the dead to thrones

if you following closely to numerous shows and variety news from the US you will know that yesterday, or in Singapore time would be this morning, was the last episode of the decent zombie apocalypse series "The Walking Dead". so the 4th season of this show has just come to an end. it was again a cliffhanger ending, nonetheless still amazing. so.. my Sundays will have one less show. "The Mentalist" is all i have now.. well no, not for long.

coming next month, Sundays will be a night with another season of another good series. the 4th season of " Game Of Thrones" is going to show soon. can't wait.. the previous season ended with one sitting at the edge of his/her chair chewing nails. so yeah.. one season of a good show ended another season of another goo show is coming up. from zombies to warriors.

75 days

the number of days left to this global event. the event where even non-fans would watch and follow up on the news and matches and results. the event where the world fans are brought together.

well, i'm really excited.. are you? :)

mysterious writer

i'm a fan of Johnny Depp. i try to watch whatever movies he has starred in and most of the times i wasn't disappointed. though "Public Enemies" was kind of a disappointing, there are many that aren't so bad.

a week ago, i came across this movie that wasn't that popular i guess but he was starring in it and so i took the chance and went on to watch. the movie was " Secret Window". generally, the show is about a writer which is starred by Johnny Depp, who caught his wife cheating and since then on started living separately. one fine day, a mysterious guy came up to his door and accused him of plagiarism. while the stranger was persistent he was being cheated, Johnny Depp insisted otherwise. through the sequence of events, the latter soon uncover truths and what not.

the movie was based on a book my Stephen King with the same title. if you read it, good for you, still worth watching though. for those who did not read the book, like me, you would be pleased by the plot. again, Johnny Depp's acting in this film is remarkable. good movie.

M

final day to introduce a few of the metal pieces. we have seen the YouTuber's metal covers the last couple of days on the more popular songs. even real metal bands do so as well. this two covers are from Within Temptation's latest album. they cover quite a number of songs but i find these two the better ones, hence worth sharing here.

the first cover was originally by Imagine Dragons.. "Radioactive". the second one would be originally sung by Lana Del Rey.. "Summertime Sadness". personally, i find the latter better than the original one.

E

yesterday, i mentioned it is time to introduce metal covers that are based on songs that more are familiar with and those that you can listen to on the radio. well, metal apparently is not put on radio so that's my i'm here and partly why i want to introduce them here.

so anyway, the first popular song cover is a song that you might have heard it many many times. you might have seen and listen to dozens of remixes and covers on that particular song. some people said it is the best one that Disney has ever used in the movie. well, the movie is "Frozen" and as you might guess straight away, the song is "Let It Go".

the cover artiste is the same one as the previous days. honestly, i think he deserve the credit and well, he is good.. enough said. he is 331Erock again if you are interested.

let's rewind time back a little to another movie that is based on true events of a ship name Titanic. well, yes the movie was also named after the same name. as you might have guessed, the theme song "My Heart Will Go On" is also covered by him. one of the rare times where i find the metal cover better than the original. this is one of them.

T

techno/dance hits lover or not, you probably heard of this song before from the movie "Chicken Little". if you do not know the movie then probably you are still a young child since it was screened when i was still a kid. anyway, the song featured in this film was a techno hit by Ozone named "Dragostea Din Tei" or what many people soon call it the Numa-Numa- song.

so, as you can expect for the metal theme, i am here again to show you a good makeover of the song. from a techno/dance hit to a metal piece by the YouTuber 331Erock. talented person there.

i see i have been introducing metal covers for pieces from less popular genres like cinematic piece and techno/dance. shall introduce the metal side of pop songs soon then.

A

let's diverge a little and let me introduce you to my current handphone ringtone. this tone has been my ringtone ever since i figure out how to use my own music to set it as ringtone in iphone. it is cinematic trailer-liked background music, no lyrics just soundtrack. it is "Dragon Rider" by Two Steps From Hell. have a taste of it first..

so now that you got the idea of the original soundtrack, here is where we go back to the theme of metal. could not believe someone actually composed the metal version. this YouTube user is my latest addition to my subscription list.. 33Erock. to be honest, my ringtone would be better with his version..

L

so, the first day of the five days of metal. guess i shall introduce the three metal bands that i listen to. meaning, i have listened to every single song that have made from the beginning up to now. from the tens of dozens of tracks they have, i picked one better one. while some song titles and band names might be unusual please note that the song itself isn't bad. so do take your time and enjoy. 

the first band is Sonata Arctica. they were the first band that i really got into when it comes to metal genre. they mainly have songs of the power metal genre. the track i chose by them is titled "Only The Broken Hearts". it is from the latest album by far though a new one will be out late this month. here is the track..

the second band would be Dragonforce. many would have hear their band name before thanks to the game series GuitarHero. normally, their songs will end up in the more challenging sections of the games. this band plays more of heavy metal pieces with fair number of power metal ones too. anyway, the track is "Seasons" and also from their latest album. there is a acoustic version of this song as well, you can go and listen if you are interested. then again, i think i posted both this version and the acoustic one on this blog before. anyway, here it is again, the original version of the track..

the third one will be by the band Within Temptation. i'm not a big fan of this band compared to the previous two but still a fan. they ten to circle around the genre of heavy metal. surprising to have a female lead here. so anyway, the song is titled "Dangerous" and is also from their latest album that came out for few months now. random official music video but still a good nice piece. here is the track..

hmm.. i realise all the tracks are from their respective latest albums. guess it shows something. each of the band always seek to better themselves from the previous one. okay, what i just said might be obvious but hey.. considering a group of genre not popular in many societies compared to pop i think they deserve certain credit to keep up with the hype. though they have different wavelength compared to the more common songs we all listen, they definitely vary from album to album and thus improving for sure. so yeah.. that's all for now. 

\m/

five days of metal

pardon me for not updating for the last few days. been addicted to my ukulele lately. i realised just by learning four chords (Am, F, G, C) you can really play at least 5 of your favourite songs. that is what i have doing recently. on top of that, of course, i pick some other chords that are common as well like D and Bm. besides the ukulele, i also caught up with my drama series and movies.

so anyway, this month seems to be a month of metal somehow. been listening to metal pieces for half a month now. probably thanks to the fact that Within Temptation just released a new album and that Sonata Arctica is releasing one in eight days time. so yeah, been listening to them quite a lot lately.. from CD albums to metal covers to YouTube metal artistes. found a new user to subscribe to by the way.. yes he does metal pieces.

in view of my current hype, i shall update with the good pieces for the next five days.. one post per day but it does not mean one piece per post. so those metal haters who are here.. you can hibernate and not visit here for a week. metal fans.. brace yourselves for five days of metal-related posts.

those three words

here is something interesting.. go ahead and pick up those three words..

the first three words i found the first time i saw this were "funny" and "beautiful" and "love". your call.

hall

so yesterday managed to head down to the NUS Open Day 2014 with my most-likely-rommate to be to look around and what not. the place was pretty cool and as usual, tons of people. foreigners and locals flooded the entire place. nonetheless, meeting old friends and those studying there already were sure pleasant.

anyway, personally managed to clarify more queries i had regarding Applied Maths though i had a hard time picking up what the foreign professor was saying initially. thereafter was the fun part where we went on to see the booths of individual halls and residences in NUS. the entire showcase was sort of like those CCA showcases back in secondary schools. up to now, we have yet to decide on which hall we would want and i guess at the moment, we are leaning towards Eusoff Hall. any remarks?

hydra

if you aren't a fan of metal, this post is not for you.

temporary switching genre of the songs i listen for now after downloading the new album "Hydra" by the band members Within Temptation. in the midst of listening to all of the tracks from their originals to metal song covers to instrumental.

so far so good.. got to say this new album gives you a new taste of their music. more variations and styles of playing i would say. every original song is different, unlike previous albums where some songs kind of give you the same feeling. here is the cover of the album.

if you like heavy metal or power metal or even both, Within Temptation is a decent band to listen to. however, there is a better one that will be releasing their new album by the end of this month. Sonata Arctica is the band i am talking about now. again, similar genres as Within Temptation but i got to say they are better. nonetheless, both are awesome.

four-strings family

so couple of days ago, i bought a new guitar.. a new ukulele to be exact. yeah somehow i have something for instruments with four strings. first the bass and now the ukulele.. who knows the next one might just be the violin.

okay anyway, nope violin is definitely out of the question. i prefer plucking and picking the strings.. not much liking strumming. however, strumming the ukulele is a special case for me. not really liking strumming was probably the main reason why i gave away the classical guitar that fatbro abandoned it to me. playing it for a year and i got sick of it. well ukulele is different i guess. it is more pleasant looking and nice to listen to. nonetheless, for a bass player like me, learning to strum and change chords really smoothly takes time.. really takes time.

ohh well.. patience and inner peace.

late

whenever i see my dad, i told myself i shouldn't be half of him. i don't want to have his bad temper. i don't want to have his low level of hunger when it comes you upgrading oneself. i don't want certain of his character. well, don't get me wrong, he is my dad and i idolize him in other form. like his attitude towards his parents and family, his sense of timing and punctuality, his selfless thinking when it comes to his children, his helpful attitude and many more. 

however, i'm not selling him today but rather would like to talk about something that we both really have in common in terms of time. both of us really cannot stand people who has poor sense of timing. occasional late comers are alright especially when something really cocks up. however, those who always love to come late on purpose or love doing the last minute mad rush are the ones we find annoying at times.

probably this is due to the fact that the term "punctuality" has been heavily emphasized from a young age at home. i am proud to say that never one time in my life have i ever been late for school or work. we find punctually important. i used to find it lame and useless but now, i realised how much it means.

being punctual or late tells you a lot about the person. a punctual person suggests that he/she is keen in the meeting, be it a simple gathering or work or important meeting. it displays a positive energy to the people around. on the other hand, a person who is late suggests that he/she seems to be heck care and sloppy. if a simple aspect of time is being abandoned, what makes you think he/she will be keen and motivated in the long run?

so yeah, that's my opinion and i'm not sure about you all. some might be against me but it's alright. we are all entitled to our own opinions.

selling oneself

resumes. essays. we al seen those things expected of us when we apply for many things. from school applications to job applications to scholarship applications, the board of assessors of judges would like you to write them up. many of which would come with the requirement of describing yourself. i hate those.

come on, be honest, i'm not the only one. we all dislike those that require us to describe ourselves as though we are going to sell ourselves as a good to the opposing party. i can easily describe me on platforms like here and other social media. but when such applications require me to do so, i have to switch channel and force myself to write in a really polite formal method. one wouldn't want to write too much stuff to make himself/herself sound desperate and in great need of attention. one wouldn't want too little as well to prevent losing out too much to potential competitors.

i don't know about you guess but i find these kind of writings are sort of kissing butt at times. ohh well.. got to say in today's competitive society, this might be one of the more effective ways so no matter what, one has to be pretty brilliant on paper as well. character is the other part obviously. was pretty surprised that someone had the same thought and here is his video.

yeah.. everyone is entitled to their own opinions and i find Domics puts well into perspective using the movie analogy. on a side note, if i were to be one of those who judge people based on resumes and essays, i would for sure focus more on the face-to-face interview because i believe that is really where you can find if the applicant is worthy or not.

opera singer

yes, i'm going to introduce you all with another inspiring movie again. again, this is from a true story as well though it does not have any major injuries or what not like the movie "Soul Surfer" i talked about that day.

so let's get to the point.. based on the life story of a winner of Britain's Got Talent, this show follows the life of Paul Potts. the show starts with him running from bullies all his life because people mocked him for his love and passion in singing opera. the humble boy soon grew up and that love for opera singing remained. the shy man he is, he tried many means to follow his dream and even met a lady along the way through the internet. of course, he faced numerous setbacks such as rejection and stage anxiety before being motivated to take the stage at Britain's Got Talent.

this show is really heart-warming and sweet, i would say. some of you might find it rather slow-paced or that high-itched opera pieces will irritate you. nonetheless, this is a good show and so worth the time. enjoy the show if you are watching.

down and up again

like i promised, i will be introducing a heart-warming and motivating movie that i came across recently. actually, i have watched two of such similar shows since i last post about "3 Idiots" in this blog. anyway, this show is titled "Soul Surfer".

basically, this film is a true story about Bethany Hamilton, a pro-surfer currently who lost her left arm when she was younger thanks to a unfortunate shark attack when she was doing what she loved the most.. surfing. so the entire film technically shows the life she had before the attack, during the attack and after the attack. probably the only passion was surfing from young and her dream of becoming a pro-surfer seemed to blur a little right after the shark attack. nonetheless, she persevere despite initial thoughts of giving up completely to progress to greater heights in her surfing career.

the film also included a major event in history which was the tsunami incident back in 2004.. i guess. there is quite a bit of relation to religion in light of her motivation to stand up again after the shark attack. nonetheless, even if you are atheist or what, i guess that this show is worth your time.

anyway, i also got hooked onto one of the songs used in the film after watching it. i posted it before and i would not have come across such a beautiful song if not for this film. so, in case you missed it, here is the song i am talking about.. this time with lyrics. meaningful lyrics that you can relate to the show.. probably because it was written specially for it. enjoy.

red

two years ago, i had one of the biggest regret which resulted to a short changing of fun from my stressed soul. two years ago, i could not find the time and money to get myself into a concert by one of my idol during her one night performance in Singapore.

however, she is returning this year and i have both time and money to go to her concert at last. Taylor Swift, thank you for deciding to make another tour to Singapore so that i can  ark off another point from my bucket list. go to a live concert by one of my idols.

this morning, ticket sales started at 10am and was trying desperately to enter the system to make the online purchase. my friends and i were busy hoping and trying to enter. apparently there was a long invisible online queue in the system. finally, i managed to get through but sad to see that the $288 tickets were all sold out and so i tried the $228 tickets. in between, there were lags and what not but ohh well finally got the tickets for us. and so my Monday morning was made in two hours.

before you judge me for having too much money or what not, let me caution you that different people invest into different form of fun and entertainment and mine is this for this half of the year. yes, of course, it is time to cut down some expenses and fun elsewhere. if anyone is going to this concert as well, do tell me. :)

my ohh my.. it is only the beginning of March but come on.. 12th June. i am so looking forward to that date now. on a side note, hope that evening will not have major World Cup matches haha.. or i might have to split my soul.

trying to believe

"nobody knows the price of this dream; and nobody knows what it took to believe, nobody"

new song i am addicted to after listening it from a inspiring movie recently. talking about inspiring movie, i watched a couple new ones and will be sharing them soon. meantime, just enjoy this amazing special song by Mat Kearney.