Notorious' Notes...

Quite The Sad

2008-03-16T21:32:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been feeling depressed. It's not gotten to the point where I can't function out in the world, but I still feel like crap most of the time. All I've been wanting to do lately is spend my time in front of my computer watching movies and playing games. I've been doing some thinking about my life and what I want to do for work in the future, but I'm not coming up with anything that I honestly can see myself being fired up about as a permanent career choice. My current job and school situation is probably where most of my stress is coming from. I go to work in the morning from 9-4. I have school from 5-7pm 4 days a week. The classes I'm taking are totally pointless to me. It feels like I'm working 2 dead end jobs with no recognition in each. I work in a warehouse and it's stressful because my boss is completely unorganized. The warehouse is in shambles and we're still trying to fit new stock in. He is stressed out because he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing and he transfers all of his stress on to me and the rest of my coworkers when he freaks out over small things. He makes people actually cry at the office. He is such an asshole but will never be fired. He's pulled so many shenanigans at work and has somehow avoided getting shit-canned each time. If I tried even ONE of the things he's done, they would have my ass out of that place faster than you can say unfair.

I didn't want to make this first post in a while about my shitty little life but there ya go. A depressing look at what it's like to be me right now.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Music I Enjoy

2008-01-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy finding and listening to great new music from any genre. I love it all from Hip-hop to classical. I also love spreading the word about bands that I think are deserving. To that end I will be posting a video or song on this blog at least every other week but hopefully more.

The first artist on my list is M.I.A. She's a Sri Lankan visual and musical artist who is currently living in the UK. Her sound is a refreshing mixture of Hip-hop, Electro, and World Music with socially conscious lyrics written from a third world perspective.

Paper Planes from the Kala LP

As good as Kala is, I'm more in love with her first album. It's a lot more like Electro and was produced by Diplo. How could I not love it?

Bingo from the Arular LP

M.I.A. on Myspace

The History of Electronic Music

2008-01-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

I found this cool site while browsing the old Interweb last night. It's an intersecting timeline showing the development of different styles of electronic music. If you have any interest at all in the subject I would recommend checking it out. (The language the author uses is at a PG-13 to an R level in places. You have been warned)

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-19T12:22:00.000-08:00

I realize that I'm a little late with the New Year's blog but here it is anyway. I'm going to try and make a post here at least once a week. I realize that hardly anyone reads this but I'd like to think it's only because I make infrequent posts ;)

2007 was a great year for me. It started out for me at the Sydney Opera House. I had no money left and I was slightly concerned about making it back to my school by train without a ticket. Luckily I did.

2007 was the year that I REALLY got into electronic music of all sorts. Electro, House, Grime, Trip-hop, Industrial, you name it and I'll probably check it out. I spent most of my musical life wondering about electronic music and not really knowing how to break into the scene. I didn't know who to try out and who to avoid. I was pretty much a n00b. I wouldn't say I'm an expert now but I try to listen to as many flavors of electronica as I can.

2007 was the year I decided not to go ahead with my nursing degree. I knew I didn't want to be a nurse on some level since my second year of school but by the end of last year, I finally called it quits. I enjoy my freedom of not cleaning up after other peoples bodily functions (except my own).

2007 was a great year and a lot more happened than what I just posted. 2008 is shaping up to be an exciting year so far and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me.

Anzac Day 2007

2007-04-25T01:55:00.001-07:00

Anzac Memorial
Originally uploaded by tobym.

I went down to Sydney Tuesday night for a huge event on Oxford street with 11 different clubs getting together at 5 venues for a huge night of fun and ~~dancing~~ marching. After that got through with, me and my mate wandered around Hyde Park for a bit before heading to Martin Place (you know, it's that fountain in The Matrix where Neo sees the woman in the red dress and Morpheus stops time) to check out the dawn service. It was a great night and a half and I can't wait to go back!

Surreal

2007-04-18T04:56:00.001-07:00

twin realities
Originally uploaded by The inhabitant.

I've really been neglecting my flickr account lately. I've just been pretty busy with school and work!
Here's one of my favorite shots from one of my absolute favorite artist/photographer in my contacts. Check out his amazing photos and artwork by clicking on his name :)

Shooting

2007-04-16T22:31:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by Roy. M..

Virginia Tech Killings

2007-04-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

First of all read this if you haven't heard...La Times Article

All done? Wow. I couldn't even believe the news when I heard from some mates at the caffeteria. How does something like this even happen after Colombine? I believed that I was safer at University than I was in High School because of on campus security and more educated people. I was obviously wrong. The sad part is that this could have been anywhere. I have no idea what to do, but something needs to be done to prevent another mass shooting. I'm just glad this didn't happen in Australia.

Here's a Quickie...

2007-03-20T06:52:00.001-07:00

creeping in.
Originally uploaded by okta'lonli.

Ok, I finished up my last post and was about to go to bed when I suddenly got the bright idea to go check out flickr... what a mistake! This image immediately caught my eye and I've had to peel myself away from this lady's photostream to blog this.
Why can't I draw that well?

Dance Party 2k7

2007-03-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

One of the jobs I have on campus is cleaning one of the restrooms in the guys dorm. It's not all that fun, but I try to entertain myself. I just bought an iPod Shuffle from a friend of mine who doesn't want it any more and I've loaded it up with fun, loud, and danceable music! Just after mopping the floor (for the first time) I load up a really fun song and I have a micro dance party with only myself and my reflection in the mirror. It's energizing and almost therapeutic in that it puts me in a happy mood to finish cleaning to the best of my abilities. Even though I pretty much suck at dancing, I'm still entertained by it and that's what really matters right?

A New Challenge

2007-03-19T00:30:00.001-07:00

Drawing is hard. Let me re-phraze that, drawing with proper perspective is what's hard. For the last few tutorials in my Painting and Drawing class we've been drawing cardboard boxes stacked up on each other for at least 2 hrs. I've pretty much renamed the class Rage and Frustration 101 in my own mind. Towards the end of this last tutorial I got the hang of it and am almost done with my stack but I have to go in tomorrow morning before 11 to finish up. Looks like another busy day :)

Downtown Cooranbong

2007-03-18T02:34:00.001-07:00

No rush hour inside my head, originally uploaded by schoolbookdepository.

It's not really Cooranbong but it feels like it sometimes :) I've been neglecting my flickr account lately and that's just not right! I'm going to try to post at least one new image of mine a week and I'll blog some of my favorite finds if I feel the spirit of good design move me. Ta!

And Now for Something Completely Different

2007-03-06T15:08:00.001-08:00

It's been a little while since I've posted a blog so I'll catch y'all up on what's been going on in my life. I'm in the second week of school and I haven't had much homework yet. I'm sure that'll change as time goes on but for now I'm enjoying it. I'm taking Christian Studies 2, General Psychology, Painting and Drawing, and Computer Generated Design. My favorite class has to be Painting and Drawing by far though. They gave us sketch books so we could doodle in them whenever we want to. I spent an hour or so just drawing my wallet... I wish all my homework was so fun!

And now on to what's different. I suddenly felt the urge to blog about one of my favorite bands, Tool. For the last few weeks I've been mostly listening to electro and ska. For some reason I suddenly got the urge to crank the Tool album Ænima shortly after getting up this morning. I'm still listening to it now! From the opening track, a smile and all around good feeling hasn't left me. The music isn't positive per se, it's more like I've been seeing an old friend from a distance and I'm happy and excited to see them again. Their music is just so much deeper than anything I've ever heard before. From the lyrics right down to the time signature, this music sounds like it was precision engineered for greatness! Tool isn't for everyone and some of the lyrics are downright anti-Christian at times but in my mind it's ok. My faith isn't going to be broken by some rockin music! If you haven't heard any of Tool's music and are interested in finding out more, just hit those links! If you must listen to some tracks, download The Patient from the album Lateralus. You'll thank me later... Have a good hump day!

Feeling Better

2007-02-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling depressed lately but it's starting to go away. It's probably all the people coming back to college. It's exciting and I now have something to look forward to. I've got all the music for my inaugural podcast picked out and an appropriate rant prepared, now all I need is the time to record it! I'll see if I can find the time next week.

Long Week

2007-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

This has been the longest work week ever! Well, maybe not that long but certainly too long to be cleaning dorms. Me and the other guys carried mattresses up and down the stairs for about 5 hours or so. It ended up being a 10 hr+ work day! Needless to say, I slept well last night. :) Thank God it's the weekend!

A Little Depressed Today...

2007-02-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

I don't know about this "Australia" thing. I really don't feel at home here. Everything feels so foreign and weird. Back at my old school, I used to love just walking around the campus seeing friends, listening to music, or just thinking. I simply don't do that here. This campus depresses me to no end. The buildings are just too small and bland to make exciting scenery. I probably have some last semester blues or something cuz I honestly liked it here until tonight!

I think I'm just getting a little depressed because 2 of my greatest friends are leaving (me) Australia for the states in a couple of weeks and it's really just hit me now. I spent all last semester getting to know and like them and now it's all going to be snatched away! Pretty frustrating for sure...

In other news... I finally found a host for my forthcoming podcast! I've been doing some thinking about why the hell I actually want a podcast and I came to this conclusion, I just want to have a way to actually TALK to people! It's going to be more of an audio blog than a radio show so don't get you're hopes up. (both of you!)

Summer Reading :)

2007-02-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

I really love the summer. I wasn't loving it a couple of weeks ago but I had my reasons. I had nothing to read! Even since I was younger, it's been my tradition to head to the library once or twice a fortnight and check out an armload of books to read. I hardly ever have time to fully devote myself to reading during the school year (except for text books) and the summer is my time to escape! I was out of luck because I don't think I can get a library card here in Australia so I just made due with RSS feeds (The link is a list of articles I've found interesting over the past month or so) I finally borrowed some books from a friend who moved back into the dorms and I've been off on my delayed summer reading ever since! I just finished the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and I've started the prequel of sorts, Angels and Demons. While browsing for eBooks earlier today I stumbled across this site. It's Russian and it's got a loosely translated English section so be warned. What the site lacks in aesthetic properties it more than makes up for it in content! It has many popular books from authors ranging from fantasy greats RA Salvatore and JRR Tolkein to thrillers from Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum. It'd defiantly be worth checking out if you don't have access to these books and don't want to buy them. (yet)
Enjoy peoples!

2007-02-07T02:22:00.000-08:00

Here's my idea for a podcast... I want to at least start out with a music show so I can get used to the idea of having people listen to little old me over the old inkernet. I'm gonna hit up the PMN (and where ever else podsafe music lives) this week and see if I can find any cool new music to share!

Till then... Lets keep rockin!

2007-02-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Well... Here's my first post at my spiffy "new" blogger blog. I'm still working on creating my own sweet template and registering my own domain. This is all baby steps toward me eventually podcasting. I'll get that started when I get all my ideas together in a coherent way instead of this mess that's floating around in my mind at the moment. I want to have a music show but I'm not sure how to structure the show... I'll keep y'all posted on any developments on that front. Right now this blog looks pretty sparse but I'm going to continue to update throughout the week as I find the motivation/inspiration. Let me know if I should actually pursue this blogging/podcasting thing further!