the reason

Jem's concert was canceled because 2 new band members couldn't get their working visas in time for the first 4 concerts of her U.S. Tour. It sounds ridiculous, but that's the way things go. The good news is, she may come around at the end of her tour (which is noted as when the new album will be out). And so like a kid staring at a clear evening sky looking for that shooting star, I wait, with a measure of anxiety.

kudos to me, i'm a straight shooter

Oh you're good, Autumn Tale, too good. I was bawling by the 2nd episode. So sad.

"missing you"

I should be leaving to see Jem playing and singing at Bimbo's 365 at this moment, but alas I'm not. Instead, in place of the joy and thrill of heading out to see the show, I feel disappointment. All I can really say is, "No!!!!!!!!" (and that's "No" with the "O" dragged out).

gomenasai

My grandfather passed away today. My relationship with him was never that great. He always mistreated my sister, his daughter-in-laws (including my mother), and even his children (including my father). However, he was always nice to me from what I recall. When I was younger and my parents were too busy working late night shifts, my sister and I generally took care of ourselves. However, every now and then, my grandfather would be nice to me. He would have me join him and my grandmother for dinner (not my sister though). And of all his grandchildren, I was probably the closest to him, but I never thought of him as all that much of a good person. Does that make me an ingrate? Should I feel something now? Am I heartless that I don't?

we were sleeping in, sunk inside our blankets sprawled across the bed, and we were dreaming

Nam was right, the last layout was too generic blog-like. I hope this one is a bit more of a differentiation. Oh and I don't care that the right side looks empty, I hate having the text fill too much space and having it confined allows me to have more textual control (plus I prefer it nice and compacted, it looks more cohesive this way). And I believe most web surfers on average still use 800x600 anyway. Of course, I don't really have to justify my design or anything (although I just did).

sitting in the silent twilight

Having no concerts on the weekend seems to have provided me with extra time. So I've tossed together another new layout. I'll probably stick with this one for a while because I feel laziness setting in. That is all.

no, not the assassinated archduke - part deux

I last wrote about Franz Ferdinand back in June of 2004, and after all this time I finally got to see them live. Man oh man, what have I been missing? They are incredible. There's really no better way to put it than in the following statement (the cursing helps to emphasize): "they are fucking awesome!" Their sound is polished but yet raw, their stage presence is energetic, and Alex can sing. The only gripe I have is that the crowd was, shall I say, [in comic guy voice] the worse crowd ever [end comic guy voice]. I've never encountered so many jackass pushers and shovers who force their way to the front of the crowd. I know pushers and cutters are expected at standing room concerts, but I didn't expect their to be that many disruptions (there were at least 5 arguments that went on around me throughout the concert). If not for that, I would rank this as one of the best concerts I've had the pleasure of seeing. Franz Ferdinand are that good.

re-iteration

The previous list was in no particular order but now I think I will need to elevate rubber neckers above the other two. Freak! Those bastards caused me to stall in 4th gear!

vexation

Lately, I have found myself incredibly irritated by the following things:

• SUV mentality: Not necessarily because SUVs are gas guzzlers (since I used to drive a car that got about the same mileage as a SUV) but because people with that mentality want to own and drive one for the safety it provides. The claim is, that in a head on collision with another vehicle, a SUV would protect the passengers more. If you ask me, that's selfish. If no one in the world drove a SUV, we wouldn't have this whole danger of SUV vs. sedan collision that people feel they need to protect themselves from. Not to mention that these people think, oh heck, I can go ahead and slaughter other people with my SUV as long as I'm safe. Selfish.


• Rubber-neckers


• Close-minded political junkies: And what I mean by this is, liberals and conservatives who label each other as such and despise each other as a result. I'm tired of this whole, "she's Republican, she's evil", "he's a Democrat, he's evil" way of thinking. (An example? When asked why Gov. Schwarzenegger was going to veto the gay marriage bill passed by the legislature, the person responds, "because he's Republican.") Stop voting on things by party lines. Do your research and open your mind. See what is for the greater good. There are good Republicans and there are good Democrats. There are good anti-Bush people and there are good pro-Bush people. Look beyond the crap that party-affilliated pundits spew at you. Be American.

Grrrr... it just makes me want to punch a wall thinking about these.

(A side note: I am not against the gay marriage bill, but I think you are incredibly ignorant if you think the governator vetoed the bill simply because he's Republican and that type of ignorance to a certain extent makes you no better than a person who discriminates against gays simply because "the Bible says so.")

oh son, your mrs. is a nutter

is this hard to read?

reaching for the sky

And it's a new layout. I got tired of the banality of the previous layout (plus it was well over a year old), so I figured I was in need of a slight change. Some details:

• the background is a picture I took from an observatory at the Chabot Space Center in Oakland
• it took me far longer than I thought to just tweak with the css (apparently the default movabletype css is messy as heck)
• it is best viewed via 1024x768 resolution

Now I just need to get off my lazy butt and update my portfolio (and abandon simplicity and go with something Flashy--[ughh... gag]).

In other things... Serenity is a good movie. You'll laugh, you'll grip the edge of your seat, you'll laugh some more, maybe you'll cry (if you've got weak floodgates), you'll jump, you'll worry, and then you'll probably laugh again. In the end, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.