The Different Types of Men

Right, so for anyone that had  cared to notice, yeah that’s all 5 of you, we haven’t really been posting much the last couple of weeks. It would be convenient to attribute this to us having been sucked into the whirlwind of festivity ushered in by the Chinese New Year and whatever else that accompanies it; but seeing as that only one of our personnel  remotely close to being ‘Chinese’( i refer to our half-breed child genius of course), i didn’t think that would fly. And so, i will resort to the alternative which is to confess that we had all been lazy bastards. But hopefully now,  we’ve come to the end of that phase; not that i’m ever willing to put a  wager on it.

Anyway here’s some fresh input from our newly joined intern to start of the new month.

- the Editor

Greetings everyone! I am the new Intern; a privilege awarded to me by the most insolent wanker esteemed member. I am not technically part of the AVB [the revolution is in the offing] so I don’t have a fancy nom de plume. Hence, the Intern will have to suffice for now.

If two years in college has taught me anything; it’s ‘Never be friends with girls who are hotter than you’. You will be disregarded faster than you can say Jack Robinson. A group of 4 girls we were. Given that I was and still am the only one of my girlfriends who has never been in a relationship, I was regularly nauseated by the fresh batch of cheesiness I had to endure on a monthly basis (I am cursed fortunate to have girlfriends who have never spent more than a 3 weeks being single between boyfriends). My status as the third wheel gave me a lot of time to observe and all the drama did provide me with a great deal of entertainment. Over the course of 24 months, I encountered many types of men; each with their unique characteristics.

Now, you may wonder, why is it that I chose such a mundane topic to write about for my AVB debut, especially since this blog is filled with such profound wisdom akin to the Book of Genesis. Well, it has long been my desire to share with the world my observations and what better way is there to write about male stereotypes than in a blog that is apparently a ‘patriarchal foundation’ (I was kindly informed by the above mentioned gentleman).

Let the games begin.

Film Focus:Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea aka Gake no ye no Ponyo (2008)

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is the latest creation from the incredibly fertile mind of Hayao Miyazaki. His latest since 2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle. Miyazaki who rose to global prominence with 1997’s Princess Mononoke, and has the distinction of having made the first anime film to win an Academy award, 2001’s Spirited Away, preserves his status has one the juggernauts in the animation industry. This film is a milestone in Miyazaki’s long and illustrious career. Besides a ridiculously long mouthful of a title, it is the first film in a long time he’s made that is completely hand drawn, eschewing CGI, employing a whopping 170,000 images.

AVB Jukebox presents: I Am The Walrus (1967)

To round up our 60’s music appreciation month otherwise known as era of  the ‘British Invasion’, we present to you the musical icons of that decade,the Beatles. Now I can go on and on about the the Beatles, the music and how their social awareness helped to shape the post-war generation etc. But I won’t. You can find extensive information on this lot on wikipedia. For this entry, I had a wee  bit of trouble on deciding which track  should make its way to the  jukebox; considering the multitude of memorable ditties they had churned out in their time. The musical prowess of the dynamic duo (who were/are also my fellow Everton supporters) of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney were a class act. Until of course, Yoko had to come in and ’spoil market’ as they say in local lingo. Following that, the Beatles eventually broke up and  went on to build successful solo careers for themselves.

Operation Rajasthan Invasion (RAIN)

So here we go; the long overdue first entry on the event that defined 2008; one more immense in magnitude than the Paralympics and the footballing achievements of Liverpool Football Club put together; one whose significance dwarfed the relevance of the subsequent global economic meltdown, reducing its impact to that of a minor footnote.

Operation RAIN

To say the belated nature of this series of entries and related spin offs makes this our own Chinese Democracy wouldn’t be too far wide off the mark. When Chinese Democracy was first announced in 99’, the founders of this blog were mere boys; fresh out of Junior College, brimming with youthful energy and daring to contemplate a glorious future of excellence fuelled by a ravenous appetite for success.

We Started Nothing (2008)

The Ting Tings, made up of Katie White and Jules De Marino, are the new darlings of the indie world. Despite already being an established name on the UK indie circuit, they recently gained much recognition in Singapore when it was announced that they would play a concert here. In January 2008 they were voted third in the annual BBC 6 Music Sound of 2008 poll. Their songs have been featured in various shows and their single ‘Shut Up and Let me Go’ was used for one of Apple’s tres cool iPod commercials.

AVB Jukebox presents: You Really Got Me (1964)

Our next  addition to this  month’s feature on ‘British Invasion’ bands is one by the Kinks. Lauded by fans and critics alike, The Kinks have been cited as one of the most influential  bands since the genre that is Rock music came into being. Many modern bands of today like the Pretenders, Oasis, Blur, Supergrass, Franz Ferdinand, the Libertines and the Killers have cited them as  a major influence on their music.