All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.
World Wide Web

Should the word “retarded’ be used???

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You hear that word, “retarded” everywhere. Mostly people use that word as a different word to call people, “stupid”. People use the word, “retarded” in many other ways. The word “retarded”, is especially most used all over the internet.

This is a well written blog post, explaining why the word being used is wrong. People need to be careful and watch their mouth when they use the word retarded.

I’ve been called a retarded person by some people a lot of times. Not because they call me that word for being stupid, people actually think of me as a mentally handicapped person and I’ve been accused of going to special ed school which none of it’s true. I may have some imperfections, but that doesn’t make me a retarded person.

I personally can’t stand it when people use that word, myself. People use it ’cause they want to feel tough in front of their friends. They like the attention when they use that word. When people use that word, they get a mixed reaction, some will get offended and some will think it’s alright. That’s the kind of attention they get when they use that word. I see that word being used in facebook status’s and comments everyday. People think they’re cool when they use it, that’s the only reason they use it.

If people used that word in front of my face, they would certainly get a punch in the mouth.

Kev

music

This Day In Music: 12/31/11

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Musician Birthdays: Andy Summers (guitarist of the Police, born in 1942), Donna Summer (US disco singer, famous for the hit “Hot Stuff”, born in 1948), Paul Westerberg (guitarist, singer for the Replacements, born in 1960), Scott Ian (guitarist, singer for Anthrax, born in 1963)

– In 1955: Based on sales from stores, radio and jukebox plays Billboard named ‘Unchained Melody’ by Les Baxter the number 1 US song of 1955.

– In 1961: The Beach Boys made their live debut using their new name when they appeared at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, California.

– In 1963: The Kinks made their live debut when they played at the Lotus House Restaurant, London.

– In 1966: The Monkees started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with the Neil Diamond song ‘I’m A Believer’. Also No.1 in the UK in 1967.

– In 1967: American songwriter and producer Bert Berns died of heart failure aged 38. He wrote many classic songs including ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘Hang On Sloopy’, ‘Here Comes the Night’, ‘I Want Candy’ and ‘Brown Eyed Girl’.

– In 1970: Paul McCartney filed a suit against the rest of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership.

– In 1973: Australian band AC/DC made their live debut when they appeared at Chequers Bar in Sydney.

– In 1979: David Bowie performed an acoustic version of ‘Space Oddity’ on the UK TV ‘Kenny Everett New Year’s Show’.

– In 1984: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, crashed his Corvette Stingray, on the A57 outside Sheffield, Allen lost his left arm in the accident. Allen was on his way to a New Year’s Eve party at his family’s home when a Jaguar passed him. The driver had been egging Allen on and would not allow him to pass. In his rage to pass this driver, he did not see a turn up ahead and lost control of his car. He was thrown from the car, with his left arm severed due to the seatbelt not being properly fastened.

– In 1985: Ricky Nelson was killed along with six others, when his charted light aircraft crashed in Texas. It’s rumoured that freebasing cocaine caused an onboard explosion. Nelson had played himself on his parent’s US TV The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet.’ (1958 US No.1 ‘Poor Little Fool’, 1961 UK No.2 single ‘Hello Mary Lou’ plus over 30 US Top 40 hit singles).

– In 1991: Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all appeared on the same bill at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California.

– In 1994: Garth Brooks started a seven-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, ‘The Hits’.

– In 1996: Paul McCartney became a Sir after he was listed in the Queens New Year’s Honours List.

– In 2000: Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn. The couple separated in 2006.

– In 2001: UK record chain HMV listed the best selling music products over Christmas: ‘No Angel’ by Dido was the best selling album, Kylie Minogue sold the most calendars, Kurt Cobain: ‘Heavier Than Heaven’ was the best selling book and D-12 T-Shirt was listed as the No.1 seller.

– In 2005: The John Lennon song Imagine was voted the nations favourite song a quarter of a century after his death. A UK radio station conducted the poll of 7,000 listeners. The Beatles were voted into second and third place with ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Let It Be.’

 

 

movies

Film Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

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Starring: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer

Directed by: David Fincher

Even though I picked this film as my No. 1 film of the year for 2011, I thought I would give this film a more detailed review to explain why. Here it is…

Plot/synopsis: A disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, teams up with a young computer hacker, named Lisbeth Salander, to search for a missing woman named Harriet, who has been gone for 40 years. 

A lot of people liked the Swedish version with Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth, I didn’t. The Swedish version had way too many problems. In the Swedish version, they made Mikael Blomkist, a kind, caring, good guy type of character when he wasn’t like that in the book. In the book, he had a don’t give a fuck, tough guy kind of attitude and wouldn’t give up until this missing woman is found. Plus, the Swedish version left too much out of the book and changed the story around.

This novel had a large following in Sweden and then slowly became more popular in the US. Finally, David Fincher, who is one of my favorite directors, did his take on the story. Honestly, I never was going to get into the Millennium series because all the internet buzz about the novel, got me into it. Like everyone else, I became addicted to the Lisbeth Salander character. This story deserves to get known in the US and David Fincher was the perfect director to do that job. I could see no other director doing this movie.

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth in the Swedish version, was okay, but that wasn’t how the character was in this book. Noomi’s version, she wasn’t shy, and she was a little more evil and aggressive in this one. Rooney Mara’s version of the character stayed true to the novel. In the book, Lisbeth was described as very emotional and tough, but she also had heart and she can love people when she wanted it. Rooney Mara did a great job staying true to the character. I never liked Rooney Mara as an actress too much, but she showed her acting talent as Lisbeth in this one, that I gave her a little more respect.

Fincher’s version is more stylish and different. It’s a very dark movie and the pacing maybe a little slow, but you’ll become addicted to the story as soon as it starts and will keep you watching ’til the very end.

I was also impressed with Trent Reznor’s score for this film. His scores in movies are getting better and better. I didn’t want Trent to retire from Nine Inch Nails, but when he announced he was quitting Nine Inch Nails to start a career scoring movies, I’m beginning to think that what he did was a good thing. At first I didn’t think Trent had enough talent to score movies, but I thought wrong. He already won an Oscar for “The Social Network”, and here’s another great score for, “Dragon Tattoo”. He is very talented at composing music for movies.

I was most impressed on how faithful and true the movie was to the book. The movie matched every scene from the book perfectly. Didn’t really leave anything out at all. Movie adaptations from novels always had a problem with leaving stuff out and changing the story around, but that didn’t happen with this film. Even the rape scene and all the sex is in there as well.

Lisbeth Salander is one of the best movie characters in a long time. Could she easily line up with all the other great movie characters like the Terminator, Rambo, Clark Griswold, ET, Bill the Butcher, Heath Ledger’s Joker, and Indiana Jones? Yes, absolutely!!! This movie maybe dark, graphic and disturbing, but the Lisbeth Salander character wouldn’t matter if the controversial stuff wasn’t part of the story.

Stieg Larrson inspired this story, from the Pippi Longstocking children’s book, that’s where it all came from. Fincher’s version was pretty masterful and this is why I had chosen this film to be the best movie of the year. I think the story was made as a way to bring awareness to sexual violence against women and that stuff still happens to this day. Fincher did a phenomenal job, and I hope he directs the other two sequels to this movie, “Girl Who Played with Fire” and “Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”. I haven’t read “Hornet’s Nest” yet, the third book, I plan on buying that book for my Ipad soon.

I don’t think “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Fincher will be Oscar worthy for “Best Picture” but it be cool if it actually got the nomination.

Score for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” = **** (4 stars as in excellent”)

Kev

Health and Fitness

Another problem for bodybuilders with scoliosis…

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Not only that bodybuilders who have scoliosis have a hard time getting accepted into the fitness world, another problem we have is the feedback with the progress photos. A lot of people have a hard time looking at bare backs that are curvy and all. A lot of them think it’s creepy and disturbing to look at, even though they don’t want to admit that the back is pretty defined and muscular. That’s why those kind of photos either get mostly negative feedback or no feedback at all.

Thing is, I used to be afraid to go shirtless in front of people ’cause I  was afraid of the kind of feedback I’d get. No matter what people think of my progress photos, you should still give me credit for the bravery and confidence. I’m no longer afraid to go shirtless anymore. Fitness helped me become more confidence.

If my spine was perfectly straight and normal, maybe people would accept it more, but I’m not perfect and there’s  nothing I can do about this. It’s how I’m going to live.

I’m going to keep doing this fitness thing for the rest of my life, and will keep going throughout 2012. I hope to get better at nutrition and become more leaner & muscular in the new year. I’m going to keep doing what I do, no matter what people say or think.

Kev

music

This Day In Music: 12/30/11

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Musician Birthdays: Mike Nesmith (vocals, guitarist for The Monkees, born in 1942), Davy Jones (vocals, guitarist for The Monkees, born in 1945), Patti Smith (singer/songwriter, spoken word artist, poet, also responsible for starting the NYC punk rock movement which she is famous for performing at the CBGB’s, born in 1946), Tracy Ullman (singer, stand up comic, actress, born in 1959), Tyrese Gibson (singer/songwriter, rapper, actor, model, born in 1978)

– In 1962: Singer Brenda Lee was hurt when she attempted to rescue her poodle, Cee Cee from her burning house. Cee Cee later died of smoke inhalation.

– In 1967: The Beatles scored their 15th US No.1 with ‘Hello Goodbye’, Gladys Knight and the Pips were at No.2 with ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and The Monkees at No.3 with ‘Daydream Believer.’

– In 1968: Led Zeppelin appeared at Gonzaga University Gymnasium, Spokane on their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge.

– In 1969: Peter Tork quit The Monkees, buying himself out of his contract which left him broke.

– In 1978: Emerson Lake and Palmer announced their official break up.

– In 1999: George Harrison and his wife Olivia were attacked when an intruder broke into their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Olivia beat off the attacker with a poker and heavy lamp. Harrison who was stabbed in the chest was admitted to hospital and treated for a collapsed lung and various minor stab wounds. His wife, Olivia, was treated for cuts and bruises she had suffered in the struggle with the intruder. Police later arrested Michael Abram from Liverpool who had nursed an irrational obsession with the Beatles.

– In 2002: Diana Ross was arrested for drink driving by the Arizona highway patrol after a motorist called to report a swerving vehicle in the western state of Arizona. When asked to walk in a straight line she fell over, could not count to 30 or balance on one foot. Police said the singer was twice over the drink drive limit with a blood-alcohol of 0.20, the legal limit is 0.08.

– In 2002: The funeral of former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer took place in London. Strummer had died of a suspected heart attack on 22nd Dec 2002 aged 50.

– In 2003: Cris Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets was arrested and accused of hitting a federal post office security guard in the head with a baton that the musician took from the guard during a struggle, the guard then shot Kirkwood in the back. The incident began over a dispute about parking with another customer at a Phoenix post office.

– In 2006: R&B singer Brandy was involved in a four-car crash that left one woman dead, after the singer failed to slow down and hit the back of another car. Brandy was alone in her car and no alcohol or drugs were involved.

movies

The Best and Worst Movies of 2011…

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Ok guys, finally here it is. The blog post that you’ve all been waiting for. Here is the best and worst for 2011. One thing to keep in mind though that the films I choose in this post are my opinions alone. I don’t need to have the same opinions as everyone else, so if you disagree with something, I don’t care.

It’s really hard picking the best films, simply because, I’ve seen way too many movies this year, so I went through the ones I’ve seen and in this best of list, are the films that I loved the most. For the best films, I will choose 15. The worst, I will choose only 5 choices.

It wasn’t that great of a year for movies but I did the best I could to see the good stuff, and here’s what I could find.

Enjoy the read…

15. Cowboys and Aliens 

(This is a fantastic popcorn action/adventure by “Iron Man” director, Jon Favreau. Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford team up together in this movie which makes it even better. The story is fun and just an exciting movie all around.)

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

(I hate most Marvel movies, and finally, they did a really good one. I was very impressed with the Captain America movie. Chris Evans made a great Captain America, plus Hugo Weaving playing the villain Red Skull was badass. The action was fun too.)

13. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

(This was actually a pretty well made movie, I was pretty impressed with it. Of course, we could do without James Franco in it, but other than that the movie was fine. Andy Serkis and John Lithgow were part of the reasons they made this movie worth watching. I’m a huge Planet of the Apes fan, always have been.)

12. Paranormal Activity 3

(This is the best of the trilogy so far. They did a good job with the scare this time around, and still can’t get over of how shocking the ending really was. Seriously the ending to this movie, will really blow your mind and will get you to scratch your head. I like what they’re doing with the Katie Featherston story and looking forward to seeing where it’s going next.)

11. Moneyball

(If Jonah Hill doesn’t get Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Role for this excellent film, I don’t know if I will bother watching the Oscars. Jonah Hill, is mostly known for comedy, but he decided to do something different and serious, to show off his acting talent. He wants to show you that he can be an actor and not just a funny guy, he proves that well. Brad Pitt’s performance was great, and it’s just a fun movie, giving you insight on the politics stuff about professional baseball.)

10. The Beaver

(This is Mel Gibson’s best acting in a long while. This was a serious movie and told a realistic story. I really hope the Oscars don’t snub Mel for this movie either ’cause he really deserves a nomination for this performance.)

9. Insidious

(Another one of the best horror films of this year. You don’t need to have blood & guts to be scary. James Wan is one of the best horror film directors around.)

8. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 2

(Even though the movie didn’t really follow the book, it still was a great film. The film was an action packed ride, and it was the darkest Harry Potter film of them all. Ralph Fiennes delivers a great performance as Voldermort in this one, and the film gets deep into Professor Snape’s past. If you plan on checking out the Harry Potter flicks, you have to watch them all in order or you won’t understand anything about the Deathly Hallows.)

7. Hobo With A Shotgun

(This movie had to be high on the list. It’s an indie film, wasn’t really shown in a lot of theaters around the States, but it’s still an amazing film. I loved it too much. It’s a violent action movie starring Rutger Hauer, a homeless guy who decides to fight crime himself. It’s violent and gory all the way through, plus the film’s directing style is great. Check it out. It should be streamable on Netflix.)

6. Colombiana

(Female action stars have a hard time being accepted in Hollywood lately, but I think it’s time for Zoe Saldana to shine. This movie got mixed opinions, you either loved it or hate it, but I fuckin’ loved it!!! It had everything you could ask for. Violence, gun shooting, explosions, fighting, etc. It was also hot and sexy. I thought the film told a pretty good story, it’s a revenge movie. I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel now.)

5. Immortals

(A lot of people bashed this movie to death, but did they see the same movie I saw? I absolutely loved it!!! Henry Cavill, the UK actor, proves he can be a good action star. The direction style of this movie is unique and different. This film had to be high on the list. Nothing wrong with the film at all, in my opinion.)

4. Warrior

(A sports film about MMA fighters that stars Tom Hardy. Nick Nolte also delivers a very strong Oscar worthy performance in this movie. I also hope Nolte gets nominated for this film. You can definitely call this film a modern day Rocky.)

3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

(This is one of the best action movies of this year. Tom still has what it takes to be an action star. Go Tom!)

2. The Help

(This was gonna be my no. 1 choice, but I had to move it up a little. “The Help” starring, Emma Stone and Viola Davis. This is a serious film about the civil rights movement in 1960’s where black maids have a hard time working for white people. I loved this film too much. I hope Viola Davis gets nominated for this film and it will probably get a “Best Picture” nomination as well.)

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

(I just got back from this movie earlier tonight. The film was a total masterpiece. Way better than the Swedish version. David Fincher did a phenomenal job with the American Version. I thought Rooney Mara did fantastic playing Lisbeth. Most surprisingly of all, the movie followed the book very well. Didn’t really leave anything out at all. Plus Trent Reznor’s score keeps getting better and better, every film he plays music too. “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is definitely the best film of the year. I was blown away by it.)

The Worst Films (with no explanation)

5. The Ward

4. Limitless

3. The Adjustment Bureau

2. Bad Teacher

1. The Muppets

There were more films that I liked this year, but I only listed the best ones.

Hope you enjoyed the list.

Kev

music

This Day In Music: 12/29/11

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Musician Birthdays: Marianne Faithful (UK singer/songwriter, one time girlfriend of Mick Jagger, also famous as the special guest vocalist for the Metallica song, “The Memory Remains”, born in 1946)

– In 1956: Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboards Top 100 for week ending Dec 19th.

– In 1966: Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’, recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects.

– In 1968: Led Zeppelin appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Portland on their first North American tour opening for Vanilla Fudge.

– In 1973: Jim Croce scored his second No.1 US single of the year when ‘Time In A Bottle’ went to the top of the charts. Croce was killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert on September 20th 1973.

– In 1980: American singer, songwriter Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose. Hardin wrote the songs ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ (covered by Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash and June Carter, The Four Tops, Leon Russell, Small Faces, Robert Plant and Bob Seger,) and ‘Reason To Believe’, (covered by Rod Stewart). Hardin appeared at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

– In 2001: Aretha Franklin was suing a US newspaper which alleged that the star had alcohol problems. The singer’s lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida-based Star claiming she was defamed by an article in the paper in December 2000 and were seeking $50m (£35m) in damages.

– In 2006: The wife of rock singer Marilyn Manson, Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese filed for divorce after just a year of marriage. The couple married in December 2005 in a ceremony held at a castle in Ireland.

Videogame news

“Batman: Arkham City” not quite done yet, but still ways to go…

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Well, I finished, “Batman: Arkham City”, sort of. I’ve beaten the main game anyway. I still need to finish collecting rest of the riddler trophies that are spreaded around on the map. “Arkham City” is definitely one of the best games of the year though, it’s pretty high up on the list.

I will do a “Best of 2011” list for video games, but this list will come in a month or two. There’s still a few other games in 2011 I want to play.

I do have “Battle Field 3” which I got a couple of weeks ago before the Holidays, and I’m probably gonna move on to that game next, pretty soon here.

There are also a few other games I want to check out that I haven’t bought yet. I’m still meaning to get, “Skyrim”, the new fantasy role playing game that’s getting positive reviews everywhere. I also want to get “Portal 2”, and “Resistance 3”. For Best Video Games of 2011, I will give them a Top 10. Games take a long while to finish ’til the very end and I’m trying to catch up with all the 2011 games the best I can.

As for the Best Movies of 2011 list, that will come this weekend, ’cause I’m seeing, “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” tomorrow night.

Kev

music

This Day In Music: 12/28/11

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Musician Birthdays: Edgar Winter (keyboardist, singer of the Edgar Winter Group, famous for the instrumental hit, “Frankenstein”, born in 1946), John Legend (jazz, R&B singer/songwriter, born in 1978)

– In 1968: The Beatles went to No.1 on the US album chart with the ‘White Album’, the group’s 12th US No.1 album.

– In 1971: George Harrison was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Sweet Lord’, making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

– In 1974: Helen Reddy went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Angie Baby’, the singers third US No.1. The song was turned down by Cher.

– In 1978: Rolling Stone magazine voted ‘Some Girls’ by The Rolling Stones ‘Album of the Year.’

– In 1983: Having made two successful dives below a friend’s yacht to find items he’d drunkenly thrown off his own boat three years before, Beach Boy Dennis Wilson took one last dive into the Pacific and never returned from the boat moored in Marina Del Rey, California. With the help of President Reagan he was given a burial at sea, normally reserved for Navel personnel. Dennis was the only genuine surfer in The Beach Boys.

– In 1998: UK radio station BBC Radio 1 aired the 100 National Anthems, songs voted by listeners. At No.5 Radiohead, ‘Creep’, No.4 Underworld ‘Born Slippy’, No.3 The Verve ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, No.2 Nirvana ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, No.1 Massive Attack ‘Unfinished Sympathy’.

– In 2005: Pink Floyd were voted the greatest rock stars ever in a survey of 58,000 listeners from UK radio station Planet Rock. Led Zeppelin were voted into second place, 3rd was The Rolling Stones, 4th The Who, 5th, AC/DC, 6th, U2, 7th, Guns N’ Roses, 8th, Nirvana, 9th, Bon Jovi and in 10th place Jimi Hendrix. Listeners also named the 1970s as the golden age of rock, followed by the 1960’s.

music

Sinead O’ Connor continues to be an evil b**ch, what a c*nt she really is…

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The controversial Irish singer/songwriter, Sinead O’ Connor, announced publicly on her website that she had ended her marriage with Barry Herridge, only being married for 18 days.

Sinead O’ wrote a really long blog post on her website explaining her actions. She says on her website that if her now ex-husband, Barry Herridge, stayed with her,  she claims he would lose too much and says he wouldn’t live a positive life with her. She also claims he was very unhappy.

Read her full blog, here.

I think she only said her side of the story on things. Trying to make this Barry fellow look bad publicly. She obviously thinks she’s more important than him since he’s not a famous person. That’s the price you get for marrying a famous person.

On top of all this, why would any man would want to marry Sinead O’, anyway? She’s nothing but a skinhead Nazi. Her views on politics and religion are also offensive.

I respect most talent in music, but there are a few music artists I can’t stand, and Sinead O’ is one that I hate. She always have been evil. Sorry to curse but she’s an egotistical bitch. Forget her, Barry, you’re better off without her. The guy can find himself a better woman now.

I don’t get into gossip, but I had to respond to this since it’s music related. She’s also a disgusting looking whore.

Kev