work. Well, outside of a supervisor. So from 2:30 to 11 I will be not only manning the checkstand and photo, but I will be serving ice cream. Indeed a happy halloween to me.

I love 30 Rock, but I'm a bit afraid about this season. Now, before I go any further, let me just say that I missed the season premire yesterday and my tivo decided it didn't want to record it (take that Mercury Retrograde) but it sure seems like it's getting an awful lot of press. And don't tell me, "well it won 3 Emmys last year" because Arrested Development won it's share of Emmys and nobody watched that show. As great as Tina Fey was as Sarah Palin, I think that turned a lot of people onto 30 Rock, and that's not always a good thing. Plus, they're running out guest star after guest star (Jennifer Anniston? Oprah Winfrey?) Honestly Tina, just stick with your SNL friends, like Chris Parnell, who was amazing as Dr. Leo Spaceman.

I've got to get ready for work

I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you....

I'm currently sitting in my POSC-315 class right now. That's Public Policy Making if you're really interested. I've been sick the last week... sick enough to actually call in sick to work on Monday. Catherine brought me tea and crackers and orange juice, but my immune system had other plans. While I'm feeling better, I'm still not feeling well.

Next week I'm heading to Hollywood twice. Tuesday I'm attending the Jimmy Kimmell show, to see the Alkaline Trio perform. I'm sure they're playing Help Me, but wouldn't that be awesome to see them bust out like Radio or Warbrain, or even Armageddon. Sigh. On Sunday I'm also seeing the Trio, with Rise Against, Thrice and the amazing Gaslight Anthem. I'm real stoked. I've waited long enough to see the Gaslight Anthem...

My brother came into my room two nights ago and said to me "I think someone is messing with your car." Being confused and not knowing what the hell he was talking about, i asked him what exactly he meant. He responded by saying "someone put a 'No on 8' sticker on your car." I informed him that it was I who did, and he shuddered, called me a fag, and left. Inside I died a bit. It's sad to know that in 2008 there is still so much hate.

We're talking about the national debt right now, which sits at $10.3 trillion, or $34,000 dollars. If I were in debt $34,000, I would just hangmyself, probably.

The teacher keeps lookin at me... I gotta go.

Everything's Magic

So I have an hour until I need to get ready for work. This blog won't take an hour, but I do feel like I need to get some shit off my chest.

I'm at ease. I've found peace of mind. It's a wonderful, mind-numbing, frightening feeling. Last night was the pinnacle of amazing. I've taken a liking to this girl. She challenges me. She makes me think. It's pretty... uh... well it's pretty haha. I'm not good with all this feeling, wishy-washy, lovey-dovey stuff. I don't know really how to express myself. All I know is that I haven't stopped smiling today, and I could definately get used to this.

I haven't stopped listening to "The '59 Sound" since I got it. It's been two months and I still listen to the ENTIRE album (not just a song or two) every day. I listen to it on the way to school, walking around school, on the way home from school, on the way to work, at work, on the way home from work, in my room... pretty much anywhere. Brian Fallon you son of a bitch. I want my life back! But seriously, its downright amazing. Thats all I can say.

NFL picks will come in later tonight/tomorrow....

I'll end today's blog with lyrics from Smoke or Fire...

"So show me, give me half a chance to be for you the person that I buried deep inside. For once I'd rather live than die, and sympathize with anyone who doesn't find the kind of second chance I did."

A Few (Days) Overdue

I know, I know... I'm laggin on the posts. Well here's to making up for all the lost time. Before I begin, within the next couple of days there will be a MEGA version of "Matt's Favorite Albums," instead of five, I'll reveal ten or fifteen to make up for lost time (OMG.) Anyways... some Random Thoughts...

...Lets start with my favorite subject, those Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I attended Wednesday's Angels/Mets series finale. The Angels took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, only to see all-star closer Francisco Rodriguez cough up the lead, and Justin Speier lose it in the tenth. Rodriguez has only blown two saves this entire season, and I've had the pleasure of being at Angel Stadium when both have happened. Unfortunately Torii Hunter didn't bail him out this time, like he did in May with a walk off grand slam. But I can't complain too much about the Angels, as they're coming off a sweep of the first place Phillies. They were dominant, holding the high scoring (Utley, Howard, Rollins, Burrell) Phillies offense to just five runs. I don't think enough can be said about the job Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders have done this year. And it looks like Vlad Guerrero has finally woke up.

...Another story involving Big Vladdy, my Dad attended some kind of charity auction for his boss, and came home with two pieces of memorabillia. One, for me, was a signed ball from the afformentioned Vlad, and the other a pretty big sized photograph of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, autographed. My Dad is a big Yankee fan, but you dont have to be a Yankee fan to admire something like that.

... So like I said, the Celtics would win in six. I pretty much called this series, saying Boston would win both at home, the Lakers would take three and five, sending back to Boston, and the Celtics would take game six. I didn't think, however, that Boston would dominate the way they did. Look I hate the Lakers, but that was even embarassing for me to watch knowing the Lakers are my "hometown" team. And poor Lamar Odom; I'd be shocked to see him wearing yellow and purple come next October. While we're talking about basketball, I'd like to quote Jim Alexander from The Press Enterprise regarding The Los Angeles Clipper's offseason. "Resign Elton Brand, or you might as well move back to Buffalo." (Forgive me, I might have paraphrased that a bit.)

...So to add to my July excitement, which includes new albums from The Alakline Trio and The Street Dogs, plus seeing Kyle, "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten" will finally be seeing the light of day. What is "The Future is Unwritten?" It's a documentary about the life, and the influence of Joe Strummer the lead singer of The Clash. I've been waiting for this to come out for some time now, and finally on July 8th, it will! Oh, and the first week of August will see "The 59 Sound" by The Gaslight Anthem. Pretty good summer if you ask me.

...For the first time in three years I skipped the Warped Tour. Did I make the right decision? Well I'm certainly not crying over missing The Devil Wears Prada or Boys Like Girls or whoever is on the tour this year. My friend Nicole went, here is a text she sent me: "It was weak. Saw every type of music but punk. Pretty fuckin sad." My thoughts exactly.

...My current addiction: Mario Kart Wii.

... Oh, my sister introduced my friend Ashley to my Mother as "Hannah Montana." She doesn't believe she looks like Hannah, I'll let you decide.

What do you think???? If you look to the right, you will my first ever poll question. The question is "Does Ashley look like Hannah Montana?" Answer away!

...Anyways.. thats about it for now.

Smell you later,

Matt

I wonder if your songs will still be shit when I'm 64

So the Lakers head home down 0-2. I really thought they'd take Game 2, and by a big margin. But thats why they play the game I suppose, and that also explains why I work at Rite Aid making chump change and not making millions in Vegas. A couple things jumped out at me, and no, the foul issue is not one of those things. It's in Boston, you expect the Celtics to get those calls, as the Lakers will get coming home.

1. How weak the Lakers looked. They clearly needed to play physical and they didn't do it at all. Former Lakers coach Pat Riley once said "No Rebounds, No Rings." As cliche as it sounds (along with defense wins championships) its true. The Celtics OWN the boards at this point. Which reminds me...

1a. Lamar Odom needs to step up! Odom needs to rememer he's a big powerful dude, and he needs to play like it. Box out Garnett; put Pierce on his ass; do something. Kobe can't do it by himself, (more on that in a minute) he needs both Gasol and Odom to be viable 2nd and 3rd option guys. Gasol is keeping up his end of the job, but Odom has been a complete non factor. If he doesn't show up in game three, the Lakers will find themselves in a world of trouble.

2. Kobe Bryant needs to take the game over. I know he was trying to prove a point, but he doesn't need to take stupid fouls, and more stupid technicals. Kobe did exactly what he needed to do in the fouth quarter. Take over the game, hit his shots, and drive the lane creating open shots for sharpshooters like Sasha Vuijcic. And look what happened. The Lakers nearly erase a 24 point defecit. He's the best player in the NBA, bar none; its time for him to start playing like it.

3. The inability of Doc Rivers to do anything right. Doc is up 2-0, but he's lucky he is. There should be no reason this Celtic team finds itself watching a 24 point lead dwindle to two in five minutes. Absolutely no reason. The players got lazy, and thought they had the game wrapped up. Unfortunately, they forgot that this is the Lakers, the top seeded team in the Western Conference who had already come back from a 20 point defecit against the defending champion Spurs. The Kobe Bryant Lakers. There is no reason they should have been that unfocused. That's a reflection of the coach. You would never see a Phil Jackson-ran-team play with such reckless abandon and such indifference in a regular season game, let alone a playoff game, no matter what the score is. Remember, there is a reason that this team was a 24 win team last season.

4. How players like Leon Powe and Lamar Odom can have more of an impact on the NBA Finals then Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen.
I'm still sticking with my Boston in 6 prediction, but I do think that the Lakers take Game 3 and Game 5, with the Celtics taking Game 4, sending it back to Boston.

And why do I care so much about the NBA Finals that feature two teams from two cities I absolutely despise? Cause, really, what else is there to cover? I mean, I love the Angels, but it's June, so I can't get that excited yet. Plus there isn't enough room on the Great Wall of China for me to discuss their offense at this point, let alone a silly blogsite. And with Cal State Fullerton going down on Saturday (a game which I attended) and the Ducks deciding one Stanley Cup trip is enough, I'm kind of out of options.

Random Thoughts:

I got around to watching "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.'' It was a lot better then I had expected, but it wasn't that great. Kudo's to Jack White (of the White Stripes) for his role as Elvis Presley. It was quite unexpected. There were some great references, like the entire Bob Dylan scene, and trippin with the Beatles, plus Pam Beasley is in the movie! It's worth checking out, but don't expect "Anchorman"or even "Talladega Nights."

I'm not stoked at all for the Warped Tour. Every year it seems the tour gets worse and worse. Honestly, the only bands I'd watch are Against Me!, The Street Dogs, and Angels & Airwaves. Is that worth the price of admission? That is the question...

I am, however, looking forward to the Alkaline Trio in July! And Jesse Lacey as well.

Anyways, I'm tired... so thats all today...