Tuesday, March 28, 2006

terry tate, office linebacker



Remember, when you kill the joe, you make some mo'. See other episodes here.

Monday, March 27, 2006

song of the week #1

Music takes up a huge chunk in my life. Good music is a lot like what they say about love -- it isn't really music until you give it away. Or in this case, share it with the public. Despite the really bad analogy, I figure that I might as well broadcast my musical tastes on this dang thing, which by doing so, might strike a chord (no pun intended) in someone to cause them to say, "Hey, that's pretty good." Or at the very least, provide a home for these songs in someone's ipod. But hey, good music should be revealed to and appreciated by as many people as possible, right?

Couple disclaimers before I start: my musical tastes are pretty limited and specific, so whatever I put up here in the coming weeks might never appeal to the majority of you. In which case, you can save yourselves a couple precious megs of hard drive space and skip downloading the song. Secondly, I rarely listen to FM radio (im a CD-junkie), so in the event that I post up a song that has been up on the Billboard 100 for the past three months, stick it to the man.

This week's song: Jinny Kim - Ophelia.

Who's Jinny? I dunno. I randomly found her stuff from someone's xanga the other day, but boy, am I ever glad that I did. She's an up-and-coming indie artist who's recorded her album with Koo Chung's (pretty well known singer-songwriter-producer on the east coast) label. And she's got a voice. As per her bio, you really can hear hints of Sarah McLachlan and Fiona Apple in her. But I use the McLachlan comparison sparingly.. there's only one other person in the world who I would compare McLachlan to. Anyways, this will be pretty much be the extent to my reviews, at least for now.

Alluding to Hamlet's Ophelia, who was apparently a woman troubled by her deep capacity to feel and love, "Ophelia" is about a disillusioned girl who found life not to be what she expected.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

early thanksgiving

Life is complicated, given its fair share of problems and pitfalls. Every once in a while, it's healthy to pause, take a look around, and be utterly thankful for what you have. Doing so doesn't necessarily make life simpler, but it does put things into a simpler perspective. Then the next breath becomes easier to take.
  • Saturday mornings. Not too much explanation required.
  • Being relatively healthy at the age of 24. Sure, my knees and speed aren't what they used to be, but my endorphins are being produced just fine.
  • Music. What about it makes it an incomparable source and outlet of joy?
  • Food. Only a stone's throw away from my favorite food groups: soondubu, dduk bo ssam, sushi, king taco carne asada nachos.
  • Work. Sure, I'm up to my neck with projects, but it's about the learning experience and an opportunity to kick ass. Or get ass-kicked.
  • Driving. An open stretch of highway with some good tunes and lowered windows is gas well guzzled.
  • Friends who'll go the distance for your ass because they care for your happiness.
  • DFC. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Let go of the imperfections and don't be afraid to grow.
  • My family, stronger than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow.

So, today has the potential to be something better than I originally thought.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Light Pillars

How awesome is this? I've got to go to Alaska.


How can an aurora appear so near the ground? Pictured above are not aurora but nearby light pillars, a local phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. In the above picture, the colorful lights causing the light pillars surround a ice-skating rink in Fairbanks, Alaska.