I am stoked. It has been five years since we heard from the Chili Peppers last, and this new album should be different from the rest. John Frusciante has left the band and in his place Josh Klinghoffer. Josh has been a great addition to the band, as well as being a long time friend of John. Everyone has meshed well and soon the fans will be able to hear what has come out of their collaboration! Flea has been studying music, Chad has been involved in many different side projects bringing him more inspiration, Anthony always brings interesting lyrics to the table, and Josh Klinghoffer is skilled in many different  areas including synthesizer and piano. I think all of these things brought together will make for some fresh and exciting music!

The first single of the album is set to hit the radio waves on July 18th, it is titled “The Adventures of Raindance Maggie”

I can’t say I am familiar with the cast at all but they look like they will fill the roles well. Amber Heard is cast as Maureen, Eddie Cibrian as Nick Dalton, Leah Renee as Alice, Jenna Dewan as Janie, Laura Benanti as Carol-Lynne, and Naturi Naughton as Brenda. It looks likes a show full of fantasy and glamour, which is right up my alley! After watching the trailer I’m even more hooked into the idea, the setting, the music, the guilty pleasure of the whole show. Before the pilot has even aired the show is already getting some heat. The Parents Television Council has called the show a “blatant attempt to obliterate any remaining standards of broadcast decency” and has chastised Comcast for going back on it’s promise to not let networks broadcast “pornographic materials” on the airwaves. Keep in mind this is all before the pilot has even been aired, the Council has not even watched the show! Since it will be aired on NBC, I am almost positive there will not be any nudity.

There is no denying that Playboy has become an American icon and one of the most popular men’s magazines, but to call this show pornography is overkill. It may be related, but the show itself is not pornography. There is more to Playboy than the nude women, and many seem to forget that. The magazine is also filled with articles and interviews with notable public figures, discussing everything from religion to politics. In the adult industry today, Playboy is definitely one of the more tame publications and that is what I like about it. It seems to be one of the few publications of it’s kind left that still has some class. The women are strikingly beautiful and tastefully depicted, which isn’t demeaning but rather, empowering. As far as the television series goes, I am interested to take the trip back in time to when the Playboy Bunny first came to be, it is sure to be a sexy and drama filled ride, not to mention lots of cute costumes! ^.^ You’ll have to watch the trailer for yourself below and see what you think! The show is set to air on Mondays at 9 central, not sure of a date yet but when I find one I will be sure to post it up!

The relationship between Warner and HIM began is 2005 with the release of their album Dark Light which went gold in the US, this record marked the album that would officially put the band on the map and allow their other albums to chart in the states. With the release of Dark Light the band became the first from Finland to sell over 500,000 records in the US. Although the album brought them success, long time fans were concerned that the band sounded too Americanized, surprisingly enough the man who was supposed to produce the album was fired for that exact reason, being replaced by Tim Palmer who had worked with the band on previous records.

Next up after Dark Light was the heavy and brooding Venus Doom which topped the Billboard charts at 12 in the United States. After that came Screamworks: Love in Theory & Practice in early 2009. Even after their huge success with Dark Light it seemed as though there was something off about the way the band was promoted in the United States, nothing much was heard. HIM mainly became popular it seems because of Ville Valo being good friends with Bam Margera who is a big fan, and promoted them in multiple ways.

I think this move bodes well for the band and their creativity as a whole. They don’t need a large record label to get their music out there and promote it, they can do it the same way as they did for Razorblade Romance, Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights, and Love Metal. And what also makes this great is that they can choose to promote however they wish. I haven’t ever been a big fan of Dark Light; and Venus Doom as well as Screamworks have not gotten the promotion they deserved. Unfortunately there are many artists in that same position, if you don’t conform to what is popular, there just isn’t as much recognition.

With that being said, there are no hard feelings between Warner and HIM which is a good thing. Valo states, “We’re ever so grateful for having had Seymour and Co as the generous hosts on our extended first stay in the New Country. It’s been a Blast Royale but now it’s time to clean up the rubble and start anew.” Cleaning up the rubble and starting fresh definitely sounds exciting! I look forward to what the band does in the future and what they do with their new freedom! You can read the official posting on the HIM website here.

Wedding planning will be stressful just like I suspected it was going to be but I know I will have my sweetie there to support me when I need it most. The further I get into planning and collaborating my mind sometime wanders to the possibility of just eloping and making the process a whole lot easier, buuuuuut I just can’t. I think a traditional wedding will be really nice we just have to make sure not to rush ourselves and get in a hole with the whole money situation. Anyway, I have a serious case of the ‘tireds’ that just hit me, so I am going to get some sleep for once, might be nice to sleep for more than 5 1/2 – 6 hours each night! I will be back again, hopefully soon with some more random stuff to blog about! =]

The Exiled Realm of Aborea, I believe, is a game that will turn the mmorpg world on its head, and improve gameplay in a way that has not been done before. It combines the action elements of a first person shooter and the fantasy and story of an mmorpg into one perfect mix. TERA does not have a targeting system, this forces the player to actually aim the attacks of their character, as well as dodge and block the attacks of their enemies. This is a game that will be more about the skill of the person behind the character as opposed to the greatest armor or weapons which is what excites me most. An excerpt from the official website sums it up perfectly:

TERA is the first true action MMORPG. What does that mean? TERA provides all the depth of any MMO–quests, crafting, an intricate plot, PvP, and more–combined for the first time with the satisfaction and skill of a console action game. No more are you confined to tabbing and then standing around and eating a sandwich while taking on a boss. You’re at the center of the action, hitting where you aim and reacting in real-time to dodge and move out of the way when attacked. In TERA, skill and substance combine for an entirely new MMORPG experience.

Another one of the perks of the game is that it runs on the Unreal Engine, a beloved system to many gamers because it delivers beautiful graphics for even lower end pcs. The design of TERA is beautiful all the way from the landscapes to the details in the armor. It is set to release in 2011, I am suspecting the later half of the year.

Want to learn more? Visit these sites:

Official North American Site

Terafans.com (this is a great fansite with a wealth of information from around the globe)

That person is His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Just looking at a picture of this man never fails to put a smile on my face, as he is always smiling and appears happy. He is a humble, sweet man, with a very unique outlook on life, well at least it seems unique to me living here in America. The Dalai Lama is not someone who gets frustrated with others, he is calm in all situations, and has become at peace with himself and the world around him. The Dalai Lama has an amazing capacity for compassion, taking the toughest of situations and turning them into something you can solve by looking within yourself and changing your perspective. His words about compassion are quite inspiring.

I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy.  From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering.  Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this.  From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment.  I don’t know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves.  Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.

From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion.

So, when a problem first arises, try to remain humble and maintain a sincere attitude and be concerned that the outcome is fair. Of course, others may try to take advantage of you, and if your remaining detached only encourages unjust aggression, adopt a strong stand, This, however, should be done with compassion, and if it is necessary to express your views and take strong countermeasures, do so without anger or ill-intent.

Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. No matter how new the face or how different the dress and behavior, there is no significant division between us and other people…I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness.  It is the practice of compassion.

When reading his words, the Dalai Lama makes everything sound so simple, and it is. Unfortunately we sometimes forget this and make everything into a big event or problem. For the most part we like to make ourselves victims of what is going on around us, but it is ourselves that control how we percieve it. Nobody can change that for us. We can choose to treat people with compassion or not to, and in that choice we either do, or do not feel content. You can read the Dalai Lama’s entire thoughts on compassion at his website.

That is the catch phrase of the upcoming film/musical “Burlesque” starring Christina Aguilera as ‘Ali Rose’ and Cher as ‘Tess’. Ali Rose is a smalltown girl from Iowa, looking to make it big in the city of Los Angeles. Tess is the owner of a lounge who’s business is taking a turn for the worse. The two will meet and magic will happen…

I am excited for this film because not only is it about burlesque, but it is Cher’s first film in which she has a starring role in a decade. Christina Aguilera is also making her first film debut here, so this is definitely something to see. I’m a big fan of burlesque, I love Christina’s strong voice, and Cher has always been a legend. The film is set to release on November 24th of this year! You can watch the trailer below, enjoy! =]

I’ve been a pretty busy girl lately work has kept me busy but there has been more than that mixed in. Vacation! I’ve been to Houghton, MI to visit the boyfriend for a few days, then drove over to Duluth, MN to hang out with the parents. Houghton was a good time as always even though he had to work. When you’re in a long distance kind of relationship, it is just nice to be in a close proximity with the other person, it just kindof feels like everything is balanced and right again and you’re where you should be. Even with his work schedule we still managed to whip up some good food, like the shrimp you see below! Yummmmmm.

Duluth was also a lot of fun. I hadn’t gone on a vacation with my parents for a long time and I think they were happy to have me with them. I even had the city to myself for a day, so  walked around downtown, did some shopping at my favorite store, and took lots of pictures while walking through the rose gardens at Leif Erickson Park. Absolutely beautiful!! Every night that we went out we had good food. The first night was a Ham & Pear Crisp at my parents’ favorite place to dine in Duluth, Hellburgers. Then the next night was pasta at Grandma’s Saloon and Grill. Finally the trip was topped off with some seafood pasta at Blackwoods. That was by far my favorite meal of the trip! =] I don’t know what it is about food that I love so much. I’m really glad I’ve been able to start cooking and have some success, so I can make my own yummy dishes!

This last weekend my boyfriend and I traveled to Eau Claire, WI since he is home for a few weeks before college starts again. We went to go visit my best friend and her husband. I haven’t been able to see them for awhile so it was really nice to catch up again. They’ve been married for a year now I can’t believe it! Time flies by so fast wow!

Then the two of us took a 52 mile bicycle ride (From Kendall, WI to Sparta, WI) yesterday. Whew! I sure am sore today but it is cool to say that I made it. At first when he had suggested it I was less than optimistic, more like terrified. But it turned out okay, and I actually made it so I guess that is a good thing lol. As far as doing it again is concerned, sure I would do it, but I think I would want to come at it with a different approach and not do all of the miles in the same day. Leaving Sparta to go back to Kendall was a bummer, and I was pretty sore by that time so the ride back was a long haul. But hey, you live and you learn. However, now I can say that riding ten miles is nothing! A hop skip and a jump into town to get some ice cream won’t be a big deal anymore, so it’s all good. Well that’s all for this blog post, I have to go pick up a pizza. Until next time!

I’ve been talking to this guy from the UK for a while now, and we’ve known each other for probably over a year now, so I have a name I am going to call him John. (Original right?? Huzzah!) We met through our mutual love for WoW believe it or not lol. I had started writing a little blog back in the day related to the hunter class and this guy contacted me and had asked if I had wanted to contribute to his blog. I was pretty excited! Anyway, we have kept in touch on and off for a while now, and I have learned more about him as time has gone by.

Now, I know that nothing on the internet is necessarily true as well as the people you meet not being genuine, but I do believe this person is. And to be honest even if they are not being genuine they have made me think about a lot of things, how the mind works, how different people see things from one another. How absolutely scary the smallest and most simple things in life can be for some people over others. In short, John is really really depressed and has dealt with it, or hasn’t dealt with it, for over six years. He hasn’t told his parents about it seriously until recently when he gave them a letter. Thing is, the parents seem to brush it off like it is nothing and go on about things like they normally do, thinking that he is just overreacting. If they would read how he feels by actually reading the blog that he keeps about his depression I think they would see things differently. They would be able to truly know what is wrong and know that this is a serious thing and not something to brush off. I was there, well as there as I could be when I egged him on to put the note somewhere his parents would find it. That night I felt like it was a breakthrough and it was, it was a great feeling both for John and I. I felt like John was finally on track and things were going to get somewhere.

But I tend to be naiive.

Getting help for depression as well as people to listen to you, I am sure isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world. I had hoped that things would have gone more smoothly for him, but it appears they haven’t. I wish there was some way that I could help John….but I don’t think there is, not physically anyway. All I can do is to keep trying to encourage him and that things are not as bad as they seem. I just feel utterly helpless to the whole situation, and damn is it frustrating. I would plug his blog here to get some more people reading it, but I won’t do that unless he would be okay with that. John, I know you are reading this and I know that you think that there is nothing left to stick around for, but I know I won’t be the first and last one to tell you that you are wrong. If I was there I would get you out of the house myself.

I know this is probably a case where I am getting to be too involved in something and trying to help someone in a situation that is virtually impossible, but there is something that just tells me to keep trying. This won’t be the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last. This blog is just one big emotional rant about feelings, oh yes those splendid, lovely things called feelings. I could probably bang my head against the wall on this topic all day but I can’t do that because I gotta get some sleep. Work comes way too early in the mornings….arghhhhhh. I had plans to get some other blogs out tonight but that will have to wait until tomorrow. =P