Wrestle The Angel

"I wanna see miracles
See the world change
Wrestle the angel
For more than a name
For more than a feeling,
For more than a cause
I'm singing
Spirit
Take me up in arms with you
And you're raising the dead in me...

Oh, I am the second man
Oh, I am the second man now..."

So Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the Man saw that He could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the Man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The Man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob [meaning trickster, liar, cheater]," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel [contender with God], because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

~ Genesis 32:24 - 28

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman and.. Kings of Leon?

I haven't put up a proper cover since before the great viral infection of 12/09 (yes, that's what it's called!). The main reason for this has been the death of my trusty Sony Cybershot, which I shot my original videos with. My new camera, despite being better at taking pictures, is sadly a little lacking in the video department, at least where sound is concerned.

Which prompted me to dig into our music room, and actually put together a microphone and mixer to record.

It was a fun project, even if the song is not my best. The Bro and I had a lot of fun setting it up and messing with all sorts of different arrangements and settings.

The result is a better sounding video, and an interesting mix between Tracy Chapman and a not-so-popular Kings of Leon song.


So without much further ado, here is "Fast Car". The original is here, and the Kings of Leon song is here. As always, you can download the audio from here and see the Youtube video here.

Phew.

Enjoy (here)!

G

Time Zones

The lights stream down from the roof, as the music drums against her ears. With one hand holding a glass and the other in the air, she sways to the music before deciding to get to the dance floor. She kicks off her shoes; it's best to be comfortable now.

Here in the center of the floor, the music is much louder, mingled with the shouts and laughter of the crowd she is among. Her feet ache, but it is not often that these moments arise, these opportunities to let go. Opportunities to silence the voices in her head, to forget about all the wrongs and the hurt. Yes, she can endure the pain a little while longer; after all, it's more than worth it.

And so she dances, she drinks, and she dances some more. Yet, in the midst of it all, she finds time to glance at her phone. The music, the beats and the high are still not enough to escape that one final habit. She looks at the time - almost midnight. But somewhere, this night is over and tomorrow has already begun. Somewhere, it is already morning, and the music, the beats, the joy have all faded away like the morning mist.

Somewhere.

---

The sunlight streams through the windows, accompanied by the melodic chirping of the birds outside. With one hand on his temple, and one on his hip, he shakes his head slowly before deciding to sit down on the sofa. He stretches his feet; it's best to be comfortable now.

For there, in the center of the room, the shouting is loud, overpowering the pleasant feathery falsetto's from the window. His heart aches, but it is not often that he is here to witness these moments now, these incidents when something finally gives way. Incidents that drown out everything else in his life, and replace them with hurt and wrong. Yes, he can endure the heart ache a little longer; after all, if he doesn't do it, who will? In the end, he tells himself, it will all be worth it.

And so he listens, he shouts, he reasons, and he listens some more. Yet, in the midst of it all, he finds the time to glance at his phone. The anger, the hurt and yelling are not enough to quell that one habit. He looks at the time - almost noon. But somewhere, it is still yesterday and this day, with all it's issues, hasn't even begun yet. Somewhere, it is still night time, and the peace of the night is, to the raised voices, like the calm before the storm.

Somewhere.

Kobe Bryant Takes Everything Seriously

Kobe Bryant is an assassin.

Not the type flying over ancient Jerusalem in white robes, nor the bald guys with bar codes on their head and very red flimsy ties.

Just a cold-blooded assassin on the floor.





My respect for Kobe has lasted a long time, even if I only started 'liking' him recently. Despite his many run-ins with the media regarding his on-court spats and off-court lawsuits, the man comes back season after season, hits game-winner after game-winner after game-winner, all with that look of death plastered on his face.

Here's an excerpt from his article with GQ that I felt like sharing.

On being surrounded by the best of the best athletes at the Olympics: "I felt like Harry Potter going to Hogwarts."

On his relationship with Shaq: "The biggest mistake I made was responding to what he was saying about me. Once I responded, now that made it seem like I was part of that whole thing. It's like, Okay, these two are against each other. As opposed to just staying quiet, which is what I've been doing the last few years. Let him say what he needs to say."

And finally, this hilarious exchange on how Kobe's win-at-all-costs mind-set does carry over to the rest of his life:
"What people see on court is another side of me; it's not me. That dark side that's coming to get you — ha ha! I'm not losing this [expletive] game — that's not who I am. That's part of me. Off the court, I'm completely different."

In almost the same breath he admits that a simple game of Cranium with his wife can turn into guerrilla warfare.Cranium? The kids' board game? With Sensosketches and Cloodles?

He purses his lips, nods his head slowly: No joke.

Have a great weekend!


G

You

Clouds rolling on moving shadows
Over the countryside
A ray of light descends from the heavens
Your presence fills the sky

I can't deny what I'm seeing is true
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

You're the love I have always known
And it's You
I will never be alone

You're all I desire You're all that I choose
I guess that explains why I feel like I do
I cannot deny what I'm falling into
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

The earth declares Your glory
There's nowhere it can hide
And still You let me in
You draw me to Your side

You are my hope and I know that it's true
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is

You

You're the love I have always known
And it's You
I will never be alone

You're all I desire You're all that I choose
I guess that explains why I feel like I do
I cannot deny what I'm falling into
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

- "You" by Kutless

Spam Comments

.. are absolutely the best!

Despite me hardly blogging of late, the spam-bots have been busy at work, flooding my inbox with anonymous comments and retarded attempts at sounding ‘human’. I’m still at a loss to know how anyone could fall for a spammer, I mean, how stupid must you be to click on a link for “magic penis enlargement – REAL!”? It’s just beyond me.

While I understand how companies out there need to use whatever methods possible to get people to buy their products or visit their websites, I’m somewhat confused as to why they can’t design them better. The English is just atrocious, the grammar is non-existent, and – well, see for yourself.

“good morning fellas. I’m honestly into shoes and I was looking for the sake of that exact brand. The prices as regards the shoes around 300 pounds on every page. But for all I base this location selling them for half price. I in reality like these [fake link here]. I will definitely purchase them. What can you say about it?”
- This was for “Love Hurts”. Clearly, the connection between music, Incubus and feet is obvious to everyone except me.

“I congratulate, an excellent idea”

– I really wanted to put that up, but it was for “Blog Action Day ‘09” and I really had nothing to do with it.

“You have tested it and writing form your personal experience or you find some information online?”

– This was for “I Could Use A Hand Right Now”; so apt, don’t you think?

“Hello. And Bye.”

– One of my favourites.

“You are not right. I can prove it. Write to me in PM, we will talk”

– This was again for “Blog Action Day ‘09”, so I’m assuming he/she/it means I’m wrong about global warming. Well thank goodness for that!

“Exceptional site! Nearly everyone needs to acquire insurance at one time or another, whether it is auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or homeowner’s insurance. These times it is more painless than ever to find complimentary insurance quotes for several businesses in order to find the optimal deal. You can also see how to save oodles of money in free gasoline when you acquire your insurance price quotations. [link to insurance site] [link to wedding rings site] [link to site to discover family tree]”

– I have absolutely no idea why after a huge comment about insurance, they include links to wedding rings and family trees. But points for using the words “oodles”.

“You must have seen Ranbir Kapoor’s wonderful chemistry with Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani. Katrina is really exited to romance Ranbir, obviously in reel life. Katrina is really eager to be a part of Ashtvinayak’s next film that casts Ranbir. However she is well known to this fact that her looks as well as accent can not relate. [link to bollywood blog]”

– Posted in “The Basketball Analogies”, one of my favourite posts. How Bollywood and Basketball are related, or how Ray Allen points to Katrina Kaif, is yet another mystery that only the spam-gods can understand. On the other hand, I’m SO excited about Ranbir Kapoor’s wonderful on-screen chemistry though, and I can’t WAIT to see his next project!

“Naja, ob das alles so richtig is...”

– Posted on “My Reason For Blogging”. All I have to say to that is: “Arschloch! Heil Hitler!”

“高松宮記念の最新予想！オッズ、厳選買い目は？！レースの鍵を握る馬は裏情報を特別公開”

- And then I get spam in Japanese. Apparently this is about horse racing or something. Sheesh.

Of course spam is not restricted to my blog; twitter gives me enough and more headaches on a daily basis. I just have to tweet about something remotely popular to have all these bots following me. Sports, music, movies – anything is a trigger for a spam-bot. Of course, the most annoying are the bots which add you for no particular reason, but have some half-naked women as a display picture and a handful of tweets, all linking to her “private webcam”. As I delete them, I just wonder what are the odds that perhaps one of them is actually a real person? Just my luck.

However my favourite has to be the MSN spam messages I get from infected contacts. I sign in and I get a list of offliners from different people, earnestly telling me that “Bob” has been using some secret pills to enhance his sex life so they stole a few to check, and lo and behold, they actually WORK! Just $5 too, how could I resist?

How could I indeed. The moron that falls for that should be given a special prize, like a live chat with a call-girl of his choice.

A call-girl that’s a 29 year old guy sitting in a cubicle in India.


Feel free to add on any interesting spam comments you’ve come across!

In Loving Memory

No, this isn’t an obituary to my blog, though considering the level of inactivity this year, I suppose you could declare it brain dead.

Did that metaphor make sense? No? Good. I’ve still got it.

But yes, I’ve been just a bit stressed for time these days, especially now that my training is done and I’m officially on permanent status. My restricted time on the internet is spent either reading blogs, sports news or chatting with people in time zones that really mess with my sleep cycle, none of which inspire a blog post.

And then I went to church.

It was one of the weekends that I was at home, and as usual I was busy trying to cram in all the things that I missed out during the week, i.e. dongle-free internet, movies, home cooked food, and driving (I really, really miss driving!). However, in an attempt to infuse my short weekend stay with more ‘family time’, my parents decided that I should come with them for a memorial service. You know what they say; nothing brings the family together like a corpse.

So I swing by, reluctantly, while pondering the appropriate ‘game face’ to put on while at a memorial service. Not too sad (it’s not the funeral) and not too relaxed (you’re supposed to miss the man). It was the 1 year death anniversary of a family acquaintance, an old planter that used to come to our church, and as I sat in the pews reading the order of the service, I realized that this was actually the first time I had attended a memorial service.

It was rather awkward for me personally, watching this little parade of children and grandchildren telling the assembly how much they miss this man. It seemed unnecessary to me; surely this would be better suited for a more private and personal gathering. However, the best was definitely saved for last, when the widow and the pastor got up to tell what a fantastic, god-fearing, church-loving man he was. How they could do so with a straight face, heaven only knows. They might as well have told me he was the antichrist's secretary.

After ensuring I had indeed heard this right, I started to wonder how people could be so forgiving of those that have passed before us. It’s almost as if insults are forgiven by the time the body hits the floor, debts are forgiven by the time of the homily and extra-marital affairs and murder are forgiven by the time the sand starts piling up on the casket.

So is it only in death that we activate our ‘human spirit’? Do we have to wait till our last breath has come and gone to see compassion, concern and selective amnesia in our fellow man? I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer”, when he and his friends staged their own funeral to milk the sympathy that they knew would be overflowing for them, despite them being a public nuisance.

When I was very young, I didn’t see much of my father as he worked late, and so my five year old brain devised a way to ‘check’ how much I missed him. I would imagine him dying, or imagine hearing of his death, and then if I felt immensely sad about it, then I knew that I really did care and I really did miss him.

Silly, stupid, terrible – and yet, perhaps apt.

Bottom line: make sure you tell your friends all the things you hate about them right now! You never know when they may drop dead and put you in the unenviable position of having to lie through your teeth at church.