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

tube socks and lonely hearts

Top 10 12 13 songs I am listening to right now:

13. Just Give Me A Reason - P!nk
12. Symptoms - Atlas Genius
11. Best Summer Of My Life (from Before Midnight soundtrack) - Graham Reynolds
10. Grace For Saints And Ramblers - Iron & Wine
9. What I Like - Charli XCX
8. Next To Me - Emeli Sande
7. Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
6. All That's Gone - Tom McRae
5. Overgrown - James Blake
4. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell
3. Loud And Clear - Olly Murs
2. Tube Stops And Lonely Hearts - Annie (aka, per me, Tube Socks And Lonely Hearts or Tubetops And Lonely Hearts)
1. Ya Hey - Vampire Weekend

about midnight

Before Midnight, my most anticipated movie this year or probably my most anticipated movie in nine years, opened in SF yesterday. I caught the first showing at the Embarcadero Center Cinema.  Here are my random thoughts - obviously heavy of spoilers:




-  Celine is crazier than ever, but the kind of crazy I like.
-  The part of the movie where they are talking and walking is my favorite.  More walking and talking around a European locale please.
-  The part with the other people is my least favorite.  But that older woman's speech at the end of that scene breaks my heart.  If Jesse and Celine had just talked to her, it would have been perfect.
-  I like the little touches that tie back to the first and second movies (like Jesse telling people about his kinda pretentious ideas for novels). 
-  Their fighting is brutal but heck of funny.
-  Not sure how I feel about the twins.
-  Boobs make me uncomfortable.
-  Talk of blow jobs makes me uncomfortable.
-  I like the scene at the tiny chapel - reminds me of when they were at the record store listening booth in Vienna.
-  That hotel room reminds me of how drab hotel rooms can be.
-  "Still there...still there...gone." - Celine watching the sunset.  Le sigh.
-  It's my least favorite of the three.  Ranking goes:  Before Sunset (A+), Before Sunrise (A) and then Before Midnight (A-).
-  It's not the end.  See you in nine years!

vampire trek before midnight

Ten good things in the last few weeks:

-  Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City (seriously great)
-  Olly Murs' Right Place Right Time
-  Star Trek Into Darkness (most likable ensemble cast ever)
-  Bates Motel, particularly Vera Farmiga (holy crap, she's crazy brilliant - Emmy or bust)
-  Curry chicken or BLT sandwiches from Devil's Teeth (it's the bread!)
-  Seeing Gillian Anderson on tv (on Hannibal)
-  Madonna's punk outfit at the Met's Costume Institute Gala
-  Duro U-Grip universal car mount (finally something that works for using the iPhone in my car)
-  Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough winning the mirrorball trophy on DWTS this season
-  The anticipation for Before Midnight (and avoiding spoilers for one more week)