O...M...G. I have never seen something more badass in my entire life! What am I referring to? A piano cover of a Slayer song.
The chick playing the piano is freakin' amazing! Even if you don't like Slayer (Shame on you!), there is NO denying the talent being displayed.
If you don't know what the original song sounds like, you can listen to it HERE. I really recommend it so that you'll be able to fully grasp just how incredibly badass this pianist is!
Anyway, here's the video I'm going all insane over:
Can you freakin' believe that?!?!?!?!
AMAZING....
P.S. Isn't Tom Araya (singer/bassist) the most sexeh man on the planet?! :drool:
I know that I wrote some Randomness recently, but I feel like doing it again, so that's what I'm gonna do.
I'm scaring the shiznit out of myself lately. I'm totally digging this band called The Ting Tings. Nothing could possibly be less brutal...and brutal is all I normally listen to. Well, that's not fair. I listen to Death Metal about 80% of the time...so it's not ALL the time. Anyway, this band drilled a hole in my head and won't get out...and the truly frightening thing is that I don't mind. I'm getting to be a softy in my old age!
So, I read the instructions for that God forsaken Neti Pot yesterday. Come to find out I was doing it TOTALLY wrong! No wonder it was such Hell! Now that I know the correct way to do it, I will try again and hopefully I'll enjoy it this time rather than wish for my premature death!
BTW - They sent me a spare Neti Pot. I can't recall if I've already promised it to someone or not, but if not, let me know if you want the freakin' thing and I'll send it to you as soon as I can afford postage! Pretty sad when you can't even afford postage for a freakin' plastic pot.
Being the incredible jackass I am, I got the wise idea to update Firefox. Why would I do such a thing? I rarely use FF. So anyway, I installed that mo-fracky and come to find out that my badass Mario theme for it won't work! At least the bastard didn't lose my bookmarks. Oh man, I'd be fumin' pissed if my bookmarks got shit-canned! So anyway, now I'm trying to decide if I want to downgrade to the version I had previously, or keep this piece of shizzle and hope the dude who created the Mario theme busts out a new version soon. I went to his blog and he says he's working on it. I'm 'bout ready to crack the whip on his ass!
I just want to say how freakin' cool I think it is that so many of my friends have been MOTW. One might think that my friends list is HUGE, but you'd be sorely mistaken. I believe it's only two pages worth of people. That's not much AT ALL considering how many people I talk to and how many belong to My.opera. The dude who got it Friday is new to me, but I've spoken to Aleks, the guy who got it the previous week several times. I even did his avatar for him! w00t! I am always SO stoked when it ends up being someone I know...AND like!
I think it's freakin' badass how over in Norway and such, they spell Aleksander with a 'K' instead of an 'X' like we and other nations do. Doesn't it look so much more sah-weet?! Heck yeah!
Shiznit. Be right back...Lonnie just called me into the other room...
Bwahaha! I was apparently talking too much because Lonnie said, "Why don't you shut those lips and open the other ones!?" I told him I was going to blog that he said that, and he said, "NO WAY! What if a client somehow finds it and reads it?!" I was like gimme a freakin' break, dude. So I finally talked him into saying okay to me sharing that classy tid-bit of everyday life with you!
My Farm Town farm and I have a love/hate relationship. One week I adore it and can't stop playing it. The next week, I hate it, don't care if it wilts up and dies...etc. I think I need to find a happy medium and not over-do it on the first week. That way when the second week rolls around, I won't be all burned out on it.
I keep trying to enter my location on Google Latitude, but it's not working for some effed up reason! Can nothing ever go according to plan?!
I haven't tweeted on Twitter in about a week. Anyone who really knows my Tweeting habits is probably floored by my lack of tweetage. I'm not sure what the heck is wrong with me. I get in these funks where I just don't feel like doing something, so I subconsciously pretend it doesn't exist. Sometimes I wish I weren't so good at putting things out of my mind. It's a good way to forget important info.
Lonnie and I were walking in downtown Portland the other day when we came across some sort of government building with a shit-ton of protesters in front of it. They were protesting the goings on in Iran. I looked at them and smiled what must've been the biggest smile I've had in a while. It was so nice to see people actually caring and taking action. I decided that if they're there next time, I'm going to go join them. I completely believe in what they're fighting for, so I think it's my duty to join in. If/when I do, I will bring my camera and take pics and video. I'm sure Amir would like that!
I cannot help but wonder if some people think my name is really Nerak. I keep telling everyone that it's 'Karen', but backwards...it doesn't seem to be sinking in with some people. Either that, or they simply prefer Nerak over Karen. I pretty much HATE 'Karen', myself, so I can't really blame 'em!
I was going to blog about why I've not been feeling so great lately, but I have decided that it's really not anyone else's business. My blog is completely public, so I need to draw a line somewhere. The people I want to know about it already know or will soon know. It's honestly no big deal at all. I swear. I'm not dying or anything stupid like that. And yes - dying is stupid!
My daughter was supposed to get her braces put on this month, but we're having to push the appointment back. We can't afford the $1300 down payment they want. Am I the only one who thinks that paying $5000 to get braces put on your kid's teeth is a bit freakin' pricey?! WTF?! Are they diamond studded or something?! If they put a grill on my daughter, I swear to God, someone will die.
I miss my Sweetie Pie and my Cupcake ! ...
Shoot me, but I don't like Beck. I like that ONE popular song he did (sorta)...other than that, nope. Not for me. Way too freakin' mellow, but mellow in a bad way. Mellow in a BobMarley way is a good way. Mellow in a Beck way is a nuisance. Seems like an alright guy, I simply can't stand to listen to his ruckus for more than 15 seconds without wanting to punch something or someone. :shrugs:
Damn it. The Ting Tings album just ended. Now I have to think of something else to listen to. Hmmmm. I should probably go with something highly brutal to make up for the wussiness of The Ting Tings! *thinking*...*opening music folder*...*browsing music*...FOUND IT! I'm going with Six Feet Under - "Warpath". Decent album. Six Feet Under aren't exactly the most brutal band out there, but this is a good compromise. (The URL for Warpath will take you to a YouTube video for one of the songs off the album. )
I promised Raj that I'd update my site, so I need to do that soon! I should be doing that instead of this, I guess.
I want to move to Norway. I'm dead serious. The climate is perfect for me. The people freakin' PWN, they mind their own frakin' business...it just seems way more laid back, clean, and badass. Yep. I wanna move there...and get a job @ opera. Oh, c'mon! You had to have seen that one coming! Maybe they'll pay to transfer me & my wicked badass skillz over there?! Yeah! w00t! Now I just need to convince them. I should start a petition! Hahaha!!!
Well, I guess I've babbled enough. Thanks to all of you who have wished me well and everything. I really do appreciate it greatly! Just remember: Only the good die young....I will be here for quite some time to come!
My very, very good friend & what I consider a son, Conor, has been feeling a bit depressed lately. We CANNOT have that. He loves this song, so I'm posting it in hopes to at least get a tiny little smirk or something from him.
Not only is it Holy Diver, but it's got badass visuals, too!
You know how every couple has a song that they call "their song", right? Well, maybe not EVERY couple, but 99% of couples. About 3 or 4 months after Lonnie and I first got together (7 years ago ♥ ) we have deemed a particular song "our song"...the thing is, the lyrics are totally fuckered up to be a love song or whatever. I mean... C'mon! But still...when we hear it, we get all googly eyed at each other and usually kiss and all that jive.
Before I reveal the song...what's further kinda fuckered up is that we want to play OUR SONG at our wedding reception. I just don't know what the Hell our guests will think. I know my family will be like, "Yep! That's Karen!"....but his family. Whew. Hardcore Christians who might not see any humor in it. It's not obscene or anything, but I can just picture his parents sitting there with these WTF? looks on their faces!
Okay...the song is "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. Yeah, that's right - we're 80's kids, get over it. But seriously. If you listen to the lyrics, it's not exactly a song you'd play for your luvah.
On a side note, the guy singing is flippin' dreamy! Not the faggy actor guy...the guy singing. Reminds me of Paul Reubens AKA Pee Wee Herman. Plus...Soft Cell must be English. Dude has that look about him. Whew...I love that look - hence my complete obsession with Gordon Ramsay...although he's actually Scottish, but was born & raised in England.
Wow. I went WAY off track there. Just watch the video and sing along, will ya'?
There's this guy named Ken (a friend of my son) who creates all the music on his page by himself. As if that's not impressive enough, the music freakin'pwns! Seriously. Some of it is more ambient sounding and others are more heavy.
Anyway, you just GOTTA give him a listen. I rarely ask people to check bands/music out on here, but I think everyone will really enjoy his music. I know I do. I honestly listen to it daily.
Oh, one last thing...the dude's in high school. Holy shit, man. I was a total waste in high school. It's so cool that he's actually doing something with his talent. So let's support him, Mmmmkay?!
I just finished taking my son for a ride somewhere. While we were in the car, "Come On Feel The Noize" came on the radio. Of course, we blasted that mother as loud as we could without blowing the speakers out. Then my son told me something that I had absolutely NO idea about.
Apparently the song by Quiet Riot called "Come On Feel The Noize" is a cover tune! How the Hell could I, a Metal Head from way back, not know this? I asked him who it was that originally sang it. He told me it was a band from England called Slade. I sat there in complete awe. Jameson said that the song was HUGE in the UK, but never really did anything over here 'til Quiet Riot did it. That's because Quiet Riot flippin' pwns.
Anyway, I looked the Slade version up on YouTube, and there it was. So now you guys get to check it out, too! Here's the Slade version:
For those of you who don't know, Quiet Riot's singer, Kevin DuBrow, died at the age of 52 on November 26, 2007. So, so sad. May he rest in peace in a Metal filled Heaven.
It was seven years ago today that I learned of the death of Layne Staley. Layne was the singer for the band Alice In Chains. His voice was like no other voice I'd heard prior or since. We're all one of a kind, but he was truly unique.
Here is the television announcement of Layne's death. I uploaded it to YouTube:
Phonies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM6dJicSIK0 For those of you who never really got into Alice in Chains or knew much of anything about Layne Staley, here's some info… Layne Thomas Staley was born on August 22, 1967 in Kirkland, Washington. His parents divorced when he was seven years old. Shortly before his death in 2002, he described the divorce of his parents in this way:
"My world became a nightmare, there were just shadows around me. I got a call saying that my dad had died, but my family always knew he was around doing all kind of drugs. Since that call I always was wondering, 'Where is my dad?' I felt so sad for him and I missed him. He dropped out of my life for 15 years."
In that same interview he also said that he was convinced that if he became a celebrity his dad would return. So, so sad.
Well, Layne started playing drums around the age of 12…and believe it or not, he actually played in a couple of Glam bands. I can't even imagine that, but okay. Everyone has flaws! Anyway, what Layne really wanted was to become a singer. His band mates would poke fun of him and whatnot about it, but that didn’t stop him from chasing his dream. He got pissed off, traded in his drum set for a microphone, and started the band Alice In Chains with co-founder Jerry Cantrell.
That's how Alice In Chains started. I'm sure his ex-band mates were kicking themselves in the ass when they saw how successful Layne was getting. Good! Those bastards made fun of him, so they had it coming.
Alice in Chains made many albums…all of which completely rule. I loved their style…and mostly I adored Layne's voice. He had one Hell of a voice…nobody could ever even come close to his talent in my opinion.
Okay, well….now to the depressing and downright heart wrenching part. Layne's death. I will quote Wikipedia for this part.
On April 19, 2002, an unidentified person placed a call with 911 to say "She hadn't heard from…Staley in about two weeks." Staley was found dead in his home after, "his mother and stepfather went to his condo with the police." As reported by Rick Anderson of the Seattle Weekly, his body was surrounded by various drug possessions and paraphernalia: "When police kicked in the door to Layne Staley's University District apartment on April 20, there, on a couch, lit by a flickering TV, next to several spray-paint cans on the floor, not far from a small stash of cocaine, near two crack pipes on the coffee table, reposed the remains of the rock musician." The article also stated that the 6'1" Staley weighed just 86 pounds when his body was discovered. The autopsy report later concluded that Staley died after injecting a mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a "speedball". The King County Coroner's Office estimated Staley to have died on April 5, 2002, exactly 8 years after fellow grunge musician Kurt Cobain also died (Cobain was found three days later, on April 8). Staley's body was not discovered until two weeks later.
(Click to enlarge this collage)
As it states, the estimated day of death is April 5th…today, seven years ago. The fact that two whole weeks had gone by without anyone really noticing that he wasn't around absolutely breaks my heart. He was so deep into his disease of drug addiction, that he'd no doubt pushed everyone who cared about him away. I HATE drugs! They completely rip a person's soul right out of 'em.
Something good has come from Layne's death. In 2002, Staley's mother, Nancy McCallum, and Jamie Richards, a drug and alcohol counselor, formed the Layne Staley Fund, a non-profit organization that raises money for drug treatment and works with the Seattle music community. It holds a yearly tribute in August, on or around Staley's birthday.
Here is a video which is dedicated to Layne Staley. For those of you who don't know, yes…that is him singing….
Phonies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbWoiDhxJsk This is what the poem says at the end of the video: Our angry little angel has said good-bye, He wanted so badly to fly, Did what he needed just to get by... So much pain held inside, All his fears made him hide, No longer have his wings been denied... His sweet and haunted voice touched us all, Yet through this sad time we must stand tall, Finally his mind is at ease, We love you, Layne; rest in peace.
There are very few of you who understand why the anniversary of Layne Staley's death means as much to me as it does. Conor, I can't thank you enough for continuing to ask me if I'm okay as this day came closer and closer. Now that it's here, I can say that I'm doing alright. Not great, but could be worse. There will be much crying and sadness today…but I have tomorrow to look forward to.
For those of you who don't know why this day is so important to me, I'm sorry. I'm not purposely excluding you…it's just a very personal matter. Either way, Layne Staley is gone and the world is missing out on one of the most talented and heartfelt artists to step foot on the planet. May he rest in peace…finally.
I DO NOT remember if I already blogged about this or not, but if so, deal with it! GOSH!
So, here's the dealio. When we were (as they say in Texas) "fixin'" to move to Oregon, we had a huge-ass sale and sold as much of our shiznit as we could in order to get up the money required to move. We had a GIANT garage sale and also sold a shit-ton of valuable stuff to a pawn shop. I know they tend to rip you off, but hey...we were freakin' desperate. We needed moving money STAT!!!
Soooo...although it almost literally killed both Lonnie and me, we had no choice but to see our babies. Here's Lonnie's baby:
That drum kit was his everything. He could play those skins like no one else. Seriously. He could play anything from his Techno bullshit music all the way to my super badass Death Metal. He is an AMAZING drummer. Saying 'Good Bye' to his kit nearly killed him. I've only seen him cry thrice in our relationship. This was one of the times....which, of course, led to me crying. I can't handle seeing my Sugar Tushie being so upset.
Well, he's not the only one who had to say 'Good Bye' to a baby. I had to part with my baby. My bass, amp, and bass stand. I worked so hard to get that bass and had gotten pretty good with it, too. I had some Alice In Chains songs down so well...not too bad for being self-taught. I also played other stuff, too...White Zombie, Slayer...whatever I could get in a groove with and pick up fairly quickly.
Well, as I've told you people before, my bass was autographed by two members of Slayer: Kerry King & Jeff Hanneman. After the Slayer gig in '04, Lonnie surprised me with backstage passes. I've ALWAYS had a HUGE thing for Slayer. Especially Tom Araya...which is why my cat is named Araya. Anyway, it just so happened that the night of the show (12.08.04) was the SAME EXACT NIGHT that Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed. The guys in Slayer didn't know about it 'til after they'd done their set. Sadly, Tom and Dave were too emotionally distraught to come meet us...but Kerry & Jeff were awesome about it. They signed my bass, a couple t-shirts, some ticket stubs, and some posters for me. I even got some pics taken with them. I'll dig 'em up and post them sometime. (None of us, the fans, had ANY idea that Dimebag had been shot at this point.) We were wondering why Tom and Dave weren't there...and honestly, I was somewhat heartbroken. It's always been my dream to meet Tom Araya in person. The fact that he wasn't there...it made me sad, but I was still so stoked! I got to hang out with Kerry & Jeff...etc.
SIDENOTE: December 8th just happens to be the anniversary of my ex's death as well. Isn't that weird? I got to meet Slayer, Dimebag died, and it was the anniversary of the tragedy. Trippy freakin' day!
Anyway, that bass was my baby...especially now that it had been graced by Slayer. Here's a pic for ya'...
So back to the move....after Lonnie took his drum kit in and sold it, it was my turn. I cried as I handed my bass over. One of the saddest days of my life. That might sound lame to those of you who don't 'get it', but for those of you who do...you totally know where I'm coming from.
WELL...GET THIS!!!....
Lonnie got a wild hair the other day...about four days ago and he decided to call the pawn shop where we'd sold my bass in Billings, Montana. I'm left-handed AKA superior, so he thought that since the bass is a lefty, there'd probably be a good chance that it'd still be there. He got on the phone and asked 'em about it and...THEY STILL HAVE IT!!!! They want $150 for it and are willing to ship it to us! I cannot even begin to express how I felt when I heard that. I cried, wrapped my arms around Lonnie, and thanked him SO much for being so sweet as to even look into it...especially after how heartbroken he still is about his drum kit.
I just cannot believe they still have it. If it were a righty, there's NO way they'd have it. The fact that it's a lefty has saved it. I am MEANT to have my baby back.
Soooo, now what I'm doing is busting my fucking ('scuse the f-bomb) ass to try to earn that $150 + S&H to get my baby back!!! I know I will get it back. It's been over two years...it's mine...just a matter of time. Can you even believe that?!!
Anyway, I just had to share that with you guys. So many good things have been happening to me lately. Ever since I chose to go down a different path with my life a couple weeks ago, it's like everything is totally falling into place. I honestly feel as though I'm finally on the proper path in my life...and perhaps getting my bass back will be my reward for FINALLY making a good decision!
Soooo, there you have it! Thanks for reading this and whatnot...I know I get overly wordy.
I've been groovin' to this album for a couple years now, and I just gotta share it with those of you who dig Metal. The band is called Job For A Cowboy. Stupid name, I agree...but the music flippin' PWNS! The band is from Glendale, Arizona.
The group was founded by vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Ravi Bhadriraju and Andrew Arcurio, bassist Chad Staples, and drummer Andy Rysdam. In 2004, they created a MySpace profile, posted songs online, and began to connect with several worldwide fans. Later that year, Staples and Rysdam left Job for a Cowboy and were replaced by Brent Riggs and Elliott Sellers respectively as bassist and drummer. Traffic to the band's MySpace profile increased exponentially in late 2005, when the band released its first EP, entitled Doom.
Job for a Cowboy extensively promoted their debut EP, including three performances on the Sounds of the Underground tour. By the end of year, the band obtained professional management and signed a deal with Metal Blade Records, who reissued Doom with a bonus track. Also in 2006, Arcurio left Job for a Cowboy, and new guitarist Bobby Thompson joined the group. While Job for a Cowboy was writing material for their first full-length album, Sellers announced that he would be leaving the band to go back to school immediately after recording the album. In search of a permanent drummer, the band then posted a bulletin on Blabbermouth.net, which was seen by Jon "The Charn" Rice. He made a video of himself, posted it on YouTube, and sent the link to the band. Soon after, Rice was announced as the new drummer
So, anyway, now that you know the gist, I'm offering the album to you if you want to check it out. They have more recent stuff, but I freakin' love this particular album. HERE IT IS FOR THE TAKING.
I have never seen something more badass in my entire life! 
What am I referring to? A piano cover of a Slayer song. 
I'm getting to be a softy in my old age!
No wonder it was such Hell! Now that I know the correct way to do it, I will try again and hopefully I'll enjoy it this time rather than wish for my premature death!
At least the bastard didn't lose my bookmarks. Oh man, I'd be fumin' pissed if my bookmarks got shit-canned! 
It's honestly no big deal at all. I swear. I'm not dying or anything stupid like that. And yes - dying is stupid! 
Am I the only one who thinks that paying $5000 to get braces put on your kid's teeth is a bit freakin' pricey?! WTF?! Are they diamond studded or something?! If they put a grill on my daughter, I swear to God, someone will die.
and my Cupcake 
! 
...
I should probably go with something highly brutal to make up for the wussiness of The Ting Tings! *thinking*...*opening music folder*...*browsing music*...FOUND IT! I'm going with 
Just remember: Only the good die young....I will be here for quite some time to come! 
Not the faggy actor guy...the guy singing. Reminds me of Paul Reubens AKA Pee Wee Herman. 
That's because Quiet Riot flippin' pwns. 
So, so sad.
It's always been my dream to meet Tom Araya in person. The fact that he wasn't there...it made me sad, but I was still so stoked! I got to hang out with Kerry & Jeff...etc. 
(29%)
WIDGETIZE