No, it's not girl troubles like so many guys have (Though those still plague me, Its only because I'm so awesome, no girl can hope to compete with my awesomeness) but rather it's the realization that I can't fulfill my lifelong dream. And while I'm listening to "Dreams" by Van Halen, I'm reminded of Top Gun as I watched it when I was 7 years old. Oddly enough, I watched it last night, too.
But When I was 7, I saw Top Gun. It.... It changed my life, actually. The movie glorified Fighter Jocks, and I have to admit that I loved it. Growing up, I always wanted to buzz the tower just like Maverick in the movie! And I was convinced that one day, I'd be the greatest pilot that ever lived! Until 4th Grade. No, scratch that, It was 8th Grade that my dreams were dashed. Why? Well, in 4th Grade, I ended up having to get glasses. Now I thought nothing of it, and certainly didn't think it would impact my dreams of flying a Fighter Jet into the stratosphere! But in 8th Grade, as I started to approach the age of having to decide what I wanted to do with my life, I was torn between becoming a Teacher and being the Pilot I'd always wanted to be. So I did research. And found out that the Air Force doesn't accept people with Glasses as pilots.
Crushed my dreams. I'd spent all my life, dreaming about banking left to get ahead of the guy in front of me so I could take him out with a quick Sidewinder Missile. All for nothing.
And now, here in 2010, The realization that I'll never be Maverick hit me again. Now, that's not to say that I don't look forward to being a teacher - far from it. But.... it's still my dream, y'know? There's just something appealing, something... MAJESTIC, I should say, about soaring above the clouds in an F22 going five times the speed of sound. It sounds... peaceful, serene. LIke the only thing in existence, the only thing that matters is you and your bird. There's no politics, there's no wars, no famine or disease, just you, the plane, and enough fuel for six hours or so.
And then you get the adrenalin rush of actual combat. Damn, that must be the greatest feeling in the world! And I have to miss out on it.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Live Attempt
Tune in Friday on the Ustream link for the 'cast! Sometime around 6-9 PM EST is when we should start! There's no guarantee that there'll be a live 'cast since I'm still working out the bugs and technical issues with it, but at the very least check it out! If we're not doing a live 'cast, then I'll be sure to twitter it so that all of you guys know, okay? Later!
- A
- A
Monday, September 13, 2010
Portnoy's DT Departure
It's no stretch to say that Mike Portnoy is one of the greatest drummers out there today. His sheer speed and ability to create masterful beats at such speed is the influence of many drummers that I both know personally and those who I read about. As such, anyone influenced by Portnoy knows at least a little bit about his time with Dream Theater. I won't bother getting into details about how DT came to be or anything like that, since any idiot can look it up on Wikipedia.
No, This is more of a quick editorial on my own feelings of Portnoy's DT Departure (Title Drop, hooooo!!). I recently went to see DT in Concert with Iron Maiden back in July. As I most likely mentioned in my Pseudo-review of the concert, it was my first real experience with Dream Theater, and I instantly became a pretty big fan of theirs. Being such a newcomer to the DT family, I can't claim to have some kind of long-running history with the band, but as Eddie Trunk so eloquently put it; DT losing Portnoy is like Rush losing Geddy or Niel. Let's face it; as Awesome as DT is and was, Portnoy practically made the band. And it doesn't help the fact that he simply wanted to take a break and the band pretty much dumped him for it.... in a sense.
In fact, from what Portnoy said on Eddie Trunk's radio show a few days back, he's brought up the idea of slowing down or taking a "couple of years' hiatus" to "recharge [their] batteries and be reinspired" a few times in the past, more often last year and this year than any other time. It just came down to Portnoy desperately wanting a break, and the other guys desperately wanting to continue going (Which is something DT seems to do very well, based on what Portnoy said about their "pattern" that he wanted to break up a bit).
Now, I'm not opposed to DT moving on without Portnoy. In fact, I don't expect any band to simply wait around while their Drummer gets his mojo back. Because, let's face it, you don't know when, if ever, they will. What bothers me is simply the fact at how quickly they all came to the same conclusion; Mike had to leave, even if neither parties wanted it. It just seems a bit fast that it happened, and I worry about DT's future if they can't work out a simple disagreement of "Let's take X time off to get some new ideas".
A bit of hope is at the end of the tunnel for Portnoy fans, though, since he's said he's not taking a break from music - just the opposite. He's working his ass off, apparently. He just wanted a break from Dream Theater, and hopes to be on stage with them again at some point in the future.
What's in DT's future is another question entirely. I doubt that they'll ever recapture the magic they had back when they first started, or even recreate anything they had with Portnoy without him. That's what's going to be interesting to watch unfold; how the fans treat the drummer they pick up to replace Portnoy. No matter how great of a Drummer he is, he (or she, for that matter) will always be compared to Portnoy. Die Hard fans will probably react to a good drummer with "He's good.... but he's no Portnoy", fanatics with what you might expect from 12 year old kids who just discovered the internet, and people like me who're just passing fans may actually accept the new guy/girl with open arms, if a bit of cautious curiosity.
Personally, I kinda want to see Lars Ulrich behind the kit, just to see how stupid he looks standing up while a keyboard spins around in a circle while a man plays five notes at a time on it..... on second thought, maybe not...
Read a transcript of Portnoy's interview here
No, This is more of a quick editorial on my own feelings of Portnoy's DT Departure (Title Drop, hooooo!!). I recently went to see DT in Concert with Iron Maiden back in July. As I most likely mentioned in my Pseudo-review of the concert, it was my first real experience with Dream Theater, and I instantly became a pretty big fan of theirs. Being such a newcomer to the DT family, I can't claim to have some kind of long-running history with the band, but as Eddie Trunk so eloquently put it; DT losing Portnoy is like Rush losing Geddy or Niel. Let's face it; as Awesome as DT is and was, Portnoy practically made the band. And it doesn't help the fact that he simply wanted to take a break and the band pretty much dumped him for it.... in a sense.
In fact, from what Portnoy said on Eddie Trunk's radio show a few days back, he's brought up the idea of slowing down or taking a "couple of years' hiatus" to "recharge [their] batteries and be reinspired" a few times in the past, more often last year and this year than any other time. It just came down to Portnoy desperately wanting a break, and the other guys desperately wanting to continue going (Which is something DT seems to do very well, based on what Portnoy said about their "pattern" that he wanted to break up a bit).
Now, I'm not opposed to DT moving on without Portnoy. In fact, I don't expect any band to simply wait around while their Drummer gets his mojo back. Because, let's face it, you don't know when, if ever, they will. What bothers me is simply the fact at how quickly they all came to the same conclusion; Mike had to leave, even if neither parties wanted it. It just seems a bit fast that it happened, and I worry about DT's future if they can't work out a simple disagreement of "Let's take X time off to get some new ideas".
A bit of hope is at the end of the tunnel for Portnoy fans, though, since he's said he's not taking a break from music - just the opposite. He's working his ass off, apparently. He just wanted a break from Dream Theater, and hopes to be on stage with them again at some point in the future.
What's in DT's future is another question entirely. I doubt that they'll ever recapture the magic they had back when they first started, or even recreate anything they had with Portnoy without him. That's what's going to be interesting to watch unfold; how the fans treat the drummer they pick up to replace Portnoy. No matter how great of a Drummer he is, he (or she, for that matter) will always be compared to Portnoy. Die Hard fans will probably react to a good drummer with "He's good.... but he's no Portnoy", fanatics with what you might expect from 12 year old kids who just discovered the internet, and people like me who're just passing fans may actually accept the new guy/girl with open arms, if a bit of cautious curiosity.
Personally, I kinda want to see Lars Ulrich behind the kit, just to see how stupid he looks standing up while a keyboard spins around in a circle while a man plays five notes at a time on it..... on second thought, maybe not...
Read a transcript of Portnoy's interview here
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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