a letter they won't see

Dear MTV,

Please stop, I need you to stop. Seriously, I really don't appreciate it. It bugs and kinda puts a downer on my morning everyday when I wake up for work. So please, hear this call, this plea...and please, please stop.

Stop forcing M.I.A. down my throat every morning as I try to watch a few videos between waking up, showering, and getting dressed before work. Why do u have to push her on me, on all of us? Is it really necessary for every commercial break to involve her? Honestly, why do you need to attempt to make me like something by repeatedly blaring it during commercial breaks?

I'm sorry, but from what I've heard in your little snippets, I really don't like her music. If others do, that's fine [granted, I feel sorry for you]. In the end, shouldn't we have more of a voice, more of a choice? I get that you drop new music on us and I appreciate that you do. But not like this please. Everything in moderation [and less than moderation of the crappy stuff, please].

So please heed this call and stop attempting to make M.I.A. blow up more than she has [has she?], stop trying to be the arbiter of all that we will like. Expose other artists...give me some variety and let me decide who I'm feeling and who I'm not. Because no matter how many times I hear her wacked out drum beats and rapping that sounds like many other rappers performing live [i.e., it sucks and one can't even her the lyrics in a comprehensible manner], I'm still going to like her.

Sincerely,
me...the guy who likes music videos in the morning [in part because that is the only time u play them]
_______

On a more serious note, what is the deal with that? I don't know if anyone else noticed but I swear every time there is a commercial break during the few videos they play in the morning, there's always a snippet about M.I.A. or of her performing or whatever. I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling her and what is the deal with MTV overplaying her?

That's one thing that always concerns me about music these days: someone always seems to push something on us. There is so much we're not exposed to because a select group of individuals controls it all in the end. Heck, even Ryan Seacrest works for a ClearChannel station...which makes it all see so manufactured.

Thankfully the advent of the internet and more recent developments with it make change more and more possible. File-sharing makes it possible to share music easily. Websites like the myspace make it easier to promote yourself. It's really a time full of exciting potential.

Anyway...I'm butt-tired and gotta get thru one more day of work. Weekend, what what?!?!?!?!?! Another run to the Yay for me...and then a couple weeks staying in SoCal before heading home for the holidays [I cannot wait!]. I'll be back with the update as usual when I get back.

it's funny how things work out...

i applied for a job at this small law firm that does a lot of intellectual property work a long while ago. either i never heard anything or i got a pretty standard rejection letter. no big deal but as with every such letter (especially with intellectual property firms) it was a bummer.

today i got some work on a case that has been ongoing for sometime now. the clients? the guys who didn't hire me. i mentioned to a coworker how i applied for a job at their firm and he responded: "Now you're representing them." all along i was amused how i applied for a job and now that firm came up at work. i didn't make the "i'm representing them" connection, largely because i'm just doing some random work on the case, not really doing anything of significance or even with my name on it.

still, it's pretty funny how [technically] i'm representing some people who decided against hiring me. hehe. i guess u never know how things will work out...

time to watch TV online.

finally...internet [again]

so, the day before turkey day my internet at home went out. actually, the entire phone line got screwed up somehow. lame. well, everything finally got fixed today and now i am happy. i can blog and so i shall.

last nite, after grabbing dinner with Nick and Jeremy, we headed back to my apartment and Laquita also came over a little later on. i have everyone over to help decorate my Christmas tree...always more fun with loved ones around. =] it was a good time and it was nice to get to spend some time with my brother considering i haven't seen him since much earlier this year [briefly while he was in the Bay area for a performance]. we packed the tree full of ornaments, fitting about as many as one possibly could on it.

with such a full tree, what did i do today? i went and bought some more ornaments. haha. every year i make a run to crate & barrel to pick up a few ornaments and i was yet to do so this year...until today. i somehow managed to squeeze them on. i really can't believe there are as many ornaments on there as there really are...but it makes for a tree i love. maybe it's time to invest in a new, bigger tree?

i love Christmas. it's my favorite holiday of the year...not just because of the getting of presents. i love the getting bundled up for cold weather, the music, the cheerfulness, how everything gets decorated...and honestly so many ppl just do seem jollier. as i walked around with my basket of ornaments today [i only picked up 4 more], i couldn't help but smile as i looked around at all the Christmas stuff [ornaments, plates, napkins, other decorations and dishes] and heard the Christmas music. =] for me, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

i finally bought someone a Christmas present today...the official start of my shopping for the season. i've got tons more that i want to do [not have to do but really want to do now that i'm finally working and getting my independence on]. anyway, there are pics up on the flickr of the decorating festivities. i've still got a few things i need to put up [other decorations, not ornaments]. now it's time to enjoy the tree a little and get to sleep [so i can get in to work at a good time and finish a couple of projects i meant to finish tonite but didn't due to not bringing the right stuff home and also just doing too many other things around the house].

[woohoo...cheesy Christmas colors!!!]

how things change...

I hope everyone had a good Turkey Day, I actually managed to have 2! My mom finally gave up Thanksgiving a few years back, allowing someone else to play host for a holiday, but we still cook up a turkey the day after. Why, I don't know. But I am NOT complaining. Seriously, Turkey Day food rocks! Anywho, like many other, I obviously have much to be thankful for: from my family and friends, to my job and the new ppl in my life, the changes in the past year and the things that stay the same...

Speaking of things changing and staying the same, this is the first time I've been home since I got a job. A few months of working makes me feel like on old a** man in some ways [obviously, the ways in which I feel things changed]. These changes are apparent when I come home: oddly, I fee much more like an adult. Sitting with the adults, engaging in their serious discussion, being acknowledged as an attorney [as if there is something special about it...it's just a silly job getting paid to do silly things], and so on. Different expectations, from myself and others to a certain extent. I almost feel like it's now inappropriate to just run downstairs and hide out before and after dinner.

It's funny because I overheard a conversation at dinner on Turkey Day where my dad and one of out family friends were discussing feeling young and how they feel they still think like they did at a much younger age, not comprehending the years that have gone by. I feel like such a child in so many ways, often laughing at the fact that I'm employed as a lawyer because I feel way too young, immature, and foolish to get paid to do what I do [i.e., I wouldn't pay me to do what I do]. I can't comprehend growing up and changing and maturing in some ways. I don't want to but beyond that I just don't know how or when it happens. But now I've come home and do feel some ways in which it has changed.

Yet many things stay the same. I still live in our basement and love it down here. Beyond that, kicking it with my best friend from high school [and I haven't seen him since Christmas time last year] was like it always is...as if we never skipped a beat. Doing the same things, being foolish in the same ways, enjoying the simplicity of throwing a funny mini-stuffed football around in the front yard...it's as good a time as any and just the way life is supposed to be lived. Sadly, his foolish self lives out in the greater Boston area and I'm on the other side of the country.

So some things never change, never will, and never should...I hope they never will at least [and the fact that they haven't over all these years, all these years of living out West in my own funny bubble, is reassuring]. A lot of things stay the same and I think it's important that those things do because they're a part of what makes each of us who we are as individuals. Anyway, this blog is still the same and the fact that I'm up late and need to go to bed is also always true. G'nite!

a long time coming

alright...i'm back with a vengeance...

so, another weekend trip to sf and another great time...even if the world seemed to conspire against me & Peter on saturday...obviously any trip to sf is a good time but it was just not our day...a run down of the not-highlights:

• BART being delayed
• Meeeeeeeeechigan's saddest offensive performance ever...EVER
• the redonkulous fog
• too many ppl at the Prince vs. MJ party
• too much Prince music at the Prince vs. MJ party
• not enough MJ at the Prince vs. MJ party

yet we still had a good time. as u can see below, we were getting hyphy with our own lil' pre-party in the longest hall:
on to the weekend highlights:

• yummy Noodle Theory
• dope beats in the Puma store & a new hat
• Chinese food
• youtubing up! [One Republic, Soulja Boy, Gorilla Zoe, T.I., Shop Boyz and the like]
• Hyphy Juice! [too bad we didn't score any]
• MJ vs. Prince party [even if it was lame]
• Sparks in da club!
• the group of peeps doing the Thriller dance together
• breakfast by 'Los
• chillin wit da ladies
• takin out the trash
• free ride to BART...with the most complicated automatic moving seat ever
• the shoes below [obviously the MJ shoes are the best...but still]
  

i could go on for days about sf...but that'd be lame. there are pics from da party on the flickr page so be sure to check 'em out!
__________

i'm an old man...

i'm sitting here with a heating pad on my back. how sad is that? my back is all messed up and i don't know why. on top of that i'm still illin a little bit. oddly, i felt better all weekend long and then crashed last nite when i got home. hopefully another good nite's sleep will get me all better [and i also hope this sinus rinse jeremy recommended will help with the nose and cough issues of late].

it's funny how u can take being normal for granted. i've been taking some form of something since last wednesday nite to feel better (from cough syrup, to theraflu, to cough drops) and it's annoying to not feel drugged in some fashion. it's also no fun feeling sick in general. and my back hurting for the past couple days just adds to the not feeling normal at all. i can't wait to be back to normal and do my best to maintain that status.

oddly, i up and get sick after probably being a little healthier by exercising a bit more and eating more veggies. i'm telling u, veggies are bad for u! haha.

__________

in other news...i've felt inspired to write lately but don't get around to it and then lose my thoughts, ideas, and what not. one thing i need to rant about is the MJ vs. Prince party. As I said to Peter, like communism, it was good in theory but not application.

first of all, why on earth would u let so many ppl into such a small space? u couldn't even dance, just stand there and get bumped into by others. um...it's Michael Jackson...his music inspires dance more than anyone else's and u're not gonna give us the space we need to bust a sweet groove...that's just wrong. wrong, i tell u...wrong!

second, how could u have such a party and rely so heavily on Prince's catalog of music? i respect Prince and everything...he's done some great things musically, even if it's not my personal flavor [mainly cuz i'm not into lameness]...but how the eff can a DJ play like 2, 3, or 4 Prince songs to every MJ song? first of all, how many great MJ songs are there? Rock With You, Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror, Thriller, Bad, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Black or White, The Way You Make Me Feel, You Rock My World, Dirty Diana, and P.Y.T. [the greatest song of all time]...among others. Seriously...how could u possibly sleep on MJ like that? when u add into the mix the great songs that are MJ related [songs by the Jackson 5 as well as Janet Jackson]...there's no way Prince songs could outnumber MJ songs.

my final and third point is the following: look at a dance floor when u play Prince and when u play MJ. as great as Prince may be [according to some], the dance floor does not rock out to the same extent that it does when my man Michael gets played.

as u can see...the event was flawed and i doubt i will ever go to another one, unless I'm DJ'ing the event and that will likely result in an MJ party, with Little Red Corvette thrown in at some point...maybe.

well, i should get my sleep on...and by get my sleep on i mean go and watch last week's episode of scrubs that i taped...woop woop! =]

has it been that long?

damn...i really have meant to write here lately but i've been a bit busy and now i'm sick. i'm gonna post something meaningful soon [either tomorrow if or monday...depending on if i feel well enough to head north for the weekend]. anywho...the absence of writing here blows but it's time for bed for me.

the influence of history

Today I went to check out the ©MURAKAMI exhibit at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. I first learned of his work thru the latest kanYe West album and really loved what he did when it came to the artwork for the album. The exhibit was amazing and I definitely got to see a lot more of Murakami's work and learn a bit about him.

It was the first time I've ever gone to a museum on my own, but just like occasionally taking in movies by myself, it was a lot of fun and in some ways it's own unique, better experience. I probably spent more time reading the little blurbs than I ever really have before. Anyway, that's not what I meant to write about...

In reading about his works today, many of the descriptions included an explanation of the styles that influence Murakami...how his works incorporated various elements of past Japanese art or were similar to past works. It reminded me of taking art class back in like 7th or 8th grade. I found it strange the to learn how to draw in a less traditional, less formalistic, more comical manner it was necessary to first learn how to draw in a traditional, formal manner. I didn't want to draw realistic images, I wanted to create awesome doodles, caricatures, and the like.

Today reminded me of why it is important to study art in order to create great works of art [not that I've created anything I'd call great...and it's probably due to a lack of study on my part]. Possessing a foundation of knowledge of the traditional, the formal, the whatever u want to call it is important in allowing one the ability to become more improvisational and creative with ones work. Look at jazz: in order to improvise it is first necessary to know and understand chords and chord progressions and much more. It's no different for other art forms.

I think the same lessons are true for art history as well. I guess learning history involves learning the traditional to a certain extent. Besides formal techniques, there is much to be learned from the works of those who came before us, including the ways it is possible to go beyond the formal and how to stretch or exceed what everyone thought were the boundaries at the time. This applies well beyond the realm of art and into most every aspect of life.

I often wish I pursued the arts more full-heartedly. Now I tend to tell myself it's too late. I know it's not, at least not too late to learn more and pursue my artistic interests as a serious hobby [fulfilling my life in an important way]. I do wish I realized these things in college...but maybe I'll get to take some classes in the things that interest me without the pressures of being in school trying to get good grades and make it to the next thing in life...

Anyway...museums are a lot of fun and I plan on continuing to take in as much as I can. A list of artists whose work I'd like to own would definitely include the following...

• Rene Magritte
• Justin Bua [I do own a small drawing he made on tracing paper!]
  
• Takashi Murakami
  

Getting my hands on works of theirs alone would be difficult enough so I'll leave the list at 3 for now. I need to become filthy rich just so I can have a badass art collection...like Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair. Being a stellar art thief would be sweet too! [Thankfully I do own some sweet works by some of my close friends...and that alone is a great art collection in my opinion]

already written

a preemptive attempt…

So, my internet isn’t working yet so I’m “blogging” by writing in Word and I’ll just paste it to the blog tomorrow [hopefully], but I’m finally all moved into the new apartment. I finally emptied out the last few remnants in the old place and spent tonite cleaning it out [always fun]. As I finished up vacuuming and turned to lock the door to apartment 204 for the last time that feeling of hating moving kinda struck me…it saddened me to be honest.

It’s more than just the feeling of an empty space, barren after being so full of things and life. A while back I wrote about chapters closing in life and saying goodbye to that apartment is the closing of another chapter in life or really the last sentence in the chapter that closed a while back.

I guess I felt more at home in that little space than I realized…that’s what really makes is sad to close the door and lock it knowing I will probably never go in there again. I mean that in a literal sense, not a metaphorical one. As comfortable as I feel in my new surroundings, I still need to organize and get a few things and I’m just yet to make this space my own completely. A part of me also feels I will only be here 9 months…with such a defined amount of time I think a part of me is tempted to never grow as attached and comfortable as I could. But 9 months is a long time [someone I know would say you could make a baby in that time…but that’s not what I’m hoping for…] and I’m sure I will soon feel truly settled here [maybe once I get that new TV I desperately crave]. And then the day to move will come again and I’m sure I’ll feel the same way again.

I think it’s a sign of how, at first, change isn’t always welcome or comfortable. At the same time change tends to bring many good things…like all the changes of the past handful or so of months have led to where I am right now, a really good place. There’s just an adjustment period. What’s really funny is how certain changes can almost go unnoticed. For example, when u make a great new friend, come across a new love interest, or even get a new coworker your life can change by the role this new individual plays in your life. But it’s easy to not think of life as changing, it’s normal to not feel the hesitancy towards change that can be felt, for example, in the opposite types of situation [i.e., where someone leaves your life].

Anyway, I’m stinking tired after waking up early to finish an assignment for work that didn’t get done because we got box seats to the Lakers season opening game last nite. All I have to say: that was an amazing experience, probably the best sporting experience so far in my life [aside from ending up on the front page of the sports section of an Indiana newspaper, pictured asleep during a Meeeeeeeeeeeechigan rout of Indiana back when I was a little kid]. Box seats are amazing…I doubt if I’ll ever have such an awesome opportunity again…but if you ever do be sure to take it!

no internets

so, i'm still yet to get the phone and internet working in my new apartment [altho the problem is apparently one the manager needs to fix as opposed to at&t] but i hope to be back online soon. i even wrote a blog post the other nite on my computer and saved it as a word document to paste here later. alas, that was on my desktop and i'm sitting here at work with my laptop.

i'm cutting out of here soon as soon as i finish writing here] and am really looking forward to a weekend of nothingness. i plan on relaxing, hanging artwork, going to a museum, watching football, and also hopefully getting out to take some fotos. ahh the weekend.

i'll need the rest of this weekend: to make up for the moving of the past week and a half and also to make sure i have enough in the tank for the rest of the year. looking at my calender it's going to be a busy 2 months. after this weekend i only have 1 weekend for the rest of the year where i won't be traveling or entertaining a guest at my apartment. on top of that i'm probably going to SF for New Year's even tho i get back from Michigan just to go to work for one day and then after work go up to SF.

i dunno, it sounds kinda ridiculous in some ways. obviously it'd be nice to have more of my circle down here in LA and hopefully my circle down here will grow. but at the same time i kinda enjoy the travels, the visitors, the feeling of either not being in LA or having someone not from LA there. it makes the weekend feel like more of an escape.

i can fall into being a real homebody. i've spent many a saturday drifting in and out of consciousness while lying on the couch watching football. so i guess when i am going to go in the opposite extreme. it results in a good balance. i'm sure i'll spend a good amount of time in January laying low. but i'm really excited about the next 2 months and keeping busy and getting to see lots of ppl i really love seeing.

but, now it's time to get started on one of those restful, lazy-a** weekends of accomplishing nothing with myself [except i do plan on doing a few fun things...i'm geeked about the murakami exhibit i plan on checking out sunday afternoon...if u don't know, he did the artwork for the latest kanYe West album].

ps - thanks to everyone for the well wishes about going to court. it went well and was really, really brief. i pretty much said my name and who i represent and wrote down a couple dates and that was that. thankfully i got sent to handle a really easy matter and got the chance to work on my nerves in a low key context to start off. more thoughts on litigating later...i just want to get home and veg out now...but i really appreciate all the support!