I recently was exposed for the first time to Viva La Vida by Coldplay and quickly fell in love with the song. Some friends recommended that I try to get into the rest of Coldplay's discography, but try is the key word. I really couldn't seem to actually produce any fondness for any of their other musical works and, as such, my love for Viva La Vida baffled me, until I realized that it was a completely different genre from their usual alternative mainstream stuff.
It was Baroque Pop!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Baroque Pop. I've been a fan of this genre for as long as I can remember, thanks mostly to being a kid who lived solely on Vivaldi, Bach and Beethoven. Bands such as Rasptutina, The Decemberists, Broken Social Scene, Of Montreal, and the like have dominated many of my playlists throughout the years and the sound of a cello playing alongside drums always plucks my heartstrings, so to speak.
Well, this new song discovery led me to want to finally create a Baroque influenced band, not just producing songs of the pop affectation, but also rock, rap, and what have you. I want this to become an experiment in taking the sounds of the Old World and introducing them to the beats and energy of the Modern Era, all the while maintaining a unique and distinctive tone. If you're interested in helping form this band, do let me know. Currently looking for vocalists (female and male), violinist, cello players, guitar and bass players, and of course, a drummer. Any other unique/eccentric instruments you may play are also welcome.
From that nice musical tone, here's some disturbing news:
1 in 7 people believe that women who wear sexy clothing should be attacked.
What the hell? Ever since my dear friend Dominique posted this story to her Facebook, it has sat in the back of my mind, outraging me from time to time. However, what's worse is that " similar number believed that it was all right for a man to slap his wife or girlfriend if she is “nagging or constantly moaning at him”". So, wait, let me get this straight: If my partner decides to complain about something to me, a portion of the populace believes I should hit them for "nagging"? This is pure madness and a sign of gender disrespect in modern society and what a long way the Feminist and Gender Equality movements have to go before this sort of thinking is reduced to insignificant percentages or even better, completely removed from the demographic landscape. For now, however, the battle continues.
In less-outraging local news, I recently attended San Antonio's so-called independent arts festival, Luminaria. While indeed it was fun to pose for photographs (as I wore my Neo-Victorian outfit to the event while my dear friend James wore his Roccoco-inspired outfit) and take a look at my city's modern art and performance community, it felt extremely commercialized and, as I like to call it, "beerized". The event to many people seemed like another excuse to get drunk on my city's streets, as if Fiesta and any Spurs victory wasn't enough. Really now, here's an attempt by our esteemed Mayor Hardberger to reinvigorate San Antonio's art scene and Budweiser has found yet another way to capitalize on it. Now, I don't mind the drinking, but it seemed like one of its main foci sadly enough. I hope next year I actually see more art (especially independent, uncensored and unsponsored art), more performances, more walking art works (like yours truly), and of course, more community interaction. If you really want to drink, go to the Riverwalk. Really now, it's there to look pretty and house some of our finest bars and restaurants.
Oh, and for fans of the not-so-whipped-cream-topped-yet-equally-delicious-as-the-dessert band Cake, they will be performing in Austin on the 28th of April at Stubb's. I'm forming a group to go, so let me know if you'd like to come along. Tickets are $30 and you can get your ticket here. You don't want to miss Cake if you haven't seen them live, I hear they're quite excellent.
In personal news, I of course saw Watchmen at the midnight premiere at the Palladium and if I'll say one thing about it, it'll definitely be that I loved it. It was an amazingly faithful adaptation of the comic with an improved ending catastrophe and kudos to Zach Snyder for not letting me down yet. Tyler Bates also put together an amazing soundtrack which truly impressed me beyond words in the unlikely yet perfect placement of the songs choices and the regular original composition were not bad either. If you haven't seen it, go see it. If you have, go see it again and catch the easter eggs I have from seeing it again multiple times. However, most of all, buy the graphic novel. It's definitely more in-depth than the movie on the issues it tackles and it'll be one the best purchases you'll make book-wise in a while.
I recently bought The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Münchhausen role-playing game from my local game/comic shop, Dragon's Lair, and let me say that after reading through it and playing a round, I absolutely love it. It's written as if the dear Baron composed this game himself and even if you don't play the game, it's a fun and entertaining read with many humourous moments. The gameplay is simplistic yet fun and the objective really is to have tons of fun telling ridiculous and wild stories with friends as personas from the 18th/19th century (or whatever you prefer). You can read more about it here. It makes me want to watch the delightful 1988 Terry Gilliam film once again and if you haven't seen that, you should!
As for what you should do with your Sunday evenings or free time online, there's a simple one word answer for you:
Kings.
If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it on Hulu or the NBC website, where you'll be amazed by the top-notch acting and further surprised that a great monarchical drama loosely based on the Biblical Book of Kings and inspired by the concept of modern monarchies wasn't made in U.K and that good television might actually exist in the USA outside of HBO.
In fact, I'm going to stop writing this blog just to rewatch the first episode again and hope they put up the second episode soon, which was fantastic by the way. Enjoy!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Und mir auf Reu und Leid
Dreams are an interesting thing, but nightmares even more so.
I feel that dreams and the like tend to be our travels to some sort of astral realms, whether they exist only in our minds or are actually present somewhere in this universe or another. These astral realms, however, tend to be reflections of ourselves, our lives, our hopes, desires, pains, regrets, and most of all, our imaginations.
Yesterday night was one of those nights in which I found myself awaking repeatedly, which caused me to have about five different dreams and so, I thought, what better excuse is there to update my blogs and journals than to tell you about my dreams?
First Dream
I was riding a camel in a vast desert, wearing what seemed to be Bedouin garb and I was on some sort of trade mission and I remember being very determined. However, I cam across some ancient ruins and decide to explore, thinking I'd find treasure or the like. However, the deeper I went into the ruins, the smaller the passageways and rooms got until I was crawling through one particularly small passageway. Once I reached the other side, I was in a gladiatorial arena and had to fight off a whole bunch of warriors, which I did with a combination of Wushu fighting maneuvers and European swordfighting. Once I had defeated them all, the ruler/patron of these fights stood up and pointed at me, about to speak, and then I woke up.
Second Dream
Texas was undergoing some sort of internal revolution against American rule, but for some reason, I could care less. There was a sizable monarchist faction I was a part of, but apparently I was too busy to do anything (Did I hold a high position? I was dressed to the nines...) and instead, hosted large masquerade balls. During one of those masquerade balls, the flag had been lowered in a nearby plaza so I left to raise it again against all odds, but was distracted and instead seemingly kidnapped by my friend Alexa. She drove us to some sort of abandoned town up in some remote mountains where only about 3 people lived. We ate tons and tons of food and then we had tons and tons of sex, which was interrupted by a swarm of large ants, which we ran away from after killing half of them. While running, we fell off one of the mountains, tumbling down in sheer pain, and then I woke up.
Third Dream
I don't remember much about this dream at all, except that involved my friends Dan and Mel wearing various masks and casting magic spells at each other. Also, we were on a boat. That's really about it.
Fourth Dream
There was a large parade and I was the member of a heavy metal band, with my friends Dan, Ric, Wes, and Ryan and we were all on a float shaped like a duck. Apparently, all that happened in this dream is that we were rocking so hard that it started a riot and and few building to collapse, then we flew away on our guitars to the Atlantic, where we apparently had a concert to perform in Atlantis, but we kept stalling in our green room or whatever for ages for no real reason. Then Wes caught on fire and I woke up.
Fifth Dream
I was running through a desolate landscape, in which a severe thunderstorm was going on but there was no rain, being chased endlessly by the Maenads of Greek mythology, who also happened to be every single one of my ex-girlfriends. Eventually, the dream ended, but after some terrifying 28 Days Later type ordeals.
Feel free to interpret them. Dreams are always fun to play around with.
I feel that dreams and the like tend to be our travels to some sort of astral realms, whether they exist only in our minds or are actually present somewhere in this universe or another. These astral realms, however, tend to be reflections of ourselves, our lives, our hopes, desires, pains, regrets, and most of all, our imaginations.
Yesterday night was one of those nights in which I found myself awaking repeatedly, which caused me to have about five different dreams and so, I thought, what better excuse is there to update my blogs and journals than to tell you about my dreams?
First Dream
I was riding a camel in a vast desert, wearing what seemed to be Bedouin garb and I was on some sort of trade mission and I remember being very determined. However, I cam across some ancient ruins and decide to explore, thinking I'd find treasure or the like. However, the deeper I went into the ruins, the smaller the passageways and rooms got until I was crawling through one particularly small passageway. Once I reached the other side, I was in a gladiatorial arena and had to fight off a whole bunch of warriors, which I did with a combination of Wushu fighting maneuvers and European swordfighting. Once I had defeated them all, the ruler/patron of these fights stood up and pointed at me, about to speak, and then I woke up.
Second Dream
Texas was undergoing some sort of internal revolution against American rule, but for some reason, I could care less. There was a sizable monarchist faction I was a part of, but apparently I was too busy to do anything (Did I hold a high position? I was dressed to the nines...) and instead, hosted large masquerade balls. During one of those masquerade balls, the flag had been lowered in a nearby plaza so I left to raise it again against all odds, but was distracted and instead seemingly kidnapped by my friend Alexa. She drove us to some sort of abandoned town up in some remote mountains where only about 3 people lived. We ate tons and tons of food and then we had tons and tons of sex, which was interrupted by a swarm of large ants, which we ran away from after killing half of them. While running, we fell off one of the mountains, tumbling down in sheer pain, and then I woke up.
Third Dream
I don't remember much about this dream at all, except that involved my friends Dan and Mel wearing various masks and casting magic spells at each other. Also, we were on a boat. That's really about it.
Fourth Dream
There was a large parade and I was the member of a heavy metal band, with my friends Dan, Ric, Wes, and Ryan and we were all on a float shaped like a duck. Apparently, all that happened in this dream is that we were rocking so hard that it started a riot and and few building to collapse, then we flew away on our guitars to the Atlantic, where we apparently had a concert to perform in Atlantis, but we kept stalling in our green room or whatever for ages for no real reason. Then Wes caught on fire and I woke up.
Fifth Dream
I was running through a desolate landscape, in which a severe thunderstorm was going on but there was no rain, being chased endlessly by the Maenads of Greek mythology, who also happened to be every single one of my ex-girlfriends. Eventually, the dream ended, but after some terrifying 28 Days Later type ordeals.
Feel free to interpret them. Dreams are always fun to play around with.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A Day of Mourning
Today we mourn the death of His Imperial Majesty The Emperor Norton I of these United States of America and Protector of Mexico.
In honor of his death, I am linking you all to my old blog on the great Emperor so that you may read more about His Imperial Majesty's life and death here:
http://arcanaabsurdum.blogspot.com/2007/01/on-emperor-norton.html
In honor of his death, I am linking you all to my old blog on the great Emperor so that you may read more about His Imperial Majesty's life and death here:
http://arcanaabsurdum.blogspot.com/2007/01/on-emperor-norton.html
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
I recently attended a New Year's ceremony organized by the local Soka Gakkais here in San Antonio. Having spent the last six or so years being the best of friends with one, I've been exposed to their beliefs and attitudes many times and have experienced the legendary (and sometimes infamous) kindness they show each other and newcomers. I've always admired the work of President Ikeda of SGI (Soka Gakkai International) and many (though not all) of the ideas and beliefs he propagates. Well, during this ceremony, a video was shown from President Ikeda to his followers and I must say, I was so touched by the positivism and the way foreign leaders interacted with him that I had to try hard to stop a stream of tears from running down my face for sheer joy.
At the moment and during the day, I ascribed it to being a spiritual experience (and still do, as it didn't just rile my emotions but something ... deeper) but upon having some time to think and meditate on my experience, I've decided to stick by the facts that I have sorted in my religious life:
1) I cannot agree with some of the beliefs of the SGI, such as reincarnation (which I have a particularly hard time believing), but I will always support the work of SGI and President Ikeda, as they are a force for good and optimism that is rarely seen these days.
2) I still have slight trouble returning to organized religion of any kind, no matter how loosely organized. Currently, I'm on a personal spiritual quest and wish to keep it that way until I truly find out what it is I can believe. The best I can do is say I am a Deist at the moment.
However, I will attend more of these SGI meetings, as it is an excellent community and I wish to aide them in their missions, along with the selfish fact that I feel so good when I'm at one (and chanting is so calming and meditative). I know this might come off as rude to some of my SGI friends and if it does, my sincerest apologies, but when it comes to all faiths and belief systems, as of the current time, I need to study, experience, and contemplate in order to find where I stand. It's truly a long journey, but a fun and important one. My guides are Reason and Romance and when the two meet at a spiritual crossroad and take the same path, I'll have finally reached my home.
At the moment and during the day, I ascribed it to being a spiritual experience (and still do, as it didn't just rile my emotions but something ... deeper) but upon having some time to think and meditate on my experience, I've decided to stick by the facts that I have sorted in my religious life:
1) I cannot agree with some of the beliefs of the SGI, such as reincarnation (which I have a particularly hard time believing), but I will always support the work of SGI and President Ikeda, as they are a force for good and optimism that is rarely seen these days.
2) I still have slight trouble returning to organized religion of any kind, no matter how loosely organized. Currently, I'm on a personal spiritual quest and wish to keep it that way until I truly find out what it is I can believe. The best I can do is say I am a Deist at the moment.
However, I will attend more of these SGI meetings, as it is an excellent community and I wish to aide them in their missions, along with the selfish fact that I feel so good when I'm at one (and chanting is so calming and meditative). I know this might come off as rude to some of my SGI friends and if it does, my sincerest apologies, but when it comes to all faiths and belief systems, as of the current time, I need to study, experience, and contemplate in order to find where I stand. It's truly a long journey, but a fun and important one. My guides are Reason and Romance and when the two meet at a spiritual crossroad and take the same path, I'll have finally reached my home.
On a completely seperate note, I'm taken to enjoying the work of Johan Soderberg, especially his Read My Lips stuff. Go to his home page and click on "Read My Lips"; 3 is my favourite while 7 and 10 are also quite excellent. I've also recently seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Valkyrie, and The Spirit. Button was a touching allegory of death and living which lasted for three hours and slightly reminded me of Forest Gump, in a good way. It could very well be a contender for best film awards, so be sure to catch it. Valkyrie is the first time the dramatically epic story of Colonel Count von Stauffenberg has been told in film form in the States and Bryan Singer has done an excellent job. I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat even if I did know the tragic ending and felt wonderful chills run through my body whenever "Sacred Germany" was mentioned, showing that not all nationalism is bad, as is usually portrayed these days. The Spirit was absolutely horrendous, but not in a Batman and Robin way, but more in a Hellboy movie series sort of way. It was delightfully campy all throughout and did not ease up, but what makes this sad is the fact that Frank Miller meant for this to be taken as a serious movie. Sorry, Mr. Miller, that would be utterly impossible, especially with Samuel L. Jackson doing some superb camp acting.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Just me, my dignity and this guitar case
It's been quite a long while since I've written one of these, but I do believe it's time to get back in the habit.
2008 is ending and it has been an eventful year, no doubt, with new people, exciting events, rattled emotions, and the usual adventure that is this thing called life.
I've decided to try and adjust my libertine lifestyle with my stoic philosophies and my romantic emotions, but as you can imagine, I've been drilling in a field and no oil gushes yet. I've made strides here and there, but it is a sign of failure in regards to my self mental conditioning when I start feeling these primal human emotions such as jealousy, hate, worry, and fear recently at a constant rate, whereas I have not felt them as strong as I do these days in years. Reading Epictetus does help though, his Discourses are really insightful into the situation and remind me that I cannot control everything, even if I wished to. There are things even beyond my grasp and I have to learn to be fine with this and carry on. "Keep calm and carry on", as the old saying goes.
I'm also trying not to make my interactions so forced, trying not to seem too much like a hollow shell, which I'm afraid I come off as sometimes. I'm always a tumultuous sea inside, but outside, I'm calm and social and for the most part, ignore myself and present the image most preferable to the situation and setting. It's quite the bad habit, but it's going to loosen up and does around certain people, of course, but not all of them. I guess these forced interactions also lead people I've known to believe that I am some sort of liar, perhaps through some "tell" I don't mean to have so even the truest and simplest of things come off as lies, or so I've been told. Perhaps it's a joke? I don't understand really, never have for the most part.
Well, I've lost my cathartic train of thought, though on a unrelated note, MGMT makes for good driving music and so does Grateful Dead. I catch myself singing, even if I can't sing, and trying to seem like a music connoisseur even if I can't play an instrument for the death of me, but I guess that's what life is all about.
Don't worry about what you can't do, but on what you can and can enjoy.
2008 is ending and it has been an eventful year, no doubt, with new people, exciting events, rattled emotions, and the usual adventure that is this thing called life.
I've decided to try and adjust my libertine lifestyle with my stoic philosophies and my romantic emotions, but as you can imagine, I've been drilling in a field and no oil gushes yet. I've made strides here and there, but it is a sign of failure in regards to my self mental conditioning when I start feeling these primal human emotions such as jealousy, hate, worry, and fear recently at a constant rate, whereas I have not felt them as strong as I do these days in years. Reading Epictetus does help though, his Discourses are really insightful into the situation and remind me that I cannot control everything, even if I wished to. There are things even beyond my grasp and I have to learn to be fine with this and carry on. "Keep calm and carry on", as the old saying goes.
I'm also trying not to make my interactions so forced, trying not to seem too much like a hollow shell, which I'm afraid I come off as sometimes. I'm always a tumultuous sea inside, but outside, I'm calm and social and for the most part, ignore myself and present the image most preferable to the situation and setting. It's quite the bad habit, but it's going to loosen up and does around certain people, of course, but not all of them. I guess these forced interactions also lead people I've known to believe that I am some sort of liar, perhaps through some "tell" I don't mean to have so even the truest and simplest of things come off as lies, or so I've been told. Perhaps it's a joke? I don't understand really, never have for the most part.
Well, I've lost my cathartic train of thought, though on a unrelated note, MGMT makes for good driving music and so does Grateful Dead. I catch myself singing, even if I can't sing, and trying to seem like a music connoisseur even if I can't play an instrument for the death of me, but I guess that's what life is all about.
Don't worry about what you can't do, but on what you can and can enjoy.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Beyond your flowers of flaming truths
To those wondering when my entries on my voyages to Washington and Austin will be up, please stay tuned. I've been a strange kind of busy (and lazy when not) as of late, so I promise I'll have them up sometime this week or so.
On an interesting note, a newspaper from Denver recently gave me a call, as they seek to interview me and do some sort of photoshoot, due mostly in part to my heavy involvement with Senator Obama's campaign and the grassroots efforts throughout my state. Needless to say, I'm quite flattered and when I receive more information in relation to the publication of said news story, my trusted readers will be the first to know of course!
If you're into roleplaying like I am, you probably know that yesterday was Free RPG Day, where the various game companies provide your local game emporium with endless amounts of booklets usually consisting of quickstarts and other material. In my case, that emporium was the wonderful locale known as Dragon's Lair, right off Fredricksburg road and the game I was there for was Hunter: The Vigil and man, oh man, did it not disappoint. White Wolf is creating what seems to be a fantastic game with Hunter: The Vigil, where you hunt the beasties that you usually play in the World of Darkness line, with little more than human ingenuity and whatever else we can steal from the supernatural creatures of the night (and day in some cases). I have the quickstart demo in my possession, so if you'd like me to run you through it so you can get a feel of the game, let me know, as I'd be more than happy to.
Also, another game that caught my eye was the Savage World of Solomon Kane, a RPG based on the pulp era story of a cold and distant world-wandering Puritan seeking redemption for his past sins through the destruction of evil wherever he can find it. While you don't get to play as the title character, you create your character on the assumption that either you've been inspired by him or tales of Mr. Kane or you're independently trodding along a similar path of light in shadows (sorry, I'm still in Hunter mode, as I'm using the catchphrase for the game here). While the book costs $50, it definitely looks well worth it and once I have some cash to throw around willy-nilly, I'm quite prone to getting this little gem.
Oh, for those that know me, you'll be glad to know that I've begun cleaning my house (GASP!) so that I can have people over again and show off my new High-Definition projector, which will not disappoint unlike my old and decomposing former projector. So, now would be a good time to give me your schedules, to see when I can have some of you over and if you'd like some "Pablo only" time, do please let me know of that also.
On an interesting note, a newspaper from Denver recently gave me a call, as they seek to interview me and do some sort of photoshoot, due mostly in part to my heavy involvement with Senator Obama's campaign and the grassroots efforts throughout my state. Needless to say, I'm quite flattered and when I receive more information in relation to the publication of said news story, my trusted readers will be the first to know of course!
If you're into roleplaying like I am, you probably know that yesterday was Free RPG Day, where the various game companies provide your local game emporium with endless amounts of booklets usually consisting of quickstarts and other material. In my case, that emporium was the wonderful locale known as Dragon's Lair, right off Fredricksburg road and the game I was there for was Hunter: The Vigil and man, oh man, did it not disappoint. White Wolf is creating what seems to be a fantastic game with Hunter: The Vigil, where you hunt the beasties that you usually play in the World of Darkness line, with little more than human ingenuity and whatever else we can steal from the supernatural creatures of the night (and day in some cases). I have the quickstart demo in my possession, so if you'd like me to run you through it so you can get a feel of the game, let me know, as I'd be more than happy to.
Also, another game that caught my eye was the Savage World of Solomon Kane, a RPG based on the pulp era story of a cold and distant world-wandering Puritan seeking redemption for his past sins through the destruction of evil wherever he can find it. While you don't get to play as the title character, you create your character on the assumption that either you've been inspired by him or tales of Mr. Kane or you're independently trodding along a similar path of light in shadows (sorry, I'm still in Hunter mode, as I'm using the catchphrase for the game here). While the book costs $50, it definitely looks well worth it and once I have some cash to throw around willy-nilly, I'm quite prone to getting this little gem.
Oh, for those that know me, you'll be glad to know that I've begun cleaning my house (GASP!) so that I can have people over again and show off my new High-Definition projector, which will not disappoint unlike my old and decomposing former projector. So, now would be a good time to give me your schedules, to see when I can have some of you over and if you'd like some "Pablo only" time, do please let me know of that also.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mr. Vazquez goes to Washington!
Greetings citizens!
It seems your humble blogger will be in Washington D.C from June the 8th to June the 11th on an all-expenses paid trip, courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union. While the catch is that I have to attend the civil liberties conferences and socialize with/charm politicos from across the nation, most of you know I am not a man without a sense of adventure, so of course I'll be taking my fine nation's capital by storm.
Here, dear reader, is where you come in! I am in need of suggestions as to places I must visit, scenes I must see, people I must heckle, restaurants I must dine at, and so on and so forth. Do feel free to even name the obvious, as knowing me, I might end up forgetting the obvious.
Also, should you be in Washington D.C during this time and wish to get together for some tea, do let me know and I'll arrange something.
It seems your humble blogger will be in Washington D.C from June the 8th to June the 11th on an all-expenses paid trip, courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union. While the catch is that I have to attend the civil liberties conferences and socialize with/charm politicos from across the nation, most of you know I am not a man without a sense of adventure, so of course I'll be taking my fine nation's capital by storm.
Here, dear reader, is where you come in! I am in need of suggestions as to places I must visit, scenes I must see, people I must heckle, restaurants I must dine at, and so on and so forth. Do feel free to even name the obvious, as knowing me, I might end up forgetting the obvious.
Also, should you be in Washington D.C during this time and wish to get together for some tea, do let me know and I'll arrange something.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
