vel's journaly thing

This is so awesome! This video combines some of my most favorite things seamlessly, my very favorite background music from Sonic the Hedgehog which happens to be from my favorite level ever (the ice level of Sonic 3) with one of my very favorite Michael Jackson songs and videos, Smooth Criminal. If you appreciate either of these things, watch it!

The concert was amazing! It was awesome to be so close to the stage, and I got a ton of great pictures and souvenirs out of it. Brad Paisley is one of my very favorite country artists, so it was fantastic to see him in person. If you don't know who he is, I implore you to watch these couple of videos from him. He's known for doing a lot of really funny songs, not just your typical country fare. These are hilarious, even if you don't like country, please give them a chance!

Online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6iAjEv9dQ

Celebrity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mpDAJOPac

( Concert in detail with photos )

So, Rob Thomas' new song is called MOCKINGBIRD, correct?

I ask because every fricking time I've heard a DJ introduce it recently, many different DJs on different stations, I heard all of them say MONKEY BIRD. I kept thinking, WTF kind of a name for a song is that?? and prompty changed the station.

Today, however, was the first time I actually *listened* to the song itself, and since there's a line about how "the mockingbird won't sing" in the chorus, it finally clicked for me that the DJs must have really been saying mockingbird all along.

Either they talk too fast or can't enunciate properly, or I'm losing my hearing!

I just got back from seeing Michael Jackson's This Is It. It was so wonderful and so heartbreaking at the same time, knowing that this was the last of his gift to us, that he would never get to perform that series of concerts he worked so hard on. I did walk away from the theater in tears. I just love him SO. MUCH.

The man was clearly a genius, but so much so that he seemed to exist on a different plane from the rest of us mundane human beings. Not only was he unbelievably talented and the most incredibe performer ever, he was so good and so caring and so loving to everyone and everything; he just wanted this world to be a better place.

Obviously the lowest common denominator, as usual, feared what was different from them and what they couldn't understand and tried to drag him down into the dirt with them at every opportunity. It just makes me furious the way so many idiots attempted to sully such an amazingly good-natured and kind-hearted person. I'm not religious, but if there was something approximating the entity of an angel in this world, it would have been Michael Jackson. Humanity at large is a bunch of lowlife cretins, and the only positive thing about his passing on is that he's not around to be their punching bag any longer. Still, that moron of a doctor has a lot to answer for for so carelessly obliterating the life of the greatest entertainer the world has ever known.

So rest in peace Michael, sadly we hardly knew ye. I, for one, will always cherish the gift of your presence on this earth and feel so lucky that it took place during my lifetime. I'll forever hold dear both you and the music you so graciously bestowed upon this undeserving world. Thank you, Michael.

I'm so incredibly sad to hear that Michael Jackson passed away today. Thus far I've heard it was a heart attack, though that has yet to be verified. My personal feeling is that he finally succumbed to the insane amount of stress and vilification he'd been (imo unfairly) bombarded with for years. I don't know how anyone could have stood up to the kind of world-wide scrutiny he'd been under nearly his entire life.

I am, always have been, and always will be, a die-hard Michael Jackson fan. My very first favorite song was Thriller, off of the same-titled album that came out the year after I was born. My parents tell me I listened to and adored that song ever since I was a baby. I got all of his albums over the years, watched all his videos, and listened to all his music. It's such a shame I'll never be able to see him perform live or be able look forward to more wonderful music from him. I think a big part of the reason Savage Garden became my favorite band was due to the heavy influence of Michael Jackson on Darren Hayes; I felt and heard a lot of similarities in his music.

However odd he might have been in his personal life, there's no denying he is probably the most amazing singer/songwriter/dancer/all-around entertainer to ever live, and far and away lived up to his well-deserved title of King of Pop. My personal belief is that he was a sensitive soul who had a harsh childhood, or rather lack of one, and hence spent his fortune and adult years trying to relive and provide other children with what he missed out on. Yet because he was a single non-parent "weird" adult, he was unfairly demonized for it. I'm certain he simply truly loved children (and thought of himself as one; I'm not saying he didn't probably have some psychological issues that could have been worked on) and was a good person who wanted to share what he had with children in ways that some adults may have deemed abnormal. But fuck, if I was a kid (hell, even as an adult!) I *totally* would have given anything to spend time at his Neverland Ranch with all the animals and rides and fun stuff! I never once believed any of the molestation allegations, and I still don't; I think he just saw himself as a child in a lot of ways, and that's why he wanted to be with them. And you know what, even if all those awful things people said about him turned out to be true (which I most vehemently believe they are NOT)? I don't give a fuck. Michael Jackson is and forever will be a musical genius and legend who has bestowed mankind with a lifetime of incredible entertainment that will always be a part of our history and heritage. No matter how hard some people tried to taint him, nothing can take that away from us.

Long live the King of Pop. No one can ever come close to holding a candle to you. You will be forever in our hearts and sorely missed, always.

*sniffle* No more Ouran or Higurashi! =( The only series left I'm still keeping up with is Nana. I really, really loved Ouran; does the manga continue past where the anime left off? I'll have to read it if so. Higurashi confused me a lot, but I still enjoyed it for its incredible weirdness.

In other news...I have no other news. I go to work, get covered in dirt, come home incredibly tired, watch tv, go to bed. I had to get new boots yesterday because the zipper on mine kept popping open, grr. So I went back to ones that have laces, which I didn't want anymore because the laces break all the time. I guess broken laces are easier to replace than fixing broken zippers, though. Bah.

Oh wait, Josh and I did go to a Tom Petty concert on Saturday. The show was good, but I didn't care much for the venue, an outdoor theater at the UC Berkeley campus. Pot smokers _everywhere_! Having to smell so much of it was giving me a headache. The lack of parking and bathrooms and sitting out on the lawn in the cold wasn't very agreeable, either, so it's a good thing the music was good. I thought I only knew two Tom Petty songs, but then I realized I actually knew more than that as he sang them, I had just forgotten about them. At least Josh thoroughly enjoyed everything since he's a big fan of his.

Should go to the Nor Cal Ren Faire sometime soon before it ends. It's still on for another week or two, right? Maybe this Sunday; I'm not working for a change because I switched shifts with someone else. I'll be working Friday the 13th instead. ;)

(Which, just so you know, doesn't bother me in the least; I was born on a Friday the 13th! ^^ I'm inclined to like them.)

So I just got back from having lunch with Neil McCoy. He's a country singer for those of you who don't recognize his name. His latest hit is "Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On" or something like that (I like the song, just not sure of the exact title). He has a few other songs I like as well like.

As usual, Mom won this on the radio from our local country station. It was at Armadillo Willy's, a barbeque place I'd never been to before. I don't like barbeque at all, but they had good cornbread. There were maybe thirty people there plus some KRTY (the radio staton) staff, including the two morning DJs (Gary and Julie; Gary is a crack-up and the only reason I like their morning show). Anyway Neil came in and stood around for a little while answering questions. Then people lined up to have their picture taken with him, so my mom and I both got one of us with him.

( picture )

He commented on how tall we both were, and then was really surprised when Mom told him that I'm the shortest one in the family (at 5'8"). It's true, I'm the runt; I was wearing boots with 2" heels today so I look closer to my mom's height than I actually am.

Next we got food from the buffet and went back to the tables to sit down and eat. They had a bunch of small square tables pushed together in the shape of a huge L, and Mom and I were on one end next to a bunch of empty seats. Of course that's where Neil and the staff all ended up, with Neil right next to me. He's very nice and friendly, but I felt a bit silly sitting there because I only know a grand total of three or four of his songs and really had nothing to say to him. So I just listened while he mostly yacked with the DJs and occasionally answered questions from the other guests who either walked over or yelled out to him from other parts of the table.

When everyone was pretty much done eating he started signing autographs for anyone who wanted one. Not many people had actually brought anything for him to sign, so most people got their name tags (given to us before lunch; stupid girl spelled my name wrong so I flipped it over and wrote it correctly) signed. My name tag was stupid and ugly, so instead I had him sign my horse purse. :)

( autograph )

After he finished those I guess it was time for him to go. I said goodbye and that it was nice to meet him, and everyone clapped and he left with his road manager or whoever. He's doing a concert tonight at a club, but as Mom didn't win tickets to that we won't be going (we only go to things when they're free). ;)

Tagged by gokumew2

List seven of your favorite songs of the moment in your journal and force seven other people to repeat this process.

1. Happy Goody - Takahashi Hiroki & Kondou Takayuki
2. Shoot! - Seki Tomokazu
3. Fake Star - Seki Tomokazu
4. Hikari no Saki - Okiayu Ryoutarou & Minagawa Junko
5. Ameagari no Tenshi - Minagawa Junko
6. Shukumei ~ Destiny - Hayashibara Megumi & Seki Tomokazu
7. Chichi wo Moge! - Takahashi Hiroki

I'm not going to tag anyone, do it if you feel so inclined ^_^

Stolen from vandonovan

Go to musicoutfitters.com. In the search box on the left side, enter the year you graduated from high school. The first item returned should be the top 100 songs from that year. Cut and paste them into your journal.

Bold the ones you like.
Underline your favorite.
Strike through the songs you loathe.
Italicize ones you don't remember
Leave normal ones you remember but don't care about one way or the other.

( Top 100 pop songs from 1999 )

What the hell are most of these songs? Is this even pop? It looks like a lot of these are rap or hip hop. And why are there country songs on here?? I hate that whole Country -> Pop trend! >_< So wrong...and I see pretty much the only songs I liked on here are the country ones.