2004
dvdcompare.net
did you know that dvd movies can be different from country to country? they are not only defined by region (north america is region 1) but specific countries can have cooler versions than others. this is where a region free dvd player comes in handy!
anyway, a cool site to see what is different is dvdcompare.net for example, look at the different versions of kill bill volume 1. cool huh?
walking the line
how far can you make this dude walk drunk? use your mouse to control the left-to-right movement.
reading comic books again
i’ve been reading comic books again.
it has been several years since i picked up comic books on a regular basis. but late last year i was in a mall and stopped by the comic book store. i picked up two hardback compilations:
both books were excellent in there own way. daredevil was done by the team of loeb and sales. loeb knows how to write a clean story with excellent dialog, while sales can draw in such a minimal but expressive fashion.
by comparison, the morrison written x-men was dark, brooding and sadistic. it was nice to see the x-men go through pain and deliver it back to the enemy at hand. i didn’t feel confused jumping back into the x-men (which was confusing when i left reading the book due to some characters and subplots). morrison did and is continuing to do, an excellent job with the x-men.
after these two books, i’ve been picking up issues here and there. i enjoyed loeb and jim lee’s run on batman, and lee’s current run on superman (more later on this). i’m also enjoying the batman/superman book by loeb and turner.
i’m taking a different approach to my comic book reading now also. i’m more into the hardbound collection as opposed to collecting individual issues. i don’t know, i can’t stand the ‘bagging and boarding’ of comic books any longer. i guess i’m not a collector any longer. i just enjoy good comic art and a good comic story.
adding back photos
i’ve been quietly adding back photos to the page. by quitely i mean i forgot to update this page! anwya, here is what’s been done so far:
- most of the birthday photos have been added back
- a couple of sjsu albums have been restored as well
- two out of five wedding albums are posted right now
new albums
- calypte [located under friends] has been added
- yen's graduation photos have veen added [under friends] as well
as always, viewing of these albums requires login right. please [register] in order to be able to sign and view an album. as stated before please use a username i can recognize. i will then approve the registration which will allow you to login.
oh that crazy jewel
original story appears at
[http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/05232004/news/17777.htm]
Fan calls it the worst concert ever
HAMPTON - Gloria Dion wants her money back after being subjected to what she calls the worst Jewel concert ever.
Dion, along with her two daughters Nicole and Kaitlin, went to last Saturday’s 8 p.m. Jewel concert at the Hampton Beach Ballroom Casino. The singer performed two concerts that evening at the Casino. People who saw the first said Jewel was at the top of her game and said it was a “rocking show.”
Those who had tickets to the second show saw something quite different, according to Dion.
“People were literally walking out of the show,” she said. “As soon as she came out, she began to insult us. We thought she was joking at first because it was kind of weird.”
Witnesses said Jewel went on a tirade of insults from poking fun at fat people to others with no teeth. At one point, she asked the audience to yell requests and then told them to “shut the hell up.”
“I saw her live in Boston and it was the greatest show I’ve ever been to,” Dion said. “I don’t know if she was having a nervous breakdown or what. She told everyone to stop looking at her teeth and look at her breasts.”
Jewel was on stage for about an hour and played only four to five songs. Halfway through the show, Dion said Jewel began to talk about Zoloft and Paxil for about 10 minutes.
“I don’t know what that was all about,” said Nicole Dion, who came from Canada to see the show. “I don’t know if she was on it or what. Maybe she didn’t take it.”
Dion said Jewel stopped in the middle of her trademark song, “Who will save your soul,” because everyone was singing along. “She said, I would have never guessed you all know the words. I don’t know if she was kidding or what.”
Nicole Dion said the entire experience made her no longer want to be a Jewel fan.
Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom officials said they have not received negative feedback about the show, but radio station 107.1 WERZ that sponsored the concert did.
WERZ Operations Manager Michael O’Donnell said he heard comments about Jewel’s strange behavior during her second performance.
“I got a lot of negative feedback from people who attended the second show,” O’Donnell said. “They were upset with some of the comments they heard her make.
“She said she saw a better audience at a barroom brawl and that all drinkers and smokers were sinners.”
Dion said she doesn’t blame the Casino, but believes something should be done to make it up to them. She said not only was the show bad, but people were not allowed to buy drinks or smoke a cigarette in the smoking room.
Kristen MacKinnon, a manager at the Casino, said it was Jewel’s request that smoking not be allowed at the show. Alcohol was served, but not in the main stage area because Jewel requested no waitresses in the main ballroom while she was on stage.
Dion said Jewel came out for an encore, but instead of singing one of her hit songs, she yodeled for a minute and then left the stage.
When the crowd left the Casino, several people drove by Jewel’s tour bus and screamed obscenities, Dion said.
MacKinnon said no one has called for a refund or to complain, and said both shows were a success.
“The people who I talked to very much enjoyed the show,” said MacKinnon, who admitted to not seeing the second show. “The only problem we ran into was that a lot of people who had tickets for the first show were in traffic and couldn’t get here on time.”
MacKinnon said they tried to accommodate those who showed up late by allowing them to see the second show even though it was already sold out.
O’Donnell said DJs from WERZ’s morning show, Kevin Matthews, Susanne Lewis and Kid Cruise, were supposed to introduce Jewel and plug their show, but never got the opportunity. Jewel went on without any introduction from the DJs.
O’Donnell said the complaints he received enticed him to call Jewel’s management team.
“They basically told me that sometimes she does a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor during her shows,” O’Donnell said.
Calls to Jewel’s management for comment went unreturned.
O’Donnell said he’s not sure what happened between the first and second show. This is the second time WERZ has sponsored a Jewel concert. The first was in 1997 when she was beginning to hit the top of the charts.
“I feel bad for the fans that paid $40 because they wanted to be entertained. All I can say is that I hoped everyone a good time. And if they didn’t, I want them to remember we can’t predict what happens.
graduation celebration pictures posted
pictures from yen’s after graduation celebration are now posted on [photos]. please login to see the photos. yeah, i’m trying to be quicker in posting photos.
graduation day
today is a day of graduations: yen is graduating from sjsu and john for sfsu. and here i am stuck working at home, not able to attend either ceremony. hopefully i’ll be able to attend the after parties.
congratulations yen!
congratulations john!
dido was rocking
farrah, madelyn and i went to see dido at the berkeley community theater. it’s been about four years since the last time farrah and i saw her perform at the warfield (see the [concerts] page which is still under construction) dido was really trying to throw a different groove to her songs then what is on her albums. she put faster beats to some songs, danced a lot and gave the crowd energy to dance with her. she also talked to the crowd alot, explaining the inspiration for some songs and interacting with the crowds' hooting and hollering.
we had very good seats in row a, which amounts to about the fifth row. but i need to ask: when did it become ok to bum-rush the stage in a sit down show? there were people standing in the isle way right beside me. didn’t they pay for a seat as well albeit farther back? that was the only annoying part of the concert.
concerts we've attended
this is a ‘concert’- me list listing all the concerts we’ve been to (so far). updated when another concert comes along.
[Bill Graham Civic Auditorium] 99 Grove Street, San Francisco CA 94102
Who we’ve seen there: Tori Amos (12.21.2002) Oasis (4.13.1996)
[Bimbo’s 365 Club] 1025 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, CA 94133
Who we’ve seen there: Cardigans (6.19.96)
Berkeley Community Theater 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Who we’ve seen there: Dido (05.23.04) Cranberries (04.05.95) Jewel Chris Cornell (11.30.99) Ani Di Franco (10.31.97)
[Concord Pavilion] 2000 Kirker Pass Road, Concord, CA 94521
Who we’ve seen there: Tori Amos/Alanis Morrisette (09.19.99)
[The Filmore] 1805 Geary Blvd. S.F. CA 94115
Who we’ve seen there: Fiona Apple (03.18.97) Sundays Lush (04.15.96) Morcheeba (4.11.2008) Lorde (9.27.2013) Greek Theatre-U.C. Berkeley Gayley Road, Berkeley, CA 94720
Who we’ve seen there: Alanis Morrisette Black Eye Peas/Macy Gray
Oakland Arena 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621
Who we’ve seen there: Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel w/Sinead O’Conner sing backup(11.22.93) U2 (11.15.01)
Oakland Coliseum 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621
Who we’ve seen there: Sugarcubes/Public Enemy/U2 (07.11.92) Oasis/U2 (06.18.97) Oasis/U2 (06.19.97)
Orpheium Theater
Who we’ve seen there: Sarah McLaughlin
Pac Bell Park
Who we’ve seen there: Macy Gray/Dave Matthews Band (5.18.01)
[Paramount Theatre] 2025 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
Who we’ve seen there: Bjork (10.17.01) Sarah McLachlan (10.30.97) Tori Amos (11.11.01 and some other date)
San Jose Arena
Who we’ve seen there: Garbage/Smashing Pumpkins (08.18.96) INXS (04.08.94) U2 (4.19.01)
San Jose Event Center
Who we’ve seen there: Pearl Jam Soundgarden (06.03.94) Tori Amos (09.19.98) Sarah McLachlan (03.9.98)
Shoreline Amphetheater
Who we’ve seen there: Sting Lilith Fair 97 (07.08.97) (Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega) Lilith Fair 98 (06.24.98) (Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Erica Badu, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Bonnie Raitt) Lilith Fair 98 (07.14.99) Santana Lollapaloza ‘94 (Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & P-Funk Allstars, The Breaders, Green Day…) - [http://www.jamesiha.org/interview/1994lolla.htm] Lollapalooza ‘95 (Hole, Sonic Youth, Beck, Cypress Hill, Elastica,…) REM (05.17.95) Sade (07.18.01) Sting (08.05.00)
Slims
Who we’ve seen there: Julianna Hatfield (http://www.julianasite.com/touragraphy.html#city) LLoyd Cole Garbage Cibo Matto (10.09.99)
[Villa Montalvo] 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga, CA 95071
Who we’ve seen there: Diana Krall (7.19.01) Norah Jones
[Warfield] 982 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Who we’ve seen there: Smashing Pumpkins (10.18 0r 19.93) Bjork (05.21.98) Portishead (05.31.98) Cardigans Crowded House/Sheryl Crow Garbage (05.20.98) Sundays Dido (08.10.00) PJ Harvey (05.19.95) Sonic Youth Sara Bareilles (12.16.2010)
I know I saw them, but where….
Hole (the Edge) Filter (somewhere in San Jose) Lisa Loeb (well, actually didn’t stay for that one) Pearl Jam @ Golden Gate Park (06.24.95) WOMAD (ft. Peter Gabriel) Golden Gate Park Smashing Pumpkins (2. 7.96) Kezar Pavilion
Tori Amos at the CPA TLC and MC Hammer (Hawaii) New Kids/Tiffany at Great America David Spade (05.30.98) Cassandra Wilson @ Nob Hill Masonic Center(10.24.97) Pharoah Sanders Quartet @Yoshi’s (03.17.01)
interesting image of bush
found this image of bush on a weblog site [american leftist]. the person made it with pictures “of the American service men and women who have died in Iraq. No photograph is used more than three times." You can see a [medium] and [bigger] image also.

check the facts before you vote
trying to get informed before this year’s presidential election? you might want to see [factcheck.org]. the site seem very informative and doesn’t appear to sway left or right.
finding a look
well, changed the weblog face again as the style previously used (called zen) seemed too light to read. luckily with [wordpress] i’m able to switch styles rather painlessly. the real dilemma for me is the overall site look.
with tools like wordpress and [4images] a webmaster can easily put up a site in a quick amount of time. but the look and feel when going between both products is harsh. there are all-in-one solutions with something like [postnuke] and [phpnuke] but i find those products either too many features to disable or are slow to load.
at the least i’ll try to get the color scheme to be the same. at the most i’ll try to make the site look like an all-in-one inclusive look and feel. this make take some time but i’m sure it will be worth it in the end.
worth a new cut?
dvds are cool aren’t they? it’s almost difficult remember a time without dvds. the things i love about dvds are:
- the crisp picture and sound (compared to vhs)
- the commentary tracks (hopefully insightful)
- the deleted scenes
- the director's cut
but does a director’s cut make a better movie?
can a director’s cut of a bad movie make it better?
these questions have been posed in newsgroups and on websites with vehement responses by purists and idiots alike.
my current rant on this is based on two upcoming dvds/films: [underworld] and [exorcist: the beginning] the latter has yet to be released theatrically ( i’ll get into that in bit).
when i saw underworld i though, eh ok vampire/werewolve movie. but the review on the link provided made it seem like a whole new more full movie experience then the previous version. boy, do i feel ripped off. it’s a different feeling then say the lord of the rings triology where you knew longer versions existed. i just wonder why a movie studio would hesitate to put a better version of a movie out there for public consumption.
as for the exorcist: the beginning [paul schrader] originally directed a version of this movie that might/might not see the light of day. the movie studio (so i hear) thinks schrader’s version is too thriller-type scary. i’m sure renny’s version is more in-your-face-it’s-so-obvious scary. man, what if that is a better movie. i mean, he is a better writer (taxi driver, affliction) and director (affliction, auto focus) than renny harlin (die hard 2, cutthroat island). i’ve heard they might release both versions on dvd. i hope so.
who gives a hooters?
dave and i had lunch today at the new [hooters] in dublin. dave had never been to hooters before, and i hadn’t been to one in over 15 years. when the one in the city opened up they guys at my last work wanted to organize a trip to go there for our “every-so-often-dinner” get togethers. i don’t know what they heard the place is like but whatever they heard it didn’t meet up to their expectations.
in any event, today’s lunch was ok. i’ve never been to dublin which seems to be similar to any other east bay city. hooters itself hasn’t change from what i remember. girls in skin tight outfits, food that is decent but not outstanding and more guy patrons then women. worth the trip? eh???
wordpress is impressive
i gotta tell you, i’m really impressed with this wordpress program. i was able to setup this new weblog, import all the data from movabletype, and start posted within half an hour! i was amazing when compared to all the install trouble i went with movabletype. i’m going to test for a few more days, but the way it looks now i just might be a wordpress convert!