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I want to share this picture with you guys:
Please spare a full moment to look at this image. Ponder its significance for a while, and reach inside yourself to grasp any possible significance that the picture of this silent sculpture may bring.
Those hands reaching out in vain, grasping at nothingness.
The Heat! The Heat!
Suffering leaking from every bleeding orifice of that twisted humanoid body.
The Heat! The Heat!
Human legs fused together into one unified, ugly, travesty of a limb.
The Heat! The Heat!
All while the grey mushroom cloud coalesces around the foolish pretender that is Man.
The Heat! The Heat!
I will now tell you the origins and purpose of this sculpture: this image was taken at Moscow’s Mitino Cemetery. It is a monument to the 26th of April 1986 – the day of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The Heat that is Hell!
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Dear God, what have we started? How could we have wished to wield the powers of the cosmos in our sorry hands, trying vainly and foolishly to emulate You. We are created in Your image, yet it seems to me that with every turn in our trying to match Your being, we forget the mud and mire that we have come from – that ultimately defines us.
Humans are such stupid, stupid things =’(
I think I am going to say a prayer for all those poor souls of Chernobyl tonight. Forgive my confused bouts of emotion and mood swings, I am going through one of the strangest points in my life right now >.<
God save me.
So my laptop’s OS crashed and I lost ALL of the Sedimentology lab write-up that I had been working on since morning.
FUCK YOU VISTA. FUCK YOU.
You’ll all excuse me if I’m raging mad today.
QUESTION: “How do you spell ‘Canada’?”
ANSWER: “C, eh, N, eh, D, eh.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD
ALSO -
Canadian WW II Propaganda Poster.
COMELL XD XD XD XD
Man, I just love the spirit of this place =) If I could go back in time to the moment I got the Petronas offer letter – but this time be given the choice of country of destination – I think I would still very much opt for this frigid, expansive yet desolate, beaver-ridden land.
The true North strong and free indeed =)
Have any idea how much this Malaysian wants to be an excellent debater.
Call me obsessed. I am.
As most of you have already known, for the past few days I ran a blogpost asking for opinions regarding my next purchase of a musical album. Before long, many responded, and the blogpost quickly turned into a interesting discourse of the musical opinions of my much-treasured friends. In time it adopted the form of a “competition”, much of which is probably due to the fact that I presented the blogpost as one that adopted a vote~opinion based system.
Therefore, in ridiculous pompousness, I am here to announce the final “winner” of the Friends, Malaysians (also Canadians), Countrymen; Lend Me Your Ears post. After 12 post comments (sometimes by the same person =p), days of random deliberation, and careful Wikipedia-ing of prospective candidates, I am glad to announce that I have finally decided on an album to purchase over the next few days.
Aku rasa result nih memang shocking ar. Memang upset win habis, seriously. Pemenang akhir memang underdog habis ah.
But you guys convinced me, and I am more than willing to give these guys a real spin for the first time ever =)
I begin by thanking you guys for all your help and opinions – it was much appreciated indeed, and the discourse and revelations that came out of the whole process was incredibly interesting and amusing to say the least. However, all that is done with for now, and it’s time to introduce a winner.
Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you, Kembali.
by the Butterfingers.
HAHAHAHAHAH, yes LOL – I am surprised myself!! XD What initially seemed to be a joke-based comment from Annas quickly turned into a series of rapid quips on how good this Kuala Lumpur band really was, and before I realized it, I was starting to open up sites like imeem to try and sample some of the singles from Kembali…and I found them to be quite interesting =)
Even better, whilst I browsed imeem (and other sites like Wikipedia), I chanced upon trying out some of their earlier works – namely Royal Jelly and The Chemistry (Between Us). And lo and behold, memories from my earlier days at high school came pouring out. I recalled that once, many a day I had heard these very guitar riffs wafting in through the rafters of the RMC dormitories as I was shining my shoes, doing my homework (which very rarely happened, I swear to God) or trying to catch a quick nap. At the time, I dismissed them as boring, “too ganas“, and all-round “takmo dengar ah” – my ears weren’t ready for this degree of transcendence yet.
And now, roughly six years later I return to where I left off: I have decided to make Kembali my purchase of the month, and may even pursue the other, older Butterfingers’ albums once I return home to Malaysia next summer. I am particularly interested in getting Transcendence and 1.2 Milligrams, I can tell you that =) So it’s settled then – the Butterfingers it is!!!
There is, obviously, one small problem. I don’t think I will be able to locate any copies of Kembali in North America @.@ I am not even going to try, because I just googled the price of a Butterfingers album on Amazon and it comes to 50 USD. Like, wth, if they’re going to charge RM 150 for a RM 29.90 album, then I’m thinking it’s going to be pretty RARE over here lol!! @.@
And all this is not helped by the fact that Kembali actually appears to be out of stock even in Malaysia lol.
So here’s the compromise: I am going to torrent the album first if I can find it, with the absolute understanding that I will purchase it when I go back for the holidays =) Any objections to that guys? I don’t look like a walking self-contradiction now, hopefully.
In the meantime, I will probably still get an album from the list of nine candidates which I outlined last time around, as seeing that I am very very bereft of any form of music whatsoever (this also acts as a safeguard in the event that I cannot find a Kembali torrent =p).
From the nine choices, I have reduced the final candidates to essentially two albums: Death Cab For Cutie’s Narrow Stairs and Nickelback’s Dark Horse. I have personal inclinations already, but any last thoughts on the matter guys? =)
VS
Narrow Stairs VS Dark Horse.
Empty inside. Hollow. Dead even. Lonely in body and in spirit.
I have noticed I don’t sleep as well nowadays. I toss and turn for hours on end, and wake up in the mornings severely depleted >.<
This is not how I want to live.
I’m sure many of you know how much I love (good) covers of songs. To me, they (covers) are essentially a dimension of music that I find extremely fascinating and worth checking out, especially when they allow us to relive emotions that we had while listening to the original once upon a time.
I have heard many good remakes in my time – an example of some of my favourites do include Muse’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - credit to Zaharina Khalid – and just about everything in The Black Mages’ musical repertoire – but this one that I just found simply lends a whole new dimension to the word “cover“. Check it out:
AMAZINGLY WELL DONE @.@
I swear I almost died when I heard the opening riff from Patrick Stump – freaking awesome.
Definitely in the running for one of the best songs that I have heard in the year.
Yes guys, I meant that literally. Like, seriously – lend me your ears.
A few months ago I adopted a policy of anti-(illegal) downloading because I discovered I was morally opposed to it. I admit the going has not been easy, and more than once I almost wavered on my possibly-too-ambitious promise and almost started downloading all over again. However I am glad to announce that since the day I made that promise, no illegal music file has been downloaded onto my computer and then played.
Now comes the sad part:
As you may have guessed – after a few months – my music hoard’s replayability has started to run low. VERY LOW, in fact. I have gotten tired to listening to Death Magnetic (the first benefactor of my new-found policy) over and over again, and I have decided it is time for something new; ordinarily this would not have been too difficult – I would just have torrented ALL the albums that I was interested in and leave it at that. However, as the only avenue that I have to gain new songs nowadays is via purchasing them myself, my options are obviously much more limited.
So this is where YOU come in dear reader. I need your help. I would like you to help me choose what to buy for myself over the next few days. You see, while I am all the rage for new music, I just realized that I haven’t a dickie clue on what to buy – all I know is that I want a change in my musical repertoire. However that statement comes with a few slight caveats – that degree of change should preferably be not too drastic. In other words, all that I’m saying is that you guys should not ask me to pick up Pavarotti, or Bjork, or something.
I would like something conventional and easy to get used to.
To make the choice easier I have selected a few of my own “candidates” for the CAD 15 purchase, with a short brief on why it even made it so far (i.e to this list). I encourage you guys to choose from the mini list I have made; however you are absolutely free to add your own unlisted choices. I should make it clear however, that because they are as such, the probability of me actually going for that relatively novel choice of yours is much, much lower. Oh, and another caveat: I would like a 2008 release, if that’s possible (all the ones here are 2008 releases, so don’t worry about that).
Alright guys, so I’m going to let you have your say: argue, scream, yell, use force – do anything you want to make sure I end up gravitating toward your musical opinion. Just don’t make me torrent it =)
Here goes:
# 1:
Prospekt’s March.
If that looks amazingly like the cover art for Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, then it should – it is the upcoming EP from the band, and is set to be released this 19th of November in Europe. The follow up to their highly succcessful album release in May, this EP contains eight tracks, six of which are brand new, with the other two being remixes of Lost! and Lovers In Japan.
Why is it here?
Coldplay maaaa…DUH. *smacks your head*
Also because I really liked the sound they pursued on Viva La Vida, and look forward to what Life In Technicolour II would sound like (YES THAT IS THE TITLE OF A SONG ON THE ALBUM!).
Why should it not be the one?
My iTunes currently has 2334 songs, and adding a measly eight to the list wasn’t really my idea of expanding my playlist. Something more copious in song quantity would be awesome; also that this isn’t really something new – it essentially is Viva La Vida Part II.
You decide.
# 2:
Narrow Stairs.
If you can read sideways, that’s Death Cab For Cutie on the sidebar of the image. Narrow Stairs is a fairly recent release from this rather-seasoned band, and although only a few weeks in it has already managed to set many a heart ablaze due to its apparently revolutionary musical direction.
Why is it here?
Like I said, I wanted to try something new – I think an alt-rock band definitely qualifies. I am not too sure if softly whining guitars are my thing (especially after Metallica’s rock solid Death Magnetic), but I am willing to give it a go. Having said that, I find that I Will Possess Your Heart – the album’s first single – is very much to my liking. Also, Farhana has been bugging me to try them for ages – I think it is time I acquiesed to her demands.
Why should it not be the one?
I am not sure if I can stomach slow guitars. To me, guitars are only meant for one thing: thrash metal solos. I didn’t really dig Snow Patrol – a band which I suppose is in the same musical league – and I worry the same thing could happen to me again in this manner of experimentation.
# 3:
Safe Trip Home.
Remember this lady? My-tea’s-gone-cold-I’m-wondering-why-I-got-out-of-bed-at-all? Well, she’s back with a new album and – by the sounds coming from the British press – it’s bloody damned good. Also, nice album cover – that’s astronaut Bruce McCandless II during a spacewalk, as part of space shuttle mission STS-41-B.
Why is it here?
I’ll be frank and honest: I HARDLY LISTEN TO ANY FEMALE SINGERS, NO SHIT. Of the 2334 songs in my iTunes, I doubt if 500 of them are sung/composed/played by women. Something which I find is a massive shame, especially as there are good female singers out there, perfectly deserving of some of my hard-saved turkey.
I also think Dido qualifies as “something new”.
Why should it not be the one?
Maybe I don’t listen to female singers for a very good reason?
# 4:
Dark Horse.
AH. FINALLY. A ROCK BAND. I LIKE!!! Eh what am I saying.
Why is it here?
Frankly, you can’t really go wrong with Nickelback – they’re a very safe bet to say the least. Reasonably radio-friendly, with good vocals and solid homage to the gods of rock, I dare say this choice is one that I am reasonably confident will pique my interest for quite a good while.
Also, they’re Canadian *grinz*. Sokonglah pemuzik tanahair is a slogan I seem to remember from my years growing up. Time to put that mantra to good use =p
Why should it not be the one?
I also think Nickelback is too safe a bet. It’s nothing new at all, and runs the risk of sounding like a boyband, coming off the back of Metallica. I’m not even kidding. Have you ever tried playing Guitar Hero and seeing how insanely hard to play their (Metallica’s) songs are?
# 5:
Ode To J. Smith.
Listed on my Top 5 Albums of the Year last December, Travis makes a return slighly over a year later with Ode To J. Smith. This is another band that appears to be a safe choice, and one which you can trust to serve up good alt-music.
Why is it here?
Bronze medallist, Irving Tan’s Personal Playlist 2007, nuff said.
Why should it not be the one?
“This is another band that appears to be a safe choice, and one which you can trust to serve up good alt-music.”
Apparently that is not so – Ode To J. Smith only stayed on the UK charts for a mere three weeks, and peaked at a measly # 20 during that time >.<
# 6:
When The World Comes Down.
The AAR. You know them, you have heard them; now tell me why I should believe that When The World Comes Down is a safe bet.
Why is it here?
No idea to be honest. It isn’t new, and The AAR is bordering on emo – which I somewhat don’t quite like. In any case, the opening single for the album has got to be one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard all year.
“When you see my face hope it gives you hell – hope it gives you hell!”
Why should it not be the one?
As evidenced above, even I have my doubts about the suitability of this one – let’s move on.
# 7:
Diamonds In The Rough.
As the only artist on this list of mine which rocks harder on Nickelback, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) deserves a mention for being home to one of the best guitarists in the world, and definitely being able to squeeze more than a single hook into a song. Their self-titled 2007 album was one of the best metal albums I have heard this year – and according to their fans, apparently that’s their worst work ever @.@
Why is it here?
A7X is definitely a class metal band, and something which my blood will definitely race to. The album is also a double disc package, and with the new album comes a live recording of the band at the NBC. I’m thinking Bat Country will be awesome to hear live.
Why should it not be the one?
I don’t know if you know, but Diamonds In The Rough is actually a collection of songs that failed to make the band’s 2007 album (hence the title, see?). Although I do not doubt the album will feature more than plain lousy demos, I have this slight fear that these unselected songs may just have been dropped for a reason @.@
Also, lousy cover art. (LOL!)
# 8:
Perfectly Clear.
Sorry Jewel, if that were the case, I would have selected you already. As I look at this album cover I realize that a geology and sexually-related pun is forming in my head – just by looking at the artist’s name, the album title, and the woman herself LOL. MSN me to find out what it is…if you dare.
Why is it here?
Like Dido, she benefits from my gender-equality movement. I have also no doubt in her capability to belt out country-based marvels; the random collage of songs I have from Atif go a huge way to proving that.
Why should it not be the one?
Again, maybe there IS a reason why I have not picked up Jewel on a constant basis as of yet – even though I have been listening to her since I was like 7. Another reason lies in her genre – country man, country @.@
# 9:
Folie a Deux.
With a title en la langue francaise, Fall Out Boy return. Folie a Deux is their follow up effort to the brilliant Infinity On High, and I must say I am extremely piqued to see what they turn up with this time around.
Why is it here?
Infinity On High was an incredible piece of work, and although I have not heard all of it, I think From Under The Cork Tree (their previous album) exudes the same infectious grooves as well. Infinity was my bronze medallist as well for my 2006 Music list, and I see no reason why that trend should not continue. Trust FOB to get the job done.
Why should it not be the one?
Did I just say that I see no reason why that trend should not continue? Excuse me, I do – their first single sucks. It’s called I Don’t Care, and I have to say I share that exact same sentiment about it, really.
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So that’s about it – at least from my end. So I leave it up to you guys. Please do leave your respective two cents’ worth on the comment page, and I will weigh out all your opinions and hopefully make a choice this early December =)
Alright I should really get back to the books – I can’t believe writing this post took the larger portion of two hours @.@
A bientot!!
So I got an exam back today.
And it’s my second Chemistry midterm – 95%. Seriously. No more C grade crap.
Thank God. And take that academia.
Shit. It feels bloody damn good, I can tell you.
I’m coming out of my self-imposed isolation now.
I feel like screaming. This is such an effing relief.
I refuse to be kept down. This is just the beginning.
By God we can yet KILL ‘EM ALL.
I rarely post videos up on my blog, but today I’m gonna make an exception:
Have you seen this video?
If you haven’t, then I feel sorry for you. A MUST MUST MUST watch – it is one of the few really important things that I truly learned while I was in ICPU.
When you’re done watching that (or have already laughed yourself shitless at it before), then you may progress to the next tier of viral videos. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my discovery:
BUFFALAX’S GIRLY MAN VIDEOS PART 2.
I am giving my discovery the not-exactly-regal title of Loony Buns. I think it is deserving of such an honor.
*waits for you to finish watching Girly Man Part 2*
Now that all of you probably feel like you just had your brains slimed out by the brain slugs – like me – I want to move into a very through blow-by-blow analysis about this second video in particular…just in case you missed a few things.
Although I highly doubt that is the case, this video being the ridiculously hilarious shit that it is XD
I swear to God I was literally inches away from bashing my head on the walls after watching it, seriously. Not only were the “translations” downright hilarious, the video also reinforces every single stereotype that I have ever had about Bollywood-esque videos. To begin with:
i.) Check out the hero swaggering into the shot, beginning at 0.23. WAHAHAHAHA so BLOODY CORNY.
ii.) Of course in the event that said hero actually manages to build up any residual charisma is destroyed instantaneously by his opening “translated” line:
MY LOONY BUN IS FINE BENNY LAVA!!
Brilliant.
iii.) Why do they always, always, ALWAYS have to produce some form of small army each time they attempt to court women?!?!?! Like, when was the last time you saw TWO individuals (ONLY) frolicking with each other on the lee sides of hillslopes? Holy shit, I can tell you one thing: if I was the girl who was being escorted by a random belly-shaking Bollywood dude, I would be SO freaked out if they guy brought his drinking mates with him and they all proceeded to do some weird derivative of the cha-cha-cha in front of me. That’s a time when you would not want to hand me a 16mm – my bad RMC aim notwithstanding.
Oh oh wait. I forgot. The girl has her own private militia too. Now that makes sense. I would bring my own too.
iv.) 1.07. WHAT ARE THOSE COLOURED THINGS FLYING AROUND THEM?!?!?!?!?!
v.) 1.15. Refer to # i – more corny shit. You can actually see the guy’s nipples poking out through his super-tight shirt. EUW.
vi.) “I’D LOVE TO SEE YOU PEE ON US TONIGHT, I’D LOVE TO SEE YOU PEE ON US TONIGHT”.
=.=”
vii.) 2.00. Check that “dance” that those guys are doing. “We’re looking in a pill”, indeed. And that pill is like Ecstasy. Only about a bazillion times crazier.
Also, look at the guy immediately to the left of our hero in that sequence. His dance face is hilarious XD
viii.) 2.15. By this time I am actually thinking that the damsel is not too bad looking. Pretty fine sample of an Indian lady, in fact.
ix.) 2.50. HOLY FREAKING COCKLES!!! CHECK OUT THE GUY’S FOOTWORK!!! @.@ @.@ @.@!!!
*I like to swim in his beeeeeeeejjjjjjjaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!*
x.) 3.18 has one of the weirdest scenes in the video @.@
xi.) 3.41. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I laughed my freaking balls off when I read the translation for this one: “A jet pack…operation” XD XD XD I think it’s because the hero and his private army are actually mimicking a dance that resembles a…jet pack operation? XD?
xii.) 3.54. HOW ON EARTH DID THAT PASS THE INDIAN CENSORS?!?!?!! @.@ You can’t put papayas *there* in videos from value-based cultures @.@
The resulting dance is also hilarious *waggles fingers around ears*
xiii.) 4.10 to 4.20 – they deserved it a long time ago, but this scene takes the cake. Hats off to all the dancers, this must have been a very difficult move to execute. I am referring to the part where the hero segues from a group dance to a duet trot to a conversion step to a jig with two of his bodyguards dressed in blue. Credit, credit.
=)
xiv.) 4.28. Lucky bastard. Haha.
xv.) 4.37. OH. SO THAT’S WHAT THEY WERE GETTING AT. THEY WERE COURTING. Cheh. Couldn’t they have just said that?
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No they couldn’t – cause what would be the point? =) I had fun guys – salutations to Bollywood.
xvi.) Holy crap I really should be studying.
*runs*
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