20111221

X

Tonight was the finale performances for The X Factor. All Josh, Chris, and Melanie are all worthy of winning, but I'm rooting for Chris. He has some of the most entertaining, captivating.
Josh has a really nice voice. If I'm just listening to him I almost hear Lee DeWyze. I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they would have Alanis Morrisette on to sing with him. They blended really well, but to me, Morrisette is a one hit wonder. I guess the producers don't. Ironic, huh?
Melanie has an amazing voice and I would almost root for her. But as much as I LOVE late 90's R&B (think Mariah and R. Kelly), she had no variety throughout the season. Each week sounded almost the same. She wasn't as bad as that kid Drew for lack of variety, but it came close sometimes.
Chris's voice isn't that great, but something just draws you to it. He's versatile and fun on stage. He's written some of his own stuff and its good. And........... he performed with Avril Lavigne tonight.
That's just my opinion on things. Tomorrow night will show how much of America agrees with me.

20111218

Memories

I consider myself to have a pretty good memory when it comes to TV shows and movies. I remember plot lines fairly well and sometimes insignificant details even better. 
It takes a special show or movies to make me want to watch it more than once in a year or even longer in some cases.
Last night as I had the TV on for noise Cold Case came on. I had only seen the end half of the episode a few months earlier. But I knew what the episode was about. Is that sad or what?

20111123

Epicness

There are three special TV programs each year that I ABSOLUTELY have to watch. I get really cranky if I don't get to watch them, it's a proven fact.
The first of these shows is the Grammys. I love watching all the performances and seeing all the current artists gathered together. I've almost made a game with myself of trying to guess who will win which award. Sometimes that's really easy and sometimes I fail miserably. I also like the chance to discover previously unknown artists. I would have been really clueless about Adele if she hadn't performed a few years ago. And I wouldn't have found out about Mumford and Sons if they hadn't performed either.
The next show I have to watch is Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve With Ryan Seacrest. Dick Clark is an icon. Ryan Seacrest is awesome. They've had Fergie co-host the west coast party the past few years. And they get some awesome performers.
I am currently counting down the hours to the last important show: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's a tradition for me. The floats, the balloons, the performances. I love it all. And it's happening tomorrow.

20110925

Military vs. Civilian Friends...


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Tell you not to do something stupid when drunk.

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will post 360 security so you don't get caught. 

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Call your parents mom and dad.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Hope the night out drinking goes smoothly and hope that no one is late for the ride home. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Know some wild stuff will happen, set up rally points and an E & E route.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will be sitting next to you saying, Damn, we screwed up but, hey, that was fun!"


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Steal each other's stuff so often nobody remembers who bought it in the first place.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will listen to your relationship problems and hope it works out for you. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will listen to you over a long hard road march, and will help you straighten it out better than Dr. Phil.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about you. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Might try to hit on your girl behind your back. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Have spooned with you in the field more than your girl has, and would never even think about doing that.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Would knock on your door. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, "I'm home!"


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will wish you had enough money to go out that night, and are sorry you couldn't come. 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will share their last dollar with you, drag you along, and try to work free drinks all night.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Want the money they loaned you back next week.
MILITARY FRIENDS: Can't begin to remember who owes who money after taking care of each other for so long.


CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will tell you "They'd take a bullet for you." 
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will actually take a bullet for you.


I don't usually post stuff like this and there are definitely civilian friends who fit the military friend mold, but some of this stuff is hilariously true.

20110919

Clumsy me and A Cappella on TV

It seems like I've had a lot going on in my head, but I haven't felt like putting it on paper. I think I've finally got a couple things worth sharing.
We'll start off with how brilliantly clumsy I can be. Today I managed to trip over my own feet and walk into a door within a few seconds of each other. Add to that the Laffy Taffy that I forgot about and melted in my pocket (open wrapper) and the Mentos chunk I somehow choked on and you've got a great day.



Now I will switch gears completely. For the past couple Christmas seasons I raved about the NBC shot The Sing Off and all its awesomeness.
The first season I only watched because Nick Lachey was host and Natasha Bedingfield was going to perform on one show, but I got hooked. I returned for the second season with anticipation for more Nick Lachey, good a cappella music, Nicole Scherzinger's awesomeness, and my recent love for Ben Fold's music (add some Nick Hornby collaboration in there).
Now, The Sing Off is in its third season. And it's not just a Christmas special this year. Nicole went to be with the X Factor, so we got Sarah Bareillis, but this year started off good. The opening was a wonderful Pink number. And the first group to go covered my most favorite song ever- Wavin Flag by K'naan. It wasn't that great of a cover, but its another one to add to my collection. Personally, I think they made the tempo a little too fast. I got impressed by the group doing a Corrine Bailey Rae song (If you can make me enjoy something I would't normally listen to you did a good job). And later on in the show was a great version of an Eminem song. I can't wait for the other 8 groups to perform next week and for the rest of the season.

P.S. Tomorrow are the season openers for my favorites NCIS and NCIS:LA.

20110813

Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal

Today was the start of the 2011-2012 Barclays Premiership season. Arsenal drew with Newcastle at St. James Park. It was a good game, but a frustrating one.
It was so, so beautiful to see Tomas Rosicky play. He did a good job controlling the pace for Arsenal while he was on.
The most frustrating moment was when new signing and Frenchman Gervinho got sent off after Joey Barton started a fight with him after a small diving incident. At that moment, I realized it's going to be a looong season for Arsenal. I don't know if we have the depth to go a full season with other competitions mixed in.

On the other end of the spectrum, my Championship guys Reading FC beat Leicester City 2-0 away. Add in their 2-2 draw with Millwall last week and it's looking to be a good season. Maybe we'll make Premiership this season.

It's so good to have matches to look forward to each weekend again. Not a lot happened this summer and I'm ready for soccer action. And hopefully my fists will be doing excited fist pumps a lot this season instead of  frustrated ones.

20110809

What's Been On My Mind

Today's post shall be a conglomeration of what I've been thinking about today. Three very random topics to most people, but very important to me.

First, I'd like to discuss the dangers of PT. Every weekday morning I get to drag myself out of bed to go do PT. It's summertime in Oklahoma and all ground can be classified as well-watered grass, dead grass, or dust. PT is done in a mixture of dust and dead grass. There are a few people who like to avoid the dirt as much as possible. I can partially understand why; sweat and dust makes mud. But I would prefer it if we did PT in the dust. Today, I got cut by the grass. I didn't notice it until someone pointed it out, but now it hurts. And I wish people were a little more willing to get dirty in the name of safety.

Next, I will move on to Gatorade. I love the stuff. I mix my own and there's a few colors that are practically inhaled when I get my hands on them. I now have another product to add to my Gatorade 'like' list. Pro Recover in chocolate flavor. It's considered a protein shake and tastes like a really thin chocolate milkshake. I'd had some of the fruitier flavored Recovers before and wasn't that impressed because its a milk-based product and I don't associate milk and fruit flavor mixed together. Chock it up to my wonderful 4-year-old experimentation of mixing milk and orange juice and then having to drink it.

Finally, I've been thinking a lot about the Tottenham Riots. When the news first came up I laughed a little; simply because I have a strong hatred for Tottenham Hotspur. Now I'm a little frustrated. I compare it to hooliganism without the football element. And to me, that makes it completely stupid and pointless. Plus, matches are being postponed because of the violence and I find that not cool because going without football is sad. I also had the thought about how it will affect other countries impressions a year before the 2012 Olympics (I love the Olympics). I guess I'm not the only one wondering that because I've seen a few news articles on it.



20110807

Fly the Copter

There's this game I came across probably about 6 years ago and I still absolutely love to play it.It's called Fly the Copter and was first put out by Seethruzine. The link is there if you want to take a crack at it.

The basic concept is to fly the copter around the obstacles for as far as you can. My current high score is 2932, but I know I've been in the 3000's before. See if you can beat me.

20110805

Mr. Blue Sky

You may know me as Mr. Blue Sky
I hid away for so long
Where you went wrong?
It wasn't you, it was me

I got in a fight with Mr. Gray Cloud
He won
So he got to stay out
And I had to hide away

Spork

I took on the challenge of writing a poem about sporks. It really isn't that good, but it's the best I can do for now. Maybe someday a better spork poem will come along

Spork

Hello Stranger, do I know you
In your plastic guise
You look like two of my buddies

Spoon, a curvaceous gal
Great for my cereal or soup
But otherwise ignored by me

Fork, a prong-y guy
Works well with Knife
And used for almost everything

What's that you say?
Spoon and Fork merged
Now together as Spork.

20110724

Oops... I forgot about that!

I've been noticing lately that I've developed this habit of getting something and then forgetting I got it. Most recently, it was with the Sunny D I got Friday. I stuck it in the fridge and then received a pleasant surprise when I opened up the fridge this morning.

I've done it to my Gatorade mix, beef jerky, pop tarts, hairspray, a couple DVDs (how could I forget I got the epic Beowulf?), and a couple t-shirts and shorts.

I guess the saying 'out of sight, out of mind' is true for me, because if I don't see it I'm likely to forget about it. But it sure is nice when you find the stuff again...

20110721

The Game

Sorry lil bro, I know you sometimes read this, but I just have to dog you out.
The other day I got an e-mail from my little brother talking about one of my favorite subjects and one I thought he didn't like so much... soccer/football. He's still figuring out which team he likes in the EPL, but I'm not forcing him on anything (interpret it as I'm not influencing him to The Arsenal). I will say he has my blessing on his current possible choice because its not  Tottenham, Manchester United, or Manchester City.
I told him about the second tab I always open up whenever I get online: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football. It's pretty much the only website I go to for news. And I absolutely loved the response I got about it because it is so characteristic of him. "I'm sure it'll be a big help in my quest for the truth behind the game that drives the world."

20110718

Happy Birthday...

.... to Nelson Mandela, who turned 93 today.
And in honor of his birthday and his accomplishments, a Smash Mouth video.

20110711

Sunny Days

I have recently become re-enamored with the classic show Sesame Street. I watched it a fair bit when I was little. I'll never forget counting, saying the alphabet, and singing the rubber duckie song as I watched. As I grew older they added the amazing Elmo's World segment.
Last spring, I would turn on Sesame street at 7:30 to watch a few minutes before whatever "grown up" show we were going to watch. It's amazing to see how much the writers put in for older people. The puns. The humor. The famous people doing parodies of their hits. And I gotta admit, I just love singing the song about whatever Elmo discussed that episode. I think it took my dad a few days to figure out you just sang the word to "jingle bells".

This is a new favorite of mine:

20110618

Clarence and Dads

A quiet legend died today. Clarence Clemons, lead saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen had a stroke a few days ago and passed away today.
You could say that Bruce Springsteen's music influenced me a bit growing up. I got to do a history project my junior year and chose The Boss as my topic. Apart from his major hits, I listened to a fair amount of his discography. It was all interesting, but I especially loved his The Rising album released in 2002. There was also a quote I found and have loved ever since.
"Some people get a chance to change the world, and other people, they get a chance to make sure the world don't fall apart."
Springsteen said this quote when he was discussing his father back in 1980. I think its a great quote and its partially relevant because Fathers Day is tomorrow. I think The Boss got it right when talking about dads, especially his own. But its a great describer of my dad too.

20110607

Success

Success is measured differently for everyone.
At the beginning of the season, I presume I'll be measuring Arsenal's success by the number of trophies we'll win. By the end it's how much further ahead of Tottenham we are.
Some people measure it by how happy they feel or how much money they're making.
I could choose to measure my success like those some other people and I would be successful in those standards. But I choose to measure my success in smaller, much more meaningless ways.
Success may be running a few seconds faster. Or not running into a doorway or tripping over my feet. Or finding one of my favorite colors of Gatorade somewhere I didn't expect to find it.
Today, success was measured by dinner. I didn't burn my mouth on the macaroni tonight. Therefore, I was successful because last time I ate that, I didn't taste much the next day. Who knows what success will look like tomorrow...
What does success look like for you?

20110523

Nike and Gatorade

The only connection Nike and Gatorade have with me is that they are both things that I happen to love very much. And I've had a couple experiences with them both in the past week or two.
Over the past two years, I have applied several times to become a Nike product tester. Each time I've gotten the exact same e-mail.
Dear you,
Your feet are too small. You're dumb for playing soccer on concrete. We'll reject you again in six months.

Really Nike, you can't make test products in more than a select few sizes??? I really like your stuff and I think it would be cool to test out the new stuff. But I guess my feet aren't the right size.

Now, on to the Gatorade. They've been pushing out a bunch of new products lately, but there's just one that has captured my attention. Clear Gatorade. Really? Just gonna confuse the kids between water and something full of sugar. It's has no color or artificial flavoring and tastes really good. Its just weird to be drinking something the same color as water, but doesn't taste like water.

20110507

Wavin Flag

Its been almost a year since I made a fateful discovery for my music tastes. Coca-Cola and a Somali born rapper changed my favorite song list forever. Wavin' Flag was Coke's promo song for the 2010 World Cup. I love Coke, but I discovered the song almost by accident. The pure joy put into the song, along with the drums and me hearing the Spanish version first stole my heart forever. It was my anthem to get through basic training.
I now have six different versions of the song to include several of the Coke versions, the much more somber but still inspiring original, and the Young Artists for Haiti version.
K'naan was a great discovery for me. I haven't gotten tired of the song yet and I don't plan on it.
This is at least the second time I've linked to this video, but I really love it.

20110505

Jet Lag

Natasha Bedingfield is probably my biggest idol. I've been in love with her music since she made the is cross over in 2005 with These Words; the single before the success of Unwritten.
There's also this fairly cool group known as Simple Plan who I remember as one of the groups of my middle school years. They're back with a new album this coming June, and they collaborated with my favorite artist. It's a lot less rock-y than some of Simple Plan's other stuff, but this is a pretty sweet song.


20110502

My Focus is Elsewhere

Last night, around 10 pm, the best battle buddy I ever had texted me to turn on a news channel. My half asleep brain decided it would be best to look outside the window to see if it was storming and then considered the possibility that it was storming back east. It was quite logical to me since it is tornado season.

Next move was to get on the internet. As always, first comes up Facebook, then UK Yahoo sports, then the news tab in my bookmarks.
Nothing interesting was on the sports and the news was still loading, so Facebook it was. And the news hit me in just about every form imaginable. Osama bin Laden was confirmed dead by President Obama.
I’ve had several reactions to this news. The first, and best, was my text back to my battle buddy. The basic concept was that it happened because I just finished reading Tom Clancy’s latest Jack Ryan/John Clark book. They got their bad guy captured and Clancy’s stuff can be eerily like real life.
My other reaction is one of pure frustration. To me, Osama has been just an ideal for a long time. Our beef may have started out just against him, but it is not the endgame. Our real battle is in the ideals, like how most battles in American history have gone. Osama was just the tip of the iceberg. It may bring closure to families who have lost loved ones, but Osama out of the picture does not mean the fight will magically go away.
My frustration also extends to the fact that I really, really, love soccer and with real summer competitions, this is the best time of year.  Arsenal beat Manchester United yesterday, Championship teams are finding out who will be promoted, and the Champions League is heating up with some INTENSE Barca/Real rivalry. To top it off, Arsenal just released photos of the 125th anniversary home kit. It’s still growing on me, but I’d much rather focus on that than people debating and celebrating a dead guy that still has the possibility to cause as much damage dead as alive.

20110501

A Good Month


It’s May. My second favorite month for preference, but first favorite in terms of what happens in May.
May always has some of the best weather of the year. It’s usually when I get the most yard work to do, which means I’m outside a lot. When I was in school, it was always when I had the most schoolwork to do. I like being busy and I though I might say otherwise, I secretly enjoy being stressed and having to cram everything in.
May 19 is a very special day to me as well. First off, in 2002 I was baptized on that day. And then, in 2005, Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith came out. I don’t think I should have to rationalize the day much more than that.
One more best thing about May, which I’ll miss this year, is Memorial Day Weekend. No Clarks Summit parade. No parent’s Sunday school picnic in the park to run around outside with friends eating, playing sports, and having fun in the splash fountain and creek. But it will still be good.

May has started off amazingly. Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United. At the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal beating the Manure might have happened since I’ve been a fan, but I don’t remember it. Not until today at least. I was so happy I almost cried. It certainly beats the poor form my dear Arsenal have had lately.

Yes, May is a good month. 

20110301

Reading Moves On

It's been a few weeks since I posted something meaningful, but I just had to share this link. I got into Reading FC when they were up in the Premiership for a few seasons and then went back down to Championship land. Kevin Doyle, currently with the Wolves, played for them and I happen to like him as a footballer.
The Royals made some more of their history today with a win over Everton to move on to only their third FA Cup quarter-final. Read the article for a better description...

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01032011/58/fa-cup-shock-troops-reading-stun-everton.html

20110220

Leyton Orient 1-1 Arsenal

It seems everything in life is connected. It may not be obvious at first, but give it enough time and it will become connected.
Arsenal faced Leyton Orient in a FA Cup match today. It was a draw even though Arsenal probably should have dominated a bit more and won. My soccer love, Tomas Rosicky, scored Arsenal's only goal today. It was good to see him on the field after not a lot of activity, sickness, and pulled muscles. I'm beginning to prep myself for him to leave Arsenal soon just because he is getting old, isn't starting as much, and Wenger doesn't like to keep older players.
But back to connections. Leyton Orient is a League One team. The FA cup is about the only time they'll face someone from the Premiership. But unlike some other League One teams, I was slightly familiar with Leyton Orient.
Why? Because of Nick Hornby. Author of the great memoir Fever Pitch. For a while in Hornby's soccer fan career, he follows a small team from Cambridge. And Cambridge just happens to play Leyton Orient. And one of those games ended up as a chapter in Fever Pitch.
The final result? I have heard of Leyton Orient. It really is a small world...

20110214

Grammy Time Once Again

Last night was the Grammys. It's one of the three annual shows I can't miss (along with the Macy's parade and Ryan Seacrest's Rockin New Years Eve). Last night was definitely a memorable night for the Grammys. I'll share my impressions.

First off, why did they START with the Aretha tribute? Usually stuff like that is billed for later in the show, but maybe with some other big performances that was the only place to put it....

Lady Gaga.... I think they always put her early in the show so everyone will forget how weird and awful her performances were. And I wanted to punch her when she gave her acceptance speech. She was all whiny or something.

The Bruno Mars performance was great... except for a little pitchiness in the beginning. And I was impressed with the girl he performed with too even though I had never heard of her before. And the same goes for The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons.

Ryan Seacrest. If you know me, enough has been said.

Justin Bieber (I'm on a bit of a JB kick right now) was good, but I was especially waiting for the part with Jaden Smith. It was better than expected.

Speaking of Jaden Smith... did you see Will and Jada? They cut to them a few times during the performance and after it. The look of pride and joy on their faces was so cool to see.

Pauley Perette, of NCIS fame, presented an award.... in green. I'm not used to seeing her in that color.

The Cee Lo Green performance was interesting, colorful puppet-y, and actually very good. The addition of Gwyneth Paltrow made it even better.

Katy Perry's performance was better than I thought it would be.

Eminem's performance was great. He may not always be appropriate, but I have respect for that man. And it went up after the Chrysler Super Bowl commercial.

Seth Rogan's "I was backstage getting high with Miley Cyrus".
I think that comment made my night.

After that my feed started slowing up, so I bowed out gracefully and went to bed, but it was still a good Grammys.

20110206

45

My team wasn't technically in the Super Bowl this year. Their stadium was, but I don't think most people count that. To celebrate the fact that I don't care about the result (Packers 31-25 Steelers), I made a list of why this Super Bowl was awesome. I'm good at making lists.

1. Cowboy Stadium hosted the big game. They also host my Cowboy's home games. Go figure that one.

2. Troy Aikman was one of the commentators. Former Cowboy. One of my childhood heroes. He was right up there with Mia Hamm, Shaq, and George of the Jungle. And he's on the front of my Super Bowl XXVII shirt. Because the Cowboys won that year.

3. The Black Eyed Peas did the half time show. There's a couple pluses to this one. First, it wasn't old guys performing. Even though I am a fan of Sir Paul and the Boss. Second, I like the Black Eyed Peas. Some people hate them. Some people misunderstand them. I think they're pretty cool for the most part. And they have Fergie. One of my top 3 favorite celebrities.

4. I didn't get to see all the commercials, but the 3 I have seen on youtube are awesome. I just want to know why Eminem picked this year to show up in commercials.

5. I am in Oklahoma. In Central time. This means I get to watch the Super Bowl and still go to bed at a decent time because everything is an hour behind the wonderful Eastern Standard Time.

20110204

He Went Where?!

One of the several reasons I was drawn to Arsenal when I first became a fan was a certain French player known as Thierry Henry. Actually, his skill was probably the only reason I started tracking Arsenal and then I fell in love with other aspects of the club.

Anyways, a few years ago the legendary Henry moved to Barcelona, a semi-favorite team of mine, and although he was good, Barcelona has a lot of stars and Henry didn't shine like at Arsenal.

This summer I was in basic training for the army. A soccer fan stuck without soccer news in a World Cup transfer window. I knew I was bound to miss some transfers, but I thought I had been pretty much caught up back in September (had a few surprises there, but none too drastic).

Yesterday I found out I had not been completely caught up. While I was learning to be a soldier, Thierry Henry transferred to Red Bull New York. The MLS. The US. There must not have been a lot of fanfare about it because it took me six months to find out.

I guess Henry's move shows that US soccer has a long way to go. Yes, we can get excited over David Beckham, but Henry's career is just as illustrious. And he's actually won a World Cup Trophy.

I don't know if I can accurately describe the shock that came over me with the news of Henry's transfer. I now finally realized why I hadn't been hearing about him at Barcelona. He wasn't there. He's in the US. You can probably figure out what I'm gonna try to do with some of my summer with Henry playing in the MLS......

20110131

My Life Be Like Ooh Aah


Every once in a while I like to share little things that I have learned and experienced. Moving to a new place and leaving a familiar one has definitely made for some of these moments.

Although Ft. Sill is a field artillery post, it never quite occurred to me that they would actually shoot off artillery frequently. Fortunately I am a fan of the fireworks that only go boom.

Ft. Sill is not a walker friendly post as far as I have experienced. Good thing I’m good at playing chicken when it comes to crossing roads to get to a better spot on the other side….

There are white tail deer in Oklahoma. I’ve seen them.

The army gives 2-hour delays for bad weather too. I’ve got one tomorrow.

I am more likely to get windburn here than any other place I’ve lived before.

27, 28, 36-hour days are no big deal to me now. And I can do them back to back with only a few hours of sleep in between them. Sgts, I know you loved to tell us about how you’ve had to do that, but I have too. And it was probably just as stressful because you were there.

I can fall asleep just about anytime and anywhere as long as I don’t need to be alert for something.

2 Months of being around people 24/7 makes you really good friends. 5, or even 7 months of that means you’re practically family.

Songs=memories. ‘Nuff said.

I need to come up with a few more hobbies to have for discussion. The majority of people have no clue about Arsenal or their greatness.

20110129

Update on Life


Thursday morning I had my last training graduation and was released to the world to be an official official soldier. The afternoon was filled with madness as my entire platoon tried to finish out-processing and leave. Friday morning I cleared my room at the barracks and signed out of the company.
By 1600 I was in the not quite lovely Ft Sill, Oklahoma. The final plane ride over included some guys ready to start basic training and I wish them the best of luck. The Lawton airport is even smaller than the one in my hometown; something I thought wasn’t possible….
I was assigned a room in temporary housing and I start in-processing Monday morning. I can’t wait to officially get to my unit. There isn’t a lot to do here. Not a lot off post; the cabbie only really pointed out the casinos and the mall. My only glimmer of hope is that the Main PX and Commissary are much larger than the ones in Arizona. The Burger King is right inside the PX instead of being somewhere on the other side of post. There is actually a Cinnabon (if you haven’t experienced a Cinnabon I feel sorry for you). AND the PX sells baseball cards. I still have a soft spot for them and I think I might try to grow my collection again.
Arsenal play tomorrow in a FA Cup match. I realized today that if Arsenal can keep up their good form and win instead of losing they will have the opportunity to play at Wembley for 3 finals.  They’re guaranteed to go to the Carling Cup final and there’s still a shot at the FA Cup and Champions League finals. Just one trophy would be amazing, but winning all three finals would be even better.
Digressing a bit to English TV, did you know there is a list of sporting events that must be played on free channels? I think that is really cool and I am going to have to research if the US does anything like it.
And now back to soccer, but to the Spanish league. Sevilla FC drew with some other team today down a player and down a few goals. I’ve hardly ever seen a scenario like that happen. Despite the fact that I’m alright with Sevilla (we’ve met them a few times in the Champions League) and I admire their gusto today, when a team has had a player red carded and sent off I like to see the team with more players overrun the offending team. But it did make for an exciting half of football…
I think that’s all I have to say for now. It was random, but did you really expect anything else from me?

20110126

From the Vault

I have currently acquired three songs from the early 2000's that have held spots in my heart like all the Backstreet Boys, N'SYNC, and Savage Garden songs from the same time. I can't believe I had almost forgotten them until I heard one in the store today and went on a reminisce trip to when I was like 9.

1. Back Here- BBMak
2. Never Had a Dream Come True- S Club 7
3. All or Nothing- O-Town.

Listen to them again. They're really good.

20110117

Moments that Matter

The past week or so has been really long and tiring and tough. But I've had a lot of fun and some real peaceful moments throughout it. I thought I'd share some of what I learned, saw, and experienced.

1. It is possible for me to go 111 hours with only 11 hours of sleep mixed in. It sounds crazy, but I'm kind of proud of it. And going over 24 hours is possible too because I did it twice in that time period.

2. 15 straight hours of sleep does wonders.

3. Where I'm at in Arizona is very mountainous and absolutely gorgeous. I feel so fortunate to be where I'm at. There's nothing like staring at the foothills and mountains with an amazing sunset in the background and seeing more stars in the sky than you thought possible.

4. I trip over the most obvious things. Like my body armor on the floor. Or my PT jacket. You'd think I would see them and move, but I don't.



5. Ben Folds. I've discovered I really like his stuff. Its no thanks to the duet he did with Street Corner Symphony on The Sing Off. The song got stuck in my head and I went to find more. Then I discovered the biggest gem possible for someone like me. It all started when Nick Hornby mentioned a Ben Folds song in his book Songbook. It has turned into a Nick Hornby/Ben Folds album. Nick Hornby writing, Ben Folds doing the music. It was so cool. The lyrics were very much typical Hornby and I loved it. If you go to check it out, beware some cussing. But then again, thats typical of both Hornby and Folds.

6. The Lazy Song. Bruno Mars. K'naan helped write. 'Nuff said.

7. Moments That Matter. Its a Corbin Bleu song.

20110115

Please explain.


Wonderful, lame me has recently been watching episodes of the first season of The Sing Off. With the exception of the final, it was my first time seeing the episodes. It was cool to see the other performances by the top 3 and change the judgments I had made for some of them.
First off, I would like to apologize to Voices of Lee for being so critical of them. Seeing them on the final the first time I had wondered how they got there. They were actually better in the other episodes and their performance with Natasha Bedingfield on the final got better the second time around.
Now, on to the Beelzebubs. They were the ones I wanted to win, but didn’t. Their performances in the previous episode were entertaining and all around good. I still listen to their performance of “Where is the Love?” a lot.
Nota were good. I just didn’t like them as much. I don’t have anything else to say about that.
I had forgotten that Ben Folds had done a performance on the first season final and it was good. The one he did with Street Corner Symphony of his song “Gone” was even better and I think-sing it in my head all the time.
Now on to my complaint. This season, all the Christians were all over Committed and supporting them in their endeavor. Why didn’t people do the same for Voices of Lee? I don’t remember seeing anything rallying Christians to support them. Was it because they were a college group? Was it because it was only the first season of The Sing Off and no one knew anything about them or the show? Does some one have an explanation? These are the types of questions I stay awake wondering about at night.
I’ll try not to think too hard about it. I watched the final last year because Natasha Bedingfield was supposed to be performing and because Nick Lachey is awesome and a good host. And that seems to be about the only job he can get these days.

20110107

Wait....Oh Yeah

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can't keep track of what day it is? Thats this week for me. I've gotten mixed up several days about what day it really is.

Tuesday I was on iTunes and, thinking it was Monday, got really confused as to why they would release the new music a day early. It wasn't until Wednesday that I realized my mistake.

Today is Friday yet for some reason I have it in my head that it is Thursday. I was talking with my mom and was very confused that everything on their schedule was happening a day early until I was reminded that it was Friday; the day everything is supposed to be happening. And ten minutes later i was still forgetting it was Friday when it was mentioned my brother was watching a movie. I couldn't figure out why they would let him stay up on a school night, but it wasn't a school night. Tomorrow is Saturday and while I may have to work tomorrow and Sunday, the rest of the world doesn't.

On a quick side note, I feel the need to mention Bruno Mars. I recently got Brandy's album Human and was looking at the credits for songwriting and such. Natasha Bedingfield ha co-written a song for Brandy's album an Toby Gad (he's done stuff for Natasha Bedingfield) was on there too. I was surprised to see Bruno Mar's name on the credits for a song. The album had been released in 2008 and Mars hasn't gotten real popular until last year. But he's managed to be connected to an artist I like.

Now here's the kicker about Bruno Mars... There's this song I like. It's called Wavin Flag. I have 6 versions. I don't know if I mention the latest version, but its done by Young Artists for Haiti, a bunch of Canadian artists collaborating. But back to Bruno Mars. He helped co-write Wavin Flag. I think thats pretty cool. And it makes me like the song and Bruno Mars even more.

20110104

top 10 favorite artists on my iTunes


10. Justin Bieber. Yes, its cheesy, but Never Say Never and Pray are two amazing tracks.
9. U2. It’s been pretty popular to cover their stuff lately.  Think I have almost as many covers as I do them actually singing.
8. Fergie. Probably my second favorite female artist. She can sing on her own and does a great job with the Black Eyed Peas.
7. Bruno Mars. Come on, Just the Way You Are is just that good of a track.
6. R. Kelly. One of my two World Cup anthems come from him. Sign of a Victory is just as good as his old stuff.
5. Switchfoot. An old love rekindled because I finally managed to rip my Nothing is Sound album. And Beautiful Letdown is amazing as well.
4. Coldplay. I can’t even begin to describe them. They’re just so… good.
3. K’naan. I now have a 6th version of the song Wavin Flag. Done by Young Artists for Haiti, a whole bunch of Canadian artists that include K’naan, Justin Bieber, Drake, Avril Lavigne, and a few more. Wavin Flag must be the global anthem for 2010 or something…
2. Lee DeWyze. He won my heart on American Idol last season.
1. Natasha Bedingfield. There probably couldn’t be a music list I make without her on it.





Top Ten {Tuesday} 

20110103

Plea to Blackburn

I used to like Ronaldinho a lot. He was good at what he did. He had a nice line of shoes with Nike.
But Ronaldinho is 30 now. He's not as good as he used to be. He's been at AC Milan for a couple years now and hasn't made much of an impact there in my opinion. Pictures a few years ago of him doing some training showed a bit more of a belly than most footballers should have.
Now Blackburn Rovers is reportedly making a 6.2 million bid for Ronaldinho. I don't think its a smart idea for a club like Blackburn who wants to win. Dinho is 30. He's basically past his prime playing years. If he contributes anything of worth to the club then great, but I don't think he will.
If Blackburn just want a big name player on the bench to bring recognition to the club then he's a good deal, but I don't see Blackburn spending money in that way.
Blackburn, if you want to rise in the Premier League rankings from the #12 spot you are now then invest in some unknown players who can become famous and lead you to the top of the table instead of a past his prime big name.

20110101

Seacrest 1-0 Daly


New Years Eve was great this year. Carson Daly is a dummy, but thanks to streaming internet, I could watch Ryan Seacrest, Dick Clark, and Fergie do what they do every New Years Eve: be awesome with great performances.
Noone could match Rockin New Years Eve with performances. Ke$ha, NKOTB and BSB, AND Natasha Bedingfield… It was like a dream come true for me. Yeah, Carson Daly had Nikki Minaj and lilWayne, but Ryan Seacrest always gets the better performers. And whoever was hosting FOX’s show had performers form like two years ago on.
As both Seacrest and Daly were live in Times Square and I was watching both at the same time, it was interesting to see the coordination that went into making sure both shows got coverage of the ball drop and either went on commercial break or transferred locations when the other was broadcasting. And despite the fact that half the broadcasting world makes fun of Seacrest for being such a mogul and Daly was actin kind of stupid about it, is cameras still got Seacrest to wave while he was going over notes or something with someone.
I’ll stop with the Seacrest talk now. American Idol, AT 40, his radio show, and Rockin New Years Eve have all made me a mega Seacrest fan.