In My Head
So everyone gets songs stuck in their head once in a while. Sometimes its cool, sometimes its...well, awful. I've had some pretty terrible songs stuck in my head before - Britney's toxic, those 3 Euro guys dancing on an airplane...and more. But for the last 4 days I've had whats got to be the worst song EVER stuck in my head. And it wont go away!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jl_0p8agmY
Posted by illogicist at 3:17 AM
Ramadhan Kareem!
Ramadhan Kareem All!Have to admit, ramadhan really crept up on my today. I'm not ready for it at all, physically, mentally, spiritually. Just hope I can make the most of it. I've been unsettled for quite a while and moving into my new apartment and starting the new year, theres still a lot to do. I just hope Ramadhan doesnt affect me, or all this affect my ramadhan.Again, ramadhan kareem!
Posted by illogicist at 1:01 PM
quick update: v. busy, will update soon. No net connection at home though, and not for a while.Why are all the lights going off...? Gotta run it seems :S
Posted by illogicist at 1:44 PM
Im a Slave for YOU Baby
NP - Mike Jones - Cadillac on 22s
Im a slave for two things.
Firstly, the weather. I realise that I'm very sensitive to the weather. I dont know if its true for all people, but if thats the case, then I cant understand why anyone would want to live in the UK. When it rains, or its cold and windy and terrible, then IM terrible. The whole day will be depressing and awful and I'll want to go to sleep and not wake up. Everyone around me will be irritating and smelly and ugly. But when the sun is out, and its a beautiful day, then everything is great. My spirits soar, I feel like I'm the king of the world and I can do anything. Everyone is wonderful and good looking and happy. Its actually really surprising how much the weather can affect how I feel.
I used to the master of my music, but now my music is my master. When I'm listening to sad depressing stuff, I'll be pretty down. Aggressive music doesnt make me angry, but it makes me more energetic. Happy, uplifting stuff makes me feel...well, happy and uplifted. And some songs are just undescribable. Its not the words, you see - lyrics are just lyrics. Beautiful or generic, its how they SOUND thats more important to me. For that reason I can listen to japanese or german or french and still feel the mood a whole lot more than a crooning Chris Cornell. Have you ever just walked around listening to music and looking at peoples faces? Sometimes its a startling experience. Personally, I start to wonder: what are these people thinking? What are their hopes, their fears? What are their deepest desires, their secret worries? Are they just like me? Today was the first day I do this in something like 3 months, so its definitely interesting experiencing it all again.
Posted by illogicist at 9:14 AM
The Secret To Life
NP - Kasabian - Club Foot Wow, theres so much I want to blog these days. I already have 3 other blog posts in mind, but for some reason I'd rather post them one by one. I'll probably do 2 of them tomorrow, and let the third one go. Anyway, I dont pretend to have the answers. If I did, I wouldnt be here. I'd either be the CEO of a huge corporation that runs the world, or be blissfully alone on some desert island in the middle of the Pacific. But although I may not have the answers, I have some ideas, and who knows, there might be some truth in them. And theres nothing new here, just old, rehashed ideas that people were saying before our grandmas were born. The secret to life. How do you live a long, healthy, happy life? Theres no way to guarantee either of those things - you could die in a car accident tomorrow, you could get some horrible disease and waste away...or you could just be miserable. But I think theres things you can do that can help you ensure that, barring those things, you live more or less the best you can. 1. Diet: I'm a huge believer in the importance of diet (but sadly I dont practice what I preach). Its everything. And its simpler than most think. The way I see it, fundamentally you cant go wrong if you go natural. Minimise preservatives, chemicals, etc. Get fruits and veggies. I cant go into too much depth because I'm not a dietrician...and I'm lucky in that I've never had weight problems, so I cant talk from a weight-loss perspective. But I think keeping an eye on your diet, cutting out the stuff you know are bad, then you're on the right track. The importance of diet? Everything. The three things I list here all relate, and I'll get into that in the end. 2. An active lifestyle: its the curse of Oman: the lack of activity, the lack of movement, and consequently the lack of energy, the lack of motivation. When there IS something to do, you feel lethargic and dont feel like doing it. If you can, you put it off. Sit at home, watch TV, sleep a lot, and do nothing. But the strange thing is, when I'm active, I find I have more energy than otherwise. I feel like doing things, and when I do them, I'm not tired afterwards. I have that energy, I get things done, and I feel good about it. Because lethargic people dont feel good about anything. 3. The right mindset: I'm still learning this one. You cant sit back and wait for things to make you happy, you need to make yourself happy. It sounds silly, but it seems to work. Ever feel happy BECAUSE you're feeling happy? It almost sounds insane, but hey, if it gets you happy, then why not? Happy people are successful people. Also, you need to be positive about everything. Even if bad things happen, its important to be able to shrug them off, or see the bright side (if there is any), and take things as they come. Like I said I'm still learning this, I'm not very good at it. But the point is I'm learning. So how does these all link? I dont think you can have, say, the right mindset and an active lifestyle, without giving the proper attention to your diet. I dont think you can have one or two and expect things to work - thats why it isnt easy...you need all three. A healthy diet will do wonders for your mood and your motivation - its hard to be active when you're diet consists of McDonalds for breakfast. And I've found that when I do eat healthy, I'm more motivated to do stuff, and I'm generally more upbeat. Having an active lifestyle will also have a positive effect on your mindset, whereas being down all the time is likely to keep you from doing anything. So theyre all interlinked. I dunno, it seems to make sense to me. Obviously the hard part is putting it all together and living it. But I think, as a general philosophy towards living, it doesnt need to be too much more complicated than nurturing those three things. For sure, you can go into a lot of depth regarding each of those, but what works in that case will differ from person to person. But as a general overview, I think what I've said makes a lot of sense.
Posted by illogicist at 8:25 AM
El Mariachi
I'm sitting here checking my email (or more like, sitting here waiting for a couple of important emails to magically appear in any one of my three hundred email addresses), when my mom comes into the room holding my little 18 month old cousin. Hes a cute kid, and more fun than waiting for emails, so I play with him for a little. He runs into my room, and starts plucking at my guitar. "Ok," I say, "so you wanna be a guitarist, huh? I'll show you how a real guitarist plays, boy." Pick up my guitar, which is an acoustic, and try to think of something to play. How can I get his attention, what should I play that will interest him? Hes 18 months old, he should be transfixed no matter what I play...in his eyes, I ought to be a guitar god! So I start with some basic strumming, which isnt gettng much of a reaction, hes kinda looking at his feet. I try a bunch of stuff, different chords and what not, and hes getting a little more interested. Rock? Lets try some rock...how about some Sweet Child O' Mine? So I play that as best as I can on an acoustic guitar, and now hes interested. Hes watching my right hand motoring away. Oh yeah, you're gonna be a fine guitarist one day, kid. I can see it in your eyes...and he reaches out. Takes my plectrum from between my fingers. Puts it in his mouth. Maybe I should go wait for that email.
Posted by illogicist at 12:20 AM
Oman FM's Love Affair with Madonna
NP - Anything But Madonna
So....who listens to Oman radio? When I'm driving and I get bored of whatever CD I have in there, I'll sometimes turn on 90.4 FM and see if theres anything interesting on. There usually isnt, but at least it adds some variety to my usual driving music (Variety? Oman FM? What a joke). I kinda miss that guy DJ Face, he was awesome. He was funny as hell, even if he didnt realise it. Just listening to him made me laugh hysterically sometimes. But okay, to the point. Whats with 90.4FM and Madonna? Everytime I turn on the radio, they play a Madonna song. Seriously - every single time. I'm not kidding, its almost scary. I think one of the DJs must have some secret (or not so secret) Madonna fetish. And I dont listen to the radio that much - maybe 3 times a week, for no more than 20 minutes at a time. So how is it, in that limited time, I ALWAYS hear a Madonna song? And I'm barely exaggerating. Just today, they had a Madonna song, then a non-Madonna song...then ANOTHER MADONNA SONG. This is just insane, someone should call in and complain. Actually, it should be me who complains, but I cant really be bothered, I'm leaving soon anyway.
Posted by illogicist at 9:44 AM
NP - Guns N Roses - November Rain I have about 10 days left in Oman, its strange how quick the summer passes. I mean, you work your ass off for months at uni with barely time to breathe, and you look forward to those summer months to catch your breath, and theyre over all too soon. And the strange thing is, while you still haven't quite caught your breath yet, you're still looking forward to going back. I'm looking forward, for sure. And most people I've talked to who are in my situation are looking forward to as well. Oman is the most awesome place in the world, but inactivity leads to boredom, and boredom leads to frustration. I tried to make use of my time, but its not always possible. And sometimes this place gets to you. So yeah, just over a week left. Too bad, everything is so cheap here. I can go out to dinner, go the movies without feeling that twinge of guilt that comes with spending too much money. God, movies are so expensive in the UK, and the popcorn :s popcorn and snacks can cost more than the movie itself... Oh speaking of movies, I watched Click a few days ago. Expected it to be okay, typical Adam Sandler thing, but it was actually a lot better than I thought. Probably the best movie I've seen since V for Vendetta. I liked the message, it was good, and well done. Oh, and it was funny. But it could have been better if there was less of the needless dirty humour - its an Adam Sandler movie, so I expect some, and I can laugh at some, but when its too much its hard to take the movie seriously. I'm listening to some of the clips that are leaking on the net from 'Chinese Democracy', the new Guns N Roses album (whens the release date??), and some of them are pretty cool. Im not a big Guns N Roses fan, but they have a few awesome songs (November Rain, Paradise City, Sweet Child O' Mine!), and theres one clip from the new album which sounds particularly awesome, its called 'Better', so I'm looking forward to that. What else...anyone interested in the football? With the transfer deadline came a few shocks, the biggest of which would be Carlitos 'Apache' Tevez and Mascherano going to West Ham...whats up with that?! I still believe its an MSI/Abramovich plot to get them to Chelsea in 07. In other news, Gallas goes to Arsenal along with 5 million pounds, in exchange for Ashley Cole to Chelsea. People are saying Arsenal were ripped off, and maybe they were. But Cole was never happy, and maybe Gallas can provide is with some experience that we desperately need with the departure of Campbell to Portsmouth. People have faith in Clichy as left-back. I dont know much about him, I hope he can do it. Reyes to Real Madrid...I never liked Reyes, and I dont like Baptista. But maybe Baptista can bring us some power and muscle in the middle, and if thats the case then its worth it. I still hope we can get Ribery next season from Marsielle - that should've happened. Seriously.
Posted by illogicist at 4:27 AM
