100s club and Guitar Hero

So two more things crossed off my list. Host a 100s Club night and a Guitar Hero night. Strangely, both happened on the same night. Haha.

100s Club

Friday, June 19. Me, seven friends and a lot of beer. Me and four other people had a goal: to consume 100 shots of beer (25ml by our estimates) in 100 minutes. One per minute. You throw up, you’re out. You miss a shot, you’re out. For me, it didn’t go great. I got to 34, and felt sick and stopped. How lame. Another friend went out on 52, and another friend had dropped out before me. The last two contestants went on to the magic 100, and are now proud members of the 100s club. Congratulations Greg and Matthew!

Guitar Hero

Well, after the revelry of much drinking, we all went inside and played Guitar Hero: World Tour. It was pretty fun: Greg had brought his drumset so we had two different drums and could play versus drumming. It was pretty awesome. Otherwise we all took turns playing various instruments and singing, which was all good fun (especially the hardcore songs which I screamed my voice out to).

So there you have it. Another two things to cross off the list. It’s really going quite quickly now. Until next time…

The Dearth

So it’s been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that, my whole loyal (?) readership of three people. I’m going to blame it squarely on exams … I don’t know what everybody else’s excuse is, because there seems to have been a general lack of updates from most of the blogs I follow. Yes, you know who I’m talking about … *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

But, exams are now over. Finished this past Friday, and man am I glad to be on holiday. All pretty tough exams, but I’m fairly confident that I passed them all, so that’s good.

Sorry this post isn’t very exciting. It’s 01:30, and I’m a little tired. I do have some interesting news that you may or may not find interesting.

I am now a contributing writer / editor for a small American based gaming blog called “No More Game Blogs“. Still getting started, but there’s some interesting opinions posted already, and I’ve got two articles posted. So go check that out if you get time.

Otherwise, I’m thinking of starting something new on Bet This is Original Reviews. It’s basically a limited word review, like maybe 10 or 20 words? The point is to get the post count up and ensure more regularly updated content. What do you good people think about that? Would you care? Does it affect you?

International Band? Check!

Another item to check off my list! “See an international music act”.

So as mentioned, I got my ticket for Haste the Day (My second favourite band, I’d say…) a while ago. I don’t know if the tickets were selling badly or what, but they dropped the price, so when we (Me and Brian) went to the event, we were given the option of either getting a ticket to another show, or R60 cash back per ticket. Not being willing to go to a show on Tuesday night in Edenvale (at Doors), I chose the cash.

The venue was Tempos Entertainment Park … unfortunately. I really don’t like that place. The sound is terribly uneven and this makes it hurt my ears and leave them ringing. Quite annoying. Also, it seems that the bands also struggle to play there, as when Knave played they were sound-checking for quite a while and were being quite sarcastic while they checked. Things like “I guess that’ll have to do”. Also, when a band is still fine-tuning their levels 4 songs into a 6 song set, there is some problem. But anyway.

In my opinion, it would have been better to host the event at a venue with one stage being used, instead of the three different places that Tempos used. Just like at the Underoath concert a few months back, where everybody will know which bands and playing where, instead of running around the venue trying to work out which stage is which. I mean seriously, put some signs up or something Tempos?

The bands lined up to play did nothing for me. Aside from Knave, there was really nothing that stood out for me. Again, the venue might have made everybody sound worse? But I doubt it. Knave were awesome as usual, and aside from the greedy jackasses “stealing” all the free stuff being thrown out, it was a really great set.

And then … the main event. Haste the Day. Wow. They blew my mind. Simply amazing they were. The crowd packed into the tiny venue, and when a mosh pit tried to break out, there was simply no room to get it properly started. So, everybody pretty much just pushed the people in the middle back and forth, and bumped into each other. It was quite a workout trying to stay upright and push all the idiots off you. I almost drowned in the pit, as I lost my footing and fell to the ground. Luckily some people picked me up though. I love the kindness shown in the pits. Everybody went mad for Haste the Day, and I was so sad when they finished without an encore.

Merch I managed to pick up a relatively cheap copy of their new CD: Dreamer, as well as two awesome shirts. I love merch Oh, and the lead singer was signing stuff at the merch table, but I had no idea who he was (until later when he was on stage, singing) so I didn’t get anything signed. Probably for the best, because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to wash my shirt. In hindsight it would have been cool to get my CD signed. Oh well

All in all a great day. Really awesome, and I got to check another thing off my list!

A – Z

A – Available?
Nope.

B – Best friend
Brian

C – Cake or Pie?
Cake. Chocolate cake.

D – Drink of choice:
Hmmm … Mountain dew. Or hot chocolate if it’s cold.

E – Essential thing used everyday
Cellphone. For everything.

F – Favourite color:
Deep blue.

G – Gummi bears or worms:
Worms I suppose?

H – Hometown:
Johannesburg.

I – Indulgence:
Sleeping.

J – January or February:
January (what a lame question).

K – Kids and names:
Ugh. Who wants kids?

L – Life:
Is hard. Friends help though.

M – Marriage date:
“Don’t even think about getting married until you’re 30.” (so 8 years minimum).

N – Number of siblings:
Two older brothers.

O – Oranges or apples:
Oranges

P – Phobias:
Parktown prawns. *Shudder* those things freak me out.

Q – Quote:
“If the dawn means the day is upon us, I say forever I will hide in the shadows. And if maturity means I am condemned to the cold, I will forever burn bright in childishness. If they tell me to settle for one who is less than ideal, I will always, always be alone. And if the tide brings in a trend of apathy, I will drown in my passion before it is taken away. And finally, if being warm, happy, content, and well-adjusted means selling myself to become what they say I should be, I will scream in the pain and agony of my abnormality for all eternity.” – Andrew Schwab

R – Reason to smile:
It’s raining right now. And my awesome friends.

S – Season:
Spring is good. And summer.

T – Tag three people:
Brian
Kelly
Shaun

U – Unknown fact about me:
Well if I told you it wouldn’t be unknown anymore, now would it? Haha just kidding. Um … I don’t have much faith in myself.

V – Vegetable you do not like:
Cauliflower. My absolute worst.

W – Worst habit:
Biting my nails.

X – X-rays you have had:
Jaw, right leg (multiple times). Think that’s it.

Y – Your favorite food:
Pizza. Cliched I know.

Z – Zodiac:
Aries (Anybody believe in this stuff?)

Go Democracy!

So today, here in South Africa, we had our fourth general election. What this means is that essentially the whole country (23 million people registered to vote, and polls say about 80% of those people actually turned up) went out of their comfortable warm houses, stood in lines for hours (my personal experience was 80 minutes) and made their X next to the party of their choice. Now obviously some people had funny reasons for chosing their parties, such as the struggle history of the party, the dancing skills of the party leader or just because they are the only party of a certain colour.

Whatever the reason, people went out and voted. Polling stations closed about 3 hours, 15 minutes ago as I write this (21:00 UCT+2), and theoretically we can expect that the votes are being counted already. We already know that the ANC has won the majority, but the main question is whether they have won their 2/3 majority (enough to let them change the constitution: eek!) or whether the oppositions parties managed to gain enough of the vote to prevent this from happening. Personally I’m hoping that the DA gets at least 20% and the other parties make up the last 20% … but honestly I don’t see this happening.

Even the formation of an ANC breakaway party: Congress Of the PEople (COPE) will do little to make inroads into the ANC, I think. If anything, I think they will take a little bit of the vote away from the ANC, while taking most of their votes from the DA and other parties.

So, in short, my first election was exciting and interesting, but I doubt that anything will change.

Thanks to all for voting and especially to all who didn’t vote ANC. Lol. But seriously, if you voted, you have earned the right to bitch about the government for the next five years. For those who couldn’t be bothered to vote or even register… shut up. You haven’t got any say in the running of government.

Jack’s Hit

And now, an original short story by yours truly. I hope you hate it.

Jack opened the garage door, and clicked his remote. In response, his Jaguar opened its door automatically, expectantly waiting for him to get in. But Jack lingered this time, standing in the entryway, as if scared of the car … or his destination.

Normally there would be no problem. “Just get in the car, Jack. You’ve done this a hundred times before. It’s going to be fine”, he told himself. “She doesn’t suspect a thing. She never has and never will. You’re fine. Just get in the car, Jack.” Over and over the internal monologue repeated in his head, until he lost count of how many times he had told himself that it was going to be fine.

With a jerk, he snapped out of his loop. Shaking his head slightly, he moved forward, towards the expectant car, and climbed into the driver’s seat. Clicking yet another remote button, the garage door behind him began to open up, and the other voice in his head started. “How can you do this Jack? You love your wife. You’ve been married to her for five perfect years, and she has never given you a reason to do this. It’s wrong and we both know it, Jack. Turn around now, Jack. It’s not too late. Go home, tell her everything, and maybe you can still salvage something. Turn around Jack.”

That second voice was the worse. Jack supposed that it was a result of his internal guilt and shame that formed that voice. He was driving on auto-pilot, allowing his thoughts to wonder rather freely. One of the many benefits of having driven this route so often, he supposed with a sardonic sigh.

With another start, he realised he had arrived at his destination. As if being controlled by someone else, he found himself getting out of the car, slowly, as if in a dream. He was walking to the front door in slow motion, all the voices screaming inside his head at the same time. “Go home Jack”, “Get in the car Jack”, “What’s one more time going to hurt, Jack?”, “Tell her Jack, she deserves to know the truth”, “Go inside, Jack”, “End it Jack”. All screaming at him at once, blending together into a single cacophony until he could only make out the word “Jack”.

And then … suddenly … nothing. Silence. Blessed silence. The sound of a baby crying from a distance moved him back into reality. He knocked on the door, and entered as it opened.

Birthday Roundup 2009

Ok, herewith a roundup of my 22nd birthday, being that it occured on Monday 13 April 2009.

Staying awake over midnight, a few people get the first wishes in as the clock strikes. George especially, just as the clock ticks over, gets the first wish this year. A few minutes later, my girlfriend phones. I then log onto Facebook, expecting a huge swamp of well-wishes, but there is only a little notice from the Facebook team. Kinda lame.

Not quite as exciting as last year, I still had a really good time. It helped that it was on a public holiday, so everybody was at home, and I didn’t have to go to varsity and what-not.

Ok, a breakdown of the activities. Um, breakfast with George, after waking up and getting present/wishes/hugs etc. from parents. We went to Cappuchino’s at Northgate and it was AWESOME! (Incidentally, the same place we went to for supper, but more on that later).Then we arbed around Northgate for a bit, looking at stuff. Haha. Came home, played Fallout 3 until afternoon.

Girlfriend arrived, we unwrapped the present (was in about 50 different boxes, each smaller and smaller and within the larger boxes) and then had cake and Mountain Dew. Then we played Guitar Hero until it was time to go to dinner. As previously mentioned, I decided on Cappuchino’s Northgate, and it was awesome. I had the most amazing club sandwich. WOW it was amazing. I even had some left over which I had the next day and it was still amazing! Haha, everybody seemed to be quite impressed with the place, the menu choice and the quality of the food. The only downside was due to it being Monday night and a public holiday, there wasn’t very many people, and so the atmosphere felt a little dead. But it was still amazing.

And then we went home, had coffee and more cake (wow we had the most amazing cakes. My mom bought a chocolate cherry cake, and a batch of chocolate brownies, and my GF brought 9 chocolate cupcakes from her mom. Very awesome.), and then just basically sat around and chatted until it was time for the GF to leave.

Um … after that, I think I just sat around on the PC as I usually do and just savoured the last few hours of my birthday. Can’t wait for 13 April 2010!

Brief rundown of the gifts:

• Money from parents.
• HD monitor from brother Grant.
• Wireless keypad for PS3 from Caroline.
• ? <More to come still?>

And, as with last year, a list of who wished me, how, and when.

1. 12:00. George, via Mxit.
2. 12:03. Caroline, via phonecall.
3. 12:34. Brian, via Mxit.
4. 7:17. The South African National Blood Service, via SMS.
5. 8:45. Parents, in person.
6. 09:00. Alan, via phonecall.
7. 09:02. Brian, via Facebook.
8. 9:14. First National Bank, vis SMS.
9. 9:18. Brother Geoff, via phone.
10. 09:28. My one aunt, via phonecall.
11. 09:29. Chris, via Facebook.
12. 09:30. Kelly, via Facebook.
13. 09:53. Justin, via Facebook.
14. 10:04. Tarryn, via Facebook.
15. 10:10. Caroline, via Facebook. (Also dedicated a status to me).
16. 10:14. Caroline, via SMS.
17. 10:55. Kyla, via Facebook.
18. 12:42. Donovan, via SMS.
19. 12:47. Greg, via Facebook. (Also dedicated a status to me).
20. 12:53. My other aunt, via phonecall.
21. 12:55. Brother Grant, in person.
22. 13:40. Katrina, via Facebook.
23. 15:35. My boss Andre, via phonecall.
24. 16:50. Shaun, via Facebook.
25. 19:14. Calla, via Facebook.
26. 19:21. Brother Geoff, in person.
27. 19:21. Brother Geoff’s GF, Nikki, in person.
28. 21:31. Caroline’s Mom, via SMS.
29. 22:00. Vinny, via Mxit.
30. 23:58. Caroline again, via SMS.
31. 14 April. Jimmy, via Facebook.
32. 15 April. My uncle, in person.

Well, if you want to make the list next year, get those wishes in early, and often, for multiple credit

English Premier League madness

Why do so many people support the English Premier League (EPL)? You know, all these rabid Manchester United or Liverpool or Arsenal supporters. (Side note, isn’t it funny how you never hear of any other team aside from those three? Are all the other teams just totally crap that they don’t even have vocal fans in South Africa? Anyway, I digress…).

So there is a lot of these people who support an arbitrary league of teams that they have no personal connection to and are rabidly defensive of their team (and rabidly proud of their hatred for the other teams), while at the same time worshipping the very players that they have no hope of ever meeting or even being close to. Hmmm … is it just me who sees how stupid that is?

I mean, honestly, what is the attraction in doing this? Do these people want to feel like a part of something greater than themselves? There are a lot more clubs they can join that make a lot more sense. And I mean, if you are really such a soccer (football, whatever you want to call it, it’s the same thing) fan, why don’t you support the local Premier Soccer League (PSL). Is everybody too racist to watch 22 black people kick a ball around? “Oh no, it has to be a bunch of white people, else they are not good enough to watch.”
<Those last two sentences was a joke by the way>

Ok, let’s assume that everybody who watches and supports EPL has very valid reasons for doing so. Maybe they are originally from that area/country and feel a sense of pride in supporting the old homeland. And that’s fine. By all means. If you just like the team and want to feel part of it, however, you are a joiner, with no clear reasons for supporting the team, except that everybody else is doing it? I don’t know. Personally I don’t see any attraction or reason for it.

So, in protest, I think I am going to start supporting a foreign sport league for no good reason. And what better sport than the absurdity of Aussie Rules Football? Seriously, the sport has 3 different scores at the end of the game. And 18 players per side. And a round field. I love it. Who’s with me? I’m gonna be reading up on the sport to get a general idea of the rules and the teams, and hopefully the next time somebody tries to talk to me about the EPL I will be able to respond in kind about the beauty of Aussie Rules Football. Who’s with me??

Pop music lifespan

Innovation drives any industry. In the music industry, especially in the pop music (for this blog, pop music means anything you will find on the top 40 chart of any radio station), it seems that innovation is non-existent. All that matters in the pop music industry is the constant production of new music. It doesn’t necessarily have to be good music, as long as it has high production values and is marketed well, it will succeed.

Let me give an example to back up my insane rantings. If you look at another style of music, say … hardcore, you will notice that new albums are released at a much slower rate than the pop industry. With pop, music changes every week basically, depending on what’s “hot” at the time.

In comparison, let’s look at Metallica. They released a few albums back in the day, and they are classics. I mean ask anybody and they will tell you that they still listen to The Black Album even today. And that was released a good couple of years ago. It has staying power. As a pop example of what’s hot at the moment, will anybody remember Lady Gaga’s Pokerface in a few months time? Nope it will be gone from the collective memory, replaced by another generic song that sounds very similar. And in a few years time, when Lady Gaga releases a new hit CD, will anybody remember Pokerface? Doubtful.

I mean, look at other previously famous pop acts. The Spicegirls? Backstreet Boys? 5ive? Even Avril Lavigne has faded from memory.

Maybe it’s just me? Are there any people out there who still listen to The Spicegirls?

Teeny Gothers

Last night I went out, and noticed a crowd of young people (Damn I sound old when I say that) who couldn’t have been older than 15 or 16. I don’t know how they got into a place where alcohol is served, but that’s a rant for another time.

Their appearance was reminiscent of proper goths, IE wearing all black, dyed hair and other goth like paraphernalia. They were like the anti-teenboppers of yesteryear, or even today’s modern teenybopper. What do I mean by “teenybopper”? Well basically any young teenage girl who follows the popular music, worships Zac Efron (or whoever’s hot these days) and has lots of posters of boybands and teen heartthrobs like the Jonas Brothers on their walls. Thus, I have created a new term for these anti-teenyboppers: The Teenygother.

A teenygother is identifiable by their unusual obsession with the colour black, anything to do with Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride, and other cutesy things that deal with death and other morbid topics. Their love of the colour black is offset by other colours that they use to accentuate the darkness, such as reds, dark blues etc. They will never be seen wearing just black.

Other identifiable traits include the overuse of short skirts (black of course) and long socks, often in multi-colours, red streaks in black hair, a skater boyfriend on their arm (also trying to look hardcore, maybe with a spike wristband), and of course being in a pack of other teenygothers who all look pretty similar.

Of course, teenygothers are usually not the “cool kids”. No, they are the aformentioned modern teenyboppers. So the teenygothers feel like outcasts, and they all wear the same things to show how different they are.

Music-wise, teenygothers enjoy the “harder” side of the radio. And emo bands of course. I’m talking about bands like Dashboard Confessionals, Funeral for a Friend, Rise Against, Billy Talent and possibly Bullet For My Valentine. Of course, deep down they all love High School Musical and Lady Gaga’s new hit, but they won’t admit that for all the black hair dye in South Africa.