brodie: perfectly imbalanced: 05/01/2005

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

brodie: world traveller!

I thought it might be cool (and a little bit show-off-ish) if I put up a map of places of note where I have visited. I'll try to remember the names of the places. I didn't mark the places in the US....too many to count.

North America~
Virginia (where I was born)
Florida (where I live now)
Washington (my home away from home)
Vancouver, B.C. (Art Retreat in my Junior year of High School)
Tijuana, Mexico (Youth Group retreat, builiding a home for a Mexican family)

South America~
Peru (my 2nd home for 7 months)
Ecuador (vacation)
Columbia (drug run...err...vacation)

Europe~
England (Senior High School trip)
Scotland (same as above)
Naples, Italy (one of the many places I lived)

Middle East~
Turkey (I lived in two cities there: Adana and Izmir)
Antioch, Turkey (this was one of Paul's stops during his missions)

Asia~
South Korea (also, another place I lived)

Travelling is in my blood, and it's something that I will continue to do, so I put together a list of places that I would like to travel to....someday.

1. Japan ~ I have thought about maybe teaching English here. The main reason for me wanting to go here is the cultural differences that our country has with Japan, and to enjoy some fresh sushi.

2. South America ~ This is more of an ambitious wish, but I would love to backpack around the continent of South America, taking in the sights and sounds of each country.

3. Greece ~ Looking at pictures of Greece reminds me a little of Turkey with a little more class.

4. New Zealand ~ After watching Lord of the Rings, who wouldn't want to travel here?

5. Anywhere at the moment ~ I love the excitement of travelling alone or with a few friends, so anywhere would be exciting.

-brodie

posted by brodie @ 12:01 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 30, 2005

music and politics

The title might be a little too broad, so I guess we should call it "Today's music industry vs. Bush". Don't get me wrong, I am not here to list the good things that Bush has done. I think he is a good President, and a much better choice than the other guy. However, I think that too many people criticize him for oil, world domination, and speech impediments. Bands such as Nine Inch Nails and solo artists like Bright Eyes have been recently caught up in the scandal. NIN refused to play the MTV movie awards after a giant poster of Bush was denied for back art, and Bright Eyes (or whatever the guy's name is) sang (in his awful voice) a scathing song about Bush on Jay Leno. These are just two artists in the music industry who think their "free speech" is something that will unite the youth of America towards hating the President in everything he does. It sickens me. It's why I hate most of the bands that play on the radio today. Hacks.

-brodie

posted by brodie @ 9:12 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Anime 101

I was reading various message boards in which users had the audacity to claim that they knew the best Anime series ever. Now, I am not one to join in the fray with a topic like this....usually...but I thought that I must put in my two cents, just because i have seen a few anime shows.

1.) Shows like Dragonball Z, Sailormoon, and Inayusha (however you say it) tend to tip the scale towards queerness. Why? Well one series has an abundant of males, the other has an abundant of females, and the other has people with tales, and that is just plain gay.

2.) Talking animals in anime does not make it weird. Do you think Christopher Robin freaked out when he heard his favorite Hundred Acre Woods friends talk? No....so it's not so out of the normal to have animals talking.

3.) Akira is not the best anime ever. Every site I go to have fanboys (and girls) who whine about how great Akira was and still is. Maybe it was one of the first animes, but it is not the best. So don't watch it, no matter how much fankids talk about it.

4.) Samurai or Space Cowboys are the best sort of characters in anime. Ninjas come in at a close second. So if you see an anime with flying super-heroes who sprout yellow locks whilist moaning in a queer sort of way, change the channel.

5.) And now my list of favorite anime titles. Call me an anime-freak, if you will, but it is the same as enjoying a nice glass of wine or a cuban cigar. Also, being an artist, you appreciate how those artists slave over cells (single paintings put together to make a movie) to give us art and entertainment at the same time.

Cowboy Bebop ~ The reason for this being number one is because it has every great thing an anime needs, and the showdown at the end of the series makes this one worth watching.

Studio Ghibli films ~ Most of the Studio Ghibli films that you will find have great stories that are enjoyable for the whole family.

Samurai Champloo ~ From the makers of Cowboy Bebop, this anime has the flair and style that other anime titles lack, but there are episodes that seem rushed.

So there you have it. It's my post on anime, so that you viewers won't get trapped in the crap of the anime titles that are littered on the road of animation (or something like that).

-brodie

posted by brodie @ 12:16 PM 5 comments

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Little Black Book vol. 1

I have a small black book that I keep with me, but it is not to store names and phone numbers of girls I know, but rather to hold words and drawings that may contain some sentiment in my life. Today's post is just one little excerpt from the book.

Fighting in the trenches against my greatest foe.
Just surviving, living my life.
Hoping to find some comfort...
Some crevice to hide in,
While my fears and troubles creep in.
"Why can't they leave me alone?"
I cry to myself, hoping that...
I would just be left alone,
In the darkness, waiting for some light.

What was I thinking when I wrote this? I think it may have been a quiet desperation that had welled up in me during a time in which I just wanted to be brought out of my depression by something that I thought would have helped.

Anyways, look for other Little Black Book posts in the future.

-brodie

posted by brodie @ 12:26 AM 1 comments

brodie: perfectly imbalanced