I just set comments back to where anyone can post a comment, but please keep attacks to a minimum if you want them posted. I just delete any post that attacks or insults me. We can get into friendly debates and discussions. It’s not that hard. Keep it cool please. Thank you.
Kev
You gotta love it when people immediately jump to conclusion when it comes to violence in America. A lot of stupid people want to blame violence on everything. Bad parenting, video games, movies/TV shows, mental health issues, and all that stuff.
It is pretty unfair that the parents of killers get blamed for this, simply because, they have nothing to do with how their child turned out to be. Some parents out there DO raise their kids right, the best they can. Some murderers could be smart kids in their childhood with good grades in school, and all. They can also be perfectly sane and not have any mental health issues at all. Violence in video games, TV shows or movies, have nothing to do with it.
Even if they make ratings even more stricter for video game and movie purchases, there is still violence everywhere in G rated and family friendly PG stuff in entertainment. Like Disney for example. There’s violence in all Disney movies, animated and live action. Back in the old days, when video games or movies wasn’t big, comic books would take the blame in violence. On top of this, I also don’t see how violence in entertainment could have an affect on young children. Doesn’t make a bit of sense. It may have an affect on children a little bit, but not that bad.
Anybody who says that video games make kids violent is a stupid idiot. Don’t blame fucking, Call of Duty.
There were even more violent video games in the past. I’m not talking just first person shooters. There can be violence in, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, or even Sonic the Hedgehog. All that shit has violence. Maybe not as a graphic, but it is still violent. How come that stuff don’t have an affect on children? Quit blaming “Call of Duty”. I can understand why so many people play, “Call of Duty” and other first person shooters ’cause it’s an escape for them. It’s their way of getting away from everything in life. Video games can actually make people a better person, not bad.
How come people don’t blame violence in sports? Like professional wrestling, boxing, or the Ultimate Fights? Kids watch all that stuff too! What about violence in day time soap operas and kiddie cartoons on Saturday mornings? What about violence in fictional books? THERE IS VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT CALL OF DUTY!
It’s bullshit! All of it! The media fucking sucks and this is why I hate the news. The news control you to make you believe what they say. You’re talking about gun control and video games in facebook ’cause they believe what the news media report. This is why the news media love to report gun tragedies ’cause they know that this is what the world love to talk about. All these news people care about are ratings and money, to compete with other networks. They’re cold and evil, sons of bitches. They are no different than the killers who commit these crimes.
Even if America gets more gun control or even ban guns for good, there’s no stopping other people using other weapons, or think of new ways to attack and kill people. There’s going to be more Timothy McVeighs, if they ban guns. There will be more suicide bombers. They could use knives and other weapons. There will be more attacks like 9/11, where people get in planes and use it to crash into places. Violence will never stop, no matter what the government will do, even if America gets rid of guns completely.
Sorry for the harsh rant and the swearing, but people are idiots, I tell ya. Just had to vent my frustrations at this never ending debate people got going in facebook.
Kev
Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman
Directed by: Peter Jackson
So yesterday afternoon, I finally went and saw, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”. I was meaning to post this review yesterday, but didn’t feel like posting in the blog at all yesterday evening. Here is my review:
Plot/synopsis: A young Bilbo Baggins, goes on an adventure with Gandalf, and a group of thirteen dwarves, led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. They are on a quest to reclaim the home they once had, the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, from the evil dragon, Smaug. Along the way, they will have to survive their adventure into the Wild, swarming with Goblins, Orcs, deadly warqs, giant spiders, and more dangerous creatures.
I’ll be completely honest with you. At first, I was a little skeptical of the people behind the LOTR franchise, adapting, “The Hobbit”, to the big screen. I kept thinking it was going to be a typical Lord of the Rings movie, similar to the original trilogy. Surprisingly enough, the film was a little different. Sure, “The Hobbit”, had similar filming styles like the original trilogy. There will be a few characters that will return, but a totally different plot, and storyline. I may have read the book, to “The Hobbit”, years ago when I was a child, maybe. I haven’t read the book in a long time. Maybe I should.
Even though the film was at least 3 hrs long, the film didn’t feel like it was 3 hrs. at all. The pacing of the movie was pretty quick. The film had a great script and the movie was just entertaining throughout. I wasn’t bored a bit, and didn’t feel like the film dragged on at all. The film also has a less darker tone than the original trilogy, as “The Hobbit” was more family friendly. That’s probably because, “The Hobbit” novel was more of a children’s book, I believe?
Martin Freeman, made a perfect young Bilbo. I couldn’t ask for a better actor. It was also cool to see some of the characters return from the original trilogy. Pretty much everyone was there. Even Elijah Wood had a cameo as Frodo, in the beginning of the movie. I think Peter Jackson created a masterpiece here, and it looks like, “The Hobbit” trilogy, will be better than the original trilogy. I wouldn’t quite say, “The Hobbit – Part 1”, was the best of the franchise ’cause there are two more movies ahead. Peter Jackson, should be the only film maker to make movies based on books ’cause he really is the best at it.
I thought “The Hobbit” was phenomenal. Yes, the movie was action packed, and it was a blast to watch. This is definitely one of the best movies of this year. It was definitely awesome. Go check it out if you’re an LOTR fan.
Score for “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey” = **** (4 stars as in “excellent”)
Kev
A lot of musicians around this area make the mistake that you can be yourself and act how you want to as a musician and a human being. When somebody calls out their unprofessional behaviors in music, that person will get told they should stay out of someone’s business that doesn’t concern them. I have been told that, a few times. You see, here’s where they are wrong. When you’re a musician, put yourself out there publicly. You become a well known figure in your area of local music. You’re posting on your websites, social networking pages (like FB, twitter, etc.), posting in public forums, blogs, etc. Everything you do publicly, it is no longer your business. Everything you do publicly, gives people the right to respond their thoughts, whether you like it or not. I used to think it was okay to be yourself and act how you want to as a musician, but as I got older, I learned more about being a musician as I was gigging out in the scene. I started to learn that having a professional attitude in music is a big deal.
Do you want to be looked at as a good person or a bad person in music? You must have a good attitude in music. So you can get more respect from the fans and from your fellow musicians. How do you have a professional attitude in music?
Simply put, be nice and friendly to everybody. It’s okay to be honest and real about things, but don’t be an asshole about it. There are better ways of being real about things without being way too negative. There are several other musicians I know who shall be nameless at this time, who’ll put up angry rants daily in facebook and other forums. They’ll even go as far as bullying and harassing other people if they don’t agree with one another’s opinions. I see it in craigslist, all the time as well.
Yes, there’s going to be a lot of assholes in music, but the professional thing to do, if you want to have a good & positive music career is don’t pay any mind to them. Musicians have a problem of replying to everything which is unprofessional, the way I look at it. If someone wants to be an asshole to you, ignore it, and let it slide right by.
Don’t like the music of other bands or don’t like other musicians as a person? Keep that opinion to yourself. I used to do this stuff in my blogs, bash other bands & musicians publicly, but I learned that it was wrong.
You must take proffessionalism seriously even when gigging. Didn’t get paid as much as you would like to? Who cares, move on, and get over it. Didn’t get to play a long set at a show that you were originally booked for? Who cares, move on, and get over it. Not the end of the world. The bartender or the booking person of your gig, decides to treat you badly? Don’t respond back and become defensive, just continue to be friendly and positive, anyway.
Are you getting nasty critics from music fans, and music blogs giving you bad reviews? Ignore it, let it go. Responding to that stuff, and begging for respect is not the way to go. Musicians have a problem with this. Just be glad that you’re being talked about ’cause sometimes bad publicity is good.
I’ve had made my mistakes too, but I learn from them. I know a lot of people will accuse me of having an unprofessional attitude, but sorry to say, but when I was out there gigging, I had a 100% professional attitude, all the time. Having a professional attitude in music, is all about being careful and responsible of how you put yourself out there, and honestly, a lot of musicians around here don’t have that.
If you mess up and don’t have a professional attitude, you will get a lot of bad karma from it. Clubs & venues will refuse to book you. Fans will refuse to support you, and all kinds of stuff. I take professionalism from other musicians and other people in the music scene very seriously. I’ve ran into plenty of people with horrible attitudes. I don’t want to be around with people like that.
I’m learning much better to have a professional attitude. It’s a good thing to have and really wish other people in this music scene will learn to have it too.
Kev
Edit to add: Something else I forgot to say, you see, being a musician is just like your day job. You know how you must have a professional attitude on a day job? You must treat your music career the same way. Sorry to say, but this is the truth.
Edit to add #2: Fixed this blog post up a little bit.
Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana performed twice together on TV. One at the Sandy Relief show in NYC and then on SNL last night, (which I did stay up to watch on TV). Last year, Paul McCartney expressed interest in working with Dave Grohl to make a hard rock album with original songs. See an old article, here, about it.
Look like a Foo Fighters/Led Zeppelin supergroup is not gonna happen anytime soon. It looks like we’ll be getting a McCartney/Nirvana supergroup next year instead. Still cool though! And it’s pretty badass these two are collaborating.
It may seem pretty odd that Paul McCartney sings hard rock and heavy music, but like I said before, Paul McCartney can sing any genre. He can do everything well. A new hard rock album haven’t been confirmed by McCartney yet, but it’s getting close to it. I think those two performances he did with Nirvana was just a small preview of what’s coming up ahead. It’s a just a test. They want to get feedback from the people, before they go ahead and do it. Paul’s a pretty versatile musician, he can do it all!
Kev
First, Morgan Freeman had a death hoax in facebook, and next, he has a hoax about the Newton, Conn. shootings. In facebook today, there’s an image of Morgan Freeman with him quoting where he explains that he blames the media for the shootings that goes on, and he tells people to turn off the news. You gotta love how people quickly fall for things in Facebook. Even though I don’t believe that Morgan Freeman has said those things, I still agree with it that the news media is partly responsible for gun shootings in America.
Why is Morgan Freeman such a target for hoax’s in facebook lately?
Yes, he’s a great actor and he seems like a good dude. That’s why they start hoax’s on him. He’s a likeable and lovable guy, and people will do anything to get attention off of him. He’s an icon in Hollywood, so people will start stuff on him, so they can get a lot of shares and likes.
This thing has been going around facebook, so I had to respond my thoughts.
As soon as Morgan denies that he said that stuff about the Conn. shooting, somebody in facebook will try to come up with a different hoax on him. People in facebook are crazy and messed up. No wonder some leave the site and no wonder some try to avoid the social network site like the plague.
I know how to use facebook carefully and responsibly. I don’t re-share things too much from other people. I will sometimes though, only if it’s worth it. It’s never cool to make stuff up about someone. They just do it hoping to get their 15 minutes of fame.
Kev
I have been playing “Tomb Raider” games, for years. I fucking love them! It’s not only because I have a crush on a female video game character, Lara Croft, is a hot piece of ass for sure, but there are more important reasons why these games rule! It’s because the stories are awesome. Plus, I love going around solving puzzles, and the acrobatics of Lara is just mind blowing. I love how she is able to climb really high places and discover things that are unbelievable. These are incredible games. While I do think the last Tomb Raider game, “Tomb Raider: Underworld” was a beautiful game, I think this one is going to be even better. I sure can’t wait for this game to come out. I will get it for sure.
Speaking of video games, I haven’t been playing much games hardly at all lately. Probably because I spend so much time playing guitar more. I should get back into video gaming, though. I need to get back into, “Skyrim”, which I still have. I love video games, sure, I just don’t spend hours and hours gaming all day like most kids do. I only play video games, when I get really really bored.
Kev
This movie is looking even better. Can’t wait to see it. Too bad we have to wait ’til Jan. 11th, for the wide release. I like the Metallica cover, in the trailer too. Honestly, it looks like another big year for Kathryn Bigelow for the next Oscars. She could get another Best Picture winner here over Spielberg’s, “Lincoln”.
Kev
My main focus in guitar playing right now is trying to improve my lead guitar chops, which I have been trying to do ever since I first picked up the guitar 18 years ago. I want to become a great lead guitar player, just like my heroes. Really trying the best I can. My goal is to knock people’s socks off and melt some faces with the solos. When I get a band, I want to be both the rhythm guitarist and the lead guitarist. You need to be an all around guitarist by being good at both. Learning lead guitar may seem pretty easy, the theory stuff may seem pretty easy, but the key to getting good at lead guitar is phrasing. I must work on my phrasing more which is getting worked on. Phrasing, is what makes your lead guitar solos sound more musical and tasteful. Making the guitar solos sounds like they’re singing a song. Guitar solos don’t always have to be about fast notes and showing off, they need to be musical and melodic.
I refuse to take lessons with other professional instructors, ’cause I want my own sound and style.
Soon, I’m going to start making my own backing tracks in garageband, just to practice my chops, or even better, I should practice just by jamming with other guitar players. If I’m going to record a full band album in the studio someday, I’m going to want to play my own guitar solos on it. So I’m trying my best, to become a more professional player at lead guitar.
I feel I’m getting much better at rhythm guitar since I play with a metronome a lot more often now, but I still need to improve the lead guitar chops. I do want to become the best lead guitarist I can be, and I’m not rushing it. Don’t want to get too ahead of myself and take my time. Seriously, I’ve been practicing and learning pretty hard. Spending a few hours a day doing this stuff. I don’t plan to write out guitar solos at all ’cause in my opinion, that’s a cheap way of doing it. Winging it all out and improvising is the way you’re supposed to do it. I’m trying to improve my ear training and improv skills too which is getting easier.
I just want to play like my heroes: Jimmy Page, Satriani, Hendrix, and Neil Young, but I need to have my own style as well, of course.
Someday, you guys are going to be like, “Damn, listen to this guy go…”. That’s my goal, and I will get there.
Kev
Well, here we go again. Another shooting. While my heart goes out to the people in Conn., this is a terrible tragedy and this is the worse one this year, I want to get a few things off my chest.
First of all, not only the gunman is a cold and heartless bastard, the news media can be just as cold and heartless as well. I was watching the news today and the way they report this stuff, makes me sick. While they were reporting this stuff, they were interviewing the children, trying to get a description from them on what happened in the school. I’m like, really? Leave those kids alone and give them some space, you heartless assholes. All the news media, like MSNBC, CNN, FOXNews, etc. They’ll all have something to jerk themselves off with in this tragedy. Why? Ratings and money, that’s all these evil news people care about. They will blame this on guns, parenting, violent video games, TV shows, movies, etc. You get the deal.
Secondly, yes, there’s going to be all kinds of uneducated people who are going to blame this on the guns. I’m already seeing a bunch of idiots in facebook saying that guns need to be banned in the USA, needs stricter gun laws, and all that stuff. I’m like really? It’s situations like this that makes me want to go get a gun permit so I can protect myself and my loved ones. These gun shootings can happen everywhere. Doesn’t matter where you are. A fuckin’ shootout, can even happen in my hometown in Greenwich. You know that old saying? “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People”? It’s true. Guns don’t operate by itself, you nitwits. When you pick up a gun, and you decide to shoot someone with it, that was your decision. Guns don’t control you. You control it. I would do whatever it takes to save my own ass and other people that I love. Even i it means killing the bastard myself. What else are you gonna do, ya know? You can’t just let the psycho get all over ya. Self defense.
We can’t ban gun laws or make them stricter. If we can’t use guns, what’s stopping people from using other weapons? We have guns for a reason. For protection and safety.
The only people to blame for these shootings are the fuckin’ gunmen themselves. They are sick psychotic animals, who just enjoy the excitement of killing other people. Period. End of story.
The Newton, Conn shooting is a sad heartbreaking story. I can’t understand why someone will kill innocent children too, like everyone else. It’s understandable why a lot of people are putting up posts in facebook, saying they don’t want to take their kids to school anymore, understandable. This is why more parents should get gun permits, so they can protect their families and children. If we make the gun laws more stricter or even ban them, that will make the gun violence happen even more. The people in America, should learn how to defend themselves. You can’t disrespect and change the 2nd Amendment. Remember, that.
Kev
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