Category: entertainment

Nasty Habit!

yrreskrap3 Comments

Old habits are hard to break-even the nasty ones.


I bite my nails. I have periods when I break the habit, but during times of anxiety and pressure, I assuage my nerves with a dose of nail biting.


It’s gross, I know, but strangely stress relieving. Weird. Funny thing is, I hate looking at other people biting their own nails!

I had stopped the habit sometime last week but with the SAT just yesterday, I began to bite. I’m still biting because it’s very hard to stop once I’ve begun but I will try in order to let them grow and look prim for prom!

I don’t suppose I will be able to completely put an end to the habit until I get into colleges next year. Until then, I will battle the habit, temporarily stopping just to go back to biting again.

It’s Adventure Time!

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

I must say that Adventure Time is my absolute favorite show.

The show follows the adventures of Finn and Jake in the land of Ooo. From facing off the Ice King in order to save all the land’s princesses to going to a mission with Tree Trunks to find the Crystal Gem Apple, their adventures are nothing short of epic 15 minute episodes.

Not only is it entertaining, it also has good messages hidden in each episode. The show covers courage, talking to girls, friendship, and proper manners. Therefore it is both acceptable and entertaining for children and adults. I watch it with my little sisters, ages four and six, who find it hilarious and sometimes my parents will even let a giggle out.

If you haven’t seen an episode yet, they actually aren’t out on DVD yet unfortunately. Check into Cartoon Network late at night.

My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option Show

dmilesburton1 Comment


For those who don’t know, Charlie Sheen hold’s a world record. The fastest person ever to get one million Twitter followers. His time, 25 hours and 17 minutes.

Charlie Sheen, after being told that his show, or ex-show i should say, Two and a Half Men, was on sabbatical, decided to set up a series of TV and Radio interviews that made him seem, for lack of a better word, insane. (His quotes included things like “I got tiger blood man;” “I’m on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen;” and, when told people think he might be bi-polar, “I’m bi-winning.”)

And America loved it.

Charlie Sheen became a bigger star in these past couple weeks than he’s been for the past several years. His twitter currently has 2,716,721 followers, and now he has announced his newest endeavor, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option Show.”

That’s right, Charlie Sheen is going on tour.

Now if you’re almost any person ever, you’re probably wondering what Charlie Sheen could possibly do on tour in this day and age. The answer, as was posted on the tours Ticketmaster page, is simple.

“My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option Show is coming for you. I’m going on the road. LIVE. Will there be surprises? Will there be guests? Will there be mayhem? Will you ask questions? Will you laugh? Will you scream? Will you know the truth? WILL THERE BE MORE?!?! This IS where you will hear the REAL story from the Warlock. Bring it. I dare you to keep up with me.”

Charlie Sheen is throwing the world a fastball, and as The Warlock himself would say, “I’m an F-18, bro.”

Driving.

Yourcupatea3 Comments

Pothole

So fortunately for my Dad I have now successfully began to drive like a legal driver. Yes you did hear me correctly I can drive and  I have even passed the stalling stage.

Don’t get me wrong I still have my problems and I lack a bit of control, but otherwise it is going good. I have days when I do brilliantly but there are others when I just have to ruin the clean record and do something wrong.

On Saturday I had an early start for my SAT. I woke up got changed quickly and thought it may have been a good idea to drive to school, half asleep. The consequences of this bad decision were that I nearly reversed into a tree, I pulled off the road into some pot holes and I drove a bit too fast around some sharp corners. The main thing is I survived and so did my car. But for my pride’s sake lets just blame all these mistakes on the early morning and my lack of knowledge on how to demist my car. This experience may sound slightly dreadful but we have to look at the positives in the situation, I stalled once.

Those who have read my driving blogs in the past probably will not be assured that I can now drive but i’m sure you can all say that I have progressed significantly. Ok, granted I have only been practicing in the back roads of Ojai but still I haven’t crashed nor stalled nearly as many times as before. So it’s out to the main roads of Ojai this week. All I can say is watch out Ojai Avenue.

Spring.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Daffodils
I am happy to say it is nearly Spring. The flowers are getting ready to bloom, Shrove Tuesday has passed and lambs are in abundance. It is a season for new life, new starts and ultimately a preparation for the summer months to follow.

To me Spring also means a new iPod playlist. I am on a mission to find new artists and songs to take me through the coming months and gradually take me into the Summer.

Although I cannot drive I do like to listen to music in the passenger seat.  To me a ride in the morning with the windows rolled down and idyllic acoustic music is perfect for these months.  In the past albums by The Kooks and Razorlight have been great but I feel I need some more theme tunes for 2011.

I feel it is time to get exploring for some new anthems.

Here’s a song from last year that I enjoyed over the Spring months.

Opinions

smackyjackjack1 Comment

I feel that I have very strong opinions. I also feel that anyone who does not share my opinions is either misinformed or uneducated.  Most times in life, there are only two options; right and wrong. It is very rare for there to be another option. In many matters, to me, it is okay for people to have different opinions, as long as they have a logical argument for this. But every so often someone may think something that is completely ridiculous, and you have to call then out on it.

As a rule, everyone should be fair, just and have the patience and maturity to listen to the other side of the argument. But there are some people who are so ignorant, so stupid that they cannot be treated the same way.

Take, for instance, the Tea Party.  These are the people who are under the illusion that homosexuals are a mistake, that a government that does its job is bad, and that “elitists” should not be in a position of power.  First of all, who cares if some one is gay? It really does not matter in any way.

Secondly,  a government is supposed to do the things the citizens cannot do by themselves.  The proposed idea of taking its power away would lead to political and social ruin.

Finally, I don’t think the Tea Party “Patriots” understand what an elitist is.  An elitist is defined as a person who believes that a society would be ruled by the elite.  Well no duh it should. The point of an indirect democracy is to vote and single out the best and smartest citizens to represent the other citizens. You don’t want  a hick from Kentucky to be put into a position of power. Why would anyone think that that is okay?

It is not okay to let people believe in things  that are so blatantly wrong. It is not okay to be the fair and just when someone’s beliefs are harmful to others. Some people, as bad as this will sound, need to be told they are wrong.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

yourgingerkid2 Comments

As humans we are entitled to make mistakes. In fact it’s our nature to make mistakes, and then to regret.
What if we could erase what we had done on our own minds?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that discusses that very idea.

Scripted by Charlie Kaufman, the sci-fi romance film follows an odd couple, Jim Carry and Kate Winslet, through their relationship. Clementine, Kate Winslet, has ever-changing colors of hair and is the first of the two to erase their memories. Then follows Joel, Jim Carry, only to find that what they lost through the operation only brought them back to the starting point with the famous phrase “Meet me… in Montauk…”

Personally, this is my third favorite movie, after Transformers and Donnie Darko. It’s strange to see Jim Carry in a serious movie but he did an amazing job.

Without getting too personal, this idea comes about more than I would think when I’m alone. What if we could forget certain parts of our lives? Is it ethical?

In the movie Joel asks “Is there any risk of brain damage?” in which the technician replies, “Well, technically speaking, the operation is brain damage, but it’s on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you’ll miss.”

Ultimately it’s up to the participants, but I thought that I would let this idea sit ineveryone’s head.

O Music, Where Art Thou?

theycallmedame1 Comment

Okay, rant time.

Music Appreciation.

I am currently sitting inside the journalism classroom between fourth and fifth period with three other students and “thebrownguy.” (by the time you read this I probably won’t be in the classroom, but whatever)

I am playing Queen on my computer.

One of students raised their head from their computer screen with a confused look on her face, “What band is this?”
I look at her, stunned.
“You don’t know what band this is?!?” I’m shocked.
“Um, no, should I?”
“Um, YES!” I exclaim, “Queen only wrote We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Bicycle Race, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bohemian Rhapsody, and that’s just naming the famous songs!”

The rest of our time goes like this:

“Do you know who Aerosmith is?”
“No.”
“Guns N’ Roses?”
“No.”
“Led Zeppelin?”
“No.”
“Oh my god what is wrong with this generation?!?”
“I know Drake and Rhianna, that’s pretty much it.”
“WHAT?”

I want to cry.

How can we live where the only music people appreciate is written by someone who isn’t the artist, the chord progressions are so generic you can find 100 other songs with the exact same ones, and that the voices are doused in auto tune and pitch correction the listener doesn’t even know how the artist really sounds like?

What ever happened to real musicians?

The Beatles, Bessie Smith, Queen, The Turtles, Tom Petty, Michael Jackson, Andrew Anderson?

Have we really reached a point in history where those who are “musicians” have a pretty face and cheap software to make their voice sound like a robot on crack?

Oh world, please come back to your senses.
Please?

R.I.P. Biggie Smalls

dmilesburton1 Comment


March 9th, 1997, 1:15 AM. Christopher George Latore Wallace lies in a hospital bed. He has four bullet wounds in his chest, and he is dead. In the coming hours and for years to follow, Wallace will be mourned by more than just his family and friends. Biggie Smalls, the face of east coast rap, has died, and rap music will never be the same.

Wallace was twenty four years old, and if you asked his mother the day he was born if she thought he was going to be one of the greatest rappers in history, she probably would have said no. A straight-A student at a private school, he later transfered to a state-funded school where Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also in attendance, where he began rapping.

Wallace released his first demo in 1992. It gathered almost no attention for him until he was featured in The Source’s Unsigned Hype column. He then was invited onto a mixtape that was reviewed by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who imedeately signed him to Uptown Records.

His first solo album was released in 1994, and it peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200. By the end of the year, he and Tupac Shakur were involved in one of the largest hip-hop feudes of all time .

Two years later, Shakur was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died six days later due to complications from the bullet wounds. Before Shakur was pronounced dead, Wallace had already been blamed by multiple sources. A formal investigation was never conducted, but Wallace denied any relation to the shooting.

In 1997, Wallace released his second album, which ended up at #1 on the Billboard 200. He had gotten in a car accident that shattered his leg during the recording, and had decided “to focus on his ‘peace of mind’. ‘My mom… my son… my daughter… my family… my friends are what matters to me now'”

On March 8th, 1997, Wallace attended the Soul Train Music Awards. He left after the show was over with no idea that in 45 minutes, the world would lose one of its most prominent public figures, him.

R.I.P. Biggie Smalls

Best Coast

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

It’s not common that a band is found that is titled exactly as they sound.

Best Coast, a rock group from Los Angeles, California sounds exactly like a California summer should. They sound pretty much like the 1950’s rock scene mixed with modern beachy music which makes an overall enjoyable sound.

Their lead singer Bethany Cosentino, pictured above, is the main attraction with her easy going voice and her overall adorableness. The band however also consists of female drummer, Ali Koehler, and a multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno.

The band is currently signed to Mexican Summer Records and is continuing making new albums. However their older music can be found all over hipster blogs and youtube along with itunes and mediafire.

Bethany is practically my idol because not only does she write all her own songs that are easy for everyone to play, she also is an overall beautiful person. Her life also relates to mine in the sense that both our dads are musicians and we have very similar tastes in music. She also isn’t afraid of what other people think of her music.

She stated in an interview, “I don’t know. I’m inspired by the idea of writing about romance and writing about love. I think it’s relatable thing. I think that when you write a record of songs that are all really about really loving somebody, or really caring about somebody, or somebody is driving you crazy because you can’t figure out what the situation is… I think anybody can listen to a Best Coast song and can think, “Oh yeah, I’ve been there at one point in my life.” and she couldn’t be further from the truth.

For more of that article click here

If you haven’t heard of them or listened to them give it a try, and hey if you don’t like it, no big deal.