Nameless Concepts

Star Trek

2009-04-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

Why is it that I can just sit down and blow through something like 12 episodes of Star Trek and I never, ever, get tired of it? Am I sick?

Incidentally, I will be busy on May 8th

-Nicholas

Who said it could rain today?

2009-04-01T17:21:00.001-07:00

I sure didn't! Man, how is a guy supposed to go to the zoo when its all like rain all over the place!

But it was still fun and apparently the animals don't mind it!

The Oregon Zoo is apparently doing a ton of renovations, including a lion exhibit.

Ok!, Going to play guitar hero now!

-Nicholas

Aminals!

2009-04-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the Zoo today! I'll let you know how it goes...

(I'm secretly hoping the animals get loose. But everyone knows cool stuff like that never happens.)

-Nicholas

Store!

2009-03-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

I designing some shirts and stuff! You should see a mini-store above the links on the right side the site.

If you happen to check it out, let me know what you think about my designs! I'll be adding more later.

NamelessNicholas' Store

-Nicholas

Zazzle

2009-03-20T00:34:00.000-07:00

I just found out about a pretty cool site Zazzle.com

Apparently you can submit a design for shirts, mugs, whatever, and they'll make it happen! You can buy something you design on your own, or you can open a store to sell your designs and receive a commission of 10%-50% or higher.

So I'm gonna try it out! I'll make a permanent link later when I have some designs up, but my store page will be http://www.zazzle.com/NamelessNicholas

-Nicholas

Lavalavalavalava

2009-03-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

Oh! Hello there. I have a band now!
Lava Punch on Soundclick

So we've got 3 songs up at the moment, with a couple more on the way. Check it out! Let me know what you think!

-Nicholas

Jonas Bonus

2009-01-23T23:05:00.000-08:00

Tiger Beat magazine breeds strange obsessions with young people.

-Nicholas

You are a pirate

2009-01-22T23:22:00.000-08:00

It's more than just a crime... for some people, it is also a passionate hobby.

-Nicholas

Dishwashers

2009-01-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

Oh man this happened just like 5 minutes ago. I'm not sure what I was thinking...

-Nicholas

Kids and animals

2009-01-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

-Nicholas

Yawn

2009-01-13T05:05:00.001-08:00

OK YES THE IRONY OF ME POSTING THIS AT 5AM IS NOT LOST ON ME THANK YOU VERY MUCH

-Nicholas

Media

2009-01-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

I made this after watching a morning news show today

It wasn't exactly how it went but not 2 seconds after they interview this guy about how depressed people are getting (due to the economy) one of the newscasters starts saying how vacations cheer her up.

A pretty bad case of poor timing

-Nicholas

Job Interview

2009-01-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

The man looked like a Radio-Shack threw up on him,

-Nicholas

Fast Food

2009-01-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

I mean I don't like to be mean to Fast Food employees but you'd at least hope they'll try to get an order right every now and then

-Nicholas

Last one today i promise

2009-01-07T07:18:00.001-08:00

Because, hey, talented artists just aren't insulted enough, right?

-Nicholas

Ok I did more than one today

2009-01-07T07:16:00.001-08:00

I am beginning to suspect that I am doing these on purpose

-Nicholas

It happened again

2009-01-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Man I don't know. I don't know, ok?!

-Nicholas

thatsnotcool.com

2009-01-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

Ah Brandon Hardesty made a little PSA I enjoyed;

Ah funny stuff.

But seriously, it's an interesting, and unfortunate, topic. The site and the PSAs are geared more towards Text messages, but also touches on social networking.

I've never really thought that myspace, facebook (and yes the whole 'texting' scene) and the like were appropriate avenues for young people to post profiles or 'network'... It's not that it's a bad concept, keeping up with friends, family, meeting new people. But social networking - from IMing to Twitter accounts, to TXTing - has become a cesspool. Parents and others responsible for young people really need to be as tech-savvy as they can. If nothing else you can relate to your kids better in the age of blu-rays and RAMS and computer-boxes.

Ah, I had a whole thing written up about it, but Long story short; there's a right way and a wrong way to be 'connected' for everyone. Hate to see anyone, especially kids, put themselves in a bad spot. Who wants dirty messages on their myspace page or constant txts anyway?

http://www.thatsnotcool.com/

-Nicholas

Um...

2009-01-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

whoops I did another one

What am I doing!? What am I doing?!
-Nicholas

So I woke up and drew something

2009-01-06T07:03:00.001-08:00

ok let's see where this goes

-Nicholas

And now its time for the show!

2009-01-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

Been playing around with this whole 'Audio Show' idea a bit more, so I wanted to just make a quick note about it.

So I think a clever idea is to make it sort of eh... A series of shows within a show. Here's the pitch;

2-or-3 young guys are hired on as interns at an AM/FM station only to have their fantasies about the 'glamor' of Radio jolted by the station's odd staff. The main 'station scenes' are frequently interrupted by music, sketches, or (mainly) ongoing radio dramas played by the 'station'.

The flavor I think we'll be shooting for will be somewhere along the lines of 'The Department', 'The Office', and, I guess, Sesame Street.

My one concern with this concept is loosing focus on the stories within the show in favor of the 'Sitcom' setting.

-Nicholas

Nick.... SMASH!!!

2008-12-26T00:33:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine apparently noticed my blog and (for some reason?) associated it with gamma radiation and uncontrollable rage...

I think I like it! I must be more dangerous than the Hulk because apparently I don't even need to get angry to turn into a big green ball of irradiated madness, just sort of whimsical.

So right now me and Sam have a project in the works. Not entirely sure what the final product is going to look like exactly, but it's going to be a series of radio-style comedy plays. I will probably post a .wav or a youtube clip when we have a sample ready.

Also! The game is coming along nicely. Er, well it's getting more complicated anyway. It's getting to the point where I almost need to decide whether to program it or turn it into a tabletop game... maybe I'd better actually put the whole system on display and ask for feedback at this point?

maybe next time!

OMG BEST VIDEO EVAR

2008-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

This basically made my whole day.

A New Direction

2008-11-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

What was going to be a music blog is going through a minor (re: Major) change.

I have been, for a while now, needing something to keep me motivated creatively. This is the expression of that desire I guess. Somewhere to gather my thoughts. Even if I get a notion in my head that I don't really have the means to execute, I can at least flesh it out here - see something, have something to show for my sleepless nights and caffine induced hallucinations.

So, first off, a few different things I've been rolling around in my head;

Webcomic:
So Highschool Starship wasn't a complete bust, but it is kind of gone now. We've been making some progress on a new concept, but I've been struggling with the art. One hindrance is my lack of tools - I want to use a wacom tablet, but the 4"x6" I have doesn't really cut the mustard (Did I really just say that? Did I really just not edit it out and express disdain in parenthesis?). If I can get some scans up I will post those soon.

Music:
It's been so long since I REALLY picked up the guitar. I've got a yearing to do some Dr. Horrible covers, so maybe that will help? Also Cameron wants to form a 3-man group but it's not exactly the direction I want to go. A new, faster computer and a midi keyboard would help!

Oh, and I guess my way of miscellenia, I have a sort of Roleplaying Game System I'm building. Not being into the full-blown RPing scene, it's sort of a bare-bones, turn based combat system. Could be a fun party game for the non D&D nerd, sort of along the lines of Settlers of Katan. More on this later!

-Nicholas

Overload

2006-11-03T23:13:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel incredibly inadequate whenever someone comes along and seems to rattle off names of bands you've never heard of, but you SHOULD have, plus numerous details about their concert dates, discography, influences, etc... ?

Maybe it's a by-product of not intentionally focusing on only a paticular niche in music. Maybe it's a by-product of a concientious stand on not downloading music illegally, and thus not having convient access to new music. Maybe it's both... But I just feel behind constantly.

Take the group 'Metric' for example. I found this group, fronted by the lovely Emily Haines, on iTunes about a year & a half ago (the album itself was released in 2003). I didn't love every song, but the majority of songs on 'Old World Underground' were certainly a breathe of fresh air, and a nice break from the 'My Chemical Romance' songs I was introduced to at the time (not that I don't like my MCR, mind you).

But my whirlwind romance with Metric (as whirlwind romances are want to do) ended. Not that I had forgotten the band completly, but there was too much music I still needed to catch up on. Snow Patrol, Coldplay's newest album, The Decemberists, plus some Gloria Estafan songs I'd been DIEING to download for some time. Now come to find that Metric released 'Live it Out' in 2005 without my even having heard about it! Why didn't I check up on it? Why didn't I bookmark the bands web page?

I don't know. Maybe keeping this blog will motivate me to keep up on a few specific groups more often... Carbon Leaf is another band that lost my attention unfairly quite a while ago. It's some solace that any given CD mix I create will have more than a couple of songs that the majority of my friends haven't heard, and will probably scratch their heads at. But on the other hand, it's difficult to keep up with both the 'pop' and 'underground' scenes, let alone all the in-betweeners I'm so very fond of, without becoming sort of lost in it all.

Anyway. Panic! at the Disco and Metric are going to be in town very soon, and I'm considering going to an actual concert for the first time in a long time. I'm quite sure I'm going to hate everything but the music, but concerts are a topic for another time.

Goodnight, (does that work as a sign off? I think it'll do)
Niqorasu

Am Radio - Radioactive

2006-11-03T00:24:00.000-08:00

Just a short post to get us started.

'AM Radio ' was a group that I found, not surprisingly, on iTunes a couple years ago. What WAS surprising, at least to me, is the fact that I hadn't heard them at all on any of my local radio stations. (Apparently Am Radio was featured on 'One Tree Hill' at some point, but since this blog is at least partially dedicated to non-negative comments, we won't talk about televised teen drama)

Their one and only album, cutely titled 'Radioactive' features not one single song not worth listening to. It opens and finishes strong with 'If This Is the End of the World' and 'Distant Shining Star', but the real highlights for me come at the slower 'I Just Wanna Be Loved' & 'Oh Oh Oh'. Pick any song of the 13 tracks, and it could easily be a great single.

The vocales are very smooth sounding throughout, quite a bonus if you're one who prefers the non-screaming bits of any given 'Linkin Park' song, but not so pure as to irritate one's inner angst-ridden teen. The music itself is as fast paced and alternative sounding as it needs to be without being overbearing. 'Radioactive' makes for one very accessible album that is at the same time unique.

Still-not-having-thought-of-anything-clever-to-sign-off-with,
Niqorasu

A music critic? Hardly.

2006-11-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

This *ahem* "'Blog'" as the hip-kids like to call it, is a kind of expirament for me. I'm not exactly sure what I hope to accomplish... But it isn't exactly directionless, either.

On the surface, it's really just a way to organize my thoughts. In paticular, my thoughts on music. But do I want to make an attempt at genuine critiquing? I don't think I could do so and feel honest about it. I don't attend concerts (but not as a rule). I'm barely a musician (I play a guitar, but very poorly). I know very little about the industry on a commercial level... I have so many other things to worry about in my personal life to keep up with, that I just don't have the energy to stay so keenly interested in every single band reaching some minute level of noteriety.

That isn't to say that music is not important to me. 'Love' is a big word to me, and I try not to throw it around lightly. I make note of that becuase I want to convey my full meaning when I say this; That I love music. I spend a fair amount of time looking for new, exciting bands... iTunes is the preferable method used to track down my quarry, but I'm certainly not above rummaging the bins at local record shops, or even buying a brand spanking new plastic-covered album at, oh, let's say 'Wal-Mart', just to be controversial.

I don't let good songs pass me by, and I do not let my tastes narrow based on the whims of popularity or age. Matthew Sweet gathers as much playtime on my list as Jefferson Starship and Twisted Sister. I once had the 'Ghostbusters' Theme song follow Imogen Heap's 'Hide & Seek'. Ever heard of The Concretes? Camera Obscura? Royksopp? Do you remember Lit, or Sugarcult? Throw in a Beatles song or two and you've got a pretty good road trip mix, methinks!

I think what I'm trying to convey is that I'm not a elitist. But you will find that my tastes jump all over the place, and that's something I'm proud of. Some stuff that people who are not your grandmother could only ever enjoy ironically I will play over and over again (though fans of irony will find my comments on certain artists amusing).

I won't always be up on the newest or most trendy stuff. But, hey, I've got something to say about what I do listen to. If you read this blog, I hope you find something you hadn't heard before that you'll like - or hate - and that you'll leave a recomendation in your comments of a song or band that I might not be familar with. I'm always interested in checking out stuff thats new, or new to me.

Still-thinking-of-a-clever-way-to -sign-off,
Niqorasu

Testing

2006-11-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

This is just a test run. Whee!