Popular

Well, it seems as if my blog is about as popular as crab louse. Regardless, I will not be daunted, and I will continue to blog my little heart out.

I don't have much time now, because I've been doing so much school work. I had a large presentation today, along with the deadline of getting all of my study abroad papers completed today. I'm tired, but there's no time for sleep! I have to produce my department's news/entertainment show for tomorrow afternoon, although no one in the class seemed to think that deadlines applied to them. Sheesh! Only 12 more weeks to go in the semester...

Watch out Kylie

Emma Bunton, formerly Baby Spice of the Spice Girls, has put out a new album. Sounds like she's trying to dethrone Kylie Minogue.

You can stream the album for free off of the RealPlayer's music guide page.

Rap for the Masses

I started to hate rap music about 8 years ago. This is weird, because for the 5 years prior to that, it was pretty much all I listened to. I was waiting for the day the Wu-Tang Clan would call me up and ask me to be their 20th member.

Anyway...fast forward to the past few years when rap has just really sucked. It's all commercialized rubbish. I won't even comment on the videos, that are made up of every bad stereotype imagineable.

So, within the past 4 months, I've caught on to a few rappers that are breaking the mold of mediocrity. Note: for the record, I enjoy living in mediocrity, but demand much higher standards on my entertainers.

First: Kanye West - what a great first album! "All Falls Down" is a great song, and including Stacey Dash in the video was a stroke of genius! "Jesus Walks" makes you realize that maybe the Devil doesn't own all the good music.

Second: DJ Dangermouse - you have to give this man some serious credit. Jay-Z drives me nuts on his own, but when Dangermouse lays his vocals over a Jackson Pollockized audio version of the Beatles white album. WOW!!! The Grey Album is fantastic!

Third: The Streets - I never would have thought of a white guy from England as a rapper, but it works. Odd. Definitely odd. It does take some getting used to, but "Fit and You Know It" and "Dry Your Eyes" are great.

So, maybe there is hope for the genre of rap. Maybe they'll learn that creativity counts in spades, and everything shouldn't sound exactly the same as what everyone else is doing.

Platinum is pricey

I recently bought the Platinum edition of "You are the Quarry" by Morrissey. I could have had the standard edition, the silver edition, the gold edition, or the platinum edition. Who knew CDs were starting to have so many options?

Here's the breakdown of the different versions. Standard: only 12 songs. Silver: original 12 songs, and 9 B-Sides. Gold: only 12 songs, and a DVD with some videos. Platinum: all 21 songs, and the DVD.

Since each edition seems to go up a few bucks, here's my new recommendation. I'd say to settle for the Silver edition. Unless you're madly in love with Moz, the DVD is a waste of money. The live performance clips aren't that great, and you can watch the "First of the Gang" video online for free. However, the B-Side songs on the album are some of the ones I like the most.

No matter what option you choose, the new Moz album is well worth the cash.

All things in moderation...

Since I started my blog, I've been attending less to my unpaid job. You see, I'm a forum moderator on a kilt forum, so I have to make sure that the kids play nice. It seems like a flame war starts up about once a month, so I have to delete posts left and right. Censorship is a bitch, but self censorship goes a long way.

Kilt, you say? Yep. I have two kilts now, and I usually wear a kilt 1-3 times a week. I'm not really sure what started the kilt fascination, but I've got Scottish/Irish/Welsh ancestry, and they all wear kilts. Actually, if you logged on before a few days ago, my picture was a spoof of a watch ad I'd seen.

So, if you visit X Marks the Scot, look for Rufus.

Oops! No comments...

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Well, thanks to everyone that had written comments. They were much appreciated. I updated this new commenting system (Thanks for the hint Davis), but it seems to have wiped all of the old comments. I guess this is a small price to pay for a commenting system that is easier to use than the convoluted mess Blogger has going.

Thanks Corey!

I forgot! I'm an ungrateful jerk that forgot to publicly thank Corey here for posting a link for me on his blog. That brought my readership up from one to however many drifted over from Corey's blog.

Thanks!

I miss Jennifer.

I miss Jennifer. She's one of my best friends, but she decided to skip town after she finished grad school last year. Now, she's over on the east coast far, far away from me. If this was a rap feud, she would be Biggie, and I'd be Tupac.

I talked with Jennifer on the phone for a while tonight, even though it was eating into my anytime minutes. We discussed a number of things including the insanity of writing blogs, Elton John concerts, finding the perfect SUV on a student loan payback budget, and whether French or Spanish is the sexiest language. I still contend that French wins hands down, and not just because I was using my sexy breathy voice when I was speaking in French. Take it from someone that has dropped both French and Spanish classes, French is sexier by far.

Ah, Jennifer! I haven't had a waitress in Applebees walk by and give me nasty looks because I didn't leave for two hours since you left. Nor have I spent multiple hours in a Pizza Hut or Quiznos, although I had far outlived my welcome. You were right, people here just don't enjoy the fine art of conversation. That's what I appreciate about you.

To Mac, or not to Mac?

Okay, I'm not posting something as lame as decisions about what to eat for dinner, although Mac and Cheese does sound surprisingly good all of the sudden. Focus, Rick! Anyway, I recently won some scholarship money at my university for an essay I wrote. This money is like the Sirens in the old Greek myths calling, "Come to us! We will help you! We will also destroy you! Spend us, spend us, spend us!" Freaky bitches. Fine, I will spend you.

So, I've decided to buy a computer finally. I always say I'll buy one, but then I freak out because it seems like there are a million decisions, I could never put enought money into it, and no matter what I buy it will be obsolete two months later. The sad part is, I really need a computer. I'm a mass communications student, so I need one for video editing, graphic design, page layout, pirating music, internet porn...you know, important stuff like that.

I've been asking people for advice, and I get two different opinions. The professors in my department all tell me that I need to get a Mac if I want to work in this field. Others hold their fingers in the cross symbol and back away hissing when I say I'm considering a Mac. True, a PC has more bang for the buck, is universally known, and I could easily trick it out. Wait, I've confused myself. Was I talking about a PC or Paris Hilton? On the other hand the Mac is slimmer, weighs almost 4 pounds less, has twice the battery life, and is just way cooler than any PC laptop I've seen.

So, I find myself in a situation of Shakespearean magnitude...or at least in my mind it is. Doth I partake of thine sweet fruit, oh Apple, or doth I find solace in the arms of PC?

Polls are open, kids.

Blogtertainment Tonight

The following is another email that was sent to friends, to answer questions that arose from the creation of my blog.

"Okay, to answer everyone's questions...

A) "Blog" is short for a weblog. It's basically like a journal that you can write in, with the exception that said journal will then be published to the internet. This can have advantages, such as letting friends/lovers know what's going on in your life, or the extreme disadvantage of having say, your parents happen across your blog, like what happened to Oliver. Oops!

B) As for rumors that I have been kidnapped, drugged, or have been the victim of identity theft, I can say with all assurance they they are untrue slanderous theories created by "The Cleaner." There was the one time I was sold as a sex slave in Marrakesh, Morocco, but it has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Instead, I'm just letting those little moments of insanity that run rampant inside of my head to have some fun in the sun. Think of it as "Rick's brain goes on Spring Break to Cancun, gets wasted, gets married, has an annulment, and life goes on as usual."

C) I'm noticing an astonishing LACK OF COMMENTS written on my blog. I'm assuming this is because you guys have all been crafting repartees that will leave me breathless with either laughter or soul-shaking thoughtfulness, and are polishing those up before you post in the comments area. I'll just go ahead and assume this is the case, and leave a friendly reminder of where my blog is located. http://blandella.blogspot.com/

D) I have now just realized that I've missed nearly an hour of "Masterpiece Theatre" on PBS tonight. GRRRR!!! Tonight was part one of a 5 part series! Now I'll be left for over a month not knowing what is really going on with this great show. At least I have the knowledge that "Two Thousand Acres of Sky" is on after MT, so I can watch Kenny's funeral and have a proper time of closure.

Laters,
Rick"

Gone, and well...."Forgotten"

Although I had free tickets to the ballet last night, given to me by a professor I did some work for, I decided that I would rather lay on my couch watching movies. But I didn't want just any movie. I wanted something that would touch me at my core, make me laugh, make me cry, and most importantly, be available for rental. Well, it was not to be. Everything that looked good was already checked out for the evening, so I settled for the DVD of "The Forgotten" starring Julianne Moore and some guy obviously not worth remembering the name of.

Normally, I think Julianne Moore is one of the most alluring actresses of our time. If you doubt this, check out her performance in "Far From Heaven." I'd even wanted to see this movie in the theatre, which my cheap ass does not do, just for Julianne; despire the rather tepid reviews this movie had gotten. Well, I now understand why the reviews were so mediocre. With a horrible slash from cosmic irony, "The Forgotten" is rather forgettable. It's more or less a long X-Files episode, but not even one of the good David Duchovny era episodes. Think one of the last episodes. The Mulder and Scully lacking episodes. The "wow, they really should have stopped last season" episodes.

Where Julianne usually can captivate and enthrall, here she displayed all of the charisma of a cardboard cutout. A stop-motion animation of an oatmeal blob pretending to be Julianne would have given a stronger emotional connection. Yes, there was more emotional connection than the movie "Troy" had, but I've had better emotional connections with text books than I did with anyone in that movie.

So, now that I've sounded completely negative, I should state that the movie isn't bad. Not good, but not bad either. Just forgettable.

Blogzilla is attacking!!!

Hey J..., J......., and S....;

I have a terrible confession to make. After slandering blogs in private, public, and even the occasional WebCT discussion, I have joined the ranks of the bloggers. Yes, from now on every random, obnoxious, or tawdry thought will be published to the internet. I realistically don't intend for much to come of it, but at the very least I can pretend that I'm a technological hipster. As an added bonus, this way I don't have to wear ugly John Deere mesh hats like real-life hipsters. Or listen to Tom Waits...gag.

I found a blog by "Barbara Bush" today. I only use quotation marks erroniously to show that there's no way this could really be Barbara Bush. We all know she's an uptight bitch, but this is going too far. I mean, yes, she is a Republican, so it would be a fair guess that she is racist, but would she be so blatant about it? I think not. Anyway, it really did make me laugh. Here's the address: http://diariesofbarbarabush.blogspot.com/ Oh, and when I say I found it, I really mean I stole the link off of someone else's blog. Originality is soooo tiring, so why do anything when someone else will do it for you?

So, let me know if you're planning on joining the ranks of the blogged any time soon. Seeing as you're all quite the trendsetters, you've probably had one going for 6 months now. You probably type on them while listening to the iPods you've been hiding from me all this time, sipping on fine chardonnay and eating exotic cheeses. Bastards.

I'm off to post this on my blog, so the other bloggers don't realize I'm a total loser.

Peace out,
Rick

New Horizons on the Sea of Life

I was recently inspired to create this blog.

This is not me. I don't do things like this! I'm the same guy that two weeks ago was complaining about blogs, because I thought they were worthless wastes of time for lonely women with too many cats. Hey, we all know the type...and yes, I do worry that I will one day find myself being their male counterpart.

So what changed? I visited Andrew Sullivan's website last week, for the second time ever, when he had a link to another guy's blog. So, I visited said blog. And that guy had interesting friends with blogs, and they had more interesting friends with blogs. This makes me think to myself, "So why have I been deprived of a blog for all this time? Do I not deserve the joys of sharing my thoughts, ideas, and ideals with the masses? Oh hell yeah!"

So, here is my first post. Nothing special. Hopefully, I'll spend more time posting on this, and create my own little nebulous world of friends with blogs, so that one day I'll inspire some guy to create a little blog of his own.