A BIT OF RESOLUTION

I didn't really notice until recently the slow increase of Don Henley music I've been listening to lately. I always dug his music, I have a few CDs, and The Heart of the Matter is on my .mp3 mix of my favorite songs of all time. But, I'm finding a lot of songs resonate. Didn't I put a few lyrics on here a few entries back?

Here's something that hit me regarding the recent issues I've been slowly trying to resolve. I just heard it earlier tonight.

Have you noticed that an angry man
Can only get so far
Until he reconciles the way he thinks things ought to be
With the way things are

Here in this fragmented world, I still believe
In learning how to give love, and how to receive it
And I would not be among those who abuse this privilege
Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge

My Thanksgiving
Don Henley/Stan Lynch/Jai Winding

That last line is my favorite.

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CINEMATIC AGENDA

X2: X-Men United
Ok, it's gotten pretty low to average reviews. Of course it won't stop the comic book ner... I mean, "afficianados" like me from seeing it. Sequels are generally bad enough to begin with; it's almost expected in comic-book movies. It's sort of sad, actually. Everyone automatically says, "God, I hope it doesn't turn into another Batman." (That's an entirely separate blog entry right there.) But, I'll give it a chance.

What I'm really worried about is the Spider Man sequel. Doc Ock and the Lizard? Sounds like having The Riddler and Two-Face. God, I hope it doesn't turn...

The Matrix: Reloaded
I must've been the only one in existence who didn't go ga-ga over The Matrix when it first came out. I don't think I saw it until a few months after it came out on video. When I finally got to see it, I sort of liked it, but still failed to see why people went nuts over it. Props to the effects people, and all that, but still.

I remember the suspense (not) as I asked myself, "Gee, could Neo be the One?" Apparently the Brothers Wachowski didn't want to take the risk that you couldn't see that one coming a mile away. They had to advertise it. I haven't seen ugly, blatant foreshadowing like that since Heathers. Still, the main reason I saw it and the main reason I'll see "M2" is Yuen Wo-Ping's fight choreography. And, even then, most of the moves in the original Matrix I automatically recognized from the Once Upon a Time in China series.

I know it seems I'm really down on the film, but I'm really not. It's probably jealousy that my 5'6" @$$ will never look good in those long black trenches.

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FURTHER DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

Or, Music: Lots of stuff by lots of people

I always wondered why that seems to be such a standard on blogs. There were many random things on my CD player today. Trouble is, music tends to ellicit all kinds of reactions in me. I can rarely listen to anything just to tap my foot to it. I either criticize the technical or overpersonalize the lyrics. Cases in point, these represent facets of my... issues.

Knowing that you would have wanted it this way
I do believe I'm feelin' stronger every day

Feelin' Stronger Every Day
words/music by Peter Cetera & James Pankow
perf. by Chicago

That's me, most days. Other days...

Every time I see her face
On the street in the hollow on the hill
Another time and another place
I feel her in my heart still
Every time I see her face
On the street in the hollow in the bend
I see her in my mind and then
I go down the road not taken...again

The Road Not Taken
Bruce Hornsby

I'm learning to opt for the middle ground, assuming whatever attitude is necessary to get me over it:

yeah you, you tell me that you love me but boo
if this is love
it's a good thing you don't hate me

boo
Macy Gray

Her new album comes out next week, by the way.

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PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF MY SOUL...

...with the intellectual equivalent of Liquid Drano. Hey, aren't blogs all about self-examination anyway?

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Extreme
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Extreme
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Extreme

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

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THIS BLOG'S LOSS OF DIGNITY IS COMPLETE

This time, I tried to take the test as honestly and accurately as possible, no matter how the answers might have turned out.


Take the Which Lupin III character are you? quiz.
Created by Bicky Flannigan and Edward Tivrusky

Ed. note: At least with Lupin's pic, the quiz people missed putting a subdirectory in their generated link. I had to fiddle before I got it up. You're smart; you'll figure it out what you have to do.

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I HAVE BEEN ASSIMILATED

I finally succumbed. I so wanted this blog to have at least a semblance of dignity, at least at first glance. But, I said to myself, "Self... what the heck?"


Which Trigun Character are You like?
Take other quizzes at Newsies Meets Anime...Anime Meets Newsies...

I'm not sure I like the answer. Maybe I was trying too hard to avoid those answers that I thought would make the answer come out to me being Vash the Stampede himself.

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FINALLY...

I saw Bulletproof Monk this afternoon! As it turns out, the idiot who posted spoiler-type information that I ranted about a few entries back actually didn't spoil the whole movie. Ok, so the plot had a few holes and the fight choreography was hardly Yuen Wo-Ping stuff, but still. Chow Yun-Fat kicking butt is all I need. I swear his english has gotten a bit better, too.

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BORING DAY

How boring is my life? So boring that I take time to document how boring it actually is. Today's big task: Getting a new antenna for my cell phone.

Tomorrow's big task: See a matinee showing of Bulletproof Monk. The reviews I read haven't been all that great, but hey -- Chow Yun-Fat holding two guns in both hands, playing another bad ass. What more could you ask for?

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BRIEF UPDATES

ITEM ONE
Still haven't gotten around to seeing Bulletproof Monk. Procrastination, I guess.

ITEM TWO
Last weekend was the Easter season, and it always makes me think of ex-girlfriends. There is in fact no direct connection between Easter and any ex. But the Easter holiday includes Good Friday, and there's a song called Good Friday by the Black Crowes that makes me think of one ex from long ago. This year, it brings to mind a more recent ex. Some sample lyrics...

You, you come and go when you please
I know unfulfilled needs
I know you do too
But I, you know I never see things through
Never paid attention to you
But honey I tried
I will not forgive you
Nor will I accept the blame
I will see you on Good Friday
On Good Friday

ITEM TWO-A
Actually, the song Not Enough Love in the World by Don Henley makes me think about my most recent failed romance.

I was either standing in your shadow
Or blocking your light
Though I kept on trying
I could not make it right
For you girl
There's just not enough love in the world

ITEM TWO-B
Hmm... maybe I still have some issues I need to work through with that one.

ITEM THREE
I decided to go out and get a part time job, just something mindless and silly for like 15 hours a week. I just want a bit of extra cash for once.

ITEM FOUR
Preparing for the Easter season at church was a bear. My lip wasn't this worn when we played our Christmas musical. We had a song that was, in trumpet-speak, a "chop-buster." I kept missing them all over the place, which was frustrating because all the notes in question were in my range. But, I had to jump octaves. While I can play licks in the upper register, I was never good at jumping octaves. I actually through a little temper tantrum during a rehearsal. I made myself apologize to the rest of the band. I thought I'd gotten rid of my old "perfectionist/trumpet-ego" ways, but I guess they can and will rear their ugly heads when I'm stressed enough.

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INSENSITIVE B@$TARDS

I went cruising the net for reviews for Bulletproof Monk, and some idiot actually spoils the movie. Don't ask me where it is. I was so ticked off that I shut my browser down immediately and I really don't want to spend the effort to find it again.

Even AOL users who post on Usenet know better, sheesh.

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TODAY'S NEW WORD

MILITATE
vi 2 to be directed (against); operate or work (against or, rarely, for): said of facts, evidence, actions, etc.

from Webster's New World College Dictionary, Third Edition
Not the usual one, but the one within reach.

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CHRISTMAS ALL YEAR ROUND

At least it could be. Check out my Amazon.com wish list.

The link has also been permanently added to my blog template :).

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NEVER BE AFRAID TO SEEK HELP

Have some advice from my personal therapist, the Doctor who runs the Asylum for Shut-Ins.

Now, before you start emailing me concerning how sick this material is and/or the salvation of my soul, please understand this is all part of a cable access TV show shown in Cleveland in the late 80s/early 90s, and that even now has a small national cult following. No one, not even the creator (and I'm guessing even The Creator) takes this stuff seriously.

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GO ON, TAKE A GUESS

Guess what I plan to do between now and this weekend. Here's a hint.

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COUNTDOWN

A mere three days until the release of Bulletproof Monk.

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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

I just found the website of a trumpet player with whom I had the privilege of studying the trumpet for a year in college, Mr. Mike Wade.

I'd re-establish contact, but I'm afraid to tell him that I really haven't been keeping up with my horn. Playing jazz is that one dream of mine that slipped away. The one dream that required me to take a left turn in that fork in the road of life, and I ended up taking a sharp right. He told me I needed a mere two more years in the woodshed. I'll never forget what he said.

"You're 21 now? You practice this [stuff he gave me to work on], you could be bad by 23."

And, here I'm supposed to tell a man who jammed with Earth, Wind & Fire that I didn't follow through. Worse yet, I only ever made it 1/5 of the way through the stuff he gave me to work on. Then again, I suppose he'll be glad to know I've picked up the horn again and have been playing in church regularly for the past year.

At the risk of sounding too whiney, I'll share about how I was twice offered lessons with a Cleveland jazz trumpeter Kenny Davis, who toured briefly with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington. Another chance passed up.

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COUNTDOWN

A mere 10 days until the release of Bulletproof Monk!

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LET SLIP THE BLOGS OF WAR

CNN.com did a feature on soldiers who blog from the Gulf. Check out a few!

In the interest of equal time, there are blogs from people living in that region. It's interesting to really see the different perspectives.

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Disclaimer

Today's date had no bearing whatsoever on the timing of the previous post.

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WAR *HUH*, ETC. ETC.

Here it is, my take on the war on Iraq for all it's worth.

ITEM ONE
I simply have not seen sufficient evidence to justify this military action. What I have seen of the evidence indicated a need for continued unified, multilateral, international pressure.

ITEM TWO
I'm personally disturbed by the school of thought that equates any further debate with treason and lack of support for our President and the men and women of this country fighting and dying overseas.

The time for debate is never over. However, it is no longer our first priority.

ITEM THREE
Our troops have been committed. They are fighting and dying. Debate all you want, but do something constructive for the people fighting while you do it. There are all sorts of services you can provide. "Such as?" you may ask. Find out.

You can at least pray -- not just for our people, but for everyone suffering on both sides.

ITEM FOUR
That being said, I refuse to stop exploring the truth of why we're fighting in Iraq.

ITEM FIVE
President Bush has a rare opportunity. At least implicitly, he seeks the trust of the American people. I wonder if he realizes just how many people are willing to set their doubts to one side and follow his lead.

Let's face it, when was the last time in this nation that we implicitly trusted a President? When we actually trusted someone willing commit lives and resources based on things to which we weren't privvy? It did exist once -- or so I've read.

When this is all over, and we have accomplished out military objectives in Iraq, I had better see the rooms with the store of weapons of mass destruction. Better yet, send in Geraldo Rivera into the first hidden vault that's uncovered.

Then, I will eat crow and post it on this blog for all to see. But more importantly, at least for a time, faith in an American President will be restored. What a blessing that would be for this country.

Don't let us down, Mr. President.

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