Five Albums I Just Cannot Live Without

Music

A few weeks ago I started taking my little cousin to the gym with me, on our commute to the gym we generally listen to music in my car. Last night on our way home from Stephen (my cousin) asked me who my favorite band of all time was, I thought for a bit and really couldn't give him a definite answer. Although his question did provoke some though. What albums do I listen to over and over again despite having listened to them countless times before? So i figured I would write about five (5) albums I just can’t live without. Now I typically hate lists, because lists are purely bases on opinions and everyone has an opinion, so anyone can make a list. The only saving grace about list making is lists cause discussion, discussion in turn causes controversy, and where would the world be without a little controversy so without further ado:

 

Brand New - Deja Entendu - 2003

Track listing:

1. Tautou
2. Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades
3. I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light
4. Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
5. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
6. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
7. Jaws Theme Swimming
8. Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis
9. Guernica
10. Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die
11. Play Crack The Sky

Saves the Day - Through Being Cool - 1999

Track listing:

1. All-Star Me
2. You Vandal
3. Shoulder to the Wheel
4. Rocks Tonic Juice Magic
5. Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots
6. Third Engine
7. My Sweet Fracture
8. The Vast Spoils of America (From the Badlands through the Ocean)
9. The Last Lie I Told
10. Do You Know What I Love the Most?
11. Through Being Cool
12. Banned from the Back Porch

Thursday - Full Collapse - 2002

Track listing:

1. A0001
2. Understanding in a Car Crash
3. Concealer
4. Autobiography of a Nation
5. A Hole in the World
6. Cross Out the Eyes
7. Paris in Flames
8. I Am the Killer
9. Standing on the Edge of Summer
10. Wind-Up
11. How Long is the Night?
12. i1100

At the Drive-In - Vaya - 1999

Track listing:

1. Rascuache
2. Proxima Centauri
3. Ursa Minor
4. Heliotrope
5. Metronome Arthritis
6. 300 MHz
7. 198d

The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About - 1999

Track listing:

1. Holiday
2. Action and Action
3. Valentine
4. Red Letter Day
5. Out of Reach
6. Ten Minutes
7. The Company Dime
8. My Apology
9. I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel...
10. Long Goodnight
11. Close to Home
12. I'll Catch You

P. S Although I love each of these albums in their entirety I bolded my favorite songs from each album.

-Bob

Never Ending Summer BBQ

Memorial day kicks off the start of summer and what is summer without a few barbecues?
This weekend I attend my fair share of bbqs and I also threw one of my own. So here is a recap of the holiday weekend, complete with an award section so read the whole post.

Friday Night: Rob's Birthday Celebration.

This was not a barbecue, but more of a gathering which started around 9 on Friday evening. The guest list was jam packed with Lawrence High alumni who I have not seen is a long time. Rob had a half keg and some hard alcohol, some chips and dip, and pizza. The pizza was pretty good especially after a few beers. Rob's TV looks great with his new wall mount, which allowed everyone at the party go get a great view of Planet Earth in High Definition on the Discovery Channel.

Saturday: Mohamed's Farewell BBQ at Dave Bernard's

Islam wanted to say good-bye to his brother in style with a BBQ blow out. The event was held at Dave Bernard's house in Hamilton. Islam went all out with the spread which included: hot dogs, hamburgers, a wide selection of beer and other assorted alcoholic beverages, chips, pretzels, and a vegetable platter. The attendees were a hungry bunch eating over 90 hot dogs and hamburgers. It was a gorgeous afternoon and it was ashame that Dave's pool was not ready yet. The barbecue ended in the late afternoon with a bunch of people smoking cigars and reliving old stories from college. Over all it was a good time for everyone who attended.

Sunday: Dave Root's BBQ

Rooter decided to keep the weekend going strong by having another BBQ. Dave had homemade hamburgers, tequila lime chicken, bbq chicken, hot dogs, corn, pasta salad, chips, and strawberries with honey and mint. Dave also had a quoits pit set up and a new game similar to quoits called ladder ball. Stuart and Sabrina made a brief appearance taking some time out of their hectic schedule and stopped by to say "Hello". Jenn and I destroyed Islam and Kristen in ladder ball, and then let the crown slip through our hands in quoits pit (Final score: Bob/Jenn 1 - Islam/Kristen 1). After the BBQ, Jenn and I went to Atlantic City where I played some poker (2-5 NL). It was a successful session even though I was card dead for 3 hours. From Atlantic City we drove to Point Pleasant to prepare for our BBQ.

Monday: The Chojnacki/Maruca Annual Memorial Day Barbecue Blast


The annual Barbecue almost didn't happen this year because my mother was in France this past week, returning home Sunday, but to keep tradition alive i made all the arrangements without her. The guest list was the usual, the family, Islam and Kristen, and surprise guest John Bennett. The fare offered was: bbq chicken, caesar dressing marinaded chicken, hamburgers, sausage, hot dogs, shrimp, chips and dip, corn, watermelon, cookie trays from Mastoris (thanks Islam), home made cookies, and strawberries with mint and honey(idea stolen from Dave Root). We also went out and got a ladder ball set (idea also stolen from Dave Root) because we loved the game so much and Jenn and I were good at it. Everyone had a good time and after we stuffed our faces we made our annual "take the kids to the boardwalk" trip. Stephen went 3 for 3 in one of the cranes scoring (2) Friday the 13th dolls and (1) Nightmare on Elm Street doll. I won Jenn a Minnie Mouse plush and Joey won his girlfriend Megan some stuffed toys as well. After the board walk we went back to the house and had some ice cream before returning to Hamilton.

Over all I had an amazing weekend and got to see my family, friends and some friends I have not scene in a long time. Thanks to Islam, Dave Bernard, Dave Root, and Rob for having parties.

Awards:

Best Burger: Dave Root

Best Healthy Dessert: Dave Root - Strawberries with honey and mint.

Best Unhealthy Dessert: Aunt Marry Joan- Seven layer bars.

Biggest Eater: Islam ElNaggar - Weekend Totals (Hamburgers: 10, Hot dogs: 20, Chicken: A shit load)

Best New Game: Ladder Ball

-Bob

Boys and their Toys

The weather is breaking and I felt like I needed a new toy to play with. The PS3 just isn't cutting it anymore. Xbox live is getting boring and how many movies can I really watch? Since I plan on spending more time at the beach this summer than last year, I figured I might as well travel in style. So check out my new toy.

"WE MARCH.... FOR HONOR'S SAKE.... FOR GLORY'S SAKE.... WE MARCH"

I saw 300 on Sunday night with a bunch a friends and I was quite entertained. The cinematic effects in the movie were incredible and the story line kept close to the graphic novel with a few exceptions, such as the addition of a few characters. I would definatly recomend going to see this move and I would suggest you read the graphic novel as well. I read the graphic novel before seeing the movie, since I recently started reading comics again. The graphic novel is split into 5 comics, or 5 parts if you have the trade paper back, and starts off a bit slow, but by the time you get through the 2nd book (or part if you have the tpb) you can not stop reading. Frank Miller truly created a work of art with 300, the use of two-page spreads through the entire novel just adds to the excellence of the book. The story is captivating as it tells the tale of a Spartan legend through the eyes of a Spartan storyteller, much like a story of folk lore. The artwork is excellent and the dialog is well written and ties the whole thing together. These elements that I admire from the graphic novel transfered to the big screen quite well. I could not stop staring at the screen while in the theatre, even though I already knew the story. A lot of the dialog from the graphic novel was inserted directly into the movie, which made watching the movie feel like i was watching a life action animated comic. Over all I am really impressed by this movie and think everyone should go see it.

Cousin Party 2007

Say Hello to Jenny. Jenny is my Grandmother. Jenny is known for her funny stories, making great pizza, and buying her grandchildren hess trucks. I took this picture at the recent Cousins Party my Aunt Mary Joan threw in January 2007. You can check out more photos from the party here.

-Bob

I'm Back

Hi. I have not posted on here for a while but since Adam in away on a 6 month trip. I figured I would start blogging again.


-Bob