THIRDEYEJ[0]EL

We practised hard – Audition went well – They liked it – and We made it!

Come support us this Saturday (1st November) at the A.D.P. Halloween Night! There’ll be other acaustic performances as well! I’m not too sure how much the ticket costs though, shoudn’t be too expensive. Rm10 perhaps? Just a speculation. I’m sooo fucking excited! It’s been ages since I last performed. Though this time the line up’s slightly different, fingers crossed, I hope we kick ass:D

Oya, we even prayed in uniformity in one of our jamming sessions. You might deem this a mawkish, wut-ta-fuck sort of a displaced notion coming from an alternative metal band. Nonetheless, I must say: “God, Thank You!!” A combustion between exuberancy of dilligence and the diligency of faith had indeed yielded promising results. I really hope we can keep it up as a band!

We’ll be performing Natalie Avalon feat. Ville Vallo’s “Summer Wine”, HiM’s “Gone with the Sin” and Queens of the Stone Age’s “Song for the Dead”. Will throw in another piece if we get an encore. Ok, this garrulous side of me needs be shut up! I shall go practise and do some SAT practise test…

Before I go, here are some videos I find rather amusing. Nothing intelligent though, but then again, who are we to judge what’s intelligent and what’s not? I’d say, stop acting all knoted up and take a chill pill. Some people try very hard to put up the so called ‘Maturity’ front even during relaxing hours and then what? Yes, perhaps being labeled as ‘Mature’ sounds like a nice thing. But I definitely know alot of ‘Childish’ people out there who can be the craziest, wackiest bunch of people on the planet, and yet be the highest scorers their class or the most favoured employees, simply because they know when to be and when not to be. In my opinion, these people gain both sides of the world -it’s seriousness, and it’s fun. Doesn’t trying so hard to appear ‘Mature’, like my beloved Ms. Anne, ironically, only proves you to be otherwise?

This Is Sparta (Remix)

They’re Taking the Hobbits to Isengard

What am I? What am I?

I don’t think them Indian gods like my dog Eva all that much. Perhaps because she was barking at them Indian neighbours who were celebrating the festival of lights with loud music and fireworks. The gods must’ve deemed her innocuous puppy instincts as an acerbic mockery and as punishment, had decided to take her tooth!

You see, not more than 30 minutes ago, Eva and I had been playing the ‘fetch’ game. It’s really boring if you ask me… I mean, my room’s a square shape, and there’s only 1 option (which is the pythagorean line disecting the room from one edge to the other) if I want my dog to run the furthest possible distance. (“Fetch!”, throws the toy at one direction. Retrieve. Pats her head real quickly as to avoid the nibbles. “Good girl!” Holds the toy up and, “Fetch!” Repeates the whole fucking process.) I don’t get why them guide-books say its healthy to at least play em ‘fetch’ game 10 minutes a day. I think it’ll make my dog a retard.

Anyways, as we were playing (and I am quite good at acting all exuberant and excited when she retrieves the toy), I suddenly noticed red dapplings on the toy. I took the toy from Eva’s mouth, and Lo and Behold, a bloody tooth flew out! I was too perplexed to react quick enough and so before I could pick the tooth up for further scrutiny, Eva had ate it. Damn it! It’d be cool to have it as a sort of a Deepavali lucky charm ornament. I even thought of rummaging her shit but if dogs can eat bones, they must have have a certain enzyme that digests calcium. Bah!

I’ve just got back from my girlfriend’s house! Had been writing an essay for Columbia College Chicago application. Fucking ridiculous how even after they implemented ’em common application, there’s still tons of supplementary materials we’re required to submit. Anyways, at least one is done!

Update: In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that my friends and I had formed a band. I also mentioned that we’re a 4 piece band. Sadly, it did not turned out as we had expected. The guitarist couldn’t make it as he is attached to other commitments and since my efforts at trying to find a replacement was in vain, we decided that I should just play em guitars. Lately I’ve been diligently practising them solos for the audition (oh, audition has been postponed, do still wish us luck!!). God… Please don’t let me screw up! And damn it, my heads all caught up between SAT, applications, and guitar solos. Nonetheless, I do find it rather enjoyable. Guess I work better under pressure hmmm… It has been a while since I had played em guitar, leave alone playing them solo riffs. *sigh* I’m really, really rusty 😦 I do really hope we can make it pass em audition though. Havn’t performed in ages!

Anyways, here’s a lil’ more of Katie Melua 🙂 I hope I don’t get too obsessed with her. The last time that happened, I had made Avril a pink picture frame. But that was 4-5 years ago! Let’s just say, it’s something best kept in the past. As for Katie Melya, I really, really, reaaaally, (I know I’ve said this a million times!) admire her voice! Without further ado, Ladies & Genteeeelmen! Let’s hear it for Katie Melua! *round of applause*

Katie Melua – If You Were A Sailboat (live)

And, if you have the time to spare. Please do check out the following essay. I had written it for my college application. Probably not the best version as it is my 1st draft. I’m counting on my girlfriend to help me out! She’s the english expert 🙂 Nonetheless, if you have time to spare, check it out, and tell me what you think, I would definitely appreciate it!

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I’m not interested in providing the one ultimate panacea for the errors of society or to try and invent something that the people would dazzle as a breakthrough in technology. It’s not me to want to be a Keynes who helped repair 1929, or an Edison who introduced light-bulb-reliance. Whenever a hero comes up with a cure, society simple reverts back to complacency. They would lay back and relax, repeating all the necessary gaffes that will lead to yet a worse disaster. Or, they would simply exploit the cure, and eventually, create a disease out of it. I’m pretty sure not a single soul before Edison’s triumphal invention has heard of ‘light pollution’. Simply stated, the general society’s like a clutter of frogs. You can boil them alive just as long as they are comfortably placed. They won’t even notice the increasing heat of their errors.

Why then bother with cures since more solutions only lead to worse problems in the long run? Human beings are made up of 1 part ‘conformity’ and 2 parts ‘complacency’ anyways. I’d say we best hit on Awareness. It’s better to educate a kid by telling him that he would catch a cold if he plays in the rain than to assure him the easy accessibility of antibiotics. Though the first few times of medication might work, what happens when the bacteria becomes immune towards the antibiotics? “Oh boy, what do I do now” won’t help you. Neither would yelling “Jesus H. Christ” and thrusting a finger towards the heaven do any good either. Have we yet to learn anything from the Israelites’ 40 years of tedium? Their complacency towards slavery (which, ironically was their comfort zone) had caused them to overlook the promise of a new land. If only they were made more aware of it, not only would it save Moses the bunch of impertinent requests and complaints, it would have also saved them 40 years of superfluous journey.

Thus, to create Awareness, in my opinion, is the key factor to improving a society. Do not get me wrong, I do not deem cures (economical solutions, technological advancements, medical cures etc.) as obsolete, I simply believe that Awareness should be given the highest priority. Awareness towards religion and its misconceptions, awareness towards the government’s actions and whether or not they are doing what’s best for us, awareness towards racial discrimination and its main causes, and even awareness towards life itself! What better way to apprehend and cultivate (or fix) these issues if not to first make society aware them? And what better way then, can these awareness be expressed if not through a series of apt, yet provocative questions? As we are all of one mind, and of one divine understanding, questions are the only keys to unlock the chambers of awareness.

Questions that drive us; questions that provoke us to ponder beyond our comfort zone; questions that connect us; questions that insinuate the flaws of perception; questions that mock self-made beliefs; questions that screech at the walls of our sanity, begging us to spiral into the random; questions that promote anarchy and revolution; questions that burn with controversy and above all, questions that distinct us from all other clockwork organisms -make us feel alive -feel special -feel free and… limitless.

Sadly, the majority of the society I live in know not of such questions. They conform and accept whatever the government, or religious leaders, or the media says without questioning. They are unaware of the pernicious effects of complacency and they do not think much because they deem it a frivolous notion. Take the word ‘fuck’ for example, almost everyone in my society immediately classifies it as a foul manner of elocution. Why? Is it because everyone says so? Is it because they’ve been taught so in school? Or, is it because the dictionary tells them so? No, they don’t question. They simply accept. Moreover, what frustrates me the most is that they seem to forget the fact that it is us, humans, who created the 26 so called alphabetical letters. These alphabets don’t just pop up from no where. We created them, and we gave them the power to signify whatever they represent. A permutation and combination of these symbols (if done appropriately) will generate other symbols, in which each individual meaning(s) is also made and given by us! Then why the heck would we create a word that we are discouraged to use? If the word ‘base’ can evolve throughout the century to mean something less derogatory these days, why can’t the word ‘fuck’ evolve from being a foul word to being accepted as the most versatile word in the English vocabulary? No, like I said, they don’t question. Just like how they don’t question the government either. Pastors, in general, always preach the importance of a law-abiding lifestyle by quoting: “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. Yet if that is the case, Moses would have been a goner at the age of one, there won’t be a story of Daniel in the lions’ den and Jesus should definitely be labeled as the biggest anarchist of His time.

It is sad to see how the bulk of my society would just accept anything thrown to them by anyone they deem as a higher authority. Perhaps they’ve given up questioning. Perhaps ignorance is bliss. Either ways, I’m so sick and tired of watching complacency and conformity plague my society. I want to make a change. I want to be the medium that channels multifarious provocative questions to the masses. I want to be the advocate of Awareness. I want to be a part of a revolution that will stir the hearts and minds of the younger generations of Malaysians as we march toward the betterment of our society. And the only way these can be done effectively, in my belief, is through the intricate application of light on a piece of celluloid.

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I had stumbled upon her songs while randomly looking up “The Cure” covers. Her version of “Just Like Heaven” (which I had posted it up in my previous post) is simply breathtaking. I listen to it everynight before I sleep as it always gives me the notion of transcending into a different plane. The zenith, in which I always experience a slight gush of adrenaline and pleasure, is when she sings “above the raging seas” at 2:50. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I have a weird fetish for acid voices, I just really, really looooooooove her voice!

It turns out that she is quite a big thing over in the UK and Europe, placing herself as the biggest-selling female artist in the United Kingdom as well as the highest selling European artist in 2006. I don’t get why she’s not as popular here in Malaysia as she is in those countries. I mean, she’s dead gorgeous, has a killer voice, and ZERO% sluttiness! Ain’t that the perfect recipe for an all time star? Anyways, here’s another song of her’s that I really like. Enjoy 🙂

Katie Melua – Nine Million Bicycles

Constipation (kŏn’stə-pā’shən), noun

“Difficult, incomplete, or infrequent evacuation of dry hardened feces from the bowels”.  The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

“Irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis”. Wordnet

“A state of the bowels in which the evacuations are infrequent and difficult, or the intestines become filled with hardened f[ae]ces; costiveness”. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary

“A condition in which a person or animal has difficulty in eliminating solid waste from the body and the feces are hard and dry”. MSN Encarta Dictionary

What with em fancy words “evacuation” and “eliminating”. They should just replace the word “bowels” with “I”, the word “difficulty” with “can’t”,  “evacuation/eliminating” with “SHIT” and simply efface all them redundant words!

“I Can’t Shit!” thirdeyejoel.wordpress.com

For those of you who have no idea who (or more like ‘what’) “Eva” is, here’s a brief introduction:

She’s the sweetest thing on earth, cuddling under my arm during cold air-conditioned nights, providing me with what little heat her minute figure could offer and yet the warmth finds its way into my heart. Simultaneously, she’s also a bloody minion sent from hell as a gift of retribution (for I had been a pain in the ass to my parents when I was a kid). She’s coated in furs of gold and looks like a mix between a Husky and a Golden Retreiver. She eats alot (just like me) and never chews her food (exactly like me!). Her hobbies include: the ‘fetch’ game, chewing the shit out of every single reachable thing she sees, barking at the ceiling and making me feel like there are spirits occupying the room, attacking me when I drink my Jack Daniel’s, giving me the sorta cute looking face so that I would wanna tuck her within my arms and above all, staring out the window and bark at simply NOTHING. It seems to thrill her when she creates a false alarm and the other dogs in the neighborhood would start to join in the cacophony. Yes, Eva’s a dog that I live with. My girlfriend and I had named her after Eva Green as she (the dog) had had green eyes as a puppy. We adopted her from SPCA, and ever since then, she has been assimilated into the Joel & Xiao family!

Today, Eva had tried to shit but the simple notion of ‘a daily necessity’ had taken a bitter twist when her feces wouldn’t fully emerge. And I mean, half of it was still inside while the other half laid hanging from her ass. A fucking disgusting sight it was. The chain of shit(s) that danggled from her ass was at least 15 centimetres long! And what was more interesting/disgusting was the fact that when I had tried to aid her by pulling them chain of shit(s) out of her ass, another 10centimetres came out! I kid you not. The shit(s) was just weeeeeirdddd. I could hold it at one end, lift it up and it still won’t fall apart. It sticks! An approximated 25 centimetres of brown slender feces, hanging vertically and yet remaining connected! I was so curious I just had  to scrutinize it to find some clues that would help explain the idiosyncratic piece of Wonder I held hanging from between my two fingers.  

On closer look, I realized that what had held the chain of shit so tightly together was cotton. Reminds me of form 5 Chemistry, where we learn about synthetic rubber. Remember how em sulphur element is added to make pure rubber harder and more rigid? Just like how sulphur forms a bond that connects the horizontal structure of pure rubber atoms, cotton (please don’t ask me how that had gotten into her stomach…please, just don’t) had similar, done the same. Only, this is a much harder and more rigid shit we’re talking about. It was only a short moment of pondering before the rancid smell the shit eminates triggered my mind to quickly dispose it. Nonetheless, an interesting experience, isn’t it?

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Them pillows had been once a source of comfort. Fluffy and hospitable. Now, they lay bare and emaciated, barely surviving. Not one of em has 2 bleeding holes less than the other. The impending doom is inevitable. Helpless, they had relinquished all hope, and had begin to accept their whimsical fate. A fate that walks in coated furs of gold.

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Oh fuck… it is 5am and I am hungry! I sooo don’t think I’ll ever be able to revert to my formal self. Sideways, here I come! Oh, and before I leave, do check this out 🙂

Apocalyptica feat. Ville & Lauri – Bittersweet

Goodnite and Sweetdreams!

Holy Shit! We ARE a band! What we had initially started off as time-passing trips to the studio (for reasons such as “Let’s lepas stress” or “I wanna whack something. Lets go whack them drums!”) has now evolved into a full-fledged band. No, I’m not talking about ‘Ring of Fire’. That bane of a band had been disbanded months ago and ever since then, I hadn’t laid a finger on my bass. I’m talking about er… well, the band still doesn’t have a name since we had just formed it yesterday and we JUST confirmed a guitarist like.. 2 hours ago? Anyways, I am fucking excited and nervous at the same time as it’s my first time attempting vocals (Gosh I really do not want to screw up!). Our audition for the ADP Halloween Night event is on this coming Friday . Do wish us luck! and PLEASE remember us in your prayers! 😀

The band consists of David on em drums, Andrew on bass, Kamal on guitar and me as the vocalist. At the moment, our music range is still pretty diverse. Perhaps we’ll be more focused in the future. And one more thing: “Oi macha (and I mean you, James!), thanks so much man for introducing Kamal to us!”

Anyways, I’ve been out the whole day, time to start digging my head into SAT manuals and practise tests. Here’s something you might wanna check out:

Queens of the Stone Age – Song for the Dead

My ex-bandmember, Ozzy, had introduced me the song. I find the vocalist really cool, especially the way he says “Fuck It”. That aside, watching Dave Grohl on em drums (not that I am an avid fan of Foo Fighters) can be really inspiring. I mean, the dude plays the guitar and sings for Foo Fighters, plays em drums for QotSA and Tenacious D, and was a drummer for Nirvana. People like this just makes you wanna push em limit! It’s not like I don’t agree that there are a certain minority of extremely talented folks out there, but com’n, don’t em “If he/she can do it, why can’t I?” thought simply bugs the hell out of you? I know it does to some… but then again, the world stench with conformists. And since complacency is the “way of life”, most of us had somehow allowed our dreams and aspirations to dwindle away as we succumb to the “reality” we are taught to believe in. Isn’t it sad to see 5-year-old aspiring astonauts, painters, singers, musicians etc. end up living a life which revolves around a cyclical process of getting up at 8am, warming up that one single chair allocated for you until 5pm, and then going home all worn out, expecting the same old routine to start again at the brink of dawn? I’d go crazy if I were to live like that. I don’t know about you though…

Oh well, I really have to get going. Them practise tests await me! Goodnite and sweetdreams! 🙂

For those of you who, like me, find the simple notion of picking up a book simply strenuous and exasperating, here are some links that might help you loosen them knots:

Wooden Path

http://www.random-good-stuff.com/game/game/wooden-path/

Discription: In this puzzle, you need to build a wooden bridge to cross the river. Magical walls, teleports and coloured blocks makes this task harder than it seems.

Perpetual Motion

http://www.king.com/game/perpetual-motion

Discription: Solve each level puzzle by building a device that just goes on and on and on and on…

I would recommend the latter only for those who have an accute mind towards physics and who doesn’t get easily frustrated over multiple failures. As you progress, simply creating a device that just goes on and on and on.. (as the discription indicates) won’t get you the targeted score. Your device has to not only include all the props, it has to also be complicated. I’m stuck at the “Singapore” level… Can’t seem to reach the indicated 300 targeted score! Anyways, have fun! Do keep in mind that these games can be ‘slightly’ addictive 😀