A Mixed Bag.

Tuesday 2 November 2010 by Al Kay
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A Mixed Bag.

You're right, I haven't posted in a while.

Tons of things have been on my mind aswell, I just haven't been able to sit down and write about them. So here I am writing about how I can't write about stuff. Ironic? I barely know the meaning of the word.

Today I've finally found the je ne sais quoi to get writing! (I hate French)

So here goes:

It's been over a YEAR since I made the move to Sweden, crazy how time flies right? I can still remember how I felt around this time last year...all the memories. Lisa, her dad and I packing the car, saying farewell to my family, getting on the boat...It's cliché to say it but, it feels like yesterday. 8-9 weeks of planning and it culminated in me leaving the UK forever. It's hard to look back and not feel accomplishment, because it was the biggest gamble of my life and it paid off big time. It was all arranged by Lisa and her dad - the boats, the bridges, the hotels, the car, the trailer. I can't thank them enough for that.

If I didn't have this condition I'd have been able to get on a plane and have my belongings delivered by cargo. Ah well, if only life were that simple, we all have our downfalls so I know I'm not alone when the shit hits the fan - which is why it was a good job that Lisa's dad was so willing to help us out like he did.

I still can't believe how long it's been, I knew it would take me a while to get used to things and settle in, but everything still feels so new to me. It isn't paradise where I live, I've discovered many flaws to being on such a remote island, not to mention in a completely different country in itself, but I tend to ignore them and look at the positives. Life isn't worth living if you focus on bad things all the time, which is, admittedly, what I usually end up doing most of the time anyway.

That brings me to a conversation that Lisa and I had maybe a couple of months back. She asked me whether I thought I was a pessimist or an optimist. It was a difficult one to answer because I think there were a few points against me by default, which were:

  • The Autism doesn't exactly make me want to reach for the stars.
  • My dry sense of humour can't help.
  • I'm British.
I didn't have a brilliant start when answering Lisa's shitty question, as you could imagine. I tried to dodge it and say that I was a "Realist", but let's face it, we all make a mountain out of a molehill from time to time and I am definitely no exception. I'm not even going to list my optimistic traits because they are few and far between. Such a fucking pessimist, heh.

In other news, I can't believe how the democrats in the USA had such a weak election! I obviously keep up with these things because, let's face it, the USA is probably the most powerful country in the world...according to most Americans. Anyway, the democrats lost the House of Representatives and only just held onto the Senate, I'm not gonna get into detail on what this means because I, myself, barely understand it.
What I can say is this...it doesn't look good for Obama or the Democrats. I side towards the Left when it comes to politics and I was especially a massive Obama supporter when his election campaign was at it's strongest, so I'm left feeling a bit of disappointment for him. I don't know if he's done a good or bad job really...Americans haven't really taken to him as much I thought they would, but I've heard alot about how he's not lived up to alot of promises he made when his election campaign rolled out.
As far as I know though, 3 of his main points that he established back in '08 have come to fruition:

  • Getting out of Iraq
  • Putting a stronger focus on Afghanistan
  • Healthcare reforms
I don't know HOW successful those have been OR what other things he's done. You tell me?

Swedish and British politics have also been a bit...meh. It seems the Right winged are gaining alot of support over the globe, particularly in Europe. I'm not a big fan of that direction but who can argue with the majority? To my surprise, Lisa and I differ on who we support in Sweden, but over here the policies aren't as opposite as they are in America and the UK. From what I've seen, it's easier for the parties in the Swedish Riksdag to reach agreements. Infact most recently the two main opponent parties have come to terms on the Swedish presence in Afghanistan. This kind of thing is quite rare, especially since neither party went against their own believes to come to such an agreement.

OK, enough of politics...I know I could talk for days on end about it but even I know it's boring.

My mum and sister Jenny came for a visit about a month ago, it was great seeing them and we had a brilliant time together. Jenny got me some Jack Daniels whisky so I got some use out of that so to speak. Lisa and I took them to see the wonderful sights of Gotland, since there was 4 of us I could manage getting in a car so far away from home, we even stopped at a drive-thru. I think Jenny was a bit miffed at the traffic...there was none. Jenny lives in London and is used to the rat-race mentality, so coming to Gotland might have been a bit of a culture shock for her. The speed limit on Gotland is also very low, much lower than England and even the rest of Sweden, but it's nice to relax and with the lower speeds I think she could enjoy seeing more of the sights from the car. My mum had a nice time, I think it was a massive change to what she's used to, which is a good thing because where she comes from is a shithole (LOL!). It's true though, I'd sooner walk through a field of cow shit than go back to Sutton.

Moving on, Lisa's still in University and I never hear the end of it. Christ Almighty does she go on about it! So that's all I'm gonna say about that.

I...haven't been up to much. I walk out everyday, familiar places that are quiet though. I think I've gotten a bit complacent and perhaps need to branch out a bit to places that are less quiet. If I'm honest though I don't think it'll do any good (PESSIMIST!). I honestly can't see my ability to interact with people getting better unless I'm prescribed some sort of medication. A lot of my American friends are often shocked that I'm not on any kind of meds, I guess over there things are different. It has now come to a point that I need something to happen because, I've had quite enough of cognitive therapy. It hasn't worked and I doubt it ever will, if anything, I've got worse. I think in the new year things will be changing...hopefully for the best.

Anyway, I don't have much else to talk about...I know it seems like I'm on some sort of downer but I'm not. The positive stuff that happens in my life isn't so interesting to put into a blog, but it does happen so don't worry. I'll catch you all in a zillion years when I decide to put another post together. Lol.

'Till next time...







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Swedish Politics - "The End Of An Era"

Monday 20 September 2010 by Al Kay
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I never thought I would be interested in Swedish politics - until last night. Here's what I've learned...

There are 8 parties currently in the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament), 7 of them form 2 different coalitions - The Alliance and The Red-Greens. It was between these two that the leadership was decided. The 8th party is called the Swedish Democrats, they got elected into the Riksdag last night for the first time. The Alliance beat The Red-Greens by quite a large margin, but they failed to gain the majority (50% or more) of the Riksdag.

All this basically means is that The Alliance has more power than The Red-Greens overall, but not enough to make a huge difference, which is where the Swedish Democrats come in.

The Swedish Democrats are, in the opinion of most Swedes, a racist party. In the UK, the equivalent of the Swedish Democrats is the BNP. The goal of the Swedish Democrats, according to them, is to have a responsible immigration policy but that is just an easy way of saying "No Immigrants, No Non-Whites, No Non-Swedish."

As an immigrant myself I find it disheartening to know that 5.7% (330,157) of the Swedish voting population feel this way. I wasn't an immigrant in the UK though and I found the BNP to be a disgusting excuse for human life, so I mostly have the same views now as I did before I left, thus, I'm not TOO biased.

SD = Swedish Democrats.

So what effect can the SD have on the Riksdag?

Well, since there isn't a majority goverment at the moment, the SD are what some call the decision makers. For example, if there's a movement where the The Red-Greens and The Alliance can't come to an agreement, the SD will have to make a decision on who to agree with. I'm not sure what other consequences there are to the SD being in Goverment, but I'm guessing it's not good. I know they'll be able to have much larger platform on which to speak and air their racist views though and that's not a good thing.

They've already amassed a wealth of support and it's only going to get worse if The Alliance and The Red Greens don't start working together to stop these racist people.

As you can see, the SD are the talk of the nation right now. I think people are just in disbelief that they got voted in, we all saw it coming but when it actually happened I think we all realised that it was the end of an era.

Internationally, Sweden has been a very quiet, neutral country, at least that's what I've come to believe. Now though, things may have to change. Last night may have set the stage for what might be a daunting future for Sweden.

I compare everything I come across to my experiences of living in England for 20 years by default, so I'm seeing alot of similarities between Swedish and English politics. Election night over here was fairly standard to what I'm used to, lots of numbers, statistics and parties. Nothing blew me away, but somehow I was quite intrigued about the whole thing, how one country can have so many different views of how things should be, some good, some very good, some bad and some very bad.

One thing that should be noted is how much I knew about Swedish politics before I watched it. Lisa informed me of the two major parties, just the basics, and she wasn't shy in telling me who she preferred. This most certainly affected how I was thinking during the election, which in hindsight, was not a good thing. I wouldn't say she pushed her views on me, but when describing who she liked, she made a point to say how great that party was and when talking about the other party, it felt to me like she had nothing but disdain for them. It may have been inadvertant on her part but I felt misled by the whole thing and brought it up with her today. After a good talk we both agreed that she should have found me some unbiased reading material and then I would have been able to decide for myself who I preferred.

I'm not sure where my views stand on the Government as a whole, obviously I'm either Alliance or Red-Green, they're what makes Sweden what it is today, a fine country with very few flaws. I can't vote obviously, but I can have my views and I can either keep them to myself or tell people. I just don't know what they are yet. More research is definitely in order.

I'll keep you updated.

'Till next time....


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The Summer Has Ended...:(

Tuesday 31 August 2010 by Al Kay
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Years ago when I was a lad, the Summer for me was a time to get away from school for 6 weeks so me and my friends could have mega waterfights, excitedly long bike rides and a few games of football on the field. Then, as I dropped out of school from the age of 15 due to the crippling nature of my Autism, it became a time for playing board games in the garden with my mother and that carried on until I moved to Sweden.

That was then though...

The Summer of 2010 has been the most enjoyable, most relaxing and by far the best time I've ever had.

We had the Eurovision Song Contest, the FiFa World Cup, Lisa's Graduation and a whole bunch of other stuff that I can't be fucked listing. For most people, my Summer would seem boring but when you can't exactly get out of the house much it's been a welcome relief to have some FUN! Obviously it's been packed here at the beach so most of the stuff we've done has been inside, not exactly a perk but at least I wasn't sweating buckets in the too-hot-for-fat-folk weather. I didn't actually go on the beach all Summer, shame really but what could I have done? I'm not risking panic attacks just so I can get some sand on my feet, fuck that :p.

Moving on...as the title of this post suggests, it is indeed the end of the Summer here, sure we'll maybe have a few nice days here and there but it's not the same, I can already feel the bitey wind that Gotland is known for. Gotland is also known for hedgehogs and my fuck...there were tons! The nature here is out of this world, I've never seen so many animals in all my life - foxes, frogs, toads, dragonflies, snakes, mice, lizards, caterpillars, rabbits and squirrels. There's even a shitload of crickets chirping away like you hear in American movies when it's night time. Mosquitos are a fucking bitch though.

Ahh, Gotland is fun.

Too bad I've been sick for the past 2 weeks though, I looked it up online and I'm almost positive it's the flu...I dunno what kind or "strain" it is but it's a pain in the ass. With a simple cold all you have to deal with is a runny nose and a bit of lightheadedness, with the flu you can't even get out of bed because of the aching joints. I'm in the latter stages of it though so I'll be fine within a few days I reckon.

I'm gonna keep it short and end it there, I felt like writing and I didn't want to over do it, sometimes I just go on and on, other times I just feel like writing a paragraph. So in closing, Summer was amazing and I hope everyone else is doing well. Thanks for reading!

'Till next time....


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Rambling about Summer and...stuff.

Monday 26 July 2010 by Al Kay
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I don't blog much these days, the past few months have been quite different compared to when I first came here. Gone are the heaps of snow, graffitied walls and dead silence, replaced with dozens of cars, sunny weather and screaming children, yes the Summer is indeed here and it's...all right.

As I've said in previous blogs, I knew the Summer was going to busy on Gotland and since I live by the seaside there was no way to escape it. This place is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Sweden and I have prepared myself for the hundreds of people that come here from places like Germany, Norway, Denmark and Holland.
Everyday I would look out of my bedroom window and see and empty carpark with a beach and a swingset and I always wondered "...tourists come HERE?" I couldn't understand the hype of this place until around June, when suddenly flowers were blossoming and wildlife was everywhere. It was then that I realised that this place was no ghost town, this place was full of life!

Progress wise, things have slowed down a bit as was expected - however, I've managed quite well, indeed..very well if I do say so myself. I'm extremely proud of how I've coped with the amount of people right on my doorstep and I understand how the people who live here feel in the Summer. These tourist do tend to invade the local's privacy to an extent and you can see it on their faces that they're not too pleased about it, but the tourism and that cement factory is what keeps Gotland afloat (no pun intended) so it's the nature of the beast.
My walks have been cut down a bit, but I'm happy just to get out of the house really. They can last for 30-60 minutes but not really much more than that, I do feel quite vulnerable here this time of year but like I said, I'm managing.

The tourists are certainly...interesting. They don't really bother anyone alot but we have come across some posh cunts, ignorant twats and overexcited teenagers who act like they've never seen a beach before which is actually quite amusing. They're on their holiday so who am I to put a dampner on it? I just find it funny. Lisa does too, infact she overheard a conversation that went something like:

"Where do you think the people that live here work?"

"Oh I don't know, probably in that factory."

"Ah yes, most likely."

When Lisa got home and told me that conversation I just laughed at their stupidity and ignorance.

Last week was Stockholm Week...I don't know what it is, don't ask, but for some reason a bunch of people from Stockholm come to the island and party for a week. Lisa has told me about this a few times in the past before I came here...she doesn't really like the partying Stockholmers much at all, she says they're..and I quote:

All assholes


Have I ever told you how much I love her? Haha.

Yeah, some came to Slite and kept the whole town up with their "hilarious" antics. One of the more interesting things that did happen that week though was a car show..or something. We're not entirely sure what it was but, a shitload of fancy cars, old and new, drove around Slite and probably most of the island, we videoed some of it and are working on a project to do with that. That was pretty cool.

In other news I'm still Eurovision crazy, Lisa and I, on a whim, decided to buy the past 3 years DVDs and CDs! I know...mental. We liked them, not as much as this year's though, infact we watched the first semi final of this year's last night and we were blown away! We love it! I guess all couples have their little things that they love to do or watch together, it's all fun.

I'm still shit with people, even family, heck, even friends. I just don't know how to act or what to say and I'm stumbling quite a bit on my words. My memory has been extremely poor lately aswell, maybe I'm getting like my mum but I don't know, I'm getting distracted by small things and they overpower what's happening around me. For example, today was weird, I was on the laptop checking my Facebook and things and I asked Lisa if she could find my phone for me, anyway 5 minutes later I close the laptop and get up off the couch only to find that my phone was in my pocket, I thought this was strange...but it turns out that while I was checking my stuff on the laptop, Lisa had found my phone passed it to me and I'd put it in my pocket myself, I couldn't remember anything about this at all. These things are happening more and more frequently. We do have a theory about why this is happening though.

If you've read my Autism blog then you'd know all about my obsessions, particularly the guitar. A couple of weeks back the power supply to my FX pedal decided to...not work and for days we tried to find one online but Sweden are completely out of stock and importing one from England would be extremely costly so fuck that. In the end we have decided to wait for it to get in stock over here and that's where we currently are with that. It doesn't end there though, I believe the increase in memory loss and other odd behaviour is down to "guitar withdrawals" I know it sounds crazy but it's the only solution we can think of. Now, I don't have the shakes and I don't have crazy eyes, but I do feel that there is a feeling of emptiness in me that I can't explain, it's a bit of a sad feeling for me and I just wish I could play my electric again! I just feel extremely stressed without it to be honest, it was the one thing that really calmed me down. Along with the mental stress there's also the physical implications of not playing electric guitar, my wrist doesn't feel right, my fingers are starting to soften and my elbow is a bit sore. "Why don't you play your acoustic?" Well, I do, alot...but it's not the same, my strumming and picking technique is different with both electric and acoustic so it can't really be helped. It'll sort itself out in due course I'm sure.

One thing about my Autism that Lisa and I have discovered is that I have the ability to remember what key a song is in on the guitar without listening to it for an unlimited amount of time. Okay, that basically means that if you ask me for instance what key a song is in, I wouldn't have to listen to that song there and then, it's in my mind and all I need is a guitar or a piano to tell you what key it's in. Complicated I know, especially for people who don't understand keys, chords, notes and rhythm, but in the music world it's quite rare to have that ability. Wooo!

Well, I couldn't think of anything else to talk about (thank God, this has gone on long enough lol). Sorry for my all-over-the-place style but, it's just some thoughts that I figured would be good to jot down, I do it for myself mainly, like a diary, but I often get messages from people telling me they've read it and then we have a conversation about whatever subject matter I tend to delve into here. It's nice to see that people are interested and even if they weren't, I'd still write. Maybe this could replace my electric guitar for the time being? Maybe.

'Till next time...


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Eyam

Friday 25 June 2010 by Al Kay
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Eyam

Been a long time since I blogged, it's because I've got quite a big blog in the works and I've had to do alot of research before I publish it. Now, in the meantime I have decided that it would be fun to a do a bit of a lighthearted picture blog so that anyone who reads these things knows that I haven't abandoned Blogger.

So, the topic of this picture blog is a day out I had with Jenny (my sister) and Lisa to a place called Eyam, to quote Wikipedia...

Eyam is a small village in Derbyshire, England. The village is best known for being the "plague village" that chose to isolate itself when the plague was discovered there in August 1665, rather than let the infection spread.
I'd been there before with school and I really liked it, it was such a small place with tiny roads and old houses, of course I never appreciated it at the time, I was too busy having a laugh and taking the piss with my friends. Ahh to be a teenager...

Anyway, it's EXTREMELY rare that I spend more than an hour or so outside so this was particularly special for me personally. Also, it was the last time I got to spend any real time with Jenny before I left England. I could just about handle it, I was already familiar with the place and I had two people I knew very well to go with me, so if I had any trouble with other folk or if I felt things weren't all right, Jenny and Lisa would be there to help me out

So let's get started...

On the way to Eyam, we found this lovely view so we had to get out and take a picture of it.


So...we parked where we shouldn't have. (Snooze, you lose)


Poor woman lost her entire family...how did she survive?!



Here's me and Jenny walking around, dunno why Lisa took this from behind. I look dead scruffy.



People still live in these cottages, I dunno how they can though because the two times that I've been it has been packed with tourists.


We got to this church, you couldn't really miss it in this small village.


We walked around the church, there were alot of graves, this one stood out to us as it's more of a tomb.



One regret about the trip that Lisa and I had was that we didn't notice the Anglo-Saxon cross to the right of the picture until we got home and looked up Eyam on Wikipedia, turns out it's dated to the 7th century! We would have tried to get a better picture of it had we known.



The graveyard behind the church. Amazing views looking up, lovely greenery.


We went through more than the church but, we didn't want to take too many pictures out of respect for the people that lived there, here's our final shot of Eyam, the museum.


That wasn't all of our day out though, on the way back we stopped at the Five Pits Trail for a bit of a walk. As we were driving there, we had a look at the crooked spire!



We found the Five Pits Trail, Jenny used to come here as a child when she visited my aunt and uncle.



This is a bench...nice place to sit, or stand on.


I look ridiculous in the photograph, typical fat kid, stains on t-shirt and all. Had to put it on though, think of it as proof that I went out? I couldn't make it to where Lisa was...not scared of heights or anything, I just didn't think the tree could hold me and if I fell I might have sunk into the ground.


Here's Jen on the same tree, she had no problem climbing it like Lisa.


The Five Pits Trail sign...


And one last look....



Looking back, it was as if we knew that I was leaving England that Summer, of course at the time that we went on the Eyam trip we had no idea, but when I think about it, it was obviously my last chance to do this kind of thing, to visit all these places before I left it for good. I'm happy with the way things have turned out, so I can look back and smile at days like these.

Time to get back to work on my other blog, thanks for reading and looking at the photos...Lisa did most of the camera work by the way, I took a few, but who's counting?

'Till next time....


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National Day of Sweden. (Sveriges Nationaldag)

Sunday 6 June 2010 by Al Kay
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Just thought I'd do a quick blog about this public holiday in Sweden.

Sveriges Nationaldag is a public holiday in honour of King Gustav Vasa, who's election in 1523 is considered the "foundation of modern Sweden". It's a slightly low key affair, infact alot of Swedes barely acknowledge it, but others celebrate by flying a flag on or outside their house.

Why I decided to make a blog about this particular holiday is because of an issue I had with my homeland regarding similar things. The UK is overrun by immigrants, most do what I do and keep to themselves, others come into the country and preach their religion at us and change our culture to suit theirs, I like to call those people "arseholes". In the privacy of your home you can say what you want, do what you want, but screaming at the government to tell them that they're doing things wrong is barbaric...surely only citizens of that country should hold the right to do that.

My main gripe with these people is their lack of respect for the flags of the United Kingdom, whether it's the Union Jack or the St George's flag, they believe that hanging these outside our houses makes them feel unwelcome, so they complain to the authorities and tell them that anyone who has one is racist. How the fuck can the UK be racist if they're letting these immigrants in in the first place? I believe anyone can fly their flag in their own country as much as they want, especially in times of a crisis. It shows pride towards something they love. Now, if someone from the UK were to go to, let's say, Pakistan or Poland and complain about their flags making them feel unwelcome, then they would be laughed out of the country.

There are people in Sweden who also take issue with the flag waving, these are mostly immigrants that associate that flag with a racist government party (whose name escapes me). Maybe these people should hate the person that spouts this racism, rather than the flag itself. The difference between Sweden and the UK in this matter is that the UK is bowing down to these demands at the drop of a hat and are likely going to impliment some sort of law in the future, whereas Sweden's government isn't going to lose sleep over a few pissed off immigrants.

Today I went out for a walk with Lisa and saw 7-8 flagpoles with big Swedish flags at the top flying in the wind and did I feel unwelcome? Fuck no, should I? Well, I don't know what each individual person's feelings on immigration are, but I doubt it. It's refreshing to see a sense of pride, infact the people of Gotland are very proud of their island aswell, I've seen many Gotland flags out all through the year and not once did I feel uncomfortable. It's not about me though, they shouldn't have to care what I feel about this or any other immigrant, it's their island, it's their country, if I didn't like it, I'd fuck off or at least keep my mouth shut.

Anyway, short and sweet.

'Till next time....

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Eurovision 2010

Wednesday 2 June 2010 by Al Kay
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I use coarse language throughout this blogpost. I don't care though.

I don't usually get hooked on the campness of Eurovision, but this year was certainly different.

Living in Sweden has given me a new respect for it, these people are mad for it and for good reason too, their biggest export (ABBA) was made famous by Eurovision and they've always had a great track record when it comes to getting into the Finals. The last 5 years however Sweden hasn't done so well, according to Wikipedia their average placing has been 16th, for a country that prides itself on this kind of competition, that isn't too good is it? This year was their worst though, they didn't even make it to the Finals and I wasn't too surprised either, their song of choice was "This Is My Life" by Anna Bergandahl, a sort of half assed ballad by a half assed singer who only got to represent Sweden based on her fame (she placed 5th in Idol) and I believe alot of fans sympathised with her because she seemed so innocent. In the semi-final, she was very trembly and seemed extremely nervous, sorry to say it but, I don't want to watch that kind of thing on a fun show like Eurovision. This is a classic case of someone being told that they're very good when in actual fact they're very shit.

The "Big Four" are four countries that automatically get into the finals because of their financial contributions to European Broadcasting Company. It's all politics I suppose and this is the kind of thing that has been around since the beginning of Eurovision and I doubt will ever change.

The good stuff about Eurovision though is that it's shit, we know it's shit, yet we can't help but love it. This year in particular was very interesting for me personally, because for the very first time, I got to see what it was like to actually qualify to be a competitor. Back in England, I only ever watched the Final, but this year I got to see Sweden pick their act and watch them compete in the semis. I was extremely impressed by it all, the production and the effort that people put into it was amazing, so many acts to choose from just in the Swedish competition (Melodifestival) alone. The semis were great, my only problem with it was that there was too many ballads for my liking, Eurovision is all about fun and being able to enjoy yourself, I don't want to be hearing some chick or opera singer wailing about losing someone, or important issues like the environment. We see all that shit in the charts and in the news as it is, Eurovision is a good chance to break free from all the crap in the world and just enjoy yourself.

Best (in no particular order)
  • Run Away by SunStroke Project & Olia Tira...(Moldova) There's really only 3 words that can describe their entry into the competition; Epic Sax Guy. I was there, sitting on the couch, chillin' like a motherfucker and suddenly theres a dude with a violin spinning on a spinning thing and a blonde guy with massive glasses, humping a saxophone. I think it's fair to say that they should have won.
  • We Could Be The Same by MaNga...(Turkey) I hate this kind of music, always have, always will...however, you can't deny that they put on a fantastic show this year. MaNga are quite famous from where they come from, which is rare for Eurovision as usually most countries put relatively unknown acts in the mix, not Turkey though. The song was good, not your usual Eurovision, although it was a tad outdated. Nu-Metal has come and gone, the whole rap/rock thing was laid to rest along with Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. However, they did really well for themselves.
  • OPA! by George Alkaios & Friends...(Greece) I have a good mate called Soto, I've known him for a number of years online, he's Greek and one day he told me all about how Greeks celebrate, for whatever occassion, they say "OPA!" So, when I heard this song in the semis I knew instantly that I was going to like it. When I heard the song however, I didn't like it, I FUCKING LOVED IT! It was how I imagined it to be and more, the dancing, the singing, the constant "OPA!"s...it was fun! Like I said, it's that kind of thing which makes Eurovision great entertainment. This was by far my favourite.
  • Ovo je Balkan by Milan Stankovic...(Serbia) Ehhhhhhh ehhhhhhhhhh eh eh eh eh. That's the first thing you hear when the music starts and then the first thing you see is a blonde Serbian bloke who looked Chinese and was camp as fuck. I loved his performance, especially with the chicks in the background doing the robot. Once again, brilliant.
  • Playing With Fire by Paula Selling & Ovi...(Romania) This was just weird, in a good way though. The guy was creepy, the girl looked like she needed to crap, especially when she reached that high note. The song was good, I could see it being a bit hit if they had the right ad campaign in England.
  • Lost And Forgotten by Peter Nalitch & Friends...(Russia) I fucking loved this one, I didn't like it at the time too much, but afterwards I couldn't stop watching the live performance on YouTube. I even learned it on guitar and piano, it was THAT good. Technically it's actually a really tough song to play, well I had no trouble, but that's because I'm awesome. I'm kidding. Not really. The frontman is obviously a big part of why I loved this song, especially the 2nd verse when he is looking at a really bad drawing of a girl and then banters with the guitarist about it.
Worst (in no particular order)

  • My Heart Is Yours by Didrik Solli-Tangen...(Norway) Now, I know we shouldn't base Eurovision on talent, but when you're singing a song which is vocal based, then I expect you to be able to pull it off dilligently. This idiot, Didrik, fumbled all the way through his performance with a shoddy voice and zero personality. How Norway could vote to have this guy in the final, I'll never know, maybe it says more about them, than it does him.
  • That Sounds Good To Me by Josh Dubovie...(UK) Heh, the title of this song is sort of ironic isn't it? I'm almost ashamed to call myself British after this terrible TERRIBLE mess. I don't understand the mentality of how people could actually vote for a guy who can't sing to save his life and has the personality of a dead fish on valium. The song was shit too. I refuse to comment further.
  • Butterflies by 3 + 2 & Robert Wells...(Belarus) They shouldn't even be allowed to have their own country, if this is the kinda crap they choose for music, then how in the Hell are they able to wipe their own asses? Go fuck themselves, thrice. I'm joking, but seriously, thank fuck for Greece.
  • Satellite by Lena...(Germany) I lost faith in Europe when they announced this crap as the winner. The likes of Lily Allen and Kate Nash annoy me to no extent, so when I heard this German girl...well you can't really call it singing but, when I heard her "sing" I felt like scratching myself with various scrubbers with chemicals on them. It wasn't too bad compared to alot of the other songs, but this is in my "worst" list because she won, so it's more of a dig at people who voted for her...HOW COULD YOU?! Lol. Each to their own and this is a fine example of that. Sidenote: When singing with a really bad accent, you should be very careful because at 2:10 of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOaU5H3P4c it sounds like she's saying "Love my anus straight and through"

In closing, I thought Eurovision was great, you HAVE to have bad acts, what else would there be to make fun of? And thank fuck it's EUROvision, because if a country like America tried to get in on this, we'd just have someone like Miley Cyrus screeching about experiences that she's never had in her life. I've ordered the CD online because I can't get enough of hearing it all, even the shit.

Anyway, that's enough for one blogpost.

'Till next time....

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Lost: The End.

Monday 24 May 2010 by Al Kay
.......
DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE!!


(I use such references as "Latin" and "Ltn. John The Flying Beaver" to describe what the afterlife could be. It would be too mundane to just say "Heaven" and "Jesus/God" plus everyone should have their own idea right?)


This is my 4th try at writing a blogpost on the finale of Lost and for the first time since I created this thing, I can't for the life of me put the words together that could describe the last 2 and a half hours of the most emotional rollercoaster on television that I've ever witnessed.

I still haven't come to terms with the fact that it's gone and never coming back. I'll never forget the first time I watched it, back on the day when it first aired in the UK...I just had this awesome feeling that I was watching something special and now that it's all over, it's very clear to me it was more than that, but I can't think of a fitting word. The ending wasn't bittersweet for me, I don't understand how people can describe it like that, is it the fact that everybody is dead? Like Christian Shephard says
Everyone dies sometime, kiddo.
In my opinion, it was more of a "....And they lived happily ever after" finish.

There is so much to go through that I'm going to do a rundown of some noteworthy major characters, so in no particular order, here they are:

Kate

Had I known what she would have done later in Season 6, then I might have been a little less harsh on the episode "What Kate Does", as that episode was necessary for the story to progress the way it did. She killed the MIB in epic fashion and for me, that totally redeemed her character. I've never been a huge fan of hers, always running away from her issues instead of taking responsibilty for what she did, regardless of her good intentions, she was still the reason for at least 2 people dying and then she even flat out refused to take the fall for it when she was making deals with the prosecution in Season 4. Her manipulation of the Jack/Sawyer situation didn't exactly do her any favours, but I was indeed happy that she and Jack ended up together right before he died...and then after...? From the very first episode I always knew that Jack and Kate were meant to be together and the Sawyer/Juliet stuff was just another bump in the road for them. Let's hope Kate doesn't become a homewrecker in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Richard

Ah, his character was mysterious, exciting and in a way - loveable. Everything he ever did was for the good of the people on the island and that is ammicable. He's saved so many lives and yet...the average fan just sees him as that ageless dude that was taking orders from Ben/Jacob. His backstory shows that he has had the worst experiences out of all of the Lost gang and he never complained about it (that we saw). Jacob recruited Richard because he wanted somebody to communicate with the people that came to the island, so that the MIB couldn't manipulate them or even kill them. I'm not sure how successful that turned out to be (especially under Ben's regime with the purge and stuff) but essentially, I think it helped to have a 2nd in command. I loved the Richard character and it's a pity we didn't see more of him. Who knows what kind of life he ended up living after he left on the Ajira flight, but I'm sure after he died, he found his own peace with Isabella...in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Illana

What a waste of a character, a shit one at that. Added nothing to the dynamic of the group and was essentially boring. Then she went and got herself blown up ("Blown up? You said my parents died in a car crash!!"...heh...had to.) Her character deserves a place in Heaven/Hell...but not Latin. Even though she was...was she Latino? I dunno. Who cares. Everytime I watch the dynamite scene from now on, I shall shout "OPA!" Just for shits and giggles.

Rose & Bernard

They weren't exactly Adam & Eve (I was wrong...I know), but they certainly added a light-hearted feel to whole thing. When things are going shit for everybody (like Jack's gonna blow up the island) they give us a different perspective to the one we're used to. In their eyes, they really don't care if they die or not, as long as they're together why should it matter? They have faith and that's what makes them accept their fate; that they're going to die no matter what. As little as they were shown in the last 2 seasons, their appearances have always been, to some degree, important. They were like the Grandparents of the Islanders, always there when there is a need for good, heartwarming advice. I hope they give God/Ltn. John The Flying Beaver some good times in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Hurley

The big guy was certainly comic relief and in the finale he proved to be much more than that. The producers created the role FOR Jorge Garcia, something which is extremely believable as he is obviously such a tremendous character. Up until somewhere around the fourth season, Hurley was more of a background character, I never thought that he would be such a huge asset to the end game of Lost. He is most definitely one of my top 5 favourite characters as the show would have been extremely mundane without him...we totally needed him when the shit hit the fan. Who knows how long he lived as leader of the island or how he changed things, but I do know this; Ltn. John the Flying Beaver/God will be very proud to have him in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Ben

Bringing Ben in was one of the smartest things the producers ever did on the show. He is truly the biggest cunt on the face of the Earth and yet pretty much redeemed himself in the last season, especially the Finale. He killed at least 40 people in the purge, murdered John Locke, was responsible for Sayid slaughtering all those men and women and yet...we still hoped that Ben was a good guy didn't we? He has alot to atone for and that's why I think he waited outside the church, to repent and hopefully one day join his fellow castaways to wherever they're going. John Locke's forgiveness of Ben and all of the wicked things he'd done was probably one of the greatest scenes in the entire series, emotion-wise. I hope he enjoys life with Danielle and Alex in the between life and I am glad that he and Hurley had a great time on the island, I always knew there was a certain chemistry (no homo) between them, especially after the Season Four episode Cabin Fever. To Ben: Give 'em Hell...in Hell!/Heaven/Latin.

Sawyer

I think for me, he didn't make much of an impact as I'd like in the grand scheme of things. I guess they didn't know what to do with him, too many cooks and all that. He went through alot of shit to be the good guy that he turned out to be, even when the love of his life perished, it didn't take long for him to stop blaming Jack and start getting on with what's important: Surviving. He felt great shame for what happened to Jin, Sun and Sayid, but luckily Jack reassured him that it wasn't his fault and it was this moment that I think Sawyer realised that Jack had only the best intentions at heart...just like him. Sawyer has been the victim of some really bad writing in the past (Recon), but it didn't stop him from being a great character. Do you think Ltn. John The Flying Beaver can be conned by him in Heaven/Hell/Latin?
Jacob

Just how is he special? What exactly are the powers he possesses?

The questions above are ones that I never need to have answered. What's the point? Do you ask how magic occurs in Harry Potter? No, because it's fiction, just like Lost. That is why, when Jacob first appeared I knew that he would be an epic character. He'd been mentioned as early as Season 3, but we didn't really have a clue who this guy was, all he did was give "The Others" lists with people's names on them and they acted like they feared him. It was at the end of Season Five that we actually got to see this guy...and he didn't seem scary at all! His evil twin brother on the other hand was nutso, yes that's right, I said EVIL. Jacob to me was a good man with alot of flaws, his job as protector made him that way, aswell as the fact that he made a grave mistake when he popped his brother into the source and thus The Smoke Monster was born. I think Jacob has always had the best intentions, his campfire chat with the losties definitely gave us some closure on that even if some will disagree. If it wasn't for Jacob, I think Season Six would have sucked even more than it did. Let's hope he doesn't make Ltn. John The Flying Beaver a candidate by "touching" him in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Locke

They could have done so much more with this character, I have no idea why in the blue HELL they did what they did to him...however getting to see Terry O' Quinn as a legit bad guy was incredible and I forgive the producers for killing him off like they did.

What a troubled character he was though eh? From a young age he was tested to see how "special" he was, to see if he could be the new leader of "The Others" I suppose and it was only for a few minutes that Richard was able to welcome him into this secluded group of people when all of a sudden, Locke got time-flashed. His reign from that point on was over and the real struggle began. It's here that I began to think that Boone wasn't the sacrifice the island demanded, it was Locke all along, especially if we consider the Island to be the Smoke Monster (in the metaphorical sense).

His time on the Island was amazing, his interactions with people like Jack, Ben, Charlie, Boone and Eko made him one of a kind and it was from these people that he developed the drive to become a natural born leader. I'm glad that he got what he wanted in the afterlife and I sincerely hope that we can remember him as the guy he was in Seasons 1-2 and not the confused, pathetic guy that the producers turned him out to be in Seasons 3-5. Long Live Locke...in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

Jack

A man of Science and eventually a man of Faith, Jack epitomised what Lost was about. His life outside of the island wasn't too exciting (we don't exactly remember him for how he got his tattoos), but his on-island life had the ups and downs of a true hero and this is what made his character real to the fans. He saved many lives starting from the first episode and that never stopped throughout Lost's tenure. Never turning his back on his castaway friends, he was always loyal and ready for any action that the bad guys through at him, I would say this is why everybody loved Jack and why they needed him when the going got tough. Jack is overall my favourite character, which would surprise alot of people who know me because, I always bitched about Jack, especially during Season 3, but that was because all he could do was scream, make matters worse for himself and generally act like a tool. Like I said however, he NEEDED to do all that to make him what he was at the end of the finale...no not dead - a saviour. His relationship with Locke was unfortunate, they never got along and it was only after John died that Jack realised that Locke was actually right all along. What was he right about? The Island. It took alot for him to understand that not everything is down to science, sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. I know that Jack will rest easy now with his friends and enjoy his time in Heaven/Hell/Latin.

...More Thoughts

This blog has took me about a week to write, I've been doing it in portions here and there because I just simply haven't had the concentration to sit down and focus primarily on it. Life has beckoned and I've had to take a step back from some things and a step forward toward others. It has been roughly 10 days since the Finale and I was satisfied with how it ended, no matter how many loose ends there were. There are a few things that niggle at me about some of the answers though...

"Adam & Eve" skeletons could not have survived in the jungle for 2000 years. The producers had promised that they have known since day one who these people were, but it's pretty obvious that they had no idea and were playing it by ear. Jack said that clothing like that would take around 50 years to deteriorate and I know Jack doesn't know everything, but he was out by a couple of thousand years. Proof that they were making it up as they went along.

"The Monster" We never got closure on this, the biggest question of Lost. Guy gets shafted into the "Source" and becomes a black pillar of smoke who can read minds and shape shift? On the other hand, the source has been mentioned only briefly by John Locke when he described his encounter with the Monster as a "bright light"...at least I assume that's what he was talking about.

"The Rules" Wtf were they? They seem so specific and huge to the mythology of Lost and all we got was...well...nothing. We don't know what they are, who made them or why they were made. Were they the same rules that Widmore and Ben had to follow...even though Ben didn't follow them when he shot Widmore and nothing happened to him...infact it turned out he had an awesome life with Hurley on the island! Ehh, go bollocks.

That's all I can come up with. This isn't my final blog about Lost as I'm sure in the future I will be rewatching the entire thing, but for now I think I'm going to give it a rest and blog about whatever else comes to my mind. I love Lost and I know alot of my friends do aswell, but we have to remember that it's a TV show and our lives must come first, we can't obsess too much or it can affect our lives in a bad way. I know somebody who, just recently, got a little too involved in regards to obsessing about the characters and let it control their life...this person then posted a "suicide" status on Facebook, which I'm sure was unrelated, but nevertheless unnerving. I swiftly deleted this person from my list as I tend to stay away from psycho babble.

I'm really sorry for my bad grammar and lack of constructive sentences, I'm not an author afterall. Lost has been an amazing and I wanna say cheers to Laura for having some good, honest discussion with me about it, Lisa tends to agree with everything I say, but Laura's always been up for a good ole fashioned debate, so thanks for that.

Anyway, I must stop this blog before it becomes even more boring than it already is. Thanks for reading, it's been a blast!

'Till next time...


























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Some thoughts...

Wednesday 19 May 2010 by Al Kay
...


Hi. Yeah I dunno how to start this blogpost off, which is a first for me because as you can tell by the others that I've written, I usually have a subject in mind. That being said however, I do have a couple of things that I want to ramble about, the first being...

Lost

I have just watched "What They Died For" and I can't believe what a fantastic episode it was! I wasn't that pumped for it to be honest, especially after last week's episode which was kind of like marmite (I couldn't decide whether I loved it or hated it) and so far the whole season has been like that in a way. "What They Died For" was a mixture of mythology, character development (even at this late stage) and nostalgia. There wasn't as much to take in as last week's episode and it certainly made me get that excited feeling, like it's coming to a satisfying end. The penultimate episode of Lost was a relief because I was almost beginning to lose faith in what has been a legendary series. I shall be celebrating the Finale next week with a few beers.

Time

I can't help but think how fast things are going, maybe it's my age but every year I feel time is passing me by faster than the previous one. Before I turned 21 last month, I did feel a bit down about how I had lived my life, especially in my teen years...wasted youth? While everyone else was getting their lives in check, I was in my room categorising my DVDs in alphabetical order and wondering what I would be having for dinner the following day. There was no way I could have done anything different though, so I can't really have any kind of regrets...you can't regret something that you had no control over right? Fear is something that everyone has to deal with and for some reason it has consumed my life since the day I was born, thus what should have been some of the best years of my life, were actually some of the worst. On a brighter note, I still have the future and anything can happen, so I will keep my chin up. If all else fails, they do have McDonalds in Sweden...that always makes me happy.

Music

I've been playing alot of Beatles songs on the guitar lately, I'm just getting to grips with how clever they were, technically speaking. I can understand why people think they're overrated, but I think they deserve every single bit of recignition they get, their songs had more meaning than anything in the Top 40 combined, although that's not saying alot is it?
I'm sick of hearing about this Justin Bieber guy, he's just some Canadian in a crooked hat that can't sing, same with Miley Cyrus...if she were to wear a crooked hat that is. You know you're getting older when you think stuff like that is the Devil...or as my friends would say "Divil". Kiwis eh? Sorry about the rant, but today's "icons" need shooting.

To be honest I don't listen to alot of music, which I'm pretty sure is down to the guitar. Everytime I listen to a song I'm thinking of what key it's in or what kind of equipment is used etc etc. It can be tiresome, especially when you just want to sit down and relax. That is one of the many faults with playing an instrument, you become a lot closer with the music and you strive to equal or better whatever you're listening to, it's an uphill struggle. It's not all doom and gloom though, nothing beats wailing out on the guitar, whether it's acoustic or electric, that feeling never goes.

The Blog

I still enjoy writing in this blog, somedays I make an effort, somedays I don't. I'm not going to set myself days to update because then I don't think I'd enjoy doing it as much. There are things that everyday I tell myself "oo, should write about that" and usually I do, somethings are very difficult to write about though as I'll only have about a paragraph of thought which I can leave to Facebook.
The response has been great, I didn't expect so many people to read it, especially family members who I haven't spoke to in years. It's not exactly getting us relatives together, but it's certainly helping me to interact with people who I've known all my life, but barely spoken to. Since my grandparents died, the family has kind of split up and now that I've moved to Sweden, there's not much possibility for me to see them anymore. Shame, I know, but that's life.

Reflection

I know i've sunk a bit in this blogpost, but it's that time of year where you get those nostalgic feelings of "What if.." and "If only...". We all get like this, this is why we all crave the hot weather, because it gives us chance to go out for walks and think about everything, past, present and future.
Speaking of walks, the caravans are parked up next to the beach now, I was aware this would happen around this time and as expected I'm feeling a bit of anxiety, it hasn't stopped us from getting out though, we just have to be a bit wary of the times that we do. I still need to teach Lisa how to be with me outside around this time with people...she forgets to be on the side closest to them, but I give her a little shove and she understands. I would have said "poke" but that sounds weird.

Anyway, she's graduating soon so that's fun. She's got a few jobs lined up for the Summer, luckily the hours are flexible so we can still spend alot of time together which is important. It seems we're moving on to bigger and better things, with University for her just around the corner and...well I don't have alot going on but hey, I'm making progress everyday. I still feel shitty around people but I think that's always going to be there no matter what, there is no cure for what I have, I have to make the best of it and live my life day by day.

As I said, not alot is going on in my life right now, still playing guitar and cleaning this mess of an apartment. When I'm not doing those things, I'm chatting online to Tari and Jimfuck which is always fun and sometimes uncomfortable due to Tari's gum fetish...long story. Oh yeah and when he was 3, Jimfuck kicked a baby kangeroo...that one had me laughing for a good 2 minutes. We have a thriving Facebook group called "I am a man...from Latin", the most random stuff gets posted there and we have a good time, Jimfuck and I are the dictators, with Lisa and Tari as our...well I guess they're dictators too now that we made them Admins. Immature stuff, but I really need the humour, Lisa's not exactly a comedian and Swedish TV is about as entertaining as The Weather Channel. Yeah, I gave it a try and realised I couldn't stand the adverts and subtitles. I will be looking into a way to watch British TV, possibly on my laptop soon, I don't miss it too much, infact it's done me some good to be away from it, but I think it'd be nice to know my options in regards to it.

Probably my most honest blog to date, infact it was more of an update of how things are, which I never thought I would do here. I tend to usually have an interesting topic and work around that, but today I just felt the need to do a rambling blog, so excuse my poor use of the English language. I realise my style is not to everyone's taste, so to those who have taken a dislike to what I write about...BLOW IT UP YER ASS! Just kidding, I really like saying that though.

So yeah, that's what I'm thinking about right now.

'Till next time....

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Allen Weighs In On Lost Part 2

Monday 17 May 2010 by Al Kay
........

(If you haven't caught up with the latest episode of Lost Across The Sea then don't read this.)

I didn't expect to be doing another blog in regards to Lost before the Finale...but I think I've finally pieced some of it together.

The Man in Black.

So I really haven't figured out what happened to him in the last episode, whether he's the smoke monster or whether he was just another victim of the smoke monster, anyways I'm going to give an overall theory on a few things and why I think he has something to do with them.

Now we all know that pregnant women who concieve on the island have little to no chance of carrying the child full term, resulting in death of baby and mother, however that only started some point after "The Incident". Now we assume that the smoke monster has been trying to kill some of the potential candidates since it manifested itself as John Locke, I mean that's all we've been shown right? Wrong. I believe he's been trying to kill off the candidates since Day 1 and he is what caused the pregnancy issues somehow. He didn't want anymore possible candidates to replace Jacob's job, he wants a way off of the island by any means necessary so he'll kill whoever he has to to make that happen.

That's not all, notice how alot of deaths on the show have been somehow influenced by certain unexplainable events? Boone died because John Locke had a vision...could it be that this was the smoke monster playing with his mind? Boone's sister Shannon saw what we think was Walt, which led her to her death by Ana Lucia. Nikki and Paulo were paralysed by the Madusa Spiders (which were actually a manefestation of the monster) and this certainly led to their death. John Locke was manipulated to die by Christian Shephard (who the smoke monster admitted was him all along). Of course the monster has directly killed alot of people, could this be because they themselves broke whatever rules that were set by MIB and Jacob?

Kidnapping Kids

In short, I think "The Others" kidnapped children because they were the best possible candidates. Just like "Mother" stole the twins off of Claudia, she knew that one of them would replace her...hence why they kidnapped Zach, Emma, Aaron and Walt. Children haven't seen the wide world yet so getting them while they're young makes it easier for them to adapt to Island life and eventually Jacob's position as...well I don't know what Jacob is really. Leader? Protector? Weirdo? Eh, whatever, kids are easier to manipulate I would guess...Although I don't know why they let Walt go...to every theory I have, there is going to be holes.

The Source

After his first encounter with the Monster in Season One, Locke stated,
"I looked into the eye of this Island, and what I saw was beautiful".
For me, this sums up that they have had "The Source" in mind for a while. I have no idea how Locke saw it from his experience with the monster; perhaps the monster manifested itself into an image of it, or even dragged him towards it...who knows if we'll ever find out. More proof that he possibly knew about the source is when he spoke to Eko and described his encounter with the monster as seeing a "bright light" and in the Season One finale, Locke wanted to be dragged by the monster into one of those vent things, remember? (Side Note: I really think it's a shame what they did with the Locke character, he had so much potential...no matter what he does in these sideways flashes, I don't think there is going to be redemption for the man we all knew and loved)

Which brings me to...

John Locke

What more is there to learn about him? Well, I think we have seen all we need to...some of us may not have known it though. In the last episode "Across The Sea", it is quite clear that "Mother" intended MIB to take over her job, this is why he recieved the special treatment...however not all things go to plan as Jacob is the one who takes over eventually, after MIB shuns them both for life with another group of people and refuses to allow "Mother" to tell him what to do (in a nutshell).
What does any of this have to do with John Locke? Look at the parallels! I believe that he was "The Chosen One" by Jacob, he had the will and desire to protect and serve the island, even in death (which is exactly what he did)...however he was never meant to die, MIB used all of his energy and resources to get Ben to kill him (MIB couldn't do it directly because this would have been a major rule break). Jacob picked Locke as his main candidate, the others were just backups incase anything happened (which it did). Locke is MIB and Jack is Jacob. Jack is Jacob's replacement now, not exactly his first choice but he'll do. Which is exactly what happened with Jacob, MIB and "Mother". I hope I'm making SOME sense.

David's Mother & Jack's Cut.

This is one of the things about the sideways flashes that I'm actually interested in! Wahay! LOL. I'm not sure what kind of impact this would have on Lost as a whole, or the current storyline even, but this is something that I hope gets cleared up before Lost is gone forever. David is Jack's son who's mother is still to be identified. I've narrowed it down to 3 choices...

  1. Juliet
  2. Kate
  3. Sarah
Juliet because I don't think her time on Lost has come to a complete close, we have yet to see her in the sideways flashes and I think maybe we're going to find out what the whole "we should go Dutch!" thing was right after the Nuke...exploded(?).

Kate...well, I don't honestly think it's her as she has already met Jack in the sideways and they were strangers to eachother. However I thought I'd say her just in case, worse things have happened on Lost (Do I have to remind you of the whole temple shit that we had to endure for 5+ eps?).

Sarah is the one I'm really rooting for. She isn't the most popular character (by far) but she is DAMN hot...can't we get her back on Lost for just a few minutes? All jokes aside, I think it would be a great reveal if she was, I have no other reason to think she is though.

The other thing that I'm quite interested in is where the Hell Jack got that cut on his neck in the Season 6 premiere? What kind of significance does that have on the rest of the season? My thoughts? Knowing Jack, he probably cut himself shaving. Doughnut. Unless it's some kind of epic battle that he has with MIB then I have no idea.

Jacob

I don't have alot to say about him, but I want to make my point clear...he is GOOD. He regrets terribly what happened to "Mother" and MIB...can't you tell? Look at everyone on Lost...they've all done stupid things, some have even resorted to torture and murder. In the words of Eko, they did what they needed to do to survive. Jacob had no idea what he was doing when he pushed MIB into The Source, MIB had just killed the one person Jacob loved and trusted. To Jacob, she was his mother no matter what...if someone killed your mother, for whatever reasons, what would you do? Look at what Jack has done to get where he is...nobody is perfect! Which brings me to...

The Ending

The Island sinking is the end. It is the end of all the troubles that the damned thing has caused, I can't imagine the amount of people that have died for it. The end can't be Jack taking Jacob's place, that is not finite, that is a loop. There is a reason the show has been focused on the passengers of Flight 815, it's because they are the end of a game that has lasted since time began - Across The Sea proved that. We will never know how it all started, who became the first "Jacob", because before him there was "Mother" and it goes on and on... It's neverending...until now. I want resolution for my favourite characters, I want them to get away from that rock...what good is Jack as the new "leader"? What does it accomplish? We've seen it happen before! That isn't resolution. So here's hoping that the Island doesn't destroy anyone else's life... unless it's Kate's.

That's all I want to say about Lost right now, apologies for my lack of writing skill in this one, it's almost 1am, I'm boiling hot in this apartment thanks to the hot weather and today has been testing to say the least (if my Autism was The Source, then I went head-first in it this morning).

Who knows what I'll talk about in my next Lost blog. This might even be the last one before it ends. Scary. I'll try and do one before the Finale...yes infact I will!

(Another Side Note: You know, if I am right about my main theories, then that could mean that it's took me 5 years to figure out what Lost is all about..only a couple of episodes before the finale! Not exactly amazing stuff, but I would be satisfied)

'Till next time....


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Allen Weighs In On Lost...

Friday 7 May 2010 by Al Kay
.....

Lost Theories.

It's late and my mind is working overdrive thinking of the tiniest little things...the kind of things that make you wonder whether you're crazy, dumb, or the smartest thing since Einstein. A random thought came to me, which was then passed on to my friend Laura who, bless her, somehow responded with some words of comfort, understanding, confusion, empathy and most of all *INSIDE JOKE ALERT!* "Haybo". My thought was on the subject of Lost and the fact that so many little things and so many big things have not been answered on the show, so I wanted to show off my own little theories on the things that I believe might be answered before the show is over. I really just wanna see if I'm right, wrong or just plain insane.

So here begins the mindless drivel of a 21 year old with temporary insomnia.
Let's start with what I would suggest are the bigger mysteries:

The Monster.

Since the Pilot, this has been the single biggest mystery of all, this is what made Lost different from all the other TV shows out there. The "unknown threat" as it were, has been a murderous villain throughout the series who has manipulated, murdered and confused the survivors of Oceanic 815 and even people before then ala Richard Alpert and the DHARMA Initiative. The monster is made of what looks to be smoke and static (?)... and he can shape shift between other forms like the Medusa Spiders and Yemi. Currently he is under the guise of a dead John Locke and apparently according to Illana cannot change anymore (apart from being that black smoke thing).

Verdict:
The Monster has always been a huge mystery to me, even my best guess has sounded like utter crap to myself and everyone else. Apparantly he used to be human perhaps? Maybe we'll get his back story on that and why he turned into a creepy black smoke thing. I think it certainly has something to do with the Island's powers, if it has any? I mean, it does have time travel, why not the ability to turn the average human being into a big massive fuck off monster. Jacob and Dogen seem to think that he is the essence of all evil in the world...what does this mean? That he's the devil? They're in Hell? Maybe. Also, I'd like to suggest that in "The Man Behind The Curtain" when Ben took Locke to "visit" Jacob, perhaps it wasn't Jacob at all that went all crazy, perhaps it was the MIB all along...which has been suggested by alot of people, so this isn't completely my own idea, but it's a theory I tend to stick to.

Adam and Eve.

(This is something that IS going to be answered before or during the Finale)

The skeletons in the caves which were nicknamed by John Locke have been a mystery since the beginning of the first season, one of them had two stones in their pocket, one white and one black. The producers have confirmed that Adam and Eve are indeed important and are proof that the show has always been built around a certain theme that we may yet to have discovered.

Verdict:
I'm not 100% convinced but I would place a small amount of money on the assumption that these remains are those of Rose and Bernard Nadler. We don't know where they've been since "The Incident" and their presense in Lost has been uplifting and helpful to the rest of the 815 survivors. There was an anagram in the Room 23 video: "Only Fools Are Enslaved By Time and Space" when jumbled is "Bones of Nadlers May Lay Deep In Lost Cave". This doesn't clear up the mystery at all as far as I'm concerned, maybe it would be too obvious? Or maybe they're hiding in plain sight.

Rivalry.

MIB and Jacob have had a relationship that is far from solid. While they seem friendly and civil towards eachother, there is an underlying hatred there as Jacob won't let MIB leave, thus in turn, MIB wants to kill Jacob...and does (with Ben's help). The nature of their lives are governed by a set of rules that each must follow...I think. There are loopholes (as proved by MIB when he got Ben to kill Jacob) and there are obstacles (MIB cannot ultimately kill any of the candidates). Which brings the question...candidates for what? Leadership? Eh. There are plenty of questions regarding this matter. Who made the rules? Why? Do the mysterious boys that appear to MIB have anything to do with it? What would happen if MIB were to leave the island?

Verdict:
In regards to the questions above, it would be impossible to have any kind of theory really. I don't think I know enough yet to establish a credible thought, however I could take a guess. I believe the significance of the rivalry is the backbone of Lost, I believe this was well thought up a long time ago by the producers, at least since the end of Season One. The only thing that I can say is that I believe that Jacob and MIB are brothers, maybe even twins. So much for a theory.

Sideways Flashes.

To be perfectly honest, I want to say it right here, right now, in writing..."Expose" aside, I believe that this has been the weakest plot point of the entire series. I am not too happy about it and it's going to take alot in these last few episodes to convince me that these weren't a complete waste of fucking time. Once again, if you're a fan of the show, you'll know what I mean by "Sideways Flashes" Now that that's out of the way, what do I truly believe they are?

Verdict:
They seem to be the result of Jughead exploding...however how does that explain the Island submerging? A nuke would not sink an island, an island is not sinkable, especially since only the core of the bomb was used, thus making it less effective if anything. Unless it's not your typical island - structure wise - like there wasn't a very sturdy bottom to it? Bollocks. There are a few other things that I think may be the answer, for instance maybe Desmond has something to do with it? Widmore wants to test this guy using electromagnetic machines and shit...fuck it, I can't continue with a feesable theory for it, I don't think I have all the pieces to the puzzle yet to figure out what it could be. So in short, it's anyone's guess.

P.R.D
.

Once again the producers have confirmed that this is something that they will, in some way, clear up, however they also said that it might not be in the actual show (whatever that means). The P.R.D is the Periodic Resupply Drop. It is a food pallet intended for the inhabitants of the Swan hatch and possibly other DHARMA stations. The mystery here is that long after the purge the P.R.D was still functioning - somebody in a helicopter (or plane) had been dropping these supplies even though the DHARMA Initiative had been "defeated". Who was doing it and why?

Verdict:
Well, I would assume it has something to do with Faraday as he spent some time in Ann Arbor, Michigan (DHARMA HQ), but that's a very loose guess. Another plausable answer could be the fact that the time on-island is different to off-island. So basically, while it's 2004 on-island, it could be 1974 off-island, therefore the pallet could be coming from a different time to what the "Losties" think it is...or thought it was...or could be?

Conclusion.

How do I think it's going to end? Well ultimately I have a few inklings, maybe Jack will save the day like he always almost kinda never does? There has been alot of sacrifice, which I think is a major theme when it comes to Lost. Examples: Sayid blowing himself up (and not for the sake of Allah), John Locke and that whole hanging/killing/murder thing, Jacob when he let Ben stab him, Charlie when he drowned himself to unblock the signal, Jin when he drowned himself to stay with Sun, Boone according to Locke was the sacrifice that the Island demanded. There are plenty more examples of sacrifice, not all leading to death of course, but they've all had a major impact on the show as a whole. They were all game-changers. I believe there will be resolution, unsolved mysteries and a shit load of death. If Jack or Hurley die then it's kinda unfortunate as they have been the best characters in my opinion especially in this dire last season.

When all is said and done, I shall post another blog stating my theories on the things that they didn't answer. I really hope the producers have an Ace up their sleeve, because I'm having serious doubts as we're coming toward the end of the show, it's important that they wrap it up in a way that pleases most of the fans. I personally am looking forward to the next few episodes and really hope that they are well executed and in a word: Epic.

'Till next time...

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Johnny Depp

Tuesday 4 May 2010 by Al Kay
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(I take the piss out of the French near the bottom of this blog...sorry? I don't really hate the French.)

Here's a justified rant at a semi-talented wannabe rock star...no not me, Johnny Depp.


Johnny Depp


The main thing that bugs me about this guy, is the fact that he overacts in every movie he's in. Someone needs to tell this dude to chill out, he doesn't need to make every character he plays "out of this world", we get it, you want to be a bit of a rebel when it comes to playing a part...but it's been done to death mate!

I was watching the original Willy Wonka the other day and wow, everything was so shit about this film that it made it the greatest film ever...does that make sense? Each time I watch it I think "that doesn't look real, my mum could do better" but of course, they made it that way on purpose (and decent technology wasn't around at the time). Gene Wilder was fantastic, he really made everything so believable. Dreams could come true with that guy. The film in general is awesome.

Fast forward a few decades to '05 and there is a remake, this time it's called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" subtle name change, but essentially the same thing. This time with Indian uumpaa luumpaas and squirrels instead of chickens or whatever they were. Johnny Depp is Willy Wonka, since Tim Burton directed the fucking thing, who would have expected anyone else? Anyways, I had a hard time enjoying that movie...not because of the dodgy animating, not because of the bad casting of Charlie, not because of the laziness of them old people in bed together, not because of the unrealistic house of crap that the Bucket family lived in, but because of Johnny Depp...WTF did he do to poor Willy Wonka? ....Made him a fricking lunatic! As if he wasn't loony enough in the original.
In this sad pathetic excuse for a remake, Johnny Depp turned the confident, outgoing, hilarious Willy Wonka, into a...creepy nutbag with daddy issues. As if that's not bad enough, there was some awkward dancing by Charlie's grandad, Helena Bonham Carter's teeth made her less sexy (she's still fit though) and the ending was worse than when Frodo got on that boat (THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?!?!).

Then there's Pirates of the Caribbean...actually, I couldn't sit through more than 20 minutes of that film, it might not have been down to ole' Depp that one.

Sleepy Hollow...'nuff said.

Well, I could go on and on about how crap he is, but I don't have the energy in my calloused fingertips anymore. He should stay with the French in France as far as I'm concerned, or Hell...same difference. (Ouch...yeah too mean, the English in me still hates the French even if I'm in Sweden now...it was really hard to watch the Da Vinci Code the other night because of the French.) I kid, there's nothing wrong with the French.

You can blame the lack of writing skill in this blog on Johnny Depp as well.

'Till next time



(P.S. I don't actually hate Johnny Depp...I'm exaggerating for comedic effect. Sue me. It's also an opinion..kinda like a movie review if you want...no need to hate is there?)
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Guitar

Friday 23 April 2010 by Al Kay
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(My memory is a little fuzzy, so forgive me for my lack of detail)


My Musical Journey.



It was inevitable that I would blog about this, it's indeed my biggest obsession and has been for close to 7 years (and counting).

I've always had a love of music, from the age of 4 I was a huge Michael Jackson fan, from then until my teen years there was barely any other music in my life that I enjoyed - yep, it was hard to beat MJ back then. Of course when I turned 12 that's when I started enjoying other genres of music like rock and what would best be described as nu-metal? Mainly stuff like Linkin Park, Korn and Limp Bizkit...it varied, I wasn't stuck in a phase of crappy screechy "emo" rock bands (the term rock is seriously debatable when it comes to Linkin Park though). Sometimes I gave rap and hip hop a listen. It was never my thing though.

To be honest, I was never satisfied musically, I was always looking for something different and I think everyone does that from time to time. I never sought to do anything more than listen though, which is why in the Spring of 2003 I had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle.

So it begins...

I was stuck babysitting rabbits, my sister had gone on holiday for a week so she left me in charge of her room while she was gone. This room would eventually be mine as she moved out that same year. Anyway, there wasn't alot for me to do really, just make sure they didn't gnaw on any electricals or valuables and just maintain everything until she returned. What does any of this have to do with music? You'll see.

So, I still had to go to school even though the bunnies were most likely terrorising the room while I was gone, but hey what can you do? So it must have been a Friday as we had a music lesson in the afternoon. Usually for music we would piss about with computers and midi programs, it was all pretty boring and taught us nothing, which is why I was relieved when I saw my science teacher Mr Heath come in with an acoustic guitar. He was going to give us a guitar lesson, my first and last.
In all honesty I was shit, I couldn't hold down the strings with my weak fingers to save my life...chords were a fucking nightmare. I could sense the frustration on Mr Heath's face, not just with me, but with everybody, I'm guessing he hadn't given too many guitar lessons or we were just the worst he'd ever taught. Nevertheless, after about an hour he gave up on the basics and just taught us how to play our favourite songs on one string. It was then that I learnt my first riff - Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. I played it over and over with my friends and we had a laugh.

It was rare that I went home with a feeling of excitement, I couldn't believe that I could actually play something on the guitar. I didn't tell my mum or anything, she was busy, so I went upstairs to check on the rabbits and have some time alone to think about the day. I remember opening the door to find one of the rabbits on the bed staring at me...it's weird the little things you remember isn't it? Anyway, I was exhausted so I moved the rabbit and laid down, all I could think about was the guitar and that riff. It was playing in my head like a broken record.
It was then that I looked over and saw that Sally had a guitar (I don't actually know if she is aware of this story at all), it was a classical 3/4 beginner, obviously I had no idea what that meant at the time. I picked it up and gave it a strum, it was most likely out of tune, but back then I doubt I would have noticed. It felt weird because, even though I swore I had memorised how to play it, I just couldn't. Eventually however, after about half an hour or so, I had found the right place on the fret board to pick and play the riff. The feeling was awesome.

That's all I remember unfortunately, I said before that it's weird how one can remember such little things, but I believe it's even stranger when you forget such big things. All I know is that somehow I ended up getting that guitar off Sally (did I buy it or something?) and learnt a ton of new stuff because of it.

Going Electric

Similar to Bob Dylan (yeah right), it was my time to move on from what was essentially a toy, to what is essentially the thing that helped me progress the most in my ability. That of course is the Electric Guitar. As I was still a beginner and had limited funds, I had to purchase the cheapest guitar out there...from Littlewoods. For those that don't know what Littlewoods is, it's basically a catalogue store that let you pay for your stuff on a weekly basis...and charge a shitload of interest in the process, not only that but my mum would get a commission. It's your standard rip-off. Anyway, I had probrably spent around £150 (which took me around a year to pay off by the way) for the shittest guitar ever made - once again, I had no idea at the time. It came with the shittest amp, the shittest strap and they even forgot to include a shitty cable, which meant I actually had to send the whole shitty lot back and wait 2 shitty weeks for them to deliver it again...with the shitty cable this time.

So, I quickly progressed, learning new songs, new techniques and even whole albums. The first album that I could play all the way through was American Idiot by Green Day. I could play plenty of their other stuff too, but American Idiot, even now, is an integral part of my musical ability...even though Green Day couldn't play their way out of a paper bag.

It wasn't just Green Day however, bands like Blink 182 and the Foo Fighters were added to my repetoire, which kept growing and growing. Of course, this was all power chords and little licks here and there, I would eventually branch out into other realms of guitar, it was never easy though.


The Killers

Definitely the biggest influence on my guitar playing, other than Green Day has been the Killers. In the Summer of 2005, my family and I were packing our stuff and leaving Manchester for Sutton, it was around this time that Live 8 was on. So as we were putting all our valuables into boxes we watched tons and tons of bands and artists play some awesome music. Around halfway through, the Killers came on, wearing all white. I thought "Christ..." I was actually dreading it, but they played exceptionally well, I couldn't believe how good Dave Keuning's guitar sounded! They only played one song "All These Things That I've Done", but it was probably the highlight of the entire event for me.

Over the next couple of days I loaded a blank disc full of Killers songs (that I had downloaded for free...bad Allen) because I needed some music for the long drive that Jenny and I would be taking (we were moving a bunch of stuff to the new house). It was a bit of a risk to have only one CD of songs that I'd never listened to on such a long drive...what if I didn't like them? Obviously, since I've dedicated a whole section of my blog to them, I needn't have worried.

Since then, they've released 3 more albums and a live DVD. I can play every single song they've ever made, infact, around 4 years ago, probably more, I recorded Mr Brightside on my acoustic guitar, with just a headset to record with...here it is:



MusicPlaylist



There is two tracks on there, rhythm and lead. Both done in one take each. It is ridden with mistakes and mic bumps, but I like it, it's raw.

Anyway, enough about the Killers...


Pain.

Bit of an exaggeration, but yes, since I've been serious about guitar I've had to experience some pain and a little bit of sacrifice. Let's bullet point...

  • First and foremost, my fingertips are like leather...it's pretty much deadskin, I have no sensation there at all which can be annoying at times.
  • Now and again I can't feel anything in my right shoulder, all of a sudden it will just go numb.
  • In my wrist I've experienced a dull ache here and there, most likely due to RSI. These days it's mostly OK though.
  • The hand in which I hold the pick has bled numerous times, due to me strumming and my pick missing the string/s...which results in my thumb hitting it instead...major pain.
  • The joints in my left hand can hurt, especially when I'm playing power chords.
I could go on, but I can't really be bothered, the point is: IT HURTS!


The Rest is History...

I could go into some major specifics about what my setup is and all that, but obviously I'm going to do that in another blog further down the line. I also want to go into more detail of how I learnt and how I keep learning.

I will say this though...I can't believe how much I have progressed in such a short time. 7 years it has took me to get to where I am musically and it keeps going. My abilites nowadays can range from Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrix...if I put my mind to it and focus hard enough, I can usually play it. The more I play however, the worse the pain gets. I'm still not sure whether it's worth the tendon damage, but I guess I'll find out the hard way in years to come. Ah well, fuck my nerve endings.

For a look at some of my guitar playing, Click Here

I will most likely do another guitar blog as I didn't cover alot. There is 7 years worth of guitar playing to look back on and I want to have it written down to the best of my knowledge on here.

Anyway, this is going on too long, I'll check ya later.


'Till next time...









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