Saturday, April 11, 2009

Cause & Effect

I used to think it was hormonal, but it's becoming clearer that it isn't.

The thought of going to work actually depresses me.

And it manifests physically in the form of severe lethargy and, more recently, generalized myalgia.

Sigh, man.

Maybe it's just time for another break -- taking 5 days off end of the month.

The annual long vacation can't get here fast enough!


Free Jason Mraz MP3s!

Seem to comprise mostly older songs from his earlier years ( with a nice collection of never-before-released pieces ) but the majority is in acoustic form and has never appeared on a commercial album, so these performances are precious.

From The Cutting Room Floor has a couple of excellent tracks, in particular the very cheeky Older Lover Undercover. Think of it as a coffee-house version of Me And Mrs. Jones. :)

As for Before Rockets And Roosters, these are essentially taken from an acoustic gig, complete with scratchy sound and minimal backup. A perfect illustration of Jason's ability to sound fantastic without the need for any band accompaniment. The "oompa" version of You And I Both is hilarious, and the audience obviously had a great time as well!

I also found a better site through Google -- one where the download speed is 10 times faster, with no-frills direct transfer to iTunes. Be sure to sample Summer Breeze, Shy That Way ( his beautiful duet with ex-girlfriend Tristan Prettyman ), I Melt With You ( from the 50 First Dates soundtrack ) and Rainbow Connection.

For a free MP3 of The Beauty In Ugly ( such a great song! ), go to this site. The Spanish version is even better.


True Blood - First Impressions

Watched 4 episodes back-to-back on Thursday, and the verdict? I like it. A lot.

I haven't checked up on the chronological order of events yet -- which came first, Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novels, or the Twilight saga? -- but the overlaps can't be ignored.

Much older male vampire falls in love with a virginal young mortal girl.
One of them is telepathic - in Twilight, it's Edward; in True Blood, it's Sookie.
Bill hails from the Civil War era and was attacked on the way home to his family -- in Twilight, same thing happened to Jasper.
Both vampires have to fight the constant temptation to kill their female objects of affection.
There's a scene in the car where the couple share details about their lives.

Still, True Blood offers a much more realistic depiction of vampires, and of life in general. There's a gay character, lots of family dysfunction, murder, blood-borne diseases, illegal drug dealing... you get the idea.

Wishing you a Happy Easter.

6 comments:

aliendoc said...

Actually, it's Sookie who is telepathic, not Bill. :)

So did the censors do major work on the series?

spacefan said...

Oh yeah, you're right! Didn't realize the mistake - happens when I'm distracted by a Jason Mraz song. :)

Think the censors did some snipping. If I like the series enough I'll buy the DVDs from the US. :)

beth ann said...

hi!
i'm just wondering, are the emed departments in singapore very relaxed?
i work in e med too, in sydney, and it's crazy! there is simply no time to blog, even though i would love to :)
i'm a weekend blogger with a week of leave!

also, i love kevin spacey :)

best of luck!

spacefan said...

beth ann: oh dear, i think my night-shift blogging has given you the wrong impression!

let's see, my dept records an average daily patient attendance of 400, the whole ER is swamped most of the time, and only quietens down in the wee hours of the morning ( i.e. after 4am, which is when i get to blog if i feel up to it ).

it's pretty much the same situation in all the restructured hospitals.

combination of abuse of our services, and persistent manpower shortage no thanks to MOPEX.

Karen said...

spacefan: Hi! And greetings from HBO Asia! Glad to see you enjoyed watching the first 4 eps of True Blood! 2 more eps will show every Thursday at 9pm on MAX (StarHub Ch 59).

Do check out our website dedicated to True Blood at http://www.cinemaxasia.com/trueblood/

There's a game where you stand to win prizes from HP and my colleague also blogs about the series. You'll be hearing from her shortly.

Karen said...

aliendoc: Hi aliendoc, all broadcasters have to comply with local regulatory guidelines. In the case of True Blood, I won't describe it as major work being done. I'm sure spacefan can tell you that the series flowed rather seamlessly! To borrow a word from your profession, guess you could say we took pains to ensure the suture was well done. :)