6:28 PM I’ll announce the little things first before getting into Katy Perry’s new video, “E.T.”, which was just released, and the HTC Thunderbolt from Verizon. Last night, I had some extreme back pains and for some reason, Pete decided to use this Chinese ointment (something called Wong To Yick Medicated Oil) my mom gave me a while ago. It works pretty well and I didn’t feel anything until the next morning. Plus, it pretty much cleared up my sinuses so pick one up at your local Asian shopping center. UPS dropped by and I can tell you that I did not expect my fabric to come as an actual plastic-wrapped roll, like a spring roll. I don’t mind as long as it’s not dirty but it was surprising to look out the balcony doors and see that.

And while I’m on the topic of orders, I went and bought some Cure Natural Aqua Gel samples on eBay last night. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, this is the skin care product that’s acquired a cult following in Asia as “one bottle is sold every 20 seconds”. It’s a natural exfoliant (basically a scrub) that’s made out of 90% water. You rub a few drops on after you’ve washed your face and as you keep working the product in, your dead skin cells will come off in little bumps. Kinda gross. It works for all skin types although I have extremely dry, sensitive skin that doesn’t shed itself so easily. I’m anxious to give it a try.

So Pete and I have both had the HTC Thunderbolt since mid-March and so far so good. I loved (and still do in a way) my old HTC Droid Incredible and through Pete’s constant urging, I now have this phone.

It’s the only phone from Verizon Wireless that allows simultaneous data and voice usage, meaning you can surf on Google and talk to someone at the same time. Some of you may think, “But I can do that already!” No, you’ can’t. You’re only able to do that when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Plus, you have the option to alternate between 4G (VZW’s LTE) and 3G.

The Thunderbolt has a 1.3 MP front-facing camera at the top of the generous 4.3″ display that you can use Tango to make video calls. The workhorse camera at the back is a hefty 8 MP with dual-LED flash.

Just like the Droid Incredible, you can shoot videos in 720p HD. The phone comes with a 32 GB microSDHC memory card. The battery life is notorious for disappearing mad quick (lasts me about a day) but that’s something UltimateJuice and Advanced Task Killer easily fixes. The kickstand creeps me out a bit because I wish the material the manufacturers used could sound and feel a bit sturdier, but hey, no problems yet as it props my phone up vertically and horizontally.

The Thunderbolt is extremely fast so HTC and VZW weren’t joking about that.

Neither one of us are going to return our phones so that’s a good sign. Of course, many consumers are all about the Bionic or the new dual-core phones (Thunderbolt has one, the updated version of Snapdragon), but there are pros and cons to everything. Someone might prefer a Pentium 4 to an i5. It’s all about your needs and preferences. Thunderbolt is an all-purpose handy device that’ll keep you occupied, updated, and satisfied for as long as you have it.

Ah, we finally get to Katy Perry. I personally, preferred her music before she was “discovered”, but her latest album, Teenage Dream, does deliver a very diverse set. Attention was called to “Teenage Dream”, “California Gurls”, “Firework” and “Peacock” and the mentioned singles carried the record higher within the past year.

However, “E.T.” emerges now and manifests itself in a very epic video that reminded me of the Animorphs series, Dune, Wall-E, Starcraft, and Queen Amidala from Star Wars. It’s nothing Katy Perry’s come out with and I give the production designers much credit. Being from theater myself, the make up and special effects used in her video takes hours to complete. And I’m not even talking about all the times they’ve had to reapply it.

The video starts off strong with Kanye West (not a fan of his though) rapping about the Milky Way and his filthy ways while floating around in an eyeball-looking spacecraft. Katy Perry shapeshifts from a pretty version of E.T., to space age Thumbelina, and finally to a faun-esque creature.

She saves a dying robot and of course before the video ends with the two standing beside each other looking towards the horizon like Adam and Eve (to conquer the world), the viewers get a few glimpses of animal sex.

I told you it was epic. “E.T.” seems to rely on shock value while still playing it safe for the most part. I’d like to see Katy doing more of this kind of work, using the ethereal quality of her voice, traversing to newer and more groundbreaking levels of her career. Or … maybe I’m just a space nut.

That’s it. I’m tired, raspberries. Out.