the stones sage, part 3

(Read Part 1 and Part 2)

ladies came in to whisk me away to another room with a scale and a lone chair that reminded me of lethal injections… but the condemned lie down to get those. This room was a bit more spacious but still had boring pictures on the wall. I think it was supposed to be a fence, or fence posts in a fog on a field by a beach or something. I wondered if this was supposed to be soothing while people got their shots or lose copious amounts of blood. I normally don’t have a problem with needles, but these women kept up on the anticipation like the day after a good TV show has a season finale or the last hour of work before a long weekend.

The first woman was showing the second woman how to draw blood. So automatically I’m thinking, Oh great… I’m her first? She’s going to stab me to death or take too much… blood will shoot everywhere and it will look like a Saw movie. Or she will accidently stab me in the bone like the last time I got a shot. But that wasn’t the case. The professional was just showing her how it’s done. Meanwhile she got me worried because she had a hard time getting the correct blood vessel to bulge up like it’s supposed to after tapping it several times. I had only seen this done in movies regarding heroin attacks, but I never knew why. But that didn’t stop her professional warpath and her intent on getting my precious life oil and feeding her blood drawing high.

I learned how to brace myself with the initial stabbing. It’s not so bad because it only lasts less than a second. I usually think of marshmallows thanks to yet another previous needle experience when everything reminded me of sharp pointy objects until a doctor said, “How about Marshmallows?” “Marshmallows?” I repeated. Stab. Anyway, I never had blood drawn before. I didn’t know how that would feel. What I also didn’t know was how many vials of my blood they were going to take. For what they needed, they filled up about three tubes. After looking at them, I wondered… don’t I need that? And do you really need that much and that many tubes? But whatever, it’s gone now. They have done their damage. I can go home. And I was released.

I learned later that some people get cookies or yummy snack after they get blood drawn. Or they eat something before. I didn’t. I wish I did. But I didn’t expect to get blood drawn. I didn’t go there for that. And people usually get cookies for donating, not giving against their will. Kinda like paying taxes, it’s not really a choice. I felt a little sick after leaving. It could’ve also been the sight of needles. That happens to me too sometimes. I also later had the hugest bruise where they took my blood. I guess I bruise easily. But this didn’t look like I was punched or anything… but it was nasty and startled me. Like a very big and angry spider decided to crawl into my arm and live under my skin for a few days.

Then came the doctor’s greatest mind trick of a waiting game: the results. I had to wait about 4 days until I called the doctor to get my test results. I really couldn’t wait for them to call. The good doctor gently informed me that I probably have a mild case of kidney stones and to drink plenty of water to flush them out. He told me it should take about a week, so just hang in there and if no change after a week, to give him a call and see what to do from there.

I definitely felt better with that news. Between those times, however, I had been told by my mother, grandmother, aunt (who was a nurse), best friends, the mailman, Wikipedia, a zookeeper and practically everyone I knew to drink plenty of water. Even after the doctor talked to me, I had people telling me to keep drinking the water. During these trials, every so often I would have a “clear spot” and I’d pee pale but I wouldn’t get too excited because the next day it went red again. I went back to my online research to get more info and remedies to combat my ailment. I had to drink plenty of liquids, including orange juice or anything with citrus. I also cut back on cheese or anything with milk. I love my dairy products too, so now I make sure to balance it out and have moderation. I also read that something in spinach can cause stones too, and I thought “That was it! I had spinach that fateful night! Granted, it was only a teaspoon because I generally don’t care for the stuff, but that’s what might’ve triggered the event. The dooming straw that broke my kidney’s camel’s back!” Everyone shunned me for that revelation and we collectively agreed it was probably due to all the dairy I consume and lack of hydration.

Needless to say, everything is running smoothly now. It took a month for it to clear up, but I’m happy to report that I’m mostly peeing water. I even installed a water fountain by my bed, so all will be well. But even as you read this, the leftover of that evil pasta that “triggered” everything still sits in the fridge.

fripodding and maxing out: BLACKsummers’night – maxwell

Once again, congratulations to Maxwell for winning Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song! Truly deserved after such a mighty comeback of being absent for the past 8 years.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to focus on more: the Man, the Album or the Song… But I figured I can just cover the album today and pick one of the many songs I enjoyed off this great piece of work.

I bought the album after hearing rave reviews from everywhere, even a few friends here and there. I’ve been a fan of Maxwell’s previous songs, especially the songs “Lifetime”, “This Woman’s Work” and “Fortunate.” So I said, hey, why not? Apparently to the rest of the world, he’s making some awesome music. Boy, were they right! And Grammy seems to think the same thing too.

The album as a whole is totally listenable. That word is a major understatement as well as just a strange word. I usually judge albums by how many songs I skip on it, if any. Out of the 9 tracks, I can easily listen to the entire album without skipping any. I might skip one or two, but sometimes it’s just because I’m in a rush to get to the track immediately following.

A few of the tracks I gravitate to: Grammy Award winning and multi-nominated “Pretty Wings” (music video, which actually omits the soothing instrumentals at the end I was talking about, but the video is still beautiful nonetheless), “Help Somebody”, Grammy nominated “Love You”, and “Playing Possum.” The tracks in-between, or after, are also great… but these are the songs I sometimes specifically start with, have on repeat, or skip to.

Something else I love about this album, or the songs within, is the composition of many of the songs. After Maxwell is done singing, there are extensive outros. Meaning, there is just straight instruments for a good 15 seconds or more. Like an afterglow of music after the verses, choruses and adlibs are done. I’ve noticed this with Alicia Keys too.

The lyrics are top notch. Every song seems to have a different and specific story to tell… as all songs should. Makes you wonder what was going on with Maxwell at the time… or in the past 8 years. Whatever it was, it made for some awesome songwriting.

Let’s not forget Maxwell himself. What a voice! I think the only one comparable would be the Purple One, whom my mom thought it was at first. Perhaps the next closest contender would be Musiq Soulchild, whom I do like but I admit I haven’t really listened to him since his second album.

Lastly, I, along with millions of his fans, probably can’t wait for part 2 later this year. Assumingly titled blackSUMMERS’night. Oh yeah, this album is part 1 of a trilogy he’s releasing. This is rather exciting. I know it’s probably been done before, but this is the first time I’m aware of a musical trilogy. Movie trilogies are done all the time. But a master soul artist? Perhaps my mind is blanking out, but I already can’t wait for blacksummers’NIGHT. I’m also super curious what these album covers look like. And I almost wanna bet there will be a “boxed set” sometime after the third album is released, so the die hards have an ultimate Maxwell collection.

…Okay, I might be one of those people too. As long as each of the following albums are as good as this one, of course. And I don’t have any reason to doubt they won’t be so sign me up.

get write back to work!

This blog started out being about working at Office… or the office job that I have that is obviously not a company called “Office”. Every so often I’d share a memory or two about the retail store I used to work at that I affectionately dubbed “Walter Martins”. (It’s probably not too hard to figure out that one.)

I used to have to GO to work at Office

But it’s clear to me that I really haven’t been writing about my job that much lately. And that’s okay. The Indoob found its niche and its primary focus is writing about writing/art, entertainment, and other random things in life. Even with the word “indoob” I try to create a feeling of positivity about my topic of choice.

And the whole “Workforce” part? Also, at the time of birth, related to working at Office. Today it means much more. If you’re able to read this at work, this is to help you pass the time. It’s also work for me writing consistently about something that intrigues me. Although writing in general is a passion, it’s hard to consider that “work”… Yet a good majority of these posts are written during my downtime while I’m at Office. Don’t worry; I get my work done… when I have work to do.

The point I’m getting to is the fact that I’ve had little work to do lately. It’s partially a seasonal thing; very few files are coming in for me to work on. But it should change soon. In the meantime, I need to at least look busy even for myself so I’m not bored and go insane. Hence, I’ve had ample time to catch up on some much needed blogging. I honestly don’t particularly like having so much free time while I’m on the job, but I also don’t like surfing the web for 10 hours a day. Let me tell you: that can get boring. Fast. Especially when you are limited to a censored internet. Not that I’m looking for anything that might be considered “explicit” but sometimes I can’t see simple things, like pictures on Wikipedia or comic strips or even my own blog! Peasants.

No worries though. I will survive. As long as I know how to love I know I’ll stay–… Sorry. But I’ve learned to cope until work returns to me. I have a “To Write” list, and I’ve been able to cross off many items, or at least get them started. And for the record, I don’t do all these things while I’m sitting at my Office desk. Most of the time, I’ll start a project at work; email it to myself so I can work on it on my laptop. I’m almost at the point that I’ll start projects on my phone. (My phone needs its own post before I start talking about that…) And I know it’s already February and I still haven’t talked about my Christmas… or my birthday. Speaking of February, I have to figure out what to do for my obligatory Black History Month posting. I really feel I should do something special since I almost accidentally forgot King’s Day. That’s a funny story so perhaps I’ll write about that too, soon.

The good news about this slow work month, besides being able to write more or accomplishing other tasks I’ve been putting off, is I’m not spending as much time in the kitchen. How is that an accomplishment? Well, Indoobians, I don’t know how many of you work at home or spend a great deal of time at home, but it can be quite tempting knowing food is a few steps away. And since I’m sitting at a desk most of the day, all that food just builds up and I will no longer be the slender dude I used to be. My tummy is already a bit chubbier than usual (although some think this is a good development and argue I was way too slim a few years ago).

But I’m supposed to have no excuse for returning to the gym since buying running sneakers the other day, replacing the ones that were stolen last year. Also a humorous story to share in the future.

I think when spring returns, I shall get back on my game full time, and head to the gym in the morning like I originally planned to, then come home and begin my day… even if I really have very little work to do but plenty to write about.

the stones saga, part 2

(Read Part 1 here)

Bill Cosby said it best, and allow me to paraphrase, that you don’t want to go to the doctor because they may say that you have it. And you don’t want it. So if you never go see the doctor for them to tell you that you have it, they won’t tell you that you have it, and therefore you, logically of course, won’t have it.

I hit the interwebs to somewhat self-diagnose myself based on my symptoms. As I was also told, we layman aren’t supposed to do this because some people read one thing and think they have everything. They probably end up incorrect in thinking they have one thing, and really it’s just a mosquito bite. But I’m not a hypochondriac. I tried being rational. And again, I don’t exactly remember what I thought could have been wrong with me… but I’m pretty sure I landed on what I was hoping it wouldn’t be: the stones of kidneys. I eventually gave in and called a doctor. Sadly, the doctor couldn’t see me until a week later due to so many people checking in regarding the H1N1 virus. What’s up with that anyway? That’s certainly not making the nightly news as often these days.

Due to having to wait a week or longer, when death seemed like it would arrive before scheduled medical help, I decided to take a chance with a walk-in clinic. I had only been to one once before a couple years prior during a similar incident. However, I didn’t stay because once I saw how many people were in line waiting for who knows what, I left. Fortunately, that brief episode left shortly after too and I was never concerned about it.

I didn’t decide to go to the clinic until Friday, since Thursday the pipes seemed to have cleared themselves. But Friday morning was back to the same story and I made up my mind to get checked out. I prepared to leave early, making sure iSaac (my iPod) was fully charged so I could be prepared to wait for hours. I trekked off to the clinic. To my surprise, it was empty! No one was there and I was free to tell the entire room I was peeing blood if I chose to do so. I didn’t do this, but it felt great knowing I wouldn’t have to sit in the room watching dried paint get dryer. Again, it’s probably the stigma of being in a waiting room, looking around at others wondering why they are there and knowing they are wondering the same about you. But no worries today, other than the obvious reason I was there. I filled out my paperwork and within 20 minutes I was in the “littler waiting room,” as it’s called. And wait I did. For what felt like an hour. It was probably 20 minutes again, maybe even less. You realize how much time has gone by when you have time to count ceiling tiles or other medical things in the room.

I don’t visit the doctors as often as I should, so I forget the normalthat go on. The nurse came in first. Being as tense as I was, I told my life story. She was a cute nurse too, but in these urgent matters, there was no time for flirting and joking. Besides, I could be dying, why would she want to talk to me? Even if I wasn’t, what’s so attractive about a dude who is bleeding where he shouldn’t? This is not the ideal male to mate with. The other thing I was concerned about was disrobing. I had clean underwear on and everything… but if anything, I hoped they would close the blinds to the window I had been staring out of, watching other people walking in and out of the rain that may or may not have looked at me looking at them. We were on the 1st floor! But I was safe, there would be no disrobing. Not in that room anyway. She took my vitals and then asked me to pee in a cup in the bathroom. Easy enough. So far.

After that was done, I was told to return to the room and the doctor would see me shortly. More waiting took place. It was probably another 20 minutes, but in my mental “doctor visit” time, another hour. I recounted the ceiling tiles. I think I would like hospitals and these waiting rooms to have better pictures and paintings to look at. These were pretty bland, unfocused, black & white photos of grassy hills or someone’s hairy knee. Is this supposed to settle my mind or keep me calm?

The doctor finally came in. He was calm, friendly. Even though I looked at ease, I was just ready for him to calmly say something horrifying like “You’ve got polio and will die in 10 minutes.” But he didn’t.  So these were good signs. I forgot to mention that when my vitals were taken the first time, they reported I had high blood pressure. Something both my parents had issues with. I was already paranoid, this made me feel worse, hence my fear he was going to say something devastating. I later learned that this high blood pressure could just be a tense reaction to having to be at the doctor, and I shouldn’t worry too much about it.

I also tell the doctor my life story, hoping that my problem is easily explained and maybe it was a freak accident between the pasta concoction, Gas-X, Pepto, driving too fast and sleeping with too many pillows. He asked the questions I expected him too. My pulse shot up when he said he’d need to draw some blood and run some tests. Other than that, he told me not to worry and to live my life like I had been. I made a note to myself to stop eating so much salt, regarding the high blood pressure.

His little chat with me only lasted about 5 minutes. He wasn’t going to be the one to take my blood. I had to wait for someone else to do that. So wait in the room once again I was instructed to do. I was tired of counting ceiling tiles so I just admired the room, considering it would make for an interesting and very, very tight studio apartment. I also thought these things so I wouldn’t think about having to get my blood drawn for the first time ever in my life. This isn’t what I came here for, and aren’t I already losing enough blood whenever I go to the bathroom?

(The story concludes here)

from the grammys to the oscars

First of all, congrats to all the Grammy Award winners. I’m happy some of the artists that I wanted to win had won. Unfortunately, we can’t win them all. And sadly, I never got around to making a “predictions chart” or anything like that so you could see who I wanted to win. But don’t worry; I’ll be doing that for the Oscars like I did last year.

• Let me give a huge congrats to Maxwell and his mighty comeback after 8 long years with a stellar album that won 2 Grammys. I personally think he should have won a couple more, but perhaps when I do my own award show I can have my say. Anyway, his wins were well deserved. (My other favorite, John Legend, was only nominated for one, but I would’ve liked to see a surprise there too.)
• Congrats to Green Day for Best Rock Album. I’ve heard some naysayers talking about them being sell-outs, possibly due to their Broadway show… or possibly because they’ve become household names. But isn’t that an artist’s dream? “Selling out” shouldn’t be such as negative as people make it seem to be. As long as you are doing what you want and people are giving you money to do it, go for it!
• Also congrats to Kings of Leon for their multiple wins for their song “Use Somebody” which I have written about recently (and not knowing it was nominated at the time either).
• While I’m not a big Beyonce fan, congrats for setting a Grammy record.
• Congrats to Jay-Z for snagging a few Grammys as well.
• And we can’t forget Lady Gaga. I would go as far as to say as I think she was robbed of the Album of the Year. But I guess this has been a Swift year even though I heard a strong blend of Black Eyed Peas and Gaga. But out of all the contenders, my vote would’ve gone with Gaga. But congrats nonetheless on the awards you did win.

The Grammys aren’t complete without discussing the actual performances. However, I really think that’s better literally spoken about than written. Besides, the interwebs are crawling with footage and backstage gossip that I wish I was involved in. But perhaps next year I’ll remember to record my witty “morning after” banter with a few friends. I also “live blogged” via Twitter, chatting with a few friends about the show… and also apologizing to everyone else who wasn’t watching that had to deal with my ramblings. Sadly, my Twitter and Facebook accounts weren’t properly synced, so my tweets arrived on Facebook hours after the fact, making it sound like I was watching and responding from the distant past. I ended up deleting most of those posts. So for the future (meaning the Oscars), just follow me on Twitter and we can watch the show together.

Speaking of the Oscars, my prediction chart is coming soon. I’m still trying to make sense of it all. I also feel I should watch a certain movie before I start giving my opinion. In the meantime, here are all the nominees. Place your bets…

the stones saga, part 1

A few months ago I experienced something a few men get to… um… endure. For me it was a worst nightmare scenario since childhood that was finally realized. Well, fortunately, it was only a mild nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless.

What I went through for about a month was the passing of a kidney stone(s). “The worst pain known to man,” as they say. “They” usually refers to women. When brought up around other men, they just cringe. Tiny (or not so tiny) sharp calcium rocks that have only one exit and makes peeing as much fun as removing metal shrapnel from you toes while running through a cactus field being chased by angry bees. I don’t know exactly what that feels like, but I’m sure it can’t feel too good nor is it very much fun. Well neither is peeing pointy rocks. But fortunately for me, like I said, it wasn’t a severe case.

According to a certified doctor (I checked), my case was mild. I didn’t meet all of the classic symptoms, but I met enough to figure out what was going on. The number one issue that caused the alarm was the fact my urine wasn’t the correct color of normal urine.

Before I jump into the toilet bowl with any future graphic descriptions, I must warn you Indoobians that this isn’t the “cleanest” of posts. Typically, I’m all for potty humor. “Poop” is one of my favorite words and possibly third favorite dinner conversation topic. I blame my father and most of my friends. But hey, it’s life, right? It’s only natural.

You see, at first, I thought I had a bad reaction to something I ate. One night I found myself making a pasta concoction out of things found in the kitchen: some salad seasoning, Italian salad dressing, and pasta, of course. A fun noodle looking kind of a pasta too. ‘Twas such a waste in retrospect. Anyway, I added too much dressing and it didn’t agree with me in several ways for the next day or so. To keep graphic descriptions to a minimum, I was in the bathroom for a different reason than the removal of a stone: diarrhea. Yum.

During this time of removal, I had been first taking a Gas-X type medicine before moving to Pepto Bismol. I am not a fan of the pink stuff. I’d rather tolerate the chewables than stomach that nasty pasty pink liquefied chalk. They say it is bubble gum flavor. They lie. I haven’t tried the cherry. Not interested. Anyway, I was unaware of one of the side effects when I woke up one morning to discover a blackened tongue. Granted, even if I was aware of this side effect, I still would’ve freaked out. My possible first thought was, “am I dying?” Or perhaps it wasn’t even a question… I’ve seen a lot of movies in my day, and discovering that the inside of your mouth is much, much darker than when you last saw it the night before meant that something bad was happening. Like a concentrated evil that was taking over your body or trying to kill you, making you fall apart or breaking you down to nothing. That’s what happened in the movies. Anyone who had manifested dark matter in them practically meant certain doom was to rain upon them before the movie ended… and they might not make it to the credits. So I proceeded to brush my teeth, I don’t know, twelve times that day? Focusing on my tongue, and then finally looking back to that Pepto to see what that had to say about my current ailment. (Darkening of the tongue is a side effect, so is darken of the stool… which is just as scary.)

On a side note, I kept in constant contact with my mother, informing her of each event as it happened. Most of the time she was comforting. Other times she giggled, had a face of shock and awe, or offered some motherly advice for what I should do.

So it had been about two days and I know that if you have a problem that requires the pink stuff, you need to drink plenty of fluids so you don’t get dehydrated. So hydrate I did. Unfortunately I hydrated so much one night—a night I had to be in class for about three hours—that I seriously could not wait to return home to relieve myself. I’m so glad the cops didn’t catch me that night speeding home. Getting pulled over is scary enough, but getting pulled over and wetting your pants at the same time?

The next day, I believed all was well. Since it was so long ago I didn’t exactly keep proper documentation, but I think it was a Wednesday, and all systems were a go. Until the blood appeared.

I felt immediately cold. I mean “cold” in the sense that I was scared to death. I know that’s never a good sign and I am told you are supposed to call your doctor immediately. Or at least go visit a clinic or something. And perhaps it’s a guy thing, but I seriously did not want to call or see a doctor for any reason whatsoever.

(Part 2 here…)

frippoding for hope (for haiti now)

In all honesty, I’m not sure I had an idea of what today’s friPod iPick would’ve been. That is, until last Friday night when practically the whole world watched the telethon Hope For Haiti Now. Okay, okay… so maybe the whole world didn’t tune in. I know quite a few people who managed to find something else to watch, or weren’t even home to watch it or care. But kudos to those who did watch, and extra kudos to those who donated to the sum of somewhere around $60 million or more. Indeed, the Haitians are in desperate need, and besides our prayers, the next best thing we regular citizens can give is money. Trust me, this past week I’ve been tearing up the interwebs looking for other charities or donation centers that would accept other things like clothes, food and water. I found a few local places, but for the most part, cash-money is by far the easiest and most effective way to help.

Which brings me back to the telethon. To those who watched it, you saw a who’s who of celebrities either performing, hosting, or taking phone calls. For the record, I tried calling in about 30 times. Busy signal each time. I gave in and texted $10. Had I gotten through, I would’ve donated $20 or more. But it’s okay, because by Monday I had given another $10 by way of a monetary donation collection I set up at my church, and by buying the Hope For Haiti Now album on iTunes. Rather than select the few songs I liked, I decided to get the entire album. It’s only $8 for 20 songs. I like a bargain.

I heard a few songs I really enjoyed that night, from Wyclef showing his Haitian pride, to my favorite soul singer John Legend; to Jennifer Hudson belting out my favorite Beatles song “Let It Be” (this is now my favorite version of this song). I missed the first half hour, and a few songs in-between while I was trying to get through to a celebrity or order a pizza. But probably the highlight of the night, and what’s currently topping the iTunes’ chart is a song I’ve only heard once (or twice) in my lifetime called “Hallelujah.”

The first time I heard a piece of this song is from a Fall Out Boy song “Hum Hallelujah.” The real first time I heard this song was from the movie Watchmen. In fact, I thought it was rather humorous for this song to be playing during the scene it was playing in (Nite Owl and Silk Spectre got a little hot under their costumes after an intense rescue mission). In the theater, you heard chuckles from the entire audience because it just seemed like an odd song to play during a sex scene. The director said it was intentional and meant to play on irony, and I didn’t realize why at the time. Even then, the song itself had interested me, but I never followed up to get more info about it. Not until I heard Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris sing it.

I don’t want to give the whole history of this song, but it’s been around for almost 30 years and has been covered by a number of people. Each generation has its favorite rendition. I agree that Jeff Buckley does an excellent job as well, and may even be the standard go-to version. Leonard Cohen wrote and sang the original. But I think 2010 might belong to JT and his friend. Truly a beautiful melody that has iSaac and I stuck on the replay button. It’s hard to classify this as a gospel song, which I don’t think it was intended to be… but it does allude to a few Bible stories. On a personal level, the lyrics aren’t entirely important to me as much as the music itself. But like most songs, there’s a story and meaning behind it. And sometimes, just the context of when and where a song is sung can influence the mood and emotion behind the melody. In this case, it’s passion for helping those in Haiti.

seven nation army of selena gomez

I was a bit ignorant as to who exactly Selena Gomez is. If it wasn’t for the crush of Kitten’s little brother, it would just be another name that would require the use of Google or Wikipedia to gather more information as to who she is and why she is relevant. I won’t give you her full 15 year or so bio, but all you need to know is that she is yet another product from the Disney Channel factory, next to Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. You know how they manufacture these stars: TV, movies and albums. In a way, Disney is breeding old fashioned movie stars reminiscent of the 50’s and 60’s. You know, back when entertainers lived up to every sense of the word: acting, singing and dancing.

Does that make me a fan? Not really. I’m not going to critique Disney Channel programming today. But rest assured, I don’t have many good things to say about it. Let’s just say, it’s not for me.

However, one night, I saw a clip of a music video by a one Selena Gomez. I can’t recall where, (it wasn’t the Disney Channel) but it wasn’t her face that first caught my attention. It did help, though. And I’ll admit that Kitten’s lil’ bro has good taste in women. Too young for me though. I’ll follow the likes of Salma Hayek and Zoe Salanda anywhere.

At the time of writing this, I’m still unsure how I feel about this song. It’s not a bad sounding song and it doesn’t feel cheesy in that bubblegum annoying kind of way. But I’m not analyzing the song. The video is definitely entertaining. I felt like I, as the viewer, kept moving through the scenes. Yet I couldn’t help but shake the feeling it was inspired slightly by this…

Whether it was inspired or wasn’t, these are videos intriguing. I believe it’s the movement, or the illusion of constant movement. It’s also the multiplication of the artist. Selena multiplies like a hand of cards, and on occasion her band mates appear in similar fashions. The White Stripes, well their video keeps going through the triangles with at least one of them in one of those triangles. So at any given time, they are always visible. Selena has many more shapes. But there are indeed many triangles, which is what originally caught my attention. And she’s actually featured in different scenes, if you really want to call it that. I suppose the major difference you can say is that Selena’s video isn’t a “one shot” whereas White Stripes gives the impression that it never takes a cut. One definite similarity in two words: strobe lights. Okay, those are in a lot of videos. But both videos feature a red, black and white combo.

I’m not mad at Selena about this video. I’m just making it aware that her video reminds me that it’s sorta been done already. There is more flair to her video, but I don’t think you can beat what the White Stripes offered with their “Seven Nation Army.”

that’s not lady gaga! …but she approves

One day, I was bruising through my favorite magazine (actual and online), Entertainment Weekly, and came across this article.

Unfortunately, I was at work and couldn’t actually view the video posted in the article until I was at my own PC. Due to the fact that the “Bad Romance” video was the key factor that finally flipped me into a Gaga fan, I felt the need to check out this so-called parody. Some of you have already seen this on my Facebook page when I first saw it, but here it is again for your viewing pleasure. I had to share and give credit where credit is due. (NOTE: there is a “bloopers” section the last portion of this video that’s NSFWish, full of swears. I don’t feel it’s necessary, but hey, these kids are having fun, let ‘em enjoy it.)

Not only do I think their version is awesome and ultra accurate to the original, I love how creative they were in recreating the scenes, shots and “special effects.” Even the wardrobe is impressive. As if to say, “Even you can be Lady Gaga!” Super kudos! On top of all that, recognition from the Lady herself! Nothing quite like being recognized by your idol. But that’s another reason why I appreciate her as an artist: a fan of her fans.

I’m including the back story found on the YouTube page.

So, here’s the story. Two of us got Flips for Christmas. And we were all in the car, and Bad Romance comes on the radio. So naturally, we start rocking out to it, dancing in the car like a bunch of freaks. Ian, being the thinker, whipped out his Flip and started recording it. When the song was over, we realized he never hit record. First we were all “Oh maan.” Then we were all “LET’S REMAKE THE ACTUAL VIDEO!” Finally we were all “WHOO! YEAAAH! \(:D)/” A big thank you goes out to Lady Gaga for tweeting our video! Since then, views have exploded!

So here you go. Enjoy!! Of course, our video will never be as good as the original.

I con promise this won’t be the last time I’m blogging about her. Love her or hate her, she’s someone to pay attention to. I know she’s got mine.

“the iron giant” film review

(I’m the resident film reviewer at my job’s monthly newsletter. Here’s my latest review for the month of January.)

I’ll admit that I’ve been slacking lately in my movie-watching experiences and have neglected films of a certain major target audience: family. I went through a list of recent movies I’ve watched and came up pretty short on movies worth writing about that fits in that genre. So I had to dig in my own movie collection to see what might fit the family flick group besides any and ever Pixar movie to date.

Actually, I didn’t stray too far from Pixar. Master storyteller Brad Bird gave us what I believe is an often overlooked and under appreciated gem of a tradition animated feature called The Iron Giant.

Before I jump into that movie, Brad Bird is the guy who brought us the Pixar hits The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Unfortunately, I can’t watch The Incredibles for a couple years due to my lovely niece and her fondness of the repeat button. Fortunately, however, I don’t remember the dialogues verbatim anymore, so there’s some progress. But no disrespect to these movies whatsoever. They appeal to kids and adults alike. These are movies where kids are welcomed and encouraged to view with you, but not necessary. And at the same time, parents can rest assured letting their kids be merry and dandy watching it on their own over and over again. But hey, it’s definitely important to watch what your children watch, even though there are some movies (and TV shows) that require another stimulant of some kind just to keep you from drifting off into madness. I just want to clarify and not mislead anyone into mistaking “family movie” with “children’s movie.” Believe you me (what does that mean, anyway?), there is a difference. The Iron Giant is a family movie. Humans and robots of all ages are allowed to enjoy.

I saw the movie for the first time as teenager. A cool movie about a boy and his giant robot romping around the woods. I got the point of the story, I laughed, got tearful around the end, it entertained me overall, but that was about it.

Then I got older, and thanks to a suggestion (and great review from famed storyboard artist, Karen Lloyd), I watched it again. I missed a lot of the subtle humor and subtexts that adults tend to pick up but are missed by kids. It’s not their fault, it’s intended to be that way. Some good “kids shows” are designed that way, too. Shows like Animaniacs and Sponge Bob were and are well aware of its adult fans, and throw in things for them to appreciate. That’s why they make sleepware for grown men with Sponge Bob on them. I don’t advise going out in public with them, but that’s your choice. But these storytellers want adults to be entertained too. And I forgot to mention, for an animated movie around the 90’s, I’m so happy there were no big song and dance numbers involved. Disney may be the only animated studio to pull this off effectively in their own movies, but I know that’s a turn-off for many adults including myself.

Not only did I pick up on the subtle humor in The Iron Giant, but the plot made more sense. Not that there was a deep analytical study or anything. The story takes place during the tense times of the Cold War. I wasn’t savvy to what all of that was about at a mere 13 years of age. So the paranoia these characters were feeling was lost on me, but at the time, I understood enough to know that the government had the wrong idea.

Also impressive to me at an older age: Vin Diesel. Most of the time, to me anyway, he seems like a laughable actor. But I won’t lie, I like a few of his movies despite the flaws. But his role in this movie voicing this innocent man of metal just seemed to fit so perfectly. I won’t say Oscar-worthy, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. The giant doesn’t talk much, but when he does, it’s fitting.

Overall, this is a good movie to show next time you’re entertaining guests, especially with kids. It’s probably not the #1 movie for your next gathering, even if they are all mature adults. But don’t let this “cartoon movie” go unwatched even if it’s just a movie for two.