This weekend I watched all 3+ hours of Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith (including the extra footage bits). A lot of Smith's material is rehashed stories he's told on talk shows, smodcast or in his writings. About 50% is new material which is pretty good, in particular, the story about his part in Live Free or Die Hard and being on the set with Bruce Willis. good stuff. Worth the watch if you have the time.

I watched a pretty cool flick tonight called Yo-Yo Girl Cop. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars for pure entertainment value. Some cheesy effects here and there but also some great scenes and good characters. Nice integration of the original Subekan Deka. A decent popcorn watch.

I did something I can't ever remember doing before... erm, maybe I did a long time ago, a real long time ago. anyways, I finally joined the gym down the street (cardinal fitness) which I should've joined back when I only lived a few blocks away rather than a mile. and it's cheap.

I think my age and my health recently spurred the decision (along w/the frigid weather severely limiting any outdoor activities). I guess I'm worried about falling back into the same trap that snared me for several years (from the late 90s to '04 or so). The fact that I've jumped from 160s into the 170s in only a couple months is disconcerting. it's a slide I can't allow to continue. and truthfully, I haven't done much (read: almost nothing) in the way of exercise in those couple of months; it makes sense.

so I went to gym tonight for the first time. it was weird.

172.5lbs

I always thought about when I might be on Japanese TV someday... but this is not how I envisioned it:


The sad, tragic story (a few posts strung together):
LOUDNESS Drummer MUNETAKA HIGUCHI Dead At 49 - Nov. 30, 2008 WeROCK City has informed BLABBERMOUTH.NET that drummer Munetaka Higuchi of veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS passed away today (Sunday, November 30) around 10:00 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) at a hospital in Osaka, Japan. He was 49 years old.
Higuchi was diagnosed with liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma) in April 2008. He had reportedly undergone two rounds of chemotherapy treatment and an operation to remove part of his liver.
In an October 18, 2008 statement released via the band's official web site, Munetaka stated about his condition, "It has been half a year since I was diagnosed with liver cancer. I am really sorry that the fans are worried. The cancer has become worse despite the fact that I have been taking care of my health, and I will need more time for my treatment. [Even after undergoing the] big operation to remove half of my liver, I still need more treatment. There are various risks and dangers involved with my condition, but I'll do my best to keep my spirits up and maintain my physical strength to fight this illness. I know it is still the middle of my treatment, but I just wanted inform you about my progress since the operation. Thank you very much for all the support."
LOUDNESS utilized a session drummer — Kozo Suganuma, a member of one of the most popular fusion bands in Japan, FRAGILE, and a former member of DED CHAPLIN (featuring LOUDNESS singer Minoru Niihara) — for its "special guest" appearance at MÖTLEY CRÜE's October 26, 2008 concert at Saitama Super Arena.
LOUDNESS recently released a four-disc DVD set entitled "The Legend Of Loudness - Live Complete Best" in Japan through Tokuma Communications. It features footage spanning the band's entire career — from the early 1980s through 2008 — including the periods when it was fronted by Michael Vescera (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, OBSESSION) and Masaki Yamada (EZO).

MEGADETH Drummer Comments On Passing Of LOUDNESS' MUNETAKA HIGUCHI - Nov. 30, 2008MEGADETH's Shawn Drover has commented on the passing of LOUDNESS drummer Munetaka Higuchi, who died this morning (November 30) after a seven-month battle with liver cancer. He said, "I just found out that one of my favorite drummers passed away — Munetaka Higuchi from the band LOUDNESS. Munetaka had been diagnosed with liver cancer less than one year ago and lost his battle [today], which makes me very sad. I have been a LOUDNESS fan since 1983 and have continued to follow them throughout the years. Every time we tour Japan, I would always ask our promoter if it was possible to get in touch with the LOUDNESS guys in hopes that they may attend one of our shows. Akira [Takasaki, LOUDNESS guitarist] was rumored to swing by at one of our shows in 2005, and though it didn't happen, Glen [Drover, former MEGADETH guitarist and Shawn's brother] and I sure were excited about that possibility. This is once again a reminder to enjoy life and be thankful for what I have."

Message from Akira:
"To all the loudness fans
Our member Munetaka Higuchi has laid down his sticks as drummer of Loudnessand with them he has left that mortal part for which he no longer has use.
He was deceased on Nov. 30th 2008 10:44 am because of lever cancer. Hisgreat drum works will remain forever with our music, and his rock spiritswill be succeeded among many rock fans.
Rest in peace Munetaka,
Akira Takasaki (Loudness)"

ALIEN OnDemand

Sometime recently I watched the first 3 ALIEN films (ALIEN, ALIENS, ALIEN3) on Comcast OnDemand. Sadly the PQ was heavily with artifacts. Can't wait for a HD home video release of these films!

Updated: Blu-ray is now available on Amazon!! -- Alien Anthology [Blu-ray]

It's my stepmom's b-day tomorrow.

after seeing tropic thunder yesterday i decided to dive into pineapple express for a matinee and it was a lot of fun. it's not typically a flick that gets me to the theater by my lonesome but when i heard the /film podcast about the film i was curious so i went. it was great. definitely a re-watch. so there's at least 2 flicks that could get replay at a future movie night.

i finally got a new shower curtain and liner today which i greatly needed and caught up with my bff in south africa during the entire process. spent more time (and up until 4am last night) this afternoon working on more san francisco yctv video cuts; it's so tedious. took an extended nap then went for a run to add my miles to the nike world run day or whatever it's called.

this evening i watched step up which was actually a lot better than i anticipated. enough so i watched most of the bonus features. scary. i also started watching my ratt dvd which is amazing so i turned it off otherwise it would've sucked the rest of the evening and unfortunately i had more video cuts to finish.

i got the new dragonforce and slipknot records today... the cd/dvd deluxe package for each. finally saw tropic thunder which was easily the 2nd best movie this summer. just got back from a 2 hour bike ride in the woods; the last 40 min in dark. scary as hell.

today, during the actual "daytime", has been rather lackluster. by late afternoon i was lulled into a deep sleep. this morning i woke prematurely at 6AM followed by a morning meeting and other misc. work stuff. i was crazy tired by afternoon. however, tonight has been more productive with nyc, atlanta and san francisco yctv map builds as well as new map images courtesy of me. they actually look pretty decent. i could probably work all night on yctv stuff. still have so many san fran video cuts left to do.

should I feel guilty for spending $31.75 at a coffee shop so me and my g/f can enjoy some nice tea, coffee and sweets while she studies and I work? I don't feel guilty, however, a couple of years ago the thought of spending any money in a coffee shop would have been unthinkable. my how things change. props for awesome organic bakery and cafe in glenview, illinois.

today has been productive; I thought up a new way to promote our yctv product using our LHD profiles; essentially, any hotel located in one our current destinations rec'd a nice (useful) map link. I needed to perform some LHD updates anyways for a few of my properties which spawned the idea. I'm rather pleased about this.

On top of that, this morning I test drove the car I plan on buying soon (hopefully in a matter of days). I have an appt to look at another one at a different dealership near my home tomorrow afternoon. gotta clean out my current wheels and prep for the trade-in.

6pm. time to go home.

wednesday. office day. i know i'm not the only one shocked by the recent cold weather (chicago)... my god, it was 45 degrees F last night... on May 27th. i went for a run yesterday and had to suit up in my winter gear because the wind was so fierce. i'm only sad that those in denial about the greenhouse effect (or those that just won't accept it) won't be alive when the weather really goes into the toilet. i didn't sleep again last night... maybe 1 hour this morning after i looked at the clock and saw it was 7am. it's the strangest thing.

so my g/f is working on this new site, Tokyo Videos, which is more about videos around Japan that she deems worthy. I emphasize that last part because you won't find too many music videos or J-pop performances here. it's a lot more about culture and things unique to Japan. not everything but most of it.

Looking across the lastest video posts for May I see: kabuki, sanja matsuri, aoi matsuri, yumomi dance, and rakugo among other things. There's plenty of "everyday" type stuff and probably around 300 videos at this point (and still going). if you've got an interest in Japan and all things Japanese (culture, history, language, etc.) definitely check out the site and browse around. if you see any "broken" videos, please post a comment or send an email.

memorial day 2008. being out today reminded me of a couple things I hate about the warmer weather we're finally experiencing... the first: seatbelt enforcement zones. this is a lovely way to slow the already slow traffic; what's worse are the idiots that don't bother to put their seatbelt on after seeing the signs then get flagged and ticketed only moments later. duh. It's always nice to know our tax dollars are going towards the installation of 4 or 5 cops on a slow street corner to enforce seatbelts.

The second: ice cream trucks. This, to me, is arguably the most annoying aspect of warm days. I cringe whenever I hear that same stupid (loud) tune echoing thru the neighborhood that switches between "The Entertainer" and some other equally repetitive jangling tune. Ugh. I remember the ice cream trucks when I was a kid... and even patronizing them when they came into our cul-de-sac. But I've never had a fondness for them. Yet, over the recent years, I've developed a hatred for them. I wish I had a device that would silence them anytime they came into the vicinity. Then maybe I wouldn't care so much.

Saw tCoN: Prince Caspian today... it was okay.

I watched a flick lastnight I got from Netflix called Frontier(s). It's connected to the Lions Gate/Horrorfest series... and I wish it was one of the flicks that I saw last fall (@Horrorfest 2). I don't remember if this one was listed or not but it's quite disturbing. The first 3/4 are intense and done well... the final sequence was bit rushed, IMO, maybe to get the movie under 2 hours. anyways, It's worth the watch if you haven't seen it; It's like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.. in France. Has that High Tension vibe to it.

Oh, I just checked; it wasn't part of Horrorfest but they are promoting it (it was in a handful of theaters on May 9). I'm glad I didn't see the trailer beforehand... it's all spoilers. So don't watch the trailer (assuming you haven't seen the flick; if you have, never mind).