The chase is on…

I never really thought about death prior to this year. Leah, a best friend to someone I care about, passed away last month. Famous deaths that stood out for me were MCA from BEASTIE BOYS, and just recently, Tony Sly of NO USE FOR A NAME. Sure, it seems unfair to put two people I have never met up there with someone I did know. But each brings a different experience out to the open.

Why did MCA and Tony Sly effect me, considering I didn’t know them personally?

You know how music works. Sometimes it just cuts to the core. I was 15 (circa 1995) when I really grasped BEASTIE BOYS. That started my obsession with turn-table hip-hop (Tribe Called Quest, Hieroglyphics, Jurassic 5, DJ Krush, etc). Every party I have thrown, I have included my favorite BB tracks in the mix. BEASTIE BOYS were very open of about their positive faith and outlook of humanity, distancing themselves from the ’80s/party version of BEASTIE BOYS. MCA passing was an end of a very important and philosophical band in my life.

My younger brother actually exposed me to NO USE FOR A NAME back in ‘97 (?) with ‘Justified’. Only knowing that one song by NUFAN (and loving it), I had an opportunity to see them live in March of ‘99 with DANCE HALL CRASHERS. Mind blown!! They were the essence of pop skate-punk I was always looking for. I play guitar as well, they molded how I perceived 2-guitar melodies, and also loved Tony Sly’s lyrics.  Those who know me are aware that lyrics are the last things I pay attention to. Melody is most important to me. And fans of punk rock can’t deny how melody driven NO USE was. 

I had opportunity to meet Tony Sly and the rest of the band at the 2004 Warped Tour in Dallas. In fact, I was on stage with them, thanks to my friends in NEAR MISS (Austin punk rock band no longer together). It was huge highlight for me, as a fan and hobby-musician. 

Tony Sly passed away 4 days ago, age 41, and he was a big influence into how I feel and hear music. It bummed me out more, realizing, it took such bad news for me to remember his music again. NO USE has not been in my music radar since 2008… I feel guilty. But it has been awesome re-visiting the songs I realized I still love.

All of the tragic events have brought a new direction to my life. Leah, MCA, and Tony all left this life too early. They have kids and spouses that they loved, and were loved back. As cliche as this sounds, personal / financial / professional success is pointless as a main goal in life. You will be remembered superficially for those qualities. But to be remembered and known as a loving parent/spouse/significant other is incredibly rich, even if it’s a few people. I am not going to fight against that life anymore. While personal/professional success will still be important, it will not be priority #1 anymore. I am going to stop being self-absorbed in life paths, because I have given up too much of who/what makes me happy.

NO USE’s song “Chasing Rainbows” shares a cautionary and protective message against  ’chasing rainbows’ and dealing with the wrong people in this life. It’s one of my favorites. 

Tony, MCA, and Leah. Where ever you are, you don’t have to worry about the wrong people anymore. Start chasing rainbows. Chase away.

Indians win… kinda? And Arnold.

It’s Day #2.  All vegetarian meals and second entry.  I AM 1/15 WAY THERE!! WOOOO!

I need to have more insightful/deeper blogs… because what you are about to read is HORSESHIT!! (Tomorrow, my fellow Umairicans… promise)

See, here is why it’s easy for me to be a vegetarian: All Asian foods. Indian/Pakistani food, Thai food, etc. Even with veggies only, they are delicious. And luckily, I am a fantastic cook.

Now here are 2 reasons why so many Western people have a hard time being vegetarian: 1) regular American vegetarian food is mostly bland. 2) really good American vegetarian food/cuisine is expensive (btw, check out Bliss Raw Cafe in Dallas… so AWESOME!)

Whoa. Expendables 2 trailer on TV. How terrible does that look?  I feel bad for all the washed up actors.  Still going to watch it.  Guilty pleasures. Arnold didn’t age well (he is 65)… but still an amazingly nostalgic actor of the 80s/90s.

Good day all. Successfully completed Day 2. Till tomorrow!!!!

The Year Of Insanity… well, what’s left of it.

My buddy Josh Ness brought up this great idea last week to participate in a 30 day Challenge. There are 6 of Josh’s friends doing this, and they are committing to 30 Days of Blogging.  But one can find anything that they want to commit to everyday, and just do it. Josh also played around with the idea to add a twist by suggesting a new 30 Day Challenge every month for the rest of the year. 

I am in.

So what’s my commitment for August? Well, I am going for a double combo. 30 Days of Vegetarianism and 30 Days of Blogging.

Why not 30 Days of Veganism? Eff that.  I have a soul.

I already did a 80/20 vegetarian/meat stint for 21 days just this past month. Just to see if I can do it.  It turned out to be 95/5 in favor of vegetables and fruit. I really started enjoying vegetarian meals.  By no means am I giving up meat, but turning it down a bit.

The next, what I am going to blog about for 30 days?  Anything.  Anything that is on my mind.  So expect thought provoking essays to mostly quick observations or frustrations of daily life.  

Also.  Feel free to join in on this 30 Day Challenge. I know you would be 1 day behind, but there are 31 days in August ;)

The Best and Worst... My list of 2011

I figured I would do a list of movies, TV, and arbitrary events of the year gone.

Please share if you agree, disagree, what I missed, and even your own mini list, if you must. I always like to know what I missed or how I might be looking at something wrong.

Movies 2011:

Movies were kind of lame this year. There was nothing that just slapped me across the face, or made me Whoa (Keanu-style). Even my top 5 list is comprised of movies that would have just been good average movies in the years before. And those who know me, I rank my movies based on how much fun they were, not artistic value.

Top 5: 50/50, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Battle LA, Our Idiot Brother, Transformers Dark of the Moon

The rest I liked: Horrible Bosses, XMEN First Class, Thor, No Strings Attached, Between Notes, Limitless, Cowboys and Aliens, Hanna, Take Me Home Tonight, Drive Angry, Just Go With It, Source Code, Hall Pass, The Help, Contagion, Harold And Kumar, Drive

Had-so-much-potential-but-sucked Worst 5: Sucker Punch, Hangover 2, Your Highness, Captain America, Super8

The rest of the worst: Paul, The Green Hornet, Bridesmaids, Unknown, Change Up, 30 Minutes of Less

Keep in mind there is a plethora of movies I missed this year, so I have yet to see the following: Sitter, J Edgar, Muppets, Harry Potter, Immortals, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Tin Tin, Shame, The Adjustment Bureau, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Tree of Life, Moneyball, Lincoln Lawyer, Midnight In Paris, Crazy Stupid Love, Red State, The Beaver, Another Earth, Melancholia, Ides of March

TV 2011:

TV has just kicked ass as a quality medium for several years now. It seems to bypass movies in many respects.

My faves of 2011: Breaking Bad (best show this year), Dexter, Homeland, New Girl, Parks and Rec, The League, Daily Show, Colbert Report, South Park, Friday Night Lights, Modern Family, Family Guy

Other low-brow faves: Shameless (Showtime), American Horror Story, The Soup, Tosh.0, South Park, Family Guy (both South Park and Family Guy are even stronger than before), G4 Attack of the Show

Video Games 2011:

Batman Arkham City (best game this year... sorry Uncharted 3), Uncharted 3, Assassins Creed Revelations, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Infamous 2. Modern Warfare 3 was alright, a "meh", worth a mention.

2012:

Here is to 2012, and a collection of entertainment awesomeness that we hope it provides. I am anticipating: The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, The Avengers, The Hunger Games, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Happy new year everyone.  Lets make this a great year!

Back with a bang... kinda (7/10)

I have been absent since last year (around September).  I don't have anything profound to say, but something amazing to show.

It's no secret that I love counter-culture, break-dancing, and badassness.  Where can you find all those in one place? Parkour.  I have been watching parkour videos online since I saw the first Transporter (some of you call it Free Running).

Its a 5 minute video, it really picks up half way through (after the injury bit).  Plus the music is crazy wicked.
Minus the odd guy doing some crazy shit in Hammer/Vanilla Ice pants.  Crazy Croats.

Enjoy.

Croatia Parkour (Vimeo.com)

Various things from around the net I wanted to share...

I know I know.  There has been a lack of postings coming from me.  Outside of my full-time job at AT&T and the other 2 days spent in school, I have no time for "thinking".  Ha!

At home, I am doing homework, watching Netflix, or spending my scarce time with Brandi... and lately playing some Halo Reach. I am going to start posting stuff I buy from Amazon up here... Seriously.  Amazon has the best prices for anything, and they have everything you could ever want.  I bought Halo Reach and they shipped it for free, guaranteed arrival on the day of release, plus a $20 gift card.  Solid.  I have bought so many novels, gifts, home stuff, and most of my music on Amazon.  I downloaded Superchunk's new release, I preordered Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the upcoming Medal of Honor reboot. Time to geek out!

But the main reason for this post, I wanted to share some cool-ass videos, links, and pictures... I think I might start making a weekly habit of sharing awesome videos and pics.

What about HIPSTER SUPERHEROES? (click link to see fullsize super-hipsters, its awesome!)

This next link is a little geek heavy from my end.  I love slo-mo footage, you could take mundane events and tasks, slow it down, and it looks cool.  With the new Canon 7D, you can film at 60 fps, which gives you the ability to slow down video cleanly a little over 2x (regular is 24 fps).  Add to that, a filter on Adobe After Effects called Twixtor can replicate frames to make it seem upto 1000 fps (the same idea behind 120-240 mHz HDTVs using smooth-motion settings).  It looks amazing.  Check out this kid doing tricks on his bike:

And to end this blog, a cool pic from around the net to geek out on... fun fact, Nintendo is 121 years old today:

Sleep tight!

Confessions of an Unemployed 30 Year Old

Here is the deal. I took a step that muddles and baffles the majority. One could say that I am regressing backwards, professionally... in fact, many would say that critically. I am started my position as a AT&T Mobile Sales Rep today, Monday August 9 2010.

"Why Umair? Why would you want to throw it all away? You just bought a house... you have job that pays exceptionally well..."

I have struggled with those questions for the last 5 months of unemployment. I have tried to figure out what the hell I am doing, and WHY?! Only a crazy person would walk away from a job where I was making well over six figures, worked with some amazing people, a job that afforded my a nice house, vacations, regular fine dining, stay debt free. The American Dream, right? (Well, the old American Dream, nowadays its about living in excess and selfishly.)

I am going back to the core of myself. Sadly, it took time to figure out and remember what that was. That was ART and MUSIC. I have had a love/hate, on/off relationship with MUSIC, specifically GUITAR. I was good, going on better on guitar. I couldn't find anyone to share or develop that talent with, past a several mediocre bands, so I was solo. You know how that turns out when you have no one to feed off of, creatively. Now, if I pick up the guitar, I play like I am 16 again, playing cheesy punk rock 4-chords. Ugh.

As for ART, I never regressed, but I never progressed either. I can go on without drawing or sketching for couple years, but when I grab a pad and paper (or Photoshop), I pick up right where I left off. It still exhilarates me. I get exited like a 5 years old kid who just drew squiggles on construction paper with Crayons and proudly showed his dad the "house" he drew.

I am going back to school for Graphic Design and an additional Certificate in 3D/2D Animation. So what is I end up with 2 Bachelors Degrees and a Certificate. But I have a extremely good feeling about this. The only way I can do this is by not having a cubicle sales job behind a desk from 8 to 5, leaving minimal time for night/online classes, stretching school for double time. Retail is the only answer. I will be working at a AT&T cellphone store Dallas, near Old Town, a festive part with delicious food. Best part is that people will actually have to come to me at the store to get something they want instead of me trying to sell something. Sweet... for a change! It's not a life career, but a perfect pairing for someone is school, and make decent $ to get by.

Who knows, 2 years from now, I wont have to work pointless cubicle jobs, killing the little spirit I have left. ha! Either freelance work, or a design firm.

It's going to be AWESOME!