Monday, March 26, 2007

Kicking Spheres, Winning Smiles

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BruNotts was a blast. We didn't really consider our football team - ridiculously named the A-Team (no, not the theme song, please) - to have any chance at all going through the group stage. In four groups of six, we had Santos (two years champions) and Palmeiras (a really strong team) in the same group, Group B. There were also three other teams which all consisted of Uni people. So us consisting of entirely A Level students, we had odds stacked against us. People even said to us we were in the Group of Death.

First game in, We won with a convincing performance, scoring four goals against one. That settled a bit of nerves, but we knew we still have Santos, Palmeiras and two other teams we don't know about, all to play against. In the next match against Palmeiras, it was a pretty tense affair, and one which we lost 2-1, all three goals scored from the penalty spot, and after we took the lead in the first half.

That kinda brought us back down to Earth. We knew we had to win the next three matches to get through, because Palmeiras and Santos would almost surely win all their coming games.

And sure enough, we won the next two matches.

Our final group game was against Santos, one of the strongest teams in the tournament. Being the underdogs, we had some support from the audience. Even Palmeiras gave us some pointers before the match on how to deal with Santos's dangers and exposing their weaknesses. That was a massive help. They warned us that Santos would play rough and hard, and would try to intimidate us in an intense physical battle.

The match itself was quite tense. Santos were definitely very physical, aggressive and violent. Eric injured his hand when one of the Santos players blatantly shoved him against the wall. We were being tackled, tripped, pushed and shoved for most of the game, but we managed to play our game. When Eric got injured, I came on and subbed him. It was a good albeit short game for me, although I did also get shoved against the wall and bruised my elbow. But I just ignored it and played on. One player even elbowed me in the face. Of course, by the time I went on, we had already scored two goals courtesy of Dave and Hanif, both screamers from distance.

After the final whistle was blown, we were just elated. We managed to do something we thought was next to impossible before we even played a game. We were celebrating, jumping over each other, shaking hands, huddling, all that team stuff. We got through to the quarter-finals.

Disappointingly, we got knocked out by White Knights by conceding two soft goals after scoring the first goal. To my judgment we were better in the game. We could've got into the semi-finals, where we would've played against Senna, which were the finalists. Although Senna were technically superior to us, it would've been great to be in the semi-finals.

Anyway, we still have at least three years here, so BruNotts is still there for ours to get :P

Signing out

Over and out

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Waiting Smiles, Faking Lines

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I have just realised, I've not had a proper blog entry in quite a while. It's either a blog about vegetarianism and veganism, or the story-in-progress I'm doing right now. So, just to vary the monotony of things, I decided to blog about what have been going on today.

Not much...

Except...

I was supposed to have a five minutes meeting with my tutor, Mr Fanning, which turned into a three-hour run-around. When I got to his office, it wasn't bad. My reports were good, except for the fact that I can be quiet in class (yes, I am quiet in class :P I listen a lot more than most people. Hahaha) and that Mr Woodling (the pyromaniac tennis-freak who likes to think he's a chemistry teacher) thinks I'm not pushing myself hard enough. I got either a four or five out of five on each of the bars on every subject, except Mr Woodling's bar for progress. He said mine was just satisfactory. Which is rubbish. I've not really progressed much at all in Chemistry. I might give up Chemistry next year. And take AS Theatre Studies. Should be fun :D

The meeting with Mr Marshall about Oxbridge English was fun (note: sarcasm is defined as a sharply ironical taunt, sneering or cutting remark, often with a tinge of irony). He basically said (after reading along the lines) that I should give up and look for other universities. Or that I should read two thousand books for the next year before the interview. The thing is, one thing that is going for me is the fact that I've got so much potential. Even though I haven't read as much as the other lads, I argue and make critical points better than most in my essays. And that's before considering I didn't take literature for O' Levels. Well, that could work for or against me. Mostly against me, I assume.

UCL maybe? AAA... Durham, Warwich... AAA... I'm fairly confident I could get AAA. Seriously, I do. I'm doing pretty well in English. Pure Maths and Mechanics is just a cruise. Physics needs a bit of work, but an A is not that out of reach. I'm doubtful about Chemistry... Anyway, if I don't get AAA, please do taunt me and make fun out of me. That'll teach me a lesson for being overconfident. Ho ho. Ha.

What I need now is sleep. No, I can't. I gotta pack. Moving houses is just a bit of a bother, really. Just as I was getting comfortabe with my ensuite (if that's how you spell it) and my private little space, I have to move out. Probably into a double. And certainly with no ensuite.

And oh. I got into the finals of the David Harrison competition. I don't know if I should be bummed or happy. A mixture of both, I guess. What was essentially two hours of PowerPoint work and research (all the material is from just one website :P ) turned to be one of the best seven Maths presentations in the school. Hahahahahaha

What am I doing?! I should be getting back to the house right now and stuff all my stuff (ho ho, redundancy check) into that tiny little bag and turn on some aggressive punk rock music. Ha ha. Ho.

Signing out

Over and out

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Smashing Plates, Running Boys

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We had a massive foodfight in KH yesterday. And by massive, I mean huge. The whole school got involved. Probably about 400 people.. It started out slowly. Some people were throwing bread rolls and plums to the dayboys, who were 50 metres away. They responded, and responded big. Things took up pace, and as soon as I picked up and threw an orange, there was this 10 seconds of chaos when everything was just a massive blur and things got really nasty.

You could hear plates smashing and see bowls flying. For a few seconds I was a bit scared. Really. It was chaotic. Some people said they saw me throwing a (glass) bowl of rice, which I'm sure I didn't. If that rumour gets around, I'm gonna get into trouble.

After that ten seconds, everyone just bailed amidst the flying plums and oranges. It took us longer to run out the door because we we furthest away from any exits. So I literally had to barge my way out. I was stepping on foodstuff and trays along the way.

Back at the house, our housemaster told us to go back to KH and help clean up. Which we did. But we got back to the house pretty soon because there was enough people there.

Back at the house, again, our housemaster calld in all the sixth formers for an emergency meeting. He was asking people who were involved to own up and admit. I did. Geo did. And Sam did.

He asked us why we did it. All I said was "I was in the same situation as Sam. I got hit by something, I didn't even know what it was, and I just picked up an orange and threw in the direction where it came from."

We got gated for the night. Not bad, I guess. I didn't really have any plans that night. Wanted to go to the Churchill's house play, but can always go tonight. Sam was pissed off with the housemaster. He was saying "Sir, I don't understand this. You want to encourage honesty by punishing us? I don't get it." He argued a little more with the housemaster.

I feel sorry for him. Everyone who was involved should've felt obligated to own up and admit. I was imvolved only partly, but I owned up. Sam only threw a bread roll. He owned up. There were people who did much worse who didn't own up..

This picture is from when were cleaning KH..



Signing out

Over and out

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Horrifying Tortures, Wiring Brains

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I was reading Dibs’s blog, and thought “well, she didn’t get my point.” Haha. In a sense, yeah. Sorry, but I’m not just against the killing of animals. I’m against the extremely unethical, unfair and monstrous ways companies treat the animals.

I’m sorry if you think it’s okay that animals should suffer months, even years, of insanity-inducing confinement just so that we could have a snack. I don’t think it’s fair that animals should only be allowed to roam in a chicken coop full of hundreds or even thousands of other chickens on their own excrements and the corpses of other chickens. I’m against the way chickens are given chemicals so that they grow at an absurdly abnormal rate, so much that their own feet can’t support their own weight, and they become crippled because of it.

I’m against monkeys having their scalps removed and their brains connected with wires and bolts to a computer so that we can study how the brain works (yes, this is real. I’ll show you the video if you want). I’m against dairy cows being impregnated annually just to keep the milk flowing, and then have their babies taken away from them to be auctioned. I’m against cattle being castrated (having their testicles cut off, seriously) and their horns cut off so that when they go insane out of lack of stimulation, they won’t hurt themselves. I’m against them made insane because they are put in cages so small they can’t turn around or even lie down properly.

I’m against egg-laying chickens kept in cages no bigger than a TV filled with 5-7 other chickens. I’m against them being starved of food for two weeks if the rate of egg-laying decreases, just to speed up the production. I’m against sheep having pieces of their flesh being cut off to remove maggots because of infection while they’re still alive, just because the farmers aren’t responsible enough to properly sanitise and clean them.

Animals were not made to be tortured by human beings. Slaughtering them might even be the most humane thing we can do them, considering the amount of suffering they’ve been through before the slaughterhouse. The Prophet (SAW) did not live in a time of when animals are subjected to such suffering. Cattle, sheep and chickens were allowed pretty much to roam, and be natural. Religiously, animal torture for the production of food was never condoned.

The greedy nature of big companies (and even small companies) to meet the demands of the public for meat and therefore make massive profits, have taken away their morality and humane side.

And one more thing. If you think you can be an environmentalist without being a vegetarian, you’re so misguided. To produce a single hamburger, you need to use up enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles and enough water for 17 showers. 125,000 square miles of rainforest per year is being destroyed to make room for the meat industry. To produce a pound of meat, 2500 gallons of water is needed. To produce a pound of wheat, only 25 gallons is needed. Animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population.

I’d rather sacrifice my meat-eating, than have the torture of innocent animals on my conscience. It’s just a small sacrifice for me to make. And I love myself for it.

Signing out

Over and out

Changing Hearts, Rising Against

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There has never been a video that have ever made such an impact on me more than Rise Against’s video, ‘Ready To Fall.’ I’m now in the transitional state from vegetarianism to veganism. Vegetarianism was easy. I only had to give up meat. I didn’t crave meat at all after that. It only affected me in that respect. Only food.

Now veganism is much, much more intense. This will probably the single biggest change in my life. I’m not exaggerating. This is gonna be the single hardest change I’m going to make to my lifestyle.

Veganism involves a lot of things. It involves not wearing any clothing made of leather or wool, and definitely not fur. This means I will probably have to check my wardrobe for anything that was made from either leather or wool, and just not wear it ever again. If what I heard of Nike shoes is true, that means I have to give up Nike shoes. If you know me well enough, you’ll know I bought a lot of Nike shoes in the past. Damn.

I won’t drink milk and eat cheese again. I won’t eat eggs (I never liked them anyway) and I won’t eat fish. I will probably never wear sports shoes from Nike or Adidas, if I have my sources right. I won’t buy stuff in KFC, even French fries or mashed potatoes. I’m gonna have to check every single piece of clothing’s tag to check if they’re made from wool every time I want to buy a new shirt or anything. I’ll never buy toothpaste that doesn’t say ‘Not tested on animals’ or ‘Cruelty-free.’ I’m gonna buy all my shampoos and stuff from The Body Shop (which I’ve already done anyway, and I absolutely love it :P ).

Damn. Fuck-a-doodle-do. This is gonna be one fucker of a task.

I’m gonna have to change the strap of my Swatch for a start. It says genuine leather in the back. All day I felt like throwing it away. It feels disgusting now to have it on my wrist. I think I might have to buy new school shoes. It looks like it’s made of leather. Urggh..

I’m sorry if it reads like a list. I kinda am making a list for myself, of what to do and what not to do.

I’m proud that the kind of music I listen to, is actually very much associated with veganism, radicalism and environmentalism. Punk rockers like Rise Against, Goldfinger and Billy Talent are all vegetarians. So are members of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and Hawthorne Heights. Well, not all the members. There are other popular artist as well who are vegetarians. Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, won an Oscar for that), Jorja Fox (CSI), Sophie Ellis Bextor, Jamelia, Joss Stone, etc.

I’m not becoming vegetarian because one of my favourite bands is. I turned vegetarian because I believed in the morals of not eating animals. Having them as role models only inspired me more.

Any respect I had for Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles I had lost when I saw photos of them in fur coats. They disgust me now.

I might sound like I’m ranting on and on. And maybe I am. I dunno... I just hope this anger towards carnivorism never goes away. I can’t see myself eating meat now. Ever. If you ever see me eat meat, slap me in the face and remind me of this blog. I want to make this happen. All the exhilaration of knowing that you’ve changed for the better, and still changing for the better. And all the disappointment of looking back on how you were oblivious to all the pain and all the hurt.

If you wanna know why I’m so disgusted of meat, leather, fur, milk, or even wool, either go to peta.org.uk, 'cows are cool' website, or just ask me directly.

Signing out

Over and out

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Hating Persons, Wishing Impossibilities

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I had just watched Rise Against’s ‘Ready To Fall’ video yesterday. And it really made a great impact on me. The video itself was very powerful, sad and eye-opening. If you haven’t seen in, please do. It’s in my multiply videos page, titled ‘Rise Against – Ready To Fall.’ Trust me, it’ll be one of the most eye-opening four minutes you’ll have in your life. I’m sorry if I sound like I’m exaggerating, but I can’t say I think I am.

If you have any conscience or sympathy at all, you’ll curse at our own cruelty towards animals, and our recklessness with our very own planet. If you don’t feel anything after watching the video, I’m sorry to say you’re a heartless bastard.


I have to confess, I cried after watching this video for a few times. For four minutes I actually hated everyone in the world who didn’t make an effort to make this stop. Everyone, and that includes you. I’m sorry if you’re offended, but that’s how I felt for four minutes. Hating every single fur-wearing, meat-eating person on Earth. Don’t worry. I’ve calmed down. I understand it’s not easy to give up meat. We were born and bred as carnivores. I just hope people would make some effort in at least one little way or another. I in my small little way have contributed by turning myself vegetarian. And so have some people I know. I’m willing to contribute more to this, especially after watching the video. I have a long way to go before I can be a true environmentalist, or vegan. But I’m striving towards it.

Rise Against, by the way, has to be a band I respect more than most, by a mile. I have never seen such conviction from a band to stand up for the Earth. If you haven’t listened to any of their albums, pick up ‘Siren Song of The Counter Culture’ and ‘The Sufferer & The Witness.’

“Real revelation begins at learning. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.” - Tim McIlrath, vocalist for Rise Against

“The names of radicals are rarely etched in marble, but burn eternally in the hearts of man” – Saul Alinsky

Signing out

Over and out

Monday, March 5, 2007

Wasting Light, Waking Nights

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I can't sleep! I've been working all night. And my mind needs a rest. But my body is still on work mode. I'm hungry. Which means breakfast is vital. I always do breakfast anyway. I need to sleep. Quick. Now. If I don't fall asleep now, I'll probab- zzzzzz..

Saturday, March 3, 2007

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Just a random blog about CDs. A few lists really.. I’ve just started buying CDs in the past few months. Original CDs, that is. I used to buy bootlegs quite often in Brunei. Now I don’t think I can bring myself to do that. These guys make decent music for a living. Who are we to steal it from them for our own pleasure?

These are CDs I wish to get in the future. If you’re nice enough, you can buy them for me :P Haha

[ ] Explosions In The Sky – All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
[ ] Yndi Halda – Enjoy Eternal Bliss
[ ] Lamb Of God – Sacrament
[ ] Chimaira – Resurrection
[ ] Gallows – Orchestra Of Wolves
[ ] The Ghost Of A Thousand – This Is Where The Fight Begins
[ ] Comeback Kid – Broadcasting…
[ ] I Killed The Prom Queen – Music For The Recently Deceased
[ ] Sounds Like Violence – With Blood On My Hands
[ ] Isis – In The Absence Of Truth
[ ] Planes Mistaken For Stars – Mercy
[ ] Kylesa – Time Will Fuse Its Worth
[ ] Battle Of Mice – A Day Of Nights
[ ] Teeth Of The Hydra – Greenland
[ ] Burning Skies – Desolation
[ ] These Arms Are Snakes – Easter
[ ] Cancer Bats – Birthing The Giant
[ ] The Devil Wears Prada – Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord
[ ] Mendeed – The Dead Live By Love
[ ] The Gorgeous – Great Lakes
[ ] Ultra Dolphins – Mar
[ ] Trivium – The Crusade
[ ] Mastodon – Blood Mountain

Albums I got since I got here {UK) in September 2006, up till now:

Lostprophets – Liberation Transmission [8/10]
Coheed And Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Vol. 1 [9]
Coheed And Cambria – The Second Stage: Turbine Blade [8]
Coheed And Cambria – In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 [8]
Deftones – Adrenaline [7]
Deftones – Around The Fur [7]
Deftones – White Pony [8]
Taking Back Sunday – Louder Now [7]
System Of A Down – System Of A Down [8]
Mew – And The Glass Handed Kites [7]
Funeral For A Friend – Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation [8]
Funeral For A Friend – Hours [9]
Billy Talent – Billy Talent [8]
Billy Talent – Billy Talent [9]
Angels And Airwaves – You Don’t Need To Whisper [6]
Jimmy Eat World – Clarity [6]
Jimmy Eat World – Static Prevails [6]
The Ataris – So Long, Astoria [7]
Incubus – Morning View [7]
MTV2 Headbangers’ Ball: The Revenge [8]
AFI – Decemberunderground [8]
New Found Glory – Coming Home [9]
Deftones – B-Sides & Rarities [8]
Deftones- Saturday Night Wrist [9]
Lacuna Coil – Karmacode [8]
Tenacious D – The Pick Of Destiny [6]
Deftones – Deftones [8]
He Is Legend – Suck Out The Poison [8]
Incubus – Light Grenades [9]
Rage Against The Machine – The Battle Of Los Angeles [7]
+44 – When Your Heart Stops Beating [7]
Coheed And Cambria – Live At The Starland Ballroom [6]
The Blood Brothers – Young Machetes [8]
Alexisonfire – Crisis [9]
Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City [10]
Capdown – Wind Up Toys [9]
Aereogramme – My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go [9]
The Academy Is… - Almost Here [7]

Some of these are old albums, but who cares. Great music is still great music no matter how old they are. If you check carefully, you’ll know I’ve changed some of my ratings, for example, Billy Talent’s ‘Billy Talent II’ got a 3 out of 5 in my review. Now I’ve given it a 9 out of 10. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. I’ll update this from time to time. To include new CDs I will have bought. And trust me, I buy a lot of CDs.

These are my top twenty songs this week:

[1] Alexisonfire – We Are The End
[2] Rise Against – Prayer Of The Refugee
[3] Aereogrammes – Nightmares
[4] Yndi Halda – Dash And Blast
[5] Bloc Party – Hunting For Witches
[6] Isis - Dulcinea
[7] Deftones - Xerces
[8] Billy Talent – Perfect World
[9] Capdown – Surviving The Death Of A Genre
[10] He Is Legend – The Widow Of Magnolia
[11] Incubus – Oil & Water
[12] Vallenbrosa – The Hessian
[13] Adequate Seven – Gotta Stay Focused
[14] Airholes – My Epiphany On The Rebound
[15] The Audition – Don’t Be So Hard
[16] Lo – So Julie
[17] The Blood Brothers – Camouflage, Camouflage
[18] Captain Everything! – There Is No ‘I’ In Scene
[19] No Use For A Name – Friends Of The Enemy
[20] Rage Against The Machine – Take The Power Back

My top ten bands:

[1] Rise Against
[2] System Of A Down
[3] Coheed & Cambria
[4] Alexisonfire
[5] Deftones
[6] Billy Talent
[7] Incubus
[8] Bloc Party
[9] Rage Against The Machine
[10] Aereogramme

Worst ten bands. According to me. No offence to anyone who likes them. I used to like them too. But urm.. Now, I just don’t. For a few reasons..

[1] My Chemical Romance
[2] Fall Out Boy
[3] Evanescence
[4] Panic! At The Disco
[5] Good Charlotte
[6] Simple Plan
[7] Limp Bizkit
[8] Hoobastank
[9] Papa Roach
[10] Bowling For Soup

Bands that I hated (-ish) and now like:

[1] Lacuna Coil
[2] Trivium
[3] Lamb Of God
[4] Green Day
[5] Our Lady Peace

Bands that I liked and now hate/dislike:

[1] My Chemical Romance
[2] Good Charlotte
[3] Fall Out Boy
[4] Evanescence
[5] Hoobastank

Most overrated band:

[1] My Chemical Romance
[2] Fall Out Boy
[3] Panic! At The Disco
[4] Simple Plan
[5] Evanescence

Most underrated band:

[1] Rise Against
[2] Aereogramme
[3] New Found Glory
[4] Deftones
[5] Alexisonfire

Worst band name:

[1] The Devil Wears Prada
[2] My Chemical Romance
[3] Insane Clown Posse
[4] Dragonforce
[5] Cute Is What We Aim For

Best band name:

[1] Rise Against
[2] Angels & Airwaves
[3] Abigail Williams
[4] Deftones
[5] The Academy Is…

Worst song title:

[1] The Devil Wears Prada – Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over
[2] I Killed The Prom Queen – Your Shirt Would Look Better With A Columbian Necktie
[3] Lostprophets – Can’t Stop, Gotta Date With Hate
[4] Alexisonfire – Keep It On Wax
[5] AFI – The Rabbits Are Roadkill On Route 36

I’m just having fun here.. Haha. Making more and more lists..

Best song title. Some of the titles, you have to hear the song to know why:

[1] Rise Against – The Approaching Curve
[2] Jimmy Eat World – Lucky Denver Mint
[3] Alexisonfire – This Could Be Anywhere In The World
[4] Airholes - For You It's The Biggest Day Of Your Life, For Me It's Tuesday
[5] Bloc Party – Hunting For Witches

People I like to see fight against each other:

[1] Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) vs Kerry King (Slayer)
[2] Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) vs Shawn Crahan (Clown of Slipknot)
[3] Amy Lee (Evanescence) vs The Donnas
[4] Simple Plan vs Godzilla
[5] Panic! At The Disco vs Freddy Krueger, Jason & the monster from Jeepers Creepers

Bands that deserve and have gained my respect:

[1] Rage Against The Machine
[2] Rise Against
[3] Deftones
[4] System Of A Down
[5] Trivium

Bands I wished I didn’t use to like, and kill myself before I do again:

[1] Simple Plan
[2] Avril Lavigne
[3] Good Charlotte
[4] Fall Out Boy
[5] Evanescence

Bands I wish I had liked, so I can say, “Yeah, I liked them before they got really big”

[1] Trivium
[2] Lamb Of God
[3] Mastodon
[4] Bullet For My Valentine
[5] Dragonforce

Bands I had liked before they got really, really big. Now everyone just likes them, which is annoying. Haha

[1] Lostprophets
[2] Jimmy Eat World
[3] System Of A Down
[4] Incubus
[5] All-American Rejects

I can’t understand the hype about:

[1] The Fratellis
[2] Muse
[3] My Chemical Romace
[4] Jamie T.
[5] Evanescence

Asian bands that I do like:

[1] Lo (Malaysia)
[2] Love Me Butch (Malaysia)
[3] Sheila On 7 (Indonesia)
[4] Airholes (Brunei)
[5] [H8] (Brunei)

And Asian bands that I don’t:

[1] Padi (Indonesia)
[2] Flop Poppy (Malaysia)
[3] Spider (Malaysia)
[4] Ada Band (Indonesia)
[5] Peter Pan (Indonesia)

Local Bruneians bands I’d like to know more about and listen more to:

[1] Airholes
[2] Draconaeon
[3] Chomp Bucket
[4] Senjakala
[5] [H8]

Pop (or anything outside rock, really) stars I can stand (and like, in some cases)

[1] Joss Stone
[2] Eminem
[3] John Legend
[4] Gnarls Barkley
[5] Moby

And those I can’t stand:

[1] 50 Cent
[2] Britney Spears
[3] Pussycat Dolls
[4] Hilary Duff
[5] Paris Hilton

Okay. That’s a massive list of lists I’ve put on there. I know some of them are pretty harsh, and outright disrespectful. But that’s just me giving my opinion on which bands I like and I don’t like. I don’t mean to offend anyone. And I don’t mean to make fun of other people’s musical preferences. I don’t mind if you like My Chemical Romance or Simple Plan. Just don’t expect me to join in when you’re discussing whether Gerard Way should’ve never dyed his hair or if Simple Plan is the best punk band ever (oh hell, no).

Signing out

Over and out