The Antisocial Society Journal

[Film] Epic Movie (2007)

2010-02-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

I know it sucks. I watched it.

It's no news to anyone that this film sucks. Yes, I do feel like adding my share of hatred for Seltzer and Friedberg. Just for the record, I did sit through the whole thing. To tell the truth, I expected it to at least move fast. I was wrong. Sitting through this felt like sitting through Inland Empire, and that film is three hours. The only difference is the quality, but who the hell compares these two?

Well, at least she's cute.

The premise is simple. This is a stupid parody movie. The plot is nil and the whole movie is just comedy sketches of poop jokes and bad humor glued together. It starts off as a Chocolate Factory parody, moving towards Narnia (changed into Gnarnia. Did you laugh? I didn't) and includes rapping pirates. I can't believe I could actually summarize it. Of course, the plot doesn't matter. The only reason this movie exists is to "parody" other films and reference the hottest trends only dumb teenagers can recognize. These kind of films will be lost in the long run, but even today they don't work. This film is just boring. I expected the stupidity to be fired at me at rapid pace, but instead I got scenes dragged on and on and on. It was almost as slow as Death Proof. The only time something happpens is when a bad joke is being told.

The Matrix was an amazing film.

There is one thing that sometimes make me want to bring up the rating. The four main actors are actually pretty good. In fact, it seems as if they're really trying to make the best out of their roles. If you put these four in a good high school comedy it would work well. Here, they have nothing to work with. They're a fixer without his tools. They know what they need to do, but Friedberg and Selzter refused to give them the tools. Also, Jayma is good eye candy. She's probably the only thing that kept my eyes on the screen. However, the idea that she had to emberass herself by acting in this shitty film, plus the "implied" sex scene ruins it all.

I'm trying to think of a good thing about this film and I can't find it. Even if they were good parts, they wouldn't matter because some parts sink way too low (Not that anyone expected anything different). They made a parody of a parody song. You got a pointless "Women In Bikini" shot. The worst offender, however, was the Samuel L. Jackson parody. It was actually a little funny, but eventually it felt it was made with venom, as if they really tried to show us Samuel is an idiot or something. Sorry guys, but Samuel has The Matrix in his pocket. You don't have anything.

Currently, this is the worst movie I ever watched. I bet I'll find worse than this. I still got Disaster Movie to watch. Still, there's a good reason this film got slashed by critics. The whole film is one bad joke from a dumb high school student. All the way through the film I thought "These are the jokes my classmates would make," and that is never, ever, a good thing. At least the Punk'd parody was nice.

White witch, white bitch. Get it? Get it? Bitch!

Rating: 1/5 (2/10)

Title: Epic Fail, I mean Movie
Director: Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg
Screenplay: Those moronic directors
Starring: Jayma Mays, a bunch of other guys
Genre: Comedy
Subgenre: Bad Comedy
Running Time: An hour and a half too much
Release Date: 2007

[Film] eXistenZ (1999)

2010-02-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

X 2 tha Z

eXistenZ is basically a more politically correct and safe version of Videodrome. Videodrome showed a darker side to pornography (Larry Flynt bitches about free speech right now) and eXistenZ shows a darker side to video games everyone could've seen a mile ago. Add to that a lack of characters, and this movie could've fallen apart. Thank God Cronenberg is a good enough director, and knows how to handle his blood.

The plot involves around a game designer who is being a target for assasination because of her game eXistenZ which is a virtual reality of some sort. Blah blah blah philosophy and twists and all the ordinary stuff. The storytelling suits the film though, but lacks energy. In fact, even the plot lacks energy. Even I lack energy writing this.

The biggest problem with the film is aside from feeling like a safer Videodrome, I also couldn't think of another sci-fi bomb called Total Recall. In fact, the ending of eXistenZ is almost the same as Total Recall. Ironically, Total Recall, which never tried to be intelligent pulled that ending off much better than this film. Add that to the fact the acting also lacks energy and it seems this is MST3K material, but it isn't.

The reason this film isn't a waste of time is because of Cronenberg. He is a master director, and managed to make the film still an enjoyable ride, and always have more new ways to throw guts on the screen. In fact, many of the smaller ideas on the screen were great - the game pods, the mutated animals, but the best was the biological gun, which was amazing. Cronenberg's imigination may not lend itself to good characters, but he can at least present.

By the way, kicking a film's message is very fun. If any of you played sandbox games, which are the closest to virtual reality you will know you choose what to do. In this film, the characters had no freedom in the game. It's not really a game now, is it? Perhaps this film would've been stronger if the people understood the subject matter more.

It seems all I've done is complain about this film when, in fact, it's not a bad film at all. Apart from fairly wooden acting, everything's in place. The blood'n'guts are great, the storytelling is pretty good and it's just fun to watch. You should watch Videodrome before this, but anyone looking for a decent body horror/sci-fi film should enjoy this. This film isn't bad, it's just that I've watched too many good films lately.

Highs: The blood, good storytelling, the biological gun

Lows: Acting is kind of wooden, feels like a lesser version of Videodrome

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Allmovie page

Title: eXistenZ

Director: David Cronenberg

Screenwriter: David Cronenberg

Starring: Jennifer Leigh, Jude Law, game characters

Genre: Science Fiction

Subgenre: Thriller, Body Horror

Running Time: 97 minutes

Release Date: 1999

[Film] Death Proof (2007)

2010-01-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

Set up the fall

I have something for motorized violence. I love seeing cars explode, crash, and similar stuff. That's why I thought Death Race was very good. It was nothing but motorized violence, but boy was it fun. I thought Death Proof would be similar. It's supposed to be trashy and stupid. Car chases are trashy, so this film will be full of them, right? Wrong. While Robert Roderiquez delivered mindless exploitation in Planet Terror (Heck, I still haven't figured out the plot), Tarantino half-asses a pseudo-artsy film for the critics with a small action film to put it on the Grindhouse feature.

If you've watched or read American Psycho, you remember the mindless, stupid, and pointless conversations (More in the novel rather than the film). Tarantino basically takes these conversations and puts them in girls' mouths. In fact, they were so similar I swear at first the girls are satirical, just like Patrick Bateman. However, by the time the second half rolls in we're supposed to root for them. Excuse me? The only victim we can actually like is Pam, played by Rose McGowan. Her death is truly quite horrifying. All the other girls talk so much that we end up believing Stunt Man Mike's job is to shut them up. Tarantino, however, didn't let him do that.

What's worse about these dialogues is that they literally fill the whole movie. That means that the good things about this film are unused. We barely get to see Stunt Man Mike. I didn't expect him to be a deep character. I just wanted a crazy driver who kills people with his car. That's what the movie is allegedly about. Instead, I got a bunch of dumb-ass women who remind me of dumb-ass men (The "dare to do a lap dance" part was crap) chat and chat and chat and chat some more about nothing. Finally, Mikey arrives, kills them. Then, four more annoying women come in only this time they beat Mike up. It's common in slasher films for the slasher to lose at the end, but when your heroes are worse than bland, you want to see them lose. That's why the car crash scene is so good. The girls were so annoying we glad Mike shut them up for us. The next four were even more annoying but they win. Why?

The only way to excuse this bad decision is that this film is "feminist". If this is what passes for feminism then feminism is dead. The girls have the exact personality of alpha-males, and are not "strong female characters". A strong female character would also be likeable. How can a film be "feminist" when we end up cheering for the girls' death? Also, some would say Mike is a parody of the alpha-male but they miss that he's simply a mix between Terminator and Michael Myers, or a slasher with a car. Slashers are not alpha-males. Slashers are antisocial and, it may come to a surprise but we actually root for the slashers! Which means we're not so happy when they lose, especially not to annoying bitches like in this film.

The only reason you should watch this film is for the crash scene, which can be found on YouTube. Normally I would complain about the soundtrack not containing Rob Zombie but there are no action scenes so it would be out-of-place anyway. I think Tarantino made this movie because he always wanted to tune in to girls' conversation about dirty things and never had a chance. What's worse is that this excellent concept is butchered. Maybe John Carpenter can pick this up, re-make it as The Thing In The Car but until then, look out for Death Race if you need motorized violence. This film is pointless.

Highs: The crash scene, Rose McGowan, Kurt Russel, the crash scene
Lows: The ending, the girls, the lack of action, many other things

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Allmovie page

Title: Death Proof

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, and a bunch of annoying bitches

Genre: Girltalk

Running Time: 5 minutes or so of actual material

Release Date: 2007

[Music] Allele - Point of Origin

2010-01-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

This is deep stuff

It seems Typical Hard Rockers love to put one amazing song in their albums and make the rest painfully average. The album opener, titled "Fake" is brilliant. It kicks you in the head with a catchy riff, cliched lyrics ahoy ("I hear a voice saying 'not again'"), screaming, and a brilliant hook. No matter how faceless this band is, this song can be played over and over because it achieves the desired effect. If you expect the rest of the album to be this good, your expectations are quite high.

Allele are actually a side-project or something like that of the band Cold. I couldn't bother to look up. Either way, they come off with a similar sound but they have a vocalist that somehow manages to make the band stand out. In fact, despite lacking songwriting, Allele manages to sound a little bit like a band of its own. It gives them point, but doesn't save them.

The rest of the album is average with a few high points. The song titles are what you're used to. We have songs called "Lies", "Lost In Your Words", "Stitches", etc. There's even a song called "Closer to Habit". I'm not sure what that title means and I think rock bands of modern times are obsessed with the word "habit". They should find another word because it's a dull word. They still manage to let out a few good hooks, though. Nothing here touches the greatness of "Fake" but "Lost in Your Words" and, despite the horrible title, "Closer to Habit" actually work in a way. In fact, "Tight Rope" might actually be worth than a few spins, and perhaps a place in your iPod. Everything else is average.

While Allele doesn't really do anything good, they don't do anything bad. The songs are average, but the band sound good enough so everything is bearable, even a little enjoyable, during a complete listening. I don't think I'll remember "A Different Someone" a few years from now but I enjoyed a bit when I listened to it, which is better than simply giving me white noise.

Those looking for more typical hard rock should go for Clockwise, Burn Season, and many others. However, if you're running out of bands which sound the same (Could this be?) then you might want to pick this up. Cold fans will also enjoy this, since it's very similar yet doesn't sound like the same band. Anyone else should simply get "Fake". They at least made one song to justify their existance

Highs: Can be a little catchy, "Fake",

Lows: Another typical hard rock with not much going for it.

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Allmusic page

Skinnee Picks:

- Fake

- Close To Habit

- Tight Rope

Title: Point of Origin

Artist: Allele

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Hard Rock, Post-Grunge

Release Date: October 25, 2005

Record Label: Corporate Punishment

[Music] Machines of Loving Grace - Machines of Loving Grace

2009-12-13T11:35:00.001-08:00

All in gear

When you first put this album on, it sounds neat. "Burn Like Brilliant Trash" blasts off with two different kinds of hooks and Hip-Hop verses. "Cicciolina" is a weird ballad with no drums and "Rite of Shiva" is more industrial-tinged. What's there not to like? That's simple. Machines of Loving Grace are versatile, and that gives them points, but their lack of song-crafting is leaking through the speakers.

The band itself sounds a little messy, but they have an attractive sound. An indsutrial rock band with funky basslines (Mostly on "Terminal City" and "Content") and less guitars, more sounds. The problem is that generally most songs become a mesh of different sounds instead of an actual song. The group lacks focus, and it hurts them even more when they have great ideas. "Cicciolina" was supposed to be a gem but all it does is stand still for five and a half minutes. "Lipstick 66" doesn't even need to exist. It simply flies by. "Rite of Shiva" could've been nice but it becomes a mess again and its sexual overtones become obnoxious.

At least the second half isn't as bad as the first. "X-Insurrection" is excellent. It could've been done better, but it's still very good. The followers are not as goods but still enjoyable. They still tend to become messy, but songs like "Content" and "Terminal City" not only got better ideas but they are more focused. Not focused enough, but at least there's an improvement. There is also a funny closer at the end, which is not exactly a song but still sounds better than the first half

Recommending this album is hard. At one point, it's a unique and interesting album. On the other hand, there are no real songs. Even the better songs become a mess. Industrial rock fans should still check this, and the second half is worth a spin or two. I hope this band will perform better on their next albums. Like I said, they have potential but they lack the focus. At least it's still a debut.

High: A unique sound, the second half is pretty good

Low: The first half (Apart from "Burn Like Brilliant Trash"), huge lack of focus, "Rite of Shiva"

Rating: 3/5 (6/10)

Skinnee Picks:

- Burn Like Brilliant Trash (At Jackie's Funeral)

- X-Insurrection

- Terminal City

Allmusic page

Title: Machines of Loving Grace

Artist: Machines of Loving Grace

Genre: Electronic

Subgenre: Industrial, Industrial Rock

Release Date: 1991

Record Label: Mammoth Records

[Film] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

2009-12-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Uh-Oh indeed.

You probably know this guy. He's mentally 15-years old. He watched porn. He likes American Pie. He constantly makes jokes about sex, calls everyone gay, and always talks to girls about their tits. He also makes sex jokes about "family material" such as Pokemon and Disney, especially Disney. He thinks he's a real bad-ass by doing that. This guy is the same guy who made this film.

Wait, adults made it?

This film fails on so many levels I have no idea where to start. The only good thing about it is that the dumb kids got a teacher with a great voice actor. Oh, and I think I can count around five funny jokes, and one which got exploited up to the point where it descended to teenage humor.

This is where South Park problem lays. It's supposed to be some bad-ass clever satire about censorship, society and evil racist America. Not only that it attacks easy targets (Making fun of one's extremely-conservative mom was really hard, man.) the humor never decides to gain subtleness or sophistication. Instead, it relies on teenage bathroom humor disguised as a social satire. It was a good disguise, since many people jumped on the bandwagon but I saw through it.

The plot itself is about some R-Rated Canadian film which is loaded with f-words and Mothers Against Canada want to kill them off and suddenly apocalypse now and satan and Saddam are gay. This sounds like the plot for Inland Empire. The humor feels like a rip-off of the randomness of Anime and all attempts at absurd humor are a failed imitation of Dr. Strangelove and The People's Cube. In fact, at some point it's unclear what's supposed to be funny. Does the whole setting supposed to be funny? The setting is just lazy and stupid. I was pretty sure someone would call God a "faggot" or something along the lines. When Big Gay Al sings, I expected the creators to be really clever and show us his penis. T hey did. When I first saw how Cartman sings that Kyle's mom is a bitch, I felt pretty sad. The next time I saw it, I told myself this was the kind of stuff we did in kindergarden, back when profanity was "rebellious". Cartman is not the poster boy for political incorrectness. He's the poster boy of bad humor.

South Park also wants to shock us with showing us gay people. Apperantly, this is the first time gay people were showed on the silver screen. It also tries to talk a lot about the clitoris as if porn never existed. It later attempts to shock us with blood and gore. Not only this type of lame shock value was better in Happy Tree Friends (which also sucks but that's a different story), anyone who watched Se7en, District 9 or any kind of "very violent film" will laugh. This movie attempts to take a candy from a baby by pissing off soccer moms. Someone who's meaner might try to massacre a whole family.

This film is bad and its comedy is terrible not because I'm a "prude". I could predict all the jokes, I saw everything coming, and everything felt so cliched. The creators must think they're still in high school. Even people are supposed to be smarter than that. Even teen comedies are more clever than this. South Park, instead, makes a lot of noise and thinks it's really clever. Just like noise music, you need to be creative and interesting. The only reason South Park is interesting is because its terrible, and by the end it gets messier than David Lynch you don't care what happens anyway.

Award: The Best Unfunny Joke About Women's Private Parts

Rating: 1.5/5 (3/10)

Breakdown:

Title: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Director: Bad-Ass Rebel

Screenplay: "Hey Dude Clitoris Is Very Funny Let's Put More Of It!"

Starring: Cunts, Dicks, and Butts

Genre: Failed Attempts At Being Clever

Running Time: Like anybody gives a fuck

Release Date: The Apocalypse

[Film] American Pie (1999)

2009-11-23T05:02:00.001-08:00

Stupid Happy Teenagers

If you know what my favorites films are, it's easy to predict I won't like American Pie. It's also easy to label me as a pretentious faggot who can't lighten up. You're wrong. I can enjoy films whic aren't made by David Lynch and rape my mind. I can enjoy films which don't aim high in the intellectual scale. Hell, I love action films like Shoot 'Em Up. In fact, I also like comedies like 50 First Dates and I actually enjoyed EuroTrip a bit (Although it's possible that most of the enjoyment came from Michelle). So what's wrong with American Pie? That's simple. The movie is boring.

American Pie's biggest problem is that it's doomed from the start. The plot involves college students wanting to lose their virgnity before graduation. I know comedies aren't high on plot, but even films like EuroTrip at least had these decent ideas and plot that may lead to funny situations. Even Dr. Strangelove doesn't one of the best plots ever. These movies, unlike this one, have at least a drive and funny situations. All American Pie can offer is sexual emberassment, which is not very funny in the first place.

In fact, I even had hard time spotting jokes. Okay, so he wants to have sex with a guy's mom. One guy also has sex with a pie. It feels more like throwing things at the wall and hoping they would stick, with blind hope mind you. There was a moment where I laughed, at least silently. It's when I completed a character's dialogue in my mind just how it came out in the film. I felt really bad-ass after that. Other than that, I guess the scene where they make a girl strip in one guy's room, Webcam it and put it on the internet for everyone to see is not easily forgotten. I think every girl should take a shoe off and throw it at the screen. These kind of scenes belong in the sequel for Blue Velvet.

There is a little light in here, though. The acting is decent. Most of them are blank, but the actor for Finch, the scary Jessica, the nerd girl and that weird father were great. In fact, the father was an awsome character, and easily the highlight of the show. He might as well get his own TV series. Other than the acting, American Pie doesn't fall to the South Park pit because it's not obnoxious. It's just boring. A boring movie isn't a good one, but at least I didn't feel any sort of animosity towards the makers.

There is no point in watching this film. It won't teach you how bad movies are made. It doesn't have any funny jokes. It doesn't have a cute actress. You may be interested in this if your cinematic experiene is limited to porn, but other than that, it's a good cure for insomnia. When I can sit through movies like Inland Empire but want to fall asleep during a movie like this, you know it's remarkbly unremarkable.

The Good: One guy's father is funny, and, well, I don't know

The Bad: The Webcam scene, extremely bland

Rating: 2/5 (4/10)

Title: American Pie

Director: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz

Screenplay: Adam Herz

Starring: Jason Biggs, Eddie Thomas, Eugen Levy

Genre: Comedy, Sex Comedy, Dumb Teenager Movie

Running Time: 95 minutes (Whoa)

Release Date: July 9, 1999

[Film] The Hangover (2009)

2009-10-23T11:57:00.001-07:00

Three man and a baby.

The Hangover is one of 2009's most celebrated films. Ever since I saw one ad for it, it was everywhere. It seems everyone in my school has watched, and even those nasty critics enjoyed the film. I thought it would be a dumb sex comedy. However, even critcis who thought it would be stupid liked it. After all the hype from all corners, I had no choice but to watch it. Personally, I expected it to suck. How did it come out?

This is one of these movies which are just plain average. I was pleasantly surprised The Hangover didn't rely on sex jokes that much. Profanity and cursing was there, but it also existed in District 9. Also, I must say that the plot was actually nice. It did move, and it did go somewhere, somehow. It's not necessarily a classic plot, but it was at least some material worth to follow, and it's the fact why the movie didn't have much time to show you naked girls and pass it off as comedy.

Sadly, Hangover's good things only save it from the bottom of the barrel. I was actually thinking of Wild Hogs. It was also a Buddy-Road-Movie, and one guy there also had problems with his lover. However, the characters in Wild Hogs are better, the jokes was better and no lover was traded for a hooker. Ironically, the critics slammed Wild Hogs and loved Hangover. I remain puzzled. Also, if we're already talking about characters, none of them were really good. Yes, I know it's a comedy but a comedy should still have characters. One guy is an asshole, and not a good one. One guy is a dentist nerd (Wild Hogs also had a dentist, by the way) who was good until he decided to stay with the hooker. There is also a fat weirdo with a nice beard. This is where it ends. The chinese gangster was actually funny, however, and I guess we will remember "It's funny because he's fat".

Another problem with Hangover is that a lot of it is random. Random humor works only if it's subtle, or if it's Anime. If else, it tends to become just plain idiotic. Many things just popped off in front of the characters, and so the film sacrifices plot for jokes, which weren't all that funny. Mike Tyson's tiger wasn't really funny, just plain random. However, the appearance of "In The Air Tonight" made me smile. Still, it is somehow enteraining to see how the events unfold and I did want to see what will happen in the end. If a movie does that, it has something.

You can say I'm a pretentious hag who likes David Lynch and Pixar. Two of these things are true, the other one is subjective. The Hangover is a decent movie. The actors are okay, the plot was decent and there were a few jokes. However, this is nothing out of the ordinary. It could be good to pass the time, but if you're thinking you might be seeing a milestone in cinema, you must be confusing this with District 9, which is a completely different story. Also, unlike EuroTrip, there were no cute girl to push up the rating.

The Good: Mike Tyson with "In The Air Tonight", decent plot, chinese gangsta

The Bad: Nothing new, not very funny, indifferent characters.

Rating: 3/5 (6/10)

Title: The Hangover

Director: Todd Phillips

Screenplay: Jon Lucas, Jeremy Garelick, Scott Moore

Starring: Bardley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis

Genre: Comedy, Buddy, Road Movie

Running Time: 96 min.

Release Date: June 5, 2009

Headlines That May Appear If Aliens Land On Earth.

2009-10-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here's some headlines that may appear if Aliens will finally come to Earth.

First of all, this is going to be in big letters on the front page:

PSYCHOLOGIST RESEARCH BY PLAYBOY'S OFFICIALS DISCOVER WOMEN'S USE IS FOR SEX ONLY.

In small size, you will see this:

Alien mothership lands in Earth and make positive contact..

And so it goes:

Aliens show extremely high intelligence; People are afraid of brainwashing.
Chuck Palahniuk's new novel to be titled "Alien".
David Lynch reveals the mutated baby in "Eraserhead" is in fact an Alien baby recovered from Roswell; Lynch: "It was in very bad shape. I tried to save him by holding his orangs in cloth, but I knew he wouldn't survive. Then, I decided to film 'Eraserhead'".
Aliens lack gender; Psychologist deemed them depressed and suicidal
Israel adopts Aliens; The UN condems such an act and labels them bigots
Aliens cannot see anything wrong with homosexuality; Fred Phelps creats slogan "God Hates Aliens".
Enviromentalists are worried about the Aliens' advanced technology
Aliens find conspiracies funny and unrealistic; The Politically Correct are insulted
Richard Dawkins cannot see how Aliens fit the evolution theory. Publishes book "The Extra-Terrestial Delusion."
Cristopher Hitchens is quick to follow in Dawkins' steps, publishes book "E.T. Is Not Great: How Steven Spielberg Poisons Everything".
Steven Spielberg is insulted by Hitchen's book. Hitchens: "He's a religious deluded fanatic"
Among the best Alien literature is "One Flew Over The Human's Planet" and "The Catcher In The Atmosphere."
Aliens blamed for 9/11. Alien leader: "What is 9/11?"
Aliens caught listening to Rush Limbaugh, charged with hate-crime
An Alien was murdered by anarchists. Anarchist: "They steal our 'A' logo".
Aliens' advanced technology deems them politically incorrect
Aliens dispose of Iran. World's problems solved.

Why I Support Gay Marriage

2009-10-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

If anyone asks me whether I'm more with the liberals or the conservatives, I'd say I generally agree with the convservative. Why? They just make more sense. At least people from PajamasMedia and FrontPageMagazine have good points, and don't got the annoying political correctness. However, there are a few matters in which I generally disagree with the Con's. That subject is gay marriage. Now, there are conservatives who support gay marriage, like the CEO of PajamasMedia, but it seems that most of them are against it. Instead of resorting to ad hominem and name-calling, I'll just explain why I support it.

The first reason I support it is, well, I just can't see why gay marriage shouldn't be implanted. Some people say it's going to ruin the whole marriage business. How is that? It's true marriage is declining, and that is because monogamy is declining. Monogamy's decline is more evident in the straight community rather than the gay community (Or maybe because there is more straight people and not enough straight-edge?). The booming porno industry, along with the "be a man" culture and "enjoy life" philosophy is what knocked monogamy down, or at least a result of it. Sex these days is conformity, and more than that. Sex is something you need to have as much as possible. It's healthy, it makes you happy, it's important, and it's manly. The result is more focus on the sexual part rather than the relationship itself. Obviously, monogamy falls. By the way, notice how all of these statements are being "implanted" in us. Some people believe them even before having an intercourse. Sorry, Orwell and Kesey, but a rebel these days is a virgin.

Back to topic, if anything, gay marriage will strengthen monogamy. It will give social legitimization to gay relationship, and will let them show it off and brag about it. Who knows, maybe straight people will be jealous of the gay ones and decide to go for monogamic relationships? Obviously, this is a speculation but gay marriage isn't going to harm monogamy. At worst, it will have no effect.

Regarding religious arguements, well, religion is a private thing. Gay people can obey or disobey any religion as they wish. Also, non-religious marriage are a must. If we don't have it, we really do have religion forcing. In a world where religion becomes a taboo, I really wonder if there are countries who don't got non-religious marriage.

Truly homophobic arguements, such as "homosexuality isn't natural", "Eww! Gay people!" and "Would like a man to come from behind you and molest you?" can't be truly taken seriously. They are rooted in homophobia, and homophobia, like other forms of bigotry is at best laughable. They are also tools of the reactionaries, who are radicals in reverse. Different opinion but the same problem.

In conclusion, gay marriage is pretty much something that should be implanted because there is no valid arguement against it. Or at least, I haven't found a valid arguement against it. "Gay couples aren't real couples"? This is skeptic judgement that is downright wrong. I'm still open to anyone who can offer what could be a valid arguement, and I still respect those who disagree with me but aren't too extreme about it. Roger L. Simon also described it very well, and claimed gay marriage is a "civil right". I agree with him.

Be sure to check this video by Andrew Klavan, from PJTV:

Playing With Depression

2009-09-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

This article claims gamers are depressed and overweight.

I've heard this alot before. People who play video games have terrible, horrible, depressive lives for lack of social contact. We need to pull them out of their misery

Let's switch words.

People who are homosexual have terrible, horrible, depressive lives for lack of social contact. We need to pull them out of their misery.

What is the point of such article? Are you suggesting people who play video games are depressed, video games are depressing and we should now crack down on them? The only time Fallout 3 ever depressed me, is an occasional bug, which I found a way to fix anyway. It's like saying if I buy a book, and one page gets dirty, books are depressing (My mom actually said my books are depressing but we had a talk). In fact, it's pretty much like saying homosexuals are depressed because they're homosexuals. Maybe if society bothered to accept different people without pushing their crappy healthy lifestyle and norms, maybe people would be happier.

"differentiated adult video-game players from nonplayers. Video-game players also reported lower extraversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video-game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status, and to mental-health concerns."

I'm very tempted to claim your fashion industry, your porno industry, weight-loss industry and pseudo-healthy food are the cause of Anorexia. Let's get this straight: Your weight has little to do with your health. People simply have a contempt for fat people because looking good is serious business. Some of us don't give a shit how he look. We care about other things. Maybe we can finally cherish the beauty of modern life, seeing the amount of choices and different lifestyles we have? I'm straight-edge but it's simply a way of life I chose. Some people will like this lifestyle, some not, to each his own. Some people couldn't give a shit about science and love to play soccer. Others are going to invent a device to stop global warming and then indulge in a bucket of french fries

"illuminate the health consequences of video-game playing,"

Again, people are making a big, overdramatic splash. Even as a major critic of sexuality I'm not going to say your first intercourse will get you AIDS. The "health consequences" of video-game playing are the personal responsibility of the gamer. Not to mention you can both exercise and play video games. Go for a 2 hour walk, and then come back for a 3-hour Warcraft session. Besides, have you seen the recent evolution where people want to be seriously physically interactive with their games? People aren't satisfied with a joystick, they want a steering wheel for racing games. That's progression. Besides, not everything you do, you do because of health. Nobody makes love because they want to be healthy. They make love because they love eachother or they find the intercourse fun. Nobody watches Terminator because it may be healthy. Nobody has time to think about their health when they go to their favorite band's concert.

"Female video-game players reported greater incidents of depression and "lower health status" than women who do not play video games,"

There's a high chance their depression doesn't evolve from their video-game playing. "Man, this game is depressing. Let's keep playing it." In female's case, the bombarding fashion industry probably has more to do with their depression. Imagine doing the things you like while someone in the background tells you what you do isn't right and you don't look "good enough". If every girl wanted to be Jenna Jameson, maybe I should turn gay (Sorry Floofy but I'm not).

"habitual use of video games as a coping response may provided a genesis for obsessive-compulsive video-game playing, if not video-game addiction."

Expecting people to not use anything to cope with something is like expecting them to eat food without calories. Oh fuck you already do that. People can use everything from "evil" things such as food and video games to cope, or "noble" and "healthy" means such as talking with a close friend or having sex. Besides, psychological addiction can be developed for everything. You can get addicted to movies, popcorn, and turning the light off and on. People can even get addicted to being around people and having sex. Also, we act as if we're really addicted to everything, when our lives seem better than we think they are. Maybe it's my age but people just take things a little too far. By the way, Roger Ebert is a notorious movie critic, and, if you look at him, he's overweight. In fact, with the amount of movies he watched, you can say he's addicted to movies. Or maybe he's simply investing his time in a hobby, dedicating himself to something? Is it wrong to dedicate yourself?

"male video-game players spend more time using the Internet and rely more on Internet-community social support,"

How scary, the internet is going to kill you. Have you ever thought why people are looking for support on virtual communities? Have you ever read or watched Fight Club? The main character faked diseases to get social support, and that's because of our society (and "Boys don't cry"). He went there because the people around him weren't supportive. In my experience, things like that are varying. Sometimes the problem is in the person, sometimes is the enviroment. Perhaps when we will become more supportive and accepting, people wouldn't need virtual communities for support.

"a finding consistent with prior research pointing to the willingness of adult video-game enthusiasts to sacrifice real-world social activities to play video games."

If anyone asks me what I'd prefer, a party or a Nine Inch Nails concert, I'd go for the concert. By concert, I'm talking mainly talking about the music, not the people surrounding me. I'm sacrificing a social even to see my favorite band. People sacrifice social activities to play video games because they like video games more. In my case, I'd generally go to a social event if I'm invited, because I don't get invited much. It doesn't mean everyone has to do this. There's nothing wrong with investing time in your hobbies.

"further research among adults to clarify how to use digital opportunities more effectively to promote health and prevent disease."

Stop promoting health and start promoting morals. Maybe we'd get somewhere. Maybe we'd become supportive. Maybe you would hear less cases about rape then. Maybe there would be less depressed people. Oh, and video games, food, movies, art, rarely has anything to do with morals.

"games that require physical exertion, such as "Hide and seek" and "Freeze tag" are "still probably what we need most.""

I agree with this. I would love to go back to playing Tag and Hide'n'Seek. Let these games take the place of sitting down and talking who's who.

The "Anti-Video-Game" movement is bullcrap. Video games are entertainment and art. People who think video games have no value should also claim music is just sounds mixed together without purpose. All of this "be healthy" crap is getting on my nerves. In the old days, people felt guilty for being assholes. These days, we feel guilty for having a fat ass (A big ass is good. Being sexy is important because it raises self-esteem and ). Should we go back to the old days? Hell no. Just stop being idiots, that's all. You can be really healthy, but you're still dying. "I spent my days trying to maintain a healthy." "I spent my days playing video games. Man, that was fun." Are you going to remember your diet or your good times?

[Music] Slayer - Reign In Blood

2009-08-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

Aren't you guys evil

It's true my experience with metal isn't wide. I do have some experience in the hard rock world, and have listened to bands to make fast music and bang their instruments. It's not as if I was a Shoegaze fan when approaching this. Nothing wrong with one-dimensional rock that's meant as cheap entertainment. Nothing wrong with dropping energy bombs. Yet, Reign In Blood fails at everything it wants to achieve. It doesn't have waking-up energy. It's extremely serious. It's not fun and it's so simple it's boring. Even Nickelback got sing-along hooks. These guys? A short decent solo. That's it.

The album opens with "Angel Of Death". It's about The Holocaut. I'm a Jew saying this, and this song is not amazing. Neither are the lyrics. If you're looking for a good song about the Holocaust, look for "Never Again" by Remedy. Aside from that, there's really nothing unique about this song. There's even a part where the song stops for a microsecond and suddenly the guitarist starts soloing for no reason. The next song, "Piece By Piece" is the same song in two minutes. While I listening to it, I seriously thought for a moment I was listening to "Angel of Death".

It even gets worse. When "Necrophobic" starts, you think it's still the same song because "Piece By Piece" ends with a bang. You really can't recognize the songs without looking at the tracklist. Even My Bloody Valentine added a little variation to Loveless. You can tell "Sometimes" from "Only Shallow". You can't really tell the difference between "Altar of Sacrifice" and "Necrophobic". Repetition isn't necessarily a bad thing. Repeating a good idea can result in consistency. "Chugchugchugchugchugchug" isn't a good idea.

There are, however, a few good points which makes this album not the Heavy Metal Soulja Boy. There is the occasional time where the "chugchugchugchugchug" is slowed down a little bit. These moments are pretty much gold, and the thought "Why couldn't they make all the album like this?" pops up. Luckily, the song "Postmortem" is generally a stomping song. There is a small part where "chugchugchug" returns but for most of the time, it stomps and it sounds great. It's a really good song. So is the beginning of "Piece By Piece" before it speeds up. For such a short album, these moments are far too few. That's why they still don't elevate the album much.

If I want an album which is simply banging your instruments, I'd listen to Bullet For My Valentine. If I want to hear people banging their instruments with creativity, I'd listen to Death From Above 1979. If I want hard-hitting "evil" music, there's Antichrist Superstar. Manson at least got his humor. If I want to listen to a band showing off their skills, I bet there's tons of metal bands who do that and sound good at that. Slayer are just too dull. This is by far the most one-dimensional music I ever heard. Even Nickelback are more varied than this album. People will tell me that if I can't play "Angel of Death" then I shouldn't speak. Too bad music isn't a technical competition. If you want a band thrashing about being evil and hating Jesus, go ahead. I'll wait for something else.

High: "Postmortem", they can play their instruments

Low: Repetitive, the same thing over and over, anything else I will add will make me more repetitive than this album

In a nutshell: Chugchugchugchugchugchugchugchugchug

Rating: 2/5 (4/10)

Skinnee Picks:

- Postmortem

Tracklist at Allmusic

Breakdown:

Title: Reign In Blood

Artist: Slayer

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Thrash Metal, Trash Metal

Release Date: October 7, 1986

Record Label: American

[Music] 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin'

2009-08-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Metalheads love to call this "gay"

Ah yes, the almighty 50 Cent. Sources claim Get Rich or Die Tryin' was the most hyped debut rap album since Doggystyle and Illmatic. However, while Doggystyle made Gangsta Rap fans jizz in their pants and Illmatic is the rap elitist's favorite album, where does it leave Get Rich or Die Tryin'? People have claimed this is either The Second Coming Of The Rapping Jesus or The Worse Thing Since Cancer. In the end, the result is the mix-up of the two. At best, this is a mainstream rap classic. Too bad this album is just too average.

It's not surprising 50 Cent is the rapper metalheads mention to claim "Rap is crap". For 18 songs (Excluding "21 Questions") 50 Cent raps about nothing but Gangsta cliches. 50 Cent has a glock? Yup. Bitches and hoes? Yup. Does he love the hoes? Nope. Does he "get money"? Yup. Mentioning "poppin'" and the fact "it's going down"? Yup. All the cliches in the book are here for you to see. For a normal album, it could be fun and stupid. Still, even Cypress Hill and Onyx had to put their own twists. When Cypress Hill decided guns and weed are good together, it was funny. When Onyx decided they are "Black Metalheads", it was funny. When all 50 Cent has to say is that he is a "P.I.M.P.", it falls flat.

It's a long fall though, and there are a few high points. This is still not The Worst Thing Since Cancer. 50 Cent got extremely average flow, but charisma makes him a little less faceless. The production is fairly catchy most of the time. It's not glossy pop-rap production it should've been, but it can carry most of the songs. The producers were able to score a few gems with "Heat" and "If I Can't". Generally, though, this is talented producers being lazy. Another high point is that 50 Cent can handle his hooks. In fact, when he attempts to sing for a bit in "Many Men" and "High All The Name", it's hard not to sing along. Also, no matter how atrocious "P.I.M.P." is, it doesn't prevent "21 Questions" from being sweet. Along with that "Don't Push Me" is the good aggressive rap track with gunshots. If this sounds good to you, stretch it for 19 tracks and flaws appear.

50 Cent is charismatic, yes, but he can't carry a 19-track album. When Reznor decided to make The Fragile a double-album, he brought enough variations to make you sit through the 2 hours of music. Get Rich... is not even like a Progressive Rock album that goes acoustic-solos-acoustic. It's basically the same thing for 19 tracks. Certain blisters also pop up. "P.I.M.P." is one of the worst rap songs that you can hear. It's almost as bad as Soulja Boy. Combine "pimping hoes" lyrics, an annoying hook and a beat that drills in your head and you got a reason to hate America. "Poor Lil Rich" is simply about saying "Nigga" and for some reason, Half-a-Dollar had a need to make a track about people liking his style.

I'm not going to drop indie-rap names like Sage Francis or Atmosphere (but I just did) to look cool, but there's really nothing to Get Rich Or Die Tryin' other than Gangsta cliches. It's fairly fun, a few gems, generally average and some reasons to cut yourself. In the end, this album is like those "middle levels" in MMORPG's. No cool enemies yet going very slow. This is exactly how this album works.

High: All the time, some catchy beats, funny lyrics, "I'll break your face"

Low: That stupid song about pimping, way too long, average beats

Rating: 2.5 (5/10)

Skinnee Picks:

- Many Men (Wish Death)

- Heat

- 21 Questions

- Don't Push Me

Breakdown:

Title: Get Rich or Die Tryin'

Artist: 50 Cent

Genre: Rap

Subgenres: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap, Music That Annoys People

Release Date: Febuary 6, 2003

Record Label: Interscope

Secrets of the False Arts

2009-08-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

NOTE: If you're expecting anti-corporation politically correct bullshit, go look for it somewhere else. Perhaps in your local strip club.

Clicky

Aside from simply being a sad day where Playboy is still alive for no reason, what we got here is a woman posing nude as a wedding/birthday gift. Before I end up sounding like Big Brother, I can see why a couple would do that. Shake the sexuality a bit between them. Nothing wrong. What's odd here is posing for Playboy as a gift. Whether you like it or not, Playboy cums on monogamy's face everyday. I doubt there are any Playboy readers out there who wants a happy 'serious' relationship. I bet ya'll be happy with having your own strip clubs. So yeah, take nude pictures of yourself for your lover. Makes sense, can be a good thing, so why not if you feel like it? Put these pictures on Playboy? I consider this dis-respecting yourself, and especially if these pictures were meant for your lover, well, I'm not sure if I shoudl call it surreal.

Hey, no serious business. Let's not go too far.

Or maybe we have to.

A floofy source of mine says her hubby claimed it's not like Picasso art, it's "real art". Eh what? I can see, somehow, how it can be considered art. It can also be considered objextifying, whether you like it or not. I sound like a prude right now, but I have hard time seriously enjoying this kind of "art". In a world where people starve not because they're poor, but because they want to look like a fashion model and where rape became a form of sexual intercourse, I think there are different art forms we can focus on.

This is art:

This is art:

This is art:

Why is there a difference? I'll discuss it later, but there is, and it plain looks better.

This is art:

Flashing boobs and body organs for a sexist's favorite magazine, is not really art. If I want people who looked good, Anime always has it. Hell, you even have more freedom and at least it's obvious it's not real. That will be saved for another post though. At least the clock is ticking for Hefner, but maybe I'm going too far.

The floofy source is confirmed here

[Music] Breaking Benjamin - Saturate

2009-07-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Low-budget cover says a lot

If there's one musical genre which I can say I know a lot about, it's Post-Grunge. Perhaps it's not much of a thing to be proud of, since we're talking about one of the most-hated genres out there. I still found stuff which was above-average, and even some seriously good stuff. Considering Breaking Benjamin were able to gain more success than other 50 bands, perhaps there's something unique about them. Or maybe they write some good hooks.

There is actually something unique about Breaking Benjamin, and that is their vocalist. He isn't notable for charisma or a unique vocal style, he's notable for being crap. Saturate is better than most Post-Grunge when it comes to instruments and songwriting, but the bad vocals drown every song. He sometimes sound pretty good, on the verses, for example. When the hooks come in, he sounds like he's eating while he's singing. The result is laughable.

At least the band isn't horrible. They actually sound pretty good. "Natural Life" has a nice drumming into, while "Skin" and "Medicate" got good riffs. They can also generate the right atmosphere for the songs, such the verses for "Home", and the epic-sounding "Water". They also got their share of flaws, however. The band sounds very, very static. It harms these guys especially because you can feel they got some good ideas. When I listen to "Skin", I'm supposed to move my head. The riff is good, but it doesn't have a punch needed to truly makes it move my head.

At least Breaking Benjamins got some hooks. Or they don't. "Medicate" is extremely unstable. The song can either have an uplifting feel to it, or be very annoying. It tends to be mostly annoying because the singer can't sing and "medicating" is a cliche that should be criminalized. "Natural Life" falls into the same hole. It can't decide whether it wants to be annoying or catchy. At least they're able to produce the anthemic "Shallow Bay" and "Sugarcoat" floats close to Nu-Metal and sounds very solid, albeit a little dumb. In fact, Saturate genrally has a better selection of hooks than most Post-Grungers. They would also sound a whole lot better if the vocalist swallowed his food before he started singing.

Between good hooks and instrumentation and a crappy vocalist, Saturate turns into an average Post-Grunge which it shouldn't be. Take any faceless Post-Grunger and he would sing these songs better. Sadly, the result is a record that can only be considered really good for what it could've been. If you take it for what it is, you still get a decent Post-Grunge record. You should get Default's One Thing Remains instead of this, however. It even had a bigger budget for the cover.

High: Instrumentation pretty good, catchy hooks

Low: The budget for the cover, crappy vocalist who can't swallow his food

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Tracklist:

1. Wish I May - 3:58

2. Medicate - 3:45

3. Polyamorous - 2:57

4. Skin - 3:20

5. Natural Life - 4:00

6. Next To Nothing - 3:43

7. Water - 4:12

8. Home - 3:37

9. Phase - 4:32

10. No Games - 3:35

11. Sugarcoat -3:36

12. Shallow Bay - 4:05

13. Forever -3:56

Skinnee Picks:

- Water

-Home

- Shallow Bay

Breakdown:

Title: Saturate

Artist: Breaking Benjamin

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Post-Grunge, Crappy Vocalists

Release Date: August 27, 2002

Record Label: Hollywood

[Music] Zeromancer - Eurotrash

2009-07-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

I don't get it.

My trip into the industrial (or, at least, Industrial Rock) was a little awkward. I enjoyed bands like Dope, Powerman 5000, Fear Factory and similar. However, I never could really get into the genre. Celldweller was also impressive but I couldn't get into it. Then, comes a typical period of depression. This period lead me to finally get into Nine Inch Nails, and it was a simple trip. Celldweller was great, Marilyn Manson too. Bands like Stabbing Westward and God Lives Underwater are also creeping up. Along comes Zeromancer, which I knew for a long time yet never checked out. With a cool name like that, and being industrial, they're supposed to offer something interesting.

It doesn't take long for "Doctor Online" to show Zeromancer, in fact, are a simple industrial band with no aim to try to venture. That's okay as long as you can keep me interested. Sadly, Zeromancer can't. "Doctor Online"'s hook is pathetic. The first 2 lines are catchy, but the last lines show Zeromancer had no idea who to continue the song. The title-track which comes after is even worse. It seems to take a trip down "Europe and money sucks". Yet it feels very contrived and cliche. Many bands said they hate money. There's nothing unique in that.

There's also pretty much nothing unique about Zeromancer other than their name. Fine, no matter how funny the title for "Need You Like a Drug", it's extremely catchy and can almost be a good single. "Chrome Bitch"'s chants of "Why do I have to put up with this?" is also good. Anything else? "Copula" and "Germany" are decent epic ballads. Are their ideas better than their execution? Yes. These songs are impressive in a way that makes you think "At least they're trying". Not because they're successful. When Orgy decided to make a ballad, they were successful in that ("Eva").

Most of the other songs on Eurotrash are average. "Plasmatic" and "Raising Hell" are pointless, somewhat enjoyable when you listen to the whole album yet they're longer than 4 minutes. Songs of average quality should never be longer than 4 minutes. "Philharmonic" rises a bit, but again we're talking about songs who don't really have an aim. At least Zeromancer can afford not to fall into the pit of bad songs. Other than the title-track, the only true bad song is "Send Me an Angel". It's a cover of a song by a band I don't know. I have to judge the song on its own and, well, it made me laugh. A definite skip.

The problem with Eurotrash is that it's unremarkable. It's true that I don't have much experience with industrial, but the band still feels like what Orgy would sound like if they didn't have any hooks. Although Eurotrash is able to pack a bigger punch at first than Candyass, Orgy were able to still have a good hook on every song and actual charisma. Zeromancer are unremarkable, boring, and don't have much to offer. Pick up Vapor Transmission instead.

Rating: 2.5 (5/10)

tracklist:

1. Doctor Online - 3:19

2. Eurotrash - 4:08

3. Need You Like a Drug - 3:31

4. Chrome Bitch - 4:18

5. Wannabe - 3:50

6. Neo Giesha - 4:52

7. Copula - 6:00

8. Send Me an Angel - 3:58

9. Plasmatic - 5:23

10. Raising Hell - 4:55

11. Philharmonic - 4:59

12. Germany - 8:16

Skinnee Picks:

- Doctor Online

- Need You Like a Drug

Breakdown:

Title: Eurotrash

Artist: Zeromancer

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Industrial Rock

Release Date: August 12, 2002

Record Label: Cleopatra

Less Is More

2009-07-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

I've been recently found myself posting on Bethesda's forums. Mainly in the Fallout 3 DLC forums. Unsurpsingly, I go by the name of Skinnee Jay and with my bombastic Anime avatar, I bet I'm hard to miss. Either way, the forum is active mainly because of the upcoming Mothership Zeta. However, I think since yesterday, an odd amount of threads requesting more DLC's, or at least all kinds of additions to the game. At first, I thought I agree with them. Now, I'm actually getting pissed.

It's not because I don't like Fallout 3 and want it to die. I love that game to pieces. I even have a pretty ambitious project related to it. I also enjoyed Operation: Anchorage, although it was a little weak and The Pitt which was great. Broken Steel and Point Lookout seem to be much better than these do. The screenshots to Mothership Zeta hints the best thing yet. Why stop? Because leaving in a high note will leave us with a good taste in our mouth.

No, these are not real

Fallout 3 seems like a quantity-over-quality game. There is less content than Oblivion, but the content is better. There are many unremarkable and extremely basic quests in Oblivion. In Fallout 3, there is only about 12 quests, yet pretty much every one of them is a unique adventure of its own. Quests like Those! would've ended with simply killing all the Fire Ants and Blood Ties would simply be a delivery. It shows that Bethesda decided to very picky on the ideas for Fallout 3.

Along comes the DLC's. The DLC's took a step further, containing each a series of quests. Starting with Operation: Anchorage which is fairly linear, and seems to be only getting more ambitious. The Pitt truly has a plot. Broken Steel continues the main quest and Point Lookout brings in a brand new area. I haven't played the quests of the last two, but from what I've heard, they're really only getting better. In fact, the main quests only add in total 15 quests, which is around half of the vanilla game's amount of quests (Including the main quest).

This guy doesn't like communism

Yet you guys are still asking for more. The 5th DLC is sending you to space, yet you ask for more. You already have 15 new quests, yet you ask for more. Frankly, it seems many of these people don't care much for the design, immersion and similar pretentious/arty concepts. It makes me sound like an arrogant dickhead, but part of the fun in Fallout was the immersion. I don't necessarily need a big arsenal with the strongest weapons out there. Give me 10 fun weapons and I'm happy. Fallout 3 is like an interactive action movie for me. That's why I love the main quest. Even if it's short and easy, I got so absorbed in it, I left it saying "This is how I want my games".

That's why I stay away from user-made content too. I need my immersion, I need to feel part of the world of Fallout 3. Perhaps these people play Fallout for action and killing. I play it to play it. If you need mods to play a game, you shouldn't play it in the first place. When someone offers you great food not in a huge amount, but later gives you more of it, you don't say you want more but "Thank you". This is how I want to end this. Thank you, Bethesda, for this great game. I hope Mothership Zeta is better than I think it is, and I hope your next projects will be as good as this one.

Counting The Minutes To Midnight

2009-07-20T05:50:00.001-07:00

In August 3rd, two weeks from now, a new Fallout 3 DLC is coming out: Mothership Zeta. Those who always get updated probably already know it. However, I think those who will focus on the Mothership will miss a much more meaningful event. Instead, pay close attention to the news. The suicide rate is very likely on that day, and the fact the subject is a member of "No Mutants Allowed" will hint us the reason for the killing of the self. He might leave a note which reads like this:

"FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON FALLOUT CANON."

I admit I never played the old Fallout games, and I'm a fan of Bethesda. I loved Morrowind and was blown away by Oblivion. I did notice their flaws though. In Fallout 3, I think they improved on their formula again. Yes, there a few problems, it felt a little original because it's like Oblivion with guns, but I still loved it. Maybe if I was a serious gamer, I would say Fallout 3 is the Soulja Boy of video games. Maybe if I will play more games, I will find Fallout 3 offensive and demand the end of its production.

Here's a fucking canon for you.

Hanging around No Mutants Allowed, what seems first like a nice Fallout place ended up being a breeding ground for elitists. If they're not attacking Fallout 3 for being unrealistic, they're attacking Fallout 3 for "not being canon". Obviously, they also get to decide what was canon in Fallout 2 or not. In the end, they come off as The Serious Metalhead. Not only because they give their bullshit "canon" which is close to "true metal", but they got a god complex. They get to decide what is canon and what is not. The first Fallout is canon, obviously. However, whether Fallout 2 is canon or not is in the hands of The Almighty at NMA. Who are they, exactly? Yeah, they know Fallout really good. They got leaks from Van Buren, they report news, etc. Does it mean they know what the developers had in mind 100%?

2-D graphics for The Progressive Gamer

Exact quote from The Vault: "While there is some evidence of the existence of alien life forms, it is very scarce" As you can see, there is evidence they exist in the Fallout universe. Therefore, they can be inserted anytime. They dropped an evidence there, evidence here. Now, they decide to finally come down to earth (Okay, hello, welcome to the world). What did you say? They have no reason to come down and wreck havoc on a dead planet? Frankly, we don't really know what they want to do. Shut up and wait for the DLC to come. Just because you can't come up with a motive doesn't mean they can't. Also, there's always room for a healthy satire. Remember that Megas XLR episode with the robot that sucks energy? "Everything is the enemy!". This can suit our friends from space pretty well.

What's that? The Vault is an unreliable source? Oh no, not again. Time for paranoia with a god complex. Get your tinfoil hat and go hide in a vault. Oh, and aliens don't fit the main story/never been mentioned in the main story? That's why it's a DLC, goddamn it. It's not a main quest. As for the "wasteland survival", I see a decent amount of technology there. Energy weapons, after all. Do energy weapons fit "wasteland survival"? I don't think so. Get off your high horse, express your opinion and stop acting like a metalhead.

Wait, alien skeletons? Haha.

[Music] Full Devil Jacket - Full Devil Jacket

2009-07-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

They're only half-evil

Many Nu-Metal band had some sort of gimmick to attract crowds. Generally, it's a good thing since it gives them personality. Korn were creepy, Limp Bizkit had fun and Linkin Park got angry over Hip-Hop beats. Some gimmicks failed to sell, like Five Pointe O which decided to get a little more progressive. Along comes Full Devil Jacket. Full Devil Jacket don't got much of a gimmick, yet they are able to stand out among other generic Nu-Metal bands like From Zero or Lifer.

Enter Full Devil Jacket, their self-titled debut and sadly only album. With an album title like that, you might expect the band to go on an angst rampage. Suprisingly, they don't. One of the things that make Full Devil Jacket more notable is the lack of angst. Yes, there are heavy mid-tempo tracks ("Fastblack") and fast-paced loudfests such as "Stain". However, they feel more like musical ideas rather than a post from a teenager's blog. This is achieved mainly thanks to Josh Brown's vocals. His clean vocals tend to be soft and gentle, somewhat similar to God Lives Underwater's "From Your Mouth". It also leads to Full Devil Jacket's bigges strength: Ballads.

Ballads in Modern Rock albums mostly serve as "Here, a different song, let's rock again now". In Full Devil Jacket's case, it allows Josh Brown to fully shine. They also have a much more emotional punch than the harder songs, especially "Monster" which transmists the outcast feeling successfully. "Where Did You Go?" has a more acoustic feel to it, while the album closer "Cardboard Believer" aims for a more epic direction. Both ballads work because the songwriting is good, but mainly because Brown's vocals simply suit his ballads more than his hard songs.

Another notable thing about Full Devil Jacket is the lack of catchy hooks. In this kind of music, hooks are mostly a necessity. The only song here that has a catchy hook is "Blue Green Day". You can sing along to some of the tracks, like "Love Song", and "Now You Know", but these songs don't have that kind of hook that's good for the radio. The result is that there is more focus on texture and atmosphere. A good example is the afromentioned "Now You Know" and "Fastblack" with its menacing feel. The texture gives the song an extra punch, improving the emotions in the ballads and making the hard songs sound more interesting.

Full Devil Jacket's only weakness is that the record feels a little unfocused in places, and Brown's screaming is a little underwhelming. These problems are really minor, because through the 12 tracks, there is no really bad song. All songs are worth listening more than once, and some are brilliant. Also, for a band that relies on vocals, there are still attempts at the instrumental section. They're not very technical, but the opening riff to "Stain" is great and the musical backdrop for the ballads gives the needed effect. Full Devil Jacket is an album for anyone interested in good modern rock, and a pretty important album for a Nu-Metal collection. Recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Tracklist:

1. Wanna Be Martyr - 3:21

2. Fastblack - 3:29

3. Where Did You Go? - 4:14

4. Mainline - 4:58

5. Blue Green Day - 3:32

6. Stain - 3:14

7. Monster - 4:20

8. Love Song - 3:16

9. Now You Know - 3:45

10. Mr. Wiggly - 3:36

11. Cardboard Believer - 4:32

Skinnee Picks:

- Wanna Be Martyr

- Where Did You Go?

- Blue Green Day

- Monster

Breakdown:

Title: Full Devil Jacket

Artist: Full Devil Jacket

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Nu-Metal

Release Date: March 7, 2000

Record Label: Polygram

[Music] Flybanger - Headtrip To Nowhere

2009-06-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Couldn't find a bigger cover

Let's admit that a name like "Flybanger" suggests typical hard rock you hear on the radio. An album title like Headtrip To Nowhere is actually quite catchy, however. So you might get the impression this could be pretty catchy and rock well. In the end, Flybanger falls right in between. There isn't a whole lot of catchy or rocking songs that are needed, but something in them feels like they're trying a little harder than most bands. They don't completely break out, but they try too.

Make no mistake, this is still pretty ordinary stuff. The tracklist feels like it. The band doesn't want their "Company" to "Pull" them into a "Blind World". There's even the useless track which has a person's name for the title, "Evelyn". It's a completely useless track that simply drags along without any purpose. It's only notable because it includes the album title. Luckily for them, most of the songs are able to rise up, and thus not very skippable.

The fact that the songs in Headtrip To Nowhere won't make you crave for the skip buttons is a good thing, but it's only because they're not bad. You won't listen to songs like "Haul" or "Blind World" unless you're spinning the whole package. Sure, they're pretty good. But unless you're in a specific mood for Flybanger, there's no reason to hear them. Same goes for "Radical" and "Cavalry", although the former is quite catchy and the latter has good drumming and an interesting style.

Between the small downfall and the pool of nediocrity, Flybanger were able to pull off some worthwhile songs. Oddly, they're in the second half of the album. Albums in this genre tend to hit you hard in the first few songs and make you delete the rest. Here, after the dull "Demon Away" finishes, the album only gets better. "Crackballs" is a little stupid, but its hook is made for the arena. "Weapon"' is more fast-paced and comes off as the catchiest track. "This Is Bliss" is the climax, however. "This Is Bliss" is where Flybanger finally puts out a track that's worth listening all the way through and out of the album. It's also where their moment of pride ends, since the last two songs are loud, fast, and not very notable.

Headtrip To Nowhere is an album that seemed to tried to lift itself up, which is a good thing, but it couldn't and instead fell back down. The songs are mostly average, quite enjoyable but not notable. The band lacks identity and is pretty faceless, but they sound solid. For those who like modern hard rock, this is a good addition to your collection. For others, get "This Is Bliss". This is really just another album. At least they tried.

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Tracklist:

1. Cavalry - 3:09

2. Radical - 3:19

3. Blind World - 4:03

4. Pull - 4:01

5. Evelyn - 4:57

6. Haul - 3:35

7. Demon Away - 3:49

8. Crackballs - 5:02

9. Weapon - 3:21

10. This Is Bliss - 4:39

11. Where Are You? (Gonna Die) - 2:40

12. Company - 6:14

Skinnee Picks:

- Cavalry

- Weapon

- This Is Bliss

Breakdown:

Title: Headtrip To Nowhere

Artist: Flybanger

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Hard Rock, Post-Grunge

Release Date: Febuary 20, 2001

Record Label: Columbia

[Music] Hot Action Cop - Hot Action Cop

2009-06-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, "The Sexorcist" is worse.

It's tempting to judge Hot Action Cop based on their name, album cover and song titles like "Goin' Down On It". Yet, it's surprising how well Hot Action Cop works. Not only as mindless entertainment with attempts to ignore the lyrics. For all the sexual content of Hot Action Cop, they don't descend to the worthless misogyny sex music tends to think is necessary. The lyrics also aren't busy trying to offend you with threats that the drummer of this band will cum on your titties. They just want to have fun.

If there's anything odd with the album, is that the songs tend to be around 5 minutes long or a little less. Nothing wrong with long songs, but for a fun album it may be too much. Lucky for Hot Action Cop, the songs don't really drag. "Doom Boom" is a perfect example. It rocks for 5 minutes and blends Punk, Rap and Metal. Most tracks don't try to be creative like this, but they still don't drag because Hot Action Cop know how to entertain. Too bad the legnth will later punish this band.

As I said before, this album is sex-driven but it doesn't relay on pornographic samples or misogyny. "Goin' Down On It" is simply an ode to oral sex. Rob Werthenr claims that everyone from "we", "he", "she" and "you" are goin' down on it. Basically, everybody's going down. Even "Don't Want Her To Stay" and "Club Slut" aren't offensive as they should've been. Maybe it's because Hot Action Cop want to have fun and not rebel. The songs really feel more like a call to "Get up on the dancefloor and now shake your butt".

For all the partying and having sex, Hot Action Cop got time to show emotions and get a little serious. These days, every band does it so it's cliche. Only in Hot Action Cop's case, the more serious tracks actually sound very good and fit the vibe of the album. "Busted" in particularly, with its great melody and good lyrics. It's not everyday that serious songs fit a fun album.

When I said the length will punish this band, I meant it. Since the songs are long, you're probably getting tired by the end of "Club Slut". It's already 30 minutes of music. The album surprisingly only runs for 50 minutes. It doesn't mean the second half is not good. It's a little less, but "In A Little While" and "Why Judy" are already worth heating twice. Another small problem is that Hot Action Cop sounds a little bland from time to time. The vocals especially lack an identity. It's not much of a big flaw though, since the band can still kick energy and hooks.

Hot Action Cop is an album that will be judged by many before they listen to it, yet it's amazing how good it is. It's more than just some good Hard Rock. "Doom Boom" is a classic song and the album does more than simply justify its existance. For those who were caught up in the Nu-Metal/Rap-Rock craze, this album is essential.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Tracklist:

1. Doom Boom - 5:21

2. Goin' Down On It - 4:50

3. Don't Want Her To Stay - 3:17

4. Fever For The Flave - 4:10

5. Busted - 4:47

6. Face Around - 5:18

7. Club Slut - 4:10

8. The Special - 4:53

9. Show Her - 4:48

10. Alayal - 4:53

11. Why Judy - 5:11

12. In A Little While - 3:55

Skinnee Picks:

- Doom Boom

- Goin' Down On It

- Busted

- Face Around

- Club Slut

Breakdown:

Title: Hot Action Cop

Artist: Hot Action Cop

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Funk-Rock, Rap-Rock

Release Date: March 4, 2003

Record Label: Lava/Atlantic

[Music] Midtown - Forget What You Know

2009-06-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Is this supposed to be cynical?

Maybe I just didn't give Midtown a chance. I should like them. I enjoy Cobra Starship and I'm a fan of Fall Out Boy. I guess because my favorite Fall Out Boy material is their more poppy material, and Midtown are more punky, I didn't like this. Midtown might be energetic and they seem to have a lot to say, but they can't capture my ears.

"Armageddon" opens the album. It's basically crowd chants. A decent intro. I guessed correctly those chants will feature on the next song, "To Our Savior". I was about to try to sing along and enjoy the energy and poppiness. I found out that I couldn't. That is when I became jaded when it comes to Midtown. With 14 tracks left, I hoped that they could redeem themselves.

They didn't. "Give It Up" is energetic but falls too dull and not catchy enough. From time to time, the song feels like it could be good, but it never tries to. "Is It Me? Is It True?" is better. A clumsy hook that could've been better, the "Sex is old/Sex is boring" part is extremely catchy, and the highlight of the album. Yup, in this 15-tracks album, the best there is, is a bridge in a song.

"Whole New World" offers a great hook which falls in the end and "Empty Like The Ocean" got some catchy verses. It doesn't mean these songs are very good. They could've been adjusted a little bit and re-written. If so, then they would actually be worth listening. When the hook of "Whole New World" stops and Gabe says "Save yourself/there's no salvation", it truly feels like they didn't know how to continue. These 2 songs end the album, because nothing worthwhile comes after that (It's worth noting the instrumental "God Is Dead", which plays the "Whole New World" melody is nice).

The problem with Forget What You Know is that it can't offer anything good. The second half only ranges from average to pretty bad. The band sounds lively and fun, and you can tell they might be able to produce something good. It's just their song-crafting skill is too weak and too many songs fly by. Midtown also tries to get a little creative, stretching "So Long As We Keep Our Bodies Numb We're Safe" to 13 minutes by repeating the same lines while the music slowly changes. It could've been a nice idea, but the constantly repeated "Don't listen" really starts to feel like an order instead of a suggestion, and I'll definitely obey.

Punk-Pop fans might enjoy this, but I think they should go and look around the genre for better stuff. Even average bands can produce something worthwhile. Forty Foot Echo had "Long Way Down" and July For Kings have "Anything But Beautiful". Midtown don't have a song like this here. There's a few flashes of goodness here and there. Mostly though, this music will make you forget that you know it.

Rating: 2/5 (4/10)

Tracklist:

1. Armageddon - 0:45

2. To Our Savior - 2:47

3. Give It Up - 3:39

4. Is It Me? Is It True? - 3:08

5. God Is Dead - 1:04

6. Whole New World - 3:38

7. Empty Like The Ocean - 4:27

8. Nothing Is Ever What It Seems - 3:37

9. The Tragedy Of The Human Condition - 1:09

10. Waiting For The News - 2:59

11. Until It Kills - 3:51

12. Hey Baby, Don't You Know That We're All Whores - 2:37

13. Help Me Sleep - 3:04

14. Manhattan - 2:39

15. So Long As We Keep Our Bodies Numb We're Safe - 13:13

Skinnee Picks:

- Is It Me? Is It True?

- Whole New World

- Empty Like The Ocean

Breakdown:

Title: Forget What You Know

Artist: Midtown

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Punk-Pop

Release Date: June 24, 2004

Record Label: Columbia

[Music] Stereomud - Perfect Self

2009-06-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

Bang the stereo, I guess.

Truth is, I didn't have high expectations regarding Stereomud. I actually thought they would be some muscular and clumsy Nu-Metal/Hard Rock band. I was definitely wrong. I guess it's because all members of Stereomud are not new to the music business. They come from bands such as Switched, Stuck Mojo and Pro-Pain. However, bands that to collect members from other bands also tend to fall, no? Well, that's just not the case with Stereomud. The band sounds great together, and pump out good song after another.

After an intro, "Leave (Back Up)" blast off with the pounding riff and the simple, but catchy chorus. That song is pure delight for anyone who likes this kind of hard rock. However, the album constantly bounces between average and great. "Don't Be Afraid" and "Pain" have decent hooks and energy, but don't rise up much while "Old Man" and the oddly-title "What" demand pressing the "back" button after they're over.

As the album goes on, Stereomud ends up sounding between Stuck Mojo and Sevendust. Especially Sevendust, since they borrow their mascular-yet-mature style of Hard Rock with some pretty good lyrics. This is not really a bad thing, since Sevendust are a great band. It does have its downside though, especially when the songs lack identity. They all sound the same formula, only some execute it better, some don't. Even the acoustic title-track sounds a little like the rest of the albums.

Despite the similarity between the tracks, it doesn't mean they're not worth listening to. Aside from packing riffs and hooks, Stereomud can write some good lyrics which make some songs remain in the ear. "Don't Be Afraid" is a little clumsy, but it's a good "stand up for yourself" song. The positivity of "Sunlight" is an obvious highpoint of the song. It may the song's strgenth. Sure, the topics tackled in Perfect Self are pretty typical, but the lyrics are written well and it's all tha t matters.

Among the sea of cliche and boring Nu-Metal who can't produce a good song to save their lives, Perfect Self is an album I needed to remember why I listen to the genre. Sure, the songs are samey, but they're well-crafted and well-played. Plus, the album is consistent and can be listened from beginning to end. There's no real reason not to try this if you're a Nu-Metal/Hard Rock junkie.

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Tracklist:

1. [Untitled Track]

2. Leave (Back Up) - 3:33

3. Don't Be Afraid - 3:18

4. Old Man - 3:19

5. Pain - 3:36

6. Steppin Away - 3:22

7. How We Stand - 2:48

8. Down From Here - 3:10

9. Sunlight - 4:04

11. Lost Your Faith - 2:31

12. Get Me Out - 3:01

13. What - 3:05

14. Closer Now - 3:05

15. Perfect Self - 3:56

Skinnee Picks:

- Leave (Back Up)

- Sunlight

- What

- Perfect Self

Breakdown:

Title: Perfect Self

Artist: Stereomud

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Hard Rock, Alternative Metal

Release Date: May 22, 2001

Record Label: Columbia

[Music] Necro - The Sexorcist

2009-04-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

What you see is what you get

There is, perhaps, a time in your life where you want to check out bad music. Where you want to see the bad side of music. As if you've been spinning Bone Machine for too long. I had that time. I could go for 50 Cent, Soulja Boy, Linkin Park or Radiohead. Too bad 50 Cent isn't that horrible, Soulja Boy is too annoying to listen to, Linkin Park are hated because it's cool to hate them and I still need to get into Radiohead. So, knowing sex and Rap don't really mix, I decided to try Necro's The Sexorcist. I knew it's going to be bad, but how bad could it really be?

Very, very bad. The Sexorcist is a painful experience. This album almost made me forget why I even listen to Rap in the first place. Anything that could've made Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., El-P, Quarashi or Eminem good rappers is not in here. Necro's rapping is clumsy and the style feels like a grade-z El-P flow, only the music is so bad you can't even think of El-P. There's also all kinds of small "booms" and piano sounds in the background. I think they're supposed to be "beats", but they're too bad to be called like that. Let's call it random background noise and finish it off.

Of course, the reason you actually want to check out the album is not because Necro may rap half the level of 50 Cent, but because the album has only one subject matter going for it: Sex. Oh wait, there's a little bit more, and that is edge play, S&M or any other new method to "experiment with sexuality". Now when I think about it, The Sexorcist isn't exactly about sex. It's not even about picking up a girl and going to bed (See also: "Foxy Foxy" by Rob Zombie). It's simply about violent sex that's supposed to be both erotic and scary. Why is there no song about having sex during a car crash?

The Sexorcist is an album that takes things to the extreme. An album that wants to shock you. The problem is, Necro doesn't have enough substance and he simply can't shock you. Having sex with knives and guns isn't shocking. It's funny because it's stupid. Necro can't make all these sex-and-gore songs into anything erotic because the focus is on being offensive and shocking without anything else. Talking about being buried between a pair of tits isn't sexy. It's not even offensive. It's simply stupid. Everybody can talk about violent sex, but making it appealing, somehow, is the real challenge.

The worst of all, however, is that The Sexorcist is simply boring. It can't even be bad enough that you'll be either amused or repulsed. Well, you do get repulsed at the first few songs. However, the songs can only be repulsive for so long before they become boring. After a few songs, you stop getting all worked up because Necro disses girls he has sex with and simply think that you've heard it all already. If it wasn't for the moaning in "The Sexpert" you couldn't tell it from other songs. "I Degrade You" and "I Remain Stiff" are pretty much the same, only "I Remain Stiff" got an idiotic hook. What makes "Piss" so memorable is how forgettable it is. I'm wait to understand why the song even exists.

At the end of it all, The Sexorcist is an album you should only listen to so you could know what bad music is. There is no other purpose for the album. Bad beats, bad lyrics, bad rapping, no vibe at all unless you're a masochist. There's so many albums that do anything this album could've done better. Beats? Public Enemy or El-P. A dark, scary vibe? Bone Machine. Anything that can actually be erotic? "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails or the Shoegaze classic Loveless. I can go on and on, but all I'll finish by saying that if you, God forbid, listen to this album, make sure you got anything good after this so your ears will function again.

Rating: 1/5 (2/10)

tracklist:

1. Who's Ya Daddy? - 3:19

2. Pussy Is My Weakness - 3:18

3. Whore - 4:07

4. Edge Play - 5:42

5. Suckadelic - 3:18

6. Ron Jeremy (Skit) - 0:30

7. You Bitches Love to Get Fucked in the Ass - 3:00

8. Piss - 1:48

9. Katsumi (Skit) - 0:18

10. Out the Pocket - 3:08

11. Birttany Andrews - 0:23

12. She's Got a Great Ass - 3:10

13. I Wanna Fuck - 2:48

14. Van Styles (Skit) - 0:21

15. We Fuck Virgins - 3:16

16. Horney Honeys - 3:30

17. Ron Jeremy Vs. Jerry Butler (Skit) - 0:52

18. I Remain Stiff 2:22

19. The Sexpert - 4:17

20. I Degrade You - 2:58

21. Vaginal Secretions - 3:29

22. Ron & Jerry (Outro) - 0:15

Skinnee Picks:

- Pussy Is My Weakness

Breakdown:

Title: Th Sexorcist

Artist: Necro

Genre: Rap

Subgenres: Dirty Rap, Underground Rap, Bad Music

Release Date: August 5, 2005

Record Label: Psycho + Logical

[Music] From Zero - My So-Called Life

2009-04-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

How nice.

I had low expectations towards this album, really. I heard From Zero played less Nu-Metal here than in One Nation Under, and I tend to get pissed when Nu-Metal bands change their sounds (although I support change). Second, My So-Called Life is simply not a very attractive title for an album. Sure, you don't judge a book by its cover, but still, an album with that name must be full of whiney angst tracks, no?

Yet it's surprising how well My So-Called Life works. Sure, this is still pretty average stuff, but good, nevertheless. From Zero now plays more alternative rock than Nu-Metal. Not Post-Grunge, they're simply not as heavy as before. Yet, it works so well. In fact, they sound much better softer than harder. Maybe I should've expected that, because the best track on One Nation Under was "The Other Side", the softest of all.

As for angst, well, the lyrics didn't change much, only they sound more mature this time. "Lines" and "Myself" tackles ordinary subjects, but they feel more mature. Like From Zero approached in a less angry, more calm attitude. That also makes them more fun and bearable to listen to, and elevates From Zero to the next level.

My So-Called Life also shows From Zero trying new tricks. Sure, "Myself" is ordinary, but something in "Lines" feels different. Maybe because of its structure. The only single "Sorry" also shows From Zero creating more interesting verses. We also have new moods. "Free Without A Struggle" and the title-track are positive and happier, especially when compared to most of the other material. The strangest of all, however, is the album closer "Believe". It's on the same positive territory of the title-track, but it brings rapping in the verses. Not only that, the rapping sounds very good. Not Mika Shinoda, but it wouldn't do any harm if the singer ever rapped more.

Despite all the good points, My So-Called Life still has some weak points, but less than the debut album. Most of the good points of the album are small details. They don't stick out. It doesn't mean the album is bad, but very good albums stick their good points out. Second, From Zero still got a little problem with hooks. I simply felt like I could change many of the hooks a little bit to make them better. To From Zero's defense, the hook are still pretty good and bearable, and the songs don't fly by like they did in One Nation Under.

While I recommend One Nation Under to fans of Nu-Metal, My So-Called Life is an album I recommend simply to everyone who needs good rock. Of course, don't come with too high expectations. This is still somewhat-ordinary stuff. Yet, everything here worths listening at least once and "Believe" can uplift anyone. So why not?

Rating: 3/5 (6/10)

Tracklist:

1. Myself - 3:27

2. Lines - 4:19

3. Sorry - 3:51

4. My So-Called Life - 3:04

5. Sold Out - 4:01

6. I Don't Care Anymore - 3:59

7. Time Of Day - 3:28

8. Drama Queen - 3:05

9. Fleeting Glimpse 4:38

10. Free Without A Struggle - 4:15

11. Believe - 3:36

Skinnee Picks:

- Lines

- My So-Called Life

- Free Without A Struggle

- Believe

Breakdown:

Artist: From Zero

Album: My So-Called Life

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Alternative Rock

Release Date: May 6, 2003

Record Label: Arista

The Thin & Invisible Line Between Ecchi & Hentai

2009-04-01T01:59:00.000-07:00

I first heard of Queen's while roaming through Animepaper. As usual, I was going through the "latest scans" in hope of finding cuteness. There was a period where scans of big-breasted warriors in extremely ecchi positions have appeared. "Caught my eye" isn't the right phrase, but it's the first one that comes to mind. Either way, I heard of Queen's Blade. And I hope to never hear of it again.

Time passes by and there were less of these pictures. Then, my friend Phanta talked about some up-and-coming Animes, and Queen's Blade was among them. Seeing how Ikki Tousen got so popular, I fear Queen's Blade is anoother Anime who will gain success thanks to big boobs (On the other hand, I don't know much about Ikki Tousen, so forgive my judgement).

More time passed by, and my Anime guru shows a nice page of up-and-coming Animes, with Queen's Blade among them. That is the point where I watch the promo for Queen's Blade. "Hentai" isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind.

WARNING: EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF WORTHLESS NUDITY

What the promo shows is basically an exercise in how far we go with nudity, without crossing to hentai. There's nothing wrong with pushing limits, but you could use some substance. Sadly, the promo doesn't show that. It's not even mindless, crazy and cute comedy like Kemko DX. I mean, the promo itself even contains more nudity than the trailer for Choke, and the film is about a sex addict.

Well, I guess I will still watch it, just for the laughs. Although I found myself constantly scrolling up and down while watching the promo. I do it everytime there's too much nudity. I guess it's gonna be a challenge. Besides, maybe I should watch a bad Anime once in a while.

Oh, the huge manatee!

[Movie] The Great Gatsby (1974)

2009-03-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

It only gets worse

Not exaclty a big fan of the original novel, yet still liking it very much, I decided to step into the movie. Sure, the adaption isn't one of the more famous adaptions (A Clockwork Orange or Fight Club) but still, why not? If I enjoyed the novel enough, why not see the characters come alive? And I could, perhaps, learn a thing or two about movies. The idea of any art is to experience it, so you'll know more. Another movie won't do any harm.

The problem with watching an adaption of a novel, is that you may have hard time seperating the novel and the film. If you can't seperate them, you might miss a great film. Sadly, The Great Gatsby isn't one of those films. Obviously, it's not Fight Club. Yet, it's a successful adaption. Everything is in the right place, right actors for the right characters and faithfulness for the novel. There isn't much to ask to give it a pass.

So the plot is the same. There's barely any change in the plot, which is a good thing. The only slight difference is that this time, there's actually more focus on the Daisy-Gatsby relaitonship. There's barely any action between Jordan and Nick. In fact, if you didn't read the novel, you will probably not know they had a mini-love affair. Or that they were supposed to have one. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot of details on Gatsby's past. If you remember the part in the novel where we get the biography of Gatsby. Well, it's not here. It has its downside, but on the other hand it lets the plot move smoothly and the father appears with his name "Gatz". Also, the eyes of T.J. Eckelburge are here and seen enough times.

T.J. Eckelburge is watching you

As for the actors, I'm really satisfied with them. My favorite was Daisy, by Mia Farrow. Some actually criticized her, but I think she simply suited her character. She has the look of the innocent, rich and beautiful, just like Diasy was supposed to look like and her overeacting was actually necessary. In the novel, Fitzgerald always used different words when she spoke to show her emotional gushes. It's shown in the film in a very good way. I wasn't really satisfied with Robert Redford in Gatsby's shoes though. I always imagined Gatsby as bigger. I guess because of the name. Other than that, Bruce Dern was very lively as Tom, Lois Chiles portrayed Jordan and suited her cynical and bored character while Sam Waterston was good as Nick Carraway, or "the guy who just stands there".

The directors were also very good at capturing the atmosphere. You can tell a lot of hard work was put into the clothes of the people. Those who like looking at the clothing of people will really enjoy this part of The Great Gatsby. Also, don't you think they went easy on Gatsby's parties. Not at all. His parties were as bombastic as they were in the novel and the people in them were also dressed extravagantly. In fact, the crew probably worked hard on their customs at least almost as they worked on the characters. In contrast to this, the valley of ashes is as depressing and poor as it was supposed to be. With Eckelburge's billboard gaining a good amount of screen time.

All in all, The Great Gatsby is a successful adaption and a pretty good film. It isn't a masterpiece, but definitely worths watching at least once. Those who are into this style of films, culture and style will be satisfied. Fans of the novel may be splitted into two camps, but I fans should watch this film if they want to see their characters come alive. I mean, when an adaption doesn't ruin the book, it doesn't have any choice but be good.

Rating: 3/5 (6/10)

Breakdown:

Title: The Great Gatsby

Director: Jack Clayton

Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston

Genre: Romantic Drama

Running Time: 144 Min.

Release Date: March 24, 1974

Based On: The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

[Movie] Bedtime Stories (2008)

2009-03-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

Not Fight Club

Adam Sandler is one of those actors I seem know by watching movies, without even knowing he acted in them. I mean, I first saw him in 50 First Dates which was a great romantic comedy. Then, he got his Jew on in You Don't Mess With The Zohan, which may be the catalyst of Victor's sex addiction. Now, stepping into Bedtime Stories, by Disney, definitely makes me wonder what will Adam do. He's charismatic and he can pull off a good joke. He can also drop to new lows. Well, you'll never know if you don't watch.

First of all, Bedtime Stories is a family movie. Don't expect the dirty humor of Zohan. Expect an innocent plot and a happy ending. It's not a reason to write a movie off (Unless if it's not your genre). Now, we tend to judge family films by the message they can give to the kids. Lucky for Bedtime Stories, it got it. In fact, in this jaded age, it's good to have some things to show us some positivity.

The plot follows Skeeter (Adam Sandler). He's a simple but dedicate worker in a hotel. The current manager promised his dad that one day, his son will be the manager. Only time has passed and it didn't happen yet. Now, Skeeter needs to babysit his niece and nephew, children of his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox), switching shifts with her friend Jill (Keir Russell). Along with that, he competes for being the manager of the new hotel against Kendall (Guy Pearce). During the babysitting, he tells his niece and nephew bedtime stories, which eventually come true in Skeeter's life.

Whether the plot is original or not, I still like it. It's a good idea for a family movie. The risk of it is that it can lead to a smooth progression without any bumps. Lucky for the crew, there are enough bumps along the way and the ending, despite being the regular happy ending, is satisfying. Also, along the way there's enough humor that will probably appeal to older people who lost their taste for this kind of stuff. No, no bathroom humor this time from Sandler. But the brilliant wordplay of "It burns" and the "Communist books" will probably something older people will understand.

As for the actors, they all did their jobs. Adam did got a little bit dirty there and there. Not surprising. But he didn't got too far. Other than that, he played his role well without straying too far from his character, but staying clean enough for the family. Other actors did their job fairly well too. The niece and nephew were adorable and my favorite was Russell Brand, who played Mickey, Skeeter's buddy. Mickey was supposed to be that crazy side-character who will be a catalyst for jokes. He definitely did that role well. Pretty much all his screen time was filled with laughs.

When you go down to it, Bedtime Stories is a fairly good family film. We're not talking about mind-blowing plots or great acting, sure. But it's not a family film that feels too unoriginal to be entertaining. It's a light and easy movie, and it's very good at being that. If you ever somewhere "gave up" on family films, give this a shot. Or maybe get this for your kids.

Rating: 3/5 (6/10)

Breakdown:

Title: Bedtime Stories

Director: Adam Shankman

Screenplay: Tim Herlihy

Starring: Adam Sandler, Guy Pearce, Keri Russell

Genre: Family, Comedy, Fantasy

Running Time: 99 min.

Release Date: December 25, 2008

[Music] From Zero - One Nation Under

2009-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Is there a point here?

Have you ever solved a mystery? I have. Maybe it wasn't that much of a mystery, but still. When I first heard a song by From Zero, it sparked interest. From what I've heard, From Zero is somekind of a generic Nu-Metal band that got everything right for a perfectly average album. Something simple and enjoyable. However, From Zero wasn't very popular. Which surprised me. I mean, they weren't even among bands like Nonpoint or Flaw which are pretty popular among the Nu-Metal crowd. Why?

Listening to One Nation Under, I quickly understood why. The band itself wasn't the problem. Far from it. The band sounds great. They sound like Linkin Park without the rapping, but they sound so good at being that. The problem is, despite From Zero got the right sound, they don't have the song-crafting skill. One Nation Under doesn't have enough good songs to capture the listener.

It it wasn't for the charisma this band has, many songs here will fall flat. "Circumstances" just flies by. It's not bad. It simply flies by and quickly forgotten. If a different band played it, like Lifer, I would start to reflect why it even exists. "Undeniable" and "Suffering" are in the same box. They fly by. Not horrible. Can be decent. But simply don't mean much. The worst of all, however, is "Jeer". If there's something the vocalist needs to understand, is that he can't scream. "Jeer" grinds slow, and with those horrible screams, it's simply not good.

Not everything is dark under there no. Not at all. As I've already said, From Zero got enough charisma to carry the weaker songs aside from the horrible "Jeer". The better songs, however, are Nu-Metal magic. Simply put. "Smack" is a great opener with a great hook. The single "Check Ya" got a clunky chorus but it's verses and bridge-before-chorus are just great. The higher points of the albums include "The Other Side", which is a slower and gentler song yet is beautifully crafted. "Horrors", however, is the album's highest point (Well, hard to choose between it and "The Other Side"). It's also a more Hip-Hop-influenced song, and can definitely wake you up if you fell asleep in the middle of the album.

As for ideas, From Zero don't have many. It's ordinary Nu-Metal without any additions. A small problem is that plenty of time From Zero plays "hard" and pretty fast, like in the verses of "Smack". This style of playing just sounds bad with the band's style and the vocalist. The vocalist showcases on "The Other Side" and "Smack" and he's a much better than some guy who's getting all hard on a music album.

One Nation Under is pretty much a hint of an upcoming band. There's more potential here than actual quality. But that's fine. The album will still be spinning in the stereo's of anyone who went with the Nu-Metal craze. Only it will leave people wishing they had better stuff, but from the same band.

Rating: 2.5/5 (5/10)

Tracklist:

1. Smack - 3:19

2. Check Ya - 3:21

3. Erase - 3:28

4. The Other Side - 4:32

5. Circumstances - 3:33

6. Jeer - 4:10

7. Horrors - 3:57

8. Tomorrow's Light - 3:41

9. Suffering - 4:18

10. Undeniable - 3:15

11. Gone - 4:21

Skinnee Picks:

- Smack

- The Other Side

- Horrors

Breakdown:

Artist: From Zero

Album: One Nation Under

Genre: Rock

Subgenre: Nu-Metal

Release Date: May 15, 2001

Label: Arista

[Book] Kurt Vonnegut - Bluebeard

2009-03-22T09:54:00.001-07:00

V Is For Vonnegut

Most of the time, when you hear about Vonnegut, you hear about Slaughterhouse-Five. You will also hear about Cat's Cradle or Breakfast Of Champions. Yet, here I am and the first Vonnegut book I reviewe is Bluebeard, which is considered one of his lesser novels. I didn't even choose Mother Night or The Sirens Of Titan. Why? The answer is simple: I read Slaughterhouse long time ago and just finished Bluebeard. Don't worry. I promise more Vonnegut. Someday.

So Bluebeard is a novel about an Armenian painter called Rabo Karabekian (Even after finishing the novel I had problems with his last name). The novel is written as an autobiography. In fact, it's pretty much an autobiography of a fictional character. However, the writing style and time-jumping turn Bluebeard into a long rambling, even worse than almighty The Catcher In The Rye.

There's basically a few things that are common between Slaughterhouse and Bluebeard. They both lack a certain timeline for the events, they are both close to a genocide (the Armenian genocide this time) and both got the great voice and humor of Mr. Vonnegut. However, this is where it ends. The first and main reason is that Slaughterhouse is insane, makes no sense and takes you to an adventure. Bluebeard, on the other hand, is calmer and relaxed. While Rabo basically tells you chunks and chunks of the story, seperated so you basically stopped trying to follow, he doesn't have the angry tone Holden got. However, he is still sharp. He even fantasizes about what will happen if his name gets into the dictionary. It was definitely one of the better jokes.

If I'm already talking Rabo, than I have to resort to mentioning Catcher again. That's because both Holden and Rabo turn themselves into the center of their novels. Rabo is an excellent character. Not necessarily an angry and souring antihero but not some guy with extreme talents (Actually, there's a guy here who got extreme talents. He commits suicide and you know it pretty early). Rabo feels like a simple, yet full character. A character with a background that doesn't try to be too bombastic and dramatic. Aside from that, Rabo joins many fabulous characters who have one common quality: They're lonely, either by choice or not. Rabo is more of a hermit by choice. An old man who decided to step back and rest, yet without too much contempt or something. A great character which I'll remember for a long time.

There isn't a whole lot of bad things to say about Bluebeard. It's an excellent study of a character, and definitely got a deeper protagonist than a plot. Yet, Bluebeard doesn't pack the punch Slaughterhouse packed, but that's it. If you dig deeper, you could see the novel drags a bit there and there. But most of the time, it's good, but not good enough.

So why read this novel? If you like characters and studying them. In all honesty, Bluebeard wasn't that much of a satire and doesn't feel like it has something to say. It doesn't feel like somebody got bored and wrote random chunks of plot. It's not made of a bunch of stories sticked together. It's simple a character study. As if Rabo could appear in a different novel with a serious plot, and this book would serve as a "side book" to understand him better (Actually, he appeared in Breakfast Of Champions or so I heard. But he wasn't a main hero or something). In the end, Bluebeard worths reading and far from a waste of time. A good book to add to your library. But read Slaughterhouse first, please.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Breakdown:

Title: Bluebeard

Author: Kurt Vonnegut

First Published: 1987

Genre: Novel, Comedy/Black Comedy, Autiobiography

[Music] Default - One Thing Remains

2009-03-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

One thing remains... and that is, a door?

Ok, fine, Post-Grunge isn't that much of a genre. Many bands sound similar and not many can offer you anything unique (Some of them do, mostly lesser-known ones). That doesn't mean that among the sea of unoriginality, there's nothing to listen to. If there's one thing Post-Grunge does best, is primitive, easy music that's just fun to listen to. There's nothing wrong with some catchy and simple music for entertainment. However, after you choose you want entertainment, you need to look at the right place. Many Post-Grunge bands may lose you midway through the album. One Thing Remains is able to keep your attention all through the eleven tracks.

If you've heard Default's previous albums, The Fallout or Elocation, you might've noticed the band is a little sloppy. Sure, "Deny" or "Throw It All Away" were highlights of the said albums, but something in the band felt a little sloppy. Like they need to get themselves together. Well, people tend to complain artists get worse as years go by. On One Thing Remains, Default feels alive. Not only the songs are just plain better - even if they were played in the style of The Fallout/Elocation, the album just packs a much harder punch. That's true considering some songs here are harder and faster like the title-track or "Hiding From The Sun".

As with regular Post-Grunge, there isn't a lot of ideas. "Beautiful Flower" is catchy but feels like it was already written. "Count On Me" is straight-up Nickelback. However, between 4-line hooks like that of "Found My Way Out", many songs actually seems to try to creat more interesting hooks, such as "I Can't Win" or the opening "All Is Forgiven". Plus, as I already mentioned, the title-track and "Hiding From The Sun" got a faster pace. The title-track, especially, is only two minutes and fifty seconds and can actually be a little confusing. However, the more creative appraoch only enchant the songs. In the end, One Thing Remains is basically 11 radio-rock hits all together. It's a hell of a ride.

There is a little weakness on the album. First of all, One Thing Remains is above-average Post-Grunge but nothing more than. It doesn't break enough ground to become more that, unlike Hot Sauce Johnson's first album. Second, Default isn't the band you listen to for guitar riffs. I don't think many people who listen to Default fall in love with their riffs. To Default's defense, the guitars aren't bad at all. They're actually pretty good and attract a little attention in the title-track and "I Can't Win". However, One Thing Remains relies on its hooks. And it got the hooks, so I can't complain.

I still feel a little guilty giving this album such a high score, but I can't help it. I'm not going to resist music because it's "not cool enough" for some people. This is obviously not Beck, Faith No More or Rage Against The Machine. But for how long can you listen to the same thing? Music can serve many purposes. Entertainment is one of them. If you're looking for good entertainment, One Thing Remains is the address. This album has more shelf-life than many other Post-Grunge albums. Too bad it didn't got Default more fame.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

tracklist:

1. All Is Forgiven - 4:07

2. I Can't Win - 3:47

3. It Only Hurts - 3:42

4. The Way We Were - 3:28

5. Count On Me - 4:09

6. Hiding From The Sun - 3:31

7. Beautiful Flower - 3:47

8. One Thing Remains - 2:56

9. The Memory Will Never Die - 4:23

10. Get Out Of This Alive - 3:01

11. Found My Way Out - 3:46

Skinnee Picks:

- I Can't Win

-Count On Me

- Get Out Of This Alive

- Found My Way out

Breakdown:

Artist: Default

Album: One Thing Remains

Genre: Rock

Subgenres: Post-Grunge

Release Date: October 11, 2001

Record Label: TVT

[Book] Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451

2009-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

I just picked a random cover, really

In my objective to read some shorter novels, I went towards Fahrenheit 451. I actually heard of Fahrenheit long time ago. Back then, I barely read anything about it but thought it was some ubercomplex stuff and it's a huge Bible. I was dead wrong. Fahrenheit 451 is a short and quick read. But it's a short read that worths more than the time you'll spend on it. While Ray lacks storytelling skills, he got a great idea and a good plot. So even without brilliant storytelling that made Catcher in the Rye what it is, Fahrenheit still kicks you in the face.

If you want me to compare this to anything, I'll compare to 1984, but that's because I'm yet to read Brave New World. Now, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are quite different. The latter talks about a society controlled by pain. The former is about a society which fears feeling bad so badly and looks down on thinking so badly, they went as far as to burn books. Well, nobody wants Holden Caulfield saying a few negative words on sex, no? And nobody wants something like The Giver around, right? (On the other hand, The Giver likes sex.)

So in this society, the firemen burn books (Not stop fire). We follow a fireman named Guy Montag. Already in the first few pages, Guy Montag meets a girl who challenges the society. See? Ray doesn't waste any time. Already in the beginning, you can guess where the plot is moving to. Thankfully, the plot is constantly moving in Fahrenheit. The only times when it somewhat stops is when some character gives a speech. The speech parts, I must say, kind of shoves the ideas in front of you. Mostly, novels should show you ideas more subtly (like in Invisible Man). The good thing is the speeches are still fun to read. They would probably fit a non-fiction book better though.

The weakness of Fahrenheit 451 is that Ray Bradbury isn't much of a storyteller. Sure, he got some great ideas, the plot is very good, and Guy Montag is more interesting than Winston Smith. Still, the only problem is the fact that Ray isn't one of those writers you'll remember for writing a good sentence. Also, along with the third-person point of view, the descriptions are sometimes actually feel contrived. It would've been much better if Fahrenheit 451 was in first-person point of view, even if it had to add more 50 pages or so. At least the story doesn't really slow down and Fahrenheit finishes before Ray's writing really starts to bother you and you're left with a good story and a good idea.

So in the end, Fahrenheit 451 is a Thinking Man's novel that doesn't require too much thinking to understand but definitely has a few things to say. It's a novel I'd pretty much recommend to anyone. The good thing about short novels is that one can finish them quickly and not get tired, even if not liking the style. Another great thing is that Fahrenheit 451 is still relevant. Sure, books aren't banned yet. But doesn't political correctness start to take over? Also, some say books are "socially" banned. Remember when you told some guy you're hobby is reading books, and he said you "don't know how to have fun"? Expect something similar in this great novel.

Rating: 4/5 (8/10)

Breakdown:

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury

First Published: 1953

Genre: Novel, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Future-Vision, Society-Is-Wrong

[Anime] Akane-iro Ni Somaru Saka

2009-03-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

Cuteness overloaded

It's amazing how some things give you so little to say. That's the case with Akane-iro Ni Somaru Saka (For the rest of the review, I will call it Akasaka). It's cute. The plot is decent. It's entertaining and not long enough. It's cute. There is a climax. There's nothing remotely special here. There's nothing bad that's worth pointing out. I'll still try to get a review together.

Capitalism

So where do we start? Junichi Nagase rescues a cute girl (Yuuhi Katagiri) from some bullies. Later, he finds out that cute Katagiri is transferred to his school. How nice. Things mess up and Junichi steals cute Katagiri's first kiss. Whoa. Things get more messy when the parents of Junichi and cute Katagiri alreay prepared to get them married! Sounds like Seto No Hanayome or Kemeko DX? I agree. Only Akasaka has a smaller dose of insanity. It's still there, but a smaller dose. Oh, and Junichi got a hot sister called Minato.

Because Akasaka is based on an H-Game (*puke*) expect to see bombastic character designs. They're definitely there. In fact, people commented on the crazy haircuts and how in real life you can't actually have them. I agree. Especially Mitsuki Siina's hair. Anyway, lucky for us there isn't a crapload of ecchi in Akasaka. There are a few situations of this kind here, though. Mostly to show us cute Katagiri's tsundere side. Lucky for the creators, cute Katagiri didn't spend most of her screen time kicking Junichi's ass. So yeah, she could be more than a regular tsundere.

Socialism

Most of all the way through, Akasaka is a good romantic comedy. It can bring up good and funny moments that still got obvious romantic overtones. However, as I mentioned, Akasaka got it's little bit of insanity. It's insanity is centered over a character called Nagomi, Junichi & Minato's weird parents and... I forgot. Either way, I stopped trying to figure out these moments. They were the weakest of the series anyway. If the creators focused on these moments, the series would suffer greatly for that. They didn't focus. Therefore, it's simply a small flaw. It's also the series biggest flaw.

So when we go down to it, Akasaka is plain good romantic comedy and nothing more than that. There's just not anything that can be said other than that. Cute characters, decent plot, climax and everything else. One could say it actually renders Akasaka worthless. But Akasaka ends after executing all of it's ideas, and not starting to drag. Watch this if you want something in the style of Da Capo or School Days (not counting the ending). In the end, Katagiri is cute.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Breakdown:

Title: Akane-iro Ni Somaru Saka

No. Of Episodes: 12

Gender: Romantic comedy

Type: TV

Studio: TNK, Marvelous Entertainment

Aired: 2008

[Book] F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby

2009-03-07T03:21:00.000-08:00

I'm still a newbie to reading. So I'm reading all kinds of classics and stuff. After finishing the long-ass Invisible Man which was great, I decided to read some shorter novels for a while. My first target was The Great Gatsby which was laying in my school library. Considering many claim it's similar to The Catcher In The Rye. After finishing it, I found it more Of Mice and Men, because of the ending. But as a whole, it was a damn good novel and story.

The story revolves around Jay Gatsby. However, it is told from the eyes of a guy called Nick Carraway. The truth is Nick isn't much of a character, and doesn't do much. He won't tell you about himself either. You probably know the narrators of Invisible Man or Fight Club better. Either way, Nick goes to New York and live in a place called West Egg (There's also an East Egg nearby). Right next door to him lives this Jay Gatsby guy, who throws great parties where random people who don't know how this Gatsby even looks step in freely. It is later discovered that Gatsby had an affair with Nick's cousine, Daisy. After that, it's a downward spiral where not many good things happen.

Something feels a little strange in The Great Gatsby. It tries to be another cynical and no-hope novel like As I Lay Dying. The problem is, it just doesn't feel like that. I understand it's supposed to show the dark side of the high-class people. However, because the narrative is not judgemental, and the story is mostly told as a third-person narration could tell it, it feels like an ordinary story. You can tell when it gets darker. The right atmosphere in the end comes. But let's say I wouldn't put it next to more "shocking" stuff. Oh wait, I guess that's why I found it in my school library.

Is The Great Gatsby a classic many people claim it is? In my book, it isn't. But hey, how many novels will I read and claim they are classics? Despite the fact it isn't a classic for me, I can't say it's overrated. After all, I really did like this book. It didn't really bore me. The plot fitted greatly on the short number of pages and Gatsby is a great tragic hero. Read The Great Gatsby if you'r in need of a short novel. The language is pretty high though. This isn't really Catcher In The Rye.

Rating: 3.5/5 (7/10)

Breakdown:

Title: The Great Gatsby

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

First Published: April 10, 1925

Genre: Novel, Downward Spiral, Modernism?

[Anime] Kanon (2006)

2009-02-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

Cuteness is the law

Being a Worshiper Of Cuteness (W.O.C.) and a big fan of AIR, which is my personal masterpiece, you can say I had great expectations towards Kanon. Well, I already knew I would like it. I was damn right. Of course, Kanon isn't AIR. After all, AIR is AIR. But hey, it's stupid to constantly comparing Kanon to AIR. Because at the end, they're similar in style and quality.

Uguu~

The plot is hard to digest. I still need to figure it out. For now, this basically what you need to know: Yuuichi used visit a town where his cousin lives. Seven years ago, something happened in this town. Now, Yuuichi is back from the grave, or something, and goes to live with his cousin. He can't really remember what happened seven years ago. Too bad some people remember him and what happened. Plus, Big Brother is watching. Actually, no, I was watching.

So it goes. Yuuichi meets people he doesn't remember, learn stuff about them, the ark finishes and a new ark starts. Or something. The whole thing is alot more complex. I have troubles summarizing the plot of AIR, and I have troubles summarizing the plot of Kanon. However, Kanon is more realistic and closer to reality. It's also longer. The result is a slower pace. Sometimes, you're really sick of waiting for the answers. But hey, these are small faults. After all, Kanon walks the safe path of telling greatly a great story and having great characters.

The Sleeping Dummy

If there's one strong point in the series, it's the characters. Sure, the Kanon girls are adorable in scary ways. They offer more than looks though, and an obvious lack of worthless Ecchi situation. They're also far from stereotypical, save for Mai and Nayuki (Silent tough girl/Sleepy dummy). Even then, both Mai and Nayuki showed enough depth you simply have to love them. From the energetic Makoto and Ayu, Nayuki the sleeping dummy, Mai the silent tough-girl to Shiori, the gentle and polite one, you will simply love them all. Side characters who are important-Sayuri, Kitagawa, Kaori and Akiko will also get you attached to them.

So in the end, Kanon got all the right materials for a good Anime. And damn sure it's good. Aside from some slow moments (Nothing is perfect) it's pretty hard to notice any flaws. The character are appallingly cute and are still deep. The storyline is great and so is the storytelling. It's just plain good and a great heir to almighty AIR. I just wish Yuuichi didn't look so similar to Kyon.

Rating: 4.5/5 (9/10)

Breakdown:

Title: Kanon (2006)

No. Of Episodes: 24

Genre: Drama, Romance

Type: TV

Studio: KEY

Aired: 2006-2007

Catch-22 Live: War Is Trangressive

2009-02-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Jordan wants to sue Israel for "war crimes" against the Palestinians.

You heard correctly. These guys, who probably give their citizens less freedom than the freedom Israel gives the Arabs (Hamas rules over Gaza. Blame them for a change). What is funny is that all countries that a TRUE genocide occurred on their soil, are blaming Israel for genocide. First it was Turkey, who had the Armenian genocide. Now it's Jordan.

"Jordan committed no genocide! You're spreading hate! You prove you don't care about Arabs and Muslims!"

Tell that to my man Phanta.

Ever heard of Black September? Great. See, what's so ironic is that on Black September, the autonomy of Palestinians in Jordan got squashed. Despite the differences, they're both Arabs. So... Hold on, this is pathetic. That is like if now Israel decided to remove all Yemeni Jews. They might not be Ashkenazi Jews, but they're still Jews. If I expect a country to squash an autonomy of some certain kinds of people, they should be real outsiders. Hindus in a Christian country. Arabs in a Jewish country. Palestinians in an Arab country? It just doesn't make sense. By the way I don't support prosecution. Unless it's those idiotic terrorists. Then we do it before they can kill us.

Aside from that, anyone who's blaming Israel for the situation in Gaza is pretty blind. Huge stacks of money that only rappers brag about reached Gaza. The thing is, when it reaches Gaza, it reaches Hamas' pockets. The richer Hamas gets, the powerful they get. The powerful they get, so does the global terror. Alas, the world believes there must be a reason why they hate them and they could reason with them. You couldn't reason with Stalin, Hitler or Mussolini. You can't reason with Hamas, Hezbollah or Al-Qada. If this is "demonizing" Muslims, then all Muslims are indeed terrorists. But frankly, I don't believe that.

Next week: Sudan officials criticize Israel for the worst genocide in mankind's history. Stalin is crying at his grave because people are yet to give him his credit.

The People's Cube-ARRIVED

2009-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Actually, it arrived on Monday. Too bad my father came with the notice after the post office was closed. The day after it, it was the elections-and I will make a post about them later. Because of the elections, post office was closed again. We ended up picking it today. How is it? I love that stuff. I know it's small, but I like it. It's just fun to have that. I'm too tired now to post, though. I have a test tommorow so I can't talk much. Here's a few pictures (phone camera):

Catch-22 Live: A Politically Correct Jew

2009-02-07T03:26:00.000-08:00

Yousof Al-Khattab was a Jew. He decided to follow political correctness. So what did he do? Converted to Islam. Now, I don't have problem with people converting to religion. Freedom of belief, after all. Too bad when Yousof converted, he couldn't simply follow his religion even closely. He had to look up to the extremists. Those same assholes who claim they represent Muslims and then preach killing Hindus/Jews/Christians/Pagans/whatever. And this is where I quote my friend: "They ruined our religion". These assholes spawn 2 things I don't like: Extremists, and Muslims who are ashamed of themselves because of the extremists.

By the way, I bet if an Arab leader will come to make peace with Israel-don't expect world support for him.

Now, here's the article about Yousof

As you can see, Yousof gets angry at the Jewish institutions' funding of Israel. Say, isn't it obvious the Jewish institutions will support the Jewish state? And Kach is long dead, so don't give me any "they're racist" bullshit. Leiberman isn't the prime minister yet too.

"When an atrocity is done like what was done in Gaza, indiscriminately killing women and children, we know who the source is,"

I'm not going to comment on this. It's all Newspeak. Don't believe any of it. The true genocide is in Darfur. Where anyone from Muslims to Africans die.

Oh, and Mr. Yousof is the CEO of a site called RevolutionMuslim.com. The site calls for Muslims to dominate the world. Oh wait, let me correct that. It calls for corrupt assholes who do crimes in the name of Islam to dominate the world. You know, who needs a peaceful leader when you got someone who keeps stealing your food and keeps asking for more? There's a damn good reason why the West Bank is in a much better situation than Gaza. Obviously, the PA cares more about the Palestinians than their money or destroying the Jewish state. Also, those same extremists killed Anwar Sadat who was able to reclaim the whole goddamn Sinai through negotiation. We also had a similar case with Yitchak Rabin though. Atleast almost everyone hates Yigal Amir here.

"He told WND he supports Hamas' suicide bombings against Israelis, including attacks targeting cafes, restaurants and nightclubs.

"There is no such thing as Israeli civilian," he said. "I pray to Allah for the complete destruction of Israel.""

If this guy supports suicide bombings so much, why can't he blow himself up? The world would be a much better place. Not to mention the blatant bigotry: "There is no such thing as Israel civilian". Isn't it racism? I will get the politically correct assholes now saying "But he's only against Israelis! Not Jews!". Again, Newspeak. Oh, and my friend prays to Allah that Hamas will get destroyed and stop taking away the aid that's supposed to reach the Palestinian civilians.

"You can put me in jail for the rest of my life. As long as I got that information out there for people, I did something. I didn't sit on my behind."

Like almost every extremist, he will cry "HUMAN RIGHTS!". I wonder why only the criminals can get away with anything by screaming "HUMAN RIGHTS!".

"It just attracts Drudge, the JAWA report, Atlas Shrugs (blog), and Robert Spencer (Jihad Watch blog) and just other whining little queers and stuff like that."

Queer as a clockwork orange.

The final proof of political correctness is this:

But he celebrated what he said is his website's non-Muslim following of "progressive Americans, socialists, anarchists, communists ... people who can really contribute, they give us dialogue and send us nice e-mails."

Yeah, those idiots who somehow view the extremists as the victims. Those fools will excuse anything as "resistance" and will barely grieve for victims of their own ideas. Yes, Israel DOES NOT celebrates the death of Palestinians. I don't think we even celebrate the death of Hamas leaders.

Again and again, these assholes keep coming. See, the West is strong and got great weapons, so it defends itself against the extremists. The extremists love attention so they become martyrs, causing the attacks to harm any other Muslim and get away with a bundle of cash.

"Jews bleed and Gaza's fucked-up. And Hamas gets away with all of that."

Newspeak Against Israel

2009-02-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

Newspeak, according to Babylon dictionary is:
"manner of official speech which serves political purposes by hiding or twisting the truth (coined in George Orwell's book, "1984")"

Now, at the RonMossad blog, there were some quotes against the previous operation (Cast Lead). Feeling political today, I thought I'd make a small dissection of them and show that some of them are, in fact, exaggeration.

These attacks by Israeli military forces which endanger UN facilities acting as places of refuge are totally unacceptable and must not be repeated. Equally unacceptable are any actions by militants which endanger the Palestinian civilian population.
-Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General

Why does Hamas have to shoot from UN schools? The Gaza strip isn't big, but there's at least a little room for these antisemites to shoot their missiles. Also, I personally think shooting random missiles at random towns and cities for 2 years is more unacceptable than an operation to stop these missiles. I know they barely do any danger. They still threaten the citizens, and Israel sat back for too long. Also, I don't give a damn about the last line. There is no explicit mention of Hamas and the fact they invited this on themselves.

The Bureau of the Committee demands that Israel end, immediately and unconditionally, its brutal military campaign against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
-The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

"Brutal"... What a beautiful word... Keep it to describe metal. We all know the IDF could be harder than that. Not that I think they shouldv'e been. I want to focus on the second bold statement, though. Let's put this clearly: The IDF operation was against Hamas. Palestinians got hurt, but they got hurt because in a war civilians get hurt. That's the harsh reality of war. If the IDF was truly against the Palestinians, they wouldn't drop leaflets or call them so they'll know when a bomb drops. Why do they do that? To minimize civilian damage. Besides, Israel treated Palestinians in hospitals (under threat by Hamas!). If being against Hamas is being against the Palestinians then not agreeing with Stalin's policies is against communism.

Look at the conditions in Gaza: more and more, it resembles a big concentration camp.
-Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace

If Gaza is a concentration camp, then I should live in a house made of solid gold. Aside from exploiting the Holocaust, Gaza isn't as bad as people think. Sure it's in a worse condition than before, but if someone else ruled the area it would've been in a better condition. I don't know, maybe someone who doesn't vow to destroy Israel and kill the Jews?

This always surprised me. Why can't any American politician criticize Israel in any way for their behavior?
-Jon Stewart

This always surprised me. Why don't you hear about Muslims condemning the terror? Oh wait, their leaders aren't the most tolerant people. Although with all honesty I don't know much about Arab countries to seriously comment. Either way, I believe Americans witnessed 9/11. Don't give me your crackpot conspiracies.

Be prepared for a unique surprise, you will be either killed or kidnapped and will suffer mental illness from the horrors we will show you.
-Izzedin Al Qassam Brigades

If I tell you I'm still not going to think this guy represents all Muslims, will you consider me enlighten? Probably not. Personally, I wouldn't be happy if a Jew said it. That's why I hate Kach. Other than that, I don't see any attempt in peace here. Only attempts to send us to Room 101.

And finally, my favorite:
The Holocaust, that is what is happening right now in Gaza
-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

So easy to attack Jews in their sensitive spot. I love this. I'm a little tired now, but I'll try to dissect this. First of all, here's some more exploitation of the Holocaust. Second, the numbers don't match. At worst, 1500 Palestinians died including Hamas men. It can't be compared to the 6 million, let alone the total number of victims (Jews weren't the only victims of the Holocaust). Besides, the number in Darfur - 300,000 (Probably more) is much closer. Third, the Holocaust was systematic elimination of people for who they are. As I've already said, a Holocaust against the Palestinians would've been much more systematic and would've targeted civilians.

I can already see the comments. Conspiracy theories aren't good arguments. Either way, I should've been an apologist in the last line but I won't. Instead, I'll take a picture from The People's Cube to end this post on a bright note:

The People's Cube-ORDERED

2009-01-31T11:39:00.000-08:00

Someday soon I'll make a longer post about The People's Cube. Right now, all I say is that I ordered the Obama Poster Playing Cards and the Cube itself. I post this to see how long will pass 'till it arrives.

For now, I'll show you guys the ma

nual for The People's Cube:

Peace, love and cuteness.

So I finished 1984 yesterday

2009-01-31T04:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I finished George Orwell's famous novel 1984. If you're not familar with it... Not good. It's one of the famous novels ever. The word "Newspeak" is on that Babylon program and even Wiktionary features Newspeak words (It featrues much less Nadsat words from A Clockwork Orange). Not to mention Wikipedia contains full articles on doublethink and Ingsoc

Anyway, how it was?

First of all, in the classic battle of Animal Farm vs. 1984, I choose Animal Farm. I liked the storyline more. What I want to focus on her, however, is the Anti-Sex League. It bothered me. Why? Because it's outdated as fuck. In these days, there's almost a cult of personality for sex. Once, it was probably a bad thing not to be married or have a girlfriend. These days, it feels like if you're not a virgin people will feel sorry for you. Just like how the movie critic Roger Ebert said there are 18-years old who complain about being a virgin.

Call me a hypocrite for my love of cute Anime girls. But in all honestly, I do think we're in a little trouble if in places like AVEN it still feels hard to criticize sex. Seriously, if we criticize everything from fast good through political correct and human nature itself (Lord of the Flies) why can't sex be criticized?

No, I'm not calling for sex to be criminalized. I'm just a little pissed. I don't respect my sexuality nor have respect for the whole intercourse. Is it *wrong*?

It's still a pretty cool novel though.

Welcome to Skinnee Land

2009-01-31T00:28:00.000-08:00

So, I just opened a blog. Why? To ramble. I need somewhere to talk about crap. This is a good place, it seems. This blog will obviously be around me interests-music, Anime, movies, politics,books, and similar crap.

As for my name, just call me Skinnee and that's it. I adopted that nickname thanks to the band 2 Skinnee J's. Anyway I'm a 14-years old from Israel. As I pointed before, I love music. The genre varies. It tends to be somewhere between rock and rap, but it always expands. As for movies... I need to watch more. I prefer comedies and action. My favorite movies are Terminator 2, PowerPuff Girls, Osmosis Jones and Star Wars IV. This reminds me I also love cartoons. I don't think I'll have alot of time to talk about them, but I love them. I also love Anime. I LOVE LOVE LOVE 'em. Especially, cute Anime girls. It's an obsession of mine, so I might go on fanboy rampages. If you want to know what is my model of cuteness, then it's Apricot Sakuraba (nicknamed Rico)from Galaxy Angel.

Books... I haven't read many, yet. I already established some favorites-The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. I think I'm looking for more cynical first-person books. And in politics I don't have a clear opinion. I will mostly comment on events. I got some time before getting truly involved in politics.

So... welcome! I hope you'll enjoy reading if I will continue this (I hope so, I really want to). However, do me a favor. If you disagree with me, don't start getting angry and offended on the comments. I might get hateful and lose my mind on posts, but I'd like to keep the comments civil. My comments, too.

Peace, love and cuteness!