Starting from Scratch

Music: The Shins - Saint Simon
Mood: Smelling Like Garnier Fructis Up In This...



Cambodia's former King, Norodom Sihanouk, has a computer, enjoys blogging, and loves responding to hate mail.

Sihanouk has been a giant on the Asian political scene for 50 years. He took on the French empire to win Cambodia's independence. During the Vietnam War he was such a nuisance to Washington that he was ousted in a U.S.-supported coup. He backed the Khmer Rouge until its murderous regime turned on him and put him under house arrest.

Today at 82, he is Cambodia's lion in winter, cancer-stricken and undergoing treatment in China, his former place of exile where he still has a home. Yet he's as sharp-tongued and loquacious as ever. The man who grew up on cowboy movies has taken to the Internet with equal gusto.

For at least three years he has been posting his opinions, historical documents and exchanges with diplomats or Cambodian politicians. He abdicated in favor of his son Sihamoni last fall, and is in and out of the hospital, but the Internet keeps him in the public eye in a style that may be unique on the world stage.

Sihanouk's Web site, which incorporates his blog in French, Khmer or English, attracts about 1,000 visitors daily from around the world. After serving as king, president and prime minister at various times, he now calls himself "a senior citizen who hasn't any official power," but his views remain relevant enough to be summarized in the Cambodian press for the benefit of the many Cambodians who are too poor to have access to the Internet.
---
I'm all about this here. I think its great that someone like him is willling to put his opinions out into the web, free from fear or aristocratic concern for his reputation. Granted, he is a bit of a loose cannon, but if Bush had a blog, I would probably read it.

Here are some people I want to see blog in the near future:

George Bush
Karl Rove
Kobe Bryant
Tony Blair
Dick Cheney
The Late Ted Demme
Walter Sales
Pope Benedict XVI
Khmer Rouge
Osama Bin Laden
Chuck Klosterman
The Governator Ahnold
Jacques Chirac
Vladimir Putin
David Sedaris
Ben Gibbard - DC4C
Axl Rose
Sigur Ros
Fiona Apple
Pretty much every Prime Minister you can name

Can you imagine what the posts would look like?

OSAMA: Today we hid in a cave underneath a bridge. We had lunch around noon, rice and potatos. One of my wives took the car to the salon. I wrote a letter to my minions, but I doubt it will get delivered. Tomorrow, we move deeper into the darkness, further from the infidels that seek to kill me. Maybe we can eat soup for dinner.

Or what about Chirac?

CHIRAC: I am how you say, le-fucked. Ze people are turning zeir backs on ze republic of Frahnce, and I am eh concerned zat ve are going to be ze only ones not apart of ze new European dictatorship.

Hmm...lets consider a post from Ben Gibbard:

GIBBARD: I woke up today, sat and stared into the white walls of my studio apartment. Nothing feels right. We recorded our new album in seven hours, and they sent me home to lament my existence. We may or may not tour for this album. Problem is, we don't really sell-out (unless you consider our appearances on The OC) venues, and we're not a mega draw. God, fans are the bane of my existence. I'm going to go listen to my Eliot Smith records and drink a bottle of Merlot, cry for an hour, and maybe write another album of confused emotions. I hope I bleed.

Imagine the possibilities.

Music: Coldplay - Swallowed in the Sea - X & Y
Mood: Scratchy



I'm really into this post pictures of myself from the past in various phases thing. So here is one from last October, jamming on my Epiphone in the Van Winkle Lounge, I believe with Chris Kile.

So much is about to transpire, its insane. I will most probably be out of contact for a while, or at least not making as many posts, but I will do my best to leave tidbits of updates whenever possible. The crew arrives day after tomorrow. Prepare for insanity.

P.S. - The French STILL suck.
P.P.S - Listen to the following albums in this order:
[Broken Social Scene - You Forget it in People] [Coldplay - X & Y] [Radiohead - Kid A]

Music: Broken Social Scene | Cause = Time | You Forget It In People
Mood: Ray-Ban Shades and a Fu-Man-Chu 'stache



I know, old memories. Worth bringing back to the mainstream for your viewing pleasure, however. I recall the day when I rocked that look: walking around Coleman parking lot and facilitating cars for a soccer game on the Upper Fields.

I also recall trying to organize a co-ed dodgeball game with a tight undershirt, short shorts, a clipboard, whistle, with that whole YMCA volunteer coach look. I had a couple people who were interested, but not enough were sold on the prospects of such an event.

Needless to say, there's more important things going on in the world than my latent desire to post pictures from two years ago. One bit of information that's floating in the nether-regions of the net has the French rejecting the EU constitution, effectively stalling any hopes of unifying Europe under one central government.

For a country like France, who is already on everyone's shit-list, to do something like this, is really not that suprising if you consider that their inhabitants would love nothing more than to stick it to anyone that offers them a bit of advice. Really, are you shocked that they voted this way, because I'm really not. In fact, I half expected some debacle like this a week ago when this information was brought to my attention.

More to come on this situation in the coming days. France has officially outdone itself.

Music: Theivery Corporation - Lebanese Blond - Garden State OST
Mood: Not Sure...

There's a reason why the band "Our Lady Peace" sucks, and my argument primarly hinges upon this guy I met Freshman year named Matt. He was from Buffalo, strapped and packing these ginormous brown Doc Martin boots, one pair of cargo pants he wore every single day, and the same rotation of three shirts (a polo shirt with a collar, one of those racist Abercrombie tees, and one of those my cock is huge novelty shirts from like Jimmy's Tavern in Kenosha). It wasn't so much how this guy dressed though, it was the fact that he made it a point to tell me about how much he loved Our Lady Peace, after a mere 20 seconds of chatting. The very first conversation I had with him was in my Rhetoric A class, and he instantly gravitated towards me during the get-to-know-everyone phase (I think this is because I was wearing a wrist-cuff). In any case, he introduced himself, which I naturally reciprocated. After an awkward moment of silence, he blurts the line:

"So do you listen to music?"
"Yeah."
"Like what?"
"Umm...lots of stuff, mostly rock...you?"
"Dude, I just saw Our Lady Peace two weeks ago...wicked amazing man!"
"Ah..."
"Hell yeah man, they changed my life!"
"I see..."
"Uh huh!"
"Okay..."
"You should come by sometime man, I got all their CD's, should check it out yo!"
"Sure thing buddy..."

So, now I have taken some liberties with the above conversation, although the majority is there. But, my point is simple: Our Lady Peace and all of its fans can stick it. Reason being, their music is generic and borders on the line of Creed. We all know how I feel about Creed (Scott Stapp in particular) so its no suprise that this band is on my shit-list. When your seminal track is called Somewhere Out There, about a lovestricken dude who's searching for a girl thats lost amidst the backdrop of society, and this bozo cannot decipher where his lady is no matter how hard he strains his eyes, its no wonder they're hurting for work. There is absolutley nothing original about it. The composition is bland, the guitars are stale, the singer sounds like he's auditioning for a Busch Light commercial, and nothing about their music is noteworthy, except that its really corny. Having a guy like Matt, with his not-so-cool spikey eastcoast haircut, bad breath, pimples, and those really minty shirts, introduce me to a band of this variety did not help their status in my eyes. I had heard of them before, but never really gave them a legitimate look. Matt only sealed my perception of him and his almighty rockband in one fell swoop.

It's not that Matt is a bad guy. He's actually a decent person at the core, just one that's blinded by shitty radio-rock. Our Lady Peace are the epitome of sell-outs: guys that gave up on 'the dream' years ago when they found out they could still get laid without writing their own lyrics, instead giving the work to gay twenty-something American Idol wipeouts who work for PCP.

I'm done.

Music: Audioslave - The Worm - Out of Exile
Mood: Chillin'

Summer is great. It's 8:22, and finally the sun has set, but not without a fight, mind you. My grandmother hath arrived today. She's stoked, so is the rest of my family. Let the good times roll...

Here is a good album cover to behold:

Music: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Deus Ex Machina - A Manual Dexterixy OST
Mood: Chlorine

The House passed a bill on Tuesday to expand federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, defying a veto threat from President Bush, who appeared at the White House with babies and toddlers born of test-tube embryos and warned the measure "would take us across a critical ethical line."

The vote, 238 to 194 with 50 Republicans in favor, fell far short of the two-thirds majority required to overturn a presidential veto, setting up a possible showdown between Congress and Mr. Bush, who has never exercised his veto power. An identical bill has broad bipartisan support in the Senate; moments after the House vote, the Senate sponsors wrote to the Republican leader, Bill Frist, urging him to put it on the agenda.

The House action is the first vote on embryonic stem cell research since August 2001, when Mr. Bush opened the door to taxpayer financing for the studies, but only with strict limits. The new bill permits the government to pay for studies involving human embryos that are in frozen storage at fertility clinics, so long as couples conceiving the embryos certified that they had made a decision to discard them.

I found this news to be a rather magnificent sigh of relief for those of us frustrated with the politicking of the Bush Administration. We might just be moving in the right direction, after five years.

I have to go, I'm busy writing a paper on economic trends in India amid post-modern Keynesean influences, and with a hint of Marxist, Hegelian dialectical influence. ANYWAYS, the game is on, and Phoenix better win.



The above picture I found to be hillarious. No real reason.

Music: Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World + Polly - Unplugged in New York
Mood: Quite Happy

Quick update: My GarageBand efforts are not to be thwarted! I have discovered the immense pleasure of wind chimes and ocean drums to complement my acoustic guitar prowess. This has been good fun of late.

My mom gets back from India on Thursday with her mom, my grandmother, who is coming to America for the first time in 20 plus years. This is going to be exciting for her. The rest of the clan gets here on June 1st and 2nd.

I wish I went to KROQ Weenie Roast. I heard the above Nirvana song on the radio today and it made be dive into my iTunes for a re-education of the Cobain tribunals. Thus far, it has yet to dissapoint. Seriously, if you can put the herion-suicidal tendencies aside, Nirvana made some pretty snazzy music. All depends on taste I suppose.

Learn to play the guitar.

Music: Interpol - Next Exit - Antics
Mood: Motivated

A hundred tasks on my plate. Just forcing myself to get thru them. At present, I am writing one of the many emails I need to, and simultaneously blogging.

I believe that if society is ever going to advance, we as a nation need to embrace the law as an organic entity which we will allow to govern our actions. It is there for a purpose, and can be modified as we desire. The burden falls upon all of us to do our part to make America a moderate republic of the people, rather than a corporation controlled by foreign interests.

Music: Incubus - Are You In (Paul Oakenfold Remix)
Mood: Quixotic

I cut my hair this past week. Actually, I did not just get a 'trim', I went for my annual shaved-head look that I tend to pull out during the summer months. Reason being, its hot as hell, I don't want to be managing my semi-fro and being forced to condition the hell out of its nappy roots when I'm in Mexico, and it looks good.

Music: Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek - Forthcoming
Mood: Full

Check out Rooftopfilms.com when you get a chance. I really love what those guys are doing with the indie movie scene in New York. If anyone is in NYC this summer, you should swing by Brooklyn and check out one of the midnight screenings. I would love to be a part of something like this.

I'm reading Sedaris again. 3rd time around. Maybe i'll read Klosterman again. His book was better than Sedaris'.

Music: Radiohead - Exit Music (For A Film) - OK Computer
Mood: Intense

I did not realize Imogen Heap and Frou Frou are the same girl, save for the additional guy that makes beats in the background. It seems that we all learn something new every day.

Download: Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek

Default - Let You Down (acoustic) - Elocation
Anticipating Goodness

This post is to profess my satisfaction with said track by Default. Its well produced, the lyrics fit the tone, and it flows nicely. I need to write like these morons.

Radiohead - There There - Kid A
Mellow

Today, I had a great chance to muck around with GarageBand. The end result is a new working track that perhaps or perhaps not will make the album. It is interesting that it took my brother and myself almost two months to write three songs, but a few weeks to write 5 more. The rate is incomprehensible.

For those that are unaware, my brother and I are in the process of collaborating on an album that should hopefully be done by the end of the year. Ideally it was to be written and ready for recording at the beginning of this month, but injuries and other projects have gotten in the way. It is going to be hard to gather steam for the next month, with my family coming to town to rain on our creative parade, not to mention my Nirvana-obsessed cousin. I fear his overbearing lyrics.

Songwriting is interesting. In the beginning, I could only think of the same type of riffs, chords, progressions. Moreso than before, I have begun writing things that I find unique and cool, but may not make the cut. This is partly why I have already decided that after the first album is done, I will work on a solo album of all sorts of genres. There is going to be the typical power-rock sound, but the tone will be quieter, more melodic and acoustic driven. Plus, I would like to ideally combine Postal Service sounds with my tracks to give a nice back-beat.

Although not to stare too far down the road, I still am completley focused on the first album. Working title: Statments Will Be Made, Bandaids Will Be Needed. From my end, I need to lock down the tracks we have done still, because there are technicalities in timing and transitions that I have yet to hammer in. Also, I want to start contributing lyrics, although, its hard to give someone else your words and expect them to understand how you want them to sound. Considering that we do not have a Bass player, it is going to be interesting to see how the completed product turns out.

We were initially thinking of overdubbing the Bass parts with computer sounds, but it looks more and more likely that we will get a Bass at the end of the summer, and one of us (probably myself) will sit with it and come up with the parts. The tracks are pretty much carried by the drums and electric, so the bass is only going to be used as a backbeat type of tool to rest on. Nothing too fancy.

My brother told me to check out Radiohead recently, and I have not been dissapointed. Drawing inspiration for the track I was working on today was Knives Out. The song is way in the development stages, and really needs more work on my end before I can even consider it a working object, but at least I have the concept down. I do not want this album to suck, at all. Therefore, it is going to take some more time to go back and re-develop, re-work, re-define, and complete the track we already have.

More to come and perhaps even a demo should be up in the not too distant future. Be patient. We are relativley self-conscious. Or at least I am, with my shamless skills and less-than-stellar guitar playing. But, its worth a stab.

Audioslave - Out of Exile (Track 2) - Out of Exile
Satisfied

Just downloaded the new Audioslave album, and the first track was certainly not a dissapointment.

And now...deep thoughts brought to you by my brother Kunal:

"Chris Cornell is putting you in his trunk and driving you cross country on this album".

Well said.

Coldplay - Sparks - A Rush of B-Sides to the Head
Hungry

I've been bugging my brother about this for weeks now, but I am absolutley jonesing to get my hands on the new Coldplay album. Simply put, I think that their music is amazing, and I always look forward to how they "re-invent" the wheel, especially when you draw your primary inspiration for an album from Kraftwerk and Jay-Z.



I feel like things are finally coming together. Let's wait and see what happens from here. Just another two weeks before my house becomes 'infested' with family members. Should be fun, given that I have made a pact within to film and take pictures of everything in Mexico I find interesting.

My beard is really itchy, therefore I apologize for the terse post, as well as the lack of real content. I don't feel like it today. Although, it does feel better to post on a blog from an Apple. God I love this computer.

Debate of the day: Playstation 3 or XBOX 360?

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World - Nirvana
Hasty

Grab a calculator
Key in the first three digits of your phone number (not the area code)
Multiply by 80
Add 1
Multiply by 250
Add the last 4 digits of your phone number
Add the last 4 digits of your phone number again.
Subtract 250
Divide number by 2

Do you recognize the answer?
----
On a lighter note, remember 1993 for a second. Airwalks were the shit. Everyone, including grown-ass men wore them. Blamo's. And for that matter, how about those SOAP shoes, with the fucking iron plates in the bottom for "grinding". Stuff was so whack back then. Amazing that we found it cool and unique. Slap-bracelet anyone?

Smashing Pumpkins - To Sheila - Adore
Rejuvinated

I hear all the rumblings from Old Trafford about the 'hostile takeover' of Englands beloved soccer team by an American entrepreneur. The backlash has been brewing for months, and finally came to fruition late last week, when Malcom Glazer acquired a 75% share of the team from Scottish investors. Having majority control all but guarantees that Glazer is now able to put his personal debt on the team's books, and he can even take the team private. On Thursday, thousands of Man U fans protested outside Old Trafford and burned an effigy of Glazer.

While fans lament the takeover, many, including myself, see this as a renaissance for the sporting industry in England, and a sign of many things to come. Hours after acquiring his 75 percent stake, the Las Vegas Sands Corp agreed to a partnership with Man U that would enable a new resort/casino to be built a mile from Old Trafford. Just imagine the FDI from a venture of that nature. Though he hasn't connected his name to this project, it is clear that Glazer's presence has already spawned renewed interest in funneling dollars into the English economy.

Frankly, I think English fans are ignorant, and not looking at the bigger picture. They have already decided that Glazer is a tyrant and nothing but a billionaire investor looking to make his next big move. If only they took the blinders off and started focusing more on the team's playing instead of Glazer's vision. Between cross-merchandising, a huge marketing blitz, and an image makeover, the team stands on the precipice of a revolution unprecedented in English sporting history.

Sure, Glazer is an American with dollars, and sure he made a killing when he bought, re-vamped, and sold the Tampa Bay Bucs ten years ago. Is it unlikely that he will do the same? Of course not. Like any sensible investor, he sees the value in valuation. Taking a declining franchise that has lost its luster in recent years and rebuilding the image is exactly what the team needs. Whats more, fans vehemently protested when Roman Abramovich (Russian oil tycoon) bought the Chelsea franchise, but are currently lauding his decisions while the team rises up the Champions League charts.

Glazer knows a good thing when he sees it. He is not about to tarnish or diminish the presence of the team's fans, because he understands that they are the backbone of his revenue model. Simply put, he will do everything in his power to keep them in Old Trafford, and playing at the highest level. However, he will not be afraid to adventure into uncharted territory. Whats more, he is not going to be the last American to step on British soil and rejuvinate a dying business.

Glazer needs Manchester United as much as the team needs him. They are a match made in heaven. Problem is, neither side can see it today. My belief: all they need is one year together.

System of a Down - Soldier Side - Mesmerize
Ready to Work

Here is a quick list of the songs that I have lately been listening to ad nauseum:

Broken Social Scene - Looks Just Like The Sun
Smashing Pumpkins - To Sheila
Coldplay - Speed of Sound
Death Cab For Cutie - Tiny Vessels
Foo Fighters - Best of You
System of a Down - B.Y.O.B
Interpol - Stella Was a Diver
Coldplay - Talk
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Don't Forget Me
The Mars Volta - Miranda That Ghost
Weezer - Only in Dreams
Ben Gibbard - You Remind Me of Home

Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight - Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness
Blase

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/ramasastry/20050512.html

Zabasearch, a new startup search engine that allows the searcher to find a person's phone numbers (even unlisted ones) and addresses going back up to ten years, and to click to see satellite photos of the person's house. Even some celebrities and public figures' information can be found.

While its technically not illegal to provide this service, there needs to be a way for people to remove themselves if they choose so. Currently a written-letter is the requisite procedure to do so.

The founders of Zabasearch have reportedly characterized their service as "data democratization." In other words, if there is information already out there about you, you now have access to it. But, so does everybody else.

Unfortunately, our federal and state constitutions provide us with little guidance when it comes to digital dossiers and sites like Zabasearch, for the contemporary erosion of our privacy was unimaginable two hundred years ago.

The First Amendment protects a person's right to speak and publish information, absent a compelling governmental interest in silence. So while privacy rights don't help those who find themselves the subject of digital dossiers, free speech rights do help the dossier-makers.

It's extremely likely that any law that simply tried to ban sites like Zabasearch, or "digital dossiers" more generally, would be struck down as contrary to the First Amendment.

But could a more narrow law constitutionally restrict such sites, and dossiers, in certain ways? I think the answer is yes - and that such a law would be desirable.

ATB - Marrakech + 311 - Down
Thirsty

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/f/66/05-10-2005/34820013d584ecd0.html

Mecca Cola, named after Islam's holiest place, was launched in France in 2002 as an alternative to popular American brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi to protest against U.S. foreign policy toward Muslim nations. The company also pledged to donate a portion of its profits for the welfare of oppressed Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.

"We request every consumer to think what the soft drink companies do with their profits. We cannot provide money to those who are killing our brothers and sisters in different parts of the world."

Mecca Cola is now being sold in 56 countries. In France, Mecca Cola was the second most popular soft drink after Coca Cola. Mecca Cola moved its headquarters to Dubai last year following legal proceedings for breach of company registration laws in France.

MxPx - Heard That Sound - Panic
Relieved

There's a new template to behold. And, a promise to provide content-driven posts from here on out. Consider it my Hippocratic Oath of sorts.