Mind of Migg

It’s been three years since Depeche Mode last toured.  I was super pumped when we bought pre-sale tickets for their performance at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this year.  We had good seats and I had never been to a concert there before but had heard good things.

I love concerts in general.  There is something moving about seeing and hearing songs you love in person.  You can feel the bass in your feet and feel the energy of the crowd.  If I could, I would’ve gone multiple times.  Unfortunately, the older I get, the harder it is to justify traveling around to catch the same concert more than once, or splurging for floor seats.  It was shows in Concord, Mountain View, and Anaheim for the Exciter Tour.  Each night our seats were closer, ending with front row seats in Anaheim.  In 2006, it was one show, but one show with floor seats.  This time around, we barely made it to the only show I’ll be seeing from this tour and sat somewhere near the middle.

Don’t get me wrong; by Hollywood Bowl standards we had excellent seats.  They were available only through a special pre-sale that sold out within minutes.  We were in the 10^th row of the second level of box seats.  The thing that was strange about it was how unprepared I was for the actual concert.  The other times we’ve gone, the concert was such a special event.  I was like a child waiting to go to Disneyland, restless the night before the big show.  I’d spend the day of the concert listening to different Depeche Mode songs, and there was definitely always a pre-party.  I’d follow reviews and set lists from previous shows.  This time around, I didn’t even have time to think about the concert.  A meeting ran late, there was no pre-party, and after sitting in Hollywood traffic, we sped walked the ¾ mile from the parking lot to the Bowl.  We found our seats less than five minutes before the band came on.

This rush into the venue with no time to spare happened to us before.  The difference is that we lost track of time drinking and blasting Depeche Mode in the parking lot so we missed the opening act a few years ago.  Not this time.  I was stressed, tired, and besides the two fantastic shots of authentic Mexican tequila I had at James’, completely sober.  Then the house lights went down, the band came out, and I was reminded why I love live shows and why I love Depeche Mode.

The band knows how to put on a show.  They combine their voices with raw, live instruments, electronic mixes, and video that captures the emotional elements of each song.  There was a different video on the large background screen that would play on the two side screens as well.  Where other bands might only use the screens to project larger images for those in the back, Depeche Mode used them to nearly create a live music video to accompany the band.

The concert rocked.  Things have been crazy, so two hours to clear my head, hop up and down to music, and scream out songs was great.  I couldn’t have asked for a better break.  As each song played, I couldn’t help but associate it with different moments of my life, or really connect with the lyrics.  For two hours, there was nothing to think about besides the music.  Sobriety didn’t keep me from moving as much as I could in my cramped area or screaming at the end of each song.

The crowd wasn’t too into it at the beginning, I’m guessing because it opened with three songs from the new album, but then the band went into a string of classics.  I love hearing Precious live and always think about the pain Martin must’ve felt as he wrote that song and what he must feel every time they sing it (the song is about his kids).  They did a mix of the album and single versions of In Your Room that had a good balance.  The lyrics of Little Soul lingered with me, “my little soul will leave a footprint.”  The crowd sang all of Policy of Truth, and Dave let us handle the chorus ourselves.  I Feel You is enough to get anyone excited, but it was merely a setup for Enjoy the Silence and Never Let Me Down Again.  As the crowd created the usual sea of waving arms, I watched with a huge smile.  I remembered seeing the view of waving arms from the front row eight years earlier and being in awe at how cool it looked.

Martin Gore surprised everyone at the start of the first encore by playing Shake the Disease for the first time this tour.  One of my favorite versions of the song is from a live recording of an old tour in Germany.  In that version, the entire stadium claps to the beat of the piano before, “understand meeEEEE” and I naturally assumed that’s what should happen.  I’m pretty sure I was one of maybe half a dozen in a crowd of thousands that felt this way.  Nevertheless, it was awesome.  I got my first chills of the night right after.  It was the first time I heard Stripped played live.  It’s one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs.  The crowd gave a collective, “ooohhhhh” as the first few familiar notes started.  I was impressed that the crowd sang along so strongly to the entire song.

I normally love Behind the Wheel, but there was a huge feedback issue that even led Dave to start the song over.  I feel like it pulled the crowd out of the moment and lowered the energy level.  There was no problem getting pumped again for the second encore as Personal Jesus kicked in.  Throw both hands in the air, shout, “reach out and touch faith” as loud as possible and you can’t go wrong.  Similar to their last tour, they finished things up with a slow song: a stripped down version of Waiting For the Night.  It was beautiful and as I watched I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to take it all in.  I didn’t need a crazy pre-party or an entire “Depeche Mode” day to fully enjoy the concert.  I only needed to enjoy the moment.  And I did.

This is more of a personal post, but I’d also like to rave some more about a great iPhone application.  Two positives things happened this week.  I’ve been running around like crazy the last few weeks getting ready for the wedding, but I’ve also been trying to be very active with my writing and reading.  It’s a prime weight gain period, but this time, things were different.

Usually when I’m this busy, my good eating habits get thrown out the window and I have no time to go to the gym.  This time though, I’ve been making a concerted effort to eat better and exercise.  I found an iPhone app, called “Lose It!” that helps track calories, nutrients, and exercise.  I have been using it regularly for about six weeks and in that time; I’ve lost 12 pounds.  I am about to reach my first goal, breaking 200 pounds for the first time in at least 5 years, and I’m very excited about it.

The great thing is, this app has really made a difference.  I’ll think twice before eating a huge meal out, or grabbing an extra snack at the end of the night.  It’s also rewarding to see the progress and the green on the graph when I stay under budget.  I may not have the time to get to the gym lately, but I’ve done yoga pretty regularly and actively walk a lot more than I used to.  I park in one of the furthest lot from my UCLA classes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and have a good ten minute walk to and from class.  I love using the app and am going to continue using it until I reach my goal weight (I’ve got a long way to go).

The second exciting thing that’s happened this week is that we found a new apartment.  Not a new apartment complex, just a new apartment.  It started off as a joke when the people in the two bedroom down the way from us moved out.  The more we considered it, the more we realized it made a lot of sense.  We knew we really wanted a two bedroom to have an office and some extra space.  We also knew that with me not bringing in income and Violet being a student, we couldn’t afford a new place and no manager would approve us when they ran our credit.  This worked out perfectly because they knew us and had no problem letting us sign a new lease on the new bedroom for only a small amount more than we are currently paying.

So now we’re moving all our things two doors over.  In the span of about two days we finalized everything and are moving into the new place right before our wedding.  It’s crazy.  On the plus side, it’s exciting have a new, bigger place.  It’s great not having to back and carry things over since it’s so close.  On the downside, we still have to move our larger furniture items and it’s already added to the loads of stress we have in this final week.  We think it will be so worth it in the end though.  We can’t wait.  Losing weight, getting a new place: so far, so good.

Football season is finally just around the corner.  I’ve had a long, unlucky fantasy baseball season and am a bit burned out by the long haul of summer.  I’m leaning towards sitting out next baseball season and giving fantasy basketball another shot.  Nothing compares to fantasy football though.  There’s more at stake (money and trash talking), there’s more involvement by everyone in the league, and there’s more excitement.

We are in our fourth year of a 12-team football keeper league.  We have only lost two players in the four years, so everyone knows each other’s strategies and bargaining styles.  Everyone except newcomer Victor, who is destined for a number one pick next season (we draft in reverse order of standings).

This year, we decided to do a live draft.  We went all out: a conference room in Eric’s office, a draft board with player name stickers, and people flying in from out of town.  We had nine of the twelve guys in the room and the remaining three on video conference.  We had a timer projected onto a screen that had a buzzer sound when time ran out.  We had laptops out, magazines bookmarked, and people scrambling to cram some research.  We were ready for a draft.

Imran started things off with his only good pick of the day, Maurice Jones-Drew.  He had the unfortunate circumstance of trading Tony Romo and losing Tom Brady all in the span of 24 hours last season.  I found it hilarious.  He spent his season selling players for draft picks left and right.  You would think stockpiling three extra picks and making an effort to have good young keepers would really benefit him coming into this draft, but no.

There were no real surprises in the first round picks.  Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, Matt Forte all followed the first pick.  I was choosing seventh and took Larry Fitzgerald.  I know it was risky taking a WR before a RB, but his consistency makes it worth it in my eyes.  Our first real questionable pick of the day came courtesy of Ching when he took Knowshon Moreno in the 4^th round.  I’d be uncomfortable taking him in the 7^th round so I’m not sure what he was thinking.  I gave away a 5^th round pick and an 8^th round pick to Keith and Imran, so I really had to make the most of my early round choices.  I based my draft around my keepers and tried to fill my roster at each spot.  I feel like I was successful doing that, but we’ll see. Fantasy football is so completely unpredictable because you never know who’s going to get hurt for an extended period and which scrub on a last place team is going to score 3 touchdowns on you in the worst possible week.  It’s part of what makes fantasy football so much fun.

We had our first draft day trade a few rounds later.  Tridi made the call from Austin to Phil and swapped picks to move up in the 6^th round.  It was exciting to see Phil get the call one pick away as he agreed to the deal.  Tridi took Julius Jones, whom I was tempted to take.  In hindsight, I’m happy he used the trade to grab him because I would’ve regretted that pick.  There’s something about Julius Jones that always makes him more tempting than he should be on draft day.  He always let’s you down.

Tridi made a similar deal with Keith in the 12^th round.  It’s such a crapshoot in those later rounds as everyone around the table asks, “who’s that?” with each pick, so I’m not really sure what the value was in that.  But trades are always fun and I’m jealous I didn’t do it.  After those deals, it came down to IDP (Individual Defensive Player) picks and kickers.  By this point, James was choosing players based on funny sounding names (Tapp, Atari Bigby), which always seems to work out for him.  And by always seems to work out for him, I don’t mean it makes his squad better; he’s never made the playoffs.  I mean he consistently has the best-named players on his roster year in and year out.  You have to take successes where you can.

I feel pretty confident about my draft results, but then again, I always do.  I’m surprised players like Le’Ron McClain and Donald Driver slipped to me in the 9^th and 13^th rounds.  I’m not saying they’re fantasy all-stars, but the value from the rounds is potentially high.  I’m also happy with my team defense selections and defensive players.  I resisted the temptation to reach for “sleepers” and focused on value as much as possible in the later rounds.  All in all, I’d rate my draft third behind Phil and Eric.  I really like the total team they were able to put together considering they both drafted towards the end.  I liked Phil getting Marques Colston in the 3^rd round, followed by Jason Witten.  I liked some of Eric’s later picks: getting Hines Ward late and investing in Shonn Greene and Hakeem Nicks.

As for worst drafts, I think Ching hands down had the worst pick of the draft: Matt Leinart in the 14^th round.  I’d put two kickers on my roster before drafting Leinart.  He’s not even guaranteed a backup position yet.  Overall, I think Imran had the worst draft, which is impressive considering he had the top pick.  In his first six picks he took a guy everyone thought retired (Derrick Mason), a guy everyone thinks should retire (Willie Parker), and a tight end in the 4^th round that I would bet money doesn’t outperform the tight end I took in the 11^th.  That would be bad enough, but he followed those picks up with more trouble.  He took the first team defense (never something to brag about) and then three straight IDP players, essentially saying, “no guys, I am not interested in looking for any sleeper players or keepers for next year.  You all go ahead.”  In all fairness, he did sneak in a few offensive players with the picks he had traded for, but then he took more IDP players and a kicker.  The best thing though, was his selection of JaMarcus Russell, which would’ve won worst pick of the draft if not for Ching.

It was a lot of fun doing the draft in person and I hope we make it a habit.  I’m looking forward to making waiver wire moves before injured players are done being carried off the field, questionable deals, and trading more draft picks.  Let the 2009 Fantasy Football season begin!

One of my favorite scenes in the movies “Shoot ‘Em Up” is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhsjit5xJks

I completely share in Clive Owen’s frustration with people who don’t signal.  Not that I would go so far as to drive someone off the road.  At least, I haven’t reached that point yet.  But I feel as though choosing not to signal says a lot about the person driving.

There are times when it’s perfectly acceptable to not signal.  All of those times involve situations where there is no traffic behind you.  If there is nobody that will be inconvenienced by your change of lane or turn, then it’s fine to let it go.  Say you’re leaving somewhere at the crack of dawn when most of the city is still sleeping.  If there are no cars behind you, go ahead and leave your hand on the wheel.  It’s probably better that way so early in the morning anyway.

That is the only exception to the rule though.  At all other times, you should signal.  As Clive Owen says in the movie, “how hard is it to use your signal?  I move my finger one inch to use my signal.”  It doesn’t take a lot of effort.  It can even be done in the same motion as turning the wheel to move the car.  So why do so many people neglect this simple task?

To me, someone who doesn’t signal is being selfish.  We all know how easy a move it is to use the signal, so it can’t be a lack of effort, or even laziness.  If you have enough energy to drive a car, you have enough energy to move your finger one inch.  It must be selfishness.  It’s no different than the person who doesn’t hold the door open for the little old lady exiting the store as you enter, or someone who cuts in line.  It’s a blatant disregard for other people around them, as if the existence of the world revolved directly around the center of their driver’s seat.  Not only do they make others slam on their breaks unexpectedly, or cause traffic to slow down, they don’t even realize that they’ve done it.  If it isn’t within the narrow scope of what they’re thinking, it’s not even on their radar.

When I find out a friend doesn’t use their signal, it’s more disappointing than finding out they got caught cheating or stealing.  I suddenly realize it’s only a matter of time before that lack of courtesy for others is passed on in some other form.

“Hey Joe, can I borrow five bucks?”

“Sorry, I only have one five left.  I don’t plan to use it, but I’d hate to go get cash out again today.”

“Hey Bob, did you eat that sandwich I left in the fridge?”

“Yes.”

“That was for my lunch.  I make a sandwich every morning for my lunch, you know that.”

“But I was hungry.”

These are the conclusions I draw from the types who don’t signal.  Maybe that’s me being judgmental.  Maybe Clive Owen’s character has a serious anger management problem and there’s no reason to get so upset about something so small.  But that’s the thing; it’s not such a small deal.  If you’re gonna be a jerk, at least show people you are aware you’re being a jerk.  Like if you’re cutting someone off because you have to get over for your exit.  If you squeeze in but signal, you’re saying, “I apologize for this maneuver but I really need to take this exit.”  But if you were to make the same move without a signal, you’re saying (into your Bluetooth), “Hey Jerry, hold on I almost missed my exit.  There we go, oh my god I love this song that’s on right now.”  Is it not as bad to make a jerk move if you are aware you’re infringing on others?  That’s probably a debate for another post, but I think in the case of the signal, it is not as bad.

In reality, I’m sure it falls someone in the middle: non-signalers are not all selfish a-holes, and those that do aren’t automatically great drivers either.  But in the end, it’s nice to signal.  Acknowledge others stuck on the road with you.  They may hold the door open for you later.

I had heard great things about The Hurt Locker so I knew I had to see it. I finally got a chance on Saturday and it took the rest of the day to calm down after watching. It’s an intense film.

The Hurt Locker is about the group of soldiers who work on bombs every day. They go into hostile territory to dismantle explosives all the while potentially being shot at or attacked. The movie opens with a quote that talks about the addiction of war as a drug, and you can clearly see the effect of that in this movie.

The opening scene has you on the edge of your seat and I stayed that way until the end of the movie. The opening scene shows the group attempting to blow up a bomb that hasn’t gone off. They send in a robot, but a wheel breaks and the lead guy has to put on “the suit” and place the explosives himself. Things go wrong in all kinds of ways.

After that, the team gets a new leader, one who is reckless and more arrogant than his predecessor. The team is less than a month away from finishing their tour and the by-the-book second in command is ready to be out of there. They face some tricky bombs and tough situations.

The thing I loved about this movie was the connection developed with the central characters. They were multi-layered and much deeper than simple war personas. The new guy is addicted to the adrenaline rush, but he’s not an idiot and he cares a whole lot more than he let’s on. The by-the-book guy longs to be the man who puts on the suit, but knows he never will be. The third guy is a wreck after failing to shoot someone who sets a bomb off.

The emotions in this film are very raw and real. The camera work was great; it almost felt like a documentary for much of it. It gave me such a respect for the people who are out there doing these types of things with no fanfare, and no gratitude shown for their bravery. Go see this movie.

Now that I got all my Comic-Con ramblings out of my system, it’s time to get back to some important things.  Things like the best television event of the year.  That’s right, I’m talking about the five-day mini series event Torchwood: Children of Earth.  This is the way TV shows should be made.  It was an awesome thrill ride that left me emotionally drained by the end.  Spoiler and details below…

Children of Earth is a five parter that is technically considered season 3 of the series.  They did it this way for a number of reasons: there was the whole Doctor Who transition with Russell T Davies leaving both shows, there was the shocker season 2 ending and a question of where the show was going, and there was the big move to BBC One.  As Julie Gardner explained at Comic-Con, they want a fresh start when they begin on BBC One.  They wanted new viewers to be able to jump right into the new season.  It all made sense and they made sure to go out/come in with a bang.

The premise of the story is about a race of aliens returning to Earth and making demands.  They communicate with the planet through all the children of the world.  It was really creepy to see in the trailer and even more creepy in the actual episodes.  All of a sudden, the kids would start chanting, “we are coming.”  Then at the end of Day 1, they finished the chant, “we are coming…back.”  Day 2 ended with, “we are coming…tomorrow.”  Finally day 3 had the best line, “we are here.”  It kept getting better and better.

During this time, Torchwood is comprised of only Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto.  They are considering looking for a new doctor and think they’ve found one, only he turns out to be working for the government trying to infiltrate Torchwood.  When the government realizes that these are aliens they’ve done bad business with before, they order the execution of Jack because he was witness to those events.

The end of Day 1 sets the tone for the remaining episodes.  They kill Jack, plant a bomb in his stomach and the Torchwood Hub gets destroyed.  Suddenly Gwen and Ianto are on the run, and worse, Gwen is pregnant.  Jack, of course survives, but not without the pain and torture an explosion from your stomach would cause.

Day 2 was all about getting Jack back.  Since he can’t die, the bad guys thought it best to bury him in a block of concrete.  Fortunately, Ianto wasn’t going to let that stand in his way.  You’d think making a quick getaway in a forklift with a giant concrete cube would be impossible, but not for Torchwood.  They free Jack and continue the mission.

On Day 3, things really started picking up.  The team starts working with Lois Habiba (played by Cush Jumbo), a great character that I hope joins the team in the new season.  They find a location for the “Hub 2’ and Ianto even finds a new jacket for Jack at an army surplus store.  The team gets back on their feet and ready for action.  In the cliffhanger, they discover Jack was involved in giving 12 children to the aliens when they first visited years ago.

Day 4 starts off awesome.  Lois announces she’s been working for Torchwood, Jack and Ianto march right in to meet with the 4,5,6, and it seems like a good thing.  Then the worst thing possible happens: the 4,5,6 show the strength of their power.  They lock the building and release a toxin that kills everyone.  It was so unexpected to see Ianto die; I couldn’t believe it.  And it was heartbreaking when Jack was revived and looked over to see him in the bodybag beside him.  It was definitely Torchwood at their lowest.  They’re down to just two now.

Day 5 opens like a scene out of 28 Days Later, and it pretty much is.  The government discovers that the 4,5,6 are using the children as a type of drug and decides they have no choice but to give in to their demands.  They start rounding up children all over the world.  Gwen and Rhys go to Ianto’s sister and help them escape with all the children in the neighborhood.  Meanwhile, Jack’s daughter (yes, he has a daughter, which tied in nicely with an earlier Torchwood episode) releases him and he begins working on a way to stop the 4,5,6.  Ultimately, he is left with one decision: millions of children or his grandson.  He has no choice.  It was such a sad moment, especially when his daughter Alice is let back into the room.  Gwen and Rhys were on the verge of being caught when the aliens are defeated and go running.

It cuts to six months later and shows Rhys and a very pregnant Gwen walking up a hill.  They meet with Jack, who has been traveling the world.  He decides to continue running and hop aboard a passing spaceship.  They put his character through hell and back through the five episodes.  I don’t remember exactly where I saw it, but one forum member called this experience, “Captain Jack’s Time War” and I completely agree.  We’re going to see a much darker Jack when Torchwood returns I think.  A crying Gwen told him he can’t keep running forever, but he disagreed and left.

So that’s how Torchwood ended.  No team, no Hub, no Jack.  I’m really curious to see what’s going to happen in the new season.  It was really cool to meet John Barrowman at Comic-Con the day after finishing the series.  I told him I never cry during TV shows, but Children of Earth really hit me.  Violet told him we dreamed about Torchwood (we did) and woke up feeling a little blue.  He said, “dont worry because we are coming…back!”  He said there’ll be plenty more Torchwood so I can’t wait.

Torchwood: Children of Earth was excellent television.  I did a really lame, straightforward job of describing what happens over the five episodes.  There’s a ton more and it’s all infinitely more entertaining than anything I could write about it.  I even bought the blu-ray to check out the special features.  The DVD came out already because it screened in Britain a few weeks earlier than here.  Watch it if you haven’t already.  You won’t be disappointed.