Bushisms!…

“my relationship with this good man is where i’ve been focused, and that’s where my concentration is. and i don’t regret any other aspect of it. and so i – we filled a lot of space together.” - george w bush on british p.m. tony blair, washington d.c. may 17, 2007

“our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. they never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” – washington d.c. aug 5, 2004

howlers like these never do inspire confidence do they? especially if they are emitted by an imbecile who has the majority of the “free” world’s nuclear arsenal (read Weapons of Mass Destruction!) under his control.

i somehow suspected that “dubya” was an idiot even before his misadventures in iraq and afghanistan. but even i was taken aback by the idiotic public utterances known collectively as bushisms attributed to him. OMG! and to think the americans elected him to a 2nd term in office!

to read/view some more bushisms click here

Nightwish & Dark Passion Play

“dark passion play”, an unusual name for an unusually talented bunch of musicians but it’s the name chosen for the upcoming album from the finnish symphonic metal supergroup “nightwish”. scheduled for worldwide release on the 28th of september, this is their 6th studio album (disregarding their numerous live, ep’s or compilation albums)

there have been a “few” changes since “once”, nw’s last studio album effort. most notably (and most controversially), the firing of tarja turunen and the hiring of anette olzon as the new lead vocalist. while passionate debates or comparisons with the old singer are unavoidable, i find it amusing that some have taken to criticizing anette, blasting her with idiotic comments or unflattering remarks, many of them without any merit whatsoever. (this has been going on even before any actual singles were released) tuomas holopainen, the keyboardist & the mastermind behind nw has also been at the receiving end of much of this abuse. perhaps it may be due to lingering resentement towards the manner of tarja’s firing & loyalty towards her, the fact that the new singer anette does not posess operatic vocals or the fact that unlike tarja, she is swedish, not finnish in origin or just plain small-mindness!…

to these so called fans i say GROW UP!…anette is not a tarja clone nor does she need to be one. infact the band while advertising for a new singer clearly stated that they were looking for a vocalist with the ability to sing with good dynamics and versatility and they were open to a variety of styles and backgrounds. just because anette appears to posses a far “cleaner” vocal style than tarja does not give people the right to trash her straight away. it would be best to listen to the officially released singles and the album in it’s entirety, instead of some shitty audio recording on youtube or other similar websites before passing judgement. (personally i couldn’t find anything wrong with her, vocally that is . while i do worry about whether she may be able to handle the “heavier” stuff, so far, listening to the single “eva” or the sample audio clips [see below] there doesn’t seem to be anything amiss) regarding tuomas, it would be wise to remember that without his considerable talent(s) to begin with, there wouldn’t be a nightwish in the first place! i myself may not totally agree with the manner of his & the rest of the guys handling of tarja’s departure but things had gotten so bad between them & her that tarja’s removal became a necessary evil for nightwish to continue further as a group…

anyways, coming back to DPP, i can’t wait for it to be released. among the highlights,

1. an epic 14 minute (wow!) opening track titled “the poet and the pendulum”
2. some songs that are darker and heavier than before as they are written and sung entirely by marco hietala, the male vocalist & bass guitarist.
3. growling (!) featured on the album courtesy tuomas holopainen

have already ordered the 2cd digipak version of the album via pre-sale (see below). hopefully within around 2 months time i will be listening to magnificently over the top, brilliantly crafted, top notch symphonic metal that nw always manages to deliver…

for more information about DPP click on the picture below

to listen to some sample audio tracks click on the links shown below…

1. 7 days to the wolves
2. master passion greed
3. amaranth
4. eva

click here to purchase DPP on pre-sale.

Disappearing Moolah

there’s an old saying “a fool and his money are soon parted”. now i don’t count myself as a fool (well, most of the time at least) but it does makes me wonder. about the “money soon parted” part that is. isn’t it amazing how quickly the moolah seems to dissipate out of our wallets & out of our bank accounts? growing up i used to imagine paydays to be days of untold riches, a day which you can purchase anything & spend any amount to your hearts content, but the drab reality is (not suprisingly) completely different. case in point. i got paid only last friday (june 29th) but currently i’m counting down the days until my next paycheck arrives! my wallet feels (as usual) empty and my bank account balance is frightingly hovering around the low side. i guess activities like paying all the bills that crop up, buying expensive CDs or treating myself and a “friend” to an expensive restaurant dinner does take its toll on the bank balance…

it’s almost to be expected isn’t it? the inability to keep money from dissapearing into the great void. oh well, another certainty in life, right up there with the other certainties like death or taxes…

(Originally posted 05/07/07)

Standing Up Against The Paris Hilton Hype

i never liked paris hilton. (who does?) the bitch is best described as a bag of hair who just happens to be the great grand daughter of the hilton hotels founder and the so called “actress” made famous by the amateur sex video 1 night in paris.

but for some weird reason, the media seems to swarm over her every move, covering her in an almost obscene amount while more important stories get far less attention. so it came as a big suprise to me to come across this youtube video. it might be staged (or not) you make up your own damn mind…