I get a three day weekend this weekend. I don't have to work Monday because of Memorial Day.

It is confirmed: The Day After Tomorrow is "a wreck". For once, CNN and Fox News agree on something. I'm not sure if I want to watch it just yet. I think this one might be a renter.

Ever had a "case of the Mondays" on a Friday? That's what I have today (and it sucks). I'm looking forward to making a trip to Best Buy after work to make some purchases. Haven't decided yet if I want to buy The Office on DVD or the new Cardigans CD, Long Gone Before Daylight. I'm really torn, but what do you care? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Word.

Well, Fantasia won (not a surprise) American Idol. I expect to see great things from her.

I'm kind of annoyed, because, after work, I have to drive all the way out to Butler (that's where I go to school) to get my book receipt from their bookstore. Why? Because they gave me a wrong receipt and they have a dumb policy that requires me to have my book receipt so they can buy back my books at the end of the semester. Dumb? I think so.

Word.

Wow. In stark contrast to yesterday, today is rather slow. Last night, my wife and I had take out from P. F. Chang's. It cost us TWENTY BUCKS! And no leftovers! It was good nonetheless. I recommend the mongolian beef and sweet and sour chicken.

I'm looking forward to seeing the end of American Idol tonight. Who will win? Diana or Fantasia? I would hope that it woould be Fantasia. I guess it doesn't really matter if she does or not.

Word.

The Day After Tomorrow is no Independence Day. Early buzz from Fox News says that Roland Emmerick's (Independence Day, Godzilla) new disaster flick is just that: a disaster. If my assumptions are correct, this film will be just as good as Volcano. If it's anything like Volcano, the dialogue should go something like this:

Scientist: New York is being flooded with water!
Disaster "Expert": So you mean water is flooding New York City?
Scientist: Yes.
Disaster "Expert": Now I must brave the elements with my two friends here (who have no reason to go with me and who will die) and make a pointless journey to New York and save my son!

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone if it's as bad as they say it is. Godzilla stunk.

Fox News also reported that the new Harry Potter film The Prisoner of Azkaban(out June 3rd) was pretty good. The guy who wrote the review is not a Harry Potter fan, so I can only take his review with a grain of salt. He said the opening sequence (Harry Potter inflates his aunt) was priceless.

There's talk according top the New York Post that the movie's producers might not hire the current Harry Potter actors back after the fourth film because they're getting too old.

I don't think hiring new, younger actors will do any good to the film franchise. In fact, I think it might ruin its current success. It's like making an Indiana Jones movie without Harrison Ford or making a Rocky film without Stallone. I guess only time will tell how any changes will affect the Harry Potter movie franchise. At this point, I don't see it as a good thing.

Controversial filmmaker, Michael Moore won the Cannes Film Festival's highest award, the Palm d'Or, for his "documentary" Fahrenheit 9/11 (It should be taken into consideration that the festival is French).

This came as no surprise to me, but it is upsetting, because his documentaries are not really documentaries. Mr. Moore has such a way with words and footage that he can put a really good spin on the truth to the point that it becomes an outrageous lie. Check with MooreWatch.com or MooreLies.com for more developements. I'll rant MOORE about this later.

Word.

It's only noon and I'm bored out of my mind. I'm not sure whether I should be happy or not. It's like when someone gives you a gift you know you'll never use. Because you're nice (and you didn't get a gift reciept), you'll keep it for a while. When it gets "lost" (sold) you know you're happy to be rid of it, but at the same time, you feel horrible when the person who gave you the gift asks you how you're enjoying it. That's kind of how I feel. I'm happy there's little-to-no work to do, but I feel horrible because I feel like should be doing something better with my time today. I can never win because I'm never satisfied.

If I feel like it, I'll post some more later.

Word.

Once again, I'm bored at work. Obviously, it's of no consequence to you (lucky). I've decided to write some real CD reviews for you:

Guster On Ice: Live In Portland, Maine: Guster is an amazing band and it shows on their first live album, Guster On Ice. If you're familiar with Guster, this CD is an easy listen. Not only is it an easy listen, it is also an amazing listen. The live versions of "Mona Lisa" and "Airport Songs" sport amazing electric guitar (and even a drum set on the latter), thus making the tunes heavier and even darker than the original recorded versions. Two crowd pleasing songs, "Come Downstairs And Say Hello" and "I Spy" have both been extended to feature instumental jams. To be funny, Ryan Miller substituted the lyrics of "I Spy" from "We went down to the May parade" to the more questionable "We went down to the gay parade."

The DVD is even more amazing than the CD. The DVD features a full-length concert (actually, the concert concert was filmed over two nights in Portland, so were getting a little bit of both nights here) and loads of extras. Guster was kind enough to include two of their three music videos ("Careful" & "Amsterdam"). Thankfully, they spared us from their first one, the infamous "Fa Fa" video. They've also included, my favorite of all the extras, the documentary "Dave Yonkman's Week With Guster." You get to meet Adam Gardner's parents, as well as the band itself. For any Guster fans who happen to be Barenaked Ladies fans, you'll be plased to know that the Barenaked Ladies make several cameo appearances.

Unlike Guster's previous (non-internet) releases, this one was slapped with the dreaded parental advisory sticker. It's not because of either the concert film or the CD. Both are rather clean for family listening. The documentary would probably get a PG-13 rating, as there are a few swearwords (not suitable for younger children). Ryan also drops the f-bomb a couple of times during "Come Downstairs Mulligan." There are no more swearwords on this disc than a Ben Folds album.

The only real downside to this album is its heavy price ($25-$30). It is recommended that the album should be ordered through Guster.com for $19.99 (This price does include shipping)! It's the best way to bypass "The Man."


Vertical Horizon Between The Dim & The Dark: To be completely honest, this album is nothing like I thought it would be: better than anything I've ever heard before. I was wrong and was let down because my expectations were so high. To be fair, this not a terrible album. It's very good. Unfortunately, it's not one that you'll love the first or second times you listen to it. An average person would probably toss it aside after the second track. After listening to it a few times, the album has really grown on me. A few of the songs will make it on some of my mix CDs.

The highlights of the album are "Young America," "Between The Dim & The Dark," "Daylight," and, the best track on the record, "Mexico."

Word.

There is only one word I can use to describe Guster's Live CD+DVD, Guster On Ice: Amazing.

I've never in my life spent $25 for a CD/DVD set, but I have to say it was worth it! Other live recordings of Guster pale in comparison to this album. This album makes them look great!

I love the live versions of "Happier" and "Careful". Of course, that's not to say the rest of the album doesn't rock ('cause it does)! I have never doubted myself for being a Guster fan.

I also recommend watching "Dave Yonkman's Week with Guster". Very informative, if not funny.

I'll be sure to post a better review later.

For anyone who's interested, Dashboard Confessional has made their new song "Vindicted" available for free on their website, DashboardConfessional.com. This is the very one that is featured on the Spider-man 2 soundtrack. No strings attatched! Serious!

Word.

I'm on break from school, thankfully. I just got my grades today. All A's. I was afraid that I was going to get a B in my public speaking class. I couldn't help but feel angry/humiliated that a B in my public speaking class was even a possibility. I've taken more difficult classes, you know. Because I earned such good grades, I'm going to celebrate by buying Guster's new live album, Guster On Ice: Live in Portland, Maine!

It should be awesome. Also, I found out last week that Guster is going to be in Kansas City July 17th with Ben Folds & Gavin DeGraw. This will be my 3rd attempt to go see Guster. They've played in Lawrence and Kansas City about two or three times since they released their album Keep It Together last year. I've tried to go every time, but I haven't been so lucky.

If I am successful and I can actually go, it will be my first time ever seeing Guster live and my third time seeing Ben Folds. Ben is awesome live! I saw him in Oklahoma at the OSU Orange Peel in September 2003 and in Kansas City at the Beaumont Club in March 2002. I hoping to actually meet him this time around. That would be awesome.

Also, I haven't forgotten about my list. It's still not done yet. I had finals, work, etc. Can you blame me?

Peace out.