May 31st, 2005 12:27 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Idiot Country" by Electronic
Feeling: hungry

Ok, there's this guy on the corner with a drum set and he's banging away and screaming like a retard. I don't mean screaming in an ironic "rock out" kind of way. I mean he sounds like a down-syndrome person who is being assaulted by balloon animals.

May 27th, 2005 15:17 hours CST
Currently listening to: "1st Samurai" by Nujabes
Feeling: extremely tired and worn out

The show last night was.....a bit crazy. I arrived at the Boiler Room to find out that they had little to no in-house PA and no sound engineer whatsoever. Some guy showed me how to connect the power amp to their mixer and said "there ya go". Cory scrambled back to the practice space to get my PA gear. I was reminded of what is was like when Airiel was just me and Shawn Delaney and we had to haul that PA gear around to every show because that was our speaker setup for the drum machines. I actually ended up running sound for The Arks during their set. They sounded really good. They have an additional guitar player whom we really liked. Those guys are fun to hang around. We had a pretty good turnout, actually. Made a little money. Sold some CD's. So, the night was a success.

I got home around 3 AM and tried to go straight to bed while messaging Yuka. A vibrating cell phone that's touching your head while you're quickly falling asleep is a freaky sensation. I can't wait to get home, feed my cat, take off my clothes and go straight to bed. I'm exhausted.

Don't have many plans for the three day weekend. Gotta get cat food and sandwich stuff. For some reason I didn't buy enough turkey when I was at the deli. What the hell was I thinking?!?!? Ok, I'll be alright. I wanna go see The Hat Party at the Beat Kitchen on Sunday. I'm so low on cash though. We'll see. It would be nice to do a BBQ somewhere this weekend, if the weather is nice. It's gonna be cool and it may rain.

May 26th, 2005 10:03 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Swimming Through Us" by Airiel
Feeling: sleeeeeeepy

After watching Ep III again last night, I feel even better about the movie as a whole. :: WARNING. Contains Spoilers. ::

1) the windshield "mistake" is actually bullshit. There are multiple windows on the bridge and the one that Grievous breaks and is covered by the shutter is on the starboard side, not directly in front of them. The person who submitted that is a jackass. Probably works for Aint It Cool News. Ahem.

2) the scene where Anakin walks into the council chambers and discovers the younglings is absolutely chilling the 2nd time watching it. The reaction of that little boy is amazing. He simply doesn't know what to do. That's where you really get depressed.

3) Vader saying "No. She was alive. I felt her." then breaking out of his restraints is not as awkward as I initially felt. However it is pretty much ruined when he yells "noooooooo". He should have just roared.

4) Anakin is seriously messed with by Palpatine through the entire film. I picked up more pieces of dialog and I honestly felt that Lucas actually did a GOOD job in writing this one. Who'd a thunk it?

5) Padame's force choke scene still sucks. Lucas should have thrown in the sound effects and Vader should have hoisted her in the air and dropped her.

6) Anakin yelling "I hate you!" at Obi-wan at the end really got me this time.

7) The woman who played Beru Whitesun is freaking cute.

8) Bai Ling should have stayed in the movie.

9) I scanned around for any signs of Mon Mothma and couldn't find her.

10) Mace Windu's sword fighting style still is ridiculous. He constantly leaves his torso wide open because he waves his arms around. Sure it looks cool, bu- ::stab:: there! Got ya! Sit down, Julius.

11) The scene where Anakin is waiting in the council chambers while the other Jedi Masters go to arrest Palpatine is beautiful. Shifting between him and Padme as they stare at each other's location from across the city during the sunset while the music plays is really haunting.

May 23rd, 2005 10:03 hours CST
Currently listening to: "The Perfect Needle" by the Telescopes
Feeling: like diet coke is eating me from the inside

The weekend was a little strange, I have to admit. I'm still not sleeping well. In addition to poorly adjusting to the time change, my cat seems to be way too excited to have me home and is talking all fucking night long. She woke me up at 2 AM on Saturday night and I ended up taking a sonata which kept me in bed until 11:30 on Sunday. WTF, cat?

After a 55 minute wait for a cab (yeah, NEVER call Yellow Cab), I went to DJ's place and met up with Heather. We grabbed some bagels and then went up to Evanston to see Episode III. I have to admit, I really liked it. While it certainly suffers from the problems of the other prequel films (deer-in-headlights-acting and terrible dialog), the story is really haunting. The image of the Vader mask being placed on Anakin's face is downright creepy. We've never seen that point of view until now. Graphically, it's almost perfect. The only flaws I noticed had to do with some of the Clone Troopers, especially when they had their helmets off. But whatever. It's a pretty good movie all around.

DJ and Heather dropped me off at Scooterworks (ergo, the cab ride) and I finally got my Rally back. It's always weird when they adjust the cables. The throttle and clutch seem a little loose to me, so I'll try to tighten them when I get the chance. I was still too tired to do anything that night, so I stayed in a played Kuon for quite a while. I don't know why Japanese horror games work so well as a theme. But damnit, I LOVE it. Even when the game play is as bad as Kuon's.

The new Airiel EP's arrived on Friday. (Go buy one right here!) They look great and also sound awesome. I realized that I'd been listening to those songs in my car through my iPod and my crappy FM antenna, so it's nice to hear Airiel at awesome volume via my CD player. \m/

The new Japan journal is in the works. I'll do more tonight since I have to stay late to do a server update. I have lots of photos to resize, so please be patient.

May 20th, 2005 10:03 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Plash" by Takako Minnekawa
Feeling: zom-bi-fied

I don't know which is freakier, the fact that I ate a shrimp that was alive just before I put it into my mouth or the fact that I participated in (alcohol assisted) karaoke.

My trip to Japan ruled. I'm exhausted. I'm at work. I'm insane.

Love you, Yuka.

May 11th, 2005 08:55 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Katimaritaino" by Yui Asaka
Feeling: glad I'm indoors
Days until Tokyo: 2!!!!

Yet another night of very little sleep. I'm either too excited or it's just too damn warm. Last night didn't feel so bad, though. Woke up to some seriously crazy thunderstorm. Near constant thunder. I drove to work and watched the Hancock Center get its ass kicked by lightning.

We started a new song at practice last night. Well, it's a new version of a new song that we've only played out once or twice. It's.......really damn cool. And the weird thing is..... I'm not using any effects. I know. It's like blasphemy or something. My pedal board is sitting there like "dude, wtf?"

I just got this email from Nick Allport, from Club AC-30: "Ulrich Schnauss dj'd our club last night wearing an Airiel t-shirt! I was impressed." that fucking rules.

Ok, I'm out of here for a week. Back to Tokyo to be with my girlfriend, who, unlike me, can sleep for 14 straight hours on a god damn plane. :P

May 10th, 2005 10:42 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Vonal Declosion" by Stereolab
Feeling: I NEED TO LAY OFF THE DAMN CAFFEINE
Days until Tokyo: 3!!!!

Ok, seriously. No more caffeine. Only to get rid of a headache. You know, like, for an advil chaser or something. I'm far too wired. I'm so excited about seeing Yuka and getting back to Japan that I can't sleep at night. I know what will happen. I won't sleep at all, even on the plane (who can?), and I'll get there and then be completely exhausted and Yuka will have to drag me to places because I'll be standing on the sidewalk, completely asleep. Ok, it's not gonna be that bad, but still. I do have some sleeping pills for the plane. Last time they didn't work. But hopefully this time I'll be able to get a few hours of sleep. Usually I only sleep for maybe 30 minutes while on a plane. I simply have to be lying down in order to sleep at all. Plus, I think this time I'm sitting between two people. Shit.

May 9th, 2005 10:10 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Mint Car" by The Cure
Feeling: excited
Days until Tokyo: 4!!!!

You know, even though it got such mixed reviews, Wild Mood Swings is really not a bad album. Mint Car is totally brilliant. How can you not smile or want to dance around when you hear that song?

I got new hair stuff while at my hair cut on Saturday. It's turning out to be MUCH stronger than I'd realized. My hair feels crunchy. I feel like I'm in the 8th grade and I've just discovered hair gel. Bleh. Gotta tone it down tomorrow. Although, it is really good at fighting humidity. It will be perfect for Tokyo.

I woke up with a scratchy throat on Friday and was super paranoid that I was getting sick, so I called my dad and he phoned in some antibiotics. Seemed to do that trick. I woke up feeling worse on Saturday, but I've got better since then. Just have a little cough, but I think I'll be ok. The timing would just suck if I got some huge cold right before I get on the plane for 13 hours.

Lisa, Danny, Jane and I went to a new sushi place on Milwaukee called Usagi-ya. That translates to "The Rabbit Shop". Heheh. Very good food. The restaurant itself is really cool looking and the wait staff are nice.

May 5th, 2005 13:09 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Left Of Mother" by Curve
Feeling: full
Days until Tokyo: 8

Just got back from a neat little sushi place. Osaka Sushi Express & Fresh Fruit Drinks. The sushi was rather good. I'm so full. Can't wait to have homemade sushi next week thanks to Yuka's parents. RULE.

I was totally pissed earlier. We have this woman in the office today who is giving massages by appointment. At 10 minutes til, I signed up for the 11:00 slot. At 11:05 I discover that some cunt in my office waltzed in there without looking at the sheet and took my spot! She's staying late for me so I can get my massage.

Griff, Hope and I are in talks to go to another Demolition Derby. HELL YES.

May 4th, 2005 08:40 hours CST
Currently listening to: "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order
Feeling: my neck is stiff, but I'm elated
Days until Tokyo: 9

The Assassins/New Order show last night was AMAZING. I had such a good time. And it was an early show, so I actually got around 5 hours of sleep last night. Arturo picked me up and we met Paul inside. Then Brock, Yasemin, Tobias and Diana found us in the crowd. Funny, we were standing in the exact same location where we saw Interpol a few months ago. I was so proud of The Assassins. I hope this gives them the publicity they need, especially in Chicago. They just played to a sold out, all ages crowd for fuck sake. Brock, Tobias, Diana and I are the unofficial Assassins Glee Club. We were singing to every song and had our fists up, shouting "ALWAYS WANTING WHAT YOU AINT! GOT!" It was fun as hell.

New Order, quite frankly, knocked me on my ass. They played so many hits. Temptation, Hey Now What You Doing, Blue Monday, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Atmosphere, Bizarre Love Triangle, Regret, Love Vigilante.... I forgot what else. They were so fun to watch. You know, despite the fact that they pretty much changed dance music forever, they can't dance for shit. Hahahahaa. I mean, Peter Hook, who is a fucking ROCKER, has got some cool stances, but Bernard is just plain awkward and goofy when he moves around. Hee hee. "Regret" was like a fucking anthem. I got goosbumps all over when they played "Atmosphere" for an encore. I never thought I would get to see that song live. Wow. It was awesome. My god. We were all SCREAMING "DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE TO THE RADIO!!!!"

May 2nd, 2005 13:30 hours CST
Currently listening to: some boring conference call
Feeling: my neck is stiff
Days until Tokyo: 11

Weekend was pretty tame. I took Friday off to recover from Thursday nights Subterranean show. The show was a lot of fun. The crowd was a bit small, but they loved us. The Arks were great. Thanks to Paul for letting me borrow his amp, which was super loud. My Fender Twin died right after our soundcheck. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Zelienople did a very different set from their normal layout. Rather ambient and very cool.

I had some awesome time playing Halo 2 on Friday night. We started a new clan, called "NWA Englewood Jack". NWA standing for "newbie whackers association". As soon as we lose 7 clan matches in a row, we're changing the name. The goal is to keep this clan fun and not get all stressed out. So far it's working really well. This, so far, has been my best match ever. 2 against 8. I had 12, count em', TWELVE double kills. That shows you how great the upgrades are to the flak grenades. I have no idea how we pulled off that win.

My scooter is actually fine. It was just low on gas and I wasn't using the reserve tank. Chalk that up to "learning experience". I drove it to Silver Cloud and met with Lisa for some Sloppy Joe's. I frrrrrrrroze my butt off getting up to Scooterworks. That bridge over Damen has a wind chill drop of about -20 degrees.

Didn't do much else besides clean and wrap myself in Pikmin 2. Nibble nibble nibble.