The Fat Lazy Guy

I'm blogging elsewhere!

2009-12-03T22:30:00.002+13:00

Join me at:
The Fat Lazy Guy's Log

This blog has had it's time. Concentrating all my blogging efforts at the above link.

Shad

2008-09-01T18:28:00.003+12:00

Wow, long time no post. Honestly, this blog is so under used. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I just randomly caught this video clip from Shad on Alt TV. It's called The Old Prince Still Lives at Home. Check it:

Dude's really got some old school flavor, but it sounds fresh. Really tight.

Check some other vids on Youtube. And check out his myspace for a free download.

Firefox 3

2008-06-19T23:14:00.003+12:00

It's finally here, and it's AWESOME.

Yes, Firefox 3 has now been officially released, and you can download it here.

Let's just face it, Firefox pWns IE. And now, Firefox 3 pWns it even harder. Right after installing I could tell it was faster. I've never bought into that whole faster thing. With FF2 and IE7, I couldn't tell the difference. But with FF3... it's discernibly faster, and that is awesome :D

But yeah, aside from that, there are some cosmetic changes, and it's now rendering the "dotted" border attribute as rounded dots, rather than square dots, and that's about all I really notice at the moment.

So go download it!

CDex Icon

2008-06-18T20:46:00.007+12:00

So, remember how I was talking about that CDex icon? This one:

I mentioned I was going to make a new one, and well, I've done just that. Take a look:

So yeah, it pretty much looks nothing like the old one. I originally had the idea to do just do a CD with "ex" in small letters in the bottom corner or something. Then I saw this icon:

designed by Simon Cook, and I thought the X in the middle was great. So I made my own CD with the X in the middle, then put the "e" on the left. It didn't quite feel finished, so I put an upside down "e" on the other side. I thought about doing "e"s all the way around, but it wouldn't have been right.

Like the K-Meleon icon, it took quite a long time. Lots of masks. Lots of different colour choices, but that orange just got into my head.

Anyway, if you want to use it, click here to download it.

Karma K-Meleon

2008-06-12T04:30:00.004+12:00

Geez, it's been about a month since I've posted in here. I haven't had much to post about, and I hate just regurgitating other information, so blah.

But anyway, I've found a new hobby (sure to last only a few days). That hobby is creating icons.

It started when I began trying to make my own PS3 theme. I scoured the net for icons to use on the XMB, and came across some really great icons. IconArchive.com, iconBase.com, and IconsPedia.com have some great selections (though you'll find plenty of overlap).

So I d/led some icons to replace various ones on my computer, and started noticing all the ugly icons I had left that I hadn't been able to find replacements for. Well, there was only about 4 or 5 that I thought needed changing, and now there are only 2.

The first icon I made was for Google Talk. The original icon: isn't necessarily ugly, I just wanted something a little more polished. Having searched for that icon up there, it came to my attention that there are quite a few custom icons for Google Talk, but never mind. Anyway, so this is what I came up with:

Note: The pink/green background isn't there on the actual icon.

My second icon was made for K-Meleon. A little known browser running off the same gecko engine as Mozilla, Firefox, etc. I've become a bit of a browser collector lately, using Firefox, Opera, K-Meleon and (only when necessary) IE. But anyway, this was the original icon for K-Meleon: Kind of cutesy, but very pixelated, and not transparent. I went searching for custom icons on Google, but there was nothing. Anyway, it was a VERY long process, but in the end I came up with this:

Much better if I do say so myself. And again, the pink/green background isn't a part of the actual icon.

The next couple I want to replace are the icons for Audacity and CDex. There are a few custom Audacity icons around, but only one of them is any good (to me, at least), and that is this one here. If you want to use the icon, just ask him (I did) and he'll send you the png which is awesome. So here's a plug to JohnLepinski.com. He is one heck of a graphic designer.

The current CDex icon is just plain horrible: I mean it's pixelated, it's not keeping in with the current trends. It's a very Win95 icon :D There's a couple out there for it, but they're not that great either, so I'll have to see what I can come up with.

Btw, if you want that Google Talk icon, it's available here ().

Savage -Swing (remix ft. Soulja Boy)

2008-05-10T01:34:00.008+12:00

So we've heard lots of news around the blogs about Savage doing great on the US iTunes, and that his single "Swing" would be getting remixed, and someone would be jumping on the track with him. Well, turns out it was ultimate love-to-hate/hate-to-love artist today, Soulja Boy.

Here's the track:

Personally, I never really liked the original song in the first place, and Soulja Boy's presence doesn't make it any better. In fact his little intro thing completely puts me off from the beginning. And what's this "Oh na na?"

My final word on the track is if it's making a New Zealand artist some money, then I'm all for it. So go ahead Savage, and make your money.

MTV Australia Awards

2008-04-28T21:20:00.000+12:00

First off, just wanted to say that the GTA: IV available in NZ is NOT the unedited version, it is infact the Aussie version. Stupid Take Two submitted the Aussie version to be classified. So it's not the NZ censor's fault, it's bloody Rockstar!

But anyway, the awards.

Absolutely horrible. We'll start with the beginning. That is Mischa Barton introducing the show and the host... "Wyclef Gene." [sic] From that moment on, it was destined to failure. Next came Wyclef's failed attempts at trying to connect with the Aussie audience. Then awards, and failed humor, performances, and more awards and everything all over again until it finished.

Highlights of the night:

Scribe - It was pretty obvious Scribe would win, hell he was sitting right there with Sir-Vere. But the best part was his drunken speech. F***ing o-sum!
The voiceover dude from Mythbusters - You know that voice that would come out of no where to announce a performer or a presenter? That's the dude that does the voiceovers on Mythbusters! The narrator. Robert Lee.
Juliette Lewis and the Licks performance - No, I didn't put this as a highlight because it was great. It was okay... up until the extended, full-band drum solo, or whatever it was. I had to change the channel, then change back, then change away, and then back, many times. Finally it seemed over, until Juliette proclaimed that we thought we knew her. Then the madness went on for about another minute or so. So satisfyingly horrific, I wouldn't be surprised to find it on Youtube one day soon.
Potbelleez performance - The only performance that seemed to really connect with the whole crowd.
Swearing - 'Nuff said.

Lowlights of the night:

The Veronicas having their mic's turned off - At the beginning of the performance, they had their mics turned on, but their voices kept on being drowned out, so the directors or whatever decided to turn down their mics and turn up the pre-recorded vocals. And the tell tale sign was when they came together and walked to the front of the stage. They were saying things in the mic, but nothing was coming out :D
Wyclef hosting - Dude's a great performer, song writer, all that. I'll give him props. But dude can't host awards shows. Get someone who knows what they're doing.
The whole freaking concept! - Sports, acting, and karma awards, etc.? What the hell happened to best R&B/Hip Hop? Best Rock? Album of the Year? Way to go MTV Australia, you devalued all of your artists by not giving them something to go up against, just themselves. And you devalued the NZ artists. You completely fail at awards.

It had it's moments, but mostly it was just a study into the depths of mediocrity. Let's hope next year they get their act together and do a proper awards ceremony.

Lost Theft Auto: IV

2008-04-24T22:47:00.003+12:00

Only a few more hours till Episode 9 of Season 4 finally hits our screens! I'm planning on rewatching all of Season 4 so far tomorrow, and finish it off with the new episode. I hope it lives up to all this hype :D

Also, I preordered GTA:IV. Thank god New Zealand has an R18 rating, unlike Aussie. That's right, UNEDITED! Woo! April is a month of greatness!

Lost - Midseason Break: Week 3

2008-04-10T19:22:00.002+12:00

Well, it's the end of our 3rd week without Lost, most of my withdrawal symptoms are fading, and I'm just generally looking forward to seeing some more Lost.

As of this moment, only 14 more days left to go!

Okay, so I lied, I'm dying for a Lost fix. I'm so tempted to buy the Lost season 3 dvds, but I really want to get them on Blu-ray, and they're not available on Blu-ray over here. So I'm forced to rewatch Season 4 so far, again. Did any of y'all catch the changing machines and the different breathing apparatus of that dude when Michael was in the hospital and he dreamed about Libby? I thought that was strange.

But anyway, not a whole lot of info. According to DarkUFO, there may be another hour of Lost this season! So that takes it from 5 remaining hours to 6!

What are y'all doing to sate your Lost cravings?

Hip Hop Blog Update

2008-04-08T16:58:00.001+12:00

So as you are probably all aware if you keep up with the NZ Hip Hop blogs, the Tour of Dirty has made it's way around NZ, and that's pretty much all the talk has been on the blogs. Well there have been a few gems posted up lately that everyone should take a look at.

First up, over on Slick Talk, Slick-Van XL (a.k.a. PNC) has a great post up about his song Just Roll. He's got a mix up that takes all the lines he references from 80s and 90s songs and puts them actual song. See if you can get them all :D He also explains about how he got the sample for the song, and it's quite an interesting story.

Next, over on Full Disclosure, P-Money's got a post about the NZ music industry, and how one might go about selling beats. The disclaimer at the start mentions it's not an indepth explanation, but even this on-the-surface look at the NZ music industry is fascinating, and worth the read.

Over on MTC, they've got a few vids of their artists up. The two I found most interesting are of Young Sid. One is a behind the scenes clip of the making of Sid's latest video for his single "My Letter", and the other is a preview of said video. The video looks like it's set to be pretty good from what I can see on the behind the scenes clip, although the preview looks quite... self-indulgent. So I won't make any decisions or anything till the whole thing comes out. I'm a fan of Sid, being from South Aucks and all, so yeah.

David Dallas is still pumping out the content like nobody's business. You'd think he'd want to relax after being on tour, I suppose that's why his manager upped the latest mix. 41 has just remixed one of my favourite songs off of Magic City, Get Back, which features none other than Dave and PNC. If I'd never heard the original beat for this, I think this could have been a great choice, but the original can't be surpassed on this occasion. So go check it out, and if you haven't heard the original, watch this after the 1.59 mark:

One more MTC post, this time from veteran DJ Sir-Vere. Dude put up a post hyping Smashproof's new stuff hard, and I've got to say it's got me excited. He makes a great point concerning Tyree, and people not feeling his flow or lyrical ability, and I have to say I was one of them. I know the guy has musical talent (I was in his music class in High School, the dude is hella talented), so it's great to here Sir-Vere say he's a lot better than he was. So yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing some new Smashproof.

Finally, we end our journey with Straight From The Horse's Mouth, Mareko's blog. Dude posted up some massive news about one of his Deceptikonz brothers, Savage, making it all the way to #16 on the iTunes US Top 100 Hip Hop charts. I think that's seriously the highest a New Zealand hip hop artist has ever gotten in any US chart... unless you count OMC as hip hop. But even then I can't remember how far they got. I may not like Savage's music, style or lyrics, but I got to give him credit for doing that, man. That's almost unbelievable.

That's all for now.

Peace

Fat Lazy Gaming

2008-04-06T23:47:00.002+12:00

As a Fat Lazy Guy, it should be obvious that I'd like gaming. And I do. I have a PS3 and a Wii. Unfortunately, every day that I continue not to play my Wii, just makes me want to sell it that much more. It's not that I have anything against the Wii, it's just not for me. I played Wii Sports to death, and I haven't played another game that makes use of the motion sensing capabilities as good as it does.

As for the Xbox 360, again, I have nothing against it, I just prefer not to own one. I mean most of the games that are available for the Xbox 360 are available for the PS3, aside from a few exclusives.

But anyway, there are 3 or 4 games coming out soon (sort of) that I am absolutely dying to play.

1. Gran Turismo 5 - This game is just... Okay, here's how good it is. The Prologue version which could be called a demo (BUT SHOULDN'T!) went platinum before one copy was even sold. That's right, over 1 million pre-orders. That's how much people want this game. Kazunori Yamauchi has already released info that damage could be coming to Prologue as soon as fall (in the northern hemisphere) this year... DAMAGE. The one thing people held against GT for all these years will finally be a part of the GT series. And you can bet your ass it'll be perfect. Maybe not in this first iteration, but come GT5, the full game, it'll just kick your ass.

2. Grand Theft Auto: IV - If you've never heard of this game and you come from an English speaking country... I'm just sorry. One of, if not, THE MOST hyped games for this year, and it's almost here! There's not really much I can say about it except that it just looks freaking awesome.

3. Rock Band - This one's just a personal one. I've never been a fan of Guitar Hero. Hell, I've never even played it. Maybe that's because I play guitar myself and actually appreciate the subtleties of the instrument. But Rock Band takes it further, and gives you the ability to take on the role of drummer, lead singer, guitarist, or bassist. The thing about Rock Band, though, is that it's already out in America. It has been for a good while now. It hasn't however, seen a PAL edition. Europe, Aussie and NZ haven't gotten a chance to play it yet. And now that they've actually set a release date, turns out it's just for the Xbox 360. There is the option of importing it, but there's no point in importing just the game, you have to import the big box with everything in it, and that costs. So hurry the hell up, EA!

4. Home & Little Big Planet - I decided to put these together since they'll be released on the PSN, and technically Home isn't a game. Home is kind of like Second Life for the PS3, but then, it isn't JUST a Second Life-like app. It's really like a home for your PS3 online. Instead of using the chat feature on the XMB, you'd just go into Home and meet up with your friends. Then you can all decide to play a game. I believe GT5 is incorporating Home into the game, allowing you to go back and forth between them, inviting people to race and such.

Little Big Planet... well the title just explains it, really. It's this small game that does huge things and is a huge step for Sony. It could almost be seen as Sony's attempt at a Wii game for the PS3, and based on the information and footage thus far, it just looks amazing. I almost hate to put it last, because it's certainly not my least wanted game.

But anyway, those are just a few games I'm looking forward to, and y'all should be too!

I Make Videos: Still Makin' Em

2008-03-31T21:08:00.000+13:00

Darren Rowse over at Problogger.net recently posed a challenge to his readers to put together a video explaining why they blog. I decided to participate, and here's my entry:

If you want to read more about my video, check this post.

If you have any questions about how I accomplished anything, feel free to leave a comment and I'll be sure to reply. Or you can just shower me with praise :D

Here are my previous video posts:
I Make Videos, You Can Too!
My First Real Video

Lost - Midseason Break: Week 2

2008-03-31T05:44:00.004+13:00

Read my brief re-cap of the first 8 episodes of Lost's 4th Season.

Hey there Lost fans. Well, we're heading into week 2 of the Midseason Break. As of this moment, there are now only 25 days till Lost returns. There's lots of things you could be doing right now to fill up your new found time (or should that be Lost time?).

You could be watching whatever show is filling that time slot in your area.

You could be playing Lost: Via Domus (DON'T! It's not worth the time or money).

Or you could be doing something awesome like re-watching Lost from Season 1 all the way through to Season 4 Episode 8: Meet Kevin Johnson, having scheduled it all out so that the second that Meet Kevin Johnson finishes Episode 9: The Shape of Things to Come starts!

If you're not awesome enough to do something like that (heck, even I'm not that awesome), then in the meantime you can drop us a comment and let us know one reason why you think Lost is the greatest show of all time. And you DO think Lost is the greatest show of all time... right?!

I Make Computer Graphics, You Can Too!

2008-03-27T16:58:00.004+13:00

I make many things. As the last post attests to, I make videos (occasionally), but I also make computer graphics. In fact, I mentioned a computer graphics program and a couple of processes in the previous post.

I started out tinkering with computer graphics and photo manipulation back when I was in high school with a version of Paintshop Pro 7 I downloaded off Kazaa (yes, I know, not exactly a moral thing to do, but I was a kid, I wanted something, and I couldn't pay for it). I don't know why I didn't go with Photoshop, but that's not the point. I learned the basics from that program, and I still miss its interface from time to time :D

Anyway, after playing with that for a good while, and learning of the dangers (and immorality :D) of filesharing, I decided I needed a change. I had read on a forum somewhere about this thing called the Gimp that was free (and opensource), and decided to check it out. I absolutely hated it at first. It was nothing like Jasc's PSP 7, and I couldn't do what I wanted to do with it. I decided to stick with it just because I couldn't afford anything else, and started to relearn how to do things in the Gimp that I used to do in PSP 7.

Fast forward a few years to now, and I can say I'm definitely satisfied with the Gimp. I don't use all the features available, but I can usually get the results I desire. I've also added Inkscape (another free and opensource graphics program) to my arsenal to handle vector graphics.

As for things I've created with these programs, all the images used in the design of this blog (and my other blogs) were created with the Gimp and Inkscape. This banner I used for my travel blog (that hasn't been updated in a while :D) was made from a bunch of images that I chopped up and mashed together. And I made the backwards New Zealand sign in Inkscape. Here it is without the text:

I recently designed a banner for Cmae's blog:

And although they haven't decided to use it, I designed a web 2.0 logo for ...shot then.com (my first real attempt at a web 2.0 style logo):

I made this for a friend:

Then there's my avatar:

And then this for another friend's avatar (that Cap'n text wasn't originally there):

Made this for another friend:

Another thing made for a friend:

I made this just for fun:

This one was for a friend (the guy actually in the image :D He doesn't look like that in real life :D):

Oh, and that image I made for Valentine's Day:

All images where applicable.

Haha, this turned into a gallery of sorts. I just wanted to show off some images I'm proud of.

So yeah. I make computer graphics, and you can too!

I Make Videos, You Can Too!

2008-03-26T21:15:00.000+13:00

Yes I do. Well, I've only made two so far, this one I'm about to post, and one I posted about a while ago.

Technically, with this video and the previous one, all I've done is animation and video editing. I haven't actually shot any footage. The main reason for that is because I haven't got a video camera (video mode on my kodak easyshare doesn't count), and I haven't got any good video editing software (Windows Movie Maker, while handy, is crap). Plus my hardware isn't exactly top notch either.

So I would love to write, direct, produce, film and edit something, and maybe I will. Probably not in the recent future, though :D

But anyway, here's the video:

Cactus Freek asked me how I made it, so here's a brief tutorial:

First off, I took photos of everything and opened them up in the Gimp, cut around them to remove the background (a LONG process, by the way), and scaled them accordingly. That's basically all the prep.

Now comes the animation. With this I worked backwards. I started with the final image of everything unpacked by moving all the items to where I wanted them to be, and saved it as a jpeg. Then I continued working backwards, moving and rotating each item bit by bit towards the envelope, saving to a different image after each move (100, 099, 098, etc).

After the main animation was done, I just reopened the first and last frames, added some text, and that was it for the all the frames of the animation. In total, there were 59 frames.

It was then time to put all the frames together in Windows Media Maker. I know there are other tools better suited to this, but it was about 9 or 10 pm by this point, and I needed to get it done before the day was over. So I imported them, threw them in the storyboard, changed the length of time each frame is displayed, added some audio, and exported the wmv. Upped it to Youtube (which took ages because I exceeded my monthly bandwidth limit so it's shaped to 128k speeds), and what appeared above was the final product.

More David Dallas

2008-03-25T02:34:00.006+13:00

What can I say? Dude is just releasing crazy content right now, and you'd be a fool not to check it out. Right now over on his blog he's releasing some remixes of some Frontline stuff, and as usual it's mean as.

Just as a little taster, here's the first song from the remixes (peep the post for the d/l link):

So go ahead an check it out. I also believe you can subscribe to his podcast and get all the remixes and everything via that, so check the link over on the blog.

Lost - Midseason Break

2008-03-25T00:39:00.002+13:00

Just thought I'd mention first to any New Zealanders reading this, it contains spoilers. If you follow along the American schedule, then you're all good.

Wow. What an action packed 8 episodes. I've hesitated to post anything about the episodes in here because I've been discussing the episodes indepth over here (It's a small forum with about 4-5 regular posters). But this month long break gives me a chance to recap some significant events.

Lets start with the obvious/easy stuff first. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Aaron are the Oceanic 6. The producers have confirmed it (in so much as they confirmed the promos), and we've seen them all off the Island. They get off, but they have to keep a secret, supposedly what Jack said in court about Kate, though he stopped before he could finish, and we don't know if he's the cause of the lie, or if someone external force is the cause.

Kate is raising Aaron! Claire's Aaron. Wtf?

Michael is Ben's spy on the freighter. He DID make off the Island, but couldn't deal with what he did to achieve this, so tried to kill himself. All his attempts fail, and he's contacted by Tom on behalf of Ben. He jumps through some hoops, and right at this point he's standing in front of the captain of the freighter having been outed by Sayid.

Widmore is in fact the person behind the freighter! It seems both Penny and her father have been looking for Desmond. The big question at the moment is who is more evil, Ben or Widmore, and who needs to win in order for this whole thing to end?

The sub isn't required to get off the Island. However only a certain few are able to (according to Tom). Ben proves this in Sayid's flash-forward episode, where we learn Ben has recruited Sayid to kill a bunch of people to protect his friends (but from who? Ben or Widmore?). If only Sayid knew... he wouldn't have taken such drastic measures with Michael :D

These new people aren't there to save the Losties. They've made that very obvious, and given the last episode, it seems they're there to kill all the Losties instead. They were chosen for their specific skills or knowledge, and I hope we are privy to their studies/findings.

Desmond can travel in time, though only his conscious. It seems that Daniel can as well, and perhaps others. And it also seems like there is a bubble of timewarping goodness around the Island as well.

It is official, Ben is the best manipulator in the world. He manipulates people emotionally, mentally, and physically. He can get you to think you're hurting him when in fact you're just giving him what he wants. Ben is definitely the most interesting character in the show right now.

And Jin is going to die (or be left on the Island). Jin is one of my favourite characters, so that's a sad thing to know. I'm hoping he's just alive on the Island, and Sun and the rest just think he died.

That's about it for the significant stuff. Other things include Juliet was a ho (but an awesomely cool ho), Ben is obsessed with Juliet, Rousseau and Karl have been shot, Tom was gay (everyone knew that already, though), and, um... that's all I can think of right now. Suffice to say, Lost is the greatest show on t.v. right now.

What To Do When Your Blog Is Dying

2008-03-22T01:08:00.001+13:00

The FLG has never really caught on. It started out being my only blog, then I opened up The FLG's Log to handle all the weight loss blogging while trying to keep The FLG as my personal blog. The problem soon arose, however, that I had nothing to post in The FLG because blogging about weight loss is very personal. Everything just seemed to drift over to the Log, and The FLG died.

After closing The FLG I went on with things over at the Log, which had already gathered a few readers. It became my blog for everything I wanted to post, a jack-of-all-trades if you will. After a while I started to notice that it had become sort of bloated (pardon the pun), and I tried to scale things back as far as topics were concerned. This led to a stifling feeling, like I couldn't post anything I wanted, so I thought about it and eventually re-opened The FLG.

The FLG opened rather unceremoniously, and I once again had an outlet for whatever I wanted to post. And I did... at first. Then I got caught in the trap of creating a concept that I couldn't keep up with. I wanted to make The FLG great, and put a spin on the concept, making this a blog about things average Fat Lazy Guys are interested in. Y'know, music, gaming, tech, etc. But I'm no authority, nor do I have an opinion on everything that's coming out. And so that brings us to now.

What To Do When Your Blog Is Dying

There's a number of things you can do, and they're probably really obvious.

1. Close Your Blog - Sometimes you just have to count your losses and move on. This doesn't mean you have to stop blogging all together, just in this particular blog. Be sure to save any good content, though, as it's yours, and you're free to reproduce and republish as you see fit.

2. Reinvent Your Blog - You may have a great title, great blog design, but a poor concept. Think about things you're passionate about, and have lots of opinions about, and blog about them. You can try to be like everyone else, or you can just be yourself. It's much easier to be yourself.

3. Persevere - You may be doing everything right, and still just have no readers. In that case, I'd just keep going, and keep at it. Have a look at sites like ProBlogger, and find ways you can advertise your blog. If your blog is worth reading, it'll be read eventually.

4. Do Nothing - Similar to closing your blog, only with less effort. Just let the blog die :D

What am I planning to do? At the moment, #4. Then perhaps later, #2. We'll see :D

Aotearoa Allstars - Think Twice update - video

2008-03-12T01:33:00.000+13:00

*Update. P-money upped the vid, got it embedded below. The track is released, go buy it!*

Head on over to P-Money's myspace to check out the track.

It almost seems like it was a long time ago that 15-year-old Pihema Cameron was murdered by Bruce Emery, just a day after 22-year-old Saishwar Krishna Naidu was murdered by a 16-year-old. There was nearly a third murder that weekend as well, when a 36-year-old woman was stabbed by a 25-year-old. All in South Auckland, where I live, in the space of a few days.

All this death and violence, well, I guess it got to some people. DJ Sirvere got a whole bunch of people together and decided to do a little something to spread awareness about all this. What resulted is Think Twice by Aotearoa Allstars.

Scribe, Delani, Flowz, Awa, Che-Fu, Cyphanetik, Tek (of R.E.S.), Chong-Nee, PNC, Mareko and Savage all appear on the track and lend their vocal and lyrical abilities to help highlight this increasing problem in today's youth. P-Money and Evan Short (of Concord Dawn fame) lend their talents as producers.

There's a video on the way, and the single will apparently be available to buy March 10th. All proceeds are going to Youthline. For now, as I said, you can check the track out on P-Money's myspace.

My First Real Video

2008-03-10T05:36:00.004+13:00

So after finally managing to find an .flv converter I put together a short little compilation of some of my replays from EA Skate. Took me maybe 30 minutes to an hour to put together the whole thing. I edited it all in Windows Movie Maker. Not the greatest of video tools, but it's all I have. The audio track is, of course, Get Out the Way by David Dallas. And yeah. Oh, and if you haven't played Skate, go do it. WAY better than the Tony Hawk games.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-03-08T06:17:00.001+13:00

Yep, another year older. The double-deuce, 22. Not really doing anything, got nothing planned, but we'll see how the day goes.

South Auckland Twisters!

2008-03-07T23:03:00.009+13:00

Photo courtesy of TV3 and Michelle

I first heard about these from my mum, but I thought she was just kidding. Then I just had a look over on Stuff and they've got a little stab on them as well. TV3 even reported on it! I talked to my mum a bit more about them, and it turned out she actually saw them as she was coming back from her course. Well, the one in Manukau anyway. Craziness. We've had some mini-tornadoes before around here. One was actually just a few streets away and took off someone's roof. These ones apparently didn't do any damage, and it's possible they might not have actually touched down.

"When a scammer comes along, you must whip it!"

2008-03-07T22:23:00.003+13:00

Ah, thank you Devo.

There's a great post on Deep Jive Interests about a new scam. You might remember the old post on here about scammers and phishers. Well this new scam is aimed at site owners/bloggers. Basically they ask to buy a link on your site, they send too much money via cheque, ask you to send back the amount they overpaid you, and then you find out later that the cheque never clears.
Link (via ProBlogger)

Don't Die... Or Else!

2008-03-06T19:01:00.002+13:00

I love the Oddly Enough section over at Reuters. This story is a doozy. A mayor of a village in southwest France has told his people not to die because the cemetery is full. I think this is a fantastic strategy. A fantastic strategy for zombies!

Say you're dead, you're buried, but you want to help out by giving someone else a turn at being dead. Well, all you have to do is get that satellite that the U.S. shot down (which supposedly had plutonium in it), give it a bit of a shake over your grave, and bam! You're now a flesh eating zombie! And, you're now able to rent out your grave to those who have recently departed, giving you a shot of income! And seeing as how in that area "eternal properties" are in such high demand, you could make quite a pretty penny!

You could also have the option of simply not dying and instead becoming undead, again easing congestion. You could probably qualify for the sickness benefit as well, seeing as most employers are quite anti-zombie these days. It's so horrible to witness such lifism.

W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. Video Preview!

2008-02-24T01:38:00.003+13:00

So this is in no way an exclusive, but you have to enter a password to get to the vids over on Wale's blog on Elitaste, so just consider this an easier alternative. These clips are REALLY short as well, only like 5 seconds or so, but they let you know that it's pretty much a recreation of the famous Justice clip. I'll hopefully have to full video when it gets released.

Moonlight Dancing

2008-02-23T01:14:00.003+13:00

If you haven't already heard the song, jump on over to PNC's blog (*brand new* ;)) and check out the video for Moonlight.

First off, let me say I'm a big PNC fan. I love his flow, his lyrical ability, and the dude has put out some really solid videos for his singles (though I really wish there was a video for Bomb! One of my favourite tracks). The dude is one of New Zealand's greatest MCs (I'm not going to make a list or anything... or am I?). But even the greatest among us have slipped a few times, and in my opinion (let me stress that I'm just a fat lazy guy with an opinion, so take it for what you will) Moonlight is one of those slips for PNC (and just a slight slip at that).

I'll start with the music. Official, who produced the beat for another of PNC's singles (Just Roll), again is responsible for the beat on Moonlight. Now, I love the beat. There's nothing wrong with the beat. It gives the song an ethereal feel, and it suits the title. The problem with the music comes in at the chorus.

As someone with a myspace account, like everyone else I get random friend requests from music artists who don't quite have the exposure some other artists have. And so it is for that reason I am familiar with Zeisha Fremaux. She's the chick who appears in the chorus. She is one of the problems I personally have with the song. While she has a good voice in that she can sing in tune, and has reasonable tonality, it's just not popping. You can hear in the first few times she sings the chorus that they've either had someone come in and do bg vocals for her as well (or she came in after someone already laid some down), or they messed with her voice a bit and used it as a double for her to add a bit of depth. The only times I enjoy the chorus is when her voice is replaced with a synthesizer. Honestly, I think it would make the track just that much better if they went back and replaced all the choruses with the synthesized version.

See, now that wasn't so bad. I think that's my only real criticism of the music, and it wasn't even PNC's fault :D

Now for the video. Jonathan Gerard takes on the role of director for Moonlight. A member of the Fish'n'Clips team, he's directed a few NZ music videos by bands such as Pluto and The Mint Chicks. I'm not really familiar with his other work, but Moonlight isn't his strongest attempt. (Again, let me frame this by saying this is only my personal opinion.)

The video just isn't that interesting. PNC in a couple different outfits in front of a couple different backgrounds with a couple dancers and some tags? I realise he was probably trying to take a minimalist approach to convey the ethereal, floating feel of the song, but I guess it wasn't quite minimalist enough.

So, to break it down a bit. Why does PNC need to change outfits? There's no reason that I can gather from the song itself. But I suppose this question is connected to the background changes. I just don't see the point. It doesn't seem to connect anything. In fact, in a video that is so minimalist, the changes are distracting and feel disjointed.

I understand the reason for the dancers. The chorus references dancing, and so, we have dancers. I even like the effect used on the dancers. What makes the dancers a bad choice, in my opinion, is the way they're used. They appear sporadically, are dancing in a way that doesn't seem to mirror the song, and unlike PNC and Zeisha actually look at the camera. Like the outfit and background changes, the dancers only serve to make the video feel even more disconnected.

Then there's Zeisha. Unfortunately, direction is her problem. It's obvious she's been told to look at something away from the camera and keep her eye on it, and been told to dance and use her arms. It just looks so... contrived, and so laboured. PNC has the advantage of glasses, whereas Zeisha remains so focussed on this thing off camera that it just makes you think "I wonder what she's looking at?" Like I said, this isn't her problem, Gerard was just unable to think of something less distracting for her.

Another thing is that Zeisha is only placed in the chorus (obviously because she sings it), but is seen at almost no other time, and is never doing anything but that dancing on the spot. Perhaps if she had been imagined as a character for PNC to interact with, she would have fit in better in the video, and perhaps would have made the video as a whole a lot better.

Then there's the tags. The problem with the tags is that there's not enough of them, and they're too static. Some of them are just thrown on the screen and do nothing more than take up space, but some of them are given movement and really emphasise the lyric (for example, "Boom"). Now, the reason why I said there's not enough of them is because a whole video could be made from just these tags alone. Give them some movement, make them come alive, and you could have a great video. But the way they're done here just seems like they were thrown in.

Just as an aside, watch the end of this video (from 2.05min onwards) featuring none other than PNC to see a really creative use of words in a music video. Sure, it's not the same feel, but it gives you an idea.

Okay, so there we have it. My review of the new single and video for PNC, Moonlight. And let me just end it by saying I'm just one guy, and my opinion means squat. I don't mean for PNC, Jonathan Gerard, Zeisha Fremaux or anyone involved in the project to feel bad about it. The fact that you guys made the song and the video is proof enough of your talent and abilities. This is just one guy's opinion, who has no influence whatsoever, and who you'll probably never meet. But then again, if on the off chance you happen to read this and do take my opinion to heart, and can see my point of view on things and understand my criticisms, then I'm glad I was able to help :D

Peace.

John Campbell Going to Jail?

2008-02-22T22:54:00.004+13:00

I first saw this story on Stuff.co.nz. Apparently Campbell's interview with the medal thief has landed the TV3 news team and Campbell in a bit of hot water. The police questioned them over the identity of the guy, but being professional journalists, they said they won't reveal their sources.

Now, I've been fairly critical of TV3 news and John Campbell in the past, especially John Campbell... the guy just irks me, but I have to say I'm proud of them for sticking to their guns. They struck a deal with the guy to get the story and they stuck to it. I'm actually really surprised at how they did it, because it's fairly ingenious. They taped the interview with the real guy, transcribed it, destroyed the original tape, and then got an actor to read the guy's answers.

This does kind of conflict with my personal sense of morality, because I'm dead-set against thievery/burglary, and I do have a sense of patriotism, so stealing war medals that were awarded to soldiers who fought for our country does sting. Hell, it more than stings. But this is about TV3's choice not to give up a source, and I think that is more important in this case. Now if this guy had committed a violent crime, then I definitely think TV3 would have contacted the police.

So, I know TV3 won't read this, but this is just to show a bit of support. On ya TV3! Now, if you could just fire Campbell and Dobbo, I'd have no qualms with you.

D.Dallas Mixtape - Final Track

2008-02-18T18:19:00.002+13:00

I mentioned a little while back about the David Dallas mixtape, The Artist Formerly Known As, and how it was being released a track at a time over on his blog. Well now it has come to an end. The final track, Get Out The Way, is actually an exclusive single from David Dallas's upcoming album Something Awesome, and judging from this track it's safe to predict the album will be Something Awesome (sorry that was cheesy, but listen to the track and tell me that ain't hot!).

In all seriousness, this track is unbelievably hot. The beat is crazy, D.Dallas's flow is crazy, the chorus is catchy. It's just an incredibly good track. Go to D.Dallas's blog to download the track, or if you're lazy, stream it below. This is something you NEED to do. Hurry up.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T01:01:00.002+13:00

Ah, Valentine's Day. A day where lovers (or, sometimes, friends) exchange gifts to express their love for each other. Just like Christmas. And if you're married with kids, Mothers Day and Fathers Day. And Birthdays. And Easter (kind of). Don't you just love consumerism?

I'm just poking your rib, I'm not really all that cynical about it. There's so much hate in the world, why not celebrate love more often? And you don't HAVE to buy gifts, you can make them. I remember one year I had a valentine, I recorded a CD of myself playing some romantic acoustic songs and made a collage-heart CD cover from different shades of paper of her favourite colour (green). Ah the things we do for love. What are some of the things you've given a valentine? (Without being too graphic/explicit).

But Valentine's Day doesn't have quite such a romantic history. I'm sure we're all at least partially aware of the saint for whom this day is named, and his demise (beheading). And in recent history there is the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in which Al Capone's gang lined up guys from a rival gang (and an innocent bystander) against a wall and gunned them down.

So, if you don't get beheaded or shot, have a happy Valentine's Day, even if you don't have a valentine. If you're cynical about it all, then why not make a donation to a charity?

Peace.

Another Reason Not to Join Facebook

2008-02-13T04:20:00.000+13:00

A while back, P-Money made a post about Facebook, and it's privacy agreement. Well, if you were looking for another reason to give Facebook a miss, check this piece by the New York Times about trying to leave Facebook (via Slashdot). It actually gives real stories of people trying to delete their accounts and information from Facebook, but not being able to.

I think it all just serves as a warning to be careful about what you sign up to. Be sure to read those privacy and TOS agreements. You might think you don't care about privacy right now, but if/when you do, you'd hate to find yourself in that situation.

If you want a way to completely remove your account (hopefully), try this guide by Steven Mansour. It'll not only instruct you, but it gives a few insights into why it's so hard.

By the way, I know I'm being fairly hypocritical as someone who has Myspace, Bebo, Flickr and Blogger accounts, but you've got to pick and choose your battles ;)

Just a test

2008-02-09T02:01:00.000+13:00

Waitangi Day

2008-02-07T20:51:00.000+13:00

Otherwise known as "The Day it's Okay to be Racist."

I'm not going to go into the whole politics of the situation because that's really not my point. I am just completely appalled and frustrated at the amount of racism still in this country. And if I'm being honest, it's not just racism, it's just a general hate that seems to divide this country.

Last night before I went to bed I was listening to Newstalk ZB. It was Bruce Russell's show, and there was a caller on. You could tell from the caller's voice, and what he said, that he was an elderly white man. I'd just turned it on when I heard him talk about the controversy over Maori carrying the Tino Rangatiratanga flag over the Harbour Bridge, but he didn't describe the people as Maori. He didn't even describe them as people. No, what he did was degrade the entire Maori population by calling them "apes". That's right, bloody apes.

Now, I know there is always going to be racism, and racists, so while I was offended by the comment it rolled off the back pretty easily. What really offended me was the fact that an employee of a high-profile, New Zealand radio station wouldn't correct this ignorant man. No, all he had to say was "If you call people apes, you might get compared to a Cricketer." What the hell is that supposed to mean? Yes there's the controversy over racism in Cricket, but that doesn't tell this man that he's wrong to compare Maori to apes. And to top it off, the caller just laughed, and Bruce joined in.

And then on top of all that, I read this over at D.J. Sir-Vere's blog:

Introducing Mr Barry Corbett, a Christchurch councillor who when questioned about the prosecution of Bruce Emery, the 50 year old who stabbed to death 15 year old Pihema Cameron, he said 'If I was on the jury, I'd let him get away with it, but thats me.' It was reported here in the Herald.

I mean what the f***?

So, I just want to send a big

F*** YOU!

to Bruce Russell, his caller, Mr Barry Corbett and Bruce Emery.

I know it won't do anything, but I don't care.

Lost

2008-02-06T00:13:00.000+13:00

So, Lost is back. For those of you in New Zealand, you won't see the episode for another week or so unless you happen to watch it online. If you don't plan to watch it online, though, then it's probably best to give this post a miss unless you want it spoiled.

All I can say is "Wow." What an amazing episode. It was emotional, it was creepy, it was confusing. All things that make up a great episode.

It was Hurley centric, and we find out that Hurley is one of six who have managed to get off the Island via a flashforward. We know that Kate and Jack are also off the Island, so that leaves us with 3 people unaccounted for.

In the flashforward, Hurley keeps on seeing visions of Charlie, and ends up back in a mental institute. While in the institute, he sees Charlie again, who basically gives him the message "They need you," before Hurley makes Charlie disappear. He's also visited by a man calling himself Abbadon asking if "they" are still alive, and by Jack who, while he says is there just to check up on Hurley, seems to have ulterior motives. Hurley, mentions to Jack that he's sorry for going with Locke, and that he should have gone with Jack. He also says that he thinks they (him and Jack) made a mistake, and that he thinks "it wants [them] to go back" to the Island.

So from that, we're introduced to a new character, Matthew Abbadon. Charlie seems to imply that people are still left on the Island, and that they're alive, and in need of help. So Ben's prophesy of everyone dying are false. We also learn that the people who went with Locke aren't necessarily excluded from the Oceanic 6 (Hurley being proof), and we get a brief glimpse that the Oceanic 6 are hiding something from the rest of the world.

Back on the Island, Naomi isn't quite dead as she crawls off into the jungle. Jack is still pissed at Ben and Locke, but is happy that people are coming.
Meanwhile Desmond gives us the Losties at the beach Charlie's message, but they're afraid to radio Jack incase the boat people are listening, so they go trekking to tell him.
Jack takes off to find Naomi with Rousseau and Ben, who unhelpfully neglects to tell Jack that Kate took the satellite phone and is actually off to find Naomi herself.
While trekking, Hurley starts to fall behind, and eventually gets lost and comes upon Jacob's hut. While peeking inside, he sees Christian Shepherd sitting in the rocking chair, just before an eye comes out of nowhere (possibly Jacob's?), causing him to run for help until he came to a clearing where Jacob's hut appears again. He makes it disappear by counting, and encounters Locke.
Kate finds Naomi who's managed to pull herself up a tree and drops in on her. The satellite phone calls and Naomi doesn't tell them about Locke throwing a hunting knife in her back just before she dies.
Hurley and Locke find the rest of the group. The exodus group meet up with the beachies, and then Jack comes and spoils the party by trying to kill Locke. Locke and Jack say there piece, then the voice of reason, Hurley (who ironically enough believes he's going crazy), tells everyone about Charlie's message. And because of that, some people (including Hurley and Sawyer) decide to go with Locke to the Dharma barracks, while the others stick it out with Jack (there it goes again, that theme of there being "Others").
To finish it off, a helicopter (that looks in serious danger of crashing) drops off a dude who asks if Jack is Jack.

And that's it. I really hadn't intended to give a recap, but there you go.

Questions:
What the hell is Christian Shepherd doing in Jacob's hut?
Why was Locke so close to Jacob's hut?
If Hurley did indeed see Jacob, then is he the chosen one Ben was talking about?
Was Ben talking about a chosen one? (:D)
Why the hell must their only be 8 episodes this season?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Anyway, it was a great episode.

And in order to fully appreciate what happened with Hurley and Jacob's hut with Christian Shepherd in it, you need to see the very last mobisode.

Courtesy of DarkUFO.

WTF? Am I right?

Superbowl XLII Winners: NY Giants

2008-02-04T23:31:00.000+13:00

Well they did it. They did what few people thought they could do. They defeated the New England Patriots, and in doing so, overcame destiny. The New York Giants are your Superbowl Champions.

And what a way to win. On the drive that literally defined the whole game, Eli Manning stepped out of his brother's shadow and began his own legend. Breaking out of the grasp of two defenders to throw up a ball that in all honesty looked like it should have been dropped but for the determination of Tyree to hold on to that damn thing. Just one play, but a magnificent play, that led to Eli connecting with Plaxico for the winning touchdown.

But with a glorious win for the Giants comes a crushing defeat for the Patriots. An historical season brought to a bitter end. Throughout the regular season the Patriots dominated most of their opponents, or had things go their way that would really make you think it was their destiny to go 19-0. But while destiny had brought them to the big show, it couldn't win it for them.

Congratulations to the New York Giants, Superbowl Champions, 2008.

On a Sunday Afternoon

2008-02-03T00:35:00.000+13:00

Keeping with the music kick for a bit, I just came across this oldie. I remember listening to this with the cuzzies back when I was a kid. Cruising up north to see the whanau (family) in the back of the van. Stopping off to get some fish and chips for lunch. Some good times.

Trippy

2008-02-01T23:07:00.000+13:00

This is some cool as, trippy stuff. I found this through Fosfor Gadgets, it's this site Nikon has that compares the sizes of various things from the size of the universe to the size of sub-atomic particles. The way they do it, it almost gives you a sense of the infinite. Great descriptions about the various size ranges, very poetic. Give it a look, even a quick one, it's definitely interesting.

David Dallas' New Mixtape

2008-01-31T20:49:00.000+13:00

Not much to post about this week, but this is awesome. If you happen to be Kiwi or Aussie and enjoy hip hop, then it's highly likely that you've heard of David Dallas, a.k.a Con Psy, front man of Frontline. He's got a new mixtape out that he's releasing a track a day over at his site, DavidDallas.co.nz. So check it out, it's pretty cool.

Knock, Knock

2008-01-30T22:38:00.000+13:00

Who's there?
Dinosaur Comics
Dinosaur Comics who?
No, no, that's it. Just Dinosaur Comics.
Oh ok, come on in.
Thanks. I don't suppose I could trouble you for a glass of water?
Oh, of course. Would you like some iced tea instead? I just made a jug.
Oh that'd be delightful.
...
...

Oh, where were we? That's right, I was going to tell you about Dinosaur Comics. It's entirely possible that you've heard of it/them before, as it has/they have been around for a while now. Absolutely hilarious. It's the same art every for every comic, only the dialogue is changed. You may be thinking that it would get old fast, but it doesn't. The writing is so fabulous that it makes up for the lack of change in art. No, it doesn't just make up for it, it makes the lack of change in the art make sense. You just have to read a few of these to get the idea.

So, if you aren't hip to the world of web comics, then Dinosaur Comics is a great entry point.

For some more comedic web comics, check out Xkcd. Also funny, but can be slightly esoteric at times (just slightly).

For a slightly more serious web comic, yet also funny as well, Questionable Content is great. Great art, great writing, and a great story.

So yeah, those are just a few to get you started. I'm sure you'll become as addicted as I am. And if not, then I suppose you have more of a life than I do.

Gone Phishing

2008-01-29T00:25:00.000+13:00

If you have an email address, you've probably had a few emails from scammers. If you believe you haven't, then I'm sorry to inform you that you won't be receiving any money from that Nigerian prince who decided to gift you his inheritance because he heard about your philanthropic nature.

And if you have an email address, then it's likely you've received an email or two from phishers. Phishers send you to phishing sites to get you to give them your personal information. They replicate other big sites, such as banks, ebay, paypal etc, ask you to enter your username and password, and do what they want with the information.

Slashdot had a post about an article over at Help Net Security that interviewed two security researchers who infiltrated the "secret underworld" of phishers and scammers. It's a really interesting read, so I suggest you check it out.

The Journey of a Blog Post

2008-01-28T12:32:00.000+13:00

I've been on a bit of a blog kick lately, as in reading and writing about blogs and blogging. Anyway, I came across this post on boing boing that linked to a post from Wired about what happens to your post once you hit "publish". It's got a cool flash graphic that explains it all, and it's really quite interesting. Check it out.

What do I Expect from this Blog?

2008-01-27T23:40:00.000+13:00

So another post inspired by Kim's post. This time it answers the meme question, and hopefully much quicker as I'm really tired right now, but I'm trying to keep up my goal of making a post a day for a month or so.

Okay, first off, lets get back to the beginning. Here is where the original meme started.

Terry, the originator of the meme, points out that the question itself, while similar on the surface to "Why do I blog?", is a bit different.

You might blog for many reasons, everything from personal expression to monetization. But if those are your reasons then how do you measure if you’ve met them? If on any given day only 2% of the blogosphere produces posts, what unmet expectations are causing the other 98% to sit dormant?

So with that in mind, I'll try to answer.

By keeping this blog, I expect my writing to improve. I think this may be a recent development, but I'm definitely aware that I'd like to be able to better convey my thoughts, whether that be succinctly or with more detail. So I expect by continuing to write, that this will improve.

I expect people to enjoy reading this blog. This relates partly to my previous post about why I blog. To entertain. Therefore it is my expectation that people should enjoy it. If they don't, then I'm failing to meet my expectations.

I expect to get comments. Again this relates back to my previous post. It was definitely a bad start to the day today (but it ended up being okay ;)). If I don't get comments, then no one's enjoying it enough to reply, and I'm failing my expectations.

I do expect this blog to take some time to get some readership. I've only JUST reopened it, so it'll take a while before anything to happen, IF anything happens :D

That's about it really. I don't expect to make any money from it. I don't expect to change peoples lives. I just expect this blog to give back what I put into it, I suppose.

Now, per the rules I'm supposed to choose 5 people to tag:

So here are the rules:
Answer the question, “What do you expect from your blog?” and try to be as specific as possible. Avoid warm-fuzzy answers unless that really is your thing. Link back to the blog who tagged you so your readers can check others’ answers.
Tag at least five bloggers with the same question.

I'll take Cmae, Meredith, Chris Maples, Marshy and... Urban Chick. If you don't feel like participating, then I completely understand. Or if you weren't tagged, and you want to do it anyway, then by all means go ahead. I did :D

Why Do I Blog?

2008-01-26T19:19:00.000+13:00

I was inspired by Kim Ayres' post to copy him and write my own :D I'm not really participating in the meme, which asked "What do I expect from my blog?" Instead this follows more the spirit of Kim's post in that it tries to explain why I blog. This is mostly for my benefit, but we're all a little curious, aren't we?

I'm a little bit afraid to post this because I'd simply be rewording a lot of what Kim said. He mentioned that he blogs not because he has to write, but because he has to be read, to feel that he's made an impact on the world, to feel validated, and I really relate to a lot of that.

I started blogging on a forum a few years back because I wanted a place where I could be heard. I wanted a place that people wanted to come to, to read what I had written. And I guess today that's still the reason I blog. I suppose that's a reason a lot of people blog.

Kim also mentioned that he blogs to communicate. To pass on ideas and stuff. I can relate to that too. I don't have the need to educate, but I do feel a deep need to entertain. To make people smile, or laugh, or think, or just plain react. And I guess that relates to validation as well. If I can do that, then I've done something, I'm worthy, I'm a part of their experience.

I think that need to entertain motivates (or motivated) my music playing. I loved the sensation of playing in front of a crowd. You feed off their energy, and I suppose that's how I get with blogging as well. I LOVE the comments. It's possibly unhealthy how much stock I put into the comments. It's a bad start to the day waking up, checking the emails and there's no comments.

As far as a desire to write for writing's sake, I don't think I've ever written anything truly for or to myself. When I dabbled in poetry as a teen to express my angst, I always tried to share it. All my music was meant to be shared. My short stories were meant to be shared (of which, admittedly, there is only one). Pretty much everything I've ever done has been done with the knowledge that it'd be shared with someone.

But this is about why I blog, not why I do everything. So, back to the topic at hand. Aside from wanting to feel like I matter, I blog for the regular reasons. I'm highly opinionated. I love the way blogging can open up a miniature community. I love hearing from people who have gone or are going through similar things that I'm going through. And I love hearing from people who have had different experiences from me.

And of course, like Kim mentioned, I blog in the hopes that someone will discover me and offer me millions of dollars to keep on writing thoughts about nothing in particular :D

So that's why I blog. That's what I get out of it. And that's why I'll continue to do it. Oh, and I know this isn't exactly a meme, but if any one wants to answer that question who hasn't already, by all means feel free, just leave me a comment to let me know you did :D

Are You Ready For Some Football?!

2008-01-25T19:36:00.000+13:00

So, as we all know, the Superbowl is coming up in about a week's time. The New England Patriots vs the New York Giants.

You've got Peyton's lil' bro vs Mr. Perfect, Tom Brady. The team everyone loves to hate and the team that... well... no one expected to even be here. Hell, I didn't. I don't hate the Giants, but really, have they played so well this year to be at the final dance? I don't think so. I honestly can't think of any reason they should be there. I can't think of any victories that were noteworthy. No blowouts. They've just plodded along, managing to squeeze into the playoffs.

Sure, the Steelers managed to do that as well, but that was destiny. It was Bettis's final year, and the Superbowl was in his hometown. They'd gotten close the year before, and Big Ben even promised Bettis that he'd get him there the next year. It was just meant to be. But the Giants? The only thing you've got is Eli trying to equal his brother's accomplishments and Tom Coughlin trying not to get fired. Last year would have been the better story as it was Tiki's last year, and everyone loves Tiki.

Nope, the story of this game is completely and entirely about the Perfect Patriots. I remember the game on Monday night, Patriots vs Ravens, where Don Shula, coach of the '72 Dolphins, was being harrassed by Tony Kornheiser to say that he hoped the Patriots didn't win. He was graceful at first, saying that he'd congratulate them if they did it, but quickly changed his tune as soon as it looked like the Ravens might actually do it (yep, that infamous game where Brian Billick lost his job :D).

Then there's "spygate", as the media are calling it. Ol' Billy Bob Belichick got caught peeking at his former protégé's defensive plays, and he gets slapped with a fine and whatever. Suddenly everyone is coming out of the woodworks saying that Billy cheated them out of some wins (Donovan McNabb springs to mind... "They stole our ring..."). So what does Billy do? He goes out and stomps on everyone's ass who said anything (it helps that is QB is literally a machine).

But forget about the team as a whole for a bit. You've got the most potent QB/WR combo since Montana and Rice. That's right, Brady and Moss are your new super heroes. Okay, so maybe that's a bit hasty, but one play, just one play, to me shows how completely dominant they are. The play where Brady and Moss broke Peyton's season pass TD record, and Rice's season receiving TD record. The play IMMEDIATELY after the same exact play failed. The play that defined how complete a duo they are.

Will the Pats go 19 - 0? That's the real question. And we'll find out, next Sunday.

It's All About the Music

2008-01-24T02:21:00.001+13:00

As the title alludes, this post will be all about music. My music, in fact. This is like a "centralising" post. Er, that doesn't sound quite right. Just basically putting everything in one post, kind of thing. Plus 3 new (kind of) songs!

Okay, so the new stuff first!

This first song expresses my hip hop side. Everyone has their own views about hip hop and rap, so I won't get into that. I just like hip hop. And I've tried a few times to create beats, and raps, though I've usually been unsuccessful with both. I don't rap in this, so be thankful :D This is just a beat I made when I got inspired by the sample that you hear in the song. I was playing a flash game, and when you went into this place, it had this Jewish sounding song in the background. I recorded it, chopped it up, grabbed a drum loop, synced up the sample with the drums, and this is what came out. I remember it being really hard to get the sample to sync. I had no idea what the bpm was, and I have no sequencer or anything, so I had to get creative in chopping the sample to sync it up. Anyway, here it is (I call it Jewish Hip Hop :D):

This next one is the original Lost Experience song. I mentioned before about an orangutan named Joop, and the song I wrote about him. Well this is it. The thing to remember about all the Lost Experience songs, they were written to be funny, in both a subtle and an obvious way. Kind of making fun of their genres, of things written before them that may sound similar. For example, this is a protest song about experiments done on a fictional animal. Cheesy talking at the end of the song :D Anyway, here it is, Hold On Joop:

And this is the second Lost Experience song, and last of the new stuff. This is a love song to the protagonist, Rachel Blake. I believe at the time of Hold On Joop, we hadn't seen who our heroine was, but eventually she was revealed to be Jamie Silberhartz (who is a bit of a hottie), and a lot of guys developed geek crushes on Rachel. This was a tribute to that, and really to all geek crushes on fictional characters. This is one of my favourite songs as it contains one of my best solos (in my humble opinion ;)). It comes inbetween the second and third verses, and is pretty understated. It's just a short little thing, but whenever I hear it, it just makes me feel good that I wrote that. Cheesy talking at both the beginning and end of the song. Anyway, here it is, Song for Rachel:

Fragmented Games. Posted in the previous post. Third Lost Experience song.

Acoustical Niceness. Originally posted here.

And then we have Something (with lead guitar) that I posted about here.

Just Testing update again

2008-01-23T10:34:00.000+13:00

*updated 25/01/08 7:33 pm* So I went ahead and changed the images anyway. I'm liking it. What do y'all think? */update*

*updated 25/01/08* Updated text colour, post title colour, link colour, and date & sidebar header colours. I didn't want to update the images yet just incase y'all think the new colours don't work. So, opinions? And thanks again for all the help! */update*

So this is just a test post in order to work out the colours. It's basically the same design as The Fat Lazy Guy's Log, only different colours. I still wanted to keep brown as a base, but I didn't want to do variations of it like the original. I wanted to add some colour, like I had with TFLGL, and I think I managed to do that with some respect. I actually did some research into colour palettes in regards to interior design, and they ended up coming into play with this, so that was good.

The primary reason for the test is to test the colour of the text against the background image. I wasn't sure how similar they were, and whether or not there was enough of a contrast in order for the text, when over the background image, to be visible.

This should be enough.

Images, just ignore

2006-12-12T23:59:00.000+13:00