What Have You Got?

It's been a long while since I've sat down and tried to write a post. Every so often I look up in my bookmarks bar just above my idle tabs and I think about writing a post. I think about writing something to just put something out there, if that makes any sense at all.

So, if you actually read this, then you know that it's been quite a while since I've written. Mainly, it's because I have been kind of busy on the weekends and the weekends are when I like to do the writing for this thing.

The past couple of weeks have really been a rollercoaster. I have had some good things and some bad things, but none are of any importance anymore, nor will I explain them.

I want to keep writing here. I really do. Every so often, I listen to an album or watch a movie that I really want to write a review for, but never really have the time or inclination to do so. There have been a lot of really good releases musically and I have seen some great movies lately. These are things I would like to discuss, but just haven't.

I'm not going to say when I will write again because when I do say something like that, I feel obligated or annoyed that I "need" to get something written.

"Now it's time for medication..."

What's My Drug of Choice?

This really has become a late Sunday kind of thing. Whatever.

I've been really busy, so this is a short post. I don't have a top five written for the week. I have the songs, but nothing to really go with them. The songs were:

Redneck Ride - Assjack
Leeches - In Flames
Night Marauders - 3 Inches of Blood
Evolutionary Sleeper - Cynic
Junkhead - Alice in Chains.

I got to go see In Flames with Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless, and 3 Inches of Blood this past week and it was all too amazing.

Sorry, for not posting, these are my pathetic reasons:

1) I'm really late on the post, I'll just wait a week
B) I'm incredibly unmotivated right now and I'm lazy.

"I flew beyond the sun before it was time..."

I Want to Recognize...

I feel like there are just some things that I am missing. I listen to something and I realize that I could have been listening to that a lot longer than I have been. Sometimes it's just a band, other times, it's an entire genre.

Undisclosed Desires - Muse
I listened to this song more than anything else this past week. It is a song that I just can get enough of. In fact, the entire album is incredible. The Resistance came out just about two weeks ago and has been blowing my mind since.

To be honest, I'm not sure why I like this song the best. I just do. I think maybe it's the chorus, but I'm not too sure. The harmony that they can create is some of the best since Queen. Actually, I think this album sounds like a lot the influence came from Queen, but some disagree with me. It's alright, they can be wrong if they want to be.

Media Skeptic - Municipal Waste
These guys rule so hard.

As you have read in past entries, I'm a sucker for punk music. These guys play a kind of music called thrash crossover. That means that they play thrash music with heavy influence from hardcore and punk rock. They only have one guitarist for instance, something that is very common in punk bands.

I actually got to talk to Tony Foresta, the vocalist, this past Friday. Which was awesome, by the way. He's a really laid back dude. Thank God for that, too, because that was not a great interview by any standards.

He says that he listened to a lot of metal growing up, but then he also cited Minor Threat. He also said that he would love to tour with Motorhead or Blot Thrower. Good choices.

As I listened to these guys, I began to wonder. Why don't I listen to more thrash. It was at that instant that I turned Slayer on and got the album Enter the Grave by Evile. I'll get to them in a bet.

The song "Media Skeptic" comes off of their newest album, Massive Aggressive, which I absolutely love. This song has a really strong bass line and I like the lyrics a lot. It's refreshing to see punk style lyrics still around. The song, from what I can gather, is about thinking for yourself and not just being sheep to the media's word.

Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
I was first introduced to this band, really, by my sister. I played it in Rock Band without really paying attention to it and she really really liked it. She got some of their albums and I listened too. I have to say, I'm really glad that I did. This song comes off of Carnavas.

It's really relaxing and on the same token, kind of weird. He has an abnormally high pitched voice which really adds to both of the previously mentioned elements.

Indie rock is something that is very hit or miss with me. I don't like all of it, but I definitely like some of it.

Backbone - Gojira
I listen to these guys quite a bit, really, but I always find my self coming back to this song. It's probably my favorite song of theirs, coming off of From Mars to Sirius.

I love the guitar riff for the verses. It sounds so dramatic and big. The song just eats my up every time I listen to it. Everything else around me just isn't happening when this song is on.

These guys hail from France, but are one of the leaders in the New Wave of American Metal. No joke. These guys, along side Lamb of God, Godforbid, Chimaira, and Killswitch Engage, just blast forth and keep reinventing themselves.

Thrasher - Evile
Like I was saying before. There are just some types of music that I want to get into and thrash has become one of them.

Lately, I love thrash music. I guess it really started when I got into listening to Slayer. I had the privilege of seeing them this past summer and I really got into them. I saw Megadeth years ago, but that wasn't really something to get me into thrash. We won't talk about Metallica.

Then I started listening to Municipal Waste, which was awesome because I really like punk music and this crossover was something that I could really enjoy. I started thinking to myself that I don't listen to nearly as much thrash as I could be.

I then got this album, Enter the Grave by Evile. I listened to the whole thing and I love it. The song "Thrasher" is acutally in RockBand as a downloadable song.

This "Thrash Revival" is somethign that I think that I will really learn to enjoy. Bands like Evile, Mantic Ritual, and Toxic Holocaust really know what they are doing.

"I've been waiting..."

I Heard About It Drunk After a Show

Again, sorry so late.

I like to thinks that I listen to a decent variety of music. There are times when I listen to something specific a lot, but I like to change it up. I have all kinds of music at my disposal. I have nearly every genre on my iPod... except country. I kinda hate country.

My Orphan Year - NOFX
This is a band that I have only recently gotten into despite my love for punk rock. I got their music from a friend and I have been listening to them almost nonstop. This album, Coaster, is absolutely amazing, specifically the first four songs.

"My Orphan Year" may be one of the saddest songs I have ever heard. He talks about how his dad died with dementia and was never there for him. Then he sings about his mother battled cancer for over seven years and then apologizes for being a difficult child. It's really intense lyrically.

I Want to Be the One - The Megas
I love video games. Plain and simple. I love sitting down and wasting a day taking in a fantastic story, which doesn't really make it a waste. There have always been some games that I wished I had played when I was younger. Megaman is one of those games.

The Megas ae fantastic. Their album, Get Equipped, is a retelling of the story of Megaman 2. They took music from the game and turned it into a story-driven piece of art.

The whole way through the album, I try to create some kind of vision of how it all would look... if it weren't in a video game, and I find that it really isn't all that hard. They don't miss anything with their explanations.

I look forward to the release of their next album that tells the story of Megaman 3.

Where the Wave Broke - Burst
I first learned of these guys when I was reading an insert from a Cephalic Carnage album. Relapse Records puts these little papers inside of their CD cases with advertisements of bands and their upcoming albums.

I listened to just about all of the bands on that sheet that I didn't already know of. These guys were one of the only bands to actually stick around and really make an impression on me.

They are from Sweden and Sweden knows metal.

This is the first track from the album Origo. It's really a great album and this is a great way to begin. It starts soft and just keeps building and building. I'll be honest, I'm kind of a sucker for softer metal. This is more melodic than some of the other stuff that I listen to.

These guys are great and I really wish I could have seen them live. They are currently on their first American tour and it is sadly their last tour ever. They will be disbanding after this run. Too bad, really.

Cast Down - Slayer
Slayer rules. Period.
This comes from an album called God Hates Us All, which is my favorite Slayer album. Now, before anyone goes crazy and thinks that I am some kind of Satan worshiping heathen, Tom Araya stated in an interview that he chose the title because it sounded cool, not because God actually hates. Look it up.

This song is great. Definitely one of my favorites from the album. It's hard for me to explain why, but it is.

Slayer is legendary and if you don't know who they are, then you don't know metal. That's as simply as that can be put. If you listen to metal and have never heard of Slayer, you shouldn't be listening to metal. Unless you're like, eight years old or something.

Slayer not only rules hard, they play incredibly live as well. I had the privilege of seeing them this past summer on the Mayhem Festival Tour. It has been the only band I have ever seen that I felt okay to watch with my mouth gaping open in amazement.

Point A to Point B - Mason Proper
So, I'm really glad that I got this whole thing up late because if I hadn't, then I would have had to wait until next week to tell you about Mason Proper.

On Saturday night, I went to Village Green Records, affectionately called VGR, for a small festival of independent music. There was hip hop and indie rock that I heard. I got there at about nine in the evening and I stayed until about midnight. Good music with a good friend.

Mason Proper was the second to last band to play and I was really really impressed with them. The girl that I was with purchased the album and kindly let me copy it. All day, I have been listening to this album, Olly Oxen Free. Everyone of you that reads this needs to look them up. They have a myspace. I encourage you all to give it a listen.

"Your cardboard prison, asphalt wasteland..."

D-D-D-D-D-D-Die

Sorry so late.

Listening to music has become a staple in my everyday life. It doesn't even matter if I am going to use it; I will always have my iPod with me, just in case. It sits in my pocket, waiting to be played.

There are times when I just search and search for something to listen to while I am walking, or sitting, or eating, or whatever. Sometimes it's just hard to find something that I want to listen to. I have music from all throughout my life on my iPod. There is music from years and years ago that I have on there, simply put, for nostalgic reasons. Music that sends me back to elementary school. Some of the music this week is stuff that I listened to years ago, not necessarily from elementary school, but I think you get the point.

Omerta - Lamb of God
This is a song from years ago when I was still getting into metal. I had no idea what I was about to delve into. I was in the seventh grade when I first heard these guys. Right away, I was blown back and I have been locked on them since then.

I saw them live just a few short weeks after hearing them for the first time. I got some of their songs and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought that maybe they did something to his voice post production, but no. It sounded inhuman and insane. Ever since then, I have been searching for the heaviest music that I can find and every time I think that I have found it, something else pops up.

Ashes of the Wake from Epic Records is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. Even now after they have released two albums since, Ashes of the Wake stays in my heart.

Secrets of the Dead - Chimaira
This is a song that I really don't listen to very often at all. In fact, I don't listen to Chimaira as much as I should. The first album I heard from them was Impossibility of Reason, which is a really really good album. Most of the songs that I know from them is off of that album.

The Infection, coming from Ferret Music, is pretty good. I still hold Impossibility of Reason higher, but The Infection is still good. To be honest, I don't really know why I listened to this song so many times. I think maybe it was because I wanted to listen to Chimaira, but I just like this song so well, I just stayed there and kept listening to it.

Who Was in my Room Last Night? - The Butthole Surfers
This song is fantastic, seriously. It's weird, but I think that that is what draws me to it. I have always like weird music. I like to keep a steady diet of Frank Zappa.

This song was in Guitar Hero II, which was the frst rhythm game I owned. This was the song that I played constantly and could beat my friends in. Well, this and Monkey Wrench.

I have this entire album, Independent Worm Saloon, and I gotta tell you, it's really weird. There is some acoustic stuff in there with some of this punky kind of music mixed together.

Depression - Black Flag
Black Flag simply rules. There is nothing to really say about that. They are easily one of my favorite punk bands. While I like the harmonic sounds and the melodic NOFX and Bad Religion, I love the crunchy sound of Black Flag almost more.

This is the first Black Flag song that I ever heard. After that, I needed to get more. Henry Rollins is the angriest dude on the planet.

This song actually would be part of my life soundtrack if there was one. I have listened to this song so many times when I felt upset or angry. The way the lyrics are written with Black Flag is that they are really simple and it doesn't take a lot of thinking to get behind them. It's all right on the surface.

Laser Cannon Deth Sentence - Dethklok
Oh, man. This album, Dethalbum II, altogether is stunning. I couldn't believe what I was listening to the first time that I went through it. It comes out on September 29 from Williams Street.

This whole album is way better than the first one. They dropped some of the silliness and stepped up the musicianship. Now, I have always liked the way that Nathan Explosion has been portrayed, and they made it even better. Real screaming with real pitch and dynamics. What more can I ask for with vocals.

This song is the song from the first episode of the second season. When all of the prisoners break free and Dethklok is charged with the responsibility of choosing their death sentence? Yeah, that one.

I don't want to say too much because I would like to have a review of the album up closer to when it launches.


"All my neighbors are fast asleep and I can't find anything to drink."

I'm Floating Toward the Sun

The second week of classes just finished up and I have started to get my routine down to a science. I know where I am going at what time. I have my schedule memorized and lunch time is never an issue. While I walk around campus, I always have my iPod and I find myself listening to select songs more than others. It seems as though every week it changes.

I listen to a lot of music all of the time, but my ears are generally dominated by a few songs each week. The top five songs of the week are what drives me and makes sure that I am awake and ready for the next class.

This past week was quite a mix of different music. A little punk, a little metal, a little of I'm not sure what to call it.

"Take a Bow" - Muse

The song starts almost enigmatically. A synthesizer draws you away to another galaxy far, far away from this one. The song tells a story of what could be a corrupt leader being tried by it's subjects for all of the wrong that he or she has committed.Muse has made some pretty weird music. Some of it just drives like a rock song and some of it jumps like a pop song. These guys are well-rounded in the music that they make. "Take a Bow" is from Black Holes and Revelations, and album that makes all of these leaps in just under an hour.

The words begin softly as if the people are just starting to realize what their leader has been doing. The people start to tell the leader that he or she will pay for the things that have been done. As the song continues, it all starts to pick up.

My favorite part of the song starts around two minutes in when the echo of Matt Bellamy's voice repeat in an almost robotic fashion. The song was used in the trailer for the movie Watchmen and that's what really got me into it.

"Right in Two" - Tool

I have always said that Tool is the new-age Pink Floyd. The things that Keenan says are just so outlandish. Maybe that's one of the reasons that I enjoy them so much.

Progressive rock is something that I really like. Odd rhythms and bizarre phrasing keep me listening day in and day out.

"Right in Two" comes off of 10,000 Days, a concept album about a man abducted by aliens and his struggle in expressing his story to everyone else.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what this song is about. I can't put my finger on it. He says things that are just so insane, I can't figure it out. My only hypothesis is that the song is in the first person point of view from the man abducted and that it's the way the things he says sound to everyone that listens--complete nonsense.

I think that the real reason I was listening to this song so many times this week is because I was trying to figure out what he was talking about. The fact that it's really calm and soothing only adds to it.

"Nocturnal" - The Black Dahlia Murder

This is heavier than all of the other songs from this week. I don't know what it is about these guys, but I can't get enough of them as band altogether. Their

music, especially the album Nocturnal, is amazing.

While I was listening to this album, I knew that I wanted to put something from it on the list this week, but I had a hard time figuring out which one.

I think what sold me was the chorus when he says, "Nocturnal majesty, sworn to black we'll always be." The way he screams those words and the effect they put on his voice is unlike anything I have heard from other death metal albums.

"San Francisco" - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

This song is weird. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are so great. They make decent punk rock without being total douchebags. The album Blow in the Wind is a series of covers. They reinvented songs by performers like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Cat Stevens.

This song was originally done by a man by the name of Scott McKenzie. I don't know anything about him. Until I looked it up, I had never heard of him. It's not a very long album--only about thirty minutes or so. This was another album that I had a hard time picking a song from. I listened to this over and over while I was waiting for class and this song jumped at me the most.

During the chorus, he sings rather high and for whatever reason, I liked that the best. It's interesting and fun.

"Sun of Nothing" - Between the Buried and Me

Colors is an album that I am kicking myself in the butt for not listening to earlier. I just got the album this week and I am amazed. It may be one of the best albums I have ever heard. With eight songs standing at one hour, it's a masterpiece.

Every song on the album links to the next. In essence, the album isn't split into tracks as much as it is split into movements. It all starts and ends with a piano and is injected with every genre of music in between. This is a metal album with a polka breakdown. With these guys, nothing is taboo.

The song I like the most, or at least so far, is "The Sun of Nothing." It's an amazing metal song with a mind-blowing drum intro, incredible guitar work and beyond solid vocals. The bass work is out of this world. What really sells me on this song, though, is the soft part at about eight minutes in. "I'm floating towards the sun, the sun of nothing." His voice just sounds so honest. I have been singing it out loud for the past two days.

This week was pretty good. Even though I was just thinking about the coming long weekend, it was overall a good week and I think the music reflects that.

"Angels on the sideline..."

Getting Back on Track

So, the first week here at Ball State has just finished for me. So far I think that it will be good. All of my classes are solid. My earliest class is at eight in the morning, but that doesn't really bother me. I have been getting to bed earlier which helps a lot.

Econ 116, TCom 330, Spanish 101, and Biology 100. Thirteen credit hours, but it still feels like it might be a lot of work. I will need to pick up at least seventeen next semester.

Spanish may be the hardest part of all of it. I took four years of German in high school and I had a good time with it. I just got burned out. I wanted to try something new so I thought, "What the Hell? I'll do something practical." I forgot how frustrating starting a new language really is.

Again, I have been thinking about the format for this blog. I'm not sure if anyone reads it, so I have been pretty hesitant to write a whole lot. I think I only did, like, fours posts all summer.

I still want to do album reviews. There are some albums that will be coming out soon, so just look for a few articles to come out. I will put up release dates later.

Along side the reviews, I want to do a top-five song list each week. I will put up the top five songs I listened to that week and discuss why I like those songs and give you some information about those bands. I want to get those posts up on Saturdays.

I have a couple other personal projects in mind, I will keep you updated as they become more concrete.

"He reached for a book bound in leather..."

Killswitch is Engaged

The album starts off reminiscent of their earlier material when there wasn't a whole lot of singing. It was just hard as hell all the time. I like their previous album As Daylight Dies. A lot. I like it a lot. Hearing the two sounds together is good for me. I think that this is a nice way to delve back into the roots of Killswitch, but bring in some of that new sound with it.

I love his voice. There is something about the way Howard Jones sings that makes it powerful and comforting at the same time. He has a good range and a great scream.

I am dissapoined by the lack of blistering guitar solos. Don't get me wrong, there is still some incredible guitar work, but I love solos and As Daylight Dies had them. Some of the songs have great intros and great interludes, but very few real solos. "Take Me Away" in particular has a great intro with just incredible and astounding guitar work.

I have always loved the drum work. Justin Foley knows what he is doing. He makes great fills where they need to be and can provide a rhythmic backbone.

Now, I play the bass, so I always look for the bass work in music. Mike D'Antonio is good. He, along with the drummer, create a foundation for the music. But there is just one thing. It seems like as metal progresses, the bass guitar has been getting more spotlight. Look at Necrophagist and The Faceless. Look at All Shall Perish. It's just not here in Killswitch and I really wish it was.

My favorite songs on the album are "Reckoning" and "Lost." Those two songs are just badass. I think I like "Reckoning" so much because of the chorus. It's got a great tune and good repetition without being boring.

"Lost" was great for me because it was a kick in the face. It's heavy, but at the same time it isn't. It's very melodic, but it still packs a punch that gets me all pumped up.

The second self-titled album ends just as well as it started. It ends strong and memorable. "This is Goodbye" is a great track. It starts off hard. It really picks up the back end of the album. But then the song ends on just a light note as if to say, "We'll be right back. Just sit tight."

Overall, I like the album. I think it's really great. It doesn't have "Holy Diver," but that's alright.

"You are nothing to me; this is a reckoning"

Revenge of the Sequel

Michael Bay has a reputation for making movies with overly elaborate effects and nonstop, mindless action. You have to ask yourself, is that really a bad thing?

Sam Witwicky is on another adventure with a familiar group of allies. This time he is off to college, leaving his girlfriend Mikaela Banes at home. Just before he leaves, he discovers something that will yet again change his plans and take him to somewhere he had never imagined.

The Decepticons are all around the globe, but seem to be looking for something. They are looking for something that Sam has. In his mind lies the power of the Cube. The Fallen, the first Decepticon, wants the information in order to destroy mankind and sees only one foe in his way; Optimus Prime.

Director Michael Bay, with the help of executive producer Steven Speilberg, takes viewers on a journey that travels along every road of emotion. Right from the beginning, explosions and sparks and robots fill the screen.

What really sets the Transformers movies apart from other action movies is the camera work. Like before, Revenge of the Fallen utilizes long shots so that the viewer can see everything that is happening clearly. From far away, it really looks as if the Autobots are there in China. If there were a way to show people from fifty years ago that were making movies this kind of film, they would just believe that it was real.

Robots are everywhere in this movie. Autobots and Decepticons alike, are all over the place all throughout the movie. What was really cool was that there were more scenes of just Transformers on screen. While the first movie focused much more on Sam, played by Shia LaBeouf, this movie works harder on Transformer to Transformer dialogue and story.

If you don't know anything about the cartoon or the comic books, again you will be alright. The writing and direction do a fantastic job of making this movie for everyone. All of the little details are there for the fans and all of the information is there for everyone else.

It pushes its rating. A PG-13 a close one for the sequel. With more language and more hints for an adult crowd, this is sure to upset at least a few uptight parents that neglect ratings.

All in all, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is great. It is a great way to keep the series going and keep it interesting all of the way through.

Go see it.

"We are the fallen and hated"

They Call Me the Working Man

It's been a while since I have been here. Things have just gotten away from me. I have been working at the theater again, which takes up most of my time. Money is money.

Not a whole lot has happened and I guess that is why I haven't written anything. The summer is here and I have just been concentrating on working and getting some money. I've barely played any video games, but I have been watching a whole bunch of movies. I should have been writing.

The biggest news that I have is that I got my tonsils out, but it's not that big of a deal. I got them out on Monday, things are still swollen, and I can't do shit for two weeks. It's stupid. Keep your tonsils if they are still there.

I have been thinking of the direction of the blog and I think I want to change the subject matter of the entire thing. Normally, I just talk about whatever and kind of ramble about things. I think I want to just stick to media-based topics. TV shows, movies, video games, and other stuff like that. Music, maybe.

Keep an eye on Finding Strelok because I think I am going to pick it up again. I fell out of it and just stopped. It's going to take a while to finish, but I want to keep it going and then maybe pick up another game to do the same thing. After I get a copy of Fallout 3, I want to make a journal similarly.

I want to start playing more demos on XBox Live so that I can start to give more thoughts on games. I am going to download the Fight Night Round 4 demo and I will let you know how it is.

I watched Year One and The Proposal this week and I thought about making a post on them, but I think that coming back from such a long hiatus, I need to do what everyone else will do and that is write a review on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen next week. I will get to watch it early, as I do most movies, and I will write about it here.

"I guess that's what I am."

One Down

Home for the summer. I'm kind of excited about that. I get start work this coming Friday. So, look for me, it's going to be a boring weekend. It's Prom weekend and no one is going to be there.

Finals went alright. I think my History final is the only one that I am worried about. Everything else went well.

[EDIT] I did fine in my classes and raised my GPA.

I did get an automatic A in my scriptwriting class. The entire course was based on one grade. My group and I needed to write a script that told filmmakers why they should come to Indiana to make their movies. We then had to pitch our idea to Erin Newell, head of FilmIndiana. The scripts that she chose got automatic A's. Our was one of three in the class to get picked. Our scripts now go to another class to possibly get made.

In other news, I am going to start a "Let's Play," as I am told it is called, for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. I am going to play through the game and write a journal in the first person from the character's point of view as I progress. I wanted to start it a while back, but you can thank Guitar Hero: Metallica for that. Just keep a look out for it. When I do get it up and going, I will have a link to the side and I will post about it in Twitter.

"Cause a president believes in God, like all good soldiers should."

Are You Flying That Plane?

So, on Thursday night, I went to see The Soloist. To keep it short, it was awesome. Really. I could probably go on and on about that movie, but I haven't yet been able to talk to anyone about it because no one has seen it that I know. Hopefully tomorrow someone in my TCOM classes will be able to chat about it.

Downey Jr. is awesome. I really like his work and this just adds to that substantial base already. He and Foxx do a really great job throughout the movie.

The story is fantastic and I really liked the incorporation of flashbacks and the transitions to them. The entire film was great.

In other news, I listened to Mayhem, a black metal band that has stirred up controversy for years. In the '90s, their vocalist shot himself in the head with a shotgun and the other members of the band made necklaces out of shards from the man's skull.

Their music really isn't that great. It's annoying and plain. Plus, the guys in the band that are still alive are douchebags.

Suffocation on the other hand is amazing. Just sayin'.

"I need a fix 'cause I'm goin' down..."

Please, Step Away From the Meat

I really hope that the short story Midnight Meat Train is better than the movie that spawned from it. It is hard to really say anything good about the movie.

At first, I thought that maybe it would be kind of cool. Maybe. When I saw trailers for it a while back, I was kind of excited. Why? I don't know. I like Clive Barker. I like his writing and I saw his name attached to the movie and I thought that maybe he had something more to do with it than just the original story. He has written screenplays before, why didn't he write this one?

When the movie started, I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, I kind of thought that it was cool. Then the movie really started and it was terrible.

I can understand what they were doing, I just don't understand why they did it the way they did. The idea of a killer on the train is kind of interesting. The fact that he uses the train as his killing ground and "turf" is different to me. But the thing is, the train wasn't just some train. It was a train that went to some other kind of world or something with bodies hanging inside of it.

Why would they build a subway track there? Why would the build it somewhere that looked like Hell?

The movie ended up creating more questions than it answered. Here, I'll just give you some of the ones I found asking myself:

Why would there be a subway track to that place? Why did he use a tenderizer instead of a cleaver? Why were the cops involved in this thing? Why didn't they just kill those things? Why did we build here if they were here first? Why in the hell did he go crazy like that? Why was he a vegetarian, what kind of sense did that make to the character? If they hate it there, why did they move there? Why was that art bitch so crazy? Why did I sit there for an hour and a half watching that?

Maybe there was something that I missed. Maybe I am not a very observant person.

I guess the acting wasn't that bad. I guess.

"I wish that someday you'd be the one to be withered and dying alone..."

It's in Belgium

Man, I haven't been really great with keeping up with this thing. Sorry about that.

In Bruges is amazing. I watched that recently as well. I know that it isn't a very recent movie, but good god was it awesome. The acting was really good as well as the story. I just thought that all in all, it was an incredible movie.

I have been playing a lot of Left 4 Dead. I recently found a clan online called Zombusiness (I think that's clever) and I enjoy playing that group. So, hopefully I can play with people that really care about playing more than just screwing around.

I have started reading Stranger in a Strange Land. I am only like forty pages in so far, but I can't believe how great it is right from the start. It's like five hundred pages so I will be able to give you guys something about it in like ten years. I don't read very fast at all. In fact, I read anti-fast.

I don't really talk about personal things here, do I? I mean, should I? It's on the internet. 

"Am I getting somethin' right?"

Gimme Gimme Bloodshed

I want to post to say that I am still alive, I just haven't blogged in a while.

Lately there hasn't been a lot of things to talk about. School has been taking a lot of my time. I need to work on my English project, study for my History test, work on the take-home test that I have to do in Math, and come up with topics for an assignment in Screenwriting. Jesus.

Right now I am sitting in the XGL (X-tremem Gaming Lab) at the Student Center. I now have 41 of the 51 achievements in Left 4 Dead. Feeling pretty good about that.

Go play And Yet It Moves. Right now.

I guess that's all I have.

"Bled of all you had to lose..."

I'd Guess They Would Say We Could Set This World Ablaze

If you don't already have a copy of Crack the Skye, Mastodon's latest album, you probably should go get one. Unless you have no ears or terrible taste in music, that is.

It's a new career high with this album. Until I heard this, may favorite of their work was Leviathan. Now that is my number two. Crack the Skye is absolutely mind-blowing. Period.

I have had the album for close to a month now. I heard the entire thing, excluding the last track because it didn't leak. I loved it straight from the first listen. At first, I really liked it, but Leviathan was still better. But the more and more I listen, the more I love it. It now trumps Leviathan.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Oblivion
2. Divinations
3. Quinessence
4. The Czar  (I. Usurper / II. Escape / III. Martyr / IV. Spiral)
5.  Ghost of Karelia
6. The Last Baron

Start to finish, the album is fifty minutes. Fifty Minutes of godliness.

"I see your face in constellations"

Ludwig Van

The first twenty minutes really set the tone for Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. The movie is violent and explicit, but I liked it.

I have always been a sucker for tragedy films. I love them. I love it when the story needs to end in a way that isn't what you would want. There is something more real, no matter the story, when the bad wins or the hero dies.

I watched the movie, but as I watched it, I tried to keep a very analytical point of view. What I gathered is that there are some people who are just bad. There are people who have no good in them and are just vicious all the way to the core. Alex is one the characters.

The movie was a real horror show.

I need to get ahold of the book. Kubrick left out the last chapter of the book on purpose. He can make good movies, but that was a dumb move.

I also finished the book I was reading, Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk. It was great. It's the fourth book of his that I have read. I think I might take a break from his books for a while just because I want to read something different. I love his style, I love the way he tells a story and the stories themselves are insane. I just need to read something else for a while.

"Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction..."

Why Is There Hamburger Helper in this Milk?

For the longest time, I have been wanting to watch the movie Milk. My roommate and I rented that and Saw V last night. The initial plan was some gore and then Milk. It didn't quite go as we had planned.

We walked to Family Video and grabbed Saw V and Milk and then took them to the counter. The girl at the counter told us that we could grab two one-dollar movies for free. For whatever reason A Clockwork Orange was in the favorites section so we grabbed that and Walk Hard. We have yet to watch either of those titles. 

We put in Saw V first. Like I said earlier, the plan was gore and then Milk. We got through the trailers, which seemed old. Too old. The menu came up and my roommate clicked "play." We were then greeted with Saw IV on the screen.

At first we weren't sure. We were confused and kind of pissed off. We rewound it and checked again. And to our surprise, it was Saw IV. Awesome. We immediately agreed to take the movie out and watch Milk.

At first I was skeptical about Milk. I had this preconditioned thought that it was going to be awesome. When the story was introduced differently that I thought it would, I was a bit weary.

There were more homosexual depictions than I thought that there would be, as well. I knew that there would be some, but there were more. The scene with the naked silhouette wrestling was gayer than the entire movie of Brokeback Mountain.

The movie was amazing nonetheless. I should have done some research about that actual man, but there are some things in the movie that could have easily been guessed without ruining anything. The way the story was told was very interesting to me. I like the whole "tell the story of his past in an 'in-case-of-death' recording even though we already knows he is assassinated" idea. I would recommend this movie unless you are a homophobe. 

"Every man needs a muse and mine could be the bottle."

Fine Like This

I saw Watchmen five times over my spring break. While everyone else was relaxing on beaches and partying, I was watching Watchmen and playing video games. You know what? I don't regret it at all.

I know it's late, but Watchmen is great. I watched it plenty of times to do some good analysis and it portrays the book very well. There were some things that were different or omitted, but I am okay with those changes.

The characters were well done. They were well-rounded and distinct. The story was done well, maybe that was because I read the book. The movie covered all of the major events, but left out small ones that bridge information and add some backstory.

The ending was completely different. I loved it.

Over the break, I finished F.E.A.R. 2 which was too awesome for words. I love the series, even thought I didn't play the expansions. The second was even better than the first. The AI just seems to impress me every single time I boot the game up.

Alma is nuts.

The story is so captivating. I find myself playing video games sporadically. I will get into a story and love it and for some reason or another, not finish the game. This was so untrue for F.E.A.R. 2. I started it one weekend when I was home and the next weekend when break started, I finished it the first night back. Altogether it took me about ten hours. For me, it was a good long play, but I play games slowly.

If you like to play first-person shooters, play this one. I guarantee you will enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it, you're stupid and shouldn't be allowed to play video games.

Class starts again in the afternoon. I am not ready.

"People searching for a better way to live their lives..."

So I Stabbed Her in the Face

It seems like a good comedy is hard to come by if it isn't made by Judd Apatow and his gang. Movies like Sex Drive, Fired Up, and Miss March all fall under the same category: generic.

Miss March wasn't a bad movie by any means. There were some very good laughs, but not as many as there should have been.

There really isn't a whole lot to be said about this movie. If you are a fan of The Whitest Kids U' Know, then will not have a problem with this. Trevor Moore and Zach Cregger both do a great job of acting just like they do in the show.

I give it two out of five stars. It wasn't bad, but there should have been more laughs.

"Feel my fist on your face..."

Make Them Suffer

"It's the last house on the left," says the father in a tired whisper.

The Last House on the Left, directed by Dennis Iliadis, was nuts. I liked it, I'll be honest, but it was crazy. Rated "R" for "sadistic brutal violence, including rape, nudity, language and some drug use," it packs a punch all across the board. Wes Craven has really outdone himself with his violent vision of reality.

Overall, the movie was well done. The only real complaint I have is the rape scene. A Clockwork Orange doesn't have anything on this. It was graphic and realistic and it was a little too long. In fact, it was entirely too long. I was uncomfortable through that scene; I guess I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be.

If you enjoy movies like Saw and Hostel, then this shouldn't be too bad for you. Like I said, the one scene is terribly uncomfortable, but the rest is brutal and filled with "holy shit" moments.

The trailer really does the movie justice. When you see the trailer for this movie and you think that it's going to be brutal and disgusting, you're right.

It's like a moving death metal song.

I would give the movie three and a half out of five stars. It wasn't bad, but there are just some things I don't want to see.

"Extreme pain is what they need to feel for the rest of their lives..."

Initially Hesitant

I have, for some odd reason, wanted to stay away from these things. I thought that they were useless pieces of wasteful garbage on the internet that no one cared about.

This is the first time I have ever done something like this.

I am not going to theme this blog. I am going to post things that I think are worth people knowing. I will do movie reviews, album reviews, I'll talk about video games, I may even rant a little.

It's 3:13 in the morning and I have a test at 11:00. It's for History. I may or may not do well. I know the material pretty well, but I didn't read as much of the book as I should have. I am not going back to review one hundred pages now.

"When I grow up, I want to be one of the harvesters of the sea..."