Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I Made A Video

Happy Halloween everyone! Not much to celebrate for me though. I didn't have any parties to go to and I don't hand out candy as we live in a mostly Russian neighborhood and they tend to not celebrate Halloween. The first 2 years we lived in this house, we tried doing candy, but we probably got a combined 5 kids in 2 years. Tons of kids, but no trick or treaters. Oh well...

One of my favorite songs right now is Nickelback's Rock Star. I think the main reason is the lyrics are just so funny and probably true to life. Here are the lyrics if you don't know the song...

I'm through with standin' in line
To clubs I'll never get in
It's like the bottom of the ninth
And I'm never gonna win
This life hasn't turned out
Quite the way I want it to be
(Tell me what you want)

I want a brand new house
On an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough
For ten plus me
(Yea, So what you need)

I need a credit card that's got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet
--(Been there done that)--

I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
My own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher and
James Dean is fine for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name

[CHORUS]
'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars and
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blonde hair
And well...

Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar
Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar

I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free
(I'll have the quesadilla, on the house)

I'm gonna dress my ass
With the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion


Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
Blow my money for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

I'm gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair
And change my name

'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars and
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blonde hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary of
Today's who's who
They'll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody's got a
Drug dealer on speed dial, well
Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar

I'm gonna sing those songs
That offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills
From a Pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writing all my songs
Lip sync 'em every night so I don't get 'em wrong

Well we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary of
Today's who's who
They'll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody's got a
Drug dealer on speed dial,well

Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar
Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar


As I enjoyed making the video for my sister's wedding, I decided to try making a music video and I chose this song as my guinea pig. It was pretty fun and didn't take me long. The only problem was that I made the video and tried to upload it to youtube and they kept saying it was an invalid file type even though I have uploaded the same type before with no trouble. So, I had to download a program that would let me covert the file to a different type. Unfortunately, the 6 programs I tried either didn't work or cost money to get rid of the banner riht through the video. As I wasn't going to pay $30 for a program I might use once, you have to watch the video with the banner right in the middle of the screen. You forget it is there after a while though. Enjoy....


Monday, October 29, 2007

Guitar Hero 3

First of all, sorry that I had no picture up this past weekend for the word "Building." I just could never find the time this week to go out and take pictures of the very few interesting buildings we have here in town. I have some New York pics I took a couple years back, but didn't feel like finding/scanning them. Oh well. I'll do this week for sure as I don't want to miss 2 weeks in a row. Churlita has yet to name who is doing it this week so I will keep looking to see who is naming the theme and what it is...

We got Guitar Hero 3 this past weekend. It took some getting used to with the new guitar, but once we got it down, we loved it. It has a great selection of songs and it was a blast playing "One" from Metallica. The game does seem to be harder than the last installment, but tons of fun! Rock on. Now, 3 more weeks until Rock Band!


EDIT : Churlita apparently did name someone for the word of the week; I just missed it. The word of the week is SIN, courtesy of Laura! Very fun!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Frightful Dilemma Friday #12

While looking through all my questions for this week's question, I came across some that were so nasty, I got sick just thinking about them. I'm going to skip those unless there is a demand for the disgusting ones. Hey, give the people what they want!!!

Would you rather...

From today forward...

Become allergic to all your favorite foods....

or...

ALL animals(No, not humans)?


My sister sent me this song yesterday and I cracked up more than I had for a while. I don't know if it is funnier if you are either a) Mexican, or b) took Spanish in HS, but it is hilarious.



Guitar Hero 3 comes out THIS Sunday! Review coming next week!

See you guys tomorrow with the word of the week - building.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Corn Maze

As I promised last week, here are some pictures of the corn maze we went to a couple of weeks ago. This corn maze was huge - an amazing 40 acres, a Guinness World Record. I think it probably took us an hour and a half if I remember correctly. It was fairly muddy and I couldn't believe when we were leaving that someone was arriving wearing high heels. Good luck lady...


The welcome sign...




The entrance to the maze...





At first I wanted to do it without the map. How hard could it be? Well, I soon found it that unless I wanted to be there ALL day, I would have to use it. Zoom in to see the map up close...




All the walkways pretty much looked like this...




There were a few high points in the maze so you could see where you were and see how big it was from above...





Us with the massive maze behind us....

Monday, October 22, 2007

Sad News

I found some out some really sad news over the weekend. Sushi, one of my fellow blogging friends, has been diagnosed with cancer. I was speechless when I found out. Please keep her in your thoughts....

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Evil E's Saturday Scavenger Hunt #4

This week's word came courtesy of Mrs. Big Harry Woman. She chose the word "spooky." Shouldn't be too hard with Halloween right around the corner.


Here is a picture that I took of the moon a couple of weeks ago. Kind of gives off that eerie feeling I think...






Here is a picture of a scarecrow at the entrance to a corn maze we went to last week. The corn maze is about 30 minutes from our house and Guinness just certified it as the biggest in the world at 40 acres. I'll post more pictures of it next week...





The jack o lantern in front of our house made a good spooky picture. I turned off the flash to give it more of a spooky feeling....



Next week's word will come courtesy of Churlita, but it hasn't been posted yet. I have actually never visited her site for some reason so it will also give me an opportunity to visit a new blog. Cool!

I've been neglecting blogs lately, both mine and yours. I've only been posting about 3 times a week max for the last few weeks. I also haven't commented too much lately. I read all your posts. I just save them for once or twice a week and at the rate some of you have been posting, I don't have time to both catch up and comment. I assure you though, I read all your posts and will be better. Work has just been a terror as I try to tidy up things I have been wanting to do...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Movie Reviews

As it is my goal to review every movie when I see it for the first time, here are the new movies I have seen since the last review...



Knocked Up - I heard so many good things about this movie when it was out in the theaters, I knew I had to give it a chance. I wasn't sure what to expect though as often, I hear so many good things about certain comedies and they end up being horribly stupid. Fortunately, this movie did not disappoint. This movie had some very funny scenes while having a pretty good story at the same time. I don't think I would buy it, but it was good for a good laugh. 7 out of 10 stars













Stay Alive - Jessica and I pretty much rent all new mainstream horror movies that come out. Yeah, they are usually not very good, but we watch them for the pure silly entertainment value. The majority of them lately, save a couple, have been only ok. I rented this one expecting it to be pretty bad. It is about a video game where if you die in the game, you die for real. Like "The Ring" for gamers. However, this movie ended up being surprisingly good. It did away with the cheap scares - you know, the stupid, "Oh my goodness, my friend tapped me on my shoulder! Scary!" Was it scary? No, not really. But I enjoyed the story and thought it was one of the better made horror films of the last couple of years. 7.5 out of 10








Pulse - Another horror movie. Basically, there are these monsters that come out of the computer and make you all depressed until you end up killing yourself. Or something like that. I don't know. It was stupid. 2 out of 10















Stranger Than Fiction - A dramedy, although it is more of a drama than a comedy. Will Farrell plays a guy who hears the voice of a narrator in his head who is describing his everyday life as if it was a book. Funny thing is, there actually is a writer writing a book with him as the main character. Yeah, it sounds a little weird, but it is easy to follow. Now, before you tune out because it is a Will Farrell movie, know that this is NOTHING like his other films. There is no slapstick aspect to this film. In fact, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes this year for this film. He is fantastic. The story itself - AMAZING! It starts off a teeny bit slow but just keeps getting better and better until its very powerful ending. I was very moved. This was one of the best films I have seen in many years. It is just a beautiful movie; almost fairy tale-ish. Do yourself a favor and see this movie and then come back and tell me what you thought. 9.5 out of 10

Monday, October 15, 2007

The 5 Things That Pissed Me Off Last Week #13

Haven't done this in a few months because I could nee come up with a total of 5 things that pissed me off. Not this week....

#5 - I have had a calf injury for a few months now. Not sure how it happened, but it hurts. I had a cortisone injection a few weeks ago, but it didn't really help past a couple of days. I am having an ultrasound on it tomorrow. I am tied of this.

#4 - I am going to have to start being real strict with my clients. They expect me to get their work out on time, but then they forget to pay me. No. That is not how it works. For some of my clients, I am going to have to start demanding the $$$ up front if they want their work done.

#3 - I go through way too much ink at home on the printer. Averaging about 1.5 cartridges a month! Yikes.

#2 - One of my client's has to be the biggest idiot in the world. Listen, it is YOUR fault you are not getting paid consistently. I have 17 clients and 16 get paid on a regular basis. Can't be me...

#1 - I am on the biggest losing streak I have ever been on in poker. I haven't won a tournament since July 3rd. Truthfully, I am not playing any different. I have been just about the unluckiest son of a bitch I have ever seen. I have been beaten by such atrocious odds lately that I really feel as if the poker gods have had it with me winning anymore. Lately, it has been tournament after tournament of being one spot from winning money. That gets very frustrating after a while. Because I am always near the top, just not in the money, I am still amassing a good number of points. My bankroll is down about $100 for the year thought and last year I was almost 1,000 in the positive. Very frustrating.

Oh yeah - the new word of the week courtesy of Mrs. Big Hairy Woman is "Spooky!" Enjoy...

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Evil E's Saturday Scavenger Hunt #3

This week, it was Alien's turn to pick the word of the week. He picked the word "rock" which I was all jazzed for. Here are my results!


This first picture is of Morro Rock on the coast of California. I took this a couple of weeks ago. Truth be told, I was just taking a picture of the coast line, but as Morro Rock is a huge monstrosity of a rock, it ended up in a picture. No, you are not allowed to climb it. It is 576 feet tall. Want to read more about it...go here!


Next is the program for the most unique rock concert I have ever been to - Metallica playing with the San Francisco symphony. It was funny, there were people in tuxedos sitting right next to metal heads in their concert best. It was such a unique show, it sold out(2 shows actually) in 8 minutes. Amazing experience.





And finally, you can't do rock with rocking out to a little Guitar Hero. Here is Jess playing. She is getting ready for Guitar Hero 3 in 2 weeks!



She even got the high score on the song. She rocks!



I don't know what this week's word is, but I will post it here as soon as I know.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Frightful Dilemma Friday #11

Just a question today. Super busy with work but wanted to get something out there to you all.

Would you rather...

Have to clip a homeless stranger's disgusting toenails

or

clip your own toenails and then eat them?

Hmm..the things we have to go through.

Be back or the Scavenger Hunt picture tomorro...

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Evil E's Saturday Scavenger Hunt #2

Today it was Tara's turn to pick a word and she chose the word, "Bug." I thought about doing a picture of something that bugged me, but a picture of the dogs at 6am would ultimately just be a picture of the dogs. So, here is a real bug in all its glory. This I took in front of my in-laws' house.




Next week's word courtesy of Alien is ...... "rock."

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Funny how the mind works

I just read this crazy article about a condition that some people have called mirror touch synesthesia. Seems pretty harmless enough by the name. After reading about it, I am not sure if it is or not. Basically, our neurons in our bodes fire so that we can experience the sensations of touch. Someone touches us on the cheek, neurons fire and allow us to feel it. I may be simplifying or bastardizing the whole process, but you get the idea. The people who have this condition, not only feel it when people touch them, but they feel it when they see others get touched. For instance, if they see someone get touched on the left cheek, they will FEEL it themselves on their right cheek(mirror image). They see someone get smacked, they will feel it(not sure to what extent, but pain) on their body. The thing that causes it is that their brain sees the sensation and causes the neurons to fire as if they were the ones bein touched.

This is a fairly new discovery and only was first studies in the year 2005. In fact, it doesn't even have its own wikipedia site yet which is a miracle in itself. Not surprisingly, people who have this condition have been tested and scored much higher on tests that measure empathy for other people. Its not Friday Dilemma, but would you want this?

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

A good indicator of the current market

So on Sunday, Jess and I were coming home from the market and we noticed that there was an open house in our neighborhood. I didn't really care too much, but Jess loves to stop at open houses. We ended up stopping, but when we got to the front door, wit was locked. A neighbor yelled across the street to us that he saw the agent take off a couple of minutes ago. She still had the signs out, but no worries. We got in the car and prepared to take off. Just as I put the car in drive, I noticed an SUV pull up right behind us and I saw a nicely dressed lady open the door and swing her arms about trying to get our attention. I was already pulling away and because that is what a punk I am, I kept driving. I knew it was her so I wasn't worried that i left someone stranded or something. I got great joy over watching her try to get our attention as we were already halfway down the street. Then what do I see in my rear view mirror? She is now in her car and foll wing us! Following us and we make one turn. Following us as we make another turn. Following us as we turn into our court and open the garage door. Jess gets out of the car first and the agent asks if we want to come back and see the house. Jess politely tells her we were just doing it for fun so, disappointed, the agent drives away. That is how bad the real estate market has become in town - agents have to chase you down with their car through a neighborhood! Crazy!