Sunday, February 27, 2011

Trials And Tribulations

Currently, I'm staring into the maw of the worst monster ever. Actually, there may be worse things in the world, but for a student, its the worst nightmare.

Yes, you got it right, EXAMS!!!!!! Could anything be worse. Hmm . . .difficult question, but I'm sure getting struck with food poisoning a couple of days before said exams will definitely qualify

Yeah, so I'm in a really f--, err, bad position. So keeping it short, since I'm really tempted to spew words I'd rather not on my blog, the fact remains that there will be no new posts for about three weeks. But be ready for a literal barrage afterwards.

In the meantime, pray that I get through this and survive to tell the tale.

This is 'Yours Truly', signing out.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Some Promotional Stuff

Some days ago, Shaun Hammond, the administrator of ryeting.com saw my blog and offered me to write gaming articles for his website. He also, very kindly, told me that he had no problems with me posting those articles on my blog too and cross-linking them. Of course, I accepted the generous offer.

So, from now on, any gaming articles I write will also be posted at ryeting.com. I request anybody reading these articles to post any comments they have there. 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Trying My Hands At Writing Ficiton


 Almost every single person who reads books has tried their hands at writing some time or the other. Though some do get lucky, go on to be published and become successful, it’s exceedingly rare, and for most of us, the attempts end disastrously . . . and hilariously, messed up. 

Mostly, and I’m talking of the younger readers out there, the inspiration to write comes when you have downed a couple of good fantasy or sci-fi series, but haven’t got high enough experience of the genre. You are happily reading and one day, have that light-bulb moment and your train of thoughts go something like,” Hell yeah! I’ll write a fiction series of my own, and then bang, I’m as famous as Rowling.”

I used the J. K. Rowling reference above not only because her Harry Potter series has become something like a holy grail for young readers new to fantasy, but also because she is the most well-known and apt example of this ‘rags-to-riches’ story, going from living on benefits to multi-millionaire status. Hence her name comes to mind immediately when teenagers first get the idea of writing a novel (at least, it happened with me).

But that’s the point folks. Rowling, and all other immensely successful authors for that matter, have the genius to think of an original and engaging storyline and world, and their writing style is their own. They got the ingenuity to think of the ‘idea that clicked’ and got lucky, since mainstream fiction is an exceedingly competitive arena as sure as the sun rises in the east & even good authors go years before finding any major success.

An easy way to see whether a person has the potential to be successful is to see what they're writing, and how persistent they are. Clichéd storylines and borrowed writing style doesn't get you anywhere, and funnily enough that’s what we kids do! We think of  a plot that seems impressive (to us) by mixing and matching those of our favorite books and try to imitate the style of our favorite authors, going as far as to ‘borrow' whole phrases and passages out of their repertoire. Eventually, the realization sets in, we mourn the time wasted (that could've been employed to study, in my case) and move on. Those ambitious manuscripts either become a matter to laugh about later on, for boring Saturday evenings when you got nothing else to do except gossip. Or else, they are hidden from prying eyes, buried so deep that the pirates of old, who hid their treasures in much the same manner, would be envious.

After that lengthy treatise on ‘writing-philosophy', its time to begin the (comparatively short) narrative. A couple of years ago, it got into my head that I needed to write a sci-fi book to make the world aware of my (non-existent) talents in the field. I didn't create a plot of my own though (I lacked the creativity for that sort of a thing). Rather I decided to write a series of novels using the storyline of the famous Halo series of FPS games, which I found had a lot of potential to be used in a book, because of its complex world and plot (I can visualize the gamers among those reading this post nodding sagely in-front of their PC screens). 

I spent three months thinking about the plot, filling in the gaps and adding more twists to it than a dozen spy movies or ‘Call Of Duty’ games can hope to achieve (I cringe to think of that wasted time, now). I even finished about a third of what was supposed to be the first book, and you can imagine how “good” a job I must’ve done.

I said above that Halo had a lot of potential to be implemented into a sci-fi series. Apparently it wasn't only me who had this realization. Because, one day while idly browsing the net, I (SHOCK! OUTRAGE!) found that there were already six books on it. Bungie and Microsoft had contacted Eric Nylund and some other authors for the work, the bastards.

I resolved to read the works that had brought about the “demise” of my writing career (so I thought). And I found the surprises didn't end there. Not only the first book written by Nylund had the same title that I had though for ‘my' first book, but the prologues to both were almost the same! What he wrote was obviously superior (duh), but THAT'S beside the point.

Anyway, so I decided to abandon writing, and decided to choose a more viable career path (sigh). As consolation, Nylund’s book was pretty damn good!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Getting "Serious" All Over Again . . .

Reading an article yesterday about the development of Serious Sam 3 (hell yeah!) & its impending release this year, brought back memories of the days spent playing the first game in the series.

Back then in 2004, I had been a 10yr old who’d just discovered computer gaming & thought Sam to be the next coolest thing after Harry Potter – Serious Sam: First Encounter was my first PC game ever (I’m not counting Mario, minesweeper or Solitaire).

I fondly remember the eagerness of my younger-self, rushing to finish homework after returning from school so I could go blow some monsters. The game-play seemed exciting and intimidating at the same time – hordes of disfigured creepies, bony skeletons (are there any other kind?), poisonous froggy critters, overgrown minigun-wielding scorpions and of course, the Headless-Suicide-Bombers(TM) rushing towards me all at once, “me” being the ultimate metal-skinned, lead-chewing, testosterone-powered killing-machine – Sam “Serious” Spade (Yeah kids, Duke Nukem is cool and all, but for me, he doesn’t hold a candle to old Sammy). Not only did it feel absolutely exhilarating, but Sam’s trademark one-liners amused me to no end.

After that I progressed to bigger things (Prince of Persia and Starcraft). I never played SS: Second Encounter, and though I did play SS2, I didn’t like it. The monsters were cartoonish, and the guns didn’t feel right. SS2 convinced me that Sam was a thing of past, the world had moved on. Then I discovered RPG and 4X strategy, and there was no looking back.

It was hence a pleasant surprise when I learnt of Serious Sam 3 and found that I actually wanted to play it. Since then, we’ve hardly had any shooter without the word ‘tactical’. They all have a full-fledged storyline now (which is mostly ludicrous, if epic), moral choices for protagonists shown in fifteen minute long cut scenes, emotion, drama, buddies dying blah, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong, that’s all great and all, but sometimes you just wanna blow stuff up, right?
Which brings us back to Sam. I hope SS3 is great and better than the mess that was SS2. Meanwhile, I decided I couldn’t wait for the release. Hell man, I wanted it now! And I realized I had the perfect solution to that – I bought the HD versions of First and Second Encounter & now I’m happily reviving old memories.

Its amazing how much fun it still is to play this game, some things just never get outdated. I still get the same feeling of thrill to see like a million skeletons rushing at me and that satisfaction of one (or a dozen) well aimed grenades launched at them. Ah, the bliss!

I’d love to say more, but I got a dozen mutated bulls rushin’ at me, and I just got my hands on this badass ‘ROKKET LAUNCHA  . . . .


"ALWAYS OUT-MANNED, NEVER OUT-GUNNED"


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Now That's Some Lyrics!!



We all know that nowadays, good lyrics are a hard-to-find commodity. Yes, they are as difficult to find as diamonds in a hay-stack! Well, admittedly, I exaggerated there, but seriously, we don’t come across great lyrics often enough and this trend is only increasing day by day.

Whether it is the now-commonplace sappy or party pop genre, angsty rock, screamy metalcore, cheesy R&B or ‘’gangsta’’ rap, the lyrics we find nowadays are listenable at best, and downright awful and unbearable at the worst.

I may sound a bit too harsh there but seriously, how often do we find lyrics that seriously make us think or are so enjoyable and funny that we can’t get them out of our heads? They are rare. Writing good music is easier than good lyrics, and that comes as no surprise.

Anyways, yes, good lyrics are rare, but they are there, and we will continue to find great songs amidst all the cheesy ones.

Here I decided to post some of my favorite songs which have great lyrics. Please note that I’m not saying that these are the songs with the best lyrics ever (though they might be!), but they certainly are some of the best among those which I have listened to. Some of them are a work of genius, some are thought provoking and some are plain fun.

So, let the show begin…


‘’Jesus of Suburbia’’ – Green Day

[Part 1]

I'm the son of rage and love
The Jesus of Suburbia
From the bible of none of the above
On a steady diet of
Soda pop and Ritalin
No one ever died for my sins in hell
As far as I can tell
At least the ones I got away with

And there's nothing wrong with me
This is how I'm supposed to be
In a land of make believe
That don't believe in me

Get my television fixed
Sitting on my crucifix
The living room or my private womb
While the Moms and Brads are away
To fall in love and fall in debt
To alcohol and cigarettes and Mary Jane
To keep me insane,
Doing someone else's cocaine

And there's nothing wrong with me
This is how I'm supposed to be
In a land of make believe
That don't believe in me

[Part 2: City Of The Damned]

At the center of the Earth
In the parking lot
Of the 7-11 where I was taught
The motto was just a lie
It says home is where your heart is
But what a shame
Cause everyone's heart
Doesn't beat the same
It's beating out of time

City of the dead
At the end of another lost highway
Signs misleading to nowhere
City of the damned
Lost children with dirty faces today
No one really seems to care

I read the graffiti
In the bathroom stall
Like the holy scriptures of the shopping mall
And so it seemed to confess
It didn't say much
But it only confirmed that
The center of the earth
Is the end of the world
And I could really care less

City of the dead
At the end of another lost highway
Signs misleading to nowhere
City of the damned
Lost children with dirty faces today
No one really seems to care

[Part 3: I Don't Care]

I don't care if you don't
I don't care if you don't
I don't care if you don't care
[X4]

I don't care

Everyone is so full of shit
Born and raised by hypocrites
Hearts recycled but never saved
From the cradle always to the grave
We are the kids of war and peace
From Anaheim to the middle east
We are the stories and disciples
Of the Jesus of suburbia
Land of make believe
And that don't believe in me
Land of make believe
And I don't believe
And I don't care!
I don't care! [x4]

[Part 4: Dearly Beloved]

Dearly beloved are you listening?
I can't remember a word that you were saying
Are we demented or am I disturbed?
The space that's in between insane and insecure
Oh, therapy, can you please fill the void?
Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed
Nobody's perfect and I stand accused
For lack of a better word, and that's my best excuse

[Part 5: Tales Of Another Broken Home]

To live and not to breathe
Is to die In tragedy
To run, to run away
To find what you believe
And I leave behind
This hurricane of fucking lies

I lost my faith to this
This town that don't exist
So I run
I run away
To the light of masochist
And I leave behind
This hurricane of fucking lies
And I walked this line
A million and one fucking times
But not this time

I don't feel any shame
I won't apologize

When there ain't nowhere you can go
Running away from pain
When you've been victimized
Tales from another broken home

You're leaving...
You're leaving...
You're leaving...
Ah you're leaving home...



‘‘Hallowed be thy Name’’ – Iron Maiden

I'm waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time
'Cause at 5 o'clock they take me to the Gallows Pole
The sands of time for me are running low

When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

Can it be that there's some sort of an error
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is it really the end not some crazy dream?

Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming
It's not easy to stop from screaming
But words escape me when I try to speak
Tears they flow but why am I crying?
After all I am not afraid of dying
Don't I believe that there never is an end?

As the guards march me out to the courtyard
Someone calls from a cell "God be with you"
If there's a God then why has he let me die?

As I walk all my life drifts before me
And though the end is near I'm not sorry
Catch my soul 'cause it's willing to fly away

Mark my words believe my soul lives on
Don't worry now that I have gone
I've gone beyond to seek the truth

When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down there is just a strange illusion

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Hallowed be Thy name
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Hallowed be Thy name



‘‘White and Nerdy’’ – Weird al Yankovic

They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking
I'm so White N' nerdy

Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!
I wanna roll with-
The gangsters
But so far they all think
I'm too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Really, really white n' nerdy

First in my class here at M.I.T.
Got skills, I'm a Champion of DND
MC Escher that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40
I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary
You'll find they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawkings in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
I got people begging for my top 8 spaces
Yo I know Pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a whiz at minesweeper I can play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed,
my fingers movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze
There's no killer app I haven't run
At Pascal, well, I'm number 1
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat but I gotta soldering gun
Happy days is my favourite theme song
I can sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in Java Script as well as Klingon
Here's the part I sing on

They see me roll on, my Segway!
I know in my heart they think I'm
white n' nerdy!
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy
I'd like to roll with-
The gangsters
Although it's apparent I'm too
White n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
How'd I get so white n' nerdy?

I've been browsing, inspectin'
X-men comics you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket
I must protect 'em
my ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code who do they call?
I do HTML for them all
Even made a homepage for my dog!
Yo! Got myself a fanny pack
they were having a sale down at the GAP
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
POP POP! Hope no one sees me gettin' freaky!

I'm nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour creme
I was in AV club and Glee club and even the chess team!
Only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?
I spend every weekend
at the renaissance fair
I got my name on my under wear!

They see me strollin'
They laughin'
And rollin' their eyes 'cause
I'm so white n' nerdy
Just because I'm white n' nerdy
Just because I'm white n' nerdy
All because I'm white n' nerdy
Holy cow I'm white n' nerdy
I wanna bowl with-
the gangsters
but oh well it's obvious I'm
white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!


‘‘Hip Hop Police’’ – Chamillionaire’’

[Chorus 1:]
With so much drama in the industry
Hip Hop Police are listening
Be careful or you'll be history
Looks like another unsolved mystery
It's murder, murder, murder
Ah it's murder, murder, murder
Yeah it's murder, murder, murder
Somebody tell em it's murder
Murder was the case and they blamed me

[Verse 1 - Chamillionaire:]
Officer I didn't do it, you can't blame me for this
Could you please loosen up the handcuffs on my wrists?
You can call me what you wanna but mayne I ain't a snitch
No cooperation is exactly what you would get
'til I talk to my lawyer, you get no reply
You've obviously been watching too much CSI
I'm not a crash dummy so don't even try
To talk your dirty trash to me, no BFI
If you are not guilty of anything, then why did you run?
Cause you the police and plus I saw you cocking your gun
And the chamber wasn't empty, it was obviously one
If you think I'm believing that one, your obviously dumb
Huh? I know that you heard the sirens, you dived in
To the vehicle you was driving and riding
Instead you shouldn't be whining about abiding
By the law, nah it's obvious that you're lying

[Chorus 1]

[Verse 2 - Chamillionaire:]
Stop lying to me boy, it'd be best you confess
I can smell the BS on the scent of your breath
Saw the meth while I was inspecting your deck
Saw that you was riding dirty when I looked at the rest
Who is this guy Busta? Who is this guy Snoop?
Who is his other friend who's wearing the sky blue?
Look at this pic here, he standing beside you
Tell me his name now, I heard he was piru
Confiscated the CD's at one of your homes
For evidence ever since we heard some of your songs
What about this Pimp guy, he was on one of your songs
I could've sworn he said he had a pocket full of stones
Am I wrong? Hell yeah, I don't know who that is
I don't know no Pimp C, all I know is I'm rich
And I'm a bond like James, bet I be out here quick
Man You ain't getting out of here, you must think that your slick
In the car we confiscated The Chronic and The Clipse
Diary that you had and all your Blueprints
On the Death Row booklet, we found your two prints
Your thumb and your index, the judge will love this)

[Chorus 2:]
With so much drama in the industry
Hip Hop Police are listening
Be careful or you'll be history
Looks like another unsolved mystery
It's murder (It's a bloody murder)
Ah it's murder (It's a bloody murder)
Yeah it's murder (It's a bloody murder)
Somebody tell 'em it's murder
Murder was the case and they blamed me

[Verse 3 - Chamillionaire/Slick Rick:]
And you can see your screwed as the evidence pours in
The witness to the crime was at 3 in the morning
Gave us a description so we picked up your boy and
You'll get a lighter sentence if you put the crime on him
A big celebrity, a case we long for
You a pirate, Why you got that eye patch on for?
Funny Putting people in a hurse what I heard for
Where were you the night of April 21st son?
Home, I think that you got your facts wrong, gats on you
Chamillionaire, Rob shot Couple cats on Melview
What? We gonna have to jail you too
In the line-up, don't speak until we tell you to
This the person who jimmied your lock, sir?
Well he's dark, Kinda looked like him, I'm not sure
Fail into nail cause a cell it's another?
Leave, I see an unmarked tail in the glover?
Hit the Bodega, not no more game
This chick used to be all nice, acting all strange
Like she was gonna get it, pathetic
I sell in court now they all apologetic


‘‘Morning News’’ – Chamillionaire

[News Reporter]
Fighting broke out over-night between rival factions along the Israeli - Syrian border
Initial reports claim Israeli jet fighters bombed a guerrilla base,
Killing at least 49 soldiers and 13 civilians, damage to the base is said to be heavy
And the Israeli jets are reported to have made it back to their headquarters safely
An 49 year old unidentified man went berserk last night, opening fire with a 12 gauge shotgun...

[Chamillionaire]

I stay dropping that bombness, Rosie O'Donnel and Donald Trump stay arguing bout nonsense
Would they treat me as good as Hugh Heffner if I had a mansion full of blonde chicks?
If adultery was a felony, then Clinton would be a convict
Put you in the same position and lets see what you'd really do
They tell me that I sold out if I execute the no snitching rule
Sound like it was a good idea, till a murder happen to you
Dumb-stupid, or stupid-dumb, either one you don't have a clue
Voice perfect for CNN but knew Larry King wouldn't hear it through
Bill O'Reily's an idiot, he ain't the only one with an opinion fool
E-mail this to my publicist so the media is gonna hear it too
You get on TV and get at me, then I'm gonna get on the CD and get at you

Uncle Sam says to pay your taxes, just to learn that I pay for classes
Part time hustle really ain't gonna last, so todays forecast is to make more cash
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news

In the strip club ballin', Bill Collecta keep calling
You ain't even tryna pay your bills, he show up and you dogging
White man balling, black man starving, looks like Al Sharpton found another cause to get
involved in
I cant hate to see a black man, and I don't hate to see a black hand
Crawling into that cookie jar cause theres plenty of dough up in that man
When your black and you educated people say "You ain't black man!"
May be black in your appearance but really whiter than Batman
CEO's are like slave masters and most of them don't even know it
Their employees are like slaves, work the bill but don't even own it
Your money right but your credit ain't, then the bank still wont loan it
If you're on top and ain't paying taxes then I hope you're enjoying your moment

Uncle Sam says to pay your taxes, just to learn that I pay for classes
Part time hustle really ain't gonna last, so todays forecast is to make more cash
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news

Hip-hop crunk music, hyphy music, slab music, sound like a nursing rhyme
Get a beat and rap to it, ain't speaking with a purpose, I'm gonna call it crap music
Y'all got your boys getting mad, my bad lets get back to it
Cigarettes are still causing cancer, and chronic smoke'll still get you high
In the streets or in the store, know a couple dollars wont get you by
Truth is a Paris Hilton jail cover story could never flop
For that sexy mug-shot I could get a million dollars a pop
Even Michaels in the media, they like to make examples of people just like you
Get involved and I bet the indite you, goto jail and I bet they don't write you
Yea, you ain't got a college degree then they'll say you're not intelligent
And if your class ain't Upper Class, then your opinion is irrelevant

Uncle Sam says to pay your taxes, just to learn that I pay for classes
Part time hustle really ain't gonna last, so todays forecast is to make more cash
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news, news news, let em know the truth, truth, truth
Its the morning news

The world is crazy, every day I gotta wake up to this nonsense
Silly rappers think I'm worried about a punch-line
I show more purpose than your whole career in one line
Victory


‘‘Virus Alert’’ – Weird al Yankovic

Hey, everyone, listen up, your attention if you please
We wanna give you a warning
'Cause I found out this morning
About a dangerous, insidious computer virus
If you should get it, an email with the subject, 'stinky cheese'
Better off protecting your chances
Under no circumstances, should you open it
Or else it will

Translate your documents into Swahili
Make your TV record "Gigli"
Neuter your pets, and give you laundry static cling
Look out!
It's gonna make your computer screen freeze
Look out!
Erase the Easter eggs off your DVDs
Look out!
Erase your hard drive and your backups too
And the hard drive of anyone related to you

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody

Soon, very soon, it will make all the paint peel off your walls
It'll make your keyboard all sticky
Give your poodle a hickey
And invest your cash in stock in Euro Disney
Then, it will tie up your phone, making prank long-distance calls
It'll set your clocks back an hour and start clogging the shower
So just trash it now, or else it will

Decide to give you a permanent wedgie,
Legally change your name to Reggie,
Even mess up the pH balance in your pool

Look out!
It's gonna melt your face right off your skull
Look out!
And make your iPod only play Jethro Tull
Look out!
And tell you knock-knock jokes while you're trying to sleep
Look out!
And make you physically attracted to sheep
Look out!
Steal your identity and your credit card
Look out!
Buy you a warehouse full of pink leotards
Look out!
Then cause a major rift in time and space
And leave a bunch of Twinkie wrappers all over the place
That's right it's a

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody
Warn all your friends, send this to everybody
Tell everyone you know, tell everybody now

If you get infected, you'll wish you had never been born
So before it emails your grandmother all of your porn
Turn off your computer and make sure it powers down
Drop it in a forty-three-foot hole in the ground
Bury it completely; rocks and boulders should be fine
Then burn all the clothes you may have worn any time you were online!

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody

Virus alert!
Delete immediately before someone gets hurt!
Forward this message on to everybody
Warn all your friends, send this to everybody
Tell everyone you know, tell everybody now
What are you waiting for?
Just hurry up and forward this to every single person that you know!
Hit send right now!


“Someday” - Flipsyde

[Chorus]
Someday we gonna rise up on that wind you know
Someday we gonna dance with those lions
Someday we gonna break free from these chains and keep on flyin'

[Verse 1]
They tellin' me it's all good just wait
You know you're gonna be there someday
Sippin' on Jim Beam ok
Gotta get these things one day
Till then do another line you know
Searching for that other high
Stop or I gotta steal then steal
Kill or I'm gonna be killed
I got a sack in my pocket
Conscious yellin' drop it
You know we're gonna lose it someday
And we tryin' to hold it all together but the devil is too clever so
I'm gonna die you gonna die we gonna die Someday one day I said

[Chorus]
Someday we gonna rise up on the wind you know
Someday we gonna dance with those lions
Someday we gonna break free from these chains and keep on flyin'

[Verse 2]
Try to lie but it ain't me Ain't me
Try to look but I can't see
Can't stop right now cause I'm too far and I can't keep goin' cause it's too hard
In the day in the night it's the same thing
On the field on the block it's the same game
On the real if you stop then it's no pain but if you can't feel pain then it's no gain
Rearrange and you change and it's all bad and you try to maintain but you fall back
And you crawl and you slip and you slide down
Wanna make it to the top better start now
So I hold my soul and I die hard
All alone in the night in the graveyard
Someday one day I'm gonna be free and they won't try to kill me for being me
Hey someday

[Chorus]
Someday we gonna rise up on that wind you know
Someday we gonna dance with those lions
Someday we gonna break free from these chains and keep on flyin'

If you know how this is
Gonna see it's not that easy
Don't stop get it till it's done
From where you are or have begun
I said keep on try a little harder to see everything you need to be
Believe in your dreams
That you see when you're asleep

[Chorus]
Someday we gonna rise up on that wind you know
Someday we gonna dance with those lions
Someday we gonna break free from these chains and keep on flyin'


“Evening News” – Chamillionaire

[Chamillionaire]
Welcome to the evening news, I thank you all for tuning in
Yes, I'm your host and your journalist, Chamillionaire, so let the news begin
Our helicopters out in the streets look at the screen, an' let's zoom it in
'cause Cashis is live at the scene, hey Cashis how are you my friend?
Got no time for no interviews (go-got no time for no interviews)
No time to trip don't be confused, cause this type of news depends on interviews
Got no time for no interviews (go-got no time for no interviews)
You know I keep my ear to the streets so it's up to me to bring you the truth
I saw a movie were George Bush had a bearded man on his squad
So much power from oil money that poor folks can't sit by him
No problem, Osama, Bin Laden, Been hidin'
So long that them pictures all starting to look like him on them milk cartons
Don Imus made comments that made everybody forget about him
That's him, Anna Nicole got pregnant and had kids by him
Rest in peace to Virgina Tech, too many innocent kids dyin'
Well let's just blame hip-hop and act like that's the big problem

[HOOK]
Now I would give you news about Katrina
but you know I can't talk about Katrina
'Cause every time I talk about Katrina
they look at me like it's a misdemeanor
Anyways, there's way more important stuff that we can discuss
George Bush is playing golf, everybody hush, he's about to putt

[CHORUS]
Gas prices raises, the money keeps burning
Dropout rate rising, so what are they learning?
Sending the troops in the war so I turn it
To today's evening news
And the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps on turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
This is your evening news

[Chamillionaire]
I know you take offense to certain words
I've heard worse, but I wouldn't blame ya'
They say he's a entertainer, don't worry about it, never mind Kramer
The Crocodile Hunter got stung, and the lion turned on the lion tamer
We keep sending troops to Iraq, I figured that we must like danger
Little kids don't learn in school they go to school to go spray a gun
If you a parent, then be a parent, get off the couch and go raise your son
Kobe just broke another record, today's game he hit 81
Now they saying he's number 1, but yesterday they all hated him
OJ was named innocent, he got no sentence, he's still alive
It's very ironic that the lawyer that defended him had to die
Well, now my cue card says the price of gas isn't really high
But I'm not going to read that, 'cause we all know that that's a lie

[CHORUS]
Gas prices raises, the money keeps burning
Dropout rate rising, so what are they learning?
Sending the troops in the war so I turn it
To today's evening news
And the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps on turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
This is your evening news

[Chamillionaire]
We still haven't found Pac's killer, still haven't found Biggie's either
30 minutes into the case they got tired and took a breather
Snoop Dogg just got arrested, everyday he gets a new subpoena
Innocent when murder was the case so the prosecution got a middle finger
Hip-Hop is sweeping the nation, but the contents seem so degrading
Most rappers got new albums that white kids are anticipating
If you don't like it on the radio or the television then switch the station
Flavor Flav get a lot of ratings, Bill O'Reilly somewhere is hating
Kanye just said WHAT? the president ain't got time for that
The White House is going to stay white even tho' we know Obama's black
9/11 was a calculation, and some would say it was a timed attack
He gave a speech on CNN, "They bombed us, now we're bombing back"
Where the heck is Osama at?

[HOOK]
Now I would give you news about Katrina
but you know I can't talk about Katrina
'Cause every time I talk about Katrina
they look at me like it's a misdemeanor
Anyways, there's way more important stuff that we can discuss
N'SYNC makin the band and Milli Vanilli have broken up

[CHORUS]
Gas prices raises, the money keeps burning
Dropout rate rising, so what are they learning?
Sending the troops in the war so I turn it
To today's evening news
And the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
As the world keeps on turning slow (turning slow, turning slow)
This is your evening news

“Happy Birthday” – Weird al Yankovic

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Well, it's time to celebrate your birthday, it happens every year
We'll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer
You should be good and happy that there's something you can eat
A million people every day are starving in the street

Your daddy's in the gutter with the wretched and the poor
Your mama's in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four
There's garbage in the water
There's poison in the sky
I guess it won't be long before we're all gonna die

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Well, what's the matter little friend, you think this party is the pits
Enjoy it while you can, we'll soon be blown to bits
The monkeys in the pentagon are gonna cook our goose
Their finger's on the button, all they need it an excuse

It doesn't take a military genius to see
We'll all be crispy critters after World War III
There's nowhere you can run to, nowhere you can hide
When they drop the big one, we all get fried

(Come on boys and girls, sing along, ok?)

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Well there's a punk in the alley and he's looking for a fight
There's an Arab on the corner buying everything in sight
There's a mother in the ghetto with another mouth to feed
Seems that everywhere you look today there's misery and greed

I guess you know the Earth is gonna crash into the sun
But that's no reason why we shouldn't have a little fun
So if you think it's scary, if it's more than you can take
Just blow out the candles and have a piece of cake

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

And a pinch to grow an inch!


“Stairway to Heavens” – Led Zeppelin

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying the stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying the stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying the stairway to heaven.


“Blinded in Chains” – Avenged Sevenfold

And we're at it again, I turn around another fucking war, man
I don't know where to begin, but I'll start with the radical leaders
Their steps we're followin'

Running, don't go back and fight, too many you'll lose
(And as clowns you follow suit behind the blood between the red and white and blue but it's too deep for you to see and everyone eventually will take the step cause it's in sight you take the left I'll take the right I fell the hate you've built for me and I say pay attention baby)

As they thank the Lord the blind can't see
Like a plague fed to the brain deadly disease

But it wasn't a sin, a sorry life in judging every action
And as they're feeding your mind with this shit you forget
How to speak how to ask all the questions

The business at hand tonight, make the people choose
(I see another side in you but there's not much more I can do from on the outside looking in your government is listenin' to push you on the story of immortal father mortal son give them your mind and all your wealth the cycle will rebirth itself)

If they had it their way, I'd burn in Hell and your future's a fuckin' disaster can't you see
Don't give them all the power when your future's in desperate trouble baby

As they thank the Lord the blind can't see
Like a plague fed to the brain deadly disease
I'd run away tonight with my mind still intact you gotta make it alright
Easier said than done with no place to hide and having no place to...
Running away from condition, I see you but you're running away from
Your scared seductive system

Most would claim I live a lie when pointing out it's easy to predict these things
Every color has its side, they live together vote and most embrace these same dark times
Please help us, please save us of course they have control we're all the same
Up on the cross, crucified their problem drove the nail and let Him rot
Family and friends, it won't matter in the end I'm sure they'll understand
Now look at the world and see how the humans bleed
As I sit up here and wonder 'bout how you sold your mind, body and soul
Looking at the fields so green I know this sounds obscene
I see you're living for tomorrow but decisions you have made will leave you empty

As they thank the Lord the blind can't see
Like a plague fed to the brain deadly disease
I'd run away tonight with my mind still intact I've gotta make it alright
Easier said than done with no place to hide and having no place to run

You've fallen asleep in denial
Look at the way we're dyin'
How it ends I'll never know
Just live your life blind like me