I cracked and bought the Dreamtheater DVD, after purchasing a $60 LG DVD-ROM from a small computer shop. My old DVD-ROM refused to accept any dual-layered, single-sided DVDs, and I suspect that I knocked the lens out of alignment when I was dusting out my case. When watching Jordan Rudess work the keyboard, I can only sit in disbelief.

Speaking of music, I heard of a new Live album recently, which I’ll consider checking out. Secret Samadhi is an album which I’ve always enjoyed. It reminds me of a time when I lived with my Genexxa speakers on the sides of my bed, and I’d fall asleep to music in the summer. Much like now, it was a time with no end, when each day had as much (or as little) meaning as the next. The Radiohead album also seems promising, and I might have purchased it on the day it came out, had I not been so disappointed by Kid A. Radiohead is a band which has followed me through every relationship I’ve had, much like Portishead and Tool. Oddly enough, it was Ashley who introduced me to all of them.

I quite enjoyed myself with Trolley, Aaron, Dina, and Wheaties yesterday. We toasted to both Aaron and Trolley’s new jobs and ended up watching Titus. Aaron and Dina had to crash here, since the movie ended at three in the morning and the buses had stopped running. They both had to go at eight this morning, so I still don’t feel as if I’ve recovered after seeing them off.

Before heading over to Babylon for the Dwarves concert, Iain and I stopped into Record Runner to see if there were any albums worth buying. I found the Dreamtheater concert DVD for $26 and was about to purchase it before realizing that I’d have no place to put it during the concert. I also found out that The Dears have a new album out which I must consider purchasing. I later discovered that they will be performing in two days at the same place, another thing needing consideration.

The concert was great. I didn’t know any of the opening acts (Sack Lunch, Maximum R&R, and the Riptides), but they weren’t very good anyway. I never knew how tiny Babylon is and was surprised to find airplane seats and couches scattered around the large room. The size made for an intimate atmosphere and comfortable viewing, even for vertically challenged people such as myself.

While Iain and I waited for things to get set up, we pondered the things that would look odd at a punk show. Being Asian was the first thing that we came up with, although I did see one Asian girl and one person of African decent there in a crush of Caucasian faces. We agreed that someone with an iPod or recordable MiniDisc player would stand out from superfluity alone. One thing we couldn’t figure out was the poplutation of gay punks compared to gay non-punks. I joked about whether the more dominant male punk would make fun of his effeminate, emo listening boyfriend.

There were some Dwarves shirts and CDs available for purchase, but nothing I would consider wearing. Two thongs with the skull and cross boners logo were spread out on the table in a rather embarrassing way. Even a Blood Guts & Pussy shirt was there, and we were surprised to find that it lacked a single shirt pocket.

When the Dwarves came on, there was no sign of HEWHOCANNOTBENAMED, much to our disappointment, although I suppose it was better for the crowd of all-ages. The drummer and two guitarists we didn’t recognize, although one of them came on with sunglasses and a stocking over his head while the other went skins. Blag entered with a sleeveless “Slut.” shirt sans gloves or wig (come to think of it, I haven’t seen him ever wearing a shirt with sleeves).

Then there was Tazzie.

She came on wearing a dark purple-blue dress shirt with a sequined nurses mask. Her dark brown hair covered her entire face and at times she seemed like Cousin It playing bass. Partially through the set she took off her mask, unbuttoned her shirt half-way to reveal a lacy black demi, and flooded her hair behind her right ear when she got too hot.

It’s obvious that every member of the band has a good time on stage. Blag body surfs and is generally charged enough to keep the pit energized, just as the legends go. The guitarists all scream at the top of their lungs while hitting out the fast paced Dwarves tunes. Even the drummer is lost in a furious frenzy of adrenaline. But Tazzy rocks the fuck out. She gets so into the music that she rarely looks up from her guitar, her eyes half-closed most of the time. She spasmodically bangs her head at each beat and each aggressive bass line. It’s almost as if she’s experiencing an implosive surge of energy while she has a look of quiet concentration on her face as the rest of the band waxes chaotic around her. I’ve never seen a more attractive instrumentalist.

Plenty of great hairstyles were in the crowd, although some were rather shabbily done. The best one was someone sporting a pink mohawk with a razor thin center strip extending more than a foot outwards.

The entire set lasted more than thirty minutes, which must be a Dwarves record, and surprised us since we were expecting anything from three to fifteen minutes. Now I’ll be looking forward to the upcoming AFI concert, and possible Dears concert. Walking home on the bare city streets was nice and peaceful, away from the constant stream of noise and people. It was a good way to end off a tiring evening.

My allergies hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. Thankfully, last years prescription of Flonase hasn’t run out yet, so I’ll be using it to try to get through the summer. Hopefully, I won’t need to see my doctor to renew the prescription.

I found a few more variations of the Castle in the Sky music theme and have decided to keep them all. There’s something about the motif which is untiring, much like how I find Autumn Leaves.

I ran across a trailer for a film called Love the Hard Way and I wasn’t much interested at first. When watching the trailer though, I heard three songs which caught my attention, most notably the last one, a hip-hop track with a kickin’ beat and chorus. I decided to search for these songs, but all of them seem too obscure to obtain. The first song has no lyrics, so I quickly gave up the search for that particular track. A single line is distinguishable from the second song, but none of the words can be found as lyrics on the net. The last track had quite a few audible words, but after much scouring there was nothing to be found. I decided to check for soundtrack information, seeing as how the film is supposed to come out today, but there doesn’t seem to be any soundtrack info, and usually trailer music is not included in the soundtrack anyway. I decided to check the official site of the movie as a last resort, and there wasn’t a tracklisting but a score background and the mention of a few artists. I checked the discographies of the artists mentioned, until I found a song called Ra Ra by Coleon (”but can you back the ra ra” is one of the lines in the hip-hop track). At last, I had found the artist and the track name, but searching on free mp3 sites, his label website, or even Kazaa Lite proved fruitless. After re-watchnig the trailer so many times to snatch some garbled lyrics, I find myself quite interested in seeing the movie.

When I went back home to hang out with Darren and John, I met a guy named Leon, who had quite a different lifestyle than anyone I had ever met before. I won’t go into his story, since that would be quite inappropriate, but I must say that he was an extremely interesting person, someone who seemed wise from his (rather unique) experience. He told me about his drive, and that the track I Can by Nas was inspirational to him. I had never heard the track at the time, but since then was fortunate enough to catch the music video. Every time I hear the track now I think of Leon and what I could learn from him, and it has become inspirational to me as well.

On to St. Anger. Wow. I can’t figure out what Metallica are thinking. Every track on the album sounds like they’re trying to regain their status as metal heads after their extended sellout period (of which only one album I like). The songs sound empty and hollow (seems like Lars has lost half his drum set as he consistently bangs a skin every time the guitars bang out a chord) and repetitive (oh god, the repetitiveness). There are some decent vocal lines, but that’s about it. I saw the video for St. Anger, and the intro with the guards warning the band about the prison is laughably cheesy. Sadly, I believe Metallica has lost it.

There’s an AFI concert coming up which I’ll probably be catching with Trolley, Dina, Wheaties and Aaron. AFI is a group which I don’t know much about, since I’ve only recently discovered them. I heard some of their old stuff while driving in Wheaties’ car but it didn’t really catch. Hopefully, the concert will focus on their latest album, Sing the Sorrow.

I’m still sorting through my 3.67 gigs of songs, most notably the rest of the System of a Down albums and the Beth Gibbons side project.

It’s getting dark here, but the light hasn’t completely left the day yet. The sky waxes grey with the setting of the sun, and a gentle rain is making the pavement shine with the yellow glow of the street lamps. The smell consumes me, and I’m back walking the streets on an unrecollected gloomy day.

I finally finished off my honours project, so I can rest a bit easier now. The one report is worth two courses itself. It ended up being around 22 pages, which isn’t too bad. The only thing that remains is my geo essay, and I only have about a half page left to write. I went to lunch with Aaron and Wheaties to celebrate a completed course at the Elephant and Castle. A great waitress served us, and offered a variation on the Strongbow I was having, which was the addition of some lime cordial, or some black currant juice. We all got to try both with the Strongbow, and it was decided that the lime was the better of the two. The remaining black currant juice went into the beer, and Aaron told me that it was tasty.

200 more wins to an archmage icon.

I’ve been listening to the latest AFI album lately, and even though I didn’t much care for it at first, I’m completely addicted now. There’s something about the harmonies in the vocals that make their sound so unique. I’m not quite used to Davey Havok’s voice though, as he sounds like a child to me. Quite unconventional Currently, my favorite song is This Celluloid Dream.

A trip to the Dominican Republic may be working out for the first weekend of May. Since it’s the beginning of the off-season, the cost of the entire trip, drinks and meals included along with residence at a four-star hotel, will be around $900 for a week. Apparently this includes scuba diving, horseback riding, jet skiing, and a beach-side view. Currently, only Aaron, Cristina and I are completely committed to going, but we need an even number of people so we’re trying to find one more person.

Artfag is currently a redhead. Ummmm…yah.

Jonathan tells me that the full-time job seems promising, but he’s not making any guarantees. It would mainly consist of going around the city to various commercial customers and troubleshooting computer problems. The pay will start at around $15 which is not too bad, but not great for a graduate. He says that I’ll also need a car to be able to get to the locations that need service, something that I’ll consider more if I’m actually able to get the job. He tells me that it’s a good foot-in-the-door for web programming positions in the future. I am very grateful, and I’m not getting hopes up.