two thousand and nine

I've rarely, if ever, made a New Years resolution.... but I'm looking to change that for 2009. My focus & time put into any artistic output... be it drawing/sketching any of my cartoony characters, or filming/editing video.... well, I've really slacked off from using any of the creative imagination towards design that God has blessed me with. I've been scanning through old drawings & videos, and I'm tired of the countless times I've been sitting around with friends talking about how we need to get back into filming videos.. or starting some t-shirt designs... anything...

Less talk / more action in '09. 'Nuff said.

Here's one of my old videos for kicks & giggles

a different world

˙˙˙˙sɹɐq ʎǝʞuoɯ ǝɥʇ uo uʍop ǝpısdn ƃuıƃuɐɥ ssıɯ ı...

.... watching all the other kids immersed in their pretend worlds... all brought together at the center of imagination.... the playground.



(oh, and the intro text is upside down... in case you didn't catch that part)

here's something i'd never do

Kentucky's Famous Turtle Catcher

I like my toes and plan on keeping them.

Christmas (cover) music

The cover song. It can be an amazing way to pay homage to a classic artist, or it can simply be a wasted effort... not even coming close to the original. Let's narrow it down to Christmas music. What's your favorite re-done classic Christmas song, made new by a current singer/band? List a couple if you can't narrow it down... cuz I surely can't.

Here's my list :

*Rocking Around the Christmas Tree - Cartel
*Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World
*12 Days Of Christmas - Relient K

Honorable Mentions :

*every other Christmas-themed song by Relient K
*Yule Shoot Your Eye Out - Fall Out Boy (okay... it's not a cover... but I still love it)
*Baby, Come Home - Anberlin

holiday cruise : the highlights (part 2)

*Rushing to karaoke on 2 separate nights, only to miss the sign-up both times..... but, as expected, there were some tremendously bad (but hilarious) singers. The type who truly & honestly think that they're gifted artists with melodic vocals.

*Speaking of karaoke, I was so amped each time for potential hilarity (despite failing to make the sign up time) that I wore my little retro red running shorts underneath my pants each night..... ready and waiting to strike if & when I got to sing. Next time, baby.

*Numerous foreign-tourists & their awkward swim attire (you know what I'm talking about)

*Formal night on the ship.. with the sole mission of myself, my sister, and my cousins to be awkward in every picture.. and embarass our parents/grandparents whenever possible. Our head waiter kept us going with random magic tricks & pranks involving Coke cans, silverware, and napkins.

*Watching some intoxicated fellow-cruisers stumble around the midnite buffet.. and how amazed they were by the small mountain of fruits at the end of the buffet line. This would have been a good moment to bust out the water-balloon catapult.... sigh... should've brought it along for the trip.... another note-to-self for the next time.

*Sea kayaking with my cousin Chad when we had our day on the private island. Our kayaking guide was a very outgoing Australian guy.. who fulfilled the stereotypical wildlife loving aspect by leaping out of his kayak to grab conch shells & starfish.. and excitedly leading us towards anything he saw swimming nearby

*Speaking of aquatic wildlife... the first thing the guide led us towards was a 5 foot shark he saw in the distance. I was thrilled when I saw the fin cutting through the water as we paddled towards it..... I expected to be pretty freaked out in such a situation.. but I was paddling like mad to get near the beast. It was only a 5-footer (which is still big enough to freak anyone out a bit)... yet I got pretty still after we corralled it for a short while with the kayaks. Any bigger of a shark and I would've wet myself. Guaranteed.

*Having a starfish (or "sea star") slowly crawl across my hand. They definitely don't move/behave anything like the ones in cartoons/movies

*Spending almost the entire rest of my afternoon in "iguana cove"... taking pictures & climbing the rocks to be amongst these crazy lizards. Watching them fight over food was very entertaining... especially when we pitted the supposed king of the iguanas against a rooster for a piece of fruit. Also got some pictures/video of a wild octopus in the shallow water of the cove. Intense!

*Nature hike with some of my cousins.. chasing chickens & catching hermit crabs


and now... for some more pictures!

holiday cruise : the highlights (part 1)

Even though this vacation isn't technically over until I arrive home tomorrow @ the oh-so-lovely Norfolk Airport..... I figured I'd go ahead with the highlights from the trip! Brace yourself....

*Being "chosen for additional screening" by the Norfolk airport. Every morning should start with some extra frisking & personal-space invasion.

*Seats by the door on the Atlanta flight, and hearing an old man ask the 2 flight attendants near us if they were ticklish. The resulting facial expressions were pure gold.

*Our one-night stay at the Ramada By The Port resort.... with the waterfall-infested pool, pink walls, amazing complimentary breakfast, and relatively quiet atmosphere (minus us, of course)

*The international employees serving in the main cafe on the cruise, and their personal catch-phrases that were used excessively for the duration of our time eating. There was "wine & dine" guy, "who needs ice ice ice" guy, and the most-guilty of them all.... the "juuuuuuiiiiccccyyy, it's good for you're tuuuummmmmyyyyy" lady. I was on the verge of snapping, when she finally stopped saying it... phew after 45 minutes

*The steel drum band playing throughout the weekend. 'Nuff said.

*Holding down the rhythm section for the Bahamian band in the welcome-center market in Nassau (video is on facebook)

*While roaming Nassau with my cousin Chad... we were called the "Blues Brothers" and "rock stars" countless times by the locals & the taxi-drivers... all because of our sweet hats & shades

*Escaping the persistent sales-kids who were pushing their conch shells & other sea-paraphenalia on us while we explored the streets of Nassau

*Taking a ferry from one-side of the bay to the other, learning random facts about 007 movies filmed in the city... and seeing Nicholas Cage's house in the Bahamas on millionaire row


I'll close out part 1 with a picture... just as a taste of what's to come (more highlights/pictures tomorrow)






















I couldn't resist when I saw this nonsensical sign while myself & my cousin Chad walked around the city


Stay tuned for part 2!

Delaying the inevitable

So I should be in Florida right now, with a full day to roam about until we board the ship tomorrow morning.... buuuuut we were flying to Newark, New Jersey to connect to a flight to Florida (because flying north FIRST makes complete sense) and the flight was delayed due to bad weather. So rather than waiting until late in hopes that we could still get to NJ.... we opted out and switched to a connecting flight @ 6ish a.m. this morning to Atlanta / then Orlando. SO yes, I'm awake again and preparing once more to head to the Norfolk airport haha. Cross your fingers that there aren't anymore delays!

Not sure what internet access will be like throughout this trip, so I can't guarantee any blog updates... so follow me on twitter.com/jakeholla, because that will be much easier to update via the cellular.

Much love! Hope everyone has a great week. I'll be back next Tuesday.

out with the old, in with the new?

I'll be seeing one of my favorite bands again tomor... er later today (seeing as it's already Tuesday) at the Norva over in Norfolk. The band, Taking Back Sunday, is doing a smaller-venue tour to give their new guitarist/back-up vocalist some face-time & experience with the fans before bigger things in '09 (with a new album coming soon). He's the 3rd guy to take-up this role in the band... with the 2 previous guys leaving due to a rift and/or desire to venture elsewhere musically with a new band.

Now I realize many of you may not have a clue who Taking Back Sunday is.... but I get the feeling there's at least one band you love that has experienced a line-up change at some point in their career. Maybe it was a minor change, or one that you were glad about... like seeing a band member get the boot due to a bad attitude or other issues. But maybe the change was devastating for you. Suddenly this band you loved was no longer the same band in your eyes.

What band, past or present, has affected your status as a devoted fan by going through a line-up change? Personally, I still love TBS despite the line-up changes.... but I'm not sure I can see Journey in the same light without Steve Perry (especially since the new lead singer was in a Journey cover band... and supposedly discovered on Youtube??)

Anyways.... discuss!

avast! the seas be treacherous

On Wednesday, I fly out of Norfolk with the fam to Florida to meet up with my aunts, uncles, & cousins on my dad's side o' the fam. From there we'll be boarding the Royal Caribbean cruise ship & conquering the high seas in luxurious style. Along the way we'll be invading Nassau & the cruise liner's private island in the Bahamas (Cococay Island). This is my first cruise ever... pretty excited, but also rather curious about what to expect. Have you ever been on a cruise? Captivate me with any crazy/funny/interesting stories regarding your experiences, and any pro-tips about what to do/what to see/where to go would be quite excellent as well!

follow the crowd

A simple & rather hilarious video..... but go deep with it. What inferences about life can you pull from this 6 second video?

"mind-bottling" cinema

Just finished re-watching the movie Donnie Darko with some of the dudes.... and I forgot how ridiculously deep & confusing that movie was. Watching it with a couple first-timers reminded me of how flabbergasted (awesome word, use it) I was after seeing it for the first time. Other movies that had a similar effect are the first Matrix movie, Signs, the Butterfly Effect, and Identity (the twist in that movie... holy cow...). What are some movies you've seen that really blew you away mentally... where you had to sit around and think for awhile, trying to wrap your head around it?

Also, props if you know what movie I'm referencing in the blog title.

Moments to cherish

So I got to thinking earlier... just reflecting on the past couple days.. and I started listing off strange/humorous little moments that I experienced from the weekend up until today


*I went with some youth from church to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday to bask in the childish fun of skee ball & other ticket-winning games.... and while playing a dinosaur-themed coin-drop game, I was kicked in the shin by a 5 year old. For no apparent reason. Definitely had to laugh that one off.... kids these days. He just scampered off to do whatever else he was dead-set on doing.

*During the same Chuck E Cheese adventure, I was accosted by another small child... this time verbally. I was in mid-game trying to hit the jackpot on another coin-drop game, and the kid steps up onto the platform with me and boldly demands "Yo, gimme a token" and puts his hand out. Really? Seeeeriously?? I just laughed and kept playing. In some cases I can relate.. remembering how I acted as kid... but stuff like this? Nope, sorry.. can't relate.. therefore I can't justify it in my mind.

*While passing the newly re-modeled Zoom's gas station here in Poquoson, I did a double-take when I noticed a man dressed as a clown dancing in between 2 of the pumps. I'm talkin' giant shoes, red nose, plaid clothes... the works, if you will. I'm surprised I didn't wreck as I tried to soak in the brief glimpse as I kept on driving

*Earlier today in the Farm Fresh parking lot, I was sitting in the car shuffling through cd's before I cranked the ignition.. when an older gentleman decided to attempt to squeeze his shopping cart in between the front of my car and the back of his. Clearly there wasn't enough room... but he tried anyway, and nailed the front of my car.. enough to make the car shake back & forth for a sec. Yet again... I just had to shake my head and laugh. I vaguely recall saying "what a weirdo" out loud.. not sure if the windows were down or not.


Welp that's all for now, I might think of more... it just seems this week has seen an all-time high in random amusing moments like these. Anybody else have any interesting experiences over the past couple days?

Sooo terrible... it's amazing

Stumbled across this old Journey music video..... and I wasn't prepared for all the hilariously bad moments scattered throughout. You MUST watch this video... it's a classic. SO terrible that it's pure gold.

Also, be on the lookout at the 2:31 marker.... my favorite part of the entire video.



If any music videos came to mind of the so-bad-it's-amazing type.... find that sucker on youtube and post the link the in comments! And re-post your terrible music video finding on your blog. Let's start a chain of these ridiculous video treasures.

it's official

*ahem*... Dear Titanic & crew, prepare to sink once more. The Dark Knight is being re-released on January 23rd, 2009 in regular & IMAX theaters. There was back & forth talk of it coming back into theaters for an Oscar push, and now a date has been set.

More importantly, the DVD comes out in 4 days... and I hope the supposed mask that comes with the movie @ Best Buy is a legit clown mask, and not some mini-replica.

with that being said, I get the feeling I will have seen this movie at least 20 times before it returns to theaters... and several more times in IMAX / AMC 24

oh, and the DVD is definitely coming with me on the holiday cruise to Jamaica / the Bahamas in 11 days. let there be clown-related chaos upon the Royal Caribbean =) (just as long as the re-sinking of the Titanic isn't brought to life during this oceanic adventure........ lol)

it really soothes the ears

-

Weak Sauce Of The Day (12-3-08)

I attempted to have a recurring post throughout the month, back when I started this blog.... so I thought I'd put some life back into this.

[W e a k S a u c e O f T h e D a y]








So I just realized that iTunes lost the #9 track on every album I have on my laptop (5,000+ songs... so however many albums that could amount to). Even if those files were still on my computer, which they aren't for whatever reason, it would still take forever to drag/drop each song back into iTunes....... thus I've resorted to re-ripping every #9 song off each of those albums. I figure I'll knock out 20 cd's a day, and make a daily habit of it. How inconveniently ridiculous.......

And THAT..... is the weak sauce of the day

Frigid weather excellence

So I'm about to go play some ultimate frisbee in 44-degree weather (with a "real feel" of 38-degrees).... we've played non-stop, every Tuesday for the past 3 or 4 months.... and will probly continue, no matter what the weather throws at us. I look forward to the slightest possibility of playing in the snow this season (be nice to us, global warming... I'll consider it as a Christmas gift).

My question is, what's one thing you absolutely love to do outside (or that requires traveling to, where weather would affect the travel-conditions) that you would continue doing no matter what the weather is like? And answering "playing video games" is only allowed if you have to drive from somewhere like Hampton to VA Beach to get to a friend's house where you would be playing said video games.

NSN '08... the finale!

Welp, kids.... it's been amazing. So long for now, man-beard.

Enjoy the pics!


















































































Th-th-th-th-th-th-thaaaaaat's all, folks