an analysis of throwing shoes at an american president..

ok.. so the guy missed. but only just. u have to hand it to the reflexes of the prez. i mean.. it was almost like he knew it was gonna come!

“W” was assaulted by a a pair of shoes.. it is quite a fitting end to this poor man’s stint as president of the US of A.

first.. wow.. the balls on the guy that threw it.. i mean.. yes he threw it at the guy who has become the scapegoat responsible for sending iraq back to the dark ages.. but still.. that took guts. and im sure he knew that there would be consequenses.. i wonder whta happened to him..

and where was the secret service? i mean.. were they so confident in their security that the closest guard not only missed the first shoe, but was not able to even stop the second?

i wonder what new security this will lead to.. will the jounalists next be asked to remove their shoes before coming within shoe throwing distance of an american president??

man the late night shows are gonna have a feild day..

i mean.. can u imagine what would happen if someone threw a shoe at mahinda??

any thoughts? 🙂

3 days to go, results, and palin’s future

a recent cnn story from london said that most of the wolrd predicted an obama would win. who do u want to win?

and why?

and if mc cain loses, will palin continue on to 2012?

obamania? where?

with 5 days left to go nyc is very very nervous. yes obama is “predicted” to win. but this is america. where anything can go wrong. where “murphy’s law” was created and tested. from my biggest fear, of obama winning on the 4th and getting shot on the 5th, to some florida-esque rerun of another election gone wrong. yes those who hate him, hate him. and they don’t live around here. they live far far away, “clinging to their religion and their guns”. the scary thing is, they actually HAVE guns!

a black president with a muslim middle name? is this for real? are we seriously on the brink of a new era in history? i mean we can be as condecendingly unamerican as we like, but surely the president IS the most powerful man in the world? so how about that..

what strikes me the most as u watch mc cain or palin being interviewed, is just how, well for lack of a better word, “ignorant” they APPEAR to be. I mean, u can tell me that the left leaning media is spinning things. but how can u “spin” the words that comes out of someone’s mouth? they are, after all, saying these things.

it is so scary, that almost a half of this countries population want to vote for them. almost HALF!

i just cannot seem to understand it..

the next question is.. when obama wins.. will he really be able to turn this sewage loaded barge of a country around? there is a lot of momentum, in a country this big. and i am sure obama had to bow to a lot of people to get to where he is. i mean, sure, he is a man of principles. but lets face it, big america is big america. they dont care who gets elected. it just goes on and on.

so is it naive to dream that obama could change the way america treats the world??

probably.

but if u can’t dream.. then whats the point..

the bada issue

the bada issue is a complex one.

we all want to live longer. most of us have inherited terrible gene’s which make us prey to the multitude of pathologies out there. Add this to the fact that we are also lazy and have been lulled into everything being done for us, from escalators, to home delivery, its extremely hard to want to get up and do anything anymore. Then factor in the terribly busy lives we all now lead, which are saturated with work. Work has become our lives.

We spend all our lives working for someone else, all to get money to survive. yes, we unfortunately need this money, and for anyone living in and participating in our capitalistic economy, will understand the vice like grip it has on all of us.

and if it not us, alone, then it is our spouses, or our children, or our parents. Somebody always needs money for something.

But if we continue to eat and work without finding the time for the “carviovascular” workout of our weekly routine.. then we inevitably fall into the trap of suddenly waking up one moring to find our cholesterol out has sky-rocketed.

I suppose everything is easier said than done. but it is important to understand why we need to do what we need to do. Even if it as silly a reason as just wanting to live longer. (not really silly if u think about it).

So i propose.

group therapy. which is always the best way forward. when everyone is suffering as much as u, u dont feel like quitting.

possibly in the form of this blog. whether its quitting smoking, alcohol, drugs, or weightloss.. how about a simple, once a day check in to say u have done ure “5 mins” for the day?

i will be happy to help anyone get over their addictions, (have a good track record of helping people quit), if u are happy to help me lose my grotesque bada, and keep a nice flat one.

how much longer can we blame our bada on bath packets and bad genes??

i saw brad pitt

big guy. about 6 foot 5. towering above me. blond hair, blue eyes (i think, not that i was gonna go stare at them), big guy. sitting across from me. the same train as that other guy rapping like the train was his stage.

brad was hanging. same moves he had. looks down, runs his fingers thru his hair, shakes it off. this was brad from legends of the fall. the eyebrows. that worried look just before the crying scene.

there was rumble as the train pulled out. i found myself casting sideway glances. trying to figure this one out.

then i started to notice things. i saw a little alecia keys. i saw ziggy marley. i saw oscar de le hoya (spelling?), and i even saw mervin silva.

wow. i get it now. we are all connected. we are all from one gene pool. and some of us are pretty boys, like brad sitting across from me, and some of us are well.. different!

but after that, i started to notice people more. and the more i do, the more similar everyone becomes.

celebrity is what we do to people.

yes ofcourse this subway brad may not be as talented as that actor brad. but this subway brad probably has talents that that actor brad can only dream off.

so while i was chewing on all of this, suddenly i was brought down to earth  as subway brad suddenly got up and walked past me on his way to the exit… with his ASS hanging out!

reality CHECK please..

subway rap

his dreadlocks ripping around his midnight face,

his eyes tight shut, he is vocal,

on the 11.30 night train,

talkin big, talkin loud,

talkin about how he is gonna leave this town.

nobody is gonna hold him back,

nobody is gonna stop him,

he’s gonna step up now,

and blow it out,

and when they step up, he’s gonna bust them,

open wide, one time, one time only,

there won’t be no reason to hit that shit again,

now he is up, standing tall,

prowling the train, eyes still tight shut,

talkin, talkin, talkin,

to whoever wants to hear,

to whoever is gonna listen,

there is no stopping this train,

this mighty mighty speeding bullet,

his mouth is a flurry of words,

that speak the words he repeats,

on his headphones.

lankan in ny

funny place this. in the most absurd way, its almost like coming home. been here almost a week, and from the most amazing things like having a drink above times square looking down at the peoples, to buying a gyros for lunch during a break, all make this place quite astounding.

from the akward glances of ?racism on the flight from the stewardess (my paranoia?), to being asked to take off my shoes, belt, and pants 🙂 for yet another “random check sir” at london heathrow (my patience), it was all getting slightly irritating. but from the moment u enter the city, it almost was like playing a really familiar video game.

in conclusion, having lived on 3 continents and visited a wide range of cities.. one has to say, that ny is the city that all other cities seem to be trying to emulate.

budapest was majestic, and colombo will always be home.. but ny.. well.. its just ny.

i was encouraged by recent comments for me to start blogging again.. so when time permits.. will reveal all the juice that this city can grind out.

stay tuned.. and remind me from time to time!

leaving my beloved sri lanka again.

leaving my beloved sri lanka again. so painful to live here, so painful to leave here.

 

with all its bombs, all the noise, and all the “ugh” of it.. this place give me funny feelings. i will always have a lump in my throat as the plane takes all, i will always have the pounding in my chest as the plane lands. anticipation, exhilaration, and then on to boredom and frustration. leave, arrive, and the cycles begins again.

 

one day when the guns are silent.

 

will this place be better?

 

people don’t change do they? people will never change. not if they don’t want to. dont argue with me, they just don’t. and even if they want to , sometimes they just can’t.

 

this place. its like being in a bad relationship. u know u ought to get out, but u just can’t.

why do we sri lankan’s do the things we do?

seriously. why? 

why do we have to be rude unless we know the person we are talking to? why do we ignore everyone else when we do know the person we are talking to? and even when we are polite, why do we bitch about them as soon as they are out of earshot? why do we support our cricketers when they are winning and trash them if they drop a match or an innings? why do we pretend to know everything when we really know very little? why do we think we are better than everyone else? 

 

do we have to cut in front of others while driving? do our motorcyclists and trishaw drivers have to “creep”? do suv’s have to try to own the road? why are our buses, vans and trucks a lost cause? why do we try to make our pedestrians roadkill? why can’t we stop at stop lights, drive in our lane or let another car pass us by? is letting a car overtake us some kind of social suicide?

 

why do we have to comment about everything? i mean everything? a person can’t wear sunglasses, a loud shirt, shorts or even the right colour of anything? who decides which colours are safe? ok, somethings are gastly, but isn’t “gastly” my point of view? and if it is “my” point of view, why can’t i keep my point of view to myself? 

 

why do we look down at our neighbors, both residentially and regionally? how is it that we can always find something wrong with somebody else’s job? and why is everyone else’s job easy, but we find our own job sooooo tiring? yes, and why is it all we do is bitch about other people at work?  

 

why are we nice to people we don’t like and rude to people we do? why is it that all our friends are “machang”, and all our enemies are also “machang”? why do girls call other girls machang? why is everyone who looks a little older “uncle” or “aunty” and every one who looks younger “malli” but never “nangi”? and why does everyone stare at you like your perving if you say “nangi”? 

 

why do colombo people laugh at dialects of any language from other parts of the country? and why do other parts of the country consider “colombo” english as “posh” english? why don’t we have bus etiquette? is it because our buses are not clean? why can’t they be cleaner? why can we not offer a seat to a lady, a mother, or the elderly? why can’t we do it more often? 

 

why do we spoil our children? why do we let others spoil them if we don’t? why do we feel guilty if they are not being spoilt? why can others not abide by the rules we want for our own children? why cannot children have rules without it being considered a civil rights violation? is the fact that we grew up spoilt, without rules, a reason that we adults bend/break the rules? why can’t bedtime be bedtime? why do we have to drag our children everywhere, weddings they are not invited to, dinner parties, every single movie? why can we not invest in babysitters?

 

why are we so rushed? and how then are we always so late? why can we not respect another persons time? and then why do we get so upset when someone else doesn’t respect our time? 

 

why do we have to comment on everyones weight and complexion? why must someone have gained or lost weight, got “fairer” or “darker”, every single time you meet them? even the next day? do we not realise that the world sees in 4 colours… black, white, brown, and yes, yellow, and to most we will be brown and to racists we will be called black? why don’t we realise that there is dark and fair is something we have created ourselves? why have slim people always “lost weight” and large people always “gained weight”? why in our so called advanced spiritual society can’t we see ourselves as how we really our, and not how others see us? and why can’t we end this problem with our generation, instead of passing the trauma on to the next?

 

and seriously, why have we still, not learned to queue up for anything?

 

 

 

top 10 gig moments ever (in random order) – as requested

i’m sorry, like songs, it’s hard to choose between good gigs. mainly cos the whole gig may suck, and just a tiny part stand out, so in random order.. (what ever comes to mind first)

 

1) Jim Sykes wigging out at our/my last gig in sri lanka during the drum solo of “The Lick”! Being a BMB song, inspired and written while watching “Spongebob Squarepants” (the orginal chorus was “spongbob squarepants is the lick!”) i always thought Anik’s Jayasekera’s solo’s were phenomenal.. each one out doing the previous one whenever he played live, and the crowd loved it. But I guess it was something i never expected, when we picked that song (we were gonna play “Sin”, but decided it sounded too “metal” so ditched it), during practice, jim always held back. So when i heard him start to go completely insane while i stepped aside to let the audience absorb him, i found myself trying to sneak back into the frame just so i could see this guy go to work. electrifying!

 

2) Same gig, sarani and aftab both pulling solo’s out of their asses during some song.. some kind of wizardry. Felt that same burning sensation of insane jealousy that i can’t string a decent solo together! Also covering “matchbox 20″‘s “Let’s See How far We’ve Come” song.. i remember while being in my first band “Wreck” that i swore i would never played covers… but with maturity learned to place “selected” covers in an original set. This one felt great to sing, and was in another world as a belted out the last part of the song..  f..ing awesome! 

 

3) stagediving for the first time in sri lanka! during a tour of kandy, when i first came back to lanka, playing bass for a one off gig with “Independent Square”. It was after we played. Our set started out with “Enter the Sandman”, and it just took me back to Budapest, the way the crowd just didn’t give a damn and just rocked out headbanging and jumping to the beat. I guess i was psyched after that, and was in the front row when Paranoid Earthling took the stage. I remember they were playing “pull me under”, and I remember showing others how to do it.. and the next weekend remember seeing my army boots sticking out of a sea of head in the sunday papers! : ) kandy, u guys rock!!!!! 

 

4) opening my eyes during the chorus of “tumbleweed” (MS1) at The British Council garden. They had been shut during the intro and the 1st verse, and we were just after a fast song, and i was sweating and trying to get my breath back, only to lose it again, when i opened my eyes and saw complete darkness and a sea of “sparklers”, (a BMB staple). I don’t know who was in charge of lights that night, but thank u for switching them off, and leaving me with an unforgettable memory!

 

5) oh, thank god this is random order, cos playing “10 second rule”‘s debut concert at “rockapoluza”, with my hair a funny color is waaaay up there! And also thank god there don’t seem to be any coherent photos or video’s, cos i probably made an ass out of myself, and i just didn’t care. it was me playing rock again in lanka after years!!!! and i loved every minute of it!!!!! I think the crowd was shocked, cos all this new generation had seen was “the BMB” and never knew how i grew up with rock and metal, and how it inspired me to play music and write songs.. i think starting out with “Rain Come” a 10 SR version of the album Monsoon Sunday 2 just got me and the crowd psyched!

 

6) being auditioned and then playing alongside “rattlesnake” at my first gig ever, at the Vihara Mahadevi Park. My first proper band was “Wreck”, which went on to being “Independence Square” under the care of “Anil Balasuriya” (rumored to be starting a new band) and “Shehan Karunathilaka” (now found his element playing bass with powercut circus), two of my best friends here and schoolmates. We formed “Wreck” while shehan was finishing up his degree in New Zealand, and within weeks had our first gig… it was pretty phenomenal to play live for the first time!

 

7) ok.. remember rock saturday?? : ) for those of you that do, your secret is safe with me! but i remember just getting off stage where we were the featured artist of the night and DJ Marlon hit “smells like teen spirit”, i had just unplugged my guitar, and just joined the crowd and headbanged with my guitar! ok, now a real “gig” moment, but a “right after a gig” moment..

 

8) barefoot gallery. all the gigs there.. probably my favorite place to play in colombo. something about the ambience. too bad about all the red tape these days.

 

9) first gig with The BMB, at Leah Marikkah’s place, it was a sunday, and it poured with rain.. totally appropriate! Invitees only. Then the first proper gig, at the BMICH opening for the Maharaja Group’s EOTY party. I remember cringing in the darkness while our name was announced to the public for the first time, and the chuckles of laughter from the audience. But stood proud at the end of the performance to probably the loudest applause i have ever heard.. must be something about the acoustics in that place! we performed “Morning Star”, a daring song to play cos it was in alternate time, which we chose over a cliche’ ballad. Unfortunately “Morning Star” has is not on any of the Monsoon Sunday albums, despite being one of my all time fave songs, because it was out voted by the band out of 50 songs. but to it’s credit, it did make it into the final 16.. ok i’m sounding like american idol here.

10) definitely higher on the list.. my last gig with my Budapest band “Slowburn”, the artists whom play on MS2. Great event, great crowd. very emotional. very memorable. Major Csaba (guitars/production), Basinka Istvan (drum/percussion), and Drapos Gergely (bass/backing vocals), you guys thought me so much. thank u.

 

damn, i have more good memories… argh.

 

ok i will sneak one more in

11!) ok during a summer vacation, the first year back after forming “Wreck”, my friend’s wanted a fresh start and had decided to change the name to “Independent Square”, and “Shehan Karunathilaka” had replaced me on rhythm guitar, playing alongside the now phenomenal “Ajith Chittampalam” on lead. I didn’t want to disrupt the unique band that they were, so stole the lead guitarist “Ajith Chittampalam” and asked him to play drums, and “Shehan Karunathilaka” on his bass guitar debut, and went and did what any gig thirsty musician would do, went formed a new band called “Black Tou” (a concoction of my then internet handle) and recorded 4 songs and released them on audio cassette at a show we put together, and played at “The Art Center” as a three peice opening up for, none other than “Independent Square”!! imagine the crowds surprise as the drummer and bassist switch to guitars and continue playing! I had a blast playing with my buddies again.. even pulling off a decent lead solo out of necessity (nothing compared to some of the solo’s i have seen these days) and then remember headbanding with the rest of the crowd to hey jealousy!

p.s. – if anyone knows how to digitalize audio cassettes PLEASE tell me, cos i have only 1 cassette of “Wreck”‘s 2nd album (the first is lost), and 3 cassettes of the ‘Black Tou/Indepenent Square” compilation cassette, and soon it will be gone gone, baby it’s all gone..

 

ok i guess i should list a couple of worst memories all of them are pretty much the same, when the crowd was neither not there or was not interested in originals, or the originals sucked.. or all three!