The day isn't anywhere near over, but I thought I'd just write this down while it's all in my head. It's not like I had anything better to do...
Anyway, today was (and looks like will remain) another day at home. After writing the last blog, I popped in the
All-American Rejects DVD I bought earlier at Aquarius. After being accustomed to seeing high-end DVD packages (like
the Coldplay one), this was like a real drop in standards. Bare bones type of stuff, with really shitty sound and dodgy camera work. It's like they had several Handicams and just thought, "Hey, let's turn this into a DVD!" They've only got one album so far, and they didn't even play all the songs on it (they left out one). No non-album songs either. And the live set-up was also a bit cringe-worthy; very reliant on samplers to pull off the more polished bits on the album (strings, vocal harmonies, piano), instead of just getting an touring keyboardist or something to make it look more organic. Extra features were also on the minimalist side: 10 minutes of the band going around their hometown. The upside? Well the songs are good, which is the main reason I wanted to buy this in the first place. Plus they really rock out, really energetic if not refined. The type of live band that makes you want to start one of your own. Of course, having actual musical talent helps. Not that
Tyson Ritter is a good bass player, but at least he looks good and can hit most of those high notes in concert, which are two things that come in handy when musicianship is questionable.
So why did I buy this, as opposed to the other enticing music DVDs on the racks? For one thing, I unintentionally found out that they had a DVD out, and the notion of owning it grew somewhat when I found it at Aquarius. The notion grew even more once I heard there was one copy left and I saw some of the live footage used in their latest video. So as soon as I could get some cash together, it was off to the shop.
Speaking of money, I went for the AAR DVD because it was cheap. Though not as cheap as the
Beach Boys/Brian Wilson DVD, from which I, in hindsight, feel I might have got more of my money's worth from. Two documentaries for the price of one (even less than one, if you want to talk about average DVD prices), which will doubtlessly feel a more fulfilling experience than just watching some band play a gig. I think the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson DVD will be the next purchase. After that, maybe Suede, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers...life is good when there's so much quality to choose from, life sucks when you're strapped for cash.
Anyway, most of the morning daylight was spent in slumber. When I finally woke up, I checked my e-mail. Two mails which were addressed specifically to me, something that's been a rare occurence of late. Ever since I set all the mailing lists I join to "No mail", my inbox has been mostly barren, save for junk mail, stuff that gets forwarded from record label reps (about the latest releases) and my dad (the latest pearls of wisdom he found on the 'net), or translation work for the month's issue of
djakarta!. So it's always nice when I get e-mail that wants to talk to me. One was from Nadya, just bringing me up to speed on what she's been up to since her recent absence from chatting. I e-mailed her because I needed my Nadya fix, haha. The other one from Bruce at the
Jakarta Post, with feedback regarding the article ideas I sent yesterday. As soon as I get my head together, you'll be able to see it in the 'paper sometime soon...
Moving on...ooh, geek moment! Just watched the latest downloaded episode of
Transformers: Generation One. As I've mentioned earlier, the series is rife with lunacy, so I check out the episode summaries before downloading. If the plot stinks (which they mostly do), I try looking for episodes that spotlight certain characters which appealed to me back in the day. Lately I've been looking for episodes featuring the Constructicons, namely a group of six evil robots that turn into construction vehicles (hence the name), and can also combine into one giant robot called
Devastator. For as long as I can remember, my favourite Construction was always
Long Haul. Thinking back, I think the reason I liked him was because he was the only one out of the Constructicons that seemed like a normal road vehicle, with four wheels and no funny gadgets like cranes, shovels or cement mixers sticking out. But now that I think of it, not many people drive dump trucks around, either. Chalk it down to the logic of a six year old.
Anyway, in my experience of watching the cartoon, Long Haul was always The Silent One out of the Constructicons. He didn't get any lines in the episode that introduced the Constructicons, and he didn't get any lines in the movie. Naturally, it pissed me off that my favourite Constructicon got no screen time. But in my recent quest of soaking up all the TF info I could find from the 'net, I discovered that yes, Long Haul actually did have someone give him
a voice. Now all I had to do was track down an episode where he actually speaks.
The episode?
"The Core", in which the Autobots try to get Devastator on their side via mind control. The scene? Long Haul and fellow Constructicon
Mixmaster work together in trying to plug a crack in the ground. Long Haul's lines consist of him whining that all he ever does is carry dirt
while he dumps it in Mixmaster's cement mixer. Actually, make that "line", since that all he says in this episode and does little else apart from get together with his buddies. Small reward, I guess. But at least I finally got to hear his voice, and that his lines were pretty much in character. So there's another one of my life goals achieved, then. 2004 is shaping up to be a good year...
Back in the real world (so to speak), there's a
24 marathon on AXN, where they're showing the entire season intact. That's 24 hours of real-time, just like in the show. After faithfully following over half of the first season for several months and managing to keep myself in the dark so as not to spoil the ending in order to fully enjoy the feeling of watching an entire season, I dropped off. Forgot why. Halief brought back the entire season on DVD, but I haven't watched it, because I wanted to watch it on a weekly basis like normal people do. But after the drop-off, I've been contemplating the DVDs, but just haven't got around to it yet. I didn't know when the marathon was going to be on. I just switched on the TV and there it was. Coincidentally, it was just where I left off. I thought about watching, but then I realised that would mean staying in front of TV for the remainder of the day, whereas I still have other things to do. Like this blog, for example. So I'll just stick with the DVDs to finish off the season. Maybe one day when I absolutely have nothing (and I mean
nothing) else to do and I have the stamina to sit in front of the TV for 24 hours straight.
Still several hours until this day ends. I'll end this blog right here, and see if I have any juice leftover for something else.
