Black Eyed Peas used to make such good music

What on Earth happened?

Traditional homophobia in America

So there is a gay couple in my year now. I felt so proud and happy when one of them who is in my geography class explained the situation to me, as it is quite rare.
A couple of days later I saw this.

It disgusts me that delusional bitches like this are allowed on national American television.
People talk about Muslim extremists, taking the words of the Qu'ran and exaggerating them to commit acts of patriotic crime, but they seem to overlook extremists of other religions. Religion is a touchy issue, so people tend not to question it out of fear. This Christian is extremist and there are many of them spreading not only homophobic but also racial hate to gullible people across the world through the internet, and unfortunately, a lot of it originates in the US. Millions of Americans watch the news, and millions of them are Republicans who would be encouraged and cheer on ignorant people like this woman.
So mad props to Julie Banderas, the news anchor, for confronting her “church” evil on Fox News, which is known for putting out fairly Republican views. I was glad that although news anchors generally aren’t allowed to say their opinions, this woman bravely fought ignorance.
In the past few months, suicide among gay teenagers has become common in America, with many hanging themselves because of the amount of hate they have been subject to. Many famous people have spoken out at this topic, including Ellen Degeneres, Tyra Banks, Oprah and Kesha (even though she annoys me, it’s still good of her to do so).

Don't Ask Don't Tell also failed to be repealed, apparently only short of four votes, despite the efforts of Lady Gaga to have the law overturned. Prop 8 is still in force, even though US District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker decided to lift the stay which banned same-sex marriage back in August.

The US has a codified constitution, meaning that entrenched laws are difficult to overturn. In other words, when it comes to equality, tradition outweighs what is right. It makes me wonder why, even though we are living in the 21st century, with such influential gay people like Ellen, Ian McKellen, Rufus Wainwright and the late Alexander McQueen and gay rights supporters such as Tyra, P!nk, Kanye West and Lady Gaga, and millions and millions of people across the world protesting against homophobia, things aren’t getting better in this self-proclaimed "democracy". But I really hope they will in my lifetime.

Happy birthday John

We all miss you here.

No one man should have all that power

I don't care if he's in the blooming Illuminati, Kanye West's new single is mindblasting! This could be his magnum opus, bigger than Stronger or even Jesus Walks.... the video is just as spectacular! Peace.

"jimi didnt die he just had to give god guitar lessons" - some brotha on youtube

So I haven't written anything on here in a while. Not that anyone actually reads it, apart from Georgia. Hi. Yes you, you sixy beast.
Okely doke, where to start... ahh Hop Farm was absolutely magical. Earlier in the day I visited random tents where lots of unsigned bands were playing, and sat under a large tree among lots of other people who were getting high. Some of the pills I saw there didn't even look like pills, but rather food pellets for pet rabbits. Anyway, the music was wonderful - Seasick Steve played just after we arrived and gave a bottle of wine to some lady in the crowd and did his hobo-stomp thang, and then Pete Doherty with two ballerinas, followed by Mumford & Sons, who were very funny.
Ray Davies was absolutely brilliant, got the whole crowd going with the old Kinks hits, then some low-key solo stuff in the middle, and back to Days and Lola. Halfway through his set they told him he had to cut it short so they could set the stage up for Dylan, he paused, said "Fuck youuu" and carried on!
An hour and a half later the master himself strolled on, with a bright pink shirt and harmonica in hand, and just blew the crowd away. Some say that he has lost the magnetism and stage presence with his age, but their arguments are invalid. The man has powers. As well as his new tracks off Together Through Life, he played Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, Just Like a Woman, Like a Rolling Stone, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, Blind Willie McTell, and Forever Young for the encore. Everyone was just completely off their heads with ecstasy and singing/screaming, (especially the "Everybody must get stoned") along. Definitely worth the money, the wait, the back pain and the two-hour long queue for the ice cream van. And now I have a dodgy bootleg to remember it all by.

A while after that I finally went back to my motherland, where a hurricane passed through my town. Couldn't really do much during those two days, but there's something about the way that it rains in Japan that is just beautiful. The leaves on the trees become a more vivid green, the air is refreshingly cool compared to the achingly humid air on stormless days, and the creatures all hide away under my grandparents' roof. I found a salamander in the garden who I kept as a pet for a while who escaped, but the next day I found a beautiful rainbow-coloured skint lizard legging it up the wall towards the bathroom window!
I also went to climb the Unzen volcano near Nagasaki, which has open steam vents all over blasting out sulphurous fumes. There was a shrine at the top where you could see way out past the mountains to the horizon, where the sun was setting. The shrine was apparently built to calm the spirit of the mountain, as it was angry with how humans were treating the Earth. Back in my hometown, I also walked to the small local shrine at the end of the road a couple of times and found some waterfalls in the forests. I also met some old friends, including Rina, who has to be the most hilariously hyperactive seven-year-old I've ever met. Also went to the city to get some presents for my lovely buddies back in England who I missed dearly.

And now I am back at school, well college to be exact. Teachers are good, I'm with my homedawgs, classes are interesting (no more maths WOOO) and on Monday I'm visiting the Houses of Parliament for my politics class! And I can't wait for Kanye West's new album. Life's good.

But before that, this Saturday is the anniversary of the great Jimi Hendrix's death. A beautifully naive person and obviously one of the most gracious guitarists that humankind has ever produced, all his worshippers and I wish his peaceful spiritual reincarnation. So on Saturday I shall be blasting out all the albums, especially Axis: Bold As Love, my personal favourite, along with tracks Voodoo Child and Machine Gun until someone decides to hit me over the head with a portable radiator.

1942-1970

Insomnia sucks.

Listening to Joy Division at 3 in the morning.

Hell yes

The artwork below by the magical Ugo Rondinone completely sums up how I'm feeling right now. Exams are over at last! Saw all my friends today and had a bit to drink with my good friend John, life's good! And I'm extremely busy next week aswell, plus Hop Farm! WOOO!

Just watched Snoop Dogg's Glastonbury performance (happy 40th anniversary to Glasto btw). That man is extraordinary!

Backing the A-Rod all the way

as usual.

Two exams left

Ahh yaaay!! This summer I think I'm going to go completely out of my brain bonkers and watch all three Godfather films in one go. It has been too long since I have seen AlPac's beautiful face!

This actually made my day

Nevermind the bullshit, we are killing the world

This morning I was reading a newspaper and found that BP still hasn't found a successful way of fixing their oil spill problem, which has so far killed 11 rig workers when the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank about a month and a half ago. It seems that their last attempt at fixing the problem didn't work. Furthermore, it is estimated that at least 20 million gallons have now spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.

The White House has stated that the leak will probably continue until August, unless they find a way to stop it. Think about it - if 20 mil. gallons has been spilled in a month and a half, and August is another two months away, by then a total of around 60 MILLION GALLONS+ will be leaked into the gulf. I actually think it would have been better if we hadn't evolved from the apes at all.

And tropical storm season is on its way. This means that Louisiana will have to face a series of hurricanes, which form when the temperature of the seawater is above 27C, causing quick evaporation over the sea, creating the coriolis (spiral) force of a storm. But if the sea is covered in layers of thick oil, what will happen? Something tells me they will be more disastrous than David Cameron being voted PM...

On the next page of the newspaper there was a larger article extensively analysing the reasons why Cheryl Cole decided to split with her husband.

WHAT THE FUCK HAS THIS WORLD COME TO.

Michael Moore is a genius

Recently watched his film-doc, Capitalism: A Love Story for the fourth time, I previously watched it in my economics lessons.

Not only is this guy very brave and incredibly intelligent, he is also witty, controversial, and entertaining, presenting his anti-conformist ideas about the ethics and ideology of captialism in a light-hearted but somehow evoking way.

The world needs more Americans like him. We will sacrifice Kesha (and no, I will not put a stupid dollar sign in her name).

Bionic

Christina Aguilera's whole album, titled Bionic, was leaked onto youtube a while ago and after a few listens I actually really like it. Apparently she's been planning this "new direction" since 2004 and has employed artists such as LeTigre, Sia, Santigold and even the legendary Peaches on some of the tracks.

The first thing that comes to mind is that despite the similar theme this album is nothing like anything of Lady Gaga's albums, except perhaps the futuristic-electronic-dance concept. Aguilera's still belting and very little auto-tune is used on the tracks. The lyrics, as they always have been in her songs, are very provocative and straightforward.

The second thing is how overly-sexual her new image is. I don't remember Gaga wearing black shiny jeweled skin-tight dominatrix-style latex or actually going borderline-pornographic. I think what Aguilera is doing is actually more reminiscent of Madonna's Human Nature than anything Gaga's done. Just my opinion, though, and I love them both.

The cover artwork, by graffiti artist De-Face, is also excellent!

One of my favourites off the album has to be "Woo Hoo" featuring one of the best new artists around, Nicki Minaj. Reminds me of "Can't Hold Us Down"...

On a lighter note, this ad is hilarious

I think I need to see a therapist

For the first time in ages I managed to sleep last night, but then I had this really odd dream where a woman was moving random prams with babies in them in a shop. Whenever I looked over at her, she would see me looking and let go of the pram and escape from my sight. Then I saw her run out the door and down the escalator of the shopping mall. She then took a syringe out and started stabbing random mothers who were pushing their prams with it. I yelled at her, and she ran out of the mall, into some dark, dirty, deserted room. She screeches at me "I just want a fucking baby".... "you know how long I've wanted one?".... "you know what I've done and had done to me so I could have one?" ...

And then I had another dream in the same sleep where I was waiting for a lift in a shopping mall again but I saw some dodgy people coming down so I decided to go up the stairs (you know the ones that are grey and dark and smell of piss) and suddenly on the second floor this lovely-looking lady pops out and says something to me, persuading me to go a certain way, and I see some other people go that way, but I refuse, and in a sort of panic, leg it up to the next floor where two scruffy-looking men try to do the same. Again I politely refuse, and follow some other people who were going towards the next floor. And that was it.

Seriously, what could a therapist possibly say to that? Am I some sort of insane psychopath?

Spiderwoman

So my first real post has to be about the beatiful Louise Bourgeois, one of my favourite sculptors, who passed just yesterday. This woman has helped shape and define my taste for art and has inspired many of today's 'confessional artists' such as Hirst and Emin.

I remember seeing a photograph of the 35-ft tall spider which was displayed in the Tate Modern in 2000, and trying to understand what Bourgeois was trying to say. This massive creature, maman (mother in French) towers over people walking by, its spindling legs piercing the ground. Its title suggests that the mother is dictating, frightening, overpowering and controlling. She also seems sinister - those jagged and twisted legs extend from a black cocoon, woven with evil and death, and ready to torture.

But I love spiders. Of this piece, Bourgeois said "Spiders are friendly presences... spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother." And just like that, the spider takes on a new meaning - it is guarding, wise, motherly.

I don't think there has been an artist so honest and yet so powerful in the way that she forces such an uncomfortable degree of emotional involvement from viewer.

Rest in peace.

5 things I love Friday

Einz: Track 7 on Congratulations. A brilliant song about THE Brian

Eno.

Zwei: The Baroque lute. Would love to get one just so I could play

Livin' La Vida Loca on it.

Drei: Fever Ray. Been following her since The Knife days,

and I can't think of a more bewitchingly captivating artist right now.

Karin makes you see through the mind of a psychotic toddler.

Vier: Tinie Tempah. I have to admit that this guy has an ear for a hook and a good flow for a British rapper.

Funf: Salmon teriyaki. Making some tonight yaaaay!

Not entirely sure I've been counting in German correctly, but there you go.

SOMEONE PLEASE KILL MILEY CYRUS

I'm not even kidding.

Fun fun fun

Revision for exams is not going too well... been distracting myself by watching my ready-made macaroni cheese spin round and round for 15 mins in a 20 year old microwave and thinking about Hop Farm Festival this year....

Spent £147 on tickets and I seriously cannot wait. I'm only going on the Saturday as Friday's lineup isn't that good. But I will be seeing some of my favourite nu-folk artists along with two of the biggest legends in music - Ray Davies and Dylan! My mind imploded when I read the lineup. AHHHHH!