It’s a candle, what more can I say?

I don’t think that it’s a stretch to say that the music industry these days thrives on the sampling. But how much is too much? As I see it, it’s a moral and ethical question and the answer is subjective to each and every individual to make up his/her own mind. Personally, a bit from a track here and there is fine as long as the newly produced track is distinctively different from the original, if it’s not simply go and buy the rights to the sample.

So what trigger this thought, well here it is…Usher’s Love In This Club, heavy track and an instant hit (personally I don’t mind it, but don’t think it’s anything special) and produced by Polow Da Don (massive producer whom can be credited with the likes of Ludacris, PCD and Fergie). So anyways, the main distinctive beats of Love In This Club can be found as preset samples on Apple’s Garage Band software! Now, that’s hitting pretty low on the sampling scale if you ask me.

Check out the video proof inside

I came across Hop-Hop Video Models and as the name suggests it’s a website dedicated to all the ghetto booty ladies you’d find on the typical Hip-Hop music video. There’s a “aspiring model” section where I came across this chick Christine Cruz, which would have to have the worst ever modeling pic I’ve ever seen as part of her profile. Look at it…

WTF is she thinking, what is the photographer thinking? How could you ever think you’d look sexy sitting on a toilet! The only people I see being attracted to this are those sick people that find chicks urinating as sexually stimulating. More importantly you are covering your most important Hip-Hop video chick assest…your ghetto booty.

Even more funny as part of her profile she says that she will not do any nude work. Um, nude means no clothes right? So where are her clothes on the toilet pic that she happily posed for? Is she not nude? Do I fail to see something?

I always thought that it would be funny to have an uber sized mobile phone. Think about it, you’re in a busy hip environment where everyone has the newest and bling’d up phones, your phone rings (and real loud to get people’s attention) and you pull out your dinosaur-era brick of a phone out to answer it, imagine the looks you’d get, classic.

But this guy in China has gone way way too far with the idea. What he has done is supersized his own mobile phone, which from what I can tell is a Nokia 6670, into a 3ft tall 48lbs best, which is 620 times the size of his original phone. It’s a “fully” functioning supersized model “…with a built-in camera and internet access…” however it doesn’t vibrate, imagine if it did…a 3ft tall 48lbs vibrating beast, wow the power. Oh, if 3ft 48lbs wasn’t enough to scream out ‘”I’m not portable” the phone needs mains power to function. I’m not so sure that it would count as a world record holder as the worlds largest functioning mobile phone anymore.

This is what I did…

You could say I was bored one day. That’s all 5 cent Aussie coins baby, a little collection that the whole family has been accumulating over the years. These are the states for the coin tower:

Total Value: $89.60

Number of 5 cent coins: 1,792

Number of coins per story: 16 x 5 cent

Total number of stories: 112

Total height: 5 3/4″ or 15 cm

Diameter: 5″ or 12.5 cm

More pictures of my coin tower inside

IF there are any regular readers of my blog you may have noticed that I haven’t written a post for a while now, and it’s not by choice. I had no internet! There seems to be a problem with the phone line and seeing as I have a ADSL connection, no internet since late Friday afternoon.

It’s crazy how much I missed the internet, something so common to me and take for granted, I had no e-mail, no use of skype, couldn’t check up on my finances, unable to read the blogs and sites I visited on a daily basis, I seriously felt lost and disconnected. When I think about it I’m scared on how much I rely on the Internet, but hey it’s technology and it’s apart of our lives. So as the age old adage goes “if you can’t beat them, join them.”

I came across a recently launched website that has legal, that’s right LEGAL streaming of full episodes of TV programs and movies…how awesome is that. I was excited and keen to test it out, so quickly clicked my way to a SNL clip and found myself faced with in bold white letters “Unfortunately this video is currently not available in your country or region. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

LIVING IN AUSTRALIA SUCKS! (and I assume every other country would too except the USA)

Also I hate how they say they are sorry for the inconvenience because they aren’t, I mean if they really cared and were truly sorry they should work out ways to not be sorry like allowing the videos work everywhere and not thus not making living in Australia suck.

For anyone in the States www.hulu.com will be TV/Movie streaming heaven.

Pre-Smoothie

ice, strawberries, watermelon, blueberries, lemon sorbet & juice

My mum decided that Ricki, our faithful cross Maltese Papillon, after her 12 or so years of her existence (human years) deserved to be professionally groomed. So after a phone call to make an appointment, 1 hour grooming session and $60 for the service this is how our beloved dog now looks like.

Ricki’s looks have gone backwards hey? Aren’t professional dog groomers meant to make dogs look better the same way as you’d expect a professional beautician would give you a make over? I guess the groomer did accentuate Ricki’s Papillion heritage by making her “butterfly” ears stand out. But in turn making her look ugly. I’ve actually been nice with the before/after picture by only making Ricki’s head prominent, seeing as she’s on the wrong side of chubby and after a litter and her old age her breasts are prone to the Earth’s gravitational pull, and now all this is out in the open, showing. She used to be able to hide behind think hair same way the right choice in clothing hides a beer belly, but now with short short hair she doesn’t have that option anymore.

Oh well, it’s only hair and will grow back in a few weeks, well at least my mum is hoping.

UPDATE March 18, 2008: Mum is now over the denial period and is today referring to Ricki as “ugly”

Like everyone else (excluding dogs) I love fireworks, it nearly interacts with all our senses, the bright lights, the banging sounds, the odour of the burning gun powder, it’s all memorizing.

So then you’d expect me to be excited and one of the first people to sit their arse on a prime piece of grass along the Lake Burley Griffin in anticipation for tonights Skyfire 20. But frankly I’m not, I’d love to go and give my senses a explosive high and attempt to take some awesome pics, but Skyfire has turned into a breeding ground for underage (I’d normally say” teen” but kids these days start way too early and before they hit their teens) drinking and debauchery. Which in everyone that is over ages book is not cool. So my senses will have to deal with me sitting at home and doing not much else.

Oh, here’s a TV ad that attempts to encourages underage kids families to checkout Skyfire tonight.