Cancer in my Bones (Or I'm Waiting For the Death Rattle)

A song that I wrote when I was going through some hard times. Actually I'm still going through hard times, but still this is one my favorite songs that I've written. I'm a real sucker for long song titles. I'm going to post more lyrics up and maybe even some videos. But don't get your hopes up. Here it is:

It's like a heart attack
I'm like a heart attack babe
I'm like a heart attack u won't ever recover from

You're a disease babe, infecting me
Breaking down my immune system
You're in my blood vessels,
my blood counts down to zero.
I ain't fighting back cause there ain't
nothing worth fighting for

Life is nothing more than a blood-clot babe
You can't stop the bleeding, the wounds gettin' worse
My loves an infection, infecting the whole world
I'm never done till my heart stops beatin'

If I'm a heart attack babe, what does that make you?
Well you're a cancer in my bones!
I'll dig you out and crush you into nothing.
Did you hear what I said?
I said you're nothing but a cancer in my bones!

Cancer in my bones!
Dig it out!
Cut it out!
Cancer in my bones!

You've overtaken me and there's no hope
This cancer's spreading and there's no use
You're the disease, I'm just the victim
Get out before it's too late...

No, wait it already is

A Save Situation

It feels like you've been asleep for days
the television is on,
I can't stay awake
I'll fall down again

And when your friends leave,
oh they get none
It's such a pet peeve
when you prove me wrong
I'll fall down and we all fall down

I need to get back to Tempe,
it's been two years
since I've been here before
back down to the streets
that lead me, the ones that keep me
away from Glendale
O-o-o-open your eyes
and let me in
I swore to God
I'd never swear again
and we all fall down
yeah we all fall down again

"A Save Situation" by The Format

I really dig this song and it popped into my head and I just had to hear it and sing it.

Them crazy Flugtagers

A few dudes dressed to the nines as Lego Men - really well made.

Preflight skit.


The Spaceballs Winnebago blasts off.


And the aftermath that ensued...

The fine people at Red Bull (not so much a fine drink though) put on a grand event once in a blue moon called the Flugtag, which means Flight Day in German. The Flugtag is is an event where competitors attempt to fly homemade human-powered flying machines. The flying machines are usually launched off a pier about 30 or so feet into the sea (or suitably sized reservoir of water). Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and the flying machines rarely fly at all - this was grabbed from wikipedia.com. Thanks.

So it was a really fun event to watch and I'd seen the few odd clips over the past years from previous Flugtags around the world. The first one was in Austria and they hold the record for longest flight at 195 feet. America's record Flugtag distance is holding steady at 155 feet. This one in Portland was insane. Over 80,000 people crammed into the waterfront downtown to watch 31 teams fly their insane-o contraptions off a 30 foot pier.

There were a lot of funny and well-made crafts out there. The one that flew the furthest at 62 feet was Team Yakima who had a bigger than average kids big wheel with a glider attached to it. Everyone else bailed except the pilot who caught a good wind and beat everybody else. The creativity was awesome too. There was an all Lego team (pictured above) that had the whole deal - outfits, rad craft that looked like it was actually made out of lego bricks. They were called Lego my Red Bull. Sorta cheesy, I know, but nevertheless very cool. The Spaceballs people were really awesome with their whole getup. I remember there were some guys in a large red Converse shoe and they called themselves Freeballin'. They had super short basketball shorts so I didn't pay too much attention. Another memorable one was called Greased Lightning. They did the electrifyin' dance from Grease and were quite good. They flew far for most people with 55 feet. Theirs was just a tiny little car with a Wright Bros. style double wingspan. After the pilot ejected from the car, it looked like it was gonna plummet but he pushed his weight down at the last second and flew a couple more feet. It was impressive. I wanted to be in the Flugtag so flippin' badly, but I had surgery recently so it wouldn't have been a fantastic idea. A few other ones were a Back to the Future themed one, a long chopper styled one where this chick took a hard nose dive, a tortilla chip shaped glider with a salsa bowl, a chinese take-out box, a pot of gold from Kells Irish pub, and even a grenade.

Overall, the Flight Day in Portland was a winning success. It was overcast for most of the teams, but the sun came out and after getting home I realized I have a terrible sunburn right on my face, so here's to soothing aloe!

This blog brought to you by:

The New Pornographers - "Myriad Harbor"
Belle & Sebastian - "Waiting for the Moon to Rise"
Josh Rouse - "Sweetie"

Goodbye Meg, I'll miss ya!

A song of a broken hearted man for Meg
lyrics as follows:

Well, a year ago
I met a charming, brilliant Irish girl named Meg
She melted my heart

But now she's going to Africa and saying "Screw You" to Newberg
And now I'm in Portland with a broken heart

Oh broken hearted GFU designer artist singer sucker guy
Oh broken hearted GFU designer artist singer sucker, sucker guy

One day she'll be back, maybe with a bun in the oven
But until then I'm just a sucker of a guy

Music videos

Little song I wrote for my friend Meg.
Here are the lyrics:

When someone like you comes into my life
That isn't just some ordinary, everyday thing
No, you came in like a whirlwind
As if an angel descended upon wing
You were just the friend I needed
Exactly what I was hoping for...

Dum spiro, spero spero
Dim vita est spes est

When someone says goodbye
They aren't really saying goodbye
It only means for a short, short while
At least that's what I'm hoping for
But I'll be right here when you come back home
Waiting with my guitar and a smile...

Dum spiro, spero spero
While I breathe, I hope I hope so
Dum spiro, spero spero
While I breathe, I hope I hope so

the batmobile lost its wheel, and the joker got away - hey!

!!!!!EXTREME CAUTION: SPOILERS ABOUND!!!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "THE DARK KNIGHT" YET, YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

The day has officially arrived. THE DARK KNIGHT is finally here! My brother and I have been semi-patiently been awaiting the opening of this film since rumors of it in 2005. I'm certainly glad that Nolan & Co. put this much care into the film, it is truly noticeable as The Dark Knight is one of the best "action/superhero" movies I've ever seen. I personally loved Batman Begins and it was a great reboot to the then failing franchise. Although, strangely enough, this movie works better as a crime drama than outright superhero flick. It's rife with human morality and social commentary. The late Heath Ledger's performance as Joker is nothing short of legendary and every scene he was in literally gave me chills. My attention was rapt and focused whenever Joker was on the screen. His entrance (aside from the opening bank robbery scene) was creepy, hilarious, shocking, and potent with tension. He comes in a room full of mob bosses saying, "Ha ha ha he ho ha ha" in a relaxed fashion. Joker gets all of their attentions, pulls out a pencil, jams the pointy end into the table and proclaims he's gonna make it disappear. One mob guy gets up to put Joker in his place, while the Joker (knowing the wiser) grabs the guy's head, slams it down onto the table furiously and the pencil disappears into the guys head. The Joker then proudly yells, "Ta dah!" Such an unbelievably awesome and unnerving moment. The film was chock full of crazy and oftentimes jaw-dropping moments, mostly involving the Joker.

As the name of the film no doubt implies, this includes some heavily dark material, the likes of which most summer movies seem too scared to dwell upon. I think that is a selling point of the movie. Just because a movie like this is being released at the height of the summer, does not mean that it has to follow any set dictation of summer movies - i.e. happy ending, light subject matter, cheery characters and fun, mindless, brain-numbing cgi action. I don't want to go into a movie and have sunshine and rainbows sprayed at my eyes. A movie can be dark and brooding and terrible and still be amazing. (Take for example No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood - two very amazing, yet horribly dark films) Being a summer movie; or as I'd definitely call The Dark Knight a blockbuster because when I saw it at midnight people actually we're lined up clear down the block; doesn't mean that it also has to be mindless entertainment where my brain is kept waiting at the door. The Dark Knight shines as a master work, despite its dark subject material. And I'm not simply saying it's a masterpiece, because it REALLY IS! I'm saying so because it has one of the better scripts, ensemble actors, plots, sets, action pieces of any movie I've yet to see this year. A revolutionary thing is that most of the half-hour of action scenes, which were filmed in IMAX, were almost entirely practical stunts done in real life and without the aid of computer imagery. You are right next to the action, with flames licking your face and buildings blowing to smithereens beside you. They actually blew up the real Chicago Hospital as seen as Gotham General. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic film with many amazing sequences.

What I loved most was the dynamic relationship between Batman, who this time around is sort of in the shadow of Ledger's Joker. Joker tells Batman, "I don't want to kill you. You complete me!" Sure it sounds like a jokey riff on Jerry Maguire but it feels genuine. Really. Joker explains to Batman that there's no fun in it if Batman is around because like he says, "You're just a freak...like me!" You really feel the need in Joker for Batman to retaliate and hurt him. Joker wants Batman to kill him. There's a scene where Batman's on his batpod and Joker is in a semi truck hauling along in a perverse game of chicken. Joker's loving it, saying, "Oh you wanna play? Come on, let's go!" After Batman essentially end-overs the semi, Joker spills out and is let to do battle on foot. Batman speeds towards him and Joker eggs him on to hit him. Joker really wants it and you feel it in Heath's performance. Batman chickens out at the last second and he screams in tormented agony. He can't break his one rule. He can't kill the Joker, even when he flings him off a building, he uses his grappling hook to catch him at the last second. All the while, Joker is laughing his head off as he plummets to his expected doom. It's purely creepy and mystifying.

So yes, go see The Dark Knight if you haven't already. I'm assuming everybody has by now seen it already, but not everyone wants to see it as much as I did. And I apologize if you stumbled upon this review, or OUTRIGHT PRAISE more like, and read something you shouldn't have. That is why I put a huge spoiler warning at the top. It's hard for me not to look at spoilers. It's kinda that nagging "I want to know" but I really don't sorta thing. Well, I'm definitely going to see it again. I predict all box office records to be broken with this film. I heard it's second in midnight showings next to Revenge of the Sith. I thought it would've shattered those sales. It should beat the current weekend record of $151 million set by Spiderman 3, which was a total piece of crap but odd that it's the current leader. My guess is that no one knew how much it would actually suck, so they came out in droves. People are saying that this won't make as much money because of the "darker" content, but that's b.s. considering how many screens have been sold-out all over the country. This will shatter everything, just you wait. But I don't care if whether it does or not because it is still a mind-blowingly amazing film. Congratulations Mr. Nolan for revitalizing an ailing franchise and bringing Batman to front and center once again.

This fanboy spouting diatribe was brought to you by:

"Mailbox Arson" by Alexisonfire
"Neighborhood # 3 (Power Out) by The Arcade Fire
"The Celibate Life" by The Shins

jonny had a surgery

I should probably rename this blog into the once-a-month blog that nobody reads anyway. But alas, stuff happened and I feel compelled to write about it because a.) I'm interesting b.) Feel like the whole world should know about it.

First things first. July 4th sucked. Yeah. I've come to the conclusion that the fourth of July has turned into a machismo-fest where every guy (or woman, mind you) feels the sudden urge to blow crap up, whether it be a $100 supply of crappy one-hit-wonder (Sorry, I'm using too many hyphens in this post aren't I? And parenthesis. I'll stop, this is the last one I swear) The 4th festivities include numerous individuals coalescing in a din of frat partyesque grunts and yells of freedom, followed by Bruce Springsteen styled rock outs and spouts of "F%@# yeah, go America!" Well probably not as profane as I make it out to be, but pretty damn close. I just really hate the 4th of July and all is accompanying debasement of American culture. Sure it's great that we are free from the tyranny of the British empire, but do we really have to blow up cheap fireworks to remember that every year? Isn't it great enough that we a free society? Isn't that good enough? I know I'm just going to be the hateful little kid in the corner with the thorn in their side, but I just hate how trivial and pathetic it all is. Whatever, that's my two pence. I hope someone got that joke. Anyway, moving on.

So yes as the title of this post implies, I had me a wee bit 'o surgery. Nothing quite as lavish as a triple bypass or a kidney transplant. Just a good old fashioned pilonidal cystectomy, and yes, I had to look at my lab sheet to remember how to spell it. The name sounds really big and scary and in truth it wasn't half as bad as it sounded. Basically, the doctor - the same one who took out my appendix three years ago - cut a cyst out of my butt. It was fairly big I guess, well big enough to warrant a surgery. But(t)in summation it was pretty in and out stuff. I got to the hospital around 11am and got my IV which I dreaded with a passion. I hate any sort of needle going into my flesh. I didn't look and it seemed to help, plus the nurse used some numbing shot. I was good to go. Strangely, the only thing I remember before being "drugged" was being wheeled into the operating room and hearing spanish music and seeing a crazily bearded male nurse. That was it. It was really fun being escorted via my bed to surgery. It felt a bit like flying weightlessly. That was the only fun bit though. The surgery was quick and dirty, only 45mins. It's been a week since the incision and the scar is huge, like 4 inches and my butt hurts even when I sit down. The sucky part is that my dad had to rush out and buy my pain medication before I left the hospital and after I took them they made me puke to no end. So we decided to nix the whole pain meds thing in favor of me taking advil every couple hours and it's been quite nice actually. So that is my surgery story. Nothing fancy, I just got a massive cyst removed from my butt, well not technically my butt, but just above that area. I don't want to go too intimate into the details. Alright yipee. A big thank you has to go out to the amazing Dr. Wes Rippey for cutting me up good a few times. You do wonderful work Doc. Cheers!

This past week I've been vibing on these songs:

"Bird on a Wire", "Publish my Love" by Rogue Wave
"West Coast", "Mama" by Coconut Records
"Santa Maria", "Star Star" by The Frames
"Við Spilum Endalaust", "Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" by Sigur Rós