May 2003 Archives
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Welcome to my personal web page. As you can see, things are a little bare at the moment, but I plan on adding lots of cool stuff about me in the near future (...just as soon as I finish up reading O-Reilly's "HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide"...).
In the next few days, I plan to put up some of my computer art, some of my favorite pictures I've taken, as well as flesh out the look of this site a bit more. Please check back for more info as it all starts coming together.
Well, it's a Friday night and I'm looking forward to an evening at the movies with my family and friends. On the play list: X-Men 2. I will post my review after the show.
Lots of great stuff is coming in the month of May. I've compiled a brief list here.
June is looking hopeful as well with Metallica's latest release, "St. Anger" due out mid-month. I read an article in this month's issue of Revolver Magazine and it was pretty interesting. If what they say is true, this album should be a good, solid metal album from Metallica (remember "...And Justice For All"?).
Went with my sister and bother-in-law to help them buy a piano! Well, okay I didn't help out financially, but I DID drive them there...
Started to put some serious work into organizing and formatting some of my pictures and artwork. I'm also going to make new banners for those pages. I've put up the one for my Photos and Artwork pages. Check 'em out!
Well, I've been pretty proud of my web page so far. As I continue to read how to properly encode HTML (and XHTML), I'm starting to see things I can either do better as far as the code goes. That being said, I'm going to start the process of making my web pages XHTML 1.0 compliant. "Big whoop..." I hear you say? Well, if I want to learn how to make web pages, I figure I should learn how to make them right...
Got the new From Zero album today, along with the "Catch Me If You Can" DVD. I'm really impressed with From Zero's Latest effort. Check out my review.
While in BestBuy, I spent a little time browsing through the DVD's and found a box set for a TV series that I remembered from a few years back called "My So-Called Life" (ironic, considering that's the name of From Zero's new album!). It was a very cool, but short lived series. I was tempted to shell out the $70 for the set, but I need to keep priorities straight.
Does anyone else remember this series? If so, drop me a line - or if you want to chat about other really good, but short lived TV shows, drop me a line. I may start up a page about them if I get enough response.
Severe Weather in Atlanta!!
For about the last two hours, Northern Georgia has been beaten by severe weather as it moves East-Southeast from Alabama through the northern communities of Canton, Rome, Jasper, and moves across towards Cumming, Gainesville, and Duluth. Latest reports indicated severe storm activity moving through Cobb county entering into the Metro Atlanta area.
If you live in the area, stay out of this weather if at all possible!! The National Weather Service has issued numerous warnings throughout the entire Metro Atlanta area. Click here for a WSB-TV Doppler Radar image.
Please be safe out there...
As my website gets a little larger, I'm starting to work on better ways to organize everything. I'm most likely going to add a special section for reviews and other stuff. I'm still learning all this stuff don't you know...
I'm thinking that I'll get everything figured out and in place this weekend.
Okay, okay!! Call off the dogs!! I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, or been abducted by space aliens! I took the night off to work on the new layout and new content. It's starting to come together, but I really need to get my butt in gear to make it happen by this weekend. Stay tuned...
Say it ain't so! Kelly Osborne has been dropped by her record label due to poor album sales. Her father, rock legend Ozzy Osborne, was quoted as mumbling something incoherent.
Well, here's the new layout! I hope everyone likes it. To try and clean it up a bit, I have moved the reviews from my journal to their own page. I've also created an Archive page to cycle out old info to. Anything I post that doesn't really fall into any one category, will be moved to the new Misc. page.
Also, I've finally added some CONTENT! WHOO HOO!!! Check out my artwork and photos!!
Don't Panic!! My Archives Page is up, and I am cleaning up my other pages as I can. The archives are set up opposite of the main pages (they start at the 1st, instead of the most recent day).
The most awaited sequel has been unleashed onto the public today! Matrix Reloaded was released at 12 midnight last night. Being I have to work, I'm going to see it tonight. Afterwards, I will post a review. I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but no promises...
A friend of mine at work is a real music fanatic. If it's obscure, it's that much better to him. He recently ended up with 2 copies of a new release, and offered one to me. It's the debut album from EvaneScence called Fallen. Pretty neat stuff. Check out my impressions on my reviews page.
On one of the tracks, EvaneScence has a guest vocalist from the band 12 Stones. I checked out their website, and listened to some of the sample music they have there. They sound pretty cool too. I'll most likely end up getting their album today and maybe a review later this weekend... ...so much cool music, not enough time...
I'm really excited that I'm finally getting a web page put together. Still a little unsure what I'm going to include in my web journal, but I'm sure something will come to my mind.
One thing that has really been weighing heavy on my mind the last week or so has been the situation with my girlfriend. I love her, I really and truly do. But because of actions on both our parts, we don't have a complete trust in each other. We are both in a place mentally that won't allow us to be happy together. We spent about an hour and a half on the phone this evening talking about things. We are both really scared, but we both decided to go our separate ways for now and try to get our heads straight before we try to put our heads back together again. I'm hoping that we are both able to grow from this. I know I really need to...
Had a really fun afternoon today, and didn't even know about it! Okay: a little background...
When I got divorced I had an old beat-up Ford (isn't that a pre-requisite?). I decided to get myself something a bit nicer. So, I bought a brand new 2002 Subaru WRX. A really fun car. Anyway, I had to take it in for it's 15,000 mile service. Well, it just so happens that today there was an I-Club meeting today at the dealership. Fun was had by all, and I got to see some other WRX's that have been modified. Pretty cool stuff.
Sunday is probably the longest day of the week for me. It's the day when I make a point not to do anything important or let myself worry about anything that can't wait until Monday. I've found it helps to keep my sanity. Today seemed a bit insane to me.
It started out all right. I slept in until about 10:30am, and had an early lunch. I noticed that I was out of a few things, so I planned a trip to the store. All well and good so far, huh? Something happened while I was picking up lunchmeat and mushrooms today, and I just felt like the wind was knocked out of my sails. The thing of it was, there was no one thing that set it off; I was just fine, and then BANG! I got home, put everything away, and then just felt empty. I had no motivation to do - anything. Feeling myself sinking into this mental mire, I called up my sister to see if they had any plans for dinner.
Usually, visits with my sister and her husband are a real joy. Tonight felt like I was just going through the motions. I made a great dinner - well great for me. We watched most likely the only movie I have that they haven't seen. After it was done, they left. It just felt so sterile. And when they left, the emptiness came back. I cleaned up my little kitchen, and now I have nothing left to do.
This Sunday felt like the longest day of my life…
I got to thinking today; growing up in Orange Park, my best friend in the world was Jeffery Peed. He and I were inseparable. The earliest memories I have are playing with him as a small child. I haven't seen or talked to him since Memorial Day weekend 1995. I remember it being one of my first vacations on my own. That was the weekend he introduced me to karaoke. It has been entirely too long, so I have decided to try and get back in touch with him...
Easier said than done... I've done extensive searches on the web for any phone listing for him in Orange Park (where he was living - last I knew) with no results. His father, John, is still there, so I contacted him.
We ended up talking for about 15 minutes - catching up on the time gone by. Jeff doesn't have a land line telephone, but does have a cell phone. Just recently, however, Jeff had his service set to outward calls only. Jeff does have a pager, but his father didn't have the number when we talked. I asked him to pass on my information the next time he sees or talks to him.
I hope he can get in touch with me soon. With the Memorial Day weekend coming up, I would really like to see him again. We have 8 years of catch-up to do...
Today marked the first anniversary of my divorce. Today passed as quietly and hopelessly as it did a year ago. I still remember the calm finality of the whole experience. Some will tell you that it tore them apart to learn that a judge made a part of your life history, other will go out and celebrate their liberation with reckless abandon.
I got the call from my attorney that afternoon. “…just wanted to let you know that the judge signed the papers today. It’s all done but the official filling in the county records…” It was very surreal. Almost like I was watching someone else’s life before me. I thought I would break down or feel a wave of relief. I wasn’t ready to feel nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to have everything done and over with, but I guess I was assuming I would have that outward feeling of relief. If anything I felt like a massive weight was laid on my heart – I had failed. Never mind the reasons for the divorce. Never mind the circumstances that brought all this about. I guess deep down I felt that I should have seen this - I should have known - I should have done things different.
I also know that there was nothing I could have done to prevent this. I know that, ultimately, the marriage was dead before we celebrated our first anniversary. I know this now – but it serves as little comfort on my anniversary…
I have been spreading myself WAY too thin lately... I was supposed to go over to my father's for dinner, but when I got home, I just felt so wiped, I decided to lay down first. That was at 5:45pm. When I woke up at 7:15pm, I called to let them know I wasn't feeling to good. When I got off the phone, I went back to sleep. I didn't wake up until 5:45am on the 8th. Even then, I hit the snooze on my alarm clock and slept until 7:15am.
I can't wait until Memorial Day week... ...I need a vacation...
Pizza tastes like crap when you're alone...
Called my sister and brother-in-law to see how things went with an issue they have about their piano purchase, and they invited me to go on a "photo hunt". Seemed like a perfect idea, considering I was wanting to add new material to my site. Had a really great time, up until I over-exerted myself hiking out of a nature trail.
Man, I feel like crap right now. I think I got a bit dehydrated. It's going on 10pm now, and I still have a headache. I'm going to get some sleep, and hope I feel better in the morning. I have a busy day. I'm wanting to finish prepping the new material I'm going to post, get it tested and posted, and I still need to figure out how to sneak a load of laundry in with all that... :P
What a crazy day. After I went to sleep at a whopping 10pm last night (I've got to stop living on the edge), I ended up waking up at 4:30am this morning. Tried to get back to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. So, I decided to go ahead and finish up my new web site. Worked until about noon (thanks to a full pot of flavored coffee), and then let myself take on my Sunday duties.
What makes this so weird: I decided to watch E.T. on DVD. After I finished, guess what's on ABC tonight? E. Friggin' T. So, T.V. viewing tonight was sparse. So I broke out a book. Why don't people read anymore? I guess I can't talk - I wait for all the good books to be made into movies. I try to read more. There was always something I found appealing about reading a book. If the book is well written, you can see everything as you read it. Even better, you have insight to the character's thoughts, feelings, and motivations - almost like a window into their soul.
Anyways, 2 weeks until vacation... ...just trying to hold on until then...
I'm a little worried. For the second time in a week, I went to sleep for over 11 hours. I got home, had dinner, and decided to watch a movie. "XXX" just wasn't doing it for me, so I decided to go on-line and chat with some friends. No one was on-line so I decided to just lay down. That was 8pm. When Calypso woke me up at 10:30pm, I walked him, and went back to sleep. I woke up this morning at 7am.
On the good side, I've been well rested. I suppose that's a good thing with my meeting going on at work today. But I'm worried that this is my body's reaction to depression. Depression is an odd thing, I guess. I'm not sad, like bawling my eyes out sad, I just don't have a lot of energy to do things. I'll come home from work, take care of my mail, walk to dog, eat dinner, clean up, and then lay on the couch and watch T.V., or chat on-line. If there's nothing on, or no one on-line, I just go to bed.
...Thursday will be cool though...
I went over to my dad's to take care of some laundry last night. I think it was one of the most uncomfortable visits I have ever had with him. I try to be a frank, and honest as I can about what I'm thinking and feeling in this journal. And he is getting concerned for me. While I don't think his concerns are warranted, I don't have the same perspective as he does.
At the same time, tonight I'm going to see a movie tonight with my last girlfriend. I'm feeling a little weird about this too. I guess that I have a lot of unresolved issues about that whole situation that I still need to come to terms with. Either way, it should be a great movie...
Well, I went to see "X-Men 2". Here's what the major news outlets had to say about it:
By Angela Dawson
Entertainment News WireHOLLYWOOD -- The calendar says May 2, but the summer season officially kicks off with the return of the mutants. We're not talking about reruns of "Celebrity Mole" or "The Bachelor," but "X2: X-Men United," the much-anticipated sequel to the Bryan Singer's 2000 blockbuster "X-Men," based on the popular comic book.
X-Men, of course, are genetically mutated humans with colorful nicknames like Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue and Storm. They possess extraordinary powers but are shunned by the rest of society. Under the tutelage and protection of Prof. Charles Xavier, the world's most powerful telepath, these gifted students have learned to control and direct their respective powers for the good of mankind even though they are feared and distrusted by those they are trying to protect. In "X-Men," which grossed $157 million domestically, Xavier's pupils successfully fought off evil mutants bent on destroying them. In "X2," the X-Men must unite with their enemies to combat a bigger menace that threatens not only mutants but also all of mankind.
That's all well and good, but what can you REALLY expect? Here's my humble opinion:
"X2: X-Men United" picks up where the first X-Men movie leaves off. Magneto is still in "Plastic Prison", Logan/Wolverine is out on his quest to learn about his past, and the other X-Men continue to teach and guide mutants at the Charles Xavier School for the gifted. Quickly a crisis occurs that puts all mutants into the bad (okay, REALLY bad) graces of the rest of humanity.
The story develops pretty well. Those who felt cheated by the Wolverine/Sabretooth duel atop the Statue of Liberty in the first X-Men will get plenty more action out of our Hairy Friend (Warning to parents: more than a few people get on Wolverine's bad side.). I felt Bryan Singer really teased us too much with the entirely-too-brief (less than 1 minute of screen time) appearance of Colossus. The Colossus effect was quite striking on screen - Hey Bryan, I hope you are already working on "X3", and you give him more screen time to let us get to know him better.
We are treated to the introduction of other heroes such a Nightcrawler, Ice Man, and Pyro. The effects used for Nightcrawler, in my opinion, were the best live-action representation of his comic book illustrated powers. Ice Man really needed a bit more of a role than he got, and Pyro seemed to be a bit like a spoiled brat (although he did have a GREAT line in the movie).
The ending was a REAL killjoy for me. Well, not just me - the WHOLE FRIGGIN' THEATER was in stunned silence. I realize it was a historical point for this character, but GEES!! We are given a small glimmer of hope at the end when this character gives a brief narrative before ending credits roll (similar to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). Overall, this movie is a wonderful piece of work, and Bryan Singer shows - AGAIN - that he is more than capable of producing a true-to-form comic-to-live-action motion picture.
I give it 4 1/2 stars out of a possible 5.
Today From Zero released their 2nd major-label album entitled "My So-Called Life". Here's what I thought of it.
Band: From Zero
Album: My So-Called Life
Track Listing:
Since their first album (One Nation Under), From Zero has really matured musically - and it clearly shows. Their songs show so much more layering and it is clear they took their time to carefully craft these compositions. The music if full, but it isn't quite as in-your-face as their first album was.
I still love Jett's voice. While most bands in this genre try to sound as trashy and gritty as they can, From Zero's vocal style is one of pristine melody. Not to say there isn't a few guttural shrieks and screams, but it isn't the anchor of their vocals. I was surprised by their re-make of Phil Collin's "I Don't Care Anymore". Very well done, guys.
Solid, consistent performance throughout the album give From Zero:
5 stars out of a possible 5
The Matrix get Reloaded tonight. Below are my thought and impressions of this eagerly awaited sequel.
Sypher sums it up from the first movie: "Je-SUS! What a mind job..." This movie will really mess with your head. I decided to watch the first Matrix installment before I set off for the theater. There is a level of continuity, but it's not a pre-requisite.
Six months have passed since Neo first blasted off from that phone booth. It is an extraordinary time. More minds have been set free from the Matrix in the last 6 months than the last 6 years. We learn the machines are not standing by for this... ...they are digging. More over, the mystic Oracle is a no-show. As humanity prepares for the on-coming machine army, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus set out to destroy the Matrix...
The special effects are AWESOME. No doubt about it - special effects houses across the world will look to this movie for inspiration for a long time. But I'm wondering if all the effects counter-balance the story. There were a lot of places that I was left staring at the screen - "...now, WHAT just happened?" One thing that seemed completely out of context was the EXTENDED dancing-in-the-streets scene. Definitely earned the movie it's "R" rating...
The fight scenes are incredible, But it seemed like there were so many of them. I think the writers felt that more is better. ...and it's not just Kung-Fu. They incorporate the gambit of martial arts weapons are employed in this movie. Why? If Neo is "The One", why does he need to restrict himself to the limits of the physical in the Matrix? He surely didn't hold back at the end of the movie...
Don't get me wrong. The Matrix Reloaded has it's place and charm. While the first movie dropped the clutch on this roller-coaster ride, Reloaded seems to strip the gears a bit.
I give it 3 1/2 stars out of a possible 5.
Band: Evanescence
Album: Fallen
Track Listing:
I had no expectations when my friend gave me his extra copy of this album. I hadn't ever heard of Evanescence. I must admit that it was definitely my loss.
Imagine taking the haunting vocals of Paula Cole, the music of Linkin Park, and the arrangements of Sarah McLachlan. Yes, I know - sounds like an unlikely mix, but it works. And works well. The music is haunting and powerful. Amy Lee is only 20 years old, but her voice pierces into your soul with the power and weight of artists twice her age.
And this band is no "one trick pony" either. The musical style ebbs and flows as the album progresses. From the new rock sound of "Going Under" to the ballad "My Immortal", this album has something for just about anyone.
I think I have a new favorite band. I give this work 5 stars out of 5.