Cruises, Batman, and the VMAs

And sooooo....

We are a little over two weeks since we got back from our cruise with Royal Caribbean.  To say that it was a resounding success would be somewhat of an understatement.  The wife and I had a blast, to say the least.  From the various shows they had in the ship's theater, to the several games we got to play with the ship's staff and other passengers, all the way to the Bahamas, even.  And the food.  Ohhhhh, the food!  Breakfast buffets, lunch buffets, a sitdown dinner that was, even I'll admit, a little too high class even for me, and then a midnight buffet?  I don't think I've eaten so much in my life.  It's pretty safe to say that I would highly recommend going on a cruise to ANYONE, and I know that I sure as hell would go again.  There were also pictures a-plenty.  Just a good time all around, and I think it was a perfect fitting to a honeymoon.  Hey, if the wife's happy, then I'm happy. 

So MTV just had their Video Music Awards this past Sunday.  And where was I?  At work.  And you know what I say to that?  I've read about Miley Cyrus's performance with Robin Thicke, and how horrendous it was.  Naturally I had to see it for myself.  BIG mistake, because that was, as I swear to all things holy, the absolute worst thing I have ever seen in my entire life.  Here's the thing:  Miley Cyrus, you have absolutely NO talent whatsoever, and you're not hot by any means of the imagination.  If anything, you look like a chipmunk with a bad haircut and Downs Syndrome.  Hannah Montana was a piece of shit show too, and the movie based on that show was one of the worst I've ever had the displeasure to sit through.  It is to the point where all the VMAs are, is a once-a-year happening in which MVT pretends to care about music.  It's not the MTV that I grew up with, where almost all they showed on their channel was music videos.  Sure there were shows like Remote Control, Just Say Julie, Singled Out, Beavis and Butthead, and one of my favorites, Pirate TV, but those were just minor occurrences.  But now?  It's just reality show after reality show after reality show.  I think that the absolute last time I truly watched MTV was 2001's VMAs, and after that atrocity of a show it's gotten worse and worse.  The very little music they DO show isn't true music.  It's like the "artists" of today have forgotten that true talent, artistry, and the ability to write a good song.  Even Fuse has gotten worse by the year, and for a short while, I would live and die by that channel.  This is why I stick to channels like Palladia and VH1 Classic.  And I'm always going to. 



Ben Affleck has just recently been cast as the new Batman in the Man of Steel sequel that's set to hit theaters in 2015, and a lot of people seem to be pretty angry about it.  They remember movies like Gigli and Daredevil.  Now granted, I've never seen Gigli, but it has been universally panned as one of the absolute worst movies ever made.  Besides, any movie with Jennifer Lopez has gotta suck right?  In my opinion, she hasn't come out with a good movie since Anaconda.  And for those who remember Selena, that came BEFORE Anaconda, if I remember right.  And then there's Daredevil, which a lot of people hated too.  I didn't.  I won't say that it's the greatest movie of all time or anything like that, but I will say that I very much enjoyed it.  AND I keep hearing that the Director's Cut was a much better movie than the one we all saw in theaters.  Here's my opinion on the whole thing....from what I hear, Ben Affleck has come a LONG way since those films, and even got to direct some damn fine movies as well.  Hell, remember when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman?  Or when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker?  Many people weren't happy about that either.  Until they saw the films for themselves,  and they were AWESOME!  So don't give up on Ben Affleck just yet.  Give it a chance, go to the theaters in 2015, and hope to be pleasantly surprise, like I was with Keaton and Ledger.

2nd Chance CD of the Week
Iron Maiden
Dance of Death (2003)

Tracklist
Wildest Dreams
Rainmaker
No More Lies
Montsegur
Dance of Death
Gates of Tomorrow 
New Frontier
Paschendale
Face in the Sand
Age of Innocence
Journeyman

   The comeback of the legendary British metal juggernaut was in full swing.  With the success of 2000's return-to-form album Brave New World, the (now) six piece band looked to continue the momentum with 2003's Dance of Death.  I say now a six piece because back in the 1990s, longtime guitarist Adrian Smith had left the band, and was replaced with Janick Gers.  With the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Smith had also looked to return to the band as well.  But he didn't replace Gers, for they liked him so much that they decided to keep him in the band, making the dual guitar lineup a three guitar, along with co-band founder Dave Murray.  And to Janick Gers's credit, he wasn't just a guitarist for hire, as he had a hand in writing a couple songs on this album, such as "Gates of Tomorrow," as well as the album's title track and centerpiece, "Dance of Death."  The latter is a huge favorite of mine, and I often list it as one of those songs I wish I had written.  Listen for yourself....

With Dance of Death, Iron Maiden had begun making the move towards a more progressive metal approach.  I've always been a sucker for that sorta thing.  I feel that progressive rock and prog metal has been where the true talent is.  A lot of metal fans get labeled as Satan worshipers, idiots, and brutes.  Most think that the only kind of music that metal fans listen to is basically just a guy burping and growling into a mike talking about killing people.  This is absolutely, 100% not true, as I consider myself a metal fan.  Iron Maiden doesn't have a singer that burps into a mic, as a matter of fact, many of Bruce Dickinson's vocal performances are almost operatic.  They sing about the trials of war, finding oneself, battles between good and evil, Greek mythology, and Alexander the Great, for Christs' sake!  Dance of Death is an example of just about everything I just said, and then some.  From the kick in the face, road trip-esque opener "Wildest Dreams," onward to the album's final track, the acoustic "Journeyman," this album is a must-have, and one of the few CDs in my collection that I an listen to, from beginning to end, without skipping a track.  Give it a shot, why don't ya?

Thumbs up.
Miller

Family, boats, and vacations

And so, with another stretch of work in the books, in what felt like an eternity, even though it was only for the past month, I find myself back on vacation once more.  Only this time, it's step 2 of this whole wedding process as my wife and I set sail on our honeymoon cruise tomorrow.  In my first marriage, we never had a honeymoon, as a matter of fact, the day after, I was shipped off to Camp Lejune, North Carolina for a training mission, where I spent a couple weeks there.  So to have a proper one this time around, with the RIGHT person this time, feels pretty good.  We'll be hitting the Bahamas sometime during our cruise, and other places I can't quite recall right now.  My goal is to pretty much eat as much as possible in those four days.  And if anyone knows me well enough, they know that Scotty likes his eatin' lol. 

I've pretty much decided that March 28, 2014 will be my last day working at my grocery store.  My entire department, hell, my entire store and I have been through so much that enough is enough.  I've been busting my hump for the past 6 years, and it honestly feels that I have accomplished nothing.  Sure I've been given raise after raise left and right, when the truth is I should have been moved up through the ranks.  I feel in my heart that there are a lot of things that go on with my company that are just simply wrong, and I was consumed with the goal of being promoted through the years to the point that I can right those wrongs, and make things better, not only for my store, but for the company in general.  I've always been content to just say, "I'll just bust my ass, and let the hard work speak for itself."  And I've become the most improved, fastest, hardest working associate in my department.  But as a whole, it's gotten me nothing.  And there's one thing that I refuse to do no matter what, is play politics.  I'm not an asskisser, I don't play games.  I never have, and I am never going to.  So...in that case, my lease ends next May, I believe, and a month before I will quit my job.  To pack this place up, to move to wherever the hell it is we're moving to, and that will be it.

In my last blog, I touched upon meeting for the first time, a family I never really had before... 

...As a disclaimer, I will say that the family I grew up with, all facets of it, mean the world to me, and they always will. 

What I'm talking about is a set of siblings, as well as my biological father.  These people took me and my wife under their wing without so much as a hitch, and with wide open arms.  Of my siblings, I feel that I've been drawn the most to my sister, Stacy.  She was the first of the three that I got to speak to, and the first one that I had the chance to meet: last year, a couple of days after I proposed to Heather.  Her husband, and her three children, have really taken to us as well, much to the point of surprise, and believe me, kiddies, nothing really surprises me anymore.  They have all been extremely good to us, and she and her family have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome into the family.  And it falls into my direction, as well.  When we first started talking back in 2011, I pretty much took her in and accepted her as my sister as if nothing happened.  For me, it was immediate.  And I was instantly happy that I had.  I know that we are technically half siblings, but I don't see it that way.  I feel in my heart that once you're family, you're family for life, no matter what.  I've always had one major regret in my life, and it's that I never was able to gather up the courage to approach Stacy while we were both still in high school, 17 years ago.  If I had, we would have forged that long-fabled brother/sister bond long before we have now.  You know what they say though, the past is the past, and it's the new memories that we can make that matter to all of us the most. 

I think that's pretty much it this time around.  No reviews, just a couple videos, a little rambling.  Pretty straightforward this time around.  See ya after the cruise.

Miller