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.
Celebrity news

Report: Dakota Fanning finally graduates from high school…pic included…

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Dakota Fanning have been a full time actress ever since she was a baby. Yet, she still finds the time to go to school and actually graduate. Most actors and actresses dropped out of school to start an acting career. Not Dakota. Congrats Dakota. Much respects.

Those kids in that picture are lucky to graduate with one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood. I’m sure they’ll never forget the day that they graduated with Dakota Fanning.

Wonder what’s next for her? Is College next? Will she stick with the movies? I’m sure she’ll announce her plans soon.

More on it, here.

As for the movies that she was best in, I liked her in “Man On Fire” and she was good in “The Runaways” movie.

She’s gonna be like the next Drew Barrymore. Be in acting the rest of her life.

Kev

Books

Book Review: “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin

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Today, I just finished reading, “A Game of Thrones”, the first book of “The Song of Ice and Fire” series, which the TV show on HBO is adapted from. Of course, the TV show turned me onto reading the book, and I’m glad I get into the book. It’s a medieval fantasy story, but to warn you, this is no ordinary medieval story. It’s not like all the other medieval stories you see in the books and the movies.

The story is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. In Westeros, the seasons can last for years. For example, Winter can last a lifetime. The story tells of Lord Ned Stark of Winterfell who is a loving family man and he vows to protect his family from evil. Kings and queens, knights and renegades also fight for control of a throne. It tells different stories about different characters of the Seven Kingdoms. The story is like part Western and part Fantasy together. It is also a romance story.

Ned Stark is the main character of the whole story. He and his wife Catelyn both has five children and a bastard son together. Ned’s young daughter, Arya, has an obsession with learning how to fight with a sword so she gets herself a trainer to learn how. A midget character named, Tyrion Lannister is being blamed for trying to murder Jon Arryn. Bran has an obsession with climbing and he fell during one of his climbs. The book also tells the bizarre romance between Princess Daenerys and Khal Drogo. There’s a lot of different stories to go through in this book.

I’ve been watching the TV show, “Game of Thrones” on HBO, and so far, the TV show follows the book perfectly. Never left anything out.

As I said before, this is no ordinary medieval story, it’s not for everyone. The stories can get really harsh. It is gruesome, very sexual, and the gore can get very graphic. Yes, there are plenty of sexual content in the book and the TV show didn’t leave any of that out either. There should be a few more episodes left of “Game of Thrones”, because the TV show is almost at the end of the book already.

I don’t want to go into detail with the plot ’cause there are surprising twists in the story, I don’t want to reveal. George R.R. Martin is one writer who has a lot of balls to write what he writes. He just writes whatever he wants, just like Stephen King. While Stephen King can get gruesome and very graphic at times, his writing can’t even come close to George.

This is the most realistic medieval fantasy story I’ve ever read. These books are very addicting. You can’t put them down. I just couldn’t stop reading. What is so strange is that I’m not into reading fantasy fiction that much. I was just drawn into “Game of Thrones” for whatever reason. Most fantasy stories are about some hero trying to save a woman from dragons or other monsters, but not this story. This one is totally different. This book was a pretty electrifying read, and I look forward to reading the next one, “Clash of Kings” part 2 of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. If you’re watching the TV show, start reading the books now! You will be hooked!

Kev

movies

Netflix Pick (DVD): The Green Hornet

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So I finally saw the new “Green Hornet” movie that stars Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, and Christoph Waltz. I saw it last Sunday night. A Netflix DVD rental.

The movie is obviously adapted from the famous radio show, comics, and TV series. In the TV series, Bruce Lee the martial arts legend originally played Kato. Now, actor Jay Chou takes over the role for the new film. I didn’t see this film in theater, ’cause I was pretty skeptical of it. I don’t like Seth Rogen as an actor. Can’t stand him. He’s a terrible actor. When I heard he was going to star as the main hero, I’m like, “Oh please no, NOT Seth Rogen, anybody but him!” So I waited for DVD rental on this. Which is well worth the wait.

The movie turned out very good and extremely entertaining. I actually liked Seth in this movie. For once, Seth is in a good movie in which he doesn’t make his acting so boring. He actually did a decent job.

The plot actually followed the original story and stayed true to it pretty well. I was surprised. The plot is pretty much the same thing, Britt Reid becomes owner of a newspaper company after his father dies. Britt meets up with a martial arts expert, Kato, in which they end up helping each other stop a robbery. Knowing that their names are in the news and becoming heroes because of it, this is what inspired them to become, “The Green Hornet”. In which they would wear costumes and green masks. Kato would build a bunch of cars in which he turned them into weapons. Kato also invented several gadgets and new weapons for them to fight crime for.

Christoph Waltz plays a villain named Chudnofsky, who is a Russian gangster trying to form a super-mafia in Los Angeles. “The Green Hornet” tries to stop them to save the city.

Just like the original “Green Hornet” series, it adds a lot of comedy and humor throughout the film. Especially the epic fight scene between Britt and Kato at the house which is my favorite scene of the film. The film had some great action scenes and they were pretty fun to see. Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz were also good as well.

I thought this was a pretty good film. I’m a huge Green Hornet fan. Followed the Green Hornet series for years. Check it out when you get a chance.

My next Netflix DVD rental is going to be the first “Hangover” movie. I never saw the first, “Hangover” movie yet, and wanted to see the first one before I decide to see the second one. I should be getting “The Hangover” in the mail tomorrow.

Kev

UFC

Report: Dave Batista opens his own MMA gym…

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Dave Batista’s MMA dream is dead? Not yet. Even though his “Strikeforce” deal is never happening, he is still doing whatever it takes to fight in the MMA. So to keep his dream alive, he just opened up his own MMA gym. He just opened an MMA training gym in Tampa, Florida called, “Gracie Fighter Jiu Jitsu”.

TMZ reports.

His “Strikeforce” dream maybe dead, but do you think Dave may have a chance at UFC??? Dave would certainly be headliner material in UFC. I can definitely see a Dave Batista vs. Brock Lesnar in a headlining UFC fight in the future for sure.

Much respect for Dave for going after his dream. If one door closes on a dream, more doors will open for him up ahead!

Kev

 

Politics/war

Cool Video: The Donald bashes Anthony Weiner in video…

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The Donald destroys Anthony Weiner in his latest video blog. The Donald says he’s a psycho, and a badguy. Says he should never run for office again. This is why I like the Donald. He’s a great trash talker!

I agree. I’m tired of this Anthony Weiner drama. Why do we have to care about his weener bulge? What’s even more pathetic that the media actually posted pics of it!

Kev

Videogame news

Cool Video: “Star Trek” video game trailer is now online!!!

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Star Trek the Videogame trailer has surfaced the web today, brought to you by IGN. As expected, the game looks impressive. Yes, the trailer does show game play footage from the game.

Hopefully, it’ll be a long game and won’t be too easy to play. I hate those kind of games when you get excited for something, the game turned out to be too short and too easy to finish.

Kev

Politics/war

Thought: About Sarah Palin and the Paul Revere controversy, if everyone thinks she’s wrong, then she is probably right…

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The entire internet is all over Sarah Palin again. People are pissed at her comments on Paul Revere, when she said, that Paul Revere did the midnight ride to warn people that the British were coming. My thoughts, that I think she is probably right. She’s a smart woman who knows American history better than anybody. That is why people are mad at her, because she is right.

When you want to be a politician, you have to know American history well. So they are not going to make things up about our past. Those who thinks she’s wrong are probably uneducated people themselves. This whole thing was blown out of proportion, I think. People misunderstood what she was trying to say.

Everything she says is right.

Straight from the wikipedia itself:

As a result, his “midnight ride” to warn the people that the British forces were coming is a legendary part of United States history.

The British were going to destroy weapons from Concord and all military stores. Paul did the “Midnight Ride” to try and stop that from happening, by warning people. The British were also going to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock.

What Sarah means, that if Paul Revere didn’t do what he did, then we would have no 2nd amendment rights. Paul Revere was the one who inspired the 2nd Amendment rights . The British would have had taken control of the weapons. Things would have been different today if Paul didn’t do the Midnight Ride. He did it to fight for “freedom” like she said.

Think long and hard on how she is right about everything she said. He’s the founding father of the 2nd amendment right. If it wasn’t for Paul Revere, we wouldn’t have our rights to bear arms.

She still gets my support.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Being an asshole will get you no where in music…

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A lot of musicians are assholes. There are plenty of ’em out there. Why do musicians act this way? It’s because a lot of them love themselves. It’s an ego thing. All musicians are different. Some musicians can be nice, friendly and down to earth. Some can be assholes. When you try to talk to musicians at gigs, some just don’t care to talk to ya or just downright rude. Musicians can be assholes online as well. Life is too short to be an asshole and I don’t understand why people need to be one.

It doesn’t make your career better. Being an asshole in music, doesn’t make you new fans. You can also lose fans & supporters. Venues could ban you from getting booked there again. This is called, “karma”. It will get you later.

I was never an asshole in music. I only called out the ones who acted like an asshole. That was all I did. Having a bad attitude in music doesn’t do you any good. There are too many musicians that are critical of others and they just need to shut their mouths and keep opinions to themselves.

When you want to have a successful career in music, you can’t be an asshole. Period. You have to be a 100% professional 24/7. This post isn’t aimed at anyone in particular, this post is aimed at all musicians.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Ways to improve as a guitar player!

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I’m always trying to find ways to become a better guitarist. I’m always learning different things all the time. What are ways to become a better guitar player?

Here are some simple tips:

  • Practice things you don’t know – You don’t want to be practicing the same old basic chords and pentatonic scales, all the time. You want to learn more complex stuff than that. Learn as much unique chords and different scales as you possibly can. Learn scales & modes as well.
  • Practice with a metronome/click track – This is important if you want to play in a band. Gotta lock in with time along with the drummer and other musicians. I’m just starting to practice with a metronome more often.
  • Play musical things – Seriously, people just don’t want to hear you noodling around on your instrument. It’ll annoy them. Play musical rhythm and lead guitar as well. Being musical is what draws people to your playing.
  • Learn from other guitarists – Get tips from other guitarists who are better than you or even jam with them just for fun. Learning from other guitarists is also very helpful!
  • Learn music theory – I’m no music theory expert yet, but I know some here and there. When you master music theory, you’ll be able to play anything!
  • Play a wide variety of music – To be a better musician you must experiment with all genres. I have done pretty much that. I experimented with blues, country, folk, some classical, and a little bit of jazz music. I even played heavy metal and progressive music. I would like to try to learn jazz more. Whenever I form myself a band, I just won’t play hard rock all the time. I’m going to be like Neil Young and switch different genres.
  • Practice – A lot of musicians say they don’t practice but practicing is important. I practice on the guitar every day. Learn new chords, riffs and lead guitar solos. I’m always learning things.
  • Learn to play guitar by ear – Jam along to your favorite songs. Jam along to your own recorded playing. Learning to improvise will help you get better and this is the thing I’m trying to work on, improvising. Improvising is not that hard, all you got to do is memorize the sound of the note in your head. I feel I improved a little on this as well.

That’s it, I believe. Hope it helps.

Kev

Videogame news

Cool Video: “Batman: Arkham City” game demo viewable online!!!

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On Spike TV’s “All Access Live”, they were the first to introduce the game demo for “Batman: Arkham City” the sequel to “Arkham Asylum”. In this demo, you can see game play footage and storyline scenes where they show Catwoman and Two Face. “Arkham City” looks way better than the first game as expected. I can’t wait for this game to come out now.

There are quite a few games coming out this year that I’m looking forward to: “Duke Nukem: Forever” (which comes out next Tuesday), “Dead Island”, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3”, “Resistance 3”, and “Batman: Arkham City”.

Enjoy the footage below.

Kev