wish the world away

10. Next To Me - Emeli Sande
9. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke featuring T.I., Pharrell
8. Dance Apocalyptic - Janelle Monae
7. Loud & Clear - Olly Murs
6. I Got You - Jack Johnson
5. Far Celestial Shore - Mavis Staples (I want this song to be played at my funeral!!!)
4. Back Together - Annie
3. Hannah Hunt - Vampire Weekend
2. Two Fingers - Jake Bugg


1. Take A Look At the World - Ralph Myerz featuring Annie

bigger on the inside than others

Madonna, the very first album, was released 30 years ago today.  People still underestimate her to this day, but that's okay.  Ain't no big deal.  The girl who came to New York with a big dream and 35 dollars in her pocket did alright for herself..I had a really strange dream, involving a girl with a fragrance allergy and a gay porn magazine.  Not sure what I ate the night before, but it was mindblowing...Three more weeks til Ireland.  I'll be doing my own House Hunter International thingy in Galway.  It'll be an adventure for sure.  Just not looking forward to the flying...So it's confirmed that one of the teenage girls who died at the Asiana plane crash actually was still alive when she was struck by the firetruck.  In fact the story is even more tragic than first thought.  She was actually not ejected from the plane.  She was on the plane when a rescue worker carried her out and placed her on the tarmac.  Then a firetruck that arrived later ran over her.  You want to say it's her fate, but I actually am pretty angry that the emergency workers, through a series of missteps, in effect killed this girl.  I know they did a lot of good work as well and likely saved a number of lives that day, but that doesn't help the family of this one particular girl - does it?...The Royal Baby has arrived, and it's named George Alexander Louis, aka His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.  I like this type of news - shiny, happy people news.  So much better than Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman news.  I really hate the America we live in, where a black teenager's life is pretty much worthless.  I honestly don't understand a justice system where a man can follow an unarmed teenager and fatally shoot him (regardless of what happened in between) and suffer no legal consequence.  So yeah, I'll take news any day of Uncle Harry bringing Baby George to Vegas and getting naked and partying up a royal storm...I should take a trip to Comic Con one of these years.  This year what I was most excited for were the Veronica Mars and the Doctor Who panels.  These days Veronica Mars and Doctor Who make me happy.  They've just wrapped production of the Veronica Mars movie and we should see it by early next year.  And the Doctor Who 50th anniversary will be coming in November, followed by the Christmas special in which the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith departs.  Ok that last bit I am not so happy about.  I love Matt Smith as the Doctor.  I am very nervous as to who will become the Twelveth Doctor...Listening to Jake Bugg and new Annie music these days.  Annie's new ep A&R comes out next Tuesday...Here is very early footage of Madonna doing her thing:       

flight risk

It's Saturday afternoon, and I am sitting here watching tv coverage of the Asiana Flight 214's crash landing at SFO.  The plane's tail hit ground first, broke off, and according to reports, sent the plane cartwheeling skidding off the runway.  There were 307 passengers and crew on board.  Incredibly, as of now, there are only two fatalities and 123 who actually escaped without injuries. But there are still many who are injured, some critically , and there are still 60 who are unaccounted for.  The scene looks horrific.  The top of the plane is completely charred and burnt off.  It's a flight originating from Shanghai and coming in from Seoul.  My thoughts are with the victims and their families.  Here's hoping the casualties stay at a minimum...Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriot and one half of the golden tight end tandem with Ron Gronkowski, is in jail for murder.  Apparently despite earning a $40 million contract, the guy never escaped his thug past.  He allegedly got pissed off at a friend of his, summoned two other guys, and together they took the friend to a park and shot him execution-style.  The story coming out involves a strip club, cocaine, guns, a secret condo, etc.  Yup this is Oscar Pistorius redux.  I've had it with sports heroes.  I don't understand these people who give so little regard to their blessed lives.  Needless to say, the Patriots dropped him immediately right after his arrest.  They are even offering a trade-in of his jerseys...Speaking of losing it all, there is the cautionary tale of Paula Deen.  There is some lawsuit with an ex-employee, and through those court proceedings, she admitted to having used the N word.  This caused a big public relations storm, and one sponsor after another dropped her.  (And let's be honest, it's the negative PR, not the actual use of the racist slur, that made the sponsors drop her.)  In a matter of weeks, her empire has collapsed.  I am no fan of hers, but I do end up feeling somewhat sorry for her.  I don't really see this as some Mel Gibson anti-Semitic thing.  Clips of her being racially inappropriate and insensitive have surfaced, and she honestly seemed more clueless than anything.  At least from the clips, there isn't the malicious intent.  I don't know - it's wrong for sure, but I think there is a difference between people being ignorant and stupid and saying the wrong things, and people being hateful.  I remember one time at work this guy was trying to imitate me, to my face, by mocking the way I say a certain phrase, with a heavy Asian accent.  I was totally offended, and do hold a grudge to this day.  But then deep down I am not convinced that the guy was intentionally being mean towards me.  He was just plain insensitive. I would never have him lose a job over something like that.  Now if we went to a strip club and he got pissed at me and he took me out to a park and shot me in cold blood, then yeah, by all means go ahead and fire his ass.  In fact I would come back and haunt his racist ass, with my Asian accent and all...Update as of Sunday morning:  The two dead from yesterday's Asiana Flight 214 are both sixteen year old girls from China, part of a group coming to the U.S. for a summer school program.  So tragic.  Prayers go out to their families.           

rank

Random rankings just for the heck of it:

Coldplay albums:
1. Rush Of Blood
2. Parachutes
3. Viva La Vida
4. X&Y
5. Mylo Xyloto

Madonna albums:
1. Like A Prayer
2. Ray Of Light
3. Madonna
4. Confessions On A Dance Floor
5. Like A Virgin
6. True Blue
7. Bedtime Stories 
8. Erotica
9. Music
10. MDNA
11. American Life
12. Hard Candy

Lord Of The Ring movies:
1. Fellowship Of The Ring
2. Return Of The King
3. Two Towers
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Before movies:
1. Before Sunset
2. Before Sunrise
3. Before Midnight

Dark Knight movies:
1. The Dark Knight
2. Batman Begins
3. The Dark Knight Rises

Joss Whedon tv series:
1. Buffy
2. Firefly
3. Angel
4. Dollhouse