what have I been up to during my summer break you ask?
well, i'm not that busy that I cannot update my blog, but I have been quite lazy. when you have a 56k connection, the internet becomes less and less fun.
I have been using my computer though, thanks to an anonomyous source, I now have Pro tools, 909, 808, snyths and drum machines at my disposal. just call it a local hip hop project that is in the works. let's see me do my best impression of the neptunes.
also, I have been working out again.. about 4 times a week with my friend pizza. we go to this pretty nice gym, and just spend a few hours playing basketball, running, lifting weights, looking at all the pretty girls.. i've already lost about 6 pounds so far in about a week's worth of work. not too bad for this fatty...
oh yeah, my hair is getting damn shaggy again, right now it looks kind of like a bruce lee shaggy haircut.. complete with funky sideburns.. my goal is to not cut it at least until my dad's wedding, but I will probably just clean it up and try to go for length. its not the biggest of priorities, but with work and stuff, time just flies and the hair seems to be getting very long in a short amount of time... good for me. i'll have the worst haircut for this hot, humid, and sticky weather.. oh well,, as long as I think I look good, thats enough for me..
well, I must clean my room and go work out... talk to you all soon
  ¶ 5/29/2002 08:08:00 AM 0 comments

  my friends Jim and John are lucky bastards. 4 weeks in Ireland and London, I wanna go.  ¶ 5/21/2002 08:08:00 AM 0 comments

  "you're a few years overdue, I spent them waiting here for you"

finally back and settled, well sort of. I need to unpack and have this house back to its pristine condition that it was before I came home, before my dad comes back from LA. wish me luck all  ¶ 5/20/2002 07:32:00 PM 0 comments

  made it to Chicago in one piece =)
took the train, still quite the experience for a small town boy like myself. thanks to the generosity of Kathryn, ( check her blog out on the right) I have a place to hang for a couple of days. pictures should when I get back, until then...
Sights seen:
Columbia University Museum of Modern Photography
Chicago Art Institute
mc donalds, walgreens, depaul loop campus
And yes, oh yes, I saw Wesley Willis, you know, that crazy 6 foot black, schizoprhenic singer..I saw him walking around today, with his trademark tape player draped around his neck..
well, gotta jet..
laters



  ¶ 5/17/2002 03:06:00 PM 0 comments

  finally home..
but leaving again tomorrow =(
but, it will be in chicago =)

  ¶ 5/16/2002 08:13:00 AM 0 comments

  Part 2 in the perspective changing musical experience series..
Friday, May 10th (stop day)
Mojo's again, still smelling like a septic tank.
Drinks:
1 bud, 1 coke
jennifer had boulevard wheat, and a jack and coke
money dropped $12

The last time I saw Drums and Tuba, was back in 99 when they opened for Ani Difranco in the Majestic Theatre in KC. These guys were so cool, and it was neat to be able to talk to these guys back in the day. Now, Drums and Tuba , which is the perfect name for them because they are that name, they have a drummer, a tuba player and a guitarist.
This isn't your typical shitty highschol wannabe post rock band/jazz band. These guys have amazing chops and the ability to create great songs to groove to, without any lyrics. Technology meets old school is a good way to describe Drums and Tuba. Every member has a sample in their array of equipment, which allows for live looping and sampling of their instruments. For example , the tuba player will lay down a simple bass line with his tuba, sample it and loop it, he will then grab his trumped and lay a 2 part harmony with the tuba, sample and loop it, and then pick up his tuba again and wail along with those loops. The drummer, will lay a simple beat, loop it, and go on to play another set of break beats. The guitarist will do some crazy shit with his guitar, at times, with the help of a makeshift guitar holder, play two guitars at the same time.
These guys sound crazy, but they sound like heaven. Its like, fhardcore funk, hip hop beats, improvisitional jazz, and punk all rolled into one. SOunds strange huh? well it is.
At first, you think Tuba? what the hell? but, this isn't the fat kid marching band tuba we all know. This guy's tuba is hoked up to a wah-wah pedal, a chorus pedal, a flanger and a multitude of other effects. Route all those effects into a rack mount processor that he manipulates right on stage, and you have the most trippy, fucked up brass instrument on the planet.
These guys are monsters, after playing a good hour or so set, they took a 10 minute break, and played another hour of great music. THe crowd never stopped dancing, except to cheer and applaud Drums and Tuba. The first time I saw these guys, I didn't appreciate them as much because they had such a short set and I wasn't able to get up close to the show. This time, I was right up there , with all these incredibly hot girls dancing all around me. Even us guys got into the funk and started dancing. If you are a fan of music, with some credibility and a dislike of most shitty pop music around, I strongly urge you guys to pick up an album (flying ballerina is a great one), see a show, or at least check out their web site Here
You'll thank me for it later..
peace
  ¶ 5/11/2002 09:31:00 AM 0 comments

  $0.25 draws at Harpos are bad news. When you spend $5 dollars worth of that stuff, all that beer comes back to haunt you in a very harsh way. I prayed to the porcelain god about 3 times today. To top it off, my head pounded, and my stomach was still queazy. I am damn sure I was still drunk while sitting in anthropology class. I haven't had a hangover this bad in a years. This was by far a very shitty morning, for I am still feeling under the weather. I guess thats what happens when you drink mass quantities of really shitty beer (sorry Brandon, it was milller) in a fast amount of time. I did see many cute girls last night though, although I was in no shape to talk to most of them, as usual.

Finally got my paper done! Now I have to write another =(
And study for 2 finals, then i'm out of here!

Lets hope when the end of the school year finally comes, I will say that I did what I needed to do. And I will have only the slightest bit of regret for every missed opportunity, every missed conversation with departing friends, every chance to do my best. Hopefully, I could take this regret and use it to further inspire me to do an even better job next year as a friend, brother, son, AAA pres, MAASU chair etc.. I truly want my senior year to be one that I can be proud of. It won't be the "end all" and it definately will not represent the best times of my life, for I believe even better things are ahead for all of us outside the world of undergrad academia.
Seniors, good luck to all of you in the "real world" lend me money if you ever get a job! I will honestly miss all of you.
For all you fools coming back next year, have a good summer if I don't get to see you. If you're ever in KC, definately look me up.
Next year will be a good one.
peace  ¶ 5/10/2002 09:39:00 AM 0 comments

  I was listening to some music the other day. any you all know how one song takes you back all the way? You dont' just sing along to it, but you might actually see what you were doing when that song was new, playing on the radio. All these moments go in your head and it seems so real. The moments may be fun, boring, happy, sad.. but they are just so vivid that you can't help but think about them.
Listening to the beastie boys "ill communication" makes me think of one specific event, sitting on the grassy hill by the tennis courts duing tennis season of sophomore year. I can remember that it was about 75 degrees, partly cloudy , and a bit breezy. I remember it was a friday and it was so cool because I had no homework. I remember being nervous for my game so Christian gave me the cd to get pumped up. I still lost, but I wasn't nervous..
I also remember boyz 2 men. "yesterday" It was the summer after 8th grade. I can see myself in the doorway to my best friend Brandon's dad's apartment singing along to the song to a girl on the phone. it was a dark, hot, humid night.. the kind of night where its just humid and hot enough to make you sweat, but it wasn't sweaty enough to necessarily bother wiping it off. I remember all the bugs crowding around the entryway light and trying to fend off mosquitos. I also remember feeling really stupid after singing that song to the girl, but I also remember that I "went out " with her afterwards.
I should listen to old music more often and see what other memories the songs might trigger.
Do you guys have any songs that trigger memories?  ¶ 5/08/2002 06:13:00 AM 0 comments

  "wake up april, it'll be summer soon, and you'll be drinking your morning coffee in the afternoon" TPR


wasted a part of the day when I should have studied... oh well.. i can still make up for it..
looked for more places today, I think we have a winner. although its a bit out of the way, it is very nice.
saw run lola run on a big screen as well.
time to study  ¶ 5/06/2002 07:32:00 PM 0 comments

  last night's musical experience was , well , interesting. The setting was dirty old Mojo's. This time it smelled like a septic tank,but luckily the (illegal) bonfire outside gave the whole place a smokey feel. SO think of a septic tank on fire. I sat down with my friend Jennifer, as we tried to sit out our buzz that $1.50 domestic bottles can do to you. I'm sorry Brandon, i did have that budweiser swill, when its that cheap, I can't pass it up.. Sorry, brandon is my best friend and beer expert. visit his site, links to the right..
anyways.. after watching sound check, and eating some veggie subway, the rock started:

After seeing the local band Pussy Controls's brand of riot grrlish punk rock, complete with a cover of "then he kissed me", I found out it was their very first show. Not bad for a first show. I enjoyed them, especially their enthuiasm and ability to smile at mistakes.

Next up, was a guy who's name I did not catch. This was strange. This guy was about 6"2 and dressed like howdy doody (red checkered cowboy shirt, long tight blue jeans, red kercheif) who played a ukelele and sang songs "cowboy" style. This was strange although his lyrics were quite cool ranging from cautionary love "are you chocolates or are you cigarretes?" to murder "I threw her down the cellar steps". All in all, this guy set me up for one of the most bizzare "bands" in my time.

The main act/performer/all around strange group was "Quintron and Ms. Pussycat". They opened up with a puppet show, complete with a play house and trippy music to complement this very drug influenced puppet show. Needless to say, I was very entertained. Next up, they actually got out of the playhouse and played their instruments. It is very hard to describe the music. Think of Jerry Lee Lewis, talking heads, devo, and iggy pop. Except they didn't use the most traditional instrumetns. While Ms.Pussycat played maraccas with puppet heads and sang backup, Quintron, a very skinny, and odd fellow (looked like ed wood to me) played a strange rotary organ, a drum machine triggered by a morse code tapper, a sequencer, a synth, a pair of Hi-hats, and a very nifty set of "light powered" sound generator thingys. Let me explain that more.. the whole machine is fueled by a lightbulb. the light is sensed by a few photoelectric type light sensors. depending on certain knobs and buttons, the constant stream of light is sensed by the sensors and translated into sound. If you disrupt one of those sensors, the sound becomes altered. To make it even more confusing, there is a turntable like platform where you can put a coffeee can with holes around the lightbult to further change the sounds, you can even "scratch" the can to make even stranger sounds. Let me telll you guys, Its real hard to explain this shit. You really have to catch a show. the music sounded like a gospel/new wave/rockabilly/carnival music with all those artist influences above... I'm stil at a loss for words to totally describe it. hell, the beats would make dr.dre proud!

Even stranger than "quintron and ms.pussycat" was the audience's reaction (including myself). These typical indie rock white boys/girls busted out in some strange proto-pseudo-50's style dancing.. Throw up a few seemingly gospel induced "shaking hands" and floor splits with constant stomping and clapping and shaking and you get my picture. I must say, I took part in a bit of the dancing, and we must have looked extremely strange to the rest of the crownd behind us.

I need to get a few cd's of this "quintron and ms.pussycat" and definately see another show. If you really want your musical world stretched and perhaps be scared a bit, go see "Quintron and Ms.Pussycat" you'll regeret if you miss it.

These guys do have some clout though, they did open up for The John Spencer Blues Explosion , Yeah!..
Until the next strange musical moment,
Alex

  ¶ 5/06/2002 06:03:00 AM 0 comments

  Saw Spiderman yesterday, not too bad. If you took out 25% of the cheesy dialogue, you would have a pretty good movie. Kirsten Dunst always has that energy that I am really attracted to. Toby Maguire was also pretty convincing as Peter Parker. Yes, Yes, I am a comic nerd. Nuff' said.

Also went out tonight. As with the movies and going out, everything is better with friends. Well, most things...

I need to learn how to dance without looking as clumsy as I do now. Any ideas?  ¶ 5/05/2002 02:28:00 AM 0 comments

  i can' t quite remember the quote verbatim.. but Winston Churchill was a funny man

Lady: Winston, you are drunk!
Winston: Madam, you are ugly, and tomorrow I will be sober.

If I ever become that witty, it will be a good day.

anybody have any good quotes?  ¶ 5/04/2002 08:47:00 PM 0 comments

  Isangmahal = one love
ikalat muna = pass it around

isangmahal ikalat muna


ever hear of Lenny Bruce? He was a groundbreaking, cutting edge comedian I believe back in the 60's who was way ahead of his time in terms of humor and the color line. Chris Rocks genius prose would not be where it is today without people like Lenny Bruce. If you want a taste of who this guy was, rent "Lenny" starting Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman does a really good job portraying a very heralded but misunderstood man.

to quote Lenny Bruce talking about god "Every day people are straying away from the church, and going back to God."
Do yourself and Lenny a favor and watch "Lenny" sometime
and now to complete my own intellectual cinema experience, I'm gonna watch Ghostbusters (hehe)  ¶ 5/04/2002 07:45:00 PM 0 comments

  you're a few years overdue, I spent them waiting here for you.

my room is slowly becoming dirty again. damn! It is my goal to keep it clean until school gets out. lets hope I keep this goal.  ¶ 5/04/2002 08:29:00 AM 0 comments

  this just in

I'm Logan
What X-Men Character are You?  ¶ 5/03/2002 01:46:00 PM 0 comments

  wooptey fuckin doo..
another great night of anthropology...

btw... i am in flipblogs now..
let see how many better websites are out there now!  ¶ 5/01/2002 10:13:00 PM 0 comments

  sweet! thanks to ed, I have net commenting back. Not like any of you have used it before, but, it looks better than "commenting temporarily offline"
so.. comment on my friends.  ¶ 5/01/2002 01:45:00 PM 0 comments