Wednesday, July 30, 2008

New Percussion Toy...

I've been going to the dentist often these days because I was stupid enough to ignore the health of my teeth for eons. After the first painful visit, I decided to reward myself for dragging myself all the way to the dentist to get a consultation. So I passed by the JB Music store in Park Square and took a look around. There were 2 things I wanted to purchase. But I only had enough money for one of them. So I just picked one and I'll just come back for the other one some other time.

My new percs toys are called "Claves". It's essentially two cylindrical shaped pieces of wood that when you strike it together gives off a sound. Claves are used in latin music to actually keep time aside from adding a dash of flavor to the overall sound. You'll find these things are played with a 2-3 beat or a 3-2 beat. My brain runs on a 4/4 beat measure (obviously grew up with Grunge music). So keeping time to a 2-3 or 3-2 beat is something out of norm for me.

Click on the link below if you want more information of the exact brand and model Claves that I bought. It's even got a sound sample of it in that webpage. So you can hear what Claves sound like when played.

http://www.lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase/Claves/lp_traditional_clave.html

Below are pictures of the Claves I bought.


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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Let Down...

I was just Youtube surfing the other day, as I always do everyday. I was originally searching for videos of Jonathan Davis' song "System", whose vocal tracks are sang by Chester Bennington. Chester Benington is one of two vocalists in a band called Linkin Park. But I really loved his vocal tracks in "System" that I started watching any interesting videos in the related videos section of YouTube.

Apparently, Chester has a side project band called "Dead by Sunrise" which are composed of members from Julien-K with Chester as the sole frontman. This band is sporting a completely different sound from Chester's other bands, past and present. I like the tinge of the Cure in the few live songs they have on YouTube.

I came across this song performed by what is essentially Dead by Sunrise. Chester was doing a charity performance on live television and sang this song back in 2005. I gave it a listen twice and I was convinced that this was a song I wanted to learn to play on guitar and sing. The chords were simple, which gave much lee-way to focus on singing.

I'm not going to lie, when I listened to the song for the first time, I felt a heavy weight on my chest. A weight I haven't felt in quite a long time. And whenever that happens, I ride it by diving right into the song I'm listening to. Hence why, after some practice, this song will be part of my regular song list for inuman-jams. It's ironic that I can use a song that depresses me into a means of dealing with that depression. Exploring music as a means to deal with one's emotions is hardly equivalent to a blade grazing across one's wrist. But some people are naive enough to assume so. Singing the high notes of Chester's vocal parts in this song relieves that very weight in my chest. And I find this ultimately a healthy outlet for emotions.

Below is a video of the song along with the song's prose. The song is relatively short and sweet. But I think the beauty of it lies in its simplicity.



Let Down
by Chester Bennington


And the tears fall like rain
Down my face again
Oh the words you wouldn't say
And the games you played
With my unfoolish heart
Oh I should have known this from the start

Oh the winter and spring
Going hand in hand
Just like my love and pain
How the thought of you cuts deep within the vein
Oh this brand new skin stretched across scared terrain

I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my life again
Don't want to be led down the same old road
Said I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my lies again
Don't want to be led down the same old road

All those years down the drain
Love was not enough
When you want everything
What I gave to you and now the end must start
Oh I should have listened to my heart

'Cause I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my life again
Don't want to be led down the same old road
Said I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my lies again
Don't want to be led down the same old road

I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my life again
Don't want to be led down the same old road
Said I don't want to be let down
I don't want to live my lies again
Don't want to be led down the same old road



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Lucidity...

You wake up with a smile on your face. The sun's rays seep through the curtains, and touch your eyes for a brief moment. A cool breeze flutters through the curtains and gently brushes your face.

A sudden jolt of paranoia hits you. You quickly spin towards your clock to check the time. In an instant, you realize that it’s a Saturday. You exhale slowly, and your muscles relax from the unnecessary tension. The smile returns to your lips.

You turn to your left and a familiar female figure lays beside you. Your feet lightly ruffle the sheets as you motion towards her.

She feels you grazing her shoulder with your finger tips as you soothingly wrap your arm around her. She awakes just a little bit to tilt her head towards you.

You whisper, “Good Morning”, into her ear. A small smile forms around her lips as she kisses your cheek. She whispers “Good Morning” right back.

Music trickles into the silent resonance of the room. It seems your assistant downstairs has chosen Bob Marley to start your day off today.

You slowly rise to a sitting position on the side of your bed. Both your arms reach for the ceiling. Your mouth gapes open, giving off a yawn.

The scent of tea slowly crawls up your nostrils, beckoning you towards the table nearby. You playfully drag your feet towards the beverage. You notice two filled cups next to a small clay kettle. Grabbing both tea cups, you slowly return to her side and give her a little nudge.

She slowly sits up and takes one of the tea cups from your hand. She reaches a hanging chord on the wall and softly pulls it down. You see the curtains draw to the sides. Both of you rise to your feet on the other side of the bed. She heads towards the verandah beyond the curtains. A circular motion of her free hand, invites you to join her.

Your cellphone starts ringing on the other side of the room. Her face squints into a cute frown in reaction to the ringtone. You lazily feel around for your Bluetooth headset and answer the call.

Your assistant reminds you that the studio downstairs is ready for band practice at your leisure. You hold your clenched fist up to the level of your eyes and give off a smirk. A sudden rush of excitement surges through your spine in anticipation of the gig tonight.

You bring your eyes back to the brightly lit female figure out in the verandah. She motions her existing invitation with a slow blink of her eyes and a smile. As you step out to the porch, a magnificent view greets you.

A yellow semi circle in the horizon paints the sky with shades of orange and purple. As the music fades slightly into the background, you hear the sound of waves lightly splashing against the sand below you.

As both of you gaze out to the scenery, you both take a sip from your tea cups at the same time. You glance at each other after the sip while a little chuckle creeps through the flirtatious smiles you give to each other.

You veer your eyes back to the horizon as you feel a gentle breeze brush against your whole body. You close your eyes to fully enjoy the wind. You feel content and light-hearted.

…..

In that sliver of a second, you hear your alarm clock piercing your ears.

You open your eyes and reach to your right to turn off the alarm.

You instinctively sprawl back to your bed as a bead of sweat travels down your forehead.

You mutter to yourself softly.

“Crap…”

As you realize your naiveness, you close your eyes shut and cringe.

You beg yourself for just 5 more minutes of that illusion.

You utter words that have been all too familiar in your life.

"Oh well..."


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Monday, July 28, 2008

My New Couch...

Not that this is of any interest to anyone to read about. I finally got my couch Wednesday last week. I've been meaning to buy a small couch for the longest time. So that friends have something substantial to sit on aside from my bed and the increasingly flattening bean bags. It's not much, it's just a sofa double bed really. But I like the fact that it's black leather on the exterior. Anyway, below are hokey pictures of the couch just in case you're interested in finding out what it looks like.



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Sunday, July 27, 2008

I See Hell in Your Eyes...

My Winamp randomed to another old favorite earlier today. I like this song due to three aspects of it.

The first being the fact that it is a part of the soundtrack for the movie adaptation of "Queen of the Damned" by Anne Rice. I've had this obsession with vampires for quite a while in the past eversince I've read a few of Anne Rice's books. Although the movie tore the story in the novel apart (i.e. Lestat's band isn't supposed to comestically appear like a Goth band), my overall interest in vampires still drew me to the movie. Lestat is portrayed more of a bad-ass in this movie compared to "Interview with a Vampire".

The second aspect is that the meaning of the song has some relevancy to my life late last year. I was largely an involuntary hermit dealing with my own idiosyncracies and emotions back then. Some of the lines in the song speak words that were in my head at the time; like "Did you think it's cool to walk right up, to take my life and fuck it up?!" and "I see hell in your eyes".

Before we get to the third aspect, below is a music video of the song with scenes from the "Queen of the Damned" movie. It's a little eerie to watch Aaliyah since she past away quite some time ago. And although in the novel, Akasha is actually a white female vampire with firey red hair, Aaliyah portrayed a very sultry and seductive Akasha nonetheless. Check out the music video below along with the song's prose.

The song in the video below was sang by Orgy's Jay Gordon, and is the version that is in the movie soundtrack CD.



Slept So Long
by Jonathan Davis


Walking, waiting
Alone without a care
Hoping, and hating
Things that I can't bear

Did you think it's cool to walk right up
To take my life and fuck it up
Well did you
Well did you

I see hell in your eyes
Taken in by suprise
Touching you makes me feel alive
Touching you makes me die inside

Walking, waiting
Alone without a care
Hoping, and hating
Things that I can't bear

Did you think its cool to walk right up
To take my life and fuck it up
Well did you
I hate you

I see hell in your eyes
Taken in by suprise
Touching you makes me feel alive
Touching you makes me die inside

I've slept so long without you
It's tearing me apart, too
How'd you get this far
Playing games with this old heart

I've killed a million petty souls
But I couldn't kill you
I've slept so long without you

I see Hell in your eyes
Taken in by suprise
Touching you makes me feel alive
Touching you makes me die inside

I see Hell in your eyes
Taken in by suprise
Touching you makes me feel alive
Touching you makes me die inside
(repeat to fade)


The third aspect of this song that drew me to it was the fact that it was written by Jonathan Davis specifically for the movie. Jonathan Davis is the vocalist and primary songwriter for a Nu Metal band named "Korn". In Korn, he writes songs about being bullied, of depression, and of anger during his adolescent years. Which is the 90s angst that everybody who grew up with Grunge music went through back then. So the words of "Slept So Long" provided a personal color coming from Jon.

Below is a snippet from the "Queen of the Damned" movie where it shows Lestat and his band performing this very song. But unlike in the earlier video and the track in the movie soundtrack CD, the vocals of Lestat are sang by Jonathan Davis himself. This version of the song, in my book, shows much more power and emotion.



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Friday, July 25, 2008

Dekaron Closed Beta Testing...

My company just opened for sign-ups for Closed Beta Testing of our latest hardcore MMO RPG called Dekaron (a.k.a. 2Moons). Although this seems like a shameless plug, I actually got really addicted to playing the game while we were testing it internally in the office the weeks/months prior.

I actually like the intro movie of the game. Check it out below, along with a couple of teaser videos of the game.







Although the videos give you a glimpse of how visually stunning this game is, they really don't do the game justice until you've tried playing it. So sign-up at http://dekaron.mobiusgames.net/. And cross your fingers that you'll be one of the few selected for CBT.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Nutshell

Although I have a number of ideas for my next blog post, I just don't feel like writing about them at this time. I tried again last night, but somehow something unknown is bothering me. So instead I picked up my guitar and played the first song that came to mind.

The song is from one of my all-time favorite grunge bands called Alice in Chains. I must've played and sang this song a million times through the years, and it has always managed to gently rub my back to calm me down, so to speak. This song is widely known to many grunge-heads out there, and has been covered by many bands who grew up with grunge, the likes of Staind and Seether.

There isn't an official music video for this song. But I managed to find a home made music video that someone created and uploaded on the net. Below is that video and the song's prose. The video is actually not that bad despite its make-shift nature.



Nutshell
by Alice in Chains


We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home

Oooh...Oooh...
Oooh...Oooh...

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead

Oooh...Oooh...
Oooh...Oooh...

Of course, the MTV unplugged version is by far the best version of this song. You can almost feel the emotions ooze out of Alice in Chains' performance.



It's funny that people point out that the songs I write exude influences from Alice in Chains. I suppose this song, more than any other AIC song, has had the greatest impact on me, and obviously in my many futile attemps to express myself through song-writing.

Even though Layne Staley, the band's vocalist, died due to a drug overdose, the band got back together a year or two ago and started touring. There are a number of live videos of them performing this song on YouTube. But I still prefer the way the band sounded back when Layne was still alive. For me, he's half the band's sound already.

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Same Shit, Different Day...

He awakens to a dim room. A slight haze seems to have filled the room from all the cigarette smoke the night before.

He turns to his left and sees the empty half of his bed once again.

He leans over and reaches for his alarm clock. The alarm didn't go off. He notices that he's already late for work.

He slowly sits up and grabs his cellphone. There are no missed calls or text messages as usual. He figures he might as well just shut off his cellphone at night to save on battery life.

He reaches for his pack of cigarettes and lights one up. Cigarettes, the breakfast of champions it seems.

He heads over to his computer. There are no IM messages as always. He wonders why he continues to stay online for nothing.

His eye lids continue to drop, as if his body is negotiating with him for an additional hour of sleep.

He picks up his guitar from the corner it's sitting in, and plays a few tunes. Playing guitar and singing songs that are only recognizeable to himself; performing for an audience of one.

He parks himself in front of his congas. He attempts to mash out the ingenious rhythm that was ringing in his head last night. But he can't seem to remember how the rhythm goes all of a sudden.

He drags himself over to the bathroom, and glances at the mirror. An ugly mug that has been staring at him for years, greets him once again. As he stares back at the shady figure that is standing on the other side of the mirror, he mutters...

"Shit... Here we go again..."

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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Sunshower...

I came across this particular song while watching the modern day movie adapation of "Great Expectations", starring Ethan Hawk and Gwenyth Paltrow. Although I think I watched that movie specifically because of Gwenyth's "painting scene", I have also been a long time fan of Chris Cornell during the days of Soundgarden and his initial solo efforts.

I loved this song for it's relevancy back in my college days. The song's prose is melancholic, yet with a tinge of hope slipped in the chorus. I ended up learning it on guitar back when the song was released on the movie soundtrack. But I couldn't sing along with my guitar playing because Cornell's voice is just way up there. My "inuman-jam" singing range just can't sustain the high notes throughout the song.

I remember watching a music video of the song in MTV with scenes from the movie in it. But I can't seem to locate it on YouTube. I found a video that someone made of the song with just a slideshow of Chris Cornell pictures. Check out the video below along with the song's prose.



Sunshower
by Chris Cornell


Dark as roses, fine as sand
Feel your healing and your sting again
I hear you laughing and my soul is saved
On forgotten graves you cry

Crawl like ivy up my spine
Through my nerves and into my eyes
Cuts like anguish
Or recollections of better days gone by

But it's all right
When you're caught in pain
And you feel the rain come down
It's all right
When you find your way
Then you see it disappear
It's all right
Though your garden's grey
I know all your graces
Someday will flower
In the sweet sunshower

Eyes like oceans so far away
A feather trail to a better way
Worried mornings turn into days
Then into worried nights

But it's all right
When you're all in pain
And you feel the rain come down
Oh it's all right
When you find your way
Then you see it disappear
Oh it's all right
Though your garden's grey
I know all your graces
Someday will flower
Oh in the sweet sunshower
Oh in the sweet sunshower
In the sweet sunshower

I know all your graces
Someday will flower
In the sweet sunshower
And it's all right
All you'll be you are today
Are today
It's all right
All you'll be you are today
Are today...

Below is a live version of the song performed by Chris Cornell in Vancouver years after the song was released. I love watching live version of songs I like. It gives me a glimpse of how it would be like to watch my favorite artists live.



I can't help but notice that the power in Chris Cornell's voice has waned throughout the years. I saw videos of Chris Cornell performing old Temple of the Dog songs and he had a hard time hitting the notes he used to kill years ago. He's still the shit though, as evident in his recent vocal recordings in Audioslave albums. He's still a hero of mine, nonetheless.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Deviant Art Rediscovery...

I found a SNS site years ago that's focused on being a virtual gallery for photographers and artists. The site is called Deviant Art. I made an account some time last year. But I never really did anything with it until today. I don't claim to be a photographer, nor a graphics artist. I did have dreams of being either one or the other, at certain points in my life (among a number of other things). But I never really explored it much and eventually gave up on those ideas. Today, I just decided to dig up some pictures that I played around with in Photoshop and uploaded it to that dusty ol' account. Some of those pictures are a quite a number of years old already. And some are pretty recent.

To my surprise, within minutes, there were two Deviant Art users that commented on one of my submissions, and another user that added the same submission to his favorites collection. Wow. I didn't expect that really. It was nice to receive praise for something I wasn't all that good at.

If you want to check out what I've uploaded just go to the link below:

http://sundowndos.deviantart.com/

Perhaps I should start playing around with Photoshop more and more. This could be interesting. I'll post some of those submissions here as well from time to time.

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Saturday, July 5, 2008

This One's For the Boyz...

I remember, a little while back, that I posted a bulletin on Flipnation, defending the female race as a gender to be respected and admired. That horny toad guys in Flipnation spoil it for the rest of us who are fortunate enough to be even in their company. Albeit, only virtually.

I dug up that old bulletin post from Flipnation actually. Here it is below.



Dissillusioned People...

It's funny that a number of guys think that just because a girl is extremely beautiful that it's a green light for them to treat them like a two-bit whore.

Guys, please revisit how you approach women here in Flipnation. You'll definitely not get anywhere with them if you treat them as such.

Some women in here know their beautiful and like to show it off. That's their perogative. And yes, showing off in that manner does invite behavior from the male species that is disrespectful. But you guys should never assume that the approach you have chosen actually works.

Go to some porn site and get your rocks-off there. Or go to the nearest massage parlor and wave some money at them. Then your approach will work.

Some of us guys are actually blessed to even be in the company of these beautiful women. Although we yearn to have a deeper relationship with them, we are grateful that they even want to speak to us. You horny-ass guys end up scaring these women away. We all lose if and when all of them no longer frequent this site.

Check your dick at the login page. You can be as green as you want with these women, if and only if they want to play along. Be a sniper, who chooses their single shots rather than spray bullet fire wildly.

Happy Hunting to all you guys. And to all the fab ladies of Flipnation, my apologies for the bad side of the male species.



Although, I still hold on to that to be true. This doesn't mean women should be let off the hook completely either. LOL!

I came across this article on ABC News' website, about the reason why "nice guys finish last". And I found the article to have a lot of truth based from my personal experience, and ironically extracting the same information from a number of girls in Flipnation as well.

Check out the article URL below. It's even backed up by scientific research, would you believe.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=5197531&page=1

So for me, it boils down to questions like:

When will we be preferred over someone that's faster, stronger, more attractive, or more charming?
When will girls leave their boyfriends for us for a change?
When will we at least get our foot in the door with women, and not have the door shut in our faces from the get-go?
When will women stay with us long term because they prefer stability over consistent excitement?

Basically... When will nice guys ever finish first for once?...

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Thursday, July 3, 2008

Amazing "Amazing Grace"...

A good friend and former bandmate of mine, Brew Baritugo, showed me this particular video of Victor Wooten, with his uncanny, highly skilled, and very tasteful version of the song "Amazing Grace". Normally, you would find "Amazing Grace" a little too cheesy. However, Mr. Wooten's version will just blow you away regardless. This guy knows his instrument so well that he can produce sounds, tones, and melodies that most people think are not even possible on a bass guitar. I've never even seen any bassist utilize harmonics as part of the main melody of any song. Check the video out below.



One thing to note is that Victor was actually tuning his bass on the fly as he was playing. My ears couldn't pick up on the off-tune of the strings. But apparently Victor could hear it loud and clear, and knew exactly how much he had to turn each tuning lug to hit the note. Damn, to think I was thinking of taking up bass guitar for fun. Now, I don't think I even want to try. LOL!

Below is another video of Victor covering the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood". Too much finger-tapping luvin' in this particular video. The dude is crazy.



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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I'm a Blizzard Lemming...

That's it. I'm already obsessed with World of Warcraft. Coupled with Starcraft 2 and now DIABLO 3 coming out, I have officially become a Blizzard Lemming.

Check out the gameplay and cinematic trailer video below.



That's it, no more social life when this game comes out. I might as well just plug myself into my PC and become a part of the Blizzard Matrix.

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