JBox Fridays: New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

Ok, so it's not Friday...but I've been notified with the following warning from blogger:

WARNING

This blog has been locked by Blogger's spam-prevention robots. You will not be able to publish your posts, but you will be able to save them as drafts.

Save your post as a draft or click here for more about what's going on and how to get your blog unlocked.

what the hell? alright, so i clicked that convenient little link and found out that a spam blog is:

What Are Spam Blogs?

As with many powerful tools, blogging services can be both used and abused. The ease of creating and updating webpages with Blogger has made it particularly prone to a form of behavior known as link spamming. Blogs engaged in this behavior are called spam blogs, and can be recognized by their irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text, along with a large number of links, usually all pointing to a single site.


daaaaaaamnn...not only did they temporarily lock my blog, they insulted me at the same time! Oh well...here's this week's video anyway...yeah I know, it's a band repeat, but New Order had a knack for this kind of music!

JBox Fridays: Tainted Love - Soft Cell

AHHHHH!!! Large floating head in space!!! Seriously, while some of the previous videos have been pretty bad, this one goes the route of boring. I mean really boring...shoot, I'd rather they redid it with clips from the Coneheads movie just to make it better. If you don't know what i'm talking about, go check out that movie...it will all make sense...still, Soft Cell has a pretty catchy chorus in this song...

YouTube search link

My Awesome Friends - Part II

Jesse's 30th Birthday Party - Part 02 Set, originally uploaded by HandPuppet.


Why have a 30th birthday celebration when you can have 2? Well, as circumstances would have it, I had asked some peeps to hangout on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. But some had already planned to do something for me on friday, as I mentioned in my previous post. So I got super lucky and in the end had an awesome weekend because of it. Above are some pics that Sung took for Saturday. Enjoy!

My Awesome Friends - Part I

I'm now officially not a 20something anymore. But if this past weekend is any indication, it doesn't matter. My friends came out in a way I never could have imagined. While my birthday did not officially start until midnight Sunday morning, some of my friends had other plans...check out Sung's recap of this past Friday on his blog:

Sung's Not-*that*-Unemployed Life (really)

JBox Fridays: The Human League - Don't You Want Me Baby

If you can make it through the whole video without joining in on the chorus, i'll be impressed. As far as the video goes, I'm still trying to figure out what was with the whole vampire look. hmmm...One more bit about the band, The Human League is still together! whoa! I'll have to go searching around to hear what their latest releases sound like. I can't imagine what they would sound like in a non 80's synthpop kinda way...

YouTube search link

Oh man, it's almost here...

Ok, so this isn't exactly the birthday I'd say I just can't wait for...Actually, I don't mind waiting at all! take your time! I was thinking about it recently...mainly to start the year off. I think I kind of went through a depressed phase thinking about all the personal goals I had setup for myself while growing up. For a while there, I felt pretty sad thinking I failed in some aspects.

Wasn't I supposed to be married with kids by now? Shouldn't I be some big shot in the corporate world? Shouldn't I be gearing up for the next "stage" of my life? Did I screw up somewhere? Did I make a right turn when it should have been left?

It's all BS though. The things I thought were "important milestones" are not things that should define me to this point. They're just things I thought I needed back when I was a kid. What the hell did I know, right? I've done so many things that I never dreamed I would do already and I still have a long life to go (hopefully).

and now for the cheesy bit...

I really do gush over the peeps in my life...my family is really close and even though I'm a good 1700 miles away from them, they have never ever made me feel distant. Anyone who has seen me around them can attest to how happy they make me. I have some pretty awesome friends both here in seattle and around the country too...shoot, they're my extended family...

Each year, I've been able to count on the fact that i'll meet new great people...learn more things at work...explore a little more of the world through my travels...shoot what the hell was I getting depressed about? bring on the big three zero and with that a new great year!

JBox Fridays: Yaz - Don't Go

Now I KNOW you didn't think I was going to forget about today being Friday! Well for the one of you still reading my blog, here's today's music video pic. I don't really have anything interesting to say about the video, but I will point out two things that pop into my head when i watch it:

1. The guy needs a SERIOUS haircut
2. I always thought the lead singer was a guy for some reason

So, on another note, I'm going to start adding links to search for these songs as YouTube has started systematically removing music videos from their site. I'll get into my anger towards that in another post. But, for the meantime, here the link.

Still fuming...

A friend just emailed me this with the subject header: "Warning: Do not read until bitterness subsides". Well, I read it anyway, and I'm kinda glad I did. Check out the new fan club inspired by our famous Chicago QB, Rex Grossman. Apparently, my friend saw this pic in a message board forum *before* yesterday's game. Rex is a dumb dumb and he deserves all the criticism he gets. To bad there isn't a "Can't Handle Snaps Anonymous" club out there for him to join...grrrrr....

Chicago Sports Weekend - Day 3

sigh :(

Chicago Sports Weekend - Day 2

On Saturday, a group of us drove down to Portland to do some shopping and catch the Bulls play in Portland. Well, if I thought Friday night's game was nerve racking, it was nothing compared to what would happen on Saturday night. Our seats were the exact opposite of what we had the night before. We were literally the 4th to last row in the stadium. It was so high that if we looked straight ahead rather than down, we would look at the BACKS of some of the scoreboards. Wow...but to be fair, our tickets were only $10, so what do you expect?

The game was ugly all around. Both teams shot terribly to start the game. The Bulls only scored 12 points in the first quarter and seemed lucky to get that. They went on a tear during the 2nd quarter and it looked like this was going to be a blowout. But, they went cold in the 3rd quarter and back came the Blazers. The 4th quarter was extremely tight. The Bulls ended up getting some key stops on defense and Ben Gordon (33 points) nailed some key free throws to put the game away. In the end, the Bulls walked away with an 88-86 win. Whew!

Chicago Sports Weekend - Day 1

What a way to set off the weekend! We arrived at Key Arena about 25 minutes before game time. We had awesome seats thanks to Harold's girlfriend. She got him tickets to the game for Christmas and he, in turn, let me tag along. Lucky me! :o) Anyway, I showed up wearing a Bulls ballboy shirt. So, when the local staff were handing out game day programs to everyone in the lower seats, they tried their best to pretend they didn't see us. So much that they put the programs on empty seats rather than give them to us:

IMG_2815.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Well we ended up getting their attention and took some programs. But they didn't look happy about it. Whatever! Now, as awesome as our seats were, check out the phat tickets Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer scored:

IMG_2839.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Yep, that's right...those seats are literally on the Bulls team bench. His son was wearing a Ben Wallace jersey from when he was with the Detroit Pistons. Come on Steve, you telling me you couldn't afford to buy him an updated jersey?? Perhaps even a nice shiny jersey like Kirk Hinrich was wearing?

IMG_2862.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Hinrich ended up having a great game. You could just see he was feeling it that night. Final stat line for kirk: 20 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals. More importantly, he did all that while trying to guard Ray Allen. His backcourt co-starter, Ben Gordon, had a quieter night:

IMG_2872.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Ben would end up saving one of his great performances for another day. But still, it wasn't too bad of a night for him: 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal. Well, since we're at the halfway point of this post, it's only appropriate to introduce the Sonics' cheerleaders who posed very well for us:

IMG_2886.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Yeah, sadly I have to say that their cheerleaders blow the Bulls' cheeleaders away. Ok, back to the game...the star of the night for the Bulls was Luol Deng (#9):

IMG_2863.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Perhaps getting snubbed about going to the All Star game upset him? Check out this "non-All Star" stat line: 27 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Yeah, clearly average stuff. As far as the rookies went, we did get to see some of Tyrus Thomas:

IMG_2877.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

He didn't play a whole lot, but there was definitely one play that just had Harold and me shaking our heads. He jumped up from what looked like behind the backboard...contorted his body back around it and tried to lay the ball in. Way too hard to describe but believe me...it was an amazing show of athleticism. And now, on to the best part...the final score:

IMG_2895.JPG, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

The game was a nail biter but our boys pulled it out. So I go back to what I stated at the start of the post: What a way to start the weekend!

JBox Fridays: Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax

Oh boy, where do I start with this one. Well, even if you weren't a child of the 80's, you may still remember this song after it made an appearance on the movie Zoolander. Didn't see it? You should! The movie's hilarious! In the movie, they brainwash Zoolander to the tune of this song:


Anyway, getting back on track here...one of the reasons why I picked this genre of music was to see how truly ridiculous some of the videos could be. Well, this one just left me speechless. Well, no not really since I'm "talking" to you about it right now. Apparently they made two versions of this video. The one I embedded above is the second one. Here's a not so safe for work version. If you want a hint as to the content of the video without clicking on the link, let's just say it wouldn't surprise me if this is still a favorite in gay bars...

Anticipation...

Sigh....I missed it when the Illini went to the Final Four...I missed it when the White Sox won the World Series...and now da Bears are in the Superbowl and again I'm missing "it". That is, the energy that is spilling out of everywhere in Chicago right now. Check out the pic my sister just sent me this morning! Again...sigh...but still....GO BEARS!

UPDATE: Oooooh!! more pics from another sister!! Enjoy (click on any of the pics to see a larger version)!

A blog I can't stop reading...

So, one of my daily agenda items involves perusing the list of links listed on Reddit. A couple of days ago, I saw some obscure link title "Fired on my second lesson of teaching English". I don't know why I clicked the link, but I'm glad I did. I've been reading this blog for the past three days and the same thoughts keep going through my head each time:

1. "Why am I reading this again?"
2. "Oh this is why!"

The past two days were part of an ongoing story. But today, he wasn't able to get back to his story. Still, today's post is still great. Anyway, here's my plug to Firefly's blog.

A crazy Chicago sports weekend

You can take the guy out of Chicago, but you can never take the Chicago out of the guy. This has never been more true than with the subject of sports. I've lived out here in the northwest for almost a decade now and I have to be honest...Seattle sports bore me. But let's be fair...you can't expect anyone to root for certain teams for 20+ years and then just drop them because they move. It doesn't work that way!

Well, the stars have aligned and we're looking at 3 straight days of Chicago sports on the horizon! Woooo hooooo! Here's the tentative agenda for this weekend:

1. Friday - Head to Key Arena in Seattle to watch the Chicago Bulls take on the Sonics
2. Saturday - Make the 2-3 hour drive south to Portland to watch the Chicago Bulls take on the Trailblazers
3. Sunday - Cook some specially shipped pizza from Chicago and root on Da Bears in Superbowl XLI.

Man oh man, I can't wait! I just hope Sunday night involves a lot of celebrating!

Unveiling the Top 5

So if there's one thing that most people will rip me about, it's the fact that I have the entire Friends series on DVD. But, if there's one thing I've taken from the series that has stuck, it's the concept of the top 5 list. That is, the list of people that you're allowed to hook up with even if you're in a relationship at the time. Well, I've had this conversation over the last few years with different people, and seem to keep forgetting what the latest order is. Soooooo...tada! here's my first unveiling!

1. Scarlett Johansson
2. Jessica Alba
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Priyanka Chopra
5. Alyssa Milano
   

I'm leaving the list in a permanent spot on the right from now on and reserve the right to modify at will...but if I do, I'll be sure to post a new cover art. mmmm...hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

JBox Fridays: New Order - True Faith

Well, because I'm bored...and more importantly, because i CAN, I'm instituting a new "feature" for my blog this year: JBox (Jesse's jukebox) Fridays. That's right, now you can come to my blog and not only be annoyed by my words, but also my taste in music! :o) This year, i'm going to try to keep a theme: 80's British music ala New Wave. Ok, so i tried doing some research into whether or not the music I'm talking about actually is New Wave and now I'm not so sure. But whatever it is, you should see at least a lot of similarities in the songs.

Today's choice is one of my faves: New Order! I'll let the band do their thing! Hope you enjoy it!

Daaaaa Bears!!!

Oh my gosh it's happened!! My beloved Bears are in Superbowl XLI! I have to admit, both of the last two games have left me a nervous wreck, but so long as they keep finding a way to win, I don't care!! It's almost surreal to see the differences between this year's team and that of the '85 Bears. I mean, back then, it wasn't a question of *if* the Bears were going to win, but by how much. This year, it I've seen critics talk about how there was no way the Bears would even make it this far with their QB and injuries on defense. Well, looking at the early odds in Vegas shows the Colts to be big favorites going into the championship. Man oh man, I hope the boys can pull it out!

Stereophonics - Rainbows & Pots of Gold (Live)

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the band Stereophonics. A friend of mine had me listen to a song of theirs a while back call Handbags and Gladrags. It's apparently a Rod Stewart cover. Anyway, ever since I heard that song, I've been a fan of the band. Actually, I'm usually a pretty big fan of any UK band...U2, Coldplay, The Beatles...and on and on...

Anyway, I was listening to this song a while back on my ITunes and just love it. But it wasn't until I went looking for the video on YouTube that I found out the story behind it. Or maybe I should say the "gossip" behind it. If you go to the YouTube site for this video you can read the comments there...otherwise, just make up your own theories based on the lyrics in the song...

Don Omar - Ella y Yo

So I found a neat little gadget to embed song lyrics on my blog and decided to try out how the layout would look next to the video of the song from YouTube. Looks pretty good to me!

If you're interested as to what the song is actually about...well...basically the main guy, Don Omar, is wrecked with guilt because he's been sleeping with a married woman. His buddy is trying to console him, but it isn't working. He tries to tell him that love should overcome even the fact that she's married and that her husband probably already knows he's lost her. Then Don Omar lays the bombshell on him...it's the friend's wife....oops!

A proper lap dance

A proper lap dance, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

My response to Sung...you didn't think you were the only one taking pictures did you? looks like you had a good time ringing in 2007...

oh yeah...while we're at it...glad i didn't get any kisses from sung on New Years...

Sung's New Year Kiss...w/ tongue?, originally uploaded by IlliniJester.

Your girl may think different, but that might be a little too much tongue dood...