Music in 2009

Despite the music industry dying, I am still looking forward to a few different albums in 2009. Here they are:

1.) Lupe Fiasco - LupE.N.D. - This is a TRIPLE CD! I am pumped for this album more than anything. It is Lupe's last album but it contains three discs. If I understand correctly, each disc is going to be individually. At least that is what Wiki says. The first disc is "Everywhere", the second "Nowhere", and the last is called "Down Here". The first disc is expected to be released in late 2009.

2.) Deftones - Eros - I really enjoyed Saturday Night Wrist, their last CD. The bad stated that this will be more simplified and raw than the previous album. The bassist, Chi Cheng was in a serious car accident in November and is still recovering which is putting a halt on recording, but it is still slated to come out this year.

3.) Chamillionaire - Venom - I posted about this album in an earlier post. I really like Chamillionaire as an artist because he keeps it real. Unlike other rappers out there, he talks about things happening in the real world. He really cares about what he does and works hard. Venom comes out in February.

4.) Limp Bizkit - The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2) - This is not confirmed, but all signs are pointing to YES. Wes Borland is back in the band for a third time and they are going to finish what they started with The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). This will move to the top of my list once it is confirmed.

5.) Linkin Park - TBA - Linkin Park should have a new album before this year ends. I was one of few who really enjoyed Minutes to Midnight. They just make good music to listen to.

Others:
- Kanye West is supposed to have an actual hip hop CD coming out. I'll look for that.
- Hurt is also coming with a new album in April
- Jay-Z with the Blueprint 3


Side Rant:
- I got a book for my online class today. It cost me $181! It was ONE book included with NO extras! Ridiculous.

Talk to everyone tomorrow.

Stay Positive...

So, as some of you know, I spend a lot of my time online at the Bills message boards. Well someone posted a list of tips for 2009 for better living. I am all about optimism and positive thinking so I 'd though I would share the list with everyone else.

1. Dream more while you are awake.

2. Make peace with your past so it wont spoil the present

3.Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about

4. However good OR bad a sitauation is, it will ALWAYS change.

5. Your job wont take care of you when you are sick. your friends and family will. Stay in touch.

6. No one is in charge of your happiness but you..

7. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out credit card.

8. Smile and laugh more

9. Realize life is a school. you are here to learn. Problems are simply a part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

10. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

11. Spend time with people over 70 and under 6.

12. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. when you do, smile. It is the best antidepressent.

13. Clear clutter from your house, desk, and car. let new energy flow into your life.

14. What other people think of you is none of your business.

15. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

16. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

17. Frame so called disasters with these words: "in 5 years, will this matter?"

18. Life isnt fair, but it is still good.

19. Forgive everyone for everything. Including yourself.

20. Envy is a waste of time, you have everything you NEED.

Those are the original 20 that were posted. Some people added some on but those are all good. I will try to incorporate these tips every day in my life.

In other news:

- The Oilers play the Sabres tonight. Go Oilers!!! LOL.
- I skipped another class today, but it was in good faith. I had to get some things straightened out with Admissions and get my books. But, because ECC Admissions is so slow, I couldn't get my books.
- Tomorrow, I plan on talking about some new music albums I am looking forward to in 2009. The youtube video features one of the band's I will be talking about tomorrow.

Stay Tuned.

Took some time off?

I missed like three days on the blog. I know, I suck. But, I'm back. Like EDOLAN said, I don't want to be the guy who says he will post every day but actually doesn't.

Pretty boring weekend overall. Played a little poker at a random house in the attic on the west side. Watched the Royal Rumble yesterday. Back to school today but managed to miss my Biology class. But I hate Biology, so it's okay...right? I have to buy all of my books tomorrow and get that out of the way.

Super Bowl is less than a week away. I am picking Pittsburgh to win 28-24 even though I hate them. I will be rooting for the Cardinals fo sho.

The weather here in Buffalo sucks. It is not going to hit 30 degrees all week. This is the part of winter that just is painful to sit through. Day after day of just cold air. No snow either, just cold air.

I don't have much more to say today. I am not in "blog mode" right now, so this will suffice I guess.

A note to leftcoast:
I know your waiting on the pale blue dot post. I will be posting very soon hopefully. Just have to get in the right mindset for that one.

And....One of my favorite youtube videos. Some of you may have already seen it before. LOL.

Relaspe

Relapse today. I drank a couple glasses of Pepsi earlier. Not the best thing for me. Whatever... I'm still going to stick with it though.

School was basically normal. My Music class may be the most boring class ever invented! Seriously.

Now, for a rant I guess...

I spend a lot of time on a message board, and I talk a lot of politics on there, among other things. And some people just blow my mind. Some people are just hoping for Obama to fail. It is sad. I wouldn't say it just a select few on these forums. Rush Limbaugh came flat out and said it, "I hope Obama fails". How can someone wish for the demise of our own President. At least give him a chance.

Staying with politics, I find impossible to argue with some of the Conservatives around. Especially when we start talking about social programs, etc. They have this Ronald Reagan mindset of just eliminating social programs like welfare, medicaid, etc. They think basically everyone that is in the system is abusing it. They look down on them and fail to recognize it. I understand some people abuse the system. Welfare is in place to help children. Some parts of it may be broken, but to drop it completely is ludicrous.

"Why should I have to work to give to people who don't deserve it". "They don't work, screw them!". Well, I guess we can just give all of your money to banking institutions and whoever else is asking for bailout money. Stop worrying about people who "abuse the system. Worry about the people above you, not below you.

Others on the boards were talking about former President Eisenhower and how good of a President he was. I am going to look into him more. However, the Republicans fail to acknowledge him as a prominent President. Instead, they praise Reagan and Bush.

I could go on forever on this and maybe I will get back to another time. But for now, I'm out!

I am an Uncle!...and School

Well, last night at 11:27 PM, I became an uncle when my sister had her daughter. It all seems so real now. It never really sank in that my sister was actually having a kid. But once you see the baby in person, you know it is for real. Pretty awesome to say the least.

Second day of school today. Human Biology will be a pretty easy class. Statistics will be fun...for me. It is a challenging class, but I enjoy math. My online classes don't seem terrible either.

I don't feel like typing much tonight because I have a headache. I will leave you with a song from the new Guns N Roses CD. I seem to be the only person that enjoys the album. But I'm posting it anyways!

First Day

First day back to School and Barack Obama's first day as the President. I only had two classes today and they were very short. In between the two, I got to watch the Inauguration in the atrium with a bunch of other students. It was awesome. Everyone was so excited to see a change in the White House. A few people were even crying. I'm pretty pumped myself, but at the same time, I won't be expecting a lot to "change" except maybe in social areas. Historic day for sure.

School is back again...already. It seems like I've had no time off. My music class feels like it will be super boring. I basically knew everything about my Law class before going, so no surprises there. Tomorrow, I will feel out my other two offline classes. Sucks I have to go all five days.

Don't have much to say today. I will post again tomorrow with my thoughts on my other classes. Hopefully, I can get to a few other topics later in the week.

Happy MLK Day!

Yeah, I know it is usually not common to wish someone Happy MLK Day, but I am doing it anyways. This has to be the most overlooked holiday around, and it is a National Holiday! I said to a friend, "I start school Tuesday because of the holiday." To which he replied, "What holiday is it?". Really? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has to be one of the most influential people this country has ever seen, and many seem to forget his ONE day. And it was not till the year 2000 that every state has recognized Martin Luther King Day.

Things like this make this man special:

"At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement."

Here is his "I have a Dream" Speech from youtube (Full Version):



Now, if MLK were alive today, I think he would be happy to see some of things happening in this country, like Barack Obama being elected the President of the United States. However, as a nation, there are still many challenges for minorities in general. There still seems to be racial tensions between some. Take the youtube video for example - comments were disabled on this video because many of them were hateful and racist. That is ridiculous.

You may not notice it, but Dr. King has probably influenced your life more than you think. Think of everyone you know, people you work with, people you go to school with,etc. Now...separate everyone by race and don't associate with any other races than your own. Many people like me would lose some good friends and experiences. It is remarkable the way things have changed since before the 1960's.

Do yourself a favor, go look up some information on Dr. King and his actions from the past. And the way he about it was tremendous. Wikipedia has tons of information on him.

So, enjoy the rest of your HOLIDAY!

Second Post of the Day!

Since I missed yesterday, I guess I have to give a bonus post to make up for it. I wanted to talk about that book yesterday but didn't have the time. So, I did it today. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the day.

The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl! I am happy for them because in ways they are similar to the Bills. The Cardinals haven't experienced a Championship in 61 years. They are usually near the bottom of the league or very mediocre. It's nice to see a team like them break out and get to the big game. I don't care about the AFC game as much. I just hope Arizona beats the winner!

Didn't win at poker last night. Didn't care too much either. It wasn't a great day for poker. Not a lot of money in play and the tourney did not go my way.

Well, I'm off... I'll talk to everyone tomorrow. Here is a song by Jonathan Davis, lead singer of KoRn. A remake of Lil Wayne's "Got Money". Enjoy.

The Singularity is Near

The Singularity is Near is a book by Ray Kurzweil. I was assigned to read this book for my online class last semester. However, I never read it. But lately, I have been skimming through it and reading paragraphs from different parts of the book. All I can say is Wow! The things Kurzweil is predicting is quite amazing. The Singularity is about the evolution of the human brain and technology.

The author talks about many different things including the Human Body 2.0 and 3.0. One thing I read was that humans can basically live any life they want in virutal reality by the year 2040.

Now, I can't expand on the book too much, but it seems amazing, but scary at the same time. I am going to read the book from front to back to have a better understanding. I will post my full thoughts when I complete the book in full.

Wikipedia seems to have a lot of information on the book and talks about all the predictions the author makes. I advise everyone to go check it out.

The Singularity is Near Wiki Page

What Up?

Happy Friday to all! Been a pretty boring day. It is so cold out outside today. Wind chill has been below zero all day basically. I can't wait to ge back to school, so I can keep busy. I will be going all five days this semester. Here is a preview of my schedule:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
11:00am - 11:50am - BI 107 - Human Biology
12:00pm - 1:50pm - MT 143 - Intro to Statistics

Tuesday, Thursday
11:00am - 12:15pm - MU 217 - History of Popular Music/Culture
01:00pm - 2:15pm - BU 262 - Business Law II

Online Classes
BU 241 - Principles of Management
BU 251 - Marketing II

Total Credit Hours: 19

The Music class is to fill my humanities requirement. Didn't want to take two online classes but was basically forced to due to scheduling issues with other classes. After a semester off, I am back taking a Math class. I hate Biology, so that class will probably suck. I was hoping to have a more relaxed schedule this semester but my curriculum changed for my major so I had to add the Principles of Management class. All in all, I am ready for school.

No youtube video today. But I will talk to you all soon (tomorrow). Peace out!

Already Missed A Day

Missed my blog post yesterday. It's all good. I doubt many are reading anyways.

Some brief notes/thoughts:

- I went down to ECC today and got everything straightened out with my major. I am finally enlisted in the right program. School starts in 5 days. Not exactly "ready".

- I drank pop yesterday - only about 10 ounces or so. Today, back on the iced tea and water track.

- Just watched the movie "The Wrestler". Decent movie, especially if you like pro wrestling.

- 4 more days of Bush...

- I still need to get a job. I suck pretty bad at that.

- I want the Cardinals and Ravens to win on Sunday. My prediction: Steelers and Eagles. I'm already pumped for the 2009 Bills Season!!

Throwback Joint of the Day - Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise



Peace Out. I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new post.

Day 1 - Made it

Well, I kept my promise so far with a daily entry. Nothing really going on today. Decided not to got to ECC today because with Open Registration going on, it is too hectic down there. Definitely have to go tomorrow though.

Random Thoughts:

- I also made it through day 1 of not drinking pop. Got to start somewhere I guess.
- Got Chamillionaire's Mixtape Messiah 6. Haven't really listened yet though. Venom comes out in February.
- Probably going to Wild Wings later. It's Tuesday...
- I am broke as hell.
- The NFL Playoffs Suck!! Every team I want to win Loses!! Teams I root for are 0-8!

New Chamillionaire - "Creepin (Solo)" ft. Ludacris

New Year's Resolutions - Part II

Here are some resolutions or goals I have for 2009:

- Transfer successfully to UB or Buffalo State. I achieved a 3.8 in the first semester. Time for a repeat performance and attend a new school in the Fall. As long as I keep up the good grades, I am on the right path. I could get into UB without a problem but for transportation issues, I may stick to Buff State. However, it look a lot better if I choose UB.

- Get a job and stick with it. This is a must for the new year. I need a decent source of income and poker doesn't really cut it. And if I get a new job, I can play poker more comfortably and make even more money. This job hunt begins today.

- Be healthier. I am NOT about to start some massive diet plan but I would like to change some eating habits. I am not drinking pop(soda) anymore. Back to water, juice, iced tea, etc. Cut down completely on ordering out or fast food. Small steps lead to bigger.


On another note, I am going to try to update this blog DAILY. There will be some days where it will not be possible, but I am aiming at doing this. I want to get more readers and this is the best way to go about it. I won't really blog on any certain topics. Just random thoughts and notes - probably about school, work, sports, mondo invasion, poker, politics, music, and whatever else I feel like.

EDIT: This was actually posted January 12th. Don't know why it says the 7th.

New Year's Resolutions

These will be coming soon...

I will write out in detail plans for the new year. Also, expect frequent blog updates.