More ranting, Orianthi, and the Grammys.

In the light of news that the Grammy nominees have been released, I truly am not surprised that Taylor Swift has been given 8..... 8... YES 8, nominations for whatever categories. Only beaten by Beyonce with... 10... YES 10 nominations.

I may be extra hard on the mainstream drivel but somebody seriously needs to explain how or why Beyonce is so highly regarded as the Queen on the pop scene right now? Her music has hardly improved from when she was in Destiny's Child and the only reason I can see is because she got with Jay-Z that suddenly boosted her profile? I'll admit that her live performances are flashy, if not over the top but her songs are seriously quite rubbish. 3 off the top of my head.. the one which goes "To the left to the left", Single Ladies, and Sweet Dreams, all crap. I mean who seriously can listen through Sweet Dreams? Her vocals are nothing special, the beats nothing new, so why? Is it because of her Divaness? You tell me.

Moving on to Taylor Swift, this one is not so mind-boggling as she is manufactured to sell CDs to tweens and teens with songs moms would approve of. But seriously? Nominated for Grammys? I mean, how can anyone take her music seriously? Every song sounds so similar even in the chords used and don't even get me started on her singing ability. I believe that has been covered many times over by other writers out there. Just look around for her live performances.

And then there's this:

Record of the Year: Beyonce's "Halo," Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me."

Make of that what you will. That's the state of the music industry now. IT'S THE GRAMMYS btw. The only decent song in there is Use Somebody and we all know it's just there to make up the numbers.

This is an award that has been given to truly talented artists and we can just look through the past winners to see what mainstream music has become.

In the 50s and 60s, winners included Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, and Tony Bennett to name a few.

In the 70s, we had the Eagles, Billy Joel, Carole King, and Roberta Flack

In the 80s, along came Michael Jackson and Tina Turner.

And in the 90s, we still had Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Nat King Cole, Phil Collins and Celine Dion.

After the Millennium, winners included U2, Coldplay, and Norah Jones.

All the names I've listed out are respected proper talented artists. Closer to today though, names such as Green Day, and Amy Winehouse have managed to bag Grammys, god knows how. Then again, I remember last year, we had the Jonas Brothers perform at the Grammys and suddenly it's all a little clearer.

Anyway enough of the Grammys, I don't think anyone, even in the music industry takes it too seriously anyway. Look on wikipedia for what Maynard James Keenan has to say about it for example.

No, today I'm here to give us a bit of hope. You might have heard of her and seen her video on MTV by now, but I'm still sure the majority haven't even heard of her and I think that's an injustice when we have hacks like Taylor Swift at the top of the charts. Anyway, I present you, Orianthi. She's released an album now and her video, According to You is on MTV, you can search for it on Youtube as for some reason I can't embed it. The song isn't great but it's a smart way to penetrate the market to lead them on to what she is actually capable of.

Santana has been one of the few people who have backed her and she was the guitarist on MJ's This is It tour. The girl can ACTUALLY play guitar and is damn good at it. Anyway here are some clips.


Santana on her and some clips of her live.


Orianthi - According to You Live.


This one is a compilation but mostly of her playing guitar.

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
Today is a gift,
That's why it's called the present.

Music... or lack thereof.

Soooooo, how's everyone been holding up? Really?? Like I care anyways. So, more casual blogging and something I've been wanting to get off my chest for a bit but never really got down to it.

The story goes, my CD player broke, leaving me with no choice but to be at the mercy of radio, or face driving everyday listening to myself breathe. After 2 weeks or so, I'm beginning to question the choice of listening to the radio. Either option appears to me now as dull as the other.

Alright, that is exaggerating, the DJ's and the Hitz Gotcha's are actually decent, and the only thing that keeps me entertained. Apart from that, being abused with the music, or what qualifies as music today, that spearheads the pop frontier, is frankly, SAD. Pathetic, listless, uninspired, boring. Call it what you will.

Looking at it from a broader scale, I think it is kinda what shapes us today. It represents society in a sort of obscure way. How everyone can be manipulated into thinking certain things are "nice", or being pushed around by corporates and liking something just cause everyone else likes it. In short, originality is dieing.

Turn on the radio, what do you hear? Bullshit? No.... I mean what music is playing. I can bet you at least 8 out of 10 times, you will listen to David Archuleta at least once during the duration of radio listening. David Archuleta is the epitome of boringness and uninspired music. It's basically the same disney-ish crap that's being spouted by the likes of Jonas Brothers and now, Kris Allen. There is no character, they all sing about the same things, even use the same cliches and they just sound the SAME!

On the other hand we have mainstream hiphop, that is seriously just utter bullshit. Leading the list are Rihanna, Soulja Boi and whatever crap is out there. The clearest sign of a manufactured artist is when you listen to them live. I mean honestly, listen to Rihanna and tell me she can sing? If you say yes, then you deserve to listen to that shit daily. BUT WAIT!!!!! SOULJA BOI, SOULJA BOI, SOULJA BOI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How is Soulja Boi even an artist?!?!?!?!?!?! Do people seriously enjoy his music? I think you have to bring your mindset down to the level of a piece of mud to actually level with his lyrics.

If you look back just a couple of decades. What was on air? The Beatles, Eagles, Santana, Aerosmith, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Madonna, Queen. Just some examples.

And today? Like I've already stated above, Jonas Brothers, David Archuleta, Taylor Swift, Click 5, Soulja Boi, Rihanna, Sean Kingston, Miley Cyrus.

I'll let you guys work that one out yourselves. How the hell did music fall so far? Or rather how did mainstream music fall so far? Out of the 2nd list, I'm curious to see how many of them are remembered even 10 years from now. People will probably scoff and say, oh... that crap. Why? because the music corporates would've manufactured a new style of crappy music that would be considered "cool" by the listeners.

I don't know why they're getting worse, maybe because it's the fact that talent is either getting harder to find, or real talented people are smart enough to keep away from the mainstream labels. I think even the boyband era was better that the crap on radio today.

Well, I've gone on long enough. I hope my CD player will be fixed soon because then I am reminded there's hope. There's so much talent out there not making music for money, or fame. The roots are still there, the raw feeling of making music because you want to. I think Malaysia needs a rock or underground channel because every channel plays the same crap. At least BFM has the guts to go against the norm, playing good stuff of yesteryears that aren't the same 20 or 25 "oldie" songs LightFM constantly plays.

If you think I've been talking crap, I thank you for sticking through-out the entire post. Maybe I have to accept one man's meat is another man's poison. But in this case, shit is shit. No 2 ways about it. Cheers.

Is our education system putting too much emphasis on grades?

Ah, exactly one month from my previous post. So, I wrote this piece for my public speaking but didn't manage to do it due to several reasons. It's something I've been wanting to write for quite awhile so when I got the chance I just sat down and got to it. If you've got the time and interest, I'd be honored if any of you guys read it and give me some feedback.

Right, so here goes:

One of the definitions that the Oxford dictionary gives us for education is the process of 'bringing up' or the manner in which a person has been 'brought up' with reference to social situation, kind of manners and habits acquired, calling or employment prepared for. This definition seems to be the ideal outcome of a successful education system. However, as you will soon find out, unfortunately our education system does not function in this way.

I will start with the simplest of examples and what our entire education system is built upon. Examinations, tests, call them what you will, like it or not, they are the backbone of our education system. And to people that don’t already know, we have these exams in abundance, and quite a fair bit of them are rather useless. The 3 main ones in the school system as of today are the UPSR, PMR, and SPM.

Just an example is UPSR, which is a compulsory exam set by our education ministry to indicate the finishing of primary school. I would like to ask one question. How necessary is this exam? Students are made to believe they study 6 years building up to it, but what does it signify? You continue to secondary school regardless of your results. The problem with our exams though, is how they are presented. Students memorise rather than learn, for the sole purpose of passing or acing the exam, only to forget everything once they have done so. There is a quote which says, Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve. I believe this sums up our examination system and the way we are taught to study.

Especially apparent here, is the mentality set in our minds. The need to achieve a certain grade that is deemed acceptable means they are forced to endure countless hours of extra tuition to achieve the grades, sacrificing time for extracurricular activities. As the saying goes, all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. This way of thinking comes from the parents, who value grades so much higher than other achievements, that they are willing to bribe their children with money or gifts to push them towards those results.

Another view here is that the science stream is somehow better than the art stream. The education system streams students with better results into science and students with lower grades into the arts. The logic of this is baffling. People automatically think that students in the science streams are smarter than those in the arts. And because of this, students with good grades automatically go into the science stream, without considering the arts. Students like me, who regret that decision, because it is simply not what I am interested in doing.

The next sign that our education system is flawed and puts too much emphasis on grades, is the dire condition of the nation’s sports infrastructure. Here, it is frowned upon when someone’s ambition is to be a professional athlete. Why? Because there are no proper channels in which someone can reach this goal and make something out of his life. Sport is something schools do once a week, which they label Physical Education. It is not hard to see that the classroom is the emphasis of every education institute here. Look around you for example, we’re in an office building. How often are we encouraged take up a sport or an emphasis put on taking up sports seriously? Never, not in this country anyway.

Take a look at the US meanwhile, how many students there realise their potential at a certain sport in high school, then go on to receive sports scholarships from colleges and universities, and finally go on to make that sport a full time job. Are they products of the education system? Yes; they may not be able to explain to you Quantum Physics, or do integration, but they came out of the schooling system, and made themselves a career. I doubt very much anyone will realise any form of potential or talent from Physical Education, one hour a week. You may ask me, what has sports got to do with our education system? It’s just an example to show that grades are not everything.

So, what can be done to remedy this predicament we find ourselves in? First and foremost, we have to actually realise that the education system is flawed. We have to recognize that something needs to be done to cure this imbalance; because grades do not help us in one of the biggest parts of our lives, which is socially and culturally. Walker Percy once said, you can get all A's and still flunk life. The student who cheats and bluffs his way through school is considered smart, because he does not get caught. In the end, in the real world, he becomes a hopeless, helpless bundle of confusion and unbelief. If this does not show us that the system is flawed, I don’t know what will.

There is a saying that goes, a person may be well schooled, but that does not mean he has been well educated. He may have gone to the best schools, gotten the best grades, but he may be morally bankrupt. Our system is one in which culture plays no role in our education. Does one mature and grow up locked in a study, memorising words and passages simply because that’s how he has been taught to learn? No.

A balanced education system will do more than just help us study better, it will make us more cultured, more refined and overall, more civilised. All the more in a nation like ours, where we are growing as I believe this will do a lot in helping the country mature and develop. The first steps our education ministry need to take are to put aside the politics and have a serious review of the examination system, if that can be achieved; we could already be laying the groundwork and moving in the right direction. They then need to ask themselves, what should we gain from an education? And proceed from there. After all, there is a great deal more to the process of becoming educated than the actual instruction and schooling one may receive. Before I go I would like to leave you with a few sayings to ponder.

The aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values.

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think.

An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.

New Year Resolutions.

Like the countless other blogs out there I'm sure, it's time to post up some of my resolutions. Not like anyone will care much I think.

1. Blog-wise, post at least once a week.
2. Actually study regularly, although this one I make every year. Hope this year I can take the course seriously.
3. Get my pop-punk band going.
4. Gig at least once a month regardless of which band I'm playing with.
5. Get some proper sleep, wake up earlier.
6. Buy my PS3 by February.
7. Stop being late.
8. Find a nice girl. Haha *winkwink*
9. Exercise or work-out more.

Hmm that's about it I think. Shouldn't be too hard to keep. Of course though, the plan always looks easier before you actually do it.

Procrastination,
Is the thief of time.

Yoga

Muslim Readers look away!
One thing might lead to another and you might just wake up a Hindu Tomorrow!

Ola dear readers, sorry for not writing more, been kinda busy with the band and working etc. Enough with that, has anyone read today's papers? Apparently, our dear country has done itself proud again. In an inspired move, the Islamic Authorithies have now made it "Haram" for a Muslim to practice the art of yoga.

If you have been following the news on this from when they decided to consider it, you will know that it's because apparently, after stretching and what not, you will decide to forget that you are a Muslim and decide to become Hindu. It also says that chanting is illegal in the Muslim religion. Wait a minute, if I read correctly the guy who brought this up is a professor? P.r.o... wait a minute! PROFESSOR?! Oh dear, I wonder what his students think, or probably they now also think the same thing after being (mis)guided by this brilliant Malaysian.

In the nitty gritty somewhere they do state that although not all yoga practices require chanting and deep meditation, one thing will lead to another and the ultimate goal is to be one with God, which is haram in their eyes. Nevertheless, they will ban ALLLLL yoga practices for Muslims. Yes, do not read the previous paragraph again, I did state he was a professor if you went back to check.

Now, I do practice Yoga (Bikram's Hot Yoga) and it's safe to say that all members of their council do not. From an outsider's view it might be easy to assume that once we do yoga, our goal is to reach the ultimate goal and to see God. Oh wait, yea, forget about all the health benefits that we might try to gain for it, it's a cult following that converts everyone to Hindu. Hmm, yes now that I think of it, I do feel a bit Hindu already.

Bull
Shit.

In Bikram's Hot Yoga for instace we don't even do deep meditation, the closest we get to meditation is a sort of part where you lie on your back and just try to clear your mind. But this is to let your body recuperate and reap the benefits of praticing yoga, not to reach God or something. Hot Yoga is supposedly one of the better versions because it works our whole body whilst in 40 degrees constantly. There's nothing like it, you can try their free trial and find out for yourself. While doing it it's almost torture, but afterwards, you feel, peaceful almost, serene. You stretch out all your stress and it helps you sleep. Hmm, wait. I might be mistaken but I don't see any attempt to convert anyone to Hinduism.... strange. In fact I do see alot of Muslims practice this Hot Yoga and some of them are even staff there. Oh well.

"the council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said practices like chanting and what he called worshipping were inappropriate and they could "destroy the faith of a Muslim".

Why does this nation so often treat it's citizens like babies? Does anyone really think that you are weak enough to be influenced just because you do a certain exercise? Does that not show your faith is weak in the first place? If Islam is so strong, do you really think that just by practicing yoga you will suddenly decide that what you have been studying and believing in for your whole life is not good enough and throw all that away to become a Hindu? Well I think you can answer all that for yourselves, it's like the early ages all over again. Forbidden Fruit.

Then again, this is Malaysia and as we all know too well, Malaysia Boleh!


You can find BBC's take on the story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7743312.stm

Life is like a box of chocolates,
You never know what you're going to get.

Malaysian Drivers.

Hello folks. I'll start with the obligatory apology for not writing more. With that out of the way, I'll get down to the actual post.

For god knows why, today was hell in traffic. A journey which would normally take me 15 mins at most took roughly 40mins. All this in Subang as well. Bumper to bumper madness. Sitting in the jam though, I noticed a lot of things that can only be described as typical Malaysian driver's behaviour.

I'll do this in a list. A list of things I find extremely irritating on our Malaysian roads.

1. Idiots who don't understand the meaning of a line. Every single time there's a slightly long queue at a traffic light, I'm sure you will see this while sitting in line waiting. A small car, usually a Kelisa who thinks he's a bloody smart alec will wriggle his/her way to the emergency lane at the front of the line, hoping to cut in as soon as the light turns green. *Ehm* What makes them think their time is more important than all the other people waiting in line. Idiots.

2. Idiots who seem to think following an ambulance is very smart. As I sat in the jam today, an ambulance came screaming past but was held up at a traffic light, as cars moved to make way for it to go through, there was the usual line of buggers behind in, hoping to jump the queue and take advantage of a person in need of treatment. Not content with that, when the ambulance went through the red light, a string of cars followed it through. I mean, how badly do you need to jump ONE traffic light? I can bet you everthing I have that after doing that they would've a smug look on their face, relishing their infinite smartness. Idiots.

3. Motorcyclist who ride in the middle of the road. I'm sure you've been on the road, usually slightly bigger ones where there's this slow as hell motorcyclist smack in the middle of the road, and you can't really pass it, or when you do try to overtake it, he gives you that disgusted look as if you tried to stab his parents or something. Wait a minute, you're on a thing with 2 wheels, it's called a motorcycle. There's also another thing called a motorcycle lane. I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together? And then there are those cyclists who weave in and out of traffic, Valentino Rossi wannabes. These are the ones where when you overtake them, they put up their hand in that "What the heck?" gesture. These are also the ones who get into accidents. Risking your own life is one thing, damaging our cars is another. Idiots.

4. Racer boys. Idiots who drive super-souped up cheap cars. Y'know those jacked up Wiras, Kancil's which sound loud, Sagas which spoilers are bigger than the cars? Thinking they own the road or are in a Need For Speed game. Weaving in and out of traffic. Once again these are the idiots who think they are extremely smart. Break down of them are like this:
Chinese: Usually slighty better cars, 350z's etc. Hair usually not the natural colour. Loud techno music.
Malays: One rank up from rempits. Usually local cars, which only the exhaust pipe has been modified.
Indians: Just plain fugly cars with loud booming tamil or techno music.
These are the ones where when you're trying to cut into another lane, they will try their level best not to give up their place, staying as close to the car in front as possible, looking straight, as if on the starting grid of an F1 race. Idiots.

Alright, that's all for this week. Thanx for tuning in. Take care, and drive safely.

Never take life seriously,
Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Censored.

Howdy ladies and gents. Hope everyone has been fine. Today's topic will be about our very own, Malaysian Censorship Board. I'll try to stick to just the entertainment industry because I'm afraid if I dare venture further than that, I might end up like a certain "Raja". Seeing the government uses the ISA like using toilet paper while having diarrhea.

Well that's another story ain't it? So, the censorship board. Something I've been willing to get off my chest since forever. I'm not sure if Astro goes through with the same process as our censorship board but it's equally bad. I'm not sure if you guys and gals know, but Astro has a 3 minute delay from the actual broadcast in "live" telecasts. This 3 minutes, are used to filter out stuff they deem "inappropriate". Well, that about beats the purpose of "Live" fucking TV, doesn't it?

"It's Live, but 3 mins late." WTF?! So the spontaneaus argy bargy that goes on such as the Madonna Britney kiss from the VMAs among other things, will just be another FeBreeze advert or something like that. Why? Because they don't think we should see it. Let me ask you something, Astro Censorship. Are we paying extra just so we can enjoy "live" tv? Or rather, are we paying extra to watch proper tv? I can understand if TV1 chooses to censor every single kiss and cleavage that goes on tv, but thats because we're not paying for TV1, they should be able to decide what they want to show. We ARE paying for Astro however, but we still get half-chopped movies, slowed down "steamy" scenes and 3 minute delays.

If there were another network that did not do this, I would definitely be the first to jump ship. Unfortunately, living in Malaysia, means that every network would be subject to this joke of a entertainment industry.

Alright then, forget about Astro for a minute. We DO get some good stuff on there, despite it usually being at least a year late, but lets leave that for later. Let's move on to the actual censorship board of Malaysia. How many times have you gone into the Cinema, paid your 10 bucks, to watch a 18 movie. For example, an 18 SG (Sungguh Ganas!) movie, and had every single "fuck", "shit" and "bitch" censored out. What's so bloody ganas about the movie if they can't even swear on screen. Another question to the board, if every bloody thing is already censored out, why in the whole bloody world, is it labelled 18? Is it any different from a U movie? No.

Boobs? Out. Cleavage? Out. Fuck? Out. Shit? Out. Bitch? Out. Violence? Out. Sex scenes? Out. Drugs references? Out.

Jesus Christ. 18 SX (Presumably sex) without sex or semi-nudeness. 18 SG without swearing and violence. 18 PL is a combination, so nothing in there. What is the easiest solution? Buy the pirated DVD of course! The Unrated version, where you can see all the swearing or sex you want. And there they are going on about anti-piracy.

Hello braindead religious dicks, well done. Pat yourself on the back because you're fuelling the pirate business.

I'll give all of you some good examples.

Watched Hitman? Every swear word out, all "intimate" scenes out.

I didn't watch the Departed in the cinema, and am glad I did not. If you have watched this, you'll get what I mean. It would be like the old days, watching a silent movie.

Watched Tenacious D on Astro? The climax of the movie, where they battle Satan, is censored out. Presumably because once we see Satan holding a guitar, with Dave Grohl's voice, we'll all convert into satanists. A good 15 mins or so, which made the whole movie meaningless. I mean, if you want to take out such a big chunk of the movie, why bring it in in the first place? Oh right, cause it's the Malaysian Censorship Board. People who probably censor out everything then go back home and watch some animal porn or something.

Latest dumb fucking movie was, Knocked Up. I hadn't watched this movie before so I took the opportunity when it came on Astro. The whole scenes, where he "knocks her up" is out. Presumably because, if we watch acted out sex on tv, we will go ahead and rape. Ensuing dialogue where they refer to the one night stand and why he didn't wear a condom, left me clueless. I didn't know what they did, or why. They just show them waking up the next morning. Apparently there's a scene with strippers in Vegas, gone. Again, same as above. Why bother bringing it in, when you're gonna take out all the main plot points. Makes it sort of pointless.

Also if anyone watches America's next top model or Australia's next top model, you will realise that anytime at all they refer to nudity or boobs, the picture suddenly lags, or even worse, they just rewind the footage and play it again, over the voice. Presumably because, girls will then wear nothing when they go out? The original version obviously has some semi-nudity or I dunno, maybe girls in their undergarments. Nope, since your parents or whoever obviously don't care that you're watching it, or maybe, you're old enough, we will take the role of your parents, and we have decided you cannot watch that part.

And people wonder why the Westerners are so mature at a younger age. How does a nation grow up, when a 50 year old man, has what he watches on TV, filtered out for him by a few donkeys in some darkroom.

18 ratings have absolutely no impact whatsoever on anything. I remember they had a period where they had Police at cinemas, stopping underage people from going into 18 movies. For what? What are they gonna see? Chopped off sex scenes? Muted cursing? Blacked out "overly violent" scenes?

Exactly.

Who judges the judges?

Soundtrack To My Life

If my life was re-enacted in a movie or something, the soundtrack to it would probably be something like this. Just something fun until I post since it's been awhile since I've posted anything.

Opening Credits:
Kasabian - Club Foot

Waking Up:
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter

First day at High School:
Nine Inch Nails - Everyday is Exactly the Same

Falling in Love:
Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me

Fight Song:
Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston

Breaking Up Song:
Porcupine Tree - Feel so Low

Prom/Dance:
Arctic Monkeys - I bet you look good on the dancefloor

Life:
Nine Inch Nails - Survivalism

Mental Breakdown:
Placebo - Meds

Driving:
Explosions In the Sky - Your Hand in Mine

Flashback:
Nine Inch Nails - Right Where It Belongs

Wedding:
Gerry & the Pacemakers - You'll Never Walk Alone

Birth of Child:
Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla

Final Battle:
Michael Buble - Home

Death Scene:
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

Funeral Song:
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

End Credits:
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra - Adagio for Strings

If you guys want I might upload all the songs when I have the time, if not just ask me for any on MSN and I'll be happy to pass them to you.

There is no easy way, to any place worth going.

63 Things We Learned from Wanted.

1. Cops will not continue to pursue the bright red viper missing two tires creating sparks along the road...for it has passed them...therefore it is invisible.

2. A "kitty litter" truck can keep up with a viper.."cuz vipers are slow"

3. A viper can get enough speed on 3 tires to be able to flip a 4 ton bus.

4. If someone hits your ankles with a car causing you to fall into the passenger seat, you will suffer no ill affects.

5. Jumping face first through glass won't cut you, or hurt you, in fact it makes for pretty face decoration. I say put glue all over your face and jump through a window, it will make for a pretty reflective mask.

6. Jumping 300 yards into a window is so effortless that you can get up, dust yourself off, run up 3-5 floors, and kill someone in 3.5 seconds

7. As long as you can speed your heart up to 400 bph, jumping between sky scrapers is no problem.

8. Regardless of "initial curvature", the flight path of the bullet will not change as it goes through objects (like 8 skulls).

9. Human bones has no effect on the trajectory of bullets apparently.

10. If you have the ability to curve a bullet around a round room, you probably also possess the ability to make the bullet adjust for height so that it can hit everyone exactly in the temple. So Common and Angie Jolie are the same height then?

11. it's normal for no one to move one bit when clearly everyone on the other side of the room is getting shot through the head with the same bullet, and it's pretty obvious it will eventually hit you

12. If you step on an X you can not move, even if you have enough time to verbally respond, you just can not move.

13. If you're standing in a circle with fellow assasins and you see them die one by one, you can't move no matter what (perhaps there are X's on the floor)

14. Curving a bullet around a room will still give you time to smile and throw a gun to someone else.

15. It is possible to shoot bullets and be accurate from miles away and go through soda cans and donuts, car windows and probably anything else. And it does not matter that you cannot see through the soda can to your target.

16. It doesn't matter how far the person you want to kill is -- you can do it from your apartment. The bullet will somehow reach its target, through building and cans and donuts and cars.

17. Even though you can kill anyone anywhere sitting in a chair while talking on the phone in the safety of your apartment, its better to just go out and do it the dangerous way.

18. The older the gun the further it can shoot.

19. even if you are on the brink of death with every bone in your body broken and all your skin cut up, you'll be as good as new in a few hours after lying in a bathtub full of wax.

20. Apparently its not creepy at all to watch your son for years from across the street while never communicating with him.

21. If your bank account goes from almost nothing to more than $3.8 million overnight, no one who monitors accounts will think it's suspicious.

22. Not knowing who you are is good reason to be an assassin.

23. If your real father leaves your ancient guns, don't bother bringing them because they will do you no good.

24. You can live with your self after killing your father, as long you kill every *beep* person involved.

25. the best way to save ur son who u love and care about is to move into a flat facing his and do nothing... at all

26. The best way to tell your son he's hanging around with a bad crowd is to shoot a lot of bullets at him.

27. Assassins that are assigned targets from a magical loom still manage to make millions of dollars.

28. The easiest way to kill someone is by standing on the top of a moving train.

29. James Mcavoy can run across a bridge full of cars as fast as a train goes under it.

30. Hitting your head on a concrete barrier on top of a moving train will only give you a headache

31. Being beat up, called a pussy, running along trains, and getting put in wax baths everyday is a better life than working in an office with a fat boss.

32. The above routine for six weeks will make you not only an expert assassin but an amazing stunt driver.

33. When you search Google for 'Wesley Gibson' and get no matches, don't question it, just become an assassin and kill your father.

34. Trying and failing to catch a shuttle moving through a loom at high speeds, may hurt a little, but will not break your hand...no matter how many times you do it.

35. No matter how many times you shoot a gun toward the end of a movie, you will never have to reload.

36. Even if you're in wanted in all the newspapers, no one will turn you in.

37. Rats can totally fill up an entire building within 30 seconds of being released.

38. Guys who ride in limousines are totally ambivalent to people shooting at them and don't show any concern at all especially when they have bullet proof glass.

39. If you are fast enough with your hands you can deflect bullets with knives.

40. you can shoot a knife out of a gun.

41. You can be a lethally powerful hitwoman even if you have arms as thin as spaghetti.

42. the fraternity has somehow completely ignored the possibility of assassinating Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc...

43. Thread can tell the future.

44. Rats are the ULTIMATE weapon of destruction!!!!!!!!

45. High blood pressure gives you super powers, not massive coronaries...

46. Some bullets are 'traceable' and can give you a persons name, and others are not, but you don't need a reason for either way.

47. Modern pistols are great for close-combat, but when you need to hit a target dead-center in the forehead from a mile away through several objects, a circa-1776 Musket is the only option.

48. A thousand years ago, everyone looked at their thread through a microscope.

49. If you run really fast then you can jump long distances across buildings. (Wait, we learned that in the matrix)

50. Old Black dudes make for cool teachers (wait, we learned that in the matrix)

51. Getting your ass kicked doesn't mean much, cuz when you wake up, you'll pretty much be fine (Wait, we learned that in the matrix too)

52. When you slow things down in your mind, you can react faster (uummm)

53. When your life is about to take a dramatic change, a beautiful woman will appear over your shoulder out of no where (Wait, didnt trinity do that in the matrix?

54. When tasked with killing the man who killed your father, he will turn out to be your father. (MATRI- no wait, that one goes to star wars)

55. Making a bullet in 4 pieces makes it fly farther without any extra propellant

56. If you shoot the wings off of flies, they will in no way be affected by the force of a bullet flying by they will drop to the floor and easily be found.

57. If you are an assasin and someone is hired to kill you, they will always shoot the Indian lady next to you, even though they could shoot you first, that would be rude.

58. If someone wants to deliver a message to you, they must shoot you in the arm with traceable bullet. A phone call is out of the question.

59. If you're shot while your blood pressure is 400bpm don't worry, your blood won't spray out of even the most minor injuries, and you won't have to worry about bleeding out in seconds.

60. A building full of the worlds best assasins cant kill their most inexperienced member

61. If a train breaks in half and half of it falls hundreds of feet below, there will be no bodies floating in the water below.

62. The most effective way to board a moving train is to drive a car straight into it.

63. You can kill one and save a thousand, even by crashing a passenger train.

Hope you enjoyed another of my Random Rants.

Laughter, the best Medicine

Just decided to change templates for a change. Heh. Also new updates include that you can now subscribe to this blog. Also, I've put in an ESPNsoccernet news ticker in the sidebar for football fans.

Just wanted to update the page. Since I've nothing much else to say, I'll leave all of you with some funny pics. As they say, Laughter is the best Medicine (well thats what Reader's Digest says anyway.) Enjoy. This week, if all goes well we'll have our Chick of the Week, Keira Knightly, and Sexy Footballers of the week. Also, the review of Wanted should be up. Hang tight, relax to some Jazz and hope all will go well.

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This has been another Random Rant by your favourite Blogger.

Imogen Heap

Nothing much to post this week so I'll leave ya'll with 2 excellent songs.

Imogen Heap - Hallelujah


Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

Indi

After watching the finale of America's Most Popular Kid, I think it's very safe to say that David Archuleta, singing sensation and American Phenom will take this years title of American Idol.

I'm actually glad he's won. It goes to show once again that this show is not a singing/talent contest as I've said before. I think this is the 2nd best finish after the Taylor Hicks one, ending up as a joke.

Lets take a look at his incredible journey. In the semi's a young and innocent looking 17-year old boy by the name of David Archuleta did all but sign the contract of being American Idol after his rendition of John Lennon's Imagine. The judges were so pleased with him that they quickly became their favourite contestant. To be fair he did sing it well.

And from there, the legend of David A. began. Week after week, the judges plumped for him, urging young American tweens to vote for this adorable squirrel. As usual, singing is secondary to looks in this competition as proven by TV Series actor Jason Castro, and this with his alright singing talent, pushed David A. to become one of the front runners in the competition.

Along the way, it looked as if Michael Johns would provide some competition but America said NO! and got rid of him immediately. Next in line was professional singer Carly Smithson, who arguably had the best voice in this years show. In her best week, America once again voted her off. And after that, a Syesha who had grown stronger each week and in my opinion delivered her best performance at the final 3. What did America do? OUT! And lastly, David Cook who might have actually given the boy a run for his money. It's safe to say that America will protect their favourite son once again. Well done son, well done.

In a nutshell, a 17 year old boy who has sang basically the same thing from his audition till now with the exception of his groundbreaking version of Chris Brown's "With You", beat 11 other contestants, including a few pros along the way and scored a "knockout" to become America's latest singing sensation. You don't write stuff like this.

Alright then, with AI safely out of the way, I would just like to point out, without bragging, that I have tickets to the Indiana Jones premiere tomorrow night. If you lot are lucky, the review might be up as early as Friday.

Hope it'll be good.

Song of the day: Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley

Btw, NIN has their new album, The Slip up for free download at their site www.nin.com check it out if you're interested.

Bodi, OUT!

Strange

Well, I missed yesterdays post, too bad. The Monday/Tuesday ones will be very light. Hopefully with some pictures every week. I'm usually busy or too lazy to post if i don't post so bear with me if your favourite blog isn't updated ;)

Alright, so today because I'm lazy, I'll talk about something thats easy to please. Girls. I'm sure everyone has a few celebs or even friends that most people wouldn't find hot but you do. C'mon, you know what I mean. Ain't nothing to be ashamed of. If there are any ladies reading this, sorry as I probably won't be doing a guy one too soon.

I'll get it going with my few. You may or may not recognise them, or may even find them unattractive, but like I said. These are actresses that most people might find unattractive or hot but there's just something unexplainable that makes them seem hot to me. Might take awhile to load as there will be quite a number of pics. If you're still with me, here we go:


1) Jorja Fox a.k.a Sara Sidle. I just find her attractive I do not know why. If you watch CSI you will know her. She looks a little like Jennifer Garner right?


2) Kari Byron of Mythbusters fame. I know she's not that hot but yet again I have no idea why I just enjoy watching her on Mythbusters. Must be my thing for redheads :P

3) Alright, might not be so shocking this one. Avril Lavigne. Always a good reason to post some Avril pics.

4) Isla Fisher, of Wedding Crashers fame. Again, redhead. Yummy.

5) Lastly, Hayley Williams of Paramore. I think she's 17. No, wait, 19. Not your typical hot... but cute AND hot. Nice hair too.
Alright, thats all for today. Put alot more time then I intended into this. Enjoy and Ciao.

Song Of The Day: Stranger By The Minute by Porcupine Tree

New ways

So, I've decided that the blog need some refreshing. From now, I'll try to post at least 3 times a week.

Monday will be random rant day, where I just complain about stuff.

Wednesday will be Music Review day, where I review albums I have.

Thursday will be Movie Review day, where I review movies that I have watched in the past.

I will try my best to keep to this schedule as it adds some interesting posts to freshen up this dieing blog.


Alright, back to American Idol. I have decided that I will from now, cease to watch this incredibly frustrating series. Like I've said before, clearly it's been proven that it's nothing more than a popularity contest, not a singing one. With Americans becoming dumber by the day, I shouldn't have been as surprised and disappointed as I was when I saw Michael being voted out.

Clearly the best or 2nd best singer/performer in the contest and closest competitor to David Cook, he was voted out before, KRISTY LEE COOK, SYESHA, and BROOKE WHITE.

Americans proved their ability to be not only blind but deaf at the same time in a talent-poll which saw David Cook at no.1, and David Archuleta at no.2. No complaints there, it's debatable that they might be the most talented, but lets take a look further down the table. Carly was at no.3, a deserved spot for the Irish born, powerful singer. At no.4 was America's favourite joke, Brooke White. no.5 was Michael Johns, which shows you how deaf/blind Americans are and rounding it up were Jason, Syesha and Kristy.

Now, in any way you look at it Brooke is in no way more talented, a better singer, better performer or more likeable than Michael. And this is coming from a guy. Apart from that, Syesha?! The girl can outsing Brooke any day.

So after another half-season where I thought we might finally find a winner worth winning, American Idol has proven itself again. Except this time, I won't be continuing.

Without anyone in his way, David Cook should win now although I have a sneaky feeling that David "I can only sing 1 genre" Archuleta might sneak it with his innocent punchable face and honey-dripping sweet voice.

Alright then, thats all for now. Tune in for the updates later in the week.

Cheers.

Song of the day is: Mother Superior by Coheed and Cambria.

P.S. Every post will end with a song of the day. If you can't download but still want the song, feel free to ask me on MSN, I'll happily spread good music around.

I'll leave ya'll with some pictures.

Sad But True

Metallica song. Not exactly my favourite but it sums up this weeks American Idol.

At the start of this season I had hope. That maybe this season it might be slightly different. This season we actually had some REAL talent. This season we had some very interesting and diverse range of contestants.

In 2 weeks, the show has proven me wrong.

It's not the singing part of the show that really stumps me. It's elimination day that really shows me what this show is and has never changed from since well, season 3 I think.

Seasons 1 and 2 in my opinion might be the only 2 "real" shows in the history probably. Although the talent was not so diverse then. People voted for the most talented singers. Not the most good looking, or cute etc etc. They voted for people who could actually SING. Well, it IS a singing competition is it not?

Alright, down to the nitty gritty. Bottom 3 last week and this week.

Last week, we had Syesha, Kristy and David Hernandez in the bottom 3. When Ryan Seacrest asked Simon whether it was the correct choice. He said, "Yes." Normally Simon is the only opinion that really matters. However I think this time he just wanted to make a statement, wanted to be different, stand-out. Because my dear Simon, Ramielle was sitting down comfortably on the couch, bawling her eyes out. Because David Archuleta was sitting with her.

How in the world is it the correct decision when Syesha is in the bottom 3 and Ramielle is not? David A. I can understand because he can sing but he messed up big time. Kristy deserves to be there because she dosn't even deserve to be in the top 12.

Anyway, who goes home? David. Erm, American people, Kristy Lee Cook was standing next to him and you chose to keep her in. Looks like another season of popularity idol.

This week, I thought it might be different. I thought well, ok the public saw what they did last week. They surely won't do the same this week. I thought the performance described by Simon as being like "Chekezie on Harmonica." would surely be the worst, right?

According to the same man, nope. Bottom 3, Carly(Wtf American people are you all stupid or something), Kristy and Amanda Overmyer. Surprise surprise, no Ramielle again. Simon, is it the right choice? YES!

Amanda was easily head and shoulders over Brooke who once again delivered an uninspired, awkard, painfully boring performance.

Carly was easily the best of the ladies and RAMIELLE WAS SITTING AGAIN!

I don't know anymore Simon, maybe you just want to stand out.

So, another week goes by and Kristy survives again. Ramielle not even in bottom 3.

Well, popularity wins again, the short cute girl defeats the rocker bike riding nurse. But then again, this show started from Pop Idol. And the rubbish that gets played on radio nowadays. The genre thats a short-form for Popular, in which Soulja Boy and Fergie can rule the charts. Maybe it's just what the mainstream music industry has come to.

It's sad, but I'm afraid it's true.

Cheers people, have a good one.

Murderers

by John Frusciante. Download and see. Good upbeat instrumental by the RHCP guitar virtuoso.

Alright. As you may have noticed, I'll recommend one song everytime I post something. It's good stuff so enjoy it.

Sorry for the long break, just didn't find anything interesting to write about.

Well, I missed both American Idol's this week. And I'm posting to tell you why.

I joined True Fitness and today I got a taste of Hell. Y.o.g.a.

SHIT! If you think working out, lifting weights and jogging is tiring. Try Yoga. It takes all of that and shits on it.

To people who say stuff like you can't work more than 2 major muscles in a day or something. Yoga gives that statement one big middle finger.

It's one super big workout all rolled into one, and joining an advanced class on our first try didn't help much. We did however manage to strive till the end.

I felt okay for all of the first 3 minutes, then the actual thing started. On one hand you're thinking, how am I gonna do that pose. On another hand, you're thinking how are all these other people doing that pose. And on your third hand, if you have one, you're thinking this hurts like hell.

I see why it's a real popular workout now. After only 10 mins I was sweating like mad. Drenched. Imagine if you do this everyday. Every muscle in your body is pulled apart, contracted and god knows what else. And add a 40'C room to that.

Well, it does feel really great when you're done and showered. Only for fucking Rihanna to spoil the whole mood with her unfaithful bullshit.

I don't wanna be a murderer too Rihanna, but dear do you run me close.

Have a good one,
Cheers

Girls Girls Girls

Famous song by Motley Crue that. Go download it and see.

Kay with the introduction outta the way. DOWN TO SERIOUS BUSINESS!!!!!! I mean it this time.

I just wanna add, this is not an AI(American Idol) blog. I just write about what I saw/heard/felt during the day and most of the time it will be about the entertainment business and sometimes sports.

So, where do I begin... Oh gawd, Last 10 girls. *Tsk tsk tsk* very sad.

I'm too lazy to rip into each and everyone of them individually for tonights performance. I'll just summarize the performance.

Rubbish*.
*With the exception of Carly.

Song choice tonight was shocking, and nobody stood out in particular. Except Carly of course.

I'll split them up into 3 tiers.

1st Tier are confirmed entries into the finals, strong favourites.
2nd Tier are those that can sing well, but are not as good as the 1st tier. Good chance of making it into the Finals.
3rd Tier are those that are just there to make up the numbers. Waiting to get eliminated.

Tier Uno:

1. Carly (Tatooted, Irish) - By far the strongest female contestant. Very professional and good voice.
2. Syesha - Very very smooth voice. Should sail through to the finals easily.

Tier Dos:

1. Kady Malloy (Blonde, looks like Britney) - She has talent, just not picked the right songs yet. The way she sings is effortless and all good singers have that.
2. Amanda Overmyer (Punk Nurse) - My 2nd favourite from the girls. I think she will go through as well. I love the tone of her voice.
3. Alaina Whitaker (Ali Larter/Carrie Underwood) - I think she has some potential. Sweet girl and pretty face. On the fence. Very similar to Kady but not as good vocally, which could split the votes when people choose between the 2.

Tier Tres:

1. Brooke (Good Girl) - I'm starting to really dislike this girl, she's just so irritating and "fake". Average voice.
2. Kristy Lee Cook (HOT!!!!!!!!) - Phew, the hottest contestant to be on Idol for a while. I think her looks will get her through but her voice is nothing special.
3. Ramielle (Phillipino, Hawaiian looking) - I also don't like her. Nothing too special but I got this feeling she'll be like that Hawaiian girl from a few seasons ago who got into the top 3.

Rest of them are forgettable.

Been a long read, I'll stop here today.

and go listen to paramore.

Post Numero Uno

Haha, ok. First post. Can't believe I'm blogging but it's really not. I just made this up to vent some thoughts and rubbish. This won't be your typical, I hate this bitch hope she dies. My life is sad, I need to commit suicide style blog. It'll be light-hearted and full of crap.

I'll be too lazy to post vids and photos too often and also too lazy to design a proper page so I'm gonna leave it like this.

OK! Now that that's off my chest, DOWN TO SERIOUS BUSINESS!!! well, not really.

American Idol, to those who watch it. Still the semi-finals. Last 10 guys.

My personal favourite is Michael Jon(s), love his voice and the style he sings. David C. also has an excellent tone. For now though the 4 confirmed to go into the finals in my opinion are... (drumroll)

Jason LongDreads

Michael Jon

David Archuleta (stunning performance)

David C.

Out this week should be... Danny Noriega I frickin hate this piece of crap. I think the Idol producers screwed up on this one. Tomorrow is girls night, not tonight. And sadly Jason Yeager. Average voice, average appearance, AVERAGE!

Thats all from me tonight, the blog will be back...

After the break.