This past week

     Hey there my beloved gunzmen! Thought I'd take some time to let you guys know what I've been up to. It's been quite a good week for me, albeit very relaxing as well.
      Thus far, I managed to change up my workout routine, especially the approach. Right now it's looking very much like the following:


Monday - Chest/Triceps w/45 mins VO2 Max Cardio
Tuesday -Shoulders w/30 mins cardio
Wednesday - Back/Biceps w/10 pre- and post-workout cardio
Thursday - Legs/Abs w/5 mins pre-workout & 20 mins post-workout cardio
Friday - Off

     As far as supplements go, just some good ol' vitamins, fish oil and some B12. Diet-wise, I have my temptations but I push myself to avoid eating after 8pm. No easy task for us Ricans.
     I might sit down and just record a few guitar/song ideas as some stuff have surfaced in my head. Meanwhile, I've also decided to slowly learn drums. I don't plan on being Peart, Portnoy, Rev, Eugene Rivera or Danny Rodriguez but I felt it was time to give drumming a try on the side, especially for ideas and to channel out my inner drummer tendencies that itch their way when I listen to music. If I can get to at least be as good as the Phil Rudd (AC/DC), I'll be fine lol.
     Hanging out with my buddy Alisha's been fun too. From goin' to Ft. Greene Park to just Netflixing to even wrestling. I give her props, she's pretty strong and my shoulder's kinda sore as it is.
     Fellowshipping on a more consistent basis this past week has been quite the comfort for me. I definitely missed catching up with the church folk and just simply enjoying ourselves in the Lord and stuff. Times are tough but unity has its way of helping people overcome. Even if everything else vaporized, if we hold onto the very source of life itself, we'll be alright.

Begins again

     I'm back in school! What a f***ing relief! After recovering from a bull$*** 2nd degree sunburn and performing this past weekend, I'm happy in saying that life is turning back to normal again. Work, working out and school. For me, that's simple enough.
     Meanwhile, I've been taking time to start reassessing my personal goals and finances. I find that if I simply focus on paying bills, I can manage to get the things I really need in the long run. I thank a long time friend of mine for pushing me to really look into that because I was beginning to wonder how my money ended up in a black hole.
     Perhaps I'm a sucker for promos but despite having some fun with Boost Mobile, apparently Virgin Mobile has the better deal of $25/month for 300 mins + text/web/data. Given that I'm not exactly making 30k/year, the least I can do is minimize on the spending. With this economy, we can't afford to wildly spend unless we're celebrities or something like that. Oh Virgin Mobile, how you long to re-capture my heart long after I once sold my soul to T-Mobile for five years.
     I'll definitely be enjoying my Graphic Design class as it'll help me refine one of my other talents. The prof seems to be truly awesome and it's making me exited about Fridays.
     The show at Connolly's was pretty good this past weekend. All I can say is that a lot of you missed out. It was a pretty cool 30 mins and got to even chat a little with the band that opened before us known as White Meat.
     I will be going back to writing for my Walk This Realm book and proofreading my co-worker's wife's book. Lord, lift the demon of procrastination from my soul lolz!

That time again

     Well now, it's that time again--back to school! While you suckers gotta buy books and paper, all i'll need is my mac--since i got the books for my classes.
     I'm also uber-exited about rehearsal this Saturday at Danny Screams Studio as well as my show August 28 at Connolly's. Talk about a way to ready yourself for school and the fall. I even cut my hair as a means of a new start in school. Michael Jordan used to shave his head every NBA season as a sign of a fresh start back in the late 80's and early 90's.
     For those out of the loop, I have a new cell number and gone are the days with T-Mobile. Whereas I was happy with them from 2005-2008, these past two years have shown that they're not that stable with reception. I may be on Boost Mobile but at least my reception's constant and I have unlimited everything for $50/month.
      In case if everyone's not in the loop, 91,000 documents (you read correctly) have been leaked, unveiling things that have been going on within the Afghan war as far back as 2004. From the looks of it, a whole lot of soldiers and politicians got hell waiting for them because war crimes are in the mix, especially with the killing of innocent civilians thrown in the mix. I hope Bush and Cheney were proud of making our troops look very much like Nazi soldiers. May God have mercy for the troops that followed whatever cruel orders they were given during '04-'10. Indeed, the faith in our troops and leaders will be shaken to the core (as though it hasn't been already).
     After the Ron Gunz show, I will be readying myself for some open mics to get my poetry out there. I want my work known and I really desire to let the work know about my writing genius.
     In turn, I've been learning something as of late. Often, Christians have a habit of "going to church". Yet many of them don't "be church". What I mean is, they go to meet each other--which is nice but how often do we consider being instead of going to? I also wonder what is each church's vision. Years ago, it seemed to be all about numbers. The more members you had, the more "blessed" the church group was. Really? Is that it? I thought the goal was to shed the light of Christ. I thought the goal was to show the love of Jesus and the news of Him offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice so that our shackles of sin could be broken. Instead of focusing on politics and appearance, I feel that some believers need to focus on building Christ-like character. If the world hates us, let it be because they hate the genuine Christ-like character that we develop as we mature in the Lord.

Lord Gimme A Sign! - DMX

Time for a change

"Enough is Enough, it's time for a change"- Owen Hart

     These were the words that echoed in my head as I hung up my cell after a good talk with Pastor Sammy Cuevas tonight. Change is really needed in my life and I look forward to it.
     I would like to thank Awakening Church for helping me in nurturing a spiritual rehab in my life. Before fellowshipping with them, I was becoming a mess. Looking for relationships, disappointed at all the flakers that never supported me in a single damn show, seeing my finances kind of go haywire to even my self-esteem going back and forth. My faith in my own fellow brethren in Christ was slowly fading as well, given that I started to see how hypocritical and phony a lot of Christians really were. I witnessed one of my best friends get judged and sent to hell with pink drawers in a handbasket meanwhile he's trying to find truth and God in the midst of the madness he's enduring. I also found myself spiritually burned out, hanging on to simply the name above all names and hanging onto my soul in the process. You get tired of pleasing everyone. You get tired of also not pleasing anyone. Damned if you do or don't. No one could understand that (that I knew/know of).
     As time passed, Awakening helped me come to my spiritual senses and remember that some people can easily be pleased and some people simply will never be won over. In the process, though, you do what is best for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your love for God and/or whatever you believe in and for the purpose of doing what, in the end, will matter to you. Ladies come and go, friends come and go. Hell, in some cases, even family come and go but your own being always remains. IF you believe in any deity, then God and yourself are the only two things that matter. You just can't show full love to others if you can't love yourself. Thankfully, that's something I'm learning to do and I'm enjoying it very much.

Star-Crossed Wasteland review

     Hey readers, I'm just here putting up my review of In This Moment's release of their new album, A Star-Crossed Wasteland. Believe me, I felt like the beginning was a lot like a wasteland. It kicks off with The Gun Show. I didn't think they could write bad lyrics but wow, I'm proven wrong. I'm glad they pulled off one song without any clean vocals. That's admirable since they've never pulled that off. As far as riffs and stuff, it feels overproduced. The lead guitar is so buried underneath the rhythm that you're lucky if you hear anything. The bass is about as near-inaudible as back in Metallica's ...And Justice For All album. Come on, cowboy (That's literally a lyric from the song). The Blondie cover was enough, we didn't need a metalcore version that has more breakdowns than Devil Wears Prada.     Just Drive gives it that, "now this album is starting". Definitely has "Rock Band downloadable" written all over it. They basically jump back to a melodic metalcore sound and it sounds pretty nice, especially with the cool acoustic parts thrown in between. The lead guitar finally breathes. The bass is still near-inaudible.
     I really like The Promise. It reminds you a bit of The Dream album in terms of the balance of aggression and melody. In this song, there's male vocals assisting and he sounds pretty damn good. Adian Patrick from Otherwise reminds me of Donald Carpenter from Submersed/Eye Empire. There's some scream/sing crossovers between them as in some parts Maria will scream and he'll sing and in others he screams and Maria sings. He gives a refreshing touch to their music. No solo here but this new dynamic is pretty satisfying to me.
     Standing Alone is a cool song. Nice drum dynamics and Maria once again shows her prowess in switching between screaming and singing. The lead guitar lines begin to shimmer here. This will definitely be a crowd-pleaser at live shows. I think the only old song they have that this reminds me of at least is Lost At Sea from The Dream album, another ITM fave of mine.
     The title track's beginning gives me that Evanescence vibe in a cool way. The piano has a haunting touch to it and love how the bass finally begins to show itself a bit and the buildup of musical dynamics. I like the teamwork that stands out between the guitars and drums in this song.
     Blazin's intro almost reminds me of an intro from one of their old songs. It has a dirty vibe. Then they jet the adrenaline up with some pure metal. The mixdown on this song is just bad though. Guitar one top, drums underneath, vocals underneath drums and the bass? Is it even there? If you can look past that, you have a song reminiscent of Violet Skies from the Dream album, only more aggressive and with a nice guitar solo.
     The Road is yet another melodic metal song with more male backup vocals. I think the addition of male vocals in ITM's music gives it a refreshing touch. The guitar solo here really stands out as something different from past guitar solos. It's also great to see ITM get in touch with their progressive side here. The ending is pretty kickass.
     Iron Army sounds like something Killswitch Engage and In This Moment would've written together for a movie soundtrack. Maria's screaming really stands out good here. The guitars at times remind me of a motorcycle revving, which is pretty cool.
     The Last Cowboy sounds like something Disciple would've written sometime between their Scars Remain and Southern Hospitality albums. Its biggest strength here is melody. Maria goes for a spoken word approach on the verses. The closest we ever got to witnessing that was Whispers of October and Rabbit Hole from ITM's last two albums.
     World in Flames closes this album out The last time they wrote a ballad like this one was Dying Star and Into the Light. It has a pretty nice feel to it.
     One thing I'd like to note is how both the lead guitarist and the drummer have shown growth over time. If you wanna talk about musicianship, Star-Crossed Wasteland, in some of their songs, really set the standard. In terms of being an album, it feels a bit disjointed. The Gun Show is one of those reasons. It feels like they fell into the singles trap. Lyrically, The Dream is still the album to beat. The Gun Show and The Last Cowboy just left a bad taste in my ears. Put in a better way, at least it didn't suck like Bullet For My Valentine's The Fever. That album was worse than Metallica's Load and Reload combined.

the Problem with Anarchy

     As I'm head to Woodhull for treatment of my harsh back sunburn that needs medical attention, I'm writing. My body may be weak but my fingers and mind continue to race.
     All these years we've heard of the Illuminati, Freemasons, our corrupt government, the NWO and the thought of anarchy. At one point, I was a fan of anarchy. The thought of overthrowing our government for its corruption and allowing rule in our own hands was such a dream. It is to the point that we have romanticized the thought of Anarchy.
     Yet something has made me, after all these years, not care for anarchy and believe that it cannot, in its entirety, live. Anyone who knows about the Illuminati and its puppets, the Freemasons, know that anarchy is exactly what they've plotted. Everything we see in the media is always a whole anarchy vs. order battle, all of which either one wins. It doesn't matter, as these are images that higher powers want us to see anyway. If the shadow order, as I'll call them, if their agenda is no religion and no order, are we not, then, playing right into their hands? Is not anarchy, then, a mere bait created by the Shadow Order, as a means to fulfill the grander agendas they devised?
     Aside from the conspiracy theorist angle, my other problem with anarchy is deregulation. Deregulation is what brought our economy into its knees and deregulation is a root from the branches of anarchy. In a world without any kind of law, order, control or choices to balance them, there is only madness--all of which no one benefits from.

Road to recovery, reflecting on quality of today's music.

     As some of you may now, my back looks about as roasted as a pork rind. This has been since Saturday on a joyous day at Rockaway Beach. Thankfully, at day 3, recovery is beginning to show and hopefully by Thursday night I should be back to work at the gym. As it is, my lower back is feeling good. My shoulders are loosening. Blisters are all over my back and the middle of my back still feels scrunched up and gives me difficulty to stand straight. Putting on a shirt is a pain in my arse. On the other hand, fish oil, multivitamins and water are helping and the waking up with absolute dehydration is slowly wearing off. Just keep me in your prayers folks.
     Meanwhile, I've been sitting down and listening to music from artists that started off pretty good, hit a good note and suddenly in their latter work, kind of jumped the shark. It is true when they say that music isn't what it used to be. There used to be a sense of soul within a new album that is put out and sense of effort when putting out a new album even under pressure. Some still do but others, not so much.
     I sat down, listening to Jesus Adrian Romero's latest album El Brillo de Mis Ojos and honestly, it's letdown number three. You see, his last two albums were his initial studio albums whereas his very first five albums were all live but all new material. Guess what? He's better live than in the studio. From De Hombre a Hombre all the way to Te Dare Lo Mejor, there was always a sense of diversity, style, soul and life. Since El Aire De Tu Casa, Romero's become almost as monotonous as AC/DC! EBTMO has some nice moments of which make some progression to a more pop/rock or folksy/blues tone but it is as though he's trying to hard to appeal to people that have nothing better to do than mop and clean their house.
     Meanwhile, Rene Gonzalez happens to maintain a sense of strength in his songwriting. I've reviewed Otra Decada in the past and mentioned how he managed to once again never make a cheap greatest hits compilation but rather make an excellent re-mastering and re-mixing of past hits. I'm listening to his last official studio album, Mi Senor y Yo and I find it yet another good pop album that has its diverse moments with touches of rock, gospel, jazz and some folksy sensibility.
     This kind of reminds me of Skillet's little sidestep. Up to Comatose, they got progressively better while still making some good hits and songs even old school Skillet fans appreciate. Soon as Awake came out, all I was able to say was "sell-out". Half the album was all ballads and less guitar solos than Comatose. I was expecting these guys to explode with stronger lyrics and musicianship but I guess they have fallen to the new singles-based schematics of today's music industry.
     Red, on the other hand, surprised me. Even though Innocence and Instinct had, in essence, the same format in terms of dynamics, they managed to strengthen it. I didn't care much about their End of Silence album (except for the singles Lost and Breathe into Me) but I loved Innocence and Instinct (I liked over half the album, 'nuff said). Let's hope they don't pull a B4MV and make a disastrous third album (the thought of Fever sickens me).
     This year I'm just anticipating albums from Black Label Society, In This Moment, The Showdown, Alter Bridge and Disciple-- all of which made pretty good albums the past year or so. I hear Red and Decyfer Down are also working on their third this year so I'm counting on them too since they're on the list of artists whose last album was better than the previous album.

Year of the fighter

       This has been, so far, a great year for fighting games. Either in terms of release or announcements. The last leg of 2009 will count in this too. We got Tekken 6, Street Fighter 4, SUPER Street Fighter 4, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. We also got the announcements of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Mortal Kombat 9. While MVC3 isn't out until June '11, gameplay footage shows absolute excellence. MK9 will be out around Christmas time and it also looks awesome. If you missed old school MK's way of doing business, rejoice. If you awaited 10 years for MVC3, be as joyful as the people that waited for Toy Story 3!
     Speaking of year of the fighter, this doesn't just extend to video games. This goes for us as a country, whose economy is on its knees. This isn't the time for peace be still. This is a time to fight to survive and stay alive. Our economy is in a similar situation as someone put into a trap from Saw. If we really cherish our lives, our ideals and our dreams, this is the moment to kick, scream, stomp and lacerate our way through. Believe me, it's been a weird year so far for me and the fam and my heart goes out to everyone else that's scratching and survivin' for some good times.

update on Walk This Realm... and the journey continues!

Hey there Gunzlingers,

     Just thought I'd keep you posted in regards to my second book that I'm working on. So far, I've got 14 pages done and quite a bit more to go. As I keep writing and drawing, I find how different Walk This Realm will be in contrast to Taking Over Me. For those who haven't even glanced at the first one, feel free to buy online at lulu.com or email me with the subject titled "your debut" and I'll send you a pdf copy of the book.
     Whereas my first one goes through a jumble of emotions and styles, this sophomore effort is looking much darker, grittier and, dare I say, pretty damn grunge. It seems that my hands like to write about depression, anger, lust, hope and expectation an awful lot. The artwork itself, all of which I am drawing and painting, seem to coincide with the vibes as well.
     The way I see it, my writing reflects the battles that I have going on within my spiritual journey. Usually, so the thinking goes, we like to go from happy to happier. The problem here is how shallow it sounds. The reason it sounds as such is because there is no scratching of the surface. It is as though people expect growth without brokenness. You can't expect life to really shine and happiness to glow without piercing and confronting the legions of depression, anger, sin, death and disarray that bombard us from day to day. It's ironic yet comforting that such mighty things such as joy, comfort and peace are born out of the decimation of legions of horror. The very fact that this little detail is usually overlooked at times is a bit staggering to me. Everyone wants success yet a lot of times they forget the most important elements-- the blood, sweat and tears, the sacrifices and the suffering that tend to chip at us night and day.

Graduation, Fist of the North Star, Lone Wolf Syndrome

     First off, I'm congratulating my dear sister on being a high school graduate. IT always warms my heart to see someone graduate. With that said, I just woke up from a long nap.
     So I sat down to watch the Fist of the North Star anime series. Folks, you're better off watching the anime movie. The story is tighter and the ending has a sense of "damn" in it. For those who don't know, it's about a post-nuclear world. Seas are dried up and the earth looks about as barren as Cera in Gears of War. A guy named Ken is trying to find Julia, his beloved girlfriend, and exact his revenge on Shin for not only kidnapping her but also, in his madness, leaving him for head (with seven wounds on his chest, mind you). In his journey, he helps the innocent that are struggling in this barren world against cruel biker gangs and hoodlums. Then finally, he faces his brother Raoh in a final showdown. This is where the movie and the show differ. In the show, Raoh loses, turns to stone and Kengoes his merry way on Raoh's horse with Julia to spread the seeds of life. In the movie, the ending isn't so happy. Julia dies after falling down along with a big cross that she's tied to. Raoh wins the fight (or it's a draw depending on if you're watching the American or Japanese version) and Ken goes off to spread the seeds wherever he may roam. That's after he recovered from a good butt whooping.
       Lately, I think I've been suffering some sort of Lone Wolf Syndrome. Usually, I desire to be around people I like or simply like to be with. Yet as of recent, I've been wanting to be alone, a lot. Literally, all I would do is think more than Winnie the Pooh. Believe me, that bear can think forever on top of that log. I don't know. My girlfriends seems to treat me just fine, so there's no trouble in paradise as they say. I'm probably just having one of those moments. Maybe I need to book a show just to keep myself busy.