Potpurri

So I made it a New Years resolution to blog more. And it hasn't gotten off to a great start. Mostly because I couldn't think of good topics to riff about. However, so many randomly hilarious and comment-worthy things happened in the last 48 hours that I just said screw it.

I have come to realize that one of my biggest pet peeves is poorly performed air guitar, usually by people who have never played an actual guitar in their entire damn life. Usually its done by old people awkwardly viewing concerts, but it can affect anyone. I saw a dude waiting for the train yesterday that I couldn't tell whether or not he was playing air guitar, air drums, masturbating, or convulsing. Needless to say, I was not amused.

Another pet peeve? Using "we" to talk about professional sports teams, especially when you have no logical connection to the team. People in WI talking about the Packers, I'll let it slide, same for Bears fans in Chicago. But with the sudden reemergence of the Cowboys this year, if I hear one more douche here in Chicago referring to how "We really played well to beat the Eagles" and other douchenoggery of that nature. Its one thing to have chosen them as your favorite team in the mid-90s when they were a powerhouse (which Im sure all these clowns did), but its another to anoite your front-running self as a member of the organization. Fuck yo couch.

So as I was crossing the street today, I had the ominous fake tan hand telling me it was not safe to cross. However, as I looked both ways at this intersection, it was free of traffic as far as the eye could see. So I briskly began crossing the street. Now opposite of me, a smallish Asian woman/girl/young lady also gingerly stepped into the street. And I mean GINGERLY. She looked as if she was about to venture onto a live minefield. Additionally, she started to walk out and began looking back and forth with panic and retreating before moving forward again. She looked like she was pantomiming out a live action, Midwestern version of Frogger. I almost stopped dead in confusion. Mind you her hesitation was as I was in the middle of the damn street, and the road was as empty as The Situation's bed in both directions. I guess that Do Not Walk symbol holds some heavy weight for certain individuals.

My sister just got to London and while initially I was like "oh cool, Im happy for you", I have now gotten full on jealous and sort of bitter. I spent a large portion of my life wanting nothing to do with England. Every picture I saw was some sort of overcast. Pretty scenery as a result looked desolete. There was obviously something in the water that made the people's teeth jagged and crusty, and dentistry was clearly outlawed by in Medieval times, probably cause it interfered with the Prima Nocta in some way. However, as I started to get into British bands and Premier League soccer, I grew more intrigued. And there is something about it that has attracted random ex-pats from all over the world for years. And the history and Harry Potter and Emma Watson, and yeah, I decided I wanted to go. I tried to slyly hitch along on a business trip or two of my Dad's to London, but he was hung up on some nonsense about me "not missing class" and "graduating from college in a timely fashion", whatever the hell that was supposed to me. So to this point, Ive never been to London, not even Heathrow. Well, now my sister is there, taking awesome pictures, seeing Harry Potter landmarks, having tea in rooms previously occupied by rockstars...yeah I'm not thrilled. Oh, and then she casually mentioned how she was drinking at their neighborhood pub and out of the blue fricken William Compton from the Tudors comes up and asks to share their table cause the bar was full? Meanwhile, I've lived in Chicago for two years and Ive managed to see ugly ass Katie from the Road Rules on the Red Line one time...FML.

So the new 30 Seconds to Mars album, This is War, came out about a month ago and I finally got around to listening to it, and wow. Ive always liked Jared Leto, for his musicianship and vision in 30 Seconds to Mars, not because he was on The Facts of Life. He has made a couple of cool movies (Fight Club, Requiem for a Dream, etc...), but he clearly is more into his music and it shows. Their past 2 CDs were good, ok, A Beautiful Lie was great, but this one is even more ambitious. Rife with chanted group vocals from fans and children's choirs, ambitious vocals, and entire songs that sound like they were recorded in the great hall of a castle, this record is badass. Kings and Queens was the first single, but I think This is War is my favorite track. And while I think Kanye is a douchebag of limitless proportions, his contribution and collaboration on Hurricane produces a pretty nice product. Side note, Jared Leto is 38? Are you f-ing kidding me? I went to high school with kids who looked older and more aged then him at age 17.

"To the right, to the left, we will fight to the death, to the ends of the earth, its a brave new world from the last to the first..."

JW