Concert Run in Boston

Miracle on Tremont

Kate Nash

Morning Benders

Frightened Rabbit

Griffin House

Marina and the Diamonds / Young the Giant

Rogue Wave

MGMT

Interpol

Clambake on Landsdown St.

Blogriotus - Music of the Week

Sprawl II - Arcade Fire

Keep Yourself Warm - Frightened Rabbit

NYC - Interpol

Pictures of You - The Cure

Suburban War - Arcade Fire

Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National

It's Thunder and It's Lightning - We Were Promised Jetpacks

Amputations - Death Cab For Cutie

And by the Way...

The Lost Weekends are back!

The Myth and The Reality (SBA73 on flickr)

Just a Perfect Caption

Endurance in the Thirties

30 years. I am 30 years old and I can't stop believing I am still 22. I go out, drink, smoke, cavort, get drunk at a frequency that would end my life years before I'm due, yet I feel my regeneration every morning puts me at odds with this inevitability. I reason to think I am not invincible, but at 30, I am still quite nimble, adept at the game, and definitely not slowing down. After 10 official months of a relationship that has actually spanned a full year at this point, I have realized that it's more important to find the comforts of a relationship that strive to grow, support and cherish both partners' strengths; not lambast, dwell and ultimately hinge on their weaknesses.

I have not found the strength yet to make this epiphany yet known, but I am growing in spirit to do it. Sometimes the realization that you're not appreciated for who you are comes from within, but for the most of us, it comes from some experience, event or from another you meet, that reminds you of your strengths and makes you cherish your own quality. I am not sure when, or where, mine was rediscovered, but it certainly has lead me to expand my opinions on whether one's happiness should be met, accepted or denied by external forces.

Why can't we brush past happy inconvenience and always see the strength in oneself? Why do I have to be reminded periodically? This must speak to perhaps my greatest fallibility: Self-doubt. These questions I cannot answer with any certainty. Whether I shelf my self-doubt for the time-being or permanently based on this epiphany, I cannot predict, but it sure feels good to feel good about myself again. And I'm going to nurse that for all its worth.

Boston Street Art

World Cup exposed South Africa

Just as the '08 Olympics focused the world's attention on the emerging superpower of China, the World Cup this year could turn heads toward the conditions in one of the more advanced states in Africa.

I saw a commercial last week how the world takes a break from the turmoil, the tragedies and injustices that continue to plague our planet to commit to one month of the "Beautiful Game" sans interruption, but how about for a change to use the focus on South Africa to highlight some of these problems, to make people aware and to reshape the lost continent in the right direction.

It's not going to happen solely through tourist money. It's going to have to be policy shift towards developing countries that does not solely attempt to drain resources out and import dependence on established international economies, instead, altruistically benefit these underdeveloped countries with, at the least, short-term policies that help foster real socioeconomic birth.

Soccer, or football elsewhere doesn't need help promoting itself, but promotion should also be targeted with the impoverished problematic host nation.

BlogRiotus: Netflix follow-up

Edit the following post:

A bonus to having a PS3 for netflix is the ability to add to an instant cart for those movies that are streamable (?) online. Then when I throw on the PS3, I can watch the movies I added to that queue and watch them on HD rather than add them to a Blu-Ray queue (which would be a huge pain in the ass).

I am still on the fence about this new and revolutionary service, however I must admit that in this new digital age, renting DVDs does seem mostly outdated.

It seems D

VD release dates are being pushed back for mail-order rentals in favor of Blu-Ray and DVD sales from stores and brick and mortar rental businesses which seem to be falling off like lemmings. There are only two rental posts remaining in my very dense neighborhood now that all the Blockbusters are gone; one Asian DVD store, and the other, an independent renter on Beacon St in Brookline called MovieWorks. I have to say I definitely favor an independent rental business, however, the building in its location rivals only a few others for ugliest on Beacon.

I guess I'll go back to watching movies now.

BlogRiotus on Netflix

I got a Playstation 3 recently and decided to take advantage of the streaming Blu-Ray capability of Netflix. As a bonus, I figured that I could also receive the one disc mailed to me at a time and not have to worry about when they're due, or getting them back to a store. I have to admit I am a little (not too much) disappointed by the Netflix experience.

I have found the streaming video is hardly useful. You have to select an option from a limited amount of choices and most of the choices that you have in mind are never available. When browsing the selections available on the PS3, either luck or a compromise is likely necessary to facilitate a movie-viewing.

The mailed disc side of the Netflix experience is the better side of the coin. I upgraded to Blu-Ray for a couple dollars more and can watch as many Blu-Rays as I can get mailed and mail back. That is, it takes a day or two to get it mailed, then takes a day or two for them to get it back. That being the case, I can probably get about 6-9 Blu-Rays mailed every month. The setbacks are the delivery delays (snail mail is nicknamed for a reason), unavailability due to demand and the fact that the release dates for the Blu-Rays are not the actual release date for the video of popular movies. Therefore, most new releases are available at least a month after their actual release but demand could make them impossible to get until even longer.

I like Netflix overall, but these setbacks can be a little annoying and I wish I knew what they were actually offering before I got sucked into the hype.

Big win at the BSC league

As I gather steam in the race of life, I realize as a former (and attempting current) athlete is the exhilaration of lacing up the sneakers and competing in sports. Basketball, never one of my better sports, but nonetheless a fun one to play has become the game of choice during the winter months. In New England, this period seems to stretch from mid-November to April. I don't take basketball leagues or pickup games nearly as seriously as some of my counterparts; my buds and friends from growing up, but I do like winning. And there is nothing like draining the nets with a steady rain of three point shots, as what occurred tonight during the league play. Usually, I perform as a trusty utility player when playing in organized games. I set picks, pass along the ball to the open man, or crash the boards, however, my personal skills are not shabby. My long range shots are marksman-like, and I do play decent defense. However, it is my reluctance to fail (and perhaps get hurt) that prevents me from truly becoming the player my athleticism could have me be. Until that day, when I can finally graduate to a level of confidence yet attained, I will continue to relish the great equalizers of the basketball universe for small men - the outside jumper.

Green Planet Pest Control