I DJ For You: Alexandra Burke - All Night Long (Jason Nevins Remixes) http://ping.fm/08RS2

I DJ For You: Alexandra Burke - All Night Long (Cahill Remixes + Pitbull Remix) http://ping.fm/AHZwd

I DJ For You http://ping.fm/u0AUE

In B-flat

I will admit that 90% of the time I use with StumbleUpon is time well wasted. However, every now and then the intelligent random-browsing add-on leads me to some unbelievable places. Case and point: a few weeks ago I came across In B flat. As the description on the site says:

"In Bb 2.0 is a collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from Science for Girls, and developed with contributions from users.

The videos can be played simultaneously -- the soundtracks will work together, and the mix can be adjusted with the individual volume sliders."

I told a friend of mine about it, and he posted his own blog entry that can be found here, at Recruit Zero's "The Recon". Basically, the way I feel about it is that a project as cool and impressive as this deserves all the publicity it can get, so I'm doing my part here by helping spread the word. Check it out, you will not regret it!

call me em

The World's Best Music Mix for the gym, before a game, or whenever you just want to get the blood flowing and kick some ass!

Alright, so I wasn't satisfied with the way iTunes limits its iMix capabilities to only 100 songs, and since I don't buy most of my music from the iTunes store it only recognized a handful of the ones on my mix. Therefore, I decided to publish the complete mix on here so that anyone looking for a very solid, comprehensive list of songs to listen to while working out or doing whatever may call for some adrenaline fueling music can find it and get started with their own. This is an ongoing list, I will note, but over the course of about the last eight or so years I've basically whittled this mix down to be something close to perfect for listening to at the gym or in the lockerroom before a big game (at least for me). There's a little something to appeal to everyone - hip-hop, hardcore rap, techno, instrumental, orchestral, alternative, rock, and metal - so that's why I believe this is the ultimate music playlist for its purpose. Hope anyone who finds this enjoys what I've offered.

So here it is anyway, over 150 songs of pure adrenaline:

Back in Black - AC/DC
Hells Bells - AC/DC
Rock 'N Roll Train - AC/DC
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be - AC/DC
For Those About To Rock - AC/DC
This Calling - All That Remains
Bloc Party - Apathy, M. Shinoda, and Tak of S.O.B.
Bonkers (Doorly Remix) - Armand Van Helden & Dizzee Rascal
The Sound of Truth - As I Lay Dying
Becoming the Bull - Atreyu
Doomsday - Atreyu
Set It Off - Audioslave
Cochise - Audioslave
Contact by Bass - Basshunter
Vifta Med Händerna - Basshunter
Castaway - Benassi Bros.
Feel Alive - Benassi Bros.
Follow (Radio Edit) - Breaking Benjamin
Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do) - Bullet For My Valentine
Hit The Floor - Bullet For My Valentine
Don't Touch Me (Travis Barker Remix) - Busta Rhymes
S******e - Charlie Clouser
The Final Test - Charlie Clouser
Requiem for a Dream (Orchestral Version) - Clint Mansell
Rap Superstar (Prizefighter remix feat. DMX) - Cypress Hill
Fight Music [Instrumental] - D12
Robot Rock-Oh Yeah - Daft Punk
Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
The Little Things - Danny Elfman
Thunderhorse - Dethklok
Crunk Muzik - The Diplomats
Indestructible - Disturbed
Inside the Fire - Disturbed
Perfect Insanity - Disturbed
Stupify - Disturbed
Down With The Sickness - Disturbed
The Game - Disturbed
Just Stop - Disturbed
Stricken - Disturbed
Sons Of Plunder - Disturbed
Pain Redefined - Disturbed
Party Up (Up In Here) - DMX
X Gon' Give It To Ya - DMX
The Wait Is OVer (feat. Reef The Lost Cauze & Vinny Paz) - Doap Nixon
Warning Shot - Doap Nixon
I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys
Underground (Produced By Dr. Dre) - Eminem
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Rabbit Run - Eminem
Public Enemy - Eminem
I Am (Remix feat. Marilyn Manson) - Eminem
Go To Sleep - Eminem Feat. DMX & Obie Trice
Drama Setter (Featuring Eminem & Obie Trice) - Eminem, Obie Trice & Tony Yayo
It's My Time ft. Jermih - Fabolous
Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim
Low Remix - Flo Rida f. T- Pain & Travis Barker
My Hero - Foo Fighters
Let It Die - Foo Fighters
Cover And Duck - Fort Minor (Featuring Styles Of Beyond and Celph Titled)
Dolla - Fort Minor and Styles Of Beyond
Dope Boys - The Game
straight out of line - godsmack
M.A.D. - Hadouken
Fukken Uber Death Party - Hanzel und Gretyl
Use Me - Hinder
Undead - Hollywood Undead
The March - Hush
Shoot Outs - Jadakiss
Black Hearts (On Fire) - Jet
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - Jet
Rage - John Murphy
go go go - john murphy
Genesis - Justice
Underdog - Kasabian
Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Bawitdaba - Kid Rock
This Fire Burns - Killswitch Engage
Here To Stay - Korn
My Generation - Limp Bizkit
Given Up - Linkin Park
Papercut - Linkin Park
One Step Closer - Linkin Park
Figure.09 - Linkin Park
Hit the Floor - Linkin Park
Bleed It Out - Linkin Park
Don't Stay - Linkin Park
Rock the Beat - LMFAO
This Is the New Shit - Marilyn Manson
Disposable Teens - Marilyn Manson
The Fight Song - Marilyn Manson
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Fall Into Sleep - Mudvayne
Rock Star (Jason Nevins Remix) - N.E.R.D.
Boom! - Nelly
Burn It To The Ground - Nickelback
Never Again - Nickelback
The Day the World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails
Fuckin' in the bushes - Oasis
Brute Force 2 feat Vinnie Paz - Outerspace
Bad Boy For Life (remix) - P Diddy feat Busta Rhymes & M.
The Saga Continues - P. Diddy & The Bad Boy Family
Boom - P.O.D.
Not Listening - Papa Roach
Between Angels and Insects - Papa Roach
Last Resort - Papa Roach
To Be Loved - Papa Roach
X Gonna Get Away With Murder - Papa Roach Vs. DMX
Blood Sugar - Pendulum
Granite (Original Mix) - Pendulum
Showdown (High Quality) - Pendulum
Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums - A Perfect Circle
Omen - The Prodigy
Invaders Must Die (Liam H's Re-Amped Version) - The Prodigy
Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) - The Prodigy
Victory (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes) - Puff Daddy
Sleep now in the fire - Rage Against the Machine
Testify - Rage Against The Machine
Guerrilla Radio - Rage Against The Machine
Bulls On Parade - Rage Against the Machine
Freedom - Rage Against the Machine
Merchant Of Death - Ramin Djawadi
Du Hast - Rammstein
Mein Herz Brennt - Rammstein
Hell Yeah - Rev Theory
Re-Education (Through Labor) - Rise Against
Injection - Rise Against
Dragula - Rob Zombie
Superbeast - Rob Zombie
American Nightmare - Rob Zombie
S.C.O.M. - Ryu of S.O.B., M. Shinoda, Juelz Santana, and Celph Titled
Superstar - Saliva
Click Click Boom - Saliva
Survival Of The Sickest - Saliva
Two Steps Back - Saliva
Club Inferno (Extended Version) - Scarf!
driven - sevendust
You're Going Down - Sick Puppies
Awake And Alive - Skillet
Crank That (Travis Barker Remix & Rework) - Soulja Boy
Black Betty - Spiderbait
the Only - Static-X
Riot Maker (Enjoy) (Ft. Skatterman, Snug Brim) - Tech N9ne
Move - Thousand Foot Krutch
Fever Dream - Tyler Bates
To Victory - Tyler Bates
Get Free - The Vines
This Is Acid - Voodo & Serano
Translator - Young Jeezy
Citizen Soldier - 3 Doors Down
Patiently Waiting - 50 Cent
You Dont Know ( Dirty ) - 50 Cent, Eminem, Cashis, LLoyd Banks
'Till I Collapse (Megamix) - Eminem, 2Pac, 50 Cent

Update: In the UK! (days 1-17)

I keep making these promises to myself to keep this blog up to date, since I've tried to start a couple before and always trailed off after not too long. I've even told myself that same thing when I first started this one, and lo and behold, I've let quite a bit of time go by between posts. However, I figure that as long as I'm abroad (i.e. for the next couple months) I may as well keep this blog up to date as a sort of journal of my travails and excursions. I'm pretty new at this whole "being abroad" thing, since this is virtually my first time ever being out of the United States for an extended period of time. I've been to Canada a few times, but once was on a school trip, once was for Christmas with my family, once was for hockey camp, and once was for New Years with a large group of friends from school. Up until now, each time I had been fortunate enough to venture outside the United States, I didn't really venture away from American culture. In that respect, at least, this is my first time experiencing a foreign culture. Now, after that long-winded introduction, onto my time in the UK so far!

I arrived in Manchester at the airport around two in the afternoon on September 20th. I had flown all night from JFK, connected in Paris, and then finally landed in England, which would be my place of residence for the next three months. I would characterize my first few weeks here in the UK as the exploits of a naive American tourist on his own. I've spent way too much money on travel expenses because I don't know any of the ins or outs of a different country. I've saved money on food, but mostly because I don't know what else to eat besides instant dinners, I'm not a very good cook, and I've missed many a meal already because my sleep schedule is so out of whack. As far as alcohol is concerned, I'd say it constitutes a fair portion of my expenses because, much to my amazement and liking, every night is a night when "Uni" (University = American understanding of college) kids go out, including Mondays...and Sundays! That being said, I've been partying it up pretty hard since being over, and classes haven't gotten in the way at all, as I was hoping. My schedule has been totally optimized for the lazy American student: Mondays from 10am to 3pm, then Tuesdays from 9am to noon and that's IT FOR THE WEEK!

As a result of my never-ending party schedule, I've met some pretty amazing people over here. Though I'm staying in York, attending York St. John University, I had a chance to see a little bit of London on my first weekend in the country. I had signed up to take the LSAT in September, and since the test date fell just after I was due in England, I booked a spot to take it in London at a venue called Ironmonger Hall, which I learned was used in at least one of the Harry Potter films! I stayed a few miles away from the test site, which may have been my first mistake, since this required me to depend on my ability to navigate the street/bus/Tube route of London in my first week in the country. Basically, I ended up hopping on the right bus going in the wrong direction, effectively making me late for the test. Thankfully, it started late, and they had waited for stragglers like me for a few minutes, so I did take the test in full the next day. That night, I stayed at a friend's flat in South Croydon who I had played lacrosse with two years ago in college. He graduated when I was a sophomore, and now he is in England coaching and playing lacrosse here - spreading the game to other countries as it were. We went into London for the night out and I had a great time, getting my first real taste of a kebab stand, which I have noticed are the UK equivalent of hot dog vendors in NYC.
I took the train back up to York from London, after snapping a picture of Platform 9 3/4 of course, and since then have been involved in many a shenanigan here at school (nothing against the law, of course).

My flatmates are awesome and have made the transition process much easier on me. My neighbor made me my first real cup of English tea within my first 10 minutes in the house! And it was great! The same can be said for the other students I'm here with from school back in the states, a good number of which I never knew as well before and am sad I didn't meet until this year. Apart from my English flatmates and American classmates, I have met tons of great people, guys and girls alike, who have expressed just as much interest and willingness to learn about American culture as I have to learn theirs. I'm too shy to try it sober, but when I've loosened up a little I find the liquid courage to attempt an English accent, which I have heard sometimes sounds "posh" and at other times "Scottish" - neither of which makes all that much sense or difference to me, since I have trouble distinguishing one from the other! On the flip side, I've tried to help some of my new English friends with their American "accents" (even though, to me, it isn't an 'accent' per-se) as well as teaching them catch phrases and slang.

I think that's about enough for this post, probably even a bit too much, but I had to squeeze it in somewhere (pause). I leave for Amsterdam on Thursday evening for the weekend, which I am really looking forward to and will be sure to write about!

Until then, call me Em.

Annapolis + Yes Man + Seven Pounds = a new direction in life

I feel like I just attended a full Tony Robbins seminar, or read a self-help book cover to cover, or something to that general effect. I watched the movie, Annapolis, awhile ago, but the message still resonates quite strongly within me, and having just finished watching Yes Man and Seven Pounds (in a row, during a 4 hour movie marathon), I can confidently say that I am, at present, in the process of reevaluating my life on a grand scale. I will say that I am someone who (thanks Dad) has an emotional disposition to feel very emotional during movies, even when the scenes playing out don't have a clear emotional focal point. That being said, I think that anyone, callous or compassionate, would be hard put to watch the three movies I have mentioned and not to feel some twinge of empathy, sympathy, or humanity coming out of them. I will chalk some part of this up to good directing, screenplay, and/or writing, but I think that the message each of the three aforementioned films combine to send is one that any real person cannot ignore. Is our world perfect? Absolutely not - far from it, in fact. But the next question the proverbial 'philosophe' would ask is this: are we doing all we can, as individuals, to push the world in the right direction? I will be the first to point out that, pertaining to Annapolis, our government (at least under the careful watch of George, Jr.) has left many people and peoples unsatisfied - despondent even - looking for some light within what has become of the glory and hope of our Constitutional ideals. However, reading into the ideals themselves, no one can ignore or remain ignorant of the fact that there is a sincere hope somewhere, buried underneath all the words, their discrepancies included. Annapolis, for all its poor acting and picayune plot-line, does send a positive message to the judicious and inquisitive viewer: this life isn't all about you, or what you want to accomplish - it's about something much bigger. Each one of us is a spoke in one giant wheel (says I - the optimist for humanity) towards progress, and once we realize that and leave our selfish natures behind, we can contribute something meaningful to humanity as a whole.
Seven Pounds, similarly, is not a movie about individual accomplishment. True, it is a wildly fantastic case study of what momentous change can occur in a small bubble in the world when one determined, resourceful, and competent person puts every ounce of themselves into an exceptional undertaking. However, the message by the end is clear - while our own lives may be important in themselves, mostly to us savoring the pleasures of living a life we enjoy, the effect that we can generate and project onto the world around us - changing other peoples' lives - is what gives each individual worth. That is precisely what makes a life worthy of being lived. We learn it in kindergarten for a reason: sharing is good. Sharing is what makes communities function, what keeps families together and nations indivisible.
Finally, on to Yes Man, which may seem to some not really of equal emotional/educational caliber of the previous two (okay, maybe just Seven Pounds). The movie centers around themes of self-help, personal improvement, and general psychology ideas as we get a typical performance from Jim Carey - hilarious and vulnerable at just the right moments (and somehow always managing to leave a smile on our faces even when we feel like grabbing the tissue box). Saying no may seem the easiest thing to do sometimes, and to be fair saying yes all of the time is not always the best, as the movie makes sure to illustrate. But the general thesis I came up with was this - and I ask for no credit pertaining to originality or even intelligence in formulating this thesis - you lose in life when you take no risks. It's rather simple. I'll refer back to a cliche poker saying, which is that you can't win what you don't put on the table. For those unfamiliar with the game of poker, this basically means that if you don't play your hands, regardless of what cards you may be holding, good or bad, it is impossible to win. Sometimes in life, you get thrown lemons, and you make lemonade, as the saying goes. But when life doesn't give you lemons, sometimes you just have to strap on your boots and go out into the world to go and get those lemons, so you can enjoy yourself some sweet lemonade! It's cliche yes, and it's also quite unoriginal I'm sure, but I've learned that sometimes the most obvious things are the things we miss. It's so easy to get caught up in the fast pace of today, with the constant stream of information coming at us in the media wherever we look, that we don't stop to think about what we're doing living our lives - it's almost like we stop living and start floating, coasting, drifting through life aimlessly and without purpose. It's been quite a long time since my last post because that is exactly what happened to me (plus I've been kinda busy, but excuses only bring more excuses, so that's neither here nor there). Anyone patient enough to read this entire post, I thank you kindly and hope you enjoyed it and maybe even got something out of it.

Until next time - call me em.