Melodic Melodies Merge Merrily

1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question.
3.) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4.) NO CHEATING!!!
Translate them if necessary.

1.) How am I feeling today?
Within Temptation - Jillian

2.) Where will I get married?
Nickleback - Hero

3.) What is my best friend's theme song?
Harry Gregson-Williams - Metal Gear Solid 3 Main Theme

4.) What is/was highschool like?
U2 - All Because of You

5.) What is the best thing about me?
Utadu Hikaru - Simple and Clean (really? I'm not so sure...)

6.) How is today going to be?
Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like I Do?

7.) What is in store for this weekend?
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - Waiting For You

8.) What song describes my parents?
Hoobastank - The Reason (wtf?)

9.) How is my life going?
The Game feat 50Cent - Hate or Love It

10.) What song will they play at my funeral?
Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (oh yeah..)

11.) How does the world see me?
U2 - Beautiful Day

12.) What do my friends really think of me?
Rogue Traders - We're Coming Home

13) Do people secretly lust after me?
Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice

14.) How can I make myself happy?
Evangelion OST - Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win

15.) What should I do with my life?
Remy Zero - Save Me (how utterly appropriate...i'm ignoring that)

16.) Will I ever have children?
John Legend - Save Room

17.) What is some good advice?
Meja - How Crazy Are You?

18.) What do I think my current theme song is?
Wolfmother - The White Unicorn

19.) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Chris Cornell - You Know My Name (wtf?...the new James Bond intro song?)

20.) What type of men/women do you like?:
Kanye West feat Jamie Foxx - Golddigger (Now this is a bad sign of things to come)

21.) Will you get married?:
Franz Ferdinand - You're the Reason I'm Leaving (maybe not....)

22.) What should I do with my love life?
AC/DC - Big Balls (now this is funny...)

23.) The original poster forgot this one so I'll just make one up. What's up?
Bambee - Bumble Bee

24.) Where will you live?
lostprophets - Rooftops

25.) What will your dying words be?
The Killers - When You Were Young

Triangular Situations

Has anyone Viet seen the latest Paris By Night 84? No, not the Paris Hilton sex tape. To explain to our non-Viet readers, Paris By Night is a Viet concert thingy, where a bunch of songs are sung, a few skits are acted out and some information is throw in to enlighten the audience. It has its competitors though, like Asia. In recent memory, Asia been trying to court the old crowd, playing old, classic Viet songs, harking back to the good old days before the Communist takeover. The problem is that the old crowd is dying off, so Paris By Night is trying to lure the young crowd by transforming itself as the "passport to music and fashion", with mixed results.

Basically, all contemporary Viet music can be classed into two group: 'sad/romantic/missing a lover/emo/about love/etc' and the 'others'. Watching these concerts gets kinda boring, when 90% of the music is of the former group. Very occassionally, an artist will spice it up and do something different, but very rarely. You also get some young Viet performers who sing in English, but for some inexplicable reason still sing about lost love/romance/whatever. Where is the Viet version of The Killers, Eminem or AC/DC? Where are the bands or artists that sing about Viet parents, the pressure of being an Asian and why rice has to be white? Damn it all to hell.

And the fashion? Well, it's slightly better, but the women either end up anorexic, slutty or so-so (to me anyway). Actually this Paris By Night was not that bad. With the greater emphasis on fashion, most women looked pretty good, except for the few that looked so damn thin. I mean, there's a fine line between slender and too thin. It could be worse. There were no Nicole Ritchie types who only weigh 30 kilos or so.

It never rains, but it pours, eh? My brother was driving home from tutor and as he turned into our street there was another car. So he moved furthur to the left, a bit too close to a parked truck. The other car signalled him to move forward and my brother accelerated and now the left side mirror is completely screwed. All the glass has shattered off. And my driving exam is on next Monday. So that has to get replaced. Also, the laser printer has finally run out of ink, just when my brother needed to photocopy some stuff. Bad luck seems to follow him around like the plague.

I'm fairly confident about my driving test (or DART - Driving Ability Road Test), and I've gone through the guide and stuff and I think that as long as I stay cool and keep below the speed limit, I'll be alright. So fingers crossed.

Also, I've been discovering that Final Fantasy X is proving way bigger than expected. I mean, there's a lot of stuff you can do, all these secrets and treasures. Damn, looks like it'll take a bit longer than expected.

And how is this for comedy gold? I found it in bash.org :
|TrivBot| Question 3. A man's beard grows fastest when he ______?
|_Cozmo_| shaves it
|emul8or__| shaves
|RatAway| jacks off
|TrivBot| Here's a hint: antici
|Rjx| anticipates sex
|TrivBot| Rjx got the answer: anticipates sex. In: 5.7secs.
|Rjx| wtf?
Yeah, I'm like "WTF?" too. Hey! They should test this on Mythbusters!

And some parting words or wisdom:
Love is blind,
Lust is deaf,
But psychosis is obvious.

Diversion Inversion VI

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
"But what...is it good for?"
- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip
"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Solitary Desperation

I only have one thing to say. Ahem.

PAINTBALL IS FRICKEN AMAZING!

We went to Advanture Quest Paintball Skirmish, with a massive group of 34 with a mix of Viets and Lebos. Started the actual game close to 10am. It was intense. You hiding behind a tree, paintballs are flinging themselves towards you and you desperately try to find the shooter. Getting hit by a paintball at a distance didn't hurt that much. But when you start to get to the 5-10m range, then it stings. It leaves a mark like you wouldn't believe. Apparently, some marks can take a couple of months to disappear fully.

The basic gear were camo overalls, throat protectors and a mask. Since the group was all guys (and one girl), most people invested in a groin protector or brought along their own. Getting hit in the balls with a paintball is not fun at all.

Lunch was basically snags and salad, but it was unlimited so you could go for thirds and fourths. Our package was different from the standard ones. It was $31 for clothing, lunch and 100 shots. To but more shots, you had to use your own money. The ammo is expensive, $22 for 100; $40 for 200 and $90 for 500. My recommendation is to go big early. Some people bought an extra 700 shots and didn't have to worry about the cost of refilling. I went for 200 extra shots and that runs out hella quick. Altogether I used 800 shots, but some guys were reaching the thousands mark.

Games were variations of team deathmatch, two teams eliminating each other. Viets were on side with the Lebos and some Viets on the other, at 17 people in a team. There was a capture the flag games, and my favourite was to kill the enemy general. The arena was smaller and you didn't worry about being outmaneuvered. However, the best game in my opinion was the free-for-all. Well, technically is was pure team deathmatch. It was supposed to be free-for-all, but sticking in teams was better and safer. You don't have to worry about being backstabbed or ganked. The Lebs split into two groups with one up the hill and one down the hill in a corner. Using covering fire, we surrounded their group. Imagine 10 Asians surrounding 4 Lebs, with no escape and at around 6 metres. We just stood there and rained paintball hell onto them. It was a slaughter.

Anyway, here's a little 10 tips for when you decide to go paintballing.

1. Bring lots of money
   Paintballing can be quick expensive, since you use ammo so quickly. Check the prices and bring some cash or better yet, a credit card. I used $130 worth of ammo and would have probably used more if I had more cash.
2. Conserve your ammo
   A standard paintball gun will hold 200 shots. If you're not careful, it can easily run out in less than 10 minutes. Try to shoot when you have a clear shot and don't let rip a massive burst, 3 shots is a fine enough burst.
3. Accuracy by volume
   This may seem a bit contradictory to the above, but paintball guns are not accurate. A wind, a cough or even a butterfly flying past can divert your paintball. When you are close to your opponent, let it rip. They can't fire back under the withering amount of fire and chances are you hit them too.
4. There is no 'I' in 'team'
   Teamwork is key. Stay in a unit of 3-4 friends. Yell out when you see an enemy. Concentrate your fire. Teamwork is essential. No Ramboing. It'll get you killed in 10 seconds.
5. Covering fire!
   Winning a match is easier if you advance relentlessly towards the other team. Use cover fire to ensure 1-2 friends can safely reach the next rock or tree. Fire on the move. Just make sure that while your moving, the enemy can't fire back.
6. Stay low and go
   Standing up makes you a sitting duck. Find some cover and stay low. The barricades has slots to fire out, and with enough patience, you can put shots between those gaps and hit someone. Try to keep moving.
7. The better part of valour
   Don't be afraid to hide or even retreat. Too many deaths were brought about by reckless advancing. Wait when the enemy runs out of ammo, or use covering fire.
8. Be like the wind
   Outmaneuvered the opposition is more important than any other tactic or advantage. They may be stronger, more ammo or whatever, but attack from the left and right usually means victory.

Paintball was awesome fun. And not only for guys. The only girl in our group nabbed some decent kills, and sent most of guys running with accurate shooting and cover. The only crap thing was that I only knew about 2-3 people there. But it was fun. You guys should do this. Try to arrange a large team, it's more fun that way.

Exit Strategy

Plenty of time for regular blogging, that's good. While everyone else is off working or minding younger siblings, I'm at home with almost nothing to do. Actually, scratch that, I have plenty of stuff to do. I'm taking regular driving sessions to strengthen my reverse parking and three-point turning for my upcoming driving test. Hopefully, I should do okay. And I'm digging through Jung Chang's Mao: The Unknown Story as well. But I'm not sure about it. I mean, she spends most of her time laying out the scene, then dissing Mao. It's like, "look, he's a bastard when he was young, so he became a bigger bastard later on..." Damn Eng Adv, now I'm analysing this book and reading and all that. What book after that? No idea, but my dad has this autobiography of Che Guevara, so I'm covered.

Cricket/soccer/sports tomorrow with the boys. And a whole bunch of ex-Sefton uni students as well. These sessions are always fun. Last time I went, we played cricket in the morning and ended up playing golf in the afternoon, using cricket bats as clubs. So fun all around. If anyone wants to come it's at Guildford Park, corner Oxford and Marian Street, at around 10am. Bring money for KFC and $1 for the cricket ball. Everyone welcome.

Now I had a quick whip-around the blogs, and Phuong's recent post is a horror story. Not only is she stuck with a younger sibling but an entire family of relatives are coming to stay and no one except her mother knows them. Now that is so Asian, cramming people in one house. I kinda know the feeling. A few years ago, my mother's brother's family came over and stay at my place and it was kinda crowded. Still, it wasn't that bad because we could all talk Viet and I learned a lot of their stay. Still, find a reason to get out of the house, even if it's for one day.

Now Casino Royale is coming out tomorrow. So the cinemas are going to be packed. I want to see it. So do a lot of other people. We should organise a day to go watch. Not this Saturday, I'm off at paintball and I think Sabrina is having some party. Maybe Sunday or Monday? Well, lets see how the next few days pan out, okay?

There was a recent Doctor Who concert, where they played live music from the two series from the Children in Need charity. And I snagged a copy of the music. Damn, does it sound good! Especially when they start hammering out the theme song. The original soundtrack studio version will be released within the next few days, and I plan on getting that.

Finally, check out this 60 sec ad on Halo 3. It rocks. Gotta start saving some cash....

The Face of Boredom

Well, Anonymous had a go at guessing the books, but can you believe the cheek of this person?

1. Ernie and the Alien(s)
2. Under Siege
3. Physics Jacaranda (or Excel, and the like)
4. The Pied Piper of Hamlin
5. The Heart of Darkness

I bet whatever the titles are, mine are better. :) .

I'd like to dispute that. But come on, Physics Jacaranda/Excel? Who the hell still has that on their bookshelves. Yes, I still have the books but their on my brother's bookshelf now. Still, I guess I'll reveal the titles, so all the millions (cough cough) of readers don't have to live in constant suspense.

1. Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
2. Eon by Greg Bear
3. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
4. Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett
5. Only the Heart by Brain Caswell and David Phu An Chiem

Granted Only the Heart and Heart of Darkness share a one word similarity, so half a mark.

I'll be away on Saturday December 9th so participate in some paintball action. I used to do martial arts and the entire group is basically Viet. Some guy there booked a session for some time now and he now needed more people because it's 15 people a team and he wants to have a Viet vs Viet match. Something about the Aussies being sore losers and starting fights. Still, I'm sure it's an overreaction. Aussies aren't that bad, they're just a bit more spirited.

In other news, our Daihatsu Terios was fitted with a new CD player. My brother received it as a gift and since I'll be eventually driving the Terios (it's a manual so I have to wait to my P2 license). But then my mother started to really like the player because it can play MP3/WMA and she has a bunch of Viet stories narrated by Nguyen Ngoc Ngan that she can listen to. Viet readers will now who NNN is. If not, ask your parents. And watch some Paris by Night 80-something or latest one. And I'm not referring to the Paris Hilton sex tape. So now my mother convinced my dad that the Toyota Prado needs a new CD players as well, so if we go on long trips, they can listen to Viet stories. And he reluctantly agreed. My dad, he's just, to borrow a term, 'financially prudent'.

Oh yeah, and I finally managed to snag a copy of Eragon. It's not a bad book, so if you like fantasy, this would be pretty good. Lots of Lord of the Rings type stuff and a bit of Star Warsy stuff thrown in. *minor spoilers* But Arya is such a Mary Sue. I mean, do we really need another know-it-all, hot elf chick so is the possible romantic interest of the protangonist and whom the author spends more time describes her looks than her character? That's probably the only flaw the book suffers from. But read it. It's good. *end spoilers*

And far out, House Season 3 is shaping up to be a killer. Best line so far?

"I'm going to need 30 pieces of silver..."

Something to Pass the Downtime

So, how's everybody? From the general feeling I'm picking up, some people are getting bored. I mean, we've finished the HSC and now...we have nothing to do. Except the people with jobs and they're getting money. So what's a person to do? Well I am playing Final Fantasy X but this is a quick break for me. Sitting in one place for a few hours staring at a TV and having radiation bombard your eyes isn't healthy. So to pass the time, here's something I picked up from Land's blog:

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph:

A few years ago, one of the great figures of contemporary biology, Ernst Mayer, publsihed some reflections on the likelihood of success in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Electronic sensors had been placed around the building. We also now have evidence for several other black holes in systems like Cygnus X-1 in our galaxy and in two neighbouring galaxies called the Magellanic Clouds. "Eater of rats!". I know it by heart.

Go ahead and knock yourselves our to guess the five books.

The Door to the Beginning and the End

So last night was the formal. It was a great night and after that I didn't regret going to it. I was a bit skeptical as to if it was actually worth it, but it was. Right now, I'm guessing most people are sleeping in after that party.

I took the train to Wynard and happened to run into Charles in the carriage. At Wynard, we had a quick toilet stop and I met Yang, dressed...very informally. He had his formal clothes in his bag and was going to change, because he didn't want his formal clothes to get dirty. Fair enough. When he did change, his shirt was extremely wrinkled. Apparently, he didn't iron it. We met up with other friends and all of them wondered if Yang was going to be let in at all, since his clothes was kind of sloppy.

A group of us took the lift to the second floor, when we were supposed to take the stairs. Not our fault. No one told us to take the stairs. For a while it was talking, drinking and photos. When they let us in, and all the talking was done, the food was delivered and it wasn't bad. It was actually pretty good. With the main course, Alex didn't like the pickles or whatever and passed it on to Jack, who in turn passed it on Charles. So the guys at our table number 13:

• Me
• Alex
• Jack
• Charles
• Paul T
• Gough
• Ru Yang
• Lesley
• Tan
• Albert

Then the night followed its predictable pattern of dancing, talking, drinking, repeat. The dancefloor was a tad small though. Everytime you tried to dance, you ended up elbowing someone in the back or someone does that to you.

Eventually, like all good things, the night came to an end. It was fun while it lasted. Kathy's dad was nice enough to give me a lift home. A shower later and near 1am, I went to sleep but it was difficult. The caffeine from the Coke and coffee kept me awake and the fun times kept my mind awake. It was fun Sefton High. It was definately fun.

Diversion Inversion V

Tomorrow is Another Day

So it was thanks to other people's blogs that I realised that the formal was next Monday. And now I'm looking towards that day (or should I say night?) with a mixture of anticipation, dread and sorrow. Anticipation because I have a chance to meet my friends one last time, in case I never see them again. Dread because it means I have to actually dress up and get there and back. Sorrow, because after that night, some people I will probably never see again.

Seriously though, guys have it easier at the formal. I mean, we were a suit, maybe gel our hair, spray a little deo and that's it. But the girls have it tougher with the makeup, dresses and whatnot. I don't envy them. Transportation is a minor obstacle. I'll probably take a train to Wynard, that's easy. It's the going home part that's more difficult. Some girls solved it by staying the night in a hotel, others are going to drive and some will stay at friend's place. Seeing that the formal ends at midnight and I don't have any intention of leaving early (I mean, come on, it is the formal here!) I'll probably take a taxi, share the bill with a few others. Get back at like 1am? Damn. I bet the guys playing World of Warcraft will probably decided to jump on and play until the next morning.

A couple of movies caught my eye today. The Prestige looks really cool. Well, most things involving magic is pretty cool. But a tale of magician friends outdoing each other in tricks, with plenty of betrayl and hate? Now that's cool. Also saw the trailer for the new James Bond movie Casino Royale. While the last Bond film, Die Another Day, was meh, this one looks cool. Apparently, it's a reboot of the francise, similar to Batman Begins. But there's no Q and M is still played by Judi Dench. Hmmm. My theory is that James Bond is just an alias given to all 007s. So this guy is a new 007 and it's his first time as "James Bond".

And have so seen the opening? No naked ladies and it still looks fucking amazing!

Under A Sky So Blue...

Just got back from hiking. It was only a one-nighter, but it showed that everyone, except maybe Jack, was a little bit out of shape. It was hella fun though.

We meet at Lidcombe Station at 8am, only to find that a whole bunch of people had decided not to go at the last minute. So our group consists of:

• Me
• Alex H
• Jack
• Charles
• Raymond L
• Harry
• Lesley

We hop on the train to Central, then change lines and head to Heathcote. Once there, Jack tells us that there are no fires allowed and Ray starts getting anxious about lighting, since he didn't bring his torch. So before Charles and Jack walk into town to buy food, he tells Charles to buy a torch. Charles bought a $22 torch using most of his money and Raymond's. Complaining ensures, and so by the time we actually head to the campsite, it's 10:30am.

It was 4.5km to camp over rough hilly terrain. And this is where pretty much everyone struggles. Walking 5kms is nothing. Walking 5kms over rough terrain and a 15kg pack is a whole different story. We take breaks every 15 mins, and by the time we reach the campsite, it's 1pm. It took us 2.5hrs to get there which is pretty crap by Duke of Ed standards. But the fun starts at the campsite.

After taking a quick break, we start setting up our tents. I'm on my own, Charles and Lesley are a tent, Raymond and Harry are in another and Jack and Alex make up the final group. But when Alex pulls out the tent, he only find the outer layer, it's missing the inner layer, the pole and the pegs. Apparently, Alex had lent the tent to Helen and when she returned it, she probably forgot to check that all the stuff was there. So there was this "Oh, shit" moment with Jack and Alex. It was settled that Jack would bunk with Charles and Lesley, and Alex would bunk with Harry and Raymond, because they have 3-man tents.

Mobile phone reception was bad, but Alex managed to call Helen to ask where the heck the ret of his tent was. The missing tent was fustrating, but Alex and Jack were pretty cool with it, so there was no real yelling involved, just a "I'm missing half my tent, yeah". The rest of the day was spent milling around, resting and eating dinner. By nightfall we had retreat to our tents to talk. Harry and Alex were playing Uno, and other stuff, while the rest of us crammed into Charles/Lesley/Jack's tent to talk. We talked about a diverse range of topics, qith some honesty. The policy is similar to drama room policy. What is said in the tent, stays in the tent. So it was nice to be somewhat frank and not worry about what your said being spread around the world.

The final day, today, was much better, because we were travelling on a fire trail, where fire trucks would use in a bushfire. So the road was wide and flat with a sprinkling of gentle uphill sections. It was 6kms to Waterfall and we did it in under two hours. We ducked in a shop for fish and chips before heading home.

The walking part of the hike was difficult as always, and the lack of the usual luxuries made life a little more harder than usual. Right now, my legs have just stopped aching, but my shoulders are burning with a dull pain. However, it is after these hikes, that I really appreciate the luxuries that civilisation provides. Clean running water, a soft, warm bed and electricity. All of them are more appreciated. I don't know if there will ever be another hike, but if there is, everyone is warmly invited.

Jack took several photos on this trip. Once he has rested up, he'll probably post them on his blog.

To sleep! And perchance to dream.

Death's the final word

I managed to get all the clearance things done on Thursday. I did forget my BOS Stimulus Booklet, but instead of returning later, I just paid 5 bucks. It wasn't worth the hassle of going back and then returning tomorrow.

I had planned to spend the next few months taking it easy, and grab my P's before Christmas. Besides the planned hike, I don't have anything else to do. Or so I thought. Now that I have had a couple of days to relax, I realise that something to keep me busy would be nice. That was when, after the HSC, I bought a PS2 and a few games. But you can only play for so long, and the fact that my parents don't know about it, ruins the playing experience. But that endeavour has pulled me flat broke, and like many other post-HSCer, I'm thinking of finding a temp job. Something for a month or two, so I can have some cash to use.

And the fact that eventually we'll all be going to Uni and paying the fees means I'll have to get a tax file number. And I now regret not getting one earlier. My dad said don't worry about so early, but now seeing that it requires original documents and takes up to 28 days to clear, I regret my earlier decision. Hmmm...this is going to take some thought.

As for the job, I have a couple in mind. The best one seems to be a 3 day temp doing stocktakes. They didn't list the pay, but I'm thinking it's not going to be that high. At best, I'll probably get a couple of hundred. The other is a more long term temp, going into Christmas and may even offer permanent casual jobs. More money in the long term, but more work. Decisions, decisions.

Yearbook is cool. I mean, I knew it was going to be cool, but this was way cool. I had a lot of fun reading articles and other people's thoughts. Someone put the poem Jack and I wrote for English. It's nice, although I didn't expect that. I didn't think it was that good or anything.

I have finally finished watching all of Trigun. Usually I'd take the Japanese audio with English subs, but it had the English dub which was fair enough. Its mix of comedy and seriousness was perfect. The ending is a little open-ended, but I hear the manga is still going. That's like definately at least 10 years.

Besides House, I'm also watching Heroes and Torchwood. They're suffering a bit, since I have Final Fantasy X to play on my PS2 and Sudeki on my PC. I'll probably just keep updating House.

Damn it, I'm going to have to vote in the upcoming state election. That's one part I hate about being 18. The responsibility that comes with the age.

The Big Schwarz

I remember having a Chemistry substitute teacher who would say that Google is crap because it is not a "meta-search engine" and that it could not find some tiny obscure Vietnamese town. Instead he recommend the use of meta-search engines such as Dogpile and Mamma and a whole bunch of other obscure engines.

However, there is a reason we should use Google and that is because it's very powerful. Very powerful. So powerful, that it can give the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. Don't believe me? Take a look down.
On another note, I'm not selling any textbooks or notes because they are all going to my brother to use. And Final Fantasy X has too many cutscenes for my liking.

HSCompleted

That's all I have to say.

Distracted Reactions

For some reason, I don't really want to study for Chemistry anymore. Now I have this strange urge to go and do some ironing.

For the seventh time

I must confess some love for SBS. When all the other channels are showing some crap shows, you can switch to SBS and watch something interesting or mindblowing or a combination of both. But I'm not talking about those really weird foreign films that throw borderline porn when you parents enter the room. Everyone knows about those films, but your parents walking and seeing that questionable scene can be hard to explain (as someone else knows so well, P.)

I'm talking about a series that is up there with the best. I mean there's Chaser's War on Everything, Glasshouse, House, Doctor Who and Thank God You're Here. I'm talking Mythbusters. No other show on Earth makes science so fun. It answers the questions that we really need to know, like can paint your house using dynamite and how much blasting agent you need to completely demolish a cement truck or using salsa sauce to escape from jail.

In doing Physics, Chemistry and Biology, there are definately fun and interesting bits. Mythbusters takes these three sciences and puts them in a blender. A myth pops up, they test the myth, replicate the effect usually with explosions and then you learn something new. I think there was another similar kind of show called Brainaic. However, they only focused on big booms and hot chicks with a tiny bit of science sprinkled around. I mean it couldn't compete with Mythbusters and now I don't see it anymore.

In other news, Glasshouse is being axed! Shock! I really wish I discovered this series earlier because it's so funny and informative. It's days were probably numbered when the ABC decided to go unbiased in all its programs. Comedy is so hard to come by. Skithouse was funny for a while, but as the program went on, it didn't really get any funnier. It was like there was a asymptotic line in which no comedy program could break free. But. There was a program that was funny and got better with each episode. I'm talking "The Sketch Show". Now that was some British comedy that didn't really on stupid people doing stupid things, but focused more on wordplay and absurdism. Unfortunately, the internet is showing a distinct lack of files relating to this program. I just hope there is a DVD series somewhere.

Only Chemistry left to go. Then 3 months will nothing to do. Nah, I guess I'll find something to keep my mind busy. I mean, Doctor Who will be coming back and I've discovered a new series that I like. It's called Heroes. Search the net. Find it. Watch it.

Hook, Line and Sinker

Amusing Star Wars quote I found:

Wedge: "Sithspit! What's that?"

Wes: "That's the sun, Wedge. It's after dawn."

Wedge: "Well, it offends me. Turn it off."

Obviously, it's part of the novel range (or Expanded Universe) of Star Wars, but it made me smile.

I had to go shopping today with my mum. I needed a new cap, because my old one is tattered and faded due to constant and repeated exposure to extreme weather and sea water. I also needed new shorts for the beach. It would have been a quick "in-and-out" exercise, but my mum got distracted and ended up buying a whole bunch of other clothes for my dad and brother, a new bag for her, some makeup things..zzzz....zzzz....and a whole bunch more. But as we left, my mum went to buy some chicken for lunch, it was $8 for one and $14 for two. We talking about buying the BBQ chicken and some Asian guy next to us asked if we would mind buying two chickens and split the cost 50-50, because he wanted some chicken as well. End result? We saved $1 on the BBQ chicken. Must be an Asian thing.

Why is it that the really good books are in a series? I popped into Dymocks to check out the sci-fi and fantasy section, and there were plenty of books, but they were always part of a trilogy of some sort. Now I saw this book, can't remember the details, but it was massive. It made Wild Swans look small. Or better yet, it made Le Morte D'Arthur look like a brochure. It was big and it was part of a trilogy with two books that were equally as big! I mean, come on, chuck us a decent one-shot, something we can finish in a week or two.

So I have only two exams left, Bio and Chem, and what decides to pop up, but House Season 3. God, I love this show, and I'm constantly on edge waiting for the next episode to make it out onto the internet. Heroes is another great show. It's about a few people developing super powers and has the shady, mysterious, morally ambigious guy who seems to know more than everyone else. Check that out. I've been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on Youtube, but no new episodes have appeared in a month. Dammit, release that next ep! The fact that they model the bending on real Chinese martial arts is so cool. Naruto is still on crappy filler arc, and so it Bleach, but its fillers are less crap, so I'm still watching it.

My collection of comics are slowed to a mere trickle as all the comic artists are way past their deadlines. It is supposed to be an issue a month! Not 6 months late! Just for the heck on it, here's a list:

• Alan Moore's Top Ten
• Codename Knockout
• Danger Girl
• Gen13
• Hunter-Killer
• Metal Gear Solid
• Neil Gaiman's 1602
• New Avengers (ongoing)
  
• Shanna the She-Devil
• Superman and Batman (ongoing)
  
• X-Factor v3 (ongoing)
  
• Ultimate Universe
• Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra
• Ultimate Elektra
• Ultimate Fantastic Four (ongoing)
  
• Ultimate Galactus Saga
• Ultimate Spiderman (ongoing)
  
• Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk (ongoing)
• Ultimate X-Men (ongoing)
  
• The Ultimates v1 and v2 (ongoing)

Also, I'm trying to get all 26 episodes of Trigun. It's around 5gigs and I'll probably start getting it after the Chem exam. And John Legend's new album Once Again is mega hella awesome. Get it and listen to it, especially the first single Save Room.

JUST TWO MORE EXAMS TO GO!

Diversion Inversion IV

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other human invention in history…with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.
-Mitch Ratcliffe

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
-Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

I like the stars…it’s the illusion of permanence.
I can pretend that things last...that lives last longer than moments.
-Neil Gaiman's Sandman: Brief Lives

There is nothing to fear, except fear itself?

Physics was alright. I was expecting some really hard questions, especially for astrophysics, but it wasn't that hard. For other physics devotees, what did you write for that magnet falling on copper, cooled to -50 degrees C? I don't think the copper would be a superconductor at that temp...I just threw in Meissner Effect since I have no idea.

Maths exam on Monday. It's alright, but I know that I'm more or less screwed for Maths3U. Still, I'll just do as many questions as possible and ride that one out. Bio and Chem are last. I think I'll be alright for Bio, but I can't seem to be able to get my head around Chem. All the stuff I have to remember...did the past papers pretty badly though, so I might chuck in some extra revision time for that.

Now here's an idea that the Board of Studies should consider:
Jack: hows your study going?
Me: cool
Jack: lol
Jack: your the only one who seems to be enjoying it
Jack: I say they should ban all studying
Me: yeah no study for hsc
Me: you pass on what you remember over the past 2 years
Jack: damn rite
Jack: and if you study, instand NSA
Me: yeah
Jack: you made a non serious attempt at not studying!
Me: hsc would be so much cooler with no studying allowed

HELL YEAH! NO STUDY FOR HSC, BIATCHES!!!
Seriously, if that concept ever got voted in, the HSC would be more competitive, since no study is allowed! It will be a whole new revolution in examinations. Students getting zeroes because they studied. No cramming, no stress, just walk in and do your best! Hey, that should be the slogan.

We Are the Strange

Monsters Inc meets The Nightmare before Christmas inside of a retro Japanese videogame.