A stitch in time

A few days ago at work, me and my mate spent all day cutting and grinding and welding together one long piece of stainless steel pipe, one that snaked around a few corners, went through a hole, and then ran along a wall. At the end of the day, we fit the pipe into the brackets and realized that it didn't fit, and the whole day's work had been a complete waste. There's a quote:

"Measure twice, cut once."

New philosophy in life: whatever I am doing, whether it's fitting a pipe, or writing an essay, or compiling code, or planning a wedding, I will over-plan and get it right, however long the planning takes.

Except for when I'm rapping of course. My lyrical wizardry really shines when it just flows from the top of my dome.

Nice guys finish last

"Take a look at them. They're all nice guys, but they'll finish last. Nice guys. Finish last." - Leo Durocher

Bollocks.

My jam right now

Metric. No coincidence that the name of the band rhymes with epic. Well, not really, but close enough. Mean band, wish I heard of them ages ago.

Some survey from Laura's blog

If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
....

Do you trust all of your friends?
Like, hardout trust trust? Definitely not.

Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
You know it.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
I don't think so.

Can you make a dollar in change right now?
Never carry cash, but in EFTPOS I can.

Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
Carroll Ching. Because he's brainy as.

Are you afraid of falling in love?
I have already fallen in love, and the thought of a life without her scared me a lot more than letting her in.

Whats your most favorite scar?
Don't have any, aside from the one by my shoulder from some injection when I was a baby.

When was the last time you flew in a plane?
Last year, I went to Samoa.

What did the last text message you sent say?
Babe? Are you awake?

What features do you find least attractive in the preferred sex?
Being loud.

Fill in the blank. I love
Doctor Who.

What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
I would like to be leading my Premier League fantasy league by Round 4.

If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call?
Amy.

Would you make a good parent?
I would make a slightly kick back one I guess.

Where was your default picture taken?
In the back yard of my old place.

Honestly, whats on your mind right now?
"Honestly, what's on your mind right now?"

If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
I would go back and make sure I kept taking Japanese class in high school, and I would have dropped History. Being a tri-lingual kid would be awesome.

Did you buy something today?
A Big Ben's mince and cheese pie.

What was the last TV show you watched?
Doctor Who.

What are your plans for the weekend?
Whatever, usually Saturdays are quite mellow and I hang out with Amy, maybe I'll go to the movies. Then Sunday it's church, and maybe some Doctor Who mini marathons. Or a Lost marathon.

If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say?
I would say, "I kind of thought we already going to... I'm confused now baby..."

Progress

My fear of slugs and snails has been well documented on this blog, but it seems recently that I'm kind of a little slowly growing out of it. Last night, I saw one outside of the garage when I went outside looking for Bash (my cat), and instead of flinching like a man and gapping it the opposite way, I flinched like a man, picked up long leaf, and proceeded to slowly prod it away from the door.

Prod.

Prod.

Prod.

Next thing you know, it was 5 feet away, not 2. I went back inside, with a big grin on my face, but it was definitely one of those moments that I didn't want to share because, well, prodding a slug then still running away from it doesn't exactly sound like a victory.

But it was. It really was.

A botz post about rugby and stuff

About a year ago, I wrote this on my blog:

"Rugby is truly on it's way out. At least, in this country. Once the All Blacks fail to capture the Rugby World Cup next year, everyone's gonna be moving to league and soccer (if they havn't already). Not that I care, as long as the Springboks continue to dominate, couldn't care less what people here think about union."

Well, a few parts of this paragraph are no longer true. The most obvious difference is that Springboks are anything but dominant; if memory serves right, they came last in the Tri Nations last year, being outclassed by even Robbie Deans' uncertain Wallabies. Ten man rugby no longer serves as a suitable method for dismantling the All Blacks, and the Boks must evolve quickly in order to realistically retain their coveted World Cup. Although, if Super Rugby is anything to go by, Stormers and Sharks do offer some backline creativity; whether or not this can be replicated in a green jersey, time will tell. Time and a staunch Sonny-Billed-out opposition.

Something else that has changed is that most people aren't moving to soccer; the All Whites' World Cup campaign is a distant memory already, the novelty has long since worn off. The controversey surrounding their New Zealand Team Of The Year doesn't help. The reality is that if you weren't already into soccer before the FIFA World Cup (which any football fan will tell you wasn't the exactly the best advertisement for the sport), nothing is going to change your mind any time soon.

If status updates and awkward subject changes in conversations are to be believed, then I can accurately claim that most people my age favour NFL, NBA, and tennis to rugby, as opposed to my proposed soccer move.

However, the one part that I still believe to be true is that rugby is definitely on the decline; not the quality of the players, but in popularity, especially among my generation and the one under it. It lacks the aesthetic pleasure (and entertainingly argumentative commentary) of rugby league, the pizazz of the popular American sports, and the worldwide reach that would really allow the game to grow.

All this is made certain by my unwavering belief that the All Blacks will, like the other great and dominating All Blacks sides of recent past, choke. Sonny-Bill or no Sonny-Bill, we should all prepare ourselves for chokiest choke since... well, since the last time All Blacks choked.

Guide to making people feel old using movies

This is so true right. I may only be 20 but the above movies all do have that effect on me. Especially "The Matrix". Like, that movie will always feel like it just came out 5 years ago right.

Few thoughts 18

Samoan se'evae kosokosos are the shiz. Straight up. Stuff this "jandals" crap. Thick and ugly and durable is the only way to roll. To Eros, the man who bought me a pair back from Samoa, thank you for providing my footwear for every single ocassion I attend for the next 3 years.
__________________________________

The Killers will never write a song as good as Mr Brightside. Which is fine, because falling short of a brilliant song with great songs is enjoyable for the listener, and they have released some very very good ones since then (Spaceman comes close), but Brightside is pure pop rock goodness; it is their masterpiece.
__________________________________

The new Dr. Who is fricken awesome. Straight series linking it.
__________________________________

One of these days, I will listen to that Rebecca Black song. I'm just biding my time and waiting for the hype (mostly really bad) to die down. You never know, I might like it right. Also, the jokes about killing Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black are getting a bit out of hand. I'm PRETTY SURE that you wouldn't actually shoot any of these guys over shooting Hitler or something... I call bollocks on that.
__________________________________

Manchester United have made it to the Champions League Final! Bring it Barcelona, we got this.

I predict Rooney plays a deep lying striker in the hole to help out midfield, while Fletcher and Park hassle and disrupt any link between the midfield and Messi. Van Der Sar, you shall retire from top flight football in winning form; as a Champions League and Premier League winner! Glory Man United!

Songs I'm liking a lot right now

After having done that 30 Day Song challenge for the past 3 weeks or so, I'm really starting to appreciate all my music again, because scrolling through my extensive library reveals so many songs I've forgotten about. If you're not doing the song challenge on Facebook, I recommend it; it's like educating yourself on your own music.

Old or new, here are some songs I'm really feeling right now.

song title - artist
__________________________________

My ultra favourites right now:

Such Great Heights¹ - The Postal Service




In Your Atmosphere - John Mayer




The Switch And The Spur - The Raconteurs




After Hours² - We Are Scientists




Other songs I'm playing heaps:

Down³- Blink 182

Decent Days And Nights - The Futureheads

The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

Jenny Don't Be Hasty - Paolo Nutini

Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Helicopter - Bloc Party

Till The World Ends - Britney Spears

The Glass Prison - Dream Theater

We Are Golden - Mika

Hey Julie⁴- Fountains Of Wayne

The Galway Girl - Steve Earle

__________________________________

¹ I described these guys to Laura as a more snerious Owl City, but I guess since this album came out in 2003 that I should be saying Owl City are just The Postal Service-lite. Love both though.

² This music video makes the song 10 times cooler than it already is. The dude in pink is a douche.

³ I'm actually bracing myself for the possibility of a really disappointing comeback album, but at least I still enjoy the older stuff right. Listening to +44 and Angels & Airwaves makes me nervous about combining those sounds.

⁴ If you know this song (and you watched Scrubs), you might like this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFIrV4QpXY

Donatello and Raphael

I can't remember how, but while hanging out with Amy a few days ago, the subject of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came up. I was a big fan on the animated TV series while I was growing up, so I wanted to take down memory lane, busting out the TMNT nostalgia sentences, but Amy was quick to tell me that she'd never really gotten into them.

So I began to explain to her what the show was about, and while I was explaining her their personalities, I started wondering which of them I was most like; likewise, I started wondering which of the turtles Amy was most like. This was quite an easy activity seeing as the four turtles were very different, and their personalities were quite distinguished and unsubtle. For example, there was "the leader", the "comic relief", etc.

With little thought process needed, I determined I was most like Donatello. Wikipedia describes him like this:

Donatello (Don or Donny) - The knowledgeable scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius, Donatello wears a purple mask in some versions and wields the bō staff. Donatello is perhaps the least violent Turtle, preferring to use his knowledge to solve conflicts.

Well, I'm no technological genius, but the rest fits. Or, as my mate Dan once said, "Bro, by personality, you're the only guy I know that in the world of Avatar would be an Air Bender."

Now the interesting bit is when it comes to classifying which turtle Amy is most similar to. Seeing as she doesn't know what they're like, I decided (much to her amusement) that she was most like Raphael. For those who don't know his personality, here's Wikipedia again to share that maaain knowledge with us:

Raphael (Raph) — The team's bad boy, Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He has an aggressive nature and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. He is an intense fighter. He would usually speak in a Brooklyn accent. His personality can be alternately fierce and sarcastic, and oftentimes delivers deadpan humor. Still, he is intensely loyal to his brothers and sensei.

I'm not sure if Amy does a good Brooklyn accent, but aside from that, even she smiled sheepishly as I read out the description to her, and she didn't argue; she is Raph.

If it's true that opposites attract, than we are the perfect example. If it's true that opposites are best for each other too, then well, good, because I wouldn't have it any other way. Me and Amy have been through a lot, and a lot of our growing as individuals and as a couple has been born out of the vast differences in our personalities right. It goes deeper than the fact that she watches E! and I'm always watching... well, pretty much anything but that channel.

No, through my relationship with Amy and our love that has come out of it, we have both learned to be more patient, more understanding, more compromising, and less naive. It is an ongoing process of trimming the fluff to see the true beauty and true ugliness of true love. And most of all, it is a mission to get her to watch all the movies that I love. But for me and my sai-wielding Raphael of a girlfriend, it has been an intro worth having. Why do I call our first 2 years together an intro?

Because it is.

An old Facebook note

I'm feeling a bit lazy today so I wasn't going to post today, but I upon scrolling my past FB notes, I came across this one, and I thought I'd post it again on my blog.
__________________________________

25 Random things about me
by Jesse Toailoa on Friday, 20 February 2009 at 12:44

1. I'm a very strong Springboks supporter. (2007 World Cup winners!!!)

2. When I adjust the volume on TV, it has to be an even number or a multiple of 5. I can never leave it on something like 11.

3. I keep dumb-bells by my bed that I never use. Maybe one day when I'm feeling inspired I guess.

4. Amy reckons that I'm too cheesy.

5. Group situations/discussions are dumb because I never have anything to say that doesn't stop the conversation awkwardly.

6. I never know what to say when people compliment me. 'Thanks' seems weird, and complimenting back for the sake of replying doesn't work either.

7. Although I try to act like I only listen to 'good' music, I listen to so much crap that ruins my music cred. High School Musical, Metro Station, Shania Twain, Paris Hilton etc.

8. I was in the 'brainy' class 3 years out of 5 at high school. Year 10 I was in the 3rd brainiest, and year 13 doesn't have a brainy class.

9. Somehow I became a prefect at school. They must have had an islander quota to fullfill.

10. I have a hard time trying to tell when people are being serious. I'm always the idiot who makes the joke at exactly the wrong time.

11. Even though I'm a hardout christian and I hardout love music, I dislike most christian music.

12. After writing these 25 things I will remember something that I KNOW I should have written. But alas, by then it would be too late.

13. For about a year I carried a guitar around school to make myself look cool. It stopped when people asked me to teach them how to play it.

14. My favourite TV show of all time is Lost. Haters keep hating, you just know that the show is too cool for you. Also, if you say "they're STILL on the island???" I might punch you in the nose.

15. Will Ferrell is my favourite comedy actor. Step Brothers = crude but ridiculously funny.

16. I'm part Chinese but I can't fight like one.

17. I hate getting 20 new notifications on Facebook and none of them is a comment on my page.

18. My earliest memory was running to hug my mum when she was pregnant with my younger sister Laura. I'm too lazy to run the calculations on how old I must have been.

19. I like to run after cats when they run away from me. Not too sure why.

20. It seems that every time I put my iPod on shuffle 'Spaceship' by Kanye West comes on.

21. My Samoan name means 'tree in the valley'. My English name either means 'gift', 'god exists', or 'wealthy'.

22. When I watch Laughing Samoans with my family I pretend to laugh at everything. I think they might disown me if they found out I don't find it that funny.

23. I am terrified of slugs and snails. I know they are really really slow and they can't harm you, and that it's an irrational fear, but there you go. Hold one up to me and I'll run screaming like a girl in the other direction.

24. I love walking long distances alone with my iPod.

25. I love Amy Klootwyk.

Soul Soup

There's randomly a Chicken Soup For The Soul book in our car. No idea how it got there or who owns it, but I havn't seen one in ages, so I decided to flick through it and read a few stories. When scrolling through Chicken Soup books, I just skim through looking for stories that fit my reading criteria, which consists of 2 points:

- It can't be longer than 4 pages.
- The title can't be too cheesy.

The second point is important. Something about some of those titles just really puts me off. I just don't ever feel like reading a story called something like really cheesy like "I Called Out Again", or "Passionate Pursuit Of Possibility". I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe seeing the moral of the story from the outset also makes me less inclined to read those kind of stories.

On the other hand, I'm all about the vague-ish ones that could be about anything, like "My Dad". It's like... ooohhhh... what about your dad? Sure we know it's about the dad, but what does he do? Is he the man? I bet he was the man! Time to sass up this story...

*reads*

Bro, your dad IS the man!

I have found though that my cynical soul is a lot less affected by these touching tales than it was back when I was 15 or so. Back then, every little story made me want to give my kidney away to a sick strange-looking man with a good heart. Or write a sweet quote every day for my neighbors without them knowing it was me. Or do the dishes. Or something.

Not now though.

Injustice

You didn't win, and I'm not saying you should have, but Paul, you made this season that much better. I'm probably going to stop watching now.

Few thoughts 17

- Well, this hiatus was definitely shorter than I thought it'd be. I imagined I'd be out of the blogging game for over half a year or so, but for more than one reason, I'm feeling the buzz again. I didn't like the thought of just posting in my blog for the sake of posting, so I've waited for that particular fire to burn again, and it feels like it is indeed burning again.

- Romans 8 is my favourite passage in the Bible. Not only are some of my favourite verses sprinkled across the whole thing, but I find it to be a very encouraging chapter, in a realistic way. If you're a believer, read this passage and literally speak it over yourselves. Yeah, I used literally correctly. As in speak it out loud. The power of your words is immense, and what better way of taking advantage of that principle than to speak life and God's promises over someone, even yourself?

- I watched 'August Rush' with my sister Donna but we had to return the DVD to United Video before we'd finished watching it. Then I watched the first half of 'Good Will Hunting' with my other sister Laura before I again had to return the DVD before it was overdue. I have nothing to say about this other than I wished we'd finished watching them both because I love those movies.

- "Whenever I meet somebody who has a kid, they have to show me a photo of their kid. But whenever I show them a photo of me to show to their kid, I'm weird." - Demetri Martin.

- I've realized in the past week that you don't have to google search "inspirational people" or look in Encyclopedias to find true heroes; no, I've found that some of the people closest to me are the very people I want to be most like right. I thank God for putting you guys in my life.

Hiatus

The best thing about having a blog is that there are no real rules to it. In keeping with that, I'm going to take a little hiatus from it, for however long it turns out to be. Lately I've been a bit too busy to blog, and so for the near future at least, I'll be taking a little break.

Hope to be back soon as.

Peace out.

Few thoughts 16

Something has occured to me; wisdom coming out of the mouth of the hypocrite is still wisdom. In a similar vein, ignorance being spoken by the wise is still also ignorance.

Why are we so hung up on who is telling us something? Sure, we gotta respect those who are to be respected, and we must guard our heart and minds from lies that so easily make their way into our system. It is still smart to seek council from those who are considered wise. However, remember that God also gave you a mind for a reason; to make it up for yourself.
__________________________________

The mechanic arm that lifts up the recycle bin in the trucks is pretty kickass. Was hardout buzzing out when I first saw it.
__________________________________

Why do people make others feel bad for not having seen a particular movie? "Whaaat? You havn't seen it??? Brooo. What's wrong with you?"

Oh shut up. I'll watch The Hurt Locker when I feel like it. I am really confused about why The Social Network is so critically acclaimed. Not to mention the fact that I found Slumdog Millionaire quite boring (old I know, but it relates). What a sounding like he's in a bad mood guy.

Although I'm happy that my boy Bale is finally getting his props, I find it confusing that this is coming years after his heroics in American Psycho and Rescue Dawn, not to mention his expertly subtle deliveries in The Prestige and 3:10 To Yuma.

I must say though, True Grit looks pretty damn good.
__________________________________

Against my better judgement, I am very excited about the Blink-182 album coming out this year. Despite my smarmy music taste and everchanging stance on mainstream rock, it seems that I will always have a soft spot for Mark Hoppus and the boys (that's right. it's not Tom Delonge and the boys).

Which reminds me: we are finally getting Lasers this year. C'mon Lupe. Don't disappoint.

Regretfulness is a real word

One thing I've been doing a lot lately is dwelling on the past. And just in case you didn't know, this can be quite a depressing activity if done without expert supervision.

Don't get me wrong; while we all experience life's curveballs (or hospital passes if you will), I am actually happy to be where I am now in life. Maybe I'm not over-the-moon with certain current hardships, but if I'm being totally honest, I'm pretty happy to know the people I do, and to be related to the people I am, and to have been saved by the God that saved me. Not to mention Manchester United are still unbeaten this season right.

However, when people say that line, "Don't regret anything in your past, because it has made you who you are", well, I disagree. I think people who say this are missing the point of life. I used to think like that. I used to think that it's okay to not regret anything bad that may have happened to me (or because of me), because all my experiences have led me to be the man I am today right. Sounds good doesn't it?

But what about all the times God prompted me to share the gospel to a stranger and I didn't? I'm not gonna lie, I regret those times a lot. Maybe one of times, that person died the next day, and I was the last chance that person had to hear the Word. I have no doubt that when I die and leave this Earth, I will realize the true magnitude of my inaction.

What about all the people I've hurt? Sure, I'm the man I am today because of my past actions, but what about everyone else? Am I to be so selfish that I think my past is all okay because it made ME turn out okay, while totally disregarding the fact that maybe I've put people in much worse-off situations than they would have been if they'd never met me?

I dunno. There's no real message with this post, it's just me thinking out loud. Or, should I say, me thinking on monitor.

I just think it's selfish to say that I shouldn't regret certain actions just because "it has made me who I am". What if life's actually not just about me? What if the same thing that has "made me who I am" has also "made someone else doubt the love of Christ because some guy who was supposed to have the love of Christ broke their heart". Who am I to let myself off the hook so easily?

At least I know what Matt Thiessen thinks of this subject:

Cause I could spend my life just trying to sift through
What I could've done better but what good do what ifs do

I'd rather forget and not slow down
Than gather regret for the things I can't change now
If I become what I can't accept
Then resurrect the saint from within the wretch

Pour over me and wash my hands of it

It's the last 3 lines of these particular lyrics that I choose to focus on most. Then it is to be followed swiftly by doing everything to try and not make those mistakes again.

Laters on the menjay TDKR buzz

My worst fears have been confirmed. Well, not really, because my worst fear would probably be a lot worse than what I'm blogging about today.

But one fear has been confirmed, which was the thought that the next villain in the Nolan Batman film would be a female. I've been meaning to blog about this for a few days but I keep getting sidetracked. It has been confirmed that Anne Hathaway will play Catwoman, while Tom Hardy will portray the villain Bane.

Everytime I've said that I don't want a girl villain in movies with male protagonists, people call me a sexist or whatever that long word starting with 'm' is, which for the life of me I can't remember right now. But I have reasons for wanting a guy villain. Well, just one really, but for me it's an important one.

You see, I liked that in Batman Begins, Batman was fighting against a guy who was trying to blow up the city. Bad guy tries to blow up Gotham, good guy tries to stop him. Easy. It's also the same in The Dark Knight; bad guy tries to kill people in Gotham, good guy has to find him and stop him. It's really simple. Sure, there are underlying themes, different context and various subplots, but it was still fun to watch because you just wanted Batman to emerge victorious.

However, the last thing I wanna see is sexual tension between the hero and villain. It never intruiges me, and I always always get annoyed at that line of storytelling. I don't care if it's realistic or not that a guy would like a girl because she's hot; I want Batman to focus on kicking his enemies' asses, not trying to battle confusing emotional feelings he has about them. Seriously. And plus, Batman is never gonna smash a chick villain. Even if they are murderous and evil. He'll probably end up taking her to jail without hurting her. Say what you want, but when I watch superhero flicks, I love me some hero-loses-control-and-whoops-badguys-ass scenes. There goes that.

I've been hoping and hoping that Tom Hardy was going to play a cool villain like The Riddler or Dr. Hugo Strange or something. Not to mention how awesome The Penguin could have been through the eyes of Nolan. But with the reveal that Bane was his character, I was let down. I'm not sure how well a really musclular yet highly intelligent villain will translate on screen. Heck, I'd been keen as for Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow to return and take villainy center stage again over that. And when there were rumours of Hathaway being cast, I'd hoped it was for a Rachel Dawes-type role, not the main villain. None of this is hating on her of course, because she's a decent actress for sure.

Now all there is to do is look at this picture and think about what could have been, considering the choices:



Sigh. I'll probably get over this soon as, and I'm still definately gonna watch it at the cinemas; it's the Nolan-Bale-Caine combo after all, which brought us two great Batman flicks and The Prestige. Still, the waiting buzz has taken a strong hit. I'm definately less excited about it now right. Which is just as well; maybe less hype* and lower expectations is exactly what I need, in the event that Nolan only makes a great film and not an incredible one.

* - I mean less hype personally. In terms of actual media hype, this is definately gonna get a lot of press. They'll be talking on E! about it, between stories about Heidi's face and bringing up Heath Ledger again for no reason other than the fact that he was in the last one and now he's dead. No disrespect (I can't speak for E! of course).

Grit or glamour?

As a lot of you might already know, I'm a Springboks supporter. For those who don't know, they are the South African national rugby team. Something else you might also know is that in the English Premier League, I am a strong Manchester United supporter.

Well, something occured to me today. It's a well known fact that the Boks are content with playing "ugly rugby" to get results. It's a term I disagree with, but you guys get what I mean. If the situation calls for ten man rugby, then they'll gladly oblige. The backline don't come to life as much as the All Black or Wallabies blackline, and they're okay with that.

Recently though, Manchester United have been accused of playing "ugly football". With the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez over the past couple of years, the flair has diminished from the famed club; rather, it tends to grind out wins on pure determinaton and a steelish nerve. In a similar vein to the Springboks, it isn't as attractive to neutral viewers as watching Arsenal or Barcelona weave in and out of their opponents (I cannot WAIT to watch the Arsenal vs Barcelona matches this year), but it is also similar in that it gets the right results. You want proof? Manchester United is the only unbeaten team in the league (so far) this season.

But which is more important? People don't like it for some reason when teams are deemed unexciting, but if you think about it, isn't the first priority always winning the game? Sure, if you got the players with that certain spark, it's never a bad thing to play a more visually exciting game. But surely not at the expense of the all important victory right?

Don't get me wrong; I don't purely support these teams because of their style of play. It's just that I support them and they happen to play this way. I also support the Roosters and Storm in the NRL, who definately could not be accused of lacking flair, so that should put those thoughts to rest.

I just think that if you support a team, you should appreciate that they are doing their best to get results. If you don't like how they get it, well, I'm sure you'll find a team that can play more to your liking. For me personally, I don't care. If Manchester United continue to play like this and win, well, I'd be a more happy fan than you are, simply beause of this:

Few thoughts 15

Sorry about the week-long delay in posts, but I was at Tairua with some friends, had a good week at beaches and waterholes there. Met some cool people, jumped off some rocks into water, watched a movie called August Rush, and made jokes with Dan that no one will else will ever find funny. Also, a special mention to Amy who provided me with a towel for a week because mine mysteriously dissappeared. Thanks baby!

That's my quota for being social sorted for the year.
__________________________________

Hanging out with Trey and Russell this week really brought my passion for music back, especially the writing side. Gotta get together with my main man Joel again and spark some jam sessions. There's nothing quite like singing a song to God that you fully mean, with every fibre of your being.
__________________________________

When the new Facebook profile page first came out, I didn't get why there was so much hate directed towards it. There was pretty much no difference between it and the previous layout. Like, asides from more pictures and... yeah, that's about it. And now, everyone has gotten over it so quickly. Fickle fickle people.
__________________________________

Now that I'm back on my football buzz (what most people refer to as "soccer"), I find myself up late a lot more, as most Premier League games start at 3am or 5am. I can't wait for Super 15 and NRL to start up again, and see if all of my 4 teams can win their respective competitions in one season: Super 15 (Bulls), NRL (Roosters), Rugby World Cup (Springboks), EPL & Champions League & FA Cup (Manchester United).

I'm not sure if I'll ever get into NFL aye. I tried watching a few matches but it just didn't grab me. Maybe I should watch it with fans of the game, I'm sure that'll get me into it. Or maybe I should get me some Madden on.
__________________________________

If there's one thing I want to do more these days, it's to read more. Not just to read more of The Word (which I really should), but just reading in general. Novels, newspapers, etc. Any suggestions?

Thiiis negro

Some people say that white people can't say the word "nigga", but black people are allowed. Actually, let us be specific: black people say that white people can't say the word "nigga", but black people are allowed.

That's stupid.

First of all, if it's offensive, don't say it at all. Offensive is offensive regardless of who said it. Are you saying that white people can't offend you, but you can offend yourself? Why should you get angry if they do what you're doing? Words don't have birth rights attached to them.

Secondly, how do you know they're being racist? You're the one being racist if you assume that the caucasian is being derogatory towards you because of your respective skin colours. Most white people I know have a ton of dark friends anyway, and I know I don't care when my white mates call me coconut or whatever. Then again, I call my white friends cracker and honky, so I might be somewhat of an exception. Hmmm.

Besides, I have an easy way to fix the problem: Just pronounce it right, and I'm sure it'll seem a lot less racist. I believe that black people don't get mad at the word 'nigga'; it's the word 'nigger' that gets them going. Just make sure not to pronounce the 'r' sound at the end. There's a big difference. See, try it:

Nigga: a brother, probably also a rapper
Nigger: an inferior dark person

Fixed.

11 people just don't like it

Something I find very annoying is when I watch YouTube videos, and the most liked comments are usually comments like "12 people only listen to Justin Bieber" or "9 people accidentally hit the dislike button".

What the ass man.

The first time I saw a comment like that, I actually smiled because it was clever. At least, the first 5000 times it was. But now it annoys the heck out of me. I don't even scroll down to read ANY comments anymore, it's gotten that bad.

I mean, first of all, Justin Bieber's music isn't even that terrible. I personally don't really like any of his songs (although there are worse things that could get stuck in my head than "Baby"), but some people act like it's the worst music they have ever heard. They take every opportunity to diss the guy and his music. When really, chances are, if it were another artist who sang it exactly the same, they would probabaly think those songs are awesome.

Second of all... yeah, there's no second of all. This issue probably isn't the true source of my annoyance anyway. The true source is probably how people tend to think that whatever they are into is better than what other people are into.

I've just realized this post is going to way shorter than I thought. It turns out that I don't have that many thoughts on the subject after all. To make up for short length, I'll leave you with this awesome looking trailer:

Musical venting

Back in the days, I used to know what my music taste was. If anyone asked what kind of music I listened to, I could give a simple answer what would paint the picture of what I liked. For example, I know that I used to like pop punk. Simple. Then I was just into heaps of hip-hop songs (sup James Cook High School). For a while, I was an indie guy (well, not really, but I had my semi-poser phase), where I pretty much only liked artists because no one knew who the ass they were. I had my emo phase too, somewhere in there.

Now though? Now, I don't know. I don't know what "music I'm into". I'm starting to believe that I don't have a certain taste in music. I thought I did. However, it seems these days that there are always different artists who sound very very similar to each other, but I'd like just one artist and completely dislike the others who pretty much sound the same as the one I like. That's why there's no real pattern in the stuff I like.

If you look at my iTunes library for whatever genre I prefer, small patterns start to emerge; for example, there are similarities between Tegan & Sara, White Stripes, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, We Are Scientists, and Franz Ferdinand. So then you could say that I'm into that pop garage rock revival stuff from UK. Right?

But then all of a sudden, you hit the more "slightly eccentric but generally accepted by main stream type of rock": Muse, Radiohead, mewithoutYou, Hard-Fi, Gorillaz, etc.

Further inspection reveals a bit of "hip-hop for the white man": Kanye West, B.o.B, Lupe Fiasco, Beastie Boys, etc.

Understandably, there are the 90's "alternative rock" jams from my childhood: Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, 3 Doors Down, Vertical Horizon, etc

Surprisingly to some, there is some "adult top 40" stuff here too: Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Lifehouse, etc.

Of course, there are just the plain old "these guys are classic, you gotta have them": Michael Jackson, The Beatles, ABBA, U2, Bob Dylan, etc.

And then there's Ke$ha. (Don't judge)

I list all this to point out that even though it seems as though I like all these genres, there are so many artists in these very genres that I don't like. Artists that sound a lot like the ones I've listed, the difference being that I don't actually like them. And I don't know why. I could try and list slightly differences to try and justify myself, but really, there should be no reason why I don't like these other artists.

For example:

- Most people say that because of some of the music that I like, it's strange that I detest Queen. But I do. And apparently I'm not allowed to like Muse unless I like Queen. Pfft.

- Also, I like Usher, but I pretty much dislike anyone else who sounds even remotely like him.

- I love me some generic top 40 rock usually (sup The Fray), but I can't stand Lady Antebellum.

- "Hip-hop that white people like" would seem like my forte but for the fact that I don't get what the big deal is with Kid Cudi. His songs are... boring. To me.

- I rock some classics, but there are other legends that I really can't get into: Elvis, Rolling Stones, and Madonna come to mind.

So, I can't even say "I like everything". Because I clearly don't. I can't say "I like 50% of everything" because, well, that makes no sense at all. I can't say "I'm into anything as long it isn't manufactored and meaningless pop garbage" because, well, I listen to Ke$ha.

I thought that by the time I reached this part of the post that I would have come up with a way to describe my music taste. You know, like how in some situations, writing about something just clears your thoughts and brings clarity. Well, in this case, it didn't happen. I still don't know how to explain it.

Ah well.

....

Bye.

Resolution foundation

This is the time of year where everybody reflects on the year that has just finished, and one big part of that is also looking towards future goals. You know what I'm talking about; that's right, new years resolutions. Gotta love those resolutions that almost never get done. Every year we bust out our new vows to make our lives better, but by February they are a distant memory. Actually, they're not even a memory; it's like you never even made them at all.

However, being the onto it guy that I am, I have devised a slow-burning long-term plan that should help me to achieve these goals. You see, I believe most people fail because they're just too eager. There's no need to shoot for the moon right. Like we say in the hood: "Kick back brah." A baby can't walk without learning how to crawl first. And you can't learn how to swim before simply learning how to float.

Well, I'm applying that same fail-safe principle to my new years resolutions. With 2011, I'm gonna take it easy and start with some smaller goals. I plan to knock em outta the park, then sass up 2012 with some bigger resolutions. This should be considerably easier with the confidence I would have gained from completing my previous annual to-do list. It's all about building blocks right. While this year's list may seem little, don't be fooled. It will snowball into a monster avalance resolutions list in a few years.

So, without further ado, here are my new years resolutions for the next 12 months:

- Post at least 3 blog posts.

- Have a total of 12 showers.

- Watch a whole episode of this mysterious show on TV people refer to as "The News".

- Top up my phone at least once.

- Stop getting into fist-fights to the death with drug dealers I owe money to.

- Take 4 sexy photos.

- Go to one Uni lecture for every time I lie to a Mormon about my address.

- Have one friend on Facebook that I didn't have in 2010.

- Correctly predict the culprit in a Scooby Doo episode. Or Law & Order. One or the other, I'm not overly fussed.