Youtopia

I was lying on my couch having a conversation with a friend last night. Not sure where the conversation began but I went off on various tangents about the workings of society. You see, yesterday I went to talk with a human at an establishment which deals in creative work (of the freelance, contract and permanent type). It seems that waiting 28 years to work out what you want to do in life doesn't cut it. Further, it seems real world experience doesn't cut it. They want degrees. They want references. They want paid experience.

I want to write for a living. I've been writing song lyrics for about 15 years. I wrote all types of essays, projects and reports during my four years of university study. I've written original material in a number of jobs I've held over the last ten or so years. I've worked as a copywriter. I've worked as a proofreader and editor. Still, it seems I have very little experience.

I was asked a question during this interview of sorts. Something along the lines of "Which areas of writing do you excel at?" I couldn't think of a proper response at the time, of course. Damn it, I never said I could think and talk. I said I can write! I mumbled something about being a grammatical perfectionist and being able to write varying types of copy for various audiences. I didn't, however, mention that I'm better at rhyming than anyone they probably have listed in their little black book(s). I could write you fifteen catchy rhyming jingles per day! I could have alluded to the fact that I'm all about alliteration. Repetition. Depitation. Metaphors. Similes.

Anyway. Why does it have to be a competition to do what you love to do? Maybe a kid grows up and decides he wants to be a tradie. Cool, here's your hammer, move along. Another kid wants to be a clown. Excellent, the line for clowns is out back. Make sure to grab your red nose and colourful curly wig on the way out. I want to write for a living (see, repetition!). Give me a pen and a pad and sit me under a tree. Pay me minimum wage until I prove myself. Just give me a chance. Passion will always provide a more prolific employee.

They say I'm a dreamer. I'm aware of that. Just thought it was a lovely idea.

I said what?

Hola. Is there anybody out there?

I promised myself I'd manage five posts a week. That was on the 3rd of June. It is now the 27th of July. That means I owe you (and myself) 38 posts, including this one.

38! The number of the house that I spent the first 28 years of my life living at. Interesting side story about that. I was talking with my father recently about the price of houses/apartments in Melbourne in this day and age. He says he paid something like $32,000 for the house I grew up in. He also mentioned that a week's worth of work would only net you about $150 back then. It's all relative, huh? Still though, the house now has a value of around $800,000 or so. Is $768,000 a decent profit after exactly 30 years?

38. I wonder if anyone has ever posted 38 good blog entries on a single day? Not the type with just a video link or a short message, for example.

Maybe I should go on a blogging spree for the next 3.5 hours that I'll be at work?

This post and 37 posts about Inception should do it.

Shit, just got a call about some work I need to get done... BRB.

Time Wasting Online: Video Game Style

There's a lot of video games to waste time with online. Lots. Heaps and stuff. Here's three that should keep you entertained:


1. Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. I think there's a non-Facebook version around too but there's nothing better than beating all most of your friends (I'll beat you one of these days, Anna) and sending them a message letting them know.

2. Pac-Match-Party. This is a hybrid of Pac-Man and Bejeweled. Since the Bejeweled formula is such a winner, you can't really go wrong. Especially when Pac-Man is involved. This free flash game was created by Namco for Pac-Man's 30th anniversary.

3. Mirrors Edge 2D. A 2D version of the 3D parkour-style game for XBOX 360 and PS3. Heaps of fun. Controls really well and gives you a sense of what to expect from the 3D game.

Strategic Grill Locations

Mitch Hedberg is one of those comedians I heard about too late. In this case, too late means after his passing. Official cause of death? A cocaine and heroin speedball, of course. Mitch had a weird stage presence. He almost looked uncomfortable. I'm a fan due to his wordplay and weird sense of humour (and, you know, he was hilarious). I'm not sure that everyone would find him funny, but if you do, you're my kind of human.

Don't look at this as a lazy post. Look at it as an education. I'm expanding your horizons. Or something.

Well, this is painful...

I've figured out a way in which I can be a slack blogger from time to time. I promised myself five posts a week but missed yesterday's post due to the kind of stomach cramps I assume females may need to deal with regularly. For all of my unhealthy habits and ways of living, I rarely get sick or run down. I like to think that I've got the whole "mind over matter" thing down, but then I'm always wondering whether I'll get hit with some really bad disease somewhere down the line (possibly smoking-related). So I pretty much went straight to bed after work and Googled "stomach pain" to try to find what the cause may have been. Hunger? Food poisoning? Gastroenteritis? CANCER? Yeah, always fun to scare yourself when you're lying in bed in the dark, alone, unable to move for fear of increasing pain levels.

Anyway, my point was that I'm still aiming for five posts a week. This is yesterday's. I'm gonna post this and then think of something else to post about. I'll be back shortly.

The Art Of High Fidelity (Or: My List Of Favourite Rappers)

I couldn't sleep last night. I was in bed reading for a couple hours after I wanted to be asleep, and then I put the book away (High Fidelity by Nick Hornby) and tried to fall asleep for what seemed like eternity. My thought tree always sways kinda crazy at these times. At one point I was thinking about the rappers that I like and which ones exactly I frequently return to on my iPod. Then when I got to work today, I went through the Hip Hop artists on my iPod and constructed a (definitive?) list of my favourite rappers. Mind you, I am a fan of a lot of them. My iPod has 432 separate recording artists rappers listed in the Artists category.

I've divided the list into two. One category for those I've been listening to since I started listening to rap in the 90s (The All Time Favourites) and one for rappers I discovered or who only dropped after 2000 (The New School). I'll link each name to a YouTube video and beside the name I'll include my favourite album, mixtape or song of theirs that you should check for.

The All Time Favourites (alphabetically)

• Big L - Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous (album)
• Big Punisher - Capital Punishment (album)
• Canibus - Rip The Jacker (album)
• Chino XL - Here To Save You All (album)
• Eminem - The Slim Shady EP (extended play)
• Jadakiss - Kiss The Game Goodbye (album)
• Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (album)
• Nas - Illmatic (album)
• The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die (album)
• R.A. The Rugged Man - Die, Rugged Man, Die (album)
• Ras Kass - Soul On Ice (album)
• Royce Da 5'9" - Death Is Certain (album)

The New School (also alphabetically)

• AC - This Is AC Pt. 2 (Staten Lives) (mixtape)
• BadNewz - Falling Down (mixtape)
• The Catalyst - Fuck The Radio Vol. 1 (mixtape)
• Copywrite - The High Exhaulted (album)
• Dr. Becket (aka Doctor Becket / Docta Bec) - Creativity / Bad Muthafucka (vinyl single)
• Emilio Rojas - Recession Proof (mixtape)
• Jay Electronica - Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) (mixtape)
• Joell Ortiz - The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (album)
• Rhyme Asylum - State Of Lunacy (album)
• Theology 3 - Featuring No Features (mixtape)

It almost undermines just how many different artists I really like. There are so many, some had to miss out. I could easily list double the amount of artists whose entire discographies should be owned by fans. Would be good to get some reaction from rap fans regarding this list.

I just realised that the book I'm currently reading (High Fidelity, which was made into a movie starring the awesome John Cusack) makes a lot of sense being mentioned in this blog post. It's about a 30-something guy who owns a music store and makes lists (both in and out of his head) constantly. Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in real life, either.

30 Years And Almost 3 Months

^ That's how long it took me to purchase my first television. Ever. I don't remember ever laying down any actual money for a TV. There was always a spare or two lying around when I needed one (probably a pretty natural occurrence back in the old standard definition days). I've purchased 1080p-capable PC LCD screens in the past, which I've then used for gaming and HD-DVDs. The biggest screen I have is 24" though. Hardly even counts.

Today I splashed out on a 50" Samsung plasma, which I chose over an LCD/LED due to price and... well, price mostly. Also the fact that I'm getting a free Blu-Ray home theatre system through the current Samsung promotion. In real terms this means about $2500 value for less than $1200 of actual money (including extended warranty and delivery). It pays to shop around sometimes. Maybe I just taught myself a lesson?



Anyway, this is supposed to just be the TV that will tide me over for a little while and allow me to watch the World Cup in high definition. It'll probably end up in my bedroom one day as the spare HDTV. I'm pretty crazy about video games, movies and a number of carefully-selected television shows, so I could pay thousands for a proper HDTV quite easily. Of course by easily I really mean if I had the money.