The incoherent bloggings of a die-hard Star Wars fan.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
OutKast - Roses
Art Center College of Design... arguably one of the most prestigious art schools in the world, where graduating seniors are hired on campus for big-name companies like Disney and Pixar... its alumni include director Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock), Academy Award-winning storywriter Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction), and the guy who did all those Got Milk ads... and that's the school I want to go to. Nevermind that it costs nearly 12 grand a semester and is a direct-to-major school that requires an extensive portfolio to enter, not to mention the intense competition (1402 students atm).
I went to a presentation held by the Art Center in downtown LA a couple days ago that had been advertised in the Korea Times, so pretty much everyone there was Korean, and thus a translator was present. Up until now, I'd been starting to doubt whether or not I really wanted to leave CSUN to pursue the Art Center, but the presentation really opened up my eyes. Regardless, I'll need to work my ass off to produce a pretty damn stunning portfolio to wow them when I decide to apply, which may even be after I graduate from CSUN with a bachelors in graphic design. The average age for freshmen at the Art Center is 23. *sigh* Here's to hoping. That'll be all for now.
Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64 1st Movement
Seeing as I haven't really practiced the violin much since I stopped private lessons over a year ago and that I feared letting 12 years go down the drain, I dusted off and tuned up the ol' violin and tried a whack at the last piece I played, the Mendelssohn concerto. To my surprise, I still had the nearly half-hour-long monstrosity memorized note for note, aside from a few technical fingerings on the final page of the cadenza. What I'd forgotten this whole time was how tiring it is to play well. I don't think people realize how strenuous virtuoso violin-playing is. By the end of the first page I'd already pulled my pinky. That hurt.
Saturday, I finally got my hair cut. It was longer than it's ever been in my life, already reaching the base of my neck at the back. Saturday was also my grandma's birthday, so my partial extended family went out to a nice Chinese buffet in the valley where I came to the horrifying realization that my little cousin Daniel, my junior by 5 years, is already starting to rival me in height. Moving along...
This morning, I went with my World Religions class on a field trip to the Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. Despite the pouring rain, it was incredibly beautiful and quite odd to see such an elaborate Buddhist temple sitting on top of a lush hill in the middle of LA. We weren't allowed to take any pictures though, so I have none to show you. Frankly, after seeing the enormous Todaiji Temple in Nara, Japan, Hsi Lai Temple seemed tiny in comparison. But we got to see the monks chanting, something I didn't get to see in Japan.
Ladies and gentlemen, today marks an important event in my life as it was this very day that I first legally purchased a non-motion-picture-soundtrack music CD. Yes, that's right. Up until now they've all either been burned or given to me as a gift. Now will this set a new benchmark henceforth? Will all obtainments of music from now on be done the goody-two-shoes legal way? Don't count on it. I just felt like buying Hoobastank's The Reason because I was too lazy to download all the songs and it was pretty cheap for a new release.
I must say, Hoob's sophomore album is a worthy follow-up to their self-titled one. IMHO this album's just as good, if not better. They didn't stick to the I'm-pissed-off-and-I-feel-like-screaming formula and actually have some beautifully written songs, i.e. "The Reason" and "Disappear." Linkin Park should learn from them.
"A few songs on this record are about religion and my complete lack of interest in it." -Doug Robb, vocals
Word.
In the meantime, 2D Design is pretty damn kick-ass and currently my favorite class. When we were all showing off our 5-line composition projects today, everyone chose mine as the most eye-catching and cool. I've been having a pretty depressing week, so it was nice to have my little happy moment. :)
Last night while relaxing on his couch watching "Chasing Amy," Andrew Danowitz declared in the most laid-back voice:
"Lesbians are great."
What a man. WHAT A MAN. I'm tellin' you, this man is a golden god.
However, earlier that day I witnessed an even greater display of pure ultimate masculinity worthy of mention. Sam and I went to lunch at Lampost and ordered a 12" pizza and a couple of drinks. We sat there, ate our food, talked and all... and then Sam ran out of Pepsi. Now here's the good part. Instead of getting off his royal ass to go over and get himself a free refill, he just kicked his legs up onto the seat and yelled at Bri, one of the girls who works there, to come over here. Once she made her way over, he commanded her to get him a refill, to which she reluctantly complied. But it wasn't over yet, no no. Sam, still lying back on his seat, proud of what he had just accomplished, decided to top it right then and there. A couple of minutes later, after having drunk about an inch, he yelled for Bri to come back to our table. He then commanded her to go dump out his Pepsi in the drain and get him some root beer instead. And get this... she did.
Here's to you, Mopar Man Sam. May you live a long and blatantly chauvinistic life.
I'm sure some of you are well aware of how I believe Quizilla is evil. Quizilla questions are slipshod and never clever. That being said...
Look, I'm Charles VI of France!
"When a raving lunatic ran up to your entourage spouting an incoherent prophecy of doom, you were unsettled enough to slaughter four of your best men when a page dropped a lance. Your hair and nails fell out. At a royal masquerade, you and your courtiers dressed as wild men, ending in tragedy when four of them accidentally caught fire and burned to death. You were saved by the timely intervention of the Duchess of Berry's underskirts...
You smashed furniture and wet yourself at regular intervals. Passing briefly into erratic genius, you believed yourself to be made of glass and demanded iron rods in your attire to prevent you breaking."
Well, I've been back in the States for just about two weeks now. I spent the first week trying desperately (and unsuccessfully) to adjust to jet lag, and just as soon as I started getting it right I started school again, screwing up my sleep schedule all over again. Oh well, school isn't half bad, now that I'm taking everything I wanted.
It was interesting to note that by stunning coincidence, like half a dozen people in my relatively small 2D Design class went to Japan during the vacation. One of these people and I spent most of the class period today just talking about how silly yet awesome of a country Japan is. He and I both shared interest, little or not, of someday living there. Such a beautiful place...
One thing that supremely pissed me off is that unbeknownst to me while I was in Japan, Kill Bill: Volume 2's release date (as well as the KB:V1 DVD release) was postponed two months! I was so looking forward to seeing it next Friday but nooo... they must be doing this to taunt me. I blame Kerry.
Anyhoo, before I finish I'd like to congratulate Saugus High's Academic Decathlon team on a not-exactly-fantastic-but-still-very-commendable performance at the SuperQuiz at the LA Convention Center last Saturday. Get fresh, and keep you fingers crossed for the banquet. And dammit Andrew, stay away from John's dog for God's sake!
Likewise, I can't forget to wish Grace a very happy birthday today. Happy 23rd you now-officially-independent geezer. :)
Photos of Engrish! (3 of 3)
Engrish... can we ever get enough of it? Probably not. As long as Japan (as well as Korea, Taiwan, China, and other in-the-process-of-westernization countries) continues to be oblivious of their faux pas, I will be happy and very amused. So without further adieu (since I kinda want to finish up with these damn Japan photos so I can get back to some normal blog entries), here's part 3 in a 3-part series of my photo collection of engrish.
Psst. Yo homes. Can you hook me up with some magic of sound?
Introducing Smile™ brand lipstick! Comes with matching eyeliner!
I’m usually pretty crunky in the mornings, but once I have my popjoy, I’m ready for anything!
“Cherry Brossam: Take another shot at my heart, I want to sleep with you.”
For a mere 180 yen, you can buy yourself a nice piece of ass at Circle K!
Yeah, vegetables and environmentalists get on my nerves too.
Photos of Engrish! (2 of 3)
Engrish... created from the inability of Japanese phonetics to differentiate between “r” and “l” (resulting in atrocities like this, as well as this), it is a term used to describe flawed English found in Japan and other countries. Also known as Japlish, Janglish, Engelese (or Engalese), Englese, Japanglish, Jinglish, and Nihonglish. So without further adieu, here's part 2 in a 3-part series of my photo collection of engrish.
Shirts and shoes, no service!
Public Storage: Special discount on geese and poultry!
"Thanks Price!" "Oh, well you're very welcome... Sale!"
"Frog Style: What is it on your cheek? Tear or swet?"
You're damn right I makes a flower bloom to your heart!
Hmm... Yeah, I guess I'd say I'm a certain form of happiness.
