Fortress Of Lassitude

Jelly New Years

2011-01-03T13:21:00.001+13:00

Yet again, in spite of the day of symbolic revitalizations, repentances and resolutions, nothing's really changed. I'm not particularly depressed when I say this - I don't like it when people sigh while saying this like "same old, same old".

But there IS something a little different this year. Maybe it's my Korean consciousness that's telling me that I am indeed getting old, and more pressingly, acknowledging that my time on this Earth is and has been running out. It would sound like just another New Years resolution and in many ways, it is. I can't let any more opportunities slip through my fingers.

Away from the panic and moody topic, I give you the first tile of 2011

Kazuya Mishima from Tekken

I have to say, this guy was by far the hardest piece I've done so far. This was done on a 10 x 20 canvas so I suppose it counts as two tiles. This one took about 4 hours more than other pieces and I was worried I might get cross eyed after I was done with this. Not to mention the bloody steaming weather didn't help me focus either. Again, I'm reasonably happy how the end product turned out, but it could have been better with more ideal climate conditions...

My next piece will be another 10 x 20 by the looks of things, and it could be another Tekken Character just for the sake of it.

EDIT : I just realised you can still see some discrepancies in paint in the background. This is because I ran out of the brand of black paint so I had to switch halfway through. I'll have to tidy up the background a bit in the future...

Season's beatings

2010-12-25T07:38:00.000+13:00

It's been 6 straight days of eating out/bbq'ing and its quite apparent I've gone back to the way I was before the half-assed weight loss. As much as it sounds like a new years resolution, I am going go back to my old diet and routine from the 2nd of Jan. Well, ok. I guess it IS a new years resolution. So what, I'm eating good food. No regrets.

Aside from my epic battle against fatty stuff in general, I have a couple of new paintings up. Originally intended as Christmas gifts, but they turned out so nicely and now I want to hold on to them :(

We'll see how it goes; if I don't get any presents, then I won't give.

Anyway, I present you the "wall of fame"'s first female model,

Kate Beckinsale.

God she is so hot.

And another first for the Wall of Fame, a non human fictional internet meme character...

...the Troll Face lolol.

Happy Christmas everyone.

To my non-existent regular readers 2

2010-11-16T12:56:00.004+13:00

It's been almost a year since I've posted on this blog.

I forgot how much effort I used to put on this, despite there being no one actually visiting...

Well, I don't really care any more and I'm just going to use this space as an archive/diary for myself. And of course, there will also be updates with new "Wall of Fame" tiles. Speaking of which, I happen to have started working on those again n

ow that I'm bored shitless (4 months Uni holiday FML).

Here are the 2 newest addition to the family:

Dimebag Darrel (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004)

R.I.P.

I don't know if anyone will remember but there was a tile that I didn't finish working on because I couldn't find a suitable picture to go with it. Well, now I have and you'll be glad to know it turned out to be a bit of a venture for me.

Before...

.... And After!

James Hetfield of Metallica

This one was a little difficult to pull off as there was so much noise and mist in the background, I had trouble finding the outline that I traced. What I did to remedy that was this. I painted his silhouette completely in black and worked my way back with white. I've always avoided using white paint as much as possible as they are a bit more annoying to deal with than black paint so this was a rather fresh idea. In the end, it turned out a bit like a graphic novel drawing but it was an interesting process. I'll have to try these gradations again sometime soon because I'm pretty satisfied with the results so far.

Well, that's it for today. Check this space for more updates with new pictures in the near future.

Update.

2009-12-29T14:05:00.005+13:00

So yes, there has been lots of running around and meeting up with old faces in the past month. And as always, there follows an obstacle or two in every journey. To get through mine, I had to pay with my left big toenail last week. I won't get into how I managed to do it cuz its really boring. The point is, it got lifted off my toe, and had to be removed...
I actually have a picture of the dead toenail before it got removed but my feet are ugly so I won't bother posting it.

But yeah, went to the doctors in the hopes that it's not a big deal and he started poking my toe with a fucking scalpel. Only after he was done slicing up the skin, he thinks it should be removed so THEN comes the anaesthesia, which was equally painful. Fucking asshole.
Luckily for him, my toenail healed up quickly and I was able to walk and run again in about 4days. And my travels continued...

During these boring days indoors, I remembered that I had bought some stretched canvas and paint a week back. I had bought these in the thought that I'll give out my stencil paintings as Birthday presents and Christmas presents to relatives and friends. And that was the time to get onto it. These pieces have all been given away but I took the time to take pictures before I sent them off, so here they are.

The Icononic "I'm disgusted by you" face - Agent Smith

The also-iconic counterpart - Neo (Sorta screwed up doing the face)

Neo with a rifle (probably a M4A1 Carbine) - PEW PEW

... And finally ol' Marlon Brando Himself

Oh dear...

2009-12-16T01:58:00.005+13:00

Sure, football excites me.

But not in the same way it does for this guy.

Singapore - Day 2

2009-12-04T00:10:00.009+13:00

I knew the day would be a fine one even before I woke up because the sunlight was seeping in through the curtains and eventually into people's foreheads. Well rested, but still rather pissed off at the sunshine, I found some relief at the fact that the breakfast was free from the hostel. As you can imagine, free breakfast from a place that's $8 a night is just coffee and toast but it was all I needed anyway.

I spent most of the morning hanging out with Tom from Ireland, who was sleeping on the other side of the dorm. He turned out to be an accountant who's traveling around the world and eventually heading over to New Zealand later next year to work for a few months. He and I got along pretty well - both of us having been raised in a country that is divided north and south, we landed on some interesting topics - we talked quite a bit about everything from Politics and Economies to Rugby. After being ripped off at a local restaurant - we both asked for a dish that was $2.50 each on the menu, but the guy said we were given the wrong order and asked us to pay $4.50 each. Fortunately for them, they did not speak hardly any English and I wasn't in the mood to argue any further in this weather - Tom was off to Thailand and I begin my own trek.

Entrance into Suntec City Mall from the MRT Station - this is steaming outdoors BTW,
don't let roof fool you. Beyond those doors is sweet, sweet air-conditioning!!!

Since I was planning to go on a guided tour of the other parts of the city, I chose Suntec City Mall as my first destination and decided to walk aimlessly inside and around, which I did. After almost an hour of not-pretending-to-be-lost, I finally gave in and looked at the building directory. After scrutinising the layout, I then realised that I was doing circles in only ONE of the FIVE towers that make up the complex... Later on in the trip, I found out that the buildings were constructed so that each of the 5 towers represent a finger of the left hand, with one 'thumb' tower being shorter than the rest. Supposedly, according to Chinese Geomancy, the fountain in the 'palm' area of the complex is supposed to symbolise "Wealth flowing into one's hand", guess its a good thing.

By 5:30PM, I was getting rather hungry from all that walking so I hesitantly walked out of Toys R'us and checked out the restaurants on the other side. Japanese, Hong Kong, Turkish, Steamboat... Bingo, Korean restaurant. And guess what they had on the menu.

냉면 Naeng-myun - Possibly the food that I like the most in the world, and this dish happened to be a specialty of this place. Cold noodles with pickled radish and cucumbers. Very chewy noodles, sweet yet vinegary goodness. Not to mention, the ice cold soup was a godsend in the weather.

Around the time I was halfway through the bowl, the Korean owner came up to me and started conversation since I was the only customer there. He was a man around 50 He was curious as to why I was having dinner so early and explained to me that restaurants don't get much customers until at least 8PM - apparently Southeast Asians (or any countries with a hot climate) follow a somewhat delayed daily timetable compared to the rest of the world. Once I literally cleaned up the bowl, the gentleman kindly pointed out places to check out and where to grab cheap, decent food on my tourist map. After saying thanks, I headed outside where I was met by drizzly skies...

Hello to my almost-non-existant readers

2009-11-21T17:23:00.011+13:00

It would seem that I have been keeping you folks in the dark for a while. Even though this blog isn't as popular with 200k visitors, I still feel obligated to my irregular little online diary. Anyway first of all, as I probably have mentioned before, I planned to extend my 6hr stopover on my way to Korea and stay 3 nights at pleasant old Singapura. There were many concerns, mine and others alike, that 3 days were more than enough to look around the little island state. This was somewhat true, as I did end up having a fair amount of free time in between schedules. Even still, however, in the end I did not manage to do all the things that I had originally set my mind and budget on.

Day 1 - Wednesday

Unaware of the time difference, I gathered that the flight to Sinapore would only be from 11:50AM till 5:25PM but that was a miscalculation. The unexpected 2hrs + 1hr from daylight savings seem to go more slowly than normal. As Von warned me beforehand, I suffocated from the humidity the moment I stepped out the aircraft and into the jet bridge. Fellow passengers, who seemed to be quite happy with the climate, just stood watching me gasping in shock for a moment or two at the airport gate.

After freshening up, I headed straight to the Tourist Information corner and grabbed practically every brouchers and maps, proceeded to the guided tour companies corners and basically robbed each of their pamphlets respectively. Then came the

"Oh shit!"

moment. I had already booked the hostel but had not written down nor paid much attention to directions to the place. Luckily, the name of the hostel was rather short and unconventional so that it was quite easy to remember : 98SG. Yeah I know it sounds like some Stargate brigade but I am still clueless as to why they named it like that but it was easy to find nonetheless. From then on its was pretty easy for me as I was fortunate enough to be familiar with asian public transport, and I was away and laughing while a couple of Aussies were having the time of their life in front of the ticket vending machine.

Rain was what met me at my destination. And not just ordinary rain, flashfloodomgitstheendoftheworld heavy rain. Trucking thru the streets in my school-shoes and jeans with wet & wild ponytail, I think I would have looked like some crazy ex-commando in the eyes of others.

Then after asking around frantically, and scaring a few locals in the process, I finally got to the bloody hostel... Completely soaked and wasted, I find out that I am to pay a $50 deposit on check in. I was booked in to a 6bed dorm ($8 a night for 3 nights) and I was not previously uninformed of the amount of the deposit I was supposed to pay. Finding this unreasonable, I left my passport with them instead of my deposit. By the way, as I found out, apparently this is a conventional method amongst youth hostels - I thought of it as them safekeeping my passport so it was all good.

The common area of the hostel, with some fellow stayers - this was taken on my last day there, unfortunately the camera battery went flat before I could take a picture of the dorm.

Anyway, the room itself was not much bigger than a standard bedroom, but it still, just, barely managed to accomodate 3 two-storey bunks and a decent sized locker. And after randomly throwing my stuff on to my bed (mind you, this was potentially hazardous as my allocated bed was the top bunk) I zombie-walked into the showers straight away.

Feeling a little revived, I zoomed down to the Seven-Eleven down the street and helped myself to a blatantly overfilled, extra large apple flavoured slurpie for the first time in years. With frozen happiness in one hand, and a can of eclipse on the other, I retreated back to the hostel to study the travel brouchers and set plans for tomorrow...

거의 무슨 나라가 망하는 기분

2009-09-28T13:54:00.000+13:00

내가 지금 너한테 쫄아서 우는 줄 아냐?

내가 지금 슬퍼서 우는 줄 아나?

어떻게 매일 보는 바로 앞에 있는 난 병신 취급하면서

언제부터 생전 처음 보는 또라이들은 다 믿을 만 한 놈이 됐냐?

우리 선조들이 나라를 빼앗겼을 때 쪽발이들이 무서워서 울었다냐?

내가 네 앞에서 주먹도 못 쥐는 게 두려워서 그렇다고 생각하나?

내가 인간으로서의 그 최소한 만큼의 도리는 있기에 내가 병신인 척 못이긴 척 했지만

I’ve witnessed you my whole life and you’re one fucking piece of work

남이라면 “병신” 하고 나중에 뒤땅까면 속이라도 후련하지

자식이라면 혼내주게 되더라도 이해까진 해줄 수 있겠지

주먹을 부르는 주문과도 같은 너의 효과적인 지껄임 속에

나는 모순 말고는 도무지 찾을 수가 없었어

네 광대뼈를 갈기려는 욕구를 어떻게 참았는지도 참 신기해

더 웃긴 건 이게 나 혼자만의 생각이 아니라는 거…

Black Clouds and Silver Linings - Dream Theater (2009)

2009-08-24T02:28:00.006+12:00

And after a brief break from posting I have returned with a proper post rather than another tantrum.

Some of you may remember a post on last October about news of Dream Theater working on a new album. The highly anticipated album, which is their second record with Roadrunner, was released on June 23 and debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200. It consists of 6 songs, 5 of which are based on actual experiences of difficulties and life-threatening events of the lyricists; drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci. As the album’s name suggests, all these seemingly hopeless and near-fatal incidents (the “Black Clouds”) mentioned in the songs are followed by hope and relief (the“Silver Linings”).

1."A Nightmare to Remember" 16:10

When I first put this album opener on, I almost couldn’t believe what I was listening to was a Dream Theater album. Because as soon as the main theme came roaring out, the combination of organ and choir sound produced by the keyboard gave a very EPIC sound, similar to that of the band Nightwish. The song is about John Petrucci’s experience of surviving a near fatal car crash during his childhood. Starting from 4:57, the song slows down to a dreamy mood and goes into telling the story at the ER where Petrucci is given painkillers. Somewhere in this part, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the vitals monitor beeping with the beat - I just love details like this. The song is overall very sick and rockin’ until 11:19, where Mike Portnoy goes into a chant that is reminiscent of 90’s pop rap which was a bit too much for me.

2."A Rite of Passage" 8:35

As the only song in the album that is not based on the members personal experiences, it delves into a theme of freemasonry. The video edited version of this song was released couple of months ahead of the actual album’s release. Quite frankly, it left with me with a concern that the rest of the album might be of around this song’s standard because I believed that the song lacked depth, fluidity and there was nothing special about it. Fortunately, contrary to my first impression, the rest of the album was great.

3."Wither" 5:25

I can’t comment a lot about this song as I have only listened to it twice, but I don’t recall it was as memorable as the other tracks on the album. The lyrics deal with John Petrucci’s fear of writer’s block. I personally interpreted this could be a hint that maybe Petrucci is starting to run out of ideas to write about.

4."The Shattered Fortress” 12:49

X. "Restraint"

XI. "Receive"

XII. "Responsible"

The long awaited final part of the Alcoholic Anonymous Twelve Step Suite is here! The tunes from previous chapters of the saga are reprised for the most part of the song and concluded with newly introduced theme. Equipped with epic solos and genuine, heavy riffs, I declare this song as the best in this album and a worthy finish to the suite. I still get chills every time I listen to this.

5."The Best of Times" 13:07

This particular song by Portnoy is a tribute to his father who died of cancer during the making of this album. The song had a feeling of looking back at the good times compared to a rather depressed and dejected atmosphere depicted in A Change of Seasons (1995), which was inspired by the death of his mother.

6."The Count of Tuscany" 19:16

For the past month, this song has my absolute favourite. A classic Dream Theater epic from start to finish, it talks about an actual encounter John Petrucci had in Tuscany several years ago. Apparently, the brother of the aforementioned Count was the original inspiration for the character of Hannibal Lector and the song talks about Petrucci fearing for his life during his stay in the Count’s estate. There are several golden moments in this song, but out of them all, the chorus is just fucking amazing in this song. I just can’t get enough of the layered vocal harmonies – the kind of stuff queen used to do a lot. I’m actually listening to that part of the song as I write this review. Best. Shit. Ever.

In times like these where dumb crackwhores like Lady Gaga are allowed to roam the stage, DT’s musical brilliance shines more than ever. However, it does come with their one recurring weakness. Lyrics. There were discussions about the extent of straightforwardness in the words and the ambiguity that metaphors provide. In particular, someone compared the lyrics to The Count of Tuscany to a Scooby-doo plot. But really, this is just a matter purely of personal taste. There are plenty of big-name bands out there that put out songs that are not even worth criticising. If you ask me, this is another solid album and the most diverse and exploratory work by DT in almost a decade.

Fail

2009-08-03T20:45:00.001+12:00

People say that way too much.

It's starting to bore me.
It also tells me that a lot of other people fail at a lot of things and that it's nothing out of the ordinary, therefore boring.

On the other hand, if I heard someone say they want to do something crazy (ie: spend lots of money, murder, freefalling, adbuction, insulting pedestrians, throwing food) I'd understand their frustration better. Some may wonder why I didn't include suicide in there. In spite of the fact that suicide is the strongest way to express such frustration, it's boring because it is so common nowdays.

You guys are all lame.

Screw you guys, I'm going home.

A letter to Dad.

2009-05-31T20:37:00.001+12:00

아들입니다 헤헤..

한국에서 혼자 고생하시죠.. 이제 날씨도 덥죠?

최근 전 대통령 사건하고 북한 문제 때문에 뉴스에 한국이 꽤 자주 나와요..

전 조금 있으면 또 시험기간에 들어 갑니다.

이런 때에 공부말고 다른 생각하면 안돼지만 사실 많이 걱정돼네요...

저를 비롯해 주변에 꽤 많은 친구들이 학교를 다니거나 일을 하고 있지만,

그래도 장래에 대해 방황하고 있는 것 같습니다.

그래서 아빠한테 이렇게 메일을 보내나 봅니다.

솔직히 말해서, 지난 2년 동안은 제가 무슨 생각이었는지 몰랐습니다.

엄마 아빠께서는 벌써 아시겠지만 저로서 참 뻔뻔하게도 제가 노력을 안했습니다..

매년 '달라질 것이다, 새로 시작 할 것이다' 하고 맹새하고선 아무 일도 없었다는 듯이

예전의 비효율적인 생활로 돌아가는 제가 참 밉습니다.

올해 역시 오클랜드로 다시 가면서 속으로 혼자 다짐했던 것들 중 대부분은 지키지 못했습니다.

매번 변명만 늘어놓는 제가 엄마 아빠에게는 이미 양치기 소년이 된 것 같아서 후회스럽지만

제가 여태것 잘못해 왔던 것과 앞으로 할 잘못에 대해 미리 용서를 빌고 싶습니다...

지금같이 개인적으로 우울한 시기에 아버지께서 해주신 말씀하나가 저를 버텨주는 것 같습니다.

무슨 일이더라도 저와 은영이를 support 해주신다는...

안부 메일 보내드린다는게 어쩌다가 한숨섞인 반성문만 됐네요.. 켁..

아무리 엄마 안계시다고 해서 술, 담배 너무 많이 하지 마시구요.

조만간 또 연락 드릴게요.

혁진 올림

2009-05-19T10:58:00.003+12:00

And I forgot to tell myself on that last post,

Don't wonder about what could or would happen.

If you can't prove yourself right,

just focus on beating the odds and proving everyone wrong

Directed aggression is the key.

Reminder to self

2009-05-19T05:43:00.003+12:00

Try and get hold of a Samsung SC-HMX10, if not a SC-HMX20
Finish the goddamn business report
Don't kill anyone, including oneself
Studylink
Clean room

Reinforcing my love towards the Jewish community...

2009-05-16T21:57:00.003+12:00

... I give you these wonderful Jewish brand ideas!
Now remember, I have NOTHING against Jews.
And YES, I had my left hand's fingers crossed while I typed with my right hand. Ha-ha-ha!
Also feel free to present any other wicked ideas that is not mentioned here.
Anyways, enjoy!

Mountain Jew – Popular Jewish soda drink

Jew South – Drama of a Canadian Jew and his loyal goldfish pet. Dogs are not considered ideal Jewish pets due to idealistic clashes Kosher.

20 cent – Half-ass gangsta Jew

Shalom O’Neal – Jewish basketball player. Despite his motivation (Jews will do anything for a good pay) drives him to be a formidable player, the opposing sides have successfully distracted him for extended durations in a match through the method of scattering coins on the ground before making an offensive move.

Saturday night blackout – Saturday night show for Jews. Shame they won't be able to watch it anyway since Jews aren’t allowed to use fire on Saturdays. Retards.

Featured Jewish Movies

Dude, where’s my bagel? - Jewish teen favourite. A kid's journey to find his lost bagels with his local Rabbi.

David and Abraham go to Fortress Palestine - David and Abraham drops by to terrorise some Palestinian kids for weed. However, they are met with extreme hostility by the locals. Will they be able to fight their way through racism to obtain the hashies?

David and Abraham 2 "Escape from Gaza Strip" - A trip to Jerusalem goes awfully wrong and the characters wind up in the middle of Gaza Strip. They are then mistaken as Richard Simmons and Bob Saget then abducted by Palestinian insurgents. Held in captivity, will they escape the infamous Palestinian "Cock-meat Sandwich"...?!

Repentance - Dream Theater

2009-05-01T23:11:00.005+12:00

This song alone has held me together during recent times, without exaggeration.

I have been ignoring the truth for long enough, and I must confront my worries before they are truly too late. I am still only in the beginning stage of making an actual change in my lifestyle, but I will nonetheless continue to spend time, as minuscule as they may seem, into working things out.

I’m sure many would agree that truth, one of which are called class attendance and FUCKING ASSIGNMENTS, has many temptations on the way towards it. To some, the temptation is easy to dismiss but for someone like me who is used to a lifestyle of easy choices, the idea of procrastination or dismissal is dreadfully more appealing.

I hope by declaring this, I can at least be set free from my own lies.
I also hope that whoever reads this post take the time to read the following lyrics and may even benefit as I have from it.

Staring at the empty page before me
All the years of wreckage running through my head
Patterns of my life I thought adorned me
Revealing hurtful shame and deep lament

Overwhelming sorrow now absorbs me
As the pen begins to trace my darkest past
Signs throughout my lifethat should have warned me
Of all the wrongs I've done for which I must repent

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
Sometimes you've got to be strong
When you think it's too late

Staring at the finished page before me
All the damage now so clear and evident
Thinking about the dreaded task in store for me
A bitter fear at the thought of my amends

Hoping that the step will help restore me
To face my past and ask for forgiveness
Cleaning up my dirty side of this unswept street
Could this be the beginning of the end?

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
Just when you're through hanging on
You're saved

Shogun - Trivium (2009)

2009-04-27T21:19:00.004+12:00

Up till recently, to me, Trivium was one of those bands who sound fucking amazing on records but sucked absolute dognuts in live performances. But after I heard about their new album, Shogun, I decided to check them out anyway.

Now, their studio stuff sounds great, but more importantly they have matured significantly as live performers. The band seems to have found the right vibe and direction in their music and for a relatively young band, with the average band member age still at around 24 and half years old, their success is rather impressive. They have accumulated some valuable experience through 3 studio releases and years of touring prior to the production of Shogun.

When I put the record on, one of the first things that came to my mind was that this album tried to cater to the fans and critics as much as they can. At the same time, I did not get the impression that they were overreacting and musically ‘giving in’ to the whipcrack of criticism.

Another thing I noticed:
THEY BROUGHT BACK THE FUCKING SHOUTING AND SCREAMO BACK!!!
FUCK YEAAAAAAH!!!

As I mentioned earlier, their live performances were a huge letdown in contrast to their studio recordings. Quite often, the instruments would be badly tuned – shame on the guitar techs for that one. But more importantly, the band would dash through all the songs around 20 bpm faster than the recordings, which kept the mosh happy but in turn severely compromised the quality of their performances. The vocalist would run out of breath and guitar solos were ruined by frequent mistakes… While I can’t call them master performers yet, they’ve impressed me in recent clips.

The songs “Kirisute Gomen” and “Down from the Sky” got me completely hooked after I listened to it only twice. Frontman Matt Heafy points out “For the first time, we can't look at our songs and say who the riffs sound like. We're really making our own stuff and our own kind of music”. Although it is easy to notice a significant resemblance to Master of Puppets-era Metallica, the modern edge and aggression without going over the top is what makes this Trivium and this new album stand out amongst modern metal bands.

I really, really miss my guitar…

2009-04-12T00:51:00.001+12:00

I’ve never had a girlfriend so I wouldn’t know but I’d imagine I’d feel like this if I’m missing one.

The numbing pain on the fingertips, the burning sensation from sliding along the strings, and the strain on my ribcage from hours of slouching… These were all bearable even after the most stressful of days. As a matter of fact, I’d stay in my room for several hours with my axe on my lap, until the point where the callus on my fingertips would wear off, exposing the soft skin underneath and leaving my nails with prickling jolts.

Maybe it’s those sensations that I miss alongside the actual joy of playing music. As much as I hate doing it, air guitar was the closest thing to comfort but all it did was just making me look like a complete retard.

It’s almost to the point where I want to cry in frustration.
It’s pretty bad at the moment…

The meanest Scowl known to humankind.

2009-03-23T01:36:00.002+13:00

Jeff Loomis is one of those people who's scarily good at what he does.

Also, he puts on the sickest scowl on his face when he shreds.

Respect.

Its on... Bitch

2009-03-22T22:37:00.005+13:00

Hey "Guy" (pronounced with the most "I have never been so disgusted" tone ever),

You crossed the wrong fucking guy and the wrong fucking day for this, although in fact anyday's a wrong day.

2 things; Firstly, you called me a Mike Portnoy "fanboy" - worst choice of word if you wanted to type up a constructive post, best choice of word if you just wanted to piss someone off; Secondly, you finished your comment with "who cares"

BIG MISTAKE BUDDY

Many would agree that in terms of technicality punkrock is your multiplications, where as prog music is University calculus. So does that mean someone who does university maths can't remember their times tables? Hell no. That ain't my opinion, it's a fucking fact. When I was learning guitar first, I had to go through all that Green Day-punk-ass-MTV-shit first then I got into metal. Now I laugh in the face of all those 4-power chord songs SUM 41 spews out like Mormons pumping out babies.

Now in a hypothetical situation, if Mike Portnoy and Travis Barker were both held at gunpoint and were forced to play each others' music, Mike Portnoy would walk out whistling jingles while Travis Barker would come home in a bodybag. You get my drift nigga?

The whole purpose of the post "Travis Barker is better than Mike Portnoy?" was to tell all you liberal "we can all live in peace and harmony, set aside our difference" bullshit optimists, that, I repeat, THIS IS NOT A FUCKING OPINION. THIS IS A MERE FACT.

"I feel your post is simply your opinion", Do I show ANY signs of trying to... say, discuss this politely over tea and biscuit? No, you idiots, can't you see I'm lecturing you all. You say you only "feel" that I'm being subjective here. Of course you wanted to sound polite and all that, sure whatever. Then I quote myself:

"There are opinions and there are facts. This isn't subjective. It's the truth. Nothing more."

It's a motherfucking statement, that's what it is. Asshole.

[Sarcasm Begins]

But hey, who the fuck really cares, right? I mean, after all, any wannabe with all 4 limbs intact and a functioning brain can play Dream Theater songs on drums. It's fucking easy. I still don't know what all the hype is about for a band writes songs that require almost no effort whatsoever to play. How the fuck did they get fans with that kind of mediocre instrumental skills at the first place anyway?

[Sarcasm Ends]

Jesus has left the building.

Compromise VS Confrontation

2009-03-14T01:25:00.001+13:00

Can there ever be a happy balance between those two?

I’m always torn between the two ideals, but I am never entirely either. Maybe that makes me someone whose life is a balance between those two. But I see it’s not a happy balance.

You can become prudent at the cost of being accused as being spineless. But you can also choose to be a person with a stand as the cost of appearing stubborn. Situations require us to exercise the appropriate approach. But will you know when it counts?

When your conduct could please or anger, when your mistakes could save or kill, would you know what the right thing to do is?

It’s a disgusting cycle. The unhappy tug of wars between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. The ideals of democracy and communism, the struggle between teenage youngsters and their parents, the conflict between the invaders and the invaded.

Everyone is equally justified and equally condemned. What I see as a valid reason may be a ridiculous excuse to another. When your accusation against me cancels out my explanation, and your excuse cancels out my judgement against you, why can’t we agree that we’re even ground?

Why is it never ending like the Chicken VS Eggs debate? Why can’t you all just die in peace?

Alright Alright... I'll give you what you guys want...

2009-01-22T23:06:00.003+13:00

The product of my agoraphobic/anti-social holidays.

Presenting... Joe "Alien" Satriani

I forgot how much I loved Evangelion

2008-12-27T01:57:00.001+13:00

The fusion of psychoanalytic Anime, plenty of Biblical references, and Biomechanical Mechas. If asked, those around me would say that my attitude towards the general Otaku culture, Anime in specific, isn’t exactly optimistic. But this is the one exception I make. I’ll even go further to say that it’s one of the best things that I have encountered in my life so far. Possibly the best I’ve visually encountered. Not to mention that the character Asuka is like my dream anime girl lol. Egomaniac, psychotic, redhead prodigy. Yeap, that’s totally it.

Since I have lived and still continue to live a rather bland life, I allow myself to indulge in some good quality, drug-free psychotic manifestation every now and then. Me listening to Dream Theater is one example of that, whose music I get to be lost with all the dissonant noises. But all that chaos is systematically governed and there is meaning amidst it.

Initially, the series appears to be just another anime with gigantic robots fighting to save the world, but towards the later episodes you start seeing the built up emotional tensions resulting in a breakdown of the main characters. Their unstable mental state leads to some questionable decisions and a mysterious ending to the story.

This is the infamous “Asuka’s mind rape” scene, where she is forced to remember things she ignored from her past like witnessing her mother’s suicide. Though, most viewers end up getting mind fucked themselves after watching this segment. See for yourself.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate you

2008-12-25T13:44:00.002+13:00

People worship you, adore you, praise you.

But I'm not convinced, I see better than others.

Kill a man and you're a murderer,

kill many and you're a conqueror,

kill them all, you're a god

Happy birthday you 2008 year old myth.

United Abominations - MegadetH (2007)

2008-12-17T00:09:00.004+13:00

They have been around for nearly 25 years now, and the members are around my dad’s age, but they’re still kicking ass. In my opinion Megadeth deserves more recognition instead of their arch rival, Metallica. Money has corrupted Shitallica over the years and they’re barely clinging on to the title as the greatest, quote unquote, Heavy metal band.

Despite not being the most fucking brutal music makers in their 20’s anymore, Megadeth have regained composure after their failed attempt at matching Metallica’s success by creating a mainstream album “Risk” (1999). They have learnt their lesson and have stayed true to their fans ever since, unlike the money loving Jews in Metallica.

This album is their latest release, and it was very reassuring to the loyal Megadeth fans that they aren’t retiring anytime soon. Most importantly,

SOLOS! SOLOS! and more SOLOS!

Fuck yes! This album was a total landmark due to it being a festival of great guitar solos that are missed on most music these days and it sure as hell pleased a lot of metalheads. The cleverly crafted lyrics touch mainly on political matters in Dave Mustaine’s trademark style.

Some notable songs were:

1. Sleepwalker
The clean guitar intro is a great start to the album, and then gradually picks up speed with chugging guitars. The riffs are reminiscent of the songs from their masterpiece album ‘Rust in Peace’ (1990). There’s also a very cool solo duel too.

2. Washington Is Next!
All round metal goodness. The lyrics obviously cover very controversial but not in an obscene way. Awesome complex riffs, and guess what, more guitar solos!

4. United Abominations
The title blatantly refers to issues regarding the United Nations. Awesome song, both melodically and lyrically. The intro is exceptionally cool as it starts off hollow then it builds up with a guy furiously ranting about the futility of the UN.

5. Gears of War
This song was written for the X-Box game of the same name, but it would have been even better if it was a song for the game ‘Doom’. The overall song gets slightly boring but the Marty Friedman style solo is fucking stunning.

7. Play for Blood
The majority of the song is very similar to their old song “Killing is my business”. It’s not as fast and ruthless as the song but has the meanest kickass grooves. You don’t get that often.

8. A Tout le Monde
A remake of another one of their masterpiece from ‘Youthanasia’ (1997). Personally, I think it was a bad move on their part. The idea of calling in a female vocalist was alright, but the song was too sped up and was lacking of the appropriate emotion.

Overall, it’s clear that Megadeth lost some of its raw brutality but in turn they have greatly matured, like aged wine. They have a musical direction clearer than ever and executing it to perfection. Some say they’ve ran out of ideas and recycling their old songs to make an effortless album, but reality is that artists do that all the time, sometimes consciously, sometimes not. And there are bound to be similarities in the songs made by one songwriter. I mean, that’s how artists get their unique styles isn’t it? Another way of looking at the matter would be that “at least they’ll stick to their good old sound that we love Megadeth for,” and that’s all I wish of them for now.

There was something different about her.

2008-12-16T19:05:00.005+13:00

This aura of confidence,
Almost like defiance.
Just your typical prettygirl on the eyes.
But there’s something more to apprise.

Fearful of losing something that was never mine,
I’m secretly hoping our paths will intertwine.
I don’t believe in love at first sight.
But I don’t know why I’m so uptight.

Feeling threatened by something that doesn’t even exist,
I’m questioning why the feeling persists.
I know have to conjure up the courage to say
But I’m the one who stands in my own way.

To my regret and dismay…

[Insert melodic guitar solo here? Hehe]

My head is untrue to my heart,
So this is the only way I can impart.
I pray to the heavens if there is a predestined plan
But At the end of the day, I’m only a silent man.

So yeah... My first attempt at writing lyrics. I've had one song to go with this kind of lyrics for a while now but was never inspired to complete it. The rhymes are rather childish and seriously lacking complexity. But it's my first go after all. I suspect that due to the sudden emo-romantic vibe from the song, there are people wondering: "Are these based on true events?"

Maybe...

PS : I know this really ruins the mood but

PLAGIARISE THIS AND I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU.

Whipped the old guns out

2008-12-16T02:11:00.007+13:00

Really, really old guns.

This is my Tamiya Sprayworks, which is basically the most basic and cheapest airbrush you can find in the market, although some people tend to say it doesn’t even deserve to be classified as an airbrush… I beg to differ. It has served me tremendously throughout the years and it is much easier to clean than other airbrushes. I originally bought it back around 2002 when I was madly into Gundams and WWII plastic models. I’ve always had expensive hobbies but this was the most costly of all because surprisingly plastic modelling often required absolute concentration and expensive gears other than the kits.

Anyway, back to present day. A week ago, I was commissioned by Allan to do a picture of Marcus and some other guy from Gears of War on a 24 x 36 canvas he had lying around in his garage. This canvas was used in some event last year so it had some writings on it. So I just gave a quick spray over the general canvas to try and even out bumps and dings and after they dried out I gave an extra half a dozen concentrated coats on where the letters were.

I want the paint to completely dry overnight so that I don’t accidentally smudge it or rip the coat while it’s still malleable, so I will begin with the stencil tomorrow.

Meanwhile, an idea popped into my head while I was spraying away. I brought some fresh 10 x 10 canvases and sprayed them like the following pictures so that I can use them later as a pre-painted background:

Since the paint on Allan’s canvas took ages to dry compared to the little 10 x 10’s, I started on the long overdue Billy Corgan’s portrait on one of them. The end result, I love it. Gotta love gradations.

Travis Barker is better than Mike Portnoy?

2008-12-10T22:59:00.005+13:00

Why won't people stop being so protective about Travis Barker?

It's obvious as 1+2 that he's not all that but some people just won't fucking get it. Sure, he can play some fast fills, but so can millions of school band geeks, and so can Mike Portnoy. Now to be able to play around 60 time signature changes in a song AND accentuate notes amidst all that, that's fucking true talent. I suck at first-person shooters apparently because I spam too much. Travis Barkers sucks because he just mindlessly spams and doesn't really care when to, or not to hit.

There is a saying: 百聞不如一見 which roughly means "seeing once is better than hearing 100 times". So see for yourself and decide who's the better.

Here's Travis Barker, whacking away retardedly, almost exclusively at the snares...

And here's Mike Portnoy. Notice how he utilises various cymbals and china and how graceful his playing is.

Not to mention the insane time signatures he has to count when playing this particular song.

There are opinions and there are facts. This isn't subjective. It's the truth. Nothing more. What gets me fired up and biased is the douchebags who deny the simple fact. That Barker, as good as he may be, is not better than the likes of Neil Peart or Mike Portnoy. I doubt he'll ever be...

Moving into new territories

2008-12-09T18:06:00.006+13:00

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains

Some of you may have noticed already but this piece is the first to have a white background. I already did a very dark picture of his bandmate, Layne Staley, who was always the stoned and depressed, Kurt Cobain-type rock star (he died of overdose). And of course, Cantrell was quite the opposite, well behaved onstage, sober during interviews, and no addiction problems whatsoever. So I settled on this picture with a light background despite it being slightly crap in quality. So I got my pen out and improvised and redefined some lines and cleaned up some blurs. Though I kinda screwed up the eyes a little...

...And none other than Jesus Petrucci himself

This picture was another challenge for me because of three reasons:

Firstly, this was the first not to have background objects ignored (as blurred and unidentifiable as they apear, they're actually stage/lighting equipments).

Secondly, this is the first one where you can tell where the subject is watching. On previous pictures, the shadow was too dominant so the eye sockets were entirely painted black. However on this one, I got the chance to have some whites in the eye.

And also, this is the first tile where I have actually used white - the highlights on Jesus's hair. Until this point I had only used black paint, so all the white surfaces were just unpainted canvas. Normally I'm not big fan of painting white due to the fact I can't be as carefree as when I'm using stronger colours but I think it turned out quite well in the end.

“Why do you hate Blink 182 so much?

2008-12-06T05:32:00.003+13:00

Who are you to say they suck. Fuck you, Megadeth sucks even more.” - Anonymous

My turn, asshat.

I would absolutely carry Blink 182’s children if they come up with anything better than their measly fucking one-riff-for-everything songs; the intro, the verse, the bridge, the chorus, the interlude. Tribal drum music could have been more interesting.

Yes, yes, I already know all about the; It’s not the music. It’s the mentality where you don’t get trapped in a frame and think outside the box.

If you ask me what makes a good musician, or any other artists for that matter, my answer would be ‘whoever that can interact with the audience, or viewers’. Now by this I do not necessarily mean that a good musician should have good stage manners, although this is a huge plus… But what I really mean by ‘interact’ here is to make the listener get chills every time they put a record on, to instil an emotion, or to inspire.

Now notice how I don’t have a criterion like ‘to unintentionally bore or piss the fuck off of listeners’ when judging a good musician.

It is my firmest belief that a good artist should have some depth in terms of their musical capabilities, basically meaning they should have a clue of what the fuck they’re doing. If a musician is not going to adhere to any musical theory or rules, that’s fine by me.

But what makes me label some of them as being absolute poo-eaters is the fact that Fall Out Boy can’t play anything but power chords and the Hives simply can’t sing. Probably because they don’t want to, but most likely because they simply don’t have the ability to. I mean, how can you think outside the box when you haven’t even mastered what’s inside the box? And shouldn’t thinking outside the box sound less simple and boring than the norm? I find it pretty funny how cover songs seem to be more popular than their own stuff.

Now you have their pathetic self-reassuring statements such as “we just like to keep it simple and stripped down” in an attempt to convince the mass that this is all actually “Art”. Well guess what. Art comes as a result of hard work and talent, not a contract with a major label company and star-studded music videos.

I make it clear here that I do not typecast indie musicians because there are some really talented people that haven’t moved into the limelight yet, and the underground music scene will constantly be a source of new talent. In my view, there are a few very unprofessional bands that don’t deserve the attention thus bringing the whole genre a bad name.

Shame on all of you.

We tried...

2008-11-24T18:11:00.006+13:00

But we had to give up.

We would have done more bad than good to him if we'd tried harder...

...to keep him alive...

I keep telling myself, and to him, that he's better off now,

the cliche' he's "going to a better place."

But I'm not sure if I buy that myself.

I stood there watching the lifelessness creeping over him like maggots,

optimistic of what appeared to be a full recovery.

Now I look out my window only to see the void that shouldn't be,

only to end up turning away with red eyes.

I hope, although this may not be as soon as one hopes,

to see you again along with others that are missed.

In due time.

New addition to the wall

2008-11-20T20:01:00.003+13:00

Welcoming;

James Hetfield of Metallica back in his angst 20's with a singlet that proudly announces "FUCK OFF"

Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom in a rather badass, brooding pose.

The Great Debate

2008-11-18T02:21:00.008+13:00

The judge responsible for shutting down the original version of peer-to-peer service Napster proposed an interesting plan this week to reform copyright by establishing public and private organizations that will be in charge of licensing and enforcing the law in this digital age. Judge Miriam Hall Patel had this to say at the Fordham University School of Law in New York City:

"There needs to be a comprehensive revision of the provisions that relate to the administration of copyright licensing, royalties and enforcement. I propose that a joint public/private administrative body made up of representatives of all competing interest, including the public, be established and authorized to, among other powers, issue licenses; negotiate, set and administer royalties; and adopt rules and regulations to carry out these purposes."

She also adds:

"It was not surprising that the notion of free music caught on... Sadly, it is the artists and composers who have been the most neglected in this matter. [In regards to legislation,] our copyright laws have become a patchwork of amendments that are adopted as emergencies arise."

Judge Patel’s recommendations:

The new body needs to be a mix of public and private entities with all parties represented. It cannot be a purely governmental body because that is not likely to instil confidence in the public.

All copyrighted music would be part of this system and subject to a compulsory license, with possible opt-out provisions for certain rights holders.

Congress should abolish all current compulsory licenses and adopt a blanket licensing system. (Such a system may have allowed Napster to continue operating, assuming it could afford to pay labels under the compulsory licensing scheme.)

The body would administer all royalty payments and would replace all current systems for doing so.

An independent arm would arbitrate royalty disputes using music databases that allow arbitration to be done with speed and precision lacking in the current system.

Manufacturers and developers would need approval from this body before introducing an application or device capable of recording, distributing or copying music to consumers. The body would include technology experts to aid in making those decisions quickly - Patel described this as "sort of like the FDA, but much faster."

Judge Miriam Hall Patel was the judge who presided over the famous A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. case which effectively shut down Napster until it was repurchased and turned into a pay-service.

From: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/industry_news/napster_judge_wants_major_copyright_reform.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some of the interesting comments that followed this article covered… (unless you want to go through around 150 or so comments yourself…)

I don’t understand the article. Someone reiterate it in English please.

They can keep shutting down peer-peer programs all they want. New ones will always pop up!

The war against music pirating will never be won - they need to wave their white flag while they still have a chance.

Give me good, affordable music. Then I will be less tempted to download just the songs I like. I don’t want to spend $15-30 on CD’s when I know I’m going to end up listening to 3 hit tracks on loop and screw the rest of the album.

Lars Ulrich is the devil.

No he’s not. Leave him alone.

It is the shows and merchandises where most bands make a huge chunk of their profit. Not so much album sales, thanks to all the greedy label executives. Only huge bands like Metallica see significant amounts from album sales. Free downloading actually does more good than harm to most artists as they give them free exposure, and this results in a more solid fan base. If you want to support a band, go see their shows and buy a T-shirt!

Government intervention is the last thing I want. This isn’t a socialist country where we have to nationalise our intellectual property. Since when has the government done anything efficiently? No government agency is “fast”.

Reform is futile. The whole system became crap the moment artists began letting douche bags in suits sell their music for them. To try to reform our system would be to re-plaster a house with a condemned structure. PUT OUT YER OWN MUSIC YER FUCKING SELLOUTS!

Snap out of fairy tale land. The fact that you’re a musician will not make you immune to money problems.

Small bands need album sales, or else their label will terminate their contract, and then they won't have any money to record music, or tour, or do anything.

Since when did music become about label companies? The label companies are the root of all problems.

You can't argue that “music is art, so it should be free.” Did Picasso hand out his portraits on street corners? NO, but he was an artist, so he should've right? Let's all 'stick it to the man' and never pay for music or movies or books ever again. Then we'll see who's laughing, when all the big companies who fund artists' music go bust, and there is no more music, because people can't afford to do things for free! This is a job, a living, not a fucking charity.

I normally download first, skim through the album and then buy it if I like what I heard. In fact, most of the CD’s I do end up buying I discover by listening to the downloaded music first.

Call me crazy, but I almost cried watching this.

2008-11-16T00:17:00.004+13:00

And I'd have no shame if I did actually cry watching this again.

I'm definately having this played at my funeral.

Catch up post

2008-11-15T23:48:00.004+13:00

1. Exams are over as of 13th of November!!!

2. Yale has been sick.

A week ago, he started limping and he couldn’t make use of his left leg at all. We took him to the vet, who came with the verdict that it was possibly a bad sprain and prescribed some painkillers.
2 days later, we found Yale dragging himself around with his forelegs. As we found out through a second opinion from another vet at the same clinic, Yale didn’t respond to any pain in his left leg and he had very little control over both his hind legs and had lost a bit of weight. This suggested the possibility of spinal injury, or an inflammation around the spinal area pressing on the nerves.

Spinal injury would mean that there’s a rather low chance of recovery and euthanasia would become an option should his condition worsen. Luckily for him, steroid treatments are working quite well so spinal injury is ruled out, and we can expect a full recovery.

3. My new Axe has arrived!

Oh the sexiness!

On the morning of my last exams, so it’s just in time for the holidays too! This guitar has been dinged up on the corners slightly so I will be spending this holiday getting the paintings refinished and possibly upgrading the hardware too. I’m taking suggestions for colour schemes or designs for the new guitar so please don’t hesitate to leave comments with ideas.

4. Guess what else happened the other day.

Release of the new WoW Expansion set, “Wrath of the Lich King”. Although I must admit that I have not completely severed my connection with the game, I am proud to say I have been staying clean for nearly ¾ of a year and not feeling any urge to grab a copy at the nearest EB Games faster than a fatass who sat down too fast (I used to listen to Eminem a long time ago...). Apparently there were around 200 desperate addicts crowding around EB Games at midnight for their pre-ordered copy of the new expansion. To all the girlfriends suffering from WoW, I say, abandon all hope until Blizzard liquidates, which won’t be happening in a while… and hook up with me instead LOL.

5. I have left the band “Super Religion”.

The main reason being, I wasn’t too happy with how songs were made. We never ‘wrote’ our music down anywhere and we had limited means of doing this. We would just have incoherent jams and pick little bits and pieces from there. The band is very creative and we had some kick ass songs coming up, no doubt about that.

But when the song is played differently every time you play it, you know you have to have some rules or standards. Maybe I am not used to the environment where I have to compromise creativity-wise, or maybe I just didn’t like the style of music the other members played. What I did know is that I wasn’t interested in the band anymore and prioritised other things over it.

If these guys make it big in the future, I will probably be THAT GUY who left the band “citing musical and creative differences” on the band’s wikipedia page. But there is nothing I have personally against any of them at all and I wish all the best for them and their endeavours.

Happy Birthday to!

2008-11-08T22:16:00.003+13:00

Thanks for putting up with all the shit 2 kids and 2 bunnies put out everyday.

Where would we be without you :)

Its the day of the left-wings

2008-11-06T00:56:00.004+13:00

Guy Fawkes - A.K.A. Guido Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606)

A member of a group of English Roman Catholic revolutionaries who planned to blow the fucking Houses of Parliment along with some aristocrats. The plot was foiled shortly before its intended completion, as Fawkes was captured while guarding the gunpowder. Suspicion was aroused by his wearing of a coat, boots and spurs, as if he intended to leave very quickly. He failed Ninja 101. As a result of that, he was hanged, drawn and quatered.

Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961)

The first African-American winner of the presidential election of November 4, 2008, and also the first African-American nominated for President by a major U.S. political party. On top of that he is also responsible for distrupting the studies of countless students around the world with exams right around the corner by putting up a huge show, hence providing another reason to slack off watching news or blogging about it or something. He is expected to take office as the forty-fourth President of the United States on January 20, 2009. He is currently the incumbent junior United States Senator from Illinois. Although he's (hopefully) an anti-aristocrat, things are looking rather brighter for him compared to old Guido over there.

This Nigga has STEEZ dawg.

Prepare yourself for the ultimate cuteness.

2008-11-03T17:37:00.002+13:00

Yes, in contrast to my hate-filled last 2 posts, I’ve decided to procrastinate on a happier and stress-free subject.

Our family literally calls them shitbags due to the fact that all they essentially do is eat and shit, and can’t do any tricks or rolls when we tell them to. Luckily for them, they’re adorable enough to be excused, hence my mum hasn’t rid of them yet. When we adopted these two, they were only about 2-3 weeks old and they fit into the palm of my hand. From the early days, their characters were quite distinctive.

As for the names, my dear sister is aspiring to get into an Ivy League college so we joked about naming the bunnies after the two best known ones. After a couple of weeks, we couldn’t find any better names so we just stuck with that.

Some of you might be wondering why the dude’s name is Yale and the girl’s name is Harvard. This is because we didn’t know the gender of both the bunnies at the time we gave them these names, so we just named them fitting to their personalities.

Yale sulks rather easily and acts much more sensibly, despite him being the male. His eating habits are often compared to my dad’s, who is rather picky in what he eats and eats very sparing amounts, slowly too… Consequently, both of them are rather underweight…

His sister, Harvard, as the more masculine name suggests, is more of the reckless type. She has quite an appetite and eats about 2-3 times faster than Yale. She’s also very adventurous and is always the one to find a way outside the fence we put up – Yale just doesn’t seem to have the guts to plan an escape. Instead, when we discover that Harvard had escaped, he leads us to the escape route and helps track the fugitive down. Lol

I can almost hear the female readers shrieking at the pictures already.

This is one of the few times she gets away with being the cutest person in the room.

2008-10-29T22:52:00.006+13:00

So in my blazing insomniac state, I did a quick research on her famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus and typed up a follow up from the last post in my attempt to tarnish Miley Cyrus’ name. Thanks to wiki, as usual, I found out that he has…

“…three children, daughters Miley (born as Destiny Hope – that’s such a black person’s name), Noah Lindsey, and son Braison Chance. He also has two stepchildren, Trace and Brandi, and a son from a previous relationship, Christopher Cody (conceived with an unidentified woman).”

Then I counted the heads up and they came to a grand total of 6 kids. That’s cool, it’s just that it makes me crack up when I wonder how many were actually planned out of the 6. I also found the part in brackets “(conceived with an unidentified woman)” very funny. Surely, a multi platinum selling country singer can afford a few boxes of condoms when he’s shagging a groupie, right? Way to make a kid feel special Daddy Cyrus.

“Growing up, he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music from his family. His father, a right-handed man, played guitar. Billy Ray on the other hand was left. He tried to play his father's guitar, but could never learn.”

I dunno man, it sounds pretty obvious to me that grandma Cyrus had more than one sausage sizzling in the oven, if you know what I mean. Pwned grandpa Cyrus.

Once again, DIE LIBERALS.

Slutty-Saurus A.K.A. Miley ‘Cankle’ Cyrus

2008-10-27T17:47:00.005+13:00

If you are a fan of her, look away now.

You have been warned.

My sister and I were watching this Hannah Montana show on TV, and I think Hitler would have been pretty impressed if he saw this. We watched in horror as the crowd, which consisted of a horde of girls between the ages of 6-16, worshipped this ‘3/10 rated minor’ through the duration of the show.

“In May 2008, Hugh Hefner made news when he offered a magazine pictorial to 15 year old Miley.”
I see foreboding rain clouds over her head already…

Regarding her relationship with her new boyfriend, Justin Gaston, she comments the following: "Our families are like, 'Whatever happens, happens.'”

No surprise there Daddy Cyrus, your 15 year old daughter is going out with a 20 year old dude. It’s all good because according to you, shit just happens. Well don’t come crying to me when she comes home like Britney.

Die, liberals die.

And here are some more uglyness.

I am your God.

2008-10-24T22:21:00.003+13:00

Any questions?

The Junkie Within

2008-10-23T14:07:00.002+13:00

I don't know what they put in these that make me constantly pop one like every 2 minutes. They're not really THAT great tasting... so I'm guessing they must have some traces of heroin or cocaine in them to make them so addictive.

This & last week's fix. They're all empty now...

I'm out of these as I type this. Going off to get some more now...

SEIYA~

Yours sincerely from the library staff.

2008-10-23T01:23:00.004+13:00

I think I would have made a good fine arts student...

I can't even imagine the reaction from the next group of people entering the discussion room at the 11th floor... HAHAHA. Man, my handwriting looks extra idiotic on this one. Looks like a handwriting of a fucking 3 year old who has just learnt how to write. I suppose the munted-ness suits this note.

Ah all the bottled up anger being released. Refreshing~

More to come from the ultimate procrastination gallery.

My Message to all of Earth.

2008-10-21T14:07:00.006+13:00

Dream Theater - As I am

Don't
Tell me what's in
Tell me how to write
Don't tell me how to win
This fight

Isn't your life
It isn't your right
To take the only thing that's

Mine

Proven over time
It's over your head

Don't try to read between the
Lines
Are clearly defined
Never lose sight of

Something you believe in

Takin' in the view from the outside
Feeling like the underdog
Watching through the window I'm on the outside

Living like the underdog

I've been trying to justify you

In the end I will just defy you

To those who understand, I extend my hand
To the doubtful I demand, take me as I am
Not under your command, I know where I stand
I won't change to fit your plan, Take me as I am

As I am

Still
Running uphill
Swimming against the current
I wish I weren't so
Fucked
Feels like I'm stuck
Lost in a sea of mediocrity
''Slow down,
You're thinking too much
Where is your soul?''
You cannot touch
The way I
Play
Or tell me what to say
You're in the way
Of all that I believe in

Takin' in the view from the outside
Feeling like the underdog
Watching through the window I'm on the outside
Living like the underdog

I've been wasting my breath on you
Open minds will descend upon you

To those who understand, I extend my hand
To the doubtful I demand, take me as I am
Not under your command, I know where I stand
I won't change to fit your plan, take me as I am

[Insert Kick ass guitar solo here]

I want...

2008-10-20T00:13:00.003+13:00

THIS for my birthday!

For musicians who can’t accommodate a choir or group of background singers for their gigs or recording sessions, Roland proudly presents the VP-550 Vocal Designer Keyboard. Much more than a traditional vocoder or harmonizer, the VP-550 uses Roland’s breakthrough vocal-modeling technology to bring the highest-quality, interactive vocal sounds to a dedicated instrument. Connect a mic, select a sound, and play. You won’t believe what can come out of this instrument.

Generate expressive, interactive backing vocals in real time!
Vocal Designer types: Classical, Gospel, Pops, Male/Female, vocoder
Ensemble types: mixed chorus, jazz scat, boy’s choir, humming, full strings, slow strings
Play Vocal Designer and Ensemble sounds simultaneously
Exceptionally user-friendly operation
Invisible D Beam infrared controller for high-impact performance

This is like the coolest 'not-really-that-useful gadget' ever! Everyone can sing in pitch and talk like Martians thanks to this machine now!

Happy Birthday to me. I feel old and busted already.

Blooddrunk - Children of Bodom (2008)

2008-10-19T23:51:00.010+13:00

Yesterday, the gang and I went over to Sgt. Peppers Steakhouse, followed by some cheap dessert treat at old McDonalds’ with its $1 Apple Pies and $2 Sundaes for my birthday celebration lol. As much as I was tempted to munch on my apple pie on a bench next to a smiling and waving Ronald McDonald, the kids’ playground was shut closed and was being cleaned by an Indian dude to my disappointment.

Another time, another time…

And look what I have here…

Muahahaha! It’s CoB’s “Blooddrunk” special edition with DVD!

I’ve always wanted to get my hands on one of these but they are rather hard to come by at record stores and they’re rather expensive due to the fact that they have to import all the way from fucking U.S.

I actually wrote a review on this record on my other blog, “Fortress of Attitude” (which is pretty much dead right now), but I only had access to shit quality ripped versions to listen to until this point. Since no one ever goes to that blog anyway, I thought I might as well repost them all here LOL.

For those of you who STILL aren’t familiar with the band, Children of Bodom (A.K.A. CoB) is a Finnish band with a musical style that cross all over various metal genres such as melodic death metal, thrash metal, and neo-classical.

Blooddrunk, released on the 9th of April 2008, is the 6th studio album by these fellas. Lyric wise, they touch the same subject as their previous albums but songwriting has become more progressive with intense use of keyboards and irregular time signatures at times. The riffs have become much heavier and thrashier compared to their old melodic ones which makes the album quite aggressive overall.

One of my personal favourites is the track “Tie My Rope”. As soon as I heard the blazing keyboard intro I knew that I’d love this one. When the guitars and drums kicked in I was reassured that this was going to be one kick ass ride.

Another favourite of mine is “Banned from Heaven”. This song is a very good example that metal songs needn’t always be fast and panicky to sound heavy. I believe slower tracks such as these allow the artist to demonstrate some depth instead of a showcase on “how fast I can play”.

But the best one from the album in my opinion is the title track “Blooddrunk” – this track is classic CoB. It retains quite a bit of the sound from the old records and that is quite noticeable from the northern Europe folk song/Irish riverdance - ish melody that runs throughout the song.

All in all, I’d give this album 4.5/5 stars. It is the most complete and refined album these talented musicians have put out so far, in terms of both songwriting and producing. Proving this right, the album went gold in Finland on pre-orders alone, and has also topped the Finnish charts beating its nearest rival in sales by 7 to 1.

Thanks again to Von and Reuben for the CD!

It's over.

2008-10-17T00:27:00.004+13:00

McCain lost.
It's gonna take either a miracle or a lotta money for him to turn the tide.

OWNED.

WAAAAHH!!!!!

2008-10-16T22:40:00.014+13:00

DT has currently locked themselves inside the studio once again to record their 10th studio album! WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

Last week, Jordan Rudess, the keyboardist/wizard for the band, revealed in his online diary that the band is doing what they do best.

BLOWING MINDS.

"It's going very well. Notes are flying as usual, there's lots of inspiration flying around, lots of food, lots of Starbucks. We're having a good time, it's good to hang with the boys again and do our thing. We're hard workers when we're at it and it's been really very cool,"

John Myung – the Korean bassist who is ‘well known’ for his shyness in public.

This move was quite unexpected amongst fans, including me, as they were hot off from touring. There are concerns that they may struggle creatively due to the lack of break and also various speculations as to what kind of musical direction they’ll take as the coming album will be the first to be written and produced under their new label, Roadrunner Records. Some fans are worried that this may be indicative of a move towards more mainstream sound despite reassurances from the band. I suppose only time will tell in the end.

To top the post off, I have a pic of the ugly guitar of the day.
Enjoy…?

EEEEEEEWWWWWWW

Honestly.

2008-10-13T15:15:00.002+13:00

I ain’t buying that

2008-10-13T12:17:00.007+13:00

“One of the downfalls of playing guitar is the pain of lugging your instrument all over creation. Now you can cut that pain in half with the Centerfold ($3370), the world's first folding electric guitar. Thanks to an innovative design, the Centerfold can go from folded to unfolded in about 20 seconds. Features include a Honduras mahogany body, a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, DiMarzio PAF classic humbucker pickups in the bridge and neck, and nickel hardware. Yes, it's expensive, but it's also a folding electric guitar. Enough said.”

No, not enough has been said, so I will take the liberty to say the rest myself.

Centerfold guitar eh?

There is no way in FUCKING HELL that thing is going to intonate properly. The only thing that’s acting as a medium is that little metallic bridge, and with guitars or any string instruments for that matter, the bigger the contact surface with the medium the better.

Best: Neck-thru construction (The neck and body are one piece)

Good: Set neck (glued on)

Common: Bolt on (with screws)

And then there is this centerfold guitar with its tinny-as metallic bridge.

That piece of $3370 royal garbage is going to sound worse than my $800 bolt-on neck, that's enough said now.

“But… But… It unfolds in 20 seconds, I can carry it around anywhere with no
hassle!”

So, while others can just pull their guitar out of a case and start shredding, what will you be doing? Probably shitting your pants trying to unfold the guitar without breaking the strings, and then again the guitar will probably need a complete re-tuning. And the fact that you roll the strings up for each fold up will really undermine the integrity of the strings.

To me, it’s not so much the size of a guitar that’s inconvenient. Guitars are actually one of the most easily transportable instruments out there. But it’s more about the weight I’m concerned about (which doesn’t really cut in half if you fold it in half).

While I commend the creativity, its only benefit of portability is outshadowed by another problem: sound quality. I’d compare it to those portable exercise machines on infomercials – ALL OF THEM can fold up and be stored under a bed but I doubt they’ll work as nicely as a proper machine in the gym.

Despite the great weather, I'm still the same old grumpy shithead

2008-10-12T17:43:00.009+13:00

This isn’t exactly how I wanted to be

My days as a “teen” are counting down as we speak... I am indeed doomed.
I will turn 20 in 7 days and I am scared. Scared like a kid who's waiting for his appointment at the dentist - it’s inevitable, but you would desperately hope for some way to escape the imminent pain. A natural disaster, perhaps, that will demolish the dentist on the day of the appointment.

I reflect on what I’ve said and written previously, and I am embarrassed and ashamed of myself. Some of the stuffs I’ve put up on this blog are barely coherent and my speech and actions have not been in unison. I try to tell myself that that’s how people are, and I shouldn’t be blaming myself. Meanwhile, as subtle and weak as it may be, my daimonion’s voice is ever present inside my head, constantly warning me not to be weak.

“Show no mercy to yourself, self pity is an indulgence that you cannot afford.”

I feel like I have achieved nothing so far. I don't think I have actually achieved anything... I must do something radical, something that will make me famous, or infamous. Before it’s too late, before I fall into a downward spiral of guilt and disappointment towards myself...

But there are so many restrictions and boundaries in life, at least in mine… Something needs to be done...

APPLEPIEAPPLE PIE!

2008-10-09T00:25:00.006+13:00

Apple pie, applepie applepie apple pie applepie apple pie "Apple Pie" apple pie apple pie apple pies. Applepie apple pie apple pie applepie ApplePie apple pie, apple pie applepie. Applepie apple pie apple pieapple pie applepie...

Apple pie apple pie apple pie.

Applepie applepie.

Apple Pie!

AAAAAAPPLE PIE~

Apple applepie apple pie applepie apple pie Apple Pie.

Fkn Apple Pie pie applepie, apple pie!

WTF WTF WTF WTFPIE?!!!

Pie Apple PIE?!

Epistaxis

2008-10-07T00:10:00.006+13:00

Or, more commonly known as nose bleeding.

There are two types: anterior (the most common), and posterior (less common,
more likely to require medical attention). Sometimes in more severe cases, the blood can come up the nasolacrimal duct and out from the eye. Fresh blood and clotted blood can also flow down into the stomach and cause nausea and vomiting. It accounts for only 0.001% of all deaths in the U.S.

The cause of nosebleeds can generally be divided into two categories, local and systemic factors, although it should be remembered that a significant number of nosebleeds occur with no obvious cause.

Some Local factors

Inflammatory reaction
Foreign bodies (First thing that came to mind is Lego LOL)
Intranasal tumors (Ouch!)
Nasal sprays, particularly prolonged or improper use of nasal steroids
Narcotics, particularly insufflated cocaine
Trauma (DUH)
Nose-picking (Yea Ya!)
Otic barotrauma from descent in aircraft or scuba diving.

Some Systemic factors

Drugs - Aspirin, Fexofenadine/Allegra/Telfast, and others
Alcohol (due to vasodilation)
Allergies
Envenomation by mambas, taipans, kraits, and death adders (Ow ow ow!)
Hypertension
Pregnancy (Huh? Really?)

Although I am slightly guilty to quote Wikipedia to make up 80% of this post, you gotta admit, I’ve been on a roll with blog posts this month so far. I don’t know why…
Well, I’ve been bleeding out of my nose quite severely these past few days. And it is definitely not the ones you get from picking noses or any other physical causes… So far over the past three days, I think I’ve lost around half a liter daily with no apparent reason other than just minor fatigue.
It was to the point where I suspected I had Tsutsugamushi then I realised I’m not in Asia anymore… And after that realisation I haven’t had any major bleedings since. Funny that.

PS : After going through this post, I also realised how random and out-of-nowhere this post was. Meh, random = good I guess.

2008-10-06T01:41:00.005+13:00

After careful and articulate deliberation and discussion, which involved writing random words on little pieces of paper and drawing out 2 in random from a hat, we came up with some very interesting names for our new band.

‘We’ here, is currently comprised of;

Me – Guitars

Hamish – Guitars

Phil – Drums and timekeeping bitch

Joe – Bass

Among the things that came across us, the most notable combinations were…

Angry, Black
Undersexed, Goblin
Long, Taco
Hungry, Jesus
Jagaimo, Hangi – ‘Jagaimo’ means Potato in Japanese and Hangi is a traditional Maori cooking method where you bury the food under dirt, which consequently makes the food taste like dirt also.
Lambda, LOL
Middle-finger, Machete
Phil, from the East

And a couple I can’t mention here due to its sheer vulgarity…
Note that all of these names came to be by sheer coincidence. We did not tamper with the drawing process at all.

In the end we decided to settle with…

for now. And no, we don’t plan to start a cult... Not yet at least.

And the runner up name “Poncho Sex Culture” will most likely be used as a song title. More posts to follow on the progress of the band. Watch this space.

Mean Girls...

2008-10-04T15:50:00.004+13:00

Von is a meanie

I got my ass FLAMED for not knowing the real meaning of the word "Halal"… You have to understand we Koreans are of very nationalistic nature unlike the mix of cultures in Malaysia. I asked my mum and she doesn’t know what Halal is so I assure you it’s not considered common knowledge to Koreans. Hell, I’m not sure even westerners are familiar with the word. Ask Vinnie if he knew lol.

I took another mental blow from her the same day. For NOT getting laid… Now my self esteem issues are regressing to an even worse state. I’m trying my hand at becoming a guitar god, so that I can get groupies naked as soon as I start shredding. But it’s a work in progress. You could help me out at least by introducing me to more female friends! I’m socially retarded in that area and not really helped by all the years in a Boys’ high school… Actually its more my confused personality that needs fixing but I don’t know a way around it yet.

My mum’s a meanie

She asked me if I was suicidal after I told her I randomly went on a drive to Sign of the Kiwi – for those not familiar to the local geography, its pretty much the peak of a small hill at south of Chch and its not exactly a trip to your nearest supermarket. They don’t even have freaking fences or guards of any sort on the cliff side so one wrong maneuver will lead you down…

Down… down… down…

Down… down…

Down…

…

She also asked me if I was losing my mind. Normally because of the scenic nature of Sign of the Kiwi, it is considered a good dating course. And my dear mother suspects me that I’ve gone mad from being single for so long…
Yes, I am indeed feeling hollow and bitter when I see COUPLES FREAKING EVERYWHERE but I will never become a nutjob who has an imaginary girlfriend to take her for a drive. So far I have been successful in repelling hallucinations due to my sheer loathing and fear of mental illness-induced avatars.

My little sister’s a meanie

I lost a $10 bet to her on whether the leading character from the movie “Jumper” was Hayden Christiansen or not. I argued NOT, and as a result currently owe her $10…

She’s telling me off for youtubing because it’s taking up to much of our internet quota. Which is, in all fairness, true and reasonable but youtubing is too fun to make me care about that! At one point she disconnected the router (which is in her room…) in order to stop me from using the net…

So mean…

Scenes from a Memory – Dream Theater (1999)

2008-10-03T07:10:00.011+13:00

The past 2 months or so, I’ve been listening to this album constantly. I even put it on while I go to bed. Those who have me added on MSN will notice this. I am simply hooked – the technicality, the musical and conceptual ingenuity, the dexterity of the musicians, these guys never cease to amaze me no matter how many times I listen to them. I am writing this review, despite the fact that this album was released nearly 10 years ago, in an attempt to explain why I am in love with it so much.

A brief introduction of the album – This is a concept album which means the whole album is based around a common theme or storyline. In this case, it’s a story about betrayal, infidelity, murder and reincarnation. It is a sequel to the song ‘Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper – Images and Words’ (1994) and also the first album feature the Keyboardist Jordan Rudess in the band (the band has maintained this line-up to this date). Many parts of the original song is sampled and recycled, but they are cleverly reinvented to avoid sounding as if it was being overused.

ACT I - Scene 1 – Regression
The main character, Nicholas, is haunted by an image of a girl and he visits a hypnotherapist in an attempt to relieve this. The album opens with the hypnotist putting Nicholas into a hypnotic state in order to discover his past life.

Scene 2 - Overture 1928
Nicholas begins to delve deeper into the hypnotic trance and starts focusing on the subject of the regression therapy, Victoria, whose life seems to be strangely familiar.

Scene 2 - Strange Déjà vu
We now learn that Nicholas is led to this therapy by vivid, recurring dreams about Victoria’s life every time he closes his eyes. While in the hypnotic trance he asks the girl the reason why he is made to have such dreams, to which Victoria responds by hinting that she was in fact murdered.

Scene 3 - Through My Words
Nicholas is back in the real environment but he is becoming obsessed with resolving this incident. He now realises the link between himself and Victoria.

Scene 3 - Fatal Tragedy
He visits an old man who knows a little about the murder and he is told that the case is mystery to this day. Nicholas understands that he cannot live his usual life until he resolves the whole thing.

Scene 4 - Beyond This Life
Nicholas reads the newspaper account of the murder and the story goes: a witness, Edward Baynes heard a horrifying sound and upon reaching the scene he discovers Victoria, who's been shot dead, and the shooter, his brother Julian Baynes, standing over her. The witness tries to help but Julian commits suicide and falls on top of her. The paper goes on to explain that Victoria and Julian were recently broken up due to his decadent lifestyle. Also, found in the killer's pocket, is a written note. It clearly reads that Julian would rather take his own life than live without Victoria, but it mentions nothing of harming her.

Scene 5 - Through Her Eyes
Nicholas pays a visit to Victoria’s grave and overcome with sorrow for he feels her death as his own.

ACT II - Scene 6 – Home
Edward finds himself falling for Victoria as she cries on his shoulder over her break up with Julian, and at first feels guilt. But his obsession for her becomes stronger than his guilt and he seduces her in her vulnerable state.
Back to Nicholas again, he knows there must be more to the story and he yearns for regression therapy session so that he can get back to solving the mystery.

Scene 7 - The Dance of Eternity
This instrumental piece depicts Edward and Victoria making love. The dance of eternity is metaphoric of the lasting impression of the act.

Scene 7 - One Last Time
Awake, Nicholas visits Edward's house which seems to hold many clues and he feels that he is finally shown some confirmation of his suspicions. He enters the bedroom and experiences a revelation, like he felt in his dreams before, and he's suddenly outside and hears a woman screaming and a man pleading forgiveness.

Scene 8 - The Spirit Carries On
Nicholas is under hypnosis for the last time and reiterating his belief that his soul will transcend, and that he need not fear death. “Death is not the end, but only a transition” as the Hypnotherapist has previously pointed out. He believes now that Edward was involved in the murder and plans to expose the truth behind a crime that happened over 70 years ago. Victoria tells Nicholas that he should move on now and he basks in the peace as he has appeased Victoria's nagging and his own obsession.

Scene 9 - Finally Free
We hear Nicholas get in his car and leave after his last hypnotic trance. What we learn from the last session is that Victoria is no longer torn between Edward and Julian so she meets up with Julian without anyone knowing, or so they think. Edward shows up, begins struggling with Julian who pulls out a knife, to which Edwards responds by shooting Julian, Victoria screams, Edward tells her "Open your eyes, Victoria", and shoots her also. Julian crawls over to her, collapses on top of her. Edward plants a suicide letter on Julian and then gets help and plays his part as the witness.
Back to Nicholas, who arrives home, pours himself a drink, and relaxes. Another car pulls up, the Hypnotherapist enters the room and says, "Open your eyes, Nicholas" the phonograph gets bumped as Nicholas is startled by the Hypnotherapist. Then we hear static noise, which fades to black. The Hypnotherapist, Edward's reincarnation, has killed Nicholas, Victoria’s reincarnation, and has completed the cycle yet again.

To conclude, this masterpiece is trademark Dream Theater from start to finish. There are weak spots lyric-wise which is rather like plain storytelling at times, but the melodic aspect makes up for this. To newcomers to the progressive genre, the dissonant scales and weird time signatures may be just a bit too weird for them but once you get over it, you can't stop appreciating it.

I lost count of...

2008-10-02T01:51:00.005+13:00

... the various reasons why I suspect Reuben may/could/might/possibly/probably be of the opposite sexual orientation to mine. In other words, GAY.

Here goes the list :

1. A couple of months ago, everyone was gathered in his room to chat/play Tekken/DotA when all of a sudden Horst came out of the shower declaring "I'm naked!". Guess who tunred around. No one, not even the girls, turned around except Reuben.

2. A couple of hours ago, Horst tried the exact same prank. Guess who turned around. No one, not even his girlfriend Lisa, turned around except Reuben.

3. He sucks at DotA. BAAAAADLY. And I think many of you will agree with me that girls aren't that good at DotA, alongside driving. To the ladies, incl Reuben; please don't mind the sexist implications behind this "mere fact of life".

4. He sure is wishy washy. Especially when it comes to what to have for dinner...

"*Ehhhmmm I dunno..."

5. He really likes Kenyans or something. And Kenyans aren't exactly the most attractive people around... Frankly, I haven't seen a single good looking Kenyan person whether they be male or female...

6. He makes that constipated "UGGH" sound. You can hear this sound being reproduced by Forrest Gump when he hears his mother screwing his school teacher. Sounds like those are meant to have a lot of rage and emotions, like the ones you hear on the Powerthirst Ad's "AAAAHHR" "SPORTS! BEAR BLASTING!". But Reuben's one is becoming more like a bad habit.

7. He thinks Jeremy Clarckson is 'The Man'.

8. He disagrees with my idea of the Batmobile being the one and only supercar - we'll see who's laughing when we see how the BMW's side curtain airbags handle the Batmobile's Gatling gun.
PEWPEWPEW

9. He needs to dump Roger.

10. Or even better, hook up with Roger's ex.

11. But does he have the balls to do that?

12. All he does in Tekken is the GAY grab moves. I wouldn't exactly attempt to do a powerbomb in a manly barfight.

Ok, baker's dozen bonus

13. He finds "**rocks" fascinating.

Shit, now that I've compiled it like this, he needs help lol.
* = normally heard when we are deciding between Ancestral and McD's for dinner.
** = This is not the music genre. We're talking about the lifeless, solid minerals here

Jokes mate. LoL

Von gave me this link today.

2008-09-29T02:23:00.004+13:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7598549.stm

“ROCK/HEAVY METAL: Low self-esteem, creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, at ease”
I was surprised at how accurate it was at first, then I realised how obvious and stereotypical these were. A metalhead doesn’t need much self-esteem, if any, to jump into a mosh pit. And it’s proven that we are considered scum of the earth by not doing anything productive in the society (ie: not hard working) and being perfectly fine with it (ie: at ease).

On the other hand…

“CHART POP: High self-esteem, not creative, hardworking, outgoing, gentle, not at ease”
They all look the same, sound the same (ie: not creative), but hardworking (ie: try-hards), very liberal in just about anything (ie: outgoing), and always try so hard to look good but ends up getting stressed out (ie: not at ease).

Meanwhile across the 8 mile line…

“RAP: High self-esteem, outgoing”
Outgoing people with high egos = shootouts and other forms of violent confrontations.

Now I feel much better about my musical tastes.

Death Magnetic - Metallica (2008)

2008-09-19T03:21:00.007+12:00

All the hype about Shitallica’s new album, yet nobody’s daring to buy a copy. Why? People now know how astray a band could become within just the time period in between consecutive albums. I’m talking about the times like when they put out the very successful ‘Black Album’ (self titled - 1991) and then in a surprising but disappointing move, released the easy going fucking country sound of “Load” (1996).
So I’m writing this review for those who are loyal to Metal but in doubt from recent experiences with Metallica records. First, I have to confess that even though I’m writing a review, I have only listened to ripped versions on youtube and myspace with average sound quality. But then again, I think that was all that needed to write this review…

01 That Was Just Your Life
Eerie intro but pretty catchy riffs here and there. In one sentence, I’d call this song a darker version of “One”. Trademark Kirk Hammet’s mediocre guitar solo is back… for the better…? Yay…?

02 The End of the Line
Reasonably heavy and again catchy riffs. However, drum lines are rather uneventful and at time even gets in the way of other instruments. By now, after listening to two songs, I realise I can’t hear ANY bass.

03 Broken, Beat & Scarred
Intro was not very promising as it reminded me of the catastrophic “St. Anger” (2003) but it gets better when the vocals come in. This song is their lyrically strongest, symbolic of their comeback after the atrocity their previous album.

04 The Day That Never Comes
This is the song that’s being overplayed in music televisions around the world at the moment. I personally would have preferred a more subtle guitar solo and fills. Very reminiscent of the “Load” and “Reload” era. You can’t really call it metal, but it is rather easy on the ears for those who are more... ‘mainstream’.

05 All Nightmare Long
Very aggressive guitar work here. Lots of fast riffery and triplet barrages set the song off heavy. At parts, vocal is kind of shaky but lyrically fits well with the song. Still can’t hear the bass :(

06 Cyanide
Definitely NOT my favourite off the record. The best way to put it is; Red Hot Chilli Peppers trying to cover System of the Down songs. The song has a wrong groove to be played with distortion on.

07 The Unforgiven III
Quite a few people have been anticipating the arrival of this sequel to the songs ‘The Unforgiven – Black album’ and ‘The Unforgiven II – Reload’. The song is average by all means but yet again, it has a stock “Load”, “Reload” era feel to it and it fails to match its prequels.

08 The Judas Kiss
This is one of the better, if not the best song in the album. Nothing too complex, no nonsense, just straightforward heaviness. Generic at times but gets the job done.

09 Suicide & Redemption
The first instrumental they have done in 20 years since ‘To live is to die - …And justice for all”. Like most Metallica instrumentals, they seem to be nice as backing tracks to jam on. Simple and can get repetitive at times, but that’s what instrumentals are like. :P I am rather disappointed that 1. I still can’t hear the bass well. 2. Lars has yet to impress me.

10 My Apocalypse
Another fast paced solid song. However yet again, suffers from the dilemma of predictability and repetitiveness. Drums were slightly better.

The final verdict
This is just like Jason Newstead’s bass sound in “…And justice for all”.

I CAN’T HEAR THE FUCKING BASS. Poor Robert Trujilo.
I’d prefer it when Lars is being sparing with snares because his snare sounds are really getting in the way of other tracks. He’s just hitting it along with the guitar riffs. Quite frankly, a session drummer could have put more input into the drum lines. He has the talent and should be branching out creativity to the songs through drums instead of only acting as a timekeeper.
If you were expecting something along the lines of “Kill’em All” (1983) or “Ride the Lightning” (1984), forget it. Metallica has officially moved on from such sound. All in all, despite the criticism that they "played it safe", Death Magnetic was a valiant attempt to pick themselves up from the shit creek they were until recently. This album also proves that Metallica’s sound is solidified around the “Load”/ “Reload” sound so if you can put up with that style, GO BUY IT MOTHER FUCKER.

Far out...

2008-09-15T01:24:00.006+12:00

The full moon is really bright and dominant today.

Quite surreal. Not a cloud in the sky to mute its presence.

I remember back around this time in '03, I was in a homestay and was alone in NZ. It was a somewhat emotionally difficult time for me and I grew very homesick. Quite often I'd wake up because the moonlight was shining at my face between the curtains. But I also remember, unlike sunlight, I wasn't annoyed at all even though I had been interrupted of my trip to unconsciousness. The fascination at the sight was enough to push my worries aside and I began to like the moon's modest and down-to-earth shimmering over the sun's flamboyant radiance which forces your gaze away from it. Maybe that's why I go crazy and jumpy when I see the full moon, the anticipation of seeing it again.

This post is unintentionally starting to sound poetic...

But I got nostalgic and adjectives just started popping out.

To other matters then.

I've won an auction on eBay - a slightly dinged up Jackson Kelly JS30-KE for $135. But the dude hasn't got back to me with the shipping costs yet...

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is going to be the next subject on the "Wall of fame" project. He looks rather like a hitman in this particular photo.

I've developed a new level of loathing of studying. Now it is to the extent of needing to 'learn' to study again. I forgot 'how' to study. This is bad, really bad.

Clear as mud.

Yesterday in History...

2008-09-12T00:55:00.005+12:00

"Live Scenes from New York is a 3 disc live album by progressive metal band Dream Theater, recorded on August 30, 2000, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Live Scenes from New York is the audio counterpart to the Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York DVD, released in early 2001.
Coincidentally, it was originally released on September 11, 2001, but when it was noticed that the cover artwork depicted the twin towers of the World Trade Center in flames, it was recalled and re-released a short time later. Some copies with the original artwork still exist, and are now a rare collectors item."
- Wikipedia

I told you John Petrucci was Jesus.

Too shy for the real world

2008-09-10T00:18:00.005+12:00

Becoming 20 has too many symbolic meanings associated with "growing up" doesn’t it? All those privileges and the title “Teenager” are no more.

You become held responsible for everything you do now -> Great, now I get more shit

You’ve lived for over 20 years now -> People seem to expect a shitload out of you when you’re actually relatively fresh from school.

You’re in your 20’s now, you should be in your prime of your life -> And I’m wasting it on more study, as if I had been hibernating in a cave for the last 15 years of my life.

I want to break the cycle. I don’t want learning for the sake of learning. I want to learn to survive. I want to be beaten around by reality so that I don’t have to worry about the universe and beyond. I want to worry more about what to have for tomorrow’s dinner.

The clock's ticking and I have 40 days to figure out something, and it better be something good.

A bit of pain can’t hurt

2008-09-04T00:01:00.003+12:00

Last Monday, I landed my right foot on a Basketball while doing a lay-up. The ball unfortunately bounced off under the ring and fell faster than I did, and got under my foot while I was mid-air. Sounds impossible but awkwardly possible, right? Fact is it was an awkward fall and the thing with awkward falls is that they normally end up being more uncomfortable injuries. This was the case here too. My foot pretty much just rolled in with the ball. There was a rather ripping ‘crack’ which would have been my ligaments and tendons being ripped, then came the 2 seconds delayed pain.

The pain was surprisingly fresh to me. I hadn’t sustained an injury like this in a wee while and it was a rather stirring wake up call. The adrenaline was a big slap to the face and I wanted more. Looking back now, I found myself wierdly comparing the situation to the movie 'Fight Club'.

After a few days, nagging pain sets in and I’m the same old loser again. Unmotivated, lacking thirst, scared of getting hurt.

Tagged thanks to "BOREDOM"

2008-08-27T16:31:00.004+12:00

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

Starting time : 16:33
Name : Andrew 'Bok' Choi
Sisters : 1 younger
Brothers : None
Shoe size : Can't remember, all these different metrics...
Height : 177 cm
Where do you live? : in a shit hole
Favourite drinks : Milkis, my mum's pumpkin latte
Favourite breakfast : Steak, medium rare with extra gravy. Actually make that rare.
Have you ever been on a plane? Yes, first when I was a month old you silly twat!
Swam in the ocean? Hell, I've even drowned in one
Fallen asleep at school? Surprisingly, never fell asleep when I'm not supposed to. Only during breaks
Broken someone's heart? I... wish...
Fall off your chair? Who do you think you're kidding, how the hell do you expect me to fall off my chair when I'm the motherflippin God. Have some more respect to your dieties.
Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call? Yea... nothing romantic though...
What is your room like? I'm perfectly fine with it but others seem to disagree
What's right beside you? Phone, water bottle, tv remotes, a banana peel and a pillow
What is the last thing you ate? Mixed veges with fries and a sausage.
Ever had chicken pox? Yeap, right before my sister was born.
Sore throat? Yes, its getting better. Thanks for your concern.
Stitches? Like the one you get when your running? Or the ones you get when they sew you up?
Broken nose? Haven't been in enough bar fights to get one yet.
Do you believe in love at first sight? I'm sure there are cases like that occasionally.
Like picnics? Absolutely, both the chocolate bar and excursion.
Who was/were the last person/people you danced with? Some random who thought my joker mask was cool.
Last made you smile? The bunnies 10 mins ago. They jumped the hedge and shat on the tiles again LOL
You last yelled at? The physiotherapist who yanked my ankle a bit hard
Today did you talk to some one you like? I haven't done that in ages...
Kiss anyone? I haven't done this in ages too...
Get sick? Nah, I'm fine. Just a bit of lacerated ligaments and some stretched tendons.
Talk to an ex? I wish I had one to talk to...
Miss someone? Apparently not enough to do anything about it...
Eat? I thought I'd been asked this question already
Best feeling in the world? I have yet to experience that
Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Not since the pluto doll got torn up :(
What's under your bed? A fake Japanese sword and a dumbell. How manly.
Who do you really hate? At the moment, a young disgusting individual called Nik*lai
What time is it now? 17:18
Things I was doing 10 years ago? Beating up Maori kids and owning whities in basketball and maths.
5 things on my to-do list today

Play some DotA
Try to move my ankle around a bit
Write to some people I need to keep in touch with
TV
Read Shakespear if I can't go to sleep

5 snacks I enjoy?

Dumplings
Potatoes
leftover pizza
any noodles
Rice crackers

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire

Have those Batman gadgets made for me so that I can go out ninja stuff.
Then get HAWT chicks like how Bruce Wayne does.
Buy KFC out and force them to oven bake their shit, not soak it with grease.
Assassinate Kim Jung Il, Infiltrate North Korea and merge it with South Korea!
Try to become good friends with Kevin Bacon and Matt Damon. I dunno, Golf buddies or something.

5 of my bad habits

Being a social retard
Procrastinating... Don't we all...
Cutting corners...
Erm, anger management lol
Cracking knuckles. God I really gotta stop that!

5 poeple I tag

You
Him
Her
That guy over there
Oi, come here bitch. Yea I'm talking to you

A Mortal Reminder

2008-08-25T05:37:00.001+12:00

It’s nearly 5 in the morning as I write this.

My throat hasn’t been in the best state for the last week or so. I’ve woken up because I was suffocating in my sleep. I could have gone back to sleep but I think I’ll write this while this feeling is still alive in my head.

Best way to put this feeling into words is simply “I’m afraid of dying”. I only get this feeling when I’m choking or running out of breath. I never quite get the same reaction in other life threatening situations. Adrenaline doesn’t kick in and you panic, and there is no way to accept it. It’s not like a fall from a building where you can go “oh shit” or “this is it”. More or less, you end up violently thrashing about for your survival although it is obvious to anyone but yourself that it isn’t helping at all.

Complexity for the sake of simplicity

2008-08-17T20:10:00.004+12:00

Evolution is the trend which humans have suffered from the days we first discovered fire. We could have just eaten meat and grains as they were, raw and untreated. But one day some smartass monkey thought food would taste better if you cook with fire. Another shithead thought it would taste even better if you season with salt and pepper. Thousands of years later, the very simple desire to seek tastier food has driven people so far as to actually start study cooking and have it as a profession, a respectable one too.

I have nothing against cooks, I still believe cooking is one of the most enjoyable things to do. But my point is that we as humans go through excessively complicated procedures to make things simple. The best example would be computer programming (the food example was kinda crap). Every icon we click has fuck-I-don’t-know how many codes and commands and conditions are behind it. As multiple commands become bound together as ‘one touch buttons’ or even to be triggered automatically via sensors or timers, there’s a whole heap of parameters to ensure it is functional when its needed. In other words, they make your life simpler.

I fucking love automated doors!

It saddens and in a way intimidates me that we live in a world where simple means expertise. As I go along, I feel more and more overwhelmed by the sheer superiority others demonstrate. Of course, outwards I just laugh as if it was some practical joke or call it a fluke and say something vulgar about them. But sometimes I just think to myself, “Shit, there are guys out there like that. I’m so fucked.”

I don’t know about you guys but I’m suffering from the trend of evolution. I know for a fact that Michael Phelps is suffering from the effects of evolution too. He’s evolved into a fucking fish – by the way, aquatic vertebrates shouldn’t be allowed to compete with humans. I bet his ADHD is a result of this mutation.

D.I.Y. Project - The 'Wall' of Fame

2008-08-15T02:13:00.006+12:00

Early this year, I saw my friend Hamish do a stencil art of a temple we visited when we were in Japan. Inspired by that, I set out to make some stencil art myself.

At first, I struggled to find suitable subjects – quite a lot of the pictures weren’t usable because of the colour schemes, patterns and letters on T-shirts are a fucking bitch to deal with. And since I’m no pro, I have some limitations and consequently have to be really picky about stuff like lightings and shadows when it comes to deciding what to go for. When I got the ones I wanted, I desaturate the picture, then brighten or darken where necessary, and crank the contrast up to maximum.

You’ll notice that a LOT of detail ends up being ignored but that’s the point of it: it’s really obscured and simplified. Besides, I don’t have the time and skills to actually pay attention to details, especially not the patience.

Clockwise from top right : Paul Gilbert, Dave Mustaine and Layne Staley

Following from the previous post...

2008-08-06T21:51:00.004+12:00

So I’m guessing that anyone who has taken the time to read my last post would be mostly going “So you’re special. Amazing. Your point?”

Well, I have never successfully argued my point in this matter because it is just fucking impossible to find a solution. Not even an intermediary one.

My dilemma is this. As all people, including the greatest of minds, do lot of things they’ve said and contradict themselves from the decisions they make. I also do this very often and I am vividly aware of a few of them believe it or not… It is my personal belief (I’ll try to say this without condemning others or myself) that most people never question their own judgment and think only from one perspective – their own. Which is by all means natural and good.

But in my head...
Well, I’d say I have two standards that I follow to make decisions. One being the stereotypically western way of thinking – hopeful, optimistic, uncalculating, and adventurous or reckless. The other being the stereotypical Asian way of thinking – scheming, pessimistic, conservative, and always thinking about the big picture, that is worrying about contingencies all the time.

So here you have me, living life carefree, seemingly unmotivated, improvising to get through each day, but at the back of my head I’m always guilty of my lifestyle. So is that guilt great enough to make me abandon my current lifestyle?

Now I’m thinking:
“Well I’m surrounded by lazy fucks so I suppose I’m not much worse off.”
“I’m not that pressured into competition.”
“I’ve lived in NZ long enough to call myself a Kiwi and act like one without shame”

Meanwhile:
“Does that even qualify as reasonable reasoning?”
“Horseshit, I have no competition because I don’t have an object to compete for”
“So what if I have that piece of paper saying that I’m a citizen here, you and I all know that I’ll never be quite like them.”

In the end, I guess what I’m really doing is justifying is the fact that I’m not decisive enough. If you don’t fully comprehend where I’m coming from – this excludes “I THINK I know what you’re talking about” – chances are you’ve been twinked out completely.

Listen to my story first

2008-07-20T23:51:00.005+12:00

Now I’m only a few months away from turning 20 ( T_T oh noes…) and so far I’ve lived half of my life in Korea and the other half in New Zealand. What makes me “different” from the majority of the immigrants you see out there is the fact that I moved back and forth a bit.

I spent my kindergarten days in Korea and moved to Christchurch first when I was 6. I was no different to any other international students back then, using Konglish whenever I spoke, and hated mince pies – they were absolutely disgusting at the time, tasted shit and looked like shit…

Then in 99’ my family decided we’ve had enough of the life abroad and off we went back to Seoul to its technological comfort and familiarity. The next 4 years in my life brought me to realise how much my mind was infiltrated by the western way and in that time I tried to embrace my school life as much as I could.

By the end of 2002, after the World Cup, the beatings and harasses from other students, ever declining marks, and all those late nights at cram school were taking its toll. So I declare to my parents that I've had it and that I want to go back to NZ, and off I went alone, this time.

I still remember how nervous I was about adjusting in another environment ‘again’. I had trouble sleeping from worries that I might not adjust well, like I had previously done when I moved to Korea. And I still remember how quick everything came back – most noticeably, the American accent I acquired from Korea was completely replaced by my old Kiwi accent. Unlike what I had initially feared, I progressed rather well through high school although I did get borderline passes towards graduation…

And that is how I got to be.

I don’t consider myself a banana yet because when I’m around Korean-Koreans I can fake it – this I found out at that camp. But increasingly over the years, English is becoming more comfortable and dominant in my life and I am not the Korean who can’t live without Kimchi for every meal (although I still love the stuff)

Revamp

2008-07-14T01:29:00.005+12:00

Its about time it happened...

Its still a work in progress so you may see some gradual changes in the layout, colour schemes and even the contents of my blogs.

So far, with the severely limited knowledge I have of HTML's, I have widened the text box and the sidebar slightly...

... and that's about it.

Please Xzibit, Pimp my blog!

Speaking of which...

2008-07-11T00:44:00.017+12:00

Dolce and Ga...
Ga....
Gaa....
Erm... What was their name again...?

OH YEA, Dolce and Garbage. I think that was their name...

Yeap, that's right, I said it. I officailly declare war on the fashion world. I'm not saying that I'll dress like a homeless from now but I'll just remain ignorant to their flamboyant marketing, selling brands.

But I ain't letting those fashion police gain one yard of ground... No no... Never!

Nearly forgot to mention but you know that French designer dude who died recently, that was John Petrucci's work too.

Look at Johnny Christ himself in all his glory and might here. Notice his glaring eyes, burning with vindication. He's gone into killing mode in this picture and seconds away from performing a shred - the person who took this photo died within 5 seconds after the photo was taken as a result. In fact, it is considered a miracle that the film was still intact despite the impact of the event.

If you ever see Jesus Petrucci in this stance, abandon all hope and pray for a painless death which you will get in a matter of seconds.

I don’t feel as lost as I was a few days ago.

2008-07-07T21:23:00.003+12:00

From July 3rd to 5th, I was half-forced by my parents to attend an educational camp sponsored by the OKTA (Overseas Korean Trade Association). Of course I loathed the idea of being surrounded by a horde of Korean-Koreans and I was rather doubtful that the lectures would be of any real use to me.
By the end of day 2 of the camp I was proven wrong. Most of the lectures were very insightful, informative and specific, even led me to rethink some of my most concrete beliefs. The lecturers were quite recognised people in their respective fields and you could sense an aura of professionalism and humble wisdom.

To mention a few things that has really hit me up there on the head;

I am not forcefully bound to Korea in any way, nor am I obligated to contribute directly towards the growth of it. I am, however, capable of helping my mother country by becoming a successful entity myself and henceforth have the ability to support its culture and economy.
The buying power of the consumers is your greatest resource. The degree of success depends on how well you utilise your resources. So, utilise the consumers for your success.
NEVER. FORGET. BREAKFAST. The act of eating breakfast signals your brain that a new day has started. Eat breakfast if you want to get the most out of your day!

Not that I've ever skipped breakfast if it can be helped, but the idea behind it is most important.

Throughout the camp, we were split into groups of 6 or 7 and were made to prepare a presentation under the pretence that we're a company pioneering a "Blue Ocean" market. I have to say the concept of Blue Ocean is rather impractical nowadays and hard to come up with a suitable product within 2 days, but in the end we pulled it off by winning the first prize: $200 cash! The product we used?

Water.

Yup. New Zealand spring water. Our presentation was somewhat lacking compared to other groups but we had a specific target and that was to create a Louis Vitton of the water brands - something high-end consumers want, and as a result becoming a product that everyone else wants.

All in all, it was a great experience which would have been even better had retards from this Sports Management School weren't there. And the best thing was that the whole thing was absolutely free - well worth the price.

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes!

2008-06-19T23:53:00.004+12:00

- Shamelessly ripped from a mate's Bebo blog

*You MUST read them aloud:

English
Chinese

That's not right
Sum Ting Wong

Are you harboring a fugitive?
Hu Yu Hai Ding

See me ASAP
Kum Hia Nao

Small Horse
Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach?
Wai Yu So Tan

I think you need a face lift
Chin Tu Fat

It's very dark in here
Wai So Dim

I thought you were on a diet
Wai Yu Mun Ching

This is a tow away zone
No Pah King

Our meeting is scheduled for next week
Wai Yu Kum Nao

Staying out of sight
Lei Ying Lo

He's cleaning his automobile
Wa Shing Ka

Your body odor is offensive
Yu Stin Ki Pu

The world of hardcores

2008-06-02T15:46:00.005+12:00

Sadly for us average Joes, survival of the fittest comes in and shoos you into the “Average or Below” village across the 8mile line. With ever improving technology, abundant resources, less time wasted doing daily chores, and more people living on earth people are raising the bar on their respective professions.
For instance, this guy:

John ‘Jesus’ Petrucci

Now check out his impressive achievements.

- Responsible for countless unexplained deaths and explosions
- Also responsible for countless guitarists quitting in despair
- And on top of that, partly responsible for JFK’s assassination (He can time warp)

With pro’s like such walking around this earth puts the rest of us in a very awkward position. We can decide from the following options;
1. Try anyway knowing that we’ll never be good enough to even make a living.
2. Euthanise yourself.
3. As Aristophanes or someone said, to become the most famous man in the world, kill the most famous man.

Have fun deciding.

Its always about shit, isn't it...

2008-05-13T20:36:00.006+12:00

Taoism : Shit happens.

Buddhism : If shit happens, it's not really shit.

Islam : If shit happens, it's the will of Allah.

Protestantism : Shit happens because you don't work hard enough.

Judaism : Why does this shit always happen to us?

Hinduism : This shit happened before.

Catholicism : Shit happens because you're bad.

Hare Krishna : Shit happens rama rama.

T.V. Evangelism : Send more shit.

Atheism : No shit.

Jehova's Witness : Knock knock, shit happens.

Hedonism : There's nothing like a good shit happening.

Christian Science : Shit happens in your mind.

Agnosticism : Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn't.

Rastafarianism : Let's smoke this shit.

Existentialism : What is shit anyway?

Stoicism : This shit doesn't bother me.

This is probably going to stain whatever positive reputation I have left... If I ever had any...

2008-05-11T23:22:00.008+12:00

Von tagged me...

1. How many children do you want?
2 or 3. Or none. Depending on how well we fuck the world up 10 years from now, and if its deemed too harsh a condition I'd rather not let any new life suffer by having to live in it.

2. What do you want the most now?
I have 3 equally desirable objects.
a. A mirror image of myself, an identical twin would be awesome.
b. A very cool girlfriend who is my intellectual twin.
c. A nice career that I can get without studying much - in other words, the power of a guitar god.

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A person whom you'd have to kill to become famous.

4. If you can have one more dream come true, what would it be?
***'s head served in a platter.

5. What are you afraid to lose now?
Balance and sanity.

6. Do you believe in being in love forever?
No. However, I do believe in "like" which is my equivalent of "love" in most people's life.

7. If you meet someone you love, would you confess to him/her?
So far... No... Not that I don't have balls, but I have a bad habit of liking people I don't have a chance with.

8. What would you do when you're feeling down and depressed.
I play something really dissonant on my guitar. My sister says she sometimes hears someone screaming from the room...

9. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
I can never be too careful with what I say here... I seek someone who'll be in the same clothes size throughout her life - the lanky type, someone who doesn't have a miss universe personality, someone who hasn't slept with more than 2 different people. Ok I lied a bit, someone who has no experience at all - you said 'wish'... someone who appreciates Korean food, at the same time someone who is from a different cultural background than I am.

10. Which type of person do you hate the most?
I can't pinpoint a specific type. Even if I can, I won't say it.

11. Do you cherish every single of your friendships?
I'm not sure if understand the context of the word cherish correctly here. However, I think my answer to question 15. answers this question also.

12. Do you believe in God?
If you're asking me if I believe in God as a kind and forgiving entity that does good to humans, no.
If you're asking me if I believe the existence of God, no.

13. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
I frankly don't know. Its not that I don't value my life but strangely my life is not the most important thing in my life. Maybe its someone else's, maybe its something instead of someone.

14. Do you find it necessary for you to have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
I could last the winter alone in my little hut. But its getting harder and harder to do so.

15. What do you want your friends to be like?
Unique and in variety. Although it is guaranteed that I won't be equally close to a variety of unique friends.

16. What kind of friend do you hope to be in your friends' eyes?
'That guy'? Tricky question, this.

17. If you can have a change, which part of your character would you like to change?
Slow mind. I know have the patience, my family says I have the talents, people around me say that I have the ability, and yet I manage to lose focus and make everything pointless. I procrastinate because my mind keeps failing to remind me of what I should do. Its agonising for me but I'm still guilty and I'm not sure how fix this.

18. Would you die in order to save the ones you love?
No comment. I don't want to scare people with giving my honest answer to this.

19. If you died and went to heaven, where you were given a second chance on Earth to live your life once more, what would you do differently and why?
I would try to clean up some of the mess I made in the previous life, become more adventurous, ask my crush out, and believe in heaven and God unlike the previous life! Why? Because if I really came back from heaven, I'd have probably had a chat with the big man himself by then.

20. [My question] What do you ask of yourself?
I never question myself, even though others may. The question is, what kind of questioning is this then? Get the paradox?

Instructions : Remove 1 question from above, and add in your personal question to make it a total of 20 questions. Then tag 8 people in your links list at the end of the post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.
Well that's a shame isn't it. I don't have fucking 8 people on my links, let alone ones who could be tagged so I tag anyone who reads up to this point. Hah!

I'm such a redneck...

2008-04-28T12:56:00.004+12:00

...Don't you think?

I mean...
1. I love Pantera - Southern Metal
2. I really love that guitar with the Confederation Flag graphics for some odd reason - Dimebag's signature guitar
3. I hate immigrants who can't speak proper english - just like Russel Peters' Dad
4. I never liked the Republicans but I'm starting to hate the Democrats... - Fucking Liberals!
5. I'm anti-establishment and anti-hierarchical religious organisations.

Blasphemy

2008-04-16T20:36:00.006+12:00

There is no GOD that orchestrates events in the universe. The course of history is determined by everything but the almighty entity that apparently exists in a long, boring book called the Bible.
"Oh yea, Hitler was a great mastermind, its just that he got unlucky and god wasn't on his side at the end."
Hitler got pwned because he asked for it by pissing the whole earth off, and his troops didn't just drop dead because God struck them with lightning bolt. Its crazy americans like Tom hanks who came up with the sticky bomb that blew those motherfuckers into McNuggets.

It's one small movement I make to scratch my nose.
It's the small current of wind I make that leave dust particles flying in certain directions, and it is that tiny dust particle that goes into someone's nose and makes them sneeze.
It's that sneeze that makes a person turn away and create a bigger wind.
His sneeze causes someone to quickly move away from you.
The person trips in the process and creates a gust this time by dropping a book that was in his hand.
That tiny energy force of the wind will now join a bigger current and blow across the sea vaporising more sea water in the process.
The change in air pressure triggers an even stronger wind.
That force of wind comes head to head with another gust of wind.
And the small wind from your sneeze might have just been the extra power needed for a hurricane to build up.

But take into account we have people causing all sorts of small wind by sneezing, dancing, farting, blowing and doing stuff all the time and all over the universe. Of course my sneezing wouldn't have had significant effect on the Hurricane Katrina. But if my sneeze didn't directly contribute to create the hurricane, I still may have caused it to happen a nanosecond faster or something.
So have all of you. Even by just breathing, by moving, by being somewhere. Its just that things we do hardly ever have a noticable direct impact on such big matters but all the things we do, builds up into this huge disaster (in this case).

We can't blame anyone/anything for such things happening.
Maybe the day I sneezed was a hot day so the coolness created from my fluid vaporising created a bigger wind that it normally would.
Maybe a plane crashed from the turbulance from the gust at the sea creating a bigger explosion = more wind!
Maybe this blog will send you off running to your Church and slap the priest for misleading you, creating more carbon emmisions from your car.
Maybe then your Priest will set the Church afire after a epiphany and create more harmful greenhouse gasses flying out into the atmosphere and eventually speed up the formation of a new hurricane.

Everything in this world is interrelated. There can't be things that are mutually exclusive except conceptual theories in math books. People do not comprehend this so they believe some entity like god just marked a date on the calendar to give the world a gigantic flood and wipe all humanity.

My downfall

2008-04-16T03:37:00.004+12:00

I think I found what’s wrong with me. I'm quite well known for my stubbornness and often don't think while I'm doing something and later go "why the fuck did/didn’t I do that?” It’s almost like a mental illness or something. I just push aside conscious and forget sensibility sometimes and by the time I’ve finished doing something – especially stuff like assignments, shopping and card games – then it hits me.

Oh fuck, I didn’t really need this book.
Oh fuck, I already bought milk today.
Oh fucking Beelzebub’s mother, I forgot to get rice.
Fucking cuntlicker, I shouldn’t have called all in on that asshole’s bluff with a straight. He had a full house… Fucker.

Thing is, it’s not like I don’t know it’s a bad thing. I KNOW I have to learn from my mistakes and I’m not THAT stubborn to deny what I’m doing wrong. But I just keep making the same sort of mistakes. My decisions are hardly ever waterproof, and as I keep leaking out my effort, reputation, money and time, I’m starting to become more and more convinced I’m retarded or something. I need to snap out of this permanent three-thirty-itis before it starts gnawing away my life… but how?

PS : NO VON, a slap in the face from you will NOT do the trick!

Nope, unfortunately I'm still alive.

2008-04-12T04:12:00.007+12:00

Yes unclefuckers. This alloyhead is still alive... and well? Can't really tell.
I just felt like posting cuz I have a lotta things I want to spit out : I like to organise my thoughts in doodlings and try and find out what the fuck is my problem if I'm shitty or aggrevated.
So I'll remind you again my blog isn't exactly intended for public viewing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One day, I'm suprised to find that I ;
Despite being a metalhead

1. never smoke
2. never do/did drugs
3. drink till I totally lose it and rape/get raped by someone.
4. despise piercings
5. don't have any friends that are hardout metalheads

Despite being an Asian

1. never get/got along with other Asians
2. hate camwhoring
3. hate pumping music
4. hate Pop culture in general - I never go with the flow for most things
5. don't know shit about cars

Despite being an immigrant

1. hate Asian-Asians
2. think in English - the English language is starting to domintate bits of my life
3. People think I'm white when they talk to me over the phone until I tell them my last name
4. scorn at those who can't pronouce the 'F' and 'th' sound. I recall I had an argument even with my dad once with his 'L' prounouciation...
5. don't really feel like one anymore

Despite being a uni-student who lived away from home for a year

1. never passed out, but got near to it when alcohol ran out
2. never got involved in a brawl - not really good at fighting...
3. find clubbing one of the most boring thing ever, at least if you're not gonna dance or something
4. still haven't mastered self control
5. came back home by my own will while everyone else just loves living away from it.

Despite NOT being a total computer geek/maths nerd

1. am studying commerce instead of art or fine arts
2. never had a girlfriend
3. never was in a band - nearly was in one but it ended up as a one-off show
4. loves certain computer games
5. find making direct eye contact extremely difficult at times
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then, now I skim through these and find out what the fuck is my problem and why am I not so happy...

Suicide Note Part II - Pantera

2008-02-07T00:01:00.001+13:00

Out of my mind,
Gun up to the mouth
No pretension, execution
Live and learn, rape and turn

Fret not family
Nor pre-judged army
This is for me, and me only
Cowards only try it

Don't you try to die, like me
It's livid and it's lies and makes graves

It's not worth the time to try,
to replenish a rotting life
I'll end the problem, facing nothing,
fuck you off, fuck you all
Tortured history,
Addict of misery
This exposes me
for weakness is a magnet - watch me do it

Don't you try to die, like me
It's livid and it's lies and makes graves
Descending down

Why would you help anyone who doesn't want it,
doesn't need it,
doesn't want your shit advice
when a mind's made up to go ahead and die?
What's done is done and gone, so why cry?

Let me just make this clear

2008-02-02T09:20:00.002+13:00

I fucking hate clubbing. Seriously nigger, when was the last time you saw a fucking metalhead in a club dancing to club music? That must mean metalheads don't like clubbing! Oh wait, hey, I have long hair and like to headbang to shit others don't even call music. Good jolly fucking god I must be a fucking metalhead! Take the fucking hint.

I also fucking hate weak-ass Asian jokes, which are almost always pun or some smart ass word-joke. Its just nowhere near as angry enough compared to the shit I'm used to hearing. Like the shit Lynch puts out. Yea, like I'll ever be sorry for being a fucking twinky.

I just had McD's and for the first time in my life I noticed how shit the it tasted so I'm gonna avoid that place at all costs. Maybe it was just that day or something but the beef patty was just way fucking below acceptable standards.

It is also clear in my life that I don't have a fucking clue of what I'm gonna be. Then again, others are as clueless as I am. But then to think about it agian, at least they have enough sense of what they want to be to choose their degree. I don't quite. Fucking hell, why don't I just join the fucking army or something...

Even though I won't say it out aloud as much as Mike, I still fucking hate the smell of cigs so think again if you plan to take me somewhere indoor smoking is generally accepted.

Some Koreans hate me saying that I hate Korean-Koreans. Has it ever occurred to you "Asian of Asians" that the reason I wanna tear your fucking head off and shit down your neck is because you hate me in the first place? Get reasonable you dumb fucks. After all that scapegoating at me, what do you think I'll do, suck your dick and fuck your sister? No, I'll probably only try to fuck your sister and never see you again.

Yea, I like muse. I like it how their songs have a chord progression that of classical music, and I also like the fact that the bassist has a very tangible presence in their songs. What I don't like is you asking why the fuck I like them.

And No, I fucking hate death metal, doom metal, or any other of that garbage. Most things happen for a reason and the reason you don't see any of those talentless pile of dog shits on TV is becuase they're shit. I listen to bands that at least have enough recognition to do a world tour. And they call me a mainstreamist amongst metalheads.. paradox anyone?... Since the post is clarifying shit about me, I'll make this clear as well. I listen to Heavy metal, speed metal, classical metal, and neo classical shit. OKAY?

'Somewhere I belong'?

2007-12-18T20:56:00.002+13:00

I’ve always been envious of people who spent a huge part of their childhood together and then became even better friends as they grew up. The fact that my parents often changed my living environment, quite often during my earlier years, did not go well with my nature of not blending in well with new crowds. It may be that I’ve developed such personality as a consequence. The dilemma always is and has been this: everyone here already knows each other and they share a stronger bond. To them I’m an outsider, a newbie. And whenever I’m about to adapt to my new environment, I’m sent away to a different one.

Of course people move on and make new friends and blah blah [Insert usual crap here].
Basically, I never stayed anywhere long enough to feel that I’m part of anything. I’m always a 0.5, never a 0 or a 1. I’m always in between. I’m sick of putting up with things that eventually make me unhappy which are beyond my control [couldn't help but put in some "stick it to the man" comment]. I miss all the fun childhood memories and friends that I could have had if I hadn’t been moving around like nomads.

Maybe I shouldn’t be complaining at something almost everyone feels at some stage of their life. After all, the friends I’ve made over the last few years have been the best bunch of people I’ve ever met. But maybe going to Uni in Auckland wasn't the best plan after all.

FUCK!!!

2007-11-28T01:38:00.003+13:00

As soon as I posted my last blog, I was struck with tons of things I want to write about. This is bullshit...

FUCK...

2007-11-28T01:32:00.002+13:00

You know how I previously wrote about my concerns over the famine of ideas. I’m already kind of facing that dilemma myself. I can’t think of shit to write about, despite the last two weeks I had to think of something to write. I knew this would happen someday…

I’m an abomination…

2007-11-11T05:22:00.001+13:00

I listen to heavy metal and shit that makes me look all hard out bogan and stuff. When I’m on the verge of crying when I listen to some songs…
I never do drugs, let alone smoke. I hate clubbing, and as for drinking, I’m not a heavy drinker but part of being a metalhead is all about getting smashed at least once every while.
But at the same time, I hate nerds, I’m conscious that I might look like one, I don’t know a hell of a lot about computers, I’m useless at maths. I’m a crap driver. I’m not that fit.
On top of that, my conversational skills are below par, I am socially retarded, I am one bad looking mother f*cker, I’m near deaf, I wear glasses too, I procrastinate simple objectives even like sending a text. I’ve never had a girlfriend, I’ve never had the guts to ask anyone out, never felt the need to go to the school formal. As a matter of fact, I hardly had any female friends up until last year.
I’m always indecisive about everything, and whenever I’m NOT I make the wrong moves. Even worse, luck doesn’t help much either.

All my life, I’ve felt like a totally passive being. I am that guy who sits near the corner who hardly ever talks, and then randomly laughs alone at his own lame jokes that no one really pays attention to.

Nothing is going as I planned, nothing is what I hope it to be, and nothing I do has changed anything around me.

Famine of ideas?

2007-10-25T02:41:00.001+13:00

It has been a month since I've last posted my rants. To prove that my blog and I are still alive and well, I write this.

One of the biggest concerns I have in this world is the fact that scarcity always exists, and that there will be one day where resources, human or natural, will all be depleted.
Recently I have encountered various entertainment media which made me come to realise that people are starting to run out of ideas.
A relatively recent conversation with Michael about his favourite game of all time, Ace Combat, was such example. Although Ace Combat is a wonderful game, the game is essentially the same as all the other versions. The same old storyline, the same old interface, the same old themes, and hell, as far as I can tell, the same old narrator voice as well. Only difference is the improved graphics and environment. Apparently, the amount of data required is so much that it can’t fit in the existing DVD's capacities.
The only way to make things fresh again is to make it more complex. The problem is, how complex can we make things without us having to strain to keep up with the complexity? Obviously, people’s desire to know new things outweigh both their capability to satisfy this urge by making new creations and patience towards the rate of creativity.

I may not make much sense in my explanation but the point is that humans may be reaching a point where the exponentially increasing curve of development is starting to slow down. Of course, we will still wake up in the morning to see new things on a nearly daily basis. But we’ll most likely find ourselves sighing: “Man, half the shit on the papers are rubbish these days” as we open our morning papers with recycled articles.

Yay!

2007-09-24T00:59:00.002+12:00

Allan finally got rid of the annoying clock!

That is all-

Emo

2007-09-17T23:49:00.002+12:00

Many people, such as me, hate the category emo. There are many reasons as to why they are being hated, some are valid and some are just for the hell of it.
Here is my reason for hating them, and if any emo does read this, I sincerely recommend you ask yourself if this lifestyle is attractive.

Oh, and before I get into this, the emo’s I’m referring to are the hard out ones who despair about life, not the retards who follow them because they think the outfits look cool.

Most of you might think I hate emo’s for musical reasons, (ie) I hate their songs hence I hate them. In fact, I actually find a fair number of the emocore stuff fashionable.
Although musical taste is a contributing factor, the main reason is their inability to make things right. All they do is despair and hurt themselves in order to (quote unquote) “relieve the pain inside”. Are you fucking kidding me? Why don’t you just hang yourself and go to hell where you’ll be whipped and tortured 24/7. How’s that for a tranquil vacation?

What pisses me off even more is the dipshits who think being an emo is trendy and slits their wrists side by side in some…

-You know what, fuck this. I seriously can’t write anymore without destroying something. I'll carry on when I've calmed down.

Death

2007-09-11T18:46:00.003+12:00

This topic, I believe, is one of the most thought of by any humans.
To me, my thoughts related to it contributed to the formation of my current stand on things, especially religion.

As mortals, we inevitably suffer from this curse as well as any other creatures. We fear death – well I can’t name anyone who doesn’t.
Why?

The story about Pandora and her box is a good example of the helplessness of humans against their limitless curiosity and thirst for knowledge. We constantly strive to know more, as an individual, or even at a universal level. Imagine the satisfaction you’d get from listening to gossips, learning about the news around the world, discovery of a new solar system, and all those kinds of things.

I don’t know what others would think, but I personally believe that a man’s greatest fear is 'not knowing'. I am quite certain people would pause for a moment, think about what they fear the most, and shake they’re heads in disagreement. But here is my justification.

The knowledge we feel comfortable with is knowledge we have seen ourselves or ones that have been proven and we are never comfortable with uncertainty. There are many things in the universe that stimulates our curiosity in the world, but we can still relax even if we don’t know about the existence of an extraterrestrial being since it’s not an impending matter to us. However, Death is something we all inevitably have to face.

Now who here can tell me they have knowledge of death? Justified and verified knowledge of death. Not the heaven and hell crap from the bible, but the raw facts. No one can, and no one has proven death and what goes on in the afterlife, if there is one at the first place. We fear death because we don’t fear death itself, we fear death because we don’t know what’ll happen to us after we die, we don’t know what death feels like.

Instead we comfort ourselves with stories of salvation and endless life after life on earth. This is how I believe religions all over the life came to life, to satisfy our curiosity with stories whether they be true of not.

During the 16th Century, the pope of the time offered indulgences, which were pretty much a ticket to heaven (they sinner was cleared of one's sins at the price of alms) in order to raise money to rebuild the Basilica of Saint Peter. Even though the people were fed total crap, they paid immense amounts of money just to guarantee their way to heaven, the ideal image of the afterlife.

Do you, too, see the manipulation of people’s fear of death now?
Do you also see the reason we now fear death?
Do you still fear death?

Just some play-on words? Or something actually of value and meaning?

2007-09-07T02:02:00.003+12:00

I often describe myself as thinking too much. There are split opinions from others regarding this statement.

1. I’m sure everyone thought about that at some stage in their life.

2. I’m not following you. Please repeat. Dude, you have waaaay too much spare time.

I personally would like to believe that I think too much but at the same time, I do believe that anyone would think about the things I think about at some stage of their life, assuming one has an operational and reasonably sharp mind. Death, afterlife, religion, love, justice, stuff like that. I have no doubts about that, and I always consider the possibility that I do NOT think any less or any more than any other mind out there. I also believe in the possibility of my thoughts being the most retardedly simple one to be ever thought of in a mind.

However the real question is, would it make me someone who thinks too much just because I am conscious of the fact that I believe there are better thinkers out there? Or could this be one of those stupid ongoing chains of questions about the creation of creator (ie: Who made god? Then who made the guy who made god? And so forth).

As Socrates claimed, he is wiser than anyone else as he knows that he is not wise. Essentially I am dealing with the same idea. The fact that I think “I think too much” implies that “I do really think too much”

Before I lose you all completely, I’ll jump straight to the conclusion. My personal interpretation of Socrates’ quote is as follows: “Who are you or I to judge that who thinks more than someone else, when you can be the better thinker by just thinking that you are really a better thinker than others?”

Maybe Socrates truly believed that he was wiser than others. Maybe I am claiming that belief right now, thinking that I am an overthinker due to the fact that I thought this out.

Before I get really into writing blogs...

2007-08-29T01:55:00.001+12:00

I'm a very doubtful person. In fact, I'm so doubtful, I think it is quite true to say that I am the most untrusting person. But even though I think so, I doubt that at the same time...
So when you talk to me and I just stop suddenly, I'm having second thoughts about what I just said or I found a way to contradict what i just said. As a result of these doubts and second-thoughts, the process of making a decision for me is painstakingly long... I'm always the last one to order food at a restaurant, even at some carefree places like McDonalds.

To give you an idea, I'll rewrite a very interesting conversation with a good friend of mine which actually took place not too long ago.

Me : someone asked me what I DONT like about **** and I couldn't come up with any. I dunno ay.

Dude : there was a chick who lived behind our house and I liked her since fourth form, but I forgot about her entirely now and I dont care whether or not she gets gang-raped

[awkward silence, then he hastily adds]

Dude : to put it bluntly...

Me : I know its not infatuation, but I wouldn't really believe that I am infatuated with her if I were...

[at this stage I'm thinking : wouldn't I be justifying that this is an obsession by denying it? If I am infatuated, why is my logic still overpowering my impulses and makes the sane side of me stay in control? If I am infatuated, wouldn't I just say "Fuck this all" and did whatever I want?]

And this kind of process constantly occurs throughout the conversation. So there you have it, as explicit as it gets really... a raw piece of my mind. So if you're sitting there going "What in God's name is this retard talking about?", you're probably right about me.

Welcome...

2007-08-19T22:43:00.001+12:00

...to the Fortress Of Lassitude, where I shamelessly dump my weary thoughts, where the readers feel unfathomable despair, and where misery dwells.

I honestly can't be fucked typing anymore, so I'll go play DOTA with my mates...