I take back everything I ever said about giving Trent Reznor one more chance (read here). This redeems him fully.

Talk about sticking it to the RIAA. He posts on his website on February 16th "2 weeks." Earlier tonight, he posts "2 hours." 2 hours later: BLAM! New NIN album, available NOW.



http://ghosts.nin.com/

No marketing. No hype. Not a freaking clue this was coming, and 36 tracks of creative commons licensed, completely independent, 100% lyrical free music.


Can we say The Fragile 2.0? Okay, maybe not so blatantly, but I've been waiting for a similar follow-up to that album ever since it came out. Sign me up. It's only been 9 years since The Fragile was released...and a lull of 6 years after that between NIN albums. It could even be argued (by me especially) that The Fragile was his last great album.

3 albums since Spring of 2005 is a record for Trent Reznor. I think he pushed those last 2 out just so that he could be off his label, do Ghosts and have it be completely free from the mind-numbing ties to the RIAA.

Not only that, but the whole packaging of it is just awesome. Cheap, high-quality music that helps Trent out more than Interscope ever could have, and sticking to the record industry is a major bonus. The concept, being a "soundtrack to daydreams" seems to be more along the lines of BT's This Binary Universe also. Which I obviously have praised many times. I listen to that album, as well as The Fragile, often.

One thing's certain: the ground's shaking. I can't believe what's coming from some artists these days. What an exciting time, as the record labels shatter to pieces and artists like Trent Reznor and BT release the stuff they want to, how they want to.

I bought the $10 one, even though I'm thinking the $75 one would probably have been worth it. So I get 2 CD's in April in the mail, with a booklet, and have the privilege of downloading the entire album (plus extras) for that amount. DRM is dead. The RIAA is a joke. NIN is paving new ground.

Rock on, Trent. More power to you.

Inspired by Kevin's website, I decided to finally give mine an overhaul. I finally came to the realization that I wanted to try a new coloring scheme and feel that the one picked out works well.

I figured since Kevin's page about our book reveals what the definitive title is, I might as well take it one step further to reveal a little bit about the book in preparation for its finish.

The title - "I" - is a simple one. That's it. And believe it or not, a lot of thought and time went into it, but I felt that nothing else would better suit this collection of writing that is being presented with Kevin's graphical skills.

I'm proud of what we've accomplished so far, and can't wait to reveal the final product when it's ready.

Without further ado, you can check out the redesigned website here (or via link on the navigation menu):

travisprange.com

Well the decision has been made. With nearly $3,500 worth in "damage" (as I like to call it) to my beloved Wrangler, the time has come to bid it adieu. So the search will begin I think in early 2008 to get a vehicle, which I'm pretty dead set on another Wrangler, being black and probably 4 door. It's just too perfect for my needs and wants (and compliments the Colorado environment perfectly with being a convertible and 4X4).


(This is still one of my absolute favorite pics of it, taken in 2003 at Lake Waco with Kevin's digital camera)

So I bought a poster from Allposters.com last night. Big whoop, you might say. Well, I log onto Facebook and somehow it's tracked my purchase. Turns out it's some 3rd party software tracking thing, as mentioned in this article:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,14018 ... ticle.html

Which I think is just crazy. I've come so close to deactivating Facebook in the last couple months for stuff like that. It feels like an invasion of privacy. I'm sure companies do that anyway (hello Google ads?) but still - KNOWING that it's happening and seeing it work is scary.

So Jane gave me a Jack Bauer figure made by McFarlane Toys a couple days ago. She acquired it from the newspaper she works for somehow. It's pretty badass though:



It makes me want to get more movie/TV memorabilia. Like the freaking endoskeleton from Terminator 2. They have 18" figures of the thing (and I even found lifesize ones for $6K! How freaky would that be?) that I want to get and sort of start a small collection of badass figures. I have some Halo ones (McFarlane comes out with a couple in March also), but I think it'd look awesome to have a Batman, Master Chief, Darth Vader, Endoskeleton, and Jack Bauer on the same shelf. I think someday I'll have some sort of room for all this crap. But who knows. Seriously, is this not badass??



I read an article on a push for faster broadband (mostly in the UK), which I think is kind of stupid. It kinda feels like the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray thing...DVD's are barely 10 years old and a new format came around? The successor to CD's is clearly MP3's, but I think a format that replaces or supplements both will come out eventually, but even CD's have been out for nearly 25 years! Some of these technology pushes seem ridiculous. But anyway, the article had a couple cool points geographically about broadband adoption. I did a 28 page paper in a comm class to see if our connectivity has given us any more knowledge of world events, so I think stuff like this is interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7098992.stm

Oh, and speaking of Endoskeleton's and Terminator films, Christian Bale is signed on to be John Connor in what the hopes of becoming a new trilogy of Terminator films.

Now before this took off, I figured it would be crap. I've come to like Bale though, and honestly if they can pull off a good movie I'll be happy. I'll see it either way, if nothing else to see those freaking Endoskeletons once again duke it out and crush skulls, and destroying my possibility of pleasant dreams for months.

Those things are horrifying. I just hope a 4th film won't be. Currently it's titled "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins."

Speaking of Christian Bale, I think The Dark Knight will kick ass. I'm going to check out I Am Legend which has a rumored 8 minute prologue (or something similar) to TDK. These promo pics make it look like everything I know it'll be. Can't freaking wait.



And on that note, good night!

I had a huge long winded entry all written out and then the connection was “lost,” and I lost my entry. Oh well. Gotta love technology.

So as many of you knew (or know), I had planned on trying to relocat myself next year to Australia. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, to go to a foreign place and try to make my way. I had intended to go on a skilled worker’s Visa, but hit a snag. I expected many of these and was happy to know that the majority of everyone I knew was very supportive of my endeavor. Eventually I discovered that my career hasn’t been happening for long enough, so the ability to go down there in the fashion that I wanted to is not possible for the time being.



Understandably I’ve been a little bit bummed, as I had planned to go down there and try to make my way, even by working retail or in the food industry. I am thinking that I still may be able to visit for a month (give or take), and though I haven’t ruled out the possibility of trying to live there someday, I’m not so sure it’ll ever happen. Who knows where I’ll be in 2-3 years.

So while that’s been a disappointment, it gives me the freedom to explore other options. Even though I have little interest in any other foreign country, I think there’s plenty to experience here in the States that I wouldn’t mind relocating to. I’ve always held an interest in the Northeast, Northwest, and Alaska. They draw me because of their adverse terrain and seemingly laid back pace of life. Though I enjoy the city living of Denver (and Heaven knows plenty of opportunities are here), I’m ready for something different.

Indeed this takes me to the idea that I want to travel more. I plan on scoping out more of the East coast early next year. Presumably March is when I’d like to go, and I plan on visiting Maine, Ithaca (to see Justin at Cornell), NYC to visit Kevin (and Traci) as well as DC to see Jonathan. I’m excited to explore more of the continent I live on, in hopes that I may find something to eventually explore further. Though the move wouldn’t be permanent I don’t think, I feel like I should take advantage to see more of the world while I have the chance.


Apparently a sight in Maine. I'm hoping there's a bit more...

It’s going to be an exciting next few weeks and months. Halo 3 comes out in nearly 2 weeks. I’ve already started to arrange a LAN party to have at my place on October 20th. It will have probably 8 Xbox 360’s and TV's, all hooked together to experience Halo 3. I can't wait for the trash talking to ensue. Nerdgasm, indeed.



With plenty of Mountain Dew to go around.



I bought my 2nd iPod last weekend. For my trip to South America my dad wants to view videos on my current 30gb iPod, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t without tunes. Plus I’ve been wanting to find something smaller in size and weight for exercise. I am glad I didn’t go with the Nano, as Apple unveiled the new ones this week. On a sidenote: are you pissed Kevin on the dramatic reduction in price of the iPhone? Being an early adopter has its price, but certainly less than 3 months and 33% price cut is rather dramatic. (Read: Letter to iPhone users) I decided to buy the Shuffle. I really do love the designs and after considering a ZUNE heavily for about 3 seconds, I wanted to go with another iPod. I'm very impressed so far with the Shuffle. It's small, sleek, and is just pretty neat overall. I also am enjoying the new earbuds (what an improvement over the last ones!) It makes me want to go out and grab the new Nano or iPod touch. Apple has a brilliant execution of its products. By the time the keynote was delivered on Wednesday, 75% of the new or revamped products were on their way to outlets. That’s impressive.



If there’s one thing that Microsoft has executed brilliantly, it’s the Xbox 360. Though they’ve had tremendous overheating issues, one cannot deny the fact that it’s a great machine. The Wii is a great one as well, but certainly in a different category altogether. They’ve made some good improvements to the box over the last 2 years, and though I bought one nearly 5 weeks after its release, I’m not unhappy with mine. Has anyone played Bioshock? I must admit I was skeptical at first but I've been drawn into this fictional twist of reality. It's quite entertaining, and certainly a time passer until Halo 3.



Has anyone seen this story? I don’t think that internet usage should be prohibited or set into tiers to divide the information highway. Equality is important…and restricting bandwidth or transfer rates I think is silly.

Anyway, I’m excited to see where the next few weeks and months take me. The short list includes Halo 3, South America, Texas, Minnesota, and the East coast. I’m trying to fit in San Diego somewhere in there too…so if it all happens according to plan, that will be 11 states and 2 countries I visit within a year’s time. I do look forward to more travel in 2008 as I had planned on this for 2007. Overall I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. I wouldn’t mind dating someone in there too, but at this point I’m really not too interested. I’ve been exhausted by the events of the last couple of years. And frankly, it’s exhausting to see that effort go nowhere.

Additionally Jonathan and I have been scripting (pun intended) our screenplay. I’m happy with where it’s going and the effort lately we’ve been giving it. Equally I’m just as excited on a book I’m putting together with a friend composed of poetry I’ve written in the last 9 years. It will also contain graphical enhancements to suit the poetry style and meaning. Though I’m not really ready to reveal more than that at this point, it’s something that’s given me a lot of confidence and hope in what I think will be a great outcome. If it’s anything like I think, it’s going to just be awesome. Some of you have seen a preview of it, but I’m really waiting until more of it is completed before giving more details. Rest assured, those will be revealed in due time.

Exciting times are ahead, with uncertain outcomes. But we shall see.

We shall see.

So, Spider-Man 3 just came out this weekend. Or was it the Playstation 3? I get the two mixed up. I can’t keep track of Sony’s naming/lettering schemes.



I think this company’s out of new ideas for fonts.

Anyway, this isn’t a Sony bash, as much as it is a Spider-Man 3 bash. Now I admit, I saw it opening weekend (just as I’ve seen the previous 2 on opening weekend and liked them - I was never a Spidey fan), but I think this movie had 2 major things going against it.

1. Batman Begins. There’s no doubt in my mind that BB is THE benchmark for super hero/comic book films, and I’m sorry, but Spider-Man doesn’t make the cut.

2. This movie was way too busy. I mean, it was 150 minutes of Spider-Man, but seriously, there were too many villains. Sandman? Great effects, cool character. Over the top but not necessarily in a bad way. New Goblin? Meh, we’ve seen that before. Harry Osborn’s a jerk. Venom? Pretty cool effects again, but didn’t really DO a whole lot. And let’s not forget the black Spider-Man suit, turning Peter Parker into a complete douchebag.

So wait, did I just count 4 villains? I think I did. The stories for each of these characters (as well as numerous side-plots and such) did no help to the film. In the end, they all clash to give us a cool 10 minute scene, where good triumphs over evil once again.

So, Spider-Man 3 wasn’t really BAD, but it wasn’t really GOOD, either. Which brings in my next point and the whole point of this entry: why all other superheroes just don’t add up.



Batman. Nuff said. The one thing to establish the bat from all other superheroes is the fact that Batman does not have super powers. His alter identity is Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy. Batman’s superpower is money, which means that, in theory, anyone who has enough money could use it to thwart crime and become him. The most realistic of the superheroes, he’s also my favorite.


I mean, how cool is this?!

It’s just always been a down to earth thing, and I’ve never been too involved in fantasy. Admittedly, I enjoyed the first X-Men film (and the 2 after), along with Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. But then along came Batman Begins, the film to kick every other ass in town. I do realize X-Men 3 came out after BB, but still, X-Men 3 was better than the mediocre Spider-Man 3.



Not even last year’s Superman (which I was excited about) was that great. So Batman Begins is my absolute benchmark for all super hero movies, but then again maybe I’ve been such a die hard Batman guy for so long that I just won’t consider the others because they are too far-fetched.

A friend pointed out to me that Batman is too far fetched, too. I agree, but out of every single one of them, Batman is the only one that could be an average joe, with billions of dollars at his (or her) disposal. Batman is the commoners super hero, and to me will always be king. I simply can’t wait for “The Dark Knight” to hit theaters next summer. We should be seeing a trailer for that in the next 6 months or so.

So when that comes out, the true Batman craze will begin. I hope it crushes Spider-Man 3’s records, but I doubt that it will. SM3 will do very well in the box-office (as it’s proven already this weekend), but it’s just a mindless popcorn flick to kick-start the summer. It’s good for the industry, but bad for ego. Apparently they’re going to do Spider-Man 4, 5, and 6 now. And indefinitely. Well, at least there’s 2008 (and probably 2010 or 11) for Batman Begins sequel(s). And let me tell you: THOSE will define the genre. And they will change your mind, too.