maybe you’ve been brainwashed too

music, movies, books and comics

Why hello there

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 19, 2007

Yes, I’ve not posted here in over a year. It’s… unlikely to change. 🙂

Posted in meta | 2 Comments »

Crank

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 30, 2006

I have got to see this film. Not only does it have one of my favourite action movie stars in it, it looks pretty cool and funny too. Well, funny between all the shooting, car chases and blowing things up and such. 😀

Jason Statham seems to have been pigeonholed into the action star kind of role, but I think he’s been in some other less modern-day action hero type roles, which I guess I’ll have to track down and watch. It’d be cool to see him given the oppotunity to do something a little different though.

Posted in movies, video | 2 Comments »

Walking with a ghost

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 22, 2006

I first got introduced to the Tegan and Sara song “Walking with a Ghost” through a mashup by PartyBen that mixed it with a song by Mylo. It’s a really great song that I love (well, right now I do) and it’s also been covered by The White Stripes.

I don’t know what it is about this song, but it’s just so catchy and singalongable no matter what version I’m listening to.


PartyBen – Walking in Paris (Tegan and Sara vs Mylo)
~ official site ~

The White Stripes – Walking With A Ghost
~ official site ~ buy “Walking with a Ghost” on Amazon ~

Tegan and Sara – Walking With A Ghost
~ official site ~ buy the album “So Jealous” on Amazon ~

Posted in mp3s, music | 1 Comment »

AFI and their fans

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 10, 2006

AFI are my favourite band and have been for about 6 years now and I’m always struck by how dedicated their fans are and how much AFI seem to do for their fans. It may be because I am far more involved with the AFI fan community than I have been for any other band or musician that I have liked in the past, but thinking about the big music stars that I remember, none of them seem to do so much personally for their fans. Sure they might tour and stuff – but all musicians tour. Otherwise it’s just CDs and radio and while the music may be good, it’s not enough just to hear recordings. AFI actually concoct crazy mysteries to go with their albums for the fans to try and solve and investigate. They communicate with the fans using their messageboard, myspace and various other internet outlets. They take the time to meet members of their fan club before shows and often spend some time with the fans who stick around waiting after shows.

And I think it pays off. All the extra effort that AFI put into doing a little extra for their fans has resulted in a largely uber-dedicated fanbase who stick with them, even if some aren’t sure about the new direction their music is going in. A fanbase so dedicated that they frequently declare their love for AFI in a permanent fashion by tattooing it on their bodies.

Posted in music, video | 3 Comments »

Slip of the Tongue

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 8, 2006

This is a video directed by Karen Lum, adapted from the poem “Slip of the Tongue” written and performed by Adriel Luis.

And it’s great.

I can only really speak from the experience of creepy old men saying to me “You’re mixed race, yes?” as if they’ll get some kind of prize for correctly guessing that I’m both caucasian and chinese with perhaps a bonus thrown in for being incredibly skeevy. Then there’s the wondering whether you got into a university because of your ethnicity and gender and not because of your talent – perhaps they had some kind of quota to fill.

It’s something to think about.

Posted in ethnicity, feminism, video | 3 Comments »

Keanu Reeves on Global Warming

Posted by herdivineshadow on August 8, 2006

I think there’s also a video on the same topic by Alanis Morrissette somewhere, but videos like this make me think about the things that celebrities choose to draw attention to. I mean, celebrities are ordinary people who also happen to be well known by a lot of other ordinary people for one reason or another.

So should they feel obligated to draw attention to various issues that they feel are important or that other people feel are important and have asked them to pimp out?
Maybe. Celebrities are people like you and me and in a way, we should all be doing things to solve problems with the world that we feel strongly about and to help right various wrongs about the place – so they shouldn’t be singled out as someone to hold up as an example to the world. Being some kind of role-model or hero-figure has responsibility and can mean always being on your best behaviour in public and not having the freedom to just chill out and be naughty occassionally.

However, at the same time, they are famous. People have heard of them. People pay to see their films, hear their music or buy their books. Their jobs are based on being known by at least a few other people and using that power to get people to buy whatever product they are promoting – be it a film, cd or carpet cleaner. From the obligation that everyone has to do their bit for issues they care about, you could also say that because celebrities are in a position of a certain power, they can use this power to draw attention to things that the common folk might not think about too often.

I guess it could be annoying though, to have people wanting you to champion various causes all the time, so there has to be a balance between private and public and making time both for yourself and also for this kind of charitable action.

Posted in celebrity, environment, video | 3 Comments »

Other journal

Posted by herdivineshadow on January 16, 2006

I only really signed up for this blog so that I could get an api key for my other blog. So, go look at my livejournal.

Posted in meta | 2 Comments »