I SAID GOOD DAY!

I wish.

 

 

Blogging. Who does it anymore, really?

 

When I started this blog back in 2008... whoa. Hold on while I let that sink in.

 

Yes indeed, I started blogging back when my beloved Celtics had just won a championship, before we had witnessed the brilliance of "The Dark Knight", and before Jessica Chastain found Osama bin Laden.

 

It's hard to imagine the person I was when I decided to pen these little posts a mere 5 years ago; (definitely in better shape, but without my glorious greying sideburns which have proven to be such a chick-magnet). What started off as a way to kill the time slowly turned into a favourite past-time of mine, and soon I was churning out over-the-top posts on everything under the sun as often as I could type them.

 

I 'churn' out much fewer posts these days; in fact, before today I hadn't even opened Blogger in 4 months. I like to think this is because I'm much too busy these days, but it's more likely because I have lost the taste for it.

 

So, to get to the point: it's time to shut down Darkside Daily for good. I don't want to be too dramatic about it, especially since I've 'left blogging' before. But at the same time, I don't want it to just go quietly into the night and be a remnant on someone's Google Reader Feedly feed, hence this post.

 

This blog has been a repository for all my thoughts through a tumultuous period in my life. It's seen me through incredible adventures, great sporting events, amazing movies, awful heartbreaks, introspective ruminations, several angry moments, happy moments and sad ones. In five years I've come a long way, and been through so much, it's almost impossible to encapsulate here without droning.

 

This won't be the end of me blogging, but just a new chapter. I think it's time I start anew, and leave behind the history of the 'headless pianist'. Those of you that know me will no doubt see me sooner or later blogging under my real name, with a much less cartoony blog name (what was I thinking...). I hope that by starting over, with a new leaf, I too will be able to explore and reflect on new things and new areas in my own life.

 

Finally, I just want to thank all the bloggers who made the 'blogging community' so interesting back when there was such a thing. Many of you have stopped blogging, but I have made friends with you outside of the murky world of Kottu.org, so this isn't the end or anything silly like that. Thank you all for your feedback on my posts and especially my music, which I feel has been shaped largely through your comments and suggestions.

 

So, until the next blog post..

 

The Darkside bids you adieu. 

 

 

 

Short and Sweet: The 55 Word Writing Challenge

I haven't been writing much of late, so I was rather unsure about joining up the latest trend on the Sri Lankan Twittersphere, which was the 55-word story challenges. Basically, every day the twitter handle @SriLankaDiaries spits out a word, and the writers have up to midnight to write a 55-word vignette around that theme. Simple, right?

Well, it's harder than it seems. For example, that first paragraph I wrote is exactly 55 words, and I barely even got into the point of this post. Imagine writing a small work of fiction in that?

Well, despite my abysmally poor time management skills, I've managed to write a few entries every now and then. There are some interesting works out there, and it's a fun and engaging writing exercise to break from the monotony of work these days.

Recently @SriLankaDiaries mixed things up and proposed a collaborative writing challenge, which would involve four writers to write 55 word vignettes one after the other to form one coherent piece of fiction. I was given the rather daunting task of being the fourth and final writer in my group, meaning I had to tie up all the story lines with my 55 words.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge; thanks to writer no.3 for throwing a total curve ball in the story line (but admittedly making it all the more interesting). Here's the piece in its entirety. The word for the story was "poison".

Little Ashok lay under the bed in the dark terrified.

A car sounded in the driveway and he heard the voices of his nana and someone else in the hallway. She was screaming “YOU POISONED MY DAUGHTER!”

Ashok’s world started spinning.

“Nooo! Mommy isn’t dead!” he thought, crying.

Suddenly there was silence.

“Nana??” he whispered.

He tiptoed in to the hall. He could see the bracelet he made for his mom broken all over the floor. He heard a familiar voice that he followed in to the kitchen. His dad was standing above his mother’s lifeless body, with a shining gleam in his eye. He started to move towards Ashok.

“Really, Lehan? That’s how you want to start your first novel? I’m certain your father wouldn’t approve,” quipped, Sid. This wasn’t the reaction Lehan was looking forward to, but made no attempt to defend himself. It could have been worse; his father would have just walked off and carried on drinking without saying a word.

And suddenly, Lehan had an idea.

Soon he was at his father’s house, watching him read his manuscript. His father didn’t speak, but his eyes showed contempt at his son’s “so-called profession”.

“Rubbish.”, he slurred, reaching for his drink.

Lehan watched him take the poisoned glass, picked up his pen, and prepared to start writing.

Thanks to fellow contributors @Shi_dreams , @gillian.nair and @rebelinpurple . You can see more short and sweet works of fiction at the Sri Lanka Stories site here. If you want to sign up for the challenge, simply follow @SriLankaDiaries on Twitter or drop them an email at srilankastories@gmail.com

 

Long December (Or Good Riddance 2012)

Well, here we are again. The end of yet another year. I had such grand plans for my year ending post, but I thought I'd save that for a first of 2013 post instead.

I suppose I should reflect on the year and all, right? Well, it's been a terrible year for blogging - I've posted the least number of posts this year since I started this blog. I shall attribute this to less time in front of the computer and more time actually doing things, and I'd only be half lying. It's been a pretty good year on the music front though, what with the Colombo Music Festival, my introduction to the Melomanic Sessions in January, and the recently concluded "Final Wishlist". When it comes to music, there are few better teachers than experience, and I've had a lot of hard lessons this year. Some good shows at Melo, a few good performances at the Music Festival, and a lot of bombs that have me still shaking my head. Still, I'm so glad for all the opportunities I've had to perform and I hope 2013 brings even more my way.

It's hard for me to write about the personal front. It's been challenging, and I have made mistakes more often than I have succeeded, but isn't that life in general? I've watched the people I love let me down, and I in turn have let down the people that love me, and at the end of the day all we can do is try to forgive, try to heal, try to live with the things that have been said to us or by us. Our hearts keep beating, our lungs keep breathing, and time calls out from ahead of us asking if we're coming or not. Is it easy? No. But mixed in among all the bad, there is a lot of good, and sometimes that's enough to make peace with the rest of it.

My brother moved to Switzerland for his higher studies, and I miss him terribly. I wish he had been here to watch my sing; he has always been an honest critic. Christmas was tough without him, but apparently he was working on Christmas so I suppose we got the better end of that deal. Looking forward to seeing him in 2013.

All in all, 2012 was memorable, for both good and not-so-good reasons, and if anything is 'memorable' then I suppose it was worth it, wasn't it?

So here's to a new year, with more of the new and less of the old. May you, dear readers, always journey forwards and onwards to brighter, better things.

To sign off, let me add a few songs to this post. The first is a video of one of my solos at the "Final Wishlist" programme 3 weeks ago. The second is a rush job, hastily edited cover made with my hoarse vocals and zero editing. Not something I would normally do, but I just wanted to get it out there.

Happy New Year everyone!

G

A Final Wishlist: A Christmas Programme Making A Difference

The last few weeks have been extremely busy for me, involving training programmes, lots of travelling, and lots and lots of singing. Yes, 'tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to get in the festive mood than Christmas carols and tunes?

 

Besides the usual church carol services, I've been lucky enough to be asked to do a couple of songs for Music.Inc's latest production titled "A Final Wishlist" , directed by Shannon Jacob.  If you’ve been to their shows before, you’ll know that they put up great musical and stage performances, and always in aid of a worthy cause. This time, their final show is in aid of EMERGE LANKA, a foundation that undertakes for the care and rehabilitation of girls that have been the victims of rape, incest and other forms of sexual assault, and are waiting for their respective court cases to be settled. These girls are between the ages of 10 and 18, and these court cases can sometimes drag on for years and years. During this time, the attacker is free, while the girls are kept in shelters, isolated from outside contact, and shunned from their families.

Emerge Lanka works in co-ordination with these shelters, providing basic education, counselling, financial knowledge, life skills and sex education to these girls until they are released, at which time they will then be equipped to handle being reintroduced to the world without the support of friends or family.

Music.Inc will be staging two shows on the 12th and 13th of December at the British School Auditorium, from 730pm onwards. The tickets will be priced at Rs. 1000, 750 and 500 have been sold out! However, there may be a few balcony tickets available on a first come first served basis, so do try to come as early as possible if you're coming and you might get lucky! The team from Music.Inc have spent some time with the girls from Emerge, and have gotten them to write up a 'wishlist' comprising up to 5 items of what they really want this Christmas season. The money raised from this programme will go towards making those wishes come true, including a small mini-carnival for the girls; something that they would never be able to participate in in their current confines.

If you've not able to make it, here is a small sample for you:

Hope to see you guys there! I may be biased in my opinion, but trust me when I say: I've never been to a show like this before. I sincerely hope you make it, and join in on making someones wishes come true this festive season.

 

Homegrown Talent (Featuring Asela Perera)

"I've heard some international standard original material from our little island the last few years. Support your local artists and music. Support original music. You'll be surprised how good it has got here."

 

The above quote was posted on Facebook by Salvage lead singer (and Melomanic's own) CC, and it got me thinking about the local music scene. Lately I've been lucky to be exposed to a lot of local musicians and singers, and it's beautiful to see what gifted and talented artists we have in our island. We don't see them though, because most of the time they are working in our banks, teaching in our schools, studying in our colleges. Rarely do they find opportunities to perform, and almost never are they recognised for it.

 

Which brings me to my friend Asela Perera. I remember the first time I heard him sing was through word of mouth, and eventually one day at work I listened to "Eyes Wide Open", a beautiful duet (with Isuri, another talented local artist) from his earlier work "Paper Boy". At that time I had never heard anything as good by any other local artist, and it was just so refreshing to me. Above all, it was original, and his style and personality permeates every song he sings.

 

I have been lucky enough to watch him perform several times now thanks to the Melomanic Sessions, and I've also had the fortune to hear several budding local artists perform as well, from rock bands to ukulele players, from teenagers to seasoned veterans. It's beautiful to see people expressing themselves so eloquently through music, despite limited opportunities to perform or for coaching. It makes me wonder what we could do if we actually nurtured these homegrown musicians, and supported them by giving them the audience and the applause that they so richly deserve.

 

Despite listening to "Paper Boy" before, there was one track that I had somehow missed. I discovered it today for the first time while going through his official site (click here). I'm not sure what it is about this song, but it somehow connected with me. Asela is quite the lyricist, but it's strange how even in this instrumental song, he has managed to communicate so much emotion and describe so much without saying anything at all really. That is no easy task; it takes skill, talent, and soul. Perhaps I'm reading it wrong, but the message it conveys to me is beautiful, and it resonates deeply.

 

This is 20:55.

 

 

 

 

Today he released "Once", his first single from his upcoming EP titled "Evenings In The Sun"; an EP that I am itching to get my ears (?) on. So go on, give Asela a listen, and look out for more local artists. They may not be on a stage, in front of the big lights, but they could be in your break room at work, or providing the ambiance for your Friday night drinks. Acknowledge them, speak to them, encourage them. They need it, and in my opinion, they deserve it.

 

Free Fallin' At The Colombo Music Festival 2012

As some of you may know, I took part in the Spirit singing competition which was part of the Colombo Music Festival 2012. The finals were last Sunday, for Rock, Pop & RnB, Gospel, Fusion and Instrumentals. While there were a few technical glitches, the show was, in my opinion, of very high standard. I myself was extremely entertained with the talent that was on offer, on that day and even the day prior when the finals for Musical Theatre, Jazz and Classical was held.

There have been several poor reviews of this Colombo Music Festival, and most of them have been more than justified, but I must say that the singing competition went off pretty well. The show opened with Gospel and Rock, with some very memorable performances. One of the competitors for Rock solo opened with a great acoustic rendition of The Police's "Message in a bottle". Another played a soulful piano rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing". I had decided (rather quickly I must add) to go with "Adrienne" by The Calling and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty for my song choices, and in hindsight with more time I probably would have picked a more popular song than "Adrienne". However, limited time and a rushed schedule meant I had to stick with my choices. We went with The Calling first, and sat back in the audience to listen to the other categories as they all finished their first song choices in sequence.

Those of you that came for the show will know that there were a few people that really stood out from the pack, showing some amazing soul and character vocally. Dave, Mayanthi, Dominic and recent Onstage winner Melissa were to me the cream of the crop, far outdistancing themselves from the rest, despite the high standard exhibited by the contestants overall.

There were some performances that were not so great as well, but not because of a lack of talent. Despite years of reality singing shows, the simple rule eludes most of us, myself included: pick the right songs! I felt that a few contestants in the pop category really suffered here, choosing songs that were a little too old fashioned (honestly, no one sings Bonnie Tyler's "I Need A Hero" voluntarily). On top of that, some people  ended up incorporating a huge band, complete with backup singers, drums, lead guitars and a horrendous keyboard player who seemed determined to drown out everyone and everything all by himself. This was really unfortunate, because I had heard their previous performances, and they have some serious talent. However I am not at all surprised that the eventual winners of the genre were accompanied by a maximum of two instruments.

Speaking of instruments, I can't say enough about the two contestants in the Contemporary Instrumental category. You couldn't find two more contrasting styles for such a category, yet they both blew the roof off the place. Joshua is a young piano maestro, putting together an entire composition made up of popular movie themes, while Nisal is a guitar genius, playing John Petrucci with ease. Their combined four pieces were a treat to the ears, and the judges decided to award them as joint winners, and deservedly so. 

Anyway, by the time I sang my second song, I somehow had a sense that this was probably the last time I was going to step on a stage like this with a full band behind me for a while, and so I decided to really soak in the atmosphere while I could. "Free Fallin'" went of pretty well, if I do say so myself, and I was quite proud of the way we had engineered it despite the limited hours we had to rehearse. Many thanks to Nishan and the band for that!

Unfortunately, the judges decided not to place me when the results came out, and so I remained simply a 'finalist'. I'll admit, I was pretty disappointed, but at the same time I had learned so much about myself musically, as well as pushed myself to sing songs that I normally would have been hesitant to. My main learning though? I need vocal training; pronto!

Without much further ado, here's "Free Fallin'" - probably one of my better live performances (narrowly edging out "Roxanne"). I hope you enjoy it.

The Darkside Has Come To The Colombo Music Festival

Greetings one and all. The rumours of my passing have been wildly exaggerated; I have merely been too busy of late to blog. Much to your relief, no doubt.

Just thought I'd write a quick update on what I've been up to in the last month or so. Besides the daily grind that work provides, I've found myself rather busy with an "extra-curricular" activity - singing. A few weeks ago I heard about the "Senses and Soul" Colombo Musical Festival, which is to be held during the end of August. Along with several workshops, talks and performances from reputed foreign artists, the music festival is also organising, as a lead up event, a singing competition, with the finals to be held during the festival week itself. The contest spans various genres, including Jazz, Pop & RnB, Rock, Classical, Musical Theatre, Gospel as well as group and solo events in each category. With the promise of international talent scouts coming to view the finalists, and the possibility of 'international' exposure, the music festival seemed to be a real first for Colombo, and so it was with much excitement (and a slight bit of nerves) that I applied in both Gospel and Rock solo.

The first audition was very American Idol-esque, with three judges giving you roughly a minute to impress them with any choice of song, sung without accompaniment. I sang snippets of "And Now My Lifesong Sings" and "Dolphin's Cry" for my auditions, with the judges asking me to sing another song for the Rock audition to show my 'variety'. In a panic I sang Incubus' "Dig", and crossed my fingers. Luckily, I made it through to the next round.

The preliminaries required music, so after a few rushed practices with Bro during the weekend, I managed to work out Building 429's "Always" for the Gospel solo and Alter Bridge's "Watch Over You" for Rock solo.. This was the first time we saw the other competitors in our categories, as the initial audition was for all genres. I had to admit there were some amazing voices on display, especially in the Pop & RnB category. The whole day was spent at the venue, and by the time the results came out I had heard some of the best jazz, broadway, opera, pop and rock singers Colombo had to offer (as well as some Korean Pop - I'll get to that later).

Again, I was lucky enough to make it to the semi final round for both categories! I had to admit I was feeling a bit confident at this stage, but then I was told we had to sing something in complete contrast to what we sang for the preliminaries. This sort of threw me: what the heck is a contrast to "Watch Over You"? After several nights on Youtube and going through my iTunes playlists, I finally settled on what would easily be my hardest cover song: "Roxanne" by The Police.

It was definitely one of the most fun performances I've done, and it was enough to get me through into the final round of the Rock solo category. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky for the Gospel round, but I'll upload that video as soon as I can too.

Well that's what I've been up to! I'll write more later on my observations during this competition and working with all these extremely talented musicians and performers; it's definitely been a very eye-opening experience.

The finals are on August 25th-26th; more details soon! Hope to see you there as well.

Update:

I've uploaded the audio on Soundcloud: enjoy!

The Melomanic Sessions: A Brief Recap

So the Melomanic Sessions last Sunday at the Warehouse Project was fun! It was just a little over a couple of weeks back that Asela asked me to perform, so picking out a 3 song set was a bit more stressful than I would have liked. Still, after practising after work for a week, I felt somewhat confident turning up on Sunday.

The Warehouse Project is seriously the perfect location for a stripped down, acoustic show - especially considering that the warehouse itself has sections that are in various stages of being stripped down as well. The large open hall, the warm lighting and echo-filled acoustics are begging for nice, clean and precise music. We started a little late but not nearly as late as the earlier show, and by some luck of the draw I had been pencilled in to open the proceedings.

It was definitely a fun experience! Opening can be a bit of a curse however; I'm sure a majority of the audience completely forgot my performance after hearing the serious talent of our other guests. From original compositions to The Beatles to Live to Adele to The Cranberries, from pianos to guitars to flutes to cellos, there was no shortage of variety. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I say this not just because I was playing! In fact, once the pressure of performing was removed, I was able to sit back and really appreciate some great local talent.

I've yet to upload the videos for my performance but they should be up by the weekend. Unlike past videos, you'll (finally) be able to see me while I sing instead of my animated fingers and torso. Enjoy it while it lasts! Until then though I've attached the Soundcloud recording of the set, I hope you like it!

A couple of pictures from the show; all except the first picture courtesy of T.

Gehan's Set by themelomanicsessions 

Edit: Finally uploaded the videos, so linking them here.

 

Enjoy!

Models & Music: Playing For The "En Vous" Fashion Show

Even though my 'headless videos' only make a rare appearance on the blog these days, I assure you that my piano playing ways remain intact. Which is why I was glad to be asked to sing at a friend's fashion show in Kandy a couple of weeks ago. She was looking for some acoustic-type live music to be played between sets while the models changed outfits, and I was more than willing to do it for her. So I worked out a few songs with my brother and a friend on guitar, and the results are below.

Thanks to A for recording the videos; unfortunately the sound isn't too great since the camera seems to have been right next to a speaker.

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

Switchfoot - Always

As for the show itself, I must say it went really well. It was titled "En Vous", and featured some original designs by my friend for swimwear, casuals, evening and an especially nice linen collection. However it wasn't just the collection that was high class; the venue was extremely well done as well, with the runway being set up on the pool.

I know what you're thinking, and no; none of the models fell into the pool, despite how unsteady it seemed to be to walk on. Though come to think of it, how awesome would it have been having the models 'surface' from the pool itself wearing the swimwear collection? Perhaps a suggestion for another time.

All in all it was a grand success, and I was lucky enough to meet a few people who were interested in our 'services' for future events. I sincerely hope I handled those conversations well, despite not having a smooth enough reply for when people asked me for my card. Luckily Kandy is a small town, and when I mentioned my name, most people simply asked if I was my father's son, and after replying in the affirmative, they said they'd get in touch with him for my details. Perhaps I should make him my manager.

Either way, the Darkside is definitely in the market for more low-key sideshow musical attractions! If nothing else, it'll serve to be a welcome distraction from my mundane work life. Thank you all for the positive and constructive comments made on all my uploads, I probably wouldn't have had the nerve, nor would I have been heard of, to do stuff like this without them.

PS: I managed a sneak peak into the world of modelling at the show. Await a post on that soon..

Indie Ink: Faking A Smile

The clock ticks on, yet sleep eludes her still.

She doesn't toss or turn though, choosing instead to stare fixedly at the luminous second hand of her alarm clock. The steady staccato 'tick' of each passing second fails to lull her to sleep, and with each minute, and hour, she grows more convinced that she will lie like this till morning.

She forces her eyes closed one more time, forcing her tired brain to dream, yet like a blank slate it remains bare, waiting for someone to touch it in a way it will understand.

And she knows who that someone is.

She smiles, as she thinks of him. His lively, light brown eyes, and his laugh; the loud one when among friends, and the softer, more personal chuckle he reserved only for when they were alone together. She imagines his strong arms around her, carrying her away to distant and exotic locations. Anywhere would do, as long as he was there.

Suddenly, there's a sound at the door, and her eyes fly open as her dream evaporates in an instant. There's a pause, and heavy footsteps slowly enter the room. Her body involuntarily tenses, waiting, apprehensive.

"Are you awake?", a slurred voice says to her from the direction of the door.

She turns over, slowly, feigning sleepiness.

"Yes, yes I am ", she replies, softly.

"Good. What are you doing?"

"Dreaming. Of you..", she lies.

In the dim light, she can see a lopsided smile spread across his face.

"Good...", he drawls, slowly walking towards her, while taking off his clothes. His black, cold eyes light with a dull, ugly sparkle as he climbs into the bed with her.

She takes a quick breath, looks him dead in those eyes and smiles wide, a smile that is as warm as it is forced.  He doesn't notice it either way. As for her, well; for yet another night, her hopes have abandoned her for reality, her memories of a better time deserting her when she needed them the most. Her dreams of 'him', lost in the sands of time, confined to her subconscious, never to be realised except in the waning hours of daylight.

And so, the clock ticks on, yet happiness eludes her still.

---

My second attempt at the Indie Ink Writing Challenge (for my other entry, click here). My challenge this week was simply "Faking A Smile", given to me by Joe Sanders. In turn, I challenged Jason Hughes with a rather complicated challenge of writing a 'tragic romance' that was centered around breakfast (don't ask!). You can see his response here.
I seem to have a thing about writing dramatic fiction centered around women. I'm sure someone will probably psychoanalyse me for that, but please don't bother. For this particular post I was inspired by Pearl Jam's "Better Man" as well. I hope you enjoy it!

Another Confession

She always knew it would come to this.

As often as she had tried to ignore it, the fact remained within her mind, bursting at the seams of her subconscious like a relentless river against a rickety old dam. And now, here it was being realised before her eyes. She hated confrontation, but this was much worse; a goodbye long overdue.

How did she get here, she asks herself almost incredulously. But no, she stops herself from going down that road; that road leads to self-loathing, and God knows she has enough reasons to hate herself without having to add this to the list.

Her mind finally returns to the present. She sits at the edge of the bed, her sacred bedroom in total disarray. Drawers hang open, their contents upset or missing. With a heavy heart she takes it all in, not missing a single corner of the room. Well, that's not entirely true; she makes a distinct effort to ignore that space taken up by the person standing right in front of her, his hands on his head, his face an expression of total incomprehension.

She looks him in the eyes, and tries not to notice the pain behind them, the confusion that engulfs him. His things were neatly packed in a cardboard box at his feet, when minutes ago they were in her drawers, together with hers. His hands are clenched, when a few hours ago they would have been surrounding hers. Her heart is cold and empty, when a few days ago it would have been his.

"Why?", he says, softly.

She looks back down at the floor and sighs, gathering her thoughts, before speaking.

"I don't know. I don't know how to explain it in a way you would understand. I'm not entirely sure I understand it either. All I know is.."

She pauses. This will be hard.

"'You think we're happy, and even I did for a while. We were comfortable with each other, you moved in without any trouble, we never fought about a thing. But, you never fight about anything! You never question me, you never stood up to me, you let me steam roll right through your life and you assume that's what I want but it's not!"

Her eyes find his now; she wants him to understand this, more than anything.

"For God's sake, were you born to resist, or be abused?"

Silence.

"You probably think I'm just bored, just looking for something new to excite me, some new toy to play with; but - I've got another confession to make," she says, as her voice drops to almost a whisper.

She turns to face the window, taking in the last remaining light of day as it reflects off the city's skyline, before saying with finality:

"I'm getting tired of starting again somewhere new..."

---

This was part of the Indie Ink Challenge that many bloggers seem to be taking part in recently. It's pretty simple; you enter your name in a database weekly and you get to challenge and be challenged by other writers to write a post on a specific topic within the next 5 days. Mine was given by Sunshine , and I was supposed to use a line from my favourite song to tell a story. It's not my usual type of post, so I'm not sure how it turned out. The song is "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters. Hope you liked it! Also, in turn I challenged Catherine, and you can see her response here.

Eleven Days Into Twenty-Eleven..

As I type this post, it is 830pm on the 11th of 2011. I suppose if I wanted to make it more dramatic I would have waited till 11:11:11 or something, but it's been a long day and I will probably be under my sheets then, vainly attempting to shove aside the thoughts of work tomorrow.

Perhaps it's too early in the year to write a progress report on the new decade, yet I am rarely in the mood to properly blog these days, and when these moments come along where I find myself with the time and the motivation to write, I feel I should 'grab on with both hands'. So here I am, reaching for my work laptop, propping myself up on the bed, about to regale you with what this year has been so far.

Of course, I could ramble on and on about 'change', and 'life', and 'the future', and all these other vague yet intellectual ideas that one usually associates with the new year. 'New beginnings' are aplenty in the month of January, along with the hackneyed 'new leaf'. Yes, the first month, and the first few weeks especially, are characterised by that magical pixie dust that forces the world in general to become a better something.

I do not fully understand why people are in such a rush to change things these days. It's almost as if we have started moving so fast that staying constant is just something that is not done. We change our thoughts, ideas and perceptions faster than John Mayer can dump a beautful blonde celebrity. Change is 'in'; Same is 'old'.

As I watch everyone attempt (and mostly fail) at becoming a new person this year, I find myself in the odd position of trying to stay the same; a task I find infinitely harder. I admire those who can identify areas in their life that needs to adapt and evolve, yet it is a rare phenomenon. Most people want to change simply because it is easy, or because someone else said they should. As for me, I feel like I'm looking in the mirror, and watching as ever so subtly, my skin begins to fade, my hair begins to thin, and eyes beging to glaze over. No, I'm not growing old, but I am being forced into 'turning', ever so slowly, just like everyone else.

I'm tempted to write something deep like "change is constant", or "we are all one consciousness", but that would just be lame and pretentious. I am known (I think) for my dramatic nature, and I have often written about 'fighting' for life and what you believe in, mostly to the smirks and rolled eyes of my readers. But as much as I would like to depart from that line of thought and from using that phrase, I am forced to repeat the same, old, boring and repetitive thing again here.

I'm still fighting.

Bring on the next 354 days; I got all year.

Rise

~The Rise of a Planet II by 'taenaron~

It's been a while, hasn't it?


I haven't written a post in a long time, and I find myself struggling to start this one. I missed writing. When you write, you have time to read and review what you say, before putting it out for your audience to see. It is an advantage that I would dearly like to have with the spoken word, for I have lost count of the number of times I have spoken without intending to, or said something that ended up being taken in a way I had not intended.

There were two reasons why I stopped blogging:

1) I didn't enjoy it anymore.

My posts had turned so - gloomy - and no one likes a whiner. It was not just the content, it was also the quality. Whenever my mouse hovered over the 'publish' button, I could hear my older posts mocking my new one already. It just wasn't the same, and it somehow lacked that zing. I didn't want my blog to suddenly turn into a party-of-one-pity-party, the type I had often mocked 'back in the day'. It had to end.

2) It reminded me of how much had changed.

Perhaps the biggest reason was that I realised I was not the same person I was back when I started blogging. My blog constantly reminded me that there was a time when I was happier, and a lot less - poisonous. Had I changed so much? Had I let life's challenges rob me of my laughter, or had I been the one that decided to focus my efforts solely on survival rather than actually living?


Another reason, I suppose, was that I was increasingly distressed with what I felt was the general opinion of the blogosphere of me. This is not something I easily confess to, but honestly, due to several poor choices and bad judgement, I had perhaps built up a false persona of myself. One that was, maybe, much too close to the truth than I liked to admit.


Truth. What is the truth anyway? Is it what we say it is? Is it the general consensus, the acceptable norm? Is it a variable factor that is dependant on time, situation, place, person? If the truth is not constant, then what is?


I've learned that when people doubt you, question you or misjudge you, you only have one option, and that is to be honest. From now on, this blog will represent me as I am, whether you like what you see or not. Whether I like what I see or not.


Perhaps, the truth will set me free.

Happy Belated Birthday, T...!

This post is largely redundant (in more ways than one), especially since T's birthday was a good two days ago. However, I am going to ignore that minor technicality and cling to the hope that it really is better late than never.


I have known T for quite a long time, in fact it was on her birthday last year that I first spoke to her. Well, that's not entirely true; I called her, and she put me on voicemail. Needless to say, my planned smooth dialogue promptly fell to pieces when faced with the silence of a voicemail.


Despite this, we had been in contact for a long time via email, which all started due to her rather shady comment she posted here.(You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom; on a side note, wow I used to get a lot of comments!) As it turned out (and much to my disappointment, I must add), it was a song request. I was very touched, and most of our correspondence from then on was always centered around the music I did, and suggestions for new covers. I remember smiling to myself when she suggested some extremely difficult songs, as she seemed convinced I could sing anything. The most famous ones though will always be the 'mystery songs' she heard while smoking up in Jamaica, the ones she would have told me about if only she could remember!


While she has been one of my biggest fans, she has also been one of my harshest critics, and I think perhaps that made me respect her opinion even more. I would later find out that she was head groupie/music critic for the band LBW, a very talented local band over in the States, and so she was no rookie at this.


Over the last year, she has gone from an anonymous blogger to someone who will forever be rooted in a special corner of my heart. We meet people every day that we sometimes laugh at, sometimes forget. Rarely do we find those unique people that challenge us in the way T has done to me. Rarely do we find people with a face (the horror!) like hers either, but that's another story entirely...


So, when she first stumbled across this song and told me how much she loved it, I think it was only natural I should attempt to cover it for her, seeing as I lost the keys to my private jet and wouldn't be able to be there for her big non-birthday. While I am always wary of my own music, forever analysing and over-analysing each minute note and bar, her reaction when she first heard it, and her subsequent reactions to every other listen, easily erase any technical faults I may find in it.


So, happy birthday T. Thank you for the wonderful, wicked, whirlwind year we had together so far, the scandalous adventures, the heart-warming moments, the lows and the dizzying highs. Here's to many more years of face-jokes, failed attempts at dieting and generous dissing of the world in general.


Much love (and a slice of cheesecake, 'cos we both know you prefer that!)


G

If you want to download the audio, just click here.

The Subtle Art Of Humour

So three guys walk into a bar...

One of the most coveted adjectives that most men strive to attain is that of being 'funny' - and no, I don't mean in the I-think-he's-a-pedo way.

I never was the funniest guy in the world, and in many of my earlier blog posts I often mentioned how my attempts at humourous writing were often derived from hours of careful pondering and several failed experiments. Unlike Jerry, I was hesitant to simply string together random and unrelated every-day objects to produce an analogy. It was much too hit-and-miss for me, and perhaps only Jerry's formidable comedic genius allows him this luxury (the buttered cat is still a personal favourite).

Still, I wrote my fair share of funny posts back in the day, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view) those have all but disappeared on this blog over the last year or so, though more a reflection of my circumstance than my writing abilities. I chose not to force anything out for, as the saying goes, either you got it or you don't.

There is a subtle shift in what we find 'funny' of late, and I feel this is reflected in our conversations and even in the media. The last decade or so has brought us such atrocities as "American Pie", "Euro Trip", "Sex Drive" and (insert teen related sex movie here). I admit I find some of them humourous and perhaps even witty, but there is only so many times I can watch some naked guy fall into a bush, hump a pie or get caught wanking off by his parents. It gets old.

The same goes for real life; it's rare to find a person who is genuinely funny and can actually make a good joke that doesn't involve comparing something to genitalia. However, I've noticed that this only applies to my english speaking friends. When it comes to Sinhala, it's a totally new ball game.

Telling a funny Sinhala joke will probably be an art that will forever escape me, but I can at least appreciate those that can. After spending the last 3-4 months with largely Sinhala speaking guys, I've found that it doesn't really take much to make a good Sinhala joke. It's not so much about the content, it's the delivery; the right inflection here, the right pause there, and everyone is in fits of laughter. Perhaps it's just me, but I feel it's a lot easier to make something, anything funnier in Sinhala.

And THAT is what I feel is missing these days. People are always looking to tell us a funny story, never really bothering about how they tell it. Sarcasm is a lost art these days, and I am forced to get my fix from re-runs of House. The last time I met someone who knew how to be sarcastic was T. The first time we met was at a coffee shop, and I had picked the table. Sweetly, she commended me on choosing a table with such an excellent view, and I immediately thanked her without giving it much thought. She then looked at me dead-pan, looked out the window at the walled off parking lot, and said "I was being sarcastic."

I'd have applauded if I wasn't so utterly embarrassed.

Good times.

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!

Garbage Time

*'Garbage Time' is a phrase used in basketball, which is used to describe the time towards the end of a game when the margin between the teams is so great, the remaining minutes in the game are inconsequential. Some players use this time to 'stuff' their stat sheets, scoring easy points while the opposing defences slack off.*


I haven't properly blogged in a long time, and I lay the blame firmly on my absolutely cursed luck with regards to the Internet. At work the Internet is restricted, and when I stay in Colombo at my uncle's, I can't come online often because he doesn't even have a connection, so I have to go across the street to his in-laws to check mail. Someone say awkward.

To solve this dilemma, I go and get a dongle, setup a package, and I’m all set for wireless Internet. Only problem is that despite having a Dialog tower literally 200m away from my house, I don’t get a good enough signal to even watch Youtube, thanks to some heavy foliage around our house. In fact all I get is the laboriously slow EDGE signal which means you're more likely to be hit in the head by a flying water buffalo than have a Skype conversation with someone.

Hence, I've decided to put together some random snippets of my rather happening life over the last month or so, just to fill in till I get back to my normal writing. I was very tempted to write an election related post, but I'm sure the blogosphere is already 'ringing' (pinging?) with arguments both praising and denouncing the results, so I'll just leave it to them and settle for more trivial topics.



The Demon Cat


During one of our back-to-back-to-back parties which we've had over the last couple of weeks (to keep with tradition of course), we had an unexpected guest in the form of a jet black straight-outta-Harry-Potter cat. While a few people fed the cat some scraps from dinner (and certain others planned on getting it drunk) there were others who were extremely freaked out by this slinking bearer of bad luck. We were almost done convincing these people that superstitions of the sort were totally ridiculous when the cat, which had upto that point been playfully rubbing itself against people's ankles like any normal house cat, decided to turn 'jungle cat' and promptly bit someone.

Several cries of murder later, we took the guy to the hospital and what ensued was a thorough anti-rabies course that would convince most animal lovers to change their mind instantly. However, despite finding out later that the cat had only bitten him because he had unknowingly stepped on it in the dark, the only conclusion that was reached after this incident was that the cat was possessed. I kid you not, 'possessed'! Apparently paranormal activity was quite common in our housing scheme, with several inhabitants adding their own bits to the already rather elaborate 'ghost stories' and some even refusing to stay in certain houses which were considered more 'haunted' than the rest.

Morale of the story: animal cruelty only applies if the victim is not related to the spirit world; else please make sure you have some ectoplasm nearby. Else, well, 'who you gonna call'?

Facebook Drama

The problem with social networking is that it inevitably emulates the issues and problems of real-world society. St.Fallen wrote a very interesting post regarding a conversation that he encountered on Facebook, but what I observed was on a slightly different line. One of the strangest things that I've noticed about Facebook is it's privacy settings. It seems like every month they introduce more settings to control who sees what on your profile, or how public your information really is.

But doesn't that go against the very principle of a social networking site? Isn't the sole purpose of such a site to, well, 'socialize'?

By creating these little groups on Facebook, we only encourage the type of internet misdemeanours that we hear about all the time. You see, if we didn't have any of these security settings and groupings, we'd be forced to upload pictures and information that we were actually ok with sharing. What has happened now is a culture where we upload things that not everyone should be seeing, yet we hide behind the security settings and barriers of Facebook to protect us from the consequences of our disclosure. Yet, more often than not, something goes wrong somewhere and those scandalous pictures of you and that random boy you were grinding with turn up on in your boyfriend's inbox. Surprise, surprise, boo hoo, hate to say I told you so.

Loo Logistics

There should be rules and regulations to prevent that awkward exchange of greeting when you bump into someone in the loo. Too often I run into a colleague just as he's zipping up or I'm - err - zipping down. Then we're forced to either nod and make some sound of acknowledgement, or we just ignore them completely which is just awkward. Then there's the moment when we're both at the sink washing up and trying to make polite conversation, yet have you noticed how strange any conversation is when you're having it in a bathroom?

He: Hey there.

Me: Hi.

He: So, [says something work related]

[sound of flush in the background]

Me: Err, yeah, I'll get right on it. ["I just got work delegated to me in the toilet. Kill me now."]

or

Me: Hi.

He: Hey man!! What's going on? How are you?? [Holds out hand to shake]

Me: ...

[silence]

[sound of flush in the background]

[He silently withrdraws hand]

[Things are never the same again]

I could go on and on.

Hence I hereby decree: for the sake of male friendships around the world, there shall be no communication, no words exchanged, no eye contact or contact of any kind between parties in or around a 10metre radius of a men's bathroom.

The Darkside has spoken!

An Epic Year-End Post Of Epic Proportions

In typical fashion, I have left my epic year-end post for the very last possible moment. The truth is, as in most cases with me, I planned on writing this post all the way through December. If I remember right, my train of thought went something like this - "Yes, I will write an epic year-end post! It will be epic, with a capital 'eh', and it shall not only be epic but it shall ooh whats this, I have collapsed thanks to viral fever..."


What followed was several weeks filled with extremely negative thinking and semi-suicidal tendencies. As a result, the draft post which I typed in my mind (yes, I can actually do that) turned into a terribly serious, broody, morbid (and yet somehow epic) piece of negativity.


It has been a tough December, and that is an extremely apt way to end the year in my opinion. 2009 has been a disaster of - epic - proportions. I never intended my blog to be a diary but I find myself reading my posts from January to December this year. It started off with so much promise when I wrote "Restored" and I honestly believed that everything was going to look up from then on. Perhaps my rare venture into positive thinking jinxed it all.


I've never really talked about stuff that was personal to me on my blog, because quite frankly it's my business and no one else's. Still, such was the severity of the trials we went through that I suppose it was inevitable that it would affect my writing. That's why for me, "It's Too Late To Apologise", "Domestic Disturbance", "I Refuse", "A Time To Heal" and "I Could Use A Hand Right Now" are very important posts for me. It's not always obvious why, especially with the last post, but from a personal stand point the words reveal a lot more to me than they would to the casual reader.


Then there were more personal issues that I wrote about in "An Open Goodbye", "Disgust" and "Never Again". Reading those posts now can be somewhat embarrassing, as certain people continuously point out (yes, you know who you are!) but they still mean a lot to a person that is not used to expressing himself to others.


If I were to summarize 2009 in one word, it would be "bugger". If I were to summarize it in a phrase, it would be "bugger me sideways". I remember telling someone that I can't believe so much happened this year. I feel like some of the events were from 2008 and earlier, but no - all 2009. Yet I suppose it isn't new to look back at a year gone by and regret isn't it? In fact, I'm sure the blogosphere will be filled with angst-filled posts of how they misused 2009 and how horrible it was. Perhaps I'm just part of the crowd after all.


Haha. Right.


Halfway through the year I was convinced that this year would be remembered for friends lost, but then someone came into my life and brought an abundance of laughter, joy and just great companionship. Hardly what I'd call a small mercy, and now I end the year feeling a strange sense of gratitude instead of regret. The truth is, 2009 will always be a year which I will look back at and be proud of. Proud because despite everything that happened, here I am on the 31st of December, in good health, happy, at home, spending New Year's Eve with the family like I've done for 24 out of my 25 years on this earth, and alive in body and spirit.


So God bless everyone, and I wish all of you a fantastic New Year! I for one can't wait for it.


Cheers!


G