Quick Hits: Fireworks Eve!

On 07/03/2017 at 05:16 PM by goaztecs

Ok so this is my fourth try at writing this blog. Fifth if you count my crazy idea of trying to blog on a plane, but I'm hoping when I am done typing this, I will be happy with it and I will hit post. On Friday I had one all written out, and I was editing pictures when I said “why”. I wasn't really happy with what I was trying to share with you good people, so I scrapped it. Saturday I tried again but after two paragraphs I figured out that playing a freemium game on my phone was a more interesting. Its not like I didn't want to write to you folks, I just felt that what I was writing wasn't worth sharing. So here we are, July the 3^rd or as I like to call it Fireworks Eve. By the way Happy Canada Day to you folks living above us here in the 48. Saturday afternoon the power goes out in my neighborhood and my neighbor's son in law comes over and asks if our Hydro is out. I figured he was talking about the power and I said yeah. He then wished me a Happy 4^th. Anyways let's get started with what I hope to be the Quick Hits I had in mind but didn't share.

Chris Watches...

Suicide Squad – iTunes

I watched this while awake at 3am in Hawaii because I refused to get my body used to Hawaiian Time. I was excited for this movie, and I thought it would be the best of the DC offerings, and I felt that it didn't deliver. Joker was more annoying than Lex Luthor in Batman vs Superman (why DC, why?) and at times I thought this would have been a good storyline for Ghostbusters.

House of Cards – Netflix (I used the download feature for the last three episodes)

I watched this show while waiting for a plane and the plane ride to San Francisco. This show doesn't disappoint and I start out wondering “how are they going to get out of this mess” and by the end I'm laughing and clapping. Apologies to the guy who was sleeping on his seat back tray when I started clapping.

Big Brother – CBS

I'm still not going to pay the $20 to have access to the live feeds. Anyways the basic formula of contestants is back because why change, sprinkle in a vet from a previous season, and throw in a twist and you have Big Brother. It's like The Real World if they couldn't leave the house and not physically fight. What I like about this show is the mental game, and how people become paranoid. After someone posted the recipe for slop (the food of the folks who lose a challenge), which is basically bland oatmeal, it really isn't that bad.

The military prison guard couldn't take the house and walked out which was weird considering her background. The other people are coupling up, and I can't wait to see when actual fighting begins.

Tour de France – NBC Sports

I kinda follow cycling but I'm really watching for views of Europe. If you ever get a chance, check out a couple of minutes and just take in the sights of small towns in France, people clapping and usual oddball who likes to run with the cyclists.

Chris Listens To...

Jay-Z – 4:44

Yesterday it was available to download on Tidal if you used the code SPRINT. This was an album I wanted to check out but I didn't have a Tidal subscription, and I wasn't about to jump to Sprint from AT&T. First listen and for the most part it wasn't bad. I don't think it was as great as people say it was but it was a solid album. I think the reason why people hyped it is because today's rap is so bad that when something that is good seems to be better than it really is. One thing that bothers me is the length of the title track 4:44, is 4:45. Couldn't they shave off that one second so it could match?

As for my quest to listen to everything in my iTunes library, I am currently a week ahead of where I am supposed to be, which feels good considering last month I was behind up until the last week.

Amazon Music – Amazon App

I started really taking advantage of the Amazon App before my trip when I browsed the new releases and found a couple of albums I wanted to check out.

I don't really use streaming services but I started using this one because its connected to my Prime account. I like it because I can listen to albums I'm on the fence about, download content for offline listening and make playlists. It won't replace my usual music but for things I'm trying or looking for new stuff it works for me.

For my trip I also tried a new app called Podbean. I'm using the iPhone's podcast app, but they didn't have the Radio Show, The Breakfast Club, so I tried Podbean out for this one podcast. I was able to connect the account to my Facebook or Twitter (no idea which one I used) and I downloaded a week's worth of The Breakfast Club that I listened to at 3am in Hawaii, while reading Twitter. It is a solid app, I didn't browse the selection of podcasts but I'm assuming it carries all the major shows and the app is geared towards people who want to podcast themselves but don't have the equipment. There is a record button on your home page where I'm assuming you just ramble on, and then post.

Chris Takes Pictures...

This is the view from the Honolulu International (I'm not used to calling it Daniel Inouye International) when I left the gate and walked towards the baggage claim

The quirky thing about this airport is that a lot of it is open air. The actual gates are air conditioned but the walkways are open so you can catch the breeze, the smell of jet fuel and appreciate how loud it is outside.

The view I always look forward to when I hit the airport

My touristy shot of the front of Aloha Stadium. I was there for the swap meet.

When in Hawaii there are three places I tell people to go to: Matsumoto's for Shave Ice, Zippy's because I love their fast food, and this spot for Malasadas

Malasada's are Portuguese Donuts with no hole. I always get the original because they're so good you don't need anything fancy with them.

I went to this store that I described as an Asian version of Walmart, if you put all the contents of a regular sized Walmart inside a building half the size. It's feels cramped but there's so much to look at that I didn't mind. Anyways they had an end cap of just spinners (I don't get this toy) and this is one of them

Who would pay $25 for this unless its perfectly balanced, made by NASA, and can spin for hours.

My view when I left San Francisco International

I hate flying into this airport because its bumpy, but I do like walking around because there are a lot of things to see, it's clean, and it doesn't smell * cough * Denver * cough *

A day after I landed I had to make the stop at In-N-Out

I missed you #1 with grilled onions no tomato with well done Animal Style Fries and a Large Coke no ice. Typing that out I sound like those Starbucks folks who order fancy drinks with the special directions.

Pickups

Games

Steam Summer Sale

Not a bad haul for the price of a new PS4 game.

Music

While on the island watching the little dog chase geckos I saw that this album was on sale on iTunes and since I can't find a CD, digital was the next best thing for now

From the touristy section at the Target I added two new Hawaiian CDs to my collection

Ra'iatea Helm is traditional Hawaiian music, and Kimie Miner is pop. The last time I was on the island I discovered her music and bought and album, and I'm back and bought another album. Funny thing is both albums have her hit single New Day. I was looking for the latest Anuhea album but they didn't have it so I might have to order it online.

I visited the mom and pop shop last week and found this stuff

I'm not a Nikki Minaj fan, and as a pop singer she's good, as a rapper, I'm just not a fan. So So Def Remix's were always the fun songs I listened to while in college and this is a collection of 8 tracks including Jagged Edge's Let's Get Married, and the song that is currently being used by Budweiser Where The Party At.

I didn't have this Alicia Keys album, and I think I'm slowly building her discography. The Jermaine Dupri is a mixtape, and its not good. A lot of DJ yelling.

I saw Fenix*Tx open for Blink 182 and liked them but never got around to getting this album. Apparently this John Legend album came out last year and it was in the $1.99 section. I'll take it!...and it isn't a bad album.

Someone on my Facebook posted a New Found Glory video and I forgot how catchy they are. I spotted two albums and I picked them up.

This album was $4 but is totally worth it

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Live Album. This album and Dance Hall Crashers Live Albums are a handful of live albums I really like.

From Best Buy's Baragain Bin

It's a surprise but I like Rick Ross' music so whenever I run into an album I buy it. Funny thing is I didn't buy his latest album. Best Buy didn't have it.

I don't have this Tribe album so I bought it, and The Game's debut album was really good. I always had digital copies but now I have a physical CD. Him and 50 made some damn good music.

Other Stuff

So during a layover on the way to Hawaii, while walking around I decided to walk into the sports store and I left with this

The sticker made its way to the trash can.

I'm not jumping on the bandwagon but I always liked the Warriors previous secondary logo. During my layover heading back home I almost bought a Tim Hardaway retro jersey. I liked the Run TMC era of Warriors basketball because it was fun to watch, and I used to own Tim's model of Nike sneakers The Nike Air Raid. I lost those sneakers but I do have a pair of Air Raids and I thought it would have been a cool summer look.

The final thing I bought is this

I now have my Media Drive backup

Alright Pixlpeeps, I am off to continue to enjoy the holiday. Have a good and SAFE 4^th !

That's all for now, more later!

-Chris

Song of the day is Kimie's New Day. It's a fun summer pop song.

KnightDriver

07/03/2017 at 09:08 PM

I like that photo of Honolulu Airport. I have to work on July 4th evening, but I might use the day to do some gaming.

goaztecs

07/11/2017 at 09:55 PM

Thanks! Hopefully that night of work went well.

07/11/2017 at 10:37 PM

It worked out ok, because they let me go at 8pm and I had just enough time to get to see some fireworks.

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/03/2017 at 09:45 PM

Well, I just hit the wrong key and everything I was writing disappeared, so I feel your airline pain in a way. lol Happy 4th and/or Fireworks Eve, depending when you read this! I should have wished mothman a Happy Canada Day.

Suicide Squad was a decent rental for me, but that's partly cause it was 50 cents to rent on PS+. Funny you mention the Ghostbusters, since Nostalgia Critic pointed out in its review the beams at the end of each movie (and Independence Day) are awfully similar. lol Have you seen Wonder Woman? Now that's DC getting it right! It reminded me of Captain America: The First Avenger, but it was still very much a DC film.

I'm glad you liked House of Cards, but as someone who roots against the Underwoods, it's honestly getting a bit tiresome for me. I think I laughed for the wrong reasons as some of this stuff, like pushing down the stairs. That came across as they're running out of ideas. I liked season 5 of Orange is the New Black a lot better, and I started out thinking the opposite when these series first released. I'm just hoping season 6 is better. Glad you liked 5 though. I didn't hate it, I just think they're starting to recycle too many plots and I want at least one of them to resolve. lol

European countrysides are probably a bigger appeal to me than the cars in Gran Turismo and Forza trailers.

It's funny you say 4:44 is a good but not great rap album, cause that's honestly how I feel about Hydrograd as a rock album, if I'm being honest, even though I really like it and have been finding excuses to drive my car around more just to listen to the CD. It was recorded live-in-studio, so it comes alive a lot better without the compression of mp3s, streaming, and YouTube. It's also funny 4:44 is a second too long, since I got annoyed with "Song #3" being track number 5 on the actual album. Dammit, Stone Sour! lol

I was actually using YouTube Music on my phone for a bit to stream, since YouTube Red was free until August. I put Spotify on instead, but I honestly might switch back. If I had Amazon Prime, I'd try their streaming.

Nice pictures as always, and if I'm ever in Hawaii, I'll have to remember those places! Food is my #1 destination when travelling!

I'm still just glad I never saw a spinner in an SFASU classroom I was teaching in. I'm hoping the fad is dead.

Funny you got the #1, cause I just had that Saturday at like 10:30p.m. I'm supposed to be on an anti-reflux diet with no tomatoes or onions, but I just ordered everything animal style, got my root beer, and took the tomato off my burger; I hate tomatoes on their own, but I do like them on burgers, so it made me sad. Not much I could do about the onions in the animal sauce though. Don't recall any being on the burger. Took pickles off, because I like those alone, but not on burgers. I'm odd that way.

Good Steam haul. I have Saints Row IV and Portal 2 I think, but haven't played much of the latter and only got past the training level or so of the former. Transistor was one of the first PS+ freebies I ever got on PS4, if not the first along with Apotheon. I always try to spend only as much as one new game with these sales. Mass Effect: Andromeda released on my birthday this year, but I bought Ratchet & Clank, Nathan Drake Collection, and Until Dawn instead. A few months later and I've finally gotten Andromeda from GameFly (ok so far) and Until Dawn is free on PS+ this month and I never put my physical copy in (I got pretty far when I rented it some time last year or even two years ago though). Oh well. I still feel I made the right choice.

Did they have any Hawaiian pop on Moana. I watched that with family when it released

I like "Super Bass" and begrudgingly admit to liking "Anaconda" by Niki Minaj, but yeah, her raps are ... like, I like the song "Side to Side" by Ariana Grande, but the best Niki Minaj comes up with is dick bycicle? Really? I feel bad that Minaj has been suicidal/struggled with depression, but I can't say I'm a fan of hers overall.

I should get some Alicia Keys. ALways liked "Falling" and "Empire State of Mind."

Never heard of Fenix, TX, but guessing they are pop punk if opening for Blink? I like John Legend fine, but I don't know enough of his music to buy an album.

I'm surprised New Found Glory is still going. I own Sticks and Stones and their self-titled. Oh, junior high ...

Oooohhhh Mighty Might Bosstones. Nice! I'd love a live album from them. Maybe Dropkick Murphys as well.

I don't know of much of anything from Rick Ross or The Game, but I was looking at an A Tribe Called Quest album in the bargain bin at Best Buy Friday when I picked up Hydrograd. I also saw some Johnny Cash, Earth, Wind & FIre, and Lady Gaga I wanted, but instead ... well, you'll have to read my blog. lol

That Warriors logo is super 90s and reminds me of NBA Jam. lol

I need a hard drive for PS4, now that they allow for external storage.

I'll listen to the song later. Think I annoyed my parents by retyping this while we're watching Rogue One from Red Box. Happy Independence Day!

07/11/2017 at 10:26 PM

I'm a little late reading/replying but its the 11th so just a couple of days from the 4th. I haven't seen Wonder Woman. I will watch it eventually and I've heard it is really good. Finally DC, you're doing something right since the Christian Bale Batman's. I wasn't too big the First Avenger the first time I saw it, but after taking in Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, I went back and I really like that movie.

Oh the Underwoods will eventually get what they deserve. I think next season there might be more problems between Frank and Claire. The stairs thing was cheesy but it seems like every crazy scheme they get into I'm getting ready to say "this is how they fall"

On the physical copy of 4:44 they fix that issue. I still don't get why they couldn't with a digital file, it's just dead air. I think the term "great album" gets thrown around too easily. For me a great album is one where I can hit play and not skip a single track. Now it seems like there are a lot of good/solid albums but there's always that one or two tracks that are just not good. Amazon Streaming isn't bad but they walled off some content for their Unlimited service. I'm not paying an additional $7.99 a month for that especially when Spotify and Apple Music are $10 a month and their libraries are massive.

I think there's relish in their sauce but I could be wrong. I can't do animal style on the burger because I end up taking off the tomato and pickles and it seems like a waste for me to do that.

Thanks! I got Portal 2 mainly for when my cousin visits so he can play through it. I'll give it a spin, get stuck on a puzzle and call it day. He'll figure the dang thing out and complete it, and of course I'll take the credit because I own the game. Yeah Transistor is a freebie that is currently sitting on my PS4 but I can't play it without PS+ so this was the next best thing. Those are solid games you picked up. I had a lot of fun with R&C and I got to play a little of my old game when another younger cousin got stuck and I played a bit to help him out. He's the current owner of my old game and he was enjoying it.

You know I don't know if they do have any Hawaiian pop on Moana. I'll need to check out the soundtrack. Ok I just looked and it doesn't but why is Lin Manuel Miranda on it? Talk about odd. Hawaiian music is a mix of Reggae, pop, and traditional language stuff. My friend and I used to make fun of it because it always involved food.

Nicki Minaj's Superbass is catchy. That and Starships. Side to Side was a song I liked but after a bit I got tired of it.

Alicia Keys is another one of those artists that are extremely talented but I don't like all their songs. I usually find two or three songs per album I really like. Fenix TX is kind of like Blink. After listening to this album they sounded so much better when I was younger. I forgot the name of it, but it might be John Legend's first album where he's playing piano in the middle of a city, that album is really good. I haven't really kept up with his work so this was kind of a blind buy, and I got lucky because I like it.

I'm shocked they're still around too. That movie covers album is a lot of fun. The Bosstones album is freaking awesome! Easily one of my favorites, and there's no skipping tracks.

I read that blog! Good stuff. Tribe is good. It's one of those rap groups everyone needs to listen to. Such a good rap group. Game's early album is really good because 50 Cent helped with it. Shame they couldn't work together because this was a hell of an album.

You should see the matching jerseys for that logo. Big lightning bolt down the size. At least it didn't follow the trend of purple/teal/black that the 90s was big on.

Hope you had an awesome Independence Day! I watched my neighbors fireworks.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

07/05/2017 at 06:14 PM

OMG that in-n-out platter looks SO good. I guess I'm hungry. My mom has been bingeing House of Cards in her kitchen during the day, so in a way I've been involuntarily bingeing it too. I don't really like it. But I can see why some people enjoy it.

07/11/2017 at 10:27 PM

There's always room for In-N-Out Burger. Yeah HoC isn't for everyone but I just love the scheming and how the Underwoods always tend to stay one step ahead. It's crazy.

PixlBit