I am actually so stoked. After four long years of waiting, Oolong has finally released another album. I did an entire blog about them near the beginning of the year, which I’m slightly revisiting now. 

It’s actually really funny how I stumbled upon this album. I was scrolling around on Twitter (yes, I still call it twitter cause what are you supposed to say ” I just made an X” no lol) Anyways, I was scrolling through twitter when I found Oolong’s page, I was surprised they even had one, and even more surprised that they had a large number of followers. But I was scrolling through their recent posts and found a “tweet” saying that they had just released a new album That day. 

I looked through it, and it looked promising with a whopping 21 songs. I was absolutely excited to listen to it. 

However, it is with complete sorrow that I say not all these songs were bangers. 
The instrumentals were amazing in all of them; however, the lyrics / vocals didn’t feel the same in most of the songs. I was halfway thought album expecting it to get better. It seemed like they were more focused on the delivery of the vocals they didn’t care much whether the lyrics themselves were the best. 

But I still have hope, I genuinely believe that this might be a huge steppingstone into more oncoming albums. I just hope they’ll revisit a style more like their first original album. 

Out of all the 21 songs, I think I could only recommend like, five. 
Although I wasn’t a big fan of most of these songs on their album, I can’t recommend the band enough. (although I’d start with their “Imaginary friends” album first)
Their second to last song on the album was really good. “F*** it, Lego hands” It’s definitely a hit or miss, But I liked it a lot. 
Anyways, thanks for letting me waste your time on Oolong once again. 

So for this week, I wanted to write more about music and albums. And I wanted to revisit the post I made week before last. I thought it would be neat to show you guys my favorite albums in themes of the covers. And this will start least to greatest in favor. 

I don’t know where to even start. This album was introduced to me by Cooper, and I think its one of my favorites. The slow music, the soft vocals. I want to have this on vinyl so badly. This just seems like the perfect album to slowly drift away to as you fall asleep. If you’ve had bad day and you just need to be somewhere else for a moment, this album takes you there. 
I really like the cover as well. Albums with Dog covers always have a special place in my heart, this one especially. 

I really like this album. I think it’s really unique. It combines instrumentals and vocals I’ve never seen before. The vocals themselves are especially unique. I’ve always been a fan for vocals that put everything in their work. The Lyrics are really heartbreaking in some areas too. I would highly recommend this album if your ever getting out of a nasty relationship.

I’ve liked Alex G for a long time without even realizing it. I liked these songs but never really put the name to the songs. So When I found out who wrote them, I immediately went through Alex G’s albums race and treehouse. I knew about treehouse back in like… 2020 I think. Anyways the vocals in this our interesting, I don’t think I could put a label on them, but the instrumentals are really good. However, if your looking to get into Alex G, I would recommend his album “Race” first.

I was introduced to this album recently by Erin, It quickly reached one of my top favorite albums. Technically the mascot is a dog so…. I’m counting it. 
I really enjoy this album, the Lyrics, vocals, and instruments all come together to make this beautiful cacophony of music. I’ve been slowly going through Car Seat Headrest’s albums, And I’ve had a general liking for the most part. I think one or two of the songs are like 14 minutes, which I can find hard to pay attention to for long. However, I can still appreciate the hard work that goes into them. 

One of my favorite albums of all time. It’s a short 3 song album however, I love each and every song. “Change your name” Has been a long time favorite of mine. I don’t even remember how I came upon this album. I just remember it always kind of being there. The vocals are really heavy, and the instruments are really neat. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who likes rock. 

Anyways, those are my favorite Dog Themed albums. Thanks for reading this far! I don’t know what I’m doing for next week’s post, but I’m thinking more themed albums like this one. 

I really didn’t have much of a plan when it came to this weeks blog. Even though we had so much time to do so. Anyways, as a last minute idea, I wanted to share my opinion on the new movie Monkey Man. 

First off, Dev Patel is basically running this whole operation. He is the director, star, co-writer, and a few other things. I think his acting really made the movie. 
He was also the star is Slum dog millionaire, so he has had some experience in acting. However, this is the first movie he’s ever directed. And for a first movie, it’s incredible. 

A lot of people are calling this a rip-off of John Wick. But honestly, I feel like this story far surpasses John Wick. That might be an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it. In John Wick, the whole movie is about revenge over a dog.  I get it, they needed an inciting force, but I really don’t think an Ex-assassin would go to war with a bunch of criminals over a dog. 

But the plot of Monkey man is WAY more believable. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the inciting force is very believable, and it deals with more than just personal grudge and hate. Its revenge, heritage, and other things. Also, I think the budget for this movie was less than 20 million, which is a lot of money, but for a theatrically released movie that’s pretty low. 

Action wise, there were many amazing stunts. I’d say equal to if not better than those of John Wick. The choreography in the fight scenes was outstanding. the tools he would use to fight were just as interesting too.  They used a lot of different types of camera angels. Some got a little repetitive. Like, they used the Dutch angle for 5 shots without a break, but they were very diverse in the camera angels overall. 

So I Highly recommend this film if your into action movies. I hope I’ll be able to see more of Dev Patels films in the future. I think he has promising talent and can be a great director if he’s given the chance. 
If you haven’t seen Slumdog millionaire, I would also recommend checking that movie out as well. I don’t think it’s as good as Monkey man, but it can also be an entertaining watch.  

So In conclusion….

Monkey Man > John Wick

This week, I want to share some Oscar-worthy scenes, from movies/plays

In specific order. Some of these have a spoiler warning before hand. 

#3 -Stronger “I can’t!” 

also have a link to the scenes on YouTube. I would recommend watching them if you’re interested, I Don’t think the text can quite deliver the amount of emotion they put into each of these monologues. 

This scene is crazy. From start to finish. The movie overall is a must see and not to mention a true story. (minor spoiler alert) in this scene. Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is scared because he’s basically being told he’s going to be a father. 
But he had recently lost both his legs in an explosion, so he’s scared that he won’t be the father that his girlfriend expects him to be. 

#2 Manchester By The Sea “Please…”

(Trigger warning – attempted suicide.) 

Manchester by the sea is one of the best movies I think I have ever seen. The writing, characters, plot, and pace are all amazing. I’ve seen it at least three times.
This scene depicts the main character realizing he’s free to go after making a horrible mistake, and as if to try and justify that mistake, he takes matters into his own hands. It’s very emotional, and very strong. Every time I’ve showed someone the movie, they always cry.  This movie was nominated for 4 Oscars, and won two… Best original Screenplay, and best leading actor which were both extremely deserved. 

#1 – Prodigal Son –
“Someone Saw me…”

I dont even know where to start with this scene. Timothy Chalamet has genuine talent. The emotion and body language he expresses in this scene is unmatched. In the video, you can even tell that the audience recognized his talent. At first, when the teacher was talking, they were laughing. But once Timothy’s part came, everyone was quiet.  This scene talks about the double standard of respect. How authorities are often times demandant of it from the start, while those under them have to “earn it”. 

Anyways, those are the three Oscar Worthy scenes that I wanted to share. If you haven’t seen any of the movies (and one play), I would recommend watching all of them immediately.

(With Bias towards the songs)

For this post, I wanted to share some of my favorite album covers. Not specifically the songs, although there might be a little biased choosing in those regards, but specifically just the cover and the photo/art. 

Some of them are really well done. They tell an interesting story that can go along with the songs as you think. I think some of them give off a nice aesthetic, and others are just pleasing to look at. 

So for the first Album- 

 

#5 LUSTRA – Left For Dead 

This Album gives off Rodrick from diary of a wimpy kid’s vibe which is contrary to the tone of the lyrics. There are some decent songs on here like “Scotty doesn’t know.” If this were a T-Shirt, I would %100 wear it. I don’t think I have enough Album T-Shirts in my wardrobe. 

 

 

 

#4 Prince Daddy & The Hyena – I thought You Didn’t Like Leaving

This Album has some really great songs on it. I would say, however, that the art does not match the tone of the music. It’s for some very good vocals. Some of the songs have interesting titles too, like, “I wish I could Cntrl+Alt+Del my life.” I really like the song, “Clever Girl” from this album. 

 

 

 

Jeff Buckley – GRACE

I think I like this album cover mainly because I’m in love with more than most of the songs on this playlist. But at the same time, this album cover looks like its straight out of a movie or something. The style, the mood, the expression, everything about this photo feels amazing. 
I also say this every time I mention Jeff Buckley, but I think that he and James Franco look identical.  Like one in the same.  I put an image below for reference. 

Oolong – About Your Imaginary Friend 

This album has a lot of great songs. I’ve stated my love hate relationship about this band before, mainly them only ever releasing the one album in four years. But it was one of the best, so I can’t complain.  I think the shot of this album cover was done really well. It captures the skateboard trick midair, perfectly setting the tone for the rest of the album. A grunge sort of skater vibe. 
And don’t even get me started on the amount of effort that I spent on researching this band. Every time I looked up Oolong, It came up with the type of tea. 

 

 

 

 

#1 See Through Person – Chariot 

This is one of my favorite albums by far. The photo gives of an almost eerie vibe. This is how most of their album covers are shot. The music is outstanding too. The Vocalist really went all out in this one. Every time I listen to “Change your name” I look at this album and wonder what the dog’s name is. I haven’t done much, if any, research on the band. But I’m looking into it for another review. 

 

But that’s it. These are some of my favorite albums, with interesting album covers. 

This week’s blog was going to be a show recommendation that I’ve wanted to do for a while. 

My freshman and sophomore year were spent waking up early and watching tv before school. I started with friends, then the big bang theory, futurama, and many others. I’m surprised I got through so many shows in just two years. 
Anyways, one of the most memorable shows I watched before school was Bob’s Burgers

Bob’s Burgers Doesn’t seem all that appealing at first, and I can’t quite pinpoint what I like about it. Maybe its Bob’s attitude toward everything, or how crazy the youngest child Louise is. But throughout the show there are some interesting episodes. 

If you’re looking for a show that produces good morals and life lessons, I advise looking elsewhere. I’m not saying that this show doesn’t have anything to offer, but… it really doesn’t have much to offer other than mindless entertainment. 

There was no real character development, or plot, or much of anything that I can remember, it’s humor wasn’t even that unique. It’s by far one of the strangest shows I’ve enjoyed and watched all the way through. 

There were only two characters that I think had some struggle throughout the series, and that’s Tina and Bob.
Bob obviously had to keep his shop afloat and work for his restraint, but I think Tina was the one who struggled the most. I don’t remember if she finally found someone, but I do remember her going through each season trying to find the lover of her life. In a weird way, she reminds me of Mable from gravity falls. 

My favorite character was by far Teddy. He was interesting and added a colorful output on each episode he was featured in. I can find him relatable in some ways, not really, but I did think he was funny. 
         All in all, its a hit or miss but It can be entertaining if you turn off your brain and just enjoy it. 

Gosh, it feels like these blog dates always come as a surprise. 
I was really struggling with a topic this week, but I eventually found one. 
Tuesdays with Morrie.  (This is going to be a book rant.) 

So, Tuesdays with Morrie is a really good book that I think everyone should ought to read, and the best part about the book is that it’s a true story. 

The book follows our main character Mitch Albom and Morrie. Mitch is a graduated college student who has become obsessed with money, and work. 
He has a wife, but the relationships is stale, and I don’t remember him talking about children.
Morrie is an old professor who hasn’t much left in the years of his life. He was diagnosed with ALS meaning his bodily movements would come to halt rather soon. 
Mitch was a student of Morrie back in college. They were good friends throughout but eventually lost touch after graduation. Mitch learns of Morrie’s soon to be death and decides to visit him one last time.  Which just so happens to be on a Tuesday.
Mitch realizes the value in the knowledge that Morrie holds from living +8O years. So he asks if he can come back next Tuesday. Morrie agrees and every chapter of the book is a different conversation they had. 
There are chapters on Marriage, Religion, Work, Money and much more. 
I think its one of the most useful books I’ve read. With some really helpful advice as well. 
Morrie calls the meeting they have every Tuesday his “Final Project.”
He wants Mitch to write a final thesis (which is actually this book) about the things he learns from him. 
Morrie said, when he was diagnosed with ALS, he thought he didn’t have anything left to offer. Until he realized he had his experience. He began to advise dozens of people over the course of his soon to be death. But he made Mitch his Priority. 

I think this book has a lot to offer. It definitely put a lot in perspective to me, and it’s a short read as well. 

This story has been adapted quite a few times in plays and short films, and every time it was readapted, it was just as good. 
I think a lot of times people don’t think about death too often, or at least not the reality of it and how quickly it comes. I think reading this book helped me understand it just a little more. 

My 5 Favorite Fictional Characters. 

For this blog, I sort of came up with its last minute. I wanted to take a break from music posts and focus more on other things. So here we are.
My top five favorite fictional characters. (In no specific order ofc)

(Spoiler alerts for some of these characters.) 

 

#5 – Jack Torrance, The Shining. 

Jack Torrance from the shining was such an amusing character. Although he can be considered the antagonist of the story, which he is, I still find him really interesting. Jack Nicolson played the character Very well, but he was dealt a bad hand. Jack’s Character was extremely different than the book. It showed him as impatient and angry from the very beginning of the movie. But in book, he slowly became more and more aggressive. However, I still really liked the way he was played on screen. 

 

 

 

#4 – Billy Loomis & Stu Macher, SCREAM 

This one is a bit of a cheat, because its two characters. But I’m counting them as the same since they’re from the same movie. 

SCREAM is by far my favorite slasher. I love the story and the acting is really good too. especially in the ending scenes. I think these two make a really interesting duo, because they’re extremely different.  Billy is more serious about their goal, while Stu is more of the comedic relief. 

There’s also an interesting theory around Stu that he might still be alive.
Very far-fetched but plausible. All of the Ghostface killers have always been shot in the head. It’s a running theme with all the movies that if you don’t, they always comeback. However, Stu Macher was never shot in the head, he was electrocuted by a giant TV. So, there’s some interesting possibilities there. 

But I don’t think I would want them to bring him back. Ever since Wes Craven died (the original director) the series has taken a bit of a dip.  And I’m afraid they would ruin what might be left of Stu Macher. 

 

 

#3 – Omni-Man, Invincible 

Omni-Man is one of my favorite animated characters, I loved the mystery in the first season of Invincible. I also really like his character design. The image above is my favorite version of him, when he grew out his beard.

Invincible, the show itself, is a really interesting story. I’m sure most of you know it. It’s been a huge attraction for memes and quotes, and it’s by far my favorite show as of now. 

Omni-Man is the father of the protagonist invincible, who has just acquired his powers, and there’s a huge mystery revolving around the Guardian’s of the globe deaths. 

 

 

 

#2 – Puck, Berserk 

Puck is my favorite tv show mascot. If you’re unaware, berserk is a hit anime from the late 90’s where a swordsman who carries a comedically large sword tries to take down his archenemy who was once his friend and commander. 

Puck is an elf and the comedic relief in this show. He breaks the fourth wall sometimes, referencing things like Star Wars or Sun Zu in the art of war.  Although he can be serious at times and is beneficial to the plot.  

He’s a very emotional little guy, and there are tons of scenes where he cries, but he’s my favorite character in the show because he’s basically the jiminy cricket for guts, the protagonist. 

 

 

 

#1 – Simon Petrikov, Adventure Time

Simon Petrikov (aka Ice King) is a major character in Adventure Time. 
In the beginning he was just the poor antagonist that was a little crazy, but as the series developed, we saw that he used to be a man. A professor even. He had been researching the Ice Crown, which was his slow and painful curse. He slowly lost his mind and began to go crazy. 

As much as I like Adventure time, I really like the way the Fiona and Cake series portrayed Simon. He was the smart and quirky Simon he used to be. We also got a lot of lore from his past which was amazing. 

Anyways, those are my top 5 Fictional Characters. They change around sometimes, but these have been the most common. 

For this blog, I was deciding whether to share another underrated band or share songs from my (sort of) classical playlist. So I chose this.  When I say classical, I don’t just mean Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. I pretty much mean songs without words, or in some cases, really soothing songs in different languages.

I usually use this playlist while reading, or writing, because having other words in my head as I’m reading or writing can be difficult. So without any more to say here are my favorite (sort of) classical songs.

First off, the playlist is called Silent Dialogue. I named it that because I feel that songs without words can often tell a story. 

 

Starting from the bottom of the seven.

 

 

#7) Gnossienne No. 1 Erik Satie

This song gives off major antagonist vibes, and I always find it entertaining to listen to this when writing the dialogue of a villain in my story. It’s mainly piano, and quite slow, but it makes up for it by its dramatic atmosphere. 

#6) The Legend of Ashitaka Joe Hisaishi

This song is from my favorite Studio Ghibli movie, Princess Mononoke. It’s a wonderful masterpiece of string music. (I can’t tell which instruments, but if I had to guess, maybe cello, violin, and flute? I’m not sure. But all the same, it really is wonderful. 

#5) Just Give Me One More Day Alej 

 

I’ve mentioned this song before in a previous blog. It’s a magnificent piece on the piano which spirals and swirls leaving you with a sense of curiosity. I highly recommend this song to anyone who loves classical music. When reading, I often pick a song to read the entire book to, for instance, I read “The Shining” while listening to the Shining theme song. I read “The Giver” While listening to this song. 

#4) Where Is My Mind (piano version)  Your Movie Soundtrack 

This is a song turned classical, it used to be a low rock sort of song, but someone took the bass and turned it into a piano solo. Which in my opinion is so much better. I listened to this song a lot when I had a job in Hattiesburg, but it’s been a while since I listened to it on repeat. Still its one of my favorite songs on piano. 

#3)  The Princess Brandon Boone

I can’t begin to explain how amazing this song is. I could listen to this song on repeat for hours, and I have. It originally stems from a game called “Slay The Princess”. And Like the song, I could not recommend it enough. In the game, you have to literally decide to save or slay the princess. Sounds easy enough, but it’s infinitely more complicated the more you play. 

If you’re sensitive to blood and gore, I would advise caution before playing. 

#2) Dark Souls – Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder – Theme Song Geek Music 

Ok, this one might come across as surprising, but its a really good piano piece from a mind-boggling RPG game called Dark Souls. I’ve tried so many times to beat it, but I don’t have the skill. Still, I try.  But Dark souls has been known for their successful games throughout the years. 

#1) Mia & Sebastians Theme song – Piano Version Your Movie Soundtrack 

My #1 classical song changes from time to time, but currently, this song hits hard. I didn’t like the original, so I found one that was softer by an artist I already liked.  This song is more somber and soft, which makes for a good repeat song. And… Yeah, it’s from La La Land. Might be a little 

 

Thank you for reading. I adore classical music, and I hope to find more to share in the future. 

 

So I’ve been sitting here for about an hour trying to figure out what I was going to do for this post. And I came up with nothing. So I was just going to give a little insight into what my life was like before coming to MSA. 

So, I’m not sure if I’ve told many people here about this, but I used to be a Military brat. Which means me and my whole family would move from state to state nearly once a year.  I’ve been everywhere from Hawaii to Newyork, and some states to the left like Kansas or Wyoming. 

Which unfortunately means I wasn’t able to many lifelong friends, since we lost touch just as quickly as we met one another. So It’s mainly just been me and my two younger siblings.  

While moving around the United States, I’ve seen some pretty interesting things, like mount Rushmore, and “Ol’ Faithful” in Wyoming. We’ve been through the smokey mountains a few times. But My Favorite place we’ve lived in West Point, New York. 

My Dad is often called to different military institutions. For instance, He worked at Camp Shelby here in MS before he retired, or Fort Leavenworth in KS.
But he was called to either teach or work at West Point for two years. 
And first of all, West Point’s buildings are amazing. I always say they look like a modern castle of sorts, and it’s even got a sort of moat. It’s almost entirely surrounded by the Hudson River.  I took a few photos of it which I’ll leave at the end. 

On West Point, for the first year, I think it was right before Covid-19, it was my entire family. Me and my siblings were enrolled in homeschool, and that was fun. But the second year, my mom and siblings moved to MS to take care of my grandfather. And My dad was constantly posted across seas, So, if possible, I wanted to stay with him so he wouldn’t feel alone.  

Anyways, My Dad and I had some fun traditions that we made while we were up there. Every Friday night we would always order “Bear Mountain Pizza” and watch “The Mandalorian”.  And since my Mom was in MS, my dad had to learn how to cook, so he ordered one of those… Box of food things that come prepped, and you just have to cook it. 

All in all, I’m glad I grew up running around the United states, I’ve gotten to see a lot of what some people might not see in their lifetime.  And now were here in MS again, for good since my Dad retired.