The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Scrubs

2 posts in one week? what the frak?

As you can tell I am still adjusting to life without BSG, which ended about a month ago. Friday nights are a little less enjoyable without it, but I have managed with The Soup, PTI, and Scrubs. Well scratch another one of the list, Scrubs is supposedly done.

They aired their season (series?) finale this past week. It focused on J.D.'s last day at Scared Heart. I have seen lots of finales (obviously) and this one ranks up their as one of the best. The writers have always done a great job of balancing humor with emotions. I remember the first episode I saw was the one where Brendon Fraiser (yes him) *spoilers* died. I remember laughing so hard at times during the episode, but then wiping tears away at the end.

Scrubs has done it all. The finale was no different. Watching J.D. all episode trying to get Dr. Cox to tell him how he felt, only to keep getting rejected was very sad. Then when it looked like it wasn't going to happen...bam it did. Awesome writing and acting. And then the last scene where J.D. "sees" his future was a great way to end the show.

There is talk of a spin off with some of the interns that were introduced this season. A few weeks ago I was all for it, but after this ending...I doubt they could top it. Rename the show, but don't call it Scrubs. We saw what happened when Spin City tried to go on without Michael J. Fox. The show was still funny, but it lost a lot of the original magic. Side note, the creators are the same.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: The Community

holy crap 2 posts in one week?!?!?!

Anyway, as you all know I am a huge fan of The Soup with Joel McHale. He ranks only second (maybe 1st someday) behind Greg Kinnear as my favorite host. It was announced today that Joel's show The Community has been picked up for the fall on NBC. They have a short 4 minute clip of the show...looks pretty funny. I hope it goes well for Joel and he doesn't leave The Soup like Greg did.

Thoughts Without Words: CSTs and whatever else

So the CSTs are over now and I really have no clue as to how my students did. Some are confident that they passed, while others said they guessed on the whole thing...nice huh? I won't stress about it until August or so, then it goes away for a year. All I can do is prepare them for the test and let the chips fall where they may.

So what else is going on? Well let's see my son is turning one this week. Has it already been one year?

I took a look at the number of postings I have been doing...pretty lame. I really hat webwasher. I can't blog at work anymore. Whatever happened to being able to get our own "teacher" login? Who knows. Work needs to end pretty quick. Having 70% of my students be freshmen has worn on me. I will say that they have matured a bit and are finally learning some responsibility and accountability.

What else? I haven't talked about BSG's finale in detail that much and I won't go into it today, but I will say that the first hour was awesome and ranks up there as a movie in terms of acting and visuals.

Music? Wow what a disappointing year so far. Last year at this time I already had 10 solid albums. Right now? Pretty much zero. God Forbid has a solid album out right now and The Sorrow's Origin of the Storm is also solid. The Sorrow's album reminds me a ton of Killswitch Engage, which is a good thing. Other than that...nothing. I am waiting patiently for the second half to hit. Let's see these are the ones I know of;
Killswitch Engage
Devildriver
Susperia
Shadows Fall
Anthrax
Megadeth
Nightrage
Fear Factory (hopefully)
Arkaea (members of FF & Threat Signal)
Threat Signal (maybe)

Now that is a solid list of metal. What am I listening to right now? Mainly, Shadows Fall, Nightrage, All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and Devildriver.

TV? I am waiting for the second season of Spectacular Spiderman to start up again.

Out for now, who knows when I will post again.

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Now playing: Killswitch Engage - Hope Is
via FoxyTunes

Remembering my Grandpa...

I can't believe it's been 3 years already since my grandpa passed away. I have been up to the farm 2 times since then and it's so surreal to be there and not see him. I just expect him to walk in and hear his rough/old voice say "well hey there Jason." Anyway, like I do every year I post this in memory of him.




It's been one week since my Grandpa passed away, so I think I will share some of my memories about him. To me he was a great man. He dropped out of school early on in his life, before the 8th grade, joined the navy and ended up fighting in World War II. He met my Grandmother while she was studying to become a nurse, to which my grandpa responded, "why would you want to be a nurse because if you were my wife you wouldn't work." Classic grandpa.

My grandpa was a farmer . He ended up farming for years. In fact, he was still farming 60 acres of land up until he was in his late 70's. He would wake up in the middle of the night to change his water, to make sure he didn't over water his crops. He did most of the work, minus the actual picking of the crops.

He was the central figure in our family. At Christmas time it was grandpa who would hand out the presents to all of the kids and adults. When grandpa was happy we were all happy, when he was sad or upset we all shared in his pain.

How did he effect my life? Well let's see, he introduced me to golf. I would remember going to visit him in the summer to play golf at the same golf course he played at. It was amazing and an honor. Now I am not shallow enough to realize other things my grandpa taught me; how to tie vines, how to flood gophers out of their holes (that had to be one of the more enjoyable summers ever.) We could spend hours on end talking about football too. Whether it was the 49ers and how crappy they had become, or how the Sooners fell apart. He also taught me how to be a man, how to treat a woman. How to act in certain situations. Now he never came out and said "Kevin, this is what you do", but he always acted in a certain way that would always be the right way. Now there were times that he didn't act the right way, but he would always say later on, how he should have acted.

My grandpa was a huge part of my life. I spent every vacation hour (minus 3 summers because of football) at my grandparents home. Every vacation we had a different job. He would always tell us, that he has to do it because he didn't finish school and this was his life. I guess that hit all of us grandkids because 6 of the 7 graduated from college. That idea that unless you get an education, you would be doing manual labor stuck with us.

My grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago. I guess we weren't surprised because he had been smoking since he was around 12 years old. He had surgery to remove the cancer from the lung. Doctors say that if you can go one year without the cancer coming back, then your odds are pretty good it will stay in remission. Well, with my grandpa it was around 10 or 11 months when the doctors told him the cancer was back. He had no choice but to try chemo-therapy. At his age it was risky, but he couldn't have another operation. He was able to go through all of the treatments, except the last one. Most of the cancer was gone or drastically reduced. I saw him in the middle of his treatments during Thanksgiving. He looked well, he was joking around and we made some bets on the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl, even though we didn't know the teams. We also gave my grandparents a Webtv. Now this might seem like nothing, but my grandparents never owned a VCR. He was excited and happy knowing he could write to any grandkid whenever or check the weather whenever he wanted to. I will never foget his face when he said "So you mean I'm online now?"

We didn't go up to see him at Christmas time because my wife was pregnant at the time and couldn't travel at all. At the time I didn't think it mattered because I figured I would see him next Christmas. During the spring time he battled some serious colds and that also took it's toll on his body. It was in early April during a phone conversation that he commented that his shoulder was hurting him. I told him to lift some weights because he needed to be strong enough to lift our little girl. He laughed and said that his is trying. During spring break my parents came down and said I needed to go see him because he was very ill. I thought it was just my mom being over reactive, but she wasn't. When I saw my grandpa he didn't recognize me because of the medication he was on and because cancer was spreading into his brain. That first day was very rough for me and my wife. After lunch my grandpa walked outside and my wife suggested I go on a walk with him. I was very hesitant to, but agreed to go. My grandpa and I walked about 30-50 yards and back. We talked about the weather (as all farmers do) and about the neighbor building a house. And then he went out and started talking about the war. As soon as he started it was over. I found out later that that was his last walk. The cancer spread to his spine and legs and he couldn't walk. That is something I hope to never forget. The next day he was better, alot better. He knew me and remembered things about conversations from earlier in the day and years ago. My wife and I always played Uno for him, he loved to see me lose. He was sitting in the chair, in pain, but smiling at us and said "I remember that game you guys play, Uni" We said good-bye that day, never in a million years did I think I wouldn't see him alive again. In less than a week, they stopped all treatment and the next Friday he was in hospice care... a total of 8 days. My heart ached for him, my grandma, and my family. We prayed for a quick death so he wouldn't suffer. He was able to leave the hospital and come home to his farm to die. His farm where he made his life and legacy. He died at 2:14 AM on April 23rd. I miss him so much. I am so sad when I think that he won't hold my daughter, hold me, or hold his wife again. I know he is in a better place without pain, but my heart misses him so much. I was honored to be a pallbearer at his funeral this past week. I cried and smiled thinking about the memories of him. My brothers and I shared stories of grandpa over his grave talking to him.

My grandpa saw alot in his life time and lived alot too. My grandpa was and will always be a hero to me. I love you Grandpa...you're online so you can read this now.

Right Now

just post because I missed all of February due to Webwasher.

Battlestar Galactica has 3 hours left then it's over...what the frak?
Don't want to touch work right now...I will leave it at that.
Family and I got Disneyland passes...super happy.
CA Budget and politics in general are upsetting me a lot...too much spending and giving out of free money, but what about the people who play it straight? screwed.

Hopefully I will post more this month.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: BSG Final Season & Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Well another 2 weeks and another post. I talked to our tech guys and he told me that our district is still working on a separate log in for teachers that isn't as strict as student log ins. Only time will tell.

Anyway, on to the subject at hand. It's been almost one year since the rag tag fleet found Earth only to find it destroyed by a nuclear war. The episode was great. Let's face it though, it had been so long (9 months) that anything was going to make me happy. But it didn't disappoint, highlights for me:
- The 13th Colony was all Cylons, and they had a civil war and destroyed each other on earth.
- Starbuck finds her own dead body...WTF?!?!?
- Dee kills herself (didn't see that coming[in fact it ranked up there with Boomer shooting Adama during the first season as shocking moments go])
- President gives up hope (what would Obama say?)
- 5th Cylon is "revealed" to be Ellen who died last season
Basically a ton more questions and a great episode can't wait for Fridays again.

The other show I am really loving these days is Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now before Episode III came out they had a regular cartoon version which hits some of the highlights taking place before the last movie. This show is CGI and tells more of the story of the war itself. I have no idea how many seasons/episodes it will have, but I am hoping for a lot. The animation is the best I have ever seen on a tv show. I mean the prequels were full of CGI and there are times (space battles) when it seems like you are watching a movie. You can't really see Anikin's turn yet, but you know it's coming because he has a padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Now she is destined to bite the big one somewhere during this show because she doesn't turn up during Episode III. The other nice thing about the show is that it doesn't focus on Anakin all the time (like the cartoon version). We have episodes where Anakin and Obi Wan don't even appear. How about an episode without Jedis? Does it work...yep. The Star Wars universe is so big there is a ton to explore.

My only complaint is Jar Jar...yes he makes appearances (2 so far). I just hate Jar Jar, the fans hate Jar Jar why must we be forced to watch him? By the way, this isn't a kids show either...lots of death and destruction. This series was made for the fans. I really want a show that takes place between Episodes III & IV, but this will do for now. I hear the live action show will cover those 20 years.

Next post...who knows.

Who Decides: Top 10 Albums of the Year (Spinal Tap Edition)

So it's only been over a month since I last posted something (thanks Webwasher), and I missed out on some of my genre albums of the year. So really quick;
Metalcore Album of the Year: My Minds Weapon - The Carrion Sky
Industrial Album of the Year: Black Comedy - Instigator
Biggest Disappointment: Fear My Thoughts - Isolation
Best Debut Album: Exmortus - In Hatred's Flame
Best Sophomore Album: Mygrain - Signs of Existence

Ok enough of that onto my top 10 of the year. BTW, if you don't get the Spinal Tap reference watch this first.


11. Protest the Hero - Fortress: A solid follow-up to Kezia and is pretty much more of the same, which is a good thing. Something that bothered me a bit was how it seemed like the song was over and then there would be seconds of silence then another song would start up...really sucks when I am listening on random (Palms Read).

10. Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy: a better return to form than The Scattering of Ashes. Crazier time changes and great guitar work. Vocals were solid again, but I still miss all the harmonies of Buried Into Oblivion. What kept this album from going higher...it's short, not even 40 minutes long.

9. Eluveitie - Slania: like I said earlier when I heard this album, it's just so out there it works. Violins, bagpipes, and a hurdy gurdy sound great when thrown in with some classic death metal elements. Great Surprise.

8. Exmortus - In Hatred's Flame: a great album. If you like Dragonforce's insane guitar work but can't stand the high vocals...then these guys are for you. From the first listen I was hooked. I can't put into words how great the guitar work is it's one that you have to hear for yourself.

7. Mercenary - Architect of Lies: where The Hours That Remain lacked (death vocals), Architect of Lies makes up for it. This is a great album and might be better than 11 Dreams. The first time I heard The Endless Fall I was blown away by that riff midway through. While that is easily the best song on the album, the rest of it is just as good.

6. Becoming the Archetype - Dichotomy: one name Devin Townsend. He produced this album and made the band sound better than ever. End of the Age, How Great Thou Art, and Self-Existent really shine. Awesome album, if you are looking for a great progressive metal album this has to be it.

5. Bullet For My Valentine - Scream, Aim, Fire: How bad did I want to not like this album, but man can these guys write catchy heavy metal. I was drawn in by and Hearts Burst Into Fire, Forever and Always, but was hooked by their cover of No Easy Way Out (find it on a special import edition). Last To Know, Take it out on Me, the list goes on and on. These are metal songs that you can hum and sing along to. Solid album, my guilty pleasure of the year.

4. All That Remains - Overcome: Is it better than Fall of Ideals? No, but it's not the same album. ATR has always done something different for each album. This album focuses more on the vocals of Phil than anything else. It took a few listens to listen to, but now it's a pleasure to listen to. BTW, I'm not talking emo vocals either, just great melodic singing.

3. Testament - The Formation of Damnation: What can I say about this album? It's just a solid thrash album. It's great to hear Chuck BIlly and the boys playing again. People wanted The Ritual 2, but I wanted another Low, which is what this album is more similar to. Great guitar work between Peterson and Skolnick make this a huge winner. Also to note, Chuck kept some of his death growls in the vocals.

2. Trivium - Shogun: I'll admit it, after The Crusade I thought this band was done. That album was such a blatent sell out album I couldn't see them coming back. Enter Shogun. This album takes everything great from Ascendancy and makes it better. The more I listen to this album I think it could be their best. Songs like Torn Between, Throes of Perdition, Of Promethus, and of course their best song ever Shogun make this a classic thrash album. Then throw in Down From the Sky for those power ballad types and you have an instant classic.

1. Metallica - Death Magnetic: Was there any surprise here? I mean I actually liked St. Anger. The band said St. Anger wasn't supposed to be a popular album. In fact, they said they wanted to make an album so raw that radio wouldn't want to play it. Now we all know this album is a "return to form" for the boys, but I am going to take a different direction. I am going to say that if St. Anger had guitar solos and the corrrect drum snare you would have Death Magnetic. Think about it long intros, check, long choruses, check, wanting to make a "raw" album, check. This is what St. Anger was supposed to be. Don't believe me? All Nightmare Long is based upon a chorus that wasn't used on St. Anger. A great album. I would really like to see someone put the correct snare on St. Anger to see what a difference that would make.

That's my Top 10 for the year. I'm not sure what 2009 holds, except for Megadeth's new one. As for my posting on a more consistant basis, hopefully my school will unblock Blogger and I can start posting more feequently. Seriously, two kids makes it tough.

Venting the Anger: Webwasher

So for those of you that visit here, you might have noticed a lack of posts lately. This is due to one thing...Webwasher. I usually post at work, during the morning, lunch, or after school mainly because with 2 small kids it's hard to find time at home.

So no biggie right? Wrong. Out of nowhere I go to log on to Blogger and find it has been blocked, User Defined, which means someone at our school or district thought we shouldn't have access to Blogger at work and blocked it.

Well here lies the problem, not that I can't blog at work (even if it is during my free time), we have been told to "embrace technology". Blogger was talked about as a tool to help connect us with the students. We could post homework or start threads about topics. Heck in BTSA ( a state mandated course) we were told we had to start a blog for the class. In fact, of you look at my first few posts they were in relation to BTSA. I didn't turn it into what it is now until I realized that I didn't need a blog because I had a class website.

So what happens now? I talked to our tech guy and he is looking into it. That was two weeks ago and still nothing. I will find a way to post my top 10 albums, which is pretty much set in stone. But I did want to post my favorite categories...so we will wait and see.

Synchroblogging: why not?

Ok I love reading this blog, Right on the Left Coast, and I saw this topic on synchroblogging, where everyone writes about the same topic...so why not. The topic is "I'm usually in a good mood (or being myself) when..." so without further ado...

I'm usually in a good mood (or being myself) when...

* I am with my wife and kids just sitting in our playroom watching our daughter play with her kitchen set and our son stare at her with love and amazement.

* I am my family and I take a walk to the local park and we get to watch our daughter run around and have fun.

* I am working out (mainly lifting weights, the elliptical trainer does bore me)

* I am listening to PMS or Fusion on KLAC AM 570, those guys just make me laugh.

* I am watching any of the following shows; The Soup, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, or Pardon the Interruption.

Who Decides: Best Comeback Album

Ok first off it's been about a month since my last post, my bad. I have been busy with work and two beautiful kids, but I am not complaining. I love spending time with them.

So back to the topic at hand. I have mentioned that there are a ton of great albums this year and doing a top 10 is going to be difficult. I have it down to 12, but that is without a few other albums that are still to come. So to make sure I highlight some of the ones that won't make the top 10, I am giving you some categories just for fun.

So first category is the Best Comeback Album of the Year. now most would give this to Metallica, but seriously they didn't go anywhere. I liked all of the Load albums and St. Anger had its moments...so they are out of the running. This might have gone to Guns N Roses, but I will believe that one when I see it. Seriously, I have been waiting for that album since I was in high school...HIGH SCHOOL!

So who is it? How about Testament's The Formation of Damnation? Yes, this is a definite comeback album because Testament was left for dead a few years ago. In fact the last album with original material was 1999's The Gathering. They went in the studio in 2001 and re-recorded some songs from their first 2 albums and it seemed like a new album was around the corner. Well, line-up changes and a death scare for their lead singer and the album was pushed back. Then the infamous reunited/reunion tour which lead to a live album. And then all of sudden word that a new album with most of the original members was announced.


So would we get an album like Low or The Gathering or would it be a more mainstream album like The Ritual? Well this album is more in tune with Low...which is great because that's my favorite album. Chuck Billy doesn't use his growls as much as he did on The Gathering, but they are there. He has that perfect mix of rough and classic metal singing that was present on First Strike Still Deadly. As for the music, don't worry about another The Ritual (slower/more melodic) this thing is fast as...well you know. The guitar work is awesome as well. Some were worried about Alex returning to the band because of his solo work was very jazz/pop oriented. Well he must have missed playing the fast stuff because he slays. Check out F.E.A.R. he worte the entire song...classic Testament. Along with Eric Peterson, they combine to show these new kid guitarists just how it's done.

There really isn't any filler on this album. It is top notch Bay Area Thrash. My favorite songs; More Than Meets The Eye (great guitar work), The Evil Has Landed, The Persecuted Won't Forget, Henchmen Ride, Afterlife, F.E.A.R.