Dear blog,

as you would expect, nothing much has been happening during the holidays. It’s kinda odd actually, having a month long holiday at this time of the year. Believe it or not, we have another month-long holiday in December too.

Is there even such a thing as “too many holidays”? I really am beginning to think that there are too many holidays in an academic year. But then again, this isn’t just for ITE students, but for poly students too.

...well, not really.

Some people think keeping a blog is dumb. These people do make sense – I mean, come on. Why do you have to tell the whole world your grandfather/grandmother stories?

Personally, I keep this blog for myself. It isn’t for show. You’re simply an replacement for my diary, which i’ve been too lazy to write. Also, my diary could never fit it all my lengthy entries. Yeah bloggie, you’re essentially an efficient (and excellent) replacement for my diary. You’re basically my upsized diary. So, why do I keep a diary then? It’s strange, really. I’m not very fond of reading, but i’m actually kinda fond of writing. Formal writing, that is. Or rather, I have grown fond of formal writing. In any case, I think it is a good practice to keep a diary (in today’s modern age, a blog) just to reflect on yourself. I think keeping a diary/blog is really the best way to reflect on yourself for me, but different people have their different ways. I know some people who consider diaries/blogs as weaknesses. I find that strange, but you really can’t blame the rest of the world for not having the same mindset as you do. Afterall, everyone have their own ways. Or at least I hope they do.

Anyway, I realize that I have yet to tell you about the Taiwan trip that I have been mentioning lately. Well, starting with the obvious, I am going to Taiwan. It’s my first time going overseas on a plane. I’m really exited, flying on a plane, and for the first time, really seeing a different side to the world around me.

There is quite a load of activities that’s been lined up for us. To mention a few, mountain climbing, an exchange program with another school there, a hot spring, shopping, and bits of cultural exchange. Going to Taiwan as ETP club members, we are also learning about how the business activities are being carried out there. It all sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I pray nothing goes wrong. It’s going to be 4 short days there in Taiwan, and for the most part, I just want to have the time of my life on my first trip overseas.

I’m sharing rooms with Willi and Vincent. Very cool. In fact, the lecturers were nice enough to pair everyone with just their friends to share the same rooms. Sure, it’s not the best way to keep everyone from the club going tight together as a whole, and it’s definitely not the best way to get people out of their comfort zones; their cliques. But hey, if anything, I think the people in ITE are far more receptive and open to meeting new people as compared to anywhere else. Problem solved –literally.

Speaking of meeting new people, meet Ariel. She’s from SB too, but she doesn’t really mix around much with the other SB students going to the Taiwan trip. Perhaps she mixes with other people in her class, but after a very cute, loud, and enthusiastic hi from her, she was surprisingly quiet. I wouldn’t have thought she was a quiet person, but she actually is quieter than what she seems. Curious. o_O

We’re putting a dance for the exchange students – a Hindi dance at that. Oh man, to think that I am going to make a fool out of myself. I hope we’re not dancing on a stage, and hopefully, not to a big group of people either. And yeah, I happen to be dancing with a girl (well, looking on the bright side, it’s better than dancing with a guy).

Green club’s having a similar china trip too –but on a smaller scale, I guess (they’re flying via Tiger Airways). Ancherle’s going to china, and we were talking about the activities that we would be doing over a chat.

when I mentioned the dance we were doing, she asked me to film it down!

There is just 1 more practice session before we take off on the coming Thursday (24/09/09). Wish me luck dude! This is a rare and wonderful opportunity that I have. Above that, this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Well, I should actually start packing already. I should stop hyping this up for myself (and for you), and just wait for the next “dance practice” session to be over on Tuesday, and then come Thursday, we’re off.

Bon Voyage!
ohmegodohmegodohmegodohmegodohmegodohmegodohmegodohmegodi’m so exited i’m so hyped up I can’t wait ohmegodohmegod

aaaaaand continuing, I can’t say how much I’m liking the Muse’s new songs from their new album, “Resistance”.

The 3 tracks I like are:
1) “Uprising”
2) “Resistance” (this be the title track of the album)
3) and my personal favorite, “Undisclosed Desires”. (yes, its the title of this blogpost too)

Undisclosed Desires, is, by far, my favorite track by Muse yet. I just love it so much.
In fact, go ahead and take a listen right now:

I love this song. It’s just really good, and the chorus is epic:

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask,
I want to exorcise the demons from your past,
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

Amazing, amazing, amazing song. The chorus is just so powerful. The whole song is so liquid and has this nice flow to it; it isn’t too slow, neither is it too fast. This song has a slow, quiet adrenaline that builds up from the start, and dies off nice and simple at the ending. Each time the chorus comes up, this adrenaline is fueled, and reinforced.

This song, simply put, is one of the best I have in music this year, and thank god for that, because music has been crappy ever since the legendary 2007 came and vanished.

But that’s not the only song i’d like to share. As everyone knows, Eminem has made an odd return to the rap music scene, with his new album, “Relapse”. I thought the overrated hit single from that album, “We Made You” was a lackluster compared to all of his other older rap songs.

I made an assumption that Relapse would probably suck, that is, until I heard this song:

Honestly, i’ve never felt so much depth in any rap song before. The last rap song which I heard, had actual depth to it, was by Eminem himself too. That was Mocking Bird.

Basically, Eminem’s done it again. This song expresses so much emotion (mostly pain). And it’s a rap. Now, rap music never (seriously, NEVER) has any form of genuine depth or sadness to it – unless it’s by Eminem.

Eminem, it’s good to have you back.

Rascal Flatts has a new album too. I was curious, so I checked it out. I’m not sure if this has been released as a single yet (I certainly haven’t heard it on radio stations yet), but hell, this song is a bomb by Rascal Flatts. The whole summer spirit thing gets old (oh god, don’t remind me of HSM2), but no one does it like Rascal Flatts. This song’s a hit! (I know Ancherle likes this one)

Shakira’s back to do a lil’ more of English tracks, and this is the *official* follow-up to her previous worldwide English hit, Hips Don’t Lie, which featured Wyclef Jean. Shakira usually does Latin tango, or hell, her genre’s just Tango, even IF her song was in English. But this song, “She Wolf” deviates from what she does best, and, well, Shakira’s doing a little experiment here: this isn’t a Tango song. At least, not completely. It’s more of electronic/dance mixed in. I think it’s pretty damn good.

uh, I don’t recommend you to watch the official music video for this song. I’ll be honest here: the MV is horrible.

The Maniac Street Preachers are back!! Nothing much to say about them though. Like most UK artists, they just do what they do. I’ve always liked UK music more than music from the US for some reason, and Maniac Street Preachers are one prime example of UK pride.

Their music is mostly joyful, but sadly, that happiness in all of their songs covers up the amazing, incredible writing for their songs:

Only a god can bruise
Only a god can soothe
Only a god reserves the right
To forgive those that revile him
Only a god can bruise
Only a god can soothe
Only a god reserves the right
To forgive those that revile him

fucking amazing.

Need For Speed: Shift is finally out!

it’s getting mixed reviews, but thank god, majority of game critics like the game. To some players, it’s getting mixed reviews as well. In fact, this racing simulator game fails to please to either Arcade racing fans or the Racing Simulation fans. Speaking Frankly, this game is an odd mix of both!

I think the game balances nicely between the racing simulation seriousness and the arcadish elements of a game, such as being a jerk and crashing into other cars, spinning them out and trading paint. I like this game alot, really. But too bad, it’s being caught in an unfortunate between. I never saw this problem coming.

Ah well, there are many people who like this game out there, including majority of critics. To me, this is the best racing simulator game out there.

Fuck the other racing simulator games like Forza Motorsport, and fuck Gran Turismo. They both suck, are too serious, and are totally not fun to play. I mean, what do we play games for? to play real-life? Screw it, I want to do things in games that can’t be done in real life – games can never be realistic. I play games to unwind. If I wanted a serious racing simulation experience, i’d go to a nearby racetrack.

Realism in games is overrated. I honestly think that people who prefer realistic games are missing the whole point of playing games itself – they’re missing out on a hellaload of fun.

Word out,
Ramesh