Welcome to Palm Cove.
Greetings all. Just a quick little update to... pass the time I guess. Sitting here waiting for Will & Grace to come on and I've apparently finished the internet. Let's see...
So, you may or may not remember me mentioning a little group called Malestrom awhile back (one of my early posts). Well, just a little update on that group. It's still made up of Derek Poehls, myself, Nick Naujokas, and Jim Sele. One small change: while originally we were hoping to be sort of a fun, loosey-goosey Alterior Motiv-esque group we discussed at length last month and decided to concentrate on what we do best: classical repertoire. We sound the best, blend beautifully, learn it faster. Basically, it's what we've been trained to do so we decided to stop trying to fight it and just go with the flow. With the change in focus, we also changed our name. Well, maybe "changed" is a bit much. I guess we altered it. We are now: The Malestrom Quartet. I dunno, just sounds a bit more professional don't you think? Right now we're working up some pieces for a short-ish recital/concert in the Spring so hopefully that'll pan out. Also, our friend Joe Osowski has voiced some interest in having the Quartet travel to Anoka where he teaches to perform for his choir which would be a lot of fun. Another friend of ours from way back in the day (Paul Barta) has also invited us to go sing for his students up in Grand Forks. So, y'know, we're still here! Just stay tuned (little bit of bad music humor for you).
Watched Zombieland today and it was a pretty good flick. The surprise cameo was just outstanding but I don't want to go into detail and ruin it for people who haven't had a chance to see the movie yet. Also, I finally saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it was fantastic. Wow. I really enjoyed it and suggest it to anyone who likes great movies.
Done for now. Will & Grace is starting. Bye all!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Guess it's been awhile...
Welcome to Palm Cove!
Hey ho faithful reader(s). I apologize for the... shall we say, delay... in my postings. I figured it was time to update everyone (emphasis on the one) on what's been going on in my life, as it were.
I'll begin by telling you that the filming of "E. Richard Schwab's All Hallows' Eve" was a colossal failure. Hahaha, it's okay though. We still had a good time out on uncle Clay's farm and we learned some good lessons about the process of filming with friends. The project is not dead-in-the-water, though. I still plan on getting it shot sometime but it won't be until we have a proper camera. Derek's sweet camera notwithstanding, it just didn't suit our purposes well. Well, onto other things, for now.
Here's something that really bothers me for no good reason and I figured I'd vent here. I've been following (for lack of a better term) the stupid AT&T commercials (you know the ones, Luke Wilson is in them). Anyway, they make me so mad because most of them start with him disdainfully saying something along the lines of: "Lately, there's been a lot of talk about maps. I'm here to set the record straight..." or something along those lines. What he's referring to is Verizon's recent claims of coverage superiority. They would show maps indicating the areas Verizon covers compared to AT&T. Naturally, Verizon covers a heckuva lot more area. Anyway, these new AT&T commercials have Luke Wilson "setting the record straight" about Verizon's claims and here's how they do it. By not addressing the claims at all! Verizon never claimed to have a better 3G or 4G network. They never claimed to have faster internet downloading capabilities. They never claimed to have better roll-over minute policies. Yet, these are the arguments AT&T is making... completely throwing the wool over the eyes of the public and side-stepping the issue. "With AT&T you can surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time." Okay, fair enough... but do you know why you can do that? Because you can't actually talk on the phone because you don't have coverage! Plus, why in the world would you need to talk on the phone AND surf the web at the same time? AT&T uses the situation of getting a "Lifeline" call from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and having to look up some vital piece of information. I mean, of course that's a very commonplace situation. I actually find myself in that situation at least twice a day. Come on.
Their latest commercial has a restaurant full of people and Luke Wilson explaining in an aside that "We secretly switched these AT&T customer's phones with Verizon phones. Let's see what happens..." Instantly, in this fancy restaurant mind you, everybody starts to panic because they can't surf the web (how romantic. "I love you honey... hang on, I gotta check my e-mail." Stupid in it's own right). Another woman shouts: "Hey, where are all my apps?" Followed by: "Where's my cool phone?" Point proven, eh Luke Wilson? Verizon sucks.
However, this is how my version of the same commercial would've gone:
Luke Wilson: We secretly switched out... etc etc.
Instantly, every phone starts ringing. Customers actually start getting their calls and can actually talk to their friends and family on the phone. At first they're confused because, they don't know what's going on. "My phone is ringing?" "Wait, I can actually talk to someone on this thing?" "Hold on... I actually heard what you said. I'm completely blown away." Everyone is astounded by this amazing new technology a phone that actually works as... a phone! Cut back to Luke Wilson who says: "Well, that sure didn't work out like we wanted. We should've realized that with dependable coverage, these fools would actually get their calls and cut right through our sinister smoke & mirrors campaign." Or, you know, it would've gone something like that.
I should be done rambling for now. Even as I typed this blog, I got annoyed for no good reason. Why does this bother me? It shouldn't. But whatever, we'll end it there. I'm sorry to any AT&T customers who read this blog. My intent is not to offend, but you have to admit, the commercials are stupid. For now, though, I bid you all a fond farewell. Hopefully I'll see you again soon!
Hey ho faithful reader(s). I apologize for the... shall we say, delay... in my postings. I figured it was time to update everyone (emphasis on the one) on what's been going on in my life, as it were.
I'll begin by telling you that the filming of "E. Richard Schwab's All Hallows' Eve" was a colossal failure. Hahaha, it's okay though. We still had a good time out on uncle Clay's farm and we learned some good lessons about the process of filming with friends. The project is not dead-in-the-water, though. I still plan on getting it shot sometime but it won't be until we have a proper camera. Derek's sweet camera notwithstanding, it just didn't suit our purposes well. Well, onto other things, for now.
Here's something that really bothers me for no good reason and I figured I'd vent here. I've been following (for lack of a better term) the stupid AT&T commercials (you know the ones, Luke Wilson is in them). Anyway, they make me so mad because most of them start with him disdainfully saying something along the lines of: "Lately, there's been a lot of talk about maps. I'm here to set the record straight..." or something along those lines. What he's referring to is Verizon's recent claims of coverage superiority. They would show maps indicating the areas Verizon covers compared to AT&T. Naturally, Verizon covers a heckuva lot more area. Anyway, these new AT&T commercials have Luke Wilson "setting the record straight" about Verizon's claims and here's how they do it. By not addressing the claims at all! Verizon never claimed to have a better 3G or 4G network. They never claimed to have faster internet downloading capabilities. They never claimed to have better roll-over minute policies. Yet, these are the arguments AT&T is making... completely throwing the wool over the eyes of the public and side-stepping the issue. "With AT&T you can surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time." Okay, fair enough... but do you know why you can do that? Because you can't actually talk on the phone because you don't have coverage! Plus, why in the world would you need to talk on the phone AND surf the web at the same time? AT&T uses the situation of getting a "Lifeline" call from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and having to look up some vital piece of information. I mean, of course that's a very commonplace situation. I actually find myself in that situation at least twice a day. Come on.
Their latest commercial has a restaurant full of people and Luke Wilson explaining in an aside that "We secretly switched these AT&T customer's phones with Verizon phones. Let's see what happens..." Instantly, in this fancy restaurant mind you, everybody starts to panic because they can't surf the web (how romantic. "I love you honey... hang on, I gotta check my e-mail." Stupid in it's own right). Another woman shouts: "Hey, where are all my apps?" Followed by: "Where's my cool phone?" Point proven, eh Luke Wilson? Verizon sucks.
However, this is how my version of the same commercial would've gone:
Luke Wilson: We secretly switched out... etc etc.
Instantly, every phone starts ringing. Customers actually start getting their calls and can actually talk to their friends and family on the phone. At first they're confused because, they don't know what's going on. "My phone is ringing?" "Wait, I can actually talk to someone on this thing?" "Hold on... I actually heard what you said. I'm completely blown away." Everyone is astounded by this amazing new technology a phone that actually works as... a phone! Cut back to Luke Wilson who says: "Well, that sure didn't work out like we wanted. We should've realized that with dependable coverage, these fools would actually get their calls and cut right through our sinister smoke & mirrors campaign." Or, you know, it would've gone something like that.
I should be done rambling for now. Even as I typed this blog, I got annoyed for no good reason. Why does this bother me? It shouldn't. But whatever, we'll end it there. I'm sorry to any AT&T customers who read this blog. My intent is not to offend, but you have to admit, the commercials are stupid. For now, though, I bid you all a fond farewell. Hopefully I'll see you again soon!
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