Fish in a Barrel.. or Aquarium..

I don't know why I sit down to blog when I am at my lowest point of energy on any given day. I'm never motivated enough to be funnier or more amusing. 

As you can probably tell by the FEESH picture, we went somewhere with fish today! Sea Life in Bray, to be a little more precise. It is technically our last day in Bray as we are going to stay with mum until we move away to Norway. 

Sea Life is far smaller than it deserves to be, but it's awesome. They have got some fantastic fish and other sea creatures. It's always good! But you'd be in and out in an hour, even if you take your time. It's not such a big thing. It's a lot of fun, though. Great place to bring kids, or Emz. 

Tonight Burning Amber are playing. That's my friend Eoin's band. They should be good! I'll throw some photos up from that gig tomorrow, if I remember. I'm heading to Wexford tomorrow, should be a laugh. I'll probably throw pictures up from that, too. 

Got the Muse album yesterday, it kicks ass. Make sure you get it! It's insanely amazing. I love it! 

Beyond that, nothing interesting has happened. With the fact that I will probably have an extended blog tomorrow, I'll cut today short. But not without my daily quote! 

Catch & Release fishing is a lot like golf,

you don't have to eat the ball to have a good time!

- Anon

Stick to My Guns in a World Full of Weapons

I found the meaning of life. Unfortunately I am contractually obligated not to tell any one what it is. Contracts.. they hold the key to everything. You can gain and lose a job over a contract. You can make or break a life with a contract. Contracts literally can give someone everything they've ever dreamed of, or they could take it away.

I read a fantastic (but long) quote yesterday. I believe it needs to be seen! "Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed. Nobody can see what’s printed on the contract. It’s too far away, and besides, the shit stench is making everybody’s eyes water. The lackey shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get to the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling furiously, clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of them capitulates, and there’s only one contestant left. He reaches for the pen, but the Lackey says “Actually, I think you need a little more development. Swim again, please. Backstroke”. And he does, of course." - Steve Albini

It's insanely accurate and incredibly awesome. I simply HAD to share it.

Any-who, moving swiftly along. I can't help but notice that Norway is moving ever closer. Or I guess we're moving ever closer to Norway. We got our tickets yesterday for the 9th of October. 4 days later but I think that's probably a good thing. I'm looking forward to spending a little more time with my Mom and 

family before I ship out.

I'm getting quite excited about spending some time with the Norwegian branch of the family lagoon. I would call it a tree but, y'know. It's a lagoon. It's got many different things in there and it makes for one interesting trip. I know some familiar faces that I'm looking forward to seeing again like Terje, Karoline and Jenny and there are a LOT of people in Emz life that I have yet to meet, which is also exciting. 

I don't really know any one of there so well, but I'm looking forward to getting the people who are most important to Emz. Because they are most important to me as long as they make her happy! I think I posted a picture before but I can probably post it again for any new-comers. Do remember that my 2nd (I think) blog post is a basic description of any one that I will probably mention here. 

So I think it's time for some top 5's. It's something I am always fond of, and I think it should be a regular segment.. or paragraph.. or whatever. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Today's top 5 should beeee.. top 5 hats.. not really though, it'll be my all time top 5 favourite songs. I have not yet decided if I will explain why they are my favourite songs. Ok, so, here we go. 

5. Requiem - The Confession

Requiem is a stunning song. I love the lyrics, mostly. This band is one of a kind. If you haven't heard their album then do it. They're amazing. This band generally has the best lyrics. Two of the members are now in another band called Sons of the Damned. Check them out if you like the Confession, or just have good taste in music. They're good, too. 

4. Simply Unstoppable (Yes Remix) - Tinie Tempah ft. Travis Barker & Katie Taylor

This song gets me pumped. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I will get pumped for this song. Well, maybe not at a funeral or something, but in a normal situation.

3. Slither - Velvet Revolver

This song was one of the first songs I learned completely on guitar, and it's the only one I'm not sick of because I spent so much time learning it in year 1 of learning guitar. I love it. 

2. Blackbird - Alter Bridge

Another stunning song. The lyrics are my favourite, but I adore the entire thing. I know it on guitar (probably backwards at this point). Amazing track.

1. Afterlife - Avenged Sevenfold

This song is the one I used to get so many people in to A7X. I have a lot of fond memories of this song, and the people it reminds me of.

That's my list for today. Let me know if you have any ideas for any others. I tend to be pretty uninspired to make these types of things, but once I have an idea I can roll with it. Well, I think this is bloggy enough. 

Free my soul from ridicule, let it fly away

This is not the end

- Taylor Armstrong 

For the Win

I have spent the last 24 hours in Mother's house. Raping her Wifi and Enjoying the warmth. It's great spending time with her and the pets pre-Norway. Going to be a long and crazy trip, it's nice to be grounded before we go.

I have been updating the KJBcast YouTube channel since yesterday, too. Currently talking with some big companies to get permission to advertise. You'd think you could just advertise, but no. FOX threatened to sue us yesterday because we advertised the Simpsons Tapped Out game, so we removed it and immediately began making requests through the companies to advertise for them. A strange one. I would be delighted if someone advertised KJBcast for free, I certainly wouldn't sue them. I already have gotten KJBcast a press pass to Microsoft so I began uploading those videos instead. You can see them here.

It's pretty exciting how the page is moving, although I have been unable to work on it lately. No wifi means I can't spam the page with news. I do my bits on my registered days and so forth, but once I'm back in a wifi zone more permanently I will be back on regular update duty.

I created our website from scratch. I did the design, probably 80% of the media on it and I pushed it to where it is today. I love it. It's a lot of fun to see something come together from nothing. I'm incredibly proud of the work I have done. I hope to get the page a lot further in the future, but this is really only year one. We're already making a profit from Appy Gamer (an app we are part of, you can get it here). A business making a profit on year one is pretty damn good as far as I am concerned!

In other news (and I use the word "News" lightly), Emz and I have been having weird sleeping patterns lately. Allow me to script out last night for you.

Time: 3am
Location: Bed
I am asleep, Emz is not.

Emz: Ken, I can't sleep.
Me: Awh, I'm sorry. I'll fix it now, just listen.
Emz: What?
Me: Shh...
*several moments pass, still silence*
Emz: You better not be asleep.
Me: *wakes up violently* Huh? What? Oh, Sorry Babe. *falls back asleep*

Moral of the story? My sleepy attention span is apparently only marginally worse than my normal everyday attention span. There was another time that Emz woke up and screamed, which woke me and then I screamed from getting a fright and then she screamed louder because I screamed at her. We're a weird couple.

Anyway, I think that's enough blog for today! Enjoy your day/night/whatever!

I like sleep

It's like death without commitment

- Unknown

I Found My Muse

So much new music out. Muse - 2nd Law is out on Friday, A7X just released a new track for Black Ops, a friends band in the U.S is about to have a huge killer announcement (which I can't talk about here..yet..), Ke$ha's new single is out tomorrow, Soundgarden's new album hits mid-November and Lana Del Rey just announced that she's releasing her album again with 9 (or 10) extra tracks. Been a huge few days for those announcements. I know there is more but I cannot remember them all. As I type this I am listening to the full Muse - 2nd Law album online. It's actually really good! Very.. different. Panic Station is so 80's it is unreal. I really really like that Chris sings on the album. His songs are really good. It's also a really good example of stepping out of your comfort zone to try something that really will pay off. We're (Emz and I) are going to see Muse in November in Vienna, Austria. It's going to be awesome. 

It's a very varied album. I like it, though. I love when a band is willing to step so far out of it's comfort zone and it pays off. Emz said something that I can't get out of my head when I listen to the new Muse stuff. "Everytime Muse release an album they seem to lose 1 fan but gain 2". I love that. Taking risks pays off, regardless of losing the smaller fans. You build a die-hard fan base that'll never leave. It's really the best possible way to thrive as a band. I love the song "Follow Me" on the new album. It starts with Matt's Son's Hearbeat as the opening to the track, which is cute and awesome. Plus it has Nero so it really can't go wrong. 

I love mixing music. I trained for 2 years to become a sound engineer, and I do plan to (eventually) continue and learn as much as possible. I love mixing and writing music. I often help others write more so, though. I have a few friends who often ask me for advice when I'm writing songs and such. It's a lot of fun to build something from nothing. 

As the Muse album plays on, I remain happy to hear it. So far I don't see how this could lose any fans. It is so typically Muse. There's risk with a sense of familiarity, how is that worthy of losing a fan? I love it. It's an amazing album. Looking forward to receiving the pre-order on Friday morning. I strongly suggest you all get it if you like that sort of Muse-ic. Oh, and the Avengers. Get the Avengers. It's incredible. That is all. My quote of the day comes from Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, but I think it applies quite highly to this blog, and to Muse. With the end of the album comes the end of my blog. 10/10 album, 1/10 blog. It evens out somewhere along that line! Have a good'n!

I put my pants on just like the rest of you, one leg at a time.

Except once my pants are on, I make gold records.

Typing a Blank

I have successfully drawn a blank. Today I have accomplished very little. I watched a movie, played some Borderlands 2 and minded Finn, dad's dog.

Ever feel like you're a Coke trapped in a Fanta's body? Unrelated - Emz got her shoes in the mail today, except since we ordered them to Mother's home, we need to wait until tomorrow. She's really excited about that.

This blog will eventually have to become a weekly deal so that I can actually wait to have news to type. Right now the blog is all new and exciting, so you'll have to put up with my boring days!

I just discovered a new A7X (Avenged Sevenfold) song. Exciting news! They get a lot of negative press, but I love em. Them and Alter Bridge hold the top 2 spots in my "favourite bands" list.

I really like pretty much all their music. I've seen them a few times. I generally love everything about A7X. Their music and harmonies just hit me in the right way. I love so many different styles of music, though. Emz was discussing that with me earlier, actually. I love anything and everything. I like (some) Katy Perry and I love 3OH!3 and Ke$ha. I also love Soilwork, Alter Bridge, Avenged and Slash. My Taste varies. Broad Spectrum.

I've been rocking Tremonti's new album a lot lately, along with Sons of the Damned and Soilwork. All exciting stuff.

My friend Eoin's band is playing this Friday, that should be good. I'm doing their soundcheck and photography. They're good, I like their stuff. That's them in the picture above. They're really fun lads! All dedicated to the craft and all good musicians. I'll update the blog about their gig once it has happened! Look out for that. Anyway, quote time!

Talking About Music

is Like Dancing about Architecture

- Steve Martin

A Picture is Worth 539 Words

All day I have been thinking of great ideas for a blog. Unfortunately for anyone reading this, I have forgotten them all.

Today served little to no purpose, even though I did a lot.. sort of. I am not really sure how it started, but god damn it if I do not unlock Bart Simpson in the "Simpsons: Tapped Out" game on le iPhone, I will freak out. Emz and I have been watching a lot of Simpsons episodes lately. So MUCH stuff on our TV list. My mom keeps suggesting "The Good Wife" but I have had no motivation to start something new since Castle ended. Currently my TV list, as it stands: 

30 Rock (x)

American Dad (√) Sept 30th 2012

Big Bang Theory (√) Sept 27th 2012

Breaking Bad (√) Summer 2013

Calaforniacation (x)

Castle (√) Sept 24th 2012

Chuck (√) N.A.

Cleveland Show (√) Oct 7th 2012

Desperate Housewives (x)

Dexter (x) 

Entourage (√) N.A 

Fastlane (√) N.A.

Fraiser (x)

Fringe (x)

Futurama (x)

Family Guy (√) Sept 30th 2012

Game of Thrones (x)

Heroes (x)

How I Met Your Mother (√) Sept 24th 2012

Lost (x)

Mentalist (x)

Mutant X (x)

Modern Family (√) Sept 26th 2012

Psych (x)

Rules of Engagement (x)

Sons of Anarchy (x)

The Good Wife (x)

The Office (x)

The Simpsons (x)

True Blood (x)

Supernatural (x)

Walking Dead (x)

The tick means I've caught up with it and the x means I haven't seen it all yet. N.A. means it won't be back and I've finished it. There are a LOT of shows there. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to pop them in the comments section below. There is a comments section, right? This list is made up from shows I want to watch, or Emz wants me to see with her, or people suggest. I'm always looking for new music and TV. Right now I have a huuuuge backlog of shows, though. Summer is the best time to catch up on TV purely due to a huge lack of good TV shows. TV season is always awesome, though. Every week there is something new and amazing. Summer? Nah. Don't get me wrong, there is some quality TV during the warm summer months. But not nearly as much as during the rest of the year.

On another note, we've been paying a lot of money to people we owe for crap we just don't care about. It's ridiculous. Things should not cost so much! The price of living in Norway is HUGE, buuuut of course they get paid more. In Ireland the cost of living HUGE, buuuut of course you get paid less. It makes no sense to me. I will gladly pay €4 for 3 pop tarts when you start paying me €20 an hour minimum wage. 

I never understand how this country actually survives. It makes no money, so it pays people less, so they spend less, so the country makes no money. It's a dumb circle. The only way to fix it is to pay everyone more. But hey, I'm just a blogger, what do I know? Oh wait, everything! Thank you, google. Do you like this thing I'm doing with the pictures to match my story? Positive feedback is always nice.

I am in love with my laptop. For starters <- this doesn't happen anymore since I'm rocking the Macbook Pro. I wasn't sure that I'd notice a difference between my old laptop and this, but mannnn it's different. People are always complaining that Apple products are too easy. I don't know any point in my life where something is every too easy. I love easy. I have no problems with easy. Make life easier, make yourself happier. I don't want a piece of technology that makes my life a living hell. I just want things to work and do what I want, when I want. No load time, no wasted time. Just work. 

I remember my mom was setting up our first fax machine when I was a kid. She spent a while just wiring it together and then she had to phone it to make sure it worked. It began ringing and for whatever reason she was so caught up in what she was doing that she blurted out "Fuck sake, someone ALWAYS calls when I'm in the middle of something" and stormed over the machine. I love my mom. When I run out of blog material, I'll just tell stories about dumb/funny things my family (and I) have done. That could fill the internet.

Anyway, on that note I will leave you with this quote. 

Never Buy a Car

You Can't Push

Four Score and Seven Year ago.. Some Stuff Happened

I have been staying with my childhood friend, Luke. So, logically a looooad of old stories have been coming up. It makes me wonder what stories I would tell my future children. It also makes me wonder why I was such an idiot as a teenager.

I have done many many MANY things as a young adult that I question now (as a slightly older young adult)....(ok fine, an adult.). If I could go back and talk to past me, I would as so many questions. Questions like why it was it so important to have a tag (graffiti) when I didn't spray paint, or why I simply HAD to fight every single teacher on every single topic. But that's life, I suppose. You do stupid shit so that you get it out of your system before you come to the point in your life where you have to put up with someone else's stupid shit.

The child in you never leaves, though. At least not completely. Case in point: I'm currently awaiting the food I put in the oven to finish so I can sit down with my beautiful girlfriend and watch Tin Tin. Tin Tin has been a mildly important part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad would always get me the books when I was growing up.

So, Tin Tin is now over and I am now full. I also have lost my train of thought. Going to Watch Mission Impossible 4 now. I can't remember if I liked the other 3 but Metallica and Limp Bizkit were on the soundtrack for 2 of em. Tom Cruise really doesn't sell me to a movie. Except Top Gun. He's the boss in Top Gun.

I suppose that wraps things up for today. I don't know where I was going with this and I'm incredibly distracted by this movie.

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing

But I couldn't give it up, because by that time I    was too famous. 

- Robert Benchley