The Spotless Mind
Just watched "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind".. Yes, I know its quite late but I'm not really a movie buff, at least not before my operation. Anyway, was quite moved by the story. It did get me thinking though.. Are any memories actually deserving of being erased?
I'm not talking about traumatic memories, such as witnessing murder, or being beaten as a child, or worse being raped. As far as I'm concerned the perpetrators themselves should be erased from the face of the earth. And I know there are humiliating memories I have that make me cringe everytime I recall them (damn I'm cringing now, its the "don't think of a white polar bear" syndrome) that I'd love to not remember for the damage to my ego they've caused.
But, love! Romance! Could any relationship really be so bad that you would want to not merely pretend, but actually know that it never happened? Extenuating circumstances such as the extra-marital nature of Dr Howard and Mary's relationship aside. In a relationship where the only factors are the two parties involved. After the relationship fails, do you really want to forget?
Any serious relationship which you've invested your love, time, patience, soul in, it moulds you, changes you. With the memories erased, do you revert to the original person? Possibly, I guess, considering to you, it never happened. But any relationship that became serious, but failed in the end.. It'd still teach you something, teach you to be a better partner.. "Maybe I should've done this, maybe I shouldn't have done that." Know what I mean?
Sometimes relationships fail not because of action (or inaction) or either party, but merely because the personalities don't match. Avoiding, trying to forget what happened just shows weakness, timidity. Facing up to your loss, your so-called failure makes you a stronger person when you move on.
And in any relationship which is serious, there was a connection. And there has to be happy memories. Beautiful memories, to be cherished. Memories to look back on when you're old, like little charms hanging off your life's bracelet, of love lost but not forgotten.
Lord knows I've had my fair share of unpleasant relationship memories, even at the young age I admit I still am. Memories that cut to these day, of people that I don't ever want to meet on the street for the pain. But there were happy times, there always are, and I still treasure them. Even as I remember the way things are now, even as I remember the way they are now, I can remember the way things are then, and the way they were then.
And I'm happier, though simultaneously sadder for that.
A poignant emotion. I told you I liked that word.
"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd"
From "Eloisa to Abelard", by Alexander Pope
Ahh.. I've forgotten how beautiful poetry can be. Sweet dreams to all lovers.. but well, aren't we all?
Missed it again!!!!!!
Aaaargh!!! I've been trying to catch the bloody movie for donkey years, tried ordering the vcd, dvd, all out of stuck, then tonight i turn on the bloody TV and channel 5 is showing it, except that its the bloody end credits already!!! Aaaaargh!!!!
*bangs head repeatedly against the wall till head is a bloody pulp*
Live life, baby
JĐ's modest home recording studio is up!
I know its not much, its amateurish and its simplistic, but its mine and I love it. Oooh yea.
So now I'm much less bored at home. I can read, study, record songs, work on a moneymaking scheme. And most importantly, feel that I'm making good use of my time.
Of course, the flip side of things is I don't really have much to rant about here anymore. All the better for me!
Good news for me by the way! I checked the NUS Dentistry website, and contrary to what my dental contacts are telling me, I'll be having some holidays in university after all! On paper at least. Somewhat comforted now. Maybe the 4 years of university won't suck that much after all!
(Still not enthused about staring at the same 33 faces every day for 4 years of class though)
Home Recording Studio!
I'm pretty excited. Well, as excited as a guy whos basically permanently cooped up in his room can get. Cos soon I'll be well on my way to being able to record music at home!
I just bought a nice professional quality mic and a mic stand with a boom arm. And I've already ordered a nice new Creative Audigy soundcard that has 1/4" mic and line-in inputs, not to mention midi inputs if i'm ever so inclined. Coupled with my multi-track recording software, and onboard amplifier simulators, I'll be all set!
If only I had an electronic drum kit, a Line6 POD, and a bass and Bass POD, then it'll be perfect.
Anyway thats still years away.
I've been wondering what to do after I ORD.. during the few months break from march when I clear leave till august when I go NUH and embark on my new life of staring at mouths. Of course, I need to get a job. I expect I'll sit-in a bit at my sister-in-law's clinic for awhile.. But thats not gonna be paying, so.
Lets see. I used to sell shoes, but I think the company I worked for has folded or something. Did a bit of interning here and there, mostly medical related crap. Used to teach guitar to little kids. Did a bit of buying and selling of guitars online too. I suppose thats it.
Maybe I'll get a waiter type job just for the kicks. And my friend says he can get me a job at some clubs as a waiter or a bouncer, with possible promotion to bartender. Haha. Interesting.
And quite a few of my friends seem to be starting their own businesses.. Which is quite impressive I think. Good for your future CV too, or at least just for the experience. Maybe I'll think about something like that.. I still have all those offers on selling wands.. haha.
Or maybe if I practise like mad I could make money off guitar again! Teaching basic to intermediate electric guitar (I can't teach classical guitar cos I don't have a cert. And besides, I'm rusty) or pop strumming. Or maybe working in a guitar shop part time. Or playing at pubs. Haha. Or maybe when my home recording studio is up I'll record songs and post them on the net and get discovered by some record company and get signed to their label and become rich and famous and idolised, just like that Ocean fella.
Yeah right, heh.
Nox
All this staying at home is completely murdering my biological clock. The fact that I never do anything really physically or mentally taxing, means that when bed time comes, I'm usually not tired. So i end up sleeping later. And later. And later.
Which explains why its 3.20am right now and i can't bloody get to sleep. I should be sleeping, in fact, cos I've got a doctor's appointment tmr at 10.20am at the National Skin Centre and I'm leaving the house at 8.15am. And yes I realise that I'll be arriving at the Skin Centre wayyyy too early. Long story.
So I predict reaching home tomorrow maybe around 11, having lunch and then conking out. Wake up around dinner time, have dinner, then do whatever I usually do when I bum around at home. And end up sleeping at 3am again.
At this rate, by the time my MC ends and I return to camp, I'll be falling asleep at reville and waking up at book-out timing. Ahh well.
I have to try and keep normal hours. Have to.
Although I'm putting this time to good use, in a way. I listen to music, write songs, do all kinds of stuff in the quiet of the night that I can't in the turmult of the day. Its peaceful at night. The day's great for playing X-box, watching DVDs, playing my electric guitar, cos adding your own noise to the background noise makes the house seem livelier. Ahh, but at night, when everyones asleep but you.. This zen-like serenity puts you in a state of mind that you can't possibly attain in the day.
Creativity is born in the night.
Too bad I don't have decent mics or pre-amps or an acoustic guitar for that matter.. Or I could be recording songs right now.
Meanwhile, I'm completely hooked on The O.C.. Its an incredible show! Fantastic script, great acting, witty dialogue, brilliant music, outstanding costume design.. Wow! I've never been hooked on a show like that.
TV shows I've watched and loved.. First was Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Don't know if anyone else watched it, but it was my favourite show for the longest time. I'm talking about taping it every school day (it played at 3pm on channel 5 as i recall) and watching it religiously once I get home.
And there was Friends. Everyone loves Friends. Don't really need to elaborate, do I?
Then, I was hooked on Sabrina. You know, Melissa Joan Hart as the cute teenage witch from Archie comics? I'm a huge Archie Comics fan, as most of you should know. And its quite a kick watching the show and seeing the comic come to life (albeit somewhat inconsistently). Did you know that Sabrina actually went on to SEVEN seasons in the US? Thats right, SEVEN. Crazy. From Sabrina's high school days to college to graduation to nearly getting married but riding off in the sunset (I read TVtome) instead. Archie Comic's Sabrina remains perpetually 16, of course. As do the whole gang.
Sidetrack. I remember reaching my 16 birthday and thinking that I was the same age as Archie and the gang. And feeling like a dismal failure for totally not getting the action that Archie was getting at 16. Haha. At least the O.C. kids are 17. Which was about the age that things started getting more interesting for me too. Perils of co-ed schooling, in a way.
Anyway. Theres a Sabrina the Teenage Witch movie coming out in 2006! Cool beans. Sabrina will be played by the ever-gorgeous Sarah Michelle Gellar, her nemesis Libby is the voluptious Jennifer Love Hewitt, and with The O.C.'s own Adam Brody as Sabrina's boyfriend, Harvey! Not to mention hotties Mena Suvari and Lindsay Lohan as Sabrina's cousins, ex-hotties Kirstie Alley and Raquel Welch as Sabrina's aunts, and funny man Bill Murray as Salem, Sabrina's cat. Do I sound excited? Thats cos I am! Haha. Can't wait!
Well. After that, at around the same time, was Ed and Scrubs and Smallville and CSI. It was around this time however that I started getting damn sick of watching TV (finally) so in the end I only followed Scrubs. Which is currently in its fourth season. And channel 5 didn't even bring in the second season. Bloody hell. I suppose I'm waiting for the DVD.
Wonder if I should consider getting the Smallville or Friends DVDs. I find its best to get DVDs of well-performed comedies or dramas actually. Cos the re-watching value would be there. I mean, theres no point watching a show like CSI twice cos you already know the twists, right? I suppose Smallville is out too, then.
Oh and these are just the English shows. I occasionally enjoy cartoons too, and some HK TVB serials. No taiwanese crap for me though. Meteor Garden? Pardon me while I barf.
Wow, I'm becoming a bit of a couch potato, aren't I? Or at least I sound like one. In actual fact before my operation I hadn't actually really watched TV for over a year.
And theres never actually been any show aside from the O.C. that I'm so enthusiastic about. Maybe its because the girls look good. More on the O.C. when I'm in the mood.
Wish I discovered the OC after it ended though. Then I can buy it all and watch it in one sitting.. Haha. Aside from advertisements, this having to wait for the next episode is what I hate most about TV. Oh well. Patience, young padawan.
New header for the blog!
My blog has got a new header! Pretty nice, isn't it? I'm quite proud of it. Haha. Fine, so all i did was rip off the original header by Dave Shea, and change the pictures and stuff. Yes, some may call it plagiarism. But imitation is a form of flattery, yes?
Anyway now its much more me, with guitars and nature and nice scenery. Tried to fit in some knives and explosions and fire, but couldn't find nice pictures. Thanks to Gibson, Ibanez, Microsoft and Print Shop Deluxe for the photos i did use though. Cheers!
Anyone can identify the guitar and the guitar neck? Haha. Clue: The guitar is one of the Gibson Les Paul Artic white makes.. and the neck is from a signature ibanez guitar. No prizes for correct answers, sorry!
Spring cleaning
Spring is coming in a few months, so I thought I'd do a little bit of spring cleaning.
Or you could look at it another way. I'm doing my spring cleaning nearly a year late. Considering I don't think I've ever done it before.
Trying to clean out my room, my closets, my shelves.. whoa. Its a pretty massive job. Loads of time, though, loads of time.
And to celebrate this new, neater, more organised mentality of mine, and my cleaner, clearer outlook of life, I decided to choose another template for my blog. With a nice, white background.
Like a pristine piece of bright white paper.
Kinda gives me a headache, actually. Man, gotta turn down the brightness control on my monitor.
"Dum spiro, spero"
Doesn't everything seem smarter when you say it in latin? Try this phrase on for size:
"Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?"
Does that sound smart? Try and figure out what it means.
"Dum sprio, spero", is commonly attributed to Cicero. It basically means "As long as I breathe, I dream". Everyone needs dreams. I have lots of dreams. Most, I hope, will come true. Such as being a great dentist, and making lots of money, and sort of having the kinda lifestyle my siblings have, just molded to me, of course. Or having a room in my house dedicated to music, with guitars on the wall, huge sound system, stacks of brilliant cds, a whole set of instruments, and lots of soundproofing.
Others, may not be so easy to get. I also dream to get a degree in music. And a degree in law. A masters in business admin. Hell maybe even one in medicine. All just for knowledge of course. And I want to own a yacht. Go sailing round the world.
Some dreams, are essentially impossible. Like, I dunno, hooking up with movie stars, or playing on stage to a standing crowd of ten thousand, a la Metallica. Or just dropping it all and leaving for a better, nicer place, living the life of a bum, living off the land, maybe making some side money as a busker. Haha.
Good thing I'm a practical, down-to-earth kinda guy. I know what I can achieve, and I can't. Not so much a "shoot for the stars and hit the moon" kinda guy. More of a "aim for the moon and get there no matter what" kind of focus.
But I'm not really writing about dreams today. I was actually thinking more about what gave rise to these dreams. The original cause. Ab initio, if you may. Knowing this should help you understand why you have such dreams, and from that, why you are the person you are and what you've got to do to attain your dreams.
For example. One of my dreams is to learn French and live in France, for awhile anyway. (Incidentally I've tried learning French before. Not really my language, I thought, but I suppose I'm willing to try again, if I can find the time.) I suppose its a love of beauty and art (and dare I say sex, haha), which France apparently has lots of. Then I decided its because of my French flick kick. Where did this French flick kick originate? Ahh, its from the movie Chocolat. There we go. A movie which perfectly captured how idyllic a small town in France can be.
And remember how Juliette Binoche's Vianne could choose the perfect chocolate for anyone? And so effectively ensnare them in chocolate's devilish trap? I recall learning something from that. It doesn't matter how expensive a gift is, and "its the thought that counts" can be quite overrated. Its finding the gift that fits, no matter how small, thats will allow you to, for lack of a better phrase, capture someone.
I know that sounds quite "duh", and Obviousman (from Wiley's Non Sequitur, ooh more latin!) would be leaping in to attack this Blinding Flash of the Obvious. But hey, most presents are bought for the sake of them, aren't they? The whole "Its a thought that counts thing". Granted, some people truly are tough to buy for. Like my parents, for example. The Have-alls and Want-nothings. But I'm sure if you pay close attention to someone, and take notes even, you'll find you know precisely what he/she would want most when the time comes. I suppose you could save it, but who needs an occasion anyway, right?
Yes, I hardly treat most of my friends that well. But this works as a reminder to myself too, I suppose.
Anyway, reflection is good. Introspection is good. Everytime you find just a tiny reason why a certain facet of you is the way it is, its like this little glimmer of clarity in your life. And you can only be the better for it.
I suppose thats the higher state of being that Zen masters, yogi, new-agers et al strive for. A step towards nirvana, even.
Besides, haha, I have the time for it now, for a few weeks more at least.
Oh and if you've actually been trying to figure out what that latin phrase above meant, well, here it is:
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck woood?"
Okay, now, go, get out of here. Its a nice day, and chances are, unlike me, you're not immobolised. Fac ut vivas.
Wanted: Music Teacher
I'm looking for a music teacher.. Preferably a guitar music teacher who can teach me a little bit of everything. At the very least I'd like to learn some musical theory, chord theory or scales. So I can take any chord and play the corresponding scales, major or minor, natural or pentatonic, phrygian or dorian or mixolydian or locrian scales. And these are just for angmoh scales. Apparently if you go into, i dunno, maybe chinese and japanese classical music, even more scales pop up.
Sound musical theory.. Its quite essential for improvising real good solos, see, and songwriting too, I'd think. I don't want to just be another electric guitarist with a knowledge of a basic pentatonic and maybe the blues box up and down the neck and thats it.
All the greats whose instruction videos I've seen a bit of, like Vai and Satriani and Yngwie, or hell even John 5 of Marilyn Manson, they wax lyrical on all these different modes. And I'm going, "Mode? What mode? A la mode? Thats like when you have ice cream on your pie, right?"
And knowing all these stuff is also quite essential for me to understand jazz solos, which are incredibloody complicated. But I badly want to learn.
Hell, I can't even play jazz chords, properly. I'm not just talking about adding the 7ths or the 9ths or whatever, its when all the "add" and "sus" and 11ths and 13ths.. Stars before my eyes, baby.
I listen to quite a lot of jazz, I get the feel, but once I pick up the guitar the fingers go dead. Damn. No natural talent I suppose.
Or maybe I'll do what this guy I know did.. hes a doctor, private practice. Basically made enough money, hired another doctor to take over the practice for awhile and up and left for Berkeley to get a degree in Music.
Wow. That'd be perfect. Of course, you have to be a bachelor. Your girlfriend (or worse, wife) would scream and come after you with scissors. Or something.
I suppose thats the more efficient way, isn't it?
Meanwhile, plugging away. What the hell IS dorian?
I think the lead character in Scrubs (which is an excellent show, too bad theres no Scrubs dvd.. yet) is called John Dorian. JD for short. Which is incidenally what people call me for short too. Just interesting.
Know what else is interesting? Metallica's James Hetfield, whom I totally, like, admire (his figurine is hung on my wall, haha) has the same birthday as me. 3rd August. Cool, huh. And if some of the Metallica fansites are to be believed, hes about my size too.. 178cm. Lol.
Addicted to movies?!
I think human beings tend to live much of their lives in different cycles. Every facet of life can be condensed to a simple cycle, and all these cycles for each part of life overlap to form a whole. Lives seem to move from point A to point B to point C, but in my opinion it just goes back to point A again. Its just that the different parts of you don't march to the same drummer, see, and they'll take their own sweet time to catch up.
But I'm not really in the mood to philosophise today. (Did I spell that correctly? Lazy to check the dictionary, or even to copy and paste the word into Microsoft Word and use it's spellcheck.)
Sidetrack: Incidentally, I just found out that PhD means Doctor of Philosophy. I never knew that. Weird. So how come now every damn thing you can have a degree in has philosophy too, to such a degree that one can get a doctorate in it? And how about those who study philosophy? Do they, after devoting their life to learning, end up becoming Doctors of Philosophy in Philosophy? Maybe I'm just crapping but I'm just surprised, thats all. Sorry, back to the original topic.
My interests run in cycles, I've noticed that. And currently, aided by a new source of dvd movies, I'm interested in movies again!
Many of you should know that years ago, I was a huge movie buff. I watched everything. Then after too much trash like, I dunno, Titanic, I realised that good movies, for example, the Godfather, or Amelie (pardon the lack of accent), or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, only come along once in a blue moon, or so.
So I started watching movies very sparingly. Like once a month, at the very most.
I continued being disappointed, though. Too much commercialisation in films, I find. While I thoroughly enjoyed the Last Samurai (the fact that I watched it at GV Gold Class, thanks sis!, helped, of course), I nearly puked at the end when they made it seem like Tom Cruise's sellout war veteran turned Japan around. Like, whatever, dude.
So I essentially stopped watching movies, at all. Only treated them as a social kinda thing. And even then, not much, cos, as once again some of you will know, I do not consider watching movies socialising.
I mean, how is sitting quietly in a movie theatre for 2 hours or so socialising? Okay, maybe once in awhile you bend over to whisper a sarcastic comment, or to ask someone to pass to popcorn, but hell, that ain't socialising.
I'm ignoring people like you-know-who-you-are who make out, or worse, have sex in theatres, taking advantage of the fact that its dark and people are concentrating on the screen. By the way, you're wrong. Everybody knows you're having sex and they're quite disgusted by it. Well I suppose the perverts in the crowd will probably get really excited, but if you want to help perverts get off thats your problem.
Anyyyyyyyway. Point is, I'm back to being interested in movies. Not all crap movies, of course, but quite a lot of movies. I watch more than I use to anyway. Today, I watched Peace Hotel (one of my favourite chinese shows EVER. Wong Kar Fai classic.), 13th Warrior and Braveheart. I also watch lots of superpeople type shows, like X-men, Spiderman, Charlie's Angels or Austin Powers. The unpretentious ones anyway. I still love french flicks, can't get enough of them thogh. And I watch lots of Tom Hanks, though not all his shows are good.
Anyone got any good movies to recommend (and hopefully lend) this could-be movie buff? Cheers!
Its fun to be a guy.
You know, there are times when I'm really glad to be a guy. Cos its simply damn fun.
There are many reasons why I love being male. (For instance, females. Specifically, hot girls, but thats another story.)
But one big reason, is being able to do stupid, mindless, senseless things for no particular reason.
Some guys like sticking small, moisture filled objects (like grapes, or hamsters) in microwaves to watch them explode.
Others, like to create blowtorches with Strawberry Pop Tarts and toasters with the popping lever jammed in the "Down" position.
Had some buds over today for pizza and xbox. And since today is Deepavali, in the spirit of religious harmony, we decided to celebrate the Festival of Lights too.
We're not as ambitious as some other guys, of course. Anyway, we're more into playing with sparklers. To be more accurate, hundreds of sparklers. At once. Hahahahahahahahahha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, heres todays effort:
Somewhat smaller than some we've done before, but pretty spectacular nonetheless! Haha. (Lazy to post pics/vids here. Email me if you're interested, I suppose)
I used to shave them and compress them in little glass jars, but it was took too much work. This way is nice too, and actually its better in away cos it lasts much longer (Though less bright).
You probably don't understand what I'm talking about. Nevermind.
Maybe one day I'll get to participate in the pinnacle of guy madness: Lighting a Charcoal Grill.
Whats so mad about that? Well check out these links and you'll see:
http://www.thehumorarchives.com/humor/0000720.html
http://ep.llnl.gov/msds/Chem120/lox-oxidation.html
Man, I love being a guy. How could you be a girl and get away with doing funky things like that? Haha.
I'm the man, baby, I'm the man.
The final cast!
The final cast! Just got back from CGH, have my final cast fitted! This time its a hard cast, fibreglass all around, can even walk on it if it doesn't hurt. It can last me a month! And its green! Haha.
I'm so happy that its my final cast (one month this time, though) that I decided to set the cast on funkified fire!
Too Hot, baby.
When I was getting the cast done, the plaster technician asked me what colour I wanted my cast to be. I was temporarily stunned. "Casts can have colour??" "Ya, green, purple, orange, blue finished already". So I got a green cast. Wanted a plain one initially, but I decided the green colour will dissuade people from signing all over it.
A cast with signatures all over is uglier than a green cast, I tell you. Haha. So no signing on my cast! Pens away now!
Anyway, I also chose green because its one of the Raffles school colours. And also cos its the Army colour, and since army has courteously paid for my operation and consultations and casts, its the least I can do.
See? I'm showing gratitude! I'm such a gentleman.
Wands!
I finally got around to making the wands i've been intending to make for the longest time. Then when I started, I realised that most of the materials I used to make wands before was missing. Sure, i've got some woods, and I had some wires, but where was my wood stains? My crystals? Gemstones? Leather cords? Twine? Sigh.
But I decided to use what I had to make what I could, so here it is:
Still not too bad, eh? These are kinda kiddish so I suppose they'd be wands for little kids (careful though, they can probably take an eye out if you're forceful).
But I'd really like to make the wands that I can see in my head. I can't do turned wood, cos I don't have that turning machine thingy. I can't make a carved wand yet, cos I don't have a sharp whittling knife. I need to go out and buy more leather and crystals and stones. But most importantly, I need the wood!
Where the hell do you find oak, or ash, or apple, or willow, or spruce, or even rosewood and mahogony in Singapore? I'm not looking for planks or scrap furniture. I need the actual tree to get a branch from. It has to be a branch thats relatively straight, slightly larger than the thickness of your thumb, about 12 inches long.
Theres rituals involved with getting the branch from the tree and all that, but I'm really not going to go into that cos I can't even get the damn tree.
After all, wands made of, I dunno, Angsana wood or Pongpong wood isn't very romantic, is it?
Bored of Nothing
Whats greater than god, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, and the rich want it?
If you're looking for the answer, you're gonna find nothing.
Which is basically what I've been doing these days at home. Nothing.
If you look at it one way, actually I've been doing quite a lot.
I read a lot. I read economics texts, dentistry texts, play with problems, study guitar electronics, peruse the classics, to keep my mind nimble and broaden my knowledge base.
I watch TV and many movies, and I read the papers, keeping myself up to date with current affairs and trends.
I fool around on the computer, playing games to improve my hand-eye coordination, tinkering with pictures on photoshop as an artistic outlet.
I play guitar, honing my skills in what is and will be a life long hobby.
And I sleep, simply because its nice and warm in my bed.
But when you get right down to it, I still feel like I'm doing nothing, nothing much at all.
Why is that? I'm thinking that if I did the same things I did, except out of choice and not the necessity of finding things to do cos i'm stuck at home, I'd actually feel relatively fulfilled.
It really all depends on your point of view, I suppose.
And maybe thats what I should work on next! Having a better point of view on things. I'm sure there are loads of self-help books I can find, from acmabooks or amazon to help me do that. Haha.
Anyway, I think army has really killed my brain. I think if I take an IQ test now I'd probably find that my IQ has plummetted from middling-high mensa to sub-epsilon-minus. I'm having a hard time grasping concepts, even if they don't require much more than logic. I can't solve brainteasers that I know I breezed through before. And its tough to think deeply about books I read that deserved to be thought through deeply of.
Oooh, its a hard climb back to mental well-being. After all, whens the last time I actually had to really use my head for anything?
On a side note. I'm actually quite happy, because the DVDs I ordered from Amazon will be arriving this week! Namely, the first season of The O.C. (a very much impulse purchase, I tell you, which I thankfully don't really regret), and the DVD concerts of Eric Clapton's MTV Unplugged and Eagles' Hell Freezes Over. Much cheaper from Amazon than buying in shops locally (I've checked). So thats about a good 25 hours or so of time glued to the tube! Haha.
Beginner Guitar and Amp shopping guide
I'm gonna spend the rest of the day studying up on guitar electronics. Hopefully by the end of my MC i should be able to do any kind of basic guitar repair and replacement. Then i can really pimp up my guitars, baby.
Only thing is, how am I gonna go pick up the hardware I need? Bummer. But at least my theoretical knowledge will be A-OK.
Some of my friends wanna go buy a guitar and an amp. So lets talk about beginner guitars and amps.
An easy way would be to buy a guitar and amp set. Offhand, I know theres a Fender Squire Set, an Ibanez set and a BC Rich set. Elaboration below.
DISCLAIMER: All my info may be outdated cos I haven't had much time to keep my hand in the music scene.
What makes a good electric guitar, good? Many many factors, really. Ignoring the shape of the guitar, be it Stratocaster, Les Paul, Telecaster, Flying-V, whatever. The pickups are the big thing, the brand, the quality, but stock pickups are usually what you get. How well the guitar is put together is another, how tight is built, how well its wired. The type of wood for the fingerboard, and the guitar body too, it affects the sound somewhat and affects the feel hugely.
But if you're just looking for a beginner guitar, whats the most important things to look out for? Basically I'm assuming you don't play that well. So just make sure that you like the feel of the guitar. Ask the shopowner to recommend you a nice simple guitar thats easy to maintain. This is very important. Don't go blowing a load of cash on a guitar that you'll need to bring back to the shop every 2 months to set up again. Then, look at the guitar closely, make sure all the contact surfaces, like fingerboard to neck, or the pegs or something, they're tight and not falling apart. If they are, don't get it, cos things will probably get worse over time. Or if you really want the guitar, you can probably get a break off the price.
Now to guitar shops.
There are a few guitar shops I'm familier with.. Yamaha's Music Plaza is quite prominent.. and Swee Lee is a big player of course, at Bras Basah Plaza and at Aljunied. Then at Parklane Mall (not Park Mall) theres Sinamex, Guitar Gallery, and if I recall correctly, DM Gear. Peace Centre has City Music. Peninsular Plaza has Dan's Music, and Davis Guitar. And a bunch of other players like Luther, etc.
But I'm just going to talk about the places I'm familier with. If you guys know anything I don't, please email me and tell me.
Anyway. Sinamex, Luther, some of the small players, they don't stock much electrics so not much of a choice.
Some places like DM Gear and Dan's and some other tiny shops.. In my humble opinion, the stuff they stock there.. some may look good, but thats just it, it -looks- good. Prices are cheap, yes, but you pay for what you get, and I haven't yet found anything decent there.
I suggest you go to the following places:
Music Plaza. Easiest too access cos there are nice branches at shopping malls, and the flagship store is at Plaza Singapura. Most of the guitars they sell are, of course, Yamaha. And yamaha guitars are generally quite brilliant. Relatively cheap, and very good for the price. Can't go far wrong with the Yamaha Pacifica series. Downside? You're playing a Yamaha. Not too cool. But hard to go wrong, really. I think there may be a Yamaha amp and guitar set. Shouldn't be too bad. Not great, but definitely passable.
Davis Guitar at basement 1 of Peninsular Plaza. Some of the guitars there are a little dodgy. And they sell supercheap guitars there too. Supercheap means supercrap so don't fall for it. Ask the old man (or his very cute daughter) for some help, and they'll prob recommend you something good. Just make sure they know you're looking for something easy to maintain. They don't really mark up the prices much so you probably won't get ripped off. Warning though, beware of the lady boss or the guy. Their knowledge seems slightly dodgy, last time I was there. This is where the BC Rich amp and guitar set is sold. Not a great deal, cos you're paying for brand name and the shape of the guitar (its wild.) but if you go for the rock thing, why not. If I remember right they sell a lot of Vantages there. Vantage is a small asian brand, thats relatively decent. You can get a cheap Vantage amp there that should be quite decent for a beginner.
City Music. Really nice people here that can help you out quite a lot. Haven't been there awhile, but I know they don't mark up prices very much. Cheap guitars I like from there are the Craftsman guitars (I should know, I've got two). They are very playable, and pretty cheap. Don't sound that great, but you can change the pickups and its definitely fine after that. Just make sure that you don't get the display pieces. Try to get the guy to pick out a nice one for you, not just the first piece he passes to you.
Swee Lee. Ahh, the great Swee Lee. They have whats probably the largest shops with the most guitars. And they have the sole dealership for many many big guitar brands. So, they can afford to mark up prices like CRAZY. And oh my, they definitely do. Don't bother coming here unless you have cash to blow. But anyway. Good, not-so-cheap beginner guitars there, definitely try Ibanez. Ibanez amps are pretty decent too. Or if you have the money, an Epiphone Les Paul is not bad. Avoid Fender Squires like hell though, they quite suck. And the baby Fender amp blows.
Bottom line? Go Swee Lee and Yamaha to get a feel of the guitars and amps you can get. Then go Davis or City Music. Then go home and think about it, and get whatever you like best thats within our budget. I would suggest buying from Davis and City Music. You can even try to haggle for a discount, but I doubt they'll give it cos like I said, they don't mark up prices that much.
Just remember to buy a gigbag, a strap and a cable. And maybe some picks. Or you'll feel stupid when you get home.
Of course, your safest bet is to go with a friend who knows what they're doing. But if you just keep in mind some of the stuff I said above, you shouldn't really get ripped off.
Oh yea, one important thing. Try out the guitar you're interested in, on the amplifier you're interested in, using a cheap cable in your price range. Not in some big ass mother amp stack, cos it'll make any guitar sound better. You'll be surprised.
FINAL DISCLAIMER: Don't come complaining to me if you got ripped off or your amp died or my advice made you buy what you thought was a guitar but turned out to be a large deformed trout. I'm just trying to help, alright? Feel free to email me if you have any furthur questions. Ciao!
Number 4
Yet another boring photo of a cast.
Its number 4! Haha. This time its a fibreglass backslab. Lots lighter but loads tighter too. Kinda uncomfortable too. Anyway the operation wound hasn't really healed, still has some bleeding, so I'm back on the backslab for another week.
In the meantime, I started on and finished a book, "The Goal" today. Its kind of a business thing. Don't know if its famous, cos I never did econs or anything of that ilk, but my sister recommended it for easy reading. Part of my plan for whipping the old mind back into shape.
Think its kinda slow starting though so I'll probably have to re-read it. Feel the old gears starting to turn though!
Strive on.
On a side note, I've got nails like a girl's.
Now, you're thinking, oh no! JD must be suffering from post-operative blues! In his solitude, hes decided to become a queen!!! The horror!!!
Ahh, but look closely. The PINKY NAIL IS SHORT!
What difference does that make, you ask?
A world of difference, my naive little friend. You see, people who play classical guitar (seriously, anyway) need to have long nails to pluck the strings and achieve proper volume and tone.
Classical (and flamenco) fingerpicking style is based on the PIMA system, using the thumb (P), index (I), middle (M) and ring (A) fingers. The pinky finger, not being used in playing, does not need to have a long nail.
In fact, proper nail care is very important to a classical guitarist. From the shape of the nail (Generally, a triangle is prefered for a more accurate attack), to the strength of the nail (varnish! varnish! varnish!) there are whole schools of thought devoted to nails in the guitar world.
If my memory serves me right, quite recently, at the International Guitar Festival, a seminar was held by a world famous guitarist-cum-nail-doctor on how to prepare your nails.
Quite often, guitarists are also forced to rely on artificial nails. Its kind of like hair extenders, except that its for your nails. You end up with an extremely strong perfectly formed nail. Downside? Its damned ugly and it kills your real nails. I'd get a photo for you guys off the net, except, I'm lazy.
BUT.
I'm cutting my nails anyway. Haha. Decided to do the man thing. Use a pick, and play some heavy metal, baby.
Or I could do it Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler's way. Fingerpicking without long nails. Less power, but gays don't stop you on the street asking if you want your ass poked. (Not sure if gays really do that with other gays, but I really don't care.)
This is all in a quest to make good use of my time to do things I always intended to do but never got around to doing. Like learning some economics, picking up some electronics, making good use of my guitar magazines and scorebooks (Nirvana, Metallica, Dire Straits, Joe Satriani, can the bastards who borrowed my Eric Clapton Unplugged and Eagles Hell Freezes Over scorebooks return them)...
Ahh nails cut now. Time to grab my $1800 Jackson WRMG electric guitar (Prices courtesy of Swee Lee Music, who kindly marked up the price of the guitar incredibly since the time I bought it from City Music hence increasing its resale value dramatically) and play some Master of Puppets, baby.
P.S. If you've read until here but your still seething cos I said "girl's nails" so you think I'm stereotyping and that in this modern world, barring occupational requirements such as hygiene or working at Boom Boom Room, its perfectly fine for girls not to keep long nails or for guys to keep them, well, I've only got two words for you: You're Wrong. Now buzz off, kid, you bother me.
Out damned stitch
I just had my stitches out, and it hurt like crap. I know its kinda sick but I kept the line, its in that little ziplock bag in the photo. I got new dressings too.. damnably ugly, i think, with all the blue edges. Oh well, long as its comfortable.
Those are the lines in the ziplock bag. I know it can't be seen in the photo, but its really long. Oh well. A part of the cut hasn't healed. Still leaking a little. Hope i won't need more stitches.
