The big come down

Its been a while since I have posted. What can I say it's been a couple of busy months. During the past couple of months I have come across many different things that I wanted to express my feelings about...unfortunately didn't get around to posting anything. One of the things that just happened last week is none other than the tour of Nine Inch Nails to Australia.

Warning: Groupie Alert!
Trent had given us a huge surprise right at the end of the With Teeth tour by saying that he had been working on the new album while touring. And then going ahead and announcing that the new album will be released in April and the whole Year Zero alternative reality game (ARG) kicked in. It was just unbelievable how quickly this was happening. All NIN fans were expecting a new album in the future....but never so quickly! Next came the tour dates, which of course started from Europe and then Japan and then came the dates to Australia. Come to think of it, this all happened in a flash! They announced 3 dates for Sydney and 3 for Melbourne, but they announced one after the other meaning if the shows got sold out they would announce another and so on. I purchased tickets for the two shows as soon as they were announced, I couldn't wait for them to announce any other shows. My wife being the accommodating person she is let me buy tickets to the first 2 concerts, but wasn't too keen in going to the third one, which is fair enough. So the dates we purchased tickets for were for Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th of May 2007. I couldn't believe that I was about to see them live again, considering how amazing the experience was last time around (refer to previous post Aug 2005).
As this time around both the dates were on weekdays, we had to figure something out regarding the work situation. Also the concerts were going to be held at Luna Park, which is not a very good combination with NIN. We caught the ferry from circular quay to get there as this was the fastest way possible. The doors were meant to be open at 7PM and we reached there at 6. I wasn't too fussed about the queue as I was a member of the Spiral, which had a separate entry.
Once we got in the venue, we were quite surprised to find out that there were no seats whatsoever, which was quite bad. We had planned on sitting in the comfort of seats for a better view, but had to settle for standing in the middle. The venue looked pretty small as compared to Hordern where the 2005 shows happened.
The band supporting NIN were called Sereena Meneesh, who are a Scandinavian band. They sounded pretty average in my opinion. I couldn't make sense of their music although I thought the drummer was pretty good. Once they were done with it was time for the main act. We were waiting in anticipation for Trent to come out and blow us away.
The Show:
It all started with Hyperpower! which is the first track of the new album and people just went crazy (along with us of course). Instead of me posting the set list, I reckon it's a better idea how the performances of each of them were. In total they sang 21 songs, it's amazing to think they can keep this momentum and energy up every time and still give amazing performances. In total they performed solid from 10 till 1130 non stop.

The Songs:
Hyperpower! ---> Great starting track really set the tone of the whole concert, combined with the theme of the whole album. The drumming on this track live is unbelievable. The noisy end to this song is just out of this world live. We could see the whole band besides Trent performing this one as this is an instrumental.
The Beginning of the End ---> Just like in the album, right after Hyperpower! I think this song sounds better live, it has a 'My Sharona' type beat which sounds great with all the noisy sounds in the background.
Survivalism---> Man! this song is a killer live. The sound is totally different to what it is on the audio track. The chorus was unbelievable!!! This was one of the best performances of the night. I like this song in general, but live its even better!
March of the Pigs ---> As usual this song really got the crowd worked up, showed how much energy Trent still has! Its amazing to think he has been performing this song for over 10 years now and he still gives it his all.
Heresy ----> One of my favorite songs off the Downward Spiral. I didn't have any clue that this would be performed live and it delivered. My wife doesn't like this song and doesn't like me singing it either as some lines go like 'God is dead and no one cares.. if there is a hell I'll see you there' and I think this line was sung even more passionately live.
Burn, No, You Don't, Suck, Dead Souls ----> I had heard these songs live before and they did not disappoint then and they didn't now. Before Dead Souls came on, Trent said "As you know we have a new album out which most of you have stolen, this song is not from our album and it's not even ours"

The Hand That Feeds, Closer, Gave Up, Wish ---> Star performances of the night

Help Me I Am In Hell, La Mer ---> Great interludes, Trent had a little trouble with the light over his keyboard during La Mer and had to abandon the song, it's so funny seeing Trent pissed! He just stopped the music and pushed the keyboard away
Me, I'm Not ---> The one performance I was expecting so much but didn't deliver. Maybe it was because of the fact that this was the first live performance of this song for NIN ever. Firstly, it had a little bit of problem getting set up (as this is totally computer generated) It was only him and Alessandro on stage for this. The tune of the song was not there most of the time. Trent said after the show in his blog, thats what you get when you make songs on a computer! I also believe just because these songs are so layered and so much work has gotten into them on the computer, they can't be matched live.

The Good Soldier, Only ---> I hadn't heard both of these songs live before and both were really funky tracks live. The good soldier had not been performed live ever before!

Mr Self Destruct ----> Mr Self Destruct was THE star performance of the whole show! It just went through the roof, the whole crowd was going nuts. I don't know why he hasn't performed that historically, but my compliments to him on that one.

Hurt ---> Out of the 3 NIN concerts I have been to, I definitely think that this performance was the best! He really looked as if he was totally into it and felt what he was saying. Unreal performance by him on the keyboard. It was so funny before this song started though. The roadie came and brought the keyboard to the center of the stage. Trent came and was jostling with the mike and ended up pushing it toward the keyboard which made the entire keyboard collapse. It almost fell toward to crowd! After all was settled, Trent said "Ever have one of those days?"

Head Like A Hole ----> Perfect ending to a NIN performance, it was full of energy and poise.

All in all it was a very different performance of NIN that I had seen. The lights were not that impressive, Trent said in his blog a couple of months back that he was really pissed at the lighting as he couldn't pay much attention to that part of the concert experience due to the whole album experience. I have seen better performances from him, but then again maybe I expect too much from them. I was seeing them perform 9 songs that I hadn't heard live before. Trent looked as if he was pissed generally and didn't seem his usual self, even though he looks pissed normally anyway, this time it was different. We had been wondering about his voice in some of the songs as he was sounding different?!?
As I mentioned earlier in the post, I had tickets to see them live on Thursday as well. We rocked up to the place the same way only to find out that the show had been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. Really disappointing as we had been anticipating eagerly to see them live again. They ended up canceling the 3rd Sydney show as well citing the same reasons. No one knows what happened and why they can canceled although rumors are everywhere. I suspect that he had a sore throat or something (as we did notice him sounding different) They did reschedule for the dates in September, which was quite a relief considering its not just a city in the US where they can just fly to. They would have to especially fly out to Australia to perform, but I'm glad they announced the dates. I had my heart set to see them live again and will have to wait another 4 months.
It's so weird to see so many NIN fans in the same place, normally I hardly ever meet people who are actual NIN fans. This time around I saw a far less goths though, maybe it was because I was in the spiral entrance?
As I said in the 2005 NIN concert experience, my wife was totally supportive and amazing throughout the experience. I definitely wouldn't enjoy as much if I had gone without her (which I noted in the Tool concert)
Can't wait for September!!!

Tool in Sydney

The experience of seeing Tool live was one of the best musical experiences I have ever had in my life. I had been waiting eagerly for the concert since the time I had bought tickets (I had bought tickets way back in October (I think) and the concert was in January). The build up to the concert was big as the fans in Australia had been waiting for a while to see Tool. They had been touring extensively all throughout Europe and the US before they came to Australia.

The concert was scheduled to start at 8pm, but started at around 9pm as there were so many people waiting to get inside. There was no support act so it started with Tool and ended with them. Of course there were no cameras allowed so I had to make do with my handy phone to take any pictures.

Tool started the show with a great performance of Stinkfist, which got the crowd excited and went on to perform classics like Schism, Lateralus and Aenima. Some of the performances were stand outs in my opinion, those being Jambi and Wings for Marie/10,000 days. The sound was pretty loud, although I was expecting louder as I had been warned that people ended up deaf after going to their shows.

The show overall was an amazing spectacle. Before the start of 10,000 days, they started throwing a lot of smoke in the air. It wasn’t until the song started that I realised what it was for. They started using the lasers. Man! As cheesy as they sound, they have an excellent effect on the performance. They were used sparingly and that made it even more amazing. The video projection was awesome and showed videos of songs as well as other cool stuff. The backdrop was typical Tool with Alex Greys stuff with full colour. The way they got revealed was awesome with one showing just when they came on and the other halfway through the performance of Jambi. The overall ambiance was amazing. Usually at a concert I feel the backdrops need to be good to get the overall feel of the concert. The lasers made the whole experience even better; it felt like the whole venue was involved.

Maynard was always standing at the back, which I think is really cool. Tool really show what a real band is all about by having performances from every single member of the band. The vocals are not overwhelming on the musical performances, instead every instrument is at the same level and vocals are one of them. Maynard being the kind of person he is attracts attention, but I think he makes an effort not to in Tool.

No encores to end the show, they showed their appreciation to the crowd at the end and huddled around before heading off stage.

Overall, it was an excellent show, which had more than what I had asked for and would remember it all my life.

Death of a Tyrant and the new year

I start the first post of the new year with the killing of the so called Iraqi 'Tyrant' Saddam Hussein. Hanged for crimes against humanity and hanged for brutally murdering countless number of civilians. He was hanged on the same platform where he had supposedly ordered countless number of civilians to their deaths. What has this killing achieved? Nothing. Is the world one less of a murderer? Maybe. Is the judgement fair on him? I have no idea.
I do know this though, I know that there are countless number of leaders/heads of state that have ordered mass killings and the world doesn't notice and nothing happens. Be it in the name of religion, state or whatever.
Mass murder is wrong no matter what the cause. If one is supposed to dig in history there have been many times that mass murder has occurred. The exposure and the publicity across the world would all depend on who has committed it. There would be no news or publicity about mass murders in Haiti or mass murders committed by the 'noble'. But there will be movies and publicity about mass murders that happened in China. It also depends on if the person or the leader who is committing these mass murders has the support of the 'good' nations. Of course this wont be reported until after this leader is against these 'good' nations or I should say can't be used anymore.
The death of this tyrant was none other than a big show put on for the nations and the people of the world to see that either you're with us or you're with the enemy. But the fine print is you're with us until we see the need for you, once we don't need you anymore, you CAN be with the enemy.

The new year brings with it new beginnings and new hope, I'm not very optimistic about the world for this new year. I can only hope that this new year is filled with a new brotherhood of man and peace for all mankind.

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one . (John Lennon 1971)

Happy new year to you all!

Elections, concerts and everything else...

Its been a while since I have posted and a lot has happened in the meantime.

Lets start from the US mid term elections. The American people have finally had enough of all the mess the Republicans have created, and have elected a new government. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see this happen.

We attended the U2 concert a few weekends back and attended Pearl Jam's concert the next weekend. U2 were a class act, they played almost all of the classics including One, Desire, With or without you etc. The show was quite huge as the people of Australia had been waiting for this concert for a while. The stadium held about 70 thousand people so it was quite massive. I was happy to see Bono perform and also try to get a noble message across. It made me feel good that there are still some celebrities out there that try to make a difference with the power they have. My wife managed to get a good shot from the show and yes thats actually the huge backdrop.


Pearl Jam were a great experience in their own way. It was good to see them having the same energy they have had for a while. Although Eddie Vedder was quite drunk and was drinking
throughout the show, they pulled off a great show. Even though I had not listened to all of the songs they performed before, they still managed to play their own classics like Jeremy, Better man, Even flows etc. The only shots we managed in this show were from the screens, so apologies if they're a little blurry. Pearl Jam also demonstrated what U2 did, they made comments on what people should be doing to make sure that everyone has a fair go. That everyone is equal and deserves an equal amount of respect from others.

All in all both of the above experiences were good, even though both were quite different. U2 had everything, the massive stage, the amazing backdrops, lavish lighting etc. And Pearl Jam kept it simple, no real back drop, pretty ordinary lighting etc.

Besides the above excitement, I have been in the small country town of Leeton, NSW again for the past week and have to head out there the whole of next week, so its not been a fun time. It's really hard to leave one's loved ones behind all alone. Even though I am used to living alone as I have for a number of years away from family, it still is a hard thing to do.

Family is what makes one go ahead in life, but sometimes families are not very helpful in understanding that things change in life. Especially in our culture, I feel the old way of thinking that the son is obliged to do everything what their parents say is utterly absurd. As adults, people should realize that people do grow up and can make their own decisions. Old way thinking that the daughter is supposed to marry according to her parents wishes is unnatural in todays world. Even sometimes the son is supposed to marry according to his parents wishes. Granted that in our culture and religion, the parents have their special place and are supposed to get respect from young ones. But I feel that people have taken advantage of the above fact and have trampled all over their young ones time and time again.

I say respect should be both ways. Respect to others and expect respect in return. I do not think there is anything anywhere written that says only expect respect from others and don't do anything in return.

Cut and Run

Cartoon published in the washington post on September 5, 2006.

by Pat Oliphant

Imagine

So here we are again. Once again the Middle East is at a state of unrest. The events in the last couple of weeks are typical of the history in that region. I believe that region is one where there will never be peace (at least not in my lifetime). The abduction of two soldiers by two different militant groups is not an act of bravery or success. It is an act of cowardice. What did the militant groups think of achieving from this action? Did they actually think that the might of Israel will be brought to their knees by holding them to ransom? Wrong! I admit that the groups are trying to fight an enemy who is far more powerful than both groups combined. However, if they start carrying out actions like kidnapping, I do not think that their agenda is right. The image and the message that gets conveyed to the world are ‘fanatics, extremists, cowards, terrorists etc’.
On the other hand Israel, a state that was founded by force and created in the middle of the Arab world, a state that was created with the help of the power players of the world that had other motives behind this action, a state which is one of the most powerful in the world, even though it does not have much resources. An undeclared nuclear power and a state with huge piles of weapons of mass destruction; has escalated this issue into something it is not.
There is no gain from this act of aggression. Fine! They should attack the military installations of the militant groups. But blowing up bridges, airports, infrastructure and killing civilians is a war crime. I suspect that bigger and broader goals are to be achieved by this act of aggression.
The UN Security Council has voted twice to call for a cease fire between the two parties, but alas the same old story, the United States vetoed both of them. I sometimes wonder why the US backs Israel so much. Is it because there is a lot of sentimental attachment with Israel? Is it because there are a lot of powerful Jews in the US? I don’t think so. There are bigger and longer term plans at work here I suspect. By destabilizing the most oil rich area in the world, the power players ensure that they can always have an influence/control in that are. When will Israel wake up and see that they are being used. The power players only have interest in the strategic importance of Israel not anything else. By having a powerful and trigger happy country in that region, the world powers ensure that the area may never be stable.

I have said this before; the UN is ineffective in its dealings and actions in the world. The Security Council does not have the right structure/balance or power that it needs to actually address the issues in the world at present. The 5 veto powers are not the right reflection of the world. It doesn’t make any sense if 100 countries of the world vote for one thing and then the US comes along and vetoes everything. There should be no veto powers for anyone, no country should be treated less or more than any other. But alas, I am dreaming.

As John Lennon said, ‘Imagine, there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too. Imagine all the people life in peace. You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as ONE’

To head butt or not to head butt....

The football world cup finally wound up on Sunday night. Italy rejoiced as the azzuri beat les blues to win the Holy Grail. The biggest show on earth put on an amazing couple of weeks for the entire world to see. It became a platform for the world to see how Germany has changed post cold war and how it has united into one Germany. That was one of the best things to come out of the world cup this year. To see the Germans once again united under the one flag and be patriotic about their homeland was a treat. There were several highs in the world cup in my opinion, which are as follows in no particular order:
1. Australia coming back from 1-0 behind and scoring 3 goals in the last 8 minutes against Japan.
2. Ronaldo scoring a goal against Ghana to become the leading world cup scorer of all time
3. Germany winning on penalties against Argentina
I can go on about many others, but those described above are right up there.

As always, there were a few lows in the world cup too, which I do not want to go on about. There is only one moment that topped it all out....which is (you guessed it!) Zinedine Zidane head butting Materazzi in the world cup final and being sent off. One might think why such a legend and an icon would do such a thing. The person who is one of the coolest customers as they can come in football. The person who is an icon and a hero to many in France and people around the world. The person who was ending his glittering career on the day. Why?

Reports coming out from after the world cup suggest an interesting story. Some reports are saying that Materazzi called ZZ a 'dirty terrorist'. Of course he denies it rigorously. Whatever it was, it must be something really hurtful and offensive if it got through to ZZ.
Granted things happen during a competitive game, people say things, but a person who offends another by calling them or their family something is totally unacceptable.
It is different in different sports. In cricket for example sledging is accepted as being part of the game.
Football has taken the lead in putting out a message on racism in every single game in the final stages of the world cup. Both the team captains read out a statement shunning racism. But is that enough? When people's perception and ideas are governed by media in the world, can this or will this be of any help?
What Zidane did in the world cup final was not acceptable from a fair play/football point of view. But can what Materazzi said or did be forgiven?
I agree there should be rules governing this kind of thing and football is doing the right thing in promoting the message of racism and fair play.
However, in the end the way people are given the message by their governments and their media is the only thing that really matters.

Soccerwhos??

For those of you who don't know but the football world cup is going on in Germany these days. The nations that are taking part are gripped in football fever and especially countries that are doing well. Australia for one has gone crazy over football (or soccer as they call it here) for the reason being that never in history have they even scored a goal in the world cup, they didnt even qualify for more than 15 years or so for the world cup. Now scoring more than a goal, winning a game and giving the world champions Brazil a good fight have made Aussies excited for world football. Years that have gone by no one took notice in Australia as the biggest show on earth took place in some other part of the world. But it’s a good thing I suppose, football in this country would grow because of the performance of their world cup team, which is called 'Socceroos' here.
Australia faces Croatia in their final group game that will make or break their world cup campaign. Millions of Aussies will wake up at 5 in the morning to see their heroes make history. Thousands of Aussies will spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to be at the world cup to follow their beloved team. Millions of dollars will be spent worldwide by people to either watch the game or buy stuff related to the world cup.
It’s funny to think what kind of impact the same money would have on hunger and poverty in the world.
Enjoy the game!

The Bush Dynasty

I just had to share this cartoon. It was published in the Washington Post on May 12, 2006 by Tom Toles. If any of you don't know but this refers to Mr Bush mentioning in one of his great speeches that his brother would make a great president.

Call to Arm to the Teeth

"The Bush Administration wants the capability to produce 125 nuclear bombs a year by 2022.", Sydney Morning Herald April 2006

It is clear that the powers to be do not want to get rid of the world with weapons of mass destruction. The United States is one of only a handful few that has not signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The intentions are clear, fill nuclear weapons up to the teeth and act as a bully to the world. The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country in the world today. More nuclear bombs by 2022? Any sane person would look at this and think, what are they scared of? Or trying to scare of? The only thing this action would do is to encourage other small aspiring nuclear countries to produce more of them or try to acquire them. What gives the US the right to have weapons of mass destruction as compared to the other countries in the world?
The amount of nuclear bombs the US has can destroy the entire planet 20 times over. It just scares me to think if sometime in the future there is a big conflict, the powers to be will destroy the world and we will sit by and watch.
The US is THE biggest producer of greenhouse gases in the world today. One of the only countries to have not signed the Kyoto agreement (the agreement that outlines a small plan to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions) is the United States.

In the end I suspect we will either watch the world powers destroy the world with a nuclear holocaust or the world powers will destroy the world by polluting the air and the sea. In both cases, we will have nothing to say. We will sit and watch as the world players decide our fate or I should rather say, decide our doom.

Sunshine

Well....I'm off to Leeton again....sunshine and blue skies, here I come!

10,000 days

10,000 days is the name of the new Tool album....I can't wait for it to come out! Theres an entire track listing on the official Tool website (www.toolband.com) as well. But I'm a little skeptical about the names, Tool have a tendency to lead their fans in another direction....come to think of it most singers/bands I like tend to do that....maybe thats the reason I like them. I'm dying of some new music to come out, I'm getting a little tired of the cds I have in my car...sigh if only the people who I like made music regularly. Apparently Trent has started to write new music while being on a break in his touring...I seriously believe that even if he has started writing, the new album wont see the light of day for at least two years!
On another completely different note, I was reading about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbitor successfully put itself into orbit around Mars. This is (I think) the first time that any man spacecraft has done this for Mars. Slowing down from such a high speed in space at the exact moment to put itself into orbit is an extremely hard thing to do....there is very little margin for error. This spacecraft will provide so much information that it will be equal to all missions to Mars ever! ...preeety interesting stuff!!

Freedom of Speech?

Freedom of speech is what they call this insult. There is no such thing as freedom of speech in this world of today. Insults and no respect are given to other religions/cultures. There is only one good and the rest are evil. No words I can say can express what and how I feel about this. Even though I know how they feel about all this and always have, but seeing it happen so openly still hurts the very core of every Muslim in the world.
On a brighter note, this shows the true power and the unity Muslims have. Only one thing can unite all of them, which is what we’re seeing these days. From South East Asia to Europe and to America, everyone is united for once into one. If only all of the Muslims of the world would forget about bitter differences and unite. The world map would look a lot different to what it is now.

On a side note, I have been visiting a very different part of Australia these days. I am visiting a town called Leeton which is in the heart of the rice growing areas of Australia. It is in the middle of New South Wales and you can only get here in a small propeller plane. You get here and you see what Australia is really all about. I have not met a single non Aussie person here. People look at me and have ‘that’ look, meaning they know I’m not from around here. People are friendly and warm. Everyone knows everyone. Whenever you pass anyone on the street while walking, they would smile and say hello. There is only one small market, no malls, no McDonald’s even. People live in big houses with big yards and swimming pools, 40 degree temperatures every day and cloudless skies.
Small towns, sunshine, isolation, smiling and warm Australians, that is the real Australia.

Clear and present danger

It is the taste of the time, ‘Terrorism’ is evil. The term terrorism has been in use since the Reagan years, when the Cold war was winding up. It seemed that the people in power needed this in order to present a case to the public about this danger that they were facing. As far as I can recall, I remember people living in fear, one thing or the other. There is always something that you need to be afraid of in this world. Before the time of Islamic militancy, there was the cold war where the world watched as the world’s two superpowers played a game of chess, using countries as pawns. But was it really between two superpowers? History as we now know it is based on events such as the Cuban missile crisis. Almost everyone who knows about the cold war knows about this crisis. But little do they realise and know what the details were behind this crisis. The United States placed its Jupiter missiles in Turkey that directly threatened cities in western parts of the Soviet Union. When the Russians lodged a complaint to the Americans, they were given an answer like any bully would give, ‘Go fuck yourselves!’ Russia did not take this gesture very seriously and continued to pursue a means for the Americans to remove these from Turkey but to no avail. It even went to the UN to resolve this issue but the Americans did not take kindly to this and continued placing their missiles in Turkey. History/Media would suggest that it was the Russians who created a threat when they put missiles aimed at America. The United States went to the UN to expose the ‘missile threat’ and almost even started the war because of this crisis during the Kennedy years.
Americans lived in fear throughout the cold war. Children were hiding beneath their desks showing a sign of readiness in the United States. But was there really a threat? Take statistics of the military capability, it is clear who was the superpower in this ‘conflict’. So was there really a clear and present danger? Maybe there was, but the fact of the matter is, it was the United States and its policies that created this mass hysteria and panic. Countless movies have come and gone presenting an American view of the cold war. Don’t people realise that there are always two sides to one story?
American policy has always been to make its own people live in a sense of fear, Why do you ask? Well it is clear. The US in its long term goal of world domination knows if their own population is under control, they can keep on building weapons of mass destruction and keep on expanding its ‘war on terror’ to a number of countries without having to answer at home. The American people are the only ones that can do anything to the United States. The people of power there know this. They know that if they don’t present a credible threat to its people, there will be no support for any kind of war.
Terrorism has always been on the agenda for a very long time, but how do they show that there is a clear threat to the people of United States? Fortunately for them, 9/11 happened. This was an ideal opportunity! They can do everything and anything based on the face of terror. New laws, new rules! The phrase of innocent until proven guilty was turned upside down and meant that one is guilty until proven innocent.
There will always be a clear and present danger present. That is why I don’t think that mankind will ever evolve enough to reach the level of Star Trek (where there is total peace in the world and mankind has united into one). There will always be a clear and present danger present that allows the power players to control this world of ours.

The Myth Of Human Rights

Human rights have been one issue in the world that has been championed by some and exploited by others. The establishment of the UN was a sign that the world will not stand and look when people are being oppressed. The world stood united (or at least theoretically) against tyranny.
Over the years we have seen the United States in particular, champion human rights all over the world. All the ones who suppressed their people were the enemies of US unfortunately this was just a big white lie. The US stood side by side with leaders such as Pinochet, Saddam etc when it was in the best interest of them. Don't get me wrong I very well know that never ever did the US think well about human rights. But one thing in my opinion has changed these years; it’s the fact that the US has flagrantly and openly violated human rights all over the world and the world has stood by and watched. One example was the pictures from the Abu Gharib prison after the invasion of Iraq. The US responded by saying that these were isolated incidents and that the US army should not be judged by these. And now we have seen pictures of US soldiers burning human bodies in Afghanistan. Isolated incidents?? I think not! This is just a very small example of the horrors of war and the culture of the American way.
No big protest happened; no all out outrage took place all over the world. Have the people become so ignorant that the people who were getting burnt are nothing as compared to some people stuck in the basement of their hotel where hurricane Wilma struck (I refer to the fact that the Australian Media went crazy about the fact that one couple was stuck in a basement of a hotel in Mexico while they were honeymooning when the hurricane Wilma struck).
I do not understand how people can be so ignorant and cold!?!?
Are nationalities so important that the simple matter of rights and respect (especially after death!) that everyone in the world should deserve, are totally forgotten?
One thing is for sure, the myth of human rights stays on. The UN is a dud and the world is ruled by only One Superpower.

My Meeting with Nine Inch Nails

Warning: Excited happy go lucky fan alert. Wording and grammer have not been cared for in the following blog. It was written to get the true feeling out.

It was just another day when all of this started; I was looking forward to going to the concert and catch a glimpse of the best music I’ve heard in my life. The music of Nine inch nails has been such a major influence in my life that it was hard to believe that I would be going to see them live. It was a Saturday morning and I was checking my email in the morning before heading out to catch a movie. I receive this email from the spiral (which is the fan club of nine inch nails). Intrigued, I open the email to my astonishment and utter disbelief that the email said this:

“as a selected premium spiral member we would like to extend an invitation to you to come down and meet the band while we are touring in your part of the world. we're trying to coordinate this meet and greet with one of the australian shows you may already be planning to attend. please respond with date/show you currently have tickets, along with confirmation of your legal member name. thank you for your support and upon confirmation i will forward further meet and greet instructions.”

I did not know what to do, I did not know to believe it or discard it. But I took the chance and replied to the email right away giving them the details of my membership. My heart was pounding like anything as it was just disbelief and also a bit of suspicion that this all could be just a fake. It’s the next day and I receive yet another email from the Spiral membership, this time my heart was pounding even harder, my heart in my stomach and I open the email which is as follows:
“you and one guest are invited down to meet the band on saturday august 20th. please meet in front of the venue at 4:30pm. "Sully", one of the guys traveling with the tour will meet with you at that time and give you all the instructions for the meet and greet. though we know you don't have your spiral membership card yet, please do bring some sort of id that confirms your legal (member name / not user id) name. feel free to bring one item to have signed. thank you again for your support and your spiral membership. we look forward to seeing you soon.”

I went through the roof, and I mean literally went through the roof. I could not believe this was happening to me. After all these years of going crazy about this amazing band, I would not only be seeing them live but potentially be also ‘meeting’ them. I did not know what to think, what to take to get autographed, what to ask etc etc. This email was sent to me on the 13th of August and I can’t tell you how hard the next 4 days went.
The day of the concert on Friday was amazing, I left my office early in order to get into the line at 5 and we managed to be the first few who were there to wait till 7 till the gates finally opened. We went inside to hear the weird/catchy/dark/techno kind of music and dark lights and everything in black. The start of the concert was bad as expected with the opening act just making the people even crazier for man in black to come out. The man in black came and amazed all of us by putting in a show of amazing intensity, lights, energy and sound. Starting the concert with the frail and the wretched and blending the new songs with the old. The man had the crowd amazed, even though some people in the Sydney crowd were just sitting in their seats like zombies and clapping at the end of each song. The man had given it all he had and it was just an amazing performance. My feelings after the concert were mixed; I was going even crazier now that I had seen them there. But there was still a part of me that was ready and prepared for when things would not go as plan and this all turned out to be just a hoax.
The day of the second concert, we had some stuff to do during the day and I did not have the mind or the stomach to do anything right. My hands shook when I was eating, spilling food occasionally. My stomach had a constant stomach ache and trips to the washroom were more frequent. My heart was racing all day long, until it was time for us to head towards the arena in the afternoon. My wife had been amazingly supportive throughout this ordeal, even making fun of my in the afternoon to calm my nerves, telling me that she’s going to tell everyone how I was acting all day. We head to the arena at 4 where they had indicated to meet at 430. We saw a group of people standing there talking but we didn’t know if they were just talking or were they one of the group to meet. We walked towards them and a guy with a NIN badge, wearing all black with a black cap, wearing glasses and holding a list in his hand was visible. The guy noticed us and asked, “How may I help u”, I asked if his name was Sully and he agreed. I told him my name and offered to show my ID, but instead the guy said you don’t need to man, its cool, you didn’t see the list. I saw my name on the list and I’m about to fall on the ground as my knees were going to give. He told us the instructions that the band has opened up for the first time and doesn’t want their pictures to be taken during the experience. They would rather have a conversation and an experience with the fans rather than posing and say next. Disappointment was there, but the feeling that this was finally happening was so overwhelming that not a single drop of it came through. The man gave us two purple bands to put on our hands and asked us to meet in front of the gate at 10 minutes to 5pm.
We didn’t go anywhere and stayed there holding my t shirt in my hands that were all sweaty. Of course everyone wanted to talk to Mr. Sully as he was the man with the power there. An interesting fact came through out of this conversation, which was about the movie batman. The next batman that stars the same people is going to be about the Joker (which was already decided in the last movie), but to our surprise the joker is going to be none other than Mr. Sean Penn! How did Sully come about in knowing this? Well, when people were making small talk with the guy, he merely mentioned that he went partying with Clive Owen and Sean Penn and that’s where he found out. The time seemed to drag on and that hour was the hardest to pass.

Once it was time, Sully took us inside the first gate and led us into an area just outside of the side entrance of the arena. This was still out in the open where the security had set up. We could hear the band inside playing ‘You know what you are’ and ‘The Collector’ giving us all shivers. I could not believe this was happening to me and the band was right inside, just a few steps away from us. Sully’s radio crackled and it was someone from inside asking us to wait just a little bit more and let them complete this song. Sully gave us the final instructions, told us not to please take any pictures and be respectful of the band as they’re not performing and would appreciate if we don’t take any. He also told us we could stand basically wherever we wanted to (besides the stage of course). Finally, the radio crackled again as the song ended and we were let in. The arena was quiet as a tomb, no sound whatsoever. We started walking inside and we could see the stage with smoke, the band right there just visible in the smoke. I couldn’t help but quicken my pace and walk towards the stage. The place was empty! It felt weird as just one day before the same place was full of people and there was no space to stand let alone walk. The lighting was different and it was very bright as compared to the previous day when it was all dark. I saw Aaron North on standing on the right side of the stage, Jeordie White standing on the left side of the stage. Jerome Dillon was on the right back side of the stage and Alessandro was on the far left side. And last but definitely not the least, Trent Reznor himself was standing in the middle but he wasn’t visible as he had his back to us and he was fiddling with the keyboard behind the smoke that was everywhere.
We reached the stage, everyone could not say anything and the silence was weird. Trent finally turned and gave a small wave to the crowd and we waved back. He did not say anything and the band started Jerome started drumming and they started to sing ‘Love is not enough’. I could not believe they were only 2 feet away from us! I could see the entire band right there! Trent was singing passionately like he always does and so was Jerome at the drums. Aaron was playing it like it was nothing, of course not anything like he performs in concerts when he’s everywhere. So was Jeordie, who was just playing his guitar casually. Oh God, I can’t express in words how amazing the experience was. To hear Nine Inch Nails live was amazing in the first place, but standing two feet away with them playing songs only for the 15 of us? Was just out of this world!!! Trent finished the song and everyone started clapping and Trent gave a subtle thank you. Trent was wearing a casual black T shirt with dark denim jeans, wearing small boots like CATS. With that song Trent went back and had some coffee that was near the keyboard. He also took some medicine? Don’t know what it was for though, but I did read in the press one day before that he had the flu. With that he stood next to the keyboard and started playing the frail, I had goose bumps all over. It was as though the music was dealing a blow to my heart with every tone. They went on to play two more songs, ‘Even Deeper’ and ‘No You don’t’.

When the last song was over, they started to put their instruments away. Sully came over and told us to line up across the bar where we were standing. My heart was pounding like anything.
The band members started from the left and Trent from the right. We were on the far left corner, so maybe the 3rd or the 4th couple. First was Jeordie, when he came to us. I put the T shirt I had brought to get signed on the bar so that he could sign it. He was very quiet and no one was saying anything as he signed my t shirt. Of course he started with a hand shake and asked how I was and I did the same. The next thing he asked was really unexpected! He asked ‘What’s Halo seventeen?’ (The shirt that I was getting signed said that on the front) I was caught off guard, but I answered ‘It’s And all that could have been’ and he just smiled and started to move on. Next in line was Aaron North, I wanted to make the most of it this time and I asked if he was having a good time in Australia after asking how he was. And he answered ‘Yea it’s been fun, too hot though I was looking to spend some time in the cold weather here’ I said, ‘that’s surprising’. That was basically it for the conversation with Aaron.
Next came Jerome, I didn’t know how tall he was, he’s probably about 6 feet 2 or around that. He’s really thin and has amazing eyes; I noticed his eyes when I asked him my question. I asked ‘How do you keep yourself physically fit considering you have the most physical job in the group?’ Jerome answered by saying that he’s quit smoking; he goes to the gym every day and eats right. Jerome looked very sincere in the way he was talking and it was really nice to talk to him. Allesandro followed, and my question to him was the same I asked Aaron, he answered by saying he’s enjoying his time and said exactly the same thing, which was about the weather. I asked if he had been to the beaches as yet, and he said that he’s not really a beach person and like to stay indoors.
When the entire band members were done, it was only Trent who was left, who took about 5 mins to get to us, of course everyone wanted to talk to him and he was surprisingly spending time with people. We could see him on our right slowly coming closer and closer, we saw him smiling! which is one thing I haven’t seen him do much in photos. When he was right next to us standing and talking to the person standing right next to us, it was unnerving! My heart was beating as if I had been jogging, I didn’t know what to thin or what to say. He finally reached and started signing what I had with me. But the stupid jerk person standing on our right couldn’t stop talking and just went on and on. Finally, he looked at me! And said, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and I told him how I was and asked how he was. He answered saying very well. I actually shook his hand!!!! He had a smile on his face, indicating that he was really cool about all this and wanted to spend time with us. He didn’t have an arrogant look whatsoever! I asked him ‘How do you keep your energy up with all the touring and concerts all over the world’ after thinking for like two seconds, he said ‘You know, eat well, get sleep, and eat vegetables yea you know do what your mom said’ I couldn’t say anything, my mouth was dry and frozen, I was like ‘OK!’ my wife managed to ask how did he get all those muscles, and he answered by saying ‘Oh that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 100 years, which is since the last album and laughed’ my wife said, ‘well, you look great!’ and he gave a smiling thank you. I’m sure thousands of girls have asked and said something about this.
He came across as a very friendly guy, not arrogant one bit and very, what can you say, normal. He seemed very much focussed in spending time with the fans, he seemed to be in the moment and not think about anything else. The point about spending time with each and every fan there was just wonderful. The purpose behind that was the reasoning Sully told us before the experience, which was that the band would rather spend time with the fans, rather than to just say next and get pictures taken. All in all, it was just a wonderful experience and I will never ever forget it. The way he shook my hand, the way he talked to me face to face. The performance in front us before the actual show, the feeling before and after the experience, it’s just too overwhelming to pass. I still feel like screaming out of my lungs thinking about it, I’ve actually met Trent Reznor! Sometimes I can’t believe that it’s actually happened, it’s really like a dream come true.
When this was all done, we thanked the band and off they went and off we went led by Sully. We were given the opportunity to come 15 minutes before the gates opened to buy merchandise and basically stand anywhere we wanted to before the people came in.
The experience of meeting Nine Inch nails has been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had in my entire life. Something that is not even in my dreams came true and I will always be thankful to God and of course Trent himself for making this dream come true.

Even Deeper

I am writing this post today with no particular thought or reason. Come to think of it I have not posted on this site for a while. I sometimes think about all there is wrong in the world I get depressed. But other times I try not to think about all that and try to live my life in ignorance. As the saying goes 'ignorance is bliss' is quite relaxing and satisfying at times. I am one of the fortunate people on this planet to manage that comfort.

On a very different note, I saw where the Voyager 1 space probe has reached and it really fascinates me. The Voyager 1 space probe was launched in 1977 on a mission to explore Saturn (I think) it was supposed to stop functioning in 5 years time and the amazing thing is that it is still functioning. The scientists at NASA decided to use this luck and directed it to go where no other probe has gone before. Suppose the solar system is like a disk, so the Voyager 1 space probe was directed upwards ie if u stand on the disk and look up, thats where it has been sent. And now it has reached a distance that signifies the end of the solar system. No other man made thing has even reached this far and this probe has gone further.
The stars fascinate me, they are full of intrigue. Did you know that we're one of a billion other solar systems? which are contained in a billion galaxies? which are contained in a billion other things which I dont even know the name of. Its just so amazing that it is sometimes beyond belief. I sometimes wonder why God has made all this, I wonder that even when and if we find the secret to light speed, we can never ever manage to search and explore the entire universe. It is just too vast and massive to ever be explored. The laws of physics and science will not allow earth's survival for that long. We are one small atom on a grain of sand on a beach in the world. The laws of science/maths also allow us not to be alone in this universe. It really doesnt matter if there is someone out there, by the time either they or us reach each other, there will probably be no remnants of either on the planet to find out if someone did exist. There is no conclusion or question to this thought.

So...are we alone?

"Think for yourself...question authority....think for yourself....question authority. Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorising fact that we do not know who we are or where we're going in this ocean of chaos, its been the authorities: the political, the religious, the educational authorities who attempted to comfort us by giving us...ORDER, RULES, REGULATIONS informing forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable, openmindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability to Inform youself" - 'Third Eye Live' Salival - Tool

I have always been fascinated by this quote. Thinking from an objective point of view it seems really real. I mean come to think of it...it makes perfect sense. Humans have always found the fact that we're all alone in this vast universe 'disturbing'. Doesnt it also make sense that before we started our quest to look for other life out there, we created stuff to make ourselves feel better that there IS someone out there. Maybe we really are alone in this universe? maybe we did get created through mere 'coincidence' that this planet was hit by comets to give it the march towards life, and eventually it will be the same thing which will destroy life that once created it.
What our faith tells us is that there is something bigger than us out there, there is someone out there watching out for us. Its human psychology to think of someone looking out for us as being comforting. Makes perfect sense doesnt it ;)

So what is wrong with the world?

What is going on in the world these days? What exactly is wrong with all of us? Why have we become so selfish...when in history did we decide that from now on we will do our best 'not' to help our fellow man in need? All over the world I see people living in their own small worlds, ignorant of the fact that we are being controlled by someone or something...now THAT is the key thing...'ignorance'.
The people who want to control this world of ours, bank on this ignorance and do what they would like to do. Is it because they have made us so self indulgent, that we do not think about the people who really need the help? All over the world small countries are being exploited, their resources stolen, their people ignored. Why is it that the countries who have nothing to give are the ones that are the less likely to recieve??
Why is it that the countries who are the most murderous and suppressive get the most from our so called 'leaders' of the world?? and why does a murderer, a dictator suddenly becomes a saviour of the people? and the same person is abandoned and reverted back to the standard of being a murderer once all the work is done??
This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are being controlled by someone so blatantly and easily. Why are they good and the rest evil??
They are good because they are the most powerful and rich in the world, that is why they are 'good'. The rest are evil because they dont have the power or the resources to be called 'good'.
Throughout human history there have been empires who have tried controlling the world, but they had it all wrong. No empire knew the ways or the skills the current empire does, not at any time in human history the world was controlled and manipulated like this.
Makes you wonder, what is wrong with the world?? Its not what is wrong with the world....its what is wrong with us!