Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Nothing Better
I'm going to the US tomorrow for the 3rd time in the last month. This time, it'll be a short excursion to Seattle to see Postal Service at the Crocodile Cafe. Can I get a "fuck yeah?" This should be one of the best shows of the year, well worth the 6 hours of driving to Seattle and back. Since it's an all-ages show (ugh) on a weeknight, it should end no later than 11 or so. Hopefully, I can get my ass home before 2:00 am. Yeah, that'll be cool.
NP: (The Daily Show)
posted by Hanson |
11:28 PM
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Boob Tube
Hehe... it's Celebrity Jeopardy this week, and you know what that means: idiot B-list celebs showing how stupid they are by not knowing easy-ass questions! Today was Ashton "Kelso" Kutcher, Vivica A. Fox (what, is there a Vivica B. Fox?), and Wayne Brady. Now, despite appearances, Ashton Kutcher isn't an idiot; in fact, he held his own. Wayne Brady got a bunch of questions too, and ended up winning it. Ms. Fox, on the other hand, *is* as stupid as she appears to be. Her crowning act of stupidity was when she thought the Taliban ruled Iraq. Nice.
Now, instant Karma dictates that after mocking people's intellects, I'm going to have a spelling or grammatical mistake somewhere in this post. I mean, it's only fair.
BTW, tonight's Buffy: stunning. You've outdone yourself, Joss! Now the whole season makes sense!
NP: The Decemberists - I Dreamt I Was an Architect
posted by Hanson |
10:35 PM
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Home Brew
Revitalization of my personal ego-wanking website Synapse to Synapse is well underway. The old early 90s HTML look doesn't come off as ironic anymore, not even kitschy; it just comes off as looking really, really crappy. It has got to go, and since I have a bit of time on my hands now, it's gonna go.
Oh yeah. Screw incremental releases! I'm an old-fashion, write-everything-then-release kind of guy, so nothing will be posted until it's all ready. Right now, it's still crap, but (hopefully) not for long. The look will be new. Green and new, but all Ho.
NP: (HNIC)
posted by Hanson |
5:59 PM
Saturday, April 26, 2003
So I Walked Into What A Girl Wants Today...
I caught a matinee of the wicked awesome Identity this afternoon, but not before an incident of mild amusement/embarrassment.
So, there I was, walking into the Pinetree 6 for a mid-day showing of the latest from Mr. John Cusack. I've always been a fan of his work, and the trailers looked interesting enough. My friend Ricardo and I got there with five minutes to spare, as we were at Chapters before where I had just fought off the urge to buy the thirty-dollar Buffy and Philosophy. Having had an American Mountain Dew with my lunch of leftover fried beef rice noodles not an hour earlier, my bladder told me where it wanted me right, so I obliged and relieved myself in the washroom.
I glanced at my ticket after I was done and saw a "1". Naturally, we went to the theatre labelled "1" thinking we were going to see the right movie. We sat down as the trailers were beginning, but something just wasn't right. They showed previews of Bend It Like Beckham and some Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson chick flick. Strange, I thought: why would they expect a large overlap between people who might want to see those movies and the folks here to see Identity? I shrugged it off as simply shitty marketing, but when the trailers were over, my suspicions were confirmed. Over a chick-rocky song, the words "What A Girl Wants" flash across the screen. I let out a not-so-deliberate chuckle and walked out without my copy of the Georgia Straight. Quickly.
As the theatre doors closed behind us, we couldn't help but laugh. We felt like such dumbasses! I've never walked into the wrong theatre before, but I can't say that after today. I looked at my ticket: the "1" signified that it was a ticket for one; the movie was actually showing in theatre 4. Realizing our (re: my) mistake, we walked over to appropriate theatre and saw ourselves a well-acted, well-scripted, and well-directed movie.
The moral of the story: go see Identity, but please walk into the right theatre.
NP: The Kills - Superstition
posted by Hanson |
6:47 PM
Friday, April 25, 2003
One Last Shot
Yes! The Dismemberment Plan have included Vancouver on their farewell tour! Missing them last year open up for Hot Hot Heat has been pissing me off since, well, last year, but this time, that won't happen. June 10th, baby! I'm seeing the Plan!
And oh yeah. 4-3! Gotta love Canuck comebacks, eh? There's a reason why I had Daniel Sedin on my play-off pool draft card!
NP: (Marc Crawford)
posted by Hanson |
10:52 PM
New Music West, Guy!
Bands I plan to see at New Music West this year (NOT an exhaustive list):
Kristy Thirsk (finally!)
The Salteens (chick bassist with the orange vest, check)
The Flairs (this time, I'll see their full set)
My Morning Jacket (lets see if they live up to the buzz)
Jessie Farrell (new stuff, please)
Adrienne Pierce (hopefully not at the Commodore *Cafe* this year)
Paper Moon (not B'ehl, but they'll do)
The Gay (can't believe I haven't seen them since last year!)
That ought to be worth my 25 bucks, eh?
NP: Riloy Kiley - The Frug
posted by Hanson |
12:10 AM
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Control
Must. Stay. Away. From. The. Decemeberists. And. Mason. Jennings. Show. Tonight. Must. Not. Spend. More. Money. On. Shows.
So. Damn. Hard!
NP: The Thermals - No Culture Icons
posted by Hanson |
2:13 PM
It Got Hot In Therre
Wow. Other than festivals (including New Music West), this is the first time I've seen five bands in a single day. Of course, I had to go to two different shows, but is was soooo worth it as all five bands were excellent.
First, I saw Rooney and Grandaddy at the Commodore, supposedly opening up for Pete Yorn. Rooney had a very retro look: blazers, shaggy hair and everything. They sounded a lot like Phantom Planet, as both bands have themselves a Schwartzman (although Rooney's goes by the name Carmine). Next on the bill came Grandaddy, the band that I was there to see. Judging by the crowd though, you wouldn't know they were opening, as there were plenty of fans in the audience. Lush, dense, and melodic: Grandaddy wuz in da hiz house! Their 40-minute set was waaaay too short, and I was kinda bummed when they wrapped up by 10:40pm without doing The Crystal Lake or Broken Household Appliance. Staring at my watch, I knew I had plenty of time to go catch The Weekend who were playing tonight as well. So after bidding adieu to Val, I ditched Pete Yorn and dashed off to the Pic.
When I got there, I found out that opening for the Weekend were none other than local chick-rockers the Flairs and the Dirtmitts! Luckily, I got there in time to catch the tail end of the Flairs' set. The band, made up of two former members of Tuuli, played a pretty up front and tight brand of rock, sorta like a live Veruca Salt. Their lead singer also kinda looks like an American Tights-era Nina Gordon: cute, straight brown hair, and a tight t-shirt that doesn't quite touch her low-rise jeans. Mmmmm. Not catching their full set was kinda disappointing, but seeing them at all was a bonus already, so I wasn't complaining.
After a lengthy delay caused by a blown-out amp, the Dirtmitts took the stage. Yay, Dirtmitts! One of my favourite local bands for sure. Comely too! Cute singer and bassist :-) Natasha's voice was kinda crabby, but she soldier through it. The bad thing was, again, they didn't play In the Meantime! Arg.... I really want to hear a live version of that song! Still, a good show yet again, perhaps the best I've seen from them.
Hehe... and then came the Weekend, the band that I skipped out on Pete Yorn for. To go along with the rest of the post (and the title), I guess I'll have to make the obligatory "Andrea is so hot" comment, which is damn true. She had on one of those black, one-shoulder tops that turns me to jelly. Mmmmm indeed. Their replacement bassist, Matt from the Bicycles, fits in well. Andrea even called him Lorien, their old bassist, in jest. This was the first time I've seen them live, and I gotta say: I was blown away. The keyboardist had his schtick down to a tee: sunglasses and finger pointing. The drummer held his own, as did the guitarist. And Andrea, oh Andrea. That sweet, sweet voice of hers blends in perfectly with the rocking sounds from the other instrument. It's definitely girly power pop at its finest! After tonight, it's safe to say that the Weekend are now one of my favourite Canadian bands.
So, it was a good night for music in Vancouver. For me at least. I did have to skip out on Pete Yorn, but seeing three really cool bands in his place was more than worth it. And it's only nine bucks more!
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
2:40 AM
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Go Ho Train, It's Your Birthday
After nearly five years at this school, it has finally come: my first A+. Finally! I got it in BUS 449, a marketing ethics course in which 80% of my grade relied on my group's understanding and presentation of the issues surrounding global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. The other 20% came from shooting my mouth off in class during discussions and question periods after debates, something I'm relatively good at.
Ironically, this is also one of the classes I had to skip during the last week because of NAQT. I had regretted missing the last day not because of the promised free doughnuts, but because I had really enjoyed the class. To alleviate my guilt, I wrote a note and a haiku that were read in class by somebody in my group. Yes, I know: small gesture for a small man.
Not only did I miss a class, I wasn't even there to help out my fellow group members during the last two days before our final paper was due. We had planned our schedule so that that wouldn't happen, but Murphy's a bitch, and when he bites, he bites. Basically, the last couple days turned into a mad scramble to footnote and rewrite the conclusion. *sigh* I feel like I really let my group down by living it up in LA. And a control freak like me not being there during the final hurdles? Painful. Good thing I was working with wonderful and more-than-competent people, so it all turned out fine. The paper, at least. Hopefully, no one went insane because of this.
So yeah, yay! And I don't even care that it's not my birthday!
NP: Grandaddy - Hewlett's Daughter
posted by Hanson |
4:59 PM
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Oh Yeah!!!
Oh yeah! Fuck yeah!! Motherfucking yeah!!! Canucks won and leaves raked!!!! Bring on Cliff and the Wild!!!!!!!!
NP: (Crow)
posted by Hanson |
10:10 PM
Monday, April 21, 2003
To See or Not To See
On the surface, Laurel Canyon doesn't seem like that interesting of a movie, at least not one that I would go out of my way to see. That said, it does have two things going for it: The (New) Folk Implosion and Kate Beckinsale. Seeing (and hearing) Lou Barlow and crew on screen will be cool enough, but damn, Kate's in it too! And all this can be had for $5.50 at Tinseltown. Hmm.... I think I need to give it a decent amount of consideration.
Speaking of Ms. Beckinsale, I sooooo can't wait until Underworld. *drool*
NP: Rooney - Popstars
posted by Hanson |
10:05 PM
Sunday, April 20, 2003
Who's Next?
Shadow of the Hegemon: done. I need Shadow Puppets. I mean *now*! The paperback doesn't come out till June 1st, but I don't think I can last that long. That's why I'm going to check the library soon cos I'm too cheap (and poor) to splash out for the hardcover. The Coquitlam Public Library's website says its copy is out until April 22nd, but I'm hoping I'll get lucky. Failing that, there's always the Port Moody Library.
Until then, I have a choice between Good Omens (Gaiman and Pratchett) and Darwin's Radio (Bear), both of which are on my to-read list as well as my bookshelf. I could also re-read Foundation again, but that'll probably lead to my re-reading the entire series yet again, most likely including those "new" Foundation books by the "Killer B's." Nope. Can't let that happen. Don't have the time to commit to that little venture. Next semester should be too damn interesting for that. And I'm not about to let myself have a taste of that "forbidden" Asimov I've been saving up for special occasions. Nope. I didn't do anything to deserve it, so I'm not gonna let myself have it! So yeah, if anyone has read either Good Omens or Darwin's Radio, please let me know what you think to help me decide!
Complete off topic: I need me a t-shirt that says either "babette ate oatmeal!", "faux poes foes", or "rory's going to yale!". Yup. That would be so damn cool.
NP: My Morning Jacket - Heartbreakin Man
posted by Hanson |
11:42 PM
STFU Millen!!
I don't know if it's because I read the Canucks newsgroup, but damn, that Greg Millen is pissing me right off! How many times will he mix the Sedins up? How many times will he throw out wild, unjustified guesses about penalties and injuries and be completely wrong? How many stupid things will Millen have to say before Cuthbert smacks him in the mouth and shoves that mic down his throat? Morrison lacking defensive skills? I suppose that's why he kills penalties, eh? Fucking talentless ass-clown.
Woohoo! Game 7 on Tuesday, baby!
NP: (HNIC)
posted by Hanson |
6:52 PM
Saturday, April 19, 2003
Action Karaoke
So, I went karaokeing (sp?) last night. We were supposed to go to a karaoke bar beside the bowling place where we bowled earlier, but it had another function going on that evening, so karaoke night was cancelled. That meant we had to drive all the way downtown to a Korean karaoke place that charged $25 an hour. Split six ways, though, it wasn't that bad. Plus, in a private room setting, we could get a lot more singing in. It also meant that we could sing songs that we had no business singing. In particular, tunes that I was most proud of doing from last night include Avril Lavigne's Complicated, Bjork's All is Full of Love, Christina Aguilera's Dirrty, and Britney's Baby One More Time. Oh yeah! And I did most of them with straight faces, though with the Britney song, I couldn't help but use a sneerish/whining accent when singing.
What else did I do (or dueted)? Hmm... let me try to remember (for future reference): MJ's Thriller, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger by those blokes from Manchester, Karma Police, Eminem's part in Forgot About Dre, the classic Elenor Rigby, Sarah's Adia (had to skip parts of the chorus cos I couldn't go that high with my balls intact), the singing part of that awful song by Linkin Park (In the End), Lovefool by Nina Persson's crew, Dido's part in Stan, and My Way (Limp Bizkit, not the Paul Anka-penned Sinatra hit). I think that's it. Hmmm.... I think.
Now, the way I karaoke, I don't just sing, I move my body to the music like nobody's business. Arms flailing, head bopping, voice screeching: I go all out, especially when I'm in a private room with friends after a drink or two. So given my nearly non-stop three-and-a-half hour session last night, it wasn't surprising that I woke up this morning late and tired.
So yeah. All of my day's plans were shot to hell; instead, I decided to spend my post 2:00 pm hours with Bean, Petra, Sister Carlotta and the rest of the cast of Shadow of the Hegemon. That, and the Championship Manager 4 demo I've been dying to play since it was released in mid-March. Oh..... computer games and science fiction... I felt like I was back in highschool again!
And man, it feels great to be a lazy, introverted bum again!
NP: Radiohead - Scatterbrain
posted by Hanson |
11:47 PM
Friday, April 18, 2003
Letting It Drip Out Slowly
OK, so I've finished Ender's Shadow, but I'm still too lazy (for now) to write long-winded trip recaps. For now, I'll talk about my CD-shopping experiences of the last couple of weeks.
First, there was Amoeba, LA style. Other than the Amoeba in Berkeley, this is the single biggest record store that widely stock indie releases that I've ever been in. Shit! I could literally spend an entire day there, although I'm not sure if my bank account would agree. The selection is fantastic, both in terms of new and used CDs and records. In the short time that I had there, I picked up Out of Key Harmony by the Sinking Ships (looked all over Vancouver but couldn't find it) and a limited edition 2-disc version of last year's second best record, Phantom Planet's The Guest. If I had more time, I'd do more browsing, but with Carlos, Shaun, and Ross there, I was more than grateful for the time that I got.
Up next was Boston, where I visited the legendary Newbury Comics. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as it is essentially a record store that carried a decent selection of comics (given that it isn't a comic store, per se). The selection was meh: bigger and better than Vancouver stores, but I still couldn't find Rachael Davis. I did, however, find a couple from Azure Ray, self-titled and Burn and Shiver. Yay! I also picked up the Such Great Heights single from Postal Service. Best 4 bucks I've ever spent. Well, not really, but you get the picture. Sean also found a hip-hop CD he couldn't find anywhere else, so I wasn't the only one rewarded.
Near Newbury Comics was the Virgin Megastore. The selection was typical of such an establishment, but they *did* have a pretty cool cheap bin from which I picked up the following: The Donnas - Spend the Night, Fisher - True North, The Posies - Frosting on the Beater, and Eve's Plum - Cherry Alive. I also got to listen to some Kim Richey and Be Good Tanyas while Sean and Carlos were browsing the "graphic novels" section. So yeah, cool!
Ahem. I'll post more later. Up next: Shadow of the Hegemon. I hope I can breeze through this in 2 days as well :-)
NP: Kristen Hoffman - Never
posted by Hanson |
5:11 PM
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Huminahumina
Damn! I'm really digging the new-look James/Jamie/Jaime King! When I saw her in Bulletproof Monk, I totally thought it was a different person than the hot, non-Kate Beckinsale nurse from Pearl Harbor. She now looks like a cross between Katie Holmes and Rachel Leigh Cook, albeit a little shorter and a bit more kung-fu-y. Sheeeeeet. She's the bomb-diggity!
NP: (Daily Show)
posted by Hanson |
11:18 PM
That's Not Darrell Hammond
Woah.... Amy Poehler was just on Regis and Kelly guest-hosting for Ms. Ripa! Those of us that frequently watch Saturday Night Live would've seen Amy do parodies of Regis and Kelly as the bubbly non-Regis half of the hosting team. Seeing her up there with the real Regis.... woah.... weird-ass.
I can't wait till she says: "What *is* that, Reg? No one knows what that is!" :-)
NP: Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights
posted by Hanson |
9:19 AM
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Done!
Done! Done! So done! I finished my last exam today (CMPT 475)! Meh. I don't think I did too brilliantly, but then again, it was probably good ROI. Chizzile to tha dizzile!
On a brighter academic note, I was approached to do a directed studies by my Canadian Music prof on the account of my War-and-Peace-esque Mix CD project (his words, not mine :-). The issue that I plan to investigate is the business side of Canadian music, independent or otherwise, like distribution, promotion, artist revenue streams, etc. It'll be like a Canadianised, wider-scoped, more fleshed-out, and less academically-rigid version of the B2B paper I wrote about marketing music with radio. This is *really* cool, and it should offset my disappointment of not being accepted into the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue.
Oh! New Angel! *dashes off*
NP: (Headline News)
posted by Hanson |
5:59 PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Dilemma
Jebus. No matter what I do, all I think about is you.
The first day I'm back from Boston, and I'm stuck with a dilemma. On April 23, Grandaddy's opening up for Pete Yorn, as mentioned before, IIRC. I was going to go for sure, crappy-ass ticketbastard-inflated ticket price notwithstanding, but now I found out that The Weekend will be playing The Pic on the same day! Arg!!
Now, theoretically, I can go see Grandaddy first (doors at 8, therefore show at 9, and end around 9:45-ish), skip out on Pete Yorn, and then go checkout The Weekend, who probably won't take the stage till 11 or so (given that they're headlining at the Pic).
Financially, this would not be a wise move since I'm already going down to Seattle to see the Postal Service on May 1st, The Flaming Lips on May 25th, Yo La Tengo on June 15th, and at least one (and maybe two) Built to Spill shows in June as well. This list, of course, does not include the shows that haven't been announced yet, nor does it include "maybes" like Daniel Johnston, My Morning Jacket, etc.
Still though, the net increase in expenses will only be the 10 bucks or so for the Weekend, as the ticket price for Pete Yorn/Grandaddy is a sunk cost. Therefore, the question boils down to whether seeing the Weekend is worth seeing Pete Yorn plus 10 bucks. However, if I choose to forgo G-Daddy, I'll save $ (33 - cost of The Weekend ticket) and yet still be entertained for the night, perhaps even more so since I like The Weekend more than them. But then again, I want to see Grandaddy!
Ack!! Decisions, decisions....
Oh, BTW, I'm back :-) Boston was great. Bought lots of CDs. Will post more later :-)
NP: Azure Ray - A Thousand Years
posted by Hanson |
12:09 PM
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Off Again
Tomorrow at 8:50 am, I board a plane heading to Boston, Mass (or Mahss). Um, actually it'll fly to Chicago, but I'll be catching another plane there to get to Beantown. There, in the fine buildings of Boston U., I'll be competing as a member of the Disciples of Louis Rael at the 2003 TRASHionals. My goals? To kick ass and have fun, like in LA. Well, we didn't do so much kicking last weekend, but hopefully, we can rectify that this weekend.
And maybe I'll even go see Rachael Davis on Friday night! Or Dar Williams on Saturday night!
Be back on Monday night :-)
NP: (West Wing rerun)
posted by Hanson |
9:49 PM
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Back, and Better Than Ever
Back from LA, and oh, do I have stories to tell. Tonight's probably not a good time, but here's a sneak peek:
- Seeing Jon Lovitz at the Laugh Factory
- Fingering Diane "Evil" Warren
- Wonky physics of the Core
- "I swear to god that donkey said it was 18!" - Ross / Carlos
- Knitting Factory!!
- 150+ pics
- Hubcap
- Amoeba @ LA (Sinking Ships and limited edition The Guest, yo!)
- "Fo' shizzle ma nizzle"
... and so, so much more :-)
NP: Sinking Ships - Out of Key Harmony
posted by Hanson |
1:22 AM
Thursday, April 03, 2003
I'm Leaving / On a Jet Plane
In about, oh, 10 hours, I'll be headin' down to UCLA for NAQT's ICT, aka national tournament for quiz bowl. I think our goal is to not finish dead last like in the past couple of years. With the help of Ganesh, perhaps we can pull it off! Then again....
"LA.... things are never done.... car's parked in the sun... living in the day.... last night i was about to thrown it all away."
NP: Rilo Kiley - Jenny You're Barely Alive
posted by Hanson |
12:25 AM
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
One Down...
Done! In its 19-page, 4600+ words glory, my Canadian Music Mix CD Project, O' Canada Girls, is done! Here's the track listing:
1. Operation Makeout You and Me Geometry
2. The Dirtmitts In the Meantime
3. The Dirtmitts Get On
4. The Organ I Am Not Surprised
5. Rose Chronicles Dwelling
6. Wild Strawberries Trampoline
7. Martina Sorbara Eggs Over Easy
8. Martina Sorbara Call Wolf
9. Erics Trip Happens All the Time
10. Jale Ali
11. Tara MacLean Let Her Feel the Rain
12. Tara MacLean Divided
13. Kathleen Edwards Hockey Skates
14. Sarah Slean Playing Cards With Judas
15. Emm Gryner Northern Holiday
16. Emm Gryner Christopher
17. The Weekend High School America
18. Tuuli Its Over
19. Weeping Tile Cold Snap
20. Weeping Tile Good Fortune
There's a bonus track at the end that's not listed. It's Dar William's O' Canada Girls, the song that inspired the name of the project.
It's a friggin' awesome CD if I don't say so myself. Yup. I iz a frickin' genius!
NP: nuttin'
posted by Hanson |
5:09 AM
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Stressed-Out and Sleep-Deprived Mofos
I thought my parts in the two group projects were pretty much taken care of. Well, not so much. It appears that there's a significantly-higher-than non-zero chance that I won't be getting any sleep from now till I get on the plane on Thurdsay morning. *sigh* And that's not counting my Canadian Music project that I'm spending so much effort on. *double sigh* So much for learning about poets. *triple sigh*
NP: Radiohead - Wolf at the Door
posted by Hanson |
2:50 PM
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