Random thoughts

It's been 50 days since I've posted here, and that's a travesty. A lot has happened since then, including my move to Springfield, starting college again, getting used to random weather, visiting Toby and An on their trip out here to Chicago, meeting with my PAR mates, and the like.

So in no particular order, here are some thoughts:
1) One of my freelance editors got laid off earlier today due to tightened budgets at the publication. This is a devastating blow to me. "Editor" gave me my first legitimate chance to get my name into Bay Area print while I was in college and after I graduated. If he did not provide that outlet, I'm not sure where I would be right now. Would I have worked at KQED? Would I be at UIS now? There are some people who make an indelible mark on a life, and "editor" made such a mark on mine. I wish him nothing but the best.

The situation also illustrates the grim reality for journalism: the market sucks. Our business was already on the decline with the technology gap, and now it's really taking body blows from all this financial chaos. I'm glad I'm still in school!

2) The Daily Show just aint what it used to be. Don't get me wrong, Jon Stewart 1) has impeccable delivery and 2) provides extremely astute interviews with guests. But his one-sided pandering on the show has worn on me. The Daily Show used to be an escape, a chance to laugh at mainstream news coverage and the happenings around the world. But now, it's just endless bashing on McCain and Bush. Don't get me wrong, bashing on politicians can be funny. With Stewart and gang, the schtick is getting old. Before, they recognized they were a comedy group acting as a news show. Now, they're acting more like Olbermann's Countdown, with comedy. For me, it's not quite as funny.

The Colbert Report, on the other hand, has found that balance between humor and preaching. Colbert, in his bombastic conservative caricature, has thoroughly and brilliantly satirized the right-winged media pundit. He's not directly bashing Republicans; he's insinuating their flaws by exaggerating his own delivery and appearance. Colbert's smooth and suave compared to Stewart's newfound brusqueness. With the way the shows are set up, you think it'd be the opposite.

3) Burn After Reading was...not exactly a great movie but an insightful one. I found myself writing a 500-word treatise on it afterwards, connecting characters and their personalities to my own life. The main theme resonated with me: people are impulsive, selfish, and don't really know what they're doing with their lives. It's a harrowing take on life, but the way the Coen brothers present it, it's darkly humorous, absurdist. The presentation might make the movie more frightening, because we acknowlege that we are impulsive and selfish...and willingly, laughingly accept it. In No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers present us with a person so demonic, so sinister, that no one can hope to relate to him. In Burn, we relate to every character, be it the womanizing Clooney or the looks-obsessed McDormad or the smiling idiot Pitt.

4) I'm getting turntables! My friend Ian has been kind enough to seek out a pair for me and is in the process of shipping them out. I will resume my career as DJ extraordinare...right after I start practicing.

I do need
1) Needles
2) Mixer
3) Receiver
4) Speakers
5) Vinyl
6) Serato (possibly)

But the tanks are on their way...I just need to get the ammunition.

5) I am realllly looking forward to the Chicago trip. I've contacted some members of the Asian American Journalist Association, of which I am now a proud, dues-paying member, and I am lookin forward to meeting with some people there. I am also looking forward to doing some crate digging....and perhaps some club-hopping?

6)
Johan Vermeulen - "Third of Five" (Dyami)
What a lush track. You can chill to this on the beach, you can throw this down in a club. I just love the warm synths.

Deadmau5 and Kaskade - "I Remember" (mau5trap)
Epic and bordering on commercial...but I listen to it. And enjoy it. Great peaktime stuff. Both of them are touring right now. Ian said the mau5 played everything, from Kaskade to Audion. Eh?

Inkfish and David West - "Hello Piano" (Mistakes Music)
Uplifting cut of house music, with an addictive piano loop and some accentuating strings. Perhaps a bit over the top...the Sebastian Leger remix is good for peaktime, but the piano sample is used only on the breakdown, then disappears. I like the rearrangment of beats...then strings...then piano.

Devilfish and Roel Salemink - "Manalive" (Bush)
The original is a good old techno mix, but Jon Rundell provides almost a dub with a staggering breakdown in the middle. Perfect for raising your hands.

Bassnectar - "Art of Revolution"
Man, I listened to this thick dubstep track on their Myspace...and can't wait for the track's imminent release. They're in Chicago on Thursday! Maybe I'll go check them out...

Brightblack Morning Light - "Hologram Buffalo"
Kinda bluesy, kinda loungy, a little psychadelic... this is one of those songs I could imagine in my head as I'm walking back home from a long night out. I seem to like a lot of those types of songs.

I do need to check out the new Fujiya & Miyagi CD. Must...temper...expectations.

That is all.