11/12/01 Nothing much worth talking about except for the fact that i'm not getting enough sleep and I've seen the play a few too many times. actor (talking to actress)- 'this play is getting SO boring, it shows none of our talents, i can't wait to get out of here' me- 'well atleast you act in it,, i have to watch the play every night' LINKS!!! www.allmusic.com and www.archive.org. Two web sites definately worth checking out, the former is one huge extensive music catalog featuring mini-reviews and a list of credits for every performer under the sun and the latter offers an archive of older editions of every website. That must be one huge harddrive. 11/09/01 Last night was OUR show. I think taking our first four day break really did all of us some good. Its not like our jobs are difficult or anything but it requires a certain level of concentration, in other words a monkey coudn't do it :-). The actors gave a rather lackluster performance and toward the end of the last number the girl who was singing's (who's quite the looker by the way) mic died and her dress started coming off. Well, fuck ups asides our efficiency more then made up for it. Two new songs in the works. One sounds a bit like NIN but funkier and the other is best described as a dark journey through low-fi bass and muffled drums. I want a real drum machine. Also, the overdrive on my amp is fux0r3d, somebody buy me a new one. I heard that Microsoft is working on a patch that will remove the World Trade Center from all versions of their popular program 'Flight Simulator'. I want realism from my games. I don't want to fly around New York circa 1993 and see now twin towers, damnit. 11/07/01 I'm currently working on getting a deep gravely tone to my voice.Getting this procedure to work succesfully can take a while, but i think i'm getting there. One good practice is to try to get that buddhist monk sound, go so low with your voice that your chin is pressed up against your neck. Everybody in San Diego are pansies when it comes to weather, myself included (at times). It was around 60 today and it felt too cold to enjoy. The Simpsons was so inanely hilarious last night! This once again proves that the series could very well last for five or more years longer and still feel fresh. 11/05/01 Yes. Starting from this sunday afternoon, I get to have a four day break from the play. This has been a LONG week. Everybody check out my new song 'The Last of our Kind', highly recommended if you want to hear me do my best cookie monster metal impression. 11/03/01 Last night was thep opening of "Babes in Arms" . I thought me and the crew did surprisingly well considering the last runthrough was less then stellar. The actors also put on a more energetic performance then usual. Perhaps they function better under stress? Happy birthday Hanna! and also Happy birthday Hannah! (I forgot to mention your b-day in the last update). 11/01/01 Check out my favorite cds of last month. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. 'tis a shame I wasnt around to celebrate. All well, its not a REAL holiday, its just a good excuse to goof off for a few hours. I've been meaning to add more to this site but I've been extremely busy the last few days putting in dozens of hours down at the theatre. 'Babes in Arms' isn't the most exciting of plays, but the cast and crew make it all the more bearable. My hands are sore from all the stuff I've been doing. To the couple of people looking forward to more D.R.A. productions, be patient. I've still got to lay down some vocals and add. guitar lickage, and then i've got to sequence the damn thing. Speaking of lickage I've got some good guitar parts going for some songs I'll write for the band I'm in. Now all I have to do is find a time to go practice. Finally, I'm impressed with the number of hits my site had been getting. Its received atleast thirteen hits in two days. A small number, but it means something to me. Keep coming folks. 10/27/01 Hannah's party was a can of whoopass and a large bag of doritos. I don't party enough. It makes me sad. So, if you're reading this Hannah, thank you, and i hope you had a great time. Last night I got a compliment on my hands. You can check out these beauties in the MUSIC section. :-). 10/26/01 Theres a goofy picture of me in the LINKS section. I put it in there because I have nowhere else to put it and the picture I have up right now is too cool to take down. Today was dull. Nothing worth noting. Work on the new speed-metal/hip hop song is coming along slowly as is a remix of NTL 242's 'Goodbye to Hope'. Wolftenstein 3D is shitznit in a can. I long for the days when Id Software made something other then the endless Doom and Quake sequels. Take a look at the results of my personality disorder test on the right. I woudn't necessarily agree with most of it; for the most I feel quite comfortable with myself. Its a decent test, though. I recommend you take it. 10/25/01 Nick is such a common name. Its almost unfathomable that someone woudn't know it. 10/24/01 Update in the DOWNLOADS section. My new song is CRAZY. What began as an old-school hip-hop track has now transformed into a speed-metal monster. Stay tuned. As for my personal life...I'm SPENT. The tech rehearsals for 'Babes in Arms' are coming up in less then a week and on top of it I've got to study for the CHSPE. The former could be an interesting experience but the latter is well...intimidating to say the least. After December 22nd I'll be as free as a bird. I CAN'T WAIT. 10/23/01 My music has finally been approved my IUMA. Check dra.iuma.com in the next couple days when the site goes 'live'. 10/22/01 Work on a new song begins. This one harkens back to the glory days of hip hop/EBM and thus far I am quite impressed with it. Now I have to figure out where vocals would fit in there...Speaking of vocals, Sean says I have the worst set of vocal chords ever. I'll admit my voice aint great but his aint too hot either :-). 10/21/01 Check out my new song 'The Duke Nukem Funk Ensemble' over at my IUMA site. Take the 'punk or poser' test over at Fuali.com. The link is on the right. 10/20/01 Thanks to those who checked out my first couple D.R.A. productions. 'Manback Medley' is only half done. I'll probably remake it soon, i just uploaded it to the IUMA site to make a good impression. (remember, its still in the 'preview' stage). I'm in the process of mixing and programming a new song; a song which will be funky fresh. Keep your ears tuned. 10/18/01 Original song, it is! The first production under the name 'The Dreaded Rear Admiral' is now complete. After hours of tweaking, "Happy No Mad" is ready for your listening pleasure! I've registered for an IUMA site. Go check out the preview site here... 10/17/01 Stagecraft class was tiring as usual. Afterwards, an hour or so at Bens followed by more work on my musical project. Thanks for voting! So far the demand is high for an original song. I guess no one wants to hear me butcher 'Dust in the Wind' ;-). 10/16/01 I added a few things today. Check out the links. Its still a work in progress but its cool to have anyways. Also, please take the time and check out the new POLL. The question is which song you would like to hear from me first. 'Message to Harry Manback' and 'Dust in the Wind' would be covers for those who wont know. 10/15/01 People, the time has come. In the coming week you'll get to hear the first in a series of musical wankings before I try to get mp3.com to host my musak. Expect all kinds of craziness. Expect quasi-industrial beats and acoustic guitars distorted and mixed beyond recognition. I'll also be covering Tool's 'Message to Harry Manback' and MAYBE Kansas's 'Dust in the Wind' in the near future. I'll just to have to record these at a reasonably low rate. 10/14/01 1640 hits and counting. Not too bad but I bet i'd get twice the number of hits if I had one of those trendy Live Journals (which i'm considering btw). I remember about a year or so ago putting up a poll asking which cd i should buy next. That got everyone coming here. 'the war is going as planned'. yeah, freakin' right. we can keep bombing away but it ultimately seems like a futile tactic. I dont believe we're making as much progress as it seems. A kid asks his father "daddy, is God a man or a woman?". His father replies "both son. God is both". After a while the kid comes back to his father and asks "daddy, is god black or white?". His father replies "both son, both". A few minutes later the kid returns, yet again. "daddy, is Michael Jackson God?". C'MON PEOPLE!!!!!111! Its once again hip to make fun of the old guy! 10/13/01 Cool Edit Pro is THE shit. It has a lurning curve, but for a good reason. Once I can get this program under my belt, I will be uber happy. I'll put up a Links section soon! Right now check out these... www.placidmusic.com (check these guys out. they show a lot of promise and do the industrial-metal thing very nicely. recommended download: "on your cross"). www.somethingawful.com (a humor site. the articles on here are remniscent of the Onion but only cruder! its great fun, so please check it out. Cliff Yablonski's page is the definative timewaster. 10/06/01 Me and Sean (the drummer) recently recorded a recent session of ours. If I had any idea how to upload samples, I'd do it in a flash. Would someone like to let me know how to go about doing this? 9/19/01 I've decided that I won't bore the few readers of this website with any kind of tribute to the souls who died in the WTC and Pentagon crashes. Theres nothing I could say on the subject which hasnt been said before but I can't resist adding a few of my own comments...The media has become infatuated with it. I can't turn on the radio without hearing an interview with a witness. 7 out of 10 websites feature banners for the Red Cross and while its a valiant effort, I've heard that they've got more then enough at the New York hospitals. I think I'll shut up about that, though. I havn't given blood yet. The reports of racism against arabs I've been hearing are awful. I saw a nice sign in a store window today; "lets not turn into the hatred we despise". Also, why is putting an american flags everywhere considered patriotic? I understand the sentiment but when I start seeing them in the windows of McDonalds, it begins to lose its meaning. I had a dream last night I saw Tool at SEA WORLD and went to a bookstore to meet the Beastie Boys. I wish all my dreams were this exciting. Jagged Alliance 2 is just about the greatest real time strategy game ever made. If you're reading this and like computer games, please check it out. Its only $10! (end game pimpage). I'm writing this on a 21" monitor. YEAH BABY!!! Last but not least, check out my review of Tool's 'Lateralus' |
12/24/01 Yeah, yeah, i should be updating this page frequently as this console is supposed to offer "daily ponderings". Christmas is tomorrow and I'm not really excited. I'll just have a few more things to call my own, but I love the holiday anyway. Oh yeah, i went to a mass today at our local Catholic church with the rest of my family. Good times? Not really, but I didn't object to the idea either (thus my attendance). Christmas parties can be a lot of fun, like the one I went to yesterday. It's too bad they're all over, damnit. 12/14/01 Well, I've been having a pretty damn boring week but incase anybody cares at all, heres the things I've been up to lately: Helping my family organize and sort through loads and loads of crap to sell at an upcoming garage sale. It's not my responsibility in the least; It's mostly my dads. The only stuff of mine which I've had to wade through are the hundreds of action figures that me and my brother have collected over the years. Sorting through them sure brought back some nice memories and I still cant part with a few of them, but on the other hand there is little point in keeping around hundreds of these things, especially when they're half broken. I've been playing Diablo 2. Now I know that the designers, or atleast distributors of these games lie profusely when it comes to the system requirements. The game runs fairly smoothly at times if you have no other programs running, and I don't have to even lower the details. The game itself is pretty damn fun. Unlike the first, it gives you very little challenge; You run around killing things, find conveniant "waypoints" (which save you from having to find the level you're in manually) and scattered across the battlefield are more then enough healing potion, scrolls and specialized weaponry. But that's why I think the game has been such a big success (the Diablo and Blizzard brand names aside). It has more then enough swordplay and bloodshed to fit well into the action genre, yet it still gives players the satisfaction of building a character like in most RPGs. Last but not least, I've been working my upper body like nobody's business. Pull up bars are THE best and pretty soon (if you get in the habit of using one) your body will be demanding use of it. I've been trying to do atleast twenty five of these a day as well as countless pushups. Everybody start fearing Strongman Nick. He'll be here one of these days. 12/10/01 Sorry about the lack of updates. I'm working on a new section and while my life hasn't been anywhere near as busy the last week (my class has ended), updating this crude old website has taken less priority. True ninjas need no clothes. 12/01/01 Everybody have a happy guilt-free December. This will take a drain on my wallet and yet again remind me that his year has passed way too fast. It's ok though, I've had an exceptionally good year. If I was a Quake monster I'd be a Shambler! I'm happy, those things rule. Go take the test for yourself on the right. I've been putting off work on new D.R.A. songs. No reason, but the idea of making more wanky side-project noise-rock is in the backburner of my mind. Right now I'm thinking up ideas and concepts for songs for the 'band', and holy mackeral, I'd really like to meet some willing and able bass players. 11/30/01 I spent the last day and a half over at David's house: Certainly a nice excuse to put my feet up, laugh and have an overall good time. This also gave me the chance to borrow Diablo 2 and yes, it does work (not so smooth though). I need to see David more often...More updates tomorrow. 11/25/01 Everyone check out an old interview I conducted with Ian Currie back when I was self-publishing my Computer Games Newsletter. Read it here I got a seven and a half hour nap last afternoon, good times indeed. I feel pretty well rested except certain parts of me are aching from playing broomball... 11/24/01 Never before have I felt so deprived of sleep. I'll try to make up for that if I can but I seem to have a problem sleeping during the day. The outing was fun for the first few hours but by about 3 (am) I was conked out completely and felt almost completely anti-social by 6. I guess I can't help that too much; I can only amuse people for so long and stay coherant, I guess I felt more then a little burnt out from the long day I had yesterday. Well, it was a good experience anyways... 11/23/01 I've got a big day ahead of me...Sean will come over to practice in a couple hours and later I go out with co to some get-together. p.s. If movie theaters can afford those automatic sinks and toilets, how come they can't spend that little extra they've got sitting deep down in their pockets and buy some damn URINAL DIVIDERS?!? I have a hard time keeping a straight face when I use these damn things; the whole concept of a bunch of men all pissing at once into a few holes in a wall is somehow very amusing. 11/21/01 Harry Potter!!!!!1111!!! THE MOVI3 WAS SO FR3AKiN' G00D!!!111. Umm...not really. I might of appreciated it more if I was one of those hardcore Potter fanatics, but I'm not one. I think that it was pulled off well but at times it just felt long, overblown and/or overly sentimental. I also think that asides from the concept of a boy going to wizardry school, the plot was a little thin. Just my 2.0222222 cents. 11/20/01 What a peaceful, solemn day...Nothing much worth noting. I'll be writing a 'favorite cds of November 2001' list soon enough for anybody who cares to read it. 11/19/01 I've had no life and a packed schedule at the same time; a double standard if you will. I can let go of a deep breath now that 'Babes in Arms' is over. The last couple performances were very solid and paced wonderfully and its a shame that all the shows weren't up to those kinds of standards. Now, I want it to continue, I've tasted the theatre and I like it. Next semester's production will be 'Hello Dolly' and whether or not I'll take Stagecraft again remains to be known; its a class I'd recommend but its incredibly time consuming and there are other things that I could be learning about, however, this is the only class I can think of in the City College catalog where you really get down to the nitty-grity- hands on experience of learning about this kind of work and the only class which strays away from the classroom situation. I took the CHSPE on Saturday; I'm fairly pessimistic about the results for the questions given in the pamphlet were a lot harder then the ones I was weened on in the model test book. Am I boring you? I thought so... Has my full plate affected my social life? That's what I've been wondering. I still recieve phone calls from time to time but asides from that Its been rather slow in that department as of late. Before people call me a hypocrite, I AM a social person and make many strides when it comes to communicating and planning et al...Sometimes I think though that its all just a lost cause.I can't put my finger on it but its something which really kind of bothers me. I moderate an egroup for homeschooling teenagers; i've made some good friends there and for the most part I'd say its improved my life in many ways this last year yet I still feel like I'm not *quite* accepted, like I'm solely the man in charge and not much else. Maybe its my persona which rubs people the wrong way. Maybe its my bi-polarity creeping up on me again (well, im not certain that I have this personality disorder but it seems that way). I don't know, sometimes I just feel disapointed, maybe even misanthropic. Tonight was a good example. I got a call from a good friend telling me that she went with some others to go see a movie because class was practically cancelled; I was told I was called when I was out at class yet I looked at the call waiting list and there were no familiar numbers on the screen. I also heard from a certain source that I probably woudn't of had any fun. Anyone whos familiar with me would know its quite the contrary, i'm easily amused. So what is it? Do I have good reasons for feeling a little bit down or am I over-reacting? To anyone who I refer to who may read this, its not a personal barb against you, just something I had to get out of my head and on to the keys. I'll stop waxing rant now and shut up. |