Is It Just Me??

Is it just me, or has other people also realised this? Last night we were watching The Spy Who Loved Me, classic Bond film, one of the best i must say, classic one-liners, great car, awesome gadgets, but i digress...

The women from the by-gone 70's and 80's era were prettier than the women of today, hands down. And I will argue this point with anyone.

My interest into this phenomenon was prickled again by seeing Barbara Bach playing Anya Asamova in the film, and low and behold an amazing beauty not seen these days.
Ok given she is not a great actress by any stretch of the imagination, but those days, good acting wasn't needed if you looked like that.

A little while later, a lady by the name of Caroline Munro appeared on the screen playing Naomi, a drop dead stunner, in anyones books. I couldn't think of any other big movies that she has starred in, but none the less, search her on google and just see what a beauty she really is.













After seeing the movie I thought about it some more, and I got out my Dukes of Hazzard series' and started watching them again. Seeing the woman that i believe is the most beautiful woman that has ever lived, one Catherine Bach, the real Daisy Duke, not the silly blonde Jessica Simpson floozy, but the curvaceous brunette wonder.

Now I am quite sure that any one would agree with me that this woman is prettier than a mess of catfish (now if your neck isn't as red mine, that means damn pretty).
















These are 3 beauties from a bygone era of beautiful woman, there are many many more of them, if you watch any of the old classics, you'll see them, they're easy to find, they're the ones, when they come on screen, your jaw hits the floor and you can't believe your eyes, thats them.

I hope this might have prickled your interest, and that the few woman that read my mad ramblings, will spread the word among their cohorts, to bring this natural curvy no make-up look back.

Factoid #1

Well as promised, here is the first in the series of quite interesting facts.

HOW TALL WAS NAPOLEON??

Well it is quite widely believed that Napoleon was a short little man. Wrong, this believe comes from a combination of mistranslation and propaganda.
The autopsy, carried out in 1821 by his personal physician, Francesco Antommarchi, recorded his height as '5/2'. which is now believed that this represents the french measurement of '5 pieds 2 pouces', which converts to modern measurements as 5 feet and 6.5 inches (1.69 meters).

The average height of Frenchmen in that era was 5 feet and 4.5 inches anyway, so that means Napoleon was probably taller than most people he came in contact to anyway.
In fact he was taller than the average englishmen, who was 5 feet and 6 inches.

After Napoleon gained power, he imposed eight requirements on all french troops. In the elite imperial Guard, Grenadiers had to be at least 5 feet 10 inches tall, and his personal guard, the elite Mounted Chasseurs, had to be a minimum of 5 feet 7 inches. So most of the time the soldiers around him were taller than him, creating the illusion the he is in fact short.












The British caricaturist, James Gillray was responsible for the first damaging image of the "little" Napoleon, in "the King of Brobdingang and Gulliver", inspired by by Gulliver's Travels.

In the picture to the left, George III is pictured holding Napoleon in his hand, inspecting him with an eye-glass saying,  "I cannot but conclude you to be one of the most pernicious little odious reptiles that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth.'















One of the reasons for the survival of this myth is by the wide used term, 'Napoleon Complex', used to describe short people who make up for their lack of stature by being overly aggressive. There isn't actually any scientific evidence to support for this commonly held theory, neither is it an officially recognised psychiatric syndrome, and doesn't seem to occur in the animal kingdom.


I hope you all found this to be of an interesting flavour, and this made your mouths water for more.
Adios for now folks, until next time.

It's been a while

Wow so it has been quite a while since I have scribbled something on the walls of the internet...

Quite a few things have changed. working my ass off, going back to varsity next year, and riding as much as i can.
Yes thats right, I got my silly ass back into UJ. woohoo. Going to be a Lawyer one day. hell yeah

And riding yes, I ride mountain bikes now. Probably one of the most relaxing, exhilarating, exciting, hardest things I have ever done! I love it.

So this is just to say, that from now on, I am going to try my best to post twice a week. ONe random post like usual, and the second post for the week will be something with a bit more substance. Once a week I am going to give a quite interesting fact, a little something dug out of the the deep pools of knowledge, to remove the plague of general ignorance.


Just remember, if you're feeling down, do what stalin did.

OMG!! DREAM COME TRUE!!

Oh good Christ!! My wildest dreams have come true! And guess what the Japanese have done it again, wow i love those little guys!!

Yes your eyes do not deceive you, this is a human piloted mech robot.

The time has come for the age mechs, and all I can think is HOLY CRAP!!
And this thing is brilliant, utterly brilliant!! I mean even without looking at the features, just look at it!!

Now the Kuratas is being built by Suidobashi Heavy Industry, it is the vision of artist Kogoro Kurata and robotics expert Wataru Yoshizaki.

Now this thing is big, it stands about 4 meters high, 3 meters wide and almost 4 meters long, and puts in a hefty weight of 4.5 tons, thats big man.
Its controlled by a system that they have dubbed "V-Sido", they are claiming this is one of the most watched robotic control systems in the world.

Now this system allows you to control the mech with a touchscreen UI, and a Kinect based user interface. And the best thing I have ever heard, not even screen writers in movies have thought about this, a smile trigger. Yes folks a smile trigger, the guns fire when you smile!!! You can take out your enemies by smiling at them, why yes I do like that!!!

You can even control your Kuratas from your 3G smartphone, how dope is that?

Now the company lets you customise your mech, from different arm attachments, to different types of armour to even having a cup holder inside your mech, oh and faux leather interior!

Now the basic price for this bad boy is 1,353,500 US Dollars, and with the more fun things you add, the more the price increases.
And as things work in the world today, you can order this bad boy online!!!!

Heres a video the company made, of how to operate the Kuratas.

I believe that is the start of something big, I think Mr. Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear Solid series), is thinking to himself now, "Metal Gear is coming!"


Here is a link to their website, check it out, its awesome!!!
http://suidobashijuko.jp

BREAKING NEWS- DARKNESS WITHIN

BREAKING NEWS everybody!! Machine Head has released a brand spanking new video for the song Darkness Within from their monolithic 7th studio album, The Locust.

I just watched the video myself, and I must say, wow, what a great video. It really represents the song, and what the song is about, something that i find is lost in a lot of heavy metal videos today.

http://loudwire.com/machine-head-darkness-within-exclusive-video-premiere/

Theres the link to where you can watch the vid. I can honestly say check it out even if you're just a lil bit of a Machine Head fan.

olympic shit?

well it is olympic time again, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that doesn't really give to shites about it...

Now with the insane amounts of media coverage that it is getting (it is the biggest sports event in the world, given), one can't really escape watching an event or two.
But lets be honest, some of the events are bit shit.

Yes I am talking about events like, gymnastics, synchronized swimming and diving, equestrian cross country.

Now I am taking anything away from the athletes, they are amazing in what they do, I do have a lot of respect for what they do and how they do it.

But lets be honest, any sport where no matter what you do, or how well you do it, the outcome is decided by a panel of judges (old fossils from bygone  ages and times), who give you a score based on grace, style, and looks, where technicality is a small fraction of your score and not the whole score. I'm sorry but screw that.
some of those athletes do amazing things, really, but the fat fuck decides, no you're not graceful enough you loose. And I ask myself hey fatty can you do that, no I think not, now go back and eat you muffins again fatty...

I have the same problem with the synchronized diving and swimming as the gymnastics, bunch of tits sitting behind a desk deciding your performance for you, total shite i believe...








Now lets see whats left, ah yes, equestrian cross country.
The most obnoxious, snobby, up thighs "sport" I have ever witnessed in my entire life.
Now I put the word sport in inverted commas, because I cannot see this as a sport, it is a mode of transport people, goddamn, people rode horses for years, to get from point A to point B. But now it is a sport, but not a sport for everyone, to be able to partake in this sport, one needs to be one of the pseudo rich to afford this sport, spending millions of dollars on a horse, feeding, and taking care of the horse.
And then not the race this cash cow, or should I say cash horse, but to parade it up and down in front of judges once again, and then jump a few fences. oh please really, get a real job...

Now there are another two sport equally as stupid, but I'm not gonna write as much about them as well, cause it grinds me... firstly handball, looks like a sport made up by school kids during recess...
It's stupid, go play basketball or netball...
Fencing, really long ass needles, and you poke each other with them, really now, get real swords and fight it out, I would watch that actually...

Thats about it, I don't have much more to say about it.
Keep well folks, enjoy

big festivals on the horizon

So Download went off with a bang (no I wasn't there), and it's almost time for Bloodstock Open Air, and the biggest of the big, WACKEN (wish I was going to those 2)

Now I have unfortunately not been to one of these festivals, but goddman I would love to go.

One of my best mates, went to germany last year, the lucky son of a gun attended Wacken and Partysan, and the bastard is going again this year.

After he came back from his trip last year, after he told me all the stories, and chatting to a few other folks online about the festivals in mainland europe and in the UK, i have come to the realization that we as South Africans are just not used to shows of that magnitude.

Now what I mean by this, the folks from over the pond I chatted to, had no problem with the sheer size of these festivals, its what they're used to and what they know.

Now it's not that I'm saying we as South Africans don't know or to enjoy a good ol' festival, it's just that we aren't used to size of it.







When comparing our biggest festival which is Oppikoppi to Wacken. Last year Oppikoppi pulled about 13 thousand people (I stand corrected), where as Wacken pulled over 70 thousand.
Like my mate told me, at Wacken, if you don't get there 5 hours before your fav band starts you are barely going to make them out on top of the stage over the sea of people.
But at Partysan (which pulls about the same amount as oppi, i think a bit less), it was a lot better, everyone could see the band playing an so on...

Now this finally brings me to my point, South Africans, being as full of shit as we are. We like the smaller more personal shows, where the band can interact more with the crowd.
 Its strange we all here dream of going to these massive festivals, and we enjoy some aspects of it, but we still long for our smaller more homey fests.

Only thing I'm hoping for is that more of the bands playing these massive festivals, will come and visit our beautiful country, and see how we do a festivals...

The official 2012 Wacken trailer.

new music

Ok, so its been a while since i posted anything, or even checked my blog, and low and behold to my surprise,  I've got a 1400 views, hot damn.

But back to the chase, the thing i want to talk about is, 3 new bands that i have discovered in the last week.

let me start with Dutch symphonic metal band, Delain. Formed in 2001 by Martijn Westerholt (formerly of Within Temptation), at the time the band was just seen as a project featuring guest musicians and not as a live band.

The Band Has released 3 albums to date, and We Are The Others being the most recent.

Ok the second band is Halstorm. The American rock band, started by brother and sister Arejay and Lzzy Hale. Having toured with many rock and metal acts and being featured at quite a few big festivals, they are really making a name for themselves.

So far they have released 2 albums, with their latest being, The Strange Case Of...

Ok now the last band I want to mention is, Kobra And The Lotus. Them being the newest out of the 3 bands, and every1 is still waiting for the release of their new album.
Having played and going to play some of the biggest festivals in Europe, this band is really making waves in the metal world. The Band has been described by critics as NWOBHM, and compared to Iron Maiden and Iced Earth.

The Band is currently signed with Gene Simmons's record label, after struggling to get a signing after recording their second album.

Their second album is due for release in August of this year.

Now you may have realized, all of these bands are fronted by chicks, yes. Well i really like it, now I know there are a lot of metal fans out there that don't like style, but when you think of it, its pretty fucking awesome actually. A woman's voice over guitars and drums, has a total different sound than a man's. 

well hats off to the ladies for a great job!

new KREATOR

So German thrash metal giants KREATOR's newest album is almost due for release! :-D

The album entitled Phantom Anti-Christ, is their follow up to the 2009 release Hordes of Chaos.
Now I haven't done a lot of research on the album, like checking blogs for leaked reviews and things, cause I will be waiting for the June 1st release.

All I know the first single is called Phantom Anti-Christ, and they also have a cover of Iron Maiden's Number of the beast.
They have also posted the official video for the title track, Phantom Anti-Christ, the video plays off in a post apocalyptic world, pretty cool, can't wait to hear the rest of the album!!!

The album is due for release on 01/06/2012, it will be available on iTunes and Amazon on that date.

CHAMPIONS 2012!!

So finally after a long 12 year wait, finally i am rewarded! Finally I can now say, i also support an european championship team!!!

Yes chelsea has finally won its first UEFA Champions League! I can't believe after the disappointment i felt in 2008 when John Terry (the man, the captain, the legend) slipped and missed the all important penalty.
While i was watching this match that moment replayed in my head, over and over again, hoping the match would not end up in penalties once again, and when it did I almost died.

But the match is won, and against all the odds, we made it! the boys in blue are the champs!!!!

BLACK METAL

Now I'm not very silent about my love for southern- or thrash metal, but one sub genre of metal that I haven't really mentioned, for which I have a deep seated love, is BLACK METAL.

Now black metal started in the darkest corners of scandinavia, or let me say the black metal we listen to today. The term black metal was coined by british heavy metal band Venom, with their 1982 release of the same name.
The real black metal sound was really started by the swedish band, BATHORY, in the early 80's, with heavy guitars, and brutal vocals, Satanic imagery and lyrics

But for me personally BLACK METAL's true sound was really started when swedish kid, Per Yngve Ohlin (named himself DEAD), joined norwegian band MAYHEM. 

Mayhem is still seen as one of the pioneering bands for the norwegian black metal sound.

Now black metal, has always been steeped in controversy, getting more media attention than many other more mainstream genres of metal. 

If it wasn't for all of this media attention in the early 90's, Black metal would probably still be hiding in the dark corners of Norway.

 A lot of the black metal controversy in the early 90's, was from very anti-christian acts. Im talking about, church burnings, murder, grave desecration. But in the middle of this media storm of controversy was young norwegian, Varg Vikernes (Count Grishnak), from the one man band BURZUM, for Killing Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, and connection to multiple church burnings. He served a 21 year sentence (maximum sentence in norway) for his crimes.

Now the part that i find strange is, that in those early days, people in the black metal scene were all seen as satanist, and a lot of them weren't really, they did it more for the image of everything, it was the media that blew everything out of proportion that much...

but there are a lot of bands that have deep ties to satanism, especially from the norwegian scene.

Now if one watches the BLACK METAL SATANICA documenter, which focuses on more of the recent extremely heavy black metal bands, one realizes that a lot of the norwegians hate the christian faith for the fact that in the 11th century when crusades invaded scandinavia, they forced the people to take on the christian faith, and destroyed their holy places.

and their are quite a few bands that are very satanic, i do not argue that fact, but not all of them are. most are just anti-religous...

Now i agree with a few of the sentiments, not all of them obviously, but a few yes.

BLACK METAL is the heaviest most extreme darkest and most pure form of hate anger and evil that you will ever find in music. BLACK METAL isn't for everyone, there is only a select few people that can listen to it. maybe thats why I'm so attracted to it, the pure aggression of it.

MAYHEM DEATHCRUSH

BURZUM DUNKELHEIT

Pantera Reunion??

Now the blogs, forums and magazine sites have been going crazy the last few weeks with rumors of a possible PANTERA reunion....

Now the rumor mill has churned out that if this were to happen that, Dimebag Darrell's life long guitar slinging, axe wielding mate ZAKK WYLDE would fill in the guitar duties. Who else would fill in those shoes??

Now as most people know, before the untimely death of DIMEBAG, the PANTERA camp was pretty much divided. Phil Anselmo going on with his band Down, and Vinnie Paul and Dimebag starting up Damageplan.

So far both of the camps have been asked about these rumors, both saying that it would be amazing to play all the great PANTERA songs again, but both remain pretty mute about it actually materializing.

Now this is what Phil told the Arizona radio station 98 KUPD, when asked about the possible reunion with Zakk Wylde.

“[It's] wishful thinking. And I hate to say that, too. You know, really… I would… Put it this way: my door is always open. I love those guys, I love… Put it this way: I miss that Pantera feel, the feeling of walking out on that stage and performing those songs and having that massive audience just turn into this swirling whirlpool of bodies. That is something that is missable, for sure. Believe me, man, if that were a truth, I would tell you, but man, the truth of it all is it’s pretty much wishful thinking at this point.”

When he asked about what he thought, on whether a Pantera reunion is made less possible by the fact that some of the other surviving members are less open to it, he added.

“There has been a great distance since Darrell’s murder. I think Vinnie [Paul Abbott, Dimebag's brother and Pantera/Hellyeah drummer] is in his own place. I can’t speak for the man and I cannot speak for what is going on in his mind, but there are still wide-open wounds and I guess we have taken different paths to some form of recovery that is healthy for us, so I’m not sure where he’s at in his mind. But, once again, I have nothing but love for Vince. I think the media has a whole lot to do with destroying our relationship. But, you know, the media does, the media does, the media does. And in this day and age, with computers and what-not, you get instantaneous quotes, lines, messages, what-not, tweets and Twitter, etc. etc. etc. Someone could blog, someone could comment, someone could just say, ‘This is rumoured… Pantera are getting back together,’ what-not, it’ll go as a truth or come out as a ‘perhaps,’ maybe it’s areal rumour, this type of thing. Either way, before any of that ever has to happen, Vince and I would have to sit down, hash out whatever problems, whatever demons may exist, and thus far, that day has not come. And, once again, I will say, my door is wide open.”

This is what Mr. Vinnie Paul had to say about the reunion.

“I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] ‘the old man.’,” says Vinnie. “I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a Pantera reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years Pantera had be. We’re all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things. But the 20th anniversary of ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’ is coming — that was our best record ever. There’s a new song on [the upcoming 20th-anniversary reissue of 'Vulgar'] nobody’s ever heard. ‘You’re just piss in the wind.’ It’s totally Phil [Anselmo, former Pantera singer] — his attitude, everything that Pantera was all about. I’m really proud of it. I’m really excited to see it [come out].

Looks like its pretty mush said and done that we won't see a reunion... :-(

oh well, maybe it is a good thing, cause it won't be PANTERA without Dimebag.

Now with the 20th anniversary of arguably PANTERA's best album, Vulgar Display Of Power. They did something special, they released a never heard before song called PISS. Now the video for the song is the real special part. They asked fans to send in videos of themselves thrashing out and going mad to their fav PANTERA song, with a chance that their video would be put into the official video for the song, pretty badass hey??

Here is the video for PISS. Enjoy it kids...