my earthquake experience

Posted on March 12, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

The following video is not me or anyone I know, but I can relate to it because I’ve been there. And there’s a reason I picked this particular video after searching a few videos out there to choose from to talk about. Also, let it be known, I’m not making light of what just happened in Japan at all.

Yes, this is a video from the popular ride Earthquake located in Universal Studios Orlando which has since be remodeled and revamped to something similar called “Disaster!” But I went on this ride in 1995 when I was 9 and was scared of everything. I didn’t want to go on in the first place, but I went along anyway. And then when everything started to shake, I cried. (There actually is a VHS somewhere around my house with proof.) I didn’t find it fun or amusing. I was petrified out of my mind and wanted it to stop and be over, even though it was relatively short, terror makes time go very slowly.

One of the reasons I picked this video is because you can hear at least one kid crying. I’m pretty sure that kid and I weren’t the only ones. Like I said, I was terrified. And yesterday morning after watching CNN (and waking up from an earthquake/tsunami related dream) I had recalled my sunny time in Florida and relived the fabricated real-life nightmare I felt. It wasn’t really pleasant to recollect at that particular time.

I know the Japanese are used to smaller earthquakes, but it’s safe to say that this one was serious. And the earthquake was only half the problem. But I had watched the videos of people who were running for shelter, scared, not knowing what to do, and some had mentioned they were so terrified and thought they would die. Even though I was only 9 and I was in a perfectly safe ride, I think I can imagine how they felt. I’m so used to standing on solid and stable ground that if it started to tremble like it was in Japan, or even in that ride, I would probably panic.

I don’t know what it’s like to be in a tsunami or a flood, nor do I know what it’s like to be displaced or lose someone in a disaster. I don’t think “devastating” would be a strong enough word to describe how I would feel, so I’m not going to guess that’s how those who are going through this now feel.

Out of this tragedy, one thing I see that’s awesome is the power of technology. Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Google and more have been essential in located those thought to be lost. It’s nice to know that social media can be used to save lives as well as inform breaking news, reuniting with family and friends and even posting what you had for breakfast.

My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the thousands if not millions of people affected by this. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes are all things we as humans have to deal with living on this planet. Some of us don’t make it to see the outcome of some disasters. But those of us that do should all work together to put things back together and help one another get better. More than likely I’ll be donating to some relief fund in a few days. I do that for every disaster, now that I think about it. And if there’s more I can donate or something I can do to help, I usually do. Charity started at home a long time ago for me, so I have no problem offering a helping hand. And let’s not underestimate the power of prayer either.

To donate to the Red Cross, click here.

Tagged with: disaster, donate, donations, earthquake, hawaii, japan, memories, red cross, tsunami
Posted in charity, memories, storytelling

fripodding and detecting: mike detective podcast

Posted on March 11, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

Since I’m going to be taking classes about broadcasting, podcasting, and all of the above, I figured it’d be in my best interest to get familiar with more podcasts that are out there other than the ones I currently listen to. I’ve found I don’t have as much time in a single day as I thought I might. But I did find a handful of popular ones, mostly in the comedy section, called Mike Detective: Unlicensed and Uninsured Private Eye.

I’ll will warn you off the bat that this is not a podcast for children or those easily offended. But if you can look past the language and sexual references, then prepare for some hilarity to ensue.

I love it’s modern take on classic film and radio detective style noir. I would love to see this actually be taken to a TV or film screen some day, but part of it’s genius is due to not being able to physically see the action and completely relying on the very funny narrations or dialog from the characters. And like the classics detective series, they end on cliffhangers so you come back next week for the next episode as we follow our hero tackle some big mysterious crime. Each episode averages about 5 minutes where Mike battles wits with the goon of the week just to find himself in more trouble. I listened to the first one, as if it were a pilot, and immediately pushed the subscribe button and listened to the rest.

Again, this would be rated R if it were a movie, TV-MA if it were on TV but since it’s on iTunes, it gets the red EXPLICIT label. So you were warned. But it’s also very funny, so check it out.

Tagged with: comedy, friday, fripodding, ipod, mike detective, podcast
Posted in fripodding

architecture, drive-ins and fun in the city

Posted on March 10, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

I took a day trip to “the city” yesterday with my wonderful friend Magdalena. We had an impromptu photo session throughout the city taking pictures of buildings, food and each other. We managed to take in a movie, a very awesome indie flick I doubt many people know about, called Happythankyoumoreplease. A review for that film will be coming up sooner or later, but for now, here are some shots of my amateur photography skills. The pro I was shooting with is building her portfolio. I was just shooting for fun, and rephrasing a line from the movie: I like to take pictures of things I like looking at so I can continue to keep looking at them.

Tagged with: adventure, architecture, day trips, food, Friends, indoob, movies, new york, photography, roadtrip, white plains
Posted in adventures, Friends, new york, pictures

the “fringe” “event”

Posted on March 7, 2011 by t. sterling — 2 Comments

I recently read something that scared me: “Fringe is likely to be cancelled.” The show might not be cancelled at all, but it’s dipping dangerously low when it comes to viewership. What I had to realize is that it doesn’t matter how good a show is, no matter the quality or the talent or even critical opinion etc, if no one is watching, the show is going away. And it’s really too bad for an awesome show such as Fringe or past shows like Arrested Development and Undercovers. Yes, I’m still crying about those shows.

Sometimes you can tell from the premiere if a show is going to last. So many people wrote off The Cape after the pilot that by the second week you already knew it was doomed. I never did officially follow up on this show, so consider this it: it has been officially cancelled. Am I sad? No. Will I miss it? No. Did I even watch it? Barely. I continued to DVR the show, and would watch it with my parents… but the last few episodes it had been background noise. The last episode on TV I still haven’t watch and probably never will. (Ironically the same thing happened with Heroes.) There’s a final episode online that I also probably won’t watch. You know a show is in bad shape if they cut your 13 episode season to 10 episodes, then air the last one online.

The other show I follow… and I say “follow” instead of “fan” because I’m not devoted to it… is No Ordinary Family. I like the show. It’s fun to watch. But there’s just something about it that’s not keeping me hooked like appointment television. Like Lost was for me and several others, American Idol for everyone except me, and Fringe has always been for me, those are shows that must be watched when their aired or ASAP. I was devoted to NOF in the beginning, but… the thrill is gone. It became another show that sat in the DVR, collecting digital dust.

It’s not a good sign for a TV show just sitting in the DVR and you moan about watching it later. On the contrary, I actually have a few shows I’ve watched and saved to re-watch, or shows I just haven’t had time to watch yet but look forward to watching, and shows I like to build up so I have a few to watch like a marathon… like An Idiot Abroad.

I said all that to say that The Event is coming back on tonight. I really want this show to work. Around the end of the first half of the season, I was losing interest. But I heard word that they’ve done some retooling of the show and NBC seems to have some faith in it by promoting it almost every other commercial break. So with all the shows that are on the line (or the bubble) when it comes to May (or sooner), I’m pulling for Fringe and The Event to make it to the next season. A few of the shows are already dead or soon will be.

So if I were to make a plea… please watch Fringe. It’s awesome entertainment. It needs viewers. Check out The Event tonight. I don’t know if it’ll be better or worse, but I’m always looking for some high quality scripted entertainment… so we shall see.

Worst case scenario, if Fringe does get cancelled, I hope there’s a network out there willing to revive it. Please. Seriously, the show is really that good. It fills the void left open by Lost. Okay, I’m done now.

Tagged with: cancelled, fringe, Heroes, Lost, no ordinary family, ratings, review, the cape, the event, tv shows
Posted in babbling, Fringe, rant, tv

fripodding with british soul: 21 – adele

Posted on March 4, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

I wanted to write about this album last week, but I still hadn’t fully listened to all the songs so I’m glad I waited. I absolutely love listening to Adele sing. And I talked about Adele a while ago with her awesome song “Rolling in the Deep” so if you liked that song, I highly recommend you check out the rest of her album.

Since the album starts with “Rolling in the Deep” we’ll just move on to my favorites. I do like all of the songs, but as usual, I like more songs than others. “Rumor Has It” and “Turning Tables” are nice, but I tend to skip them to get to “Don’t You Remember.” While the whole album really showcases her vocal talents, there’s just something about this song that makes me keep playing it over and over again. This may have been the song I felt was Sam Cooke-ian. It just has a classic vibe to it. (I will have to update this later, because I can’t remember exactly what song has this specific classic sound, but she is overall a very soulful singer, which is why it’s hard to pick which song shows the best example.) But again, it’s her voice I love in this song.

Before I go on, the album is titled 21 because she was 21 at the time she wrote all these songs, just like her album 19. And during this year in her life, the majority of her songs are about a breakup, the before and after of it. Not all of the songs are sad and depressing or whatever you would relate to a breakup, and I’ll tell you which one(s) I didn’t have that feeling towards.

“Set Fire to Rain” is a song that’s beginning to grow on me as well as “He Won’t Go” which has a nice uptempo beat to it. It had a very slight Lady Gaga vibe, don’t look too deeply into finding it, because it could just be my own ears. Either way, I like it. “Take It All” has a beautiful piano arrangement, but I really like this song.

“I’ll Be Waiting” is a good song, but honestly I skip it to get to “One And Only” which may be my most favorite song on the album. This is the song I feel isn’t a sad or depressing song, and it doesn’t sound like a breakup song. It has different levels to it too. You just have to hear it to understand.

When I’m not hitting repeat, I happily let “Lovesong” play through. This also doesn’t sound like a breakup song to me, more like a lovely, peaceful ballad of love. Perhaps a memory of better times. Then the album concludes with “Someone Like You” which is a very personal and specific song, which interestingly some people including myself can relate to. It’s a very beautiful song, even though it’s a sad one. I listen to this over and over again due to her beautiful voice, the lyrics, the overall music of this song just grabs my heart. I admit, it almost made me cry, not for the meaning of the song, but the feeling the music gave me.

The album I have has bonus tracks including some live performances. If you can get that version, I highly recommend it. It might be on iTunes, I don’t know, it was a gift to me. “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” is the song that sticks out as being the most awesome of the bonus tracks, besides the live versions of “Turning Tables” “Don’t You Remember” and “Someone Like You”.

Anyway, she’s joining the ranks of my other British soul love, Joss Stone.

Tagged with: 21, adele, album, fripodding, music, rolling in the deep, someone like you, soul
Posted in albums, fripodding, music

where’s the pause button?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by t. sterling — 2 Comments

Shrimp was involved at this party

I don’t know what happened but I felt like I missed a couple of days. Once again, I dropped the ball on my Oscar recap which now seems pointless to talk about other than correctly predicting 14 out of 24 winners. My prediction post left out the short films but I made educated guesses before the telecast and scored a bunch of “points.” I also had my first ever Oscar party with only a couple friends. I also tried to stay on Twitter as much as possible and remain a good host. At least now I know it can be done and where I can make improvements.

The following morning I was reminded about Lady Gaga’s new video premiere “Born This Way” but after viewing it, I didn’t have time to write up my snap judgement due to a meeting about school financing and official enrollment. But even after I got back, I ended up speaking with close friends who are also Little Monsters and both had contrasting views on the song itself but hadn’t seen the video. I find myself in the middle, yet we all agree that it sounds just like Madonna.

As for my thoughts on the video? Typical Gaga I suppose. It was weird and got weirder. There was a story but I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. I did declare her as taking Michael Jackson’s place when it comes to music videos… but I don’t wanna jump the gun on that since Kanye is still rewriting visual music too. The message is clear and I can definitely hear this being played while drag queens do their thing and it fills the space on gay night at the club. Yeah, I was there once. Not necessarily a highlight of my life but it was an experience. I’m not a fan of clubs at all to be honest. But back to the song, it’s an anthem to be who you are or what you are. I’m all for self empowerment or encouraging songs. I think the only thing, like many others I talked to, it just sounds too much like a song I’ve already heard. But I’ll take it as it is, and I have a feeling the other songs on the album I may like more than this one. I did like the “once upon a time” mythology storyline it started out with. I just wasn’t sure where it was going afterwards.

Besides those events I meant to write about, I had to get all my paperwork together: applying for a scholarship, applying for loans, taxes and unemployment. A lot of the paperwork all needed similar things I couldn’t find like past school loan info and car loan info… then my bank’s website wouldn’t work. Oh yeah, I also had to get some articles done for Patch… but that’s another story for another day even though it’s been related for the past few days. To cap off that story for now: I got my first decline for an interview. In the guy’s defense, he must be really humble.

Added on to the dog pile of work I’ve cut out for myself and a deadline for all of it by Friday, I get attacked with some sort of a cold. My dad had been sick for the past few days so maybe I caught the bug. But if I can’t sleep, what’s the point of staying in bed? So I got up and did what I needed to do which included stopping by my grandmother’s house to deliver a shovel she no longer required. But at least that gave me the chance to stop by Dunkin Donuts to finally try that Big n Tasty sandwich. It was indoob quite tasty. I could make it at home though.

My mom is all about me getting rest, and I would have been doing that but thanks to me being so proactive this morning, I’ve been getting non-stop calls all afternoon. I’m not complaining. The calls were quite welcoming. It was just the dramatic shock of being snapped back into reality and then composing yourself to answer the phone and not sound like I just came back from the dentist. Or perhaps that’s just the effects of the drugs? Or maybe my body just badly needing, no, craving the rest it needs in order to recover from whatever ailment is tormenting my body? Either way, I should take it as a sign and throw up the white flag for the day because I’m not enjoying sneezing so hard that I fart. I don’t foresee getting much more accomplishments done today other than sleeping more than 10 minutes. At least my throat no longer feels like I has swallowed a few Brillo pads.

Plus I’m out of DayQuil. And orange juice. Both are vital to my speedy recovery. Oh, and sleep, of course. (NyQuil is always on stock.)

Tagged with: awards, born this way, food, Friends, lady gaga, life, life update, movies, music, music video, oscars, party, school, sick
Posted in awards, Friends, life update, music video, story

fripodding and the nymph: corinne bailey rae

Posted on February 25, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

For the past week and a half, I keep going back to this voice. It feeds a certain part of my musical soul, it’s soothing and calming like a gentle breeze or a cool, but not too cold, refreshing glass of water. From her self titled album to The Sea, sometimes I can’t get enough of this artist that reminds me of a woodland nymph.

Why do I call the lovely and talented Corinne Bailey Rae a nymph? Let’s take a quick look at the definition of what a nymph is:

–noun

1. one of a numerous class of lesser deities of mythology, conceived of as beautiful maidens inhabiting the sea, rivers, woods, trees, mountains, meadows, etc., and frequently mentioned as attending a superior deity.

2. a beautiful or graceful young woman.

3. a maiden.

4. the young of an insect that undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.

Google her, she's gorgeous

Okay, so the 4th doesn’t apply to her… but I’m more interested in the first two. She definitely has a graceful and beautiful voice as well as being a beautiful woman. She also keeps that young look about her. I mean she in her 30s, but she looks like she’s in her 20s if not younger. Or is it just me? Her looks also remind me of a former girlfriend of mine of many years ago… I think… Wasn’t much of a singer though, but that’s another story. The point is, they both were insanely cute.

As for the woodland part, well, did you see the definition? The sea is in there and that was her second album! (As of right now, I’m not sure why it’s titled “The Sea” but based on album covers, the way her music flows, and just the nature about her, I can imagine her enjoying life to the fullest when she’s outside in nature… like a woodland nymph.)

"The Sea"

As I said earlier, her music is soothing and relaxing. I could easily enjoy driving around town listening to her as I would having her lullaby me to sleep. For safety reasons, I wouldn’t do both at the same time. But her voice seems to tread along with the instruments ever so gently, even if she’s singing with accompaniment at all… It’s just gorgeous to the ears.

Then there are the few songs that she kicks it up a few notches from soothing to sexy like one of my favorite songs “Closer.” The up-tempo jazziness of it all would make one want to get up and get their groove on a little. Don’t you think? Here’s the live rendition of that song.

As a side note, I’m a fan of many of the mainstream and more popular artists out there, but I seriously appreciate some of those who have raw and almost unseen talent like Corinne. I’m not saying no one knows about her, I’m just saying it’s too bad artists like these aren’t household names. But at the same time, I’m not too sad because it’ll like an awesome secret or an exclusive club. If you dig her music, you’re in the club… which is probably outdoors.

Tagged with: artists, closer, corinne bailey rae, fripod, indoob, music, the sea
Posted in fripodding, music

the daniel fast (10 days)

Posted on February 24, 2011 by t. sterling — 8 Comments

February started out on a pretty life changing note. A day after I got “the call“, I went to bible study, which I don’t regularly go like I should. The lesson for the night was teaching from the book of Daniel, and discussed Daniel’s fast and what brought him to do this. You can read the whole 1st chapter of Daniel, but the main part of the story is found in Daniel 1:8-17.

To sum up, Daniel and his three buddies were among servants to the king and had been given the best foods and wines that the king appointed for them. Daniel and Co. didn’t want to defile themselves with king’s food, so he asked for just vegetables and water, and after 10 days, compare how they look to the rest of the servants who had been eating the king’s food. (The king wasn’t the greatest guy in the world, although I’m sure his food was awesome, but Daniel didn’t want any part of it.) At the end of the 10 days, Daniel and his buddies were compared to the rest of the servants and they had looked better than the rest of them. God also blessed them with intelligence and wisdom and for Daniel, the ability to interpret dreams and visions.

“the king’s speech” film review

Posted on February 23, 2011 by t. sterling — Leave a comment

The King’s Speech is a pun. Well, the title is a pun. It’s all about how King George VI came to be in power and how he’s had to deal with his embarrassing speech impediment. All of this being based on a very true story that, my guess, few people knew about. Okay, maybe people knew about it, but I know I didn’t until hearing about this movie. And I want to assume the many Americans may have been ignorant to this fact as well. But I don’t want to get into a discussion about today’s society that can’t be bothered with history or foreign relations so let’s talk about the movie.

I’ve seen Colin Firth in a number of roles but I think I liked him best in this one. He always seems committed to whatever character he plays, but due to having to mimic the stutters and stammers of a royal figure, I’m sure that bumped his acting cred a few notches if not a whole milestone. In other words, I was very impressed and I felt very sympathetic towards his character whenever he had to speak. Especially in front of people. Thousands if not millions of people. I felt his embarrassment. I know what it’s like not wanting to speak or not thinking you have what it takes to speak to a room full of people… and surely you’re thinking “I sound like an idiot and they all know it!” But that was my personal connection to it. I don’t have a speech problem that I’m aware of other than ramming words together and occasionally making a few up. (Indoob.)

Then comes Geoffrey Rush, or Lionel, as he’s called in the movie. He is contacted by the King’s wife to help him speak clearly. Although I’m getting ahead of myself. The King was not yet king at this point… he was a duke. His father was still in power before he died, then it went to his elder brother who was only a king a short while before passing the crown to George. And George was actually Prince Albert, or Bertie, as he was called by those closest to him, including Lionel. Lionel and Bertie had a rocky and stiff relationship at first, but it was inspiring to watch them grow into something more of a friendship.

Something that stood out to me about this film, technically, is the way the film was shot. I found it visually striking how certain shots were composed or the angle at which characters were viewed. It didn’t necessarily take me out of the story, I just liked the perspective of what we were shown on screen. Another scene I enjoyed visually is late in the film when Lionel and Bertie are having a discussion while walking outside. It looks like a cloudy or hazy or foggy day, but the sun is still shining, and at one point, the sun is shining into the camera and giving us silhouettes of our heroes.

Due to this film being based on a true story, I don’t know if there’s a spoiler line or not, so for the sake of not spoiling it, I’ll just say I really enjoyed the last act of the film. Again, the title comes into play as the King needs to make a very important speech regarding WWII, one of the most important speeches of his life. Can he do it? Will his legacy be tarnished? The movie had a satisfying ending and I walked away feeling inspired and even educated on some history. I would say this is possibly one I might want to own. Still debating that.

It is rated R for a couple scenes of some adult language. I heard a debate about if this scene was necessary and could be or should be cut out for a lesser rating. I vote no. There’s a reason for the swearing and it’s actually therapeutic for Bertie’s character, if not a bit humorous as well. Other than that, the film is safe for anyone to watch… But I still wouldn’t recommend it to kids unless they are studying English royalty in high school. I think kids would find this boring as well as many adults I know.

And if you haven’t heard, it’s nominated for 12 Oscars. I don’t foresee a clean sweep, but if it does, kudos for them. It will probably win Best Picture and Best Actor, and Colin Firth deserves that win, indoob.

Tagged with: academy award, awards, colin firth, movie, oscars, review, the king's speech
Posted in academy awards, movie, oscar, review

place your bets: oscar picks of 2011

Posted on February 23, 2011 by t. sterling — 1 Comment

I desperately wanted to do a special Oscar prediction video for you guys but believe it or not, it takes me longer to record and edit a video than it does for me to write what I was going to say. But no worries, hopefully I’ll have a video recap for you on Monday. And due to my technically difficulties (as well as life happening), that’s why you’re just now hearing about my picks when I usually decide fairly early.

Some picks this year were no brainers like Natalie Portman and Christian Bale, while others I had to take a guess or I feel is a tie since both were so good. Then of course, there are the inevitable few that I don’t know anything about so I’m just guessing for guessing’s sake or from what I hear from any past media buzz that may have been going on the past months. I don’t actually bet money but if I did, my picks are based on who I think would win, not who should win. As you’ll notice, I voice my opinion on both or why I chose what I chose. But, on to the picks! My picks are in bold. Read more ›