I am not into the idea of being without you

Unsurprisingly so, it's been a while. I've given up the notion of updating this blog frequently. Instead I settle for the mindless quick and easy solution that is Twitter. I'm still rather determined to maintain this blog. After all, I'm paying for it. Might as well use it.

So a quick update on what I is doing.
Today was my first official day of unemployment. I finished working for the insurance agency my mum works at this week. I was replacing Jenny, a rather dull woman, who is a secretary there. She went on maternity leave and extended it to 3 more months. So I found myself stuck there for 7 months. The plus side - a paycheck for 7 months. That is not to be dismissed in today's financial crisis. The down side - two horrible bosses. Another plus side - got to make my mum's life a little easier there. I bought her lunch every day. In the last month or so we started buying a meal together and splitting it between us. It was enough to make both of us full and we were able to share the pay. I'd get her half of the food on a nice plate for her, bring her that with a knife and a fork and a glasses of Coca Cola. Sort it out real nice for her to enjoy her lunch. That place is not a place where one can enjoy their lunch. You are expected to eat while you work. A break is out of the question. So even if she does eat while she works, I could take the burden of getting lunch from her. Sometimes she was so busy she struggled to find the time to eat, so when I put it on a plate right in front of her, she made the time.
I also went to the post office for her. It's supposed to be a every-other-day thing. She goes one day, Jenny goes the next. When I was there, I went everyday. It was my little trip, my chance to get away from that office, those horrid bosses. It was also my chance to buy lunch. Without it, I struggled to find the time to escape for a few minutes.
I fetched files for her. Did little things around the office to make her life slightly easy. I helped her when she had computer issues.
And more than anything, I would like to believe I was a friendly face in an otherwise unfriendly environment. While working we talked of American Idol, our family, our every day life. I didn't growl or look at her disapprovingly. I didn't come demanding anything of her. I was just there, a little island of sanity. At least I hope I was.
The only thing I would miss about that job is getting to make my mum's life there easier, and I suppose spending so much time with her. Even though it wasn't exactly quality mother-daughter time because we were busy working, I got to be around her and that was enough...

I would not, however, miss the bitch-boss and her jerk-brother. They can both go fuck themselves. Horrible people. The bitch-boss actually hugged me when I left. You know one of those hardly-touching-just-for-the-sake-of-it kind of hugs. Fuck her. The jerk made a move to make some sort of a gesture, I quickly eliminated it all by offering my hand for a handshake. Not entirely sure what he had in mind but this was the most he was getting. Bastard.

In other news I got accepted to both Tel Aviv University and Koteret school of journalism. Which raises a whole load of headache-inducing problems. But we'll prevail. As terrifying as that may be.

I am also hard at work planning my trip to the States. Hoping to see some good friends, some family, one David Cook (and hopefully a few more gigs... waiting for you - Relient K, Jack's Mannequin, The Rocket Summer...) and some sites. This would be an epic trip.

But more on that soon. Hopefully my unemployment would mean I will have enough time on my hands and be bored enough to blog more often. For now I am off to watch me some MORE Jensen Ackles, this time, after this week's Supernatural, I'm going to watch My Bloody Valentine. I just wish it was 3D.

Goodbye, Kutner

You will be missed.

Some people are sick

I get fandom, I do. But some people have taken it too far. Haven't we got ENOUGH moronic religions? Opium for the masses indeed!

These Cullenists believe "[j]ust like any other religion," that there is
some spirituality to be had in the Twilight series, forming rules and principles
upon which to base their tenets. Their creed, say the Cullenists, includes a
base set of beliefs that "Edward and the rest of the Twilight characters are
real," that "[t]he Twilight series should be worshipped," and that "[i]f you are
good in life, you will be bless[ed] with eternity with the Cullens." Other than
that, say the Cullenists, there "is not a limit to what you can believe in when
it comes to the Cullenism religion . . . we will accept any other Cullenism
beliefs you may have." Cullenists are also expected to read some of the books on
a daily basis, "like the Bible" and make a pilgrimage to Forks.

More madness here.

Relient K - New Record - Webisode 1

Woooo. Relient K are recording a new record. And they're gonna put out 4 webisodes of the making of the record. Woooo. As long as Thiessen is not in charge of the webisodes, this should be awesome! (Thiessen, you rock, but we're still waiting for those remaining scavenger hunt songs)

Behold.

Studio Update Webisode #1


Schneck needs to shave. And man did I miss Thiessen!

Cookie FTW!

A myspace blog brought to you by David Cook. I laughed my ass off.

ATTENTION!
Hey everyone,
First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who has been coming out to the shows since my last post. The vibe at these shows has been amazing.

Secondly, I have to address some behavior that has become disturbing. We pride ourselves on being accessible to you as fans, but in contrast, we do enjoy what little privacy we can muster. To that end, the efforts by some fans to find our hotel rooms, call our hotel rooms, attach things to our bus, etc., is something I have to condemn. This relationship only works when it remains healthy for both parties, and should this behavior continue, the only thing we can do is take more preventative measures to maintain our privacy, which in turn makes us less accessible to you.

I hope this doesn't come off as harsh. I merely want to nip this in the bud so we can continue to have a great experience with all of you at the shows we have coming up. Take care and see you at the next show.

~D

LOL. I have been slacking off, I know. I shall try to redeem myself too. There's much I planned for this here blog/personal site thing. I will get to it, eventually. I promise.

Josiah Leming - Angels Undercover EP

I really wanted to like Josiah Leming's EP, "Angels Undercover". I remember feeling he was robbed of a rightful spot in the American Idol top 24 last season. I thought, "this kid's got talent, he'll get far". My mother and I were rooting for him and yet he didn't make the final cut. Rightly so, it appeared. He went on stage at the final day of Hollywood, dismissed the band and delivered a painful vocal performance (I just watched it again, it really was bad).
On his debut EP, a preview to the album he's been working on, Josiah showcases the same painful vocal performance. He sounds like a spoilt little brat, self-indulgent and whiny. Simon told him his disastrous performance was "down to over-confidence" and this is exactly what this EP sounds like - unjustified over-confidence.
The tracks have no complexity of arrangement. They all follow the same line of plain piano melodies, ballady in nature, with lyrics that hide behind bombastic words that don't say anything.
The title track "Angels Undercover" tells Josiah's story of his loss of belief. In childish terms he describes faith as "believing in heaven" and the lack of faith as "a place that’s filled with flames" (hell, naturally). Josiah lashes out for all the injustices in the world. His father having to work hard for a pitiful salary, and his mother "resting her bones" as he pleads an invisible force to not "deny her what she owns". He then claims proudly that he does not believe in heaven, and that the "place that's filled with flames" is "calling out his names" (all the while making the distinction between good and bad by saying laughter goes out to heaven while the sorrow goes to hell). Those undercover angels, it seemed, cursed out his and his dear brother's names for no good reason. Josiah gives an impression he's unrighlty prosecuted. This is all coming from a guy that left home and lived in a car because he decided he didn't fancy school anymore and would not stay at home with his mum's disapproval. Hmmm yeah...
"Theysay", for some odd reason, is spelt as one word instead of two. You will find no explanation to that in the song itself that is light on lyrics but long on the same boring instrumental. The motif of hell and burning there repeats itself as Josiah attempts to stick it to the man and tell everyone to go to hell. Nice.
"This Cigar" is about where Josiah lost my patience. With cheesy lines ("this cigar, burns a hole straight through my jeans and through your heart"), Josiah makes this his "coming of age" song. He declares "I'm a man now / I can drive a car" (yes, you know, you've been living in one) "I'm a drop out / I'm nobody so far" (we've known that too) "but I don't mess with cigarettes or alcohol Cause I'm the best there is and they tell me all the winners smoke cigars" (more of your arrogant display of mediocre lyrics).
In "To Run" Josiah tells the tale of a relationship with a girl to whom he promised the world but did not fullfill. Once again Josiah is cowering behind words that mean nothing while admitting his own lack of brains. "Oh I thought I was so clever, never knew that our line would sever". Couldn't agree more and hey, no word about the rather lame rhyming there, okay? The girl ends up leaving him (well, what did you expect?) and while he struggles to weave a time-motif into the song, it ends on a bum note at around the 2:35 mark, leaving us with more than a minute of silence followed by something that sounds like a hymn for those angels undercover that curse him in the first song, and closing up the EP.
"Arctic Outcry Wind", the opening track of the EP is the sole redemption for this album. A new form of melody is heard (you can hear a drum-beat!), alien to the repeatative piano gloom of the previous 4 tracks. This is the sole decent song on the EP and shines with lyrics that show some level of sophistication and dare I say maturity. Josiah describes, in a vast arrary of words, the cluster that is his mind and his emotions. He paints a picture of confusion and frustration through a rather nice imagery. He keeps his verses at level by repeating the same structure, keeping the song in check and from smashing to tiny pieces flying at all directions and has an actual form of a chorus (something that distinctly lacks in the other tracks on this EP).

If Josiah was a smart kid, he'd lead his album in the footsteps of "Arctic Outcry Wind". Given his past record on Idol, however, having made some dodgy decisions there (singing without the band for example), as well as his decision to later spit into the well from which he drank in the form of trash-talking Idol (he'd still be living in his car playing gigs to a handful of people if it weren't for the exposure Idol has given him), I rather doubt Josiah IS a smart kid. After all, 80% of his EP sound like one never-ending song that is not very good... Here's to hoping this EP has been a learning curve for him or that he would otherwise find an audience that is willing to put up with his self-indulgent crap.

Jack's Mannequin hit London

Because I couldn't go, some youtube gems from last night's Jack's Mannequin gig in London.

Cavanaugh Park. No matter how many times I hear that song, I still can't get enough. Man, that kid makes fucking up look cool.


Andrew's message to his friend in Hamburg. Ahahahahahahaha! + I'm Reeaaaaaaaddddyyyy..


:-( Andrew did mention plans of doing the UK again in the summer. YES ANDREW! I SHALL COME! Or better yet, DO THE GODDAMN EAST COAST!

Yo Anoop, Beat It.

Alrighty then. It's top 13 week on Idol, here is what I thought upon watching last night's show.

The introduction of the judges and Ryan was... weird, to say the least. Go back to sitting down and having Ryan introduce y'all, yeah judges? You walking in foursome harmony was just lame. At least Simon got a proper introduction with no snide remarks. Ryan said "I bet you loved this", I'm sure Simon did.

First up was Lil Rounds with "The Way You Make Me Feel" which was slightly corny and cheesy. Can't deny that the woman can sing, but do we really need to hear about your three children and the hardships you went through in life AGAIN? Give us something new, Lil, honestly. We want some more personality.

Next up was Scott MacIntyre with "Keep The Faith". I don't know the song, but it sounded mostly rather pleasant (besides a few bum notes here and there). At least he got to play piano and not look awkward just sitting/standing there.

Danny Gokey was third with "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)", another song I didn't know but sung very well. His "dance moves" were awkward and clumsy (Simon's 2 favorite words!). You shouldn't mix the two together, Danny. Though, props for not bringing up the dead wife this week. Lil Rounds, take note! It seems Danny was so overwhelemed of the backlash regarding the constant shoving-down-the-throat of said-dead-wife that he decided to avoid any mention of her all together this week. Wise choice. Ah and back to the song, I hated the backing vocals.

Michael Sarver brought it down with a slightly-countrified version of "You Are Not Alone" (I don't know that one either) and sounded well. A few pitch problems but overall he has a good smooth ol' country voice and twang. I like. I don't think he'll make the finals but he could drag on a few good weeks in the hopes of becoming the new Josh Gracin.

Jasmine Murray sang "I'll Be There" (I know that one). After hearing quite a few versions of that song in the past, I'd have to say I like Westlife and Carrie Underwood's versions a lot better than I do what Jasmine Murray did. But if you close your eyes and focus on the singing, Jasmine sounds like Carrie Underwood on a sore-throat day. Which is half a compliment.

Kris Allen brought it down with "Remember The Time". Another song I don't know but I didn't care. Kris seemed to have a lot of fun with his acoustic guitar and gave a young, fresh and fun performance. Very adorable, I like this dude a lot.

Allison Iraheta sings "Give In To Me" in another violent-rock-chick performance. Her hair covered half her piglike face which could only be a good thing. I can give her the good vocals bit, but I didn't go crazy over her. She needs to show she's a little more than angry-rock-chick. Any adolescent is angry-rock-kid, now lets see if she actually has something unique to offer... Also, work on your diction. Pronouncing "Okay" as "Hoe-kay" and "give it to me" as "hive it to me" is not okay. Stop throwing unnecessary H's everywhere.

Anoop "Anoop Dog" Desai disappoints with a Matrix version of "Beat It". I mean it, those green lights were ridiculous. The performance looked "awkward and clumsy" (thanks Simon) and overall just generally... bad. He didn't showcase anything vocally. Anoop, do us all a favor and take a few pointers from Fall Out Boy on how a cover of this song should sound like.

Jorge Nunez belts out a cheesy incomprehensible version of "Never Can Say Goodbye". My mum and I were saying how he should throw in a 1/4 of a verse in Spanish and for a minute it seemed like it did, but then we realized he actually just sang in heavily accented English. Oi. And he has a weird lazy-eye thing going on. Just thought I'd put it out there.

Megan Joy Corkrey chooses the dumbest song ever, "Rockin' Robin" and gives out a children-educational-tape-worthy performance. It might work with your son at home, Megan, but not on the stage of American Idol. Everything about that performance was too childish, too hyperactive, too over the top cheesy. Not to mention the weird sound she let out at the end of her performance and the strange "dancing". No wonder she's VFTW's pick...

Adam Lambert brought the house down with "Black or White" and I have to say he really did do amazingly well. It was still too theatrical and over the top for me, but it seemed like it really meant a lot to him (he was in near tears there when the judges gushed out at him) so well done, Adam. He even got a genuine compliment from Simon, which is rare.

Matt Giraud hit the bluesy notes with "Human Nature". He chose a song that fit his voice well and sounded good on the piano. He seems more comfortable there. I liked him overall. Just don't like the comparison to Justin Timberlake they keep forcing on him. So yeah, he looks a bit like Justin with those geeky curls but that's it!

Alexis Grace closed the night with "Dirty Diana". She needs to work on her diction a bit too. "Dah-ya-nahhhh!" woooo. A bit over done, but still very kinky and sexy as the judges said. Killer vocals, as always.

Some comments on the judges:
Randy is still a tool. He bores me. He needs to find some new lines.
Kara is a horndog. The woman needs to get laid. She literally has an orgasm during some of the performances. And it seems she's not entirely straight because while she had an orgasm over Matt, she also had one over Alexis. Oooer. She's also a big tool as well. Trying to be this cool-dude and failing the vibe all together. "Man, that was sick" (yes, you are, Kara). Stop talking like you're about to scratch your balls and burp, Kara.
Paula sounded on the verge of tears for half the performances, and totally had an orgasm over Adam. He's gay, Paula. She also accused Simon of sexually harassing her - that is, that he attempted to undress her. Can I just say, eww! A good note about Paula is that I heard her give constructive technical advice for the first time ever. But then she blew it insisting one of the girls' singing was like hearing angels sing. Blah.
Simon was wonderful as ever, calling the sucky ones out when needed and giving compliments and constructive criticism when required. No complaints to Simon, ever.

Anoop and Jorge are in the risk of going home this week, as are Scott and Megan. I'm pretty sure Adam is safe and sound, as is Danny. I'm hoping Kris sticks for another week, he's adorable.

Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West and the TV debut of Carrie Underwood's cover of "Home Sweet Home" as the goodbye song this year are all set for tonight's show (which I will watch tomorrow and attempt to review if I find anything worthwhile to say about it).

Purim and cookies

The spirit of Purim seemed to have taken over me today. I was in high spirits and a good mood throughout the day. It certainly helped that the bitch-boss didn't come to work AT ALL today, staying with her apartment-related errands.

So it was in that good spirit that I agreed to hop over to my aunt's this evening. Her son, Roey, is turning 3 years old next week. Which means he'll get his first haircut at long last (and this is happening tomorrow, in Jerusalem). My little sister and I bought him a nice fancy shirt as a present, which my aunt said she'll put on him tomorrow for his big day. Because of all of this, aunt made a ton of food for tomorrow, including some kick-ass cookies - white and dark chocolate chips, and cookies with colorful chocolate buttons on them. I ate them fresh and hot, good stuff.
The only problem was her 2 other kids - Ronny and Rotem. Two hyper-active girls, 6 and 8 years old, who run around, jump around, climb around and cling onto me for dear life. These girls don't see me often because I don't come visiting often even though I live right across the street, so they don't take me for granted the way they do for my little sister who practically lives there... so they decided that I'm gonna babysit them today. I sniggered. Me and kids? No thanks. Last time I tried that the two of them beat the crap out of me. And I'm taller!!!
Vicky (the aunt) also insisted of attempting to make conversation with me. In reality she couldn't sit still (as always) and spent her time washing the floor while asking me questions over the screams of her kids, and then made a cake while making small talk. Vicky will be Vicky, I guess...

My friend Hadar came by later on. We talked about Andrew McMahon a lot because tonight he's playing a concert in London that I hate to be missing. I tried to get her to fall for Andrew's music and be inspired by his life-story. Well, she did find his story to be inspiring, and gave him props for giving so much of his time to raising money for cancer research. But the music didn't seem to spark anything in her. Oh well, we'll work on that...

Okay, I realize this was a horrible blog. I'm not feeling too inspired to write something of more substance or interest... but hey, I did blog for 3 days in a row. Yay me.

David Cook makes me happy

I decided to try and blog more often. I always say this and I never follow through. But this time I'm gonna mean it. Because today I finally did something I've been telling myself I'd do and have been putting off - I sent my application (via the interweb) to Tel Aviv University. I seem to have the grades needed to be accepted into media, and for journalism school and English & American Studies I need to take exams to get in, so at least I'll have media, eh?
Now I just need to get my Koteret (journalism school) application sent in the mail and to pay the 650 shekels for the exam. I was going to do it tomorrow but it just crossed my mind that tomorrow is Purim (Jewish holiday that includes costumes, a lot of happiness, and a carte blanche to drink until the loss of senses. Yep, that's right, I swear! It's in the Bible, Book of Ruth, read it!) and while I'm working, the banks/post office/all other services are not working. That is including the insurance companies with which we work. I'd love to see my bosses handle that tomorrow.

Actually, speaking of which, my boss, the bitch, is busy with her new apartment. She's having construction work done on it before she starts moving her fat ass in, so she came to work late today and yesterday (at around 2pm, leaving me 3 hours or less to put up with her shit) which was a blessing, really. Some peace and quiet.
Her brother, however, is very much there. And when he's gone, she's there. It's like they're taking turns so we won't get to enjoy too much peace and quiet. He's becoming a right annoying little twat. It's like they're competing among themselves which of them I'd hate more. The bitch is still winning by a mile but her jerk of a brother is giving her a run for her money.
The bitch's move-mania is expected to last until sometimes early-mid-April when she moves in, but even then there'll be unpacking to do and all kinds of post-move errands. With that in mind, I can expect easier times ahead until I finally move that dreadful workplace on April 30th.
The funny thing is, my first day of unemployment would be May 1st - May Day (aka international workers day). Funny that. And one of the last few days of April (29th I think) is actually Israel's Independence Day. Can you feel the double-whammy of irony? I certainly can.

I have an interview at the American embassy on March 20th for my visa application. If (and hopefully) they approve my visa, I shall go on a East Coast trip of the US of A this late summer/early fall. If they do not, I'm gonna convince Hadar she's keen on a week-to-ten-days trip of the UK and maybe Ireland. Something that includes us hopping from one place to another rather than staying in London. Because I've been in London enough to say I've done most of the big touristy stuff.
In other yet related news, my uncle Jake and aunt Vanessa are visiting Israel. They came for the wedding of Jake's sister's granddaughter (Jake is the younger brother of my grandmother). They been to our place and I've seen them at grandma's (she was having a dinner for her siblings and my sister and I helped with serving food, clearing off the table and dishes) and both Jake and Vanessa said they'd love to have me over at their place in Miami. Happy day! That would save a couple hundred bucks. My aunt Yona in New York also said she'd have me at her apartment in Manhattan. A few more hundred bucks saved. Woop.

PS: David Cook makes me happy. It's pretty official now. My own personal brand of happy pills.