They Call Me "Red"

A snaphot of today.

2011-01-18T23:42:00.002+01:00

Before presenting my thoughts to you I'd like to make a couple of things clear:

I'm not a professional on the subject and I'm aware of that. I'm just a third party with his own opinions on the topic.
There is absolutely no sense of negativity (e.g. irritation) in this article whatsoever - if anything, I hope to provide advice to some and encouragement to all. Nor is this article directed at any one specific person or persons. I swear I didn't have anyone in mind at the time of this writing. Scout's honour.

So, photography.

Seems like the hobby's been on the rise over the last few years. Everyone's leaving their mark on every picture, everyone is demanding credit for their pictures when they're used by others.

Logging onto Facebook, you see tons of marked pictures - a pet, a sunset, someone dressed in "avant garde" clothing, a band photo shoot, and so on. Granted, there's nothing wrong with the pictures themselves. However, as someone who views pictures rather than takes them, I ask myself - doesn't anyone stand out? Aren't there any pictures which stay in mind even after I've long closed the photo album?

Mind you, if you were to go abroad or on an outing or whatever, of course one would expect you to take a bunch of pictures as a keepsake. What I'm referring to is photography for the sake of, well, photography as an art.

You see, I think the problem with some photographers is that they kind of take the easy route - make the moment and snap away. What they should do is go one step ahead of everyone else and find a way to capture moments which are really worth remembering. Instead of making the moment, let the moment find you. To put it simply, take your camera practically everywhere with you and try to capture those moments which stand out, the ones which may come once and never come again. A mouse crossing a busy street, an act of vandalism, a car completely covered in stickers, someone showing off a rare talent. These things are more memorable because they show up so rarely, and yet you were there, at the right time, and were quick enough to take out your camera and take the perfect shot before the moment disappeared forever.

Another thing which I think is worth mentioning is picture editing. Imagine someone telling a cool true story, but inventing some parts here and there to make it even more colourful. It loses its authenticity and therefore its value. The same with pictures. Leave them as they are, as they really were in your eyes at that very moment.

To those who constantly share their snapshots with the rest of the world, good luck to you. I envy your patience and enthusiasm. I hope these words can prove useful to someone out there.

Rules are rules.

2010-04-19T20:19:00.002+02:00

In the heated debate on divorce in Malta, I have a simple statement to say.

People who are pro-divorce should only get married by law and not by religion. Those who complain about the Church not allowing divorce should realise that if you are married by the Church, you have to abide by the Church's laws. Now I'm not one who's in favour of how the Church is run or anything but you can't expect it to bend its rules like that.

I believe that people married only by law are entitled to annulments, and that people married by the Church are only entitled to divorce in extreme cases. Otherwise, you're being a hypocrite by calling yourself a Roman Catholic and then doing something very, uh, un-Roman Catholic. And the Church already has enough hypocrites as it is.

It's that simple. And if you really think divorce is a very real possibility for you, you should consider your relationship before getting married at all.

Peace.

Home(?) away from home.

2010-04-06T00:46:00.003+02:00

In a society dominated by close-mindedness and concern over what other people think all the time, I have finally stopped pretending, and came to the full realisation that I do not belong here.

The best way to describe Maltese culture with one word, in my opinion, would be: rigid. What's done is expected by and done for the public eye, out of fear of becoming a social outcast or simply being labeled as weird. So it's one continuous cycle of people repeating each other's actions over and over again, and for the natives who have spent all their lives in this country, it has become second nature where practically no thought has ever been given into it.

On a side note, there is this somewhat growing pressure of people wanting to be rebellious and original, but that too has become redundant with young people copying each other's methods of standing out, turning them into trends and fashion rather than lifestyle. You can tell that it's a pit full of fake and therefore temporary attitudes, giving off misleading and false characteristics covering up nothing more than a typical individual doing just what everyone else is trying to do. I don't believe that one can simply decide to be this new person one day and live this new lifestyle all of a sudden. Either you are that person from birth, where you've always been that way, always did certain things, or you're just trying to change to fit in, only to give up on the whole idea once it's gone out of fashion.

Back to the point, there are certain traits I possess which I inherited from the other side of the world which I cannot express in this society. Although it's all very hard to analyse, a portion of the blame goes to the Maltese language which is very limited, not only in vocabulary, but also in use of tone and emotion, and I believe you can only truly understand this if you didn't grow up here.

There are things that I find absolutely normal which people here would consider just plain weird. Elsewhere in the world people wouldn't give these things a second thought but here, probably due to the small size of this country, there is so much pressure put on you from people constantly on your back that they're always going to monitor you, and once you do something outside their rigid boundaries, there's officially something weird about you.

I am a very quiet person by nature, I'm an introvert by choice but I know how to speak up when I feel the need to. This has most likely been interpreted by a lot of people either as snobbery where people seem to think that I believe that I'm better than everyone else or as dislike towards the people I'm mostly quiet to.

This can sort of be illustrated in a way. Different people stand side by side in a row. Each person is very unique, with their own personal traits, hobbies, level of intelligence, and so on. In Malta, some of these people are faded out and don't exist, while a handful are set on bold and define the whole society. There is no one in between.

I am one of those people who stand in between, but don't exist here. I cannot express myself in certain ways because of close-mindedness which makes it hard for people to understand who I really am and what I do, coupled with the limitations in vocabulary.

It's been a decade and I've never really completely been myself here, and I never really will be, as long as I stay in Malta.

A classic revisted.

2010-03-08T13:37:00.001+01:00

I've discovered a nice alternative to the cream cheese and olive sandwich.

A cream cheese and pickle (i.e. pickled cucumber) sandwich.

Step up to the mic.

2010-02-21T09:00:00.002+01:00

I have my first presentation of this semester this Wednesday. For a while I convinced myself that I would have a beer or two to loosen myself up for the crowd. Almost everyone gets scared shitless up on the stage, you can see it in their shaking hands, you can hear it in their quivering voices.

Then I realised that if I were to have a drink prior to the presentation, I would have to do the same for the second one, and for the third one, and for future presentations. I'd eventually become too dependent on something unnecessary to have to carry out routine tasks, which basically defines an addiction.

Something which comes to mind is how the rock star cliche was brought up. Getting wasted all the time. Ozzy Osbourne's 2007 album "Black Rain" was the first album he ever recorded sober.

So the best thing to do is to man up and give it your best shot. The first time for anything always makes you nervous, it's just a matter of practising and growing accustomed to your situation as you encounter it over and over again.

Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be able to address a crowd without pissing myself. But I'll carry an extra pair of shorts, just in case.

Walk this way.

2010-02-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

You know back in Manhattan where I grew up, every road was pretty much flanked with sidewalks. Wide ones too, like 2 car lanes wide each. That's understandable, considering the amount of people in the city at all times (the city that never sleeps, y'know?). And thank God for these sidewalks, without them mincemeat production in America would grow substantially. Every pedestrian uses them, no questions asked.

Pictured: The equivalent width of a Maltese road.

Here in Gozo it's a little different. While Malta has one of the, if not THE, densest populations in Europe, car lane-wide sidewalks are unnecessary in most villages. People mostly get around by car or bus, despite having the grocery shop and parish church just around the corner.

So, not that many pedestrians = many cars instead.

The people who do walk generally have sidewalks, provided they aren't trying to be bad-ass by walking from one village to another (yes you, middle-aged women). Now these sidewalks aren't wide but in my opinion are sufficient due to the small towns and villages. There is one problem, however.

Most locals don't, for some reason, think of a sidewalk as a, well, you know, a SIDEWALK. Nope, they just walk on the road right next to the sidewalk. My only theory for this is that people here tend to think of sidewalks as private property belonging to home-owners and that they don't want any trouble. So to avoid such trouble, they cause even more trouble by taking up half the Goddamn road, waddling their asses away like they're leading a marching band. If they hear a car approaching from behind, they can might as well moon you and take a crap right in front of you because they won't move for fuck-all. You just drive slowly behind them until the road widens or they enter a shop where you pass by and scream "USE THE DAMN SIDEWALK, THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE!".

A life saver. But fuck that, I'll just walk right in front of that oncoming garbage truck.

Sidewalk: (noun); walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway.

Reading between the lines.

2010-02-19T10:22:00.006+01:00

Everybody knows the show South Park as that cheaply made cartoon, with the racist fat kid and that Kenny kid that dies all the time, which uses satire and dark humour to support their story-lines. The truth is, Trey Parker and Matt Stone offer us more useful life lessons than we'd ever learn in school or at home.

Sometimes the message is straightforward at the end of the episode when Kyle says "I've learned something today", and the main reason such lessons are taught through this controversial show and not through school is because a lot of the topics in question are, well, controversial. But we have to learn these things sooner or later right? Teachers and parents alike try to avoid them altogether and that's okay to a point, when children are still young and not mature enough to understand certain things. But sooner or later everyone's going to encounter controversy in life, and this has to be dealt with, with preparation through teaching. It is important to note that Matt and Trey are obviously not your average student councilors and they're not in the entertainment business mainly for teaching, but for us to laugh at Kanye West making love to a fish and feel bad for Oprah Winfrey's snitch.

Topics the show should be given credit for giving good points on include:

Homosexuality tolerance ( "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" and "Cartman Sucks")
Giving people with disabilities unnecessarily embarassing and excessive limelight ("Conjoined Fetus Lady" and "Freak Strike")
Oppressive Christianity ("Fantastic Easter Special" and "Cartman Sucks")
People who claim they are psychic and can talk to the dead are doing more harm than good to people who have lost loved ones ("The Biggest Douche in the Universe")
No matter who you vote for, you're going to be screwed one way or another ("Douche and Turd")
Paris Hilton is an overrated good-for-nothing spoiled whore ("Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset")
Most peace-promoters don't really do anything but group up and talk about peace without actually doing anything productive ("Die Hippie, Die)
If a cure for HIV were actually found, it would probably only be available to people who could afford it and a lot of less fortunate people from poorer countries would die anyway ("Tonsil Trouble")

and so on. While I wouldn't recommend buying the complete South Park DVD box set for your 5-year-old, I will say that he'll still watch it online eventually and say "Hey, those guys have a point there!"

For Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker, class is still in session.

My very own lolcat.

2009-02-20T15:59:00.002+01:00

Yep, it's on ICanHasCheezburger.

Good job UK.

2009-02-20T15:06:00.001+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7898972.stm

It's only a matter of time before the whole world banishes them to an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere.

This is not spam.

2009-02-17T22:55:00.004+01:00

I came across a great website for sports fans who want to watch foreign sports games live online.

http://atdhe.net/

Now I don't know what the hell those jumble of letters stand for, and I really don't give a shit. The point is, the site airs games live. Including the likes of North American hockey, basketball, college basketball, European football (i.e. soccer), badminton, tennis, billiards. Shit man, you name it, you got it. It's all there. Thing is, if you want to watch a sports event happening across the Atlantic, you better be willing to stay up late. Really late. Actually, don't sleep at all.

I'm watching hockey games live for the first time in almost a decade. The luck ends there though, because I just so happened to discover this website right when my favourite team started going downhill. And by downhill I mean losing 8 of the past 10 games.

Entertainment on the road.

2009-02-16T14:24:00.003+01:00

The most modern buses in Malta have flat screen televisions in them. On these TVs, Smart TV advertises by showing normal people on the bus watching television programmes like the Guiness World Records, or a football match. That would be some pretty cool entertainment while riding public transportation, but I do have one question.

Just when the fuck are programmes ever actually shown? In my 45 minute bus ride from Cirkewwa to Msida I saw the same two things on the screen, over and over again. One was of the Smart TV advert, and the other was of Peppi Azzopardi killing a couple of cockroaches and mice for some pest control company. There's only so many times I want to see Peppi take off his gas mask and nod at me. Zero times.

If I were the driver I'd just remove the flat screen and keep it at home. It'll do everyone good, that shit was torture. Smart TV isn't so smart.

A warm welcome for Cupid for once.

2009-02-14T13:23:00.002+01:00

This is the first Valentine's Day I won't be spending alone, which means I don't have to pretend that I'm okay with being single by saying how commercialised and pointless this day is. The truth is, it's nice to dedicate a day to a special someone even more than you would normally do on any other day. And you don't have to fall victim to the commercialism that's tied with it in order to show your partner just how much you appreciate everything he or she has done for you.

So I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to my girlfriend Debs and point out how thankful I am to her for staying by my side for these past seven months, being my friend and showing daily that she really cares a lot about me.

A Happy Valentine's Day to all.

It just got even better.

2009-02-12T19:16:00.004+01:00

Right after the announcement of Blink 182's reunion, the other pop-punk giant Green Day released some new info on their highly anticipated new album, "21st Century Breakdown". Apart from revealing the new album's name, they also revealed its artwork.

Now personally I think it looks really emo and cliche but hell, I just care about the music. The album itself will be divided into three acts: "Heroes And Cons", "Charlatans And Saints", and "Horseshoes And Handgrenades". To me that sounds like American Idiot Part II, so it's evident that they're not going to return to their old roots as was hoped by some.

2009 looks like it's going to be dominated by the revival of pop-punk, as The Offspring will be touring America in support of their latest album "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace".

As if this wasn't enough, something very unexpected just very recently happened. A band, who at one point had the world in its hands, has reformed to tour and record a new album. You'll never guess who. Ok maybe you did. I'm talking about Limp Bizkit. Yes, Wes Borland and Fred Durst have set aside their differences, stating that they "were more disgusted and bored with the state of heavy popular music than [they] were with each other".

I think... I jizzed in my pants.

Bon appétit.

2009-02-10T12:57:00.005+01:00

When I used to watch cartoons as a little kid I used to see the food cartoon characters ate as really delicious-looking. Like, I wanted to try eating exactly what they ate to get that orgasmic effect they depicted on the screen.

Take Winnie the Pooh for example. The way he rolls around with that damn pot of "hunny" slurping loudly and going "yum yum" every two seconds.

Look at that tasty shit.

So naturally, being the annoying kid with the mullet I was, I begged my mom to let me try some honey. My first impression was that it looked nothing like in the cartoon. Real honey's like, transparent-y gold, while the animated version is obviously a plain shade of yellowish gold. But that didn't stop me. I grabbed a spoon, dunked it in the jar and rammed it in my mouth.

I gagged. Ran to the toilet. And threw up. I was so disappointed that I never looked at Winnie the Pooh again without thinking about what a betraying bastard he was.

Another example was the great Bugs Bunny. Those carrots looked so crunchy and delicious that Warner Brothers made them look like Cheetos rather than carrots. I grabbed a carrot from the fridge and bit off a large chunk.

Mmm dirt. The taste of soil still haunts me to this day.

Definitely not Cheetos.

There were times in other cartoons where the character would simply suck clean the meat from a drumstick. In real life you get all that nasty shit with the veins and goo and whatnot. A juicy steak never portrayed the annoyances of the outer fat. Everything from vegetables to meat to fruit looks a lot more delicious when it's animated.

Parents are always upset with their children for not eating their greens. Well, I say blame the cartoons for tricking these kids and leaving them with permanent childhood disappointment which only subsides after ten years when you finally decide to put the past behind you and try to eat your broccoli.

The best news in music history.

2009-02-09T22:14:00.001+01:00

February 8, 2009 is the day every single Blink-182 fan has been waiting for since early 2005. At Sunday’s 51st Annual Grammy Award Ceremony, all three members of Blink-182 were reunited on stage for the first time in over four years to present the award for Best Rock Album. Coldplay won for "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends" and that’s all well and good, but the real news came just moments before when the band took the stage.

In response to the performance by the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder right before them, co-lead vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus joked, "Isn’t it great to see the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder back together again?" Drummer Travis Barker then added, "We used to play music together, and we decided to play music together once again." Excitedly, Hoppus yelled, "Blink-182 is back!"

But if that wasn’t proof enough, the band decided to make things a little more official and released the following statement on their website:

"Hi, we're blink-182. This past week there've been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, we're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy. Summer 2009. Thanks and get ready..."

The last new music we’ve heard from the Blink-182 was 2003’s self-titled album. The last time the band performed together was on December 16, 2004. Since splitting up in 2005, bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker created Plus 44 while guitarist Tom Delonge founded Angels & Airwaves along with former Box Car Racer band mate David Kennedy.

So where does this leave the projects that Mark, Tom, and Travis have been working on since taking a break from Blink-182? Plus 44’s future is still uncertain; however, Mark Hoppus spoke with MTV last month and informed them that both he and Travis Barker are working on their own solo projects. Also, guitarist David Kennedy of Angels & Airwaves reassured fans that while Blink-182 is coming back, Angels & Airwaves will live on and that this "will be a good creative year."

Courtesy of Ultimate-Guitar.com

Perseverance.

2009-02-07T15:59:00.001+01:00

Because no matter how many times you try, sometimes your best just will never be enough.

You're welcome.

2009-02-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

No matter who I'm with, people always say the same thing when we're on the Gozo Channel ferry. You know how the automated message on the speakers thanks us for choosing to use Gozo Channel's services? The whole message is like 5 minutes long, but everyone will only notice and comment on the last part, when we're thanked. That's when everyone says the same thing.

And I'm going to say it again.

"They thank us for using Gozo Channel, yet in reality we use their services because we don't really have any other choice. They should start thanking us when they actually get some, you know, competition."

Now imagine one day you're on the ferry and your friend says that. The next time you're on, your dad says that. The next time it's another friend. Then you're uncle. Then some priest. Then some friend's uncle.

It's not funny anymore, we get it.

Surprise.

2009-02-06T13:28:00.002+01:00

I left the equivalent of a wig on the hairdresser's floor.

25 random things

2009-02-04T17:55:00.003+01:00

about me. This was copied from the Facebook thing that's popular with my friends right now.

And we're off.

1. If I had never moved to Malta I'd probably be a professional ice hockey player today.

2. I had a mullet from around the ages 8-10.

3. I'm 100% straight but I fully support gay rights.

4. Contrary to popular belief, I did NOT cry to the movie Titanic. I merely said that the song softened me up.

5. My mom banned my brother and I from watching Power Rangers after we fought so much when we were young.

6. I haven't officially been sick in at least 3 years.

7. I still bite my nails and I don't know what the hell is wrong with that as long as I don't bite them too short.

8. I like racist jokes as long as they're all in good heart, I'm not a racist whatsoever and I'd only say racist jokes with people who I know would not be offended and who understand that it's for the sake of a laugh among friends.

9. Sometimes I wish I could take up stand-up comedy, after being influenced so much by a number of comedians.

10. I think body modification is a great way for someone to express himself as an individual, and I plan on getting a lot more tattoos than the three I already have.

11. The first reason I chose to study business subjects from form 3 onwards was that I enjoyed picturing myself as a successful businessman in a suit driving a Mercedes.

12. I like Limp Bizkit, they were one of the first bands I ever listened to, even if I don't listen to them as much anymore. Sue me.

13. As a little boy, my favourite sound was a marching drum beat.

14. I'm extremely afraid of large masses of water, e.g. the ocean, sea, lakes. The reason? I watched Jaws when I was 8. And I love shark attack movies.

15. I believed in Santa Clause up until the age of 10. I never forgave my parents letting me learn the hard way.

16. I never went to pre-school. My parents wanted me to go straight to kindergarden so that, when we'd move to Malta, I'd be the same age as the Maltese students (there's an age difference of one year between America and Europe). But then I went to another school and they didn't let me stay a year younger than everyone else so I had to repeat the 4th grade in America. Now I'm a year older than my fellow students here in Malta, and I just tell everyone that I had to repeat a year when I moved to Malta to avoid the hassle of telling them what I just said now.

17. I hate being a hypocrite but sometimes I am one without wanting to.

18. I believe in God but I don't go to church because it's redundant and meaningless to chant the same shit over and over again every Sunday like a bunch of zombies who don't even know what they're actually saying.

19. I remember being scared shitless the first time I drank a beer. I was afraid of being drunk because I didn't know what it was like. It was with a few staff members from the first restaurant I ever worked at, but they couldn't tell I was scared.

20. I'm a Tom DeLonge when it comes to playing guitar. I don't play anything technical but I believe that I play what I know to play pretty well, and I doubt I'll ever proceed from playing power chords and simple yet catchy riffs.

21. I grew up watching Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, the Simpsons, wrestling and hockey. I still believed wrestling was real until the age of 10. Watching the Maury show made me realise that cheating on your partner is probably the worst thing you could ever do. The second worst thing is presenting yourself on the Jerry Springer show.

22. I've been obsessed with growing a goatee since 2003, when I first got into Linkin Park. Bad luck struck twice, the first time when I cut my chin which left a scar, the second time when I realised that the goatee was never going to straighten out no matter how many times I shaved it.

23. I love blogging, and I hope that someday, somehow, the returns (i.e. rewards, earnings, whatever) of my blogging will be greater than they are today.

24. I'm an extremely heavy sleeper. I could sleep at 8pm and wake up at noon the following day.

25. I love cats... and dachsunds!

Bathroom art II.

2009-02-03T22:27:00.002+01:00

Behold, this is not a giant lollipop. Nope, it's our orange, green and brown showerhead. I think I'll call it... The Lollipop.

Second half.

2009-02-02T16:55:00.002+01:00

There are three things which get you right back into the university lecture spirit after two weeks of exams:

More lectures to cram in your timetable. Which is actually quite good for me because it means less time wasted in between lectures. And my Fridays are apparently (not 100% sure yet though) still going to be completely free.
Clashes of subjects in timetable. I signed up for this subject worth 4 credits to add to my existing 56 credits in order to get the required total of 60. Thing is, it clashed with another one of the subjects, so I have to move the other subject to another day. And to do that, I have to move yet another subject to another time so that I can fit in the clashing subject in order to attend the extra subject.
Lecturers not showing up and not informing us beforehand. Yep, out of the 6 lectures I expected to attend today, the last 3 never happened. As enjoyful as that sounds, I would have rather known about it before than not knowing about it, leading to over an hour wasted at the campus waiting for nothing.

Yes I'm back, but I'm sure you didn't really miss me much.

Hibernation.

2009-01-29T16:53:00.003+01:00

Remember last week when I said I'll be taking a couple of days off until I found something to write about? Well that didn't really count 'cause I started blogging as normal right after. But now I shall do it 'till like Monday or something. Yes my exams are finished, but I need the creative juices to get flowing again.

Bathroom artwork.

2009-01-28T12:38:00.006+01:00

If there's anything all three of us at the flat have in common, it's the reluctance to throw stuff out due to laziness. So we made the best of it and, for some reason, creativity is at its best in the bathroom (e.g. toilet prank, viewing booth). Here's the latest strike of genius to hit the infamous room.

Within a couple of months we'll be holding the record for the largest structure of its kind ever. And the record for the laziest people ever.

Berets and Baguettes.

2009-01-26T18:33:00.002+01:00

Step 1: Go on Google.
Step 2: Type "French military victories".
Step 3: Click on "I'm feeling lucky".
Step 4: Click the link you're provided with.
Step 5: Say to yourself, "Hey, Malta wasn't that bad after all."

I wonder why Russell Peters never mentions the French. Or maybe he does. Time for some YouTube.

This is the only time

2009-01-26T17:44:00.003+01:00

that a straight guy can be proud of owning something pink.

Unless you're this guy -

No dessert for you.

2009-01-25T14:40:00.002+01:00

Ever wonder how your relatives, especially your parents, grandparents and aunts, always cook twice as much food as there's needed? And that they expect everyone to eat mammoth proportions for every course out of a 3-4 course meal? No matter how much you eat, they'll always think it's not enough. The funny thing is, they'll barely eat a fourth of what you eat and they'll say they can't possibly have another bite. Today my parents made two dishes of lasagne. Two. They had to freeze a whole one.

On another topic, I want to quote my friend Luke on something he said yesterday -

"Nothing is American... unless it's made in China."

The scum of the Earth.

2009-01-23T08:00:00.002+01:00

Looks like I got inspired quickly. By something that's been bothering me for quite some time now, it just never occurred to me that I should blog about it.

This is going to be the most hate-filled rant I will ever write in this blog, because nobody on this planet can instill as much hatred in me as the members of the Westboro Baptist Church can.

The Westboro Baptist Church is based in Kansas, U.S.A. and focuses on taking the Bible literally and showing extremely high intolerance to homosexuality. They do this by waving slogans saying things like "God hates fags", "God hates America", "Thank God for dead soldiers" - the last one which was being used at funeral protests of fallen U.S. soldiers who, according to these sons of bitches, were "fag enablers" by fighting for America.

Imagine you're at a funeral, mourning the loss of a loved one, and this hate group comes by and starts shouting and saying how glad they are that he's dead. I swear to God I'd unveil a hidden shotgun and blow all their fucking heads off, even if I end up spending my life in prison or with a death sentence.

How these people think that they're capable of judging the rest of mankind is beyond me. Portraying God as a hateful leader who only favours them is ridiculous.

Well fuck you, Fred Phelps, you and the rest of your redneck family. Screw your anti-homosexuality, anti-Semitic, anti-Catholicism, anti-Islam, anti-Italian, anti-Swedish, anti-Irish (I'm not making these up) and anti-everything else in the whole damn world. You're by far the most hated family in America, and I'd enjoy blowing your head off in no time.

Writer's block. This time, for real.

2009-01-22T14:51:00.002+01:00

Must be due to the exams and other bull, like losing my ID card and frustration from the delayed approval for my car insurance. So, instead of forcing myself to write some lame entry for the sake of writing something (wait, I'm doing that right now aren't I?), I'm just going to chill out for a couple of days until the exam "stress" dies down and I get inspired again.

Here, have a chat with this nice llama in the meantime.

I live with a couple of pussies.

2009-01-20T09:12:00.005+01:00

They're always together, all the time. Day in and day out, it's the same thing over and over again. Where one goes, the other follows. What one does, the other copies. It's like one just can't cope without the other. Not that they do much anyway, everyday they do the same stuff, which is hardly anything.

It impressed me so much that I took a few photos of them doing what they do best, and they were so concentrated on doing what they do so often that they hardly even paid attention to me as I took the pictures.

Which is why I present to you, in all their shame...

...Salt and Pepper.

What, you didn't think I was referring to anyone else, did you?

Cleaning out the closet. Literally.

2009-01-18T15:07:00.003+01:00

Have you ever checked the garage where your parents dumped all the old junk (I doubt your place has an attic), or an storage abandoned room and thought, "What the fuck is all this crap they used back then"?

Back in the day the junk was everyday normal stuff. Now they're all outdated and useless. So it makes one wonder, what do we use today that end up in the garage ten years from now? Imagine when you grow up and have a family of your own, you check out what trash you have and you find a Nintendo Wii, or an iPod, completely workable, but just outdated, sitting there with a thick layer of dust and maybe a dead moth on it.

Generation after generation has thought that nothing could possibly be better than the technology and commodities of its time, and each time it has been disproved. I wonder what video games, transport, PCs and mp3/mp4 players will be like when I'm 70 or 80. I'll be saying to my grandchildren, "Back when I was a kid we had iPods and Playstation 3s, not your hovering cars and mp7 players crap!"

Actually, when my generation grows old, the elderly will still have just as much knowledge as the younger generations, knowing just as well how to use computers and have the same interest in technology. Unless, of course, something else comes along, which surpasses everything beyond our knowledge, even more complex than what we're accustomed to, and we're stuck like our own grandparents, but instead of doing whatever the hell they do, we dish out our old iPods while the younger kids laugh at us.

Celebrate the end of your exams.

2009-01-18T00:48:00.004+01:00

Mine aren't really exams, they're just tests which don't count for anything. But if you're currently doing exams which make you want to tighten that noose you set up in your room around your neck, relax and chill out with this:

Now that's my kind of lineup.

Tearjerker.

2009-01-15T17:10:00.003+01:00

After seeing virtually everything there is to see on the internet (which is untrue, some new shit will spring up in no time), it takes a lot for a picture to emotionally strike me. However when it's related to war - more specifically, related to the losses one must suffer due to war, I feel that nothing can be as powerful as that image you see before you.

Like this one.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/Chris_Red/2007300819203863sj3.jpg?t=1232036107

Forming the ultimate band.

2009-01-15T14:19:00.003+01:00

I get first dibs on the ukulele. Anyone wanting to play harmonica, kazoo or banjo contact me.

Sick sick sick.

2009-01-14T15:36:00.002+01:00

Carsickness, seasickness, airsickness, we all know what those mean.

So how come when we want to say the opposite in other situations we use terms like "homesick" and "lovesick"? 'Cause when you break it down and analyse it, "homesick" kind of sounds like you're sick of being at home. It should be "away-from-homesick", but I guess the lazy bastards who developed the English language didn't feel like saying all of that.

And then there's the use of "sick" for showing that something is positive, e.g. "That's sick!" = "That's so rad/cool!". I myself say it sometimes, I admit. It's cool.

That's all I have to say about it, really. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this.

Here's a round for everyone.

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

So in Russell Peters' new DVD "Red, White & Brown", he passes a joke about how white people show that they're not cheap by buying everyone a beer.

He made such a good point by it that it makes me just want to say, You know what? I'm cheap, fuck off, I'm not buying the whole damn place a beer. It's not that I'm not nice, I'm just cheap. You can buy me a drink, I'll appreciate it, but don't expect me to buy you one right after.

If you're one of my best friends or my girlfriend, sure I'll get you a drink or two, but if I pass by a table of eight, six, or even four, don't even think about it. And let me tell you why, it's because I really feel that everyone does it so that they don't look cheap.

Well guess what. I'm cheap and I don't need to prove otherwise to anyone. Deal with it.

We'll make you feel right at home.

2009-01-13T00:00:00.000+01:00

Because nothing is more convenient than our bathroom.

Especially when you have little plastic figurines paying to look at you the whole time you're in there.

You'll have the occasional Jo joining them every now and then.

That's how it would look from their view. Don't worry, I was just posing. For the record, I have my own "weird guy with the crazy stare and big forehead" (as described by Luke, referring to Mark Hoppus) looking back at them.

I'd like to draw the conclusion of this entry with a picture of an Indian man with titties. In a canoe.

Dancer? Denser? What are you saying, man?

2009-01-12T11:00:00.000+01:00

Everyone's heard the song. Voted Best Song of 2008 by readers of Rolling Stone, the first single "Human" from The Killers' new album has got everyone singing those 2 lines: "Are we human?/ Or are we dancer?" while thinking "It's dancer, right? It doesn't make sense to me but hell, it sounds like dancer!"

The lyrics stirred up so much confusion that it even has its own section in Wikipedia now:

There has been considerable confusion and debate over the line "Are we human or are we dancer?" in the song's chorus. Many have incorrectly heard "denser" instead of "dancer", a change which significantly alters the interpretation of the song's meaning. On the band's official website, the biography section states that Flowers is singing "Are we human, or are we dancer?" and also says that the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson.

Entertainment Weekly's Pop Watch section called this line the "silliest lyrics of the week". They were puzzled by the interpretation, stating "most dancers are generally human". Ganz with Rolling Stone called the line "classic Killers' nonsense."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Flowers said that he was irritated over the confusion: "It's supposed to be a dance song, [the beat] goes with the chorus...If you can't put that together, you're an idiot. I just don't get why there's a confusion about it."

Well, Mr. Flowers, I guess I'm an idiot. Me and a few million others. Despite stating where you got the inspiration from I still don't know shit about "Are we DANCER?". Even if it's metaphorical, shouldn't it be "dancers"? I know it must make sense in some way, so come on and tell us how.

The results are in.

2009-01-11T21:08:00.003+01:00

Yes, after a week and a whopping 19 votes - okay, I cheated... 18 votes - it has come to a conclusion that most of you (42%) check out the blog when I inform you of it. Which proves my point that in order to get views, you need to spread the word yourself.

I shall make another poll which will last exactly a week like the first one, so check the right of your screen.

Nom nom nom.

2009-01-11T19:57:00.004+01:00

We baptized my baby sister Anabel today. Quiet little ceremony, just the family with my uncle, a priest, celebrating mass.

And what does that mean? A hearty meal at an expensive restaurant right after! The place is called Iċ-Ċima ("Cheema", don't ask me what the fuck that means), and it's situated in Xlendi. A ground floor and a first floor with a nice view, which you can reach by means of a lift.

The menu didn't really have the greatest variety in the world (but then again, not every restaurant should make pizzas and hamburgers), but they sure know how to decorate what they make. The most presentable food I've ever seen. When you order a soup they decorate the surface with grated cheese in the form of a giant cobweb. And that shit takes some talent.

They have the largest plates I've ever seen as well. And I mean they're totally bigass. My bread-encased mushroom fondu (yeah, you don't see that often here) was like, half a Maltese loaf of bread. That was the starter. Then the peppered fillet was the size of my fist but it was LOADED with pepper sauce and potatoes on the side.

So, if you want to go somewhere with a view, particularly in the summer, and you have a full purse but an empty stomach, this place is for you. The food's all good, the presentation is great, the staff is nice, and the money is worth it. You pay big, but you eat big.

Checkmate.

2009-01-08T21:37:00.002+01:00

All these neverending wars. Wouldn't it be better if two countries battled it out in a more enjoyable way for all, say, I dunno, an epic chess battle between each country's best chess player? Winner wins the war for his country. Or a football match. Or a virtual war online. So much less bloodshed. Although if you were representing your country and you lost, you'd have your balls cut off by your own people.

It's still a case of one country beating the shit out of the other, but not literally. I hate having to keep seeing pictures of bloody children crying and men holding dead babies. Fuck your wars and the "threats" you see. Fuck your patriotism and your pride. And fuck you for fucking other people's lives.

A comical and serious blog entry in one.

Yesterday, Today, or Tomorrow.

2009-01-07T19:53:00.002+01:00

So let's say you have an exam coming up, and you're in one of the groups that will take this exam. Each group will have a different exam date, and your group will be the first to go.

In this group you will find two types of people. The first type will say "Good, we're the first, I'll get it over with quickly and I can move on." The second type will say "Shit, oh fuck shit no, why do WE have to be first, can't we do it later?"

Life is full of experiences which are not so desirable, but you'll know about them beforehand. An exam, a doctor's apppointment, a date with that girl your grandmother keeps telling you about, and so on. Now personally, I think time is the key, in which the sooner you're over it, the better. Others will prefer to prolong the time it takes for that Godforsaken day to arrive, and I really don't get why. The shit's going to happen whether you like it or not, so just let the doctor examine your ass and get it over with. There really is no advantage in extending the time length for D-day.

So you're the first to do the exam, with a few others. The others groups will have the comfort in learning how the exam was from you, but in the end, when they're doing the exam, you'd have already been in Hawaii for a week. You'll be thinking, "What exam? Oh that shit, that's long gone, I forgot I even did it!" and you know those motherfuckers are crying their asses off in the examination hall, cursing you for getting a full body massage while they're trying to figure out what the hell the answer to the Poission Distrubtion question is.

Someone spare me a few bucks.

2009-01-06T18:56:00.003+01:00

I need to buy one of these sexy beasts. I might go with the '98 Civic, seeing that it probably has the cheapest price tag. The Mazda M3 is a close second though. The other two, well I'll just have wet dreams about them.

Learn 4 chords and become a millionaire.

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000+01:00

A warm welcome back from Malta.

2009-01-05T11:16:00.004+01:00

I'm not exactly a keen photographer but, to give you the idea of what the hell's going on in the pictures, I had to trudge through water almost knee-deep because the bus couldn't pass through it.

It's good to be back.

Engrish by people who speak English.

2009-01-04T14:25:00.004+01:00

In a country where English is one of the national languages, you'd expect its people to actually know the basics of English grammar. Below is a list of the most common yet easily avoidable grammar mistakes in the English language made by people who, if not speak English in person, use English online all the time.

Writing "loose" instead of "lose". "Loose" generally means the opposite of tight. People normally want to say "lose", i.e. the opposite of win or the act of misplacing something.
Switching "you're" with "your". "You're" is short for "you are". "Your" refers to when something belongs to you.
Mixing up "they're", "there" and "their". "They're" = They are. "There" = e.g. There they are; There is. "Their" = When something belongs to them.
Adding an apostrophe in a word's plural form. Two balls. Not two "ball's".

Those are just a few but some of the most common grammar mistakes found on the Internet. Call me a grammar Nazi, but we learned this stuff right after we stopped wearing diapers. So get them right.

A new feature.

2009-01-04T01:52:00.002+01:00

Yes, it's there on the right panel and it's called a poll. I just discovered these so-called "gadgets", and learned that, more often than not, they don't even work properly. You have 7 days (seven daaaaaaays) to vote, please do so, I'm interested in how often you like to waste time reading my online blabbering.

How to successfully maintain a blog.

2009-01-03T13:14:00.006+01:00

At first I was going to call this "How to maintain a successful blog", but who am I to say that my blog is actually successful? Anyway, I noticed that there are people out there who like the idea of blogging, but refrain from doing so for certain reasons. Also, there are others who started a blog and, well, abandoned it in its wee beginning. So, based on my amateur experience of 3 months worth of blogging, I've compiled a list of useful tips which I think should all be necessary for being a good blogger.

Be devoted. Before you start blogging, make sure you really want to keep doing this in the long run, because a lot of blogs tend to have "Epic Phail" written all over them after a couple of entries followed by abandonment. It really doesn't take much of your time, 15-30 minutes a day should be plenty of time. You don't even have to blog every single day, but avoid long intervals.
Know your blog. A lot of people are afraid to start blogging or abandon their blog early because they don't know what to write about. This can go one of two ways, in my opinion - either dedicate your blog to something specific, like for example video games or football, or have very general blog, like mine. Having a specific blog is easy, especially if you're really into the subject. I'll give tips about general blogs in the following points.
Be easily inspired and expand simple ideas. Knowing what to write about shouldn't be a daily nerve-racking experience as you stare in front of the computer screen. Let random thoughts that come to your mind during the day be your source of inspiration. It can be about virtually anything. Usually however, literally writing down a random thought wouldn't take up more than a sentence or two. So take that thought, analyse it, build up on it and form an expanded topic from it.
Don't just write about your daily experiences everyday. Come on, your personal life isn't that interesting, we all know that. It isn't any different from any life of your peers, so no one wants to read predictable and redundant stuff. Especially when every single day is the same. If, however, you battled a T-Rex using a light sabre handcrafted by Chuck Norris while he was arm-wrestling Bigfoot, then yeah, you might want to choose that day to write about what you did in the past 24 hours.
Don't use the same old formula for your posts. Let me use my own blog as an example. Entries I write include random discussable thoughts, reviews on music albums, movies and books, and personal experiences. This also applies for specific blogs. Don't just write about your favourite team's game results. Write about the team history one day, statistics about a player another day, find a random interview the next, and so on. In both types of blogs (specific and general), throw in a different entry format for every day.
Exploit the use of multimedia. This is the Internet. Use that to your advantage and include video clips, pictures, and audio clips in blog entries. Spice it up a bit, no one wants to just see entry after entry of non-stop text.
Acknowledge the reader. The reason you're blogging in the first place is so that others can read what you have to say. Without them, you're wasting your time. Sure you're getting your thoughts out but it's much more effective when you know others are actually paying attention to what you're saying. Write about topics which can be discussed, criticised, used for reference, etc. If the reader suggests subjects to talk about, take them into consideration for your next entry. Reply to comments with your own comments.
Promote your blog. Do a bit of advertising, get the word out. Don't spam the hell out of everyone, just post a link on your Facebook/Myspace/Hi5 profile, inform your readers of updates, and ask your friends to tell others about it. With a bit of time, your fan base will grow. Also, get in touch with other bloggers, they'll surely help you out.

Well that's it from me, I think I just about covered everything you need to know when it comes to starting your own blog. For those about to blog, I salute you. Good luck, and adios.

Don't take it for granted.

2009-01-03T11:37:00.002+01:00

Apart from the holidays where you sleep during the day and stay up all night, it's very rare to be able to sleep in. Sleeping in is, by far, one of the best feelings in the world. The worst feeling in the world, on the other hand, is hearing that goddamn alarm at 6.30 in the morning when you're in a deep slumber after staying up till 2am the previous night.

So here's what you ought to do, you ungrateful nitwits. The next time you sleep in and wake up at 1 in the afternoon, relax in bed and say "I will cherish this awesome moment in time, a moment so rare yet so great that I will not take it for granted." Because the next day, right after you throw your alarm clock at the wall at 6.30am, you're going to hate yourself for not realising just how awesome sleeping in really was the day before.

Oh Lord how I love my bed.

Twenty-o-nine.

2009-01-01T16:04:00.002+01:00

I've been thinking about this for years. A century ago the year would have been "nineteen-o-nine". It had been pronounced the same since, well since forever, up until the millenium. Then some fucker decided to call it "two-thousand". Two-thousand? Why not "twenty-hundred"?

When you refer to the 20th century you call it the "nineteen-hundreds". So how are you going to refer to this one, hmm? So yeah, and saying for example "the year two-thousand, one hundred and ninety-six" doesn't sound very promising.

The new movie "2012" should be pronounced "twenty-twelve". You know how fast that is to say? Twenty-twelveWHOOSH!you're done. Two-thousand and twelve, pshh come on.

Hi, nice to meet you, I like to exaggerate and talk about little things in my own spare time.

2009 is actually over. Sort of.

2009-01-01T15:40:00.004+01:00

First off, a happy new year to you. Hope you enjoyed your evening and actually remembered what happened by not getting utterly wasted to the point of having to get escorted by members of the Red Cross (yes Josmar, you wanted an honourable mention in my blog, now you got it).

At lunch today my uncle came up with the argument that we're not really in the year 2009, because technically 2009 years have already passed. We're merely adding days to those 2009 years as this year goes on, so we're in the 2010th year.

I don't exactly know how that's really interesting. Or how it's even a valid argument. I'm not quite sure. I think it's more entertaining to just imagine a wasted Josmar getting escorted by the Red Cross.

EDIT: Okay so Josmar didn't really get wasted to the point of needing Red Cross help (unreliable sources). But still, let's just imagine he did anyway for the lulz.

Do you feel alive?

2008-12-31T15:42:00.000+01:00

I do. Hope y'all had a great year. I know I did.

Happy B-day, Pops, Happy 100th post, Blog.

2008-12-30T13:47:00.002+01:00

My dad's forty-uhh, forty-something today. Forty-six? I dunno, mid-late forties. Happy Birthday to him, my classic rocker, bird shootin', politics-hating dad. Yeah he's still quite young. And what's the best way to tell him? By telling him that his favourite hockey team, the New York Islanders, lost to their rivals, the New York Rangers, who happen to be my favourite team, last night 5-4 after blowing an early lead.

And this marks the 100th entry on my blog, and it's still going on strong. I wonder how many blogs I follow will reach this milestone.

2008: A Look Back At This Year In Pop Culture.

2008-12-30T13:36:00.002+01:00

Jo, the puppy cam's dedicated to you, pal.

They should've mentioned Rick Rolling.

Why American sports are different from (and better than) European sports.

2008-12-30T00:27:00.007+01:00

Let's take one example of a sport played in both continents. My favourite, ice hockey. Observe, America:

Now Europe:

What's the difference? Oh the European sportswear must be cooler, look at all those decals! Wait a minute. Decals? As in, advertisements? The guy's covered in them! I can't even tell if there's a team logo on the bloody thing. Look back at the first picture. What do you see? Team logos, standing large and proud right in the fucking middle of the jerseys. Advertisements? Nope, just the brand of sportswear being used, example Reebok. Small patches, like in normal clothes.

See, the thing is, if I want to play in a sports team, I want to show it by wearing the team logo proudly. Not be a walking billboard.

And the distinction is clear in many other sports. Let's take American baseball now:

A giant NEW YORK right across the shirt. And you know that guy loves it, just look at him. Hell, he's even sporting some shades.

Baseball isn't that popular in Europe. Okay, how about European football?

Hmm yeah, I don't follow football but I know that that little white patch - come on, look harder - across from the Nike logo is the team logo. But fuck that, get insured with the American International Group (AIG)! What if you play for a team sponsored by a company that you think sucks? You're gonna be spending a good chunk of your career running around practically saying "Oi, support this company even though it probably sucks! I hate it, but hell, I support it anyway!"

Be proud of your team, wear the team LOGO, let the sponsors have a bit of advertising space in the arena and during game intermissions, not on your body.

And while we're on the topic of wearing your gear proudly, what do team captains in football wear? Arm bands, or wrist bands? Whatever, those cheap removable things nobody even ever notices. In America, team captains and assistant captains have giant "C"s and "A"s (look at the guy in red and white in the first picture) STITCHED onto their jerseys. Now that's something I'd be proud to wear.

American sports 1, European sports 0.

Walking billboards, pshh.

Oh and another thing. In American sports leagues such as hockey and baseball, athletes know how to be, you know, ATHLETIC. They put their bodies to the test during gametime and take their physical strength to the limit. In other words, they know how to play rough and not be pussies. Go ahead, tap an Italian footballer's leg.

OUCHIES, MY A-LEG, IT IS A-BROKEN, I CAN NO LONGER A-PLAY!

American sports 2, European sports 0.

No longer allowed to feel.

2008-12-29T12:53:00.002+01:00

It seems that as more time passes by, the more focused we are on labelling others. Everyone has to fall under a specific category, and no two cliques can interact, socialise, or even dare to merge.

What's that one annoying label we like to use on everyone? Emo. Nowadays, when you see someone feeling down or lonely, your first reaction is to call him emo and then tell him to get a life.

I'm not going to give a definition of "emo", that shit's been done over and over again. My point is that now we're associating a normal human emotion with something negative that should be abolished forever, therefore discouraging people from expressing their emotions and hence encouraging them to bottle everything up.

Being sad or feeling lonely isn't emo. It's normal and it happens all the time to everyone. Thank God that shitty trend is on the decline now - human emotions should not be associated with trends, fashion or whatever. If you're down, speak up.

P.S. This isn't some reaction to a personal experience of my own or to anyone specific, it's just a general thought. If anything, I'm as happy as a nun who just got her negative pregnancy test results back (kudos to anyone who gets the reference).

Come on, make our lives easier.

2008-12-27T17:52:00.003+01:00

Out of every single nation in our world, only three haven't adopted the Metric System as the primary or sole system of measurement. Two of them - Myamnar and Liberia - are practically irrelevant to the rest of the world, while the third hard headed nation is... yes, you guessed it, the United States of America.

Why must they insist on keeping something no one else in the world uses? Why not just get rid of their method of measurement - inches, feet, miles and whatnot - and save a lot of time on converting from that crap to metric system values?

Then there's that region shit with video games and DVDs and so on. NTSC and PAL. Bloody hell, that's so annoying. Why? Why do that to us? I loved my Playstation when I was a kid. Then we moved here and all the games were PAL, I couldn't buy a damn thing until I illegally chipped the console. I tried watching a DVD yesterday on my laptop and I couldn't because it was region locked. Give us a break, you sell us consoles and DVD players and laptops here, then you sell us games and DVDs which we can't even watch on them?

They're doing one thing right. They're going to make accounting standards the same worldwide. Same methods of accounting everywhere. Of course you are, how annoying is it to do business internationally, only having to realise that you have to do all your accounts ALL OVER AGAIN in THEIR bloody method? Very.

Abolish the United States Customary System for units of measurement!

Why that name?

2008-12-26T13:21:00.002+01:00

Why is it called Boxing Day? In certain countries, the 26th of December is based on the tradition of giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society.

So a couple of thoughts. First of all, why on the day after Christmas? Isn't that disrespectful? I mean, you're dividing the time of giving into two days - the 25th for the people you know and care about, and the 26th - the day AFTER the wonderful time of (a very commercial, but whatever) Christmas - for those who are socially inferior, probably have no relatives, no friends, and are in need of more attention than the extra attention you already give to your friends. It's like, you ended up with a bunch of extra stuff from Christmas and you don't know what to do with it so you'll just get rid of it by giving it to less fortunate people. Well, that's bloody nice of you isn't it, why didn't you just visit the poor chaps on Christmas eve or Christmas evening and say "Here you go pal, a little something on this special day!"? Oh that's right, YOUR special day is the day after everyone else's!

And another thing, what's with the name? It's supposedly a day of giving, yet it gives the impression of giving blows to someone's face.Why not call it Getting-rid-of-stuff-by-giving-it-to-the-poor day? Here you go old man! Pow! Right in the kisser. Happy Boxing Day! What, can't handle a Round 2? Come on, I'm being generous!

Oh and, Happy Birthday to that drummer we love, hate, and love to hate for being such a dick sometimes. Here's to another 45 years, Lars Urlich!

Merry Christmas.

2008-12-25T15:22:00.002+01:00

And Happy Chanukah (or Hanukkah).

And of course, starting from tomorrow, Happy Kwanzaa to my African-American friends. Not that I have any. I did, but I don't anymore. That was in America. I'm not in America now. I'm just saying it like, in general. Hmm.

It's so easy to buy presents for the little'uns. You just need to know two things: High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Let all the advertising, commercialisation and mass production do the rest.

Happy happy joy joy.

2008-12-23T12:03:00.002+01:00

Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy

I got my driver's license, happy happy joy

Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy

For the lulz.

2008-12-23T00:40:00.005+01:00

The internet is full of a lot of shit. Practically anything. Here's some internet-famous pictures that really cracked me up.

Hardy har har. Bloody hell, I should be sleeping. Driving exam tomorrow.

In the Name of Honour.

2008-12-22T13:22:00.004+01:00

That's the name of the book I just finished reading. A book which really frustrates me. The Islamic approach on justice - tribal judgements and crimes of honour - undoubtedly leaves a bad image showing immaturity amongst men and extreme unfairness towards women.

To push the law aside and take matters into your own hands when there is a dispute between two families is completely absurd. Raping your neighbour's wife, taking one of his young daughters to marry one of your relatives or murdering your own wife is not justice.

It's all about honouring your family, isn't it. That's not honouring anyone. Such people give a bad name to humanity itself. It's so pleasing to know that things are changing in countries like Pakistan, where women are drawing nearer and nearer to equality with men, cases of rape are decreasing, and the sad excuses of men who brought misery to their wives and other people's wives are being brought to justice.

Sweet tooth.

2008-12-20T16:49:00.002+01:00

I don't know if this affects anyone else, but it sure pisses me off. Don't have a soft drink before you go to bed without brushing your teeth. Everytime I do, I wake up with the most irritating feeling of itchy sugar coated teeth. Ugh.

Last one standing?

2008-12-19T14:42:00.004+01:00

A lot of blogs I normally read are now abandoned. Wasted. Defunct. Kaput. A shame really, it's not like you don't have enough time on your hands - after all, all you do is sit in front of the computer all day, like me.

One blog that is updated constantly, one that I've only just started checking out recently, is this - http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/

It's got great comics on it, and it's updated daily.

What sucks is that while everyone is abandoning their blog, Perez Hilton is still out there, doing his thing. Oh we'll bring you down one day, fucker.

Laughter is the best medicine.

2008-12-17T14:47:00.001+01:00

Whenever you feel like shit, nothing beats a nice long laugh. It really helps when you stay focused on something funny for a long time. Chances are, your mood will practically fully change for the better after an hour or two of hilariousness.

That's why I say, if you feel down, watch stand up comedy. Rent a comedian's DVD, someone well known. Jeff Dunham and Lee Evans work wonders for me. Jeff's Christmas Special is quite popular, obviously, at this time of year. Lee has a couple of great performances which can be found in their entirety on YouTube. His facial expressions, accents and movement are all gold.

If you don't feel better after, well, eat a giant container of ice cream and watch soap operas in your underwear and cry a lot.

They're everywhere Pt. 2

2008-12-15T17:40:00.006+01:00

First the toilet prank on me. Then the hacking of Luke's laptop. It was Jo's turn.

Jo is very fond of post-it notes. We used that to our advantage. A while ago we bought 5 packets of post-it notes and waited for the perfect day when Jo would be out of the flat for a long period of time. Today was that day.

After almost 2 hours of work, and a lot of swearing - the sticky notes weren't really that sticky - we were satisfied. All we had to do was wait for Jo to return to the flat.

First we left him a little bait. Some sticky notes on the front door of the flat. On them I wrote that Luke and I knew that Jo loved post-it notes so much, that we bought him a packet. We left him a brand new packet by the door of his room. When he came and saw it, he was really thankful and... hugged us. Then he opened the door to his room...

Here's my best work of art...

Yes those are dicks. You should've seen the little boy from across the street staring at them as I was putting them up. And for the grande finale, Luke's best work...

We decided to call him Pablo. After all, this is cubism at its best. Jo likes it so much that he won't be removing it. A true work of art indeed.

They're everywhere.

2008-12-15T10:37:00.002+01:00

So you decide to go to Valletta to do a little bit of Christmas shopping, and who do you see walking towards you? Someone with a clipboard and a nervous look on his face, sporting a goddamn Vodafone logo on a dark blue polo shirt.

Yes, I use Vodafone.

No, I don't spend more than 10 euros a month, thank you very much now get the fuck out and leave me alone.

You take a couple of steps when you see someone else walking towards you. Someone with a clipboard and a nervous look on his face, sporting a goddamn Go Mobile logo on a dark blue polo shirt.

Oh fuck, not this again.

Yes, I use Go Mobile now leave me alone I'm busy kthxBAI.

A couple more steps.

You see him from the corner of your eye. Oh no, you are NOT talking to ME, asshole. So you cross to the other side of the main road to avoid any interaction with him. Phew, that was close.

You repeat this for a couple more times before you finally make it to... the other end of the city entrance. The city ENTRANCE. Dear God, is the whole main road riddled with bored and nervous mobile company employees who would do anything to sell something to someone for a little extra commission?

And I swear they increase in number as Christmas draws nearer. They're like a bunch of zombies all coming towards you saying BUUUUUY OOOOUUUUR PRRRROOOODDUUCCCTSS. And then you have to try to dodge them all like it's some fucking warzone.

Fuck you, let me do my Christmas shopping in peace.

It's official.

2008-12-13T17:44:00.002+01:00

Burger King is better than McDonalds. Why? I took my McDonalds-addict girlfriend to Burger King yesterday (how romantic) and she absolutely loved it.

But it's obvious that it's better. Bigger burgers, for starters. The fries aren't coated in salt. And hey, they sell Kinnie! You definitely eat your money's worth. Unlike McDonalds, where you need to eat like 3 burgers to fill yourself up.

And while we're talking about fast food, don't go to Pizza Hut more than once a month. Or a year. Unless you're filthy stinkin' rich. Yesterday I spent money throughout the whole day for food equivalent to one meal at Pizza Hut. Curse those heavenly breadsticks and their price tag.

He's everywhere.

2008-12-11T13:57:00.001+01:00

And I love it.

They're good old chaps, really.

2008-12-09T15:13:00.002+01:00

So I get on the bus this morning, the driver's a young guy, he passes by another bus and screams "AW MY FRIEND!" to the other bus driver. He does this with another bus driver before I get off the bus for University.

As I'm on the bus back to the flat in the afternoon, once again I hear "AW MY FRIEND!", this time coming from another bus. It was the same guy.

See, they're not all that bad. Bus drivers can be friendly too.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BLOODY WAY!!!!!...... MY FRIEND!!"

R.I.P. - 4 years on and still not forgotten.

2008-12-08T11:53:00.002+01:00

"On December 8, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Abbott was shot onstage by a mentally ill former US Marine named Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot three times in the head, killing him instantly."

Dimebag Darrell Abbott, guitarist for the bands Pantera and Damageplan, was brutally murdered on stage four years ago, doing what he loved to do best. An influence to many guitarists and metalheads alike, he will always be remembered for his memorable songs and the passion he had for his music.

My heart goes out especially to his brother Vinnie Paul, who witnessed the violent act when he was playing drums behind Dimebag that night.

Help The Imagery out just a bit more.

2008-12-07T11:31:00.003+01:00

Keep voting for The Imagery on 5061 5230, just a few more votes and they'll have a chance of making it to the Lidea Band Challenge Finals, eventually leading them to perform in Holland if they win.

For more info check out http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=42671652126

A punk rock Christmas.

2008-12-06T11:07:00.002+01:00

It's that time of the year again where we dish out the old Christmas classics from the back of the CD rack and play them non-stop, whether the whole family likes it or not. Not me though, I have my own playlist.

Yes, you guessed it, they're mainly rock-driven songs, but they're still great to play anywhere during the festive season. Here's a few of the songs from my Christmas playlist - download them or ask me to send them to you if you're interested.

My Chemical Romance's version of "All I want for Christmas is You". Upbeat, fast, and headbangable.
"I Won't be Home for Christmas" by Blink-182. It's not exactly the cheeriest of festive songs, but it's funny as hell. I love running the scenes through my head as I listen to the lyrics.
Simple Plan's "My Christmas List". The whiny pop-punk band offers a great singalong for whiny teenagers. Honestly, I don't know why they came up with such childish lyrics but it's a fun Christmas song.
"Punk Rock Christmas" - The Sex Pistols. Yeah, what else would these guys name the song.

Sigh.

2008-12-04T07:00:00.000+01:00

Another one of my creations. Wish I could make it bigger. I have quite a large collection now. Won't be putting them online though, since they concern my friends, so unless I have their permission, it wouldn't be very nice now would it.

Linkin Park - Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes

2008-12-03T10:00:00.002+01:00

I should become a professional music journalist.

I didn't include this in yesterday's entry because I didn't want to overload your tiny brains with my opinions on today's music. But now you have to read some more today. Nene.

Linkin Park's new live DVD/CD set, the second official one to be released after 2003's Live in Texas, portrays a much more cinematic and diverse performance from the band since the Meteora days. They used to be coined as nu-metal giants, but with new songs from Minutes to Midnight introduced to their ever-changing setlist, they're becoming more of a rock n' roll band without completely abandoning their roots.

The set first starts out with some of the heavy classics such as "One Step Closer" and "From the Inside" along the newer heavy stuff "Given Up" and "No More Sorrow". Then it slows down with popular singles like "Leave Out All the Rest" and "Breaking the Habit". Their longest song ever, "The Little Things Give You Away", almost reminds me of Pink Floyd, giving a psychedelic feel during the solo. Great guitar work by Brad Delson. There's some more classics from the Hybrid Theory album, some more of the new stuff, and even a couple of songs with Jay-Z which were mashed up for the Collision Course CD.

Some things which I like to point out from the performance are:

What used to be the band's setlist closer is now the opener. Yes, I'm, talking about "One Step Closer".
One of Phoenix's bass guitars is like, wow, totally fucked up. Half the body is practically missing. How cool is that?
Mike's singing has improved immensely. Chester has gotten better too.
Chester plays guitar during the end of "Shadow of the Day". I had never seen him play guitar before.
The drummer Rob Bourdon looks a LOT like my own drummer friend Toffer (hi Toffy, hope you're reading this).
Phoenix sings during "The Little Things Give You Away". That's the only time another member of the band apart from Mike and Chester sings in a song.
Jay-Z looks so awkward during the end of "Jigga What/Faint" because the whole band is rocking out like hell and he's just standing there. Hah.
The piano version of "Pushing Me Away" is absolutely beautiful, it almost made me cry.
The band is improvising their songs a lot, with extended intros and outros.

If you think Live in Texas was good, this DVD will blow you away. There's a total of 18 tracks on both the DVD and the CD, and a bonus extra 3 songs on the DVD which are unlocked when you watch the full concert. There's a good mix of songs from their three albums, so there's something for everyone who likes Linkin Park. One of the bands I must see perform live before I die.

Oh so many people celebrating graduation.

2008-12-02T20:35:00.004+01:00

Made this demotivational poster myself. Kinda got me wondering, am I in a rush to graduate?

This or that?

2008-12-02T10:00:00.001+01:00

A few rock albums have been recently released. Namely, the infamous Chinese Democracy by Axl & Friends (fuck off, I'm not calling them Guns 'n Roses) and Nickelback's Dark Horse.

Let's start off with the former shall we? When you haven't released music for a while, you have to make sure that you keep up with the constant changing of the music scene around you. Bands mature and discover new grounds to maintain their popularity. Axl Rose was apparently aware of that. However there's a difference between extending your sound while keeping SOME of your roots and, well, doing something completely new and unrelated to previous works.

You see, if Axl Rose had named the band something else, there wouldn't have to be any connotations with Guns n' Roses' old work. But he had to stick to the damn name, now everyone's comparing the new to the old, and well, Chinese Democracy is the band's own St. Anger. I don't know, maybe die-hard G'n'R fans accept the huge change of sound, but I couldn't stand listening to more than a minute of some of the songs, let alone the whole album. I managed to listen to "Street of Dreams" in its entirety though, that song isn't that bad. I won't say the album SUCKS, because there are those who like it and have every right to. I personally just don't enjoy it. Hell, the new album "Day & Age" by The Killers managed to beat Axl out on the UK charts. On a side note, I think that album is pretty good except for, well, the first single. They could have started out with a song that defines their album more.

Now, Dark Horse. Chad Kroeger's unique voice and band has made the Canadian rockers the most loved and the most hated across the world. For those who love the band, this album is one giant present to you. For the haters, it's a huge FUCK YOU right in your face. Piling up on the success of their previous albums ever since they hit the mainstream with the album Silver Side Up, this album proves that Nickelback still have what it takes, compiling a work of art made up of huge in-your-face guitar riffs (e.g. "S.E.X.") and more mellow heartwarming songs (e.g. "Never Gonna Be Alone"). What makes this album so great is that they managed to maintain their same sound without dishing out the same old formulae over and over again, despite being highly criticised for doing so in the past.

If you're a Nickelback fan, you won't be disappointed. If you know any Nickelback fans, this is the perfect Christmas present. If you like rock n' roll, this album is definitely worth checking out. If you hate the band, you're going to have to deal with hearing them all the time on the radio again (and you were just beginning to enjoy the end of "Rock Star", ha).

The great cartoons we watched that could have destroyed our lives.

2008-12-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

Growing up in the 90s, some channels you probably watched included Cartoon Network, The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Some great cartoons aired during this decade, but were we aware at the time of the subliminal messages behind these cartoons?

I'm talking about two cartoons in particular. Rocko's Modern Life and Ren & Stimpy. Nowadays people will tell you that these cartoons were really weird but awesome nonetheless. Of course we found them weird when we were kids. We were too young to actually understand what the hell was going on.

Rocko's Modern Life was full of double entendres and sexual innuendos, as can be seen here.

Ren & Stimpy was full of violence where Ren would break down into fits of psychosis and gleefully plot to kill Stimpy. There was also a great use of toilet humor, strong language and sexual innuendo which eventually led to the show being recast as Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". There was even a more explicit homosexual relationship between them during this era. Here are some of the greatest Ren & Stimpy moments.

Well there you have it. These cartoons probably fucked up my generation where they were popular, especially in the United States. That explains a lot.

Hey, people are actually reading this.

2008-11-30T10:00:00.000+01:00

I hadn't gone to Ritz in a while. When I went last night I had numerous people telling me that they read and enjoy my blog. Well that was unexpected, for once I actually feel like this thing is serving a greater purpose than just killing time.

I highly appreciate the fact that you guys take the time out of your busy schedules (you know, between taking a crap and chatting on MSN) to read what I have to write (although you're probably preferring to take a crap right now rather than reading this gay post).

I'd like to encourage those who read this blog to leave comments every now and then. Feedback is important to me and it would be nice to know what you guys think about what I say. You don't need your own blogger account to comment, you can just comment under "Anonymous" and leave your name at the end. Hell, if there's some topic you'd like me to talk about, I'm open to suggestions as well. Keep the following growing. Then one day we can kick Perez Hilton's ass.

A sneak peek.

2008-11-29T10:00:00.001+01:00

It's been a week since the birth of my new baby sister. They say that the baby's body rapidly changes over the first few days, like the head becoming less bulbish and the bone structure getting stronger. So you know, I sort of expected to see a bigger, badder, Tehminahtor type baby when I returned to Gozo this weekend. Okay, not really. She's still the tiniest human being I've ever seen, and this time I didn't forget to bring my camera from Malta.

Be there or be square. I'm a circle.

2008-11-28T14:21:00.003+01:00

Just who the hell does he think he is anyway.

2008-11-28T07:00:00.001+01:00

He has a blog. That's fine.

He updates it with news. Good.

The news is actually full of updates on other people's personal lives. Hmm.

He's gay. Fair enough.

He outs closeted gay celebrities. Okay now that's not fair.

He writes false news, saying stuff like Fidel Castro died (last year). Are you serious?

Perez Hilton is a douchebag and, just like Paris Hilton from whom he got his pseudonym (hence making the whole situation very fitting), he's an extremely overrated "celebrity" with no real talent to give him credit for. Really, how can someone live with himself after writing some gossip about someone, therefore killing that someone a little more inside. We're talking about celebrities who can lose everything when caught in one unfortunate situation on film.

And he's a two-faced cheapshot. Okay so he's gay and he feels that homosexuality should not be a taboo, and that homosexuals should be respected. Nothing wrong with that. But then he goes outing everyone like there's no tomorrow, as if it's his duty to do so. What the fuck dude, let them do whatever the hell they want. Also, he criticises others for homophobic remarks, yet when his "friends" like Paris Hilton shout racist and homophobic slurs he says nothing.

One more thing. The doodles on the pictures he posts on his blog. White writing made from MS Paint. Ooookay, suit yourself. But what's with the white "drool" coming from the corner of celebrities' mouths? Is that supposed to be- Oh God, nevermind.

Superstar wannabe.

P.S. The hate he receives in the comments after his blog entries are hilarious. Adjectives like "fat", "ugly", "dick", "douche" and "hater" are apparent favourites.

The Word of God.

2008-11-27T14:00:00.000+01:00

Funny how it's always humans doing the talking.

It's getting worse.

2008-11-27T00:00:00.003+01:00

Gears of War 2 is still prevailing in our flat. The amount of cursing has increased significantly, as well as the physical abuse. Jo rammed me into the wall last time, smashed my shoulder pretty hard. And they've become so absorbed in the game. Observe:

That's pretty close to the telly...

Right after Jo threatened me to stop taking pictures. I think he was more interested in someone blowing up though.

Just look at that concentration!

Jo, the chainsaw will be ringing in your ears throughout the night...

Flattered? No, I'm freaked out.

2008-11-26T14:29:00.003+01:00

Gozo is a small island, we all know that. Gossiping and knowing what time your neighbour took a crap is inevitable. I do it sometimes too, rarely but it happens without me wanting it to. I'm corrupted I tells ya.

I don't really expect myself to be the centre of attention during gossip hour. I normally keep to myself and there really isn't that much to say about me, or so I suppose. Yet my poor girlfriend keeps hearing about me from her classmates. I honestly don't see how there could possibly be so much to say about me. The funny thing about it is that they go tell her something about me as if she doesn't already know. Of course she knows, why anyone would expect to know something about me before anyone else does is beyond me.

The time I shaved practically made headlines. Yes I blogged about it but no that's not what sparked such a reaction. Hell, no one reads my blog. If people did read my blog then I'd direct this entry specifically to those who keep "updating" the girls' secondary school with events of my life. Perez Hiltons, the lot of you. I've been planning to write an entry about that fat fuck for a while now by the way, stay tuned for that.

Anyway, then came my mom's pregnancy. No shit my girlfriend knew. And yes she knew the baby was born hours, even days before the people who told her found out. Oh and, get this. They told her that she became an aunt now. Because my MOM gave birth. Hmm, you might want to rethink that.

Oh did you hear? No, neither did I. Go gossip with someone else.

Rock a Bye Baby.

2008-11-26T01:15:00.005+01:00

The introduction of Xbox's Gears of War 2 in our flat is starting to induce a certain degree of, well, violence. Tonight, after hearing numerous chainsaw killings, mortar explosions and Maltese gamers curse everything that's holy, Jo couldn't take it anymore and practically told Luke to shut the fuck up so that he can go sleep.

How did he do this? Well he threatened Luke that if he hears him talk through the headset or he hears a chainsaw killing one more time, he'd destroy the Xbox. Feisty indeed. I remember my dad used to say that a lot with the computer, the PlayStation, and anything else capable of keeping a kid from boredom.

After a couple of minutes of ranting, Luke bluntly asked Jo if he would like to play. Funnily enough, Jo said that since he was awake, he'd love to play. Err okay. But then he changed his mind, and eventually went back to bed.

But it couldn't just end like that. Luke felt truly apologetic and decided that he should make it up to good old Jo le Ho. So he grabbed my guitar, went by Jo's room, and together we started singing Rock a Bye Baby. To our dismay, however, the only reply we received was "Shut the fuck up and go to sleep!".

I think Luke still managed to get Jo to admit that he still loved him though. And that's the important thing, really. The love here is undeniable.

Help a brotha out.

2008-11-24T22:54:00.003+01:00

I really want to expand my tattoo collection but, being the typical lazy ass university student that I am, I do not have sufficient funds. If anyone would like to donate a small amount of money to contribute to my next ink job, please feel free to do so. Come on, this is your chance to show me that you love me. Any amount will do, come on. All I'd need is around 80-1oo euros. Cash is fine, cheque is too. Lint and used chewing gum isn't, sorry.

Ideas for tattoos:

- 2 more guitar designs similar to my first one

- a star

- a pool (billiards) 8-ball, e.g. :

- The bat on the fretboard of this guitar (one of mine):

- Something that has to do with the World Trade Centre

- Something that has to do with hockey

Mmmm so many ideas, so little bare skin! Actually I have a lot of remaining untouched skin, but I doubt I'd do all of these. One or 2 within the next few years. Anyway, my ideas are for my own personal pleasure, so if you don't like them, any of them, well I couldn't care less. Feel free to say which one you prefer though, suggestions are welcome.

Our latest addition to the family.

2008-11-22T14:20:00.002+01:00

She's finally here - yes it's a she - Anabel Farrugia was born this morning at exactly 10am. I just returned from hospital, my new baby sister seems to be perfectly healthy and well, weighing in at 3.5kg.

She and I already have a few things in common. We're the only two siblings out of four who were born here in Gozo, and on a 22nd. Then there's the quite obvious fact which I don't even have to point out that we're the most adorable. Duh.

I thank God for the well-being of both my mother and her new baby. Time to dish out the cigars and the champagne.

That's one way to put it.

2008-11-21T16:32:00.002+01:00

On a thread in a forum related to whether premarital sex is good or not, one fellow guitarist on Ultimate-Guitar gave the first response, which practically made everyone's day.

"Would you buy a guitar before trying it?"

Needless to say, I lol'd.

An interesting thought.

2008-11-19T15:14:00.003+01:00

I'm sure many people have thought about this before. Let's say you're minding your own business somewhere by a road. Then, out of nowhere, a speeding ambulance runs you over and causes you severe injury.

Jokes and irony aside, as funny as it may seem, what do the paramedics do? Do they stop, take you in, and take you back to hospital? Do they keep going to assist to the emergency they were called for and let another ambulance come for you? Do they take you in, then keep going to assist to the other emergency? Maybe they just say "Fuck, not again" and park the ambulance somewhere and smoke a cigarette.

Anyone willing to volunteer so that we see what they do, please do not hesitate to contact me so we can conduct this experiment. Please, by all means, don't be shy.

A message of hope.

2008-11-18T20:56:00.005+01:00

I was locked all day in the summer heat,

In a small brown house in Suburban Street,

With a skateboard and my shit guitar,

I'd dream all day that they would get me far,

My dad would ask me about my grades,

The asshole sports that I never played.

And then I'd ask about the girls he'd date,

Behind our backs when mom would stay up late.

It was near when I turned sixteen,

Got kicked out of school, and so it seemed

that things were closing in and ready to blow,

My dad moved out about that year or so,

It took an hour to start a punk rock band

To offset my fucked up family land

And as I held my mom would start to cry

I swore ourselves a better life

If I had a chance for another try,

I wouldn’t change a thing

It's made me all of who I am inside

And if I could thank God

That I am here, and that I am alive

And everyday I wake

I tell myself a little harmless lie

The whole wide world is mine

The summer's gone,

the years have passed,

My friends have changed,

a few did last,

The smallest dreams got pushed aside,

The largest ones that changed my life,

And all I wish for was come to pass

From rock and roll,

to love and cash

It’s all success if it’s what you need

Do what you like and do it honestly

If I had a chance for another try,

I wouldn’t change a thing

It's made me all of who I am inside

And if I could thank God

That I am here, and that I am alive

And everyday I wake

I tell myself a little harmless lie

The whole wide world is mine

Angels and Airwaves - Rite of Spring

I won't cry wolf.

2008-11-17T10:40:00.002+01:00

Sitting on my bed at the flat. No one else is here right now, and I'm just passing the time until my next lecture at 1pm. It's raining and I feel quite relaxed. This song I'm listening to by Adema with the thunder in the distance is very soothing.

Juno's a pretty good movie, Ellen Page is a great actor. Got a bit freaked out at the awkward tension between Juno and Mark, I was almost sure he was gonna try to make out with her. It's funny how Paulie wears short shorts throughout the whole movie.

Meh.

Lights, camera, rock out.

2008-11-15T16:23:00.002+01:00

Sometimes when I really get into a song, I start directing a video for it in my head. The more I listen to it, the more ideas I get and the more detailed the scenes I invent become. It's a really fun idea which I wish I could put into practice but that's impossible. I do not have the essential resources or expertise for that matter, so I'm just going to continue playing these videos in my head.

The bands whose songs I really get into the most are Funeral fo a Friend and Angels & Airwaves. Everything about their songs contributes to my ideas of what my videos would be like. The lyrics, the song structure, the overall feel, the heaviness or mellowness of the guitars, they all play a role. I dig even deeper into the song when the visuals run through my head, because the message of the song is amplified with the sense of sight along with that of sound.

Hey who knows, maybe someday I'll do something like this as a side project for fun.

A small tribute.

2008-11-14T10:13:00.003+01:00

Before getting into music, my childhood was basically all about hockey. I found this video with shots of some of my greatest idols when I was young, including the likes of Gordie Howe, Mike Modano, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky.

Backing this video is the song they play everytime a goal is scored at a hockey game. Originally by Gary Glitter, "Rock n' Roll Part 2" is now more commonly known as "The Hey Song" by sports fans and athletes alike. It's a great song to chant along to when you're celebrating a goal at the ice rink, or in the living room in front of the television with your hockey buddies and bottles of beer.

A stroke of genius.

2008-11-14T00:42:00.003+01:00

Rough weather lately. The ferry ride back to Gozo wasn't that pleasant, with all the swaying and rocking back and forth. Having just eaten, I really wasn't in the mood to throw up. So I closed my eyes and covered my face and just concentrated for a couple of minutes.

Then it hit me.

A lot of people suffer from seasickness. There have been many methods which were tried to help stop it or at least minimize it. But have they tried suspended seats? Yes, seats chained from the ceiling, making them look like giant swings. How would this work? Well, as the ship sways from side to side, the seat remains stationary and the person wouldn't be feeling the same motion the ship is going through.

It's kind of like the principle of having buildings' bases allowed to roll during earthquakes, but instead of moving ground, there's moving water. Swivel chairs, or other seats on wheels wouldn't work because the ship itself is moving against the current, but when something is suspended it isn't affected.

Mass production will start immediately. I will be the guy dragging chains behind me, using them to dangle your seat from the ceiling. No need to thank me. Actually, yes there is. Cash would do.

P.S. There wasn't really any strong thinking behind all this, so chances are that I'm really way off and the whole idea is in fact downright stupid. Therefore I strongly advise that you do not try this on any ship. Seriously, don't go strapping the Gozo Channel chairs onto the ceiling.

Why you should never share a Rapidshare account with Jo.

2008-11-13T20:48:00.007+01:00

If you do, your passwords will be retrieved and used later on.

To hack your hi5 profile....

(the grande hi5 finale)

...to hack your Facebook profile...

and to do many other soulless pranks, like subscribing to endless groups on internet communities which take forever to unsubscribe from. Oh well, for once the tables had turned against Luke.

A huge kudos to Jo for finding the passwords and to Rochelle for helping him give Luke's hi5 a "superrrr makeoverrrrr!!"

I'm moving to Norway.

2008-11-12T17:37:00.002+01:00

The country, in my opinion, is highly overlooked. It's got a lot of great things going for it.

It's one of the wealthiest countries in the world (2nd highest GDP per-capita in the world).
It's full of natural resources (4th largest exporter of oil, 2nd largest of seafood).
It ranked the highest of all countries in human development for the past seven years.
It was rated the most peaceful country in the world last year.
It ranked second in the Environmental Performance Index.
It's so self sufficient that it's better off not being in the European Union (they've rejected the treaties to accession twice).
There's a high standard of living.
There's the Government Pension Fund - Global (the largest pension fund in Europe, second largest in the world).
The investment choices of the Norwegian fund are directed by ethical guidelines.
Public education is free.
The majority of the population is fluent in English.
Norway is the best place to live, according to the UN’s Human Development Report, which ranks countries based on such indicators as income per person and life expectancy.
There is a strong drive for more individualist values. Notably there is a very strong support for tolerance towards same-sex relationships compared to most European countries.
Along with environmentalism, animal protection is an important value.

So, where to spend the rest of my life? Norway it is, then. They play hockey there, after all.

For the love of God, know what the hell you're doing on stage.

2008-11-12T00:16:00.003+01:00

I wasn't going to bother blogging today, until I was "inspired" to do so.

Many of us have seen this:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QAMyQdBWhUw

I thought that nothing could possibly ever be as bad as that.

Well I was wrong. Very wrong.

...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MjWKAnrsUe4

...

Sorry for making you want to rip out your ears like that.

Don't give me that "They're just kids!" bullshit. If I'm 13 and I sound like that, I know not to get my ass on stage anytime soon.

So, what have we learned today kids? Practise, practise, practise. And tune your damn guitar before a live performance.

Am I the only one...

2008-11-09T23:50:00.001+01:00

...who thinks toasted bread with cream cheese topped with sliced olives is absolutely delicious?

It's almost as good as a scrambled egg and mayonnaise sandwich.

The ongoing debate that never seems to be solved.

2008-11-09T16:49:00.002+01:00

Recent years in our country have been riddled with story after story of illegal immigrants reaching our shores. Eventually this has built up to much protesting from the Maltese citizens.

We've brought up many accusations against these people, however the problem is that not all of them are just. Some of the good points mentioned, and let me emphasize on the fact that I agree with them and they are not related to racism in any way, are:

Malta cannot physically handle the situation on its own, as it is already one of the most densely populate countries in Europe and the figures related to illegal immigration are overwhelming. It is receiving very minimal international help and therefore has to carry most of the burden on its own.
A portion of these illegal immigrants are abusing the Refugee treaties and conventions which have been signed by our country.

Now, alongside these fair protests are some unfair judgements which I think should be pointed out. First of all, many of us think that EVERY illegal immigrant should get their ass kicked out of here and sent back to their homeland. After discussing it out with Jo we both agreed that, while a certain amount of these people are indeed abusing the Refugee treaties and conventions, some aren't and they have a truly valid reason for fleeing their country. For example, the country may be going through a civil war. These people really did not have any other option and truly deserve to be helped and to live a better and safe life elsewhere rather than in their own country.

Jo then explained that the proper procedures should be carried out in Malta with the arrival of illegal immigrants. These include verifying the reason for their escape from the country so that the proper action can be taken. That way, those who really need help can be treated while those who abused from the situation can be dealt with properly.

What I hope is that everyone else understands that there are those who really do need help, and we should reach out to these people. Also, I hope that we do not protest out of racism, believing that every African should be shunned out due to their different cultural background and skin colour. It's time to take action for our country's safety, but let us not do it with the wrong mentality.

Idiosyncratic.

2008-11-08T02:35:00.004+01:00

The Imagery have just officially launched their first EP, "Idiosyncratic", through a gig at Rookies Sports Bar, Bugibba, Malta.

First off, a little about Rookies. It's a sports bar that pays homage to North American sports along with the typical European soccer and whatnot. Posters and jerseys of hockey and baseball players alongside various pieces of sports equipment stuck to the walls including hockey sticks and pucks. The bar has a very modest stage; the walls riddled with band posters and guitars signed by local talent. In other words, I don't think I'd find a better place for me personally to hang out at frequently if I were to live in Malta. Where else would I be able to find posters of Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Green Day and System of a Down in the same building?

I've been following The Imagery ever since they first started. Over the past couple of years they've grown more accustomed to live performances and have been able to define their own sound without falling into a specific genre. Confidence and stage presence has greatly increased since their first gigs with 3-song setlists, and they are definitely nothing short of entertaining. Last night's setlist included the likes of Wolfmother's "Love Train", Against Me's "Stop!", Muse's "Feeling Good", The Wombats' "Let's Dance to Joy Division", The Raconteurs' "Consolers of the Lonely" and Franz Ferdinand's "Do You Want To". From such songs you can get the general idea of what kind of sound the band has been able to familiarize with the most. Songs you can dance to, jump around to, headbang to and smash your buddy's head on a table to.

Alongside these songs were the four tracks of their EP:

1. Margie Bloom
2. Vegetarian Bacon Salad
3. Out There
4. Shakespeare's Break

Being a band who I personally think have a sound and stage performance unique to the island of Gozo, they are very well capable of standing out among other acts in the whole country. If you really want to support the band, I suggest you buy the EP, and don't make copies of it or send the songs around.

To conclude, you know you will never be cool or smart enough to name something "Vegetarian Bacon Salad". Leave it to them.