not my best day…

Not my best day.The hardest part about being in a relationship is at some point you’ll be you. Not the quick-witted party guy who spouts out one-liners faster than Eddie Griffith or the business professional that makes Corporate America squeal, nope, your girlfriend (or boyfriend) will see that vulnerable, insecure, whiny, brash version you keep tucked away, buried inside because weakness begets pity and who wants to take pride in their mediocrity? I always wonder who will be more disappointed when the “man behind the curtain” is revealed. But then I never forget their eyes; locked in mine, penetrating, branded into the back of my skull.

I find myself without the right words to communicate to you dear reader this thought that’s locked up in my brain right now. I’m angry and more importantly I want to revel in that anger. I don’t want to be cheered up, I want to be physically violent to the point of exhaustion until the last bit of energy I have is gone and my worn out body forces my mind to shutdown, to stop processing information repeatedly filling my heart with regret and wishing for a miracle I really don’t believe in anymore.

I’d go for a very long drive right now if I had any gas money…

Animal Cruelty

People know me as a cat guy. Actually, I’m an equal opportunity pet person. I also have no tolerance for anyone who tortures animals of any kind. Caught this story about a cat serial killer on CNN this morning and I hope they find the sick bastard and string him up. Of course, if these killings are similar to the events in Phoenix five years ago then the perpetrator probably won’t get caught.

Not sure what motivates someone to torture animals for fun. I was in San Antonio a couple of years ago when I caught some teenagers roasting kittens on a barbecue pit. They had fired up the coals and were poking the kittens with sticks as they tried to get out of the fire. I was unable to save the kittens and I only managed to grab one of the teenagers. It took A LOT of self-restraint to keep from kicking the kid’s teeth in and lucky for him the police arrived quickly on the scene.

I don’t know if animal torture is on the rise, but it was a recent theme in the X-Men comic book series. Marvel Comics teamed with the Doris Day Animal Foundation back in May as part of a comics for compassion campaign.

There’s plenty I have to ramble on about, but it will have to wait until after classes today.

Concert Review – Justified & Stripped Tour

Dallas got one helluva show last nightWell, last night Michelle & I saw quite a show. I have to say Christina Aguilera did not disappoint and I can say without a doubt she’s not a “studio” singer. That girl has got mad vocal skillz. A number of things struck me about Christina’s performance, mainly the fact that she really seemed to be enjoying herself. A lot of pop performers present a certain persona on stage which carries through each tightly choreographed number (Think Janet’s attitude, Britney’s come-hither looks, Madonna’s sassy-bitch style). In-between songs said artist will scream “How are we doing in [insert city name here] tonight?” or something else to personalize the moment, but then the music kicks in and the game face is back on. In contrast, Christina rarely seemed to be “in character”. It reminded me of a scene in Rock Star where Mark Walberg’s character can’t keep from grinning during a band photo shoot. Even during those sultry moments, she offered a quick smile or wink reminding me more of the girl next door type then “X-tina”.

Choreography took a backseat to a strong vocal performance and while she managed to strut her stuff Christina’s dance troupe provided the visuals. Songs from her first album were offered up as remixed medleys and I was impressed by her covers of Etta James. The show closed with an energized version of “Fighter” followed “Beautiful” which Christina kicked off a cappella.

Now some of you are wondering “But Dude, I heard she’s fat now?” I can’t remember her quote from Rolling Stone (and it’s not in the online excerpt), but I don’t think she looked too plump or anything. It’s obvious she’s not the waif she was a few years back, but I’m not really concerned enough to delve into her personal eating habits. I will say kudos to her & Justin for having dancers that actually looked healthy (gotta have some meat on them bones). The female dancers had curves (and I don’t mean aftermarket breasts) while the guys weren’t all washboard abs and chests like Johnny Bravo.

Grade: A+ (Let me say again CHRISTINA CAN SING HER ASS OFF!)

So what about Justin?

Well, other than Punked and maybe a couple clips from some N`Sync video I can’t say I knew anything about him. Sure I’ve heard the hype and read the disses, but I can honestly say I had no expectations going to the show. That being said Justin’s performance, in contrast to Christina’s, was all about the choreography and putting on an energetic show. I can see why there would be Michael Jackson comparisons as the dance grooves were very frontman oriented unlike Madonna’s shows which play like musical theatre. The show was slick and by that I mean the production almost seemed too processed. I’d be more inclined to believe there were some vocal tracks covered by Justin’s backup singers as the sheer intensity of the dance moves would make it hard to commit an even stronger vocal performance. (As a former singer/dancer I have an informed opinion) There were pieces of the show that were very remnant of Britney’s performance on HBO and noticing the similarities in their music that doesn’t surprise me.

It’s clear that the former N`Sync guy has talent, but I’m just not a fan of his voice or vocal style. It’s not his use of falsettos which make him MJ-like, but whenever he sings in his full voice it just doesn’t convince me his weuvos<sp?> have dropped. Now I’m not saying he can’t sing because it’s obvious he can; I’m just saying he doesn’t do it for me.

Moving on the highlight of the evening was when Justin broke into his human beat box shtick. While not the most original it was fun to watch as he stepped on a platform which place him about 100ft above the main floor audience. Add a local Dallas DJ and a great percussive style drummer and you had yourself probably the hippest rave ever.

Grade: B (Justin will be the MJ for a new generation. Let’s hope he doesn’t follow ALL the King of Pop’s footsteps)

I am pop music baby

Show me some XtinaIt’s a good day. I survived midterms at school – YEAH ME!!!

Tonight Michelle & I are going to see the Christina Aguilera (Ryan’s BOTW) & Justin Timberlake live downtown. Looking forward to seeing Christina’s stage show as the only performance I’ve ever caught was the brief medley she did during the Olympics. Catching Justin’s show will be a spontaneous decision although I have to admit curiosity will probably get the better of me.

This is usually the point where most bloggers go into a clich? diatribe about why they haven’t been blogging lately. I’ll just cut to the chase – real life is busy (a good thing) and it’s the summer (also a good thing). Rest assured my writing will not be dismissed altogether and while I don’t anticipated going to weekly/monthly updates (God forbid) don’t be surprised to see me post in spurts.

Movie Review – Old School

Bad bad film, not worth a rentalThe most boring movie of 2003. OK, two topless scenes and several clich? jokes later I was left feeling not so impressed. Now I certainly didn’t expect Oscar caliber filmmaking, but from the word of mouth I had the impression this was at least a nostalgic trip back to the Fast Times At Ridgemont High. The characters, dialogue and comedic timing just falls flat. As thirty-somethings trying to regain some sense of bachelorhood only Will Ferrell’s character was entertaining (getting caught streaking by his wife & her girlfriends) while Luke Wilson seemed whiny (I just want nice girls who don’t like sex) and Vince Vaughn’s character was a poor man’s version of Trent from Swingers (Everyone thinks I’m a horndog, but really girls make me cry).

I’m not balking at the movie because it was predictable. This type of film generally follows a certain formula, but unlike Revenge of the Nerds which put silly characters in equally silly challenges the fight for fraternity recognition in Old School seems pointless. All the gags rely on one joke humor instead of building any real momentum. Even the KY wrestling match was sad as the choice of females was completely unappealing.

“Are strange men staring at your rib cage more than your boobs?”

“It could be a sign of EAT SOME FRICKIN’ FOOD!!!

If you’re looking for mindless sex & scenes with hot chicks this is definitely not the film for you. Vince Vaughn’s wife (played by Leah Remini) – HOT. His character’s cheating opportunity – NOT HOT.

Adam Sandler flicks do a better job of tying up plot lines. Luke Wilson ends up with the girl even though you don’t see them interact in any way the last third of the film. You’re teased with the idea that the boss’s daughter MIGHT be a problem. This could have been a one act joke, but it pops up every time you forget about it and then just disappears by the end of the film. Two scenes with the boss, first act Luke’s a sniveling yes man, last third of the film he tells his boss to go screw.

I’m glad that I missed this in the theatre and thankfully it was a cheap DVD rental. Oh and one final nail before I click ’submit’; I watched the Un-Rated version and have no idea what could possibly have been bad about it. Did I mention only TWO not-even-raunchy nude scenes? Maybe it’s un-rated because the skinny chicks are smack-dab-motion-captured on the front of the DVD menu.

Grade: D+ (Cause some people REALLY like Will Ferrell)