Strangley, after I wrote my last post on this subject, just a few hours later I read 2 articles in the morning paper. One of them was about the famine in Somalia which was going to be the subject on my next post -I'll get onto that later- and the other one was about comics! Weird.
The article was about how readers are now reading comics less and less. It said in this day and age, people are watching more and more things online through computers, phones and whatever else there is. So, The DC universe are going to start their stories all over again from the beginning. All the characters will still be the same but in the 21st centuary and more up-to-date. This could be a bit worrying. What if Superman has a love affair with that chunk of lard that they call Katy Perry?? What if WonderWoman goes on Big Brother or the X Factor?? What if Batman gets a facebook????
I thought part of the whole reading of Superhero adventures was because of the nostalgia. If people with Superpowers were bought up in this day and age, then I think that the world might be even more fucked up than it already is.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Graphic Novels/Comics
The first thing I want to say about this topic is that how a stupid tag of "nerd" is associated with anyone that likes Graphic Novels and Comics. This is very wrong.
Graphic Novels and Comics can actually have really great stories, amazing art, can stir the imagination and the creative side of a person with the originality in them. They can be inspiring not just for writers and artists, but for people too. Maybe if a person who lived their whole life through comic books, dressed up as superheroes everyday and then went on to believe that they were actual superheroes could maybe as well as being super-delusional, be classed as a geek as this would be very peculiar behaviour. However, I don't actually personally know anybody like this anyway. I bet anyone who reads this doesn't either.
They are written for people of all ages, some are written for just adults. It's not just all about the Marvel Superheroes like Spider-Man, The X-Men, Captain America and The Fantastic Four or the DC Superheroes like Batman, Superman, WonderWoman and Green Lantern-even though some stories I hae read from these titles are amazing-there are hundereds of independent comics that are just great stories in themselves.
These stories aren't just about Superheroes/Villians flying about blowing things up. The stories can be just like any other-connecting with human emotions like grief and experiencing loss. The battle between good and evil which goes on in everyday life. Apparantly, recently one of The Fantastic Four members got killed. The Human Torch Johnny Storm gets killed. It actually made the national news as did Peter Parker getting killed as Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe. (The Ultimate Universe is a alternative to the normal Marvel Universe where Peter Parker as Spider-Man is still alive and swinging but in the Ultimate Universe gets killed by The Green Goblin and then someone else becomes Spider-Man. Some guy called Miles Morales who is half-black and half-latino! Apparantly the writers/editors wanted to be "more 21st centuary" and wanted to be culturally diversed and about how our society today is muticultural. I think it's really fucked up and that they could've made someone totally new who is half-black and half latino but know full well that they would have trouble selling whoever that would've been). Can you imagine the readers who follow them every week and have been for years and in some cases even decades feel?
I wanted to buy a book the other day and had no idea what to get and then I realised why not look for a graphic novel as I haven't been to a comic book shop for nearly 2 years now. I used to go once a month and am probably going to start doing that so again.
I bought a couple of my favourite ever graphic novel to a couple of people once who've never read one in their lives and their comments were "Oh man that was amazing" and "I nearly cried halfway through that-brilliant".
So I'm not encouraging people in telling them "Go to the comic book shop now!" I'm telling people to not be shallow and categorize/sterotype anyone that does enjoy reading Graphic Novels/Comics. You don't want to be as narrow minded as half the ridiculous people that I slate on this blog.
Graphic Novels and Comics can actually have really great stories, amazing art, can stir the imagination and the creative side of a person with the originality in them. They can be inspiring not just for writers and artists, but for people too. Maybe if a person who lived their whole life through comic books, dressed up as superheroes everyday and then went on to believe that they were actual superheroes could maybe as well as being super-delusional, be classed as a geek as this would be very peculiar behaviour. However, I don't actually personally know anybody like this anyway. I bet anyone who reads this doesn't either.
They are written for people of all ages, some are written for just adults. It's not just all about the Marvel Superheroes like Spider-Man, The X-Men, Captain America and The Fantastic Four or the DC Superheroes like Batman, Superman, WonderWoman and Green Lantern-even though some stories I hae read from these titles are amazing-there are hundereds of independent comics that are just great stories in themselves.
These stories aren't just about Superheroes/Villians flying about blowing things up. The stories can be just like any other-connecting with human emotions like grief and experiencing loss. The battle between good and evil which goes on in everyday life. Apparantly, recently one of The Fantastic Four members got killed. The Human Torch Johnny Storm gets killed. It actually made the national news as did Peter Parker getting killed as Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe. (The Ultimate Universe is a alternative to the normal Marvel Universe where Peter Parker as Spider-Man is still alive and swinging but in the Ultimate Universe gets killed by The Green Goblin and then someone else becomes Spider-Man. Some guy called Miles Morales who is half-black and half-latino! Apparantly the writers/editors wanted to be "more 21st centuary" and wanted to be culturally diversed and about how our society today is muticultural. I think it's really fucked up and that they could've made someone totally new who is half-black and half latino but know full well that they would have trouble selling whoever that would've been). Can you imagine the readers who follow them every week and have been for years and in some cases even decades feel?
I wanted to buy a book the other day and had no idea what to get and then I realised why not look for a graphic novel as I haven't been to a comic book shop for nearly 2 years now. I used to go once a month and am probably going to start doing that so again.
I bought a couple of my favourite ever graphic novel to a couple of people once who've never read one in their lives and their comments were "Oh man that was amazing" and "I nearly cried halfway through that-brilliant".
So I'm not encouraging people in telling them "Go to the comic book shop now!" I'm telling people to not be shallow and categorize/sterotype anyone that does enjoy reading Graphic Novels/Comics. You don't want to be as narrow minded as half the ridiculous people that I slate on this blog.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Is romance dead?
In an age where internet dating is the most popular way of "meeting" people, where everyone poses for pictures, writes a profile and then picks and chooses who to chat to and then gets to "know someone", it might seem like an easy way to date. But it actually is a whole load of shit. It is not like those horrid adverts that you see where 2 people sing along to the same tune all of a sudden. I don't think that they even do that crap in Bollywood films as much as they used too anymore.
I tried internet dating myself, out of simple curiosity. It is pointless. If you wanted to, you can put one side of yourself to show the other person. They don't see your mannerisms, charm, body language, tone of voice etc all until after you arrange to meet. Strangely, these are the most important factors that I think why you get to like someone in the first place. I have noticed a lot recently that people don't even ask for numbers anymore. It is always "Are you on Facebook?" Someone actually said to me a couple of weeks ago that I was sad because I didn't have a Facebook.
The irony.
I realise that some people may not have the time to meet someone and therefore do resort to the internet. I myself work crazy hours. I constantly get asked by people:-"Mukesh, why don't you have a girlfriend?" Society seems to think that everyone in the world has to be with someone.
Unlike most people I know, I really don't feel the need to have someone. I hear people say things like "Oh my partner makes me feel complete". If you need someone to make you feel complete then you have some kind of problems that you need to address and you also need to rethink things. Whatever it is that makes a person feel complete, it is not another person.
I don't think that I have met a girl in the last 5 years that had made me think "wow, I wanna be with her forever." In fact, it was around 5 years ago that I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get in touch with a certain someone until I stopped being a loser. I always think that I should be a better person than I am. I suppose it makes it worse with the fact that I have in the past met some amazing girls who I did think the world of. Unfortunately, none of them are in my life anymore, but does this mean that now I have to settle for less? That I should just get together with someone who really doesn't make me feel anything? Not that I compare anyone from the past to someone I might meet now. But unlike me, I do know that a lot of people get together only because they are afraid of being alone. How pathetic. No wonder a lot of relationships end up in the toilet.
When I was in London a few days ago whilst I was on the tube, I saw a girl who was probably one of the most beautiful girls I've seen in recent times. She was stood on the other side of the carriage that I was on. A good few people stood in between us. I stared at her, a slight part of me aware that I was probably drooling, with my eyes popping out of my sockets and I was even trembling a little. She caught my eye and I did indeed think "damn it I've scared her".
But she held my gaze. My friend whispered in my ear "There's a girl over there.."
"I know. She is beautiful."
After about 2 minutes of completely being lost, the train stopped. She had come to her stop whilst I had to stay on. She got off the carriage and walked down the platform whilst I was still inside. I waved at her. She laughed and waved back. One friend agreed with me that it was "the moment of the day" but another just said it was "sad".
No words, no pictures or profiles. No anything. Just a gaze and a wave. But it was enough to make me smile and sometimes that is all I want.
Maybe romance isn't dead just yet.
I tried internet dating myself, out of simple curiosity. It is pointless. If you wanted to, you can put one side of yourself to show the other person. They don't see your mannerisms, charm, body language, tone of voice etc all until after you arrange to meet. Strangely, these are the most important factors that I think why you get to like someone in the first place. I have noticed a lot recently that people don't even ask for numbers anymore. It is always "Are you on Facebook?" Someone actually said to me a couple of weeks ago that I was sad because I didn't have a Facebook.
The irony.
I realise that some people may not have the time to meet someone and therefore do resort to the internet. I myself work crazy hours. I constantly get asked by people:-"Mukesh, why don't you have a girlfriend?" Society seems to think that everyone in the world has to be with someone.
Unlike most people I know, I really don't feel the need to have someone. I hear people say things like "Oh my partner makes me feel complete". If you need someone to make you feel complete then you have some kind of problems that you need to address and you also need to rethink things. Whatever it is that makes a person feel complete, it is not another person.
I don't think that I have met a girl in the last 5 years that had made me think "wow, I wanna be with her forever." In fact, it was around 5 years ago that I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get in touch with a certain someone until I stopped being a loser. I always think that I should be a better person than I am. I suppose it makes it worse with the fact that I have in the past met some amazing girls who I did think the world of. Unfortunately, none of them are in my life anymore, but does this mean that now I have to settle for less? That I should just get together with someone who really doesn't make me feel anything? Not that I compare anyone from the past to someone I might meet now. But unlike me, I do know that a lot of people get together only because they are afraid of being alone. How pathetic. No wonder a lot of relationships end up in the toilet.
When I was in London a few days ago whilst I was on the tube, I saw a girl who was probably one of the most beautiful girls I've seen in recent times. She was stood on the other side of the carriage that I was on. A good few people stood in between us. I stared at her, a slight part of me aware that I was probably drooling, with my eyes popping out of my sockets and I was even trembling a little. She caught my eye and I did indeed think "damn it I've scared her".
But she held my gaze. My friend whispered in my ear "There's a girl over there.."
"I know. She is beautiful."
After about 2 minutes of completely being lost, the train stopped. She had come to her stop whilst I had to stay on. She got off the carriage and walked down the platform whilst I was still inside. I waved at her. She laughed and waved back. One friend agreed with me that it was "the moment of the day" but another just said it was "sad".
No words, no pictures or profiles. No anything. Just a gaze and a wave. But it was enough to make me smile and sometimes that is all I want.
Maybe romance isn't dead just yet.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Mukesh is singing songs
Have a look.
Frigging hell I'm one scary looking dude.
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
If that link doesn't work then type into you tube "Mukesh is singing songs" or type in "EchoFalls1982"
One of them will work!
Keep posted to that link as I will be adding a lot more songs on. All the new ones I learn.
Apologies to any fans in advance who may think I have killed a song that they like that I have covered. Sorry! I tried my best.
Frigging hell I'm one scary looking dude.
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
If that link doesn't work then type into you tube "Mukesh is singing songs" or type in "EchoFalls1982"
One of them will work!
Keep posted to that link as I will be adding a lot more songs on. All the new ones I learn.
Apologies to any fans in advance who may think I have killed a song that they like that I have covered. Sorry! I tried my best.
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
The Kohinoor Diamond and The British Raj in India
Not many people know this but in the 16th and 17th centuary, India was the richest country in the world.
Unfortunately, the wealth of the country attracted a lot of idiots, especially from Britian and France in the 18th centuary.
The Kohinoor Diamond was considered to be the richest, most precious jewel ever. Originally it weighed 186 carats. It belonged to various Indian rulers back then. Where is it now? On the Queen of Englands' head. It had been recut down to 108 carats as it was cut to fit on the Queen of Englands' crown.
It has been also known as "Samantik Mani" meaning Prince and Leader among diamonds and "Mountain Of Light" which was the Persian-Arabic name for it. It was said that "He who owns the diamond will own the world, but will also know it's misfortunes. Only God, or a woman can wear it with impunity."
In the 16 and 1700s, Britian would trade with India for things like spices and tea. They eventually decided that they would take over after the government got involved. The British "invaded" India around the mid 1800s and India was a part of the British Empire by the early 1900s. Some saying that India was "the jewel in the crown" of the British Empire. In 1876, Queen Victoria was declared as the Empress of India. Prior to this, India was made up of small kingdoms and some might say that Britain "unified" India for commerial gain. But others would say that they caused wars between the smaller kingdoms (among them being Hindus, Muslims and Sheiks) so there wouldn't be a huge backlash against them. The latter is obviously the case as India was made independent in 1947. That was when India first requested the diamond back. They tried again 6 years later during the period of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second. There was an argument that the diamond wasn't taken in war but was formally presented to the British. Yeah right.
How amazing would it be if The Queen suddenly woke up one day and this conversation happened:-
Jeeves: What about it Your Majesty?
It's all well and good giving back the independence but isn't keeping the riches not just a sign of greed, but a sign of still showing that you still have the power?
Give the Kohinoor diamond back to India.
Unfortunately, the wealth of the country attracted a lot of idiots, especially from Britian and France in the 18th centuary.
The Kohinoor Diamond was considered to be the richest, most precious jewel ever. Originally it weighed 186 carats. It belonged to various Indian rulers back then. Where is it now? On the Queen of Englands' head. It had been recut down to 108 carats as it was cut to fit on the Queen of Englands' crown.
It has been also known as "Samantik Mani" meaning Prince and Leader among diamonds and "Mountain Of Light" which was the Persian-Arabic name for it. It was said that "He who owns the diamond will own the world, but will also know it's misfortunes. Only God, or a woman can wear it with impunity."
In the 16 and 1700s, Britian would trade with India for things like spices and tea. They eventually decided that they would take over after the government got involved. The British "invaded" India around the mid 1800s and India was a part of the British Empire by the early 1900s. Some saying that India was "the jewel in the crown" of the British Empire. In 1876, Queen Victoria was declared as the Empress of India. Prior to this, India was made up of small kingdoms and some might say that Britain "unified" India for commerial gain. But others would say that they caused wars between the smaller kingdoms (among them being Hindus, Muslims and Sheiks) so there wouldn't be a huge backlash against them. The latter is obviously the case as India was made independent in 1947. That was when India first requested the diamond back. They tried again 6 years later during the period of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second. There was an argument that the diamond wasn't taken in war but was formally presented to the British. Yeah right.
How amazing would it be if The Queen suddenly woke up one day and this conversation happened:-
Queen: I say Jeeves, one has awoken enlightened
Jeeves: How so Your Majesty?
Queen: That diamond on ones' crown-you know, the most precious one of them all.
Jeeves: Ah Your majesty, I believe you are referring to The Kohinoor Diamond.
Queen: That is the one.
Jeeves: What about it Your Majesty?
Queen: I think maybe I should do the right thing and return it to where it belongs.
Jeeves: Back to India? Bravo Your Majesty. Jolly good show.
Queen: Do prepare some cucumber sandwiches for the journey.
Jeeves: One has to admire this sudden burst of generosity.
Queen: Nonsense Jeeves, one is only doing what one should have done a long time ago.
Jeeves: Rather.
Queen: Get Coleman to ready the plane.
Jeeves: Of course Your Majesty.
Give the Kohinoor diamond back to India.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Inspiration.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. But I do believe that you have to have an open mind to be truly inspired.
I realised something the other day and that was that I haven't written a new song, a completed one with lyrics and melody in about a year and a half. The scary thought that firstly enters my mind is that this was about the same time that I started my old job. Is it coincidental or am I just looking a bit too much into this?
I know that being in the environment that you are in and also who you associate with can make you who you are. Your mood, perception and your whole personality can be affected by these. Is it also a coincidence that when I was in college or when i was working in a record shop and a gig venue, I would constantly be writing all the time? So being in a working environment where in the nicest possible way, most of the people are robots-what do you do? Can you be inspired by robots? I don't think so. But the problem is that no matter who I am around, I ALWAYS give people a chance to get to know them, to try and get to know the person they are inside. Unfortunately that is when you sometimes discover that there is no person inside. This can be quite frightening. Think about it, you think to yourself "I wonder what they are outside of work?"
And then you discover they are nothing. It is kind of like looking at a totally empty canvass and having no paintbrushes available.
Now like I said, having an open mind is very important in life. But I've discovered in the past 18 months or so that even when people are empty, narrow minded, have no personality, no morals, are robotic and the only visible aspect of their character that you actually see is when they are kissing backsides and that is it. They will ALWAYS be like that. No matter what happens in life, that is all that they will ever be. There could be paintbrushes available-you could give them all the paint brushes in the world but they will always be the same. Sometimes narrow minded people will forever remain just that and it is a horrible thought. That some people are beyond saving and in some cases, don't even deserve to be saved.
A breath of fresh air, an open mind. It sounds so simple. But sometimes it can be so difficult to get.
But for me, not anymore.
I realised something the other day and that was that I haven't written a new song, a completed one with lyrics and melody in about a year and a half. The scary thought that firstly enters my mind is that this was about the same time that I started my old job. Is it coincidental or am I just looking a bit too much into this?
I know that being in the environment that you are in and also who you associate with can make you who you are. Your mood, perception and your whole personality can be affected by these. Is it also a coincidence that when I was in college or when i was working in a record shop and a gig venue, I would constantly be writing all the time? So being in a working environment where in the nicest possible way, most of the people are robots-what do you do? Can you be inspired by robots? I don't think so. But the problem is that no matter who I am around, I ALWAYS give people a chance to get to know them, to try and get to know the person they are inside. Unfortunately that is when you sometimes discover that there is no person inside. This can be quite frightening. Think about it, you think to yourself "I wonder what they are outside of work?"
And then you discover they are nothing. It is kind of like looking at a totally empty canvass and having no paintbrushes available.
Now like I said, having an open mind is very important in life. But I've discovered in the past 18 months or so that even when people are empty, narrow minded, have no personality, no morals, are robotic and the only visible aspect of their character that you actually see is when they are kissing backsides and that is it. They will ALWAYS be like that. No matter what happens in life, that is all that they will ever be. There could be paintbrushes available-you could give them all the paint brushes in the world but they will always be the same. Sometimes narrow minded people will forever remain just that and it is a horrible thought. That some people are beyond saving and in some cases, don't even deserve to be saved.
A breath of fresh air, an open mind. It sounds so simple. But sometimes it can be so difficult to get.
But for me, not anymore.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Succeed or Fail
You always hear people when they see someone better off then they are say something along the lines of "He's so lucky, he has everything. A beautiful woman, a nice house and car, a great job. I wish I was him".
etc etc etc...
And going back to what I have previously stated before that you have to be some kind of a jerk and an idiot to get ahead in life, to get the things you want. You have to treat girls like shit to get them in the first place.
etc etc etc...
I wanted to state a point in relation to all that and that is that there are some people that no matter how talented and hardworking they are-they have some kind of self destruct thing inside them that stops them from succeeding in life. I think that there are people with just a load of self destruct buttons inside them that they maybe subconsciously press all the time and that they are always doomed to fail or worse. And if they do somehow succeed then it's something that they can't handle Whether they feel like they don't deserve it or it's something else, I don't know but just look at all the famous people who end up going half insane or even worse because of succeeding in whatever it is that they do. It might be because they can't handle the fame or it could be something more deeper than that.
When I was in school, one of the subjects I chose to do was Business Studies. Not that I cared for the actual subject, I only did it because I knew that in some lessons you got to go out during lesson time to do market research. When I left school, my Business Studies tutor Mr Wilson signed my leaving book and wrote "Don't let yourself down. You deserve to succeed".
Sometimes I think that I press self destruct buttons too. Sometimes, I don't believe that it's true and I will become a better person. I really don't honestly know what to believe at the minute but I might find out which way life is going to go in the next few months or so.
etc etc etc...
And going back to what I have previously stated before that you have to be some kind of a jerk and an idiot to get ahead in life, to get the things you want. You have to treat girls like shit to get them in the first place.
etc etc etc...
I wanted to state a point in relation to all that and that is that there are some people that no matter how talented and hardworking they are-they have some kind of self destruct thing inside them that stops them from succeeding in life. I think that there are people with just a load of self destruct buttons inside them that they maybe subconsciously press all the time and that they are always doomed to fail or worse. And if they do somehow succeed then it's something that they can't handle Whether they feel like they don't deserve it or it's something else, I don't know but just look at all the famous people who end up going half insane or even worse because of succeeding in whatever it is that they do. It might be because they can't handle the fame or it could be something more deeper than that.
When I was in school, one of the subjects I chose to do was Business Studies. Not that I cared for the actual subject, I only did it because I knew that in some lessons you got to go out during lesson time to do market research. When I left school, my Business Studies tutor Mr Wilson signed my leaving book and wrote "Don't let yourself down. You deserve to succeed".
Sometimes I think that I press self destruct buttons too. Sometimes, I don't believe that it's true and I will become a better person. I really don't honestly know what to believe at the minute but I might find out which way life is going to go in the next few months or so.
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