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"Kweh!!!" Monday, March 8, 2010 @ 2:16 PM Hello world! How is everyone out there doing today? It rained here yesterday oddly enough. It never rains here. We've now gotten two weekends in a row with rain and its starting to intrigue me. While of course, two does not a pattern make, if it were to rain this coming weekend as well, I think that could indeed be called a pattern. And a strange one at that. I guess we'll know in a week if this odd coincidence has the strength left in it to extend itself into a peculiar pattern . . . Back when I used to live in the Bay Area, there was one January were it rained straight on through the month without a break. I wanna say it was either '96 or '97 but I cannot recall. It never rains like that in San Diego though. If it did, there's a very good chance that many people living in the region would think it a sign that the end of days was upon us. Who knows what sorts of mass hysteria that could breed amongst these people unaccustomed to precipitation. I'm sure we'd get at least someone pulling a Rorschach and walking around with a sign proclaiming "The End is Nigh." Let's hope it never comes to that. Though, I must admit that I would rather enjoy seeing my rain coincidence turn into a pattern so everyone, think rainy thoughts this coming weekend! Do you recall how many a times I've mentioned that we've been recording demos of some new songs? Well, four of them are done! Though, honestly, I don't think you can really call them "demos" considering how much work and perfectionism went into recording them. Demos are usually rough. These are pretty damn far from "rough." I don't know if I have the authority to do this but whatevs, I'm going to anyway: Do you wanna know the titles? Yes? No? It doesn't matter cause I'm going to tell you anyway. The "pop song" is officially titled "All I Need is You." The "country song" is officially titled "Whisky for Memories." The "dark song" as was sometimes referred to is officially named "Persephone." And the last song that never really had a working title still doesn't have an official title. So I guess we'll just have to wait on that one. As I'm sure you know, we're going to be playing these songs live for the first time ever at our show on March 25th but there is a way for you to hear them earlier. This was supposed to be for the Street Team but I'm widening it to every single person reading this. If you can get four of your friends to buy tickets from you (for a total of 5 including yourself of course) then you've won yourself an early listen. Its that simple. Now, obviously, for some this will be harder than for others. But hey, we used to run contests for most tickets sold and plenty of you sold way more than five so I've got all sorts of faith in you. Unfortunately, the deadline is this Friday. I know it doesn't seem like much time but I think we announced this a few weeks ago . . . Oh, and if you buy just one ticket, don't worry, we've also got something special in store for all of you as well. Same deadline, this Friday. I can't reveal exactly what it is since its a surprise for everyone! But trust me, you're gonna want to be in on this. So just message us and arrange a time to get your tickets before Friday!! I promise there won't be any more salesmanship action going on in this blog. I promise. Except for this: you should totally do all the stuff I talked about in that last paragraph. Ok, I'm done. Ya know what's really sad? A few years ago, Kraft, the makers of the best Mac & Cheese in the world (which, if you don't know, is one of my go-to meals for pure awesomeness) started making "Organic White Cheddar Mac & Cheese" and oh dear lord was that an amazing piece of perfection! Sadly, the Kraft Corporation must have deemed their experiment a failure because about six months ago, Vons had that deliciously perfect item on sale for next to nothing. I theorized that it must be because they needed to get rid of them all. Sadly I was right. At least I bought the rest they had! I have a stockpile of three currently. I'm saving them in case the Queen of England stops by for a meal or if I win a Noble Prize. Translation: They'll probably never be eaten. Ever since then, I've had a rather sizable void in my heart and I have decided to attempt to fill it. There is a competing brand of macaroni and cheese known as "Annie's." For years people told me to switch and I never did. Why? Because Kraft is far superior. (Oh and for what its worth, I refuse to eat the plain M&C from Kraft. Its gotta be either Spirals or shapes, like Pokemon!) The void left in the wake of the disappearance of my magic "Organic White Cheddar" though has sent me into the arms of its competitor. Its almost like shopping at Borders! Its a rough time indeed. Now you see, they have three different products in the white cheddar family. Regular white cheddar (not quite right), whole wheat noodles with white cheddar (better but not quite perfect), and organic white cheddar (which is waiting downstairs for me to make it as soon as I finish this blog). I'm hoping either the final option is magnificent or that I can grow to love it for it would be nice to not have to gaping hole in my soul any longer. Which reminds me. Aerosmith has a song called "Hole in my Soul." Its a damn good song. It was on 1997's "Nine Lives" cd which just so happens to be the first real cd I ever bought. Thats a good bit of trivia for you. Remember that for it will be on the test later. (And I'm not the only musician with an intense fondness for Macaroni & Cheese. You may have never heard of him but he was a musician in a band in the late 80's and early 90's. The band was called Nirvana. Heard of them? Well, either way, their singer, Kurt Cobain, loved Macaroni & Cheese.) I think we should wrap things up for the week now. That was a good note to end on, wouldn't you say? I know a lot of random Kurt Cobain trivia. Oh, and I'm sure you're all very well aware, but Final Fantasy XIII comes out tomorrow. Mine is coming from the UK since I want the Collector's Edition but I've been scheduled to work the midnight launch at Gamestop. Its gonna be really, really hard not to break down and get one. I am a master of patience but everyone has a breaking point . . . Wish me luck!! Lightning P.S. Did you know that Kurt & Courtney used to check into hotels as Sid & Nancy? Add comment
"Gum Would be Perfection" Monday, March 8, 2010 @ 2:15 PM Hello world! How are all doing on this wonderful day? Today is the first day of March (yes yes, I know that blog is supposed to be for the end of last week which was technically February but let's not pretend like we don't all know what day it is today). It feels good to start a new month doesn't it? I think this will be a glorious example of what a March can be. Especially since not only will it be a big month in the Pensive world, its also a big month since the non-Japanese speaking world will be finally getting a chance to play Final Fantasy XIII and as you should all know, this is big news for me. But we'll get to that later. I'm sure I'll have plenty to rant and rave about. Though, I do promise that I will try to keep it all to the bare minimum once the time of the blog arrives. First up, let's address some Pensive related news. As I'm sure you're aware of, we've been doing some pretty heavy duty song writing action. We kind of ended up going a bit off the deep end as far as recording and over-dubbing goes so its taken a bit longer than we anticipated. Good news though: we're pretty much done! By the time this week reaches its end, the songs will be done, mixed, mastered, and amazing. Want to hear them? You have two chances. You can (and totally should) come to the show at the Epicentre on March 25th where for the first time ever, we'll be playing these four songs live. Want to hear them before then? Well you can. Want more info? Join our Street Team and ask ; ) For those of you not living in the greater San Diego area, you might have to wait a bit longer. We will be touring in April and May but currently aren't planning on playing the new songs. So if you wanna hear them, you better make sure to get to the show early and try to bribe us into playing a few. We accept bribes in the forms of meals, brownies, cookies, money, comics, video games, etc. Or I guess that's my bribe list. It might be different for everyone else but I mean really, you convince me and I'll convince the rest of them. Don't worry! Let's see, what else might be going on in the world. Well, I have expanded my circle of TV shows that I watch. Now in addition to LOST, Friends, and Stargate Atlantis, I have added The Big Bang Theory! (and yes, as you can gather, I don't deem many shows worthy of being watched and half of "my" shows are over. also, I took Heroes off my list cause let's face it, that show blows now) Its quite the hilarious show actually. Right up my alley. A show about physicists that like video games, comics, and Thai food. Perfect!! Heck, I even know like 20% of that physics stuff that they talk about and that makes me feel special : ) Ya know, I used to be way into physics and astronomy and such. I might not remember much but I still have a relative working knowledge base. Its fun. Speaking of LOST, it has been amazing this season! I was worried they might not be able to handle it all but they've done great so far and I know it'll only get better. I'm desperately anxious to see how the two timelines intersect or whether they do. If you haven't been watching this season, you've really, really been missing out! I'm especially curious to see how exactly Jack ended up with a son and who his mother is. If my calculations are correct, the side-wise timeline is taking place in 2004. Jack's son appears to be at least somewhere between 11-13 maybe. Meaning that he couldn't be the offspring of Jack and his (in the other timeline) ex-wife since they met and got married and divorced a few years before the crash; certainly not long enough ago to have had a near teenage son. I wonder . . . Has the time arrived to discuss Final Fantasy finally? Yeah, it has. I'll try to get it as lean as possible. Let's be blunt here. I'm excited. I've been an officially obsessed fanboy since I got FFVII for my 13th birthday back in '97. Twelve and a half years ago to the day almost. Considering that I'm 25 (.5), that's damn near half my life. That's a long time to be obsessed with something. Granted, I'm also going into this installment with my usual amount of trepidation as I have each one since I know they could fail me anytime, but so far, so good. I mean yes, for me, FFX wasn't really that great and didn't connect with me very well, but the rest were damn near perfect. That's partially the problem really. With previous installments being so near perfection, and holding such a dear place in my heart, that's one hell of a legacy to have to live up to. The game finally comes out next week though so we'll know very soon. Well, maybe not that soon since I'm importing the Limited Collector's Edition from the U.K. so I might not get it when the rest of America does. Don't worry though, I'll keep you well updated as I make my way through my most anticipated game since the last one came out. To prepare, I'm indulging in a brief trip through Final Fantasies past. Starting with FFXII. I'll play it for a few days and move on so I'll be way ready whenever my copy of XIII arrives. Oh and while we're on the subject of video games, if you own a PS3, get Heavy Rain. Or at least download the demo first. It was such a unique experience. There's nothing else quite like it. It was so intense. You have no idea. Remember the movie Se7en? This feels a bit like that except more intense since you're experiencing it. Ok, let's call it a day. See ya'll next week! Vivi P.S. Expect my top 100 albums list soon. I'm working on it, I promise!! Add comment
"If You Didn't Know You Were a Robot, Would You Want Me to Tell You?" Sunday, February 14, 2010 @ 12:10 AM Hey there everyone! How have you been this past week? Wonderful? Thats great to hear! So guess what, I have a surprise for you! Know what it is? Yeah, thats right, I didn't miss the blog this week! What a great surprise, huh? I hope you like the surprise. I got it specifically for you. So there, you better enjoy it! I guess we could count it as a Valentine's Day gift for you. In the past we've given away a free download of Red Letter Day but you all have that song by now, don't you? I bet you're anxious to maybe get your hands on some new Pensive songs right? Well, you're gonna have to keep waiting I'm sorry to say. Though, just like I promised, I did indeed write and record that solo for the country song (which does have a name but I won't reveal it yet! [though, I have actually mentioned it at one point in a very offhand way so you eagle-eyed readers have heard the title already]). Wait. What was I talking about? Oh yes. The solo. Sorry, its very easy for me to get distracted. So yeah, I had an idea of how I wanted it to go that I had worked out on my own but once it got time to actually put it in the track, it just didn't work at all. So, other than the first 4 or 5 notes, I had to completely re-write the rest. Thankfully, it turned out much better than my original. A little improv and a lot of luck and re-recording later, BAM! A solo was completed. It felt good. No, no, I haven't recorded the other necessary solo for these four songs that have been receiving the bulk of our song writing attention as of late but I shall do that very very soon. I promise. At least that should be a lot easier since I won't have to improvise it. So, was anyone fascinated by my video game cover art ramble from last week? No? Well thats ok. I think for all of our sakes, I shall do my best to avoid situations akin to that in the future. Though, while on the topic of video games, why don't we dig a little deeper. Dante's Inferno finally came out this week. For those of you that have been playing along at home, you should know that I've been massively pumped for this game since playing the demo at Comic Con last year. Its been a rough 7 month wait but let me tell you, it was totally worth it! I've gotta say, I was right when I told you back then that it was gonna be awesome. Since this supposed to be a Pensive blog, I shall refrain from going on and on about the minute details and such but I must say that I throughly enjoyed every minute of it. I finished it last night and started it right back up again. Sure, the game is a bit reminiscent of a game about Greek mythology but so what? The controls are similar as is the structure of camera movements between areas but so what? What it really comes down is the fact that by the time you reach the end of the game, with all the upgrade options and relics that you can make use mean that you can play that game pretty much anyway you'd like. I've gone off the deep end here. I'm sorry. I promised to go easy on the details and rambles and I'm clearly not doing a good job. If I had one complaint, it would be that it left me wanting MORE . . . In other video game news, it would appear pretty much final at this point that Square-Enix is not going to release a Collector's Edition of Final Fantasy XIII in North America. This saddens me for multiple reasons. First off, just like with FFXII, the regular cover is not exactly the best (see last week's blog) and the Collector's Edition is. Secondly, well, I'm an obsessive collector and I want it. Lucky me though, Europe is getting the Collector's Edition which is helpful since Britain is in Europe and I can speak British. I can't speak Japanese otherwise I would have gotten the game from Japan in December. So I guess this black cloud has a silver lining, yes? In other news, it would appear as though another game I have been highly anticipating, Resonance of Fate, has finally gotten its release date. March 16th. A week after Final Fantasy. Maybe not the best timing, but its better than the actually day FFXIII comes out which was actually the rumor for a while (and still the truth oddly enough according to the GameStop computers but oh well). Enough talking about video games. I'm sure you're ready to move on. For you long time readers, you might like to know that I have indeed begun work on my long rumored Top 100 Albums of the Decade list. I have it narrowed down to the 100, but now I've just gotta get them in the right order. It might take a while but there's a good chance that I could have it done by next week in which case I would present it to you in all its glory. I had to make some tough decisions with it already. I mean, first I even had to set my guidelines for what could be on the list. Should it be only full lengths or EPs as well. What about something like The Alchemy Index? How should that be classified? As a whole? As the 2 halves that it was released as? As 4 separate releases? I went with the last one and I shall be including EPs on the list. For the actually list of albums as it stands now, I had to make some real tough cuts but I think its all how it should be. Oh, and of course of course I had to decide how to rank them. Purely based on my opinion of them now? Do I incorporate the initial reaction to it upon its release as well? I think I'm gonna go with a bit of a hybrid. Mainly my opinion of it as it stands today but it certain cases it might be necessary to throw in the effect it first had upon release and the impact it had on my development as a musician and a human being. So, we'll see how it all shakes out soon I would believe. Ya know what else I believe? I believe that brings us to the end of this blog. I hope you enjoyed our time together. Have a lovely day and I shall see you next week. The Doppler Effect Add comment
Juliet is da BOMB!!! Sunday, February 14, 2010 @ 12:09 AM Greetings world! Now now, I know what you're thinking. That I missed yet another week and I'm certainly not living up to my promise of a weekly blog. But ya know what, last year got off to a rocky start as well so I wouldn't lose hope just yet. In case you were curious, I finally caught the illness that's been floating around for the past couple weeks. Quite the nasty head cold if I do say so myself but its ok, I'm all better now. Hopefully. Anyway, I've found myself wondering over the week whether the very idea of a blog is egotistical. I mean, its not like there has been a mandate from the masses demanding me to write a blog each week. No. This is just me throwing a bunch of gibberish out into the world assuming that people read it and care about my silly opinions. Seems a little egotistical to me, don't you think? Perhaps the very essence of being a musician is a bit egotistical as well. Well, maybe not quite the same seeing as whether Pensive existed or not, I would still want to make music whether or not anyone else ever heard it. I guess the idea of pop music then. The concept of making music for others to hear. I dunno. Its an odd thing when you really get down and think about it. Maybe its better not to get overly analytical about such things. Have I lost you? Cause I think I've lost myself. Let's move on shall we? Even though I said I wouldn't, I did end up watching the Super Bowl earlier today with a couple of past Pensive members (though none of the Indy folks so thankfully there was no Colts cheering section at the Pensive house today!) Was I excited that the Saints won? Yeah. I was. I'll admit it. I got wrapped up in the game and I screamed and cheered when the Saints got the interception and basically nailed the Colts' coffin shut. It was fun to have to ol' Pensive line up hanging out altogether. Not that there was ever really any bad blood between us (at least, not since many, many years ago) its just that its rare that we're all ever in the same the place at once. Speaking of Pensive ancient history, some of you may not be aware of this, but this April shall mark the 10 year anniversary of the founding of Pensive. Thats a damn long time if you ask me. We've been in this band and been giving it our all for ten years. How many things can you say that about? You may be wondering just when you might see us again, am I right? Well, its looking like it maybe be pretty soon. Relatively speaking at least. I can't reveal anything just yet but as the winter nears its end, Pensive will be coming out of hibernation. Stronger and meaner than ever! Sadly since there's been lost of illness floating around the Pensive house as of late, not much headway has been made in the recording department but don't worry. I'm thinking that by the end of tomorrow, I'll have knocked my two solos out of the freakin' park and then we'll just have to see how long any other things take. Not that much of this really affects you since it doesn't really change the fact that you won't be hearing them any day soon. Sorry! I'm sure at least a few of you are expecting a long rant about how freakin' amazing the LOST season premiere was but you're not gonna get it. I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. LOST is the best show to ever air on TV. Deal with it. Yes, I have theories about what's going on but I'm gonna save them. Though I will say that Pensive collectively freakin' called it that John Locke was the smoke monster! "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Classic. Up next, we have a fun little rant heading your way. Very, very few of you will care about this, but by god, I sure do! And I'm betting you'll never guess what my newest rant topic is. Go ahead and take some time and think about it all you want but you will never, ever, ever guess it. Ready for it. The covers of North American video games as compared to their overseas counterparts and what it says about our intelligence level. It would take far too long to draw all the proper inferences to point to the second half of my statement so we'll solely focus on comparing and contrasting covers and I'll let you draw your own conclusions. First up, and our most recent example and the game that inspired this rant: Resonance of Fate (or as its known in Japan: End of Eternity). First up, here's the Japanese cover. Here's the American cover. Next up we have the also soon to arrive Final Fantasy XIII. The Final Fantasy series has been legendary for its horrendous North American covers, and FFXIII sure seems to follow suit. The Japanese cover and the far less elegant American cover. Though its nothing compared to some of the past travesties that Square has inflicted upon us Westerners. Japanese FFVI and American FFVI (known as Final Fantasy III here when it was originally released for the SNES back in '94). The simple Japanese cover and the laughable American cover. Oddly enough, sometimes the European nations get stuck with the crappy NA box art, while other times, they get much better ones as well. Like with Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. European Cover. American cover. (though granted, as far as differences go, while the European cover is far more artistic, at least the American cover is lazy) Finally worst of all, we have the majestic ICO. Here's the equally majestic and understated Japanese cover and its horrendous American counterpart. Why do these video game companies seem to think that American's have such rotten taste? There are many, many, many more examples but I think you get the point. Granted, there are probably some instances of the American cover being better and there are plenty of well done American covers for Western games (Fallout 3 and Dragon Age: Origins immediately spring to mind) but it is still a grotesque trend that needs to stop. Please. Alrighty! I think we're done for the week. I hope you enjoyed the blog and the rant. See ya'll next week folks. Jim LaFleur Add comment
Not Penny's Boat Monday, January 25, 2010 @ 8:46 PM Greetings. Welcome to the weekly blog. Yes yes, I know its a few days late but hey, at least I didn't skip a week again. I'm currently trying to remember what may have occurred during the past week but really all I can think about is the Vikings' crushing defeat last night. Its quite heartbreaking I must say. Ya know, life was so much simpler before I liked football. Just like the Chargers did last week, my team of choice essentially defeated themselves. I mean really. TWO fumbles inside the 10? That should have been at least any easy 6 points and therefore a victory. 12 men in the huddle? Are you freakin' kidding me?! And yes, I bet everyone is going to blame Brett Favre and what will surely be an infamous interception but I don't. For two reasons. 1. Without those fumbles and that penalty they would have never thrown on that down or if they had, they would have thrown for shorter yards. 2. Its not like it was a terrible throw. It wasn't perfect no but you must admit watching the replay that the guy that intercepted it made a damn good play. Oh, and he's 40 years old and took a beating that would have sidelined many a younger men but he didn't sit out a single play. There is however a silver lining to this loss. For me at least. I don't have to watch the Super Bowl now! That's a good thing. Its a waste of damn good football game to rampant commercialism and unnecessary halftime antics. I skipped last year's game as well and played Gears of War 2 and nursed my still recovering broken ankle. This year? I suppose I'll make it a tradition and play a video game of some sort but who knows what it may be seeing as the Super Bowl is two days before Dante's Inferno comes out. Hmm. Time will tell. Oh, and finally little bit before we end the discussion on this year's NFL season (unless for some reason I get conned into watching the Super Bowl) I noticed something a little odd while watching the Colts game. Every time their new head coach was on screen, I got the odd feeling that he reminded me of someone and I finally figured out who . . . Let's see if you can see the resemblance: Jim Caldwell and his look-a-like!! Every time I saw him, I felt like he should be saying "The shield is down, commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor." Or maybe "We've got to give those fighters more time, concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer." Though, when the Jets tricked the Colts and burned them on that early touchdown he should have at least been able to yell at his defense before the snap "Its a trap!" What else might have happened lately? I wonder. Ya know, I must admit that I'm a little shocked how late in the year it has already gotten. Time just has a habit of slipping through my finger tips. Sadly, not much new progress has been made in the new song department as of late since Julio was sick and wasn't exactly able to sing. His illness seems to have run its course though so I'm sure we'll be back to churning out new songs any day now. Though, of course, not that it really makes much difference to you since whether we finish a song or not, it will still be a while before you get to hear it! In other big news, we're only about a week away from the final season of LOST kicking off. This is big. LOST is the greatest show ever to air on television. Yes, even better than Friends. In order to prepare for the beginning of the end, I have been re-watching every single episode starting at episode 1. I just finished up season 3 last night. Charlie died. We got our first flashforward (which is plainly obvious when you know it and watch it again). We almost met Jacob. Danielle and Alex finally met again after 16 years. If somehow you've gone through your life never having been fully immersed in the deliciousness that is LOST, you should find someone that has all five seasons and do your best to catch up because its gonna be worth it. You'll be confused but don't let that bother you. Too many people let LOST's intricacies get in the way of them enjoying the show. Yes, it is intricate and confusing and has time travel and other such things that don't always make sense right away, but strip all that away and you're still left with one of the most engaging character studies ever with more fascinating characters than you can shake a stick at. And the show really rewards repeat viewings as all the little hints and clues and cameos rise to the surface. Like how, in one of Charlie's memories, he rescues a woman who is being mugged in an alleyway. That woman is none other than Nadia, Sayid's long lost love. She also owned a house at some point that a pre-injury John Locke was inspecting since he was a home inspector for a while. Its fun stuff. If you've maybe fallen out of touch with LOST or just want to brush up before the final season, I do highly recommend that you check out this site and make sure you're ready for February 2nd . . . Is there really anything else to cover at this point? I don't believe so. There are as always some nebulous plans happening behind closed doors in Pensiveland that I'm unable to divulge at this time. Just sit tight, catch up on LOST and wait patiently as news should be coming sometime. Maybe. Jeremy Bentham Add comment
We Are 4, but Who is 67? Saturday, January 16, 2010 @ 9:14 PM Hello world. As has become a far too common occurrence as of late, I must start this blog off with an apology for missing the previous week's blog. At the very least you should be happier with my excuse this week than a few weeks ago when my excuse was the nebulous "come on, it was the holidays!" This time though, its because we were neck deep in recording demos. I believe that last weekend was entirely taken up with recording my guitar parts. It went well for the most part. We of course upon many of the usual problems that we always encounter but you don't need them details. I did have to do something that I've never really had to do before and that was invest hours upon hours in my attempts to write a solo worthy of the dark masterpiece that it belongs to. It took a lot of effort but I finally at least got one I'm happy with. Well, except for the fact that we haven't actually recorded it. But hey, I'll be able to pull it off, don't you worry! Its very fiery. I think you'll like it. Though, quite naturally, what has eaten up the most amount of time the past while has of course been lyrics. Lyrics have never come easy for me. Ever. I think one of the hard things for us more so than other bands is that for the most part, I handle the lyrics instead of Julio. As you might be able to imagine, its easier for a singer to know what will work with their melody and voice and it matters not just syllables but also cadence and phrasing and even vowel sounds. So as you can imagine, there's a lot that has to go into making the lyrics the write lyrics. Cause not only do you have to take into account all of those things I mentioned but also make the lyrics not only make sense but also have some sort of depth. It takes a while to say the least but hey, we're making progress. However, it is worth pointing out that despite all the work we're putting into all of those, sadly, these songs are not for you to hear. Yet. Someday sure but that day is probably a good while away. So you'll just have to keep waiting and waiting till the time is right. Or hope we slip up and "accidentally" play them live :P You'll have to forgive me if my memory isn't quite with me tonight. Its been a long week as I just outlined above. Let's see what you may have missed in the past little bit. Well, let's see if you can maybe give you a quick recap of the things that have happened in the past two weeks. I finally got around to seeing Avatar. Maybe its just cause I'm a little kid on the inside but I was just in awe almost the whole time. Just about everything about it was perfect. The technology on display was of course awe inspiring and seeing it in IMAX 3D is just like nothing that I have ever experienced. After the movie was over, real life just felt so flat and colorless. It was just straight up magic. And unlike some have said, I didn't find the actual content of the story itself to be as uninspiring as people have claimed. It was grand and epic and emotional and it was everything that you could hope for as far as I'm concerned. Now if we can maybe get James Cameron to find away to take his original footage for Aliens and turn that into an IMAX 3D experience. Or maybe convince him to make a nice grim, dark action movie next. If somehow you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest you go for it. I suppose there's a chance if you have a cold, dark, cynical heart that you might not enjoy it but I have a feeling that a large portion of you will enjoy the hell out of it! And see it in IMAX if you have the chance. It is so worth the extra $5. Trust me. Have you perhaps heard of a movie coming out in February called Shutter Island? If not you should look into it. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonard DiCaprio. If thats not enough to get you excited you clearly haven't seen The Departed (and if that's the case, well, you should try to fix that). Well, I was excited about this movie so I figured I should read the book. And I did. Let me tell you, that was a damn good book!! Very well written and very clear and understandable but yet still incredibly twisty and unpredictable. Do yourself a favor and make sure you don't look too much into the movie on sites like Wikipedia since at least on the Shutter Island (film) page there, they give away one of the biggest twists right in the first couple sentences. That's not cool. So if you're a reading type, feel free to pick up the book and experience a wonderfully written mind f%&* or wait for the movie since yeah I haven't seen it so there's a chance it could be bad but I don't really see that as being likely . . . I finally got around to picking up the last few cds from last year that had somehow alluded me so my research is complete and I shall be soon making my epic top 100 list of the decade's best cds according to me. Unlike some lists it won't be a list of the most popular cds, or the most influential, or in any sort of way objective. It will be 100% my crazy personal opinion. I've put together my top few but after that it gets rather murky and convoluted. Every time I throw on something I haven't heard in a while I always end up being so impressed and forgetting how much I loved that cd and it just makes it that much harder to get any sort of ranking to this. Don't lost faith though, I shall get it all sorted out. Not that you necessarily care about my opinion but thats too bad cause you're gonna get it. Is there really anything else that needs to be mentioned? Not really. I mean, we're minus one bassist but whatever. We'll find another one. Do you know a bassist? Patient 67 P.S. Here's two things for you watch if you like geeky things like I do:�This�&�this. (if you're sensitive about language, you might want to refrain from clicking especially the 2nd link) Add comment
The Apocalyptic Rock Fight Sunday, January 3, 2010 @ 3:14 PM Hello everyone! Happy new year! How has your new year been so far? Yeah yeah, I know its just been a couple of days but still, I thought it would be rude of me not to ask. So far, my year has been rather successful thank you for asking! Its been a very low key year as of today but I'm fine with that. The Minnesota Brett Favres won today and thats good. They better bring their A game to the playoffs otherwise I shall be a very mad panda. We're watching the Chargers game at the moment. I think its about time the rest of the country wises up and realizes the threat the Chargers pose to just about everyone. Do you care about football? I'm not sure. You may or you may not. But I do. Wanna know something sad though? The sound keeps cutting out on our cable box. Its really quite unfortunate as it makes our viewing experience not as enjoyable as it could be. Well, as long as the Chargers keep winning, I guess I can forgive Fox or Cox Cable (whoever's feet we need to lay the blame at) as long as the Chargers don't lose this one for us. Its been far too long since the Chargers made it to the Super Bowl. I finally got a chance to see The Princess and the Frog. I'd heard from some people that it was kind of disappointing. I was a little worried that Disney might not be able to make magic without Pixar. I gotta say though that there was nothing at all to worry about. I think the people that complained about it were just looking for anything and everything they could to complain about because let me tell you, that was one wonderful film! The music was wonderful. The characters were wonderful. The villain was wonderful. It was funny. It was sad. It was heart-warming. It was everything you could want from a Disney movie. Was it as good as the golden age of Disney films as represented by such classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King? Not quite. If those movies are a 100 out of 100, this little piece of magic is a 98. Don't take this the wrong was since I do so loves me my Pixar movies but it breaks my heart that they have become the dominate force in animation these days. The Pixar movies have their niche and the world would be a little less bright without them but I've missed the classic Disney style of animated movie. The songs, the stories, the humor, the animation. I think I've made it clear many times but I just love hand drawn animation. CGI has its place and yes, The Princess and the Frog makes use of it in subtle ways but there's just something about hand drawn characters that just feels right. Maybe its cause I'm old and cranky and go on and on about how things were better back in the day but, well, except for the loss of hand drawn animation, I think things are better now. Well, ok ok, maybe not 100% but thats a rant for another blog. If Studio Ghibli ever makes the switch to CG animation I might just lose faith in humanity. You think there's no room for that old way of doing things? See The Princess and the Frog and Ponyo and tell me those are obsolete films. So do the world and yourself a favor and go see The Princess and the Frog. Wanna do yourself another favor? I like to view these blogs as a good source of information. You might not take my advice but thats ok. Someone might. Answer me this question: Do you read comics? Do you own any graphic novels? Do you want more? If you answered yes boy do I have some news for you! There's this comic/manga store that I like to frequent down in Mission Valley known as Rising Sun Creations (even though the sign above the door just says "anime - manga") that is having one hell of sale. As of this writing, almost every graphic novel in their store is 50% off. When I asked how long the sale was going on, they said until they sold out of all the ones on sale. So if there's anything you've been wanting but been holding off on for some reason, now is the time! I picked up All Star Superman vol. 1 for a mere $7. They have tons of other great ones on sale including the entire collection of 100 Bullets graphic novels with the exceptions of #1 and #12 (the absence of #1 is what prevented me from picking up a couple of them). I might wanna head down there again and see if anything else catches my eye because let me tell you, I do so love a bargain!! Oh and in case you don't already know about that place, you might want the address huh? Well here ya go: Google Maps! Well I hope you've had a wonderful first few days of the year and I hope the rest of the decade goes well for us all! See ya'll next week!! The Dancing Clown Add comment
"I Woke Up One Morning Married to a Pineapple. An UGLY Pineapple." Sunday, December 27, 2009 @ 6:34 PM Hello world! Yes yes, I am fully aware that I skipped last week. I won't make excuses. Nay. I shall simply offer up an explanation. And that explanation is hopefully something you've watched many times: our video for All Alone on Christmas. Haven't seen it yet somehow? What a tragedy. You should check it out. We put a ton of hard work into. Julio spent hours upon hours recording it and I spent hours upon hours editing together that video. Our little Christmas present to you. Hopefully you found it to be a worthy Christmas present. I had no idea how tedious and time consuming it would be to attempt to make that. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be easy but it took way longer than I thought. Let me tell you my friend, its not fun trying to line up video to music so that align perfectly. Nor did I succeed in every attempt either but hey, you probably didn't notice. I mean, I think its safe to say that I'm my own worst critic but hey, thats ok. Otherwise I'm sure I would be a woeful underachiever!! Anyway, go see the video if you haven't. There will probably come a time later on in life when I shall feel fit to attempt to tread those dangerous waters again and edit together another Pensive music video for you but that time is far, far away. Like the galaxy Star Wars takes place in. You'd think with skipping a week that I would have much to discuss, yet, strangely I do not. The last weeks of the year always seem to pass as if in a blur. I'm sure plenty of note has happened in the past two weeks yet I cannot for the life of me seem to recall it. I'm a massive procrastinator. I finished wrapping presents on Christmas morning. After I woke up. But don't worry, I got it all taken care of before it was too late. We had ourselves a very untraditional Christmas this year. A very Christmas Story Christmas this year. No, I didn't break my glasses nor get a BB Gun (sad times, huh) but we did have Christmas dinner at an Asian restaurant just like they did (though, not because the neighbor's dogs ransacked our kitchen and ate our turkey. Nay. It was because we hate cooking and cleaning up after Christmas dinner. Don't get me wrong, cooking is an enjoyable past time. But when it comes to these big event meals, none of us really like them that much. Yeah, they're delicious but are they really worth all the hours and hours of toil and trouble? Me thinks not. Either way, I think its safe to say that this year's holidays were quite memorable. In a good way. By the way, is it safe to assume that everyone else watched A Christmas Story on TBS every year? If not, you should. And don't watch it on DVD. Its just not the same. It doesn't have that same nostalgic feeling to it, ya know? Maybe you don't. Maybe its just me. But thats ok. Let's see, what else . . . Well, its been far too long of a wait, waiting for that elusive Batman & Robin #7 that I've almost forgotten to magic that is Grant Morrison. It makes me sad. At least Mr. Johns has yet to disappoint. I finally got around to getting a Wii. Speaking of which, did you know that if you look at "Wii" upside down and in a mirror it spells out "M!!"? Thats pretty magical isn't it? Well, I found it wildly entertaining at least. I got my rat babies a new little nest/giant-ball-of-hay and they are really quite fond of it. All three of them are stuffed in there at the moment, sleeping soundly. Like little fur covered angels. So, did you know that this is going to be the final installment of Patrick's weekly blog for the year? Yes indeed because by the time the next weekend rolls around, its going to be a new month, a new year, a new decade. The decade of Pensive? Let's hope so. I would be so fond of world domination. We'll take you along with us. It'll be fun. Some of you may be wondering where my much anticipated "Top 100 Albums of the Decade" list is. Well, it ain't here yet. When will it be here? I'm thinking by the end of next month maybe. I mean, let's be honest here, I've been slacking a bit in the past few months and haven't really kept up with the new releases like I did in the old days. I mean hell, I ain't even got the new Dashboard cd yet! I'm working on fixing that though. "Its log, log: its big, its heavy, its wood. Its log, log: its better than bad, its good!" I think I'm done. Oh, good job Chargers. They won. And then the Saints lost to the Bucks? How does that even happen? Oh well. Bret better not drop the ball tomorrow against the Bears. I just might cry if that happens. See ya next year! The Pink Nightmare Add comment
"What Have I Got? Two Words: Mon. Tage." Sunday, December 13, 2009 @ 8:48 PM Dear World, How are you this week? I hope the holiday season is treating you nicely. We're running out of 2009 quite quickly now with but a scant few weeks left in the year. Its odd how it can simultaneously feel as though time is standing still and as if the hours are rushing by. It really does feel as if it was just a day or two ago that I last wrote to you all. Somehow more than a week has indeed slipped by almost unnoticed by me. I need to buckle down and get those lyrics written. And its not even as though I'm attempting procrastination, it just gets swept aside without me even noticing it. Not tonight though. No no, not tonight. I'm gonna finish that song dammit, you'll see! Even if it means pushing a few other things to the side that I have in waiting. What are those things? Well those are for me to know and you not to ; ) Don't worry, you'll find out something someday soon. I feel as though I have much to discuss with you this week and yet the words stall on the tip of my fingers. Let's see. I have some renewed vitriol in me for the Star Wars prequel trilogy. I can appreciate the storyline that Mr. Lucas attempted to convey through those films but the movies themselves were just complete disasters. For example, let's take The Empire Strikes Back, the movie that in my opinion is far and away the best out of all the Star Wars movies. What did George Lucas do for that movie? He came up with the storyline. He didn't write the script. He didn't direct it. How about the prequel trilogy? He wrote and directed all three. The fact that he did the same for Episode IV which is somehow not terrible is a mystery. Am I being too hard on him? Yes, probably. However, I think this comes down to artists, whether they're film makers, musicians, or authors that get to a level of success and think they can do it all on their own. Well ok, there are some exceptions like Clint Eastwood who wrote the music for, directed, and starred in Million Dollar Baby but, well, he's special. Collaboration is a good thing. For musicians, the difference between a great record and an average record can come down to the right producer that can push a band to greatness. Anyway, I've gone way off on a tangent here haven't I? I'm sorry. There is some good news out there in the world though seeing as the San Diego Chargers have somehow pulled it together to keep this little win streak alive against a very dangerous Dallas Cowboys team. And since Denver lost today, things are looking very well for our hopes at the playoffs. What a turn around for us. And dare I say, it involved quite a bit of luck since even with our record, if Denver had kept up like they did the first six games, we'd never stand a chance. Could this finally be the year our Chargers make it to the Super Bowl? I think they deserve it. Don't you? In other news, the new Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog has come out and while I have yet to see it, I promise you that I will. Even if solely to give money to Disney in hopes that they'll realize that hand-animated movies are still viable in this age of computers. Don't get me wrong, Pixar makes some mighty fine movies (this year's UP was their best since Finding Nemo as far as I'm concerned) but I think it would be a mistake to leave behind the legacy they built over the decades. Just think about how empty our childhoods would have been without movies like The Little Mermaid or The Lion King. Wouldn't it be sad to grow up in a world devoid of Disney movies and their amazing songs? So do your part. Help the cause. Go see The Princess and the Frog and hope its not the last hand drawn movie Disney makes. Because if it is, all hope for beautiful and amazing animated movies would fall on the shoulders of Studio Ghibli and while they're mighty capable of magic, I don't think their movies connect with American audiences in quite the same way as Disney Classics do, wouldn't you agree? See? I can be cheery sometimes. Yes I may rant about George Lucas but then I sing the praises of Disney. It kind of evens out, doesn't it? I wonder what Avatar will be like? Will it be the industry changing event James Cameron thinks it is or will it be another big budget disappointment? I must say that the previews remind me a bit too much of the opening minutes of Revenge of the Sith. Hopefully he'll have a good story and good dialog and characters to back up all the high tech visuals. The man made Aliens. I have faith in him. The day Aliens is release on Blu-Ray will be a day worthy of the most epic kind of celebration imaginable. Anything else to cover? I do not believe so. Ok yes, let's leave it this for now. I'm sure by this time next week we shall have more to discuss, yes? Yes. And as always, I've left you title to figure out. What is it in reference to this time? I dunno. Good luck! Team Taylor Add comment
The Music of Erich Zann Sunday, December 6, 2009 @ 1:47 AM Hello. This blog is coming to you from enemy territory. That's right. The unthinkable has happened. I am currently sitting in . . . a Borders. [cue the dramatic music] Why am I here instead of my beloved Barnes & Noble? Well, I had to do a reconnaissance mission at the mall and Borders is much closer than B&N. I will give Borders points for having a nice, large cafe area which makes writing this blog a bit easier but thats all I'll give them. Oh, and at least this one has a separate section for "horror" which as you could guess tickles my fancy. When it really comes down to it though, what does separate the dreaded Borders from the heaven that is Barnes & Noble. It all comes down to atmosphere really. An unquantifiable something in the air. It has to do with the decor. The color choices. The bookcases. Everything about Borders screams -modern- where as B&N feels old school. Maybe its as simple as the bookcases in Borders are always a light wood where as at B&N they're dark, I dunno. But that's how I feel. I'm rarely a fan of the stark modern look. Anyway, instead of thinking of me being a traitor in this case, let's think of this as me being a spy. I'm here to steal from Borders to bring to Barnes & Noble. Like the horror section. And maybe this chair cause its pretty damn comfy . . . What else is going on in the world this week. Hmm. To be honest, I'm not really sure. Is there anything going on out there in the world I should know about? I started work on the next set of lyrics for a soon to be Pensive classic. Or at least a classic representation of how Pensive refuses to be pigeon-holed. I'm speaking of the 70's flavored space freak-out. Ish. Song. The "Eagles + Aerosmith + Mars Volta + Thrice = song" song. The topic of this supposed song? Well its about as out there as that grouping of artists I just spat out two sentences ago. I can't reveal it yet. Why? Because despite the fact that I have two verses in the bag and the early, embryonic form of a chorus swimming in my head, I wouldn't be too surprised if this set of lyrics gets thrown out the window. Like I said, its pretty out there. If that does happen though, I suppose there'd be no harm in me sharing them with you. But I hope it doesn't happen cause I am rather fond of them. Hopefully you will be too someday. Most likely I shall have to suspend this blog for the time being seeing as I shall be attending a cinematic adventure in just a bit and therefore must make my grand return to the mall/theater complex soon. Wouldn't wanna miss the previews of course. Though if I see the preview for that Michael Cera movie again I just might vomit. I wonder if at times I'm a bit too brutally honest in these blogs. Its like in that scene in Jerry Maguire where his wife at the time says they promised to be "brutally honest" and says he didn't ever remember the brutal part. Hmm. Something to consider I suppose. Maybe Michael Cera is a Pensive fan and will get offended and show up to my door demanding me to retract my blog statements. Likely? No, not really. Juno was a good movie though. Hey! I'm back. I did indeed need to take a break to go see my movie. 2012. With John Cusack. He's amazing. Did you see 1408? (that other movie he starred in that's name was made up of 4 numerals) He spent most of the movie in a room by himself. And he was riveting! But anyway, 2012 was better than I was expecting actually. Yes it did have the typical overdramatic goodbye scenes and a few too many of the "are you effin' kidding me! another thing is going wrong!?!?" moments but overall I was impressed. Good job Mr. Emmerich. You made up for The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day. A very enjoyable and entertaining movie. [and don't worry, I didn't have to see the preview for that Michael Cera movie!] I'd say we should get ready to call this a blog. Is there anything else in particular to mention? Not really. Things have been busy the past week or so. I didn't even have a chance to stop by the comic store this past Wednesday. Fear not though, there were no must have titles this week. Damn DC is making me wait till late January to get Batman & Robin #7. At least we get #8 and #9 both in February! I'm sure I've mentioned that there is finally an official North American release date for Final Fantasy XIII, right? Its March 9th, 2010 in case I hadn't mentioned it. Which is nice since they'd originally said Spring and everyone guess they probably meant the very last day of Spring in June or something but then they went and surprised us with an early March date. Before Spring even begins technically. Which leads me to believe that they're not too good with their seasons over there at Square-Enix. (hey, I used all the different variations of the there/their/they're in that sentence. magical.) As for my current video game action since I finished up Uncharted 2 a bit ago [p.s. if you somehow own a PS3 and don't have that game, you need to change that immediately] I've been occupying myself with a little game known as Demon's Souls. Where I say that Uncharted should be played by everyone, Demon's Souls is very much for a niche audience. Its old school and way hardcore and punishing. Its not impossible and if you go slow and keep you shield raised at all times you should survive till the end of each level, but it will take a ton of patience and probably a lot of deaths. If however you are that rare breed these days of masochist gamers, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. It essentially sets out to be as realistic (in a fantastical setting as possible). Example: if you were really going to storming a castle and fighting your way through scores of enemies and battling a giant fire breathing dragon, would you really dress like most characters in video games and have awesome anime hair? Probably not. You'd want big armor. And a big sword. But, that big sword sure is heavy so don't expect to use it constantly unless you're super strong. Gotta let your stamina catch back up with you. Otherwise you just might not have the strength to keep that life saving shield up any longer. I think you get the point. While I'd hardly consider myself masochistic, there's nothing quite like the feeling of triumph you get when after nights of endless attempts you finally fell that beastly Flamelurker and collect your reward. Alright, that feels like a good blog to me. I hope you enjoyed our time together. See you next week. Same Pat time. Same Pat channel. Howard Phillips P.S. Do you recognize that title perhaps? Or perhaps not more likely. Its a very obscure reference. Google will of course answer for you if you give up. I'll give you a hint. You might find the answer hidden beneath onyx skies. Not that my little clue will help you at all but its fun for me. Add comment