The PMA 2

I like year long naps

2009-06-23T20:27:00.005-07:00

Seriously. It's been exactly a year since I last posted anything?

"Anonymous" has been keeping tabs on me, obviously.

Do I start posting again? What do I write about now?

Hrm.

PS. Good to see all my YouTube videos are still intact! Maybe I'll start there...

After a long time away...

2008-06-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

I am back.

More soon...

A bolt out of nowhere

2008-03-10T01:32:00.003-07:00

Two days ago, after the conclusion of an insane week, I decided I needed to chill out by myself.

I parked my dad's car at Fort Mason and walked along the Marina Green, shoulders down and finally enjoying being home, albeit briefly since I was due to fly back to Arizona the very next day.

I spotted a sliver of beach and walked along it, ready to practice some black & white / sepia photography with the Golden Gate Bridge looming in the background.

As I knelt and was pressing the shutter, this little kid bolted out of nowhere, running past me as his mom chased him with her own camera.

I thought where I was in my head these days: Life's been crazy. Work's been nuts. I have no time. Mental and physical fitness have taken a back seat. Quite a few stressors abound, to say the least.

But I think this kid put it all into perspective:

Why worry?

In one way, I wish I was this young again, getting the simplest high just from running along a beach, not even noticing some random guy with his camera sitting right before him.

But in another way, I realize it's not too late now to pick myself up. I'm still too young to be completely cynical and beaten with life. Nor do I have it even remotely as bad as billions of other people who are worse off than I am.

It's time to put life back into an upswing.

So cheers, kid. For reminding me to loosen up. And also being part of one of my favorite pictures I've taken thus far.

Burnout

2008-02-26T22:55:00.002-07:00

Apologies for taking a posting break.

I'm not burned out from blogging.

I'm burned out from just about everything else.

Will be back when I get my gears running again.

Cheers.

Flashback Friday 39: Thompson Twin Deathmatch 2008

2008-02-22T01:38:00.004-07:00

That's right. A Thompson Twin Deathmatch. Because it's Friday and I feel like picking on a vulnerable English band.

So let's just say, hypothetically, that only one out of the four following Thompson Twins tracks ever existed on this here planet. You get to choose which one, of course, but in doing so you're pressing the "Permanently Delete" button on the other three.

I'm not saying your pick would be the only song in existence. I'm not even saying you'd have to listen to your pick all the time. It's just that, again, hypothetically speaking, your pick would be the only Thompson Twins song you'd have ever known. Whether that's a tortuous scenario for you to imagine is entirely up to you.

So, which track would it be?

Exhibit A

Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now

Exhibit B

Thompson Twins - King For A Day

Exhibit C

Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands On Me

Exhibit D

Thompson Twins - Doctor Doctor

Considering that these songs sound almost exactly the same, the decision might be difficult. Of course, if you think the Thompson Twins bite the big one and don't give a rat's ass that any of these songs ever existed, then you could say "none" and be done with your day.

On a side note, does anyone ever remember the third member of this group? He always seems forgotten somehow.

Have a great weekend.

Tales of a Prescott street lamp

2008-02-19T23:56:00.005-07:00

Ok. So I lied. No tales. Just shots of a random street lamp in Prescott this past weekend.

Looking west towards Thumb Butte:

Looking east towards the moon:

If you couldn't tell, this post is my easy way out of writing anything of substance today. Please forgive me, as hump day is here. Enjoy it.

Same lamp, taken 10 months ago:

When is separatism legitimate?

2008-02-19T00:14:00.002-07:00

I was thinking more today about my previous post where I congratulated the Kosovars on their newfound nation. Because whereas the US recognized Kosovo's independence, the Serbs and the Russians have been fiercely resistant. Now one can argue that the Serbs deserved their nation being lopped off, piece by piece, for all of Milosevic's crimes in the 80's and 90's. But to the Serbs, Kosovo is thought of as the cradle of their civilization. To them, there is no question that Kosovo is an integral part of their country and their identity, regardless that the majority of the current population is Albanian and not Serb.

So my question is, what legitimizes Kosovar independence while so many other breakaway provinces get routinely ignored? Take Kashmir and Taiwan for example. The majority of the peoples of both provinces are in favor of leaving India and China respectively, and have been outwardly agitating far longer than Kosovo, but India and China maintain the provinces are fully integral parts of their nations and that they are going nowhere. As such, the US sits there and maintains that it hopes "a peaceful resolution can be produced." I'm not picking sides the Kashmir or the Taiwan issue, I'm just saying there is a certain inconsistency with US policy. Why is Kosovo recognized and not Spain's Basque Country, which before being known for rolling out ETA terrorists was brutally repressed by Franco for decades? Or Turkish northern Cyprus, which broke away after a coup ushered in a government that wanted to unify the island with Greece? If Iraqi Kurdistan says they've had it with the Arabs and are splitting off entirely, will the US have no choice but to support it? Will other nations? And whither Tibet?

It's an interesting question when it comes to international policy. Why was the Bush Administration quick to acknowledge Kosovar independence when he knew Serbia and Russia would be against it? Is it a jab against Putin (who in turn is threatening to recognize Georgia's breakaway republics)? Or is it that Serbia is mostly isolated and weakened and still carrying the moral baggage of the earlier bloody Balkan conflicts? Why not all these other wannabe states? Is it that the US has too much economically invested in their master nations and doesn't want to ruffle any feathers? Such as if Quebec seceded but the Canadian government refused to recognize it (hypothetically speaking), what would Washington do? Or how about Somiland's declared independence from Somalia? Or are nations not even bothered with Somalia anymore?

I could go on about this for hours, but I'll stop now because I need to go to bed. Who knew that seeing two flags on a freeway offramp would set off such an internal debate in my head...

Something is stirring

2008-02-16T23:30:00.003-07:00

Taken by me on 2/16/08

Kosovo is planning to declare independence tomorrow.

And apparently someone at a freeway offramp wants the rest of Phoenix to know.

Congrats to the new guys.

Flashback Friday 38: On The Bus II

2008-02-14T19:14:00.005-07:00

For some reason I thought I wrote more First Friday chapters on songs that I used to hear constantly while I sat on a school bus which had German flag stripes painted all along its length as it rumbled across some random far-flung desert island taking me to and from school, but I guess I only wrote one (Mr. Mister's Broken Wings & Kyrie).

Well, I guess it's time for Part II:

Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out

So I saw this video for the first time pretty much 5 minutes ago, which is surprising given how much I used to watch MTV once we moved back to the States. What black hole did this video fall into? I don't recall it being part of any 80's video weekend or countdown. I don't even remember it on TBS' Night Tracks, and you know they played everything. Have any of you seen it before or am I that out of the loop?

I will say that the video's unfortunately kind of lame. All about a maid's fantasies of being a rich socialite in an ugly dress dancing a pseudo-tango with some bored dude in a club. And did Joe Jackson just pick a carnation off a New York sidewalk and stick it in his mouth right there at the end? Nice. I can safely say that directors of 80's videos got one hell of a free ride.

As for the song, I'd liken Steppin' Out to be the sonic equivalent of wallpaper: you probably haven't thought of this track in eons, but as you were watching the video you were probably thinking, "Oh yeah, that song. By that guy."

The question is: Is Steppin' Out already in your iPod? Will it ever be in your iPod? Or are you still tripping that you always thought Joe Jackson was one of these guys?

Have a great weekend.

From the PMA Collection 4

2008-02-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ismail Darbar (music director) - Chalak Chalak*

Chalak Chalak hails from the 2002 Bollywood movie Devdas starring Shahrukh Khan (arguably the biggest actor in Bollywood right now), Aishwarya Rai (arguably "the most beautiful woman on the planet" right now, and I emphasize arguably), and Madhuri Dixit (once the biggest actress in Bollywood who's currently trying to make a comeback).

But you can see this song isn't the typical Bollywood number about running through the tulip fields to find one's true love while playing hide and seek around a tree and then two dozen backup dancers appear out of nowhere while the girl sings ten octaves too high. It's about alcoholism and all of its addictive qualities and one's slow slide into depravity. But two dozen backup dancers appear out of nowhere anyway. And the girl still sings ten octaves too high. And the guys still manage to dance to dubious choreography, even though they're all theoretically wasted beyond all mental capacity. Such is the power of the Bollywood.

I also apologize to folks who were expecting to see Aishwarya writhing about like a minx, being the most beautiful woman in the world and all. Because she's not in this song. But here - I'll throw you a bone. Now that you're happy, Madhuri plays a dancing girl (aka. hooker) in a brothel that Shahrukh's character, Devdas, frequents and imbibes in more than his fair share of the Indian version of Southern Comfort. She's obviously got the hots for him. But he's got the hots for Aishwarya, who's some lower class chick who married into an upper crust family but there's some issues lingering in the background and then it all comes to a head with yelling, deceipt, crying, and death. And so there you have it, a Bollywood love triangle set in the 1930's, featuring classism, sexism, and alcholism. A 3 hour movie explained in one paragraph. I think I just founded a new Cliffs Notes empire.

You can also see in Chalak Chalak, which plays later in the movie, that Devdas' alcoholism is taking its toll while he pounds the bottle with his buddy, especially at the end of the song when he decides it's an opportune time to walk away and cough up some blood. You know he's doing it to get the girls' attention. Plus, in the 10 short seconds between minute 2:37 and 2:47 of the clip, you are treated to facial expressions that Shahrukh pretty much uses in the dramatic climaxes of Every. Single. Damn. Movie (if you've watched them, you know it's true).

And...well....I think I've explained way the hell more about this song than I needed to. I simply featured the song because it went with the flow of the rest of the CD, not because of anything to do with the movie itself. And I guess I could have just written the previous sentence from the get go and have been done with this post ages ago.

I'm not the most logical person, obviously.

* Chalak Chalak appeared on PMA 2

Starting shots of the week...

2008-02-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I went on my first historic home tour since I moved to Phoenix, which was really cool, but I'm going to expound on that later.

Today I also ate a cajeta-filled churro at La Tolteca's bakery, which was more than incredible and I want to eat another one right now, but I'm going to expound on that later.

After doing both of the above, I decided to wander around downtown Phoenix with my camera, which I am known to do from time to time. Here's a sample of what I took (can you tell I don't feel like writing much?)

The Chase Tower is the tallest building in the entire state. Kind of hard to believe, but it's true. I was driving along 3rd Avenue when I came across this twisted sign on the side of the road. Of course that meant jumping out of my car with my camera and trying to figure out what to do with it. Enter tallest building of Arizona. And a plane which has just taken off from Sky Harbor.

While I was taking shots of the historic Post Office building (built in 1936 in Spanish Colonial Revival style), an employee walked out, smiled, and asked how I was enjoying my trip to Arizona. I told him I lived here. He looked a little confused, like why would a resident Phoenician be wandering around downtown with his camera?

Anyway, the Post Office building is soon going to be used by Arizona State as a student gathering space, which should be interesting. The downtown campus of ASU is bringing a lot of changes. Whether that means downtown Phoenix retains its character or becomes overrun by a train of cheesy college bars remains to be seen...

The Westward Ho is one of my favorite buildings in town. It's currently a senior home, but it used to be one of those grand hotels of yesteryear (when it was completed in 1927 it was the tallest building in Arizona until 1960). I think they occasionally give tours of the inside, but I've never been on one. I might have to look into that. The Downtown Phoenix Public Market takes place in its shadow, and usually by the entrance you'll see a bunch of seniors hanging out in their wheelchairs. Why they hang out on the sidewalk, I don't know (none of them appear to be smoking), but whatever.

I took this shot on the Margeret T Hance Deck Park. You probably can't tell, but Interstate 10 is directly under me. Kind of crazy, eh? I'd actually never been here before so it was cool just to wander around on foot. Also, walking instead of driving allowed me to be slow enough to see that one of the buildings right next to this park is the Great Arizona Puppet Theater. Who knew there was one? I didn't.

Anyway, as for the shot above, I sat there on the footpath with the camera on, waiting for colors to do something crazy. But they didn't. Just some orange and that was about it.

However, on my way back to my car, I crossed the lawn and came across a fairly new-looking paperback book. Just sitting there on the grass. I looked all around to see if anyone looked like the owner.

Nobody.

I then stood there and debated. The book looked and felt really new. It had a bookmark to begin Chapter 3, so it was obviously being read. But if I left it there in the grass, and the owner didn't remember it for a few more hours, the sprinklers would go off and the book would be ruined.

Talk about a moral dilemma.

What would you do?

Bollywood, Interrupted

2008-02-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

I was forwarded this little snippet by a friend just a little while ago:

Brilliant? Retarded?

You make the call.

Flashback Friday 37: Sing Like You've Been Kicked In The Balls

2008-02-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd continue with the theme of showing the #1 song from 20 years ago this week, but then it turned out it was this:

Tiffany - Could've Been

Um, yeah.

Anyway.

Let's look at the #1 song from 25 years ago this week instead:

Men At Work - Land Down Under

So among the inane things that I perpetually wonder about, I wonder if Australians hate this song. I wonder if they want nothing to do with this stereotype-inducing fluffy karaoke classic. Or do they get wasted and scream this offkey in bars every night because they think it's the best. song. ever (because it is)? Who knows. I did see MAW perform this song at an equestrian racetrack, which was kind of cool and kind of sad simultaneously.

But Land Down Under is nothing but chump change compared to what was #1 this week, 30 years ago:

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive

THIRTY years ago! Damn, we're old.

From this video you could also pretty much see why these guys perpetually since in falsetto. If I wore tight pants like that I'd be crumpled on the floor crying for mercy.

So...which of the three songs would you rank best? Would you put all three on your iPod? Or none?

Have a great weekend.

Welcome to Phoenix, tall man

2008-02-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

This guy shouldn't be too hard to spot around town. My money's on catching him sometime post-game at Lo-Lo's. Apparently the Suns love eating there, although personally I've never seen anyone famous there while my face was way deep into yet another plate of chicken and waffles.

If you haven't concluded already, my celeb sighting skills in Phoenix are pretty much non-existent. I run into Alice Cooper at Safeway late in the evening and that's about it. Maybe my aversion to almost all of downtown Scottsdale has something to do with it. Shaq could be partying with Paris Hilton at Axis-Radius tonight and I'd have no idea.

Alas.

When Will The Wounds Heal?

2008-02-06T00:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not one who usually quotes from the Wall Street Journal or ever blogs about politics, but this article really summed up what I've been thinking the past couple weeks about how all the pseudo-ties between the disparate demographic groups that make up the Democratic party are unraveling at a very quick pace...

Whatever else yesterday's voting may have done, it did a good job of laying bare the divides within each party. More than that, it may have exacerbated the splits.

The Democratic fight between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton seems certain to continue, and it is showing a clear divide between whites and blacks, between Hispanics and non-Hispanics, between women and men, and between older and younger voters.... The problem for Democrats is that the race is opening up the kind of sensitive divides that go to the party's very identity as an institution that unites races and genders.

The racial split was glaring in Georgia, where exit polls showed that roughly half the Democrats who voted were African-American, and that some 80% of them voted for Sen. Obama. And it wasn't just Georgia. In New York, a much different kind of state, roughly six in 10 blacks went for Sen. Obama over Sen. Clinton in her home state.

The flip side of the black-white split is the white-Hispanic split. Hispanics are starting to consistently back Sen. Clinton. In the electoral crucible of California, for instance, roughly two-thirds of Hispanics went for her, exit polls showed.

There also is a less glaring split within the party between men and women, with women going for Mrs. Clinton, and older women showing more enthusiasm than younger women. Older Democrats generally are tending toward Sen. Clinton, younger ones toward Sen. Obama.

Will be interesting to see how all this pans out. I think the reality that the alliances that make up the Democratic party are hanging by the thinnest of threads needed to be exposed for the party's own sake. There was a palpable tension in my polling station today; dozens of people in line from the different demographic groups described above, sizing each other up and predicting who one another was going to vote for. All Democrats!

Seems like wake-up calls like this are just what the doctor ordered...

Let me distract you while I continue working...

2008-02-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

The very last post that I wrote in my old blog contained a shot of a sunset that I took while standing in the middle of an empty lot off Central Avenue, between the George & Dragon Pub and Lux Cafe. And so I thought for continuation's sake, and also since I don't have the time or the brain power to think of anything remotely creative to write right now since I'm working late, I'd post another shot from the same evening:

So I visited New York for the first time recently and will admit that the city thumps Phoenix in many different ways (which I will write about in detail in due time), but I will say this: my good friends in Manhattan will never see skies like the one above. Hell, in New York, you just notice that it's getting dark which means it's time for $15 cocktail happy hour and that's about it. They don't even know what they're missing as the sun's descending towards the horizon.

The Big Apple may have 10 billion great things to offer, but Phoenix definitely wins this point hands down. Oh, and the whole not paying $2500 per month to live in a shoebox thing. Or not having rabid meter maids handing out parking tickets. Or, hey, having parking in the first place. Or...

(more on this debate later)

Holy Sh!t!

2008-02-03T23:46:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by uctriton00

That's what I said after this phenomenal catch by David Tyree (who?) in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl.

Could any of you predict that this Super Bowl was going come down to the final two minutes, and that it would be Eli Manning, and not Tom Brady, who'd make the insane, come-from-behind, game-winning drive?

A buddy of mine, a lifelong Giants fan, ran around the living room screaming after Tyree's catch and didn't stop until well after the final touchdown that put the Giants permanently ahead. You could say he was more than stoked to see the final score below:

This game was nothing short of unbelievable, and it completely made up for the fact that I didn't take part in any local pre-game, celeb-filled festivities, depriving me of perhaps my only chance to grind up against Paris Hilton like some d-bag and have my mug appear on a certain local website.

As for the commercials, were there any that you thought were really worthy? There was GoDaddy's which, well... (especially that online version which completely wasted any and all of Danica Patrick's various "talents"). The Bud Light wine and cheese one was funny, and the Stewie and Underdog duking it out for the Coke bottle ad was cool, though.

Anyway, an awsome game, despite the fact that Eli Manning looked like he had no idea where he was half the time, even after winning the damn thing. And as for Tom Brady, I know he's a fellow Bay Area-ite and all, but I was rooting for the Giants the whole way. And hell - he's got Giselle anyway. He doesn't need any of our mere mortals' pity.

Have a great start to the week.

Flashback Friday 36: So Slide Over Here...

2008-01-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a little research to see what was the #1 song in the US of A 20 years ago this week, and I found this:

INXS - Need You Tonight/Mediate

I was half way around the globe when Need You Tonight was first released, and I still remember the DJ of the local American station saying, "And now, a new sure-to-be-hit from that Australian band Inks"!

That's right. That's how this DJ pronounced the band's name.

Inks.

The DJ wasn't an Arab, which could have at least given him some excuse for the poor pronunciation. This wasn't INXS' first hit either (enter What You Need and Listen Like Thieves), therefore there was no real reason for any American DJ to screw up the band's name. Unless the DJ was either really square, a classical DJ subbing in for the Top 40 guy, or both.

Speaking of square, I thought the whole flipping the signs in Mediate was cool. And original. Until I saw this clip being played during a Dylan documentary on PBS a few years later:

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

So I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake when it comes to pop culture references, but hey, did you know INXS was paying homage to Bob when their video just came out? Didn't think so.

In any case, there's this one small unassuming, non-attention-grabbing game that's being played here in town on Sunday, and so, in the spirit of it all, I'll leave you with this:

The Chicago Bears - The Super Bowl Shuffle

You know all the words. And you also want to play the cowbell while you rap. Don't lie.

Have a great weekend.

From the PMA Collection 3

2008-01-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

I discovered some kickass bands which I've since become a big fan of by watching an obscure satellite channel at my parents' house whenever I was there to visit. Sure, quite a few of the videos were of the typical world music variety that you'd really need to be in the mood to listen to at length while incense cones burned in a corner, but they'd also throw in videos of bands that were massive amongst the pierced youth elsewhere in the world, maybe to attract more viewers that weren't 45 and wearing wooden beads and eating vegan Thai for dinner.

One of those videos happened to be this one:

Kinky - Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor

A video of a sad schmuck riding a jackass, getting dissed by every chick he hands a flower to until he meets his one true love, but then....

Ok, the video's plotline isn't all that noteworthy unto itself, but the band's sound wasn't remotely what I was expecting when the world music VJs said, "...and now, here's a band from Monterrrrrey, Mexico!" Especially since it was following a video of some random Kazakh farmer girl singing about a cow and her runaway shepherd boyfriend. I'll say right here that I'm ashamed to admit I had no idea at the time that Mexico had such a kickass music scene. Something way the hell beyond Maná, mariachis, and the odd accordion. This guy who thinks he knows quite a bit of shit about the world just got schooled big time.

Thus began my adventures into el universo de la música alternativa, with Kinky being the gateway band into mi pendiente en el oblivion. Did that even make any sense? My Spanish sucks. So does my writing these days. Anyway, as for said Kinky, the band kicks ass. I've caught them live a number of times in small clubs and they've never disappointed. Great energy. Awesome music. Definitely recommended. What this random Pakistani guy is doing listening to Meximusic, who the hell knows. Some of us apparently follow Bruce Springsteen. Others follow Mexican bands. It all makes sense.

As for Link TV, again I'll admit they're fully responsible for me knowing this band. But I'd say through me, I'm responsible for a bunch of my friends knowing this band. Which then begs to ask the question: who should Kinky pay commission to? Me or this TV station? I've know I've gotten my friends to buy Kinky's CDs. How many people did Link TV get to buy Kinky's CDs? One (who was me - because you know all those 45-year old wooden-bead wearing, vegan Thai food-eating viewers download this shit for free).

* Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor appeared on PMA 2

Goes to show you should never talk smack about Canadian finches...

2008-01-28T10:27:00.001-07:00

Well, looks like this sad reporter just got served.

Which brings us to our Now That's One To Grow On Lesson of the Week: Don't look up into trees, mofo, because you never know what's on its way down.

Happy Monday, amigos.

Flashback Friday 35: Sarfraz Manzoor, This One's For You

2008-01-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

You know, you just start up the 2nd generation of your blog, you start posting, and in one of those posts you write about a book you own about a Pakistani guy who has his life altered by the music of Bruce Springsteen but haven't read it yet (but you want to except you are also a piddling lazy ass), but then you get the flu and you ignore the blog for a few days, and in the interim, the author of said book comments you back, imploring you to get off your lazy ass and read his well-crafted work.

Well, Sarfraz Bhai, you probably weren't expecting it, but you just got yourself roped into a Flashback Friday. A shukria to you for helping me figure out what the hell I was going to post this week, because my flu-addled brain was at a complete and utter loss.

Lo, behold:

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark

Yeah, I think this pick is pretty much obvious. It's an awesome song. It's got Bruce. It's got a vat-load of white man dance moves. It's got an unsuited Max Weinberg on drums, way before Conan found him. I think it's got Silvio Dante lurking the shadows somewhere, but I can't spot him (can you?). And it's got Courtney Cox, back when she was a hot midwestern-looking pixie who didn't speak but just got pulled onto stages and just danced the white girl dance and then smoothly faded to black. And I'm wondering: who was her agent? Because without her 20 seconds at the end of this video, would she have been commanding $1 million plus on Friends? Would she even be an extra on Friends?* You gotta ponder. Such is the power of The Boss.

Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise

Obviously Bruce decided to become more serious once we hit junior high. No more adrenaline-pumped concert videos or misinterpreted national anthems that really talk about the plight of Vietnam vets of our elementary years. New Bruce was mellow. Scaled back. No angular star of the Scream series in sight. This was the Bruce that could do an entire studio video in one shot, 3 years before Sinéad stared blankly at a screen for 5 straight minutes. Talking about disguises and tunnels of love and all that. This album may not have been the most engaging for a kid in his teens, but I appreciate it a lot more now. Maybe that's because I'm now in that whole "adult contemporary" demographic. Hell, I don't even understand VH1 anymore.

In any case, to all of you, have a great weekend. My weekend is going to encompass me lying on my couch and drinking chicken noodle soup (note: I really hate chicken noodle soup at this juncture, although I still won't complain about lying on my couch).

And maybe, while I'm doing nothing besides staring at the wall, I'll go ahead and actually read a book. Because sometimes I'd like to think of myself as being spontaneous and productive. Right? No?

Cue crickets.

* No offense to anyone who is a rabid fan of Courtney Cox, "Friends", or white girl dance moves

From the PMA Collection 2

2008-01-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

Having the flu sucks.

Now with that out of the way...

MC Solaar - Au Pays De Gandhi*

I've been a fan of Chadian-Senegalese-French hip-hop maestro MC Solaar for several years now, and was surprised when he included this desi-inspired track on Mach 6 back in 2003. Sure, this song is not even remotely deep (and the video doesn't really help in that department either), but it's still got a good enough beat and the lyrics sure as hell sound better in French than in English (where, if translated, the song would be lamer than a combo-pack of tube socks). Still worth including, though.

* Au Pays De Gandhi appeared on PMA Vol. 4

Caffeinated Spin Control

2008-01-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

So, two days ago an article made the rounds of the interweb news talking about the dangers of caffeine, specifically pertaining to pregnant women:

click to read full article

Seems like a legitimate cause for concern as far as I can tell. However, less than 24 hours later, this article starts making it rounds:

click to read full article

Look suspicious? Especially considering the second study, if you read the full article, is completely inconclusive. But the headline definitely takes away the stigma of caffeine's impact on women's health from the previous day. Did the "Caffeine Industry" see the bad news and decide to go into PR spin overdrive? None of these articles actually mention who's funding the research. I wonder if there should be some mandated acknowledgement by journalists as to who's actually sponsoring these statistics (instead of hiding behind names like Harvard Medical School). Shouldn't the reader have a right to know so they could make a more educated conclusion and look at all sides of the story and not just one? Especially when it comes to health? I know my idea's DOA, but I feel it's worth thinking about.

I guess the regular person's too lazy or doesn't have the time to go seek all the necessary information. And the media and the corporations know it. I guess I'll shut up now...otherwise I'll experience a media blackout like John Edwards.

Disclaimer: I in no way am attacking caffeine itself. For at least this very moment, it's my best friend.

Someday I'll Read This Book That's Collecting Dust On My Bookshelf, Part 1

2008-01-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I read a single book in all of 2007, which is a lame state of affairs. I don't really have an excuse to top it off, either. I can't say I was voraciously blogging my life away, because the vast bulk of you who're reading this know I'd be full of shit if I actually said that. Or I guess I could say I was studying for a test or 100, because that's actually true. But still...not one book?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not an ingrate. I buy books. Often. It's just that they then sit there uncracked on my bookshelf. Why this phenomenon happens while I'm perfectly content re-reading the same National Geographic article about Mt. Vesuvius while sitting on the throne is beyond me. I guess I could stop buying books and just check them out of the library when I actually want to read one, but that would actually make me a logical human being. And who needs that.

Anyway, the book above is called Greetings from Bury Park and written by a Pak Brit named Sarfraz Manzoor. I actually scored an advanced readers' edition from a friend who works in a local bookstore, saw it, read the back, immediately thought of me, and there you have it. Sitting on my bookshelf. Waiting. Bored. Listless.

I guess I owe it to my friend to actually read it. Besides the fact it's gotten great reviews. And besides the fact that the author's someone I could probably relate to. And besides the fact that it's not that long. I just need to get off my lazy ass. I know Naples is at the mercy of a simmering nearby volcano. Why do I need to re-know it? Magma really isn't all that interesting.

Anyway, in case you're more diligent about reading books than I am and are up for some PakLit, here's the synopsis:

Sarfraz Manzoor was two years old when, in 1974, he emigrated from Pakistan to Britain with his mother, brother, and sister. Sarfraz spent his teenage years in a constant battle, trying to reconcile being both British and Muslim, trying to fit in at school and at home. But it was when his best friend introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen that his life changed completely. From the age of sixteen on, after the moment he heard the harmonica and opening lines to “The River,” Springsteen became his personal muse, a lens through which he was able to view the rest of his life. Both a tribute to Springsteen and a story of personal discovery, Greetings from Bury Park is a warm, irreverent, and exceptionally perceptive memoir about how music transcends religion and race.

So a book about Pakistanis and The Boss. Why in the hell haven't I read this yet? Oh yeah, because I'm lame.

Anyway, if any of you end up reading it before me, just don't spoil it. Bruce would be pissed.

Barren Serenity

2008-01-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not remotely near the level of a professional photographer, but I'm having a good time learning, even with all the cruddy bunk shots that have resulted from a lot of trial and error with my camera set on manual.

It was around 110 degrees F when I hiked up this sand dune in my Birks and shot this pic, but I'd say it was worth the effort (and a pair of toasted feet).

Have a great Monday.

Flashback Friday 34: Your First College Concert

2008-01-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Digable Planets - Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

Digable Planets was the first paid concert I saw in school. We were probably a few weeks into the year when I saw fliers with their faces posted up on bulletin boards. I grabbed some tickets in no time. Probably because ever since I saw the above video I'd been infatuated with Ladybug. And, of course, in the small campus pub environment of the show, I soon found myself up front and Ladybug threw down some sweet verse while gripping my hand for an entire song and looking into my eyes like some intense poetic vixen. I was 18. I was a dork. And she had me completely transfixed.

But then they moved on to the next song and she let go of my hand and turned her attention back to the audience at large and I came back to reality with a thud. In any case, Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) is classic. I wish Digable stuck around longer than they did - but record companies were more interested in numbnuts like Ja Rule instead. Such is life.

Sunscreem - Love U More

Our campus also had these free shows on Friday nights called TG's (short for TGIF's which is lame but it worked in the early 90's), and I think Sunscreem was the first band to perform right when we started class. They were known for their one song, Love U More (seen above), and pretty much nothing else. I remember going with a bunch of folks from the dorms to see them play, but I don't really remember the concert itself. Could be that I'm old and senile or that they really were forgettable.

But then, there's the first BIG show I saw back in school:

U2 - Until The End Of The World (Live)

So the Zoo TV tour pretty much kicked ass. Sure, Bono's ego had increased to megalomaniacal proportions by 1992, but experiencing those tracks from Achtung Baby come to life for the first time was priceless. Except for the fact that to balance my budget for buying that ticket I ate nothing but cafeteria food and Top Ramen for the next month. But worth it, bar none.

Have a great weekend folks (or you, lone folk person, who is probably the only one reading this).

From the PMA Collection 1

2008-01-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

You know what, I think I'm going to start a new music series.

Why?

Because I can. Just like that.

Something that the new blog will have that the old one never got a chance to.

This is going to be a series featuring tracks that I've stuck on one of my PMA CD compilations that I've made for my friends over the years
The vast bulk of PMA CDs were produced as party favors (centered around either New Year's or my birthday). But since I don't anticipate throwing a big bash in Arizona anytime soon, my friends usually get CDs via envelope. Or osmosis. Or "soon."
What's on a PMA CD? All the rock, hiphop, pop, electronica, percussive cultural mishmash coming from the rest of the planet. Argentina? Check. Pakistan? Check. Senegal? Why not.
99.79% of the lyrics on any of these tracks aren't in English, so if you hate movies with subtitles, you'll probably hate these posts. So head back to Counting Crows-ville, because this ain't your bag.
Having this video series doesn't mean Flashback Friday will disappear. Because craptastic videos from high school and beyond are worth saving for posterity.
From the PMA Collection doesn't necessarily have to appear on Thursday, either. It'll appear whenever. Completely random, just like the tracks themselves.

And so, with all that said, I present you the first video:

La Caution - Thé à la Menthe*

La Caution is a hip-hop duo consisting of two brothers of Moroccan heritage, Hi-Tekk and Nikkfurie, who hail from the hardscrabble suburbs of Paris (I feel like I'm writing an artist bio in a music magazine and will stop this portion now).

Anyway, I've got into their music only relatively recently (about 8 months), mainly because I forgot they made this one track which, when I heard it playing during the scene of this one movie, I thought was awesome but then I promptly forgot about it. Probably because the rest of the movie was also forgettable.

You know, that one:

So if you actually sat through Ocean's 12 (to which, I commend you), then you probably recognized the music from what is the movie's most (and probably only) memorable scene. And if you watched the actual La Caution video, you'd notice that Vincent Cassel (Mr. Capoeria Laser Dance Man) is also in it. That's because he's been in the same arts collective as the brothers Caution for years and it was he who recommended their track for the movie, giving them exposure to a much larger audience (including myself). And for that, I thank him.

But then there's this other piece of trivia about Vincent Cassel...

He's married to Monica Bellucci, supreme goddess of all things goddess.

Bastard.

* Thé à la Menthe appeared on PMA Vol. 6

As if Pakistan doesn't have enough problems ...

2008-01-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Earthquakes, Taliban, political assassinations, foreign meddling, low literacy rates, rampant corruption, feudalism...and Britney Spears.

Equally destructive to any country.

Flashback Friday 33: Back and In Effect, BBD Style

2008-01-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it's my first Flashback Friday in who knows how long. I'm not really sure as to, after all this time, where to begin.

Wait.

I know...

Bel Biv DeVoe - Poison

I think I once tried to co-opt some of BBD's moves during a high school dance, and I looked like a chicken undergoing electrocution instead. As such, I stopped.

Now I don't know what I have mad skillz in. I do know it's not dancing. Me doing any of the moves above equals laughter for everyone else and a pulled rib and hamstring muscle and humiliation for me.

That said, Poison wasn't the only BBD anthem on the radio back in the day:

Bell Biv DeVoe - Do Me

The time was 6 o'clock on the Swatch watch
No time to chill, got a date, can't be late
Hey, the girl is gonna do me
Move to the Jacuzzi, ooh, that booty
Smack it up, flip it, rub it down, oh, no.......

I wonder if our parents knew about this song. I don't think they did. But I have a feeling that Bel Biv DeVoe flew under the national moral radar while 2 Live Crew got the Moral Majority going crazy. And given that so many of my friends are already parents, how cool would they be with their kids hearing Do Me? Much less rapping to the verse above?

Food for thought.

My head's so burny

2008-01-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've got a man cold right now. I can relate.

Two Years On

2008-01-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Exactly two years ago on this day at this time, I landed in Phoenix to start a new chapter in life, and wrote a blog post from the room seen above, wondering what lied in store for me in my new home and whether I made the right decision to come here. It's insane to think about how quickly time has passed.

A lot has happened between then and now. Some for the good, and some for the bad (of which one result was me taking my old blog off the air). To say the transition has been challenging is an understatement. But all part of the parcel.

And then I thought, after a long hiatus, it was time to head back to the blogosphere, however cautiously. Since most people who need to know what's going on with me know what's going on with me, I'm not going to share much of that out here in cyberspace anymore.

This new PMA 2 will be a spot for me to park some more mundane ramblings. Maybe some photos. Maybe some reviews of both movies and music. And maybe, just maybe, a return to Flashback Fridays. We'll see. Basically like my old blog. Just without my life and other people bit.

I'm pretty much noncommittal on the blog right now, but since most likely no one else is going to be reading this anyway, hey, no worries.

Who knows where the next two years lie ahead. Let's hope they're interesting, at least.