Tuesday 20 December 2011

A Very Merry Christmas Post...about Wheatus


As Christmas slowly draws closer and closer, I once more feel like a 13 year old hormonal child.  This is not because I am surrounded by presents and Christmas decorations (I put some up this weekend!).  Nor is it because I have been wearing my slightly over-the-top light up Christmas hat all weekend (which I have).  Despite my general Christmas cheer (which I admit is slightly strained due to the fact I will be away from everyone I know this year), my regression is  not season related but heart related.  I have a crush, dear readers.  Due to this, I am currently going through various stages of melodrama.  However, in an attempt to take my mind off of this, I will do something that is so unexpected, it will blow your minds!

I WILL MAKE A LIST

Cue the sound of muffled explosions of minds imploding within your cues.  Maybe not but still, a list shall be made.  The topic of this list? 


Five Reasons Why Wheatus Rock
As the unofficial sponsor of my pseudo-teenage angst, I have been listening to a lot of Wheatus and due to this, I have decided to explain why they do indeed rock.  Here are five reasons why.

They don’t show-off – I once was at a gig that had three encores.  I can defend one but three?  There are only so many times people can sit through ego-stroking encores.  Wheatus (like other bands, I am sure) didn’t even have one.  In fact, the first time I saw them live the reason they didn’t have them was because they thought that they were for rockstars.  Now that is rock ‘n’ roll.  Nor do they do anything hugely flashy or complicated.  They come out, they play and they chat to the audience.  This translates to FUN.

I’ve drunk their beer – True story.  Not many other bands have let me drink their beer before.  What more can a fan ask?

They write damn good songs – Yes, this a personal view but once again it is my list.  There songs are interesting and well written, covering various topics. 
·         Being cheated on?  Check!
·         Being a loser?  Check!  (I can quite happily say I can relate fully to Teenage Dirtbag even to this day)
·         9/11?  Check!
·         Fame?  Check!
·         A Portuguese Ninja that can fly?  Check!
Yes, some of their lyrics border on nonsense (but usually this leads to some damn fun songs) but the majority of their work has meaning to it (hence why I have been listening to them so much) with real emotion behind them.

Audience participation – They interact with their fans.  This ranges from chatting to them during the show or stopping to chat to them whilst walking down the street to replying to them on twitter.  It adds to the experience and makes the fans feel like they are appreciated.  (I know a lot of bands do this but it is a Wheatus list after all)

They can have fun:  As briefly mentioned, they write nonsensical songs sometimes.  They poke fun at themselves.  They enjoy themselves on stage.  They enjoy themselves and their work.  They use Maracas.  Enough said.

Ok, that distracted me for a little while at the very least!  Now this evening I will help distract myself by decorating my flat further and wearing my super-cool light up Santa hat!  It is Christmas after all!

An extra music video instead of a link today!  Both Wheatus of course.  The first is William McGovern and the second is Anyway.  Enjoy!


So Merry Christmas everyone!  See you all in the semi-future!

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Scraping by for over 1000 views

Edit:  New Facebook page to celebrate the 1000 views, since my ad didn't work (http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-way-Ticket/279222415462522?sk=wall)

To quote angsty rockers Staind – ‘It’s been a while’ though in this case, it has been a while since I last blogged, not since I…well I am not sure what he is signing about to be honest.  Lost love or being alone, I think…either way he could do with a cup of tea and a Puppy.  

For those who actively follow my blog, I have three announcements this entry. 

The first is simple:  Over 1000 views!!!  1073 last time I checked.  Not too bad for somebody who only really uses Facebook to advertise (as my celebratory advert wasn’t allowed by google ads).  So thank you all very much for reading my poorly written prose!  The winner of my competition was Matt Farvolden from Canada who has yet to inform me of the marathon and charity he wishes me to run/run for.  Knowing Matt, it may be the thing that finally kills me. 

Secondly, for those who are interested…it wasn’t a testicle.  It turned out to be a delicious rum ball, which was a much more pleasant alternative I have to say.

Finally, I am thinking of moving to Wordpress as there seems to be a decent community of bloggers out there but this will be decided later.  The other alternative would be my own site but somehow I think that may be out of my league.  Any advice would be welcome!

So…what has happened to Vanilla Pod since my last post?  Not too much to be honest.  Three farmers markets, two wedding receptions and one Christmas dinner (plus pay day).

The Farmers market I have spoke about but it is worth mentioning because I got some cinnamon sugar cookies from a stall there.  Sweet mother of Zeus did they taste like Ambrosia.  I bought them originally due to my social awkwardness because I got talking to the stall owner and felt like I had to buy something.  Finally, my ineptness at socialising has paid off!  Melt in your mouth doesn’t even begin to describe it…they oozed deliciousness.  If I started growing blue fuzz and repeatedly saying cookie, it was worth it.  The homemade bread and terrine was pretty good as well.

Two wedding receptions in one week?  It would be impressive if one of my co-workers hadn’t been to three weddings in one day.  I’m not even sure this is possible.  Still, I don’t really like people so it is impressive for me.  I even learned some Nepalese dances and got a Kata from the father of the bride.  It did help to have an open bar as well…though I did enjoy them to be honest.

Finally, the Christmas dinner.  It was…ok.  Having a Christmas dinner with a whole bunch of strangers and sitting in the sun does not scream Christmas spirit at me.  However, it was a change of pace and it was nice to see the British Embassy.  As mentioned on Facebook, the highlight was seeing Santa Claus arriving on a rickshaw.  That made up for the poor mince pies (shame as I love mincepies).

So, onto other internet things:

The Oatmeal - It makes me giggle from time to time, so thought I would share it!

Todays video is Miyavi - Senor Senora Senorita.  Very catchy and fairly new to my music list.  Great song to listen to when working!


Hopefully I will get more regular about posting and hopefully more interesting.  Until then, I have posted some stats below just for fun.  You can even write a report about it, if you really want!

Pageviews by Countries
United Kingdom
623
Canada
140
United States
84
Russia
42
Nepal
33
Germany
26
Sweden
18
Latvia
16
Oman
13
Australia
5
Pageviews by Browsers
Internet Explorer
311 (29%)
Chrome
271 (25%)
Firefox
221 (20%)
Safari
142 (13%)
Mobile Safari
56 (5%)
Mobile
34 (3%)
Opera
23 (2%)
NetFront
4 (<1%)
UP.Browser
3 (<1%)
RockMelt
2 (<1%)
Pageviews by Operating Systems
Windows
770 (71%)
Macintosh
161 (15%)
Android
47 (4%)
Linux
35 (3%)
iPod
21 (1%)
BlackBerry
14 (1%)
iPhone
14 (1%)
Samsung
4 (<1%)
SonyEricsson
3 (<1%)
HTC
1 (<1%)