Me Talk Pretty Show

Tonight I got my first chance to see Me Talk Pretty in concert since I started listening to them in... 04? 05?  I'm not sure when.  I do know that they were one of the first bands I found through Myspace though.  Let me tell you, the whole thing was more than I could have expected.  All the bands were pretty good, even if some weren't quite my taste (oh man was there screaming when there didn't need to be).  Me Talk Pretty's set was the best of the night though, in my opinion anyway, with Wake Up! and Brokenhearted easily being my favorites.  Of course, maybe if I knew more of Taproot's stuff, I'd have been as psyched as the rest of the crowd was for them.  However, even with most of the crowd probably waiting for Taproot, Uliana and the guys definitely took over that stage and made it theirs.

Following are the best of the shots I was able to get, but unfortunately I was forced to bump my ISO to 1600, and still ended up with a lot of blurry pics.  The fact that this was really the first live show I've shot meant that I wasn't always able to get the images I thought I had.  Oh, and my battery died about half way through Me Talk Pretty's set, which means that I had far less to filter through than I should have, and I have none from Taproot.  Images from the other acts (Color Me Blind, Shattered, and Doomsday Initiative) will be coming soon.

By the way, this band is made up of some of the coolest/nicest people I've ever met.  You can tell that they really love interacting with their fans.

Pcz,

-Shakespeare

Emoticons, where the hell did some of these things come from?

Disclaimer:  I may or may not be under the influence of alcohol as I write this.  (A friend of mine agreed that this would be more entertaining drunk, we'll see if that pans out)

Emoticons are really bloody weird.  Seriously.  I have a tendency to use one in particular, the colon P smiley, or :P.  Who actual does that in normal speech?  What does it represent?  I've used it in a "I stick my tongue out at you" function, as well as a "Look at me I'm goofy" function.  I use it so often that it seems to have like no meaning anymore to me.  It might as well be a regular colon, end parenthesis to me.  That one at least makes sense.  Other emoticons that are rather nonsensical in my head are the :$ and whatever used to make the foot in mouth one on AIM.  Who the hell came up with these?  I know it's difficult (read impossible) to convey actual expressions in text form, but why do we try?  Is it because we are trying to emulate some part of the human experience that we cannot normally show in such a format?  Another one I use far too often is the XD.  Yes it looks like a face thats laughing with the eyes squeezed shut, but again, who first noticed that?  How did they stumble into it?  It's really quite strange.  Anyway, this is starting to feel like it's running in circles, and my head hurts.  So I'm going to cut it off here for now.  I may come back to this later when my brain is less scrambled.  Not really sure.  All I know is that someone got really creative one day with smiley faces, and these bloody things caught on like wildfire.

Pcz.

-Shakespeare

Dangerbird

Alright, so this post is probably going to be pretty short, but it was better than posting just a link to Facebook or Twitter.  Anyway, as I was surfing the wide interwebs I found this site: www.dangerbirdrecords.com.  Don't ask how I found it (despite the fact that I listen to at least 3 of their artists), I think it had something to do with Liam Gallagher and the rest of Oasis's new band... maybe through a Facebook ad.  No, I didn't click the add, I think I ended up Googling Danger Bird thinking that was the band's name (it's not, their name is Beady Eye).


So, here I am, staring at this site, and I go "wtf?"  This is, in fact, a record label that supports 3 bands I already liked, and have discovered maybe 3 or 4 more already that are sounding pretty freaking awesome.  I mean seriously... Hot Hot Heat, Silversun Pickups, and Fitz and the Tantrums are all on the same label?!? How did I not know this!


Anyway, I click on Beady Eyes's page and eventually find the band's website.  Not bad, seems pretty Oasisy to be honest, but what else are they gonna sound like since it's pretty much Oasis sans Noel Gallagher?  So now I'm in the mood to explore a little.  Let's just say, I recommend you take a look at Codeine Velvet Club and The Dears.  I would say more about the others, but it's almost 7 AM and I'm gonna crash now, haha.  At the very least, if you don't like the couple bands I linked to, check out the rest of Dangerbird's lineup.  I'm fairly sure almost everyone will find something they like here, unless all you listen to is screamo or death metal or something...  Not so much of that there as far as I can tell.




Before I go, here's my favorite song by Fitz and the Tantrums, enjoy!

-Shakespeare

Technology and Learning

There's a video you should all see, that I'm posting below, that is seriously awesome.  It's entitled "A vision of students today."  It references the information overload that our culture is currently going through, and how the traditional approach to learning isn't working anymore.  It's outdated and I don't think it can at all compete with the stimulation that kids and adults alike receive on a daily basis.

If you're wondering where all of this is coming from, this is the Adult Education portion of my current studies showing its face.  I still have the chance to do some pretty creative designy things, but this half of the degree definitely makes me feel like I made the right choice about going to Grad School.

it's quite probable there will be an educational revolution as technology advances.  When? Probably pretty soon, in my opinion.  Of course, soon is always a relative term, but the way we approach education (the so called factory style model, where individuality is driven out and people are grouped together by age instead of goals and personalities) is definitely becoming outdated as the world becomes more and more wired together. Feel free to disagree of course, I'm merely relaying what I'm learning from my profs.  I just figured I'd show this off and maybe get some people thinking that previously would not have.

It's pretty interesting stuff people.

Also, if you want more videos on this topic, I'd also suggest looking up Sir Ken Robinson on TED.com or YouTube.

-Shakespeare

Brain Needs a Jump Start

Hey all,

So I tried to write a post earlier, but I have this wicked case of writer's block for some reason.  Maybe it's the lack of photo shoots I've done lately.  Which, if that's the case, then I'm screwed, because this weather has been pure suck.  Maybe I just have too much on my mind, and I can't get it into words?  Or maybe I just have too high a standard for the things I do, even when it's as simple as a little blog post.  Ok, maybe not that last one seeing as my last post was on Halo HD... lol.

Whatever my issue is, this needs to stop.  I love being in a creative mood, I get more enjoyment out of it than pretty much any of my other hobbies.  Even shitty fan-fiction would be better than nothing! (Yes, I've done it before; no, I have never posted it anywhere; no, I won't post it here, I don't even think it exists anymore.)

Maybe I'll spend any free time I have within the next few days working on "The Dreamtredder" concept instead of watching TV or playing games...  At the very least I might head to the pool now that the new aquatics hours are up.  I wonder where my goggles are...?

If anyone has suggestions on how to beat this block, post them in the comments below!  Or maybe send me an e-mail.  Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter! (Shameless self promotion isn't dirty, I swear, it's good for...something...)

-Shakespeare

Halo HD?

Rumor now has it that in November, on the 10th anniversary of "Halo: Combat Evolved," Microsoft will be releasing Halo HD for the Xbox 360.  Yes folks, this would in fact be a remake of a game released a decade ago.  I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, and curious as to the opinions of others, so leave your thoughts in the comments to this post.

What I CAN tell you, is that the sales of this game may have interesting implications for the possibility for more remakes.  I've brought this thought process up before, when the rumors first came out.  I know a lot of people would definitely have a bit of a freak out if they released say... I don't know...  the Final Fantasy games on the current generation consoles?  If Halo HD is true, and it sells, we could have a flood of remakes.  Many could just be attempts to cash in on the hype, but it's also possible for some quality games to come out this way.  We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

Also, here's a song that I've been playing a lot lately:

-Florence and the Machine - Kiss With A Fist

First!

So I have this blog now...

Why you ask?  I'm not entirely sure.  I feel like every so often I might have something interesting to say.  If not, I can at least post some music links or something.

Speaking of, my latest explorations into the vast world of "new" music has been rather entertaining.  And of course by new I mean things I haven't heard before.  One particular route I've been using has been the listing for this year's Warped Tour.  For once I have a list of about a dozen bands that I'd enjoy seeing, a rare feat for Warped.  Below you'll find a list with links to their MySpace pages, because that's the only reason to still go on that site nowadays.

Definites:

The Aggrolites

Blacklist Royals

Big D & The Kids Table

The Exposed

Lionize

Lucero

Middle Class Rut

River City Extension

Unwritten Law

Sharks
Passafire

Maybes:

Foxy Shazam
Places and Numbers
Moving Mountains