Entry Eighty.
Saturday, 2008.10.25, 11:25 PM CST.
A few awesome pictures, a few more DJ remixes, and Indiana Jones.

MASSIVE WICKED COOL JOURNAL ENTRY COMING... NEXT ENTRY!!!  STAY TUNED.

It's hard to believe that we are already towards the end of October.  This year feels like it's flown by, and yet it's already had a lot of big memories.   This should be a fun little update.  If you're just here for the pictures, just scroll down.

Note:   Unfortunately, this was also one of those updates that took more than a day to write thanks to my hectic daddy/husband/techy day jobber/dj practice/production schedule...  I didn't expect that, but I should have.  (If you think that's something...  Wait until the next update.  Whoa, Nelly!)

So, we'll break it down with the approximate dates of each "chunk" detailed below.

INDIANA JONES!  (Segment started Thursday, 2008.10.16 2:58 PM CST)

I don't mind saying it:  I'm an Indiana Jones fan.  Ever since my mom took me to see Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1991, I've loved the Indiana Jones films.  After seeing and loving Raiders, I eventually acquired the soundtrack on vinyl, a book-and-cassette set for the film, and even the Atari 2600 game, which was the most cherished Christmas present that my parents gave me during 1982 (probably my favourite Christmas ever).  Indy flicks are just goofy fun, and they remind me of my childhood.  As a lot of you know, my past means a lot to me.

The third Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was released on May 24th, 1989.  The fourth Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released on May 22nd of this year.  For those of you who suck at basic math, that means that this new movie was released two days shy of nineteen years after the release of the last one.

I had seen the first two films multiple times at the theatre as a child.  When the third one came out, I regrettably missed it at the theatre...  But, I rented it soon after it came out on video.

So, this May, whenever the fourth film came out, I was geeked.  I planned on scheduling off work on opening day just to go to the theatre and see it.  Then, I remembered how much I essentially hated going to see movies at theatres.  It came out, and I kept planning and planning.  I'd been waiting nineteen years for a new Indiana Jones movie!  I needed to go see it on the big screen.

But, I didn't.

Two days ago, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released on DVD.  Yesterday, I ran out to Target and bought the special 2-disc edition with the Target exclusive photograph book.

This afternoon, I finished watching it.  Was it as good as Raiders or Temple of Doom?  No... but, it was good.  No, scratch that; it was great.  I sat in front of the TV, on the living room carpet, with a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream, just watching this beautiful film unfold.  Was it an amazing piece of art with subtle nuances and intricate subtext?  Of course not!  It was a piece of junk food for the action-loving brain, and I loved it.  The privilege of watching an all-new Indiana Jones film brought back a lot of memories, and it was just a great, great feeling.

God bless Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford for getting back together to make it.

A FEW COOL NEW REMIXES (AGAIN!)...
(This and subsequest segments started Saturday, 2008.10.25, appx 11:30 PM CST)

Okay, so over the past few weeks I have indulged a bit in one of my main vices:   DJ-only remixes.  I ordered some newer ones that had only been released on CD (I finally caught up my last four issues of the X-Mix Club Classics series), and I managed to snag some really precious, incredible vinyl gems.  I shouldn't brag, but I'm a DJ, and my music arsenal is relevant.  So, here goes.

• One of the biggest DJ-only remix acquisitions that I have snagged in a while...  FUNKYMIX 12!!!  I have had this piece of work on CD for over ten years, and I have wanted it on vinyl for a long time as well.  Insanely hard to find (oh, how I've tried), Funkymix 12 includes a few decent tracks including Bobby Brown's "Humpin' Around" and Arrested Development's "People Everyday."  The real kicker, though, and the reason I've wanted it for soooo long... is a damn hot remix of Stevie B's freestyle classic, "Pump That Body."  The vinyl quality wasn't completely minty fresh, but it was still quite nice - especially on the Stevie B track where it counted.  Definitely playable.  I might have to work it into my next big event.  I was so excited about this that I actually took a picture with my Funkymix 12...  See one of the pictures below.
  
• Impressive and unique new mixes of a few 70s-era disco and funk classics:  Chic's "Good Times," KC + the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight," and the Commodores' "Brick House."  Yes, actual newer mixes that were really quite amazing.  They were pretty heavy production-wise with stuttering and sampling and the like, so I probably wouldn't break them out for "older" or more conservative crowds.
  
• The rare-as-holy-crap Mixx-It version of Keith Sweat's "I Want Her" on vinyl.  Here's what's really mindblowing about this one:  It was printed in 1987 or 1988.  I managed to purchase a copy of it that was still freakin' sealed.  Sweet!
  
• A not-quite-as-rare-but-still-wow-quite-rare remix service issue Street Tracks 2.  The biggest thing on it, at least for me, is a really nicely-produced remix of MC Hammer's "Here Comes the Hammer."  No, I'm not joking.
  
• A classic Hot Tracks double-record set (on see-through red vinyl!) which includs a decent, solid remix of EMF's "Unbelievable" and a rather interesting mix of Lisa Stansfield's "All Around the World."  The Stansfield mix actually features a few drop-ins of a synth sample from Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again."  As much as I like both songs, I'm still trying to figure out if I really like the way they fit together or not.
  
• A shipment carrying a metric crapload of sealed new vinyl directly from the Ultimix company, mainly including a slew of newer, pop-oriented music, all mixed into special exclusive versions.  Ultimix is one of the DJ-only remix companies out there for which I have the most respect and admiration, and this order certainly was proof of that respect and admiration:  The box was 17 POUNDS in weight.  (To be fair, a few of the items inside were for my friend DJ TMJ.)
  
• Last but not least...  One of the coolest acquisitions I've made in quite some time, with the exception of the aforementioned Funkymix 12.  A commercially-released UK 12-inch single for the MI 7 track, "Rockin' Down the House."  Now, if you are like 99% of the people out there, you may be asking yourself, "Rockin' whuh?"  Well, that's fine.  "Rockin' Down the House" was a kind of reggae-infused, early-1990s rave track.  I first heard it on an old Techno Pop remix issue about 15 years ago, and I loved it.  It was such an odd but beautiful track, with a strong feel, good instrumentation and a single, repeated vocal line.  Obviously, it wasn't meant as a big pop success, and it's extremely difficult to find the actual commerical releases of it out there.  I bought it for what I would consider to be a ridiculously low price, and It was a pleasure to finally hunt it down and add it to the arsenal.  (There's a picture of this one below as well.)

AND NOW...  THE PICTURES!

Okay...   I hope to include more pictures on the site in the future.  For now, here are a couple of really, really special ones.  My son X (the most awesome kid in the world) recently turned 18 months old, and shortly afterward Lanna and I took him out for his first trip to the Tulsa Zoo.  Now, I will say that I was disappointed because the zoo had an unacceptable amount of "temporarily unavailable" animals and exhibits.  There were a LOT of blank spaces there; it was actually rather pathetic.  However, we did get a few good memories there as a family, and that was the most important thing.

We took the opportunity to take our pictures with the statues out in front of the "rain forest" area. 

Now, these next pics are not nearly as big of a deal... but I figured I would take these shots and upload them for fun.  I'm apparently rockin' the same patented "DJ Badger Serial Killer Grin™" in both shots.

  
Holy crap!  It's Funkymix 12 and "Rockin' Down the House!"  Ha!

Okay...   So, that's it for now.  Hope you've enjoyed!

Stay tuned for Journal Entry 81...  One of the most important (and long-overdue) updates I'll ever put on the site.  It's coming very soon, and it'll be a really, really big deal.

For now, even though it's now getting close to 1:00am, I am going to try to finish watching the old Jim Carrey/Virginia Madsen flick, The Number 23.  So far, I've been fairly impressed with it.  Not bad at all.

Thanks...  :)

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