I’ve been sick and too busy catching up on movies and blowing snot out my nose to complain about as many things as I’d have liked to, but here’s one. Can I? Can I just b&w in a childish petulant fashion about the state of Snickers candy bars in Singapore? They’re all made in China now, you know, and they really suck. I mean they’re crap. They’re shit. They’re not the same (preceding sentences for the benefit of search engines only).

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Simply indescribable, originally uploaded by sangsara.

Well, I can think of “lazy copywriting” to start…

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

Not sure what to make of this…

It looks like Ryan Adams has quit blogging again, and one of the last things he said on Foggy (about 21 posts overnight) was this, which I can understand, I think:

The Sad Truth Is This Blog, It’s What Happens When One Day You Don’t Have That Person You Talk To Everyday Anymore. They Leave. Any You Get Desperate. And Pathetic. And You Don’t Know Who To Talk To. Life Goes On Without You. That Is What This Is. This Is A Horrible Loneliness. I Hate It. I Hate It So Much I Do It Every Fucking Day.

A couple of days ago, Ryan Adams pretended to quit blogging – or perhaps be was serious but he’s come back now – and left a video clip as a parting gift to his fans. In it, he performed a rough version of a song he had earlier announced as having just written for his next album and so honest that it could be his best ever. It has since been taken down, but not before I heard it.

Adams is one of few performers I know that can sit down and perform a song straight to mic and have it sound good enough to go on a CD I’d willingly pay for. Maybe its because his sound works best when a little ragged around the edges, but that doesn’t change anything. Funnily enough, Prince, whose prolificity is most closely rivaled by Adams, is another such performer. But whereas I’ve been let down by Prince before, Adams has always delivered incredible music, even in the hundreds of outtakes from the shells of unreleased albums he’s littered all over the Internet (I think there were at least ten albums last year).

Anyway, back to the song. I’m writing this on my iPod touch which might not last much longer.

It was called “Crossed-Out Name”, and beautiful despite the raised expectations. I wish you could hear it. I might post a rip later on my Muxtape. From what the gossip blogs have been saying, his last relationship didn’t end too well, and in the two weeks that I’ve followed his blog, he worked like a maniac writing several songs a day, making short films, and posting to his blog like ten times a day. And then one night he said he was going to try and write some flat-out honest songs and came back with “Crossed-Out Name”. It’s an analogy that should make me cringe, but instead it just kills.

Chorus:
I wish I could tell you just how I felt
I don’t pray, I shower and say goodnight to myself
And when I close my eyes
I feel like a page
With a crossed-out name

Anyone who’s ever been left or broken up with has got to feel a line like that.

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Curry Favor Bad Ad, originally uploaded by sangsara.

Employee:
“Hey boss, I’ve got an idea for that ad you wanted to run!”

Boss:
“Hmm? Oh, do you mean the one that I said should explicity address the small group of people who know they dislike Japanese Curry? And offer them a number of clear and indisputable reasons why if they were to just try OUR Japanese Curry once, they would immediately change those mistakenly conceived preferences?”

Employee:
“OH, you wanted REASONS! Nevermind then, I’ll come back later.”

Boss:
“Now now, give it to me. I’m sure it’s perfect.”

Employee:
“If you say so, dad.”

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Charlton Heston DIES, originally uploaded by sangsara.

The Straits Times sure knows how to typeset a classy obituary. From this day onwards, I can do little else but live in the hope of receiving this level of respect (and drama) at the end of my life.

It’s almost as if the editor was shocked about it. Like it was the last thing anyone could expect Charlton Heston to do at the age of 84, after years of battling Alzheimer’s. I imagine they were probably in the midst of preparing other possible “Charlton Heston _______” headlines when the news came in over the wire.

“Oh my god, I just heard…. he’s DEAD! Pull the ‘Charlton Heston Breaks Motocross Jump Record’ story, now!”

“But what will we use for a headline!?”

“Good god, man, just get it out there! This is no time for craft!!”

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From Here to Miami, originally uploaded by sangsara.

Depending on your generosity, and how cheap your camera is, it’s entirely possible to see all the way to other cities.