9/11 - Ten Years Later

We all have our stories about this day ten years ago.....most of us began that morning like any other...including the thousands heading to work or to the airport that day.....but at the end of it we all felt the same thing...shock, sadness, sympathy and heart felt love for the heroes who died.

I still feel in my soul up to today, an amazing sense of hope, and love for all who gave up so much to save the lifes of so many....

Ten years on...I feel the same way....

God bless us all....

Laters friends..

Beauty of A Child

Something resonated with me in a yoga workshop I had recently...despite the teacher being a complete nuthead :), he said something that got me thinking...

"Kids are free spirits and people and society puts up blocks, which makes them become less free, and more introspective"....I think this is quite true.

Take care of these young ones please - don't limit their potential

I was at my friend's place on Saturday for a quick gathering of food, drink and friendly chat. There were kids there as well, and one of my friends' son (age 4, and cute as hell) was having quite a happy banter with Victoria....somehow the conversation came up about if he liked girls....he said "Yes, and I like boys too"....

The reaction of some people was as if they were in complete disbelief....and they showed their shock at this 4 year-old comment. Of course it was innocent and it's the thing a kid would say....society is not equipped I think to handle anything outside of the "norm"....we give our children their complexes.

Sad....

Anywho's folks - TTYL!

A Must See - The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

If you haven't yet seen "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes", then you're missing one of the most "unexpecting" movies of this summer.

This movie was surprisingly awesome and not what you would expect. Going into the movie, I had no idea what the story line was, but the movie had me on the edge of my seat, as well as for the fellow movie-goers as well.

The story is solid, and there are some amazing scenes in this movie - especially with the end when the apes take over the Golden Gate bridge and have their battle with the armed forces.

To be honest - I was really surprise as to how good it was, and everyone I have spoken to said the same.

What intrigued me was the amazing facial expressions by Andy Serkis who played Ceasar (Andy played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings).

The Director of the movie pays homage to Avatar for the technology developed and used in this movie - take a look at the attached clip. Before seeing this clip I had no idea of what was involved in the acting...I thought the apes were human actors covered in make-up....but it's human actors and their emotions, and the technology provides the make-up....pretty awesome.

Anywho's peeps - TTYL and give this movie a shot!

Top 100 Rock Songs from the 90's....According to SteveA

The 90's was a time when alternative rock ruled the airways of post modern and college radio and brought us to a new breed of rock. There was the yuppie sound of Pavement, which appealed to working Generation X. Hard rock got re-defined into something less fun, but dark and isolated with the likes of Korn, Smashing Pumpkins, and Bush. And there was the merger of heavy metal and rap into the  genre of nu-metal (Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine and Korn).


The 80's was over :( and the 90's ushered in some desperation with the sign of the times....the music spoke for itself, and very few acts still survive out of that decade with a great sound.


So here's my best shot of the Top Rock Songs of the 90's....




100.Just A Girl - No Doubt
99. Seether - Veruca Salt
98. I Alone - Live
97. Semi Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
96. Everlong - Foo Fighters
95. Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson
94. Inside Out - Eve 6
93. Elderly Woman Behind A Counter - Pearl Jam
92. Until I Fall Away - Gin Blossoms
91. Shimmer - Fuel

Veruca Salt - # 99 and 74 

90. Laid - James
89. Run Around - Blues Traveller
88. Tomorrow - Silverchair
87. Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
86. Would - Alice in Chains
85. All the Small Things - Blink 182
84. Special - Garbage
83. When I Come Around - Greenday
82. No Excuses - Alice in Chains
81. Violet - Hole

Harvey Danger - #87

80. Wicked Garden - Stone Temple Pilots
79. Bound for the Floor - Local H
78. Found Out About You - Gin Blossoms
77. Spiderwebs - No Doubt
76. Hardly Wait - PJ Harvey
75. Tonight Tonight Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
74. Volcano Girls - Veruca Salt
73. Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
72. Allison Road - Gin Blossoms
71. Sex and Candy - Marcy's Playground

Gin Blossoms - #92, 78, 72 and 50

70. Burden In My Hand - Soundgarden 
69. Freak on a Leash - KORN
68. Don't Speak - No Doubt
67. Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots
66. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
65. Rooster - Alice in Chains
64. Dreams - The Cranberries
63. Karma Police - Radiohead
62. Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden
61. Operation Spirit - Live

Alice in Chains - #86,82, 65 and 13

60. The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson 
59. Teen Angst - Cracker 
58. Black - Pearl Jam
57. Paranoid Android - Radiohead
56. Song 2 - Blur
55. Torn - Creed
54. Creep - Stone Temple Pilots
53. My Own Prison - Creed
52. Stop - Jane's Addiction 
51. Basketcase - Greenday

An older wiser Cracker - #56

50. Hey Jealousy - Gin Blossoms
49. Machinehead - Bush
48. Dissident - Pearl Jam
47. Come Out and Play - The Offshpring
46. Here and Now - Letters to Cleo
45. Come Down - Bush
44. Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
43. Doll Parts - Hole
42. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
41. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins

My how they have matured - Letters to Cleo (#46)

40. What's this Life For - Creed
39. Three Days - Jane's Addiction
38. Zombie - The Cranberries
37. Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins
36. Lithium - Nirvana
35. Wonderwall - Oasis
34. Loser - Beck
33. The Other Side - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
32. Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins
31. In Bloom - Nirvana

Beck #34 - the anthem for a new breed where being a loser was cool and just A-OK!

30. Self Esteem - The Offspring
29. Alive - Pearl Jam
28. Fly - Sugar Ray
27. Stupid Girl - Garbage
26. What I Got - Sublime
25. Even Flow - Pearl Jam
24. Come As You Are - Nirvana
23. Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
22. Killing in the Name Of - Rage Against the Machine
21. Shine - Collective Soul

So 90's - Sugar Ray - #28

20. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morrissette
19. Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
18. Longview - Greenday
17. Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
16. Ironic - Alanis Morrissette
15. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
14. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
13. Man in the Box - Alice in Chains
12. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
11. Plush - Stone Temple Pilots

Alanis Morrisette - #20 and #16 - not afraid to express her venom towards men!

10. Everything Zen - Bush
9.  Give It Away - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
8.  Lightening Crashes - Live
7.  Linger - The Cranberries
6.  Closer - Nine Inch Nails
5.  Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvanna
4.  Glycerine - Bush
3.  No Rain - Blind Melon
2.  Creep - Radiohead

This song and it's message is relevant to America today as it was 20 years ago - the story of a boy who was ridiculed in school by his peers turns to violence to solve the problem!

1.  Jeremy - Pearl Jam


Anywho's folks - hope you enjoy - TTYL!

Amy Joins the 27 Club

Rock stars can probably breath a sigh of relief once they get pass the age of 27. 

Amy is the latest to join the infamous 27 Club (see a post I wrote here), which has as its most famous:


- Jimi Hendrix 
- Janis Joplin
- Brian Jones (Rolling Stones)
- Jim Morrison (The Doors) 
- Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
- Pete DeFreitas (Echo & the Bunnymen), and now 
- Amy Whinehouse.


It all started in 1938 when one of greatest blues man ever, Robert Johnson died at 27....mystery still surrounds his death....some say it was the devil claiming his soul, which he sold in turn for the devil tuning his guitar and to make him the greatest blues player that ever lived.


It might be co-incidence, and it might be a rite of passage for some of our greatest musicians that ever lived in modern times.


Amy's music provided that jazz, soul and power that only few musicians have today....I always remember seeing this tiny, tattooeed woman of small frame, big hair and a heavy Greek or Italian look, and thinking who can she be.....and once she opened her mouth and I heard that voice....she left me intrigued and speechless. She was the new generation of talent.


RIP Amy - Back to Black is truly an amazing album!


TTYL peeps!

Kyle Chandler Nominated for FNL

Awesome news  - after seeing Kyle Chandler in Super 8, I quickly became a fan....Kyle is one of the most under-rated stars in Hollywood, and now that he's nominated (again) for Best Actor in a Drama Series for Friday Night Lights, I'm rooting for him.

Also - Friday Night Lights is also nominated for Best Drama Series (an uncommon feat for a show in it's 5th (and final) season!).

See the full list of nominations here.

Peeps - chat laters!

My New Crush - Kyle Chandler

This is my new crush - after seeing Kyle Chandler in Super 8, I'm awestruck by his handsomeness, green eyes and cool disposition. Sorry Alec!


I first saw Kyle Chandler in Kong Kong where he played Bruce Baxster - I thought at that point that he was so handsome - really classic, movie star looks. 

But after seeing Kyle as Jackson Lamb in Super 8, it made me realise that he is one of the most under-rated actors in Hollywood. 


In recent times, I've not seen an actor evoke such emotion by simply the movement of his eyes and the expression in his face.

There's a scene in Super 8, where Jack has an argument with his son, and you can sense that he wants to hug him, but he can't, simply because he doesn't know how to be a father - and all this from the intensity in his voice, the movement in his eyes and his facial expression. Now - that's good acting!

Anyways peeps - TTYL!