"Do not attempt to change the past, but instead seek to change the future."

Merry Christmas one and all! It has been two days since Christmas Day has passed! The New Years is in sight! 2011 is closely approaching! This blog post isn't really gonna be that much of a personal post as I don't really wanna bore you with the details on Christmas Day and also I wanna save all the personal posts at least for the New Year. So instead view this post as a more philosophical post in light of the coming New Year.

The quote in the title is the main topic I want to discuss in this post. It's a pretty straightforward quote. What the author was trying to say is that instead of looking at the past and trying to change it, focus on your future and try to make sure that it doesn't become similar to your past. It brings about a few good questions; If someone changed their past, is it a good thing? Can focusing on the future impede someone's ability to stay in the present? Could someone's influences in the past affect the outcome of their future? All these questions would be hard to answer as there are hundreds, if not thousands of possible answers to each one. And on top of that everyone's experiences in the past are completely different; no single event can be exactly the same. With New Years looming, my thoughts have turned to the year that has been 2010, and subsequently the quote brought about in the title. Has is been a good or bad year for myself? Have I gained or lost anything this year? Have I gained anything from experiences that have occurred to me this year? Can I learn from any mistakes this year or will they happen again in 2011? (These questions being the key reason why this blog is quite philosophical and wordy). I can't properly answer these questions as we would probably both be here for a while (you, who's reading the post, and me, who's writing the bastard thing), however I will try to summarise my 2010 for you now. It has had its ups and downs. I gained someone this year who I cared about very much. Then as quickly as they came into my life, they left never to return back into my life. I didn't do as well in my exams as I would have hoped, but I got into university. I've lost many friends who meant a lot to me, but in the process I made many great new ones (both at home and at university). And most significantly in my life, my emotions got the better of me to the point that they hindered my life. I can safely say that I have gained most of my control over these emotions back and I am (partially) back to my old self. I can't really think of anything else without sounding more personal or by writing too much more. So I shall end this section by saying: 2010 has taught me a lot of things:

• How important to me family and friends are.
• How to keep myself in control of my emotions.
• More about myself as a person. And most importantly: the errors that bring pain and sadness to my life.

Its with these things that I go into 2011 hoping to attempt to try and better myself and become a better person than I have been this previous year. So as the quote states, I will start to "seek to change the future".

I hope that whole thing made some sense to someone out there. I kinda kept writing and didn't stop to check or anything. So there may be mistakes and sentences that don't make sense but hey, just go with the flow.

I'm gonna finish this bog post not with a recommendation as I normally do. But rather I will leave you with two bands that have shaped me into the person I am now. Those two bands being Nirvana and The Doors. This year saw me grow to love this bands who shaped their respective genres of rock and the generation that experienced them. Nirvana I have grown to love not only because of their great music but also because how I have come to see Kurt Cobain as one of my heroes. As he experienced things similar to me in his childhood, I feel I can relate somewhat to Cobain. As quoted in one of my previous posts, Cobain said "Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art." This for me sums up Cobain. He used the tragedies and experiences of his past childhood and used them to write some of the great songs that Nirvana performed. The Doors has been a very recent love of mine. I didn't start listening to The Doors properly till I got to university and as soon I listened I realised their brilliance as a band. The Doors fused different types of genres such as soul, funk, jazz, blues, country and western, rock, psychedelic rock and in some cases swing, to create a truly unique sound for their time. With Jim Morrison's smooth yet savage voice leading the way, The Doors (alongside Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple and Cream) shaped rock history forever and became one of the great classical rock bands of the 60s.

That's it for the blog post this week. Next one will be next week and in the New Year. So I'll leave you with the brilliant Touch Me by The Doors and the incredibly beautiful Come As You Are (Unplugged) by Nirvana. Enjoy.

Touch Me:


Come As You Are (Unplugged):


So till next Monday and next year. Hope you all have a top week. Stay safe. And I'll see you all in a week.
Much love and have a Happy New Year!
E.
x

"Think from outside the box, collapse the box and take a fucking knife to it."

Fuck me! It's been a long time since I've written one of these! Well as you can very well see, it is one of my blogs. It's coming up to almost over 3 months since I wrote my last blog. It seems like a lifetime ago now. I will make an effort to try and carry on writing these...promise :)
The reason for the sudden end to my blogs. Honest answer: I've been a very busy person. Between going into Uni, doing essays, going out on the toon, lazing about the flat and sleep, I haven't ever really enough time to sit down and write one of these blogs, well I say I haven't but I just can't think of: A. a reasonable excuse, and B. a believable one. But I have recently been rereading previous blog posts and I'd thought I'd give the whole thing another shot.


Little explanation about the quote. It's a quote by Banksy, the elusive and brilliant street artist, whose artwork for the past couple of months has fascinated me. Quote basically sums how I feel about my thought processes and the such. And I thought I'd pass it on to anyone who was interested. Don't have a clue what I'm on about? Well to be honest neither do I but I'll try and explain what I think I'm on about...if that makes sense. Basically when we think about things whether it be the past, present, future, work, friends, family, etc. we shouldn't have to think about it in a linear way, i.e. I did this mistake in the past and this then horrible thing happened. In this analogy your thoughts are the box, and so you must do as Banksy says: "Think from outside the box, collapse the box and take a fucking knife to it." In other words, all those linear thoughts, and I'm mainly aiming at the negative ones, take that knife and stick it to them. What I'm trying to say is: think more positively, don't let the negative linear thoughts take control of you and pull you down. Instead get rid of them and start to think much more positively.


Dunno if any of that actually made a whole lot of sense. It probably didn't. I'm pretty sure it did. Do you? Anyone?


So how have I been since the last blog? In a nutshell, pretty awesome. Uni's going great; going out plenty of nights, getting plenty of sleep, going to gigs every so often (saw Alexisonfire back in November, fucking outstanding performance and such a great night), getting work done (makes a change), met some more fucking awesome people who I'm glad I'm friends with, sorted out who I'm living with next year just need to start viewing houses now and I'm generally having a fucking awesome time. I'm currently back at home for Christmas. It's both nice and weird at the same time. Been living pretty much next door to city centre for the past 3 months, now I'm a good 40 minute drive to town. Feels proper weird. On top of that I'm not used to the house, feels like I haven't lived here for years. Couldn't remember where half the stuff I've needed today was kept. There are many things, however that I am looking forward to. Seeing all my friends being jointly at the top. Can't wait to just spend time with them all. Catch up on everything I've missed for the past couple of months and generally just have a great time with them all. The other thing jointly at the top is spending time with my family. As we all know Christmas is fast approaching and I don't know about all of you but my favourite part is the whole family sitting down for Christmas dinner. I always love it, every year. The whole of my close family, together, once every year. It's truly a wonderful moment. Other things that I'm looking forward to are catching up on most of my sleep, sorting out my room and just generally being back at home. It's the first time I've been home in such a long time. To simply put it: It's good to be home.


For the recommendations this time around I'm gonna recommend the songs Straight Up & Down by The Brian Jonestown Massacre from the album Take It From the Man and the brilliant Someday by The Strokes from the fantastic album Is This It. I'm also gonna be recommending the brilliant TV series Robot Chicken.


I first heard Straight Up & Down on the opening for a TV series called Boardwalk Empire (which I will most likely review in a future blog). My first thoughts were that the song was brilliant. And it truly is a brilliant song. The song is a wonderful reminder of all the brilliant bands and their songs of the 60s and 70s, the pinnacle of Rock, but it still manages to keep itself firmly based in the 90s scene. I've picked two versions: the first being the normal version of the song. The second version is the extended version of the song and the reason why I have included that is because not only is such a brilliant song but it is also a homage to the great bands of the 60s and the 70s such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles; at some points the lead singer sounds almost like Mick Jagger and on top of that they include the famous "ooo ooo"'s from the Sympathy of the Devil  and the infamous "nananana"s from Hey Jude into the very end of the song. It really really is such an absolutely brilliant song and I hope you all love it as much as I do. I've picked Someday by The Strokes because recently I've been listening to them so much. They truly are one of the great bands in recent times and this song for me is my favourite and, I think, possibly one of their best. It's off their first album Is This It which is just a masterpiece. Don't really have much else to say about it other than: listen to it and enjoy. The TV series that I want to recommend to you is Robot Chicken. I can't really describe it other than it is a series of 11 minutes sketches and that it is fucking hilarious. I can't really do it any justice so I'll leave you with two clips.


Well that's it for the blog this week. Next blog post will probably be next Monday. Thinking of keeping it as a strictly once a week kinda thing, makes it easier for me to actually get one o these done. So I'll leave you with the videos for Straight Up & Down (Normal & Extended versions) by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Someday by The Strokes, and Little Hitler and E.T. The Retard from Robot Chicken. Enjoy.


Straight Up & Down (Normal):



Straight Up & Down (Extended):



Someday:



Robot Chicken - Little Hitler:



Robot Chicken - E.T. The Retard:



So till next Monday. I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe. And I'll be back in a week's time.
Much love and have Merry Christmas.
E.
x


P.S. Sorry for the essay. It really has been some time.

"Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis"

Well here we are, I promised another blog post on a Saturday and even though it's a week late, I think I've kept to my promise. This is the first of many blog posts that I will be posting from uni.


Little explanation to the title. Well as many of will probably notice it isn't English (bit of a no brainer) and for those of you that are intellectual you'll probably know that it is indeed Latin. The rough translation, I believe, is "The times change, and we change with them." Feel that it's pretty significant to me cos this past week has been the biggest change I've had in my life. I'm at uni. I've been thrown into the deep end. And most importantly I finally got the brand new fresh start that I have wanted for so long. I can be someone new. A new Ed. I can be who I want to be, meet new friends, enjoy new experiences and have a fucking great time. And I'm glad I can finally have that new start. This new start links with the Latin used in the title. Times do change, whether we want them to or not. And no matter how reluctant we may be or how we don't notice it but we change with the times. Better or for worse.


So I am now officially a Northumbria University student and I am loving the lifestyle. Things are so much different here. You meet people who are exactly like you. Tossed into the deep end. Hardly knowing anyone or anything. It's such a different and exhilarating experience. I'm trying my best to describe the feelings and experiences and I'm really failing. All I could possibly say is wait and look forward to uni because it is the start of a brand new life for many many people. Since I've been here I've been out every night, only exception being Friday because I was absolutely shattered. So far I've been to a hypnotist show on Sunday which absolutely hilarious, to a silent disco on Monday, which I would love to do again, a roller-disco on Tuesday, a James Bond Ball on Wednesday and a school disco on Thursday. It has been such an awesome week. Loved every second of it. I have however found it that I haven't been as homesick as I thought I'd be. I mean don't get me wrong I miss my family. I miss my friends. I also miss the little things about both Hull and Hornsea. But I seem to have quickly adapted myself to my new life. And that means that most of my homesickness has disappeared. Not really sure whether it's a good thing or not.


Now for my recommendations of the week. This week they're all songs. The songs that I'm going to recommend are Sabotage by The Beastie Boys, Rise by Flobots and Underdog by Kasabian. All three are truly great songs. Sabotage is just your typical 90s song. It's dark, it's different and my god it's fucking awesome. Rise is a song that I fell in love with a couple of years ago when I first discovered Flobots. Flobots are quite a politically motivated band, very Rage Against the Machine-esque (not as heavy as Rage though). The song is brilliant mix of Rock, Rap and Classical music. This band is definitely worth a listening to. And finally Underdog. It's just a brilliant song. Never really understood the meaning of the song but all I can say is that it is bloody brilliant  song.


Well that's it for this week and for the first blog post from uni. So to finish off I'll leave you with the music videos for Sabotage, Rise and Underdog. Enjoy.


Sabotage:



Rise:



Underdog:



So till Tuesday. I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay safe. And you'll hear from me next time around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

Back from my hiatus.....

Well as you can most likely see from the title I'm back from my holiday in Spain and back from my hiatus, which lasted a bit longer than I thought it would.

I'm not going to be write much in this blog as I'll save it all for the Saturday blog. So this is going to be a very very short blog.

Summer is well and truly over. People are back in school. And I head up to Newcastle this Friday to start my uni experience. How am I feeling? I am both nervous and excited. I'm nervous because it'll be the first time that I have lived outside of Hornsea for longer than a couple of weeks. I'm excited though cos I'm finally just studying what I want (which is just History) no other shitty subjects. Just the one I love. It's also a chance to have a new start. Be a new me. Something I have been craving and wanting so badly for most of this summer. This summer has had its ups and downs. From the extreme happiness with my friends, most new and one who I have grown closer to, to the extreme lows that have looked like a resurgence of depression. Tried to come to terms with things, both in the past and the present. Realised I have made quite a lot of mistakes in the past. Wish I could change some, if not all. But would I be the same person if these mistakes had or had not been made? If I hadn't made the mistakes that I have would I know the friend I have today. Would I be happier or worse off than I am now? Of course I'll never know but it is interesting to speculate on how I might have turned out if I had or had not made the mistakes that I have made in my life.

Anyhoo I'm not gonna write much else for this blog. So till the next blog which will be resumed on Saturday I'm gonna leave you with a song by a very good folk artist called Johnny Flynn. The song is called Brown Trout Blues and in a way it sums how I've been feeling. About the mistakes and stuff. To me, the song is about how someone wants to change the way they are so that they can please someone else. But the person comes to conclusion that he is happy as he is and therefore shouldn't have to change themselves for anyone. Truly a brilliant song. I'll recommend some more Johnny Flynn in the next blog but till then I'll leave you with this brilliant song. Enjoy.

Brown Trout Blues:

So till Saturday AND the first blog from university. I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe. And I'll see you when I see you.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x

Going on a hiatus.......

Hello everyone. Gonna be a short post this week as I haven't actually got much to write about.


Couldn't find a quote for the title that I liked so this week I thought I'd just tell you what it is your getting. And that is that this blog post will be the last one for a while. I'm going on little hiatus. Main reason why I'm going on a hiatus? Well I'm off on holiday next Tuesday (which would normally be a blog day) to spain. And I will probably have little chance to write a blog for a while as I'll either be on the road or doing something. So this will be the last blog for quite a while.


So how's my week been? Well Tuesday and Wednesday were spent preparing myself for the horror, pain and suffering that would be results day. Spent the night before down at pub doing a pub quiz. Standard. Then came the big day. The day I had been dreading the whole of summer. The one day I both wanted and didn't want to happen. So how were my results? I got BBCC. I was 4 marks of an A in my history which I am gutted about. I was 17 marks of a B in my IT. I was shit at it though so I was coming to accept that was going to happen. And I got 100% in my Drama theory. I did fuck all to prepare for that and I got 100%! Fucking hell! So where am I off to? Well sadly I didn't get into Leicester which is where I really really wanted to go. Feel a bit disappointed with myself that I didn't get in. But, ah well, I got my place at Northumbria, where I also wanted to go. So I am happy. I'm off to uni! Friday was a day spent with 3 great mates. Even though I've known these 3 (they know who they are) for 2 months, they have become 3 of the best mates I could have ever asked for. They are simply amazing.


For my recommendations this week I'm only going to be recommending some music as I haven't really watched any films worth recommending. The music I want to recommend this week are the songs Try Honesty, Nothing to Lose and Saint Veronika by the brilliant band Billy Talent.


Started listening to this band about 4 years ago. Around that time they weren't fully recognised by most people as the awesome band that they are. I think they were virtually unknown. They are very similar to Nirvana. Not musically mind, but the subject for their songs are. They deal with songs about loss, suffering, unrequited love, breakups, bullying, child abuse and revolution. They are truly an extraordinary band. Try Honesty was their first song that I ever listened to and it summed up this band for me. It was so heavy and so different to anything I had listened to before. The singer's screaming was the first time I had heard it in a song. This would then lead me to listening to great bands such as Alexisonfire, Atreyu and Killswitch Engage, all of whom include screaming in their songs. With this song I instantly fell in love with the band. The song, according to the lead singer, is about how someone would blame problems in their lives on anything except themselves and so said person would need to Try Honesty. The second song, Nothing to Lose, is quite simply incredible. The song is about bullying and the effects it has on the victim. When I first heard it I could very much relate to it as I had previously suffered from bullying earlier in my life. The song is, as I said before, incredible. And it all comes to close with the lead singer screaming his lungs out. It makes you believe the pain and suffering of the character portrayed throughout the song. The final song, Saint Veronika, is just brilliant. Don't really know what it's about but I would seriously recommend listening to it. And if you like Billy Talent then I would seriously recommend listening to more of their stuff. They are an incredible and they have definitely been a band that has shaped my life.


Well that's it for this week. I'll leave you with  the music videos for Try Honesty, Nothing to Lose and Saint Veronika. Enjoy.


Try Honesty:



Nothing to Lose:





Saint Veronika:



So till whenever I post the next blog post. Stay safe. Have a great week or two. And I'll see you when I'm back from the holiday.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off........for a bit longer than usual.
Much love
x

"Your anger gives you great power. But if you let it, it will destroy you."

Another time. Another blog post. And most likely another rant from me.

Little explanation for the quote. It's a quote from the guru of meaning that is Batman, specifically the brilliant film Batman Begins. Quite a self-explanatory quote really and quite true in a sense. The first part of the quote talks about how anger gives you power, not exactly great power, but power nonetheless. The power the quote is talking about is most likely physical power, i.e. your strength. In a sense the that's true. When you get angry you, quite obviously, become aggressive and for most this prepares them for a fight or makes you want to punch something. So in that sense the quote is true. Anger does give you power. The second part of the quote is, again, quite self-explanatory. If you let your anger give you this strength it can destroy you. Basically if your angry all the time and you don't let your anger go, it will destroy you. This is something I feel I can relate to. Countless times in my past I've been angry and I think that if I never stopped being angry or I never found something to channel it, then eventually the anger would destroy me. I think therefore that if you do feel angry. Please don't keep it within yourself. Find something, anything to get rid of it or to channel your anger out. Because it can and it will eat you from the inside. And it really isn't a pleasant experience. I know the feeling all too well. And I would never wish anyone to have to endure that kind of ordeal.


In a weeks time I'll be jetting off to Spain with a very good friend for a very Spanish road trip and well earned rest. So this will most likely be the last Tuesday blog for a while. But till then I'm feeling pretty nervous and bummed out about Thursday - RESULTS DAY! I mean, FUCK! I don't think I've ever been more nervous for anything in my entire life. This day, for me, will decide my future for me. Whether I'm actually gonna be able to do anything with my life. Or whether I'm just gonna turn to be a fuck up. So yeah, I'm really fucking nervous for Thursday.


So how has my weekend been? Actually pretty good. After spending most of Friday in bed due to illness, I spent Saturday in town with a very good friend. Met some new people who I like immediately. All of them understood that I had the mental age half my normal age which is good. Meant they didn't find me too weird. On Sunday I went for a meal with family which was nice. Doesn't matter how much I may not like some members of my family, if I'm not paying for the meal then I'm happy going. I also got talking to someone I thought previously hated me. I turned out all we needed was a break from each other. And it's true. Felt good to talk to them again. Things may be heading into normality for me. Hopefully. Monday was supposed to be another band practice. But two members were missing, one was on holiday the other had gone to his grandmas and not told us. This left us with only half the band and therefore nothing to do. Instead of practicing then we spent the rest of the day down by the beach, in the sea, and two peoples cases sharing a shower together. Turned out to be a pretty awesome day after all.


Well that's it for the blog this week. So I'll leave you with the brutal and oh so brilliant Killswitch Engage with their song The Arms of Sorrow. Enjoy.


The Arms of Sorrow:



So till Saturday. I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe. And I'll see you when I see you.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets."

Hey guys! Back for another blog. Had a nice response last week. Made me feel good about myself and the blog to know that people actually read this. So for those who responded. Thank you.


Little explanation for the quote. It's a quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. Not a big fan of the guy. I mean for a start he was French. Only reason why I chose it was because of a conversation I had with a friend about revolutions. My view on revolutions and politics is very similar to that of Che Guevara, I mentioned him a couple of blogs back with regards to two films about him. Che believed that violence shouldn't be used to for political change in countries suffering from political curruption unless all other alternatives have been taken. In other words, violence must only be used as a last resort to create political change. And I pretty much agree with him on this matter. Some, if not all, governments are corrupt and are in need of change or reform. I feel that for some, not all, of these governments need change. And if all peaceful opportunities have been taken and haven't been successful then revolution is the only other alternate means. So yeh.....that's what I think. Shit! Starting to sound like I know what I'm on about. Must stop!


Just wanted to say a little bit here. At the start of the summer I was depressed. Really badly depressed. But since then, I've met some really great friends and they've really helped me feel a whole load better about myself and about life in general. They like me for who I am. And it is to these people that I just want to say THANK YOU! You guys have made me the person I am now. And that is a much happier person. Thanks guys. You really are greatest friends anyone could ever ask for.


So how's my week been? It's been pretty slow and boring to be honest. I've mainly just been sat on my arse watching random stuff on YouTube. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent just sat around the house watching anything I could find. It has been that boring. Friday was supposed to be a band practice day but I found myself being ill and therefore had to cancel the practice and spend the rest of the day in bed.


Now to my recommendations for this week. The film I'm going to recommend this week is The Prestige. And the music I'm going to recommend are three songs by the Scottish band Biffy Clyro; Bubbles, Living is a Problem and Saturday Superhouse.


The film that I'm recommending this week is The Prestige. It is directed by the incredible Christopher Nolan; who has dazzled us with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and just recently the fantastic mind fuck that was Inception. The Prestige is in the same class as the films just listed. It is superb. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are both fantastic lead actors. I don't want to ruin the film for you so all I will say is see this film. It is fantastic.


The music that I want to recommend this week are three songs by the brilliant band Biffy Clyro. I put a Biffy song in the last blog and I said I'd recommend some more in this one. The first song that I want to recommend is a song that I first heard a week ago and fell in love with straight away. The song is Bubbles. Well what can I say about this song other than it is brilliant. The guitar is top notch and to begin with the song sounds very Kings of Leon-esque. Then it all comes to with a fantastic chorus with excellent guitar in the background to compliment it. It really is a fantastic song. The second song is Living is a Problem. I want to recommend this song because it is just epic, which Biffy intended it to be. Again chorus is just fantastic. It is definitely a song that I would listen to again and again. And finally the third song that I want to recommend is Saturday Superhouse. This is just a good old rock song. Want to recommend this song because it's much more different than the other two and it is just the perfect summer song to listen to.


Well that's it for the blog this week. I'll leave you with four videos this week. The first is the trailer for The Prestige. And the other three are the music videos for Bubbles, Living is a Problem and Saturday Superhouse. Enjoy.


The Prestige Trailer:



Bubbles:



Living is a Problem:



Saturday Superhouse:



So until Tuesday. I hope you have a great weekend. Stay safe. And I'll see you when I see you.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"It takes time to get rid of all this garbage that I've been carrying around"

Hello people! I'm back for another blog. Gonna be a short one. Haven't got much to write about. It might also sound a bit like crap.


Explanation for the quote in the title. The quote is made by one of my heroes: John Lennon. The quote is quite self-explanatory. It takes time for someone to get rid of baggage, i.e. crap that affects our lives. The reason why I chose the quote is that, well, I've been thinking about one thing over the weekend; Time. Been thinking about it because over the past weekend I've been looking back at various stages in my life. Specifically parts which I wished I could change. There are quite a few parts of my past that I would like to change. But then thinking about changing my past got me thinking about "would I be the person I am today if I had changed?" I might be a completely different person if my past had changed. Another thing with time is that it is a bastard. The reason why time is a bastard is that it doesn't let you forget. Something that may have happened a month or 2 months ago doesn't go away it just stays fresh in your mind. It won't be until 6 months later that the thing that has made you feel like crap is finally forgotten. So to finish this rant, all I'll say is Time; you are the biggest bastard I have ever met!


I found out this weekend that quite a few people do actually read this blog. Just like to say thanks you who do read it. And if there's anything you think I should do to improve it or you just want to talk then you can always message me or something. Once again, thank you to all of you who read this. Always nice to know somebody does. 


So how has my weekend been? It's actually pretty good. After the great party on Friday, I had 3 hours sleep at 8:30 am on Saturday morning. Was absolutely shattered. And possibly still a bit drunk. That didn't stop me driving home with friends though! I then spent the day with good friends and had possibly the best pizza ever. Sunday was a relaxing day. Just sat around the house watching Fonejacker. Which has to be possibly the funniest and most clever program I watched in a long long time. The characters and situations that the Fonejacker had come up with are brilliant. Monday I went to town with some good friends and had a good day with them.


Well thats it for the blog this week. I'll leave you with the video for That Golden Rule by Biffy Clyro, a band that I have recently relistened to and love. There'll be a recommendation for this band in the next blog on Saturday. So until then enjoy the video.


That Golden Rule:



So until Saturday. I hope you have a great week. Stay safe. And I'll see you around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."

Another time, another blog. Not really in the greatest of moods so I will give this warning: this blog will be, not may be, it will be depressing.


Little explanation for the quote. It's a quote from the Joker in the great film, The Dark Knight. Basically I think that this quote is so truthful. And I can relate it to myself which gives it a deeper meaning for me. It's quite self-explanatory. I feel that what the quote is trying to say is that, really, anyone can suffer from insanity and all it takes to set off this insanity is "a little push". In my case, there have been numerous times where I have slipped away from sanity. Although I wouldn't class depression as being a mental illness like schizophrenia, dementia, etc. I would still class it as a mental illness and it's alarming and worrying to think that a large proportion of the population suffer from it. Relating this back to the quote, it would appear that all it takes for depression to take over is a little push. And as I said earlier, I've had these little pushes numerous times throughout my life. Events such as bullying, my parent's divorce, numerous relationship breakups and just general shit that has happened and has shaped me into the depressed, fucked up individual that I am. And the shit thing is, now, anything can push me back into depression. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't even have to last long. It just happens. And after ages of me trying to gain back some normality in my life. Something will pop up and fuck it all up. And I'll be back at square one. Depressed. Alone. And hating myself. And that is currently where I am at the moment. Back at square one. So, even though he is a fictional character and even though he is only in a film, the Joker was right. Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little fucking push.


At this point I would ask "How's my week been?". But as you can tell from my rant above, it hasn't been the best of weeks for me. I mean it started off well. Monday was band practice which was great. Tuesday was a lazy day which again was great. Then roll in Wednesday, when I got some news that destroyed all this. I'm not going to say what it was, it just shook me up a bit. Thankfully though I have a very good friend who is like a sister to me, she knows who she is, who was there to help me. I just wanna say thank you to you bud. Really means a lot to me. Thursday was a nice day. A good friend came round. We watched couple of DVDs and had a good time. Helped take my mind off things. Also treat myself to a takeaway pizza, mainly because I actually couldn't be arsed to cook myself any food. It was a very nice pizza. Friday was a good day. Went to a party got shit faced. Met some great new people. And I had a fucking awesome time.


Now to my recommendations of the week. This week I'm not going to recommend a film because I couldn't think of anything that I want to recommend. But there are three songs that I want to recommend to you. They are: El Scorcho and Undone - The Sweater Song by Weezer and Pretty Handsome Awkward by The Used.


I wanna recommend these two songs because they epitomize what this band are to me. Great. First heard them about 10 years ago and they've been with me ever since. Wanted to recommend these two songs because I thought I'd leave this blog on a higher note (considering the rest has been depressing). The first song El Scorcho is such an under-appreciated Weezer song. It truly is great. And the second song Undone - The Sweater Song is just brilliant. Can't really tell you the meanings behind the songs as I myself don't actually know. All I will say is give them a listen because they are great songs from a great band. The third song I want to recommend is Pretty Handsome Awkward by The Used. Recommended a song by The Used in my first blog I think. Well this song is another example of why I have to grown to love this band. This song is just brilliant. Again I don't really know the meaning behind it. I just love it because it is a great song so check it out.


Well that's the blog for this week. I'll leave you with the videos for El Scorcho and Undone - The Sweater Song by Weezer and Pretty Handsome Awkward by The Used. Enjoy.


El Scorcho:



Undone - The Sweater Song:



Pretty Handsome Awkward:



So till next Tuesday. Hope you have a great weekend. Stay Safe. And I'll see you Tuesday.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"I believe people will have to rely on music to get some kind of peace of mind"

Howdy folks. Short blog today as there isn't much to write about and also I, quite simply, can't be arsed.


As per a little explanation of the quote I've used in the title. It's a quote by Jimi Hendrix, one of the greatest rock guitarists that ever existed. Chose this blog as I've been listening to a lot of music that's been fitting my moods, i.e. Nirvana for my sadness and frustrations, Rage Against the Machine and Billy Talent for my anger, Dropkick Murphys to cheer me up, H.I.M. for my (past) romantic feelings, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Misfits and The Ramones for nostalgia, and Atreyu because I love them. And I tell you what: the quote by Jimi that I used is completely true. Music is the only form of media or art that can truly grant me a peace of mind. All I have to do is pop in some headphones, put on some music and I'm taken away from this dull existence we call life and I'm transported to a completely different place. Not only this but there's always a band for whatever mood your in. The list above is evidence of that. I'll finish this bit off by saying Jimi Hendrix was right. Music does take us to a peace of mind and my god it's a beautiful place.


So how has my weekend been? Well a mixture of good, slow and boring. Saturday I spent some time with two friends. Had a right laugh with them both and it was great. Sunday was quite slow and boring. A lot of emotions of the past month and bit came back and I will be honest, I broke down. Recently my emotions have been getting the best of me and it's not the greatest feeling in the world. I, quite frankly, hate it because I don't know whether I should be happy, sad, angry or just plain old not giving a shit. Monday saw the band meeting again and we are slowly making our way to being great. I think with a few more practices we will be great. Running with the name The Dropouts at the moment, but a new name has come up: The Dead Rabbits. Dunno what to be called yet but we will pick one eventually.


Well that's the blog for now till Saturday, so Im going to leave you with two videos of two bands that I have recently rediscovered and re-listened to. And I bloody love them. The two videos are I'm Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys and Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly. Both Irish punk bands and both amazing. Enjoy.


I'm Shipping Up to Boston:



Drunken Lullabies:



So till Saturday. I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe. And I'll see you when I see you.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself."

Howdy (I'm running with this greeting now on).


Little explanation for the quote in the title. It's a quote from Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors. The reason why I wanted to use this quote is because these past couple of days have been spent with some awesome friends, which I will go into later in the blog. The quote is pretty straightforward and it really doesn't need that much of an explantation. Basically the quote is talking about how the only way you can really be friends with someone is if you can truly be yourself around them and not have to put on a mask. This relates back to a quote I used in a previous blog about creating a personality. If you want to know if your friends are truly your friends then you don't have to put on a mask, you only have to be yourself.


So how has my week been? It has actually been a pretty awesome week. Tuesday saw me meeting up with some friends in town. Had a really great time. AND I got myself a Mighty Boosh Zippo Lighter, which I freaking love! Wednesday saw the first official band practice of The Dropouts (we're running with that name for now). We started off covering some songs such as:

• Maggie's Farm by Rage Against The Machine
• Smells Like Teen Spirit and Polly by Nirvana
• She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd
• Icky Thump by The White Stripes
• Anarchy in the UK by The Sex Pistols
• Feeling Good by Muse
• Beat on the Brat by The Ramones

Once we did these covers and had all become comfortable of what everyone could do, the other guys started the process of writing a song. We have the tune ready all we need is some lyrics which will eventually find their shape. Or it could just be instrumental song. Who knows. One Thursday I spent some time with a friend, who I've only known for a short while and have grown to become a really great friend. Had a really a good day with them. Friday was another good day. Went to town to meet up with a friend and see Predators. I thought it was actually an alright movie. Not something I'd watch a lot. But it was still good. So all in all I think it has been a pretty good week for me. Makes a change.

Now for my recommendations for this week. The film this week is Che - Parts 1 & 2. And the music this week is Beautiful by the Finnish band HIM.

The film that I'm going to recommend is Che. The film looks at the historical and iconic figure that was Ernesto "Che" Guevara. You may not know who Che is, although you may recognise the famous photograph of him, so I'll give a quick little description of who he was. Che was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution during 1953-9. Once the Revolution was successful he began aiding revolutions all across the world. This, however, soon led to his death in Bolivia in 1967. Che Part 1 follows Che at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution right up to it's end. Che Part 2 follows Che during his time in Bolivia right up to his death. The films are brilliant. For they portray Che perfectly. The films show you what made this man an icon. What made him who he became. I really do truly recommend you see these films because they are two films that I would gladly watch anytime.

The song that I want to recommend this week is Beautiful by the Finnish band HIM. I started listening to HIM a long time ago and I instantly fell in love with them as a band. I've only just recently started listening to them again and I don't know how I ever stopped listening. Out of all their songs Beautiful is the one that I stuck with the most. The song is great, the lyrics are great and it all comes towards a great guitar solo. Great song. Great band. Give them both a listen.

Well that's the blog for this week. Next one, as ever, is on Tuesday. So to finish I'll leave you with two videos. The trailer for Che - Parts 1 & 2. And Beautiful by HIM. Enjoy.

Che:

Beautiful:

So till next Tuesday. I hope you have a great weekend. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time around.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x

"You'll never find rainbows if you're looking down."

Howdy. (That's my new welcome.....for this week at least.) Gonna be quite a short blog today as I haven't actually got much to write about.


Little explanation for the quote in the title. I was looking back at the previous blog and thought that it looked a bit anti-love and quite negative. So this time around I thought I'd use a nice quote in the title. So I went with this beauty by Charlie Chaplin, the comedy legend of the early 20th Century and another member of my growing list of heroes. The quote itself pretty self-explanatory. If you're feeling down and all you want is to be happy again (in the quotes case if you want to look for a rainbow) then being down's not going to help. In all I think the quote is trying to say that if you want to get over whatever is getting you down then just stay positive (don't keep looking down).


So how has my weekend been? Quite boring. Saturday consisted of me cleaning up around the house in preparation for a BBQ the next day and then discovering and instantly falling in love with the genius that is Black Books. Seriously good comedy, check it out. Then Sunday was said BBQ. It was actually quite fun. Highlight of the BBQ was starting fires, putting stuff in the fires (including Lego, paper plates, plastic knives/spoons/ forks, etc.), lighting sparklers and then making some great photos with the sparklers (thanks to the camera wizard that is my cousin). Then Monday was spent cleaning the remains of the fire from the previous night and plenty of sitting around. Not much going on this week, except for Wednesday. Wednesday sees the first meeting of the still-unnamed band. It is very exciting. See what everyone's like. Then hopefully try out some songs together for the very first time! I'm really looking forward to it. It's gonna be awesome.


Well that is it for now. Next blog is on Saturday, as you should know. So for now I'll leave you with two music videos. The first video I love because it has a fight in it......involving clowns. The video is of course, Fluorescent Adolescent by the Arctic Monkeys. The second video is a song that I love and can very much relate to. It might also be practiced by the band which should be very good. The song is She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd. Enjoy.


Fluorescent Adolescent:



She Hates Me:



So till Saturday. Have a great week. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much Love
x
P.S. Watch Hand Banana by Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's fucking hilarious.

"The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye. The story of love is hello, goodbye."

Well I am back (and I really need to think of a better introduction). Been quite an uneventful week really. Apart from Tuesday which I shall go into later on. But other than Tuesday, I have been very very bored. There are only so many DVD box sets and games that I can get through.


First an explanation for the quote in the title. For once it is not a quote from Kurt Cobain. This time around it's a quote by the great guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. To me this sums up both how quickly life can pass us by and also how I've come to feel about "love" these past few weeks. The quote itself is fairly straightforward. The first half basically means that life can pass by us quickly or as Hendrix put it: "quicker than the blink of an eye". This might therefore give us the incentive to do more with our lives before they have passed us by as quickly as Hendrix suggests. The second half of the quote is, again, quite straightforward. I think that Hendrix is trying to say that love is very similar to life, in the sense that life happens quickly and that all affairs of love are also quick. I also feel that Hendrix is trying to say that love is never permanent. In that sense love is always in a "hello, goodbye" state, i.e. we gain someone we love (hello) and then we lose them (goodbye). I have kind of agree with this part of the quote. For a while now my view on love has been questioned. I dunno whether I believe love exists or not. Or whether it is something that has been created and has since been installed into us from a young age by things such as music, film, TV and books. I do believe in love for family members and friends. But I am starting to question my belief in true love. The love in which a future might be built upon. This idea I will also talk about in my film recommendation this week. This also brings me to something that was brought up whilst having a conversation with a friend earlier in the week. The unpredictability of love. Love, if it truly does exist, can either be the greatest thing in the whole world. The feeling that you have found someone who you share deep feelings with, that you may well have met the right person for you. It is an indescribable feeling. But then again love can be the worst thing that someone would ever have to endure. When a relationship breaks down there is nothing worse than still having feelings of love for someone and knowing that those feelings will never be reciprocated. Or the knowledge that you will never share that love with the same person again. I know the feelings only too well. It is the worst feeling in the world and I would never wish for anyone to have to endure it in their life. Sadly everyone goes through this feeling. It is like my friend so greatly put it: "The best love is, sadly, also the worst love." I would just like to thank this friend, they know who they are.


So, my week, how has it been? Well since Tuesday it has been really really boring. I have had literally feck all to do. Tuesday has really been the only highlight of the week. Met up with two friends in town which was good. Spent some time driving around Hull listening to Violent Pornography by System of a Down (to the enjoyment of the people in the cars next to us). We then parked up and spent a good half an hour exploring the many aisles of Toys R Us. Highlight of the trip: arranging two toys to make it appear that a dragon is raping a shark. Lovely image for any poor child to come across. It was a good day with good friends and definitely something I would want to happen again. The rest of the week has been rather boring. Mostly been spent watching DVDs, reading my book, (once again) playing Lego Star Wars and organising songs for the band to try out. Last week, I spoke about someone I fear I have lost. And I said that if they were happy then I would leave them alone. Well it would seem that they are much happier without me in their life. So as I said, I will not bother them anymore. All I have ever wanted has been for them to be happy and it would appear they are now much happier, which makes me happier.


Now to my recommendations for this week. The film this week is (500) Days of Summer. And the music is three songs by the band Atreyu.
The film that I want to recommend is (500) Days of Summer. I always wanted to see this film as it had gotten very good reviews and I had heard it was really good. This film is not only good, but it is also very funny and it accurately portrays the feelings during and after the breakdown of a relationship. The amount of times I said to myself "that is so true" or saw similarities with previous relationships, as well as their aftermaths, during this film is countless. Once more you feel for the male character, played brilliantly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you sit there and you want things to work out for this character. The films switches constantly between during the time of relationship and after it has ended to show you the change in his character. It brings about the question of "is love real?" which is why I mentioned it earlier. It questions the beliefs of fate and destiny. It also questions whether there is such thing as one true love; whether there is someone out there that is meant for you. Or whether it is something fabricated by media such as music, films and TV. It is truly a great film and I would seriously recommend anyone to see it.


The music that I am going to recommend this week is three songs by the band Atreyu. Now this band is a lot heavier than the other bands I recommended. But I recently just started listening to them again. And man have I missed them. First listened to this band about 2 years ago. The first song I'm going to recommend is Ex's and Oh's. This was their first song that I ever listened to and it is just brilliant. Even though the song is about the singer's dealings with alcoholism, the song's lyrics can also be attributed to the breakup of a relationship. The lyrics are truly great and the song then comes to possibly one of my favorite guitar solos in any song. This song started a love for this band that has recently been reignited. The other two songs are off their latest album The Congregation of the Damned, they are called Storm to Pass and Lonely. They are two truly great songs and once again they furthered my love for this band. I would really recommend this band to anyone. They really are great.


Well that's the blog for this week. Next one will be next Tuesday. So to finish I'll leave you with four videos. The trailer to (500) Days of Summer. And the music videos for Ex's and Oh's, Storm to Pass and Lonely. Enjoy.


Trailer:



Ex's and Oh's:



Storm to Pass:



Lonely:



So till next Tuesday. I hope that you have a good weekend. Stay safe. And I'll see you next time around.
This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.
Much love
x

"Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art."

Well I'm back for another blog. Haven't really got much to say, although I do have some good news which I will tell you about a little later on.


Beforehand a little explanation for the quote I've used in the title. It is another quote by my hero and icon, Kurt Cobain. Now I know I went on about him in my last blog but since then all I have thought about is how he has stood out amongst other many people. The thing with Cobain is, I see him as being my hero. I see him this way because he went through problems similar to mine and he is very much the only person I can think of who could successfully channel his problems and the feelings that had spawned from these problems out to a general public through his music and this made people more aware. And, to me, that's what makes him such and iconic and tragic figure. Cobain went through his problems. He made people aware of them through his songs. But sadly it would appear that his problems and emotions got the better of him. And Cobain very tragically killed himself in 1994. Now back to the quote and it's very self-explanatory in its meaning. The tragedies that Cobain went through in his life influenced him. And he took those tragedies and formed them into his art, or what we would know as the great band that was Nirvana. Cobain stands out amongst other rock stars as he was genuinely all about the music and only wished to get his feelings and emotions across to a more general audience. He was truly a genius and master of his art. And he will always have a place in my life as an icon and a hero.


Now for my news. A band is in the works. Myself and four friends will hopefully soon be forming a band. We haven't got an official name yet. However, I have thought of two names already:

1. The Dropouts.
2. The Undesirables.

We should be meeting up some time soon and music shall be made. We gonna try a cover of Maggie's Farm originally by Bob Dylan, but we're going to do the Rage Against the Machine version. It's all very, very exciting.


How have I been feeling since last time? Again been up and down. Thought certain aspects of my life would get back to normal. I turned out to be wrong. I fear I've lost someone who was important to me. The reason why: because I let my emotions get the better of me. I haven't spoken to this person in fair few weeks. And stupidly I thought I could just talk to them like nothing had happened. As I said, I was wrong. All I want is for them to be happy. And if they're happier without me then maybe I should just let go and leave them alone. It would probably be for the best. Who knows? Other than this, I've been alright. Saw Inception last Thursday. It was truly a phenomenal film and I would highly recommend seeing it. Since then it's been lie-ins, plenty of book-reading time and time well spent wasted on Lego Star Wars on the PS2. Feeling pretty optimistic for the future, especially with the band. So everything should be alright. I hope.

Well that's it for now. No recommendations this time as they'll be for later in the week with the next blog, which will be up on Saturday. So keep your eyes peeled.

So for now I'll leave you in the very capable hands of Rage Against the Machine with their cover version of the famous Bob Dylan song Maggie's Farm. Enjoy.

So until Saturday. I hope you have a great week. Stay Safe. And I'll see you next time.

This is me, Edward Thompson, signing off.

Much love

x