Championship

Do you have a trophy like this?

Front view



Side View



Jealous?

Music!

Third Eye Blind's newest album, Ursa Major, just came out this week and I've been playing this on repeat, NON-STOP. The album is absolutely awesome, so much so that I am already hyped and looking forward to the additional amazing-ness that the follow-up album Ursa Minor will bring. It certainly makes the long wait since their last album (Out Of The Vein, 2003) worthwhile. I like the lead single "Don't Believe A Word," but my favorite songs on the album by far are "Can You Take Me," "Sharp Knife" (disturbing song to like I know but I'm weird), "Summer Town," and "Water Landing." Be sure to give it a listen. You can stream the whole album from their MySpace, or pop out player here.



While still gushing about 3eb's latest album, I also found another enjoyable title to complement it with in Michael Franti & Spearhead's All Rebel Rockers. Although the album came out in 2008, it only came to my attention via their hit "Say Hey (I Love You)," which has been in heavy rotation on radio stations recently. Their mix/hybrid of hip-hop and reggae provides a very addicting sound and I have definitely caught myself embarassingly tapping and nodding away to their songs on the subway. Though not entirely thrilled with some of the political overtunes of their lyrics, I still enjoyed much of the album in the form of "Life In The City," "Remote Control," and "Nobody Right Nobody Wrong." I can definitely see several of these songs being incorporated in many party and dance playlists in the near future.

Book Review #2

The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

This is one of the most difficult books that I've ever read, not in the sense of not being able to understand, but just in the act of reading and getting through the book. It took me almost 3 weeks to get through this book of barely 150 pages. It was exhausting. In terms of the content, I found it lacking versus what I expected. While many tout this as a manual for business and life, I thought that most of the concepts described were very rudimentary. For example, more than half the book focuses on basic techniques of Japanese sword combat stressing the importance of practice, practicality, and awareness of surroundings. While important, I gained nothing by simply reading the statement that they're important over and over again. The only part of the book that I found interesting was in the last 20 or so pages where the state of mind and thinking were discussed. All in all, I was quite disappointed. Perhaps, it is a book that I have to re-read three or four times to really get it. But for now, I will have to settle for 2 out of 5 stars.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A very quick and light read, I found this book to be surprisingly interesting and full of depth. Heck, I even wished the story actually went longer than it did. A coming of age story of a high school freshman, it definitely helped me reminisce about the times growing up without cellphones, text messages, and internet. The naivety and youthful optimism of the narrator also enhanced and broadened the story's emotional roller-coaster, which I personally found myself relating to in several instances. Moreover, the narrator's lack of life experiences relative to his older friends and his quiet observant nature (hence wallflower) provides a unique perspective into the different aspects of life such as family, friendship, and love that might not necessarily comes to one's mind. Certainly worth reading, 4 out of 5 stars.