Dusel Blogs!

Art Is Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:33:00 +0000

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

Besides the video being spectacular, Hold Your Horses is a pretty solid band. The vocals remind me of Modest Mouse, with an additional female vocalist on some songs.

Art history (easily my worst subject in college) is chasing me. Not only does this video remind me of my terrifying experience, but Assassin's Creed II is full of famous works as well/. I caught myself analyzing a churches architecture last night. Not to mention I've collected about a dozen famous paints for my gallery.

-Josh

Furry Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:39:00 +0000

No one is holding my accountable for my resolutions... and i am doing a crappy job by myself keeping up with them. I'm assuming it's because no one reads my blog anymore. Totally understandable.

Anyhow, in honor of Facial Hair February, I give you this amazing site:

Beard Revue!

Personally, my beard is starting to get long and itchy, and i can't wait to shave it down. But i still love it.

-Bearded Dusel

Resolute

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:25:00 +0000

My 2009 Resolutions are:

- The obligatory "lose 30 lbs" by next Christmas vacation
- Explore new places in KC (Jess and i are making a list)
- Start a New Blog and/or update this one more often.
- Be in a house by April (or at least get the Tax credit)
- Make more decisions, quicker
- Get my car registration figured out (preferably before Friday)

Hold me accountable!
-Josh

Another Year...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Top Film of 2009
(500) Days of Summer
The story of a hopeless romantic, who loves crybaby music, that works for a greeting card company gets his heart broken but eventually figures out this true path. Sounds like the story of my life right? Nope, just Tom Hansen, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in easily my favorite movie of the year. Everything about this movie spoke to me, and had an unfair advantage over the rest. Even after watching it, I said "that's definitely my favorite movie this year" (or something similar). Besides the fact that it's the story of my life, it also stars the beautiful Zooey Deschanel, has an amazing soundtrack, and a great sense of humor about it. Marc Webb, for your first movie effort, this was a home run for me. Keep up the good work.

Top Album of 2009
The Dangerous Summer - Reach for the Sun
The first time I heard the single off of this ablum, it was acoustic, and it filled me with boyish glee. And ever since that point, I've been in love. I can't say this band is don't anything exceptionally "original" or "groundbreaking", but that's exactly what i liked about them. The CD came around about the same time i was just looking to hear some good ol' fashion pop-punk. And there they were. No keyboards, no forced falsetto, no accents. I had to stick with my gut on this pick, because in other peoples eyes this band might not be so special. But to me, they have a place at the top of my list.

Thanks.

I Miss You More Than Most

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:13:00 +0000

Top Albums of 2009
(2nd thru 10th)

Since last year, not much has changed, unfortunately for me. The 80's comeback has really put a damper on music for me. As we pass into 2010, somehow people thing we need all of our music to be made with computers. I'm really fucking sick of the "BEEP-BOOP" music. Reviewers are eating it up though. Bands are trading in their guitars for keyboards and iMacs and everyone seems to be OK with it. I can buy into some of it, but as you will find in my "best of" i have chosen bands that most people haven't put on their own lists. On that note, let me tell you what album i thought sucked:

Most Overrated Album: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

I'm sick of everyone telling me how great this CD is. It's number one on all the popular lists this year. Is there a hidden message in the tracks? Because all I hear is bad lyrics and looping.

With that said, I know the world is going to hate this list (2nd thru 10th):

2nd
Japandroids - Post-Nothing
These guys remind me of high school – driving around in the back of my buddy Cole's big white van (without any seats), blaring Fugazi through blown out speakers. And as unattractive as that may seem to some, it was likely most fun i will ever have. Japandroids has done all the work for you though. The album sounds like it was recorded by placing a mic in front of a bad Fender amp in someones basement. And then recorded the vocals like it was a bad 80's mix tape (you know the kind where you put the recorder up the radio?). None of this probably sounds appealing to you either, but it's so me... It's the most pure music I have heard in a while.

3rd
Tegan & Sara - Sainthood
I picked up this album really recently and rocked my world. I don't know, I kinda had low expectations going into it, but Tegan & Sara don't seem to disappoint. They have come a long way since their early days, but it's not through conformity, It's through refining their sound. They were one of the first indie bands that started to put keyboards as a focal instrument in their songs, but since then I think it really works. After going back and listening to a couple tracks from "The Con", it felt boring. This album was much more satisfying, driving, and more complete sounding.

4. Dethklok - Dethalbum II (In some way better than their last effort, in some ways not)
5. Thrice - Beggers (Their best since "The Artist and the Ambulance", i think.)
6. Anamanaguchi - Dawn Metropolis (Nintendo-core, pure "beep-boop" music, but that's what makes it work.)
7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! (Back on the scene, combining their old music with disco. Brilliant.)
8. Blakroc - Blakroc (Most entertaining rap i have heard in a long time)
9. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (I found their past efforts to be more rewarding, personally, but this is what pure fun sound like)
10. Brand New - Daisy (After going back and giving it one last listen, it squeaked it's way into the top 10. Really grew on me.)

Honorable Mentions:
Baroness - Blue Album
Say Anything - Say Anything
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Passion Pit - Manners

Other Mentionable Albums (in no particular order):
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
the Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
New Found Glory - Not Without a Fight
Two Tongues - Two Tongues
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending (Deluxe Edition)

Biggest Disappointment: Taking Back Sunday - New Again (what happened to you TBS?)

Don't Speak His Name

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:53:00 +0000

Top Video Games of 2009:

1st - Batman Arkham Asylum | XBox 360
For the first time ever, I was able to know what it felt like to be Batman. It was beautifully crafted, a great story line, great graphics and gameplay. Maybe the best part was Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (the original voices for Batman the Animated Series) were signed to reprise there rolls.

2nd - Brutal Legend | XBox 360
Jack Black does what he does best: Rocks hard, and kicks ass. Despite the fact that Tim Schafer had to cram every damn kind of game into one, he had a great story that involved one of my favorite things (other than zombies) METAL! Guest stars from Ozzy to Lemmy. Schafer has yet to disappoint me. Keep it that way.

Drowning The Inspired Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Top 10 Films of 2009 (2nd-10th)

As far as Oscar candidates go, I don't really feel I have seen a lot of those films this year. But I have seen a ton of entertaining movies. I pretty much went buckwild on the "advanced screening passes" since last December, and most were big budget action flicks. So, a new category this year: all of the movies I missed that had potential of upsetting the order of my top 10 are my "Game Changers":

Game Changers (had I seen them):
Up in the Air
The Hurt Locker
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Moon
The Road
Sherlock Holmes

Despite this, out of the movies I DID see this year, here is my list of favorites (from 2nd to 10th). The order changed dozens of times since I picked out my top 10 favorites, but i think this is pretty close to a correct order. Enjoy.

2nd
Zombieland
Ingredients for my favorite movies: Zombies, action, comedy, art. Done. This movies got it. When I first heard about the movie, the fact it was called Zombieland, intrigued me. And i got my expectation really high when i started seeing the viral videos online. They were actually really funny. So, when i got to the movie, i was afraid all of my high hopes would be dashed. But then, what really hooked me when I first started watching the movie, was the AfterEffects lettering in the scenes. It reminds you that "this is a movie", just have fun. The movie doesn't take itself to seriously and it kinda makes a big joke out of the zombie movie genre (yes, it's a whole genre to me). If this is the direction that zombie movies take in the future, i will be a happy man.
It's biggest flaw was the some of the one liners, flopped. "Nut up or shut up" is fucking stupid. No one likes it. Jesse Eisenberg, the new Michael Cera, was perfect, so was Woody, Emma Stone (hottie) and the girl from Little Miss Sunshine. Not to mention it was a directorial debut for Ruben Fleischer, so nice job. I can't wait for the sequel.

3rd
Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino has a certain type of movie... and the way I see it is, if you don't like that formula, you are going to hate everything he does. He gets a seriously bad wrap because his films are poorly advertised as action movies. Yes, you will get to see Nazi's murdered in droves, but this movie is much more than that. The characters are dynamic and lovable, even if they are the most despicable type of person. To achieve this, you have to have a TON of dialog. In this 2 and a half hour epic, you maybe have 45 minutes of pure action. There are some seriously intense scenes in this movie, opening up with one of the most intense. The humor is pitch black and the action is bloody. In the end, you get exactly what you want. Definitely not a movie for everyone... but it was a movie for me.

4th
Star Trek
When I think back to Middle School, I really didn't have many friends. One reason was because I was fat... The other, was because I was a nerd. And being a nerd meant picking between Star Wars and Star Trek. I picked Star Wars. This isn't to say i had no interest in it. I watched DS-9 and Voyager. But i never watched the original series, or Next Generation (or Enterprise) as did most Trekkies. But when I heard JJ Abrams (my hero) was going to do a Star Trek reboot, I was pretty faithful that he was going to make something I liked. And I wasn't disappointed. Most people were calling it the "Iron Man" of this summer: a nerdy, action flick, that actually had some wide appeal. It was a great movie all around to tell the truth. This may have something to do with the fact that JJ Ambrams admits to getting most of his inspiration for the movie from Star Wars. Who am I to say.

5th
The Brothers Bloom
I saw this movie really late in the year, and it came out really early. I hope it doesn't get lost in the Oscar race because it's spectacular. Mark Ruffalo and Adrian Brody are honestly some of the most talented actors in Hollywood right now. And it shows through on this movie. I am a sucker for a good con, so the story was tops. It kept me guessing the entire movie, even though I was sure I knew what was going on. This film made it to the top of my list solely based on the fact that it was well rounded. It has action, a very cute love story, and quirky comedy.

6th
The Hangover This was a really hard cut from my top 5. I really don't have to tell you why i picked this movie though, because everyone I talk to loves this movie. Great original plot, funny as sin, and great performances all around.
7th: Up If it wasn't for the shear ridiculousness of the story it would have been higher.
8th: Where the Wild Things Are I think there is an indie kid clause staying that i must like this movie, but I didn't love it.
9th: District 9 FOOCKIN PRAWNS! Simply wasn't as good as 8 others (hard to knock down).
10th: Drag Me to Hell What can i say, I love Sam Rammi and campy horror.

Honorable Mentions:
Ninja Assassin
Avatar
Adventureland
Ponyo
I Love You, Man
Coraline

Updates Available

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:02:00 +0000

Coming tomorrow: my favorite movies 10th thru 2nd.

Don't Call it a...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:35:00 +0000

Trying to make a comeback. Stay tuned.

Messengers of Mortality

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to my sister.
and April Fools.

-Josh

Haunting Past

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Romance By The Book

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:53:00 +0000

February's mix theme was a "Sweat Mix" or a work out mix.

~~Get it here.~~ As of this morning the upload still wasn't working yet. So i may have to find another way for you to get this.

A lot has been going on lately. I have been swept off my feet with this girl, work has been crazy, Lost is awesome, and Guitar Hero takes up what other time there is. It's nice to be able to fill in the gaps other of my life with a person who i really enjoy spending time with... and that leads me to next months theme, the "Sexy Mix." I hope to post more often then once a month, but don't bet on it.

Follow the twitter --->

-Josh

When Things Go Right.

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:10:00 +0000

It's the middle of winter, but it feels like the middle of April. People are being tricked outdoors; walking their dogs, going on bike rides, enjoying the cloudless sky. But it's still the middle of winter, and we will all be disappointed in a week when we are reminded of such. But for now, it can't hurt to enjoy it. I myself took a quick walk up to Urban Mining —which i like to partake in, even though i rarely buy anything. But on my walk i enjoyed my Favorites List from my CD Exchange Club. It's probably my most favorite mix i have ever made. "What is this CD Exchange Club you speak of?", you ask. Well, me and some friends have devised a CD theme to make for each month of this year. I thought you might enjoy seeing what i put on it:

Enjoy. More to come.
Love, Josh

Winning Her Over With Chloroform

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:20:00 +0000

These have seriously got to be the funniest ads i have seen in ages. I don't know if i have ever laughed allowed from a print ad until this.It seems to be stirring up some controversy here. So i can't imagine what kind of flack the The Gold Star beer company is getting for it. What do you think? offensive?

Things are good lately. Really good.
-Josh

eye bulbs

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:35:00 +0000

I thought this was really cool.

I have been listening to a ton of Japanese music again lately. One band in particular, Asian Kung-fu Generation. I discovered them about 5 years ago. Now they are probably in my top 10 bands of all time, and i can't understand a single word they say. I just found out they had two releases come out in 2009. Somehow i missed them both until recently.

-Dusel-san

Foreign Lyrics

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Photoshop Adbusting. Possibly the best type of graffiti ever! Take that you Hollywood-types!

More here

-Josh

Salty Catch

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:59:00 +0000

Top Movie of 2008
Slumdog Millionaire
This movie truly is a fairy tale. Most of the classic stories we grew up hearing actually had very tragic origins and didn't always end up as happy as you may think. Slumdog Millionaire is that in it's truest form. By one of my favorite directors, Danny Boyle, this move takes a love story and in my mind, makes it as classic as Romeo and Juliet, or Cinderella. Other than just being overwhelmingly cute, Slumdog was original. Convincing acting, a great soundtrack, and one of my favorite topics of discussion, destiny.

Top Album of 2008
Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Sigur Ros isn't for everyone. But i have realized that the people that love them are die hard fans. I can't really consider myself any different. This CD isn't a far departure from most of Sigur Ros' past, but with the addition of a big booming percussion section on some songs, guitars (especially acoustic) that stand out over the other instruments, and i swear i heard a song sung in English, you get the impression they are trying to keep it interesting. Sigur Ros is my most played artist on Last.fm solely because they make excellent background music.

We're All Waiting On You

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Top Albums of 2008

There has been a lot of chill music introduced to me this year. However, the newest craze is dance-core. Every musician is doing the same sort of sound whether it be a rapper, or a rocker. Maybe the sound of the future? Some of those bands still stand out, but mostly it just leaves me craving something i haven't heard yet (or in a while).
This is what I thought of this years music (just like last year, i couldn't just do a top 5. too hard):

2. Frightened Rabbits - The Midnight Organ Fight
It was hard for me not to put this as Number One because I have been having so much fun listening to this album lately. It's the folk music the way i like to hear it. Most gets too mellow and boring in my opinion. It's the kind of music i like to hear when i am interested in a nap; like Fleet Foxes (who i really like now, but they are kinda snooze music).

3. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Death Cab has been one of my favorite bands for a long time. I don't know if it was the the long wait that made me crave new music, or the fact that this CD is legitimately amazing. It was a small departure from their passed CDs were it sounded as if they incorporated a little 90s grunge into their typical melodic tones. It seemed to be a perfect fit and it made for one damn good cd. Now, lets see a new Postal Service album.

4. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
6. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into
7. Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
8. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
9. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
10. The New Frontiers - Mending

Honorable Mentions
Less Than Jake - GNV FLA (An awesome comeback for LTJ. It was hard to cut them from the top 10)
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak (Fabulous, just too chill)
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Dreamy hymn like music. It just wasn't doing it for me)

Other Mentionable Albums (in no particular order):
Norma Jean - Anti-Mother
Lil Wayne - III
Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt
The Academy Is... - Fast Times at Barrington High
Unearth - The March
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
The Killers - Day & Age

Biggest Disappointment:
Fall Out Boy - Folie à Deux

Albums I Missed Out On In '07:
Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer - Schematics
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

I Would Travel the World For You (But You Are Always Close)

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Top Albums of 2008 (2nd – 5th)

I saw a lot of movies this year. From my initial standpoint i wasn't really sure if there was enough movies to make a list this year, but after looking it over it was hard to only do a top 5. I realize that i am missing out on seeing other critically acclaimed movies such as "Synecdoche, New York", "Rachel Getting Married", and "Milk" but out of the list of movies i HAVE seen, these are my picks:

Tie for 2nd
A Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Everything was phenomenal about this movie. With shades of Forest Gump, this movie was easily a modern day fairy-tale cutting it's way through decades of our history. Benjamin Button seriously put Edward Cullen to shame with his charm and chivalry in this movie. While this was an extremely well rounded movie... (see below)

Tie for 2nd
The Dark Knight
...this is just the most kick-ass movie i have ever seen probably. I saw it 4 times in the theaters after all. Look for it rereleased this January. In all seriousness though, it's always a surprise when an action movie is not only really entertaining but has a good story arch and realistic acting.

3rd
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Side spitting funny, with a good story about getting over lost loves. Some stories hit closer to home than others ;) I wasn't so sure how it was going to turn out, by i knew that no matter what Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis would be gorgeous.

4th
Iron Man
How do you take the super hero formula and make it awesome? I still don't know. But, somehow, Iron Man was REALLY, REALLY good. Jon Favreau makes great movies, and this is no exception. He just has the comedic timing a comic book movie needs. It has to be able to make fun of itself.

5th
Wall-E
Today, animated features tend to rely to heavily on their voice talent, and not enough on a good story. But this story was great, modern and original. AND it didn't need the voice talent to make a lovable character. I don't typically like movies that are preachy and spend their whole time on the soap box, however, Wall-E was subtle in trying to get it's point across.

Honorable Mentions
Burn After Reading (the Coens never disappoint, but it couldn't compare to "No Country")
Pineapple Express (hard to cut)
Be Kind Rewind (it was missing a little something, but otherwise right up there)
Sex Drive (funny, it was probably best suited for a younger audience)
Quantum of Solace (not as good as Casino Royal)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (hard to cut)
Choke (i think i needed to see this a second time)
Role Models (hilarious talent, but too formulaic)
Step Brothers (seriously awesome, but not quite top 5)

Biggest Surprise:
Twilight

Biggest Disappointment:
X-Files: I Want to Believe

Stay tuned for my top movie of '08, my list of music, and games.

list master, Josh

...For Those Who Wait.

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Sorry it's a day later than i would have liked, but i was having blogger/internet problems. Most of you have seen this anyhow.

love,
Josh

Ying and Yang

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:42:00 +0000

As many of you know, my sister was Miss August 2008 for Playboy Magazine. And like the flyer says, she is right now in the running to be "Playmate of the Year". Please click this link and go vote for her. The link goes to playboy.com, so i can't guaranty it won't take you to naked ladies. Needless to say then, this is NSFW (not suitable for work). I don't know personally what's waiting on the other side because i am afraid if click the link, i'll see my sister naked... and i really can't afford to pay for the resulting therapy right now. If someone does go vote for my sister, please let me know what i am about to see.

Peace, Joshie

I Forget My Best Titles.

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:53:00 +0000

click to zoom in. this are all knit characters.
I wish i had the persons link to who ever did these originally, but you will have to celebrate the entire collection here instead.

I hope to redesign my blog soon, and mostly update my links. There is so much talent that you are missing out on that blogs too.
Don't forget to keep up with my drama filled life with my Twitter. It's right there on the sidebar for your convenience.

-Joshie

Cloth/Table Forts

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:09:00 +0000

-Josh

Thoughts in a Thoughtless Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Chip Kidd was back in KC for the night promoting his new book Bat-Manga. The book is amazing. It's full of Japanese Batman from 1966/67 whether it was toys or comics. Chip and I even talked a little about Gotham Knight for a bit. He is really cool.

-Josh

PS. i spend all night trying to redesign my blog, and it just ended up as mush... i need to put a little time in when i can.

Power Cords for a Teenage Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Holy crap! I can't even begin to tell you how insanely crazy this weekend was (unless you count that), and by weekend i mean since Thursday. I had planned to update... but that's not going to happen tonight, it's already past midnight and i haven't had time to sleep. I leave you with this, some pictures from The Get Up Kids reunion show!

sincerely,
pocket Josh

PS. I think i am going to try and redesign the blog very soon. Maybe that will restore my vim.